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idaclarke · 2 years ago

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{ MAIKA MONROE, 23, CISFEMALE, SHE/HER } Is that IDA CLARKE? A SENIOR originally from SEVIERVILLE TN, they decided to come to Ogden College to study ANTHROPOLOGY & RELIGIOUS STUDIES on a ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP. They’re THE SIREN on campus, but even they could get blamed for Greer’s disappearance.

hung my cotton dress on rested wire...

NAME: ida may clarke NICKNAME: a few of her siblings call her everything by using ‘ida’ to describe her (ida crook, ida stupid etc), her meemaw calls her trouble BIRTHDAY: april 3, 2001 ZODIAC: aries sun, taurus moon, aquarius rising SEXUALITY: no label (pansexual) RELIGION: christian (pentecostal) THREE POSITIVE TRAITS: charming, adventurous, decisive THREE NEGATIVE TRAITS: judgmental, cruel, dishonest THREE SKILLS: skilled hunter, can pick a lock, petty theft ENNEAGRAM: 4w5 MYERS-BRIGGS: enfj EXTRACURRICULARS: senior class board, debate team, president of tri-delta, acapella group, feminists at ogden

AESTHETIC: beat up cowgirl boots, too short slip dresses, glossy lips, messy braids, diet cheerwine cans, overalls, glittery eyelids, smudged mascara, running water, creaking wooden floors, faded home-made blankets

CHARACTER INSPO: jennifer check (jennifer’s body), tyra collette (friday night lights), ramona vega (hustlers), alison dilaurentis (pretty little liars), audrey horne (twin peaks), irina (boy parts), rebekah mikaelson (the vampire diaries), queen ravenna (snow white),

LIKES: cherry lollipops, warm summer afternoons, gossip, running through the woods, deep kisses, annotated books, wool socks, black nail polish, biscuits and gravy, dolly parton, knitting DISLIKES: rude comments, dishonesty, running out of perfume, early mornings, mosquitos, cold weather, off-brand dr. pepper, vegan substitutes, people who dislike country music

FAVORITE MOVIES/TV: fleabag, the oa, it’s always sunny in philadelphia, the l word, coraline, how to get away with murder, midsommer, yellowstone, pearl, suspira, the little hours FAVORITE BOOKS: wuthering heights, history of madness, circe, ninth house, s., boy parts, bunny, if we were villains, a secret history of witches, a certain hunger FAVORITE ARTISTS: ethel cain, the 1975, miranda lambert, dolly parton, the chicks, hozier, florence + the machine, paris paloma, chapell roan

FAMILY: maternal meemaw - jolene phillips (patricia clarkson) mother - mary-anne clarke (charlize theron) father - david clarke (billy burke) sisters - doris hutchinson (teresa palmer), maureen cardin (carlson young), ethel clarke (lily-rose depp), jana clarke (freya allen) brothers - levi clarke (george mackay), calvin clarke (will poulter), beau clarke (skyler gisondo), john clarke (jack dylan grazer), wayne clarke (jacob tremblay), micah clarke (christian convery)

pinterest here, playlist here.

JUST A CRAZY ROUGHNECKS DAUGHTER:

life isn’t much of anything when you’re the middle of 11 kids. on the farm it was early to rise and early to bed, everyone had a chore and unfortunately doris, the eldest of the kids, was given childcare duty more often than not. but the perk of being the middle of 11, is the ability to disappear. her father only cared about three (four) things; god, farm, family, whiskey. her mother followed a similar path and well...granny jo wasn’t the best idol according to her mother. and so ida decided to carve her own way in the world.

you see, the thing about being number six of eleven means you get exactly zero attention. and so you go seeking your attention elsewhere. and ida found that attention in the arms of bobby perkins. she was fourteen, him seventeen, and ida was smitten from day one. he talked her up, picked her up at the bonfires when she snuck out of the house, and promised that he would take her away from eastern tennessee. and then she graduated at 17 (a year early because to everyone’s surprise ida was actually quite intelligent), and took her to the majestic land that was florida.

living in a trailer park as bobby developed a bit of a following with his promise of love and freedom, and god-fearing community, ida realized just how much she liked the spotlight. she liked when people fawned over her, when they showered her with affection, and when they believed the words that left her mouth. it was easy work for her, talking to people, making them feel heard, inviting them in to the group. this was what she was made for.

but bobby didn’t like it. he didn’t like that others started to love ida more than him, that she would say something in opposition to him. always sweetly, always veiled as compliments and adoration for him. and so he came up with the plan to dump her, to leave her stranded, to get her away from his life, his goals.

and then suddenly ida was back on her parents front porch, saying she’d been accepted at ogden with a full ride, that bobby was still in florida and she had no idea what happened to him. and then she kissed her mother and father goodbye and moved to new hampshire for her future.

JUMPED HEADFIRST INTO THE WATER:

starting college as a freshman at twenty came with a whole list of questions. she answered them easily, she needed time between high school and college to get some real world experience. she wanted to travel, to work and save her money, but she always knew she would go, and that ogden was the place.

and then a year later greer started, and ida zeroed in on her. she was perfect for ida’s ego, for her life to befriend such a golden girl. to whisper words of wisdom. but soon greer, either seeing through ida’s facade or just over it altogether, gave ida the cold shoulder.

but she was undeterred, continuing on her merry way but always keeping an eye on the campus golden girl. she laughed when others needed the comedic boost, gave out compliments to those who needed it, and offered her support as needed. but it just isn’t enough is it?

BAPTIZED AWAY MY SINS:

looking forward, ida is hoping to continue to apply herself. charming anyone and everyone she can, collecting people in her pocket for when she needs them, making loyal friends and followers. currently she’s applying to master and phd programs, including the one at ogden, to continue her studies. and she’s keeping her eye out for the golden girl, curious to her disappearance, though a bit thrilled in the mystery. ida would never turn down the drama, and is not above going the extra mile when she’s a bit bored.

GREER:

ida entered college at age 20, with too much real-world experience it seemed. everyone was so boring at ogden, making problems out of nothing, feeding each other’s egos. and yet, ida knew what she could tap into while she was there, the wealth, the connections, the power. everything she needed, what she had never had. and enter greer, a beautiful eager girl with everything ida needed, everything she wanted to be. and so she quickly took to her side, hoping to offer friendship, advice, to mold her into the person that ida needed her to be. and it seemed to work for a while, greer maintaining her own self but still ida could clearly see her influences. until it stopped completely, greer icing her out of her life in one fell swoop. and in less than a year, ida went from building her empire and future on poor little greer, back to nothing. still she kept her tabs on greer, and she knew greer did the same. they acted polite and kind in public, a weird relationship of knowing each other but not really. ida played it off, acting as if greer was but a younger sibling to her. but to everyone else it was just an odd friendship that didn’t survive the test of time in college, nothing more and nothing less.

THE SIREN:

she pulls you in with her sweetness, but only when it’s too late do you realize her true colors. like sirens drown the sailors, ida isn’t afraid to take-down anyone she feels deserves it. Whether it is valid or not. she doesn’t care who it is, and sometimes she does it just for fun. breaking the hearts of boys and girls, dragging people's names through the mud, spreading a rumor to take them down completely. whatever it takes, she’ll do it. for her safety, for her entertainment, it doesn’t matter much to her. but even now, four years later at ogden, people haven’t seemed to really pick up on it. let’s face it, she won’t hesitate to push you in front of a bus, and will quite successfully convince you it had been an accident and she had been trying to save you from the bus.

extra:

previous tasks here

has a small shitty stick-and-poke tattoo of a cowboy hat just above her left elbow

has a small altar in her room decorated with random items that don’t make much sense to the outsider: a deer antler, a picture of a boy (bobby), a jar of ash, a few random stones, a small jar of honey, a jack daniels shooter

#ogdenintro #just a few updates but it's good ole ida for ya

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belle-keys · 4 years ago

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I Love Matthew Fairchild aka Incoherent Thoughts about Chain of Iron (2021) by Cassandra Clare

I made one of these rant-rave reviews for SJM's book so check it out if you want, no pressure tho lmao.

Aight so I finished Chain of Iron last night and OMG I HAVE TO YELL like I loved it sooo much like yooo, I have a lot to say. I know the book is new so... beware for spoilers plebs.

Also context: I been reading the Shadowhunter books since I was 12 and I'm 19 now *insert dead emoji face* so yeah, I'm just so happy rn with where the Chronicles have come and the fact that they’re still ongoing *insert uwu face*. I remember when in like 2014-2015 or something when Cassandra Clare teased that Will and Tessa's kids' generation was gonna get a trilogy set in Edwardian London, loosely based on Great Expectations, and holy hell? I think that was perhaps one of the best days of my life considering how much I adore The Infernal Devices (that trilogy really changed the way I see YA literature... don't ask cus I won't shut up about it) (also yes I read TMI and loved it too but there's a “generation gap” between TMI and the other Shadowhunter books stylistically so don't ask me about that either cus I also won't shut up).

Anyway, shoo from here if you want a critical essay on Chain of Iron. I'm not providing that, this is just me raving here for the fun.

Listen... I want the bulk of this to just be two main things: The Matthew Situation, and then all the literary and judeo-christian meta aspects of it.

BUT I ALSO NEED TO TALK ABOUT EVERYTHING ELSE SO FRICK LET'S JUST START WITH THE OBVIOUS SHIT LIKE THE PLOT AND WHATEVER

Okay, the plot and writing and shit, let's get that out of the way:

The WHOLE Jack-the-Ripper-esque ambiance was just sooooo good man wow like I did not expect the book to take this cold turn but it worked so well. There was such a contrast between Jamie and Cordelia's warm little house and then the cold winter and the stabbings and shit and it felt like a nice little callback to the actual Ripper phenomenon that preceded them and a nod to the Whitechapel Fiend story from Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy.

Bitch OFC that whole thing with Wayland was a set-up like nawww that was too easy to spot and I get why Cordelia feels like shit about it.

Dawg Lucie was just the Among Us imposter here in that my girl was just venting and sneaking around with dead people and I was like nooooo girl run, don't deal with Fade this is a set-up THINK ABOUT JULES LUCIE THAT'S LIKE YO GREAT-GRANDSON *sobs* but yeah anyway my girl has death powers she gonna kill some bitches next book.

You see that confrontation between Lilith and Belial? MASTERPIECE DIALOGUE like this was the point within which I was just like "yo is this the book of Genesis or a YA Fantasy novel" like when Lilith said "I may have been cast out but I did not fall" like??????????????????? I YELLED she did not have to END Belial like that. What a bad bitch.

More on Lilith and Belial... "You, who brought nations into darkness? Shall I finally be able to tell the infernal realms you have gone mad, lost even the image of the Creator." HAHAHHAHAHA SHE SAID "YO BELIAL GO GET SOME THERAPY AND GET OFF MY ASS" LIKE??????

Ughhhh yasss Clare has improved writing diverse characters in this book compared to in The Dark Artifices in my opinion... I'm not gonna expand on it cus ain't nobody got time for that but like, I enjoyed how she wove Persian poetry and tales into the story and the way in which she writes Cordelia and Alistair. They're not caricatures of Persian people but rather multi-faceted beings who also happen to be Persian and I appreciate that. Also, Alistair and Thomas and Anna and Ariadne were just so fun and interesting to read as coupbles but also as individuals. She really higlighted diversity in a very natural manner. All I need is a hijabi character and I’ll die a happy woman lmao.

The level of META man like the references to Classics and art (I swear, she might have compared Matthew to angels out of Caravaggio AND Rosetti AND Boticelli paintings and I Am Living For It) and just all the quotes from holy books and shit omg I love it here like you really feel catapulted into the time period, she draws reference to external art and philosophy so well and I feel like she upped the notch on it in this book (didn’t know that was possible but it was the prose is BEAUTIFUL, archaic, but not pretentiously so). No, like the characters live in their OWN worlds of literature and art and history in the way we are living in THEIRS. They quote Wilde and Milton while we'll quote Clare. It's awesome.

This is an unusually structuralist take even from me but: I like the way the milieu social of the book, i.e., the high society Edwardian circles and their values, have a direct influence on the plot. James and Cordelia got married because society’s values essentially forced them to, not a demon. Cordelia abandons Jamie at the end of Iron because her shame as a woman in society and fear for her reputation made her, not a demon. Thomas and Alistair can't be together solely because of how Alistair tarnished the reputation of the Fairchilds and Lightwoods by using the horror of infidelity against them. Issues relating to marriage, gender roles, etc, stemming DIRECTLY from the time period rule the sequence of events to the same degree as the epic fantasy aspects (demons, Princes of Hell, the lore itself) do and I LOVE that dear God above.

OKAY THE GOOD SHIT LET US TALK ABOUT CHARACTERS AND SHIPS (N.B. but imma discuss Matthew and the Fairstairs situation separately below this portion):

Alistair's redemption arc: No, cus Alistair's redemption arc is honestly amazing. He really did change and it's not like his betterment as a person was linked to any one heroic deed but rather he simply decided he wanted to be better especially for his family and he decided to become a proper protective son, a caring brother, and an amiable friend. He fully owned up to his Malfoy tendencies and apologized without expecting forgiveness. He shows how he cares in the little ways and omg it's so sweet and tender. I really do want him to love himself now and be embraced by Matthew especially and the rest of the Thieves.

Dawg Lucie and Jesse are so funny to me like it's so hilarious how this girl fell in love with a whole ass ghost that no one else knows about like HHAHA. Are Lucie and Jesse my ult ship ever? Nah, but it's nothing to do with Clare, it's just that their relationship happened pretty quick and feels quite like something epicly romantic that Lucie herself would write. I just like slow burn and friends-to-lovers the most from Clare. To be honest part of me just wanted Lucie to not have a romantic arc all together but like, it's all good, I'm not complaining.

Okay Grace- like yooooooooooo I never hated her yunno. She has been abused and isolated all her life. It's not that she is a bad person, but rather that she does not know what being a person even entails. Can't even say she's a “doll” of a person cus she's never even been pampered like one by her family. I really started understanding her motivations since when they gave us her half-childhood with Jesse. I want better for her but cmon can she REALLY be saved???

GRACE X CHRISTOPHER *pretends to be shocked*... Okay, sometime in the middle of the Dark Artifices series some big brain put together a very thorough family tree of the families and like, it clearly showed that Grace and Christopher got married so like, lmfaooooo, I knew this was coming one way or another, but the journey to this ship is more important than the destination. Like in a way Christopher is such a cute baby lamb that it makes sense he'd end up being immune to her Grace-ness when he's just a cute little Einstein boiii. Like this is just so funny to me cus he's so oblivious to social conventions while she makes the milieu social her entire life so OFC it's gonna work. Like, this is such a worlds-colliding trope like just Give It To Me.

James and Grace - aw mannn Jamie just had me fricking wanting to hit a wall every two seconds cus like yooooooo every single time I think he and Cordelia are gonna stop being emotionally-constipated spouses, Jamie says some kinda shit like "omg me and Daisy are just friends uwu" like DO I NEED TO HIT YOU?????????? See I can't blame him for not slamming the door on Grace's face even tho he totes should- Jamie is so cerebral and kind that even if Grace wasn't using the enchantment on him, I think he would always be soft for her even if it isn't in a romantic way. There's just so much miscommunication cus like he said "Thank God" when she broke off the engagement with Charles and lowkey embraced her but it also wasn't his fault cus it wasn't even romantic BUT OFC IT LOOKED HORRIBLE TO CORDELIA like James literally never told the woman at least once that he loved her so OFC she thought she was back to square one with him dear God above what a mess. Not his fault, but she DID set down one rule for him: don’t cheat with Grace. And yeah even tho he hasn’t properly cheated, it must FEEL horrible to her cus she’s just been enduring the pain of their unrequeted love for so long :((

See imma just say it but if Cordelia thought that James didn't love Grace then she def would have confessed to him about her feelings right but like James, on the other hand, was delaying his own romantic confession cus he was BEING EMOTIONALLY CONSTIPATED and I can't even say the bracelet was solely to blame cus like my boi was just being so difficult omg I believe he should be lightly spanked by his three parents aka Will, Tessa and Jem *cries*.

Cordelia is such a MOM like she's so mature and stable and her self-preservation instinct? OFF THE CHARTS I love this woman like James definitely treated her well as a hubby but like I JUST WANTED HER TO HAVE CLOSURE ABOUT SOMETHING and boy oh boy she did get that closure she got it good but not from the person she expected in the LEAST *hehe* *pelican screeching*... like Lucie was being sus with the whole ghost business and James was being just, quite a case, dealing with Grace and Belial right and I don't blame them at all for their secrecy and shit but her FATHER DIED and her friends were hiding a lot from her so in a way she turned to Alistair for help but he could only do so much cus of his own pain (she couldn't even talk to her mom cus she's pregnant and she doesn't wanna stress her right) and then there was this emotional block between her and Jamie, Lucie was often absent and conspiring with the dead... the last person remaining was HIM (imma discuss this soon), but yeah my heart just went OUT to her cus she's tryna save herself and her family and she just doesn't know what to do. That's why I love the way her mom told her to stop holding herself back for others and live her own life. Like Cordelia grew on me so much cus in Gold she undoubtedly was a strange Elizabeth Bennet-wallflower hybrid and I... do not usually get attached to wallflowers but in Iron I feel like I finally understood that she was just tryna be unproblematic and self-preserving all along and nottt put her family and friends in a tough situation.... she reminds me of my mom personality-wise so yeah I’m totally rooting for her now that her *situation* in the past seems clearer.

Anna, Thomas and Matthew are such a SQUAD lmfaooooo like united in their gayness they'd be so unstoppable.

Will and Tessa are the most in-love of all the in-loves in this story and I respect that so much.

I lost a year to my life every time the romance between James and Cordelia got cockblocked. Like they were MARRIED and I thought they were gonna at least sleep next to each other at least once BUT NO James couldn't take a hint omg I'm actually gonna eat my fist and sob (but in retrospect, I think this serves a bigger purpose in terms of the narrative structure i.e. the interruption of all the spicy James and Cordelia action serves a bigger purpose which I think brings me to my next section, *exhale*)

Welcome to the Matthew Fairchild Enthusiast Club (this section is me talking out loud; it makes no sense):

bitch.

LISTEN TO ME LISTEN WELL I LOVE THIS BOY SO MUCH IMMA SCREAM I REALLY AM GONNA SCREAM MY FIST IS LITERALLY IN MY MOUTH *BACKFLIPS OFF THE ROOF WITH LANA DEL REY PLAYING*

Okay like where to BEGIN I think the Shadowhunter boy who I'm most attracted to is Julian while the one I love the most is Will but I think I see myself in Matthew the most. Like ever since that first story where the Thieves all met at the Academy then got expelled, I think that I just KNEW Matthew was destined to be epic. Plus the whole Wilde obsession? I’m no libertine myself but I just love his chaos and passion for life.

NO CUS HE'S SO WITTY AND SWEET AND EPIC AND YET SO SECRETIVE AND DEAR GOD ABOVE AHHHHH WILL HE SURPASS JULIAN FOR ME??? Ion even know but this is just sodjsgdwsdygyegydgef

Hear me out but I said after finishing Gold last March that I wanted this book to be Matthew's healing arc right so halfway into the book when I realized that we weren't getting all that good healing arcing I was confused just cus I thought it seemed natural to address all of his alcohol issues and sadness by now. LITTLE DID I KNOW CASSIE WAS SETTING UP A WHOLE OTHER ARC WITH HIM THAT I WOULD HAVE NEVER GUESSED WTH.

At first I thought Matthew didn't have feelings for anyone at all, and if he DID develop feelings unexpectedly, I fricking thought that maybe he's catching feelings for James, if anyone??? I mean, I did have some suspicions about Matthew from the get-go: like he's so secretive and as readers we think we know everything there is to know about him since we were all privy to the truth potion incident in his short story right BUT NO I GOT PLAYED AND I DESERVE IT SO BADDDDDD.

Listen I hadn't shipped him and Cordelia simply because I never thought it in the realm of possibility but it MAKES SENSE as a ship... think about it: he never says what he feels, he flirts with her like he does with EVERYONE, he is kind to her in the way he is with EVERYONE. Really, Matthew is shippable with everyone, doesn’t matter if they’re taken cus that’s just what his Matthewnes allows for ya feel. There is such a beautiful irony that CORDELIA herself did not see this coming. Even the little teasers and hints in Gold have only NOW started making sense to me likejhss. I just felt like the hints in book 1 did not indicate to me that Matthew really harbored real romantic feelings for Daisy. I thought he was upset that James and Cordelia were being fakes, not a developing CRUSH on the woman fgs.

Not to mention that you usually sense a ship building when the emotional connection or sexual tension between the characters is made clearer but to me their FRIENDSHIP grew right but it didn’t feel like Cordelia was thought that she liked him or he liked her so that means me and Cordelia are clowns *together* 😤

Okay I was lowkey having SUSPICIONS but I immediately shut them down right... like firstly when he took her to the White Horse in his car and she went OFF and OFF and off about how she felt free for the first time? I thought Cassie was just tryna develop Cordelia's self-liberation arc through Matthew there. Heck, I didn't even think ANYTHING of it when Matthew confession to Cordelia about the "truth potion" incident at all cus I was like they're FRIENDS??? BUT now it's adding up now...

See when they were at the inn place and he was telling her that she doesn't in the least seem like a 100 year-old married woman? I was like hmmmm he's so sweet but why did Cassie phrase it like that like??? When Cordelia later reiterated that she thought Matthew's flirting was “meaningless”?? I was like hmmm kinda SUS tho. And then when he and James had their fight over the way Jamie kissed Grace like again I thought he was just like? ion know? mad at James for it but I didn't think he was in LOVE with Cordelia??? So I immediately put aside my slight suspicions. The probability that he had a crush on James at that point seemed more likely to me.

BUT THEN it started hitting me that every time Matthew drank, even before he explained his issue with the truth potion, that Cordelia would note it, she would worry about him, she would think of her father which seemed so poetic to me, history repeating itself and all that but this time you can FIX it??? Yeah, but again I didn't think the L WORD would be involved man???

Now imma sound like a delulu shipper here but it just makes sense they would develop feelings logically- reason being that it definitely is possible based on the way Cassie set up the story, like there's a combination of little “friend things” that can turn this into a proper ship: Matthew rescues Cordelia in the ballroom when Grace captures James' attention in Gold. Cordelia sees her father in Matthew all the time but knows now she has a chance to be there for him in the way she couldn't have been there for Elias (classic “history repeats itself” trope, she doesn't want Matthew drinking in Paris like dhshghdfhdhch). Cordelia tastes freedom for the first time when driving with Matthew. Matthew caught James and Cordelia making out in the room and was pissed but not even HE properly knew why then??? Umm, when she thinks James is forreal cheating with Grace on her she subconsciously goes to Matthew??? I also found it funny just how every intimate marital moment between her and James got interrupted somehow. Like, it's as if the narrative is just a living force REFUSING to let James and Cordelia as a ship be consecrated. Heck, every time Matthew is scantily clothed Cordelia notes it. LITTLE CRUMBS I TELL YOU LITTLE CRUMBS.

