#but shes willing to forgive a murderer????? just to take down a gang that she ultimately ends up taking down herself + w sherlock

[definitelyseven]

liability | eighteen - final

summary: reporter meets mafia boss, Park Jinyoung

one | two | three | four | five | six (m) | seven (m) | eight | nine (m) | ten | eleven | twelve | thirteen | fourteen (m) | fifteen | sixteen (m) | seventeen | eighteen - final |

It’s been six months since your wedding; since that night. You remembered your white dress being covered in his blood. No matter how many times you called for him, he didn’t respond.

Without Mark, you don’t know how you could’ve survived these past six months. He trained you to take over the clean side of Jinyoung’s business while he took over the dirty side. He didn’t want you to get your hands dirty. Jinyoung wouldn’t have wanted that either.

“Jinyoung, baby. It’s been six months. Please wake up,” you begged by his bed side. The doctor said the surgery was successful but they didn’t know when he’ll wake up. You rubbed the wet towel on his face. “Who could’ve done this?” you whispered to him. 

“I’m looking into some people,” Mark responded. “But I don’t want you to worry about it right now. You need to take care of yourself and the baby.”

You instinctively rub your belly. While Jinyoung was in a coma, you also found out you were pregnant. His mother has been ecstatic and has been nicer to you ever since.

“Baby, please wake up soon. I could really use your help with the baby names. Your mother has some interesting ideas,” you joked. “Ow!” you winced in pain.

“What’s wrong?” Mark asked, rushing to your side. 

“The baby is kicking,” you whined as you held onto your stomach.

“Deep breaths,” he instructed. You inhaled and exhaled as taught in your baby classes. You grabbed Jinyoung’s hand and placed it on your stomach. 

“Do you feel that Jinyoung?” you asked him. “The baby is kicking me.” You watched as Jinyoung’s fingertips slightly move against your stomach. “Mark!”

“He’s moving his fingers,” Mark cheered before running out to get the doctor. 

“Jinyoung, honey?” you called again.

You waited patiently outside as the doctor checked up on Jinyoung. 

“How’s my Jinyoung?” his mother asked as she rushed towards you.

“He’s awake. Mark and the doctor is in there right now,” you explained to her.

“Mrs. Park,” the doctor called. “He’s awake. Everything seems to be alright with him considering how long he’s been in a coma-”

“Oh thank God,” his mother exclaimed. 

“But his memory may be foggy,” the doctor continued to explain.

“W-what?” 

“He might not remember you,” Mark continued to explain. You rushed inside Jinyoung’s room. He can’t forget you - he can’t.

“Jinyoung,” you called with tears in your eyes. He looked at you as if he didn’t know who you were. “No...” you whispered.

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” he asked.

“I’m your wife,” you revealed, making your way closer to his bed.

“No, she’s not. She’s not your wife,” a voice from behind you said. “Get away from his bed,” his mother said. “Sweetheart, you remember me, right?”

“Yes of course, Mother.”

“This women is not your wife,” she explained. “Your wife, Irene, is on her way.”

“What? No. I’m your wife,” you argued. “Mark?”

“Jinyoung, she’s your wife. Not Irene,” he agreed with you.

“It’s me,” you whimpered. 

You stood outside his room as you watched Irene and Jinyoung talked. He was smiling at her like she was the love of his life. It made your heart ache. How could he not remember you but remember Irene?

“Don’t worry. He’ll remember you. He has too,” Mark comforted. 

“Y/N let’s have a chat,” his mother demanded as she pulled you to the side. Mark quickly followed behind. 

“How could you?” you asked her with tears in your eyes. “How could you say I’m not Jinyoung’s wife?”

“Now that he’s lost all his memories, I want him to have the perfect wife he deserves and that’s not you,” she revealed. “We’ll keep the baby after you give birth. Irene will raise it as her own.”

“You can’t do that,” you sobbed. “I won’t let you. Jinyoung won’t let that happen.”

“He has no reason to protect you anymore. He doesn’t remember you and I want it to stay that way. You killed his father.”

“I am legally his wife,” you reasoned.

“No papers were signed - saying I do is just part of it.”

She was right. You and Jinyoung never signed any papers. You inhaled a deep breath, “I’m never letting you have my baby.”

“See you in court then,” she smiled before walking away. You exhaled deeply, turning your attention to Mark. 

“I won’t let that happen,” Mark comforted. “Give him some time.”

“You really don’t remember me?” you asked softly. Jinyoung looks at you blankly, trying to remember you. “That’s okay,” you comforted him and yourself as you reached for his hand. He flinches at your touch. “Sorry,” you mumbled.

“No, I’m the one that should apologize. I’m sorry I don’t remember you,” he said. “I’m really trying.”

You shake your head, “It’s not your fault. We will find whoever did this to you.”

“Irene said Y/N did this to me. Do you know who Y/N is?” he asked.  

“I’m Y/N. I’m your wife. I would never do this to you,” you sobbed. “This is our baby,” you said rubbing your stomach. “Why would I want to hurt my baby’s father?” 

“I-I don’t know,” he replied, holding his head. “I don’t know. My head hurts,” he complained. 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Irene shouts from behind. She rushes over to Jinyoung’s side, pushing you away as she tries to calm him down to relieve his headache. “Why do you insist on hurting him all the time?” 

“You fucking bitch,” you mumbled in between your sobs.

“I heard that,” she glared while pouring Jinyoung a glass of water. 

“Irene, you said Y/N did this to me. How did she do it?” Jinyoung asked weakly.

“You can’t possibly think that’s true,” you said in disbelief. 

“I hired a private investigator. She deposited a large sum of money to a mysterious bank account an hour before the wedding. I traced the offshore account and it’s tied to a well-known gang,” Irene explained. You shook your head, denying all the allegations. 

“No...that’s not true,” you sobbed.

“Don’t even try to lie. I have all the proof here,” she said reaching for her purse. She pulls out the documentation and hands it to Jinyoung. “See baby,” she pointed. “Look at all that money being transferred between accounts.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” you sobbed. “I don’t have an offshore account and the gunman was aiming the gun at me. You got injured trying to save me.”

“See,” Irene quickly asserts. “She knew you were going to save her so of course the target wouldn’t be you.”

“After everything we’ve been through, I would never hurt you.”

“You mean everything Jinyoung and I been through. Babe, it’s true you guys had a relationship. You cheated on me with her, but I forgive you. I will always forgive you,” Irene said tearing up. This fucking bitch.

“How were you able to find all this when Mark wasn’t able to find a single thing for months?” Jinyoung asked, suspicious.

“Oh,” Irene said, caught off guard. “Money can do wonders, silly.”

“I have money.”

“I don’t know Jinyoung; hire better help?” Irene said, annoyed. 

“You set everything up perfectly to frame Y/N,” Jinyoung revealed.

“What? Don’t be ridiculous sweetie. Why would I hurt you? I love you,” she tries to convince Jinyoung. 

“You were never trying to hurt me. You wanted to hurt Y/N. You just didn’t think I would save her,” Jinyoung revealed. Irene chuckles nervously. “I’m not stupid Irene. I may have just woken up but I know you. I remember you.”

Irene rolls her eyes and moves away from Jinyoung. “Why do you insist on believing her even when you don’t remember her?! I’m your wife!” she practically shouted. “I’m the one you should be loving!”

“Because you’re always so desperate for my attention you’d do anything! Even if it meant hurting someone! That’s the person you are - you’re selfish and greedy. You only want what you can’t have. That’s the Irene I know,” Jinyoung explained.

Irene’s eyes swells up with tears. “You’ll never love me like you love her,” she said with her lips quivering. “She’s the reason your father is dead!”

“Maybe but I can never be with you, Irene. She’s pregnant with my child. I have to be responsible.”

“I will treat the child as my own,” Irene said. “I promise I will love it like I love you. I promise I will change. I’ll be a better person.”

“I will never give you my child,” you tell her. “I will never let her grow up with a monster.”

“Her?” Jinyoung asked. You nodded slowly which made him smile. “It’s a girl,” he whispered to himself. 

“Me or her, Jinyoung. Me or her,” she repeated. “This is your last chance. If you pick her, I will have my parents withdraw out of every investment in your company,” she threatened. 

“I don’t care if you withdraw your investments. I don’t care about that. I want to be with my child and my child’s mother, even if I don’t remember them.”

“You’ll regret this,” Irene says through her teeth before leaving. You made your way towards Jinyoung’s bed. He grabs your hand.

“I’m sorry I can’t remember. I’ll try harder,” he said squeezing your hand.

“You don’t have to apologize. It’s not your fault,” you assured him. “Are you going to let her off that easy?” you asked, referring to Irene’s attempted murder.

“If you don’t mind. It’s the least I can do for her. She became like this because of me,” Jinyoung explained. You nodded slowly, agreeing with him.

“It’s okay. I don’t mind.”

“Can you tell me how we met?” he asked. You smiled at him, nodding. 

“I was a reporter and you were a dangerous businessman. I wanted an interview with you,” you began to tell him. Even if he didn’t remember you or everything you’ve been through together, you would be willing to spend the rest of your life making new memories with him. 

a little note from jennie: i’m so sorry for the delay on this final chapter. i really wanted to come up with a perfect ending for this and i’ve rewritten this so many times. hope you enjoyed it! :)

[literaryfic]

Episode 11 breakdown

chayenzo has reached their bonnie & clyde peak in this episode and i’m living for it.

cha-young TORTURING and KILLING the three killers and vincenzo not holding her back

vincenzo letting her take the lead while ‘interrogating’ them... WHILE HOLDING HER COFFEE

at one point he looks worried when she ups the toxic smoke(?) flow (i think he doesn’t want her to lash out and regret what she did) but he doesn’t stop her.

he looks at her when they say they want to answer for their crimes in front of the law and she says “and who would that benefit?”

he’s letting her handle this all throughout the scene, and he’s seeing first hand what she’s capable of, what’s she comfortable with and how far she’s willing to go (which is all the way)

their dynamic has changed a lot from the previous episodes. they’ve truly become partners IN CRIME. (murder couple!!!!).

and as a good husband he tells her he’ll help her throw the people who killed her dad in the tiger’s cage when they’re done using them.

him telling her she belongs in the mafia!!!!!!!!!!! he fully recognised her as one of his own, someone who is capable of the same atrocities as he is and who he can rely on and trust as his equal.

her not reacting negatively when she finds out the extent of vincenzo’s mafia past / when shown the pictures of his killings. she even takes the picture of one of his murders out the prosecutor’s hand....

the HUG scene!!!!!!!!!!!! the chayenzo one, i should say. i think this is the most transparent vincenzo’s feelings have been made for cha-young and the audience to see (excluding the scene where he watches sleep).

first, he doesn’t want to stop drinking and uses the snacks as an excuse to continue drinking until 4 am. i think it’s important because so far vincenzo has done everything he’s said he would do. he does not lie or goes back on his words easily, EXCEPT WHEN CHA-YOUNG IS INVOLVED. the only time he does it for something else, it’s because he breaks the promise of not hurting others. although we’ve seen before how he lied about buying wine, it could just be because he was aware they were being followed and wanted to make sure nothing happened. but here, he clearly says they’ll only drink until 2 am, and when 3 am comes, HE’S THE ONE TO ASK HER TO DRINK UNTIL 4. he uses yet another excuse bc he doesn’t want to part ways with her yet.

then, she apologises for hugging him all of a sudden and he says there’s no need to say sorry, because she was worried. HE NOT ONLY DOESN’T MIND, HE’S TELLING HER IT’S A NORMAL REACTION. i truly think this says a lot bc all throughout the episode vincenzo is being hugged and he HATES it. he’s not a touchy person (except with cha-young ofc) and doesn’t like to be touched. but not only does he hug cha-young BACK, he’s saying she’s allowed to do that. They’re both testing their boundaries with each other.

also, when cha-young tells him she doesn’t know if her heart was beating bc of the situation or bc of her feelings for him, he looks like his own heart is beating really fast!! he swallows, looks away... vincenzo cassano, the mafia consigliere with no fear, is NERVOUS bc of hong cha-young 😭

finally, the HUG. when she says she’s testing to see if she has feelings for him, he smiles bc he finds her cute and he says he won’t move BC HE WANTS HER TO HUG HIM. he smiles as she’s hugging him bc he likes it UNTIL she hugs him harder and he feels nervous again (like he doesn’t want her to hear his fast heartbeat hahaha.) and his holding the chair bc he wants to hug her but he’s holding himself back. and then they look at each other and i just know he doesn’t know what to do hahaha.

meanwhile, cha-young looks at him intensely and i can just TELL that when she says “ah, i was wrong, it was because it was a dangerous situation” she’s LYING YOUR HONOR. she has the softest expression on her face, she’s definitely deeply in love with him lol.

then when she goes back to lie down, vincenzo literally doesn’t know what to do with himself. you can see he’s almost distraught!!! and the way he looks and smiles at her really softly just proves he knows she’s lying as well lol.

i think it’s interesting how the background music from chayenzo’s hug scene introduces his scene with his mom

in this episode vincenzo truly deepens his roots in South Korea, first with cha-young, then his mom, and finally the tenants

it’s also super symbolic that he picks up a thread and gives it back to her haha. it means that instead of serving their relationship, he’s ready to come back to her. he’s healing from the scar of being abandoned and he’s forgiving her.

also am i the only one who thinks the mom lowkey suspects/knows he’s her son? i really can’t tell if she can tell or not....

CHA-YOUNG BEING JEALOUS OF MIRI/POSSESSIVE OF VINCENZO IS SOMETHING I DIDN’T I NEEDED. the way she pushes her chair and hides her face hahahaha... and then she holds his arm!!!!!!

cha-young also puts her hand on his shoulder a lot this episode. they’re so naturally touchy with each other, and the contrast between how vincenzo handles physical touch from literally anyone but cha-young makes it even more domestic 😭

ALSO, vincenzo asking cha-young to come with him when he’s arrested... the parallels between him saying ‘let’s go, lawyer-nim’ when he protects her and ‘come with me, lawyer-nim’ when he’s in trouble...... PARTNERS IN CRIME

the tenants being not only understanding of his past, but PROUD and IMPRESSED???? they respect him much more now than before 😭

the whole Mr. An scene was soooo cool and satisfying!!!!!!

today’s episode was just ‘everyone wants to fuck vincenzo because he’s hot’ and where is the lie???

the tenants throwing him A LITERAL PARADE when he’s back. CHA-YOUNG ASKING IF IT’S A WEDDING HALL WHILE RESTING HER HAND ON HIS SHOULDER AND EVERYONE THROWING CONFETTI AT THEM????? they’re married in canon idc

she even tells him “with all the support that you have, why don’t you make your own family here?” YOU TELL HIM, HE CAN JUST SETTLE HERE WITH THE GEUMGA GANG BC THEY HAVE HIS BACK AND STAY WITH YOU

the tenants telling him about the gold was so funny... hopefully V finds a way to get the gold and they all divide the money equally or something

now the scene where he tortures the arms dealer..... THIS IS THE HOTTEST SCENE IN THE DRAMA IDC IDC IDC

playing the Russian Roulette himself and not blinking an eye i’m— “there’s no limit to fear” your honor i know he murdered countless people but have you seen him at work???? who wouldn’t forgive him

I’m so glad we’re getting darker!vincenzo... i want to see the ruthless consigliere everyone fears !!!! more vengeance and murder everyone !!!!

i’m thankful they didn’t drag on the “who’s babo” story line bc that would’ve been frustrating. when vincenzo called cha-young and told her who junwoo was WHILE SHE WAS WITH HIM!! AND SHE ACTED SO PERFECTLY!!!

also she didn’t doubt vincenzo for a second and she straight up asks him if he’ll stick to the plan (of killing him) without a beat

this episode just showed that everyone in this show is a morally grey villain and i don’t think they’re going to be like ‘the main couple went to jail for a few years to pay for their crimes and then lived happily ever after’. if we follow that logic everyone has to go to jail for something loool. i want them to win with no consequences, get away with everything they did and destroy Babel, idc!!!!!!

