#and i get daniel being held captive

[m0nst3rf3n]

no because what is armand's excuse for staying in the same clothes for six days

[the-breath-in-air]

I know some folks are upset the show painted Armand as a one-note villain in the finale but...like...actually the show didn't. Daniel painted Armand's actions as being a one-note villain. Daniel is the one who declared that Armand wanted Louis to die in the trial.

Daniel...the "bright young reporter with a point of view."

Daniel...who's "good at getting angles."

Daniel...who 2 sessions earlier discovered that in the 1970s Armand had held him captive and tortured him for a week and nearly drained him. And then fucked with his memory to make him forget all of it.

There are certain aspects of that reveal that the show is telling you are objectively true. Armand directed the trial. Lestat forced the audience to shout "Banishment" and saved Louis. But pretty much everything else that Daniel says is just his assumption...him drawing conclusions. And his conclusions are based on truths...but also influenced by his own perspective, which is "fuck Armand."

I dunno...it just seems clear this show is having characters unfold and reveal themselves slowly...and that these big reveals aren't really retconning everything we've seen before, they're more about re-contextualizing everything.

[lizardkingeliot]

I took a ton of notes during my rewatch of 2x07 just now but the thing I kept coming back to again and again was Armand's framing of the entire narrative and how it plays with truth vs lies in such an insidious way it's honestly brilliant in its cruelty. Truth being used as a cudgel not only against Louis, but against Lestat as well. And against, us, the viewers at home.

We obviously all know Armand is a very powerful 500 year old vampire who is not going to be held back by an infant of a vampire like Santiago. Like… Armand. Babe. Let’s get real. But that’s the narrative set-up. The coven, now being led by Santiago, has Armand captive behind his little rickety baby gate with Sam and his prop weapon not letting the puppy come out to play. He cannot prevent it! Poor baby. Someone get him a juice box and a snack.

Enter Lestat. The vengeful lover come to make Louis and Claudia pay for what they did to him. What's interesting here is that everyone—Daniel, Louis, Armand—acknowledges in Dubai that the trial IS a sham from the beginning. A tool to allow Lestat his revenge. But the truth of why it's actually a sham is being hidden behind a thousand layers of gaslighting and deceit by Armand. Lestat is merely another prop on the stage. Being forced to use the TRUTH of his love story with Louis—and to twist essential elements of their beginning as a couple—as a weapon to drive the final wedge between them so that Armand might have Louis all to himself. That's what this is about. A farce so that Armand might have what he wants more than anything in the world. Someone who will be with him always. Without Claudia, without Lestat... who else is there for Louis to run to?

The trial as we see it is told mostly through Louis' POV. It seems to be a true picture of how it all happened but the cognitive dissonance watching him try to reconcile what Lestat was doing on the stage with the framing provided by Armand (who cuts in frequently to assure us that Lestat shapes things to suit HIS narrative) is painful. Louis sees and feels and hears the sincerity of Lestat. A Lestat who is defiant from the jump and refuses to paint the story as butchery. It's about LOVE. It is always always always about the love. An entire sham trial about vengeance and murder framed around... love.

Everyone who's familiar with the books already knows Lestat didn't want to be there. I won't go into that too much but the show did a good job of showing us just how unwell Lestat was during the entire process. But there are also some really interesting moments where we are TOLD explicitly through Louis' recounting of the events that Lestat was not actually there for revenge. Namely, the moment when Lestat says HE deserves to be punished alongside them. These are not the words of someone who is seeking vengeance. These are the words of someone desperately rattling the bars of his own cage trying everything he can to prevent what's happening. Because unlike a certain someone, in that moment Lestat is quite literally unable to prevent it!

The entire episode is Louis trying to reconcile the conflicting truths that exist inside him: that Lestat was there for revenge, that Armand couldn't prevent the coven from exacting their cruelty, and that the Lestat who was on stage WAS sincere and emotional and fighting with everything he had to let the truth ring as true as it was when he was able. He refused to refer to Louis as the accused every time Santiago insisted on it. He would only refer to Louis by name. He would NOT allow the narrative to frame him as someone who didn't also do monstrous things to his lover. He was weeping and flooded with shame. Sincerely, genuinely remorseful for the awful thing he had done to Louis.

There's also something else here about Lestat acknowledging he tried to crush what he could not own vs Armand deceiving Louis into the false sense of control that is the entire basis for their relationship. Owning something he does not crush, merely confines. He's not crushing Louis with insanity, he's locking him inside his prison of empathy. He quite literally has Louis locked in a cage while allowing him to believe he's truly free. Free from the insanity of Lestat. Evil, vengeful, gaslighting Lestat who only uses the truth to shape the narrative for himself.

There's a lot more going on here. I can't possibly get it all out of my brain right now and I imagine I'm going to be picking apart the nuances for a while. There are so many layers. The truth vs lies vs intentional reshaping of the truth of it all. But if you rewatch, pay attention to Armand's face, the score that accompanies his recounting of events, the passive way in which he holds his body in both Paris and Dubai. He's locking Louis in a dream world where the truth is present in such a way it only serves to amplify its own distortion. I don't even think he's fucking with Louis' memory all that much, just framing it in such a way that Louis cannot see past what is right there in front of him. What he already knows. If only he had just a few more tiny pieces of the puzzle...

But he's trying to get there. He is getting there. The truth of Lestat is breaking though. Lestat is still present there with him in Dubai, as real as if he were really in the room. After 74 years, Louis can still recall every detail of his face, still smile at him recalling the truth of his memories. The truth he wouldn't allow himself to look at all the way. The truth he himself had to distort for his own sake because it hurt too much. He's allowing himself to see not only the truth of himself and his own actions, but the truth of Lestat. All the complicated, sincere truth of him. The truth of the one who truly could not prevent it.

[fascinationstreetmp3]

book armand feeds out of sight of daniel and never kills in front of him no matter how much daniel begs to watch and fantasizes about what he looks like doing it. But! show daniel ends up laying on the floor face to face with one of armand's kills on the day they properly meet, and later that week is given a personal taste of what armand does before he feeds on someone. so i'm of the opinion that if past dm happened (and daniel also remembered the 6 day torture session during that time-- to me it's kinda crucial that he does, considering being held captive by armand is the start of their relationship in the books), armand would have much fewer reservations about letting daniel see him kill. there's less of a "pedestal" to fall from with what daniel's already witnessed him do so far. maybe he'd still hesistate a little at first, but eventually i believe he'd let him see it happen. and daniel getting a thrill from it would still be a source of internal conflict for armand; book armand doesn't believe daniel could handle vampirism, but show armand is given so much proof that daniel probably could and he hates knowing that

[teecupangel]

Hi this Jasmine Miles from AO3! I was wondering how you might interpret this following setting:

Its 2020 and Desmond Miles has awoken held captive by a really minor front of Templars, here he meets Leonardo Da vinci and they not only become friends but because of already seeing him in Ezio's memories, they become lovers. In time Desmond learns Leo was an assassin and they meet up with Altaïr and Ezio who are also here. They eventually escape and they form a new group of loyalists with Desmond as mentor, gaining confidence as he goes.

You say minor front of Templars and my brain immediately goes for the Templar team that kidnapped Noa Kim in the Black Flag webtoon but that happened around 2023 XD

2020 is the year Valhalla’s plot starts so we can set this up to be a case of “While Layla and team were checking the mysterious message that led to Eivor’s remains, Desmond wakes up in an unknown Abstergo facility”.

The plot would be less like the webtoon’s Templars but more like the movie’s Templars.

Hell, we can even put Sofia Rikkin as the leader of the Templars that have ‘taken’ Desmond.