I tell you when Cordelia showed up to Matthew's flat I thought they were gonna f*ck as friends but I got SOMETHING EVEN BETTER SOMEHOW

THEY ARE GOING TO PARIS LA BELLE EPOQUE PARIS THE PARIS OF DREAMS AND ART LIKE??? FRICKKKKK I DID NOT SEE THIS COMING AT ALLLL MAN? I deadass thought the story would be restrained to the UK but like it MAKES SENSE the trope subversion MAKES SENSE.

“In Paris, with you, I will not need to forget.” SHITTRGEGGGDG

BUT CORDELIA LOVES JAMES TOO LIKE I CAN'T DENY THAT... where are we GOING with this like Matthew wouldn't lie about his feelings and yet Cassie wouldn't give us Matthew and Cordelia crumbs to only end it in the next book immediately for her to just ditch him for James. I mean she was clearly holding back on fleshing out James and Cordelia as a ship for this but to WHAT END??? Daisy feels wild and free with Matthew and she feels warm at home warm with James. I can’t advocate for the sinking of ANY ship here.

Imma say what we're all thinking: Is she gonna give us a Will x Jem x Tessa type situation where Cordelia gets both of them cus I'm not strong enough for this but I also think it'd be really funny if James gets a surprise bi awakening in the next books and then we get POLY even tho this would never happen, it’s actually impossible, because of the whole parabatai thing.

Listen I ship Cordelia and Matthew much more than Cordelia and James, not that I dislike James in any way tho. It's just: Matthew is so unrestrained and she's so composed. They seem like an unlikely pair so it makes sense that they hit harder for me. James and Cordelia have such similar personalities but I ALSO don't ship James with Grace at all so like?? Poly would be... ideal... but it can’t happen especially cus they are fricking parabatai... a Will-Jem-Tessa situation seems more likely but mannnn ion know what to expect. I just want FAIRSTAIRS to have their moment in Paris. I mean James and Matthew clearly don't abhor each other for this.

Take everything I say with several grains of salt, take everything I say with the whole Dead Sea actually, cus I damn well know that Matthew is so flirty and whatnot that I’d have shipped him with anyone in their little circle but now that she set him up with Cordelia it all feels so right?? I have wanted this man in a good relationship since he walked onto the page in Nothing But Shadows so-

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I can't believe Cassia duped me like this omg, Matthew is gonna have his healing arc in Paris with Cordelia by his side like- THIS IS ALL I HAVE WANTED AND SO MUCH MORE. Question to yall btw: are you all as surpised at Fairstairs as me or did yall see it coming all along like smart people? Am I a lone clown? 🥺

BRUH okay criticisms of CC?:

Lmfao a part of me feels like I GOTTA say something bad about CC or the book but honestly I have no objective complaints about it as of now. Am I saying that it’s the PEAK of Young Adult literature and Urban Fantasy? I mean, I make no such claims tbh. I’m not here to be critical when I read as a hobby and when CC’s writing makes me happy regardless of how flawed some people see it.

Okay what next?

So like I’m excited for the adult high fantasy she’s releasing in the fall and whatever other works she might be releasing outside of Chain of Gold within the Chronicles.

As for TLH itself? Man I’m just VIBING like I suspect I will reread Chain of Iron soon and maybe one of the anthologies just because I am happy that this series actually happened after me waiting like 6 years for it when it was just a concept: a Dickensian retelling filled with poetry and culture and history and the conventions I so loved in TID at age 12. This is all I been wanting tbh. I’m just enjoying watching this series come to fruition for it to inspire and transform me in some way. I feel like in a way my coming-of-age aligns with that of these specific characters yet I ALSO feel like I raised Jamie since infancy. Wack.

MATTHEW AND CORDELIA IN FRANCE LA BELLE EPOQUE TO BE EXACT IMMA CRY I DID NOT SEE THIS COMING AND AHHHHHH. ALSO WILL AND JAMIE GOING TO CORNWALL TO GET LUCIE AND MAYBE BOND I LOVE WILL. HE WAS ONE OF MY DILF AWAKENINGS AT AGE 12 AND NOW HE’S HERE AGAIN IMMA CRY. I WANNA SEE MATTHEW GET HAPPY. AHHH.

Ending with a fun quote: “In the wise words of someone or other, there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy, Maurice.” 😉

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wrestlingisfake · 3 years ago

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AEW Fake Rankings, 9/25/2021

Men's singles division - babyfaces

CM Punk

Bryan Danielson

Jon Moxley (GCW world champion)

Chris Jericho

Cody Rhodes

Darby Allin

Christian Cage (Impact men's world champion)

Eddie Kingston

Orange Cassidy

Brian Pillman, Jr.

Men's singles division - heels

Kenny Omega (AEW men's world champion, AAA mega champion)

Miro (AEW TNT champion)

MJF

Malakai Black

Adam Cole

Andrade El Idolo

Matt Hardy

Powerhouse Hobbs

Shawn Spears

Daniel Garcia*

Unranked: Brian Cage, Dante Martin, Dustin Rhodes, Frankie Kazarian, Feugo Del Sol, Jake Hager, John Silver, Lance Archer, Lee Johnson, Matt Sydal, PAC, QT Marshall

* Not listed on official AEW website roster

A big talking point lately is that AEW's roster has gotten pretty huge. One effect of this expansion is that it's a major pain in the ass for me to keep track of all the wrestlers who mainly compete on the YouTube shows. Going forward, I'll be focusing on the performers who have wrestled in the past 30 days on television or pay-per-views.

There's concern that the big stars from other major-league companies (mostly WWE) will crowd out the wrestlers who came up from the minors. That issue became more clear to me when I put together the above list. Twelve of my men's top 20 came to AEW best known for their WWE runs, and Omega made his name in New Japan. So if you expected AEW to be "the best of the rest," you're left with Darby, Eddie, Orange, Pillman, MJF, Hobbs, Garcia, and a bunch of guys in the background.

We'll have to see if this becomes a problem. I'm optimistic that AEW knows what they're doing, and wrestlers will be regularly cycled into and out of the spotlight. But WWE has conditioned wrestling fans to think that if a wrestler only appears on the C-show, then the bookers have totally given up on them. So I don't blame fans for being skeptical that AEW can find a better way. It's on AEW to prove that guys like Brian Cage, Pac, John Silver, Dante Martin, and Lee Johnson will get their day in the sun. And that's not even getting into the dozens of wrestlers that aren't listed above.

Men's tag team division - babyfaces

Lucha Bros. - Rey Fenix & Penta El 0M (AEW tag team champions, AAA tag team champions)

Santana & Ortiz

Jurassic Express - Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy

Evil Uno & Stu Grayson

Chuck Taylor & Wheeler YUTA*

Men's tag team division - heels

The Young Bucks - Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson

Men of the Year - Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky

FTR - Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood

The Butcher & The Blade

Private Party & Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy

2point0 - Matt Lee & Jeff Parker

TH2 - Jack Evans & Angelico

* Not listed on official AEW website roster

At any given time, AEW has about 16-20 active tag teams, but a lot of them are mainly on Dark and Elevation. Limiting the rankings to teams that have been on real TV in the past month gives us just twelve men's teams. Then again, that's still more than you'll see on most other wrestling shows.

I think it's important that three of the heel teams (Butcher/Blade, Quen/Kassidy, Evans/Angelico) are in Matt Hardy's stable, so it feels like Matt is begging for one of those teams to break away and turn face. The Dark Order also features three teams (Uno/Grayson, John Silver/Alex Reynolds, Alan Angels/Preston Vance), but their storyline about internal problems could break up one or more of those pairings, if not the entire faction. Interestingly, they've started to set up a feud between the entire Hardy Family Office and the sort-of reunited Dark Order, which may be where they blow off a lot of these issues.

Women's division - babyfaces

Ruby Soho

Kris Statlander

Thunder Rosa

Anna Jay

Tay Conti

Hikaru Shida

Big Swole

Riho

Red Velvet

Leyla Hirsch

Women's division - heels

Britt Baker (AEW women's world champion)

Jade Cargill

Nyla Rose

The Bunny

Penelope Ford

Jamie Hayter

Abadon

Diamante*

Unranked: Emi Sakura, Kiera Hogan*, KiLynn King*

* Not listed on official AEW website roster

AEW doesn't do a lot of women's matches on Dynamite and Rampage, but because of the battle royale on the 9/4 pay-per-view some of the overlooked ladies managed to make the cut.

We've seen some alliances forming in this division, which has stoked talk of introducing a women's tag team championship. However, it looks like AEW has other plans, involving a new women's TBS title to complement the men's TNT title.

I don't think the women's roster is deep enough to support any new belts. That doesn't mean I don't want a secondary title or a tag title. I do. But I'm not convinced that introducing a new title will commit AEW to actually push more wrestlers and expand the roster. That commitment is what I really want; new belts are just gravy.

Part-time/semi-retired: Chavo Guerrero Jr., Homicide, Karl Anderson (Impact men's tag team champion), Luke Gallows (Impact men's tag team champion), Mark Henry, Minoru Suzuki, Rebel, Sting, Tully Blanchard, Paul Wight

I don't get the impression that Homicide and Suzuki will be sticking around for very long. Aside from them, all AEW is getting from the "forbidden door" these days is Gallows and Anderson, and all they do lately is stand in the back of Kenny Omega's entourage. These crossovers have been fun and all, but they've been more like Green Lantern/Silver Surfer than JLA/Avengers, if you get my drift.

The Dan Lambert/American Top Team storyline appears to be setting up some kind of match involving Junior dos Santos, Jorge Masvidal, Paige VanZant, and a bunch of other MMA jagoffs I can't be bothered to remember. We'll see if that actually happens, or if they just jerk around about it for another two months.

No TV or PPV matches in 30 days: Aaron Solo, Alan Angels, Alex Reynolds, Anthony Bowens, Austin Gunn, Billy Gunn, Colt Cabana, Colten Gunn, Griff Garrison, Joey Janela, Luther, Marko Stunt, Max Caster, Nick Comoroto, Peter Avalon, Preston Vance, Ricky Starks (FTW champion), Shawn Dean, Sonny Kiss, Wardlow

This doesn't include people like Julia Hart and Serpentico, who regularly appear for AEW but aren't on the official roster and apparently aren't under contract. Regardless, this gives you a good sense of which wrestlers would be the "AEW Dark roster," if we treated it like a separate brand or something. It'll be interesting to check in a few months which of these names are still stuck in this category.

No matches in 30 days: Anthony Ogogo, Brandi Rhodes, Brandon Cutler, Christopher Daniels, Leva Bates, Michael Nakazawa, Sammy Guevara, Yuka Sakazaki

As huge as AEW's roster is, it's impressive that only eight wrestlers are listed here. Guevara has a match set for 9/29, and Daniels is doing a little crossover thing on Impact Wrestling. Brandi just got back from maternity leave, and while I assume she plans to get back in the ring, that remains to be seen. As for the others, it's possible some of these people have injuries or are taking time off, and the details just haven't gotten out.

Inactive

Darius Martin (knee - unspecified ACL injury)

Hangman Page (paternity leave)

Kip Sabian (undisclosed injury)

Serena Deeb (left knee - unspecified injury)

Trent Beretta (neck - herniated intervertebral disc)

The big story here is Page, who was being set up for a major run for Kenny Omega only to suddenly lose his title shot and disappear from the show. That left everyone pretty anxious for Page to get back, especially since a wave of big new stars could crowd him out of his spot. I'm sure AEW knows when Hangman is scheduled to return, but there's no way for any of us to figure it out, which is frustrating.

Trent had neck fusion surgery, which has a notoriously slow recovery time; I don't expect him to be on TV until the middle of 2022. I haven't seen any kind of timetable for Sabian or Martin, probably because there are so few details available about the extent of their injuries.

Deeb had knee surgery in March, returned to the ring in May, and went back on the shelf in July. Evidently she came back too soon, and she's still rehabbing the original knee injury. I worry about that kind of thing when I see Britt Baker (or Impact's Chelsea Green) working through a broken wrist.

#aew #fake rankings

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chilling-seavey · 4 years ago

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Heartbreak Hotel (d.s.) - Chapter Twenty-Four

A/N Christian and Daniel. Our favourite duo no matter the decade.

“You’re lucky he didn’t break your nose.”

Daniel only offered a half groan in response, holding the ice pack to his nearly swollen eye as his mother carefully laid him down on his bed. Christian stood at the foot of the single bed, watching his badly bruised younger brother with stone cold concern written all over his face.

“I’m serious. He could have killed you.”

“But he didn’t.” their mother said sternly to her elder son, glaring warningly at him.

Christian sighed; both of them looking back to Daniel. He was laying flat on his back with his drapes pulled closed and his room near dark as he had a splitting headache that nearly made him nauseous with agony. He barely moved because every time he did, another wave of shooting pain ripped through his stomach and across his head. His mother tucked him under the blankets, being careful of the dark bruise that was forming larger minute by minute over his bare stomach, and she gently pet his tangled brown hair back from his face.

“Can I get you anything else, love?”

“No, Ma.” Daniel rasped out. “I’m okay.”

“Okay.” she leaned down to press a tender kiss to his forehead before taking the painkiller bottle from his nightstand. “Keep that ice there. The meds should start to kick in soon. I have to go start dinner but Christian’s going to stay with you, alright?”

“Mhm.” Daniel hummed in agreement.

Their mother stood up again from tending to her youngest son and turned to Christian, “Make sure he doesn’t fall asleep. Doctor’s orders.”

“Got it.” Christian nodded. He watched their mother leave the room to head downstairs and Christian sighed, turning back to the bed and stared at his brother for a moment in silence.

“Does it look terrible?” Daniel croaked out.

“Let me see.” Christian walked over to his bedside and carefully lifted the ice pack from his face. Daniel winced and blinked painfully up at his brother. His eye was certainly bruising and swollen, not to mention his nose and split lip that were puffy too, his pale skin stained slightly red from where the blood had flowed even after his mother cleaned him off when they got home from the hospital.

Christian sighed tightly and set the ice pack back on Daniel’s cheek, “Well you don’t look too disgusting.”

Daniel huffed, “Thanks.”

Christian pulled over his desk chair and sat down at his bedside in momentary silence. Daniel just took a moment to process what even happened; still trying to wrap his brain around the first punch yet alone the numerous ones that followed. He had never been hit like that before. He had never been hit at all before.

His brain itself physically ached but yet he could only think of Loretta. He wondered if Corbyn ever hit her like this.

“Probably not.”

Christian’s sudden volume started Daniel a little and he turned his head slightly to look at him in confusion.

“I said no, he probably doesn’t hit her. He doesn’t seem like that much of an asshole.” Christian repeated.

“Oh…” Daniel breathed. “I thought I said that in my head.”

Christian simply stared at his frazzled little brother and scooted his chair closer to the bedside, “Is now a good time to say ‘I told you so’?”

Daniel scoffed lightly.

“Corbyn’s not going to let this go easily; he’s not going to let her go easily. You should start thinking if this is all worth it.”

Daniel turned to glare at his brother quickly, wincing in pain at the speed at which he moved and he raised a hand to his neck. Christian sighed and took the ice pack from him to rest it against his neck for him and Daniel whimpered softly.

Christian continued before Daniel could speak, “I know you’ve been waiting to find your soulmate for your whole entire life but sometimes it doesn’t work out. There are so many people that never find their soulmate and they’re perfectly happy with someone else.”

Daniel sniffled a little, “I don’t want some other random girl. I want her.”

“You’re seriously going to get yourself killed fighting for this bird.”

“I don’t care.”

Christian looked up to his brother’s beaten face, his blue eyes shining with tears through his bruised skin. Christian sighed, shifting the ice pack to his jaw gently, “You love her, don’t you?”

Daniel’s nose scrunched up as he tried to hold in his tears but it only made his face hurt more and he groaned heavily through a small nod.

“No crying.” Christian shushed him softly. “It’s just gonna hurt more.”

Daniel took a small inhale to try and calm himself down, turning his head back to face the ceiling as Christian held the ice pack against his face for him. The brothers fell into silence for a moment, Christian just watching Daniel motionlessly even as his eyes started to flutter closed.

“Hey. No falling asleep.” Christian said strongly to wake him up.

“I’m so tired.” Daniel mumbled.

“I know, buddy. But we gotta keep an eye on you.” Christian explained softly as he shifted the ice pack to the purple bruise that was forming over Daniel’s cheek.

Daniel took a small breath, trying to keep his eyes open, “I wanna see Lori.”

“That’s not a good idea right now.” Christian whispered.

“Corbyn doesn’t gotta know.”

Christian cracked a small smile at his brother’s sleepy rambling, “I’m saying no because your face might scare her.”

Daniel turned slightly to face him and shot him a weak glare, “That’s not nice.”

“Those drugs are kicking in, aren’t they?” Christian chuckled.

Daniel pouted at him and nodded lightly.

“Yeah.” Christian smiled and brushed his hand through his messy hair. “You took it like a champ apparently. Jack and Zach called home after you were taken to the hospital and they said you didn’t even throw a punch back.”

“He didn’t let me.” Daniel pouted.

Christian let out a small laugh and Daniel’s lips perked into a little smile himself and the brothers shared soft chuckles together.

“Hurt so bad.” Daniel giggled. “He had rings on.”

“Shit, that’s not fair.” Christian tisked.

Daniel shook his head slightly in agreement. He licked his chapped lips a little before speaking shakily, “They matched the one that Lori wears around her neck.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhm.”

“Well I’m just glad you’re okay after such a bash.” Christian shifted the ice to another spot on his brother’s face.

“I’d take it again.” Daniel mumbled.

“Don’t say that.”

Daniel’s eyes raised to Christian’s, “I would. I’d do anything for her. I had her…I was so close to having her and suddenly she’s gone, y’know?”

Christian’s lips pulled tight, “Yeah. I know. I know all too well.”

“But yours wanted you. She just had to go home. Mine doesn’t want me.”

“Well…I suppose. But it doesn’t feel any easier.”

“Wanna trade?”

Christian couldn’t help but smile sadly at his brother, “That’s just fine; thank you though.”

“I don’t wanna see Corbyn again.”

“I don’t blame you.”

“I don’t wanna come back to work and have to see him.”

“You don’t have to. I’ll let the manager know what happened and I don’t doubt Corbyn will get sacked for it too.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.”

There was a beat of silence.

“Corbyn punched me in the face.”

“Yeah,” Christian laughed lightly, “I know.”

“A lot.”

“I know. And I won’t let it happen again, okay?”

Daniel nodded lightly, his eyes starting to close again but Christian shook his shoulder lightly to wake him up. Daniel blinked up at him and Christian brushed his hand through his hair again.

“No one hurts my little brother. Not even my friends.”

“Are you gonna punch Corbyn?”

“No. Violence doesn’t solve anything.”

“You could knock ‘im out.” Daniel giggled sleepily. “You’re a big tough guy now.”

Christian swallowed thickly, leaning forward to rest his elbow on the side of the bed as he iced Daniel’s swollen face, “No I’m not.”

“Yeah you are. All scary and leather-y.” Daniel reached out an arm to brush over the jacket that Christian wore.

“I thought I was, but I’m not.” Christian shrugged off the jacket as if looking at it was wrong of both of them and then gently moved back in to pat the bag of ice gently over Daniel’s split lip. “I was angry at the world when my girl left and I tried to find something to distract myself from all that hurt in my heart. And I think I just hurt you and made you feel really alone in the process, huh?”

Daniel hesitated, not wanting to hurt his older brother’s feelings, but then nodded slightly.

“Yeah.” Christian sighed. “And I’m sorry for that. But you know I’m still the brother you always knew me as, right?”

“Right.”

“Good.”

The two brothers fell into silence a moment in the dark room, Daniel fighting to keep his eyes open and both simply listening to their mother making dinner downstairs. Daniel’s breathing was shallow and his bare chest rose and fell under his bedsheets as he stared at the ceiling otherwise motionless. Christian iced his face without and word and wondered what was going through his little brother’s mind; in that mix of love-sick heartbreak, physical pain, and a touch of strong prescription pain killers.

Daniel shifted a little under the sheets, wincing as he moved, and smacked his chapped lips together a few times before running his tongue over them. He mumbled out a weak, “Chris.”

Christian leaned closer over the side of the bed to hear him better, “Yeah, Dani?”

A peaceful smile grazed Daniel’s beaten face, the heavy drugs in his system slurring his words behind his split lip and bruised jaw, but he batted his eyelashes up at his brother with a sweet and calm, “Lori’s eating spaghetti and meatballs for supper.”

#🍓#soulmate au #daniel seavey #christian seavey #why dont we #why dont we fanfic #1950s #soulmate!wdw #jonah marais #jack avery #corbyn besson #zach herron #daniel seavey fanfic #wdw

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thisbrokenmask · 4 years ago

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Trick or Treat

pairing: female reader x kim seokjin

genre: romance, humour

word count: 3,233

rating: PG-13 i guess?

warnings: the beginnings of heavy petting, seokjin is dressed like clark kent

summary: you’re not a fan of Halloween, normally leaving your building’s trick or treaters in the capable hands of your trusty plastic skeleton, Frank, while you enjoy a hot bath, a film and a bottle of wine. this year, however, Jin unexpectedly shows up at your door and you find he’s not an unwelcome addition to your plans for the evening.

a/n: I don’t really know where this came from, but Happy Halloween!

written for my ‘Trick or Treat’ prompt for @btsholidaybingo

Stepping into the elevator of your apartment building, you’re careful to avoid the fake webbing spread over the paneling as you press the button for the third floor. With your left hand, you absentmindedly tap out the rhythm of a song that’s been stuck in your head all day around the handles of a small grocery bag, a few treats picked up on the way home to reward yourself for once again resisting losing your temper at your annoying colleague this week. As you wait for the elevator to rise, you take your phone out of your pocket to browse through some social media, seeing if any of your friends have posted pictures of their costumes yet. While you’re disappointed not to see Jungkook’s face covered in fake blood or Namjoon and his girlfriend posing in matching horror novel-themed costumes just yet, you do find yourself being drawn to a few celebrity’s images who have already posted their outfits.

With a sigh you’re locking your phone again and swapping it for your keys, desperate for the moment you can shut your door behind you and lock it for the evening. Despite yourself, though, you can’t help the small smile that pushes at your lips as you take in the drawings that have been put up by some of the kids in the building; grimacing pumpkins and wailing ghosts wishing the other residents a ‘Happy Halloween’.

You’re quietly relieved that the hallway on your floor is currently empty. You figure the building’s kids have started on the bottom floor and are making their way up, especially when you can hear the distant delighted screams and giggles echoing up the stairwell, so you’ve made it in time to avoid the begging eyes of children promised free sweets for their dressing up efforts.

The sight of your door, the only one completely bare of any fake spiders or red-paint handprints, brings a wave of relief over you, tension slipping from your shoulders already at just the thought of running a hot bath to soak away the stress of the work week. Friday has come at just the right time once again; even if tonight is Halloween, you’re still intent on carrying out your plans of bath, wine, movie and sleep.

