#and fully intending to arrest him afterwards

[lonesome-greenery]

I kind of forgot just how much of a flirt that Juno is in earlier seasons. Like, I know we all rag on Nureyev for being a flirt, but he's got nothing on early Juno who is just fully willing to flirt and kiss his way through his clients and rivals to get what he wants. If he didn't have that endearing charm and voice, I probably would have greatly disliked him as a character since I don't tend to enjoy players, but Juno apparently seduced me with his wet cat charm, metaphors, and trauma like he did everyone else.

[bullet-prooflove]

Crime Wave: David Hale x Reader

Tagging: @kmc1989 @hatersaremymotivators bennykk kelpies-shed

Companion piece to Graffiti

David Hale wants to court you.

It surprises you because up until now the men in your life have been interested in one thing and one only and that’s fucking you.

When he calls you that night, you fully expect it to be a booty call. It’s past ten pm and you’re curled up in your arm chair, listening to the sounds of the 70s, 80s,and 90s over the radio as you sketch out a scene from the café on Main Steet earlier today. It’s nothing special, just a flower that you saw in a glass of water but you haven’t been able to get it out of your head so you’re committing it to paper. That’s usually how your art comes to you, you see something in the wild that sticks in your brain and you can’t let it go, not until you’ve drawn it.

Usually it’s people. You have entire sketchbooks dedicated to folks you don’t know the names of because you’re fascinated by their posture and facial expressions. It’s the reason you decided to draw David this morning.

When you met it had seemed like he carried the weight of the world up on his shoulders but in that moment, asleep in your bed, he’d seemed relaxed, free. You’d wanted to capture that. You didn’t intend to give the picture away and the phone number had been a last minute addition, hastily scrawled as he was heading out the door.

The truth is you never expected him to call.

“Don’t tell me it took you this long to find my number.” You tease after he greets you.

He laughs and that sound, you don’t realise how much you’ve missed it during the twelve hours you’ve been apart.

“It’s been a busy night.” He tells you as he sits at his desk, reviewing the arrest reports. “It’s been hard to find a moment between throwing the regulars in the drunk tank and arresting delinquents for drawing dicks on other people’s property. It seems you’ve started a trend, one that’s going viral.”

“You’re kidding right?” You say, tapping your pencil on the surface of your sketchpad and you can envision him shaking his head with that amused expression of his as he surveys the evidence.

“I wish I was.” He tells you and you hear the chair creak as he leans back in it. “Cars, mailboxes, shop windows. You’ve inspired a crime wave.”

“Honestly David, I’m so fucking embarrassed.” You say as you press your fingertips to your lips. “Let me make it up to you.”

“This is dinner and a movie at least.” He tells you with a humorous lilt to his voice. “I can give you a tour of your handiwork afterwards, we can rate them, biggest to smallest, most anatomically accurate…”

You can’t help but laugh and on the opposite end of the line David feels something blossoming in his chest.

“I actually took some pictures for evidentiary purposes if you’d like a preview.” He tells you as he scrolls through his phone. “I thought I’d ask as I’m against sending unsolicited dick pics to women I’ve just met.”

“That implies you’ve sent some to women you do know in the past.” You tease and you swear you can feel the blush creeping across his cheeks as he clears his throat.

“I can neither confirm or deny…”

“Some would consider it a form of art.” You say as you survey the images he’s just sent you. There’s some real creativity going on in these pictures, you’ve never seen such a variation of cocks. You wonder if you should be putting together some sort of art installation.

“Like your life modelling?” He prompts and you tune back into the conversation.

“Does that bother you?” You ask him. “That other people see me naked on a regular basis?”

It’s been a source of contention with most of your previous partners. They don’t understand that life modelling isn’t about sex, it’s about the art form, about providing a subject for students to learn from, to develop. It’s not a job for just anybody, you have to be comfortable with yourself, sociable enough to put the artists at ease especially in the beginning stages of their journey.

“No.” He says and you can tell he means it. “You have a beautiful body.”

It’s your turn to blush.

“Do you want to come over tonight?” You ask him and he hesitates.

“Yes.” He says finally. “But I think we should wait for that dinner and a movie.”

You read between the lines.

I want to fuck you, but I want to date you too.

“Tomorrow night.” You say as you scroll through your phone searching for the movie listings. “I’m free tomorrow night.”

Love David? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[mae-i-scribble]

After watching Across the Spiderverse for the second time, I think I’ve finally managed to put into words what about Miguel’s characterization made me so conflicted. Obviously spoilers below.

While Miguel is clearly intended to be a sympathetic antagonist I don’t think that intention is fully realized in the movie, because from the minute we meet him, we know that he’s wrong in his conclusions. Miguel is supposed to be a “the ends justify the means” archetype, but after his explanation on why canon events cannot be disrupted Miles immediately points out the obvious- how can his father dying being a canon event when it is cause by a dimensional anomaly? And more than that, based on Miguel’s logic Miles’ world should have collapsed long ago because it was missing its Spiderman, a person who was not meant to die in that timeline. It’s the same as replacing a person who was meant to die only now there’s a gaping hole in the world where a person was meant to exist. Also- nothing about what happens in Into the Spiderverse is a result of any canon disrupting phenomenon, nothing could have been done to prevent it and none of what happened is Miles’ fault. (there’s more evidence against Miguel’s logic but these were the most obvious ones to me). One of the most crucial aspects of a sympathetic antagonist is being able to sympathize with *why* it is they do what they do. Miguel’s logic hardly holds up past its introduction which means that gets thrown out the window very quick as a viewer.

The next thing then, would be for us to see how Miguel leads the other spider people and what makes him into such an inspiring leader to these thousands of heroes. And the movie... doesn’t really show us much of that, to be honest. The best moment we get is when Miguel is explaining the concept of canon events to Miles, because he is genuinely understanding and empathetic. It’s very compelling to his portrayal- but for me it was overshadowed by his anger. The moment Miguel meets Miles, the first thing that he does is chuck something at the kid full force towards his head. And then in the chase afterwards, Miguel gets increasingly more violent and spiteful towards Miles because Miles’ keeps angering him- which is something that is expected of him from the other characters- Gwen is visibly nervous at the idea of Miles speaking to Miguel at all. Jessica is also well aware of these angry outbursts when she warns Gwen about failing to catch the Spot. All these things, along side the final scenes of the movie giving him solid red as his backlighting serve to make him seem far more villainous than antagonistic in his narrative role.

About his introduction with Gwen, I do think it gives him that sympathetic light, but it is important to point out that he only begrudgingly gave into Jessica’s request when Gwen had literally nowhere else to return to and then the moment she messes up he sends her home (theoretically back to that exact terrible scenario where he dad wants to arrest her) with no support. So for me its still kinda ://

I don’t consider Miguel a villain, and I’m really interested to see what they do in this next movie with his character because I do believe he’s going to get redeemed. And I genuinely think that he believes in his cause based on the terrible tragedy he had to endure, but that something about what happened with him is different than what is happening with Miles and the other worlds’ canon events. Honestly I wish we had seen more of the citadel and Miguel outside of Miles’ introduction to it. It’s clear that Miles himself is a very sore spot for Miguel which doesn’t make him the most objective character to see Miguel through.

Also on that note, Jessica Drew has a lot of the same issues as Miguel on a smaller scale because while she’s amazing for her introduction scene, after that she’s downright rude and dismissive of Gwen at every turn despite claiming Gwen to be her “star pupil” (this was said sarcastically while she was berating Gwen). While I understand why Jessica was so upset- Gwen really and truly did mess up by letting the Spot escape. It’s hard to see her as a good mentor when that anger is 90% of what we’re seeing out of her in the movie. It’s only at the end when Gwen gets a few sympathetic glances from her that she seems more similar to how she was in her introductions. The movie was packed to the brim as is but I do wish they had even more runtime to expand on these things. I want to believe in the sympathetic nature of both these people but the movie gives very fleeting attempts at doing so.

[the-firebird69]

I'm a huge problem here the Giant number of people bothering him no I usually when that's the case some idiot comes in later so I know how it is and these assholes can't stand and relaxing for a minute so you look over at the courthouse and it's full of idiots and there's a sign and they went to court in order to bother him here on them and special warrants and they intend on grabbing them and they're going to grab them with buses and they fully intend to so what's going on right now and they're all in court and they're in the building and to get out and go by the sheriff so they're kind of stupid and they're mean they intend on bothering him and they forget like most of them will be there longer than the laundry session but just started he's got like 45-50 minutes left and then it's over and most of them have to wait an hour to try anything to happen not to mention that they'll arrest the first bunch they think but that's going to be over so it is a trip and they fell for it and they're going to get the money something goes to our son and it doesn't they're going to pursue them

-they're firing for sheriff they're probably 150 left after today they're giving them notices this morning and said they fired them on the weekend and they all panicked and it's ridiculous and we were at 3:50 for like 2 weeks so really they're going to get 50 notices and they'll be 300 boy did they suck

-there's a huge number of people wondering what happened with the battle with Trump someone said they could be robots we tried to check and he couldn't figure it out and he said for help and Matt tried doing it Matt turned out something it just things have shields you're most likely robots so they're firing on them and you can't get through the shield so they tried to bring a laser I didn't work and Matt tried to hit him with the ship and it didn't work she brought a big ship out and you hit one and it's a robot and Trump had to eat his words it was sitting outside anyways so we had to hit him he has a idiot okay that guy's a moron and he's got no right to be here he has no game so I started hitting him and hitting him and he lost tons of troops probably three quarters of his contingent that is on the mainlands and he's going to go down today everybody's going after the money

-there's a huge number of people who are going after these robots and because of the giant diamonds and their plan is a massive plan and they admit it it's very aggressive and Tommy f is losing troops he's down 5% while he had 25% of the populace but additional and out of and so he is down most likely about 15% so far from what he had and it's still pumping clothes though so that that means it's 85% which is still a very huge and if he gets an edge like pulls them off of the three planetoids were in a lot of trouble we are too

-there's a huge meeting today about warlock and Tommy f and we're going to meet afterwards and then the mishmash and then stand it's a huge deal they are in trouble they did mess up and they keep messing up and people are angry at them and they're going after them right now they're going to try and invade again they lost 20 trillion this morning and they're mainly off again with 20 more trillion and it's going to be awful it really is and they have only a few troops left and then they're done and it's ridiculous okay let these people are doing this terrible. So we see all sorts of stupid s*** to do and y'all going to be in trouble but they're having a meeting about them and they're going to do stuff to them and they're going to make sure that they pay for what they're doing they are thinking of firing more people and they will provoke a reaction to them to leave areas and they are down as we noted to 16% of the general populace this morning is Battle Trump had dropped him down probably it drops them down to probably 14% of the general populace he had a good chunk of it but he went after the robots and lost

More shortly this is important

Thor Freya

I feel a little numb too because this guy next door just does not respond to anything he got all those people hit and doesn't seem to care just after AI he doesn't have and he's a lunatic so I'm playing warnings out that we need to run a much more aggressive program on him

Hera

Did you see it then we're getting it going and we saw it for a while but it's ridiculous it's true that he's lost it and he's spent and it should be written so so we're going forward to it now

Frank Castle hardcastle

You can see there's a huge problem it's giving everybody a lot of problems and he doesn't let up he lets you know he's not letting up and he's aggravating as hell and we're going to go and put forwards a notice on him to the authorities and we will say this you're sitting here next to him our son but you are going down and there's nothing we can do to stop it because you're intermittal still because of it and see if they do anything right now we're taking over the large companies

Duke Nukem Blockbuster

Olympus

[hanatiny]

Perfect Illusion

a/n: this fic is inspired by this post (although I modified the idea a bit)! for those interested, I even made a spotify playlist to hopefully enhance the experience~

pairing: royal guard!San x royal guard/spy!f!reader

genre: smut

word count: 2113

warnings: royal AU, weapons (knives and daggers), brief mention of infidelity (which I do not condone), swearing, teasing, dry humping, hair pulling, name-calling (they keep insulting each other... oops), enemies with benefits, implied enemies to lovers (kind of), slight knife kink, implied pain kink, exhibitionism, unprotected sex, no clear dom/sub roles

-----

Despite excelling at undercover work, you weren’t known be incredibly ‘out there’ in the way you executed your tasks, so this particular mission you had been given must have been the one you disliked the most as of now, not to mention that you despised the tactic of seduction.

You did your best to attract as little attention as possible in order to carry out your information gathering in peace. Although it seemed that in doing so, you had become a little too suspicious for one of the guards. You heaved a sigh, meeting his eyes while most of his face remained covered by the hood and the mask he wore to not look like the odd one out at the royal masquerade event. He nudged his head towards a nearby balcony after asking for one of his fellow guards to watch his spot, signalling you to follow.

Albeit slowly, you did what was asked of you - your beliefs were much too deeply rooted in obedience not to. Once outside, the guard closed and locked the door behind you. Shrugging off his hood, he took off his mask while you did the same so the two of you were equally bare to each other.

“San?!” “Y/n?!” You both gasped aloud in equal shock and surprise, slapping a hand over each other’s mouths to prevent anyone from hearing how casually you spoke with each other.

Prying your hand away from his face, although still holding it in his own, San quirked an inquisitive eyebrow at you, “What, pray tell, are you doing here at this party wearing that?”

Your voice was teasing as you spoke and he gestured towards the black dress you were wearing, “Oh, this old thing~?” He rolled his eyes at your playful tone but allowed you to continue, “As much as I didn’t want to, His Highness requested me to keep my eyes and ears open for anything or anyone suspicious... and had the bright idea of having me use seduction to get the job done.”

Despite knowing how much you hated the technique in question, San thought it fun to tease and rile you up about it, “Do I classify as suspicious then? Cause you’ve definitely caught my interest and seduced me...~”

You rolled your eyes, grabbing him and pulling him close by the tie he was wearing before whispering in his ear, “With how flirty you’re being, definitely. I might have to arrest you now, sunshine~ But if you play your cards right, I might let you fuck me, pretty boy.”

It was your turn to cock an eyebrow when San nonchalantly turned the situation around on you and pinned you against the wall roughly, both of your wrists above your head in one of his own while an almost bored grin danced across on your face at the act. “That all you got~?”

“Not at all, sweetheart...~” “Show me then,” you challenged without hesitation, hooking one of your legs around his hip to draw his body closer and flush against yours, “show me what you can do, unless you want to admit that a woman could dom you~”

Bullseye. You hit him right in his sore spot, knowing him to be much too competitive to let such a cheeky comment slide. You saw something shift in his eyes, something dark, and you knew you had him right then and there, “You asked for it... don’t complain if you limp afterwards.”

“Wanna bet~?” San effectively shut you up by melding his plush lips to yours, your hands tugging greedily at his already messy hair while the grinding of your hips against his coaxed a soft moan from his lips.

“You really don’t intend to make it easy for me do you, little vixen...” He whispered against your lips, his voice low and raspy as he did so, causing you to give him a casual shrug, “You know me, I always want to be the one who comes out on top. Whether that is in the physical sense or not couldn’t matter any less to me, frankly.”

San huffed softly, he knew you were competitive but so was here. However, the difference between the two of you was that you were willing to play dirty to get what you want.

As such, you couldn’t prevent a slight smirk from tugging at your lips when his breath hitched audibly after he pushed the hem of your dress up to your hips and spotted the daggers strapped to one of your thighs. “Staring longer won’t make the image imprint itself in your mind any faster. And in case you haven’t noticed with how much you want my daggers on your body, I’m worked up and hereby telling you to hurry up and fuck me. Right here, right now.”

“Getting feisty and demanding, are we? Two can play that game, Y/n...~” Reaching into the inside of his jacket, San pulled out a knife and held it to your throat while the cocky smirk never left your face, “Are you just gonna keep threatening me with a good time so that I’ll walk right back in there and tell everyone you’re my bitch, or are you actually gonna do something about that obvious boner in your pants?”

San’s eyebrow twitched at your audacity, the discovery of the fact that you had foregone underwear tonight not helping his dwindling patience in the slightest, “Pathetic how desperate you are for my cock, you minx. Needing to cover it up with such a tough girl act...”

He trailed off, watching you closely as he pocketed his knife and used his now unoccupied hand to quickly unfasten his pants and free his aching length from its confines. He stroked himself a few times, the seconds passing torturously slowly in your eyes as you licked your lips in anticipation before throwing your head back against the wall with a strangled gasp when he fully inserted himself inside of you without warning.

