#based on real events. we were soooo productive. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

whoopsiedaisiesandwhimsy · 4 years ago

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A Series of Adorable Events (chapter 1)

Virgil opened his eyes and, for a moment, frantically threw his arms in front of his face, bracing for an impact that he somehow knew wasn’t coming. He marveled at how quickly his panic melted away; it had never left that easily before. It was almost as though it had nothing to hold onto. With an eerily calm demeanor, Virgil ran through what he remembered about the last few minutes.

He’d been driving. The turn. And then the other car…. The impact had come after all. And he….

Well he was dead, then, wasn’t he?

Taking notice of his surroundings, he wondered where he was. This didn’t look like where he’d hoped he would end up. It didn’t look like the other place either. No, it looked… familiar. The ash blue walls. Hallways and hallways of doors. And the cribs. His eyes scanned over them, trying to remember which one had been his.

Pulling the sleeves of his hoodie over his palms, he stood, looking into each crib as he passed it. Most of the babies were asleep. One or two were awake, gazing into the space beyond Virgil’s head and cooing softly. They didn’t see him standing over them, he realized. It made sense. He didn’t remember seeing any dead twenty-somethings wandering around when he’d still been alive. Still, he did wonder about a few things. Why was he here of all places? He’d never believed in ghosts, but he’d heard stories of people who did, and they tended to say that ghosts haunted the buildings they’d been killed in. Virgil had died on the road. In a car accident. But his wondering was cut off as he reached one of the last cribs.

Big brown eyes stared up at him.

Straight at him.

The baby blinked. So did Virgil. Virgil moved to one side, and the baby’s eyes followed him. He moved back to where he was, and again, the little boy held his eyes.

This kid could see him.

That wasn’t supposed to happen, right? Not that Virgil was any authority, but none of the other babies seemed to notice his presence.

The little boy smiled, and raised his arms playfully, little fingers uncurling and reaching up toward Virgil. The ghost smiled gently, forgetting his concerns and lowering a finger into the crib for the baby to grab.

“I swear, Logan! He looked right at me!” the loud voice shocked Virgil, and he scrambled away from the crib.

“Patton, I told you. That’s not possible. You must be mistaken,”

The voices were coming closer. It didn’t matter that they probably wouldn’t be able to see him; Virgil’s instincts screamed at him to hide. So that's what he did, crawling under one of the other cribs and somehow managing to fit his entire body in the small space.

“I am not! You’ll see.” Virgil saw two sets of feet round the corner, and walk right up to the little brown eyed boy’s crib.

Patton had fully expected the little baby to look up at him. What he hadn’t expected was for the baby to then look at Logan.

“Um,” Logan stalled, for once at a loss of what to say. Patton ran with it.

“Told you he could see us,” he said, leaning over the crib and making funny faces at the baby, who cooed merrily. Logan grabbed him by the shoulders and wrenched him away from the crib, making Patton hold his eyes.

“No, you said he could see you. That was impossible enough. But him seeing me is on another level,”

“How so?” Patton asked.

“Ghosts can learn to control whether they are visible to humans at any given time. A skill which you do not yet possess, but is entirely impossible for me,”

“Soooo,”

“I’m not a visible construct, Patton! This is scientifically impossible!”

“I hear ya, but, well…” Patton shrugged. Logan grabbed his wrist and started to drag him out of the room. “We’re leaving?”

“Not entirely. We need to discuss this properly, and it is likely that I will end up using language that is inappropriate for an infant to hear,”

“Oh,” Patton said and then he was swept out into the hallway.

There was another man in the room, and he was confused. More so than he had been in probably a thousand years. He stood in the corner, watching as the other two left from where they had been. Standing over his newest charge.

The baby.

It had never been a baby before.

He stayed where he was, enveloped in the shadows he’d entered from, and contemplated his responsibilities. There had never been others before. Sure, he often had to do his job surrounded by humans, but never any others.

And usually by now, he knew why he was there.

He scratched the scales that coated his left arm. This was going to be another one of those jobs, wasn’t it?

He was about to step forward and look into the crib for himself, when something new surprised him. A young man crawled out from under one of the cribs. He looked around cautiously, his eyes passing over the man in the shadows, before making his way over to the door, looking down at the baby briefly on his way. But he didn’t leave. Just hid behind the door frame and tried to hear the men in the hall.

He could see them, which meant he must not be quite human either. The man in the shadows weighed his options. He could make his presence known, though the thought made him uneasy, and hope that he’d be able to carry out his purpose despite the complicated circumstances. Alternatively, he could leave, and take the punishment he knew would follow. But that was a sickening thought, and one he was not proud of. But maybe he could still do things his way. He could be silent enough that, as long as the young man didn’t turn around, he could get to the child and… and what? He still didn’t know what he was meant to do. He couldn’t make a deal with a baby. But the infant was definitely the one he was here for.

Either way, standing around doing nothing was not productive. He shuffled silently over to the crib, not raising any suspicion from the other in the room. The baby looked up at him intently.

So you can see me too, then, huh? The man thought. Then he remembered the scales that covered half his face, and his eye, whose pupil was a thin black slit. He braced himself, waiting for the child to cry and alert the others.

But the cries never came. The boy just yawned and cooed, squeezing his tiny fists. The man was shocked. He smiled warmly.

Ok, little brave one. I’ll do my best for you.

But now another complication arose, as if there weren’t enough. He could hear humming coming up the stairs. He took the example of his unknowing companion and dove under one of the adjacent cribs. The young man apparently also heard their third party, because he took cover in the same way. Which meant that they were now face to face. The younger reacted in abject shock, but the scaled man held up a finger, hoping his point would be clear enough.

You don’t give me away, I don’t give you away.

Roman hummed goodnaturedly to himself, having no real intentions as he followed his feet wherever they might take him tonight. He bounded up the orphanage stairs with a musical beat and entered a large room lined wall to wall with cribs.

Babies!

He loved babies. Really, he loved humans in general, but babies were so small and curious! Their little hands always grew to create things, and tiny feet learned to walk, to take them on grand adventures. But even before all of that they were just so gosh darned cute!

He started to sing. A lullaby he’d learned in a language that was no longer used, but it still sounded pretty. The children couldn’t hear it, he knew, but he still hoped it was worth it. Maybe the song would make its way into their dreams that night. He was so engulfed in the melody that he didn’t notice the two men stalled at the door, nor the two huddled under the cribs, all listening. But when one of the infants started to cry, that got his attention. He walked over to the crib and glanced down at its tiny occupant. The baby looked up at him, and stopped crying. Roman’s eyes grew wide.

“You… can you see me?”

“Evidently, he can.” Roman heard a voice behind him and turned around swiftly. A man in a black shirt and blue tie peered at him critically through a pair of black rimmed glasses. Beside him, a man in blue with a grey hoodie tied around his neck displayed a far less intimidating demeanor. “Based on that data, I believe it is safe to hypothesize that this child is able to see most, if not all non-human entities that exist,”

“You’re not human too?” Roman asked, realization hitting him the second it left his mouth. Of course they weren’t. They could see him.

“Well, I used to be,” the one in blue raised his hand somewhat shyly.

“Yes. This is Patton, and my name is Logan,”

“Roman,” Roman provided.

“Pleased to meet you, Roman,” the one in blue, Patton by name apparently, greeted.

“And you, sir,” Roman replied.

The one called Logan spoke again. “I believe a course of action, if any action at all, should be decided on. The child-,”

“Thomas.” Patton was looking down at the crib now. “His name’s Thomas.” Indeed, the word was there, painted in bright colors along the outer edge of the crib.

“Ah, I see. Thomas,” Logan continued. “Could potentially be put in danger by this ability,”

“Danger?”