It’s not that you hate Halloween. It’s just… you are strongly indifferent to Halloween. It was never a holiday that you took part in growing up, even with your older sister dressing up and going to parties every year throughout her teenage years and your parents always happily opening up the door for the neighbourhood kids out trick or treating. Other than not liking scary films, there isn’t really anything you hold against the annual appearance of carved pumpkins and the ridiculous unbranded costumes. You’re just not bothered.

You place your shopping on the kitchen counter once you make your way into your home, flicking a few lights on as you go. The bottle of wine goes in the fridge, along with a bar of your favourite chocolate that you only indulge in every once in a while. You sit the unopened bag of crisps in a bowl, ready to open them when you settle in for your movie later, and then move on to the final step in your evening plans before locking up.

The one Halloween-themed decoration you have is a standing skeleton, no taller than waist height, his hands outstretched in front of him. The same year you bought your bony guardian, who you have affectionately named Frank for no reason in particular, you also picked up a bright orange plastic bowl decorated on one side with a jack-o-lantern’s jagged grin, and it’s this bowl that you fill with a few bags of wrapped sweets and place in Frank’s upturned hands after slipping a small sign over his arms to hang below the bowl.

Frank and his sugary cargo is carried lovingly out into the corridor and placed beside your door, and you make sure the sign is sitting far enough forward that it’s still visible:

“Please don’t knock or ask for tricks or treats - instead you can help yourself to Frank’s bowl of sweets!”

Satisfied with your little set up, you finally allow yourself to lock your door and head towards your bathroom. You’ve used this set up for the last few years that you’ve lived in your building and, other than a little bit of confusion in the first year, it’s worked like a charm. The few parents who spoke to you in the days following Halloween were appreciative of the fact that you still put something out for their overexcited kids and quietly confessed that they didn’t blame you for not wanting to keep opening your door throughout the evening. After the second year, Frank became somewhat of a building celebrity, and now you’re quite happy knowing that the kids look forward to seeing him every year. They know you more as The Christmas Lady, given your clear preference and enthusiasm for the winter holidays, and a few suspect the Easter Bunny lives with you and Frank, too.

Pouring in a generous amount of your favourite vanilla chai bubble bath, you take a deep breath of the rising scents of vanilla, cloves and cinnamon and start unbuttoning your blouse as you walk to your bedroom, leaving the water to run. You grab your fluffiest dressing gown and your favourite pyjamas, setting them out on the top of your bathroom hamper ready for when you finish your bath, before undressing completely. Your discarded clothes go in the hamper before you perch on the edge of the tub, running your hands through the water to check the temperature and fluff up the bubbles.

You ignore the first knock on your front door, assuming that, like always, there’s one person who hasn’t read Frank’s sign. As a rule, you never open your door and Halloween night, sure that anyone who is confused will either figure it out or give up and move on.

Turning off the water, you get ready to step into the steaming, bubbly water and melt your troubles of the week away when a second, more insistent knocking comes from your front door. With a sigh, you grab your dressing gown and slip it on as you make your way to the front door, tying off the belt as you look out through your peephole to see is bothering you.

To your surprise, you’re met with a grown man and no children. He’s dressed in a simple suit, a white shirt under a black blazer, but with the top few buttons undone you can see a blue t-shirt poking out. His square-rimmed glasses frame his wide eyes, his dark hair pushed back with one small section styled to fall back down over his forehead. You roll your eyes as you unlock your door, stepping back as you open it with a smirk and lean against the frame.

“Hey, Jin,” the man in question straightens up at the sound of his name, pushing his chest out slightly and placing a hand on his hip. The other is holding a paper bag, at the top of which you’re pretty sure you spot another bottle of wine.

“Ma’am,” he says with a curt nod in your direction, a playful glint in his eyes and a matching smirk on his plump lips.

You’ve been seeing Jin for the last couple of months, not quite officially a couple yet but definitely enjoying each other’s company on a regular basis. This wasn’t the first time he’d turned up unannounced, especially since he’d found out you’d been having a stressful time at work over the last few weeks, but you definitely weren’t expecting to see him tonight, not when Namjoon was hosting a party.

Namjoon was your mutual friend and the person who had introduced you to Jin, the two men becoming quick friends when Jin had transferred into Namjoon’s department earlier in the year. He hadn’t introduced the two of you with the intention of setting you up to date, but had simply invited Jin along to a few nights out over the summer, his new colleague quickly being adopted by the rest of your friendship group.

So for Jin to show up at your apartment, a decidedly Halloween-free zone, rather than a party, was indeed a bit of a surprise.

“Can I help you?” you ask innocently, folding your arms over your chest.

“Guess who I am first,” he challenges, pushing his shoulders back to puff out his chest just a little bit more. You make a show of looking him up and down, exaggerating a frown.

“Hmm, Patrick Bateman?”

“He doesn’t even wear glasses!” Jin’s shoulders deflate as he whines, disappointment evident on his face that you can’t help but giggle at.

“Yes, he does,” you point out, thinking back to Christian Bale’s portrayal of the serial killer. “And it would make more sense to be dressed as him for Halloween: Superman isn’t even scary.”

“You don’t like scary,” Jin points out and your heart flutters slightly that he knows that already, a gentle blush rising in your cheeks.

“Yes, well, true as that may be, you haven’t answered my question,” you shuffle slightly on the spot to try and hide how flustered he makes you so easily, but the smile tugging at his lips lets you know that he’s already aware.

“Well, I-”

“Hey!” a small shout down the hall startles you both, the two of you turning to see one of the little girls you recognise from the floor above you, a usually-charming little lady called Maisie. Clearly having run ahead of her parents and younger brother, she’s stood at the top of the stairs, watching you both intently. She’s dressed in what you would consider to be a classic witch costume, with stripy black and purple tights under the puffball skirt of a black dress, a pointed black hat sat on her blonde curls. She has green face paint on and a cape flowing out behind her, a plastic broom in one hand, a small plastic pumpkin already half-filled with goodies in the other. She points her broom handle at Jin, and the grown man in front of you even jumps slightly at the young fury in her eyes. “You’re not supposed to knock on Christmas Lady’s door!” she cries, and if you weren’t so shocked you might laugh at the image of a child defending your honour from someone as gentle as Jin. “You’re meant to go to Frank, he’s in charge of Halloween!”

Jin’s floundering on the end of the five year-old’s glare and you’re touched that Maisie has not only remembered your traditional delegation of Halloween responsibilities to your plastic skeleton, but she believes Jin is bothering you by breaking those rules.

“It’s okay, Maisie,” you assure her and she lowers her broom, although her eyes stay pinned on Jin. “He’s a friend, I was just letting him in.”

“You were?” hope is evident in Jin’s voice when he turns to you, a bright smile lighting up his eyes.

“Yes,” you say as you quickly usher him in before Maisie can ask any more questions, and he slips through the door beside you to enter your apartment. “Thank you for remembering the rules, though, Maisie,” the little girl’s face immediately melts from a frown into a sheepish smile. “Although maybe don’t shout next time, okay?” she nods quickly, her pointed hat wobbling on her head as she promises you that she won’t. “I’m sure Frank wouldn’t mind you taking a few extra sweeties for remembering Halloween is his favourite time of year, though.” You wink and she giggles, skipping over to carefully pick out her favourites from the bright orange bowl.

Just as you wish her a happy Halloween, you see her parents come up the stairwell and offer them a polite wave, which they return as Maisie skips over to them to tell them Frank gave her extra treats this year.

You head back into your apartment, locking the door once again with a sigh and turning to your new houseguest, who stands on the edge of your kitchen, watching you with a smile.

“Sorry for causing trouble,” he smirks and you grin, shaking your head.

“Don’t worry about it. Maisie’s a sweetheart, really.” You eye him carefully, finally able to appreciate the exquisite cut of his suit that makes him look like he walked straight off of a photoshoot. “So, really, what did you want?”

“Oh!” Jin offers you the paper bag he’s still holding with a flourish and a tinge of pink in his cheeks. “Namjoon said you don’t like parties, so I thought I’d bring you a little care package.” Your fingers brush as you take the bag and you resist the urge to take a hold of his hand instead, a tingle of anticipation shooting up your arm and flourishing in your chest. “I also thought you might like some company, so,” Jin adjusts his glasses to hide his nervousness, worried you might turn him away even though he’s now stood in your apartment and you look down to inspect the contents of the bag to hide the growing flush on your face. There is indeed a bottle of wine, a more expensive label of your favourite rosé, as well as what seems to be some fancy take-out boxes containing slices of cheesecake.

You’re used to being alone on Halloween, most of your closest friends opting to go out for alcohol-soaked parties or spend time with their partners instead, so you’re not quite sure how to react to the idea that someone has willingly given up one of the biggest party nights of the year to be with you.

“It’s just Halloween parties I don’t like,” you smile sheepishly, moving further into the kitchen to put the wine and food in the fridge to chill. “Or Halloween at all, really.”

“Really?” You nod shyly, already internally wincing at the slew of objections you normally get when you state your indifference towards the spooky holiday. “What were you planning on doing instead, then?” The ease with which Jin simply accepts it and moves on surprises you, and you find your heart beating a little bit faster as he looks at you with genuine curiosity.

You suddenly remember your outfit, pulling the lapels of your dressing gown together a little tighter across your chest. You and Jin have shared several heated moments over the time you’ve known each other, and while his hands may have slipped under your top and climbed higher up your back a few times, he’s never seen you in any state of undress.

“I was actually going to have a bath,” you say, tucking your hair behind your ear, a nervous laugh escaping you. “I was literally about to get in before you knocked.”

“Oh right, erm,” Jin has the good graces to look embarrassed, shuffling his feet awkwardly as he struggles to figure out where to look. The two of you stand on opposite sides of your small kitchen, neither of you quite sure what to do. You wonder if he felt the same shift in the air as you did at the idea of you being naked on the other side of the door when he arrived. “So are you, erm…” Jin vaguely gestures towards you, cheeks burning red as he stumbles over his words. “Are you still going to-? I mean, do you want to-? Do you want me to-?”

Seeing Jin, a man usually so effortlessly confident, struggling to keep his cool around you gives you a strange surge of confidence that you can’t explain but don’t dismiss, leading you to cut him off with a single, straightforward question.

“Would you like to join me?”

You giggle at the way Jin falls silent, mouth still open mid-sentence. You take the belt of your robe between your fingers, gently teasing at the idea of undoing it for him, watching his eyes drop down to follow the action. You see his jaw tense and he swallows, and when his eyes lift back up to yours they are significantly darker than they were before, his tongue slipping out across his bottom lip before he bites it. And just like that, the stuttering man is gone.

“Would you like me to?”

“Would I ask if I didn’t?” you cock your eyebrow as he crosses the room towards you, eyes unabashedly raking up and down your form. You’ve never considered your fluffy dressing gown to be one of your sexier outfits, but Jin is quickly making you reconsider those thoughts as he tentatively places a hand on your hip, fingers gently stroking the fabric. You can’t pull your eyes away from his, the dark heat in his eyes boring into yours and stoking the fire burning in your abdomen.

“Better take this off then, hadn’t we?” you feel his hands cover yours, long fingers gently prying yours away from the strip of fabric keeping him from your body. The adrenaline pulsing in your veins gives you a better idea, however, and you dip out of his grasp to make your way back towards your bathroom. With a coy smile on your lips, you gently undo the knot yourself and slowly let the fabric fall from your shoulders, exposing your naked form to his eyes. He’s frozen in the middle of your kitchen, so you give him a beckoning curl of your finger before slowly stepping out of his field of vision.

Biting your lip, you pray you haven’t jumped the gun and taken this relationship a step too far too soon, but the gentle footsteps that begin to follow you assure you that he’s definitely interested. You enjoy the feeling of the air against your skin with the sway of your hips, pausing at the entrance to the bathroom to look back over your shoulder.

The sight of Jin unbuttoning his shirt as he follows you sends another bolt of heat through you, although the sight of his Superman shirt underneath does make you burst out laughing. He blushes, laughing nervously as he shrugs off the shirt, but your laughter soon dies in your throat as he quickly lifts the t-shirt off over his head in one quick motion. Seeing his bare chest for the first time shuts you up pretty quickly, the expanse of skin combined with his black trousers, black glasses and black, styled hair leaving you almost drooling over him.

WIth a bite of your lip you wait for him to come to you, your hands immediately reaching out to touch him with an eagerness you don’t even care to hide. It’s returned, though, as Jin’s hands immediately find your waist and pull you close. His face is mere millimetres from yours, breaths ghosting over each other’s cheeks before he ducks his head to bury his face in your neck. The gentle press of his lips against your skin makes you gasp, the heat of his mouth melting any remaining hesitation you still held.

Your fingertips brush over the muscles of his abdomen, his breath catching as you tease the sensitive skin of his hips before gripping onto his belt and pulling him into the bathroom, the heat between the two of you adding to the already steamy room.

#adding this gif because it kills me #kim seokjin #kim seokjin fic #seokjin fic #jin fic #jin fluff #jin smut #seokjin fluff #seokjin smut #bts holiday bingo #trick or treat #bts fic #bts fluff #bts smut

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aion-rsa · 4 years ago

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The Dark Knight Trilogy: Horrifying Scenes That Still Make Us Cringe

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Later this month, Zack Snyder’s Justice League is hitting HBO Max. Despite the anticipation and a near-guaranteed positive reception from the vocal #ReleaseTheSnyderCut fan contingent, this will likely be Snyder’s last foray in the DC Universe. Indeed, one of the studio’s chief complaints with Snyder’s vision, which they believe impacted box office receipts, was his darker tone when compared with the quippier MCU. However, Snyder’s approach only mirrored many of DC’s most popular storylines, from Frank Miller’s violent The Dark Knight Returns to the on-screen The Dark Knight Trilogy from director Christopher Nolan. Snyder can hardly be blamed for expanding on what audiences were already responding to when it came to DC characters on film.

Less than a decade ago, Warner Brothers was hot off of the success of Nolan’s trio of films that no one would describe as light-hearted or quippy. The Batman of Nolan’s films was not inspired by the kid-friendly or campy iterations of the character found in the Batman TV series from the ‘60s or Joel Schumacher’s films, but by Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s Batman: Year One, and Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s Batman: The Long Halloween. That is to say Nolan and Christian Bale’s Batman sought to be a street-level, gritty, interpretation of the character that emphasized noir and a grounded reality.

Snyder didn’t make Batman too dark for film audiences, that was already done by Nolan. Below are just a few examples of the darkest, most horrific moments from The Dark Knight Trilogy.

“Swear to me!” – Batman Begins

Audiences knew they were in for a different type of Batman from the moment they heard Bale’s gravelly voice while he was in the suit. Whether Bale goes too far with his growly tenor and into comedic territory is up for debate, but the choice is certainly memorable.

Bale really gets to rough up his vocal cords during a specific scene in Batman Begins where the Dark Knight confronts crooked cop Arnold Flass about Dr. Jonathan Crane’s mysterious drug shipments. After failing to strike fear in Flass, Batman hangs the portly man upside down from a building. When Flass swears to God that he doesn’t know anything, Batman replies, “Swear to me!” his face tremoring with rage. This is the opposite of one of George Clooney’s one-liners during his time under the cowl. Bale’s Batman establishes himself as something to be scared of and as an all-seeing force to be reckoned with.

The Demon Bat – Batman Begins

While horror has seeped its way into Batman comics many times, particularly during Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s recent run with the character, there hasn’t been a ton of nightmarish imagery present in the film adaptations of the character. However, the hands down scariest portrayal of the Caped Crusader on screen comes in Batman Begins. When Bruce Wayne said he wanted to strike fear in the hearts of criminals, this must have been what he was talking about.

In the climax of the film, when Cillian Murphy’s Scarecrow attempts to poison Gotham City’s water supply with his fear toxin, the good doctor is confronted by Batman and given a taste of his own medicine. The fear toxin takes effect and Crane begins to see Batman as a demonic, literal interpretation of the Batman, with black goo dripping from his mouth and jet-black eyes. This monster version of the Bat was certainly a step in the right direction for comic fans hoping the Batman films would get the terror element of the character right.

Bruce Attempts to Kill Joe Chill – Batman Begins

This scene from the first film in Nolan’s trilogy is the darkest because of how real it feels for the main characters. The moment happens not when Bruce Wayne is masquerading as a vigilante dressed as a bat, but when he’s a young man still trying to come to grips with the murder of his parents. Bruce learns that Joe Chill has been paroled so that he can testify against Gotham crime boss Carmine Falcone. Bruce waits outside of the courtroom with a gun, intending to kill Chill after his testimony. But when Chill arrives at the public lobby, one of Falcone’s goons beats Bruce to the punch, shooting Chill dead.

Bruce’s childhood friend Rachel Dawes discovers Bruce’s intentions and slaps him across the face. She berates Bruce and tells him that his father would be ashamed of him, something that undoubtedly must be hard to hear for the angry, grieving young Bruce. This moment serves as a sort of rock bottom for the character before he decides to leave Gotham behind and travel the globe, immersing himself in the criminal underworld, a journey that would inevitably lead to him becoming… the Batman.

Joker’s Pencil Trick – The Dark Knight

No one needs to spill more ink about how brilliant Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker, was in The Dark Knight. It’s an iconic performance that has forever shaded the public’s perception of Batman’s greatest nemesis. He’s simultaneously funny and scary, brutal and sniveling, chaotic and cunning. He can make you smile then suddenly want to shield your eyes.

It’s all right there from his first real introduction in the film when he struts into a meeting between Gotham’s crime lords and offers his services in killing the Batman. Nailing the core components of the character, his penchant for showmanship, his violent tendencies, and his twisted sense of humor, the Joker pulls off a “magic trick” by slamming a gangster’s head through a pencil that was stuck upright on a desk. Not exactly the kind of party trick that you’ll see Ant-Man performing in the MCU!

The Death of Rachel Dawes – The Dark Knight

While the Joker hatches many unsettling schemes in The Dark Knight, like televising himself murdering Batman imposters, threatening to blow up hospitals, and the game theory ferry experiment, his most despicable crime is also his most personal one. After being taken into custody, the Joker reveals that he has set up a no-win trap for Batman, forcing him to choose between Rachel, his love, and Gotham’s White Knight, district attorney Harvey Dent. The Joker has them tied up in different locations, rigged to explode on the same timer, and Batman only has time to save one of them. Joker gives the hero their addresses, but in a cruel twist, switches who is where. Bruce believes that he’s saving Rachel but saves Harvey instead. Meanwhile, the GCPD tried to rescue Harvey, but arrives just in time to watch the building holding Rachel burst into flames.

While Rachel may have been an underserved character, only really used as a victim and love interest until her ultimate fridging, her death was still a shock and a dark turn that other superhero movies, barring the otherwise forgettable The Amazing Spider-Man 2, have always refused to make. Rachel served somewhat as Bruce’s moral compass, and her death left the vigilante adrift and prone to his darkest impulses.

The Transformation of Harvey Dent – The Dark Knight

The flipside to the above is that Batman’s last-minute rescue of Harvey Dent leaves him scarred, traumatized, angry, and fundamentally changed. It’s not just that Harvey loses half of his face and becomes a grotesque victim; it’s that the minute Rachel dies, all of his idealism and motivation to be a force for good and change dies with her. With one act, the Joker takes away the hero that Gotham really needs to end corruption and injustice.

It’s not just that Dent falls; he falls hard. He murders police officers (corrupt though they may be), kidnaps children, and introduces as much anarchy into Gotham as the Joker. Ultimately, he’s stopped by Batman, but his death and fall from grace is a demoralizing moment, and the decision to lie and prop up Dent as the hero he was rather than the monster he became is a necessary but deeply troubling withholding of the truth. Don’t let the triumphant score and imagery at the end of The Dark Knight fool you; this is a supremely downbeat ending.

Bane Breaks the Bat’s Back – The Dark Knight Rises

Batman is a badass who is rarely bested on screen. Even in Zack Snyder’s interpretation of the character, he’s able to subdue a figurative god in Superman. However, in Nolan’s third and final Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises, Batman finally meets his match, and it’s not pretty. After being lured into the sewers by Selina Kyle, Batman walks right into a trap and fight with Bane, the jacked terrorist who was excommunicated from the League of Shadows, and is every bit as badass as Batman. After eight years sitting on the shelf and a career of crime fighting that has left him battered, Batman is absolutely demolished by Bane, who pummels Bruce before finally picking the hero up over his head and snapping his back over his knee. Heroes occasionally lose on screen, but not like this.

Alfred’s Arc – The Dark Knight Rises

Alfred Pennyworth is a crucial character in the Batman mythos, and he’s typically portrayed as a compliant, if slightly disapproving, enabler. However, that’s not so in The Dark Knight Rises. Portrayed by Michael Caine, Alfred breaks hearts by revealing to Bruce that Rachel intended on marrying Harvey Dent and sternly telling his surrogate son that his war with Bane will eventually lead to his death and that he “won’t bury” another member of the Wayne family.

It’s one of the most emotional moments of the film. Alfred basically abandons Bruce, a decision that heightens Bruce’s isolation and hero’s journey. Alfred only returns toward the end of the film for Bruce’s funeral where he tearfully confesses to the late Waynes’ gravestones that he “failed” them. While Alfred’s story ends on a hopeful note, with him spotting Bruce alive and well in Italy, it’s still quite the breakup between Master Bruce and his most loyal advisor.

The Story of Talia al Ghul and Bane – The Dark Knight Rises

While the best villains typically have sympathetic backstories, few have as a traumatic and scarring one as The Dark Knight Rises’ villains, Talia al Ghul and Bane. Toward the end of the film, it’s revealed that Talia grew up in the same place that Bruce found himself in after Bane broke his back. Born in a primitive prison known as the Pit, Talia watched as her mother was assaulted and killed by the other prisoners. The pair were placed in the Pit in exchange for Ra’s al Ghul, with Talia’s mother agreeing to take his place in exchange for his freedom. Talia only survived through the protection of Bane, who eventually helps Talia escape the prison, but he’s badly beaten and disfigured in the process.

Following Talia’s escape, she locates her father and he returned with the League of Shadows to exact revenge on the prisoners that killed his wife and the men who put her there. Afterward, Ra’s and the League saw to the treatment of Bane, but were unable to stop the continual pain he experienced. Eventually, Bane is recruited into the League, wherein he is given a mask which supplies him with analgesic gas to curb the constant pain from the injuries he sustained while protecting Talia. If you thought Bruce had a traumatizing backstory, you must have merely adopted the dark.

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goldenkamuyhunting · 5 years ago

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Ramblings and crazy theory time about GK chap 239 “Discharge”

So… well, Noda continues with a chapter whose sense of humor makes me feel what Kikuta is feeling.

Yeah, really, sorry, but this is not my sort of thing.

The cover is…

… well, it’s apparently based on this video from the movie “She Hate me” by Spike Lee. I warn you, watch at your own risk.