“You son of a-” “Shush doll, don’t want anyone to hear what we’re doing out here do you~?” You huffed as he interrupted you, pretending to think for a moment before shaking your head with a smile, “I actually do, imagine the surprise when they’d hear that two of the royal guards are all over each other...~”

San’s eyes darkened once more before narrowing them at you, “You asked for it, then... Be prepared to scream.”

“Such big words from the man who’d let me spit in his mouth~” You weren’t having it though, only mewling and moaning softly while San repeatedly snapped his hips into yours. His pace was rough and quick, eager to get both you and himself off, “Won’t even, fuck- won’t even scream for me... am I not fucking you hard enough?”

“Mmh... nope~!” You replied with a toothy grin, gasping sharply when San thrusted inside of you particularly harshly. “That better?” “Much~” He continued to move at the harsh pace he had just set, his breath hitching when his hand accidentally brushed against the leather garter still fixed securely around your thigh.

He felt himself twitch violently when you spoke through low pants, his thrusts stuttering, “Wouldn’t you love to have me trail one of those daggers over your sensitive skin, sunshine? Perhaps even pierce it a little here and there to show who you belong to~?”

Those last words came out unintentionally but you didn’t feel the need to correct yourself, considering that your possessiveness appeared to be the last straw for San judging by the warmth that filled you as he came, your own orgasm washing over you shortly after. Once you had both caught your breath, he carefully pulled out of you and helped you straighten out your dress after doing the same to his own clothes.

You implying that he was yours was undoubtedly a matter to be discussed, but for now, you two had a masquerade to return to. As such, San handed your mask back to you after having previously stored it in one of his jacket pockets. You both secured your masks back on your faces so that your identities were concealed once more, although San decided to not pull his hood back up.

He unlocked the balcony door before turning to you with a teasing albeit charming smile, holding his hand out for you to take, “Will you let me have this dance, m’lady~?”

You found it amusing how quickly he could switch back to his professional persona, placing your hand in his own regardless, “It’d be my pleasure~”

He led you back inside of the large, well-lit ballroom where no one was any the wiser of what had transpired mere minutes ago, your dress swaying slightly while you danced with San, a small grin painted on your features.

You ended up getting to bed incredibly late, almost stumbling out of it the next morning before quickly making yourself presentable after being requested in the throne room by His Highness himself, wondering what it could possibly be about.

You ran into San on the way there, finding out that he had been called to see the prince as well. Pushing the heavy wooden door open, you weren’t particularly surprised to find it empty besides the presences of you, your companion and Yeosang, who had placed his crown on a pedestal near himself.

Letting his emotionless facade crack a bit, he gave a small smile when he saw the two of you kneel before him as it was custom for the subordinates or the royal family.

“Those who want to wear the crown need to prove they are able to bear its weight.”

Yeosang’s voice rang out through the room, causing you and San to look at each other questioningly and then back up at him in confusion. The older male had never been more glad to not have any other of his court officials or guards besides the two of you inside of his throne room, relieved that he could be blunt about his message.

“I’m sure you both are aware of how I came to be where I am presently, yes?” You both nodded in response. “Then you know my mother was not a true queen and slept her way to the throne. Hell, I’m even a bastard child - her husband was not my father. In short... she was a whore.”

San gasped quietly next to you in surprise at the word choice, causing you to nudge him gently to remind him to focus and listen.

“I don’t want to keep the two of you here any longer than necessary,” the unrightful prince leaned forward, his weight still resting on the arm he had previously propped himself up on, “My coronation is set to be held eleven days from now. Whichever of you comes up with the better plan to cover up my ‘coincidental’ disappearance by then gets to claim the throne.”

It was a tempting offer, that much you had to admit, but it sounded almost too good to actually be true.

“Your Highness-” “Please drop the formalities Y/n, you’ve known me since I was a little child.” The young man in question corrected softly as you cleared your throat with an understanding nod, “Are you sure this will work out as you intend it to? I’m not sure anyone would believe one of your royal guards to be allowed to inherit the crown just like that...”

“Y/n. Surely you’ve noticed how desperate the people are for a ruler who stands with them, even with all the time you spend working? They’ll accept just about anyone. As long as neither of you exposes the truth about any part of my family... do we have a deal?”

San looked at you and met your eyes, lingering for a few beats before getting up from his knees with you following suit as you looked up at the prince and spoke in unison, always up for a challenge - especially if it just so happened to come with a high reward like this one did, “We have a deal.”

“That’s what I like to hear. Now off you two go, there is work to be done~” Yeosang hummed, you and your ‘companion’ bowing respectfully and nodding before turning on your respective heels.

San pulled his hood back over his head and glanced at you with a smug grin that you happily mirrored, both of you making a run for it out of the throne room.

After all, it was only a matter of time and of who created the most perfect illusion, aware that only one of you would come out on top.

----- Taglist (tell me if you wanna be added):

@atinykitty​ @cometoceantrenches @ddeonghwva  @galaxteez @latte-fairytaekwoon @little-precious-baby @multidreams-and-desires @nightqueennyx​ @twancingyunhoe​  @vocalyunho @yunhoiseyecandy

Network tag:

@8makes1teamnet​

[discoscoob]

A Second Chance | Loki x Female Reader

Loki (Marvel) x Doctor Who

You and Loki remain stubborn, can Donna convince you to give him a chance?

Part Fifteen | Part Seventeen | Chapter Index

Words: 2.8k

Warnings: none

Read on AO3

“So when can we expect you back?” Val asked Thor, from where they were stood on the edge of the settlement of New Asgard, looking at the sea beyond the cliff side.

“About that...” Thor began before Val cut him off.

“Thor, your people need a king.” She sternly reminded him.

“They already have one.” Thor turned to look at her with sincerity, “and she’s a far better king than I could ever be.”

“Are you serious?” Val could hardly believe her ears, there was no way that Thor had just passed the responsibility of the throne down to her, he must have been joking but his face never wavered.

“It’s time to be who I am, rather than who I’m supposed to be. And a leader is who you are.” Thor told Val before his eyes drifted their focus from her as something behind her captured his attention which caused a crease formed between his brows.

Confused by what had distracted Thor, Val mirrored his expression, before she could even follow his line of sight, she felt a cool breeze caress against the back of her neck, which caused her fine hairs to stand on end.

She looked over her shoulder just in time to see a blue wooden box materialising out of thin air, in the near distance behind her.

“What’s this now?” She asked with a tone that told you she had had her fill of strange occurrences for one lifetime.

Once the box had fully materialised, the narrow door swung open with a squeak, which Thor and Val could hear from where they were both stood, and much to their surprise, Loki stepped out into the sun.

Thor immediately looked as though he had seen a ghost, for all he knew he could have been, but it wasn’t the first time his brother would have come back from apparent death, or the second for that matter. Thor didn’t know whether to pull Loki into a bone crushing hug or to throw Mjolnir at his head in order to check that he was truly there.

As if he were on autopilot, he found his feet carrying him towards his brother. The brothers walked across the grass towards one another, but with each step closer, Thor’s pace quickened, until he was charging towards Loki with a battle cry.

Loki’s feet had firmly rooted to the ground as soon as he realised that Thor intended to crash into him, while his eyes widened and he raised his hands innocently.

“No, brother, listen to me.” He began diplomatically, but Thor had no intention of slowing down.

Loki quickly decided that he would rather not be tackled to the ground and began hastily walking backwards, with skilful steps to ensure he didn’t stumble or trip, before he eventually pulled his eyes off of his enraged sibling and made a final sprint back towards the safety of the TARDIS where you, your auntie and the Doctor, observed in confused and concerned silence as Loki ran back around the console, without ever taking his eyes off of the double doors.

Before any of you could question what was wrong, a mighty man came crashing through the doors while growling Loki’s name.

You hadn’t immediately recognised him as Thor, since the last and only time you saw him, he had short hair and most his face had been cast in shadows. The man who crashed into the TARDIS had long knotted hair and a bushy beard which covered half his face.

“Thor, I can explain.” Loki insisted from where he was stood on the other side of the console.

***

“Where’d the hairbag go? We’re meant to be leaving.” A talking raccoon dressed in a vest asked Val, who looked down at the creature with furrowed brows.

“He went chasing after his brother.” Val answered as she looked back towards the blue police box, while the raccoon looked out at the water that lay beyond the cliff which they were stood on.

“Ain’t he dead?” The raccoons face twisted in horror as he assumed Val had used a metaphor to explain that Thor had ran off the cliff edge in order to reunite with his brother.

***

You looked back towards the man who barged into the TARDIS, after Loki had revealed he was Thor, and although he had drastically changed his appearance since the last time you saw him, which was only a few hours ago, you began to pick up on recognisable features which told you undoubtedly that he was, in fact, Thor.

“What sorcery is this?” Thor asked, as he looked around the spacious control room, which was much larger than the small box he had followed his brother into.

“Not sorcery, science.” The Doctor corrected him as he casually strolled across his control room.

“I know you,” Thor drew his brows together as he pointed one of his fingerless glove clad fingers at the time lord, “you were with Loki in New York.”

Thor glanced towards you and your auntie and you saw recognition settle across his eyes, indicating he remembered the both of you as well.

“Loki healed you.” Thor pointed the same finger at you and you felt as though a spotlight had been shone on you, as you shrank away from the attention. The Loki who had healed you was no longer here, he was also the Loki who saved his brothers life and he didn’t even know it, you decided to change that.

“Loki and I were together,” you began to explain, you didn’t miss the way Thor’s eyes widened as he looked between you and the other Loki who was silently watching his brothers reaction. “When you and all the Avengers travelled back in time, Loki managed to escape with the Tesseract after he was captured in New York.”

“No,” Thor shook his head, as he looked back towards Loki, “I took you back to Asgard, father banished you to the dungeons.”

Loki opened his mouth to explain but you beat him to it, regaining Thor’s attention.

“The Time Variants Authority arrested Loki because he wasn’t meant to escape from New York, afterwards they restored the timeline, it was as if he never left, everything was put back to normal, but this variant of Loki still existed. That’s who I met, that is the Loki you met in the alleyway in New York, that is the Loki who you saw get killed by Thanos.” By the time you finished explaining your eyes were glossy as tears had gathered on your waterline and you quickly excused yourself, before you broke down in front of everyone, and rushed off to the privacy of your own room.

“I don’t understand.” Thor spoke once you had left, he looked between Loki, the Doctor and Donna for further explanation.

Loki stepped around from the protection of the console and approached his brother as he explained.

“There was another version of me on the refuge ship, he managed to grab me during the commotion and knock me unconscious and take my place. He saved both your life and mine. Afterwards I woke up here, on the floor of this ship, with a head full of brand new memories which I had never experienced.” By the time Loki had finished explaining he was stood right before his brother, who by now had tears gathered in his own eyes as they took in Loki’s appearance. He looked exactly as he had the last time Thor saw him, he was wearing the same outfit, his hair was the same length and he even had the same marks of dirt and ash smudged on his face.

Without hesitation Thor pulled Loki into his chest. At first Loki was startled by the sudden show of affection and flinched, but he soon relaxed into his brothers hold and slowly brought his own arms across Thor’s broad back to return his embrace. Loki did his best to ignore his brothers scratchy beard irritating his neck as Thor hooked his chin over his shoulder.

While the brothers were sharing a moment, Donna quietly slipped out of the control room, she encouraged the Doctor to make himself scarce as well by subtly waving her hand in a ‘come here’ motion by her side. He didn’t need to be told twice, as he never knew what to do with himself when others were sharing a moment in front of him, escaping was the best option.

Once the pair were in the corridor Donna informed the Doctor that she was going to check on you and the Doctor escaped once again, as he diverted down another corridor, leaving Donna to seek you out on her own.

The very first place she checked for you was your bedroom and that’s exactly where you were, sat quietly on the foot of your bed as you fidgeted with your hands over your lap. You were no longer crying, she noticed, but you still made the occasional sniffle which indicated that you had only stopped not so long ago.

Donna didn’t say anything as she apprehensively invited herself into the room, she treated the space delicately, as if the slightest movement would destroy it like a house of cards, her feet barely made a sound as she tip toed towards you and the springs of your mattress squeaked as faintly as a mouse as she lowered herself down right by your side.

“It’s nice that Loki reunited with his brother.” Donna kept her voice soft and gentle, as anything else would have felt inappropriate in that moment.

You simply nodded your head in response as you kept your eyes focused on your intertwined hands over your lap.

“I see the way you look at this new Loki,” Donna mused and you lifted your head in interest of her observations. “Like he killed your cat and then pissed in your cornflakes.”

You only huffed and lowered your head.

“The only reason he is alive is because my Loki isn’t.” You shook your head. “I think I am allowed to be, at the very least, a little bit resentful of that.”

“That’s fair.” Donna nodded, “but you have also been offered something a lot of people would kill for.”

“And what’s that?” You asked through a cynical scoff of a laugh, wondering what kind of silver lining Donna could have possibly found in this situation.

“A second chance.” She answered as if it were obvious.

You let her words settle between the two of you as you pondered over them for a moment before you eventually shook your head, with an unreadable expression.

“Even if I wanted it, which I don’t, he has already told me he isn’t interested.” You told your auntie.

“He said that to you?” Donna leaned towards you, almost as if she couldn’t believe what you were telling her and when you confirmed it with a nod, she wrapped her hand around yours and rose from your bed, muttering something under her breath you didn’t quite catch as she pulled you along with her.

You were beyond mortified as you stumbled along behind her while she lead you out of your bedroom and down the corridor in the direction of the control room.

***

When Thor pulled back from the embrace, he held Loki by his shoulders, while Loki maintained a stiff exterior with tense shoulders as he stared at his brother with narrowed eyes and his brows pulled into a frown.

“What?” Loki prompted Thor when he could sense that he was thinking something.

“I never thought I would see the day that my brother, the God of Mischief, would court a midgardian.” Thor smiled, a proud smile to which Loki rolled his eyes and stepped back from his hold.

“Not me, the other Loki. Why would I have any interest in a midgardian I barely know?” Loki explained as he avoided looking at Thor in favour of inspecting the console, which caused him to miss Thor’s frown.

“The other you put those memories in your mind for a reason and you’re just going to throw it all away?” Thor followed Loki around the console, trying to encourage him to meet his eyes.

“She doesn’t want me here anyway.” Loki admitted which made Thor’s face twist with offence on his brothers behalf.

“When did she tell you that?” Thor asked his brother and Loki quickly realised that this bothered Thor far more than it had bothered him, but he allowed his brother to have his moment.

“Just before.” Loki answered with little interest, what he didn’t expect was for Thor’s hand to wrap around his wrist in order to drag him deeper into the TARDIS.

Loki dug his heels into the ground in an attempt to halt his brother, while his protests fell on deaf ears.

“Thor, you’re behaving like a barbarian. This is humiliating. I don’t even want to stay here.” Loki tried to get through to his older brother but it was no use.

When Loki heard your voice echoing down the corridor, he silenced his protests so he could hear what you were saying.

“Donna, stop! It doesn’t matter, I couldn’t care less about what he thinks.” He heard you tell your auntie, as your footsteps grew closer.

Eventually the four of you collided at a corner where two corridors met and before either you or Loki could speak, Donna and Thor were talking over each other.

“My brother tells me you don’t make him feel welcome here.”

“Why are you telling my niece you’re not interested in her?”

“Because it’s true.” Loki answered matter-of-factly, while at the same time you said, “I didn’t mean to make him feel unwelcome, it’s just- it’s not exactly easy to be around him.”

“She at least deserves a chance.” Donna had immediately answered Loki, at the same time you spoke.

“I’m not here to fill the place her Loki left behind.” Loki answered Donna just as you told her, “Donna, just drop it!”

“Then why did he give you all his memories?” Donna ignored you and Thor backed up her argument, “that’s what I said! The other Loki wanted you to have his memories for a reason.”

“Whatever his reason was doesn’t matter, it is entirely my choice what I decide to do with them.” Loki insisted. “Now my brother and I will be on our way.”

“No.” Thor spoke in a low tone, which caused Loki to freeze halfway through his turn to march away.

“What now?” Loki sighed with a roll of his eyes.