This sounds like Leonardo Da Vinci is an Assassin in this one which he wasn’t in canon so this could be a case of the Leonardo Da Vinci Desmond is introduced to is said to be a descendant of Leonardo Da Vinci who came from an Assassin family.

He’s a fellow captive who is being forced to watch the past Leonardo Da Vinci’s memories.

To be more exact…

How Leonardo Da Vinci was forcibly made to use the Apple by Cesare Borgia.

Desmond was in the same boat. They’re not looking for certain POEs or anything.

They want to see the memories of Altaïr using the Apple.

It didn’t take long before Desmond realized that they were looking for those memories because they have an Apple in their possession (kept in a different location because Sofia Rikkin is not an idiot, Desmond Miles is the most dangerous Assassin to ever wield an Apple easily after Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad) and they’re using data they gathered from the Animus sessions to try and create a ‘device’ that would control the Apple while they control the device because…

The Apple has a corrupting influence on everyone that wields it. Sooner or later, the user starts changing mentally and emotionally.

The only exception they could find to this rule were…

Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad and…

Desmond Miles.

Leonardo was being used as a ‘control’ subject, to give a more accurate reading to compare to Desmond.

Because reliving the times Leonardo Da Vinci used the Apple aggravate Leonardo’s Bleeding Effect.

But Desmond hasn’t had any negative effect at all.

That’s when Sofia Rikkins orders from two other test subjects to be brought in and to be given the same setup.

To see if Desmond Miles is the exception or…

If it’s his bloodline.

Now, this is where the plot separates into two routes you can take:

Route 1: This is really a case of historical AC characters being reborn in modern day

This is the less sci-fi and untwist-y plot. Ezio and Altaïr are reborn into the modern day. If you want to hammer in the ‘history repeats itself’, they are both from Assassin families that got hit by the Great Purge and are related to Desmond in some way. Ezio actually calls Bill ‘Uncle Bill’ and the Great Purge killed his father and brothers and Ezio only learned about his Assassin heritage after their deaths. He had been on the run with his mother and sister and he got captured because he stood his ground to buy them some time. He doesn’t know if they’re safe or they’ve been captured. Altaïr, on the other hand, was raised to be an Assassin from the get go in a facility very similar to the Farm. He’s related to Desmond’s mother (his late father is Desmond’s mother’s distant thrice removed cousin or something) and perhaps is even the grandson of the previous mentor (or so it’s hinted because Daniel Cross describes him as looking like his grandfather). If you really want to hammer some kind of past that will create conflict between him and Desmond, they’re both from the Farm and Altaïr is actually the only one who survived the failed rescue attempt back in AC1 so Desmond feels guilty and Altaïr is too awkward to clear any misunderstanding Desmond might have.

Because, technically, Desmond has more experienced among them (as Altaïr’s experience is more akin to an elite foot soldier), Desmond takes on a leadership role and that’s the start of the ‘let’s plan how to escape this place’ arc.

Route 2: This is a cloning plot that gives a ‘reborn AC characters’ red herring

Leonardo would note early on that “they say I’m Leonardo Da Vinci’s descendant and an Assassin. I don’t feel like either of them” which Desmond (and the narration) would mistake as Leonardo saying he feels like a failure.

No.

Leonardo has no memories of his life before waking up in the Abstergo facility.

That’s because he is one of the clones made from Leonardo Da Vinci’s remains using the technology left behind by the Phoenix Project.

Desmond has all his memories and believes he’s Desmond Miles but he actually isn’t and he finds this out when Altaïr and Ezio are placed in the same facility.

Altaïr only has memories up to that fateful night he spent with Maria.

Ezio only has memories of a night of passion with Sofia.

If they were reborn, why would they only have memories up to the ‘time’ of conception of Desmond Miles’ ‘next’ ancestor?

Sofia Rikkins didn’t bother to lie to Desmond when he confronts her and he learns the bitter truth.

Leonardo, Altaïr and Ezio are all clones.

As well as Desmond.

Altaïr, Ezio and Desmond were cloned after Sample 17 because Desmond Miles’ actual corpse went missing for some reason.

Cue existential crisis here, a callback to the whole ‘what makes us who we are but our memories?’ and hurt/comfort all over.

Because Altaïr and Ezio are pretty much ‘newborn’, Desmond takes on a leadership role and that’s the start of the ‘let’s plan how to escape this place’ arc.

Unorganized Notes:

I picked the movie’s type of Abstergo facility because (1 if this is reborn route) this gives you the choice of doing other possible reborn characters to include to the new group of loyalists Desmond’s gonna lead or (2 if this is cloning route) to keep the audience from fully guessing that this is actually a cloning facility by making them remember the movie’s setup

Altaïr calls Desmond ‘Al Mualim’ once and Desmond felt so disturbed everyone laughs. ‘Al Mualim’ now becomes their pet name for Desmond whenever they want to tease him or when they think he’s planning to do something stupid

Leonardo and Desmond’s relationship is slowly blooming when Ezio enters the fray and, well, with Ezio there, there’s now this awkward love triangle thing going on with Desmond believing that Leonardo would fall in love with Ezio again, Leonardo being torn by his feelings for Desmond and the Bleeding Effect’s feelings for Ezio and Ezio not actually realizing he’s part of a love triangle because he just sees Leonardo as his BFF.

Altaïr in the background, suffering through these three idiots’ drama and wishing he could just kill every last security personnel around… just to get away from all of these.

Sofia Rikkins is colder and more professional in this one. Cal killing her father after she and he got sorta close really fucked her up.

Up to you if you want Cal and his team to show up. I placed Sofia as the ‘main Templar’ because she’s one of the few Templars high enough in Abstergo to be able to do commandeer an entire facility, she has knowledge of the Animus, and is part of the Templar inner circle in some capacity.

[jellyfishoreo1206]

Snippets of life with the BUBO characters (Nostre, Aku punk, Daniel, Gavril)

Gender-Neutral Reader

Gavril

It was a boring summer night, nothing to do and falling into the same routine, or so you thought. It was very quiet, other than the constant chirping of the crickets, and the quiet rustling coming from the wind. But Gavril decided to surprise you by visiting! Though he scared the shit out of you when he literally snuck in through your bedroom window without a sound and surprised you, almost got a bat to the head if he didn't duck fast enough. He's fine, you gave him a whole block of cheese as an apology, he's very happy.

Limbs tangled together on the bed as you both hold each other, your head against his chest, listening to his calm heartbeat as your hands played with his hair. His hands were around your waist gently rubbing circles into your lower back, or just leaving them there as he enjoys the warmth you radiate. His hair was very soft and felt nice to the touch. Surprisingly, there was no knots or matted hair, so it was easy for you to comb your fingers through it without struggle. And the curliness of that one strand of his, is so fun. Just to gently pull it, and seeing it bounce back into it's original shape was just so strangely funny to you, causing a quiet giggle to escape your mouth whenever you do so. You continue to repeat the action for several minutes more, cheeks starting to hurt from smiling to much.

"What's got you so giggly tonight, Darling~?" Your constant giggling seemed to have peaked Gavril's interest, as he lifted your chin so he could see your smiling face, a soft grin on his own. "It's—it's just your hair," Twirling the strand around a finger, you let it go, watching as it quickly goes back to it's original state, another giggle being torn from your lips. "My hair? What about it?" Amusement was swirling in his eyes, his hands traveling up your back until they were softly placed on your face, gently stroking your cheek in a slow circular motion. "Honestly, it's just funny seeing your hair spring back..." He huffs out a small laugh, placing a soft kiss on your forehead as he pulls you closer to his person. Putting his face in the crook of your neck, Gavril places soft kisses along the skin, hands traveling back down to where they were originally at the start. The kisses made you squirm from the ticklish feeling as small giggles fill the room, not being able to get away as he had you caged in his arms.