So we go back on the story that see Usami and our wannabe ‘Jack’ that after just a moment of standoff… pardon, jack-off attack each other with the ‘weapons they have at hands’ (I’m sure you can figure what I’m talking about without having me to spell it out), Usami yelling to a shocked and grossed out Kikuta that guy is the killer before… well, ‘firing’. In a “Matrix” like scene ‘Jack’ avoids and fires back only for Usami to avoid in a beyond spectacular manner.

Jack then runs away, only for Kikuta to pull out a more conventional weapon, one of his many Nagant M1895 and fire at him multiple times before chasing him with Usami, the two going to two separate ways to try to encircle ‘Jack’.

Too bad that Jack as a horse and, with it, slams against Usami, sending him flying.

Kikuta manages to hit both him...

and his hat, which falls.

If the image we’re shown is reliable Jack has short hair. Kikuta then tosses his now completely discharged beloved Nagant away (his eyes aren’t shown to better deliver how this pains him... will he managed to recover her later?)...

...and runs to ‘Jack’, managing to grab on him and climb on his horse. He then grabs another of his Nagant (honestly, if this was another manga I’ll expect Kikuta to have a hammerspace filled with them but more ‘realistically’ he has just more than one holster under his coat) and point it to Jack’s head.

Unluckily for him ‘Jack’ still has a good hold on his ‘very personal peculiar weapon of choice’ and is reading it to fire.

Kikuta, who might face an army of Russians trained to kill him but not THIS (and I don’t blame him that’s a job solely for people like Usami though I think Ushiyama might do good as well) starts sweating and, instead than blasting our convict’s head away, tries protecting himself with poor results.

In fact ‘Jack’ gets him in the eyes and causes him to fall off the horse (I guess congratulation are in order to ‘jack’ for his ability to accurately aim behind himself while riding on a horse with such weapon).

Usami reaches Kikuta, whcih complains ‘Jack’ managed to get his eyes (trust me Kikuta, you aren’t the only one who was screaming ‘my eyes!’ through this chapter), then the two resume running after ‘Jack’ but they’re neither Koito nor the Tsukinator and so ‘Jack’ on his horse, can easily distance them. They hear a woman screaming but get there too late, only to find her dead.

Kikuta wonders if he did this while in the middle of running from them. The scene switches to a running and panting ‘Jack’ who evidently has discharged the horse and, with his already bloody knife attacks another prostitute, murdering her as well.

I wonder if he’s panting also due to the shoot he got from Kikuta. He doesn’t seem to be blending though. On a sidenote our ‘Jack’ confirms himself to be left-handed. The first time he killed he used his left, he took care to… ‘charge his gun’ with his left and now he’s stabbing again this woman with his left.

It’s worth to point out that Japan at the time wasn’t a left-handed people friendly environment, with people being discriminated and people were afraid they wouldn’t get married if they were left handed and only from 1989 the percentage of children undergoing correction steadily began to drop -- although still around 60%... and it’s also worth to remember Japan isn’t the sole country which had bias against left-handed people.

I’ll quote Wikipedia on this just to give you a general idea as I find meaningful they even have a page devoted to this:

‘In many religions, including Christianity, the right hand of God is the favored hand. For example, Jesus sits at God's right side. God's left hand, however, is the hand of judgement. The Archangel Gabriel is sometimes called "God's left hand" and sits at God's left side. Those who fall from favor with God are sent to left, as described in Matthew 25: 32–33, in which sheep represent the righteous and goats represent the fallen: "And he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats. And he shall set the sheep on his right, but the goats on his left." In 19th-century Europe, homosexuals were referred to as "left-handed". In Protestant-majority parts of the United Kingdom, Catholics were called "left-footers", and vice versa in Catholic-majority parts of Ireland and Irish America. Black magic is sometimes referred to as the "left-hand path", which is strongly associated with Satanism.’ [Wikipedia: Bias against left-handed people]

… so, if ‘Jack’ is from another country there’s a huge chance he moved from an unfriendly environment to another.

It’s worth to mention that the original ‘Jack the Ripper’ was originally assumed to be left-handed when they speculated he would kill his victims standing in front of them. Later they figured out he first would render his victims unconscious by strangling them and then kill them while they were on the ground, likely positioning himself behind them so that blood wouldn’t fall on him.

So either our ‘Jack’ isn’t the original ‘Jack’ or Noda is constructing him according to earlier theories on his modus operandi (he doesn’t strangle, he kills the victim as she’s standing in front of himself, he uses his left hand).

Now, back to the story… I got the impression Kikuta managed to hit ‘Jack’ when he shoot him… but ‘Jack’ doesn’t seem to be leaving a trail of blood as he walks so it’s hard to say if he’s panting and running that way due to a wound whose bleeding he managed to stop or just due to fatigue.

It’s the day after.

Takuboku Ishikawa, our journalist working for Hijikata, is on one of the crime scenes,

still pesteringon details about the murder the weird policeman we met in chap 239 (remember him?)...

...while the latter is ignoring him. The policeman has the hat lowered on his eyes.

There’s another known face and it’s the photographer.

(Remember? He was there too and lol, in the exact some pose it looks as if Noda has copypasted him there.)

He doesn’t seem to be left-handed but since left-handed people were corrected, in everyday life ‘Jack’ probably can’t use his left hand so it might be useless to search for a left-handed guy using his left hand in a normal situation.

Everyone else among the bystanders seems to be a new guy... okay, maybe the old and partially bald guy might be the same in both pictures but I’m not sure. In this chapter he seems curious but, who knows, he might be a different character just drawn for background. Besides his hair seems too long to be ‘Jack’s’.

Well, to be honest there’s another guy who’s not a new guy but we’ll get to this in a moment.

Kikuta comments ‘Jack’ this time killed two women and wonders if he was just trying to create chaos to escape or was merely doing it to taunt them. According to ‘sperm detective Usami’ it can be just something he decided in advance.

It’s worth to mention the canonical victims of the original ripper were:

Mary Ann Nichols, found on the 31th of August 1888

Annie Chapman, found on the 8th of September 1888

Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes, both found on the 30th of September

Mary Jane Kelly, found on the 9th of November 1888

So yes, on his third murdering attempt Jack killed two women so we can speculate this is a copycat or, if he’s meant to be the real Jack, his backstory would include a reason to murder 2 women at his third attempt (in the real Jack’s case it was speculated he murdered 2 because he was interrupted during the murder of the first woman so it wasn’t planned).

Anyway Kikuta wonders if Jack will come back and how it’ll be troublesome for them to track him now that he has 4 ‘sacred places’.

However Kikuta now tells us something relevant. He managed to get a look at the side of his face… and at his dick. I hope he doesn’t plan to go demand people to show them to him so he could identify ‘Jack’…

Usami suggests they’ll go check the other crime scene so that Kikuta might try to spot him. Kikuta though, has spotted something else so he tells Usami to go ahead that that he’ll join him later.

What Kikuta has spotted is the ‘fail master of disguise’ Private First Class Ariko Rikimatsu, which starts sweating as hell as Kikuta speaks to him and who tells him not to turn around and that basically he could recognize the sexy bulky build of Ariko’s body everywhere.

Okay, Kikuta didn’t exactly said that but really, there are PLENTY of men with a bulky build so, unless Kikuta is a bulky build bodies expert, his words sounds a bit… unbelievable unless it’s Ariko’s bulky build body itself who’s special to him.

And anyway, really Ariko, don’t get so nervous. You fail at deceiving people it seems.

Kikuta says he never heard Tsurumi talking about Ariko being there so he asks him if he came there with Hijikata.

We don’t get to hear Ariko’s reply but it’s likely he confirmed it. Still it’s interesting it was cut as well as the fact Kikuta wanted to speak with Ariko away from Usami’s ears.

Did Kikuta want clarifications on why Ariko betrayed him? Or just make sure Usami won’t attack him again? Or has Kikuta his own plan?

We’ll see.

And is Ogata overlooking that meeting from somewhere? I bet he knows Ariko isn’t trustworthy so can it be he’s keeping tabs on him? Or is Hijikata who’s doing so? Or both?

Anyway the scene switches to the coast of the sea of Okhotsk…

and I find this interesting because we see that there’s a city there… but we aren’t given its name. As long as they weren’t Ainu villages Noda had always given us the names of the places in which the characters were from big cities to minor spots like, for example, the village of Fukagawa, regardless of them spending a lot of time on the place or just a chapter, like the coal mining town of Utashinai.

When this first happen in chap 225

I though it was because Tsurumi was on the move, from coastal city to another, although it really didn’t persuade me… and maybe it could also be Noda for some reason didn’t have material on that part of Hokkaido so the whole thing would be edited in the volume version with the name of the place. However quite a while has gone from chap 225 and we still don’t have an EXACT idea of where he is, not even through a map.

There are big cities on that coastal area, from Wakkanai, the city ship on which Asirpa rode was supposed to reach, to Okoppe to the well known Abashiri… but also various small cities.

They could have said he’s still in the Wakkanai area instead…

Is there a reason to leave us in the dark even when Tsurumi clearly is in Japanese cities?

Is it a Watsonian reason or a Doylist one?

Anyway Tsurumi informs his men he received a telegram from Kikuta (who therefore knew in which city he was and this means either Tsurumi warned him where to find him day by day or he’s not exactly moving around a lot).

He doesn’t tell us what Kikuta said but that he’ll only leave two men behind to continue searching for Asirpa (meaning he hadn’t figured she has long moved from the coastal area) and the rest will go with Tsurumi to Sapporo.

The final page shows both Tsurumi and Hijikata (who’s apparently outside the city looking at something… Ogata practicing with the rifle? Ariko secretly meeting with Kikuta? Sugimoto’s group ALSO coming to Sapporo?).

The implication seems to be that Ariko has tattled out Hijikata’s presence in Sapporo and Kikuta has relied the information to Tsurumi therefore Tsurumi plans to go there and have a faceoff with Hijikata.

Tsurumi didn’t see the need to move for just a convict but if it’s Hijikata, who might have the remaining tattooed skins as well as info... well, the thing becomes much more interesting.

So with everyone being or going to Sapporo, I wonder if Sofia (currently in Hokkaido), the candy seller convict (last time seen in Utashinai) and the still missing convict (whereabouts unknown) will also go there.

Only 3 more chapters are needed to end volume 24 but I wouldn’t dislike it if, before the end, Hijikata and Ogata were to have a chat. This volume showed us some of Sugimoto’s past.

More on Ogata’s past would also be appreciated but, if I’ve to be honest, I’m also looking forward to more info about Kikuta and about Kadokura.

When Hijikata finds the room in which Inudo kept all the material he had collected about him in his fangirlish obsession to get Hijikata, we can see on the wall a list of all the convicts that had been cellmates with Hijikata but also Kadokura’s name.

Or better ‘Kadokura Tanuki’ (門倉タヌキ), Tanuki being the nick Inudou gave to Kadokura.

Let’s start with this.

A Tanuki (狸 or タヌキ) is a Japanese folklore animal, commonly associated with the Japanese raccoon dog, which in folktales often played the part of foolish animal, often with really big testicles (that’s why Inudou said he pictured him as pathetic Tanuki with big balls in chap 118)… however if we compare it to the Kitsune (fox), which are the epitome of shape-changing animals, one saying is "the fox has seven disguises, the tanuki has eight (狐七化け、狸八化け)". The tanuki is thus superior to the fox in its disguises, but unlike the fox, which changes its form for the sake of tempting people, tanuki do so to fool people and make them seem stupid. Note that 8 is a lucky number, which might tied to how Kadokura is actually lucky. However it’s also worth to mention the kanji used to write Tanuki (prior to the linguistic reform of 1947) was "貍", and referred to all the middle sized mammals, especially to wild cats.

So… why all this rambling?

Well, not only Inudo didn’t write down Kadokura’s name, just the surname plus his nick but near Kadokura’s name there’s also written ‘real father’ and then what look like 4 kanji, none of them similar to the kanji used to write Kadokura’s surname.

So basically not only we don’t know Kadokura’s name but also Kadokura’s surname and we’re facing someone who, for association, is compared to an animal much more expert at disguising than the fox (Inkamart).

Now I wouldn’t question Kadokura’s loyalty to Hijikata. In vol 18 he was willing to die to save him. He also seems confident he’s unlucky… and he might have been forced to change surname because his father was on the losing side of the Boshin and therefore carrying his father’s surname would have been bad for him.

The point is if not even his surname is… well, his surname, Kadokura is a men shrouded in mystery, about whom we know nothing except he moved to Abashiri 7 years ago, with Sugimoto commenting he’d been looking over Nopperabou by 7 years… meaning he moved there when Nopperabou moved there (note that Asirpa said the gold incident happened 5 years before but then everyone when with the 7 year thing so maybe there was a retcon).

In short maybe this is all for fun and the truth behind Kadokura is nothing special… but it can also be there’s much more to him it looks like. We’ll see.

#Golden Kamuy #Usami Tokishige #Ariko Rikimatsu #Hijikata Toshizou #Tsurumi Tokushirou #Asirpa #Golden Kamuy Ramblings and Theories #Ishikawa Takuboku #Michael Ostrog #Kikuta Mokutarou

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what-stop-the-presses-rly-means · 5 years ago

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Bye, Bye, Sugar Blue Eyes part 6

Race x female reader modern au

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Warnings: Swearing, smoking, mention of death

A/N: It liiiives! This story is back from the dead, zombified just in time for Halloween! (I know it’s been months and I super apologize for that)

______________

So it’s been a couple days into our post-Race returning routine and I gotta say… It’s weird how normal everything seems. I know that’s an unusual thing to complain about, but it’s just been very strange. I expected our whole dynamic to shift. I mean, Race - everyone’s favorite guy - has finally returned. You would think I would get put on the back burner and everyone, boys young and old alike, would gravitate his way and only listen to him. Not that I would blame them if they did. Race is everything they said he was, and more. He had this charming personality and whenever you were around him it was like he had some sort of gravitational pull. You wanted to be near him and you trusted everything he said.

Even so, everything around here has been functioning in a fairly similar way as before. The only difference is that I have a sweet, kind, and generous helping hand. The boys still respected me and followed the rules (for the most part) and my role in this home hasn’t changed much.

It’s crazy how close Race and I have gotten in just a few short days. We’ve shared so much with each other that I feel like we’re officially friends. I no longer feel like an outsider amongst this small group of longtime best friends. Instead, I’m kind of one of them now. Race was so considerate, wanting to know if I’ve adjusted well enough and if everyone had welcomed me warmly.

“It was pretty rough at first, trying to adjust to the new job. But now it doesn’t even feel like a job anymore. It’s second nature, it’s my life now. And I love it very much,” I had said. “I care about those boys as if they were my own. Not to mention my fellow employees.” I smiled. “It feels weird calling them that. Don’t tell them I said this, but it feels like I’m a part of a big family around here. Like they’re my brothers or something. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for any of them.” I looked up and saw that he was staring at me with soft eyes and an even softer smile.

“That’s good to hear. I’m sure they’d be happy to hear that as well if you ever decide to tell ‘em.” He tilted his head. “Have you always been so good at the speaking thing?” I gave him a curious look, so he elaborated. “You seem to always know just what to say. It’s like everything that comes out of your mouth is just so warm and sweet and straight from the heart.” He wouldn’t stop looking at me with those stupid eyes so I cleared my throat, ducking my head away.

“I think you have me confused with Jack. That man should be a public speaker or something. It’s like he was born to motivate people.”

Race chuckled. “Yeah, he’s always been that way. Even when we were the wee ones living in this place. He was kind of our leader of sorts. He took care of everyone. And when any of us started feelin’ down about our situations, which was often, he would be right there with the right words to say and a warm hug to ease our worries. I swear he could tell a Christian that God, himself, had returned in the form of a pig and the next thing you know, the whole city would swear off bacon. He just has a way about him that makes you believe everything he says.” We both laughed, and then he looked up at me again. “But that doesn’t mean you’re any less than. Kindness attracts kindness. Jack said he knew you were perfect for this job. He knew you would fit in right away because you had already shown so much love and consideration in such a short time. You already had what it takes to do what we do, so don’t sell yourself short. You’re just as good, if not better than the rest of us.”

I blinked at him, fighting off the blush creeping onto my face.

“You’re one to talk. Every time I’ve talked to you I feel so comforted and safe. Safe from my own feelings and all the bad thoughts that threaten to sneak up on me. At the same time I don’t feel like you’re trying to ‘talk me down’ or treat me like a patient. You’re a friend who just wants everyone around him to be happy because he knows what it’s like to feel like you might not ever be happy again. Sometimes I forget you’re actually a counselor.”

He laughed lightly. “Yeah, when I first told the others that I was going for a Psychology degree Jack made fun of me a bit, acting shocked that I would pursue something so serious. But, all in all, they supported me one hundred percent.” He looked down at his shoes. “I know it’s a teen movie cliché: the rough and tumble street rat grows up, gets an education, and combines his street smarts with this book smarts to teach kids who are in the same position he started out in. But I felt like it was what I was meant to do or somethin’. Again, cliché, I know. Jack and I spent our time here as kids trying to make sure everyone was cared for. He was more abrupt and straightforward about it, while I took a more discreet, one-on-one approach. I would sit and talk with anyone who needed it. That’s how our dynamic continued to be when we came back here. Jack, being the straightforward kinda guy, took on this opportunity head on and assumed so much responsibility. And I came back to help any individuals who might be struggling with their place here. And of course Davey and Albert have helped out so much as well. It’s like nothing’s changed over the years.”

“Sure it has. You’re helping the next generation by not giving up on them and giving them a chance to grow up and spread a little kindness and compassion themselves. Instead of looking at the world through the eyes of the people that turned their backs on them. You’re slowly but surely shaping their lives.” He looked awestruck for a second before a couple of the boys came running down the hall, pushing each other out of the way on their way to the stairs.

“Out of the way, asshole!” one of them shouted.

“Mouth! Don’t make me pop you in yours!” The boy looked over his shoulder with an apologetic grimace before running downstairs. “God, that boy is aptly named.” Race laughed.

“From sugar to spice in no time flat. I like that in a woman.” Before I could make an equally sassy comment, Peter ran up to us.

“Miss (Y/N)! Miss (Y/N)! Guess what?”

I stooped down and picked him up. “What? What? Where’s the fire?” I laughed.

“I finally got my gang name!”

“I really wish you wouldn’t call it that.”

“Oh, um, okay. I finally got my nickname!”

“That’s wonderful, Sweet Pea. What is it?”

He looked so excited to tell me. “It’s Pea Pod! Ya know, ‘cause you call me Sweet Pea all the time? What do you think?”

“You chose your nickname based off of what I call you?”

He looked so proud. “Yep! But you can still call me Sweet Pea. I like it when you do.”

I was so touched. “If that’s what you want. You’ll always be my Sweet Pea.”

He smiled so wide and hugged me. I looked over his shoulder at Race with a shocked expression. His eyes were also wide as he gave me a thumbs up.

Peter pulled back. “Okay, I gotta go tell everyone else now!” I set him down and he took off running.

I let out an exasperated laugh. “Well, that was a lot at once.”

Race slung an arm over my shoulder. “All in a day’s work around here.”

POV Change

Race sat on the front steps for a moment. After the hustle and bustle of being back for a few days and reacquainting with everyone and everything, he finally had a few moments to stop and think. And that didn’t bode well for him. If he thought about his situation for too long, he’d start spiraling again. Normally when he was stressed or on edge for whatever reason he’d head out back to smoke. But he promised he would quit.

Taking a couple deep breaths, he pushed the feeling down and walked inside. It was about the time for the boys to be doing homework, so most of them were in the dining room. Taking advantage of a few quiet moments, he threw himself down on the couch, closing his eyes. A couple minutes later a voice startled him.

“You look relaxed.”

Opening his eyes, he saw (Y/N) standing in front of him with a laundry basket. He moved over and gestured to the seat next to him. She smiled and accepted.

“I must be a really good actor, then,” he chuckled.

“Really?” She started folding the laundry in front of her. “What’s on your mind?”

Race sighed. “It’s nothing, really. It’s just weird bein’ back. After all the stress of taking care of my dad, where it had been so quiet, almost like the calm before the storm. It was as if everyone was afraid to speak or even breathe. We didn’t talk about the elephant in the room. We didn’t even discuss it much after he… after he passed on. It was just a lot of silence and bottled feelings. I’m still not sure if my mom has really let herself grieve or not.” He glanced over at her. “Sorry, that’s pretty heavy.”

She smirked at him, sliding the basket between them. “Don’t worry about it.” He gave a small smile of his own, leaning down to help fold.

“Ya know, you have this way about you that just makes people wanna open up to you.”

I smirked. “So I’ve been told.”

“I’m serious. Like, I’d never just spill all of that out to any of the guys. Well, maybe Albert, but he’d make some stupid joke afterward. But I know you’ll be kind and gentle. ‘Cause that’s how you are with the boys, so you’re probably that way with everyone. You just have a nice way about you. …And I’m rambling now so I’m gonna stop.” He pulled his bottom lip between his teeth. It’s a habit he’s picked up since he quit smoking. To his left he could hear her laugh lightly.

“Why thank you, I try.” It was quiet for a moment before she reached over and turned his face to her. His eyes widened as she stared at his mouth. She brushed his lip lightly with her thumb, making him release it. “Don’t bite it, you’re gonna make it bleed,” she said softly, soothing the bite mark. Race blinked a couple times.

Laughing awkwardly, he said, “Always being motherly, aren’tcha?”

“I never really turn it off.”

“I’m not complaining,” he whispered. They smiled at each other, his face still in her hand. Her eyes noticeably drifted back to his mouth when-

“Hey, Racer, did you get those errands done- woah!” The couple jumped apart at Jack’s voice. Race’s face burned red as (Y/N) busied herself with a shirt she had been folding.

“Sorry! Didn’t mean to interrupt. Just wanted to make sure those letters got mailed and… yeah. I’ll leave you alone now, sorry.” He retreated to his office after one more glance back at them, a smirk very apparent on his face.

Race fiddled with his hands before clearing his throat loudly. “Uh, yeah, I’ve been trying to think of ways to kick the smoking habit. I guess chewing on my lip is the current cure.”

“You just need to find something else to do with your mouth.” A second later, her eyes widened, as if she hadn’t meant to say that out loud. “Uh, ahem, s-so why are you trying to quit all of a sudden? The guys say you’ve been smoking since you were, like, sixteen. Not that there’s ever a bad reason to quit! Not that I’m shaming you if you don’t quit! Please stop me from talking now…”

Race chuckled at that. “You’re fine. I’ve actually wanted to quit for a while. I’ve only done it this long because it calms my nerves. But my… my dad convinced me. One of the last things the man ever said to me was that he wanted me to promise I’d stop. How could I say no to that? But let me tell you, it has been the hardest promise to keep. On the day of the funeral I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to wander off and smoke all of that stress away. But that was one of only two promises he made me keep, and I couldn’t let him down.”