“I can’t let you throw this away without giving it a chance.” Thor told his brother.

“What are you suggesting, brother.” Loki turned around to face Thor with a tilt of his head.

“I will refuse to let you leave with me unless you give this a fair chance. Just explore his memories a little, get to know the person the other version of yourself fell for, perhaps there will still be something there for the both of you.”

You and Loki remained silent as you both thought about Thor’s suggestion, although it felt wrong to ‘replace’ your Loki, he had given him his memories and told you to take care of him, perhaps giving him a chance was the fair thing to do for the both of you but you didn’t dare show any reaction to Thor’s ultimatum on the surface.

“May I speak with you for a moment?” Loki feigned politeness, as he took his brother by the crook of his elbow and pulled him a few paces down the corridor where they began talking with their backs turned to you and Donna.

“Are you out of your mind, I said I don’t want to stay here, why can’t I just go with you?” Loki muttered under his breath to his brother.

“The other you developed these friendships, he had a relationship and I think he wanted you to have them or at least have the chance to explore them and how do you know you won’t one day regret walking away from them? At least if you give it a try, you won’t forever be asking yourself ‘what if?’” Thor whispered back.

“This is a terrible idea.” Loki protested, “I already know I will hate it.”

“Just take her on one date. If it doesn’t change your mind-”

“It won’t change my mind.”

“If it doesn’t change your mind, then you can leave. I think that’s fair.” Thor told him and Loki contemplated it with a swift glance towards you from over his shoulder.

“Fine.” Loki answered with a sigh.

“You won’t regret it.” Thor patted Loki’s shoulder with a smile, which his brother responded to with a glare.

[rorytelling]

How come out of all my D&D characters, the ones that feel the most like real characters/well thought out/fully realized are always the ones I played once before the campaign fizzled out due to lack of interest or scheduling conflicts?

1) a bugbear barbarian who killed an adventuring party's human bard and convinced them that he WAS the bard and has been living with this stolen identity ever since. He's got normal barbarian stats and then inexplicably high scores in deception and performance so no one questions him as a bard. I love him so much. He beat a Goliath fighter with the grappling style in a fist fight and afterwards he's like "I'm Beldur Heartstrings, the bard" and everyone believes him.

2) A half elf wizard I intended to be very generic because I made her for a oneshot 5 minutes before it started cuz I was invited to play at the last minute. In the first 10 minutes of the game, she sliced up her hands trying to stop her fall by grabbing a vine and failing the roll, and was accidentally shot in the hand twice with an arrow when a party member failed two rolls n a row. So now she refuses to touch anything that she isn't 100% sure isn't going to come to life and bite her, and uses Mage Hand for things like handing things to people or opening letters.

3) A lizardfolk paladin who kills monsters that eat people to cleanse the world of evil one abomination at a time, but he also eats people and doesn't find this hypocritical at all.

4) a tiefling bard who got lumped in with the characters with a criminal background at the start of the campaign to justify the characters being there (we had 3 criminals, me, and a city guard, so the backstory was they had all been arrested and the first mission was community service and the guard was chaperoning) since everyone assumed my character was a thief when they weren't, they spent the whole session yelling "I'm not a criminal! I'm just poor!" No one believed them. They also have a pet rat.

Meanwhile the character I played in a campaign for over two years was just girl Tarzan with lions instead of gorillas and it didn't occur to me until the second year of playing that I could have been talking like Tarzan the whole time, or talking TO my animal companion, or leaping from tree to tree instead of walking.

[zhuhongs]

Since rewatching the guardian drama after reading the novel has made me mad about how bad and good both of them are I am Obligated to write out a list of what I think the perfect merger btw both versions of canon are. This will be in list format otherwise I’ll end up writing like 6k words again. 

TLDR: the genre stays as supernatural from the novel and not Sci fi, bc that was rlly not fleshed out well. Shen Wei is a ghost king, and all the dixingren are ghosts or demons like originally intended. The ghost race naturally exists and wasn't born from kunluns shoulder fire or anything. They just exist separate from humans. Not all ghosts are former humans, some people are just born as ghosts, like Shen Wei. Zhao Yunlan has the guardian whip and all the cool stuff that comes with the Guardian order.  Overall, i’d keep the novel’s plot and relationship progression and ending without the backstory. Instead the backstory is a merger of both canons. From the drama I’d keep the characterization and themes as well as like half the extra cases and omit the other half. 

I’ll be elaborating much further on my ideal backstory and other stuff under the cut bc the rest is 1.5k and I don’t wanna clog the dash 

Okay SO In my ideal backstory there are two timelines just like the drama but the mythology of the book. The god Kunlun is actually zyl that went back in time and became a god. But the one that went back isn’t the current Zhao Yunlan. There has to be an original timeline where the god Kunlun never existed. Thus the great seal nor the separation of the three realms don’t exist either. Zhao Yunlan must go back in time to become a god, meet Shen Wei in the past, and create the current timeline where the separation exists but isn’t perfect. The current timeline is the one that the majority of the series takes place in.

In the original timeline, Zhao Yunlan is just some dude living in a world where ghosts, fairies, and all other beings just live in a giant free for all and it's kinda just a mess. 

Like there’s government in modern context and all and all races live with each other but there's constant tension. ZYL works at some equivalent of the SID (same staff and side characters, but novel vers. Lin Jing is a monk, CSZ a zombie, etc) to protect people and all that and their job is rather hard. One day encounters the thousands year old ghost king Wei (who isnt shen wei yet bc zyl gave him that name in the future) who works alone as like a rouge cultivator of sorts. He lives on the surface undercover as a professor still bc he’s trying to not catch Yezun’s attention but does all the stuff he normally does as Heipaoshi. The two ally together for a case and bc they both have the same goals of getting all races to live in peace. At current, there are forces working together to decimate the human race, all lead by Yezun

As they work together they become closer and all that. Shen Wei tells him about how he was unable to prevent the great war 5 thousand years ago and neither could the gods so  he’s spent the past 5 thousand years trying to make up for it. As they search for ways to stop Yezun, they gather the 4 hallows and learn how to use them to manipulate time so ZYL can go into the past and stop the great war and separate the three realms (living, dead, ghost).  Shen Wei wants to go back with him but he can’t because he was alive all those years ago so if he goes back it will create a paradox. ZYL promises he’ll find Shen Wei in the past and create a timeline where they could be together in peace (that is the current timeline)

When goes back he becomes the god kunlun because there needed to be a new god born at the time to prevent the war.  Also this time traveller looked promising to Nuwa, Fuxi, and Shennong. And I know in the guardian universe gods are usually born and ppl don’t become gods. EXCEPT this can happen when a god passes on smth from their body onto them bc that did happen in the novel with Kunlun making shen wei a demigod. And since fu you and ma gui are supposed to be gods Nu Wa and Fuxi I think that when they die, they should make ZYL a god and that's how this stuff happens.

So like ZYL explains to the gods the time he came from and how he wants to save everything and they make him a god and he works to save everything just like he did in the drama but this time with the novel plotline. During this time he meets young Shen Wei (he’s still like a hundred or so years old) and they get close and all the stuff from the backstory happens. He gives him his name, all that good stuff. The entire time doesn’t let him know that he’s from the future or that his real name is ZYL. He just poses as kunlun. 

The two of them alongside the other gods (who still die at the times they do in the novel) work together to end the war and establish the great seal and set up the cycle of reincarnation, per the current timeline. Although the seal and cycle of reincarnation aren’t perfect. Gods can’t reincarnate, and ghosts still don’t have souls. And just like the novel, doing all of this kills ZYL bc it takes a lot of energy to create the seal even though it isn’t perfect.

Shen Wei of course doesn’t want ZYL to die and zyl says it's alright because he fixed the timeline so there must One day they will meet again and ZYL reveals the truth about the timeline to shen wei before he dies. This becomes the promise that Shen Wei mentions to meet again. Before he dies, ZYL gives him the shoulder fire as a memento ( i still like the candy wrapper necklace deal but i’ll take this too. Maybe both.. The pendant is still just rlly cool.. Gay ppl)

Shen Wei knows gods can’t enter the cycle of reincarnation and still makes the deal with Shennong to strip Kunlun of his godhood and let him reincarnate. This sets us into the novel timeline where isn’t allowed to meet any of zyl’s reincarnations before he becomes zyl otherwise he will die and also fuck up the timeline. The same 5 thousand years of pining still ensue bc Gay Ppl and i love making Shen Wei suffer but he doesn’t have the shrine room thing bc i think thats weird and yea.. Bad. 

In the meantime Shen Wei does a lot of things mostly just protecting the great seal and working for Hell to keep the peace but still does other stuff. He still watches out for ZYL’s reincarnations but doesn’t do much besides make sure they don’t die a premature death. They meet again finally at the beginning of the series and the timeline resumes like canon. And that's my master plan that merges both drama logic and novel logic while making a much better timeline. (I hope that makes some sense)

Da Qing is still Kunlun’s pet cat and important. Novel backstory applies to him. And I already mentioned him kinda but as for Yezun (Gui Mian in the novel) his deal is similar as in the drama but just a ghost. And he is a big player in the great war, he thought Shen Wei abandoned him as a kid but they were just separated. Shen Wei doesn’t know it's him till the end of the war and couldn’t stop him in the OG timeline and vows to bring him to justice and make amends. Shen Wei continuously tries to explain things to him but he just won’t listen and is imprisoned in hell bc yk… war criminal stuff and yeah he’s the main antagonist trying to break the great seal bc he’s still made about the past. Idk. Yezun wasn’t well written in the novel OR the drama so like… honestly he just needs to be completely rewritten and I don’t care enough about that. He can just be a weak villain idk

the drama characterization stays the same for everyone else bc found family go brr. However for Lao Chu i… hmm… i think he should still be a zombie but the reason he killed someone should be related to his brother. I like that addition and then shen wei realized his sentence was unjust and exempted him. i like that storyline merger. bc the brother thing and him admiring Heipaoshi was drama only. in the novel lao chu just murdered some kid for a rlly whatever reason.

uhhh in terms of the cases… id make adjustments to most of them. i think the li qian case should be like the drama bc the novel just had her as a murderer and it was boring. 

For the mountain river awl one was fine… novel version was funnier and more interesting action wise tbh… rip zyl and his exorbitant flirting. uhhh the whole reveal that shen wei was the soul reaper thing was kinda… ehh in the novel but i did love the comedy of afterwards Shen Wei pretending he went into cardiac arrest when he actually just… has no pulse bc he's a ghost. 

ID KEEP THE WORTH IT SCENE AND RAIN SCENE… THOSE FUCK SO HARD… I love the drama for adding those every damn day. the novel version of zyl losing his sight sucked and was sooo boring.  Keep the drama version on that.

also id keep dr. cheng. i'm very pro dr. cheng and her friendship with shen wei it adds so much to his character imo. keep the fruit seller man and his wife for the merit brush..omg it adds SO MUCH the way the drama did it.. like the drams build up with the novels pace of that arc.. mwah. it felt like it dragged a bit in the drama but if it went faster and without the hospital ep and with sha ya (sorry sha ya) that would've been so good. tho keep novel version of da qings memory loss and lao li. that was rlly impactful.

id say keep some of the cases like the mirror one, the eyes doctor one, etc. just to like.. yk have more to fill in general.. novel pacing but drama characterization without the bs that wasn't fully realized. and novel ending ofc. And that’s it!!

I hope most of this makes some amount of sense  but it probably doesn’t. In my head it all tracks but like ik most of u don’t know anything about the novel so this sounds like gibberish. Also I know this would literally never happen but this is MY ideal merger of the two canons that I feel compelled to expand on for some reason. Anyways, as io said,, we need to rebuild guardian. Like literally let me and the mutuals write Guardian and it will be 500 times better.

[chayacat]

Devil’s Sweet Star (38)

Fandom: Dead by Daylight

Ghostface x Female Reader  

Rated M for Violence, Language and Smut  

***

Soon. Soon, death will strike with its vengeful and saving scythe. Soon the blood will flow, in a golden setting. soon... Danny will kill Hoggins. After tomorrow, in the evening, to be more precise. But before that, the festival. Tomorrow, Danny will have to do everything possible to stay focused for article on the Roseville Festival. Mattew and Melina will be there to support him, but he is the one who will take the pictures. And he will have to take a lot of them. He will not really have time to enjoy it unfortunately. Especially since they will not be the only journalists on the spot, newspapers from other cities will be there too. It will be an opportunity to see new faces... and if possible, to have an exit door. Because if he can impress these journalists, maybe they'll offer Danny to come and work with them? Maybe.

The police will also be present to monitor the central square. Wilhelm too, unless he was too busy with Hoggins. But there will be at least one inspector, that's for sure. It remains to be seen who it will be. And you will be there, holding your stand, selling your pastries with your two employees. Just like Danny, you won't be able to enjoy the festival fully but it doesn't matter, you can always have a little party... in private.

Besides, Danny thinks back to last night. He appreciated that you were more playful, more enterprising with him. It amused him a lot. A sneaky smile stretched on his face; he already imagined all the little "games" that you could both play. But he will start slowly, he would not want to destroy everything. Mattew comes to rest next to him, sighing completely exhausted.

“Did you get up on the wrong foot?” asks Danny.  

“No, the boss wanted to see me for tomorrow... he told me to focus on the festival and not on the stands to eat. But if there is the pastry stand of (Y/N) I will not be able to resist! He knows it! I would like to see him in my place, I am sure he would do the same!” responds Mattew sulking.  

“Haha it's clear, but he's not wrong especially that other journalists will be there as well, we have to look good in front of them. But don't worry, I'm sure (Y/N) will still have a lot of cakes for us. And then you can taste his famous cake. I can't wait to see what it will look like in the end.”

“Besides, how does it work in your new apartment? doesn't that make you weird all this space?” replied Mattew.

“Very well, very well... it’s true that at the beginning it was strange to live together when we used to live each on our own. But we get used to it. And then... we have several opportunities to... test the resistance of the bed, if you know what I mean.” responds Danny, smiling jokingly.

Mattew looked at Danny with big eyes while Melina who was passing by at the same time started laughing. Danny also laughed as he patted the shoulder on his colleague who was still shocked. All three took a coffee break to chat a little, while enjoying the fresh air... of the air conditioner. It was a little hot today and, in the offices, even more. So, the air conditioner was welcome. They meet Nancy, the newcomer of the team. The poor woman was lost, until now she had only done odd cleaning jobs despite her diploma as a journalist. She wore small round glasses, her black hair tied in a ponytail gave her a little schoolgirl side or the cliché of shy and clumsy women. Afterwards, the poor woman was really clumsy. How many times has she dropped her coffee? too many times to remember. And it had only been a week since she was there.

“Have you heard the latest news about Hoggins? Apparently other former collaborators are ready to testify against him if there is ever a trial. From what some have said, Hoggins has been manipulating people for years and years to get them to invest in his business and mysteriously they have all sunk. He even did it with foreign collaborators. What a son of a bitch.” Said Melina.  

“He really fucked the whole world this guy it's not possible. Let him be fucked up in prison once and for all! The prisoners will take care of him! If you see what I mean...” responds Mattew.  

“The famous trick of the soap?”

“I would rather say the famous Swiss army knife trick. It's very easy to get one in without being noticed in prison... I've seen that before.” Replied Danny, sipping his coffee.  

“What? have you ever been to prison?” asks Melina shocked

“Yes. When I started my job as a journalist, me and my superior at the time went to a prison to interview a prisoner who was wrongly accused. And we took the opportunity to write about what was happening in prison. At one point I turned my head towards one of the cells, and I saw one of the prisoners pull out a knife that he had had hidden in a banana bread.”

“A great classic that. I am still amazed to see that the prison guards are not more on their guard than that...”

Danny shrugged his shoulders; he was not surprised. As it did not surprise him if these same prisoners managed to escape. But because they are idiots, they end up in prison again for the same crime. Dumbass. Danny never got caught at least. At the same time, he did everything to never get noticed or arrested. And yet he left from afar! He learned on his own... and he was lucky. And he intends to keep his chance with him... Oh, yes.  

Observing through the window, Danny noticed that the city was adorned with a thousand colours. The last banners were hung, the leaflets distributed, the posters glued. Tomorrow, Roseville would have been in existence for exactly 32 years. And Mayor Tallis is the one who runs this city... This man is truly an impressive person. And respectable. It’s perhaps the only one that is respectable in this city.  After you.