[ahjustroza]

Hello, could you write an HC about an GN!MC who used to be a mob boss or run an illegal organization and the Mains 6 + Valerius' Reaction? Doesn't need to be angsty just dramatic

I wanted to go dramatic with the CGs lmao. Also, it got long and everything is under the cut.

Warning!

Headcanon includes the mention of murder, suicide, crime, and depression. So I would say it is NSFW.

Mob Boss MC Headcanons

Asra

He always knew it

He knows everything about you even the things you don't know about yourself

I can see you as the type of boss that doesn't create mass murders for personal gain

However, I can see thievery, blackmailing, and playing your games dirty

Maybe illegal underground market business in the red market (a version of the black market in Vesuvia)

You are smart but also have a soft spot

For him

And only him

Since MC canonically lives with him for a long time I can only picture you being a mob boss in your past before him

But your past is probably still haunting you

You don't necessarily need a tragic childhood to be a mob boss

I want to leave the reasons up to you but I refuse to believe you would be cruel and unreasonable

Because you are all amazing human beings

Many people get into this lifestyle by mistake, choice, or by someone else's force

Whatever reason that made you get into this lifestyle however did change you

You have trust issues, always on defensive mode, and always observing everything around you for possible threats or problems

But he came into your life and became the center of it

You told him what you did before moving to Vesuvia step by step

Not in one go

You tried to see how he would react to you

When you couldn't keep this secret from him anymore, you just told him

It was very impulsive of you

Highly surprising

You told him how you started from the bottom and climbed to the top

you told him how everyone in your home knows your name

How many people were your followers and how if you ask they will come and continue to follow you without a question

You did dirty work, you hurt people too

Violence is something he can not tolerate

At all

But just like you, he is also at the loss of words when any topic comes to the possibility of you leaving

He doesn't want you to go

And you don't want to leave

So expect him to stay away from you for a while

He will not speak of it out loud ever again

Never going to tell anything to even Muriel

No one has to know

Because you are now here and a different person

He will assume that you did what you did to survive

Just like his best friend...

When you lose your memories and slowly starting to gain them back

He is hesitant to answer any question regarding your past

But he knows that he has to

So he does

And you get involved in the red market

Asra is disappointed but you assure him that it is to find ingredients for your magic shop

He will never leave you, but he is not approving illegal business

Yet who he is to judge?

He made a ritual to bring you back by killing the Count of Vesuvia

So he is more on the stick close to you so that you won't get hurt side

Nadia

She will either use your connections for spy mastering or lock you up until she gets rid of your gang/illegal organization

But oh no she will not give up on you for being a simple mob boss oh no

She grew up into the royalty and probably dealt with and seen worst situations

She will not allow you to put yourself into any kind of danger and if she must she will put you on house arrest or even lock you up in dungeons

She dealt with a crazy husband before and she learned from her mistakes

So do as she says

She will give you two options, either listen to her or leave Vesuvia completely

Nadia will want her answer on the spot because if you truly want to be with her, you shouldn't need a lot of time to think about it

She will be even more dominant around you

She will make sure to remind you who has the power

If you leave Vesuvia she will never want to see you again

But she will be there personally to put you to the ground if you cause any trouble

If you choose to stay then you have another two options

You leave the business completely or run it for her favor

Provide him important information about the underground market and other organizations in Vesuvia

Yet that only can happen if you can hide your identity as a mob boss

So get creepy and wear a Tokyo Ghoul mask during business hours

I'd say if you chose to go disguise and spy on the underground for Nadia

You two will be the dictionary definition of the power couple

Like hot damn

Imagine

You live like royalty during the day and go be a mob boss during the night

She will even make you her spymaster if you are willing

Julian

He will volunteer to be your henchman (is this what it is called?)

Yeah

You have now extra trouble because he is not leaving your side

He will even find you more connections for business

He knows key people in different countries and cities

He knows roads to pass without getting caught

He did live this lifestyle for quite a long time after all

Minus the mob boss part

He is by no means not letting anyone he doesn't like to even have an audience with you

My man knows his way with people and not afraid to put up a fight for you

He is impulsive but useful in the underground world

He is a doctor without a license (or it is just a myth? who really knows...) so he was really doing illegal consultations on regular basis lol

He will patch you up when you get hurt and probably will teach you how you can make lethal damage to your enemy during a fight by teaching you anatomy

You will have to send him to horny jail whenever he talks about anatomy because he is a visual learner

And the best way he teaches anything is to show you

So lock him up

It's not like he will resist

He is good with reading body language too

I can think of Julian to be giving you the most understanding reaction when you tell him that you are a mob boss

He has a history (again I remind you)

So if he is in love with you, he is stuck to your side and yes he will still have his leeches with him

His plague doctor mask becomes popular underground too

If you didn't know better, even you would find him scary and intimidating looking during the friendly business hours

And Julian being Julian, he will insist that you find yourself a mask too

So that you will be a power couple

But make it romantic

However, this is the best scenario where you are just doing business in the red market by selling illegal goods, or being a Mob Boss Robin Hood

if you do unacceptable things, such as cruelty towards children and the innocent

And anything violent that including torture and murder,

He will end this all himself

Julian is dramatic but if he had to kill you because there is no other way to stop you he will

Then will follow you not too long after.

Portia

She will hate to hear that.

Portia is strong but fragile at the same time

She has a strong emotional connection to you and you are probably one of those people she trusts more than anyone

So when you say that you are a mob boss she is broken

Hurt and disappointed

But mostly confused

She doesn't know what to do with this

What to do with you, with what you have between the both of you

She loves you a million

But you are wrong with your life decisions

the good and the bad fights inside of her mind when she tries to make a decision

She will either leave everything behind and live a life similar to what her brother had to live

Or let you go to be yourself and get hurt

She will never forget you or never stop loving you

But she will be in a deep depression after you leave her

Most likely never recover

Because you broke the trust she gave you

So if you want her

If you want to be with her

You have to play your cards right

You are on very thin ice here

You can literally break her in a way without a return

So chose your life carefully

What do you want to do as a mob boss?

Will, you hurt people? Cause trouble and chaos? Torture the innocent and break families?

Or will you just do underground illegal trades and sales?

She can keep your secret if you just do your business in the red market

But she will not tolerate you causing harm to others

She will hate it but will stop you no matter the cost before you become the monster you two fought while falling in love with each other

You have her heart

But she has yours too

So she will not allow anyone else to stop you and do it herself

Because she is afraid for others to put you down in a painful way

She'll stop you rather gently

Caress your cheek while crying beside you

She will never forgive you but also will never stop loving you

You are her only big love and will remain like that forever

Or

She will be the person she was while Julian was on the run

Always nervous and always having anxiety and panic attacks

She won't leave you no

No no no no.

She rather dies than spend a day without the thought of you not loving her

Being there for her

She refuses very strongly to let you go and also get caught.

So in this scenario, you two are still together and preferably alive

But she is in agony every second of the day

And you know that this is all your fault

Yet continue anyway.

Muriel

No.

He is not accepting this.

He will be furious and hurt so much that he will tell you to go right away

He trusted you and you betrayed him

There is not much to say for Muriel

He doesn't want to see you again

Even though he wants you

He dreamed about having a peaceful life with you

But he will not go over all the pain he had caused by violence and power

Lucio

You already know he is down

He will do anything for you

Destroy enemy mob boss?

Run the entire underground together?

Invade a city so that you can make the illegal legal?

Do you want someone dead?

Do you want him to arm people for you?

Recruit followers?

Done.

With the potential he has there is no option to stay peaceful in the underground business

Even if you just mention that you want to make a certain business

He'll take it as order the moment it comes out of your mouth

It will be scary

Terrifying even

You will be unstoppable

Valerius

Lmao you probably got him cornered and forced him to work with you

And he got so turned on that said yes on the spot

But made it look as he was the victim here

He seems to be distressed with your connection but secretly he likes the power you have

You do as you please, take whatever you want

And people in the palace have no idea

He knows that you are smart

Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to become a boss and run your business flawlessly

He'll support you financially of course

Under the table

But the real job he does is to give you information

He is also good at creating gossips and rumors as well

He is connected to the high class and works in the palace so it is really hard for people to make any kind of connection between him and you

He pretends to make investigations about your illegal business but what he actually does is mislead the palace

In return, you get him precious stuff

Expensive wine, silk clothes, anything he wants

Oh my god Valerius is your sugar baby and he doesn't even know

Whenever you tell him to see you he is there the moment he can leave his work

He likes to be around you but plays hard to get

He loves to see you struggle and frustrated

He will not give you away but don't expect him to go down with you if you get caught either

He cares about his reputation

The best he can do is to help you escape in a way people can't make connections with him

Then you will most likely become his sugar baby-ish for a while

He will boss you around but the second you remind him who you are he will act bratty

Oh does he likes being bratty

[firelxdykatara]

You’re doing a LoK rewrite, correct? Would be really interested in hearing how you plan on fixing Suyin’s character and the Lin-Suyin conflict because……. oh boy. Man there’s a lot to unpack there. This is what happens when we don’t let Toph just raise her fucking kids for the sake of pushing a stupid as hell narrative about working women and single motherhood.

I am indeed!

In... you know, the way I'm doing most of my big potential projects, in that I have a folder with some documents that have plot notes and... some day I may actually get full, finished fics out of them (h2o AU is in there, as is my voltron!atla fusion AU, and uhhhh my book 3 atla rewrite, and a few other things), so... but I will say that the docs I have for my LoK rewrite so far amount to roughly 4.2k words of just Plot and Character Notes, which may some day turn into words of Story, hopefully.

ANYWAY, POINT IS: yes, this exists, and I have Many Many Thoughts.

Including how the Gaang kids would shake out! Cause I know I'm doing Zutara, and maybe Tokka???? Although I don't wanna just leave Suki out either... maybe a throuple??? Or Sukka having an amicable breakup before Sokka and Toph get together--maybe she already has Lin by then, and Sokka helps support her through the grief of losing Kanto???? Idk honestly, I haven't actually figured any of that out definitively yet except that Aang was perfectly happy to settle down with an Air Acolyte from one of the rebuilt temples because he grew up and out of his crush on Katara pretty easily once he hit puberty and matured a bit.

UHHH none of which is actually an answer to your question, because it's a valid one! Which is why I've been sitting on this a while (10 days I'm so sorry) bc I haven't made any solid decisions but I've been letting it percolate around my head a bit. And the more I think about it, the more I really like the Sukka -> Tokka idea (and I don't want to kill off Suki since the kids all deserve their awesome Kyoshi warrior auntie in their lives, and also I want a Sukka kid to be besties with Iara [zuko and katara's youngest] so maybe she gets with someone else after she and Sokka split? I could be talked into Ty Lee/Suki actually, the more I think about it....), but obviously having a stable father figure and a Toph who is... not what LoK made her out to be will dramatically change the Beifong family dynamic.

That said, I think I actually have a solution. (I'm so sorry for what I'm about to do.) Toph has Lin with Kanto--and he passes away when Lin is two or three, which is why she has very few memories of her father. (Although none of this 'she doesn't even know his name until she's 50+ cause Toph didn't tell her daughters about their fathers' bullshit.) Sokka is there for her through it all (all of the gaang is, of course, but you know that it sometimes just hits different when it's someone you're also starting to fall in love with, especially when there are older and much more deeply buried feelings there that are now resurfacing, because at least in my version Toph was deeply in love with Sokka when they were teenagers, but he was in love with Suki and she also loved Suki so she didn't want to mess up anything about their family or the group dynamics by making her feelings anyone else's problem), they fall in love, get married and have Suyin.

(Sokka may jokingly refer to it as a shotgun wedding, but the truth is he wanted to propose well before he found out she was pregnant, his attempts just kept getting messed up in increasingly comedic fashion.)

Throughout all of this, Republic City has been established, Sokka is Chancellor, Toph is something of a defacto police chief--mostly because, at the time, no one else was willing to volunteer, and she jokingly offered to whip the law enforcement, but unfortunately everyone else at the meeting took her seriously. However, she is also the founder of the probending league, and basically her feelings about law enforcement are complicated and she actively discouraged her kids from joining the force which is part of why Lin did. How else do you have a teen rebel phase with a parent like Toph? (Which, in this instance, means tough and firm but fair, with a 'you break it, it's up to you to fix it' attitude and very little desire to actually control her daughters and their behavior.)

Ah, but here's the rub.

Suyin is ten years old when Sokka dies, and Lin is sixteen. I'm not sure how he's killed--maybe by Yakone, to tie it into my plans for Amon and book 1. (Note that I'm not sure when the Yakone bloodbending trial happened in canon, but it doesn't matter. The timeline I'm gonna build will be completely different post-comet, and I'll eventually write it all down so that I can keep things straight.) Which would incidentally provide excellent means of having Katara have a very personal stake in the Amon conflict, and perhaps color the fight between him and Iara, but I'm getting off track. And I think Sokka being killed by Yakone, and Toph being unable to protect or save him, or deliver her own brand of justice to avenge him (because Aang is there to stop her and.... shit probably got ugly, I suspect she didn't talk to Aang for at least twenty years after Sokka's death--and this isn't to say I think Toph is particularly violent or murderous, but in that moment, she absolutely wanted to kill the man with her bare hands, and however much she may have regretted it afterwards, she took a very long time to forgive Aang for stopping her in the first place), is what results in Toph stepping down as police chief.

She didn't withdraw from her daughters or fuck off into the swamp or anything (words cannot express how much I hate that part of her canon history), but she did grieve for a very long time. Lin, meanwhile, felt like it was up to her to keep her family together, while also feeling a desperate need to... prove herself, I think. And because her mother was so adamant that she not join the police force, that's exactly what she does. I think Lin completely misread Toph's intentions, too, and believed that the discouragement was because her mother didn't think she had what it takes, when in reality I think Toph was scared of Lin losing herself in the job like she herself had begun to, and eventually coming up on something she couldn't change or fix and making the same mistakes she had.

(I think Toph and Lin have communication issues largely because they are both headstrong and willful, but where Toph thought she was giving her daughters the room they would need to make their own way, what Lin desperately craved was direction and she felt like that was something her mother simply couldn't understand.)

Suyin, on the other hand, fell in with a bad crowd like in canon. I think that what she desperately needed was attention, similar to Lin craving direction, and Toph was trying so hard not to be her own parents that she went a little too far in the other direction and Suyin began to feel like it didn't matter what she did, her mom wouldn't care, or get angry, or discipline her, or anything. Lin and Suyin butted heads a lot growing up, too, especially after Sokka's death, because Lin tried to rein in her sister's behavior and this was met with resistance and derision because Suyin felt like Lin was trying to be both mom and dad and she was neither but her big sister would never admit to being just as lost as she was and it made her furious.

So when Suyin is sixteen, and Lin is twenty-two and new to the force, The Big Rift happens. Lin catches Suyin and her gang, tries to apprehend her, gets a scar on her face in the ensuing conflict. But instead of abusing her power and sending her problem child off to her mother before fucking off to the swamp to avoid the consequences of her actions, Toph tries to actually fix things. Suyin cools her heels in prison for a while, because she was paralyzed by guilt at the time when she hurt her sister (a few inches lower and she could have slit her throat), and was still there when Lin's backup arrived.