“Yes. Not all non-humans are benevolent,”

“I’ll protect him,” Roman promised. It was a promise he intended to keep. If this child could see him, well then Roman would like to believe it was destiny. He decided that little Thomas would never be alone as long as he lived. Roman would see to that.

“Protect him? You intend to stay with him at all times?” Logan asked, surprised.

“Well, yes if that’s what it takes,”

“I don’t think we should leave him, Logan. What if he gets hurt? Or lonely?” Patton added. “What if he needs us?”

Logan looked between Roman and Patton for a few moments, his eyes landing on Patton and staying there for a while before he dropped his face into his palm.

“Oh my god, there’s two of you now,”

Patton smiled brightly.

“I suppose there’s no reason for me to stay hidden.” A new voice caught the focus of the room, and they all whipped around to find the source. Patton yelped in surprise, and Roman flat out screeched from alarm. Half of the man’s face was covered in scales, and his left eye was that of a snake.

Roman drew a sword that didn’t appear to have come from anywhere in particular. “Who are you?” He demanded, placing himself between the man and Thomas’s crib. The man calmly raised his hands, looking a bit disappointed.

“Would you like a name, or an explanation?”

“Um… both,” Roman said, uncertainly.

“Which first?”

“Uh.” He looked back at Patton and Logan, who shrugged in perfect unison. “Name,”

“For the purpose of a name, you may call me De. As for an explanation, it’s a bit hard to sum up, but you do need to know that I am here for the benefit of that child you’re guarding,”

“In what way?” Logan stepped forward.

“To… protect him,” De finally decided. It wasn’t quite word for word. He was meant to show up before disaster was unavoidable and offer a deal. A get-out-of-pain-not-quite-free card. But he threw all of that out the door this time. This time he knew for sure, protecting was the right choice.

It would earn him another scale, but it was worth it.

Patton slid from his place behind Logan’s shoulder over to the crib as the discussion took form around him. Roman wanted to know if they could trust the new man. Logan wanted to know what exactly he was, and what his idea of protecting might entail. De seemed to just want to placate everyone. But Patton just wanted to play with baby Thomas. They all seemed like they’d forgotten he was there.

He lowered a hand into the crib and tickled the baby’s belly, his eyes lighting up when Thomas took a finger in each of his tiny fists. It had been so long since he got to play with a baby. When he’d died, all of his children had kids of their own, but that was so long ago. Now all of those kids had grandbabies, and Patton couldn’t hold a single one of them. All these years, he’d stayed away, and it hurt to do so, but he knew from experience that it was far worse to pretend he was still alive. Still really with all of them. But this little one could see him. Touch him. And Patton was already in love.

A slight movement caught the corner of his attention. He followed it, and found a pair of eyes staring at him behind plum colored bangs. The young man was huddled behind one of the other cribs, watching the scene with apprehension. He glanced down at the baby nervously. Patton smiled.

“Logan,” he called, interrupting the discourse. “We have a new friend,”

All eyes fell on the young man, who stood slowly, trading hiding behind a crib for hiding inside his large hoodie.

“Please, will someone tell me what’s going on?” He asked. Patton beckoned him to join the small circle, and he stepped forward suspiciously, pulling at his sleeves. “I heard someone say one of you is a ghost?”

“Yours truly,” Patton raised his free hand.

“Why am I here?”

“What do you mean, kiddo?”

“I… I didn’t die here. I died in a car accident!”

Patton’s mouth formed a perfect o, and he gently freed himself from Thomas’s grip, going to stand by the frantic youth.

“When did you die?”

“A-a few… minutes ago. Before you and, um, Logan showed up,”

Observant.

“Do you recognize where you are? Ghosts usually haunt the place that felt most like home to them,”

“I grew up here,”

Patton’s heart went out to this kid. No wonder he was so rattled.

“What’s your name?”

“Virgil,”

“Alrighty, Virgil. I’m going to help you, ok? I went through the same stuff myself. You can trust me.” Patton held out his hand, and after a moment of consideration, Virgil took it, letting Patton lead him over to the crib. They looked down at Thomas smiling up at them, and Patton saw Virgil relax.

“I don’t think this day could get weirder,” Virgil remarked.

“It CAN get weirder!” mocked a voice from the ceiling.

Roman’s scream rang in Patton’s ears.

They all looked up at the… thing… clinging to the ceiling. It let go until it was hanging by one claw, changing slowly into a man whose appearance was no less off-putting, and finally let go and landed on the floor with a thud. Virgil clung to Patton’s arm.

“The heck is that!?”

“No idea,”

“Party don’t start till I walk in,” the stranger answered, as if that was enough information. Five sets of eyes stared blankly.

“Ugh, I guess you guys all have names, right? Lemme see.” He began to point at them one by one. “Logan, Patton, Virgil… your name is soooo not De, aaaaand Roman. Wait!” His eyes grew wide as he got an idea. “Roman, Rome… ooooooo can I be Remus? Call me Remus!”

Roman stepped back in disgust.

Logan recovered first. “What do humans call you?”

“Oh that,” he laughed. “They call me a lot of things. Bigfoot, Chupacabra, Nessie. They like coming up with stuff like that,”

“Cryptids?” Virgil asked.

“There’s another one!”

“You’re a shapeshifter,” Patton realized.

“Um,” Remus changed back into the form he’d entered in and then returned to his humanoid form. “Duh?”

“Oh. Yeah,”

“So you’ve clearly been listening for a significant time,” Logan piped up. “What are your intentions?”

“Intentions? Nah, you give me too much credit. I was just bored, and frankly you wet blankets are making it worse. But this little dimple-,” Before any of the others could react, Remus turned into a jet black cat and lept into Thomas’s crib. “Was worth the perilous three story climb,” he tickled the baby with his whiskers. Thomas giggled, and the cat laid across his belly, dangling his tail just out of reach. Patton went up to the crib and reached in, intent on separating the shapeshifter from the baby. Remus arched his back and hissed loudly, threatening Patton against coming any closer. The ghost stumbled back, and Roman stepped in front of him, sword at the ready. But then Thomas began to cry. Remus was startled. He looked down in concern. Tears pooled in the baby’s eyes, and Remus backed into the corner of the crib, feeling guilty. He looked up at Patton.

“Fix it,”

Patton looked apprehensive, but he obeyed, picking up Thomas and rocking him gently until the crying stopped.

Remus changed back, still in the crib. It was so small that his attempt to sit criss crossed had his knees up to his chin.

“We are still lacking a course of action,” Logan complained.

“Do you want to hold him?” Patton offered. Logan’s eyes grew wide, and he stepped away, shaking his head and holding his hands out defensively. “How about you, Virgil?”

“Oh, um… sure?” Virgil replied. Patton smiled and handed the baby over, showing Virgil how to hold him so they’d both be comfortable. The young ghost smiled.

“Ok,” De spoke up. “By show of hands, who isn’t going to leave the kid alone?”

Patton’s hand shot up almost faster than Roman’s, Virgil shyly followed, and Remus raised more hands than he had before the question was presented. Logan looked away in an attempt to look irritated, but he wasn’t fooling anyone.

So this is the disaster I was supposed to stop, De thought. He could see this poor kid getting visits from people no one else could see. Trying to tell someone only to be called crazy. Resigned to his fate, he raised his hand, joining the haphazard group.

“All of you? Really?” Logan asked. “Fine. The voice of reason has no place in this arrangement, but I suppose someone has to keep you all in line,”

Patton smiled knowingly, trying not to chuckle, and De had to hold in a snort at the scene.

“So, what now?” Roman questioned.

De spoke up. “Staying has its risks. Even visiting occasionally is a gamble. If Thomas grows up surrounded by people that no one else can see, and decides at some point to tell someone, that could put him in any number of bad situations,”

“But lots of kids grow up with imaginary friends,” Patton countered.

“And most grow out of that phase,” De explained.

Patton’s eyes dropped. “So you’re saying we should leave him?”