Our trio went back to work, each on their article, Danny on Hoggins' article. So, he's hated all over the world... In a sense it wouldn't be so bad if Hoggins stayed alive. it could be the scoop of the century! the case that could boost his career! Imagine how sensational a trial article could be. Especially if it's Danny who writes it. Even if he is a murderer, this is not a reason to abandon those why he spent his youth and his studies. He has to work hard, very hard even to get to this point! While Danny was working, his phone rang. A hidden number? That's not a good sign... unless it’s still these sellers who are trying to bait you with their stupid products.

“Roseville’s Gazette, Jed Olsen on the phone, what can I do for you?” said Danny.

“Hi..."Olsen".” responds a man voice.

“Hoggins. How did you get my number?”

“I have my sources as well. But you suspect that I am not calling you out of pure courtesy.”

“Gets straight to the point. What do you want?” replied Danny.  

“Leave this girl. Otherwise, you'll regret it bitterly little asshole. You don't realize who you're dealing with...” responds Hoggins.

“No, I think it's YOU who don't know who you're dealing with. And believe me I intend to make you pay for it. The prisoners will take good care of you, when the court will sentence you to jail for fraud, plus a voluntary homicide... You are cooked Hoggins. You can hide, you can lie as much as you want, you will not be able to escape your destiny. If Ghostface does not decide to kill you for copying its modus operandi. Because he attacked poor people for a few days... because of you. He can't stand being robbed of the show. Now if you excuse me... I have a job to do. Oh, and one last thing...” said Danny Before taking on a more menacing tone: “If you dare to threaten MY girlfriend again... it’s not her who will have an accident. But you.”

Danny hung up dryly, leaving Hoggins no time to say anything. This guy doesn't lack grit decidedly... he will have been a strong opponent, Danny must admit. But not enough to survive any longer. He sent an email to Wilhelm where he explained everything that was said in the conversation between him and Hoggins. Like that, it will make one more ball at the foot of this son of a bitch.  

The rest of the day went smoothly. Mr. Hembrook had summoned Danny to set up tomorrow's day. There will be a total of 4 newspapers, including them, at the festival. It will therefore be necessary to look good! It will also be necessary to take good photos, and to transcribe the speech of Mayor Tallis. Unfortunately, not everyone will be able to come tomorrow. The Gazette must therefore allow these poor people to know what the mayor said for this year's festival.

He worked another hour or two before returning to the apartment. It was quite late, and he had sent you a message to warn you to not wait for him to eat if you were too hungry and he apologized. To which you replied that it didn’t matter, and that you would put a plate aside for him. He parked, entered the building, and went up to the apartment. When he opened the front door, it was dark. no sign of life from you... Until he sees something moving on the couch. When he turned on the light, he sighed as he saw you asleep and, in your pyjama, his coat on you.

“Honey? Honey... Wake up... I'm home.” said Danny.  

“Hm... Jed? Sorry I fell asleep... I'm going to make you warm up your plate... I hope you like Udons...” you respond rubbing your eyes.

“You should go to bed instead... you barely stand. You must have had a big day. I'll take care of everything don't worry about it... I join you after eating and after a good shower.”  

You nod by yawning, which made Danny laugh. He placed a kiss on your forehead before letting you go to your room. Poor of you.... you are exhausted. He warmed up his dish of Udons and moved to his office to work. He worked for an hour, then he left his office by locked it, made the dish, took clean clothes and went to shower. He changed, and walked into the room, to find you asleep in bed, Danny's cushion in your arm like a stuffed animal. You're so cute... He gently regained his cushion, putting himself in the place of the latter in your arms. He laughed lightly when he saw your arms tighten around his waist, and he placed a kiss on your cheek before turning and stalling in bed.

He looked at his phone for about ten minutes, just to find sleep, which eventually happened. He thought back to the conversation with Hoggins. If only he knew what awaited him... if only he knew... But that would spoil the surprise. 2 Days... it's going to be a long time. But the most amusing thing will not be hoggins' death. The most fun will be your reaction. And whatever your reaction, he's ready to react. For good and for worse. A little conversation between Danny and Jed is in order.

“Everything is ready for your little massacre?” said Jed calmly.

“You don't seem to object to it this time... Jed.” Responds Danny.

“Don't claim victory too quickly, I'm not for that kind of thing... But here Hoggins touches on something precious. Or rather someone. As much for me as for you. And I'm not going to let him do it.”

“No, it's ME who's not going to let him do it. Believe me... you'll enjoy the show too.”

“What's next? What will happen?” replied Jed.  

“I don’t know. We shall see how things develop. In the meantime, we must prepare... as much for tomorrow. That for the day after tomorrow.” responds Jed.  

Yes... we have to be prepared. Because these next two days are going to be intense.

But really delicious.

***

(Phew! this week has been just as busy as the previous one! But I managed to finish this chapter! As for the RE8 fanfic I'm progressing pretty well! I may do a little teaser post to give you an overview! As for the title... I'm stuck. I have three ideas in mind and I can't make up my mind... Help me XD I hope you’ll like this chapter like the others ones! Well, it's time for my brain to rest! Have a great weekend to you all!  See ya!)

[alexthegamingboy]

Toonami Weekly Recap 8/14/2021

Fena: Pirate Princess EP#01 - Memories: Ten years ago, Fena Hautman washed ashore on a colonized island after her family's ship was attacked at night and a boy named Yukimura helped her escape the explosion. In the present day, Fena is about to have her virginity sold to an ill-tempered British soldier as she plans her escape. That evening, after her plans hit a snag, she is saved by Otto and Salman, two old German soldiers who used to serve her family. Despite being hunted by British soldiers and town guards, Fena is saved by a small group of hidden warriors, including a samurai with eyes similar to Yukimura's, before he knocks her out cold.

Fena: Pirate Princess EP#02 - An Inherited Journey: Fena, Otto, and Salman escape the island on a raft, and soon dock at Goblin Island, home to a small Japanese community led by Sanada Yukihisa, who swore to protect the Houtman family after they rescued his shipwrecked great-grandfather ages ago and gave his crew the knowledge to survive on the island. Sanada gives Fena a small, clear stone, and is told that her father wanted her to have it before he risked his life on his final voyage. After taking a tour around the island and meeting the warriors who aided her escape, Fena cuts her hair and remembers the last word her father said to her, "Eden." Sanada gives Fena a ship and his elite group of warriors to protect her as she seeks to unlock the mystery of the clear stone and Eden.

Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon EP#07 - Meeting through an Apple: Kyūki informs her master, Kirinmaru, of Tokosu's and his son's slaying at the hands of Moroha "Beniyasha" and Sesshōmaru's twin daughters. Kirinmaru commends Sesshōmaru's daughters for their success in slaying quite a formidable warrior that served under him, which he seemed to have forgotten somehow. Kyūki warns him that if he does not take immediate action, she worries that the Half-Demon Princesses will surely bring him disaster. After participating in a demon slaying with Kohaku's group, Towa and Setsuna stay the night at Kaede's house. The next day, Setsuna departs for another mission leaving the sleeping Towa behind. Once Towa awakens, she decides to look for the Dream Butterfly, but has an encounter with the pirate Riku instead. Riku presents Towa with the real mystical Kikujūmonji sword that he stole from the nearby lord before leaving, and Towa is arrested for being mistaken for the real culprit, and is brought before the Lord and Yotsume, leading to the events of the premiere. Setsuna and Moroha are informed of Towa's predicament and decide to rescue her, but they are stopped by Fubuki, an ice demon serving under Kyūki, another of Kirinmaru's Four Perils. While being confronted by Yotsume and the Lord, Towa notices Fubuki's true body besides her and signals for Moroha to shoot at it, destroying the enemy. Afterwards, Moroha and Setsuna storm the castle to rescue Towa and the three leave to chase after Yotsume.

My Hero Academia Season 5 (Endeavor Agency Arc) EP#103 (15): One Thing at a Time: With Hawks’ message in hand, Endeavor now understands the true reason behind the Hero Public Safety Commission bringing back the Work Study program: to ensure everyone is ready for the forthcoming attack of Shigaraki and his combined forces. Accepting Midoriya and Bakugo as his students, Endeavor first seeks to understand what each has to work on. Midoriya hopes to master all of his other quirks, and Bakugo desires to know what he is missing besides strength. Todoroki interjects, intending to learn everything he can from Endeavor, to become someone like All Might. Endeavor sets a goal for his interns, to defeat a villain before he can by the work studies’ end. Thinking of Tokoyami and the other young heroes of the next generation, Hawks sets his own goal: The villains will not succeed, and hopefully everyone will still be smiling by spring.

Black Clover: The Spade Kingdom and the Dark Triad Arc EP#161 - Zenon's Power: Yuno tries to defend his surviving comrades but struggles against Gaderois, a Dark Disciple using devil enhanced stone magic. Gaderois brags about the Dark Triad who gave demonic power to murderers like him to make them Zero Stage mages. When he also brags about the Triad killing the Spade King Yuno summons his Zephyr wind sword and destroys Gaderois stone armour, defeating him. Klaus faces a disciple named Foyal using enhanced mist magic and he is unable to fight back as Foyal can turn his body intangible. Yuno blows away the mist while Letoile uses her compass magic to expose Foyal’s real body. Klaus impales Foyal with his iron spear, defeating him. Zenon suddenly appears, having defeated and captured Vangeance. Zenon, who uses bone magic, summons spears made of his own bones and impales Klaus and Letoile. Impressed by Yuno’s power Zenon decides to show Yuno his devil power and completely overwhelms him. Ralph arrives at the Golden Dawn and finds Yuno dying. Vangeance’s Yggdrasil tree suddenly sprouts from the rubble and begins healing everyone since, even defeated, Vangeance used the last of his magic to help heal his knights, though fully half of the Golden Dawn is dead and Vangeance was taken by Zenon, Yuno screams in the distance and blames himself for not being strong enough to defeat Zenon.

Slightly Damned Page 1021: https://www.sdamned.com/comic/1021

[syms-things-5]

Clear The Area - Chapter Fifteen (Part Three)

Previous chapter here

Warnings: language, some suggestive sexuality, and some good old angst

Tags: @jennmurawski13 @kelbabyblue Thanks for the support!

Notes: Hope you enjoy this, and apologies for my poor spelling and grammar.

Chapter Fifteen: Part Three

She woke up earlier than him.

It was half six when she stepped into the shower having given up on her sleep. It had been a hot, rather uncomfortable night and the aircon barely broke a chill through the suite.

It was taking some getting used to, this sharing a bed, especially with someone who insisted on snuggling into the back of her. Sarah wasn’t much of a cuddler and Chris knew this. She would much rather wrap herself up in blankets and drift off to sleep but it didn’t stop him from slowly inching his body towards her throughout the night. It was a case of putting up with it for fear of falling off the end and breaking something.

She barely moved under the shower head except to allow the water to rain down on her skin and hopefully liven her up for the day. She was anxious, more anxious than she anticipated she would be. She was always able to keep her cool under test conditions, probably why she became a nurse in the first place, but something about this particular exam was hitting differently and she wasn’t sure why.

She eventually got dressed and went back into the bedroom to sort her hair. He would be annoyed she’d woken up before him now that he had decided he was single-handedly responsible for all her breakfast needs that week. Admittedly, though, it felt nice being looked after in this way. Really, really nice. It was like having her own PA.

He was sleeping flat on his stomach, one leg poking out from underneath the covers. He had wrapped his arms around a pillow and his low snore was rumbling through the warm air in the room. It was confusing how anyone could find that position comfortable and not wake up having lost all feeling down one side of his body. His back muscles were relaxed but still resembled something Michelangelo could only dream of painting. He was, in all honesty, a ridiculous specimen of a man. A man that told her he wanted her to get some good rest and sleep as much as possible. Who had closed her textbooks, ran her a hot bath, and climbed in behind her to massage her shoulders. Potential lingered in the air last night but he was going to stick to his word and not get in the way of her work. He told her he was glad he was with her and happily settled for stroking her hair as she fell asleep. Her head was lying on his chest but when she felt his heartbeat settle and his arms loosen around her, she softly rolled away from him like he knew she inevitably would.

At various times, they found themselves getting into a very comfortable and, dare she say it, enjoyable routine. It was surprisingly easy to do so when the door was locked. He had used the hotel gym to give her some peace for a few hours each morning. He had kept her fed and hydrated when she would have most likely forgotten both having had her nose stuck in her books for hours on end. He had watched daytime television in the bedroom and failed to hide his tears when a charity had rebuilt an elderly man’s home following a flood. When she asked, he had helped to test her using the notes she’d prepped for the exam. He read scripts as soon as they had landed in his inbox. His team was politely shocked at his new-found efficiency.

When they weren’t fooling around on the sofa in the evenings, she had taken a break to read over some lines with him. While at first he was very kind and promising with his notes, especially with some kissing scenes he’d invented, they both knew she was definitely not suited for a life in front of the camera.

“Don’t overthink it too much. Just go with your instincts.” he encouraged her to continue reading with him for fun but she had given up when he had fallen into a fit of laughter as she attempted to arrest him.

“Yeh, no, my brain doesn’t really work like that.” she responded, holding up her hands in defeat.

“Please? I’m sorry, I promise I won’t laugh.” he pleaded. “Again.”

It was easy to get used to having him around but she finally realised how and why women fell for him hard. There was something very childlike about him, something innocent even if he was anything but when they dimmed the lights. He was gentler and quieter than she knew him to be, less sure of himself at times than perhaps the impression he wilfully gave away to the public. She heard the criticisms he levelled at himself when reading his lines out loud and saw first-hand the pressure he placed upon himself where his career was concerned. But for every committed step them took forwards as they learned more about each other, even after all these years, something started to pull her back.

“Hey...”

She was broken from her contemplation by his groggy drawl. He turned on to his side and laid his hand in the space she had previously occupied. One eye had yet to open and his hair was pointing in all different directions.

“It’s far too early to get up, y’know.” He stretched his arm out to connect with her leg curled up underneath her as she looked back at him. “Oh shit. I forgot. Is it really this morning already?”

She stayed looking at him from where she was sat before nodding. “I should only be a couple of hours but I’ll swing by that bakery down the street and pick us up something nice for lunch. They do those almond croissants you like.”

He sighed, taking her in and smiling. She’d tied her hair in a side plait and was wearing a slightly fluffy striped sweater that he wanted to run his hands over. “Yeh, that sounds really nice, Bernette.” He didn’t miss a beat. “I could meet you afterwards? We could go for a walk through the Park?”

“I might just want to come home and cry.”

“Hey now, you’re gonna ace this test. I can feel it.” He was fully awake now, purposeful in his movements towards her to help put her mind at ease. “if I was your patient, I would be ecstatic to have you working on me.”

She chuckled to herself. He was always so confident expressing himself. She was jealous of that. She wished she could be as confident and as sure of herself, like the rest of the family were. It was one thing in her that stood out in stark contrast.

“What have you eaten? I didn’t hear any room service.” He probed, a serious look now glazing over his features.

“Oh it’s fine, I’ll grab something on the way. I’m not all that hungry to tell you the truth.” She tried to brush off his protests but it only served to make him more concerned.

“You’ve got time yet, let me order something up.” He made for the phone but was stopped as she got up from the bed. “You need to eat something, Sarah. You’re gonna be sat there for hours. I don’t want you passing out.”

“Alright, thank you, Dad!” she laughed. “It’s fine! This is not my first exam. I know what it’s like and I promise you I will get something from Starbucks on somewhere else on the way.”

“You’re going now?!”

“Yeh, I could do with a walk to clear my hear. I always found that helpful when back in school.” She was talking from the lounge as she tried to locate her boots. Something else Shanna had chucked into her suitcase without her realising, but she wasn’t as annoyed with this one.

“Give me ten minutes and I’ll come with you.”

She re-entered the bedroom to find him rifling through his bag for new clothes. “Why?”

“Because I wanna support my girlfriend! Jesus!” He was sharper than he had intended but carried on with his search for fresh boxers, throwing out some old stuff in haste like he was searching for long lost buried treasure.

She just looked at him. He’d never used that word before. They’d never talked about it. He acknowledged her silence and stopped to look at her, jeans in hand. He saw her awkward stance and instantly felt like shit. This was not the morning to lay this on her. He knew the very next words out of his mouth would determine how they moved forward.