That's how the night continued on, with you and your Gavril, talking back and forth between topics that don't even relate to one another, small silly banters, or just cuddling with each other. You're not sure if Gavril will be there in the morning, but that doesn't really matter, ear against his chest as the soft drumming of his heart lulls you to sleep. "Goodnight Darling~"

°°°°

Daniel

You wished you didn't have to get up. You wished you didn't even have to leave the arms of the literal cuddle bear that's holding you captive, and currently keeping you warm from the cold of LA, despite it being 46⁰. But that damn alarm kept screaming, and it was starting to tick you off. You forgot to turn it off the other day, as it was the beginning of winter break, and now you're facing the consequences of your own forgetfulness. How Daniel sleeps through the blaring of the alarm, you are not sure, how the hell does he even get up on time to get ready to teach?

As a last attempt, and a lot of squirming, you were finally able to get out of muscular arms that held you captive, finally turning off the alarm and powering it off so you wouldn't have anymore interruptions to your sleep. Groggy and absolutely tired, you pushed your way back into Daniel's arms, snuggling into his chest as your hands wrapped around his waist.

Though that seemed to have woke him up, "..Y/N? Wha..are you doing up..?" Yawning, he snuggles closer to your person, tangling his legs with yours as he does so. "Shit, sorry Danny I forgot to turn my alarm off the other day." He didn't respond for a good minute, you can't tell if he fell asleep or not because his eyes were still closed. You assumed he was asleep, his body hasn't moved an inch, other than the slow rise and fall of his breathing. Leaning closer towards his face, you kissed the tip of his nose before settling back into his chest, going back to sleep.

A couple more hours doesn't sound to bad..

Though Daniel wasn't really asleep, he was trying to wake himself up that he forgot to respond to you. But that kiss certainly woke him up, a red blush making itself known on his cheeks and the tips of his ears.

God, he was truly lucky to have you.

°°°°

Aku Punk

"GET UP WE GOTTA GO GO, NOW!!"

What a wonderful start to your morning, groaning as you peaked at your personal alarm clock from underneath your arm, glaring at him as you turned over on your side. But that only seemed to make him more annoyingly persistent, as he jabbed your back repeatedly.

"what, whaT WHAT!? IT'S FUCKING SIX IN THE MORNING??" Though the redhead didn't respond to your shout, instead yanking the blanket from your person and grabbing onto your leg. "AKU.. DON'T YOU DARE DO WHAT YOU'RE ABOUT TO FUCKING DO." All you get in return is a mischievous smile, as he yanks your person off the bed with surprising strength, a yelp leaving your mouth. He throws you a pair of shoes and some sweats that were lying around in your room, turning to leave. "C'mon! Today's the day we get that game!" It took you a bit for your brain to remember what he was talking about, before it clicked. "Oh shit! How much time do we have?"

"30 minutes if you don't hurry the fuck up!"

Now with a time limit, you fumbled with your pajama pants as you rushed to put on the sweats, looking for a pair of socks while you do so too. The both of you were planning to buy the new Legend of Zelda game for a few weeks now, and today was finally that day! The reason why you guys didn't get it earlier was because you were both busy. And the fact that Aku always slept in much later than you before he had to go to his job.

Stumbling out the room as you tied your laces, you grabbed your keys and wallet from your dresser, heading towards the kitchen where Aku is most likely at. Probably drinking an energy drink or that green crap that he brought home once. He let you try it once, you were out sick for a whole entire week, stuck in bed with the worst headache you have ever experienced and nearly throwing up anything you ate.

You still question to this day how he's able to stomach the disgusting drink, mulling it over in your mind. When you asked, he said he was simply built different with a shrug as he adds it to his Monster.

"C'mon let's go!" Grabbing an apple sauce pack from the fridge for the road, it's better not to be hangry while on the road, "After we get that game we can buy some snacks on the way back."

"Ah hell yeah! I call dibs on driving!"

"No way, you got a ticket last time!"

"Not my fault that wearing headphones while driving was apparently illegal."

"Whatever let's just go already."

°°°°

Nostre

Sleep couldn't come to you tonight, no matter how much you positioned yourself or how still you stayed, so here you are in the kitchen. Though 7 minutes into prepping a meal for yourself, Nostre sluggishly came out of the bedroom, wondering where his large teddy went. Most nights, he is only able to sleep with you besides him, it brings him a warming comfort whenever he feels your body next to him, cuddling him close as he feels your calm heartbeat against his skin.

It was very well past midnight, with you cooking a small meal for the both of you. Nostre's arms were around your midsection securely with his head on your shoulder, watching you with tired eyes. His eyes would flutter close every now and then, leaning more into you as he dozes off. Though he usually jolt awake in the end due to some jumping oil on his skin, grumbling as he softly glares at nothing in particular.

He reminded you of a cat of sorts with his behavior. There have been a time where you called him Kitty as a joke, though it didn't seem to upset him in any way, more like fluster him to the point he looked like a cherry and couldn't hold any sorts of eye contact. A fond memory that you like bringing up whenever you two are alone. It embarrass him every time.

Smiling, you kiss his forehead as you turn your focus back to the stove, moving the food around so they would cook evenly, "Sorry for waking you, Hun. I promise we'll go to bed after we're done eating." All you get in return was a hum of acknowledgment, with a small kiss being placed on your cheek. "..it's fine... I don't mind."

This happened on many occasions. Whenever one or both of you couldn't sleep, you both end up doing something with the other until the familiar drowsiness comes so you can both call it a night.

Though you both would be paying for the consequences of staying up late as you both head to your jobs in the morning, but that doesn't stop you two from doing so.

You also find that whenever he's tired enough, he'll usually blurt out a thought he was thinking about earlier in day or come up with something on the spot, which are usually out-of-context.

Most of which are usually just him going on about some cat he had been feeding on campus, naming them after you as he goes on about what the cat brang him when he went to go feed them again, or how the cat brought another friend around.

----

I am desperate for requests

[simslegacy5083]

Not So Berry (Straud Descendants) Gen 9

Today's (8/13/2024) Episode: Making The Pitch

When Luigi put his mind to something it usually wasn’t long before he’d achieved his goal, and his proposal for Noemi’s boss was no exception.

Working late into the night he outlined his idea for a new life sim. He’d played Sims Forever since he was young and had been programming mods to enhance his gameplay almost as long. The popularity of those mods made him confident that he understood what would appeal to other gamers.

Noemi had been right that Luigi’s name being attached to the project would get her bosses attention.

Her supervisor had looked skeptical when she’d dropped a proposal from her fiancée off that morning, but by lunchtime Patricia caught her in the breakroom with quite a different attitude. “I looked into your boy’s plan.” She said, wolfing down a quick sandwich between meetings.

“A respected Sims Forever modder with a couple other claims to fame developing a competitor to the classic game?” She rapped her knuckles on the table for emphasis and pointed. “Get him here ASAP for a meeting with me and Daniel from investment! I’m positive the community will eat this up.”

A couple days later Luigi found himself in the conference room of Rainy Day’s downtown headquarters. He and Noemi worked for different branches of the same parent company, and he’d met her boss a couple times in passing, but the investment guy was new to him.

Used to public performances he was at ease, smiling brightly as he shook hands and settled down across from the other two sims.