“Hey, I had my hand up, didn’t I?”

Surprisingly, Virgil was the next to speak up. “Does he have to stay?” he asked quietly, almost internally, still gazing down at the baby in his arms. The others looked at him in shock. The silence told Virgil that they’d heard him, and his eyes shot up. “I… I grew up here,” he defended himself. “It’s… not safe,”

“What do you mean?” Patton asked. The building seemed clean and friendly. He couldn’t imagine how it could be dangerous.

“I ran away once. I think I was five. I left in the morning and had to find my way back in the dark because no one came looking,”

Patton’s hands shot up to cover his mouth. His heart broke for the young man. How could someplace like that ever feel like home?

“They didn’t know you were lost?” Roman asked. Virgil shook his head. Humans had their failings, Roman knew that, but he’d never encountered such neglect to a helpless child. The injustice of it burned in his core. “Thomas cannot stay here,”

“Sick,” Remus remarked. “Always wanted to steal a baby,”

Roman whirled around and fixed the shapeshifter in a glare of pure disbelief. “What even are you?!”

“Oh get over it! Everybody already thinks I do! And people love being right!”

“Can we not bring him with please?” Roman asked, turning to the others.

“I don’t believe there is a way to stop him,” Logan admitted.

“Nope!” Remus answered gleefully. “Sorry goody-flat-ass, y'all are stuck with me,”

“Excuse me!?”

“Back to the matter at hand, if you gentlemen don’t mind,” De interrupted before the conflict could escalate.

“Gentleman my backside,” Roman mumbled, but conceded to silence.

“Sure thing, snakeface,” Remus teased.

“Thank you.” De ignored the attempted insult, settling for the fact that Remus had agreed at all. Remus looked at De like he’d just thrown up a couch. “If not here, where?” De asked.

“Patton,” Logan prompted the ghost.

“Oh. Oh! You’re right, Lo,” Patton said, apparently remembering something. Dee marveled at how two such opposites could seemingly read each other’s minds. “I have a house! Kinda,”

“Would you like to tell them how you obtained this place?” Logan continued, barely concealing the smirk in his eyes.

“Oh,” Patton blushed, then started giggling. “It was an accident. Well, actually, it was a couple of accidents. I moved into the family’s guest room. I didn’t want to make a nuisance of myself, but, well… they kept moving the furniture. I was tripping over everything. Eventually they sold the house, and then the same thing happened with the next family, a nice couple with three dogs, and the next and the next…. The realtors gave up,” he finished, rubbing the back of his neck and blushing furiously. Virgil laughed lightly.

“The size is sufficient for raising a child, and has been functionally off the grid since the generator was installed. In theory, we would just need to be able to purchase the necessities.” Logan pulled out a notepad and began to write.

“Probably could shop online for a lot of it,” Virgil provided.

“We would need a debit card,”

“What about mine?” the young ghost continued.

“Technicalities of identity theft from beyond the grave aside, how are your savings?”

“Eh,”

“We would need a way to make money,”

“Um,” Roman’s voice turned everyone’s heads. He held up his hand, a hundred dollar bill appearing between his fingers.

“Wow,” Virgil commented, summing up the general attitude of the room. Roman pursed his lips and shrugged.

“There goes the value of the American dollar,” Logan grumbled.

“Or I could get a job, losers.” No one expected Remus to speak up. Less expected was his appearance. His salt and pepper hair was neatly brushed, his face was clean and reasonably charming to look at, and he wore a pale green button down tucked into ash colored jeans. Everyone stared.

“What?” Remus questioned, returning to normal.

“Let me get this straight,” Roman said, stepping forward. “You have the option of looking like that… and you choose to look like this?”

“What of it, pretty boy?”

“Good lord, you will never make sense,”

“Aww! Thank you!”

Roman pinched the bridge of his nose and walked away, waving a hand as if to swat away Remus’s chaos.

“Well I suppose that takes care of finances,” Logan continued, picking up where he’d left off. “Schooling won’t be an issue for a few years, but I can conduct homeschool classes when Thomas is old enough,”

“There are a few more precautions to take,” De said.

“Undoubtedly,”

“Get out of the crib, Remus. Help me find the offices.” De set off down the halls, shapeshifter at his heels.

“Alright.” Patton lifted Thomas out of Virgil’s arms and transferred him over to a protesting Logan. “Come on Virgil,”

“Where are we going?” Virgil asked, following anyway.

“Gotta teach you how to leave the building,”

“Huh?” They turned the corner and Patton skipped down the stairs two at a time.

“Ghosts haunt one building at first after they die. The one that feels like home,” Patton explained. He wanted to ask Virgil why this place was home if it was so horrible, but he held his tongue.

“Wait, so I can’t leave?” Virgil slowed down, stopping in the middle of the hallway.

Patton turned around and walked back to him. “No, you can, you just need to learn. Some ghosts stay where they are, but a lot learn to leave. Usually they either go haunt people they had issues with in life, or just wander around, doing anything they want,”

“What did you do?”

That caught Patton off guard. He blinked like a deer in headlights for a moment or two, before sighing.

“I tried to go home,” he admitted wistfully. “I had children. And grandchildren. I thought… I thought I could just be around them and pretend. But it hurt too much,”

Virgil looked at him sympathetically. Patton put his smile back on.

“It's lucky that you and I found Thomas. He’ll need people who know what it’s like to be human,”

“You think he needs me?”

Patton tilted his head. “Of course, Virgil. Why wouldn’t he?”

“It’s just,” Virgil curled in on himself, hiding in his hoodie again. “I never had family. I barely even had friends. What if I can’t? What if I ruin everything?”

His rambling was cut off when Patton engulfed him in a hug. Virgil tensed, but Patton persisted. Slowly, Virgil melted into the embrace, pressing his face into Patton’s shoulder. After a few long moments, Patton spoke gently.

“Some ghosts use death as a place to start over from. You have family now. I promise,”

The young ghost held tighter, and Patton started to gently rub circles on the back of Virgil’s neck. It was something he used to do to calm his son down.

Some time later, the hug came to an end, and Patton rested a hand on Virgil's shoulder.

“Come on,” Patton prompted. “Let's get you out of here,”

Logan was entirely unprepared to be holding a baby. Leave it to Patton to put him in a situation like this.

No string of decades in Logan's incomparable span of existence had ever felt longer than the years since he’d met Patton. Or since Patton had stumbled upon his existence, more accurately. Since that day, the over friendly ghost had barely ever left him alone. He’d been summoned to Patton’s side more times than he could count; the man had unfortunately pieced together rather quickly that shouting false information would call Logan to him. Logan almost wished that he didn’t care so much about the spread of incorrect facts, an aspect of his purpose that he had no control over.

He almost wished that he didn’t care so much about Patton.

Patton was lonely. Dangerously so. Logan didn’t really understand human emotions, but he could recognize symptoms. So, when Patton muttered that the Earth was flat through tears at three in the morning, Logan might roll his eyes, but he always stayed.

And he always would.

But looking down at the baby in his arms, he could almost pretend that this was the last straw.

Roman took pity on him. “Ok, so you have no chill,” he laughed, lifting Thomas from Logan’s arms and sitting on the nursery floor. Logan remained standing, watching Roman’s effortless interaction with the infant. “You should do something for that. Would you be more of a yoga class guy or a go-out-in-the-woods-and-slay-something guy?”

“Neither, I can assure you,”

Roman looked up at him critically for a moment, before shrugging. “No, you’re right. I’ll figure something else out,”

“Might I ask what exactly you are?” Logan asked, eager to change the subject.

“Oh,”

“I don’t mean to be rude,”

“I’m not offended. It's just that I don’t really know. I was alone at first. For hundreds of years, just wandering around. I didn’t know I was supposed to be something. I found out eventually that there was at least one thing I wasn’t. Human. I wanted to be, though. So badly. Sometimes I still do,” he said solemnly, bouncing Thomas on his knee.