He paused before chucking his jeans on the chair in front of him. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright,” she responded but she wasn’t sure it was.

“If you wanna head off, that’s totally cool. I’ll be here if you need me. Just text me when you’re done, yeh?”

She nodded at him, offered him as reassuring a smile as she could manage before leaving the bedroom to gather her things. He didn’t follow her; she heard the bed creak slightly so he must have chosen to stay put instead. It was probably for the best. She didn’t want the image of his pitiful face to be her last memory before sitting in silence for 90 minutes, trying in vain to concentrate as hard as she could.

*

The test went about as well as expected, if what she had expected was to doubt her basic entry-level abilities. She was one of seven that morning, six if you discount the gentleman that walked out fifteen minutes after he sat down.

It was multiple choice. It really shouldn’t have been that difficult. The answer was hiding in plain sight after all. She was reminded of something her tutor once told her and her graduating class before they left the relative comfort of their college:

“There will always be someone who knows more than we do.”

He didn’t mean it in a disparaging way - at least she didn’t think he did - but more that you go from being one of the best in your class to being surrounded by people who are equally as bright and as intuitive as you may be, and who will all have had different experiences. He wanted to say that sometimes, there is no one right answer. It was more than passing a test and qualifying; you have to adapt. You had to soak everything up like a sponge or else you risk becoming redundant in the very profession you devoted your life to. No wonder Medicine had the highest quit ratio. Boy, had she been naive.

Shanna 11.41am: OK OK I kno ur probably still super busy bt i’m dying to kno how it went?? Txt me when you get a sec babe xxxxx

She smiled down at her phone before typing a series of vomiting emojis. That should just about sum up her feelings. Scanning her phone again, she found a couple of messages from Audrey but none from Chris. She was surprised but would be lying if she didn’t admit to being relieved.

She meandered down the street towards the subway, thoughts swaying between reliving stupid mistakes she had convinced herself she had made, to what kind of mood Chris might be in. She texted him that she was finished and heading back like she promised she would, then the train was bang on time so she didn’t even have the luxury of blaming delays. Her legs weighed like lead as she approached the suite doorway, her lack of sleep the night before finally catching up with her.

Everything was deathly quiet when she entered. She paused after shutting the door behind her but still couldn’t hear anything. Certainly no trace of another person being present. Confused, she walked into the bedroom and found a note left on the comforter. He’d gone to the gym and told her to message him when she got back. This might give her the excuse she’d been seeking to grab five minutes alone.

She flopped on to the bed and turned to the side to catch the pile of notes and textbooks he’d shoved there the night before. So much promise contained in those few pages. So much knowledge that it felt like she had no business attempting to absorb it for her own personal gain. Many highly accomplished physicians and scientists had bound their entire lives to the duty of finding answers to the human body’s potential for extreme trauma. What exactly would a young, angst-ridden girl from Michigan bring to the table?

The door went a few moments later and she realised she had closed her eyes. She was lying on her back with her legs hanging off the end of the bed as he walked in, slightly sweaty but nevertheless a sight for sore eyes. Seeing him in this state was the nicest thing that had happened to her all day and she regretted their tense conversation earlier.

“Dude...” he muttered as he dropped his towel on the chair by the door and joined her on the bed. He flopped down alongside her with a heavy sigh.

“Good workout?” she finally offered.

“Yeh, all good. Nothing too strenuous.” He replied like it was the most normal conversation in the world. “Good exam?”

“Oh yeh, same.” she replied just as casual as him before they both fell into a fit of giggles.

“Wanna talk about it?” he asked after they had both calmed down.

She took a deep breath. “Not really.”

“You want me to guess?”

“Chris...”

“What?” his voice was a little whinier than he would have liked at this particular time. “I know you. You’re writing yourself off before you know what’s happened.”

“Who said I was writing myself off?” She pushed back. “It’s normal to feel like this. It’s just...nerves or whatever.”

“Yeh, well, there’s no point worrying about something twice.”

She didn’t want to talk about this right now. She was silently hoping he would make a move on her after refraining from touching her the night before when she was definitely in the mood for him. “It’s just...it’s hard to explain.” She got up from the bed and shuffled into the bathroom to remove what little make-up she had put on that morning.

“Try and tell me about it. What was it like? How many questions were there? How many people turned up?”

She threw the face wipe in the bin and ran the tap water to wash her hands. She knew he wasn’t going to budge from his trajectory. She knew he wasn’t going to stop picking at her to talk about it. She leaned her hands on the marble top and took a deep breath.

“It was harder than I imagined it would be. I think I just froze. Like, basic stuff I do day in and day out just wasn’t coming to me.”

“If doing auditions has taught me anything it’s that you always think you’ve done worse than you have. It’s just natural. The brain works in strange ways sometimes. It can trick you.” he reasoned, finally moving into the bathroom but not daring to reach out to her. He settled for backing up against the wall inside the doorway.

“I’m pretty sure it’s not going to be a good result, thought.”

“You don’t know that for sure.” He spoke softly, comfortingly. “You’re so smart and so capable of doing this. You just gotta believe in yourself.”

She nodded in acceptable of what he was trying to say and looked at him face-on. His brow was defined with those worry lines again which made feel a little crap, but he still had a boyish shine about him, no doubt because of the glow from his workout. She would have been a heaving red mess.

“What are you thnking about?” he asked.

She continued studying him, trying to arrange her thoughts. “Is this all there is to life?” she asked after another moment had passed. “You find something you like to do and that’s it, you just coast for 40 years?”

He contemplated her question for a second. “Yeh. Pretty much.”

Sarah huffed out a laugh, not fully appreciating his brutal honest at this moment in time.

“But not everyone is lucky to even get that far.” He moved into the bathroom to stand closer to her. “People can go years with no real clue of what it is they wanna do. You’re one of the lucky ones, Sarah. You figured it out when you were young, you did what you had to do and now you’re doing it for real. That’s less common that you think.”

It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate what he was trying to do, it’s just that often she had multiple anxieties convincing her of the opposite. It’s easy for him to say this, he’s already at the top of his game. He doesn’t have to other with the real world if he doesn’t want to. Most people don’t have the financial luxury of stopping to retrain as something different and Chris had always alluded to quitting acting while he was still young in order to take up something else, like carpentry or simply staying behind the scenes. He always figured he would stop when he had his first child but the reality for everyone else couldn’t afford them that same privilege.

“You are where you’re supposed to be.” He continued. “I don’t believe there is anyone better qualified at what it is they do than you. I believe that and I believe that you know that, too, deep down. You just gotta find the other stuff that keeps you happy in the meantime. Whatever it is that keeps you going.”

“What makes you happy?”

He smiled at her. “Well...what you see if what you get. Family, football, beer. Not necessarily in that order.” He was glad she was smiling again. “Spending time with the people I love. Recognising that I love them and that they love me back and that that love is wonderful.”

“You’re so lucky you don’t second guess yourself all the time.”

“Oh, believe me, I do.” he impressed. “It’s just that I learned some things a few years ago that helped me now. Like taking a deep breath and letting it wash over you. It’s natural to feel doubt but it’s what happens afterwards that really matters. It’s how we choose to perceive the things that happen to us, and how we move forward.”

“Anything has gotta be easier than feeling like this.”

“It’s not always a good thing. Sometimes you have to wait for other people to catch up.” He leaned onto the counter next to her, the mirror in front of them spotlighting them both and making them both appear a little pathetic in their current gait.

“I should start packing.” She whispered after a few more silent moments had passed by.

Neither of them made the effort to move but check-out was 2pm at the latest if Chris had bought it and she was almost certain he had. She would eventually need to make her way to the station and presumably Chris would simply head home in his car. Back to Boston. Back to reality.

“We still have some time. We could order up some lunch if you want to? I’m not entirely convinced you ate anything this morning.”

She watched him in the mirror as he turned to face her, a sterner look in his eyes. He was pretty certain he could read her face this time and her lip-bite told him he was right.

“Or we could do something else with the little time we have left.” He reached out his hand to touch hers, rubbing his thumb across her knuckles. She didn’t more away so he chanced his arm and pulled her closer to him before kissing the inside of her palm and wrist. “It was so hard last night.”

She smirked at him before it dawned on him. “I mean...you know what I mean.” He rolled his eyes. “It was hard for me to lie so close to you and not touch you. I really meant what I said, about you getting a good night’s rest but fuck me, it was difficult.”

“I know. It was hard for me, too.”

“We don’t get this kind of time together,” he looked down at her hands, held tightly in his. “And I’ve really, really enjoyed myself. I feel more normal around you. I can’t explain it.”

“It’s OK. You don’t need to say anything.”

This was the type of conversation Sarah would ordinarily run a mile from had it been with anyone else. Chris seemed to understand as well as he stopped himself from talking some more. She was being held in place by the literal limited space around her as he planted himself in her way. He looked down at her causing her to freeze up and, mentally, she began checking if she could feel her feet.

She slowly ran her hands up and down his arms in an attempt to sooth him. She saw him glance down at her lips and she hoped he would end the silence by kissing her but there was no such luck. He was trying to figure something out but what, she didn’t know. He was waiting for her next move.

“I don’t think we’ve thought this much about what happens, when...” he paused, gauging her for a response or an indication that she was OK with what he was about to say. Perhaps even anticipating it in some way. “Sarah, I have these feelings for you and they’re getting stronger and these past few days have told me that I’m right. Do you know what I mean?”

She did know. She didn’t much want to know, but she did. “Let’s pause this and figure it out another time, yeh?” He hands rubbed up to the rest of his shoulders. “Let’s just enjoy this while it lasts. There’ll be another time for talking.”

He wasn’t convinced but assuaged enough to kiss her again, a little harder this time. His hand slipped into her hair to hold her to him and she responded by wrapping her arms around his neck. They had time.

*

She should have known he would have had the idea to drive them both back home. Yes, there was no need for her to sit on a busy commuter train for three hours but still. She did almost say yes but she would feel awkward asking him to drop her off blocks away from her home and he would inevitably disagree and they’d argue. Not argue per se. They never really argued, but it would become a thing and she didn’t have the heart to disappoint him a third time that day.

They were in happy moods by the time they checked out. All ideas of having a more serious conversation had evaporated quickly after she pushed him onto the bed and climbed on top of him. He had them both naked in record time even for him, and she made a point to memorise his face and the rush of red through his skin when she watched him cum hard underneath her.

She’d bought him a coffee from the cafe bar inside the reception and he’d thanked her with a gentle peck on the lips before slipping away via the underground garage, ball cap pulled down low over his eyes. She felt the light bruises form on her thighs and smiled to herself at the memory of where his hands had been when she walked into the apartment to find Shanna in tears. She froze on the spot.

“Oh my god, what the hell happened?” Finally finding her voice when registering the scene in front of her. Sarah dropped her bags and ran to the couch to wrap an arm around her friend. “Why are you crying?”

“I didn’t think you’d be back so soon. Sorry, I’m...” Shanna tried to gather her thoughts. “It’s stupid really. I don’t even know what I’m crying.”

“Well, it’s not stupid. It’s obviously something because it’s made you upset.” She pulled her hand inside the sleeve of her hoodie and used it to wipe away her tears. “Do you wanna talk about it? Is it something I can help with?”

“Not really.” This wasn’t the feisty Shan Sarah knew. “Turns out Robbie wasn’t interested in me after all because he’s asked somebody else out. I should have known really. He definitely wouldn’t be interested in me.”

“Oh love,” Sarah empathised.

“It’s not even like I was really all that bothered about him, honestly.” She continued. “It’s just, it’s been a while since someone decent asked me out on a date, y’know? Someone smart who had potential. Normally, they have to be drunk to even approach me and they just end up being dickheads. All of them.”

Knowing Shanna as well as she did, she knew Shanna wouldn’t appreciate an empty platitude. “I think it happens to the best of us. You should hear some of the tales Audrey has. She’s experienced some crazy shit.”

“Yeh? How did she meet Michael?”

“She didn’t make it easy for him that’s for sure!” she chuckled and felt relief at the grin now showing on Shan’s face. “The way she tells it, she stopped looking. Just stopped going to bars and clubs, spent more time doing the things she enjoyed and more time with her friends and family. Randomly met him at a march in the city, can you believe that? He wasn’t even supposed to be there but his brother dragged him along apparently.”

“I think she was right to concentrate on her friends and family. I should take a leaf out of her book. At least you can count on them to keep you sane.”

A sense of unease found its way into Sarah’s head. “Yeh, definitely. You never know when a good thing will strike and maybe this shows you that you know what you don’t want anymore. That’s gotta be a positive thing, right?”

“Yeh, it just feels a bit crap but I’ll probably feel better in the morning.” Shanna got up from the couch and Sarah sense it was more so to hide a few more tears. “I got some wine earlier, do you fancy a glass?”

“Uh yeh sounds good. I’ll just go and sort my stuff out.”

“Oh fucking hell!” Shanna smacked her hand to her face. “I’m so sorry! How did it go?”

Sarah held her bag loosely in her hand, her attempt at making a quick getaway to her room without discussing the exam a failure. “Oh, it was what it was. I won’t find out for a little while so no point worrying about it twice, right?”

“Huh, you sound just like Chris.” Shanna said before walking back into the kitchen. “I’m sure you did great, though. You always do.”

“Thanks.” She carried on to her room to dump her stuff. She would sort it out tomorrow. Right now, she figured Shan would want to get a little bit drunk and Sarah was on a late tomorrow anyway, so...it wouldn’t do them any harm.

“Hey, Sarah?” Shan called from the kitchen.

“Yeh?”

“Who did you have coffee with?”

Confusion set in as Sarah tried to figure out what Shanna was talking about. She peered her head round the door. “What?”

“Coffee today?” Shanna responded, holding a crumpled piece of paper in her hand. “This dropped out of your coat, I think. Coffee for two?”

Confusion quickly turned into full-blown panic as she realised what she had done. Fuck. “Oh, um, I just...” She stumbled over herself and felt her skin redden and get hotter. She must have looked a sight. “Um...it wasn’t...”

“Hey, listen, you don’t need to explain anything.”

“Oh no that’s not what it is-”

“-At least one of us is having better luck in the romance department.”

“Shan, it’s not-”

“-I’m so glad you and Greg are getting on well.” Shanna handed over the receipt to Sarah before regarding what must have looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights. “I mean that. He seems nice and you absolutely deserve to have some fun for a change. I know I haven’t been very supportive of this whole thing with Charlotte but I worry about you a little bit sometimes. After everything that’s happened, I guess I just didn’t wanna see you hurt again.”

Sarah was frozen to the spot. Numb. Shanna had put two and two together and thought the best of her friend. Sarah didn’t deserve that.

“He seems like he’s being really supportive right now and being the person that I should perhaps be. I will try to be better, I promise.” Shanna apologised.

Sarah looked down at the slip of paper in her hand and then to the floor, a little bit of feeling starting to return to her legs. “Shan,” she started quietly, so quietly that she missed it entirely and when she looked back up, Shanna was walking back into the kitchen.

“I mean it. You’ve always been amazing to me. Picking me up when I need it and looking after me. Everyone says I take you for granted sometimes and they’re absolutely right so I just wanted to say that I will back you up 100% from now on. No excuses. You and me against the world, right?”

Shanna flashed her a broad and hopeful grin and all Sarah could do was return a limp version in response. 

“Let’s get that wine opened and you can tell me all about it.”

Shanna disappeared into the kitchen again. If she had stayed a second longer she would have seen tears form in Sarah’s eyes at the knowledge that she screwed everything up. She and Chris had diverted a conversation on the promise of having it another time but that was never going to happen. Not now.

How could it?

*

[bmblboop]

Several people have already pointed out that Ironwood’s ‘Tin Man without a Heart’ Allusion does not negate him from emotions. If anything, he is the most single-mindedly emotional person in Atlas, framing all this decisions as logical due to the state of mind that fear has put him in.

But I would like to analyze this a bit further - because ‘lacking heart’ or ‘lacking humanity’ can be interpreted as more than just lacking emotion (which again, he does not).

TLDR; I believe what James Ironwood is lacking, his ‘missing heart’ in his Tinman allusion, is empathy.