Uhhhhhhhhhhh..... I'm so sorry I rambled for so long, BUT THE UPSHOT IS: I think Suyin learned a bit about culpability and taking responsibility for her own actions, Toph realized that her daughters had different needs than she did at their age (and I think a lot of the problem was that grief clouded her own ability to connect with her daughters, and in trying to not be her own parents she lost sight of how to be the parent her own daughters needed), and Lin, I think, had to realize that she had never fully processed the loss of not one but two fathers and had turned to her job in order to avoid actually confronting the grief that had overshadowed her childhood.

However, she did not forgive Suyin, at least not right away--and she wasn't forced or expected to. Suyin understood that she crossed a serious line, she took her lumps and did her time, and no one shamed Lin for her anger. I think, as a result, she had less reason to hold onto that bitterness, and perhaps by the time the story actually begins, she and Suyin are on much better terms, though I haven't worked it out exactly yet.

UHHH yeah I went on for days lmao. All of this is subject to change, too, depending on the needs of the story whenever I get around to actually writing it all down, BUT these are my initial thoughts, at least.

[partywithponies]

hi! i've only ever seen the bbc version of father brown and i've never read the books (i know, i'm so sorry), but i'm super curious about the different versions of father brown and you seem like an expert on each adaptation, so i was wondering if you'd be willing to give me a rundown of sorts on each version/series? i know it's a lot to ask and i may be opening the floodgates here, but there's not a ton of info online elsewhere and i'd love to learn more! thanks either way. ciao!

OH BOY YOU’VE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE ANON

OKAY SO

As briefly as possible:

The books:

Proof people who complain about the BBC show being “too political” don’t actually know the books at all

Father Brown straight up calls capitalism “evil” and “heresy”

Chesterton says that millionaires dying isn’t a tragedy

Inspector Valentin betrayed us and broke my heart, ACAB I guess

Since every police officer he befriends lets him down in some way, Father Brown’s only real friend is Flambeau, who he goes absolutely everywhere with. They only go on holiday with each other. They’ve been all over the world with each other. I love they

Book Father Brown pretty much never does his goddamn job. We literally never in all the books see him giving mass or taking confession. The closest we get is when he gives an impromptu sermon after seemingly coming back from the dead, where he literally only says "You silly, silly people. God bless you all and give you more sense." then runs away to send a telegram. Useless priest. I love him. 

Book Flambeau is. Incredible. Amazing. Iconic. None of the adaptations have been able to fully capture book Flambeau’s true energy, for he is a walking contradiction who contains multitudes. If all the onscreen Flambeaus fused into one being, THEN you’d have something vaguely resembling book Flambeau.

Book Flambeau is MASSIVE. He’s at least 6′4, he’s broad shouldered, has huge hands, and his super buff. He can just. Pick people up and throw them. He can knock people unconscious with one punch. He fills doorways when he stands in them. He terrifies most people just by drawing himself up to his full height. He also has a very short temper and a very short patience. 

He’s very agile and athletic and can move silently, despite his size. He’s also a master of disguise, somehow. (Explain, Chesterton. Explain. Is everyone in this universe apart from Father Brown, Flambeau, and arguably Valentin massively stupid? Actually don’t answer that I’ve read these books)

Book Flambeau has a habit of flinging people full-bodily down flights of stairs when they anger him or threaten him or Father Brown. Book Flambeau also carries a walking cane with him literally everywhere that has a sword concealed in the handle, plus book Flambeau insists on taking pistols on holiday with him, even when he was just going for a peaceful fishing holiday in the Norfolk Broads. King. 

(Which all makes it so iconic that Father Brown, described as tiny and meek and sensitive, saw this man when he was still a hardened criminal on top of all this and said “THIS ONE I LIKE THIS ONE. I JUST THINK HE’S NEAT” and went off on a jolly through London with him.)

Flambeau’s past is extremely mysterious. We no nothing about his family or his childhood or where he’s from or why he turned to crime. We know he used to be a soldier, and a part of him misses it. We know he used to fight duels semi-regularly, and liked them to be fought the very next morning after they were organised. We know he always used to make sure to visit the dentist on time, even when he was a hardened criminal. (King of good teeth.)  We know he was in a gang at some point. We know he was a student at some point. We don’t know what he studied, but we know he knew Leonard Quinton in “wild student days in Paris”  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°). This is literally all we know about his past before he met Father Brown. The man is a riddle wrapped in an enigma. (That’s why Flambeau is so big. He’s full of secrets)

(Fun fact: in the book universe Flambeau is famous and popular in America, so you could say that in universe Flambeau is America’s Favourite Fighting Frenchman.)

Flambeau also loves cats and children, believes in fairies, likes pointing out rocks that look like dragons, and likes giggling and mucking about on the beach with Father Brown.  A baby.

One time Father Brown called Flambeau “full of good and pure thoughts”, but I don’t think that’s quite true, Father. I think Father Brown just has endless faith in Flambeau.

Another thing I think is really neat is that it would’ve been so easy to have Father Brown be the genius and Flambeau his dumb muscle sidekick but that’s not the case at all! They’re both geniuses and they’re both each other’s sidekick, and in fact it’s Flambeau who’s the famous professional private detective, Father Brown is just an amateur. Father Brown is often defined by his connection to Flambeau rather than vice versa, both in the text (the text will frequently refer to them as something along the lines of “Flambeau and his friend the priest”, and on two separate occasions a long list of Flambeau’s possessions is ended with “and a priest”), and in universe (Father Brown himself is massively famous in America in universe largely because of “his long connection to Flambeau). I don’t know I just think it’s neat. 

One time a man threatened Father Brown with a gun and Flambeau just beat him unconscious and then Father Brown and Flambeau just drove away and left him unconscious on the path. It was awesome.

(I’m sorry I rambled about Flambeau for so many words I just. Really really like Flambeau you guys. Father Brown and Flambeau are like two separate crime drama character tropes, the hard boiled cynical P.I. and the cosy eccentric amateur detective, but together as a double act, and I just think that’s really cool.)

Father Brown himself is if anything even more mysterious. He’s just “Father J. Brown, formerly of Cobhole in Essex, currently London”, and he’s “Flambeau’s friend”, and that’s all. That’s all he needs to be.

I also really really love Father Brown himself. I love that he’s allowed to be cheerful and optimistic and childish without any of this making him less clever, and in fact he’s shown time and time again to be cleverer than grumpy cynics who are scornful of childish things. Like, the whole giggling childlike thing isn’t even some kind of act, he’s a genius who understands true human nature, and he also really really likes puppet shows and building sandcastles who telling fairy stories, he really does get a “childish pleasure” from seeing Flambeau swing his sword-stick, and he really does have “strong personal interest in tomfoolery”. I love him.

I must share my favourite book quote about Father Brown himself: “But neither of them is very like the real Father Brown, who is not broken at all; but goes stumping with his stout umbrella through life, liking most of the people in it; accepting the world as his companion, but never as his judge.” uwu uwu uwu I’m cry.

Chesterton just subverts all the expectations character wise, the cheerful bumbling priest is a genius, the violent criminal is a true hero, the noble police officer is a corrupt self-serving murderer. It’s great. We stan. 10000000/10

(I’m not very good at being brief, am I?)

Father Brown, Detective (1934):

The first movie! It’s completely ridiculous. I love it a lot.

It was released just at the start of Hays Code, which, among other things, stated that crime and immorality should not be glorified or glamourised, and all crime and immorality must be seen to be punished by the end of the film. In practice in the case of this film, this means two things:

Paul Lukas!Flambeau is the only Flambeau to actually go to prison (and stay there).

He’s by far the Flambeau who deserves it the least. Lukas!Flambeau never hurt a soul. He just wanted to be loved. #FreeMyBoyHercule

Okay but in all seriousness. There’s a reason I call Paul Lukas!Flambeau “Himbo Flambeau”. Where other Flambeaus are violent or dangerous or geniuses, Lukas!Flambeau is just a big dumb idiot who respects women and has a great sense of humour and writes all his letters in the third person like Elmo for some reason. I would die for him.

At one point Flambeau in disguise is talking to the police, and when the police criticise Flambeau, disguised Flambeau says “Oh but I assure! I have read many things about this Flambeau! He is a fearless, handsome fellow!” The absolute idiot. I adore him with my whole heart.

The film is set in London, like the books, but an idealised Hollywood version of London, i.e., almost entirely unlike London.

Walter Connolly!Father Brown is also entirely lacking in braincells. Look at these two idiot men:

I love them.

Oh oh! And the most important thing, the thing that carries over into most other adaptations? NEW ORIGINAL CHARACTERS!!

This movie invents a few characters that weren’t in the books, but the most important ones are Mrs Boggs:

She doesn’t really add much to the plot but she’s funny and I love her so I’ll forgive it. 

She’s Father Brown’s housekeeper, she’s basically just the fussing maternal female character archetype who fusses around in the background, but she does it well and plays it with charm so I’ll allow it.

(Honestly this whole film is just. Not *technically* good or original, but just so charming and with so much heart that I unironically adore it.)

She tries to make Father Brown drink his milk because it’s good for him even though he doesn’t like it, and keeps checking back in on him to make sure he’s drunk it, it’s literally like a mother and her small child.

She objects to policemen in the presbytery because of their “big muddy boots on the carpet” but is fine with just letting Flambeau in whenever despite the prevailing rumour in London being that Flambeau killed a man. We stan a queen of having priorities. 

When Inspector Valentine summons Father Brown to the station, Mrs Boggs pops up in the background, assumes Father Brown’s being arrested, and says “Oh dear, I knew it!” and it makes me giggle like an idiot every time.

The other, more important original character invented for this movie is my girl Evelyn Fischer:

I love her, I would die for her, she’s flawless.

She’s basically your typical bored and rebellious young aristocrat, but she has a chaotic streak that I adore.

She sneaks out of her family’s mansion to go to a seedy underground club/illegal gambling ring in Soho (I mean I assume it’s Soho, a seedy part of London in that general vicinity, at least. I’m not about to get bogged down trying to understand the geography of London according to Hollywood), flirts with a bunch of strangers for fun, then when the police raid the place and everyone else is panicking she stands stock still, cheerfully says “Oh goody, I shall probably get my name in the papers!” and has to be physically dragged out of the building by Flambeau.

Later on Flambeau breaks into her bedroom in the middle of the night and she’s just very calmly like “What are you doing?”, and even when she finds out it’s Flambeau, a man widely believed to be dangerous and violent, instead of being scared, she calls him an idiot right to his face.

She forms the third part of the main trio of the movie with Father Brown and Flambeau (RIP to Valentine, demoted to tertiary character in a loose adaptation of the one (1) story where he was the main character lol) and together the three of them share a single braincell and have to take turns with it, while Mrs Boggs fusses in the background at the trio’s increasingly bonkers decisions. 

The movie ends with Father Brown and Evelyn sharing an emotional farewell with Flambeau through the window of a police car and promising to look after each other until Flambeau’s released, wow poly rights.

The Adventures of Father Brown (1945):

The adaptation there’s the least amount of information about, but I’ve done my best to find everything I can find on it.

An American radio show made towards the end of wartime, it’s a bit of an odd one, and believe me Father Brown adaptations have gone some odd places.

Only two episodes survive, or at least if more do survive then whoever has them is being very selfish and hoarding them to themselves because only two episodes are publicly available anywhere, and the audio quality of those is a bit dodge. (Though that is to be expected, they do appear to be home recordings, from 1945. Honestly we should be grateful to even have two full episodes.)

If the actors I’ve found are the right people, this show featured by far the youngest Father Brown and Flambeau, at the start of the show the actor playing Father Brown was only 36 and the actor playing Flambeau was only 27. They’re BABIES. (Honestly I’d like to see more age variation in Father Brown adaptations, as I have extensively rambled about before, the characters have literally no canon ages in the books, I think people ought to be a little more imaginative instead of always building on the adaptations that came before, even if it is really cool to see traces of all the previous adaptations in each new one that comes along. It’s something I haven’t noticed as much in adaptations of other golden age detective novels, but the Father Brown adaptations do seem to be stuck in some kind of game of “yes, AND” with each other. I would REALLY like to see an adaptation where Flambeau is older than Father Brown though, it's just something we've never had before despite there being literally nothing in the books to suggest this can't be the case, and I just think it'd be neat.)

This show is really really painfully American, in a real old fashioned "golly gee whizz mister" kind of way, to the point it almost feels like a parody, and I honestly find it kind of endearing.

Even Flambeau frequently slips into a very American accent to the point that my affectionate nickname for him is "The All-American Flambeau", and it's great. He's great.

Honestly I could accept the accents and the slang, for some reason the only thing that really threw me was Father Brown referring to money in cents and nickels.

Needless to say, this adaptation is not set in London. It is instead set in Generic Unspecified Smalltown USA. It's fine. This is fine. I already have so many films and shows set in London, I can swallow my London pride and let America have this.

It's hard to get a real grasp on characters from just two episodes, but I like this Father Brown and Flambeau, even if they are a little overly serious, and even if Flambeau doesn't really do much. He may be a bit serious and a bit useless but All-American Flambeau stays up late anxiously waiting for Father Brown to get home safely and it's very sweet. What a good boy.

All-American Flambeau also carries handcuffs around with him for some reason? But no weapons? Why is All-American Flambeau one of the few Flambeaus not to have a gun? Oh well, he's still sweet.

The 1945 radio show also gives us some original characters, but they're very much side characters and not part of the main plot and it's very hard to get a good grasp on a character from just a few minutes of audio from just two episodes but here's what I could gather:

Nora is another fussing housekeeper! She seems younger and less maternal than Mrs Boggs, but I don't know if that's just because the whole cast was on the younger side. (Could the radio station not find anyone over the age of 40? Were they in short supply in 1945 or something? Ah well.) She seems dedicated to helping Father Brown get some peace and quiet that he never goddamn gets because someone always goes and gets themselves murdered. In both surviving episodes a knock at the door disturbs Father Brown’s rest, Nora opens it professionally, sees it's Flambeau, and immediately drops the professionalism and is immediately like "oh it's only you", so I can only assume every episode started this way. I do hope so.

Father Peter is a junior priest who answers to Father Brown and takes over his duties on his days off. He's implied by the dialogue to be considerably younger than Father Brown, Nora, and Flambeau, but if their actors are anything to go by then they're not that old themselves, and though Father Brown seems to talk to Father Peter like he's a literal child, he is still a priest so I very much doubt that's the case. He seems sweet and harmless, but he's only in one of the surviving episodes and only in that towards the end and mentioned briefly at the start, so it's hard to judge completely. It's highly unlikely that the reason he's not even mentioned in the later surviving episode is because he turned out to secretly be an evil murderer, but, this being a Father Brown adaptation, not entirely unfounded. (But no, he's probably just a sweet boy who exists to have exposition delivered to him.)

Father Brown/The Detective (1954):

The Alec Guinness movie! The one haters of any of the other adaptations complain that adaptation isn't more like, but in my humble opinion, actually the worst adaptation.

Like, I don't hate it! The cast is mostly stellar actors and if I just saw it as a movie on its own, it'd probably be fine. But as a Father Brown adaptation watched in context of the books and the other adaptations, it has a few issues imo.