Logan was taken aback. Roman didn’t act with any of the weight of his years.

“I learned a lot. Songs and stories. Cultures and languages. And so many words. Words for everything under the sun,”

“Yes,” Logan mused. “They have fascinating ways of understanding their world.” An unexpected respect for Roman made a home in Logan’s mind. He hadn’t expected to have anything in common with him.

“Do you think it’s our world, too?” Roman asked, catching Logan off guard. The bespectacled man found that he couldn’t answer. Roman smiled weakly. “They have a word for everything I wish I was. Knight. Prince. Hero. Not one word in any language for what I am,”

They sat in silence for a long moment. Logan was again at a loss for words. Then Roman spoke again, this time to the baby in his lap.

“It’s your world, isn’t it, little prince? You’ll make the most of that, I just know.” He gently kissed the top of Thomas’s head, and then began to sing.

The lullaby began in Spanish, before shifting effortlessly into Latin, and then a language Logan didn’t recognize. Roman’s voice was deep and smooth, and soon, the baby was asleep.

Noise started to come from down the hall as Roman’s singing tapered off. Remus rounded the corner, followed by De.

“Yeah, Dirty Jobs got nuthin on my average Saturday. You haven’t lived until you’ve lost a limb to a trash compactor, ” Remus bragged. De listened calmy, not interrupting. It baffled Logan that De could stand to hear the endless stream of drivel that came tumbling, unbidden, out of Remus’s mouth. But De was unbothered, only shushing Remus when he noticed that Thomas was asleep.

“What were you two doing?” Roman asked.

“We found the offices. I deleted the orphanage's records of Thomas, and Remus ate the paper copies.” Remus burped to prove De’s point. “Where are the other two?”

“Patton is teaching Virgil how to leave his haunt,” Logan said. “That is the last thing that needs to be done,”

“Well let's go join them,”

Patton stood just outside the orphanage door, letting Virgil have his moment of frustration as he pressed his palms against the invisible barrier keeping him inside. “I can’t do it. It won’t move,”

“It’s not supposed to move, kiddo. You’re gonna go through it,”

“How?” Virgil asked without a hint of optimism.

“Well, here,” Patton said, stepping back inside. “Logan explained it like this when he taught me. The building you wake up in is where you’ve felt the most at home. The barrier is there to keep you in that safe space, and it won’t let you leave until how much you want to leave is more than your perception of danger on the other side,”

“So it thinks I’m scared?”

“Are you?”

Virgil didn’t answer. He didn’t want to be. Patton was so nice. He said Thomas needed him, and Virgil wanted to believe it. But he couldn’t help the sick feeling that curled up in his stomach as he wondered if he really could start over, like Patton had said. What if things didn’t really change, and it would turn out that he really was still alone?

“The world doesn’t get any scarier on that side of the door,” Patton said. “Promise,”

“But what if…” Virgil trailed off.

“There’s more to ‘what-if’ about in life than death. It can be hard to get used to, but I’ll give you an If that might help. If you decide that leaving was a bad idea, you can come right back, and you don’t ever have to leave again,”

The thought wasn’t a pleasant one. As scared as he was to leave and still feel lost, the idea of staying in this place that was practically painted with bad memories, of trading what might turn out to be the first family he’d ever had for an eternity of actually being invisible like he’d felt he was for so long…. that didn’t sit well. Patton watched him think over the idea, and smiled encouragingly.

“Try the door again,” he prompted. Virgil looked at him sceptically, but walked to the door frame anyway, pressing his palms against the still solid barrier. Patton moved around him, standing outside again.

“You’re touching it like it’s there. It’s not,”

Virgil knocked on the surface under his palms, but was surprised that his fist didn’t make a sound, just stopped moving when it reached the door.

“See?” Patton reached past the doorframe and held his hands out, palms up. Virgil put his hands in Patton’s. The man in blue smiled. “You’re gonna get it. And I'll stay here until you do.” Patton dropped his hands and took a few steps back. “Don’t try to touch it. Don’t brace for it, just walk to me,” Patton instructed, holding his arms open and waiting.

Virgil took a deep breath. He looked at Patton, waiting there on the other side, arms wide. This stranger that treated him with more genuine care than anyone Virgil had ever met before, waiting just a few feet away to hug him. He thought about the baby. Big brown eyes had held his gaze. He wasn’t invisible to Thomas.

He was needed.

Let me out, he commanded.

He started to walk forward, his feet gaining momentum on their own as he ran outside, and barreled into Patton’s chest, the force almost knocking both of them over. Patton stopped them from landing in the dirt and held onto Virgil as they both started to laugh. The sound covered the approach of the other four, but it wouldn’t have made any difference anyway. Virgil finally knew what home was supposed to feel like.

“You did it,” Patton praised.

“I did it,” Virgil agreed, breathless.

“I’m proud of you,”

Virgil laughed again. He’d never heard those words from anyone.

“Well done,” De said, coming up behind them, and he meant it.

Virgil turned and flushed, realizing he had an audience, and pulled his hood over his head.

“Thanks,”

The others gathered around, and silence reigned for a few beats. The impact of their decision had hit them. Roman looked down at the baby he held, wrapped in his sash. Virgil watched Thomas breathing. De watched everyone. He was set in his decision. Finally, Logan turned to Patton.

“This is set in stone. Are you sure, Patton?” he asked, concern managing to bleed past his equanimity. Patton held his eyes, before looking at the baby in Roman’s arms.

“Yes,”

Logan sighed. It was the answer he was expecting, but he still struggled to understand. Leave it to Patton.

Roman spoke next, presenting an oath to the sleeping bundle in his arms. “A swift end to any who would come against you, little prince. You have my heart and my promise,”

Patton smiled and took Virgil’s arm. “Time to go home,”

He smiled at each of them in turn, and led the way down the street. Six men to whom the world was blind walked together, their worlds now entwined in an orbit around the impossible child.

#thomas sanders #sanders sides #fanfic #sanders sides fanfic #writing #my writing #patton sanders #virgil sanders #roman sanders #logan sanders #janus sanders #remus sanders

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p-redux · 5 years ago

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From Anon...

Anon, you must be new, not paid attention very well, or are just trolling, but anyone who has followed me KNOWS I’ve posted extensively about Tony because I had a source who knew Tony’s family growing up near Glasgow.

Why is Tony McGill praiseworthy? Click on Keep Reading to find out...

Anon, the fact that Cait MARRIED Tony should be good enough. Period. End of. Full Stop. A 40 year old woman like Cait, who is beautiful, successful, talented, rich, charitable, loved by family, friends and fans alike CHOOSING to SPEND THE REST OF HER LIFE with Tony doesn’t give you any clue that he must be equally great?

If THAT’S not sufficient, then let me give you a few more reasons why Tony is praiseworthy. I first based my opinion of Tony on what my Tony family source told me 5 years ago. She said Tony was “charming and hysterically funny.” We know Cait has a great sense of humor, so it’s no surprise that she would find that attractive in a man. Here are a couple of Tony’s friends also speaking to how funny he is (and how gorgeous). 👇

Barry “Baz” Fratelli ☝ is one of the members of “The Fratellis” the famous Scottish band Tony managed for years.

That leads me to the next thing worthy of praise–Tony not only managed bands, but he and his brother, Joe, formed a music production company called Numb Music, which is still in business. AND Tony is college educated and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree WITH Honors. So, besides being funny, he’s intelligent. 👇

Tony is praiseworthy because, besides the above, he’s owned 2 successful, bars/live music venues in Islington, London called The Library and The Reading Room. I don’t know if he’s still running them or sold them, but back in the day, they were packed. Around Valentine’s Day 2015, Cait made a special trip to London during the opening of the second bar, The Reading Room to support Tony and posted about it publicly. 👇 Notice her play on words “Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” since this was before Tony had moved from London back to Glasgow to live with Cait while she filmed Outlander. A man whose woman flies from Los Angeles (that’s where Cait was at the time) to London to be there for the launching of one of his businesses is praiseworthy.