When he tells Ozpin in Volume 3 that his army is there to symbolize strength and deter the enemies,he is taken aback when Oz mentions that armies are also symbols of conflict and that a fleet of this size indicates a similarly large foe. (The thought of which will not inspire hope).

He stands up for Weiss at the Fundraiser Afterparty, echoing her point of view that the Atlesian upperclass isn’t doing anything worthwhile to help Vale. However, it was Jacques who escalated the argument into Weiss summoning the Boarbatusk, and after killing it, thanks Jacques for hosting the party, and leaves.

Then, throughout all of Volume 7, Ironwood tells us that he is painfully aware of his unpopularity, but reiterates that he has to do it anyway, “I will push through, no matter how I am despised, to deliver you from harm” as summarized by Hero. Most dramatically by the finale “I won’t let let others stand in the way of doing what’s right.” Yes, his intentions are good - the same way bringing his army to Vale was good - but there is something to all these actions that he is neglecting to consider:

The thoughts and feelings of others.

Allow me to serve the dish:

The non-personal scientific advancement and study of Aura - a person’s soul, which is a deeply personal and immeasurable* thing. Considered controversial in universe. (V3C6 - Fall)

*debatable, known to be measured in percentages for Aura shielding of damage

The large army occupying another kingdom, notably the same kingdom and army that started the Great War 80 years ago on an anniversary of the end of said war. (V2 and V3)

After getting Ozpin into hot water with the Vale Council. “I will keep our people safe, you have to trust me... You brought this on yourself.” (V2C12 Breach)

Recognizing Weiss is uncomfortable at home(?), mentioning to her that she will always be welcome at Atlas Academy, but then not standing up to Jacques when he grabs her by the wrist in public when she was speaking the truth? And leaving immediately afterward? (V4C6 - Tipping Point)

Your restrictions on Mantle are making people hate you. “It’s a price I’m willing to pay”. (V7C2 - New Approach)

Telling the world about Salem will spark Grimm attacks everywhere. “Atlas is willing an prepared to assist [fight the Grimm].” (Weiss and Winter say this but Winter is his right-hand woman so it’s clearly an intrinsic part of his plan)

3 murders in Mantle (over the past WEEK) of people who speak out against Ironwood. “Not really worried about my public image, but it is causing unrest.” (V7C4 - Pomp and Circumstance)

Gee, maybe the embargo wasn’t a good idea, it’s making people jump to blaming you. “I know, things in Mantle have been... hard to manage lately.”

Awards RWBY + JNR their Huntsmen licenses inside the coliseum that kick-started the Fall of Beacon and has the immense brainpower to say “And what better way than to celebrate here”. (Note, Ironwood is fully aware of the significance of the tower, and is mostly referring to it as a future-satellite in this conversation, but still man.)

If Robyn wins the election, maybe you can work together to get Mantle on your side. Get her to trust you! “The likelihood of that working- only if she's open too.” (V7C6 - A Night Off)

“Mantle has had to bear a lot of the burden yes, BUT-” “They’re bearing all of it!!”

“We HAVE to finish the Tower. I want Robyn Hill in custody. We can offer her a deal IF she gets Mantle to cooperate.” (V7C7 - Worst Case Scenario)

“...We have checks and balances.” “We’re supposed to, but lately you’ve been running rough-shot all over them.” “Councilman, I never intended-” “What people intend and what people DO aren’t always the same, General.” (V7C9 - As Above, So Below)

Aaaaand I’m gonna end with that line because it accurately sums up James’ whole character.

James cannot put himself in the mind of another, he seems unwilling or unable to see things from Mantle’s point of view. He appears to lack empathy.

Empathy = the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another's position. 

Obviously he wants to save the world, lacking empathy does not mean that he is apathetic. The Tower is going to reunite humanity against their common enemy. It is going to be what restores communication for the betterment of all.

But the clearest sign of his lack of empathy is the finale of Gravity (V7C11). When faced with Salem’s arrival, he orders the murder of the current Maiden so he can move Atlas, orders the arrest of RWBY for daring to disagree with him, along with Qrow and JNR for good measure, plans to move the city of Atlas into the stratosphere to delay Salem’s arrival / inevitable success in conquering the planet while SIMULTANEOUSLY leaving half* the population of Mantle (*numbers unclear) to die to the Grimm and the cold.

In another way - empathy may also tie into his concerns about whether humanity, as a state of being, is a hindrance, and perhaps the reason why Salem keeps winning. Perhaps his concerns about feeling less human are because he lacks the ability to ‘put himself in someone else’s shoes and walk a mile in them.’ (BTW, I am not saying that no empathy = no humanity/not human. I am saying that I think that Ironwood might think that.)

[fuyonggu]

Biography of Tao Huang (Book of Jin 57)

陶璜，字世英，丹陽秣陵人也。父基，吳交州刺史。璜仕吳曆顯位。孫皓時，交阯太守孫諝貪暴，為百姓所患。會察戰鄧荀至，擅調孔雀三千頭，遣送秣陵，既苦遠役，咸思為亂。郡吏呂興殺諝及荀，以郡內附。武帝拜興安南將軍、交阯太守。尋為其功曹李統所殺，帝更以建甯爨穀為交阯太守，谷又死，更遣巴西馬融代之。融病卒，南中監軍霍弋又遣犍為楊稷代融，與將軍毛炅，九真太守董元，牙門孟幹、孟通、李松、王業、爨能等，自蜀出交阯，破吳軍於古城，斬大都督修則、交州刺史劉俊。吳遣虞汜為監軍，薛珝為威南將軍、大都督，璜為蒼梧太守，距稷，戰于分水。璜敗，退保合浦，亡其二將。珝怒謂璜曰：「若自表討賊，而喪二帥，其責安在？」璜曰：「下官不得行意，諸軍不相順，故致敗耳。」珝怒，欲引軍還。璜夜以數百兵襲董元，獲其寶物，船載而歸，珝乃謝之，以璜領交州，為前部督。璜從海道出於不意，徑至交阯，元距之。諸將將戰，璜疑斷牆內有伏兵，列長戟於甚後。兵才接，元偽退，璜追之，伏兵果出，長戟逆之，大破元等。以前所得寶船上錦物數千匹遺扶嚴賊帥梁奇，奇將萬餘人助璜。元有勇將解系同在城內，璜誘其弟象，使為書與系，又使象乘璜軺車，鼓吹導從而行。元等曰：「象尚若此，系必去志。」乃就殺之。珝、璜遂陷交阯。吳因用璜為交州刺史。

Tao Huang, styled Shiying, was a native of Moling county in Danyang commandary. His father, Tao Ji, served as Eastern Wu's Inspector of Jiaozhou. Tao Huang himself also served Wu in several conspicuous posts.

During the reign of Sun Hao, Wu's Administrator of Jiaozhi, Sun Xu, was greedy and cruel, a blight upon the common people. And around the same time, the Overseer, Deng Xun, came to Jiaozhi, where he forced the people to round up three thousand peacocks and to send them to Moling (Jianye). The two of them imposed great hardships and distant travels upon the local people, who all began to consider rebelling against them. And when in the end, one of the commandary officials, Lü Xing, killed Sun Xu and Deng Xun, the people of the commandary all supported him. Emperor Wu of Jin recognized Lü Xing as Jing's General Who Maintains The South and Administrator of Jiaozhi. But Lü Xing was soon killed by his Merit Manager, Li Tong. So Emperor Wu appointed the General Who Establishes Tranquility, Cuan Gu, as the new Administrator of Jiaozhi. When Cuan Gu also died, Emperor Wu sent Ma Rong of Baxi commandary to replace him. And after Ma Rong passed away from illness, the Directing-General of Nanzhong, Huo Yi, sent Yang Ji of Jianwei commandary to succeed him. So Yang Ji, the general Mao Jiong, the Administrator of Jiuzhen, Dong Yuan, several Generals of the Standard, Meng Gan, Meng Tong, Li Song, Wang Ye, and Cuan Neng, and others marched out of the Shu region to attack Jiaozhi commandary. They routed the Wu army at Gucheng and took the heads of Wu's Grand Commander, Xiu Ze, and their Inspector of Jiaozhou, Liu Jun.

Wu appointed Yu Si as General Who Directs The Army, Xue Xu as General Who Awes The South and Grand Commander, and Tao Huang as Administrator of Cangwu. Tao Huang was sent to oppose Yang Ji, and they fought at the Fen River. But Tao Huang was defeated and fell back to defend Hepu, having lost two of his subcommanders.

Xue Xu berated Tao Huang, telling him, "Didn't you say that you were going to thrash the enemy? Yet now you've lost two officers. Whose fault is that?"

Tao Huang huffed, "I only lost because my forces wouldn't coordinate with each other."

This did nothing to soothe Xue Xu's anger, and he was planning to lead the rest of the Wu army away and abandon the region. But during the night, Tao Huang led several hundred soldiers to launch a surprise attack against Dong Yuan; he captured Dong Yuan's treasure fleet and then returned to base. Xue Xu then apologized to him for his earlier anger, and he yielded command of Jiaozhou to Tao Huang, while he served as Commander of the Vanguard.

Tao Huang advanced by an unexpected sea route to approach the city of Jiaozhi. Dong Yuan mustered his forces to oppose Tao Huang in the field. The Wu generals wanted to advance to battle, but Tao Huang suspected that Dong Yuan had placed ambush troops to hide behind isolated walls in the area, so he organized a rearguard of halberdiers. The two armies had barely clashed when Dong Yuan pretended to retreat, and as Tao Huang pursued him, Jin ambush troops indeed emerged. But the halberdiers were able to deal with them, and Tao Huang greatly routed Dong Yuan and the other local Jin leaders.

Tao Huang took several thousand bolts of brocade from the treasure fleet he had earlier captured from Dong Yuan and sent them to a bandit leader in Fuyan, Liang Qi, who then brought more than ten thousand followers to support Tao Huang.

Dong Yuan had a certain bold general within Jiaozhi, Xie Xi. Tao Huang enticed Xie Xi's younger brother Xie Xiang into writing a letter to Xie Xi, and he had Xie Xiang ride around the city in Tao Huang's light carriage, beating the drums and offering directions. Dong Yuan and the other Jin leaders said to one another, "If Xie Xiang is already acting like this, Xie Xi is sure to lose his resolve to oppose Wu as well." So they killed Xie Xi.

In the end, Xue Xu and Tao Huang took Jiaozhi. Wu then officially appointed Tao Huang as Inspector of Jiaozhou.

璜有謀策，周窮好施，能得人心。滕修數討南賊，不能制，璜曰：「南岸仰吾鹽鐵，斷勿與市，皆壞為田器。如此二年，可一戰而滅也。」修從之，果破賊。

Tao Huang was calculating and clever, fully generous and magnanimous, and able to gain the hearts of the people.

Several times, Teng Xiu had campaigned against southern bandits, but he had been unable to properly subdue the region. Tao Huang advised him, "The people on the south bank of the river crave our salt and our iron. You should cut off all trade with them to deny them these things. This will soon ruin their farming implements, and within two years, they will crumble after just one battle." Teng Xiu did as he advised, and he indeed crushed the bandits.

初，霍弋之遣稷、炅等，與之誓曰：「若賊圍城未百日而降者，家屬誅；若過百日救兵不至，吾受其罪。」稷等守未百日，糧盡，乞降，璜不許，給其糧使守。諸將並諫，璜曰：「霍弋已死，不能救稷等必矣，可須其日滿，然後受降，使彼得無罪，我受有義，內訓百姓，外懷鄰國，不亦可乎！」稷等期訖糧盡，救兵不至，乃納之。修則既為毛炅所殺，則子允隨璜南征，城既降，允求復仇，璜不許。炅密謀襲璜，事覺，收炅，呵曰：「晉賊！」炅厲聲曰：「吳狗！何等為賊？」允剖其腹，曰：「復能作賊不？」炅猶罵曰：「吾志殺汝孫皓，汝父何死狗也！」璜既擒稷等，並送之。稷至合浦，發病死。孟幹、爨能、李松等至建鄴，皓將殺之。或勸皓，幹等忠於所事，宜宥之以勸邊將，皓從其言，將徙之臨海。幹等志欲北歸，慮東徙轉遠，以吳人愛蜀側竹弩，言能作之，皓留付作部。後幹逃至京都，松、能為皓所殺。幹陳伐吳之計，帝乃厚加賞賜，以為日南太守。先是，以楊稷為交州刺史，毛炅為交止太守，印緩未至而敗，即贈稷交州，炅及松能子並關內侯。

Before, when Huo Yi had sent Yang Ji, Mao Jiong, and others to assume command, he had warned them, "If the enemy besieges your city, and you surrender before a hundred days have passed, your families and dependents will be executed. But if you hold out for more than a hundred days and there is still no hope of reinforcements, and the city is thus lost, then I will accept responsibility." 

During this siege, Yang Ji and the others had not yet held the city for a hundred days when the grain ran out. They begged to surrender to Tao Huang, but he would not permit it, and he even gave them grain so they could continue to resist his own siege. Tao Huang's generals all remonstrated with him for this, but Tao Huang told them, "Huo Yi is already dead, so there is certainly no hope of relief for Yang Ji and the others. We can wait until their full allotment of days has passed, and then receive their surrender afterwards. By doing so, we ensure that they have committed no offense, and it will add to our virtue. We can serve as a model to the people within, and neighboring states will also cherish us. Can this not be done?" Yang Ji and the others had grain enough to last until their set period had expired, and as reinforcements had still not come, Wu accepted their surrender.

Xiu Ze had been killed by Mao Jiong. Xiu Ze's son Ziu Yun had accompanied Tao Huang during this southern campaign. After the city surrendered, Xiu Yun asked for permission to kill Mao Jiong to avenge his father's death, but Tao Huang would not permit it. However, Mao Jiong secretly plotted to kill Tao Huang. But the plot was discovered, and Mao Jiong was arrested. He was denounced as a "Jin bandit!" But he sternly retorted, "You dogs of Wu! Who is the bandit here?"

Xiu Yun cut open Mao Jiong's stomach, saying, "Still intending to play the rebel any longer?" 

Mao Jiong continued to revile him even as he died, saying, "I wished I could have killed your Sun Hao! Your father died like a dog!" 

Tao Huang then detained Yang Ji and the others and sent them off as prisoners. Yang Ji made it as far as Hepu, where he developed an illness and passed away; Meng Gan, Cuan Neng, Li Song, and the others went to Jianye, where Sun Hao killed them. At first, someone had advised Sun Hao that Meng Gan and the others had been loyal to their duties and out to be pardoned in order to encourage further defections to Wu by other Jin border generals, so Sun Hao had followed this advice and had only been planning to exile the captives to Linhai commandary. But Meng Gan and the others, who wanted to return north, had no wish to be exiled so far away to the east. And since the people of Wu had a craving for the "slanted bamboo" crossbows of the Shu region, the captives claimed that they knew how to craft these crossbows, so Sun Hao had allowed them to remain with local garrisons. But later, when Meng Gan escaped and fled back to the Jin capital (at Luoyang), Sun Hao had Li Song and Cuan Neng killed. Meng Gan explained to Emperor Wu a strategy for how to campaign against Wu, so Emperor Wu granted him generous gifts and rewards and appointed him as Jin's Administrator of Rinan.

Jin had earlier appointed Yang Ji as Inspector of Jiaozhou and Mao Jiong as Administrator of Jiaozhi. But their seals and ribbons of office had never arrived before the two of them were defeated by Wu. So Yang Ji was posthumously appointed as Inspector, and the sons of Mao Jiong, Li Song, and Cuan Neng were all appointed as Marquises Within The Passes.

九真郡功曹李祚保郡內附，璜遣將攻之，不克。祚舅黎晃隨軍。勸祚令降。祚答曰：「舅自吳將，祚自晉臣，唯力是視耳。」逾時乃拔。皓以璜為使持節、都督交州諸軍事、前將軍、交州牧。武平、九德、新昌土地阻險，夷獠勁悍，曆世不賓，璜征討，開置三郡，及九真屬國三十餘縣。征璜為武昌都督，以合浦太守修允代之。交土人請留璜以千數，於是遣還。

Wu's Merit Manager of Jiuzhen commandary, Li Zuo, had caused the commandary to defect to Jin. Tao Huang sent a general to attack Jiuzhen, but the city did not fall at once. 