Most glaringly it has Tone Issues. This film cannot decide if it's a comedy or not. The original posters certainly marketed it as one (see above) and half the cast are noted comic actors who were famous at the time for comedy, goddamn SID JAMES is in it, but the entire third act is played painfully straight, half the cast is mugging for the camera and trying way too hard to be funny while the other cast is giving extremely serious and subtle performances, like. I have no problem with a Father Brown adaptation being played for laughs, and I have no problem with a Father Brown adaptation being played for drama, both can work beautifully, but just PICK ONE, PLEASE

All of my other gripes with the film are very petty and nitpicky, this film calls Father Brown and Flambeau "Ignatius Brown" and "Gustav Flambeau" even though Father Brown has the canon first initial "J" and Flambeau has the canon first name "Hercule", and I hate it a lot. "Ignatius and Gustav" is the second worst thing any Father Brown adaptation has ever done to me.

My other petty nitpick with the movie is that it makes Flambeau literal nobility. The man is a duke. In my opinion Flambeau should always either have a completely mysterious past or be a nobody who came from nothing, someone who grew up with land and title and many servants and a family coat of arms, living in a whole entire castle with his family name and coat of arms engraved into the side of it, growing up and stealing from people, is a whole lot less sympathetic in my opinion. Like to be fair his parents are dead which is sad I guess and his castle has seen better days, but dude. You still own a castle. People who live in castles do not get to lecture other people about materialism.

THAT SAID, Peter Finch is still the best thing about the movie. I love all Flambeaus dearly, even the ones that are little bitches. He’s a bit of an emo “oh woe is me” sadboy, but he’s very charming, and actually good at disguises and being undercover, get dunked on Lukas!Flambeau.

Guinness!Brown likes to feed ducks and Flambeau calls him “the angel with the flaming umbrella”, which makes my inner Good Omens fan who loves finding parallels between Aziraphale & Crowley and Father Brown & Flambeau go 👀

There is one really good scene, in the Paris Catacombs. And by “good” I mean “really really bafflingly gay”:

I truly, truly do not understand how this scene was written, directed, acted, filmed, and edited without ANYONE saying “hey lads does this seem a bit gay to you?”

Father Brown, literally lying on top of Flambeau and pinning him to the ground, whispering: “I would like to set you free.” Flambeau, softly, gently smiling while his face is literal inches away from Father Brown, who is still pinning him to the ground: “Ah, now I begin to understand what you are.”

What the fuck, you guys. What the entire fuck. This scene keeps me up at night.

ANYWAY

This film is also not set in London. It is instead mostly set in a rural English village, and partially in Paris and partially in rural France. Paris is fun but I miss London.

This film also has some original characters. I should probably talk about them. 

This is Lady Warren:

She’s Father Brown’s friend, and she’s a Lady, and that’s all I can really tell you.

She’s very well-mannered and dignified and sophisticated.

She gives me the vibe that she exists solely because the writers decided they needed a female character but then remembered at the last minute they had no idea how to write women, so as a result she is almost entirely irrelevant to the plot. I don’t want to say I don’t like her, because she’s done nothing wrong and it’s not her fault, but like. Why is she here? Poor thing, she deserved to be plot-relevant, really.

She lives in a big mansion and owns some very nice things, and she gets annoyed when she invites Father Brown to lunch but he just stares blankly into space thinking about Flambeau the whole time. (Mood honestly FB. Me too.) 

She flirts a bit with Flambeau in one very pointless scene that came the hell out of nowhere, went nowhere, and was never mentioned again. It was like the writers realised how gay the previous Flambeau scene was and suddenly tried to convince me this man is a hetero. Nice try, writers. You can’t fool me that easily.

The other main original character is Bert:

Alright, own up, whose bright idea was it to put Sid James in a Father Brown movie?

Bert is a smalltime criminal who’s a friend of Father Brown, who Father Brown protects from the police, but tries to convince to get on the straight and narrow by getting him as a job as Lady Warren’s chauffer. 

This is would be fine, were it not for the fact he’s played by Sid James, who only knows how to play Sid James, and is just Sid Jamesing it up in every scene. I don’t have anything against Sid James. I like my fair share of Carry On films. But Sid James does not belong in Father Brown and I want to fight whoever decided he did.

Father Brown (1974):

LADS LADS LADS! It’s time for the first TV show, and it’s time for my favourite boys:

Oh! OH! How I love Kenneth More!Brown and Dennis Burgess!Flambeau. They’re just. So cute. My two special boys.

Not only that, but LADS! We’re finally back in London!

A gritty, dirty, London in the 1930s no less, with cool London buses and political unrest and grimy pubs and the constant threat of world war. Alexa this is so cool play London Calling.

In one episode Flambeau gets verbally abused by an anti-immigration right-wing zealot. :( My poor boy. :( 

(But it’s okay, shortly after Father Brown witnesses this, the racist shows up dead in exactly the place Father Brown earlier said would be a good place to commit a murder. Now I’m not accusing Father Brown of murder, BUT)

This show made the bold but valid decision to skip Flambeau’s redemption arc and start the show when Flambeau is already a seasoned and respected private detective who’s lived in London and been Father Brown’s closest friend for many years. As a result this Father Brown and Flambeau are ridiculously domestic with each other. Look at this peak Old Married Couple energy:

Oh! I just love them.

I would love to know how Burgess!Flambeau’s redemption went down though, because Burgess!Flambeau is BY FAR the least repentant of all the reformed Flambeaus. He proudly boasts about his crimes, he still believes he “deserved to succeed”, he still proudly talks about how “daring and outrageous” he was, which begs the question of why did he stop at all? Literally the only explanation I can think of is that he’s literally only doing this for Father Brown’s sake, which. uwu

Oh GOD I love Burgess!Flambeau. Obviously I love all Flambeaus a lot, and choosing a favourite feels like choosing a favourite child, but let’s just say: if the Flambeaus WERE my children, Burgess!Flambeau would be quite spoilt. My ~ Daring And Outrageous ~ boy.

More!Brown and Burgess!Flambeau are both really really socially awkward, uncomfortable in crowds, and nervously say “oh dear” a lot. They really are ridiculously cute.

They also only giggle and joke and act silly when they’re together, when they’re apart they’re both sort of sad and quiet and withdrawn. (This makes episodes Flambeau isn’t in a bit harder to watch because Father Brown is just kind of lost and lonely without his emotional support Frenchman, with three notable exceptions: that time Father Brown infodumped about the mating habits of whales at the Father Superior for a solid minute, that time Father Brown met a dog and reacted with unrestrained delight, and that time someone mentioned former criminals in passing and Father Brown’s whole face lit up and he started gushing about how Flambeau was living in London now and doing very well as a private detective, completely unprompted.)

This show also brought back book!Brown and Flambeau’s habit of always going on holiday together! Wonderful! We love to see it!

This show is also the first time in the entire Father Brown franchise where gay people are overtly acknowledged to exist! And Father Brown is non-judgemental! A roman catholic priest written in the 1970s and living in the 1930s who canonically isn’t homophobic! I have no choice but to stan forever!

You remember what I said about liking to point out Good Omens parallels? WELL

Kenneth More!Father Brown and Dennis Burgess!Flambeau both live in London

Burgess!Flambeau lives in a brightly lit, pale walled, airy and spacious, modern (for the time) London apartment, while More!Brown prefers gothic architecture and lives in an old, grey, cramped, stone building absolutely full floor to ceiling with books

They go out for intimate candlelit dinners for two at very fancy London restaurants 

Desperate people come to Flambeau because he “knows the game on both sides of the fence”

Father Brown responds with a quiet and miserable “oh dear” when asked to actually do his job instead of just watching plays and drinking wine

Father Brown calls Flambeau “my dear” at times and it personally kills me

I mean. I’m just saying.  👀

Now, isn’t there a third important character in the books? 

Oh yes of course:

HIM! THE BASTARD MAN! INSPECTOR VALENTIN HIMSELF!

(Nobody understands him! IT’S NOT! EVIL!)

This show is the literally only adaptation to include the Valentin betrayal and I’m not gonna lie. It’s a very difficult episode to sit through, it’s far darker and grimmer and more depressing than you would ever expect from Father Brown, but my god it’s done so well. Especially considering the teeny tiny budget they clearly had, only four sets are used the entire episode and the whole thing takes place inside Valentin’s house, but even that adds a certain claustrophobic atmosphere and just. It’s done so well.

I think the entire budget went on gore effects because the decapitated heads in this episode are disturbingly realistic for the time the show was made and genuinely grim to look at. Not to mention the intense downer ending.  Not to mention this was THE FINAL EPISODE OF THE SHOW

THE INTENSE DOWNER ENDING OF THIS EPISODE IS HOW THE WHOLE SHOW ENDED

God it hurts so much but I lowkey love it. 

Father Brown Stories (1984):

The second radio series, and the first BBC adaptation! 

Thrilling times for fans of actors being the right nationality for their characters, because after previously being played by a Hungarian, an American, an Englishman, and a Welshman, Flambeau is finally being played by a Frenchman, Olivier Pierre!

Father Brown himself is played by Andrew Sachs, Manuel himself. 

Not gonna lie. It’s kind of hard to figure out how to explain the radio show.

We’re? Maybe back in London? Honestly it’s really unclear.

Pierre!Flambeau is kind of adorable. He’s described as looking like book!Flambeau physically, huge and buff and terrifying, but he has literally none of the temper or predisposition to violence. 

Pierre!Flambeau doesn’t speak very good English at all, and oftentimes will react with “...What?” when he hears a strange English idiom or turn of phrase.

One time he says “Perhaps we should.. push on? SEE HOW I AM MASTERING YOUR ENGLISH IDIOMS” and it’s the cutest thing that’s ever happened.

To try and get better at understanding both the English language and the English people, Flambeau starts obsessively reading Alice in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass, massive giant adorable boy.

One time Father Brown gets complimented of being academically minded and well read, and then asked if Flambeau is also a keen reader, and when Flambeau tries to say no, Father Brown interrupts and proudly and earnestly says “Oh yes! Monsieur Flambeau is one of our top Lewis Carroll scholars!”, it’s honestly adorable.

This adaptation finally uses “John” as Father Brown’s first name, as it should always have been! I love it!

This series said FUCK Father Brown having a mysterious past and no former friends or relatives! Now he has siblings, and friends who knew him before he was a priest who still call him “John”!

Father Brown himself speaks in a very sweet and soft and wavering way that makes my heart melt.

Sadly and unfortunately, I have to acknowledge the final episode of the show, which is the top worst thing any Father Brown adaptation has ever done to me.

It’s. It’s a crossover. With Sherlock Holmes. Actual goddamn Sherlock Holmes is in it. I hate it. I hate it so much. “Elementary, my dear Flambeau” shut the hell up, if this Flambeau won’t fling you down a flight of stairs then I will.

I deliberately avoided all Holmes-related media for THREE YEARS only for the awful man to spring up on me in Father Brown?? How could you do this to me???

I’m going to yeet myself into the sun, bye everyone.

(On the plus side, the Sherlock Holmes episode does have one of Father Brown’s parishioners recognise Flambeau as “a close friend of Father Brown and a frequent visitor to his room”  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°), so that’s nice I suppose. I’ll still never forgive the writers of this show for putting me through this.)

Father Brown (2013):

YOU ARE HERE.

I kind of see the current TV series as a culmination of all the adaptations that’ve come before? I can definitely see echoes of all of them in it.

And it’s great! I really really love it. I love it a lot. 

I think about it daily.

My one and only complaint I would have is that Flambeau isn’t in it enough. Not just because he’s my favourite, though I’d obviously not be fooling anyone who’s read all this if I said he isn’t.

And it’s not that I don’t love the show as it is, and find the one Flambeau episode a series always something really special, so I don’t know what I’d have the writers do, exactly. 

But it’s just. In literally every other version of Father Brown, Flambeau is the second most important character and the second main protagonist, and to have him in this show so little that some fans or reviewers call him a “minor character” and others call him a “recurring villain”, though I myself don’t see him either of those ways of course because he’s still Flambeau, it’s just kinda sad and painful, y’know?

I don’t know. Maybe I’m just being silly.

Hopefully he’s a regular in at least the final season of the show. If I don’t get my favourite partners in crime solving I’m rioting. 

Anyway that’s my “””brief””” rundown on all the main versions of Father Brown!! I hope you liked it!!

[zafeiria-an]

HTGAWM: Hogwarts Houses

ANNALISE KEATING

 Annalise, portreyed by the one and only Viola Davis, has been holding the whole show in her fingers as if its a puppet. The character of Annalise is so courageous and inspiring everytime she stood up at the court to defend anyone and herself too as she emits tones of emotion to the viewer of the show. (Especially the last episode court that she started talking about her self)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYEAHjNId5Y&ab_channel=ABC

 However lets not forget the fact that she managed to cover up and get away with murders galore and save her students and family as well. The whole show is based on covering those murders so i believe that Annalise would be sorted in Ravenclaw since she is truly inteligent to actually get away with murder and teache her stedents to do so as well.

  MICHAELA PRATT

Such power, been through hell and back since she was tiny and yet she managed to become what she became completely on her own as she had absoloutely nobody to support her. Michaella almost sacrificed her so wanted future carreer at Caplan and Gold to avenge the death of  Wes just so Laurel and baby Chris could live in peace. Therefore, in the end she turned on everyone picking her own self betraying her so called friends.

 To sum up i believe she belongs to Slytherin because she has always been ambitious, a perfectionist and determined to her goal which a. was not to get in jail and b. to succeed. As she is ready to fullfill them at all costs.

  CONNOR WALSH

Connor has been a weird character from the very begining with tones of ups and downs but in the end he did what he did only for Oliver's well being and protection. He was more than simply guilty when Wes died and tried everything in order to gain Laurel's forgiveness. Mr. Walsh never stopped trying to protect himself the same way he made efforts to protect himself. For example he had been trying to close a better deal for both himself and Michaela untill the very end and he told Ollie that he doesnt love him so as he would move on and forget him.

 To be frank (you got the pun there ehhh), i am still not sure where he actually belongs. He is for sure daring, brave and confident but his actions also reveal extreme loyalty to his friends, hard work and dedication. Yet again he was willing to play his head to help his friends bury a body, reveal a massive sabotage and also protect them. Connor deserves Gryffindor!!!

  LAUREL CASTILLO

As far as i am concerned Laurel had the biggest glow up in the show. Starting off as a sweet and silent girl and ending up as a responsible woman with priorities she got the screen time she deserved  after season 2. Pregnancy and Wes' end changed her character critcally as she abruptly grew into avenging setting in trouble not only herself but her friends as well just so she gives justice to her love's soul. Laurel had the best timing ever as when needed she snatched her child and left without setting anyone in danger this time.

 All in all, Laurel would be sorted in Gryffindor since she is brave enough to leave so she protects her child, chivalous since she had the guts to go against her father to avenge Wes (dont say she put her friends into it. Michaela could say no). Confident to work while pregnant as Bonnies internship.

   ASHER MILLSTONE

Asher Millstone looked like a really annoying character during the first seasons but he turned out to be the sweetest of them all. He was so caring, sweet and friendly towards his friends and girlfriend. Asher betrayed his family for his friends when he thought it was right and did the opossite as well always to protect the ones that were loyal to him just like he was. He was dedicated in whatever he did and never mistreated anyone who didnt deserve. He has been so dedicated to their little crew.

 In conclusion, Asher is a straight away Hufflepuff. He was loyal to Michaela even though she was pushing him away and was seeing Gabriel. He was trying to help them even when he was considered a traitor.

  FRANK DELFINO

Frank has been one weird and cyclothimic character. He looks so vicious after season one when we know about what he did. At first i didnt like the way he was interacting with everyone but after season 4 he proved me wrong as he tried to take responsibility of Christopher and be his father and when he saw Laurel  was too stuck on the past and didnt want him, he went to Bonnie whom he didnt let down.