Tony is praiseworthy because he is accepted by Cait’s closest friends. He’s part of her “family” of friends. That’s says A LOT. 👇

Tony is praiseworthy because he’s even nice to strangers. Below are previously posted DM’s from someone I know who was at one of the events Cait and Tony attended. This is her description of Tony’s interactions with her, and with Cait. 👇

Tony is praiseworthy because he supports Cait, spends quality time with her, traveling, going to events with her, and they look HAPPY together. (Credit to the respective owners of the pictures) 👇

Tony is praiseworthy because he gave Cait beautiful diamond and sapphire engagement and wedding rings, which are classic and timeless. I can’t imagine he didn’t pick the sapphires to match Cait’s blue eyes. Going with the combo of diamonds and sapphires is verra romantic. The lad done good! 👇

Tony is praiseworthy because Cait acknowledged him publicly in her acceptance speech and kissed him for all to see. 👇

I repeat, the biggest reason Tony is praiseworthy is because the one and only Caitriona Mary Balfe thinks he is and that’s why she MARRIED him. If that’s not good enough for some, then that’s their problem. Cait’s TRUE fans support her AND Tony. Simple as that.

Soooo, if a college educated with honors, successful manager and business man, with a sexy Scottish accent, who spends as much time as possible with the love of his life isn’t praiseworthy, then I don’t know what to tell you, Anon. And for the record, most people who are actually in REAL relationships don’t slobber all over each other in public like a bunch of teenagers. I don’t know why I keep having to explain the obvious, but there it is...again. I think Cait is a lucky lass...and she obviously knows that, that’s why she let him put a ring (or two) on it and made it official for life.

Extreme Shippers wanted Cait to settle down with her hot Scot...joke’s on them...Cait DID settle down with her hot Scot, his name is Anthony McGill. If you don’t find Tony attractive, again, that’s YOUR problem. I think he’s incredibly sexy: dark, thick, wavy hair, bedroom eyes, full lips, and that Scottish accent...mmmmm. But I’ll try to behave myself since he’s spoken for. ;-)

Hope your “ignorance” has dissipated, Anon. Consider yourself schooled.

#tait #tonymcgill #caitrionabalfe #themcgills #mrandmrsmcgill #extremeshippers #anthonymcgill #schooled

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migleefulmoments · 5 years ago

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More Crissmyglitz Wedding Guest Angst: part 2

OMG they won’t let it go. Crissmyglitz-Guest Gate. The ccers are still obsessing over the #CrissMyGlitz guest list. As I pointed out in my first post (X), every single photo posted in round one of Crissmyglitz-Guest Gate was taken while Darren was working. That’s right, every single photo the tinhatters presented as “Darren and a real friend” was taken at work. For a fandom who constantly remind the world they are astute and ALWAYS PAYING ATTENTION TO DETAILS, it was a supermassiveblackhole.

In part 1 they presented Elvis (X), Alan Cummings (X), Jenna Ushkowitz (X), Laura Osnes (X). In part 2 they added Jane Lynch, Matt Bomer, Matt Morrison, Kevin McHale, Lena Hall, Ricky Martin and Edgar Ramirez. Idk what was worse, that they didn’t learn any lessons after part 1 or that the fandom egged them on in utter delight.

cc-still-going-strong

Keep on.

I love your guys’ game 🤣🤣🤣

chrisdarebashfulsmiles

I like this game

(This got SUPER RIDICULOUS LONG so under)

This is the LAMEST shade ever thrown and they were eating it up. Abby spent her Sunday adding to the nonsense and trying out sarcasm. She brought up the algorithm nonsense again and I can’t stop shaking my head. The fact that it’s easier for them to believe that someone wrote an algorithm to determine the guest list for Darren and Mia’s wedding rather than simply to acknowledge that they don’t really know Darren at all is absurd. Rational people would see Darren’s guest list and realize that they got it all wrong. Rationale people don’t see wedding photos and spend 7+ months proclaiming it’s all fake because he clearly is much better friends with former coworkers, Edgar Ramirez and Lena Hall than he is with Jennifer Coolidge and Pamela Aldon based entirely on the fact that nobody posted social media pics with Jennifer or Pamela.

Mysterious absence part 2- Let’s do this…

1. LENA HALL

(see part 3 (X) for further information)

ajw720

(Opening Hedwig LA 11/16 from Lena’s IG)

(From Lena’s Twitter and Instagram July 28, 2016 (X). They were Flying to perform at DNC see pic below)

(AGAIN- same night as #1-Hedwig’s opening night LA 11/16)

(Dec 12, 2016-I don’t know the context of this one. It is obviously her photoshoot and he popped in for a pic. See below: another pic from this photoshoot posted to her IG. This is actually a nonword photo)

ajw720:guess the algorithm eliminated her for joking weekly that DC had all the privileges of homosexuality but none of the responsibilities……

(Oh ho ho ho...the shade of it all).

chrisdarebashfulsmiles: Probably.

ajw720: Or perhaps it eliminated her as when D was kissing her on stage, he was giving his PBB the finger? Remember that time

(No, actually I don’t because that is nonsense. Darren flipped someone off from stage? Right because that is such professional. You believe that perfect, well-mannered Darren Criss would flip off his fiancee while working? That’s very inappropriate behavior during working hours, especially in front of a big audience of people- each with a cellphone. It’s also very risky to flip off the woman he is engaged to- the cc secret might get out. If Darren is terrified to come out and terrified to breach THE Contract, why would he risk if all just give Mia the bird? Giving someone the bird is hardly a satisfying diss for anyone over the age of 12).

flowersintheattic254: Maybe the algorithm excludes those who like way too many posts on that had Ch/ris in them?

(OMG- Lena “liked” some pics of Chris....a pig just flew by my window. It’s almost like Hollywood is a small town and people know each other.

(No dates so it’s impossible to know what the context of the posts but that is typical of the tinhatting- they aren’t concerned with accuracies)

leka-1998: When the difference in chemistry is undeniable even in pics that show nothing but hands, that’s probably an issue.

(I have never in my 51 years heard someone claim a married couple had no chemistry as evidenced by their hands in a photo taken specifically to show off their nail polish or that a PR photo for a Broadway show showed more chemistry than the actual couple. I mean seriously?)

(I will give this one to them as as personal photo )

(Is “hand chemistry” a thing? I’m only speculating here but is the degree of hand chemistry a function of the depth finger-penetration-on-finger-penetration? Cuz.....that would make total sense amiright?)

cc-still-going-strong: Keep on.

I love your guys’ game 🤣🤣🤣

(Blergh)

ajw720: Seriously is that his wife on the left…..oh

(hahahah nice try Abby, you have every single photo of Mia memorized- its actually a very sweet photo)

(I can’t with this entire post. She wasn’t invited because he kissed Lena on stage as per the script? Oh wait- no- she was not invited because he kissed Lena on stage and he flipped off Mia (how they know he is flipping off Mia is anyone’s guess. I like to imagine he is flipping off the tinhatters). But wait- is he actually flipping off anyone? No, no he actually isn’t because that would be terribly unprofessional. Darren is at work and his bosses would not appreciate him flipping off anyone the audience. No actor who wants a career is going to flip off someone in the audience while just-fingers crossed- hoping the message is received by the intended person and not a critic or investor.).

(Work Pic. He is NOT giving anyone the finger- his finger is actually just in the shadow from Lena’s outfit).