“So…” Patrica began “I read your proposal and I’m intrigued. I want to hear more about what you think you can bring to the table to set your game apart from Sims Forever. We’ll want to attract its audience and bring in new players – how do you intend to do that”?

As he’d gotten older Luigi had learned how to use his cheerful nature to his advantage. To that end he didn’t attempt to hide his enthusiasm, letting his excitement shine through and captivating his audience as he launched into an explanation.

"Sims Forever has been my favorite videogame for as long as I can remember. I love it, but I’m also very aware of what it lacks, the things I got into modding to fix. I want to develop a game that has options for more control, and more chaos. One with randomly generated NPCs that didn’t dress themselves in the dark, who have skills and backstories to match their traits and preferences.” 

Luigi paused to take a breath, but before he could continue Daniel held up a hand to stop him. "I've heard enough. Your project writeup outlined this quite nicely. It’s clear you have the passion to execute your vision; and I’ll be counting on Noemi here to manage the team needed to back you up."

Luigi gave Daniel a sincerely thankful smile as they discussed the contractual details, but Patricia didn’t let him escape on a high note.

"Before you go, there is one issue we need to talk about. You got yourself into quite the pickle the other night with that little mouse fiasco. I trust the PR department is helping you clean up that mess?“ She looked at him expectantly as he did his best to suppress a flash of irritation and shame. 

"Of course," he lied "they're all over it.“ In reality, the “damage control” team were all over him to address it publicly, but he’d been stonewalling them. He’d hoped the whole thing would just blow over in time without requiring him to take an active and risky role in repairing his reputation.

 As he and Noemi walked out to grab lunch, Luigi’s excitement at his win was dampened by worrying about what he was going to say to the team’s publicist later that evening. It looked like he was going to need to cooperate with them after all.

View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

[adamnxwman]

( Daniel Sharman / thirty  / male / he/him) can i still trust my eyes after all this time or am i hallucinating the appearance of ADAM NEWMAN in front of the blackridge safe zone gates? perhaps the council allowed them to stay because of HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT SKILL – though they should be careful that their MANIPULATIVE WAYS  does not get them kicked out sooner or later. have you heard them share over a campfire that A DECENT CUP OF COFFEE is what they have missed the most ever since the apocalypse started? well, i definitely heard that CELL PHONES is what they miss the least. if you can’t find them, they’re likely busy with the RAIDERS. they may have RESIDED IN BLACKRIDGE FOR 1 MONTH, but can they survive another night? ( Lorna / 31 / GMT/ she/her / terminal illness) 

Name: Adam Newman

Nickname (s): Ad for those who are closest to him

Gender: cis man (him/he)

Orientation: straight 

Age: 30

Birthday: September 15th 2008

Occupation: Raider

Physical –

Height: 6”2

faceclaim. daniel sharman

Build: Slight muscles 

Hair: brown hair, slightly curly. 

Eyes: Brown Dominant hand: Left

Fears: Being alone in the world, but he keeps that to himself

History:

BEFORE THE APOCALYPSE (Age 17)

As the eldest child in the Newman family, Adam was the example to be set. His grades weren’t anything to brag about, but he was ahead of the curve in sports, excelling in track and field but having an affinity for boxing as well. Being captain of the track team, Adam was all set to get a scholarship, and at only seventeen, Adam felt like he was on top of the world. He had an endless amount of friends; his parents adored him, and his siblings wanted to be him. It was the perfect life for any seventeen-year-old man. Adam had spent his life training, putting in the endless hours and early mornings for him to come in second at the national championship for track and field. It was a dream, something that could possibly lead to the Olympics, but then the world went to shit.

During the outbreak, Adam and his family had travelled to the USA Track and Field competition at the University of Oregon, ready to run, when news of the disaster struck. Adam and his family were away from their home in California, in a place they knew very little of, as the world was turned upside down.

DURING THE APOCALYPSE – 2033 (age 25)

Adam’s mother was lost to an infection early on, as was his little brother, leaving Adam, his father and his younger sister. They tried to survive on their own but quickly came to the understanding that they had little skills for the end of the world. They had avoided cities for the most part, with Adam taking the lead in trying to find supplies or a safe place for the night, as he was the fastest. His father had reiterated that the world may have ended, but that didn’t mean they had to lose themselves and their morals, but Adam understood the new world order better than his father.

2036

A few years later, Adam had stolen from the wrong people. He had grown lax over the years, and instead of taking his usual precautions, he ran into a camp and was soon overpowered. He was held captive by them, forced to work for them within their compound under terrible conditions, moving around the country, getting further away from his family as the weeks passed and turned into years. Somehow, Adam and his captors ended up in Salt Lake City, but it was overrun with the infected, as Adam had deliberately made a lot of loud noises during the night. During one night, the camp of captors was overrun, and if it wasn’t for Adam’s speed, he would have ended up dead or infected.

2037

For a good year, Adam explored the surrounding areas of Utah, battling the elements alone as he continued to steal from other survivors. Adam lived in fear that some of his captors had survived, looking for him, seeking their own revenge.

2038 - present

Arriving in Wyoming, there had been whispers of a settlement that had withstood the test of time and the infected. Adam had spent too long on his own, and he craved some human interaction, preferably without the killing or sabotaging. Blackridge was all that and more, but part of Adam still missed the thrill of the take, of roaming across the country, facing death as they spent their days fighting for survival. He had only been at Blackridge a month before he joined the Raiders. Adam was thriving during the searches, enjoying every moment of searching the nearby houses and buildings while still longing for more adventure.

[aceofwhump]

Favourite SG1 whump for each character?

Ooh good question!

Jack O'Neill: I'm going to go with Message in a Bottle I think. Jack has a lot of good whump but him being pinned against the wall by a sharp long indestructible spike that then slowly infects him. It's amazing.

Daniel Jackson: oh my god how do I pick just ONE whump to be my favorite?!?!?! Talk about impossible!!! Oh man I think for right now I'm going to go with either Need or Legacy. Those are the two I watch over and over again. But god he's got so many great whumps. Other favs are definitely the First Ones when he's kidnapped by the Unas, Lifeboat when his mind is taken over by a bunch of different consciousness, The Light when his addiction turns in to depression and becomes suicidal and then nearly dies because of it all, Evolution part 2 when he's held captive shot in the leg and tortured. Sorry I can't pick just one lol

Samantha Carter: Hard to pick a Sam whump too. I'm going to say In The Line of Duty when she first gets possessed by Jolinar and it nearly kills her. Grace is also a really great Sam whump episode.

Teal'c: Oh this one is hard too. Avatar is a favorite. When he's trapped in the simulation that won't let him leave and he keeps dying and is exhausted and gives up. So good.

Jonas Quinn: When he nearly dies in Prophecy because he has a brain tumor giving him visions. That's good whump.

Vala Mal Doran: My favorite Vala whump moment is in Origin when she is burned alive. Vala doesn't have a lot of whump that I remember tbh.

Cameron Mitchell: A tie between Babylon and Collateral Damage. Babylon is great when he gets shot in the side. And i like the emotional whump in Collateral Damage when he has to relive those painful memories.

[merv606]

Is there any way for Daniel to get through Terry and make him see that this is not okay? Yeah Daniel did have feelings for him, and maybe still does, but being kidnapped, drugged, forcefully confined, denied any autonomy, being watched constantly I feel would break someone's mind and soul even mixed in with "sweet" or "romantic" moments, the reality for Daniel is, he's trapped, completely with a mad man who wants full absolute control over him.

Like I can't imagine Daniel not going insane under such conditions. Being held in captivity isn't productive for a healthy mind. Even if the cage is nice, with nice things, and Terry acting so "lovingly". But on the condition Daniel does want Terry wants.