Li Zuo's uncle Li Huang had accompanied the Wu army to Jiuzhen, and he urged Li Zuo to surrender. But Li Zuo replied, "Uncle, you are a general of Wu; I am a subject of Jin. We can only both do our utmost and see what results."

Eventually, the city was taken. Sun Hao appointed Tao Huang as Commissioner Bearing Credentials, Commander of military affairs in Jiaozhou, General of the Front, and Governor of Jiaozhou.

The natural terrain of the regions of Wuping, Jiude, and Xinchang was rugged and difficult, and the Lao and other peoples living there were wild and fierce and for generations had refused to submit to the authority of Wu. Tao Huang campaigned against these regions, and he organized the area into three commandaries, forming more than thirty counties altogether when combined with the Dependent State of Jiuzhen.

Tao Huang was summoned away to serve as Commander of Wuchang; the Administrator of Hepu, Xiu Yun, was to replace him as Governor of Jiaozhou. But thousands of people from Jiaozhou asked that Tao Huang be permitted to stay, so he was sent back.

皓既降晉，手書遣璜息融敕璜歸順。璜流涕數日，遣使送印綬詣洛陽。帝詔復其本職，封宛陵侯，改為冠軍將軍。

When Sun Hao surrendered to Jin (in 280), he handwrote a letter and sent Tao Huang's son Tao Rong to bring the letter to Tao Huang, calling on Tao Huang to submit to Jin. Tao Huang wept for several days before sending a messenger to bring his seal and ribbons of office to Luoyang. Emperor Wu issued an edict confirming Tao Huang in his existing positions; he also appointed him as Champion General and as Marquis of Wanling.

吳既平，普減州郡兵，璜上言曰：交土荒裔，鬥絕一方，或重譯而言，連帶山海。又南郡去州海行千有餘里，外距林邑才七百里。夷帥范熊世為逋寇，自稱為王，數攻百姓。且連接扶南，種類猥多，朋黨相倚，負險不賓。往隸吳時，數作寇逆，攻破郡縣，殺害長吏。臣以尪駑，昔為故國所采，偏戍在南，十有餘年。雖前後征討，翦其魁桀，深山僻穴，尚有逋竄。又臣所統之卒本七千餘人，南土溫濕，多有氣毒，加累年征討，死亡減耗，其見在者二千四百二十人。今四海混同，無思不服，當卷甲清刃，禮樂是務。而此州之人，識義者寡，厭其安樂，好為禍亂。又廣州南岸，周旋六千餘里，不賓屬者乃五萬餘戶，及桂林不羈之輩，復當萬戶。至於服從官役，才五千餘家。二州脣齒，唯兵是鎮。又甯州興古接據上流，去交址郡千六百里，水陸並通，互相維衛。州兵未宜約損，以示單虛。夫風塵之變，出於非常。臣亡國之餘，議不足采，聖恩廣厚，猥垂飾擢，蠲其罪釁，改授方任，去辱即寵，拭目更視，誓念投命，以報所受，臨履所見，謹冒瞽陳。又以「合浦郡土地磽確，無有田農，百姓唯以采珠為業，商賈去來，以珠貿米。而吳時珠禁甚嚴，慮百姓私散好珠，禁絕來去，人以饑困。又所調猥多，限每不充。今請上珠三分輸二，次者輸一，粗者蠲除。自十月訖二月，非采上珠之時，聽商旅往來如舊」。並從之。

After Wu was conquered, Jin implemented a general reduction of the size of provincial and commandary garrisons. Tao Huang sent up a letter to the Jin court, arguing, "The Jiao region is a barren frontier, a distant and contested corner of the realm; the whole area is flanked by mountains and seas, and sometimes messages must be translated before they can be expressed. 

"The southernmost commandaries are more than a thousand li distant from the provincial capital (Hepu) on the coast, while being only seven hundred li from the borders of the foreign state of Linyi (Lâm Ấp). The foreign leader (of Lâm Ấp), Fan Xiong (Phạm Hùng), has repeatedly invaded the borders of this area and styled himself a King, and he constantly attacks the local people. And adjacent to Linyi is Funan, a place full of wild and fierce people; these two states are partners in mischief, and they count on their rugged terrain in order to defy the imperial authority. During the Wu era, they continually invaded and raided this province; they attacked and broke into the cities of the counties and commandaries and killed or wounded the chief local officials. Now I am no one of importance, yet the late state selected me for this post, and I served here in the south for more than ten years. But even though all through that time I led campaigns and expeditions to put a stop to the depredations of these villains, they still have their lairs and their hiding places within their deep mountains and remote caves.

"I command a nominal garrison force here of about seven thousand soldiers. But these southern lands are hot and humid, full of foul miasma, and combined with the exertions of constant campaigns and expeditions, my troops have been wasting away, so that I only have 2,420 soldiers actually fit for service.

"The thinking behind your policy of reduction of garrisons is that all the realm within the Four Seas has now been united, so that there is no place which does not submit to the central government, and so the armor should be rolled up and the blades cleaned and put away, and ritual behavior and music should be the focus of government. Yet there are already very few people in this province who take their martial duties seriously, and if you indulge them with ease and pleasure, that will surely lead to trouble and turmoil.

"The southern coast of Guangzhou runs for more than six or seven thousand li, and it contains more than fifty thousand households that have not yet submitted to the government. And in Guilin commandary, there are another ten thousand such malcontents as well. Even those households which are submissive enough to comply with corvee labor demands still only amount to about five thousand. These two provinces are as lips and teeth to one another, and they have only the soldiers to guard them. Furthermore, Ningzhou and Xinggu are positioned on the upper reaches of the river, only a thousand and six hundred li from Jiaozhi commandary, and the people there could advance against us by land and by water, mutually shielding and supporting each other. This is no time for the provincial garrison here to be reduced; it would only be a display of our isolation and weakness. The disasters of wind and dust arise from things that are unexpected.

"I was merely the remnant of a fallen state, and I was hardly worth any regard. Yet Your Majesty, displaying saintly grace and generous treatment, condescended to grant me a role and rank, to overlook my crimes and faults, and to confirm me in my positions. Thus I was able to exchange shame for favor, to wipe my eyes and see clearly once more. So I had sworn to devote my life to consider how best to repay such grace as you have shown me. Approaching the abyss and treading on thin ice, I have presumed to carefully present my foolish thoughts for your consideration."

He also wrote, "The ground and soil of Hepu commandary is stony and rough, unsuited for agricultural cultivation. The people can only make their living by collecting pearls, which merchants used to come here to exchange for rice. Yet during the Wu era, there was a strict ban on the collecting of pearls, due to fears that the best pearls would be scattered out among the common people, and this ban led to hunger and suffering among the populace. Nor have the people here ever been able to fulfill the various tax quotas imposed on them. Thus I now ask that the people be allowed to pay two-thirds of the best quality pearls and one-third of the middling quality pearls as taxes, while keeping the roughest kinds for themselves. I also ask that during the period from the tenth to the second months, which is not the time suitable for collecting the best pearls, that merchants be allowed to come here to conduct trading as they once did."

Both of these requests were accepted.

在南三十年，威恩著於殊俗。及卒，舉州號哭，如喪慈親。朝廷乃以員外散騎常侍吾彥代璜。彥卒，又以員外散騎常侍顧秘代彥。秘卒，州人逼秘子參領州事。參尋卒，參弟壽求領州，州人不聽，固求之，遂領州。壽乃殺長史胡肇等，又將殺帳下督梁碩，碩走得免，起兵討壽，禽之，會壽母，令鴆殺之。碩乃迎璜子蒼梧太守威領刺史，在職甚得百姓心，三年卒。威弟淑，子綏，後並為交州。自基至綏四世，為交州者五人。

Tao Huang was in the south for thirty years, and his power and mercy were felt near and far. When he passed away, the whole province rose in mourning for him, as though they had lost one of their own relatives.

The court appointed one of the Cavaliers In Regular Attendance Without Assignment, Wu Yan, to succeed Tao Huang. After Wu Yan passed away, they appointed another Cavalier, Gu Mi, to succeed him. When Gu Mi passed away, the people of the province forced Gu Mi's son Gu Can to take control of provincial affairs. But when Gu Can soon passed away, his younger brother Gu Shou sought to take control; the people of the province refused him at first, but when he insisted, he was granted his way. Gu Shou then killed the Chief Clerk, Hu Zhao, and others. He was planning to kill the Commander of the Tent, Liang Shuo, as well, but Liang Shuo fled and was able to escape. Liang Shuo then raised troops to campaign against Gu Shou, and he captured him; he also found Gu Shou's mother and compelled her to poison herself. 

Liang Shuo then welcomed the Administrator of Cangwu, Tao Huang's son Tao Wei, to be the new acting Inspector. Tao Wei served in this role for three years, during which he greatly gained the hearts of the people, before he too passed away. And Tao Wei's younger brother Tao Shu and Tao Wei's son Tao Sui both later served as Inspectors of Jiaozhou as well. Thus the Tao family had five members who each served as Inspectors, across four generations, from Tao Ji down to Tao Sui.

璜弟濬，吳鎮南大將軍、荊州牧。濬弟抗，太子中庶子。濬子湮，字恭之；湮弟猷，字恭豫，並有名。湮至臨海太守、黃門侍郎。猷宣城內史，王導右軍長史。湮子馥，於湖令，為韓晃所殺，追贈廬江太守。抗子回，自有傳。

Tao Huang's younger brother Tao Jun was Wu's Grand General Who Guards The South and Governor of Jingzhou.

Tao Jun's younger brother Tao Kang was Superintendent of the Crown Prince's Household.

Tao Jun's sons Tao Yan, styled Gongzhi, and Tao You, styled Gongyu, both became prominent as well: Tao Yan rose in office as high as Administrator of Linhai and Gentleman-Attendant of the Yellow Gate, and Tao You became Interior Minister of Xuancheng and Chief Clerk to Wang Dao when Wang Dao was General of the Right.

Tao Yan's son Tao Fu served as Prefect of Yuhu. He was killed by Han Jiong (during Su Jun's rebellion), and posthumously appointed as Administrator of Lujiang.

Tao Kang's son Tao Hui has his own biography.

[sleepymarmot]

Re-liveblog: eps. 4 & 10

Here's something I've been planning to do for a while -- rereading the liveblog of The Untamed I wrote a couple of months ago and looking at my own initial reactions to Jin Guangyao's storyline with new eyes. Returning to old liveblogs is always fun, but particularly when the perspective on something changes so much by the end of the story!

Of course, this turned into a monstrosity with word count in thousands that sat in my drafts for about a month, and involved rewatching most of the scenes the liveblog mentioned, and some that it didn't. Please be warned: this series of posts is not meant to be a comprehensive analysis, and will jump from one point to another or highlight only the things I have changed my mind about, or haven’t talked on this blog before. It is going to include some very personal interpretations and opinions, sometimes possibly (or definitely, in the case of this very post) unpopular or negative. I am here to reflect on my own experience of watching the show almost as much as to write meta about the show itself.

[All re-liveblog posts]

[ep 4]

is this shy illegitimate son the same person who summoned WWX in the first episode, or are they two entirely unrelated bastards? I don’t think the ages match up…

Oh, so that's what I was thinking during Meng Yao's introduction scene: trying to figure out whether he was the same person as Mo Xuanyu or not. That's funny.

[negativity ahead!]

Of course, I was also admiring Xichen's elegant way of Using His Privilege For Good, but I thought that was self-explanatory enough not to put in the liveblog. It didn’t occur to me this scene could be interpreted as a sect leader openly hitting on a disadvantaged youth, or that such an interpretation would be popular, especially in a literal and positive way as opposed to a dark or subversive headcanon. So even if this is ever confirmed to be an intended message of the scene, I’d just say “I recognize the council has made a decision...” and continue to disregard it. Kind of incredible how it manages to squick me in at least five ways -- and xiayo is one of my main ships in this fandom! And not only squick -- in my eyes, sexualizing LXC’s intentions in this scene not only adds something that I don’t like, but actively detracts from the textual, surface meaning and narrative function of LXC’s actions (establishing LXC as a Model Authority Figure who masterfully manipulates the social power dynamics not for self-interest, but for justice, kindness, and peaceful conflict resolution; see also the following scene with the Wens). And from the other side, I think Meng Yao is shocked and impressed specifically because someone like LXC would do this for someone like him without an ulterior motive; I suspect that if he saw this as LXC making an excuse to touch someone attractive, he would only be turned off: a sect leader who can’t keep his hands to himself is nothing new and nothing good from the point of view of JGS’s illegitimate child.

But if this brief brushing of hands holds any in-universe significance in addition to a possible foreshadowing of this relationship’s future importance -- I think I just finally realized what it must be! This interaction is an adaptation of the following scene from the book (which, to be fair, happens when MY and LXC already know each other, not during a first meeting):

Meng Yao had been a famous joke for a certain period of time, which was why a few recognized him. Likely thinking that the son of a prostitute perhaps also carried some unclean things with him, the cultivators didn’t drink from the cups that he had presented with both hands. Instead, they put the cups to the side and even took out white handkerchiefs. As though it felt too uncomfortable, they repeatedly wiped the fingers that they’d touched the teacup with, either intentionally or not. Nie MingJue wasn’t someone mindful to such things. Wei WuXian, though, caught sight of this through the corners of his eyes. Meng Yao acted as if he didn’t see anything, his smile unfaltering as he continued to pass around tea.

As Lan XiChen accepted his cup, he looked up at him and smiled, “Thank you.”

He drank a sip of the tea immediately afterward. Only then did he continue to converse with Nie MingJue. A few cultivators began to feel uneasy as they saw the scene.

(Chapter 48)

So CQL!Meng Yao’s eyebrows twitch in pleased surprise because the sect leader not only personally approached to verbally support him, but took something directly from his hands, not even trying to avoid him or flinching at skin contact. As if it didn’t even occur to the majestic Zewu-jun to think of Meng Yao as dirty or disgusting.

I don’t know if this is an intended interpretation either, because I don’t remember anyone specifically avoiding physical contact with MY in the show, and on the contrary, there were examples of both friendly (from Huaisang) and unfriendly (from the commander) touch. But I certainly prefer it to the other interpretation, and ignoring the interaction altogether seems a bit intellectually dishonest.

[/negativity]

On another note, much is said about JGY’s performativity, but check out LXC’s! Someone’s being bullied in his classroom? Not on his watch! Time to descend from his pedestal like truth coming out of her well, Very Pointedly and at length explain how this person Has His Official And Personal Approval And Is Very Welcome Here, then take the gift from him personally instead of letting a disciple do that. Note how in the following scene, he also personally accepts the gift from Wen Qing as a peacemaking gesture. I love how LXC’s character establishing event is about defusing not one but two uncomfortable situations in a row. Of the two brothers, all social skills went to him...

I have no comment on the goodbye scene. Just sadness.

Oh wait, after rewatching the entire show and coming back to the post, I do have something to say. This episode is the only time I can say with all certainty that all of Meng Yao’s words and reactions are fully sincere. After this point in the timeline, it will never happen again. :(

It’s a shame that the gifs I’ve seen of this scene end with the iconic stopped bow, because the final shots are also great! As soon as MY turns away, his face becomes clouded again, and seconds after the Sect Leader himself held his arms and assured they were peers, he felt the need to bow and lower his eyes as some unnamed disciples walked by. And the bitter look he sends after them tells the viewer how much he is aware of falling from the dreamland where a nobleman would compliment him like three times within three minutes, back to the regular life where it is better not to be noticed at all. Meanwhile, Xichen looks him in the back like “I want it to grow strong and healthy, I want to tell my friends and neighbors about it”.

[ep 10]

Alright, when 10 minutes ago I thought “Meng Yao, sweetie, kill that clown”, this is not what I had in mind

SOMEBODY GIVE MENG YAO A HUG (after some emergency medical care) HE HAS DONE NOTHING WRONG IN HIS LIFE. Can Xichen adopt him now?

Ah, the joys of the first viewing. 

At this point, I was thinking of both Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue exclusively as of father figures for Meng Yao. For LXC I think I slowly started to notice the romantic tension later but made a complete flip to the romantic interpretation only during the "late light talks... no sign of curse on his body" conversation. For NMJ it was during the head flashback. And as much as I like these pairings, it does feel like a loss that their existence displaces the very different pseudo-family dynamic. I think a story in which NMJ, LXC, WRH and JGS are all openly presented as competing father figures would be interesting; has anyone written that?