(Lena is working: As for Mia banning Lena from the wedding- in a recent post by Lena, she talks about catching up aka they don’t haven’t spent much time together lately and notice the Mia hashtag)

(The tinhatters like that she alls Darren wifey but in fact she calls all the Hedwig’s “Wifey”. She has a lot of Hedwig photos on her social media- the vast marority are NPH).

(Lena’s Christmas photoshoot as mentioned above)

(I probably should have led with this but I wanted to prove them wrong in all the ways possible Lena was busy on February 16, 2019 performing at Lincoln Center. She may have very well been invited. See my update (X)

2. EDGAR RAMIREZ

leka-1998: Yet another person missing on February 16

(PR for ACS: A photoshoot for promotion aka PR)

(I am not sure about this pic. Darren posted it on his Instagram and Edgar responded “love you brother”- that’s sweet and all but what does it prove- nada. I am sure they really had a great time together filming ACS and felt close, but they haven’t maintained that relationship-at least not publicly -since they end of awards season. I’ll give the tinhatters half a point for this one- but bear in mind- I’m being generous because it looks like a PR pic)

(PR for ACS; ”GQ Style & Hugo Boss Celebrate Amazing Spaces”- see photo below).

(PR for ACS Emmy: This is from the 2018 Emmy “For Your Consideration” on 3/19/18.)

(PR for ACS. This is hilarious....so Edgar is doing a red carpet interview and Darren walks by him and Edgar walks away with Darren. OKAAAYYY-what does this prove? Again, they are at a work event- so far all the pics with Edgar are from work events except maybe 1)

(PR for ACS- photoshoot. While the sentiment is sweet, Edgar hashtagged it #ACS and #Emmys. OMG how much ccproof do you need to understand that this is PR? ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION? Me think not cuz he freakin’ tagged it for you and you still don’t understand that it was promotion for the Emmy. He-lar-E-ous!)

chrisdarebashfulsmiles: I like this game

(of course you do- it’s catty, bitchy and pointless. I’m glad it makes you happy because this has been eye-opening as to the extend that you are collectively super bad at separating Darren’s personal life from his work life)

ajw720: @leka-1998 this friendship seems very contrived to me, constantly calling each other brother, they aren’t nearly as close as say D and J/ennifer C/oolidge or B/en F/eldman or P/amela A/ldon……………

(Ohhh ho ho ho sooo funny. It’s so funny I forgot to laugh...har har har aha Since Jennifer, Ben and Pamela actually got invites to the wedding, it is clear that they are indeed close to Darren or Mia, soooo the joke doesn’t actually work. As for Edgar being his closest friend because he called him “brother” during a big ACS promotion push-I’m not feeling it. What is so baffling to this “stupid stan” is how the tinhaters CAN’T SEE the details right in front of their faces. The Darren-Edgar love-fest was hot and heavy during the promotion of ACS and then it stopped all together...THAT is the definition of PR. I am sure they actually did like each other during the production of ACS, but when the project ended they both moved on to other projects and other friends. I’ve had coworkers -and I’m sure many of you have too-that I adored and I never wanted lose the connection we shared while working together but alas, the romance fizzled after we no longer had the workplace in common. Obsessing about the meaning of the almost-2-year-old photo of 2 strangers is pretty silly)

ajw720: The Algorithm is a very scientific way to figure out the wedding guest list-no doubt it knows who D is closest to and would not lie…..

(The problem is simple- there are no social-media pics of Darren (or Mia) with Jennifer, Ben, or Pamela which means, according to the cc-logic that it didn’t happen-aka they aren’t friends. In order to explain why the trio were in fact, at the wedding, the THE Algorithm was created. This Algorithm is a very scientific way to figure out the wedding-guest list-no doubt it knows who D is closest to and would not lie. The cc posse hate it when they don’t know what is going on Darren’s life which is why we are talking about a fake “CrissMyGlitz Invitation” algorithm 7 months after the wedding).

ajw720: @chrisdarebashfulsmiles It is seriously my new favorite game and there are so many people that the algorithm eliminated.

(Seriously? There are what- 2 or 3 photos that aren’t definitively traced to work This game isn’t working out the way the posse believes it is. This is however, THE definition of confirmation bias clouding their judgment).

3. KEVIN MCHALE

ajw720:Poor KM didn’t make the cut either. Perhaps his invite was eliminated by the weird algorithm for tagging d at his 30th right below c, yet d not pictured? He clearly considers d a good friend as he invited him to the party.

(Did Kevin suggest he was devastated to miss the destination wedding of his former coworker? Kevin and Darren went out with their former-Glee castmates maybe once or twice in the last four years- they are hardly besties. I don’t remember Kevin and Darren as being particularly close while Glee was in production. They are literally former coworkers.)

(Kevin inviting Darren to his birthday party doesn’t indicate that he “clearly considers d a good friend”. It seems like I remember the party was a surprise party?)

ajw720: Thankfully I think they’ve made up as d had no problem straddling him recently.

(OMG seriously? They are former coworkers in which some level of friendship exists. Darren straddled his leg while sitting on a very crowded seat- he wasn’t riding Kevin while they had sex in public.)

(ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION? Darren invited the Glee peeps that he has consistently been close to over the years - Max, Harry and Chord).

ajw720: So many mysteries. But hey D&M’s new straight couple besties, Al/len & his wife, made the cut!

(Nope, no mysteries at all. Darren simply cared more about inviting people that mean something to him and Mia rather than those who mean something to the tinhatters.)

flowersintheattic254: @ajw720 I expect old habits die hard with K and D. They were always flirty and fun. Maybe Mr and Mrs Le/ech are stricter regarding lap sittering. That’s probably why (nods head).

(nods head and wonders if tinters were drinking early on Sunday because this thread is petty, dumb and not at all funny or clever.)

ajw720: @flowersintheattic254 they are WAY too comfortable together, way more chemistry than D has with his bride. I’m thinking that was the algorithm’s issue.

(Comfortable? Chemistry? WTF, he looks like he is passing a kidney stone and Kevin is coaching him through it.)

flowersintheattic254: @ajw720 especially when you consider that the only similar pose with M has D holding his own arm to his chest. No chemistry at all!!!!

(Do you guys actually believe the nonsense you write or did you give up on 2/16/19 and you're just blowing smoke up each other’s ass now because I gotta tell you, the second-hand embarrassment is really uncomfortable now)

flowersintheattic254:It’s the pic on the boat with the fam. Can someone add it as I cannot find it?

leka-1998

ajw720: Not even close, if i didn’t know, i would say KM&DC were the couple and i t think the algorithm knew. It is magical how that algorithm works.

(Ooooh right...it’s so confusing, I can totally understand your befuddlement!)

(In all seriousness, watching this fandom’s toxic nonsense is like watching Kellyanne Conway and Lindsey Graham defend Trump’s baloney. Everyone knows they are full of shit but we are powerless to stop it. The damage they are doing will take years to repair- if not decades)

(Oh....Will you look at that. That is a screenshot taken from a video that is actually cute and shows a smitten Darren cuddling with Mia. Color. Me.SHOOK) .

youtube

4. MATT MORRISON

standingoutsidethefire: I thought of another ..

That the algorithm just didn’t seem to include ...

standingoutsidethefire: Clearly these two don’t have any affection for each other

standingoutsidethefire: Not friends at all

standingoutsidethefire: I get why MM wasn’t included ..I really do

(Maybe a personal- photo though likely at an show or industry event)

ajw720: Hate each other

(Once again, almost all -if not all - work pics)

youtube

5. MATT BOMER

leka-1998: “He’s just a really, really good, grounded person, and I think someone who I’ll probably always be friends with.”

- M/att B/omer

(Holy shit, Matt said something nice about Darren when asked about him by during an interview... no doubt when they worked together either on Glee or ACS)

(According to Bride’s Magazine, “How to Make Your Wedding Day About YOUl” June 2017.