I hope Terry's all consuming obsessive "love" destroys him, and as I say this as a big Terry stand LOL

No - the thing is Terry while Terry has to justify some things - over all - he is doing this for all the right reasons - so even if he had to he’s justify it all.

You become something new I think.

People always do - a before time and an after time.

But in this case, a creature of Terrys making.

But then Daniel was always willing to be molded by the older man’s hand - partly because of the feelings he had for him.

Both times were against his will but in two totally different ways .

This is just the more extreme version now.

[argaman01]

This picture is by the Israeli artist Shoshke (Ze'ev) Engelmayer, whose art has been devoted to the Israeli-Hamas war since Hamas attacked on October 7, 2023. He has painted many of the hostages, and prints and posters of his paintings have been taken to the Israeli demonstrations to free the hostages and to oppose the current government. They've also been displayed around the world. He is one of the Israeli artists I started following on Facebook after the war began.

This is Omer Neutra, an Israeli-American who was thought to have been taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, but it was just discovered that he died fighting Hamas on that day or the day after, and that his body was taken to Gaza and is still being held by Hamas. His family has been hoping for over a year that he was still alive, as did his friends (including some of my students at my college).

Omer was apparently a great lover of cats, and the caption for this painting read: "Omer will not return to the cats."

This is a translation of what Shoshke wrote on his Facebook page about Omer:

Omer Nautra, a lone soldier who came from New York to Kibbutz Afikim, has been declared to have fallen in the war. Morit wrote to me about him: Hello Shoshka, I want to tell you about our Omer, Omer Neutra, who was kidnapped by Hamas and we haven't heard from him since he was kidnapped. When Omer, a lone soldier, arrived from New York to Kibbutz Afikim, I brought him a cat. He and the guys called her Cactus. When he came to visit from the army, he liked to sleep with her on the couch. ✨ Omer really likes cats. In New York he had a cat, which is still waiting there for Omer. Every cat he met on the kibbutz would approach him, and Omar would hug and talk to him. Yes, talking. Omer told us that he knows the language of cats, and can talk to them. Could you draw a postcard of Omer, returning from captivity, to the cats he loves so much, and they love him?" ✨ I drew Omar with the cats and met with his parents, Orna and Ronan, and his brother Daniel. I felt sadness and pain from them that is hard to describe, and concern for the son in captivity. Since he was kidnapped, they have done everything to remind and act, for Omer's return. Orna showed me pictures and videos of him with cats, happy with them and cuddling, and also with Cactus, the cat brought to him by Nurit Gat, in Kibbutz Afikim. Charming, soft people with inner strength, whose world was destroyed one day, and their loved one was taken away, and did everything to get him back. We talked in the living room and the eyes got wet on their own. And before we parted I gave them the drawing of Omar and the cats. And today it was learned that Omar will not return to them, nor to the cats.

[maryhadalittlehobby]

Interview with the Vampire S2E7- Liveblog

I could not prevent it

Why are Claudia and Louis not communicating telepathically. He is screaming out to her not even knowing if she is around. He even says he he didnt know if she was alive but surely telepathically would be better but I guess he is panicking

I love the mutual respect Daniel and Louis have built. Louis says I am talking now and Daniel shuts the hell up. AND APOLOGIZES

God Santiago and his blue eyes shadow are SERVING (looks and injustice!)

Louis says the vampires 'used their collective powers to disorient their minds, their hearing(jaws compressing the skull)' him and Claudia when they tried to speak out. The shaky camera was cool this first time

Claudia looks ok after coming out the rat box is lol, Louis looked more f-ed up

God Madeline is out of it! Sis is on a different planet. What did Santiago do to her?

When I saw their tendons cut in the trailer I started crying, I just knew we were in for it but the trail as a whole wasn't as bloody as I thought it would be

This swelling music introducing Lestat was beautiful. Can't lie it had me smiling

Walk walk fashion baby

Claudia's withering look and Louis look of pain. My heart

That first look that Lestat gives its almost like a marionette very unnatural

He is looking SNATCHED in that pinstripe suit. But also lets talk about the pinstripe because we know LAST season the costume designer said they used stripes when the characters felt imprisoned

Louis face when Lestat says its a story of LOVE. Lestats wet eyes god these two

The Vampire Sam blocking Armands exit. Armands?! Sam?!? If it were Celeste or any of the others we have seen more ferocious or active in the coven anyone might have bought it but SAM lol

Armand told Louis he was held captive and his punishment was to watch ok Jan

I LOVE the animations. Lestat doing a entrechat six into the dirt (that ballet knowledge coming in handy!)

He slept for 100 years saying his only sustenance the ancient blood already inside him. AKASHA??

ugh the look of disdain Lestat gives Santiago for being forced to play long/recite these lines

Be precise in your declarations advocate🤝🏾 we should get ever y detail right

Louis favorite cuss is definitely Fuck lol

I love the irrdecent glint they have added to vampires eyes this season

Eglee scouting her next boyfriend like-oh you put your fist through a skull. Thats hot

Lestat putting bigots in their place. oh no when the worst person alive says something you agree with meme

Claudia standing up for Louis during the trail<3. Yelling at Santiago earlier to stop hurting him, yelling at the crowd for laughing at him. This girl loved her dad ok.

'Louis was deceptively agile with words" AND?! I support him. I said you start it, Louis is gonna end it. Someone on here said you go low and Louis goes straight to hell and its true! Don't play with him and you wont get your feeling hurt. PERIOD

I loved the vampoire lonliness bit but I hated that CGI tear

Not Santiago doing Claudias accent rearding from her diary. lol BITCH

"You do not know this girl!."She is a stranger and Louis knows how turning a stranger feels like now

The over acting! "THE GREAT LAWS FORBID IT" So clear he was trying to paint himself in a great light but we can be relatively certain that lestat did not say this since both Claudia and Louis repeat that Lestat didn't tell them anything regarding laws or even other vampires existence. There would have been more questions if he did

I DO believed he warned him but not to the extent we see and I'm sure Louis didn't bargin himself like that. How could be?

She asked if I was an Angel.Me? oh my poor Saint Louis

Look at her our beautiful little daughter as he drags her half dead body on the floor. ugh??

What is this look that Armand is giving Louis when he says thats how it happened but I didn't think it at the time. I don't trust him at all. IS THAT HOW IT HAPPENED OR IS IT HOW ARMAND WANTS YOU TO THINK IT HAPPENED TO COMPOUND YOUR GUILT ABOUT HER TURNING?

I hate this?! is it all lies??

Holy crap DREAMSTAT!?

Louis slightly shakes his head in agreement when Lestat at first we just slammed each other around the town house. Seven years of compromise, denail it all gave way...The reached a tipping point they drove each other crazy. I can see it happening like Lestat decribes maybe not over the top villain vibes but definitely getting ugly like that. And like someone mentioned in the short chat I was in earlier- Louis is capable of making good on those threats. Look what happened with the alderman, the guy in the cruising park.

I can't believe the fall was not explained away or a mistaken memory like i thought and was absolutely not worthy of forgiveness...but i guess maybe in a fucked up way Louis thought it was penance for withholding admittance of his love even as Lestat begged him in the sky

The apolgy was a little melodramatic and had me thinking it might be in the script but Daniel said it was not on the page, Maybe Sam couldn't rein it in at that moment lol

How fucking sad Claudia's trail isn't even about her. The talks to both Louis and Lestat at multiple points and they don't or barely acknowledge her. Truly a pawn in their fucked up romance

Lestat looked physically sick when Claudia and Louis were pleading to him. You gonna accept my apology. Is this your big revenge. If he could I think he would have stopped it but I think the vamps were controlling him in a way( like they were doing with Claudia and Louis OR its the Sophies choice everyone is quoting. Its Louis or Claudia and he is choosing Louis

Mr I could not prevent it looking around the trail crowd pleased curiosity

I am so happy to proven wrong and Madeline choose Claudia.I was thinking that it might be another bombshell it would be revealed that she was only interested in vampirism. Finally she is 1st

Madeline flipping off the jury. Good girl

Claudia cursing the audience in her final moments on earth. yes girl!