 Frank has been maybe the most loyal and dedicated person inside their little gang. He wasnt afraid to get his hands in blood if it meant rescueing his family which shows really hard work, the hardest anyone did. So i guess Huffleuff it is.

   BONNIE WINTERBOTTOM

Dearest Bon Bon, sure i did not like her at first but she turned out to be a really awesome character. Been through hell and in the end she didnt betray her friends (*coughs* Michaela). She never hesitated to do what's right or what needed to save her family. Bonnie always had the guts to fix things and take innitiatives and risks that could help. She is not scared of responsibility.

 Bonnie is brave to take advantage of her thesis benefits, she seizes oportunitys and has really strong morals even though she tends to get a bit off... well she human isnt she. To sum up she is a straight Gryffindor girl!!

  OLIVER HAMPTON

Ollie is one of my favourite characters ever. He is so loyal and dedicated that he actually comitted felonies for the love of his life. He never cared if it was morally good or bad if it was to protect Connor or his friends. He adapted so quickly into the way things were and faced everything like he was from the very beginning with them. He never hesitated a moment as he actually risked as well his Caplan and Gold by stealing the Castillos.

 I believe he is a straight Hufflepuff with a lot of Ravenclaw hints. He is hardworking into helping everyone at the Keating business. He has been so faithful since ever he realised he was part of the team. I just wuv him!! <3

  WES GIBBINS

Wes... he is truly focused on his goal which has been a different thing throughout his protagonistic screen time. He didn't care how he just wanted to learn what was up about his mother, about Rebbeca. He sacrificed he doesn't hesitate to show his dislikeness towards Annalise who supported him since episode one. And basically thats what gave him the end he got.

 Ambitious, focused on his goals and only his goals, valiant when needed. Ruthless towards the ones who deserved it and he also knows how to use his inteligence as a weapon towards others so he is obviously a Slytherin.

[storytellingfandom]

It Had to be You ~ Part Seven

Summary: Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world she walked into hers.  Lin Beifong saw the world in two colors; black and white. That changes though when she meets the siren working with one of the largest gangs in Republic City.

Azami never had a choice. Didn’t have a way out. But she could destroy things from the inside. She could move information around. She could lie and smile with the best of them.

Neither needed anyone. Neither needed love. So what happens when fate ties them together? Can they save each other? Or will a smoking gun end something before it begins

A/N: A 1930s/40s LOK AU. Note that there will be themes that were present during this time including smoking, drinking, underlying homophobia, and potentially smut later on down the line. Writer’s views are not that of the characters.

Word count: 15,899

The figure on the couch was sound asleep. Her eyes were swollen and her face blotched from the drink she’d consumed and the sobs that had managed to escape from the stoney exterior of the police chief. Over her, a well loved blanket covered her. In her sleep she had shifted and on the ground a piece of paper had fluttered to the ground, the curving handwriting was noticeable.

Dearest Lin, 

If you’re reading this, then two things may have happened. One is that I’ve been killed by Takao, and hopefully my plan has worked. Or, you opened it not long after I left because you’re wanting to know the truth. You deserve the truth…

I’m sitting here, at two in the morning, trying to decide on what to write. I suppose I’ll start from the beginning. I give you a special power. My name is Azami Matsumoto, and I was born in Republic City. My parents were killed when I was young. My father’s bones rest in the bottom of the bay, and my mother lays in an unmarked grave, where I could not say. I took to the streets, I was five years old. I begged and I stole to get by. To help other kids get by. That is, until I was lucky and June caught me. She and Tapeesa took me in. 

Do you remember the old bar? The one off of Kiyoshi avenue and Yue boulevard? The Dancing Fan? That was June’s place, a lady’s club. Information was run out of there, information and supplies went to the smaller gangs that wanted to help. That were trying to get people at the bottom to a place where they could survive. When she had to give it up, and her niece sold it, the gangs you know now moved in on our neighborhood. They loaned out money, only to murder family’s in their bed when they couldn’t pay the interest. 

When I was sixteen, I started to work for June. I moved information, kept the larger gangs eyes off of our people. Helped to get things to the people who needed them. I sang in her bar, and everything was great. But then Takao’s men heard about me. Caught me with my first girlfriend, and threatened to send me off, reporting June and Tapeesa while they were at it, if I didn’t work for them. So, here I am now. 

When you came into the bar, you were different. You were the most stunning thing in the room with your cheekbones and your eyes. The most elegant of all the women who stood in that room. I couldn’t help but feel a pull to you. Takao saw this, knew that, and knew I had the charm to maybe get close to you. The night that we went walking together, some of the kids on the streets helped me to get the map that sat in your pocket. The map with your plans on how you wanted to trap Takao’s men. They knew you were coming. They would be waiting, ready to take your head. So I took it. And since I know now you probably won’t see me again, I gave them a different version of it. I gave your men information that would help them get some of the lower wrung people, and when your men show up in the place you set up, no one will be there. There may be some patrolling, but you will be safe. Because no one will be able to win this war, except you.

The days that I spent with you were some of the best I’ve had in such a long time, Lin. You started as a job, but the more I got to know you, the more attracted I became to you. You are beautiful, smart, funny, and you are so willing to help those who can’t help themselves. You’re brave, you’re magnificent, and I wish we’d had more time. 

I’m running out of time, I still have to write a letter for June and Tapeesa. When you go after Takao, there are a group of four running with him. They’re looking to turn the city upside down, let the chaos take root, then take the city for themselves. They’re dangerous, Lin. Included, there are sketches of who I’ve seen. 

Perhaps one day you will find it in your heart to forgive me for all of this. I was only trying to save the people that I love, and that includes you. And that kiss? Meant more than you’re thinking and will be what I take with me, no matter where I go or what happens. 

My hearts is yours, in this world and the next,

Azami

********

The throbbing in her head pulled with the chime of the clock. Her mouth felt like it was full of cotton. Opening her eyes, light green eyes frowned as she looked around, disorientated and on guard as she tried to sit up on the couch. 

“Well, sleepy beauty awakes.” Tapeesa said, bringing over some water. 

“Tapeesa…? 

“Don’t worry dear, we phoned the station to let them know you won’t be in.They seemed to expect it.” Tapeesa continued, waving her off and headed back to the stove. “Coffee will be done in a moment, along with breakfast. June is out, but she should be back soon.”

Lin was about to ask how she’d got here, why she was here, and then her eyes fell to the crumpled piece of paper that sat innocently on the ground. Daring her to pick it up, daring her to look at the last words that Azami had left for her as the events came back, partly, to her. 

Her head came to rest in her hands, breathing trying to even out even as tears snuck out of the corners of her eyes. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been sitting there when Tapeesa came to her. The older woman knelt down in front of the police chief, reaching out gently to touch her. 

“Lin darlin’, what is it?” Tapeesa asked, blue eyes looked up at her in concern. 

“What do you mean what’s wrong?! Azami is dead! Why aren’t you more upset?!” Lin answered, her voice rising in pitch and volume as the outrage spread through her. “You raised her and you’re not even upset!” 

Confusion crossed Tapeesa’s features, a frown that crinkled the skin between her eyes until realization dawned in her blue eyes. “Oh Lin, honey, she’s not dead.” 

Green eyes snapped to her, denial shining as her face hardened and she shook her head. “Then you didn’t hear yet. Tapeesa, my men came last night…”

“Lin, they were given incorrect information.” Tapeesa answered, reaching forward, she took Lin’s hands in her owned, calloused fingers running over Lin’s. “She’s alive Lin. It was close, but she’s alive.”

“Take me to her.” 

“Lin, you need--” 

“Take. Me. To. Her.” 

“Don’t you take that tone with me, Lin Beifong. Chief of police or not, you are in my home.” Tapeesa answered, watching the younger woman back down. “You can see her, but you’ll drink that water there first. And eat something.”

Nodding, Lin let her squeeze her hands before turning to drink the water that had been left for her. Her head was throbbing, but it raced even as the haze still worked to clear itself. 

Azami was alive.

Her men were wrong. 

She was alive. 

Her heart raised so fast that it reverberated off her ribs. Her hands were shaking. Forcing herself off the couch, she grabbed the letter from the ground and made her way to the table. Seeing the old piece of furniture made her freeze. While it had been mostly cleaned, bright red still stained the top. It was unmistakingly blood. Azami’s blood. 

Flashes to June answering the door and she hadn’t realized it then, but she’d been covered in blood. It hadn’t registered. Looking at herself, she only just noticed her white tank top had spots from where June’s arm had held her to get her inside and the discolored browns and reds that stained it alerted her to the fact that Azami’s blood was on her. Her blood on her hands. 

Dropped to the side was a gown. Walking to it, she picked it up and let the silk slip through her fingers as she started to look it over. Finally, she found the hole where the bullet had gone in. Fingers touched the dried blood that had been soaked in. Saw the small piece of fabric that had been dyed completely red. 

Tapeesa saw Lin staring at the items, touching them here forced her to realize that Azami was here. She and June had received a letter from Azami and it sat on the table. It was probably similar to Lin’s, begging forgiveness for what she was going to do. In that moment though, all that mattered to June and herself was that she was alive. They could handle the rest later. 

“Come eat now and I’ll take you to her.” Tapeesa said, bringing a plate over to the table. 

Lin nodded, still clutching the dress in her hands as she walked over. Letting the older woman gently take the garment from her, prying it from her fingers, she sat at the table as she stared at the eggs and the toasted bread and ham in front of her. 

The door opened not long after and both women’s heads shot up to look at the door as it did so. When June slipped into the apartment, Tapeesa set the plates down and hurried over to her, throwing her arms around her. 

“You’re safe.” 

“Of course I am.” June murmured, wrapping her arms around her waist. “Anything to avoid your wrath.”

Swatting at her, Tapeesa kissed her partner, nuzzling against her chest. “Come and eat then, Lin is awake so you can tell me what you decided on when she goes in to see Azami.” 

Nodding, June kept an arm around Tapeesa as they walked to the table. Taking her seat, she accepted the food and the coffee that her partner offered her. “Thanks love. How’re you holding up chief?” 

“I...I don’t know.” Lin answered truthfully, picking at her food. 

“I can imagine. A lot to process.” June nodded, digging into her breakfast. She could remember Lin when she opened the door, convinced Azami was dead and drunk off of her ass. June still didn’t know how the woman had managed to get here. 

Finishing what bites that she could, Lin pushed the plate away. “Can I see her now?” 

“Of course. Follow me.” Tapeesa answered, motioning her wife to stay sitting. 

Leading the woman back to their back bedroom, she opened the door as quietly as she could. Lin took in the scene, Tapeesa quietly leaving her to settle her own nerves regarding her wife. 

The room had the dim glow of the early sun fighting against the dark curtains, highlighting just how pale Azami was when her eyes found her in the bed. Looking at the form, she would have said she was dead in that bed. It was after moments that felt like eons that Lin finally saw the shallow movement of breaths. Slipping into the room, she shut the door quietly behind her before making her way to the chair that was next to the bed. The basket next to the chair held brightly colored yarn and the start of a scarf, or perhaps a blanket. Sitting in the chair, she reached for Azami’s hand that rested on the bed, her fingers immediately finding the woman’s pulse point, counting each beat.

Thump. Thump-thump. 

As long as she could feel that echo into her fingers, it meant there was a chance. It meant that maybe she’d wake up. That they’d have a chance to talk about what happened. A chance for…

“I’m really pissed at you, you know.” Lin said to the unconscious form next to her. “You didn’t have to lie, I could have--” 

The words died on her lips though, because Azami’s words had always been correct. The force couldn’t protect her. Not from the world that they lived in. In their world, only those that were willing to sacrifice themselves survived when it came to the games these gangs played. And in order to keep those who didn’t have a prayer to fight the system, someone often had to be sacrificed. 

“Why didn’t you just tell me that day? I could have been there...I could have done something.” Lin murmured to the form, Her hand had moved, instead of searching for a pulse, she entwined their fingers. “You can’t fucking leave it like this. With a letter with only half answers. You can’t. I won’t let you.” 

Willing her to stay alive. That sounded about right. Instead of sitting up to argue with her though, uneasy breathing continued. The bottles of varying greens and browns sat on the table. Something for pain, something to keep her resting, something that they hoped would restore blood.

Sighing, Lin looked at their fingers again. “I wanted to take you to Shao’s for dinner. That new Earth Kingdom place, supposed to be some of the best food from that area in town. You would have worn a dress, nothing like what you wear on stage, but something that you’d still look stunning in. After we had dinner...we would have gone to the pier where you would have begged for some of that frozen mango and cream that they sell. You’d be stuffed but we’d still get some to split. You would have flirted, I would have brushed it off, but you always found a way to tug that side out. At the end of the night I would have walked you home. You’d inist I come up for coffee or tea with how cold it’s been. We’d go up and sit together, talking over those warm drinks before I finally convince myself I’d have to go home. You’d walk me to the door and I’d hate to leave you. Instead of that kiss in the office, this would be it. With my arms around you, and a smile on both our faces.” 

She brought their combined hands together to press her knuckles to her lips. Resting her forehead against them, Lin could all but hear Azami’s voice. 

“Well don’t stop there chief! Tell me how our second date goes.” 

A sigh escaped from Lin as she settled into the chair, fingers still laced with Azami’s as she made herself comfortable to be there for a while. 

*********

Lin wasn’t sure how long she’d been sitting there, stuck between dozing, talking to Azami’s quiet form, and constantly feeling for her pulse in her wrist. The door opened with a quiet creek though and drew her attention away. 

June’s head was the one that appeared. “We need to talk strategy. Tapeesa can sit with her a while.” 

The younger woman wanted to argue that she should stay there, but Tapeesa’s darker hand reached out and gently rested on her shoulder. “I’ll let you know if there’s any changes, I promise. I’ve kept her safe this long. Besides, I should be looking at her bandages and at the wound to keep it clean.” 

Nodding, Lin finally stood from her chair, very carefully putting Azami’s hand back on the bed and tucked it under the blanket before following June out of the room. It was at that point she was able to really take a look at her. June was tall for a woman, standing at nearly six feet. Hair was a dark steel color and piled into what could probably pass a bun at the top of her head. Golden eyes were tired, and she collapsed into the chair with none of the grace her wife would normally have. Angled and defined features were rubbed by hands before she motioned Lin over. 

On the table, a map of republic city, and a second one that showed the old sewer routes that Lin wasn’t as familiar with. 

“What is all this?”

“My world.” June answered simply, reaching for a pen. “Takao’s got his eye on you, has for a while. With Azami missing though, and a loose end, it makes him more dangerous.” 

“We can protect her--”

“Not in the normal way we can’t.” June answered, golden eyes flicking to her. “You’re new to these rules. In the next few days if they don’t find her, they’ll blow her apartment, then come for yours. Those men you think are loyal, a bunch of them are bought off. With enough money, they’ll turn on you. You need to get out of here for a while, ‘till we can get this under control. You can keep her safe that way.”

“I can’t just abandon the city.” Lin pointed out.

“Can’t protect it either if you’re dead.” June answered, leaning back in her chair. 

Cursing under her breath, Lin ran a hand through her hair. She had forgotten she hadn’t pinned it up and she shoved at it impatiently. “I can’t just leave the city, they’d figure something out.” 

“That’s where we come in. Information was my business, whether it was correct or not well, that depended on who was asking. Got some old friends back in the Omashu area on the force, owe me some favors. Anyone asks, you’ve been there helping them with their own gangs. Few well placed women and you’re there.” June answered, smirking when Lin’s eyes went wide. “Been doing this a while, kid. Know a thing or two.” 