5. The guest list is one of the most difficult decisions. Should you invite your mom’s work associate? Great Aunt Gertrude whom neither of you have met? Everyone from the gym? Communicate communicate communicate. One piece of tried-and-true advice is ALWAYS invite the person who said nice about you to the national media. You won’t regret it and most likely that person will give you the best gift).

(Work event)

(Wait -isn’t this Blaine and Cooper?)

(Work event)

Leka-1998: But the great algorithm said no.

ajw720: My understanding is they despise each other, cannot stand to be in the same room together.

(Nobody ever suggested that).

ajw720: #funny #so many of the univited #queer

(seriously “#queer”? No, not cool)

flowersintheattic254

True they have clearly and from the beginning disliked each other intensely.

ajw720: But see @leka-1998 there is D calling him handsome, we don’t want to have anything that even hints at d talking about a boy in that manner at the sham mockery, i mean nuptials………………. Because D is the STRAIGHTEST MAN ALIVE!!!!!

(OMG,,the sarcasm isn’t working).

#cc #cc fandom #ccer #darren criss #crisscolfer #debunking CC lies #debunking cc nonsense #Critssmyglitz #guest list #wedding guest #Darren and Mia get married

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oswhys · 6 years ago

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Dumb AC concept ideas

So this is basically a info dump of ideas for potential AC games and concepts that its been playing with in my head, it's mostly me nerding out about junk (look if I can info dump about Teotihuacan I’ll do it.) like it's ideas that I think would be cool and what id want to see in future installments, even if they aren't likely to happen. It's also written super casually cause I started making this in a burst of inspiration at like 2 am and yet still got distracted from it cause I started going on tangents. So it's a bit of a mess. I’m totally down for bouncing ideas around if anyone has their own concepts.

1920’s jazz age assassin from the beginning of unity and the abstergo employee handbook. "The lives and failures of the most degenerate Americans to ever grace the world's stage - Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Stein." please tell me how this doesn't sound cool as shit? Okokokokokokok SO… CARS. like this dude would have a car (and of course the player can earn different cars and looks for their car and junk, including a yellow Duesenberg… like come on if he knew Fitzgerald they gotta let this dude drive Gatsby's car.) I think there can be an argument about him having a rope launcher attachment buuut maybe not??? I mean a car and a rope launcher would be dope as hell. The dude probably bounced between Paris and New York if he's a genuine jazz age junkie like how abstergo describes him and his writer pals. Also it would be cool to meet Picasso… also his base of operations should be a fucking speakeasy, like duh, like where else would a 1920’s assassin camp out? I don’t really have any plot ideas but the concept of a jazz age assassin is cool enough for me to want it this badly.

1970’s-1980’s William Miles in a corporate espionage type game, like i know he had Desmond in 1987 but he was an active filed assassin in 1977 when he was in Moscow so clearly he could've been doing other junk around then. It doesn't have to be him, i just want a 70’d-80’s assassin trying to fuck with abstergo and trying to steal animus research or something. Like Alieen Bock died in 81 and that was at the height of animus research before abstergo started really investing in it cause of Vidic. Like the surrogate initiative and the animus project are… basically the same thing really. Like knowing that Altair and Ezio were not actually related until their bloodlines crossed with Desmond. So with the memory keys being cited as an integral part of the animus project they obviously had a role to play in the surrogate project. Besides the newer games are pretty loosey-goosey with how the DNA and animus junk works now, with the spear having DNA traces or whatever and its corrupted enough that we could… choose things?? (don't ask questions just have fun i guess.) ok i’m over thinking this stuff… but come on… disco!!!!! Please please please have a disco assassination. Like… the idea of an assassin taking out a target at the disco is cool enough for me to want it. ALSO!!! If it goes into the 80’s then please for the love of god a Thriller inspired outfit would be to die for. Like i know getting the exact look would be a trademark nightmare but an inspired look may be able to get away with it. I just want some real corporate espionage type missions while dressed in some brightly colored dorky(cool as shit) 70’s/80’s fashion.

So like… ANYTHING from ancient Andean culture. So The Chimú or the Moche… that would be cool, but I'd settle for Wari and Tiwanaku. I just kinda want to see Chan Chan recreated. And Moche art was so fucking good like… idk man they're making video games that are mostly of ancient cultures now so the possibility of them making something in a more modern setting is slim to none. Like come on they're gonna want to make like idk maybe one more really ancient cultural game so they can still reuse assets again before making a whole new saga. That's just their track record. The problem with doing an ancient andean cultural video game is that there isn't a lot to work with other then our knowledge of the architecture and artistry of the ancient peoples. We have art documentary significant events but there isn't really any historical recordings so there's no significant figures to meet or events to take part in that we know of right now. BUT that also means that hey if Ubisoft wants us to have freedom of choice within the narrative this would be a great opportunity.

Speaking of ancient culturesssss ancient Mexican cultures would be REALLY cool too. Like obviously Mayans culture is the first to come to mind but AC already kinda explored the Mayans so idk maybe a more underrated ancient culture deserves the spotlight. The Zapotec and other civilizations in the Oaxaca. Like this would be really cool since we actually see a rise in raiding and conquest warfare, like theres these bas-relief stone carvings called Las Danzantes which are actually depictions of sacrificial victims, most likely foreign captives. The architecture is also to die for like i’m a sucker for talud-tablero style stuff popping up in ancient Latin america. Also do i gotta say it? BALL COURTS!!! A recreation of the ancient ball game in a video game would be cool as shit my dudes like… please i want this so bad. Like how origins depicted mummification with respect I’d love to see the same kind of loving dedication to the funerary practices of the ancient peoples. (off topic completely but some latin american civilizations had their own forms of mummification) like i wanna see the abandonment of Monte Alban and the later use of it by the Mixtecs. But the most important thing about the celebration of the ancient Zapotec would be the ability to celebrate the modern Zapotec culture, that would just be cool. Ok I’ll finish up this train of ideas with the one i really really really want to see recreated, the original Teotihuacan, before the Aztecs found it. With the pyramids being painted and covered in beautiful carvings and, of course, talud-tablero style architecture. It's basically the biggest ancient city in mesoamerica with hidden cave systems that we are still finding today and so much of the ancient city was built over because it might've been covered up or eroded to the point where no one knew it was there, or because there wasn't really anyone who cared enough to uh, not build on top of historical sites. Modern mexico city is built all around and on top of it (apparently you can see Walmart from the top of the temple of the sun…) so its a huge ancient city that was really colorful and really populated with crazy ancient tunnels underneath the pyramids that we’ve only discovered recently so how fucking cool are those possibilities? Like i just can't get over the idea of some assassin-esque person climbing up red pyramids and sitting next to statues and carvings of Queztalcoatl painted in a turquoise. Ancient farms and city life thriving. From what we know about it, like many other ancient latin american cities it was abandoned at some point, exactly why is unclear though (probably a mix of things cause there wasn't any kings really but more like… neighborhood councils (that's the best guess rn)). It was an actual city though, most archaeologists compare it to modern cities due to its city planning and its huge population. What was left behind was so spectacular that when the Aztecs found it they legit thought it was the city of the gods. This was a real fucking city and I’m crazy about it man i want it in a fucking video game my dudes.