I feel like the look shared between Claudia and Lestat right after was you liked that and his response look was that was quite good.

Oh how I hoped Lestat would at least try to save her..break script again but he almost looks immobilzed-again the vamps?

Claudia's death was horrid with better effects that Louis burn away earlier in the season.Ugh

How fuckin disrespectful they leave their ashes on stage like that. THEY HAVE TO SCATTER THEM!

Wow I can't believe I survived episode 7 with out crying. Definitely some close calls but I didn't.It was unexpectedly funny and Claudia going out like a G! helped a lot. Amazing episode.

[ankilona]

Fanfiction prompt

A Harry Potter x Interview with a vampire (series) crossover. Louis/Lestat, Draco Malfoy/Armand

What would happen if Voldemort captured our favourite vampires (Lestat, Louis, Armand and Daniel), and held them captive in The Malfoy dungeons. In a desperate attempt to save his mother and himself from being branded Draco makes a deal with them. If they help him get out of the manor, over the apparition wards, he'll help them escape. The vampires agree, and they escape together to an earlier prepared safe house...

This whole thing would happen after the interview and after Louis gets back together with Lestat because of Daniel's revelation about the trial, and Armand and Lestat part in that. At least in my head, but you know just go with the flow if you got inspired. 🤷🏻‍♀️

(I played with the idea, that if Draco gets turned he would still have his magic, with an ancient ritual, but it was just an idea.)

I hope I sparkes someone's interested, and if you decide to write something along these lines I would be super happy to read it.

🥰

[sundaypenacony]

HSR LEAKS SUNDAY

OKAY WE'RE SO BACKKK SO BACK OH MY GODDD

They put his old halo design as a pattern on the back of his coat :D

Also he now officially has 6 wings , 2 on his head and 4 on his back ;; I am so happy

Also on his clothes he has 12 eyes + 2 of his actual eyes (There might also be eyes on his rings but I cannot tell due the quality of the picture sadly ;;

Once again I am Atheist, I get this knowledge from things I was taught but this may not be completely correct so feel free to correct me :)

When drawing biblically accurate angels they usually give them a lot of eyes. But, it isn't specifically mentioned for Seraphims:

Isaiah 6:1-8 MSG

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Master sitting on a throne—high, exalted!—and the train of his robes filled the Temple. Angel-seraphs hovered above him, each with six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two their feet, and with two they flew. And they called back and forth one to the other, Holy, Holy, Holy is GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies. His bright glory fills the whole earth. The foundations trembled at the sound of the angel voices, and then the whole house filled with smoke. I said, “Doom! It’s Doomsday! I’m as good as dead! Every word I’ve ever spoken is tainted— blasphemous even! And the people I live with talk the same way, using words that corrupt and desecrate. And here I’ve looked God in the face! The King! GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies!” Then one of the angel-seraphs flew to me. He held a live coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. He touched my mouth with the coal and said, “Look. This coal has touched your lips. Gone your guilt, your sins wiped out.” And then I heard the voice of the Master: “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” I spoke up, “I’ll go. Send me!”

I think, when people refer to the angel with a lot of eyes they refer to Ezekiel 1. Ezekiel 1 is the first chapter of the Book of Ezekiel in the Old Testament of the Bible. The Book of Ezekiel is a prophetic book, and it contains visions and prophecies from the prophet Ezekiel, who was a priest and a captive in Babylon. In here he described something called the Ophanim (AKA auphanim, ofanim or galgalim). The ophanim refer to the wheels seen in Ezekiel's vision of the chariot in Ezekiel 1:15-21. One of the Dead Sea scrolls construes them as angels but in the Book of Enoch they are a class of celestial beings who along with the Cherubim and Serpahim never sleep and guard the throne of God. In Christian angelology, they are one of the choirs of angels, and are also called Thrones (Wikipedia contributors, 2023).

These "wheels" have been associated with Daniel 7:9 (mentioned as galgal, traditionally "the wheels of galgallin", in "fiery flame" and "burning fire") of the four, eye-covered wheels (each composed of two nested wheels), that move next to the winged Cherubim, beneath the throne of God. The four wheels move with the Cherubim because the spirit of the Cherubim is in them. The late Second Book of Enoch (20:1, 21:1) also referred to them as the "many-eyed ones". - Wikipedia

Nowadays the many eyes also get put into many other designs that have anything celestial / angel-like which is honestly so cool :') I love it.

Sources:

Wikipedia contributors. (2023, 28 november). Ophanim. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophanim

[whovianwatchingstartrek]

A Whovian Watches Star Trek for the First Time: Part 025 - A Strong Cold Open, and A Strong Cliff-hanger

Star Trek: Enterprise - Season 1 Episode 26 - Shockwave Part 1

So, I'm finally at the end of season 1. This season has been a nice little introduction to the Star Trek universe, and it's been really nice learning about the wider key elements of the universe alongside the characters, which I don't think is something I would have experienced if I start with the Original Series.

On the advice in the replies, I am gonna tackle Shockwave as two separate posts because of the season break between the parts. I'm also partially motivated by the fact that by sheer coincidence there are two separate Doctor Who Universe stories called Shockwave, so covering the parts separately means I get to do a comparison segment for both of those. But, onto the episode: The Episode starts with the Enterprise sending the shuttlepod down to a colony planet, everything seems calm, but then suddenly as they descend, the planet is suddenly engulfed in fire and explosions. Which is a hell of a way to cold open an episode.

It immediately seems pressing to figure what the fuck just happened. The Colony is just gone. Dead. The crew immediately notice things aren't adding up. It's looking like the shuttlepod's plasma exhausts ignited the explosion, but all logs indicate the plasmaducts were closed with no leaks.

The writing on Archer in this episode was great. He really felt like he carried the weight of just accidentally killing 3 and half thousand people.

Starfleet and the Vulcans shut down the Enterprise's mission. It's looking like the End of the Road. Seeing everyone's reactions to that news is interesting. Phlox's never ending optimism that new adventuring opportunities will present themselves, Trip taking the combative "The Vulcans will use this to hold us back" stance, Travis not really knowing if anything will live up to being aboard Enterprise. And, the highlight, T'Pol trying to convince Archer to fight back against the decision. She masks that as "It is your duty as captain to present your case", but really she's grown attached to the crew, she just isn't ready to admit it.

After that attempt at being convinced, Archer hits the bed, and is instantly sent back in time by Daniels, the Temporal Cold War future guy from Cold Front. Which means, whatever happened to the colony: It's related to the Temporal Cold War. The Explosion wasn't supposed to happen. This is finally what kicks Archer into action. With help from Daniels, and some previous readings from Malcolm, evidence of sabotage was found, and the crew start moving to take down the Suliban ship that sabotaged the shuttle

This was a great Season Finale. Seeing everyone working on top form with the future of the whole mission at stake was excellent, and the action sequence of T'Pol, Archer and Trip moving to get proof of sabotage from the Suliban Stealth Ship held me captive.