On rewatch, I was outraged by all of the blatant manipulation that I bought completely on the first viewing. MY is very good at playing a wounded bird -- especially when he's literally wounded. I had wondered why he just limped away without treating it, but now it's obvious he is using Stoic Suffering to invoke pity and admiration. Just like, a few minutes earlier, he showed NMJ that he was ready to be struck down, and it saved his life. He tells NHS with a sad but brave face “I won't be able to take care of you anymore” and on first viewing it worked on me just as he intended -- I thought “Poor boy, so trained to serve, he puts his duty to others above his own feelings even in this situation”. Ha...

And NMJ is only helping his case. He had the chance to explain everything and share the truth of MY's actions. And in the novel, he does take this chance, retelling the incident to Xichen (who chooses to turn a blind eye). Instead, NMJ basically confirms MY’s narrative: by hiding the reason for the exile, he makes it seem like there was no respectable reason at all. NMJ, all by himself, makes himself look like an irrational tyrant, and MY like a victim of an arbitrariness. And he does it in front of Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian, no less -- an heir to a major clan and his brother! By trying not to discuss internal problems with outsiders, he achieves an opposite effect. Luckily for him, JC and WWX don't give a shit... But imagine how different the plot would be if they had this information from the start?

What I still don't understand is -- what was Meng Yao’s plan in this episode? Who was he working for? Who was his accomplice, whose feet we saw in the later flasback -- surely not Xue Yang himself, he’s supposed to be under arrest! Was he working with the Jin secretly already? (I don’t think so: in a later scene, JGS asks him about this incident, seemingly ignorant.) Or with the Wen (I don't remember -- did Xue Yang go back to the Wen afterwards)? Or just with Xue Yang directly, setting him completely free just on the promise of future cooperation? This seems most plausible -- but to risk and lose everything over such an uncertain gamble doesn’t make MY look very smart.

I have some other things to say about the events of this episode, but they’ll be in the post about the flashbacks in episode 41.

[somedayonbroadway]

I’m not the same anon (Lu)- but I reallyy wanna hear the cancer one, I’m really curious.

Well hi Anon that’s not Lu! I’m so glad to have you!

Read this brainstorm below!

Okay, so in this universe, Race and Jack are full brothers and Crutchie is their half brother. Race is once again the youngest (because I love writing them this way).

Jack is raising Race after fighting their father for custody. Their father was mentally abusive, something Jack only caught onto when his best friend Davey questioned him about their relationship. Their mother died a couple years after Racer was born from an overdose.

Their dad had an affair with another woman, resulting in Crutchie. He got divorced to his first wife, who took Jack, and then waited around for Charlie to be born only to leave his mistress with his illegitimate child and have what he thought would be a one nighter with his ex wife, resulting in Racer. They got remarried after he was born.

I love their odd family dynamic.

Anyways, Jack takes custody of Race when he’s twenty one. Race is only eleven. He’s an energetic, very active kid who loves to run and dance and sing and jump on Jack’s back and wrestle with him. He’s just a little ray of sunshine.

Charlie stays with his mother because she takes care of him and Jack knows that. But it’s still hard for him to be separated from his other brother.

One day, when Race is about thirteen, he comes down with a fever. Jack doesn’t think much of it. He keeps Race home from school and stays with him and takes care of him like any parent would.

Only Race doesn’t get better. He loses a lot of weight much too quickly and after about a week and a half of what Jack believes to be the flu, Jack finally scoops his baby brother up and takes him to urgent care where they do a lot of blood tests on the kid.

It isn’t too much longer before they find out.

Race is hospitalized at this point. Jack is sitting with him, holding his hand while he slips in and out of consciousness. The doctor comes in and tells them he has the results. As gently as he can, he tells the boy and the boy’s big brother.

Leukemia.

The first thing Race asks is if he’s going to die. He can see the fear in Jack’s eyes. That’s what scares him the most.

The doctor is kind and patient and describes a few different treatment options. Jack doesn’t let go of Race’s hand the entire time. And when the doctor leaves, Race still doesn’t fully understand, so he asks Jack what’s going to happen to him, if he’s gonna be okay and Jack tells him he’ll be right back, that he needs to make a call or go to the bathroom or something and he leaves the room and completely breaks down.

He has to call Charlie and tell him. And Charlie (eighteen at this point) immediately drives down to the hospital to see them. He finds Jack sobbing in a waiting room. Jack is so scared of losing his littlest brother.

Crutchie calms Jack down enough for him to go back into Race’s hospital room where Crutchie immediately lays with Race and lets his little brother curl up against him. He holds Race while he cries and starts apologizing like it’s his fault this is happening.

Jack somehow lays with them and holds them both and tells Race that none of this is his fault and that it’s all gonna be okay.

Race is hospitalized as he receives treatment. They start him on chemotherapy. He begins to lose his hair quickly. Jack stays with him at night and Crutchie changes his entire schedule around to stay with Race during the day. He takes night classes.

Race constantly feels like a burden and tells Crutchie and Jack to just leave him and go home and sleep in their own beds but they always manage to cheer him up. Charlie is constantly buying him gifts like blankets and beanies and books. Jack feels guilty because he can’t afford to buy Race gifts and pay for his treatment at the same time. But Race is always just excited to see Jack when he comes in.

Race is a pretty shy kid when he’s not with his brothers, so growing up he didn’t have too many friends. He mostly clung to his brothers and would’ve rather been with them than anyone else. But he gets a whole bunch of letters from his classmates. He hates them. They make him feel like some kind of charity case, like people only care because he might be dying.

Some kids come to visit Race. Half of them admit it’s because their parents made them. But a couple of them stick around because Race actually takes a liking to them. Albert DaSilva and Oscar Delancey.

Albert and Oscar are different than the others. They treat Race like anyone else, rather than talking down to him or treating him in different ways. Albert admits that he lost his mother to cancer way after Race meets him. Oscar just always liked Race and understood his sense of humor.

Jack is thrilled that his baby finally has some friends and some people that make the hospital say a little more tolerable for him and people who can stay with him along with just him and Crutchie. Crutchie often sits on his computer doing homework while Albert, Oscar and Race talk and play card games.

At some point, when Jack comes back to the hospital, he finds Albert and Race curled up with each other on his bed. Oscar tells him that Race fell asleep and started crying for Jack and Crutchie had gone to get some coffee so Albert just cuddled up next to him and hugged him.

Jack would take pictures. He’d be so happy that Race had friends who cared about him so much.

High school would eventually start for Albert and Oscar. Race would still be in the hospital. Since he was getting some side effects from all the treatment, they’d need to keep him there most of the time. Race constantly tells Jack how he misses his own bed and his own free will. There’s only a few days at a time when Race is allowed to go home and he always looks forward to them.

But he feels inferior when his friends get to go to high school and he doesn’t.

Meanwhile, Jack is working two jobs during the day while also trying to get a third to support Racer. But that’s just making it harder on Race who only wants to see his brother all the time.

After a couple more months of struggling, Race is done with the treatment and is said to be cured.

Race is ecstatic. Jack and Crutchie even more so.

Race goes to school with Albert and Oscar where he realizes that high school is actually horrible and he hates it. He and Albert and Oscar are typically trying to finds ways to hide from their peers and terrorize the popular kids.

They start doing a lot of pranks and Oscar is the one who starts getting them to do things that just along the border of illegal

Jack becomes a cop and busts them doing stupid shit all the time, going so far as to put cuffs of Race at some point and pretend to arrest him. It scares Race enough to knock it off.

Everything is as normal as it can be for two years after that.

When Race is sixteen, they get the news.

It’s back.

Race goes pretty much hysterical right away. He runs from the room. He can’t accept it. He doesn’t want to be bedridden again, he doesn’t want to be away from his friends, he doesn’t want to fall behind in school, he doesn’t want to be helpless anymore.

Jack runs after him and Race tells him he should just give up, that he doesn’t want to do it anymore. And Jack asks him if he wants to live and Race says yes. So Jack tells him he needs to fight.

Jack would have to calm him down while Crutchie asked the doctor some more questions while he himself tried not to cry.

It would be harder this time. The treatment would be even more brutal for Race this time. It would be ten times harder for him because Jack is now a cop, training to be a detective who works long, odd hours. He hardly gets to see him. But Charlie is there for him as much as he can be. Albert and Oscar come all the time for him, especially when he texts them for cuddles.

He has a lot of trouble sleeping in the hospital which causes his friends to get him things that are fuzzy and soft and warm. They help him with his studying and his homework.

And Jack is often the one to get Race to sleep.

And that brings a lot of comfort to Jack. See, Jack is struggling at work. He is a junior detective. He was being trained by a man he had once been very close to. A man named William Snyder. The guy turned out to be dirty. Jack knows it and no one else does and he’s going to turn him in.

He just waits too long.

One night when going in to visit his baby brother, after being told Race was sleeping for the first time in days, he enters only to find Snyder standing over the kid, petting his forehead and watching over him while he sleeps. Jack freezes and starts to tell Snyder that he needs to leave, but Snyder doesn’t.

He starts to make threats. He tells Jack that he needs to back off before some really unfortunate things begin to happen. Jack still tries to argue. So Snyder quickly injects Race with something and tells Jack he can either get help for Race or call for back up in time to catch him.

Jack opts for saving Race before he can even think. He tries to shake Race awake but the boy won’t wake up.

Snyder injected him with some kind of poison. They catch it, but Race is even more sick for a week afterwards.

Jack is furious and spends a lot of his time trying to figure out where Snyder has gone. He can’t find him.

Race is understandably scared to death and hates it whenever Jack leaves and has an even harder time sleeping. He actually gets Jack to call out of work a few times because he’s scared of Snyder coming back.

Eventually, Race is released from the hospital once again and he goes back to school, a bit more cautious about who he talks to and is a bit more reserved than he had been before. He and Oscar begin to fight a bit.

Race hates it. But it’s hard for him to stop. Especially with Jack working 24/7 on finding Snyder.

One night Race goes home to find Snyder and Jack fighting inside. They have been for a while. Race realizes immediately that Snyder has intended on killing Jack quick and easy when he sees the silencer on the gun they’re both reach for.

Jack tells Race to run. Race does, but he’s still not his strongest and he doesn’t want to leave his brother. He only makes it into the kitchen before he hears a gun go off.

He runs back out to find Jack on the ground and Snyder standing over him. Jack reacts fast and pulls Race down behind him, trying to protect him.

Snyder hears the cops coming. Someone heard the commotion. Snyder goes to run, but gets caught and Race is left with Jack bleeding out in his arms.

After years of fighting to survive, Race never thought he’d switch roles with Jack.

Jack is having trouble breathing while the cops call for an ambulance. Race asks him if he wants to live. Jack says yes. So Race tells Jack that he needs to fight.

Jack dies twice before he’s stabilized at the hospital.

Charlie rushes to Race’s side as soon as he gets the phone call. Race cries himself to sleep in Crutchie’s arms.

The doctor comes out to tell Race and Crutchie that Jack is alive and Race runs to him immediately. He holds Jack’s hand the whole time.

Race curls up at Jack’s side while he recovers, and Crutchie watches over them.

And eventually, maybe everything’s okay.

Yep. A lot happens here. Any questions?

Part of me wants to write something where Jack has cancer. But we’ll see.

Anyways...

Thanks, Anon!

[afewnovelideas]

Turnabout is fair Play plot bunny? (not set in stone but might include some elements)

The main plot/conflict involves Tim discovering who his biological parents really are. Turns out Jack and Janet were actually his aunt and uncle. His mother is a woman named Jeanine, who was Jack's younger (possibly twin) sister. His father ends up being the Joker himself.

This story explores the true origins of the Joker, as well as the legacy of Tim's biological family. 

The Drakes, it turns out, have a secret of their own. Jack and Jeanine were both born into the Royal Flush Gang family crime syndicate, but back when the gang was based out of New York City. Growing up, Jack was being groomed to be the "Jack" of the family. Jeanine would've been training to become that generation's "Ten", except she was born with a malformed heart that left her in extremely delicate health. Growing up, though, Jack and Jeanine didn't mesh well with the family's criminal legacy. When they were teenagers, they both ended up turning over evidence to the Feds of their family's criminal activities. As a result, they were placed into the Witness Protection Program and given news names and lives after testifying against their family. That's where the "Drake" name came from, and they both were relocated to Gotham City.

Fast forward a few years, Jack went to university for archaeology and Jeanine went on to study music. She loved to sing, and while going to college she earned money singing in an upscale nightclub that prided itself on showcasing a variety of live entertainment. It was there that she met her future husband, an up-and-coming stand-up comic with a fair amount of talent.

While Jack strongly disapproved of the relationship, Jeanine threw back that she didn't care much for his choice of girlfriend (Janet) either. Jeanine got married and eventually became pregnant.

However, due to her heart problems, the pregnancy quickly became life-threatening. However, there was no way Jeanine wanted to give up her child. Medical bills mounted up, and her husband grew desperate to save both his wife and his child. So he turned to an organized crime syndicate to borrow money. In return for the money, the comic had to help out on certain jobs for the gang.

Jeanine eventually found out that the syndicate her husband had gotten involved with was the reborn Royal Flush Gang, which had rebuilt itself and had relocated to Gotham City.

Despite her illness, Jeanine became scared that the gang would find out about her and her brother. She was also very worried about her husband. She knew how the gang worked, and when he told her what "rank" he'd been given, she knew he was a walking dead man. 

The gang gave the rank of "Joker" to a member from outside the family who were earmarked for being the fall-guy in a heist. They were expendable. They were not expected to survive, but in the case that they did, they would be eliminated afterwards.

"Jokers", after all, were cards usually discarded from the decks in many poker games.

Despite his wife's pleadings, the comic went on with one last job for the gang. Desperate to protect herself and her unborn child, Jeanine left home with a small suitcase and the clothes on her back.

On the news at her brother's home, she learned of her husband's fate. The Batman, a new vigilante, had interrupted a heist at Ace Chemicals. Most of the criminals had been arrested by police, but one had fallen into a vat of chemicals and was presumed dead. The stress of the news was too much for Jeanine. 

That night, her son was delivered nearly a month and a half early by cesarean, and Jeanine slipped into a coma. Because of the her husband's actions, the Feds helped Jack change the details surrounding the birth of Jeanine's son. Tim Drake became Jack and Janet's biological son on his birth certificate. Jeanine herself, still in a coma, is moved to a long-term care hospital clear across the country under an assumed name to protect her, in case the Royal Flush Family discovered her connection to them.

A month or so late, Jack gets a shocking visit. His sister's husband shows up on his doorstep. Its late at night, and the man refuses to step into the light, but he's looking for his wife. Jack is furious. He tells the comic that his wife and child are dead, that her heart couldn't take the stress of knowing her husband was a dead criminal. He slams the door on the comic, and that is the last he sees of him in person.

The dip in the acid vat had warped his body and most of his mind. However, it was the belief that he had caused the death of his wife and child that caused the man to snap the rest of the way.

That is what gave birth to the Joker.

Fast forward again to the present. Ra’s al Ghul has been working toward some grand master plan for Gotham, but he’s been concerned with interference from the local supercriminals in the area. So he’d been looking and finding leverage against most of them. This included the Joker. Though it took his network a great deal of time and money, they eventually discovered his real identity and the location of his still comatose wife.

Posing as a doctor at the hospital, Ra’s uses medicine created with waters from the Lazarus Pits to wake Jeanine up, fully intending to take custody of her and hold her hostage against the Joker. Imagine his surprise and secret delight when one of the first people she asks for is her brother, Jack Drake, and when she asks if he knows anything about her son, who should’ve been named Timothy.

A plan formulates in Ra’s mind…

A plan that will pit two troublesome entities, the Joker against his favorite young Detective, on a collision path against one another.

Timothy did go to the ends of the world and make deals with the devil to find his adopted father, after all. To what lengths would the teenager go to protect his frail biological mother from harm? What would it do to the boy’s psyche to learn that he was the genetic offspring of one of the most notorious madmen the world had ever seen? The Joker had already killed a Robin once before… Would he do so again to reunite with his once beloved wife, especially if someone mentioned that the Bats were looking to use her as leverage against him?