“What was the other one? If you don’t mind me asking.”

He fidgets with his hands, a little surprised. He hadn’t realized what he was saying.

“Oh, it’s nothing. He just wanted to bestow some wisdom in me before his passing. That’s the kind of man he was. He wanted to make sure everyone he loved was looked after when he was gone. So he made sure I stopped smoking, saying he didn’t want my life cut short like his was. And…and he wanted to see me happy. I promised him that I would let someone look after me and bring a little happiness into my life. Seeing as I tend to take care of everyone else, he got this notion that I would never be taken care of.” He let out a small laugh. “I don’t know if he just wants me married with a bunch of kids of my own before I get ‘too old’ to do so, or what. But I promised I’d try.”

(Y/N) pondered this. She fluffed out the last article of clothing so she could fold it.

“I don’t think he had a particular picture in his mind. He probably just wants you to let your guard down every once in awhile and let others see you during the good and the bad, the noteworthy and the mundane moments in life. And let them help you through them. There’s nothing wrong with helping others and being their rock. It’s admirable, actually. But he’s right in thinking that there should be moments when the roles are reversed. Everyone deserves to feel loved and protected. You don’t wanna burn yourself out.” She grabbed the basket and stood up. “You, especially deserve it. You’ve been through hell and back, and you still put everyone else’s wellbeing before your own. Maybe it’s time for you to be cared for. It’ll certainly be easy enough. No one around here is gonna let you slip through the cracks. So now all you have to worry about is the smoking thing. And I’ve got the feeling that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.” She smiled warmly at him and left the room.

Race stared after her for longer than necessary, mouth agape. If his dad were here now, he would be smiling knowingly at him.

A couple weeks later Race found himself in much higher spirits. The holiday season was coming up and everyone seemed a little cheerier. Though he’s not so sure that was the only reason. Since he’s been back he’s noticed that the boys are a little more in order, for lack of a better word. They seemed to all get along and follow their schedules without much fuss. He’s especially seen a greater change in Rider. He wasn’t nearly as moody as he used to be, actually helping out around the house and playing with the younger boys. He had been ecstatic when Race had come back, talking a mile a minute any chance he got.

He had felt bad that he had to leave him behind when he did. He knew, obviously, that it wasn’t his fault, but he couldn’t help it. He saw so much of his younger self in Rider and felt as if it was his duty to protect him and help him in any way he could.

But now it was as if Rider was an entirely different person. Race didn’t know what happened when he was gone, but he was thankful for it all the same.

He walked into the main entrance to see Rider helping (Y/N) hang some garland along the railing on the stairs. They were both humming some Christmas song while Davey set up a Menorah on the table below. Jack was currently outside in the midst of a snowball war with some of the boys, and he didn’t know what Albert was currently cooking, but it smelled amazing. Race sighed contently. He loved the holidays. Everyone comes together and the home just feels so nice and warm and welcoming. It’s like nothing could ruin the happiness.

Except sometimes things don’t go as planned.

Tag list:

@getchapapes

@technically-whizzy

@werkwerkelizaaa

@pulitzerpublishers

#newsies #race higgins #race higgins x reader #mine #bye bye sugar blue eyes #look! I wrote something!

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susspirria · 5 years ago

Text

Guiltless - Chapter 2

Fandom: Borderlands

Pairing: Rhys/Handsome Jack (Rhack)

Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting,Alternate Universe - Serial Killers,Alternate Universe - Soulmates,Human Trafficking,Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con,Forced Prostitution,Child Abuse,Childhood Trauma,Insecure Rhys,Hurt Rhys,Dark Rhys,Shy Rhys,Scared Rhys,Jack being Jack,Jack Feels,Murder Husbands,Murder Kink,Brutal Murder,Hero Worship,Hero Complex,Angst and Hurt/Comfort,Rewrite,Jack Spoils Rhys,Sugar Daddy,Tenderness,Twisted and Fluffy Feelings

Summary: In which, Jack is a transient serial killer who believes himself to be a hero. While he's on the road he runs into his emotionally damaged and fragile soul mate, Rhys.

Jack is surprised that someone like him would have a soul mate, even someone trapped in such a shady situation as Rhys is. Rhys is surprised that anyone could be so kind to him, but especially a man like Jack.

(AKA a total strip the bones rewrite of my old fic Kismet)

Read more on Ao3 or below the cut :)

The first time that Jack had killed someone, it was more or less an accident. He had been fifteen at the time and living in the glorified hell house that he and his twin brother had grown up in. Their grandmother’s house. Granny Lawrence was a hard woman to please.

She ruled their house with an iron fist and had no issue letting both Jack and Tim know that they were unwanted castaways that she had been forced to deal with. “It’s out of the kindness of my heart that I don’t throw you worthless boys out.” She would say to them often. “It’s because I’m a good christian that I didn’t drop the two of you off a bridge when your worthless mother left you on my doorstep.” She would say, nearly as often.

Jack was pretty sure that there was no god, but if even if a god did exist, she sure as hell wasn’t getting into heaven. He had returned home late in the day that it had happened, he’d been hanging around the outskirts of town – up to no good of course. They lived in a rural town, so, really the only sort of fun that a teenager could get up to was in the middle of the woods or at the bottom of a bottle. He didn’t bring Timothy along, because, really that wasn’t the sort of thing that he liked to do. Timothy didn’t like partying and Jack’s friends made him nervous. He usually preferred to keep to himself, for the most part, writing novels and acting in plays at their school. They might have looked identical but they weren’t the same – Timothy didn’t act like Jack in all the ways that counted. He was a nice and gentle sort of person – he was creative, sensitive and he didn’t go around breaking rules.

Jack thought that, maybe if he had dragged him along, none of this would have ever happened.

When he walked into the house, he could feel that something was off. There was a tension in the air that he couldn’t quite put a finger on, but instinctively he felt bothered by it. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, he knew that something was wrong.

He walked through the threshold of the house and the feeling just got more intense with each and every step that he took forward into the house. Once he was in the living room, he saw exactly what was wrong. Timothy was on his knees, clutching his cheek in pain, their grandmother was behind him holding the rusty and dull buzz saw that she liked to beat them with.

Jack winced when he saw it, briefly remembering the many times that he had been beaten with it before and all of the scars that it left him with, before he felt a deep seated rage at the idea of her hitting Timothy. Hitting Jack was one thing, he could take it and he was used to failing to meet her high expectations. He was used to being punished, even if it was rarely ever fair. And he could handle the pain, he was strong enough to take it – he had always been the stronger one, out of the two of them. He had always been the one that took the blame when either of them did something wrong,

Jack ran up behind her, nearly blind with rage. “Get off of him!” He snapped, running towards her with a speed and determination that he had had no idea he even possessed. He grabbed her by the hair and she let out an inhuman sounding shriek. He dragged her for a bit and threw her into the wall, slammed her head against it once, twice, three times before he finally let her go, his anger quelled. She crumpled into a heap on the floor, blood pooling under hear head. Jack was in such a weird, fuzzy head space that at first, he didn’t realize that she was dead. That he had killed her. The only thought that had been in his mind was that he had to protect his brother – no one else would, especially not Tim.

But Timothy knew what had happened. He had seen it, nearly as soon as she hit the ground. He was frozen with shock and horror, he couldn’t believe that Jack could do something like that, even to someone as horrid as their grandmother. He covered his mouth tightly with his fist in a pathetic attempt to stop himself from vomiting at the sights and smell in front of him. He couldn’t speak in full sentences, couldn’t think clearly, couldn’t do much else but panic.

Jack walked over to him and though he knew that, physically, there was no blood on his hands Timothy could have sworn that he could smell it on his brother the coppery scent in the air sickening to him. Jack put his hands on his shoulders and looked at him with a concerned expression fixed on his face,“What’s wrong?” Jack asked, looking at Timothy strangely, like he couldn’t comprehend the horror in his twins eyes.

Timothy opened his mouth and closed it again,“You killed her.” He blurted out, after a few moments of stunned silence, his tone blank and empty. He thought that he might be going into shock. “Y-you…you fucking…she’s dead.” He repeated the sentiment.

The realization didn’t click for him immediately, that she was dead. He looked over at her corpse and felt next to nothing about it, all the same. In his mind, she was a monster. She was the monster, the devil that had been peeking over their shoulder all their lives, filling them with terror and beating them half to death over small mistakes.

Jack thought that she got she was deserved, but he didn’t dare say that Timothy, who was all nervous tension and shaky hesitance already. He didn’t want to shake him up anymore and he tried to sooth Tim. “Hey, hey, hey…” He murmured, soothing his thumbs over Timothy’s cheeks in a gentle – nearly paternalistic fashion. “It’s okay… It’s okay, she won’t be able to hurt us anymore.” He hoped that that would have been enough. It wasn’t.

Timothy looked at Jack like he had spouted a second head. “Okay? No. No! This isn’t okay. None of this is okay!” He said, aghast. Then, overwhelmed by everything that had happened he broke out into terrified and ugly sobs. “Jack! You killed her! You… you- why would you…?” He babbled incoherently and wrung his hands until they were sore and raw, to get all the anxiety that he was feeling out. It wasn’t every effective.

Jack didn’t understand why Timothy cared so much. She was evil. She was cruel. She hated them and she would have killed them if she had the chance, through beatings or neglect. “Tim, you don’t… she was going to hurt you.” He said, nonplussed. He walked over to her corpse and picked up the buzz-saw that she usually used to beat him with. He had to pry it from her cold, practically necrotic hands. “With this.” He exclaimed, as if Timothy had no idea and it was damning evidence of her guilt.

Timothy still didn’t look convinced that there was nothing else that Jack could have done to help him, but he didn’t say as much. He didn’t want to argue and not just because of his fear. “Okay…” He said, speaking in a suspicious tone of voice. “What are we going to do now?”

“I’unno. We have to get rid of her I guess.” Jack said, with a shrug and laid back casualty in his tone of voice. This time, Timothy didn’t argue because he had little choice but to help Jack, if he didn’t want to go to jail too.

They dug a hole 12 feet deep, so deep in the ground that no one would ever find her for years, they had had to dig it all night and all morning nearly non-stop to get it deep enough. It was a good thing that they had lived in a rural area,

otherwise someone would have noticed – started asking some questions about where their grandmother had gone off to. They grew a garden over her corpse, planted carrots and tomatoes over her grave like she was glorified fertilizer.

Jack never came to regret what he had done. As far as he was concerned, he had killed her because she was a monster and she could have killed Tim and she probably would have if she had had the chance to enact her punishment like she had wanted.

She was evil and he had done the right thing, bashing her head in. He had saved their lives. He was a hero. He told himself that every night. He was a hero. He was a hero. He. Was. A. Hero.

But Timothy… he didn’t agree, Jack just knew it, even though he wouldn’t say it. He never looked at Jack the same way after that day. He would try to make himself act the same, but it would never be completely right.

His smiles would be forced and his eyes would be nervous whenever Jack looked upon him. The two of them grew more and more distant over the years and once they were finally old enough to move out of the house they grew up in, Timothy never talked to him again.

He refused to. No matter how many times Jack tried to reach out and reconnect – they were twins after all, it was only natural for him to want to be close with his twin! – Timothy would refuse to so much as even look at him. Because Timothy couldn’t look at Jack anymore without wondering in terror what else Jack might be capable of. Just the thought of it made him feel sick with worry.

While Timothy discovered a monstrousness in his brother, Jack learned something else about himself. He had discovered that there was power in his hands. Power to hurt. Power to help. He could brutalize men and women without a single thought for what that meant about him, about his character or his morals. To him it didn’t matter, whether he would be viewed as a “good person” or a “bad person” because he knew the truth.

In Jack’s mind, he had a gift. A gift that he thought could be used for the greater good. He could make the world a better place, one death at a time. So he made a vow, to himself, that he would each and every monster that walked around, parading themselves in human disguises and wipe them off the face of the earth. And he would keep on killing them, as long as he lived, until his dying breath.

*************************

After Rhys fell asleep in the caravan, he didn’t wake up for nearly three days. Everything that had happened to him over the years had compounded together. All of his experiences, all of his trauma, everything that he had done and been forced to do all mixed together and overwhelmed him to the point that he had become nearly comatose. He didn’t even dream the whole time – it was just blackness for hours upon hours without any interruption. When he finally woke up, it took him a bit to stretch out his limbs and get rid of the stiffness and the aching that he felt deep in his bones.

Rhys walked out of the little room that he had been sleeping in and noticed Jack was sitting in the little kitchenette, with a bit of breakfast laid out – Eggs, toast, coffee, pancakes and little strips of bacon were all spread out on the table. The caravan was still moving, though slowly, and Rhys realized that it must have been self driving. Fancy, he thought. Then he realized just how hungry he was when his stomach started to growl. Loudly.

Jack chuckled a bit at the sight of his soul mate, “Mornin’ pumpkin” He hummed in greeting, with a pleasant smile fixed across his face. “You want some breakfast?” He asked, even though the answer was obvious. Rhys walked over to sit at the table and started serving himself a small portion of all the food. He rarely ate much, he never really had the chance or the freedom to and often he would go days without meals if he didn’t impress Vasquez or any of the other men that he answered to sufficiently.

The two of them ate somewhat quickly and in silence until Jack finally decided to speak up, “How you holding up?” He asked, “…With everything?” He hastily tacked on at the end, remembering that Rhys’ whole life had been some sort of nightmare – even if he didn’t know the full scope and scale of the abuse that his soul mate had suffered in his life, but he knew that he had gone through more pain than anyone as sweet and smart as him ever should.

Rhys pulled his knees to his chest and rest his chin on them, making himself look tiny. “I’m not really sure?” He replied, in a hesitant tone of voice. “It’s all hazy and muddled I guess. It feels good to be free, but how I got my freedom… I don’t know how to feel about it.”

Jack moved closer to Rhys and dared to run his fingers through the younger mans’ hair in what he hoped was a gentle and soothing manner. He wasn’t the best with emotions, but he could try to fake it, for Rhys’ sake. “It’s okay, if you’re feeling guilty.” He started, “And if you’re feeling guilty, or even if you’re blaming me for all of this,” He elaborated, tone gentle. “I get that, Rhysie, I really do. But I would never hurt you.” He promised. “And you don’t need to worry about anyone hurting you ever again.”

“No. No, that’s not it. I don’t blame you.” Rhys said, tone sharp as the serrated edge of a dagger, like he was making a concerted effort not to let himself be vulnerable right now. “And I don’t feel bad. At all. And that’s the problem! What kind of person am I, if I don’t care about their deaths…” He added, speaking more to himself than to Jack at this point. “I don’t care though, I’m happy that they’re dead.” His expression morphed to one of worry, he was nearly distraught. “What kind of person does that make me? Even after what they did to me?” He asked.

Rhys was pleading with Jack to help him feel less like a monster. “My kind of person.” Jack muttered to himself, low enough that Rhys couldn’t even hear him. Then he pulled Rhys in close and embraced him both tenderly and possessively. He noticed the way that Rhys clung to him and squeezed him even tighter. “You’re not a monster, baby. They are.” Jack murmured in his ear.

“A-are you sure?” Rhys asked in a voice that was tiny and frightened, completely unsure if that was the truth. “I can’t- I know that they were, that they hurt me, but they were still people. It was wrong.” He stammered out indelicately. His own morals were twisted enough already as it stood and he felt like taking pleasure in that sort of thing made him an even worse person by default.

“Those people hurt you.” Jack told him, not willing to deal with the idea of Rhys blaming himself for the abuse that he faced. “They treated you like dirt, they exploited you and hurt you.” Jack put Rhys’ face in his hands and made Rhys look him in the eye. “You didn’t deserve any of that, you never deserved what they did to you. You know that, don’t you baby?” He asked, genuinely curious if he did.

“I…” Rhys hesitated. He wanted to say that, yes, of course he didn’t deserve to be prostituted and trafficked out since he was too young to understand his own body. But a part of him, a tiny and insidious part of him, that he hated to think about, blamed himself for everything that he had gone through. That part of him that told him that, maybe if he was better behaved, his mother never would have sold him in the first place. He felt like it was his fault. “Yes?” He said, with an insecure lilt around the edges of his tone of voice, finally after moments of thinking it over himself.

It was obvious that Rhys wasn’t completely convinced of his own innocence. Jack responded by kissing him, very gently, on the lips. “Listen, Rhysie, those people – look at me – those fucking monsters who hurt you, they deserved every fucking thing that they got. Matter of fact, they deserved way more than what they got.” He said, voice clear and authoritative. If he had had the time, he would have tortured all of them for hours upon hours for what they had done. That was just a fact.

The younger man felt strangely comforted by Jack’s words and he wasn’t sure if that was because Jack was right, or because Rhys wanted him to be right. “I really want that to be true.” He admitted, in a voice that was incredibly soft spoken, so quiet that Jack wouldn’t have been able to hear him if they weren’t pressed so closely together.

“It is true.” Jack told him, deadly serious, before he decided to change the subject to something a little bit lighter. “Oh! By the way, I got you some new clothes while you were sleeping back there.” He gestured towards a dresser that was fixed to the back wall. “They’re in there. Hope they’re your style.”He added, mostly as a tease. Rhys giggled at that, before a thought crossed his mind and made his stomach turn, just a little bit. He didn’t really know what his style was. He didn’t know what he liked. He didn’t really know what he disliked. Pretty much all of his life, things had been dictated for him, he never had that kind of choice. It was upsetting, having his agency taken from him for pretty much his entire life, but he shook off the thought with the reminder that that was all over now.

He was safe now, he would be happy with his soul mate. He needed to be happy and he clung to the thought that Jack could save him – could fix him and love him, despite how unclean and rotten he always felt – like it was his only hope for survival. In many ways, it was.

Rhys grabbed one of the outfits that Jack had bought for him and headed to the little off shooting bathroom and showered. When he finally returned back to the main area of the caravan, dressed in his new – expensive, nicely fitting clothes, Jack was sitting down with a photo album in hand, looking over it like it was gospel. “What’s that you’re looking at?” Rhys asked, innocent curiosity heavy in his tone. Jack looked up at him and Rhys smiled gently, he motioned for Rhys to sit back down next to him.

Jack put an arm around his shoulder and pulled him in close, Rhys instinctively cuddled back against him. In the short time that he had known Jack, his soul mate had been overly willing with physical affection and Rhys just loved it. He loved being hugged, he loved having his hair played with, he loved being kissed gently and touched in all the comforting ways that he had always been denied for most of his life. “Ah, just some old photos.” Jack replied, after a moment. “I was thinking about my brother.”

Rhys’ eyes lit up with curiosity, “You have a brother?” Rhys asked and then Jack pointed out a photo of him and someone who looked exactly like him, with their arms around each other and big smiles on their faces. “You have a twin brother?” He corrected himself at the sight of them.

“Yeah, but we’re not really close these days.” Jack replied shortly, “We had a falling out, a while ago, and we don’t talk anymore.” He smiled, but it was tight and it looked to Rhys like there was pain behind his eyes. It was obvious that he didn’t want to talk about it and that was fine. Instead of asking any questions about it, or even speaking at all, Rhys delicately lay his hand over Jacks’ own and squeezed it in a comforting gesture. Jack grinned at him and ducked over to kiss his cheek. “It’s best not to think about it too much.” Jack said, before closing the photo album and putting it away.

And then Jack changed the subject back to Rhys, he wanted to know more about him – he wanted to know every little thing about him, the good things, the bad things. Everything. Rhys was hesitant to be forthcoming, partially because a lot of things about him were either too painful to talk about, or things that he wasn’t really sure of because of the years of captivity that he had suffered.

They came to a compromise – Rhys would talk about himself, or the things he was comfortable sharing about himself, so long as Jack shared some things about himself too. It worked out for the best. Jack found out that Rhys loved ice cream as well as all sorts of sweet things and that he gobbled it up every time that he was allowed it.

He found out that Rhys loved music and that he genuinely enjoyed singing and when he was a child he would sing to the younger kids to comfort them. He found out that Rhys had always wanted tattoos, but that he had never had the freedom to choose how he looked. He found out that Rhys had always been into computers and the newest tech, that he had wanted to get into programming whenever he had the chance.

Jack tried to be as forthcoming as possible, he told Rhys about how he had put himself through school and worked in engineering. He told Rhys about some of his upbringing – that he had grown up in a small town and he was a bit of a hoodlum for most of his teen years. He told him about being picked up by Hyperion right out of college and how lucky he had been to get that leg up in the corporate ladder.

When the subject of Hyperion came up, Rhys was immediately curious about it. Even he had heard about Hyperion, it was one of the leading corporations in the world. They were pioneers in tech, weaponry, prosthesis – basically, anything you could think of. “You’re Hyperion’s CEO?” He asked, marveling a bit at the revelation. “But you’re still so young! That’s incredible.” He gushed adoringly.

Jack’s expression got a bit smug, Rhys probably shouldn’t have been feeding his ego like that, it was dangerous. He thought it was cute anyways. “Yeah, the board loves me.” He explained, “They even booted the jerk ass who ran it back when I was just an engineer on the main floor. It was a risk, I guess, but they took a chance on me.” He added. And it had worked out perfectly for them too, Jack had boosted Hyperion’s profits and growth a hundred fold.

Rhys just couldn’t help but go into fan boy mode. “I heard about all Hyperion growing up. Not everything, you know, they kept us in the dark about pretty much everything that went on outside but…” He started babbling, speaking animatedly with his hands. “

“No, you were being cute.” Jack assured him quickly, before an idea popped up in his head. “I could show you around the headquarters, if you like, when we get to sanctuary.” He looked over to where the caravan’s console was, “Should only be a few more hours, then it’s home sweet home, cupcake!” He added, making a grand gesture with his arms that was reminiscent of a game show host telling him that he had just won a brand new car.

Rhys laughed a bit at that, “So Sanctuary’s your home?” He clarified. “Our home?” He corrected after a moment or two. He and Jack were soul mates, he reminded himself – it still felt so strange to him the mere idea that he would even have a soul mate at all, never mind someone as successful, talented and brilliant as Jack was. To him at least.

Rhys didn’t think that he deserved that sort of fortune or good luck. He didn’t think that he deserved much of anything at all. He thought that Jack was too good for him – that everybody was too good for him, that no one should ever have to be saddled with a broken mess like him. A part of him understood that that was probably a mixture of his own self loathing and the hero worship that he had for Jack – though, in a way, he was Rhys’ hero. Because Jack had, literally, saved him, rescued him from the hellish prison that he had been forced to live in for nearly all of his life.

Jack made a wishy-washy motion with his hand. “Eh, Yeah, pretty much.” He replied, after a few moments. It was only a half truth. Jack had a had a home in every city that had a Hyperion branch in it and at least a dozen or so more safe houses for his other, more discretionary, purposes that Rhys wouldn’t need to worry about. At least not right now.

But Sanctuary was probably his favorite place to be. He spent a lot of time in Sanctuary, at least when he wasn’t on the road, because Sanctuary happened to be where Hyperion’s base of operations was. He was sure that Rhys might have known that already, given his interest in his company.