COWBOYS PLEASE. Like i know rdr2 came out so they probably wont do it (for a while at least) and they already have the gold rush assassin so they've dabbled with cowboy stuff but… cowboys… like theres nothing else to say really… Cowboys. Also like i know how AC is pretty much ass melee combat and cowboys means guns and lots of guns and bows and probably rope darts. But… folding swords. That my shitty solution to have melee combat, like syndicate had melee and some gun stuff cause duh, but it was mostly melee. Like you can make the game centered around stealth so a lot more sneaking then combat, kinda like in unity. I have a few ideas for this one but most of them play into my own personal cowboy wish fulfillment fantasy of owning a farm with snakes for the production of venoms and other toxins. It's hard to explain but i kinda really want to see someone with a snake/spider enclosure where they produce venoms for the protag to use. The specific time period i have in mind is like 1870-1888 but it could defo go later. It's just that was peak for a lot of famous gunslingers and robberies. And Mesa Verde was basically rediscovered in the late 1880’s (its kinda weird like it was “officially” discovered in 88 but others saw it before that soooo. Also Montezuma Castle would be cool to visit in game as well. I dont have have a lot of knowledge about mesa verde or Montezuma but i know they're cool af.) the wild west is just ripe with possibility so i have some hope they’ll do one in the future but i don't see it happening anytime within the next couple of years.

Please for the love of god give me a AC3/unity dual sequel. Set in 1798 Egypt before during and maybe a little after the french invasion of Egypt. There would be a ton to work around and justify to get that to happen in universe buuuuut… i want it so badly. I have a shit ton of ideas but im saving all of that for a rainy day.

I wouldn't mind if they actually did stuff with WWI, mostly cause i really like that one WWI assassin from project legacy and Lydia's whole thing was really cool.

Ok I’m kinda on burn out after all that cause I just… its 4 AM and i’m supposed to be writing a paper but I made this big fucking oops.

#Assassin's Creed #assassins creed #assassin’s creed #this is dumb sorry i just... gotta express this shit #my stuff

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breanne-says-boo · 8 years ago

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Anne Rice Facebook livestream breakdown

Today, Anne Rice had two livestreams on Facebook, the first as a general Q&A and the second specifically related to the Vampire Chronicles television show. Part way through the second livestream, the video glitched and I missed a minute or two, but overall this is what I had.

I’ve divided the information into 3 sections and highlighted the most important or interesting things she mentioned in my opinion):

Anne Herself

Anne wants to assure fans she is the ONLY one who answers and sees emails sent by fans. She tries hard to view all of them

She also reassures that shes been trying to read as many comments given on Facebook as possible and to consider them

In her writing process, she can’t do all-nighters anymore; her books about Christ were the last time she really did this

She loves how people in New Orleans love life and celebrate it. She misses New Orleans terribly. She notes, “Lifestyles [down there] are inherited and have a beauty”

She reads more non-fiction than fiction and constantly takes notes from them, especially about archeology (which she loves: “It’s like eating ice cream for me! I love it so much”)

She says she no longer identifies as a Christian, but still has a love for Jesus and what he has done for her, such as helping her solve problems and beyond that

She has some new announcement coming soon not concerning the vampires

She feels this is the age of the nerd where readers’ opinions are most important. Says she has always taken us the readers seriously and wants us to feel appreciated. She appreciates our power and what we have done for the series.

The Books and The Characters

*spoiler* There is NO certainty Mona and Quinn are dead. This is just what Lestat believes.

She went through the pronunciations of characters’ names

Marius is pronounced like Marius in Les Miserables

Mekare is May-care-ee, but thinks other pronunciations are beautiful too

(And I think as a fandom we’ve come to agreements on everyone else’s names. She went by the names fast!)

Anne says she sums up the story of the chronicles as “how badly Lestat wants to be the hero of his own life”

She appreciates fans pointing out mistakes in her writing since she wants to be as accurate as possible, especially when it comes to history/time periods

When asked about the taste of blood/how it functions, Anne says blood is like every kind of drug- it’s sex, alcohol, drugs, everything

She writes a TON of notes since she occasionally forgets when/how certain things are mentioned, such as how the Savage Garden was introduced in the novel (which she no knows as something that occurred during Our Conversation with Nicolas and Lestat)

The name “Talamasca” came from a book on old witchcraft she found

Lestat’s name was a “blunder” rather than a “eureka” moment. His name was NOT based on her husband Stan intentionally. She was trying to look up old french names.

The transformation process of human to vampire (after getting the Dark Gift) is a little slower than how the IWTV film portrayed, but close in Anne’s mind (she truly appreciated how the film went above to stay close to her own visions and her work)

During his time with Louis and Claudia, Lestat attempted to give answers that would “keep them alive” rather than actual answers, knowing that he couldn’t reveal what he knew due to what Marius had told him (essentially, not just answers that he thought would satisfy them but that he thought would carry them on by themselves...which worked in my opinion)

There were several questions about Gabrielle and Becket commented about how Gabrielle is a fan favorite before he introduced the questions:

Anne says Gabrielle is cold, but admits that she loves Lestat yet at the same time doesn’t need him.

She does not see Gabrielle as autistic (she laughed at this question which really irked me :/ )

She will not write about a memoir from Gabrielle’s point of view since she wants Lestat to stay the focus of “the tribe” and she’s done with writing those sort of side books.

Lestat’s main concern right now is “keeping the tribe together”

She wants to continue with exploring some of the newer characters, Fareed and Seth were mentioned as a part of this.

Anne has an “ambivalence” towards Louis and she loves him since he represents an old part of her, but this is also the same reason she has trouble going back and writing for him, because she feels she is now a different person

She appreciates that there is no “real” consensus on what is the best/worst of her books amongst the fans (though Memnoch was her first example for worse soooo 😏)

In some ways, how Amel speaks to Lestat is a metaphor for how Lestat speaks to Anne.

The Television Show

(Casting)

Armand will NOT be played by someone around 14, because of the long filming process and how it will age the actor. She acknowledges fans want someone young for Armand but feels it will be too difficult to use (um, hello Anne, CGI??)

She thinks Cate Blanchett would be a wonderful pick for Gabrielle.

Says the looks are most important for Lestat, Louis just has to be beautiful (lol)

She really cares about the appearances of the cast and their availability to do about 5-6 years of filming

(Chronology and Production)

She thinks she will not go through network tv, so the home to the show would be Amazon, Hulu or Netflix.

She feels the show won’t be as violent as Game of Thrones but wants that integrity and style, and that “authenticity” to the books that Game of Thrones has (So for the rating, I’m guessing she feels around M?)

Anne wants to be true to the books and what the fans want to see (in regards to characters and plot points)

She appreciated the commitment of the team for the IWTV film and wants to keep up to that standard. She does not want unreasonable changes and compromises

Chronologically, she wants to begin with TVL with Lestat as a young man.

Feels around the 2nd/3rd season is where IWTV would start

The books are long, so it will not be a one season / one book situation.

It will begin chronologically, so it won’t be Lestat reading IWTV and THEN starting with his story as a response, it will start in France as the events happen (I was hoping it would be the former...)

No Mayfair witches in the show

Characters who are introduced later, but existed chronologically earlier like Benedick and Magnus, will be put earlier in the show

The Talamasca will be heavily involved “eventually” in the series, possibly earlier on. Related to this, she wants to tell the history of her vampires and those entities.

She wants to definitely (so badly) cover the scene where Lestat is being turned “stage by stage…” meaning him being in the tower and having realizations about his strength after drinking the blood. Also, how he turns Gabrielle (possibly wants to have a young actress to play Gabrielle and have her human age appear through makeup so the transformation will be more dramatic)

Louis’ story WILL be told, but the show will be mostly from Lestat’s POV

Anne hopes the show will go into production before the end of this year. Around 2018 is when it would come out

Anne and Chris have had a lot of interested companies already looking into developing the project (but she doesn't want to reveal who is talking to them since it “wouldn't be fair”)

She isn’t sure if the show will break the 4th wall. She acknowledges that Lestat does it in the books, but she feels she would have to stick with it for the entirety of the show and that would be difficult (so it sounds like mostly a “no” but she’s considering it)

Christopher and her are currently outlining around 5 seasons (estimated) for the TV series. They are also writing drafts for the first 4 episodes

#tvc #vampire chronicles #the vampire chronicles

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