Shadowy Future Guy showed up again. There still isn't much on his specific motives, but now plans to kidnap Archer. I really want to know more about our main villain's motivation. Being an elusive mystery is fine early on, but an elusive mystery with no answers or even clues gets old quick.

Our cliff-hanger leading into Season 2 is Archer sacrificing himself over the Suliban to save Enterprise. He gives command over to T'Pol. This scene was honestly kind of sad. It genuinely brought a tear to my eye. Then to find as he left the bridge, Daniels throws him into the future, to find an apocalyptic wasteland, leaving the Suliban to attack enterprise. This is a heavy cliff-hanger. I genuinly can't even begin to predict how Archer is gonna get back to his own time. Daniels' time equipment is gone, he's stuck in the dead future. And the Enterprise itself is about to be shot down with no chance of escape.

I am really looking forward to seeing how this is resolved. I can't wait, and I only have to wait a day, I can't begin to imagine how it must have felt to wait a whole season gap for the conclusion.

Comparing my Enjoyment of this Episode with a Doctor Who Universe Story of the Same Title

Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctor - Part 7: Shockwave

So, the Destiny of the Doctor anthology was a set of 11 short hour long audiobooks, one with each doctor, released in 2013 in the lead up to the show's 50th Anniversary. I don't know how seriously Trekkies take their show's anniversaries, but in the Doctor Who fandom we go wild with anniversary fever, especially back when the 50th rolled around. There was so much content released 2013 celebrating the shows history. I could talk about Destiny of the Doctor as a whole for a while, but really I'm only here to talk about one of it's stories.

Shockwave, the 7th story in DoD was in theory supposed to be sort of a quintessential celebration of the 7th doctor era and all of it's elements. In a lot of ways, it is very much is a very Season 26 7 and Ace Story. The Doctor takes Ace to a planet which's star is set to explode due to a spatial anomaly and is throwing out a lethal shockwave of Artron energy (In Doctor Who, that means Time Travel radiation). To Quote the Doctor, "We can't help them. It's already too late."

I'm gonna skip most of the plot summary stuff here, because this is already a long post.

To those of you who aren't familiar with Who, the Seventh Doctor is an interesting character. He often keeps his companions in the dark about his actual plans, sometimes to the point of being a manipulator, and that is definitely what happens here. The story is narrated from Ace's perspective, separated from the Doctor who is working away in the Shadows. Shockwave is a good example of a 7 and Ace story. Enjoyable, but because of the nature of what it is, it doesn't try to do anything new with the characters. I like 7 and Ace's character dynamic, but stories like this really make you long for the more emotionally charged stories where Ace finally snaps over the 7th Doctor's bullshit. That said, even without that kind of occasional plot beat from Ace that I love, this story still writes her really well. Her personal character arc in this one is really really well done.

As with all of the DoD stories, The Eleventh Doctor briefly steps in for a cameo that only begins to make sense when you get to the final story in DoD. It's one of the better DoD 11th Doctor cameos, certainly less intrusive than the one in the 4th Story.

Both Enterprise's Shockwave (Part 1) and Destiny of Doctor's Shockwave are enjoyable, but on the whole I would give the edge to Enterprise here for being more of a standout within it's on series. Enterprise's Shockwave was higher stakes than normal, it was. DoD Shockwave was just another "7 doesn't clue Ace in on his plans" story in a sea of other "7 doesn't clue Ace in on his plans" stories. A very good one of those, but with nothing that would make me recommend it over the other good examples of the 7 and Ace dynamic.

[colleenmurphy]

"He's got that cultivating music that be captivating me...."

Danny could barely believe his ears as he attempted to pop back home for senior skip day. He hadn't planned on his Mama being home, it was a Tuesday what the hell was she doing home? Carefully peeking around the corner that turned into the large kitchen and dining room he spotted his mother at the massive butcher's block his father had built for her decades ago and she was crushing something up with her long slender fingers. He could see her wedding band a heavy well made band crafted from Mexican sterling silver to match the rest of her sterling jewelry. Her long dark hair was held back and braided in twin dutch braids, her usual go to hairstyle to keep her long curls out of the way.

"What are you doing?"

Whatever Mom had in her hands went flying and her eyes widened as she scanned the room. Her brass ashtray clattered to the floor sounding like a gong and her cigarette butts went everywhere.

"Daniel Matthew Taylor!"

Crouching down to pick up what she'd dropped she glowered at Danny in such a way his body almost told him to run. A familiar smell hit his nose and he studied his mother.

"You're home on a Tuesday morning listening to rap and smoking...weed? Mama! You smoke weed?!"

Without missing a beat as she stood up to her full height she had managed to light a freshly rolled joint and hold it in as she studied her eldest son. Danny knew she had him summed up with the first glance.

"Yes as a matter of fact I do and last I checked I didn't answer to you, sir."

Pointing to the seat across from hers he noticed her stash box and her rolling papers. Same ones Dad used, same ones he used.

'Must run in the family.'

He mused as she finished picking up her ashtray and her roaches from the floor. Now the herby green smell that was on her robes made sense now. It was forever interwoven with Avon Skin So Soft and Calgon Rose Water bath beads that it made him smile.

"My Mama the pothead."

Cool sea glass blue green eyes snapped on him quick as a wink as she took a deeper hit and held the joint out to Danny to his utter surprise.

"G'on and take the damn thing, Danny. You're 18 as of an hour ago."

The surreal realization that he was in his childhood home, where he'd always known home to be smoking weed at the kitchen table he'd been spoon fed solids by the same woman holding out a joint she'd rolled just before he'd scared the life out of her.

'Hi. I'm Danny Taylor and I smoked weed on my 18th birthday with my Mom.'

That was an icebreaker if ever there was one. But being from Copperline County there were much worse drugs that parents did with their kids these days. He knew that much, his Mama was a nurse and his Daddy was a History teacher after all.

Studying the joint he could almost see his Mother's chosen rolling pattern. Twisted to the right and pointed at the end to make lighting and burning easier. He took a tentative hit from it and immediately tasted grapes and some sort of berry. It went deep into his lungs and his head swam for a moment as he watched his Mama shake her head.

"Smaller hits. Ya'll Taylors are all the damn same go big or go home. Your Dad's the same way. I mean he can hold it...you're doin' good. Let it out and taste the blueberries."

He let go and a swath of smoke enveloped the room. Danny did indeed taste the aforementioned blueberries and he smiled. He'd never smoked anything like it. Was this what being an adult was like? Better money for better weed? Less stress from having to answer to teachers?

"Wha...how.."

"Magic."

"Where do you get yours? Baker only gets so much from his uncle Pettimore anymore."

Colleen chuckled at the mention of Jon Baker and his cousin JC Pettimore. She'd gone to school with them and Gator Lerner back in the day and she smiled. She'd shown the boys how to grow and what she'd learned from her travels around the world. Her stereo system and ANC status of 1st Lt. helped her get some of the best of what she'd smoked Over There back home but that was a story her son would never know. Only Dan and Helene knew all about the magic stereo that she still owned and still was in working order. In fact that was what was playing that cassette that currently played in the background. In a few minutes the cover version they'd recorded on a whim after finding their son's newest cassette left into player of the family car. All it took was a phone call to their friends, a get together in the backyard with a fire going, a bottle of wine and weed and the product was a cover that Snoop Dogg might be tickled with.

"Who do you think they get it from?"

Realization dawned on Danny as his eyes widened and his mind slowly exploded. Sputtering cough took him as he took another hit and passed it back.

"I grow my own and have since I came home."

"From where?"

Colleen felt herself frozen in a frown for a moment as she inhaled sharply and coughed the daze away.