“How is it there?” Rhys asked as a strange feeling that was like a mix of anxiety and giddiness began to pool in the pit of his stomach. “Is it nice?”

“Oh, yeah, it’s great. You’ll love it there, pumpkin. I practically own the whole fucking town! It’s great.” Jack promised him, tone earnest and honest. “I’ve got this penthouse in the middle of the city with a great view. It’s beautiful…When we get in town, I can show you around the place. Maybe I’ll take you to some shops and I can finally start spoiling you rotten.”

Rhys smiled, “I’d like that.” He said in kind. He hoped that he was right about that. He’d love it if Sanctuary became his new… Sanctuary.

#my fics #rhack #rhack fics #serial killer/soulmate au #rhys the company man #handsome jack #ongoing

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oskea93 · 5 years ago

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Think of You: Part Four

-A/N: Hey guys! So sorry it took so long to get this to you all. It’s been a bit rough since I got back from vacation. I broke a bone and I got sick. And, my internet kept messing up. I’m back now and hopefully there won’t be any long gaps in the updates. I also want to apologize for any grammar mistakes that are in this update. I’ll try to go back later on and fix those. Secondly, this update may seem a little boring but the story is gonna pick up in pace and start moving forward in time. All of that will happen in the 5th update and beyond. I just want to thank all of those that have read my story and are enjoying it! It really means a lot to me :) PS: If you want to be added to the tagged list, let me know!

“What do you mean you turned him down?”

I removed the phone away from my ear as Mac yelled into the receiver. “He fucking wants you, Caroline! He’s actually interested and you’re turning him down?” She questioned. “Don’t get mad or anything, but are you fucking stupid?” I let out a sigh. I was growing very tired of being yelled at for my dating choices. I’m sorry that I wasn’t like her and jumped into bed with every guy that looked my way. I was not raised to be some floosy on the Sunset Strip, pining for the attention of some wannabe rock star. “You have to give him a chance, Caroline. You need to see where it goes and break out of this funk you’re in.”

“I’m not in a funk.” I whispered. “I just don’t feel like being in a relationship right now.” I could hear Mac mutter a string of curse words on the other line. “I’m not like you, Mac. I can’t just go out there and expose myself for the world to see. I don’t have that type of attitude and I never will.” I sounded pathetic.

“First of all-”Mac started, clearing her throat. “I don’t expose myself to the world. You’re making me sound like some kind of whore on the Strip.” She expressed. “Secondly, you do have that type of attitude. Every girl has it in them somewhere, it’s just up to you to find it and set it free.” Her voice was now soft. “You know I would never push you into something if I didn’t think it would be worthwhile. Yeah, Nikki may be rough around the edges but he’s really into you. Tommy even told me that Nikki’s crazy for you, and he doesn’t even know you!”

My heart was telling me to trust her but my brain was on guard duty. Nikki Sixx was very handsome in his own way but he was too dangerous. He reeked of sex, drugs, and rock n roll. He was everything that my parents warned me about. They would have a heart attack if I were to bring him home for Easter Dinner or any occasion for that matter. I would no doubt be booted from the family, and I’m an only child! “Caroline!”

I snapped out of my thoughts, “I can’t.” I quickly stated. “ I can’t be with someone like him. I don’t care how good of a guy you think he is or if he’s the leader in the church choir, he’s just not for me.” I rambled. My brain was back in charge, pushing my poor heart into the shredder.

“Dammit, Caroline!” Mac seethed through the phone. I knew she was going to be mad but it was my life, not hers. I have to think about what’s best for me and me only. “I hate to say this but you need to grow the fuck up, Caroline.” I was a little taken back by her statement. I was the most mature out of the two of us. “You need to get your head out of your ass and actually live your fucking life. You’re twenty-fucking-one years old but you’re acting as if your five and still afraid of catching cooties on the playground. Grow the fuck up, suck some dick, and live a little!”

I stayed silent, not sure if she was done yelling at me or not. “This isn’t fucking Georgia. Your mom and dad aren’t here to reprimand your every move anymore. You’re a grown ass woman who has the world at her feet. You’re a grown ass woman who not only has brains but the looks of a fucking Hollywood starlet. You’re fucking beautiful, Caroline and a very sexy rock star wants you for you. He wants you because you’re real and that’s hard to find in this town.” I picked at my nails as her words seemed into my head. “Yeah, he may not be the young, outstanding man your parents want you to be with but he may just be what you needed in your life to get you out of this slump.”

I tried my best to take Mac’s suggestions to heart but I was still holding back. My heart was pleading with my mind, trying to convince it that Mac was right on every level. Nikki probably was a nice guy but his whole world was everything I disagreed with. I guess you could blame my parents for my ways of thinking. From a young age, they drilled into my head that I needed to meet and marry a boy with good Christian values. He needed to be a hard-working guy with a good head on his shoulders. God needed to come first in his life and then of course me. Basically, he needed to be just like my father and nothing less. The only problem with that was I had met a guy like that in the past. My very first boyfriend was similar to my father. He was a church going guy and your typical country boy. He loved the Lord first and those he surrounded himself around second. The only thing was that it was all an act. He played a role on Sundays and Wednesdays. He would act one way in front of the congregation and then turn into a different person on the other five days. He was a real piece of work!

My parents wanted me to marry him but I decided to pursue my dreams instead. To say they were disappointed would be an understatement but I didn’t want to be tied down like my mother was. When I was little, I would ask my mom what her dreams were when she was my age. She would tell me how she wanted to be a librarian since she loved to read. She would tell me different stories that she had memorized, acting them out as if we were right in the pages. The way her imagination worked was incredible. The only thing was that her imagination only came out when it was just her and I. Her love if fiction and books in general never showed up when my father was involved. My mom was your typical housewife. She was my very own June Cleaver. She committed herself to her husband and child, never taking time for herself. Now that I’m an adult, it’s very sad to think of my mother in that way. She deserved so much more…

“Earth to Caroline!”

“What?” I blurted out.

Mac let out an annoyed sigh, “Just get your ass dressed and meet me at the Rainbow.” Before I could interject, Mac ended the phone call. “Fabulous.” I muttered as I hung up the phone. I looked over at the clock and saw that it was far too late to be going to the Rainbow. Not only would it take me an hour to get ready but then it would take even longer to get there. It was Saturday night and everybody in Los Angeles would be on the Strip. Mac didn’t even like the Rainbow, so didn’t understand why she wanted to go there.

I sat in the same spot for another 10 minutes before I dragged myself to the bathroom to get ready. It was hotter than blazes outside today and the heat was still there as nighttime was nearing. I decided on a simple skater dress with flowers and a pair of strappy sandals. I pulled my hair off my neck and into a high ponytail and kept my makeup light. The last thing I needed was my makeup running down my face due to the heat. I grabbed my keys and purse and made my way out the door.

“Why the fuck am I even friends with her!” I yelled out loud as I sat in LA traffic. The drive was going okay for the first 15 minutes but as I delved deeper into the city, the cars were bumper-to-bumper. People were walking in between the cars to get to the other side of the street and people were laying on their car horns as if they were playing musical horns. The heat was not helping the situation either. I looked down at my watch and saw that it was 20 till nine. I had left my apartment at 7:55! I had been in traffic for almost an hour and for what reason I have no idea. If Mac isn’t there when I arrive, I might just kill her…

She wasn’t here.

At first I thought that she could have been caught in the same traffic jam as I was but I soon realized that it was all a setup when I saw Nikki Sixx walk through the door. As soon as I saw him, I placed my menu in front of my face, trying my best to hide as I watched him try to find who he was looking for. Unfortunately for me, I was the person he was looking for. A giant smile appeared on his face when he spotted me. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes as I laid the menu back onto the table. “Well, well, well-“ He smiled. “I figured it would just be Mac, Tommy, and I but I’m so happy you showed up.” I looked up at him unamused.

He slowly removed his leather jacket and took the seat in front of me. “What are you doing here?” I asked. A smirk appeared across his lips as he leaned forward. “I was invited.” He whispered. I rolled my eyes again. “You keep doing that, your eyes are gonna get stuck in the back of your head.” I narrowed my eyes at him as the waitress made her way over. I watched as she spoke to Nikki first. It was clear that she was flirting with him but he wasn’t paying her any mind. “I’ll have a Jack and Coke.” He simply told her. I was a bit shocked to say the least. I think the girl was even shocked. She didn’t seem to take it too well, especially when it was my turn to tell her what I wanted. She basically rushed me throughout my order and I would be surprised if I receive what I wanted.

“She digs me.” Nikki smiled as soon as the girl walked away. “Too bad the feeling isn’t mutual.” I couldn’t help but smile slightly as I leaned back into the booth. The girl quickly made her way back and dropped off our drinks, making sure to give Nikki a look before walking away. “She’s not really my type anyway.” Nikki spoke as he mixed the liquids together.

“Why’s that?” I questioned. He smirked as he continued to stir his drink. I don’t even know why I asked, I’m sure it was something superficial.

“She’s not you.” I could have sworn my heart stopped for a second. I may have also gone deaf during those seconds. I just stared at him. Was he being serious? “What?” I chocked. My mouth was suddenly dry as well.

He looked up from his drink, his expression suddenly serious. “She’s not you.” He spoke again. “In case you haven’t noticed, I really like you. Hell, I’ve liked you the moment I saw you walk out of our show.” His voice was softer, more intimate. “You intrigue me, Caroline.

I looked down at the table, unsure of what to say or do. I never had someone tell me that I “intrigued them.” He could have any girl he wanted. I’m sure there were girls all over the Strip that would do anything to get his attention, even the waitress was trying. “Why me?” I blurted out. “Why pick me?” My brain was in overdrive. “You could be with any girl on the Sunset Strip but you’re picking me. Why? I’m a second-grade teacher who goes to bed at eight o’ clock at night and spends her weekend either doing laundry or watching The Facts of Life. I don’t listen to the music you play or like. The only time I go to parties is when Mac drags me there and I usually end up leaving five minutes after I arrive. I’m a very boring person!” I rambled. “I don’t enjoy parties or hanging out with people I don’t know. I enjoy going to the grocery store or even the library. I don’t dress sexy or even own anything considered sexy. According to Mac, I dress like I’m a 50-year-old widow. I’m not like the other girls on the Strip or California for that matter.” I was talking so fast that I was out of breath.

Nikki had a giant smile spread across his face. “Why are you smiling like that?” I asked. He leaned forward in his seat, “You’re right-“ He began. “I could have any girl on the Strip but every girl on the Strip is exactly the same. Teased out hair, tight clothes, too much makeup, and a career that involves taking their clothes off. You may think that’s what I want but I want normalcy. I want boring. I want grocery shopping, library card owning, Facts of Life watching normalcy.”

I didn’t know what to say. Was he being serious? He didn’t strike me as the type that would sit around on a Saturday night and watch sitcoms. “I’ve rendered you speechless.” He chuckled. “I don’t know whether that’s a good thing or not.” Before I could respond, the waitress came back with our food. Nikki thanked her with a smile, causing her ego to grow even more. I couldn’t help but just stare at my food. I was suddenly not hungry anymore This guy was into me, at least that’s what he was leading me to believe. “Why aren’t you eating?”

I looked up at Nikki, a piece of spaghetti hanging out of his mouth. I couldn’t help giggle at the sight. “It’s really good, you know.” He smiled. He truly was an idiot, but he was a pretty cute idiot….

“So- Does this mean you’ll go out with me again?”

I rolled my eyes, a smirk also making its way across my lips. We had just finished a nice dinner and here he was asking the “important” question as he liked to call it. “You gonna answer me?” He placed his arm beside my body, partially trapping me against the car. I looked at his arm and then to his face. “I don’t know.” I stated. “Why should I?” It looked as if his eyes were going to bulge out of his skull. I usually wasn’t the type of girl to lead a guy on. If I was into him and he was into me, then I would totally agree on a second date. There was something different when it came to Nikki. I found it funny to lead him on and keep him wondering. It was almost like a game for me and I wanted to see how long it would take to win or even lose. In all honesty, I enjoyed our dinner together. He was not only devilishly handsome but also witty and smart. He may have the rock star looks but there was so much more. I liked it and I liked him.

“Tell you what-”He began. “If you want to see me again, Motley is playing our first huge gig on Friday. It’s our first mega show as a band and I would love to see you front row.” He expressed. “Hopefully this time you stay the whole show and don’t walk out.” His signature smirk danced across his face as he stared down at me.

I gave him a small smile, “Have a good night, Nikki.”

I slowly turned toward my car door and stepped into the driver’s seat. I looked at him once more before starting the engine and making my way out of the parking lot. I couldn’t help but look back in the rear-view mirror. He was just standing there but that damn smirk was still plastered on his face.

gif property of: @dramatique-moi

@triplehaitches @sighsophiia @divaanya @fandomshit6000

#nikki sixx x oc #nikki sixx #nikki sixx fanfiction #The Dirt #Douglas Booth #Holland Roden #mgk #Vince Neil #Daniel Webber #Tommy Lee #Mick Mars #iwan rheon

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bunnymcbunnister · 5 years ago

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SPN Season 15 Spoiler Sheet, update 10/6

I’m traveling tomorrow, so I’ll post tonight. We have a few more tidbits from ep 7- Christian Kane being in the episode has given us more of a glimpse into shooting. Adam Rose also vague tweeted about shooting on a show with two badass leads. I doubt that really means Supernatural, but if we had Aaron Bass and this “old friend” in one episode my biDean head would explode. Also pics from two, an episode description for three, and Speight back in the director’s chair for 8. I can’t believe that the premier is this week. As a disclaimer, keep in mind that I just report what I see on internet land. Last year, there were some spoilers that were just plain wrong, so expect that again with hopefully some fun surprises! Happy premier week!!

General Info (oldest to newest)

There is likely to be 20 episodes

They are filming the 4th episode 1st, which Jensen is directing

Returning this year are: Rowena, Ketch, Eileen,Amara, Adam, and Kevin

Jared and Jensen know the ending. Jensen struggled with it at first. Misha does not know the ending as of SDCC

Matt Cohen and Richard Speight Jr. will direct

Sam, Dean, and Cas will struggle with the concept of free will and if they ever really had it

The focus will be more on Hell than Heaven

There is hope to wrap up some Wayward Daughters storylines in the back half of the season

They are adding a whole extra day to filming to do the final scene (Implies logistics- lots of returning people?)

Brad Bucker used the word “romance” when asked about Sam and Dean’s arcs. Did not specify who.

Chuck will be more of an absent protagonist in the 1st half of the season (but he in in ep 4)

At the beginning of the season Dean and Cas will still have a rift. They will reconcile “at some point”. Jensen claims as of script 4 they still have friction. This has been repeated several times, from Misha as well. He indicated Dean is still mad at Cas, but Cas doesn’t feel to blame for Mary’s death.

In an interview, Kripe indicated that the series ending would have “peace” for Sam and Dean

Not much new at the TCA’s, but it was said it is “unlikely” Jeffery Dean Morgan will be back since his last appearance was such a good end note. There were some jokes about a Castiel spin off. Hell, I’d watch.

There will be a special tribute ep, not clear if its one of the 20 or additional

Misha will be in 15 out of 20 episodes this season

According to Dabb, Sam and Dean are going to start to lose people who, in past seasons, we would’ve never lost — and lose them in a very real way. Our guys are going to realize there’s a certain finality, and some of the things they’ve relied on to get through the day — people, talents, things like that — they are no longer going to be able to roll out. And that’s going to throw them for a loop (Unfortunately, my guess in Rowena)

Also according to Dabb, Jack is still in the empty and “he’s not coming back in the near future” (this makes no sense. He’s on set for several episodes- interacting with the boys)

Cas’ deal with the Empty may come up later in the season.

Kevin will return.

Season 15 promo: https://youtu.be/V232RpcCdTY

Christan Kane (Leverage/Angel) will star as “Leo” an “old friend” of Deans. He is an old friend of Jensen’s.

General season 15 promo- more of a retrospective: https://youtu.be/_hlkNQL5Ecg

Dabb intimated that Chuck was inherently responsible for killing Mary when asked how the boys would respond to Jack.

Dabb compared Chuck and John Winchester, claiming that Dean would have to break free of “conditioning.” Also, for Jack “there have been cosmic forces fighting for his attention since he was in the womb — and that will continue. As much as this season is about Sam and Dean finding agency, it’s also about Castiel finding agency, and it’s about Jack finding agency. As always, death is never the end. It’s just part of the journey and that’s certainly true with Jack.”

Adam Rose, who played Aaron Bass from the golem episode vauge-tweeted about working a show with two badass leads. Could be Supernatural, but I think the timing is off- he indicated he was filming late Friday night?

Episode 15x01

Title: Back and to the Future

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: Picking up where we left off last season, Sam, Dean and Castiel are left to defend the world after all the souls in hell have been released and are back on Earth and free to kill again.

Written by: Dabb

Director: Showwalter

Filming Dates: 7/30-8/9 (no filming 8/5 for Canadian holiday)

Airdate: Oct 10

Photos: http://www.ksitetv.com/supernatural/supernatural-season-premiere-photos-back-and-to-the-future/196183/

Promo: (for at least ep one and two) ttps://youtu.be/V232RpcCdTY. Also this retrospective: https://youtu.be/_hlkNQL5Ecg

Sneak Peak:

Castiel? Yes Jack ? yes

Guest stars:

Other Spoilers/info:

The first episode will start right where the previous left off

Misha posed with the John Wayne Gacy clown

Jensen posted a series of pics- one clean shaven, one vid of him shaving, and one where he appeared to be in character with blood and dirt on his face and in Dean plaid, but with his beard… confusing- some time jump theories are developing for ep 4.

Jensen was photoed filming (wearing an FBI jacket)outside with Alex

Misha and Jared filmed outside with a woman and young girl. They were running from the clown guy and a few other zombie looking creatures. CAS WAS NAKED (haha just no trench) and holding a shotgun. It could have been rehearsal and there was no camera in the clip shared by a fan which might explain the coat? Another fan said it was hot and Misha kept taking the coat off, so I’m sure this just a piece of rehearsal footage.

Alex was filming in white sunglasses. Other set photos indicate he had makeup on his eyes making them look burnt out. There is some spec that Jack will come back blind.

Misha posted a pic of the 4 of them in the impala

According to Variety, the boys will escape the zombies in a temp shelter. They are working together, but Cas feel “detached.” Misha seems to indicate that Cas feels unfairly blamed in Mary’s death and is deeply upset about Jack.

Episode 15x02

Title: Raising Hell

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: SENDING OUT AN SOS – Sam (Jared Padalecki), Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Castiel (Misha Collins) call on Rowena (Guest Star Ruth Connell) to help keep the evil souls at bay and get an unexpected assist from Ketch (Guest Star David Haydn-Jones). Robert Singer directed the episode written by Brad Buckner & Eugenie Ross-Leming (#1503). Original airdate 10/17/2019.

Written by: Buckleming

Director: Singer

Filming Dates: 8/12- 8/21

Airdate: 10/17

Photos: http://www.ksitetv.com/supernatural/supernatural-15-2-photos-raising-hell/196890/

Promo:

Sneak Peak:

Castiel? YES Jack ? YES

Guest stars: Ruth Connell, David Haydn-Jones, Rob Benedict, Osric Cho, Emily Swallow (?)

Other Spoilers/info (newest to oldest):

A set was a high school set up to be a shelter.

Chuck, Ketch and Rowena will be in this. Maybe Amara too. Emily Swallow was in town for only a short time, so I imagine it would just be a scene or two

Ghosts/zombies were seen on set. There will be a scene with Rowena attacking them that includes at least Dean and Cas.

There will be one longer scene in a park.

Alex was in sunglasses again - not sure if this is a costume thing or an Alex thing

Ruth posted two vids of Misha claiming that he had filmed several scenes, but had no dialog - over three days so it must be a scripted reason (A spell? Chuck? Is he giving Dean the silent treatment?)

Ruth posted a video with her trailer, but the video showed Alex’s as well, so Jack

Misha posted from set in costume. Minus the coat again, but I’m still blaming the heat…. But he was without in the two Ruthie videos as well… soo……? I don’t know. I still think it’s a heat issue.

Night shoots are scheduled in a warehouse. Hand painted signs indicating quarantine were nearby

Kevin is back

Episode 15x03

Title: The Rupture

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: AS IT IS WRITTEN – Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) together with Rowena (guest star Ruth Connell) work tirelessly to keep all of hell from breaking loose. Castiel (Misha Collins) cannot forgive an arrogant betrayal. Charles Beeson directed the episode written by Robert Berens. (#1504). Original Airdate 10/24/2019.

Written by: Berens

Director: Charles Beeson

Filming Dates: 8/22-9/2

Airdate: 10/24

Photos:

Promo:

Sneak Peak:

Castiel? yes Jack? yes

Guest stars: Ruthie Connell

Other Spoilers/info (newest to oldest):

Part of this ep will take place in hell as well as the cemetery where Jack died at the end of last season

Misha mentioned a scene at VanCon with him, Sam, Dean, Rowena, and Jack

Sam Smith was on set, but I would imagine she was visiting as she was in town for VanCon

Episode 15x04 (filmed out of order)

Title: Atomic Monsters

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:

Written by:

Director: Jensen Ackles

Filming Dates: 7/18-7/29

Airdate: 10/31 ?

Photos:

Promo:

Sneak Peak:

Castiel? Probably not Jack? Probably not

Guest stars: Rob Benedict

Other Spoilers/info (newest to oldest):

Jensen mentioned a guest star “fan favorite” that hasn’t been seen since season 7 that is no longer in the business. Guesses include Becky, who hasn’t acted in a while but isn’t exactly a fan favorite, Meg, who hasn’t acted but she was in season 8, and Balthazar or Frank or Jo or Rufus, but all act frequently. Jensen doesn’t always have the most accurate season memory, so he could be off on the season. Since this seems like a Chuck episode, my guess is Becky but I hope for Meg. SOURCE UNCONFIRMED- I haven’t seen this in a reliable source, so take it with a grain of salt.

There was a beaver mascot on set… it looks like they are filming at a school called Beaverdale

Jensen and Jared filed outside in fed suits

Chuck will be in this one. Jensen directed him first alone with his beard unshaved (so maybe a solo Chuck scene or him interacting with others/not the boys). There are also theories of a time jump in this ep.

This will be a one off, classic monster hunting episode with some ties to ongoing storylines. Sam and Dean will leave the bunker to keep their skills sharp

Jensen directed

Misha will not be in this ep

SD Comic Con was during filming

Episode 15x05

Title: Proverbs 17:3

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:

Written by: Yockey

Director: Speight

Filming Dates: 9/4-9/13

Airdate: 11/7

Photos:

Promo:

Sneak Peak:

Castiel? No Jack? doubtful

Guest stars:

Other Spoilers/info (newest to oldest):

This will most likely be Yockey’s last episode.

Matt Cohen was around, but I imagine he is following directors to prep for his own debut directing.

Scenes were filmed in the bunker and in a wooded area. A woman could be heard screaming in the outside scene.