“We could use you at the station, spirits.” Lin muttered, accepting the cigarette that June offered her.

“You have to convince my wife that I can come out of retirement first.” June pointed out, lighting her cigarette before offering to light Lin’s. 

“Fuck.” Lin muttered, taking a long drag off the cigarette, blowing the smoke towards the open window. “Alright, show me what you’re thinking for getting out of here.” 

*******

Tapeesa sat with Azami, humming to the asleep woman quietly. She’d changed the bandages for the wound and cleaned it thoroughly. She’d also washed the woman’s face of the sweat and grime from the club, singing softly to her. Songs from her tribe up north, songs she heard on the radio. She didn’t have the voice Azami had, but June had never complained. 

She doubted she would even if she was bad. 

A smile crossed her features at the thought. Her silver hair pushed into a traditional Water Tribe ponytail to keep out of her eyes to allow for her to continue to work on her knitting. She didn’t know what it would be, but it kept her hands busy. Anything to keep her busy as she went over everything that could go wrong between now and Azami maybe waking up. 

“Come on, sweet darlin’. We need you to wake up now. Someone here really needs it…” Tapeesa murmured, gently stroking the young woman’s hair. “You can’t leave me and June now. You can’t leave Lin. Your cage is broken now...you have so many more songs to sing now. Please my girl, just hang on a little while longer.” 

Sighing, the older woman, she stood from her chair and went to open the window. Breathing in the fresh air, she turned and watched the unconscious form for a long time before the small twitch of her hand brought her attention to her. Gasping softly, she hurried towards her. 

“I saw that...you’re in there. Come on darlin’. Let me see those green eyes.” Tapeesa encouraged. 

When the form went deathly till again, Tapeesa sighed softly and sat back down, resting her forehead against her hand. And then she felt the fingers in her hand twitched against her skin. Opening her eyes again, she reached out. 

“I’m here, I’m here baby girl. Come on.” Tapeesa murmured, frowning. 

Eyes fluttered behind eyelids, and a small groan escaped from Azami’s mouth. Spirits it felt as if she’d been run over by the train, then they ran back over her again when trying to see what happened. Her abdomen was on fire. Everything hurt. But still, she could Tapeesa calling out to her through fog, and it was that voice that guided her. 

Green eyes dragged themselves, shutting immediately against the bright lights. Tapeesa let out a gasp and hurried to shut the blinds again. 

“Yes...yes oh thank the spirits.” Tapeesa murmured as she hurried back to her. 

“Wha--what happened?” Azami asked, her voice graveled from not using it. 

Pouring some water from the pitcher, the older woman helped her to very carefully lift her head up just enough to pour water in. “You were shot, my love, by Takao if I had to guess.” 

Drinking the water slowly, Azami fell back to her pillows. “Lin?” 

“Is here, I’ll get her.” Tapeesa said and hurried for the door. 

*********

Lin and June had been pouring over maps, going over safe houses and the best way to get them there. Cars were out of the question, but an old truck that June’s friend could work if Tapeesa was the one driving it. They’d use the old tunnels to get out. 

She’d been reaching for another nut to pop into her mouth when Tapeesa’s footsteps caused them to both look up. Lin saw the look on her face and her heart stopped. 

“Azami?”

“Awake, and asking for you.” 

Lint was around the table and into that bedroom in record time. Azami’s eyes had closed in her waiting, but fluttered open when she heard the door flying open. Smiling weakly at the other woman, Azami just took her in for a long moment. 

“Hi chief…”

[borhap-au]

Dad!Rami (Babygirl):

trying for a baby hasn’t been easy for you and Rami

FIRSTLY, he took his time to agree to try 

mostly he was just scared that by the time the child would go to college, he would look like their grandpa

but you managed to convince him by saying that the child doesn’t need a young handsome dad, they will need a dad who loves them

and that Rami could definitely give to them and was more than willing to do

(also, Rami totally doesn’t look his age so you knew he’d be the hottest grandpa in town) 

he was good with children, always taking care of his nieces and nephews

he was the cool uncle and you were sure he’ll be the coolest dad

also, he knew how much you wanted children, and he would never forgive himself if he was the reason you never made that dream come true

after all, at the altar he promised to help you fulfill all of your dreams

THEN, you didn’t have enough time to properly try

there was an occasion maybe once a week, and whenever Rami had more of a free time, you were not on you fertile days

he was away all the time filming, but he promised you that as soon as you got pregnant, he won’t agree to any projects, to be there with you

of course you thought it was a crazy idea, so you made a compromise

he will do movies, but only those that were being shot close enough so he would come back home for the nights 

THEN, another obstacle… and quite a big one

you just couldn’t get pregnant

Rami obviously blamed himself, as he was much older

he was mad at himself for waiting 

there was a tension growing between you

neither of you would admit it, but you both were scared that it will slowly tear you two apart

you heard him saying a few times that you should’ve started trying right after the wedding and that he was stupid for waiting for God knows what

you tried to talk about how you felt, but there were no words to describe it

anytime the tests showed negative results, you both were more and more disappointed

you visited doctors, of course, but they didn’t know how to help you get pregnant

all they suggested was a surrogate or adoption

and then, out of nowhere – a positive result 

you tried like 6 different tests and they all showed the same

you didn’t even know how to describe your happiness, so you simply screamed

Rami immediately came to the bathroom to see if you’re okay

and when you – the crying mess – showed him the result, you knew he understands

because you never saw purest joy than the one you saw in his eyes in that moment

it was a real miracle and honestly, all the months of doubt and insecurity stopped having any meaning after you saw tears of happiness in Rami’s eyes 

actually, at the beginning of the pregnancy, you travelled with him a bit, because he had to finish all of his projects 

you felt surprisingly good, definitely much better than your friends

maybe it was the sun, the changing of environment, constant recharging

and the closeness of Rami, who you’d be normally missing if he was away doing a movie

it all definitely made you feel better 

but you obviously took into account all the recommendations

you always took your pills and did everything else the doctor told you

and you were honestly treated like an egg by the sweetest hubby ever

Rami was there with you as much as he could 

he would massage your legs, shoulders, rub your belly

Rami always made sure you were in the most comfortable position 

so you usually had your legs on him

he would very often talk to the child, sing to them, tell them stories

“you know, your mom was so excited to have you, than when I said we should start trying, we started trying… like right away!”

“Rami, don’t tell our child such stories!”

“what, they can’t even understand yet” he chuckled

you didn’t even know the sex of the child

Rami didn’t want to know, so you asked the doctor not to tell you either

you knew how easily things just slipped from your mouth

and you didn’t want to spoil it for Rami

at the end of the pregnancy, he only took a role that ensured him staying close to your house, so if you went into labor, he would immediately come to you

but actually it happened during a night, so he was home

he was there with you during the entire time, holding your hand

he cut the umbilical cord

when he saw your little daughter and had the chance to hold her in his hands, his eyes immediately got wet

after all, there was a time when he lost all hope that he’ll ever be a dad

“She’s so beautiful, y/n, she’s just like you”

when you were able to hold your baby for the first time, he sat next to you and kissed your head

he took a bunch of photos, some of which you wanted to murder him for

he praised you all the time, telling you how brave and strong you were and how he admired you for giving him the miracle of a child

he wanted to be the first one to do everything

dress her first, bathe her first, change her diapers

anytime you saw him, he had her on his arms

he was jealous that he couldn’t feed her, but you promised him that as soon as she’ll be able to eat from a bottle, he will feed her

he was often filming you and the baby or making pictures, ‘cause he wanted to remember all of those moments forever

fuck, he even posted a picture of her little foot on his Instagram, again, praising you

he did it five months after she was born though, ‘cause he lost the password

she smiled first to him, laughed to him as well

she was such a daddy’s girl since day one

whenever you left Rami with your daughter, when you came back, the whole house was a mess

and they both were a mess

especially when she got a bit older and started talking

yes, her first word was dada

“she wanted to bake a cake” he would say innocently being covered in all the ingredients, holding your baby in a kitchen full of flour

he just couldn’t say no to her, and she learnt that very quickly

and she used it

your daughter loved dinosaurs, so there was a running joke in the gang about her being Joe’s daughter

but in truth she looked exactly like little Rami

the same eyes, the same hair color, the same skin tone

whenever Rami was away, he skyped with his girls almost every night

you sometimes put your daughter to sleep just by placing the laptop next to her bed, and he talked to her until she fell asleep

you got her a puppy when she was little

and the dog followed her everywhere, sleeping close to her, making sure she’s safe

she called him “Roger”

Roger had mixed feelings about that name

she often slept in your bed as well, often on Rami, cause she was calmer to feel his or your heartbeat

when she was five, you adopted a child

a little Babyboy

Rami needed to promise your daughter he will still love her the same, because she was very jealous

(another thing she got from him ;)

but when the baby arrived in the house, she immediately fell in love with him

she wanted to help with everything

yup, she totally reminded you of her father

you went to the bedroom one time and she was rocking your son on her hands to calm him down

yes, Rami has that on camera

he was a very attentive father, and your children always came to him first with any problems

he was the one to think of all sorts of adventures for them

he taught them anything they were willing to learn

he read them bedtime stories or make them up every night

he bought them so many toys, they were literally everywhere

fun fact: neither of your kids knew whether it’s their dad or uncle Sami. It was funny every time

and yes, they grew up listening to Queen, but that doesn’t surprise anyone, now, does it?

Joe bought them little shirt saying “I <3 Queen” and “Queen’s #1 fan”

and it made Rami the proudest father

(and it made Freddie the proudest grandfather)

[dionsabbathenthusiast]

FRIENDS ON THE OTHER SIDE [1/4]

trigger warnings: guns, murdering, talks of kidnapping.

here is the first full length chapter of my first ever series! i hope you enjoy

CHAPTER ONE - THE TWO-FACE'D BANDIT

——————————————————————————

The sound of a coin flipping echoed through the halls. Ever since the Arkham Knight had tried taking over Gotham, Harvey Dent - or Two-Face, if you prefer - had been locked up in the GCPD holding cells with the other assailants from that terrifying night. Pyg hadn't stopped with his weird comments and Deacon Blackfire would not stop with his preaching of how devoting his life to his sick cult would fix Harvey's burns. He tried drowning them out with flipping his coin and keeping his mind on what he could do to break out of his cell.

Gordon and Cash stand at the front of the GCPD containment center, discussing future plans and what they'll do with the prisoners. Since Arkham Asylum shut own, Blackgate had been the only place to put the inmates but even Blackgate had a capacity level. Tim and Barbara had found their spot beside them, researching places that Tim and the other boys could start building in hopes of putting away these psychos and thugs for good.

Luna, dressed in her Blue Canary outfit, walked through the gates and ignored the beeping noise the metal detector made. "Cash, Gordon. I need access to the containment cell. I'm here to pick up a prisoner." She says with her arms crossed as she awaited to go ahead.

The four at the front desk all exchange looks and Barbara rolled over to her, looking up at her with a sad expression. "Canary, we're all worried for Nightwing's safety and we're trying our best to find him. Riddler is our only lead so far and as you can see-"

"Neither him or Penguin is in the holding cells. They planned this, they worked together. I'm going to find them and make them pay before rescuing Nightwing." She says and walks to the cell, everybody's eyes on her.

Pyg is the first to pipe up at her with his weird oinking. "Pyg can make Canary perfect. Pyg can make Canary forget." She ignores him and opens the cell, stepping inside before anyone else can get out.

"Canary, are you crazy?!" Tim yells, talking with his hands. He tries making his way to cell to aid her, but Cash stops him. The criminals in the cell weren't trying anything, they were just as surprised as the officers around the containment center were

"I'm just here for Harvey." His heard perks up at the words and he stops flipping his favored coin, holding the piece of metal in his flesh hand. He stands up and walks toward Luna as chuckles darkly when she grabs his arms and leads him out of the cell. She shuts the door behind her and walks past the front desk and past the men that had been locked up; militia men and gang members alike.

"Just couldn't stay away, could you, pretty bird?" He asks, a smug smirk on his lips. She rolls her eyes at the comment and tugs him along out to the parking garage. She opens the door to one of the cars she borrowed from Bruce's garage and shoves him inside.

"Try anything, Harv, and I'll lock away for good." She walks to the driver's side and gets in, turning the car on and speeding out of the department.

She drives across Bleake Island, maneuvering through traffic and ignoring stop lights. "You worked with Oswald for a short amount of time, but you two had a long time to plan out what you did that night. He must've shown you a few of his hiding spots." She brings up a map of each island on her wrist guard and allows Harvey to use the map. "Point them out. I got time, I don't care if I have to go to them all."

He points out three on each island, most of them being under bridges or hidden in alleyways. "You must really care about that Nightwing kid, Canary." Two-Face says, his eyes diverting back on the road as Luna swerves down the corner and down a tight street.

"You wouldn't believe." She abruptly stops the car and gets out of the car and Harvey follows. She kicks the door down, the bright setting sun cascading into the dark room. They walk through the big warehouse, lights fluttering on as they walk through the building.

"I didn't know Oswald spent all his coin on warehouses." She mutters, analyzing the surrounding area. She flips on her detective mode and searches for lifeforms. She detects one and stops in her tracks, bending down behind a box of ammunition. "There's someone at the back of the warehouse." She whispers.

Harvey peeks out from the top of the box, his eyes watching the person that was walking around the warehouse. The figure was short and what seemed to be a male with a small, light up green figure in his hands. Harvey's eyes widen and he pushes Luna's shoulder gently. "It's question boy." He whispers and sits on the ground beside her. "Come on, pretty bird. Give me a gun."

She looks up at him and rolls her eyes. "I don't have a gun, Harv..." She peeks up and studies the Riddler, pointing at him subtly. "But he does."

She stands up and grabs the batclaw from off her hip, firing it at Eddie. Once it had attached to him she used the momentum to fly towards him and kick him in the chest.

He falls to the ground with a thud, the trinket in his hands fumbling across the floor until it's gets trapped under Harvey's foot. Eddie reaches out to the trinket and Two-Face chuckles darkly whilst he crushes it, Harvey stealing his gun as he's dragged off.

"No! No, you feeble minded fool! I worked hard on making that!" Eddie yells and tries squirming away from Luna as she drags him across the cold concrete

"I have got to get me one of those." Harvey mutters as he watches Luna string up Riddler with the batclaw, the rope wrapping around his small legs.

"This unjust! Unfair! Unruly! You're supposed to be a hero, Blue Canary! Wait until Batman hears about you teaming up with this... This filth!" He yells as he struggles against the ropes, Luna resting against the wall. "And you, Dent! You're supposed to murder people like her! You're a fool! A charlatan! A liar!"

Harvey flips his coin, experetly twirling it between his fingers. "Yeah well... Fate said otherwise, Nigma. I help the pretty lady and she doesn't toss me in jail when all this is over." His lips curve into a twisted smile at Luna, who nods in this direction. She walks over to the hanged man and bends down, thinking about the ways she could make him talk.

"You were the one that set the trap, Mr. Nigma. Now I'm willing to communicate and put you back in Arkham without any broken bones or headaches." She says softly, the tone almost menacing - striking fear into Eddie's cowardly body.

He tries swinging to break out of his ropes, and groans in frustration when he fails. "Oswald told me to put that trap there to get pretty boy as payback for what happened to him and his business during the night the Arkham Knight attacked." He says and then quickly begins begging for her to let him go. "The blood is rushing to my frontal lobe, please let me go."