"Never mind that, that's a story for another time. You've been smoking the shit I've grown for nearly a year. Don't you dare tell me anything otherwise."

Danny's face fell as it fell into place. He had to have gotten his appreciation for the nifty little green plant from somewhere. He never could see his Dad stoned, Dan Sr. was too much a philosopher. He figured it came from some long haired wild child. Here she was sitting across from him looking at him wide eyed and looking twenty years younger.

"We went to Woodstock before I went to nursing school."

Danny could see it. Mama dressed in a flower print dress with her hair down barefoot and swaying to Hendrix and singing along with Janis.

"Who'd you go with? You said we?"

Passing him the tail end of the joint and motioning for him to finish it if we wanted he watched as she grabbed a wooden pipe from her stash box and load it up with some powerful smelling homegrown. It was almost purple and smelled so sweet Danny's mouth started to water.

"You've got to promise me that this story about this particular chapter of my life stays between us. Your Grammy Delaney doesn't know about this. Your Pops Harvey has no clue."

Colleen held out the wooden pipe and just as Danny felt like he was reaching for the Holy Grail she pulled it back to her chest and looked him dead in the eye.

"Promise. Me."

Looking directly into his Mother's eyes Daniel Taylor crossed his heart and nodded. He even added a locked lip and threw that metaphorical key so far away from him it landed in the Sahara somewhere inside his mind. Mama passed him the bowl and her lighter and motioned for him to smoke.

"I went with your Aunt Helene, Aunt Liz and your Uncle Charlie. We were all English majors over at Pendleton College and well...we were high on life and decided well hell that festival isn't that far from the campus so we went."

His Aunt Liz was up in Vancouver now and his Uncle Charlie was out and about touring the world with his band. Aunt Helene and Mama settled back in their hometown of Miller's Ridge along the Copperline with Mama and Daddy and the rest of Mama's family once they came back from wherever they were.

"Why can't tell Pops and Grammy about it?"

Danny noticed that his mother's natural accent had come back into full swing. Daddy was a Tidewater Virginian through and through, refined and gentlemanly and rough when needed. Mama...was a beautifully chaotic blend of Florida swamps and ocean tide pools rolling deep and sharp and heavy as the heat. A wonderfully warm mix if you knew her and jarring when she was truly angered.

"My first husband. Francis fucking Flannery."

Danny felt himself sputter up a huge cloud right directly for his mother's face which promptly disappeared. He had been under the impression that his parents had a fairytale type of romance and courtship.

"You look a little pale there,kiddo. Hand me the bowl and I'll get you a glass of water."

"No..I just..I thought Dad..."

A Cheshire Cat smile spread across Colleen's face as shook her head.

"I get it, you thought he was my first last and only. Well, I had to put up with the monster to get the prince. Anyways...Frank got handsy with me before we left for Woodstock and told me not to bother coming home he'd found someone new."

Danny felt a lump form in his throat as his mother continued only pausing to draw a few long puffs and hold them in. He could never imagine his mother of all people allowing someone to push her around. Now he realized why she was so protective of his aunts. The Benson Incident sprang to mind and he still remembered Dad's prosthetic leg connecting with Joel Benson's face. She hadn't had that back then, she was probably just a scared kid herself.

"Before you over think everything I married Frank because your Granddaddy had just died the year before and I had just graduated high school. I took a job down at the Lamp Lighter tavern and I met Frank. He was older, about 25 and I was 18. He reeled me in with promises and for a time he made good on them until we got married."

Danny could see it in his mind, his Mama young and hopeful and so utterly enamored with this smooth talking older man that promised her the moon and stars.

"He was furious when I went back to work at the Lamp Lighter, he was enraged when I enrolled myself into Pendleton College and he was madder'n the Devil himself the day I moved onto the campus so much so that he tried to strangle me right there in the parking lot. If it hadn't been for your Aunts and that one security guard I wouldn't be here."

She didn't dare mention the fact that every time she heard the song Venus by Shocking Blue she was taken right back to that stupid parking lot. Frank had come screeching up behind her in his Thunderbird and grabbed her by the neck. He'd left the engine running and the radio was blasting to cover her screams in the dark dusky summer evening.

"What happened to him?"

Colleen bit her tongue for a moment and looked over to the right towards the living room. There was no way in hell she could ever tell her son that she'd taken a life. Helene and Dan called it 'self defense' but she didn't dare admit that it was a primal drive to see Frank dead that made her do it. She had been judge, jury and executioner all in one fell swoop.

"After that he sent me a letter post marked from somewhere in New York City saying that he'd found work as a longshoreman working the piers. That's why I never go in the city when we're up north."

Exhaling a plume of rich smoke Colleen sighed when Danny was out of sight for a moment. Never would her son know that her ex husband was in the very deepest part of the Copperline River. Weighted down with cast off anchors and a few bags of cement for good measure. He would also never know that Frank was reason she went on to become a nurse and part of the reason she ended up working in a field hospital in a DM Zone in the boonies of Vietnam.

"Grammy still doesn't know you were married before Daddy does she?"

"Nope. I wore white too."

Danny's eye's bugged for a moment and the realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Were you?"

"Yes, I was three months along with you when your father and I got married. Grammy didn't know that either."

"Does she know you smoke weed?"

"Who do you think got her stoned her first time when I came home?"

"Jesus Christ, Mama!"

"Language."

"Sorry, Mama."

"Any other questions?"

"How'd you know Pettimore and Baker?"

"Well, I helped deliver Baker and Pettimore and I ran in the same circles growing up. He was Gator Lerner's best friend back in the day."

"Who's Gator?"

"Remember Florence that comes over for Christmas and New Years?"

Ofcourse he remembered Florence. She was the only other person besides his, Grammy, his Aunties and his Mama allowed to ever call him by his infant nickname of Booper.

"She was Gator's...or Joseph's mother. He died over in Vietnam."

"So that's why she comes to celebrate with us and Aunt Helene and Aunt Liz."

"Yep. Here, you finish this one. I'll take the pipe."

Handing the pipe back he watched his mother look at it for a moment.

"It was my Dad's. Maybe it's time for you to use it...he gave it to me when he found me with a burnt bang hanging out my old bedroom window when I was sixteen. He didn't lector me but he told me to be the safest I could I was better off growing my own."

"Wasn't he the town sheriff?"

"Yes, but he never cracked down on that. Anything else pissed him off but this never did. Just be safe, respect it and take a break every now and then."

Setting the slightly warm freshly packed bowl back into his hands Danny felt a tug at his heart. Wrapping his mother into a bear hug she chuckled as he asked her the question that worked his way into his brain.

"What're you gonna smoke with?"

"I've got a nifty jade and bamboo pipe I brought home from Yen Bai."

She answered with a wink and returned his hug just as fiercely and stood on her very tip toes to kiss his downturned head.

"Love you, Mama."

"Love you too, Danny."

"Mama...you never answered about the music?"

"Good music is good music. Take your cassette back but don't listen to the mix on tape 2 in the car."

"Why?"

"Then you'll find out what your Dad and I get up to with our friends when we're all stoned."

"You're kidding."

"You forget I can play the mandolin and your aunts are really good with tambourines."

"Who...no...."

"Your uncle Charlie's still on tour and your Dad can sing. The rest was your Uncle Clay."

"Oh my God..."

"And you thought we were old."

"I never said that!"

"You thought it!"

"I'll be home later."

"8PM and no later. We've got cake and a your dinner's planned for tomorrow. I love you and drive safe."

"Love you too and Roger That."

Taking a leisurely sip of her tea and another toke from the joint she'd lit and forgotten in the haze Colleen smiled.

"He's all grown up."