Episode 15x06

Title: Golden Time

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:

Written by: Meredith Glynn

Director: Steve Boyum

Filming Dates: 9/16-9/25

Airdate: 11/14

Photos:

Promo:

Sneak Peak:

Castiel? Yes Jack? Not sure

Guest stars:

Other Spoilers/info (newest to oldest):

Misha tweeted from set in costume, so Cas.

Misha also tweeted a pic in blood spatter with two bullet holes in his shirt

Ruth also posted a pic of herself covered in blood

At least Ruth and Jared filmed in Rowena’s apartment

Episode 15x07

Title: Last Call

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:

Written by: Jeremy Adams

Director: Amyn Kaderali

Filming Dates: 9/26- 10/7

Airdate: Dec 7th is what Christian Kane tweeted…. But that is a Saturday. Dec 5th maybe?

Photos:

Promo:

Sneak Peak:

Castiel ? Jack ?

Guest stars: maybe Christian Kane? Maybe?

Other Spoilers/info (newest to oldest):

Misha posted from set in new shoes- very shiny with well tailored pants. (The next day he posted in full Cas costume,so just new shoes?? Another outfit with new shoes?)

Misha and Jensen made a video from set. I feel like if Jared was around he would have been in it since it was about money raised? This was on a Friday, and J2 usually don’t work Fridays. Maybe a Dean Cas scene?

There will be a battle scene in this that Jensen mentioned he was looking forward to and we would enjoy.

After NJ Con, it appeared that Jensen returned to work, Jared and Misha stayed an extra day and then Misha went home. Misha did not return to set that week.

Jensen and Christian filmed at a bar called Swazey’s. This was the fight scene Jensen was referring to.

At some point, Sam might be shirtless or we can see part of his chest- Jared had his anti-possession tattoo at the weekend convention

Episode 15x08

Title:

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:

Written by:

Director: Speight

Filming Dates:

Airdate:

Photos:

Promo:

Sneak Peak:

Castiel ? Jack ?

Guest stars:

Other Spoilers/info (newest to oldest):

#supernatural #spn season 15 #spn spoilers #spoiler sheet

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hannah-deserved-better · 5 years ago

Text

Ultimate guide to my Supernatural Fics

This is an ultimate guide to the fics I currently have out on AO3. Like or comment if you would like to be part of a tag list of people I tag when the fics are updated. PLEASE READ AO3 tags! And continue to read them as I update them as I go, and my fics tend to get dark! Also, no hate about the pairings, don’t like them, just keep scrolling. I write for me first and no one is forcing you to read. ALL my fics are Castiel/Hannah centered and common other pairings include Dean/Jo, Sam/Eileen, and Crowley/Meg. I also favor poly pairings so there will be lots of those. All of my fics, art, and RPGs on here will be under the tag: #HannahGirl

Chosen: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19219222/chapters/45695716

Characters; Castiel, Hannah, Dean, Sam, Eileen Leahy, Jo Harvelle, Crowley, Meg, Charlie Singer (Bradbury), Anna Milton

Season One: A remake of the series starting from when Dean picks up Sam from Stanford. They run into Castiel who is on the hunt for a renegade angel who is alleged to have defied Michael and started the apocalypse. Meanwhile, Hannah is on the run from heaven. She meets Jo and as Team Free Will begins to form, they realize that it’s not just heaven and hell. The gods of the Greeks, the Celts, the Norse, the Hindus, the Aztecs, and the Egyptians have all chosen this team free will to be their champions against the ultimate apocalypse

Pairings: starts off with most characters being strangers, but as they meet and work together, the main pairings will be Castiel/Hannah, Sam/Eileen, Dean/Jo, Crowley/Meg, and Charlie/Anna but there will also be a lot of poly pairings, just not sure who yet. Jo/Gordon Walker is a temporary pairing in the beginning.

Warnings/ratings: Medium smut, dark themes, angst, violence, implied torture, secret societies and religious mystics of many world religions, including Christianity and Judaism (if you are triggered by such things, beware). Jewish persecution, black death.

Castiel (Judeo-Christian): Castiel arrives on Earth to try to track Hannah who is guilty of killing another angel and leading a siege into hell, opening its gates and starting the apocalypse. As he travels with the Winchesters, he sees the many signs of the impending apocalypse, starting with the seven deadly sins. He also learns that his vessel, Jimmy, was a member of a secret society dedicated to the hunt for religious artifacts.

Hannah (Judeo-Christian): Hannah claims that she went to hell under orders from the archangels. Now, she feels betrayed by them because they seem to be pinning the apocalypse on her when she was only following orders. Now, she is a renegade on Earth. She learns that her vessel, Caroline, was the descendant of a Dutch Jew who arrived in New York in 1650 and whose family has had an ongoing rivalry with the Thule.

Dean (Norse): Dean is drawn into helping Castiel track the angel and the seven deadly sins but along the way, he discovers that he has been chosen by Odin to prevent the Ragnarok from beginning.

Sam (Hindu): Sam is still grieving his girlfriend and he is hoping that after they find their father, he can go back to Stanford and try to live a normal life. But he’s caught up in Castiel’s hunt for the renegade angel, and then he discovers that he is chosen to help the Hindu god Kalki prevent the world from ending.

Jo Harvelle (Greek): Jo agrees to protect Hannah from the angels hunting her. She wants to be a hunter but her mother disapproves so she sees this as a chance to prove herself. But then the goddess Athena appears and tells her that the titans have escaped from Tartarus and must be put back before they cause destruction on Earth and before the kill the Olympian gods.

Eileen Leahy (Celtic): Eileen is a hunter from Ireland. When her parents and her hearing was taken from her by a banshee, she trained to become a hunter and was the sole protector of the small Irish village she lived in. She was a Celtic witch and was once part of Rowena’s coven and has come to the US to try to find Rowena.

Crowley (Judeo-Christian): Crowley offers to aid the Winchesters, to help them track down and kill the deadly sins. Dean suspects its a trap somehow and Castiel doesn’t want anything to do with him, but apparently, Jimmy Novak and Crowley’s vessel were in the same secret society together.

Meg (Judeo-Christian): Meg joins Jo, Hannah, and Eileen. Meg herself has been on Earth since the 14th century. When she was human, her entire Jewish village was destroyed by paranoid mercenaries who blamed the Jews for the plague. Meg made a deal with a crossroads demon to get her revenge on everyone involved, and their families. Then, when she died and became a demon, she became a vengeance demon. She traveled to Europe and the US and offered to kill people for clients.

Charlie Singer (Aztec): In this AU, Charlie is the daughter of Bobby Singer and was raised with the Winchesters as their cousin. Bobby didn’t want her to follow in his footsteps and be a hunter, and she was always sick of being left out of the Winchesters hunts, but when she meets Anna Milton she begins to realize she is a part of this puzzle too. She’s chosen to help Quetzalcoatl prevent the destruction of this fifth world.

Anna Milton (Egyptians): Anna is a fallen angel who allies herself with Team Free Will, though she has no memory and no grace. But it’s discovered that her grace is being protected by the Egyptian goddess Bast. Apparently, Set wants to find the angel before heaven does and force her to do his bidding.

Emotions are dangerous temptations: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21049778/chapters/50071364

Characters: Castiel, Hannah, Sam, Meg, Dean

Season 10, shortly after “Soul Survivor”: Castiel brings a wounded Hannah back to the bunker. They quickly learn that she is suffering from some mysterious angel poison that is destroying her grace from within. As Castiel stays by her side, caring for her, he begins to learn about true love and his feelings for Hannah. Sam is taking care of Dean who seemed to be recovering from his time as a demon but also begins to suffer a strange illness. Castiel and Sam bond over being caretakers and Castiel soon learns he is developing feelings for Sam that he never realized were there before. Later, they are joined by an old friend, Meg, who faked her own death. Castiel realizes that he is capable of loving more than one person and that he wants to explore his love and devotion for Hannah, Sam, and Meg. But first, he must save Hannah’s life. Losing her, he realizes, would break him in a way that he’s never been broken before and he begins to realize that his life is tied to hers, to Sams and to Megs.

Pairings: Castiel/Hannah, Castiel/Sam, Castiel/Meg

Warnings/ratings: Medium smut, sick!fic, poison

Castiel: This story focuses on Castiel and his emotions and his relationship with those around him. It starts with Hannah as his feelings for her grow as he struggles to save her. Castiel’s internal struggle to try to understand the emotions he’s feeling as he watches Hannah fight for her life, as he grows closer to Sam, as he addresses his feelings of guilt at learning that Meg has been alive this whole time.

Hannah: During the altercation with Adina, Hannah is wounded and infected with a strange angel poison. Castiel is desperate to find a cure, but during the few times that she’s well enough, he introduces her to humanity and the things he’s learned here on Earth.

Sam: Sam has been through a lot lately, trying to bring Dean from being a demon. He confides in Castiel during this difficult time and the two of them bond over being caretakers to those that they love. Sam helps Castiel search for a cure for Hannah.

Meg: While on a supply run, Castiel and Sam run into Meg who apparently faked her own death and has been laying low, hiding from Crowley. She had aligned herself with Abaddon for a brief time, but Abaddon tortured her and she fled hell. Now she’s a rogue demon.

Dean: Dean is recovering from being a demon but he’s still suffering the effects of the mark of Cain. He’s overly aggressive towards everyone, but especially to Hannah and Meg. He doesn’t trust either of them. But when he comes down with a strange ailment that seems to be linked to Hannah’s condition, he is forced to let Sam and Castiel take care of him.

Where Angels Walk: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21426580/chapters/51052330

Characters: Castiel, Casstiel, Hannah, Hana, Jimmy Novak, Caroline Johnson, Virginia Moss, Kai Singh

Season 15, after 15X3 when Cas leaves the bunker, things may change as the current season evolves: Castiel is alone and lost as he leaves the bunker. He feels as though he has lost everything. No one seems to want him. Not heaven, not the Winchesters, and the only one who gave him any sort of happiness- Jack- is gone. He’s not handling Jack’s death well and he is finally realizing that his relationship with Dean has been toxic. He needs to find himself but he’s so used to feeling worthless that he has trouble realizing that he doesn’t deserve to be mistreated. Now, someone comes back into his life, a beloved friend he thought was gone: Hannah. Not long after he runs into Hannah, Castiel also meets his and Hannah’s counterparts from another one of Chuck’s worlds. Casstiel and Hana are from a world where everything happened the exact same way as they did in this world- up until season 10 where their universe began to be different. And their world is this wonderful Steampunk Victorian-era world. Casstiel has just left the Winchester sister’s bunker after she lost her own Jack and she isn’t sure how she managed to find her way into this other world, but she and Castiel soon realize that Chuck has nefarious plans for both worlds. Also, the angel’s vessels have some pasts of their own that will quickly become part of the equation.

Pairings: Castiel/Hannah, Casstiel/Hana, Casstiel/Hannah, Castiel/Hana

Warnings/ratings: implied emotional, psychological, and physical abuse, torture, domestic abuse

Castiel/Jimmy Novak: Castiel is alone, but when he runs into Hannah, he begins to explore the past of his vessel Jimmy as he helps Hannah evade Caroline’s abusive husband. Similar to “chosen” Castiel discovers that Jimmy had secrets of his own. And enemies. Jimmy was part of a secret society that has counted him as missing these past years but have recently tracked him down.

Hannah/Caroline Johnson: Hannah doesn’t know why she has returned from the empty. She’s upset to learn about Chuck’s misdeeds. She was especially upset to discover Caroline, her former vessel being abused by a paranoid alcoholic that her husband had become. When she takes Caroline away, Joe begins to stalk them and learns about angels and he plots to kill them. In addition, Hannah learns that Caroline is the descendant of an important Dutch Jewish family and now the Thule is after her.

Casstiel/Virginia Moss: Casstiel has been the Winchester sisters angel since she rebelled to help prevent the apocalypse. She is from a victorian age steampunk world. She has been drawn into a war that began when Hana released Metatron from his prison and the scribe planned to get his revenge on the Earth and on Casstiel. It’s been five years and the Winchesters have been involved in constant warfare with Metatron and heaven is divided into factions following him, Casstiel, or Naomi. Her vessel, Virginia Moss is from a long line of angel vessels and a society of people dedicated to aiding heaven. Virginia always knew she could be chosen to be a vessel and she accepted the responsibility, as did her mother and mother before her.

Hana/Kai Singh: Hana died saving Casstiel when her borrowed grace was failing. He was so desperate to save the angel he believed the true leader of heaven that he released Metatron from the prison he was in to save Casstiel. Unfortunately, Hana was tricked and wounded fatally. Casstiel found him just in time and he gave her his grace and died. Now, he’s been resurrected somehow. Hana’s vessel, Kai, is a British man of letters.

When in Rome: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21140294/chapters/50311271

Characters: Castiel, Hannah, Dean, Jo Harvelle, Sam, Eileen, Leahy

A series of period dramas starting with Ancient Rome. Hannah, the daughter of a wealthy Roman senator, is captured by a nest of vampires masquerading as prostitutes and slave traders. Though she was never a favorite of her father, Hannah lived a life in relative luxury but now she is exposed to a world of misery and abuse. Her only chance to escape is the gladiator slave, Castiel, and his two friends, Sam and Dean, who are hunters posing as Roman soldiers.

Pairings: Castiel/Hannah, Sam/Eileen, Dean/Jo

Warnings/ratings: Medium smut, prostitution, sexual assault, abuse, slavery, dark themes, violence

Castiel: Castiel is a gladiator. As a slave, he is owned by a Roman senator, Michael and he lives in a brothel with other slaves. He barely has enough food and is being forced to fight in the arena for the entertainment of Rome’s elite.

Hannah: Hannah is the daughter of Roman senator, Raphael. Her sister, Naomi is favored between the two sisters and Hannah is a bit of a rebel. She befriends Castiel during her captivity with the vampires and begins to learn about the secret network of hunters living in rome and keeping it safe from vampires and demons.

Maine Chronicles series:

October: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16525847/chapters/38710994

November: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19756855/chapters/46764895

Characters: Castiel, Hannah, Sam, Dean, Eileen, Jo, Charlie, Crowley, Meg, Claire Novak, Kaia, Jack, Jesse Turner (the cambion), Gabriel

Season 14: When Team Free Will relocates to a secondary bunker in the woods of Maine, they quickly realize that their fates are tied to the little town on the edge of the forest. When Hannah, Jo, and Eileen mysteriously fall pregnant- along with most of the town- the Winchesters begin to suspect something paranormal. But Hannah’s strange visions and dreams seem to point to the possibility that she has been here before. And Meg and Crowley seem to know something about that.

Pairings: Castiel/Hannah, Sam/Eileen/Gabriel, Dean/Jo, Jo/Charlie, Crowley/Meg, Claire/Kaia, Jack/Jesse

Warnings/ratings: Medium smut, past abuse and domestic abuse, haunting, pregnancy, Werewolf!Eileen, Vampire!Jo, hate sex, enemies to lovers, abusive toxic relationships

Castiel: Castiel is struggling with his new role as a father as Claire (AU in which Claire is a teenager) is placed in his custody and he is raising her and Jack together alongside Hannah. Things get hard with Hannah’s mysterious pregnancy, and with Lucifer trying to sue for custody of Jack.

Hannah: Hannah doesn’t know how she became pregnant, or even that it was possible for an angel to be pregnant. But she and Castiel are committed to face their challenges together. But with the strange visions she keeps having, and the ghosts that seem to be stalking her, she begins to realize she may have been in this town before. She’s also concerned when Raphael appears and warns her that the unborn child she is carrying maybe something very unnatural and evil.

Dean: Dean is happy to have Jo back in his life. He was surprised by her sudden appearance after she had been dead for so long. He suspects she may be hiding something big from him but with all the paranormal activity around this region, he and Sam are pretty busy. In addition, Dean is trying to elude Michael whom he knows is looking for him.

Jo: Jo has been alive this whole time and she doesn’t know how to tell Dean that. After being revived shortly after her death, she’s spent all these years living in seclusion in the Australian outback. But one chance encounter with a vampire has left her a monster. She sought out a Tibetan monk in China that taught her to control her urges to kill and has so far managed to control them by learning to feed on blood donations and on animal blood. But now, with her own pregnancy, she has found those urges are getting harder to control. And she hasn’t told Dean anything about this.

Sam: Sam has been helping Dean elude Michael but his demon blood is beginning to resurface and his craving for demon blood has returned as well.

Eileen: Eileen knew there was something wrong with her the moment she was brought back from the dead. She didn’t come back quite right. She didn’t know she was a werewolf but on the full moon, she began to have urges for more than just flesh. An incurable sexual appetite fueled by primordial wolf instincts led to an encounter with Gabriel, even though it’s clear she’s Sam’s girl. Now she doesn’t know who the father of her twins is.

Charlie: Charlie moved into the bunker with the Winchesters to be, as she calls it, ‘their new bobby’ as the techie hacker wiz whose job it is to hack into newspapers and police reports looking for new cases. She decides to take in and look after Kaia and she and Jo get very close. She and Jo begin to have a secret relationship.

Claire: Claire is a troubled young girl. She blames Castiel for what happened to her family. She is hostile towards Hannah and any attempt by Castiel to be the father she lost. She starts being a little better when she meets Kaia and two troubled teens began to investigate Hannah’s ghosts together.

Jack: Jack loves living with Castiel and Hannah and he loves learning about human holidays like Halloween and Christmas. He’s a two-year-old in a teen’s body and he relies on Castiel to guide him.

Kaia: Kaia is a teenage runaway who starts living with Charlie. She and Claire become close.

Jesse: Jesse is the antichrist cambion from season 5. A few years ago, he was picked up by Meg, who has apparently faked her own death and has been laying low with the cambion all these years. Jesse considers Meg his adopted mother.

Meg: Meg arrives with the cambion and Crowley reveals that she has something to do with the history of this town, and with Hannah’s visions. Meg is a little jealous of Castiel and Hannah’s relationship and is frustrated by the dysfunctional hate-love relationship she is forming with Crowley.

Crowley: Crowley arrives shortly after Meg, having been trapped in the apocalypse world. He is very interested in the cambion and wants to harness his powers for himself so he and Meg enter in an awkward co-parenting tug of war type of relationship with Jesse.

Gabriel: Gabriel arrives and is trying to hide out from a jealous Loki. He helps Cas and the others with their dilemmas and finds himself in a secret relationship with both Sam and Eileen.

Gathering the Arsenal (formerly, “Bunker Pack”): https://archiveofourown.org/works/14364957/chapters/33161349

Characters: Castiel, Dean, Sam, Gabriel, Annika (an OC), Jack, Apocalypse!Charlie, Apocalypse!Hannah, Apocalypse!Jo, Apocalypse!Eileen, Claire Novak

Season 13. Apocalypse world Charlie arrives from the apocalypse world to help the Winchesters prepare for Michael’s arrival into this world. She brings her most trusted resistance leaders: Jo Harvelle, Eileen Leahy, and Hannah. All four women have been through a lot and are all hardened soldiers, nothing like their counterparts in this world. Gabriel has a plan to save the angels from extinction but it involves a lot of hard to come by ingredients, as well as a trip to the other world, and some serious sacrifices.

Pairings: Castiel/Hannah, Dean/Jo, Sam/Eileen, Charlie/Claire, Jack/OC (platonic friendship)

Warnings/ratings: Medium smut, dark themes, dystopia violence, abuse, torture, PTSD

Castiel: Castiel is working alongside a traumatized Apocalypse!Hannah and trying to teach her how to trust again. He is determined to save the angels from extinction and to defeat Michael.

Dean: Dean is angry over Mary and Jack being stranded in the apocalypse world. He’s very opposed to Claire’s involvement in their angel plan and is at odds with Charlie and Jo over it.

Sam: Sam feels guilty when he allows a nest of vampires who have a vendetta against him for misdeeds he supposedly committed against then during his soulless years to distract him from the main mission of helping to save the angels and to defeat Michael.

Gabriel: Gabriel is dealing with some trauma over his imprisonment by Asmodeus but he devises a plan to save the angels from extinction.

Annika (an OC): Annika is Gabriel’s Nephilim daughter whom he has kept a secret all this time.

Jack: Jack is trapped in the apocalypse world but when he is reunited with Castiel and the others, he joins in the plan to save the angels.

Apocalypse!Charlie: Charlie is the leader of a clan of human resistance members who have been fighting against Michael and his angels since the apocalypse broke out.

Apocalypse!Hannah: Hannah defied Raphael by helping humans that the archangel was holding in a concentration camp. When she was found out, she and Apocalypse!Castiel was tortured and, at least she thought, Apocalypse!Castiel was killed. Now a shell shocked Hannah has nothing but hatred for her fellow angels and she doesn’t know how to trust anyone, she has some very strong PTSD and trauma.

Apocalypse!Jo: Jo was one of the humans living in Raphael’s concentration camps. She was helped by Hannah, and later liberated by Charlie. She’s Charlie’s right-hand woman and life on the run has hardened her.

Apocalypse!Eileen: Eileen is the more well adjusted of the four women, but that’s because her parents were already gone when the apocalypse broke out and she had already been on her own all her life. She and Charlie are the techies in group. She’s endured some torture of her own at the hands of angels and she’s gotten very good at coming up with weapons to kill them with.

Claire Novak: Claire joins the effort much to Dean and later to Castiel’s chagrin.

#Castiel #Castiel/Hannah #supernatural #fics #supernatural fanfiction #dark themes #HannahGirl

4 notes · View notes

carmenlire · 6 years ago

Note

Oh jesus, I sure would cry if SOMEONE, like my FAVOURITE author *cough* you *cough*, would write a christmas prompt for my birthday that's coincidentally on DECEMBER 12TH, 12 days before CHRISTMAS, I'm just thinking out loud here

It is midnight in Germany so Happy 18th Birthday Julia!!! You are so amazing and I am so glad that we are friends and I just want you to know that you’re super lovely and I am so happy to have you in my life

read on ao3

“And what are we supposed to be doing here?”

Sighing exasperatedly, Magnus wraps his scarf around his neck. It’s a little hideous– a mishmash of patterns and swirling colors courtesy of Madzie– but it was a gift and Magnus makes it work, wearing an austere black coat to really let the riot of colors pop.

He meets Alec’s eyes in the mirror. “We’re going to the Christmas Fair downtown. We’re supposed to be having fun. Nothing serious, no business or worry of demonic sightings.”

Turning around, he takes the few steps over to Alec, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s shoulders. “We’ll browse around the shopping booths and eat something sweet and freeze our asses off.”

Alec smiles and leans in to kiss him only to pull back abruptly. “You have different chap stick on,” he says accusingly.

“Peppermint,” Magnus confirms, placing a smacking kiss on Alec’s cheek and trying not to coo and the vaguely disgusted look Alec throws him. “I thought it only appropriate. Tis the season, after all.”

Alec shakes his head but he’s hiding a smile. Magnus will take it as a win.