Luna walks back to her old spot on the old, rotting wall and crosses her arms. She gives Harvey a nod and he slowly walks to Eddie, flipping his coin in his hand. He cuts the rope and Eddie drops on his back, groaning softly. He goes to sit up as Harvey puts his foot on his chest and elicts a loud groan from Nigma's throat. "Heads... You get to live." He says and continues to move his coin between his fingers. "Tails... You die." His voice becomes rough as his Two-Face personality slips thro

Eddie gulps and watches the coin flip in Harvey's hands, his fearful eyes darting between that coin and searching for forgiveness and sympathy in Luna's eyes - but finding none.

Two-Face catches the coin and opens his palm to reveal the scratched up side of his coin, a evil smirk on his face. "Say hello to Joker, Edward." His voice is rough and ragged while he points his handgun at his face.

The tip of the barrel is close to his eye and Eddie tears roll down his cheeks. He continues to search for sympathy in Luna's blue eyes, but she just stands there and watches.

He goes to say something but is cut off by the sound of a gun shot. A gun shot that rattles through the empty building, causing birds to flee from their nests as the sun rises on Gotham's skyline.

Harvey walks over to Luna and shakes her hand. "I'll have my boys dump the body." His voice returns to it's normal state. "Where to next, pretty lady?" He asks as she pulls up a map of the city. She points to spot on the map and zooms in on the a spot underneath a bridge.

"Here. Perdition Bridge." She says softly, her eyes darting from the map to Eddie's dead body. Deep down she felt bad for what Harvey did but she also knew he deserved it honestly much more than some of the other criminals in this town.

Harvey seems the notice this and grabs her shoulder. "Darling, he deserved it. Let's get to that bridge and get you boy back." He turns her to the door and rests his hand on her back, leading her out of the warehouse.

They get in their respective seats in the car and Luna turns the car on, backing out of the alleyway. She speeds down the roads again as she drives across the bridge to Founders Island. She parks the car down the alleyway once more, the pair of them stepping out of the car.

Three soliders drop from the buildings above them, surrounding them with assault rifles aimed at them. Harvey reaches for his gun but it's kicked out of his hand, the other two soldiers keeping their guns trained on Luna.

"Boys, boys. What did I tell you?" A deep voice says, the sound echoing off the walls followed by footsteps. "The lady and her friend remains unharmed."

Luna turns to the sound, squinting her eyes to look at the man. She thinks for a moment as she studies the way he walks and moves his hands when he talks. Her eyes open wide and her mouth hangs open.

"Sionis."

[lovehugsandcandy]

Speeds So Fast (n*fw, Colt x MC)

A/N: Happy Birthday, Des @desireepow-1986! This is really old so the plot might not make sense but then I remembered-you didn’t exactly ask for plot for your birthday! LOL LOVE YOU!

Pairing: Colt x MC, RoD

Length: ~2,250 words

Rating: N*FW (people have sex. in a car. because why not? That’s basically the plot.)

Summary: Any good plan should have enough time built in to deal with contingencies. 

“Park there.” Colt pointed to the darkest spot in the lot, surveying buildings around them. “It’s dark enough to provide cover but you have a clear shot to the highway.”

Ellie nodded. It was late, dark, the few streetlights in the parking lot casting shadows against the stark concrete walls surrounding them. She was nervous; after they had fled prom to show up at her dad’s door, desperate and frightened, he had been understandably furious, spitting mad until she had finally interjected long enough to share the drawn-out, harrowing tale. And though he was still angry, he wasn’t willing to leave his daughter to be captured by a murderous gang of police officers on a mission for revenge.

Together, they had all created a crazy scheme to catch The Brotherhood. With Ellie as the rodent in their cat-and-mouse game, she was scared; however, she was even more worried for her dad, who would need to confront them, evidence in hand. They had all come up with the plan together, debating the details point by point, both her dad and Colt as methodical as ever while she and Logan interjecting where they saw weakness or flaw. 

Her stomach turned; the plan wasn’t great, but it was all they had and, if it didn’t work, they all were in danger, especially her dad. She worried her lower lip; she had already dragged her dad into this but now, to put him in danger as well? She couldn’t tell if the tremble in her hands was fear or guilt or some combination sitting heavy in her gut, but it wouldn’t stop.

“Hey...” Colt grabbed her hand as she put the car in park. “He’s gonna be ok, you know that, right?”

“You don’t know that. You can’t know that.” She looked at him and blinked, deep breaths to keep the tears from coming and the fears from crowding everything else out of her brain. 

He ran his thumb in soothing circles over her knuckles. “He’s good at what he does and this is his plan. He knows what he’s doing.”

“I know.” She looked down at her lap. “It’s just....he’s my dad.”

Colt sighed, eyes distant. “Believe me, I know.”

“Crap…I’m sorry, I didn’t-”

“Stop.” He squeezed her hand. “He knows what he’s doing. We need to stick to the plan; it’s the best way to get him out of this now.”

She nodded. “I know, you’re right. It’s just hard, the waiting, the worrying.” She groaned at the clock on the dash. “We still have a while to go.” She looked at her hands. If this didn’t work, if it put her dad in harm’s way, she would never forgive herself. If something happened to him, or they couldn’t free Mona in time, or if Logan or Colt...

“Hey,” Colt interrupted her spiraling thoughts, leaning over to kiss her forehead, her cheek. 

She turned to look at him, impossibly close, leaning over the center console, intent on her. “What?”

“We’re gonna end this…you can end this.” He brushed her hair off her face, hand gentle on her cheek. “Stop overthinking.”

Ellie smiled at him, taking a deep breath, and watched his eyes trail down her face, stop at her lips. A moment, a pause, and then it was if they were moving in unison, mouths crashing together over the center console, his hands threading through her hair while she grabbed his jacket to pull him closer. She couldn’t guarantee his safety, her dad’s safety, but this, this push-pull of lips and feeling? This she could do.

She couldn’t get enough, the way his lips met hers, making her stomach jump and her head spin, the way his hands curved into her hair, a gentle pressure that made her want to bare her neck, her soul.

Her eyes darted up, past him, a quick glance outside. Dark. Quiet. Deserted. Before she could reconsider, she pushed his shoulders and climbed over the console, shin banging on the gearshift, sliding into his lap. It was awkward and inelegant, but it did the job and she found she couldn’t complain when his hands found her waist and he pulled her close.

“Hi.” Perched over him, she could see his eyes, dilated even in the dark car, looking up at her.

“...Hi.”

“Mmm…what were we doing?” She bent her head and resumed kissing, mouths sliding together, losing track of time as she lost herself in him. 

When she was almost out of breath, lips swollen, he pulled back, mouth near her ear, breathing hard. “Fuck, Ellie, fuck. You’re so-” His voice was hoarse, breathy; she shivered. While he worked over the sensitive spot just behind her ear, she trailed her hands underneath his shirt, feeling the muscles twitch underneath her nails, the gasp by her ear. She trailed down, pupping the button of his pants and trying to edge the zipper down. The angle made it hard and Colt’s mouth, sliding down her neck, made it even harder. “This isn’t exactly the time for-” He gasped as she cut him off with a vicious kiss to the side of his neck, all teeth and suction; he turned his head, giving her more room, and let out a groan that filled the car. “Fuck.”

She worked her way up, delivering a nip to his earlobe. “It’s always the time for this,” she gasped.

With that, it was like a switch went off. Colt grabbed her hips and pulled her even closer, a deep grind, delicious friction that told her, yes, it was definitely the time for this. She could feel how hard he was beneath her and his hands trailed up, under her shirt, trailing over her stomach and sliding, all teasing fingers and gentle touches, under the line of her bra. 

She gasped into his mouth, one last messy kiss before shaky hands worked on her own pants. “Crap. Off, off, off.” She wiggled on top of him, fingers grabbing the waistband of her pants.

“Christ,” he moaned and reached down, frantically.

“Wait, don’t rip them!” She didn’t care about the leggings, but she couldn’t exactly be expected to stand in front of her dad if he ripped a pant leg clear off. She grabbed the waist and pulled, shimmying, sliding them down with her underwear and getting her right leg out and free.

Colt smirked. “Good enough.” Instead of helping her with her pants, she felt his hand trail up her leg, light touches to the inside of her thigh and finally, finally right where she wanted him, rhythmic pressure that made her squirm and grasp his shoulders, her fingers sliding on the leather jacket as she struggled to find purchase.

Fuck, it felt incredible, his fingers spinning, rubbing; she couldn’t balance over him anymore and fell, landing on his chest as his fingers continued over her clit before moving down, two fingers feeling how wet she was, how desperate she felt. “Colt....” The whine came from the back of her throat. She couldn’t think, could only feel, squirming on his lap, barely able to focus. She wanted to work on his pants, she really did, but she couldn’t get her hands to cooperate as those clever fingers worked her over.

Nothing was cooperating, especially not her brain, in overdrive with sensation and heat, muscles tensing as his fingers brought her closer and closer to the edge, his hand at the small of her back holding her close, even though there wasn’t far she could go, balancing on his lap, trapped between the window and the gearshift. An expert pass of his thumb had her quaking, shaking over him until her arms gave out and she collapsed, crashing onto him as the pleasure crested and peaked and finally ebbed, leaving thunder in her ears. She took deep, heaving breaths as her heart slowed, and the roar in her veins subsided.

Colt reached to the side and pulled a lever; the back of the seat slid down, him and Ellie with it. It was enough to give them slightly more room, but her car wasn’t huge. Space was still tight, as she learned when she went to pull Colt’s pants off and slammed her head into the window.

“Ouch!”

His hands were in her hair in a second, rubbing her temple. “All right?”

She rolled her eyes. “Definitely all right enough to do this.” She balanced against the door and could finally get a grip on his waistband, pulling down. It wasn’t sexy, but it got the job done, freeing him of his pants, sliding them off his legs in a pile on the floor. 

“About time.” He groaned against her lips as his hips twitched, seeking friction.

“I’m goal oriented.”

“I approve.”

Ellie squirmed, legs shifting until she could find her balance and crouch over him. The clothes were annoying; her leggings were stuck somewhere and his pants were making it hard to maneuver, but damn, she didn’t want to stop now. 

He looked at her, eyebrow raised. “You realize that-”

“COLT!” She grabbed his face, not really caring what sarcastic comment he had at the tip of his tongue. “Shut up and fuck me.”

“Demanding...” He bent his head to get at her neck again, teeth delivering equal parts pleasure and pain.

She would have been embarrassed at the moan that left her mouth if she had any sense left. “Colt, please, come on, you’re driving me crazy!”

He laughed, “This isn’t crazy.” His voice was muffled, mouth against her breast, taking his goddamn time because he was too busy scraping his teeth ever so gently over her nipples. “This definitely isn’t crazy.”

She could barely understand what he was talking about, the fog in her brain making it impossible for her to understand English, let alone conjugate a sentence. “What?”

“Crazy would be when our lives aren’t in danger and I get to take my time with you. When I hold you down and fuck you until the only word you know is my name. When you won’t leave the bed for hours because your legs won’t stop shaking. When I eat you out so good you scream loud and long enough to lose your voice. When you wear the lipstick you wore to prom, and it’s all smudged, rubbed off all over me, down the base of my-”

He cut off with a gasp because Ellie couldn’t bear it anymore and dropped her hips, feeling him enter her. It was a familiar stretch, slight pain, delicious heat licking up her spine. She closed her eyes, breathing hard, as she could feel everything, every inch, finally opening her eyes when they were joined completely. He was looking up at her, reverence on his face, watching every move of her mouth, every look in her eye. It was a lot. She had to shut her eyes, block out some of the stimulation in her brain, her body.

“Oh my God, Colt.” This wasn’t her first time, but she still felt like it was new to her, every touch magnified with inexperience. It took a minute for her to position her legs so she could move freely but, once she did, she could move exactly how she wanted, one hand braced against the car’s ceiling. “Holy-”

His hands found her hips and grabbed tight, pulling her down in unison with her movements, his cock dragging against her inner walls in a drag that made her keen.

“Fuck, Ellie.” Under her, Colt’s eyes were blown wide as he stared up at her, as if she were a goddess who could bring him to his knees and inspire worship with her body. She felt powerful, watching him run his hands over her body, her clit, and she was so entranced with memorizing every flash of pleasure across his face that her second orgasm took her by surprise, heat exploding again as she shook on top of him. He followed, hips surging up in one last thrust, thighs shaking as her name was punched out of him, shout echoing across the car as she could feel him release.

She fell, boneless and weak, landing again on top of him, winded and spent. He didn’t stop kissing her hair, but she could barely move. Slowly, she came down from her high, safe in his arms, oblivious to everything.

Until the radio went off.

“Guys? I have a visual.” Logan’s voice crackled, and they both jumped. Ellie met Colt’s eye; he looked a lot less guilty than she felt, barely suppressing a grin.

She hit his shoulder and grabbed the radio. “10-4. Give us 5.”

She dropped it and looked around. Crap, they were a mess. Half-naked-there were her pants!-disheveled. Colt’s hair was a mess, and she was sure that hers wasn’t any better. Frantically, she grabbed her leggings and slid into the driver’s seat, pulling them on as Colt shimmied up his own pants. She knew she should feel guilty about losing track of time but, as her fingers glanced over her hips, phantom imprints of Colt’s fingers that she could still feel, even now, she couldn’t really find any regret.

One last look down to make sure she was decent, and then she turned the ignition. Go time. She went to grab the gear stick when Colt grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze. “You’ve got this.”

She nodded at him, once, and put the car in drive. Time to end this.