The two of them leave the loft and Magnus doesn’t try to hide his smile when Alec immediately reaches over and grabs his hand, thumb sweeping over his palm. They take the subway– yes, Alexander, I was taking the subway before your grandfather was even born– and get off at the stop that leads to Midtown Manhattan, close to Rockefeller Center. It’s two weeks before Christmas and the sidewalks are jam-packed with tourists and stressed shoppers.

Magnus doesn’t mind, though. There’s something about the very air in December that’s achingly sentimental. While he’s never been one to practice Christianity, Christmas is something that he’s celebrated for the past couple centuries, ever since he first landed in Europe.

Still, New York City at Christmastime is another beast altogether. They pass a dozen vendors selling Christmas trees and Magnus is paying far more attention to Alec than he is to his surroundings.

Doing his best to keep his fondness under wraps, Magnus internally rolls his eyes at Alec’s expression. He’s trying to look unaffected at the crowd of people and the miles of lights and garland and decorations. They’re rounding the corner when Alec stops in his tracks and Magnus grins as Alec’s eyes light up.

“Still aren’t sure what you’re supposed to do,” Magnus teases.

Alec doesn’t even spare him a glance as he takes in the crowds of people milling about in barely organized chaos. This Christmas Fair has been going on in the city every December 12th for over a hundred years and it’s gained quite a following.

Families are milling about, kids racing by with cookies and toys. Magnus looks around and breathes in the scent of balsam and toasted marshmallow and feels something settle into place.

For the millionth time, he wonders at how Christmas could be so much more than a simple day.

He startles, though, as Alec pulls him toward the closest booth.

“Are you looking for anything in particular,” Alec absently asks, paying close attention to the boxes of artisan chocolates on display.

Humming, Magnus thinks for a minute before shaking his head. “Not really, I’m afraid. I usually end up buying whatever catches my eye. What about you?”

He eyes a box of peppermint bark, debating, while he waits for Alec’s answer.

No,” Alec finally says. “You know that we don’t really celebrate Christmas. While I know more than other shadowhunters, I can still be pretty clueless. Izzy, Jace, and I usually exchanged gifts and snuck out of the Institute to eat dinner but that’s about it.”

“I still don’t know how even shadowhunters keep their heads in the sand about Christmas, especially in New York. Signs of it are literally everywhere, darling.”

Alec shrugs. “You’re forgetting that we spend most of December at the Academy until we graduate. Idris has their own holidays. Though none that mean unlimited gingerbread,” Alec ends distractedly.

Magnus looks up from the chocolate and sees that Alec’s moved on to the next booth– homemade gingerbread cookies.

“I didn’t know you liked gingerbread,” he says, amused.

“It’s never come up.”

Alec looks over at him, considering, and Magnus grins as he moves on without buying the peppermint bark. Laying an arm around Alec’s back, Magnus looks between Alec and the gingerbread, bemused.

“Alexander, you’re about to start drooling.”

Glaring, Alec just asks, “Do you want one?”

Magnus makes a show of thinking before finally suggesting, tongue in cheek, “We could share one?”

He bites back his laughter at the incredulous look Alec shoots him. “I don’t share my gingerbread,” Alec says firmly.

Magnus sighs dejectedly, gently bumping his hip against his boyfriend’s. “Very well,” he says sadly. “I thought it would be romantic to share but I forgot my boyfriend is possessive over his sweets.”

“Frosting or no frosting?” Alec doesn’t even deign to acknowledge Magnus and Magnus tucks a hand into Alec’s back pocket as he murmurs, “Surprise me, darling.”

Alec pays for the cookies and immediately bites the head off his frosted gingerbread Santa, meeting Magnus’s scandalized eyes without expression. “It’s the best part,” is all he offers and Magnus laughs as he shakes his head, nudging them to keep going.

The two of them make their way through dozens of booths. There are wood cutouts and photography booths and they pass enough food vendors that Magnus starts to wonder if Alec’s stomach isn’t both bottomless and made of cast iron.

He’s long known that his boyfriend has a sweet tooth to rival the Cookie Monster’s but it’s something else entirely to see Alec in his element.

There are quite a few toy booths, and Magnus finds himself in quite a few heated debates with Alec over the best present for kids. Magnus discovers– much to his surprise– that Alec’s a fan of classic toys. Magnus himself very much prefers toys that light up and make obnoxious noises and all around look fun.

Alec, by contrast, likes toy soldiers and spinning tops and toys that look more suited to what a character in a Dickens novel would have salivated over.

As he watches Alec absolutely lose his shit at a rather terrifying Jack in the Box, Magnus wonders who their kids will take back after. He doesn’t voice the sudden direction of his thinking and he’s quietly surprised to realize that the thought doesn’t make his heart squeeze in his chest painfully. No instead, it settles something in him.

Magnus can’t help but look over at Alec– his boyfriend, perhaps even his husband one day– and see the decades unfold. He can’t think of anything more adorable than a son with Alec’s stoic mannerisms or a daughter that loves potions and cooking as much as he does.

He blames Christmas for the sudden yearning that overtakes him and clears his throat when Alec looks back up at him. “I wish I’d had something like this when I was a kid,” he says and Magnus looks at the jack-in-the-box with suspicion.

“Out of all the toys you could pick, you want something that’s meant to scare people?”

“It’s colorful and a surprise and plays music. Really, hits all the requirements for a successful children’s toy.”

Magnus just eyes the toy warily and gently but inexorably guides Alec away from the toy booth. Alec lets him with a small smile and Magnus hides his grin in Alec’s shirt when he throws an arm over his shoulder, pulling him close.

They run into a row of ornament vendors and spend quite a while looking through ornaments of all shapes and sizes and materials.

“I had fun decorating the loft with you last week.”

Magnus looks up from where he’d been mulling over a stethoscope ornament for Catarina to see Alec gently lift a glass-blown orb from its hook. Taking the stethoscope with him, Magnus wanders over to Alec, replying, “I’m glad to hear that. It was fun trimming the tree with you, darling. I usually enjoy decorating by myself with one of my jazz records and a glass of wine but maybe I just needed to find the right helper,” he teases with a grin.

Alec laughs but most of his attention is still on the ornament. Coming to stand next to Alec, Magnus takes in the script on the front and his smile widens.

“Today only, we’re offering free engraving on all ornaments,” comes a voice behind them and Magnus turns around to see one of the employees approaching them. They’re dressed in holiday cheer with red bow earrings and an elf’s hat.

“Free engraving,” Alec repeats.

Taking the ornament gently from Alec’s hands, the staff member nods. “It’s usually a dollar a word but since it’s the first day of the fair, it’s our promotion.” She takes a second to read the ornament before looking back up at them with a smile. “Are you interesting in personalizing it?”

To his surprise, Alec speaks first. “Yeah, let’s add our names to it,” he says and looks to Magnus for confirmation.

Magnus looks over at Alec and sees that Alec’s already watching him with that damned look in his eye– like all he sees is Magnus.

“I think it only right that we have a memento of our first Christmas together, don’t you,” he asks softly.

He watches Alec’s eyes light up before he’s following the vendor to the engraving station to fill out an order form.

Magnus checks out with another employee in the meantime and meets Alec at the front of the shop just a few minutes later.

“Julia said that it’ll take about an hour to finish ours and we should come back later to pick it up.”

“Julia,” Magnus asks with a raised brow. “Don’t tell me you made a friend, Alexander.”

“Shut up” Alec mutters. “She was nice and mentioned that she had bought the same ornament for her girlfriend last week.”

Smiling, Magnus doesn’t say anything and the two of them wander around the market, though Magnus’s gaze zeroes in on a booth further up the thoroughfare. He comes to a stop in line and Alec shoots him a curious smile.

“Hot chocolate?”

Magnus hums, reading over the menu. “I only drink hot chocolate in December and this particular booth has the best cup I’ve ever had– and their marshmallows are in the shape of reindeer. Do you want some?”

“No, I think I’m going to head over to the mulled wine booth across from here.”

Magnus looks up as Alec steps away from him. “You’re choosing wine over hot cocoa? Over marshmallows and enough sugar to fell an elephant? You don’t even like alcohol,” Magnus says accusingly.

Laughing, Alec takes another step back. “The only alcohol I’ve ever enjoyed is mulled red wine. With the cinnamon stick? It’s like juice that makes me want to take a nap,” he says sheepishly.

“Very well, then. Leave and go get your nap juice. I’ll just be waiting for my dessert in a mug.”

Magnus sees Alec grin before he’s turning away to get his own drink. The line for the hot chocolate is long, though, and Alec sidles up to him just as he’s placed his order.

“Back so soon,” Magnus sniffs. “Maybe that’s a sign that hot chocolate is definitely the most popular Christmas drink.”

Alec just takes a sip of his wine, humming in satisfaction.

The sun has officially set by the time they make it back to the ornament stand and pick up their purchase. Magnus shivers a little in his coat, burying his nose in his scarf a little deeper.

Alec looks adorable with a red nose and ruddy cheeks and Magnus pauses at the edges of the fair to throw away his empty cup.

Before they can continue, though, he steps up to Alec and unwinds part of his scarf around Alec’s neck. For his part, Alec stands unmoving with a faint grin.

“You know we can’t walk like this,” he says dryly.

Magnus arches a brow. “I’m getting tired of you ruining all of my romantic gestures.”

Alec huffs out a laugh as he shakes his head. “I love your romantic gestures, just not when they get in the way of my food or when they become a tripping hazard.”

“And the say romance is dead,” Magnus mutters. Before he can say anything else, Alec is kissing him. It’s lingering and soft and when it ends Magnus doesn’t want to open his eyes.

“I have to keep you on your toes somehow, babe.”

Opening his eyes, Magnus grins at Alec before unwinding the rest of his scarf and looping it around Alec’s neck, hushing his protests.

“You look like an icicle, Alexander. I won’t have you catching a cold and ruining my plans in a few days.”

“Oh? And what are these plans you have that are more important that a potentially sick boyfriend?”

Narrowing his eyes, Magnus takes his hand and they start the walk back to the subway station. “I’ll have you know that I need to wrap your presents and I can’t do that if you’re in the apartment with me, now can I?”

“I guess,” Alec sighs dramatically though his lips are twitching at the corners.

The commute back to the loft is pleasant as it can be, considering they’ve taken the subway. Magnus immediately leaves his bags by the foyer and makes his way to their bedroom, Alec right behind him.

Changing into comfortable pajamas, they return to the living room, though Magnus grows confused when Alec goes to their bags.

“Leave that, darling. We can go through everything in the morning.”

Alec doesn’t listen and after a few minutes of rummaging, he pulls out the box, going right to the tree and turning it on before placing the ornament right in the middle.

Magnus walks over to him and studies the tree. While most assumed that Magnus would have an elegant Christmas tree with a classic theme, the truth was that he loved the chaotic potential of such a statement piece. He had ornaments from friends stretching back decades and there was popcorn string and multicolored lights and tinsel. Each and every thing on the tree was a memory for Magnus and his heart clutches a little at Alec’s new addition.

“Perfect,” he says, kissing Alec with the heat of the fire at his back.

“It’s our first Christmas living together,” Alec says as he looks over the tree, the colorful lights playing over his face.

“The first of many.”

Turning to the living room proper, Magnus stops Alec when he goes to sit on the couch.

With a wave of his hand, a dozen pillows and a mountain of blankets fall to the ground in front of the couch. Alec smiles but doesn’t protest and they settle onto the floor with the fireplace below the television providing them with a little extra warmth.

“What do you want to do for the rest of the evening, babe?”

Shifting closer to Alec, Magnus lays his head on his chest. “We could watch a movie if you–”

“Rudolph?”

Magnus tilts his head up to see Alec looking at him. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear there was a pleading note in his voice.

“You want to watch Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer? The children’s movie? With that horrendous claymation?”

Alec scoffs. “Claymation is a gift that just just keeps on giving and it’s my favorite Christmas movie,” he admits.

“I had no idea you knew any Christmas movies, let alone animated ones.”

Magnus climbs to his feet and the dvd appears in his hand. He makes his way to the tv and places the disc in the player before returning to Alec who’s delightfully warm.

“It was on the television at the restaurant we went to that first Christmas, when we snuck out.” Alec shrugs and Magnus trails a hand over his chest as he continues, “It looked fun. It was silly and that dentist elf– Hermey– was weird but endearing?”

“Well, then, let’s watch it.”

Magnus settles over Alec again, relaxing into his boyfriend as Alec’s arm wraps around him, sweeping over his back.

The watch a cheesy movie and order in takeout and share a bottle of wine.

The perfect day, Magnus thinks with a drowsy smile.

The Christmas Fair was a staple for Magnus– he’d been going since the very first one all those years ago. As he lets himself fall asleep to the sound of Alec’s breathing, Magnus knows that he’s found that missing piece that makes this time of year all the more special.

Love. Alexander.

Magnus and AlexanderOur First Christmas2018

#my writing #julia tag #the best by far is you #happy birthday dear!!#i really hope that you liked this!!!#malec fic

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whitewolfofwinterfell · 6 years ago

Text

Thoughts from my recent LOST re-watch

There is absolutely no coherence to this, so please forgive me. It’s just a very long list of all of the random thoughts I’ve had throughout my re-watch of LOST about my opinions on characters, ships, plot lines etc. and how they’ve changed or stayed the same. Feel free to send me an ask if you want me to expand on any of these points.

Season 1 is perfection. Literal perfection. I can’t find a single criticism for it. The mystery, the suspense, the anticipation, the characterisation, the plot, the build-up. Just everything. It doesn’t matter how many times I watch it, it’s still so impactful and the pilot is one of the best pilots of any show I’ve ever seen

It’s still so funny that all of the characters so happen to have the perfect combination of skills to survive - Jack the Doctor, Locke the Hunter, Sayid the Soldier and Kate the Tracker

I always knew it anyway, but the Jack/Kate/Sawyer triangle really is awful. And the fact that they (attempted) to bring Ana Lucia into it and then actually did bring Juliet in to make it a love square is even worse.

Jack and Juliet actually kind of make sense as a romantic pairing and have good chemistry (but Suliet still rule all)

Kate is the worst character on the show. I’m sorry, I’ve tried to like her but I never have. She doesn’t undergo any development until around the time she gets Aaron in season 5 - she kills her father in cold blood and justifies it by saying he was a violent drunk (hello, there’s nothing that can justify murder with maybe the exception of self defence), she then goes on the run where she constantly lies, schemes and manipulates to get what she wants, which ultimately leads to her best friend getting killed in the crossfire. From the second she lands on the island she consistently plays Sawyer and Jack off one another by taking advantage of their feelings for her without any consideration to how that impacts them

John Locke is an asshole a majority of the time and I really don’t like him (this doesn’t include pre-island and flash-sideways John, who’s a sweetheart)

Charlie Pace is also an asshole and I don’t know how I didn’t see this sooner

I’ll never be over Boone’s death or the fact that he died for nothing because of Locke

Walt getting taken from the raft is still one of the most shocking and haunting moments of the series

Hugo Reyes is the definition of cinnamon roll, I love him with every fibre of my being and LOST wouldn’t be what is is without him

Kate treats Sawyer like shit from the beginning and he deserves so much better. I’m not gonna lie, I still don’t understand how or why Sawyer falls in love with her

Also what is that bullshit with them having sex in the cage? I know it’s supposed to be this hot-we-could-die-at-any-moment raw sex but it just comes across as very weird?? Even if they don’t know there’s cameras on them, they’re outside in the open where anybody could see them at any time

Shannon is a very misunderstood character who deserved better. So. much. better.

I still hate Ben, but he’s one of the best written villains in television I’ve ever seen

Charlie/Claire is the worst romance in the world. They have no chemistry, Charlie develops an obsession with her and practically stalks her, forces her to do what he wants her to do, constantly tries to take over with Aaron despite having absolutely no right to. There is just nothing even remotely redeeming about this ship and I still don’t get it

Locke’s musical theme makes me cry every single time

And following on from that, as much as I dislike Locke, his flashbacks always make me cry. “Don’t tell me what I can’t do, ever!”, when he gets in the wheelchair in the hospital after his father has pushed him out of the window and when he cries in the car after his father tells him he’s not wanted. It’s heartbreaking

I still can’t get over all the amazing character connections - Charlie saving Nadia, Sayid meeting Kate’s father and Kelvin during the war, Jack meeting Desmond before the island, Christian being Claire’s father, Christian and Ana Lucia going to Australia together, Sawyer meeting Christian in the bar etc. - it’s all so beautifully done in a way that feels authentic and links the characters (even the ones with more superficial ties) together so well

Michael is not a bad person and is unfairly hated. He’s just a father that did what any parent would do to keep their child safe

Hurley and Libby are sweet but severely underdeveloped

I actually really dig the episode about Paulo and Nikki

Eko has such a touching and emotional arc, which although short, is very well rounded

The Other 48 Days is still one of the most chilling episodes of the series

It’s sad that the Tailies were all killed off so prematurely, I feel like they all had potential to be more

Jin’s development is so unappreciated. He’s probably the character that goes through the most amount of growth from the pilot to the finale

I know I should feel sorry for Claire (and part of me does), but I still find her too annoying to feel anything but dislike for her

Desmond and Penny’s love story is freakin’ beautiful and nothing can compare

Also how cute are Rose and Bernard? I’ve come to appreciate their relationship so much. They’re literally just two people who love each other in the purest way and want to be together. It’s so beautiful

Sayid is one of the best characters on the show and my love for him has been reaffirmed

I understand the appeal of Sayid and Shannon but Nadia was Sayid’s soul mate and no one can tell me otherwise

Jack is probably the most unstable character on the show but it’s never acknowledged

Am I the only one that notices that Charlie flat-out lies about not being able to swim? In season 1 when Joanna is drowning Charlie tells Jack he can’t go in to help her because he can’t swim, but he consistently dreams about swimming to save Aaron, Desmond has a vision of him saving Claire from drowning and in season 2 he flat out tells everyone he’s swimming junior champion and swims down to the Looking Glass. Is this Charlie being a liar or simply a fault of the writers, I wonder?

The episode where Sawyer, Jin and Hurley fix up the Dharma car still makes me so happy

Sun and Jin’s relationship is one of the best developed fictional ships I’ve ever seen. It’s so rare that we actually get to see a married couple who are on the verge of breaking up actually love each other enough to work their asses off to make it work and end up being happier and more in love with each other more than ever before

The Others are still absolutely terrifying in seasons 1 and 2 before we find out who they are

Charlie and Hurley’s friendship is overrated

Adding to that some underrated dynamics are - Sayid and Desmond (in The Constant Sayid blindly does everything in his power to help Desmond despite not understanding what the hell is going on with him), Kate and Sayid, Hurley and Sayid, Michael, Sawyer and Jin, Shannon and Walt, Boone and Shannon, Eko and Ana.

Jack is by far the most flawed protagonist I’ve seen in any show

I’m intrigued to know what direction Ana Lucia’s character would’ve gone in if she’d survived

The musical themes are still the best of any show I’ve ever seen. I love that each character has their own theme which perfectly encapsulates them

The way that everyone just forgets about Claire after she goes missing and don’t even attempt to find her is so bad. Particularly when you consider the fact that whenever anyone else has gone missing or were kidnapped - Jack, Kate, Michael, Hurley - they’ve gone on a rescue mission immediately

I’ve always been indifferent to Sun but I realise now that I don’t like her. She’s very hard to connect with and in the last seasons she becomes completely irrelevant and has no personality what-so-ever

Jack reacts so coldly to finding out that Claire is his sister. Like he finds out, he’s shocked, has tears in his eyes but nothing changes in how he behaves and thinks about Claire and Aaron, which makes no sense (but I’m glad we got to see this explored in the Flash Sideways)

Danielle and Alex Rousseau deserved better. So much better

All these people that accuse the show of having an abundance of plot-holes just aren’t paying attention or want everything to be spoon fed to them. There’s actually only about 1 or 2 inconsistencies big enough to be considered a plot-hole (the main one being that Danielle actually sees Ben face-to-face when he kidnaps Alex, but later on doesn’t recognise him when she captures him in a net) and everything is tied together perfectly

I didn’t realise before but season 5 is actually a pretty bad season. The most redeeming aspect is Suliet

Did anyone else notice that Naveen’s (Sayid) accent regresses into his own English accent in season 5 and 6?

I actually hate the entire concept of Jacob and the MIB and what was done with them

Jack really does become Locke in seasons 5 and 6

Following on from that, I really can’t blame Sawyer for wanting to murder Jack in season 5/6. He saunters back onto the island like he’s King of the Island thinking he’s some hero who’s going to save everyone he left behind whilst also fixing himself without any consideration to the repercussions. He completely destroys the life Sawyer and Juliet have spent 3 damn years building which results in a lot of people dying, including Juliet and he doesn’t even really seem that aware of how badly he’s fucked up

We were robbed of a Frank Lapidus centric episode and flashbacks. Robbed, I tell you

I love Jack and Kate as a ship, but when they get back to the island in season 5 they’re very OOC (which is a writing problem imo). Kate wanders off and leaves Jack behind all the time and they don’t really stick together which is just not like Jack and Kate at all. No matter what they always stick together

Sawyer’s character development is amazing. I love him so much

The Temple is dumb. The concept of it, the people we’re introduced to - everything. It should’ve just been scrapped

I also don’t understand what the hell happens to Sayid when he’s drowned in The Temple???? It’s so random and inconsistent, it makes no sense

I still love the concept of the Flash Sideways and don’t understand how people can hate on it or claim it doesn’t matter. It’s so important in so many ways

But I still don’t quite understand why Jack and Juliet have a son in the Flash Sideways? I understand why Jack has a son, because it makes sense for him to work out his ‘daddy issues’, but I don’t understand why Juliet is the mother and what the significance is of that

We really should’ve got more Desmond centric episodes

The Constant is still one of the best episodes of television ever made

The older I get the more I understand and appreciate the religious and theological meanings of the show

I still don’t understand how or why Hurley starts being able to see ghosts. Like that ability just comes out of no where with little to no explanation

It also gets very confusing trying to distinguish between literal ghosts and when the MIB has taken on a dead person’s form

I understand now that one of the many reasons LOST speaks to me on a personal level, and always has, is that I too have felt lost (both metaphorically and literally) throughout my life and I’m able to connect to every character on that basis regardless of whether I like them or not

The characterisation on this show is still second to none. The way each character has distinct lives that are fully fleshed out by flashbacks and that we get to understand every intimate detail about them - the worst thing they’ve ever done, their happiest moment, their greatest fear, the person they love most - I’m yet to find another show that writes its characters in such a complex and fulfilling way

I will always love the show and stand by it being one of the best shows ever, but as the seasons progress it does decline in quality, especially seasons 5 and 6

The finale is still perfect though. I cry like a baby every single time - the church, the way Jack cries in his dad’s arms, it’s just too much

#lost #lost meta #mine #my meta #no one will read this but i wanted to just get all my thoughts/feelings down as i was watching #cos everytime i do a rewatch i see different things or my opinions/feelings change about certain characters/ships/plots etc #text post

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