[monochromemedic]

This isn’t finished and probably wont be but i wrote alot so

Benny Benny Benny Benny BENNY I shifted the revolver in my hands, moving it from hand to hand as I moved with Arcade and Boone, trying to track down Benny after I tried to let him go.   Forgive and forget.  Be the bigger man. Turns out Benny was a lying asshole and sent in his cronies as he left for god knows where. And when raided the Legion I saw him tied up with the asshole in charge himself but when I went to get him after it all he disappeared.   It was becoming a trend.  I see him, Benny fucks me over and runs away. When I saw him in the Tops I noticed how he talked, how he walked, how hot he thought his shit was when actually he seemed like a dork. I joked about it with my friends, trying to cover the anger and frustration I felt but we all knew how upsetting it was.  But we always seemed to find his trail.  Then again it wasn’t that hard since he constantly kept his checkered suit on. And now we were following the trail again. After everything in Vegas... after Hoover dam, we still hadn’t found him. And so I took my two best friends, and traveled with the Followers of the Apocalypse, abandoning them for a moment at the sound of a smooth talker in a checkered suit.  Usually Arcade would stay with the Followers, trying to guide the group or halt them until I came back. Or guiding them to where I heard Benny had went. After all, America was fucked and they could use help everywhere, so it didn’t take much persuasion. Meanwhile Boone and I ran ahead, the urge of vengeance driving us both. Why Boone was so pissed off as well was weird, since it was my problem, but it seemed like he was just as eager to put a bullet in his head as I was. But this time... the trail was strong. Arcade was getting sick of us chasing ghosts and wanted to end it as much as I did and followed us. Benny was hold up at some... pleasure house. One for real fancy rich folks and had been there for a while under some alias but slipped up one too many times with saying his real name.  It was enough for me but when we learned that he kept favoring one girl in the club and took up a more permanent room we knew it was our chance. He’d be there for a while or at least planned to. We needed to move when he was settling down The three of us stood in the lobby of the hotel, women and men walking by in seductive get ups, some lounging on couches and beds beckoning a few of us to join in for the right amount of caps. I walked to one of the men who, rolled his hips seductively to the low music playing from a jukebox not too far away, a smile on his lips. “Hey baby, you looking to relieve some tension? Those boys of yours not fufilling you’re needs? I got you... Name’s Johnny Flood. You wanna know how I got that last name?” I cleared my throat and stared at Johnny, concealing the small revolver in a pocket. “Not today, but I do need you for some information.” “Hmm and what would man like me know?” I looked over Arcade who stepped up beside me. “Do you happen to know a man of Danny that’s been staying here recently? Black hair, strange way of talking like he’s trying too hard to be cool. Owns a black and white checkered suit?” “I’m sorry but that’s the Temptation Palace’s secret, we can’t give out that kinda information to just anyone.” Johnny teased “What if we paid you?” “Well... maybe i’d be willing to let my lips squeak out a bit of info...”  I pushed my hands in my pocket and held out a bag of caps to Johnny, shaking it slightly so he knew that it was legit. “200 caps. Just for anything you know about the guy.” Johnny’s eyes widened as he took the bag and opened it, smiling at the sight of the shiny caps within before pocketing it and begging us with a finger to follow him. He lead us to a spare bedroom, closing the door behind us as he sighed and sat on the bed, his flirtatious facade fading a bit. “I do know a bit about him. Not alot but, i’ll be an open book about what i know baby. What’s he to you? He’s your husband?” I shook my head and eyed the room, checking to see if it was really secure. Boone was already doing the same, so I knew that he’d keep a look out while me and Arcade chatted him up. “No... he might as well be with the amount of times he’s fucked me.” “Can we not say that joke in front of strangers?” Arcade interjected before I continued. “He did some bad things to some people, and I just wanna talk and settle the score. I don’t want him hurting anyone else.” Johnny face fell a little, rubbing his face nervously. “Damn... well... alright. What I know about Danny is that he’s been hanging around Peaches way too much.  I mean I was happy for her that she was getting a steady job but now that your saying that I guess I have noticed he’s a bit weird. I wear i’ve seen a gun on him but I always thought it was just for a little protection but It’s kinda big.” “Is it engraved?” “I couldn’t tell you, I never got that close. Just sort of seen the handle peaking out of the hem of his pants at times so I just assumed it was a gun in his pants and not his dick.” I looked at Arcade who, gave a tired sigh before continuing “Is he still here?” “Danny? I think so. Then again it’s hard to tell who comes and goes when you’re in and out of bedrooms. But he does seem to have a little room to himself that he rented. Only hardcore costumers do that so, I’d assume he planned on staying for a while longer. If you wanna talk to him he’s on the 3rd floor, I think it’s room 307. You might need a key to get in if you wanna... do anything.” I gave a slight nod and headed for the door, giving Johnny thanks for his information. Boone already had the door open. He got the information he needed. “W-wait.” I turned to Johnny, who became a bit nervous. “Listen I don’t know what you’re gonna do to him, probably nothing good but... this place is good and Peaches is a good girl. Make sure she’s safe and... if your gonna ... kill him then try not to be so loud. The Temptation Palace is suppose to be a place for people to relax and murder is one thing that turns alot of people off.” Boone only gave a quick, “No promises” as he left as I gave a more helpful answer. “I’ll keep her safe. And believe me, i’ll be as quiet as a mouse.” I stood outside with Arcade and Boone at my side as we kept silent, walking up the stairs to the third floor with one mission in mind. Even though we didn’t speak, we know we didn’t have to. There wasn’t anything to talk about that wasn’t what we already from talking about the situation night after night. I felt the goosebumps begin to form on my skin, and a shutter of adrenaline fall over me.  I wonder if he could feel it too. The dread... the anticipation. When we got to the door it was locked but a few tries with a bobby pin caused it to open, a small creak from the hinges as we entered the dimly lit room, seeing Benny in his underwear, drinking at a small bar full of liquor. I could feel the scar begin to ache at the irony of it all, how similar this all was seeming. Just like the first time. “You’re like a damn cockroach you know that babes? I keep on stomping you out but you just keep on coming back no matter where I head.” Benny’s voice seemed to echo in the darkness. I raised my pistol at him, anger filling my mind and my body. All I wanted was to pull the trigger and end it, but I forced myself to stop. I still had questions. I always did. “Hard to hide when you never change your look from that dumb suit you wear. You really gotta try harder, it’s like you wanna be found.” “Maybe I do... maybe I do.” He took a swig of what was left in his glass and began to poor a half empty bottle of whiskey to refill it, before turning to me. As soon as he turned Boone and Arcade raised their concealed guns as well, causing Benny to chuckle. “Damn baby, you  got that whole gang back together. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t flattered about the reunion but you caught me in my birthday suit.  I wouldn’t go and try to chum me up or else I might just start turning red.” “Jesus can you shut up already. Jenna take the shot and just end this.” Arcade barked out “We have him, we can’t let him get away again, just end it.” “Arcade stay out of this.” Boone growled back, “You don’t know what it’s like?” “What wanting to shoot an idiot? Because if that’s the case then you’re mistaken because I want to do that every day.” Benny sipped his whiskey and laughed, placing the glass on the counter with a smarmy grin on his face “I always love to see two broads going at each others throats... all just for me, i’m flattered.” “Shut up Benny” They both barked back, turns fixating back at the man I walked forward, inching closer and closer to Benny’s body until I was just a foot away. He looked a little weathered but otherwise the same.  It seemed that running away from the constant mob of people chasing him was taking it’s toll. Good. “Why? I gave you a chance back at the Tops and you threw me under the bus. You think I wouldn’t be good for it? You never thought that sometimes people can be the bigger man and forgive? Now look at you. Alone, no casino, no chip, in a random sleezy hotel miles from home because you couldn’t accept the fact that I wanted to give you a second chance. Now i’m all out of chances Benny and i’m pretty fucking pissed.” “No one gets out scott free, not you, not me, not no body. I couldn’t take the chance of a backstab when I had the cards in play. It was just precaution, nothing more. You think too hard, i’m surprised that you haven’t broken that head of yours with all that thinking you must be doing, thinking there’s some bigger meaning. It’s a dog eat dog world, and sometimes killing friends is the best way to insure the dog’s don’t bite the hand that feeds, you dig? You’d probably do the same if you were where I was sittin.” “‘Maybe Khan’s kill people, but I ain’t a fink, you dig’“ “Dirty. Using my own words against me like that.” Benny said, a bit of venom in his tone. “So now what. You gotta pull the trigger and put me in a shallow grave? Cause you better do it quick or i’ll finish this entire bottle of whiskey while you’re mulling it over again.” My finger that hovered over the trigger began to quiver as I pushed it down against the smooth metal of the gun. Just a simple reaction, a little push and it’d be over. Benny would be dead in front of me. So why the fuck couldn’t I do it? I tried to force my finger down but the more I tried the more my hand tensed up, the harder I felt it getting to swallow. He ruined my life, my memory, everything who I was before the bullet.  He deserved it right?  “Come on doll face, just do it.” He urged, making me try again only to no avail. I took a step back, my head aching and my eyes beginning to tear up. I couldn’t speak, it all felt so wrong, so... bad. I was so tired of chasing but so tired of the blood constantly on my hands.  “Jenna...” I turned to Boone, a look of concern on his face. “C...craig.” I whimpered back, shame overcoming me as Benny gave a somber exhale. “Can’t even do it. That’s sad pussycat, real sad.” Benny muttered, starting to get up only for Arcade to jump forward and hit him with handle of the gun, causing him to yelp and fall against the ground, a stream of blood coming from his temple. “Stay down or I will put a bullet right between your eyes.” Arcade growled, keys focused on Benny. He gave a cautionary glance at me before speaking. “We can’t play this game forever Jenna. You either have to be the one to do it, or we will. I don’t know how it’s difficult for you since this guy is a major pain but... it needs to be done. It’ll be better for everyone if we just bookend this.” “You can’t just take that away from her. You either let her do it, or let her decide who gets to.” Boone told Arcade

[bigskydreaming]

I just read that after Tarantulla raped Dick they were going to marry?! WTF DC THIS IS NOT A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPP is this true?

Yeah, in the issues following Blockbuster’s death and the rape, Dick was a total and complete mess, and Tarantula pretty much spent the next several issues taking advantage of his emotional state. She encouraged him to get drunk to feel better, and tried to use his more vulnerable drunken state to do a number of things which included targeting villains like Copperhead for the sake of her own personal agenda and almost getting married at a chapel. I believe she’d gotten a marriage certificate and everything, and the only thing that kept that from happening is right before it did, Dick got a call from Bruce summoning him back to Gotham to help with the War Games storyline, and the city-wide gang war that had erupted. 

(I honestly can’t remember if it was outright stated or textualized in the issues, but it was heavily implied that there was sexual interaction between Dick and Tarantula during this period…..I don’t want to call it them having sex, because Dick wasn’t in a coherent state of mind to be making the choice to have sex based on his normal priorities. My personal interpretation has always been that Dick let Tarantula drag him along from place to place during this time and ‘consented’ to having sex with her because he was kinda trying to….retroactively reframe what she’d done to him on the roof in issue #93, if that makes sense? Like, my take is that Dick was heavily in denial at this stage, and was kinda trying to convince himself that if he made the ‘choice’ here and NOW to have sex with Tarantula, then he could from there kinda convince himself that what had happened on the roof wasn’t any different. Like ‘well maybe I didn’t technically consent at the time, but see, I’m having sex with her now, and that means I probably would have anyway if my head had just been a little clearer.’ Make no mistake - I’m DEFINITELY not suggesting that this in any way makes what happened in #93 any less of actual rape, and there’s no interpretation IMO of the later scenes between them where Dick was making full use of his own agency rather than just unhealthily trying to cope with something he was still trying to process as him having been victimized by rather than a willing party too. It was all just messy as fuck, is what I’m saying. And Tarantula, whatever she thought she was doing, was very much manipulating the fuck out of Dick at his most vulnerable moments through all of this).

Tarantula went to Gotham with him, and even ‘helped’ the Batfam due to the fact that Bruce kinda just….took the fact that she was accompanying Dick and he wasn’t protesting it as a sign of him vouching for her, instead of like….the fact that Dick wasn’t remotely in the right state of mind of to be making healthy decisions, and was pretty obviously on a path to self-destruction. He was extremely reckless throughout the War Games storyline, getting shot in the leg by cops without it even phasing him, heedlessly risking his own life in order to go after Firefly (who just a couple weeks earlier had been hired by Blockbuster to burn down Haly’s Circus), and he basically gave the impression that he didn’t really care if he got both of them shot by the cops while he was going after Firefly - to the extent that it freaked Firefly out and he was yelling wtf are you doing, you Bats aren’t supposed to act like this. 

In the immediate aftermath of the War Games storyline, while still recovering from a gunshot wound in his leg, Dick left Gotham again without a word to anyone, just leaving his Nightwing costume abandoned in the Cave. He went back to Bludhaven, with Tarantula following him, and there he turned both himself and Catalina in for the murder of Blockbuster. (He turned himself in as Officer Dick Grayson, who’d been fired from the force before Blockbuster’s death, and basically presented himself as a cop who’d gone rogue rather than implicating himself as Nightwing, so as not to draw any heat back towards the rest of the Batfam by association). He was in jail for like a day or two, but then his former partner and now the captain of the precinct, Amy Rohrbach, had him released and said she refused to let him throw his life away out of guilt for something he didn’t even do. 

(She’d known his identity for some time, and its the reason he quit being a cop, she told him he had to choose and it was a conflict of interest….BUT the very night Blockbuster died, she came to him, knowing what Blockbuster had been doing and how he’d been targeting everyone Dick loved in his civilian life, and she offered to give him his gun and badge back so he’d be ‘covered’ if he had to shoot to kill Blockbuster in their inevitable confrontation. Dick refused to take them though.)

But anyway, when Amy made it clear that she wasn’t going to sit back and let Dick throw himself on his sword out of misplaced guilt for a murder he hadn’t actually committed, and was willing to drag herself down with him if he pushed it, Dick was released and he continued to spiral….and this is when he came up with his plan to infiltrate the mob and then from there the Society of Supervillains as Renegade. He first worked as an enforcer for the mob, nicknamed “Crutches” for the fact that he was still on crutches due to his leg injury, but this didn’t stop him from being effective….and then once he got what he’d wanted out of that he progressed to developing the Renegade persona and working for the Society and with Deathstroke. Basically, all of this was part of a plan he’d come up with to ensure Bludhaven’s safety in the longterm, without his presence….he was explicitly counting on not being around to protect Bludhaven himself, mostly because he didn’t deserve to be in his eyes, and it was heavily implied that he was at least passively suicidal at this time and was enacting this plan as kinda a form of ‘getting his affairs in order.’ 

Basically, the idea was he used his infiltrations to get leverage over the various mobs and make deals with supervillains notorious enough to ensure other villains obeyed a decree to stay out of Bludhaven….and ultimately his plan was to have Bludhaven become a kinda ‘no-fly zone’ for supervillains, the mob and superheroes alike, a city that was left alone for its citizens to live without outside interference. He’d gotten the leverage he needed to keep the mobs from operating in Bludhaven and had a supposed agreement with Deathstroke to keep the villains out….when Slade went back on his word and cooperated with the rest of the Society to drop the nuclear supervillain Chemo on Bludhaven and destroy the city just before Dick managed to bring his months long plans to fruition.

So, this is why if you’ve seen me post about the Blockbuster stuff before, I tend to say I hate how its been boiled down and reduced to just the rape on the rooftop by Tarantula. Yes that was bad enough on its own, but there was SO MUCH SHIT being thrown at Dick from EVERY POSSIBLE ANGLE, simultaneously, with no reprieve. Everything he was working towards was systematically thwarted and dismantled in both his civilian and superhero lives and nothing was going his way, and nobody anywhere was showing up to help him, and he truly was at rock bottom, and I hate hate hate people thinking he only has one or two major traumas in his life because that was like….a good year long exercise in misery for him. He canonically spent months undercover working within the mobs and the Society to try and make his plans happen, months surrounding himself by the worst of the worst and convincing himself all the while that he BELONGED among them. That was part of why he was doing what he was doing, make no mistake…..he fully believed at the time that he’d become no better than them.

And its why I loathe Bruce’s ultimate ‘pep talk’ to him, when Dick was finally recovering in the Batcave after Superman flew him out of radioactive, destroyed Bludhaven, where Dick had RUN BACK INTO in an attempt to save as many people as he could. “I can forgive you for Blockbuster’s death, if you really need me to, but I can’t and won’t forgive you for losing sight of the value of your own life.” REALLY, Bruce? Like, what the fuck is that? First off, why the fuck would you make that conditional like “if you really need me to”….if you think your son needs to feel you’ve forgiven him for something that wasn’t even his fault, just SAY THAT, without qualifiers. But…how the hell do you expect him to keep sight of the value of his own life if YOU’RE NOWHERE TO BE FOUND WHEN HE MOST NEEDS SOMEONE ELSE TO REMIND HIM HIS LIFE HAS VALUE???

Ugh.

So eternally annoyed with the non-resolution to all of that.

Oh, and also keep in mind that in comic book time, relatively speaking, all of this is not that long after Dick killed the Joker and Bruce like….walked off and said Dick needed to figure out how to live with that on his own. With them pretty much never actually resolving this, or addressing how freaking much of the fallout from Blockbuster’s death and his bystander role in it was probably Dick overcompensating for still feeling like he’d disappointed Bruce and betrayed his ideals by killing the Joker, and that Bruce hadn’t and wouldn’t forgive him for that.

He thought he was responsible for Blockbuster’s murder because he was already convinced he was a murderer, because nobody after Last Laugh just went to him and said “Look, who the fuck cares what Bruce thinks, it was the fucking Joker, he murdered your brother and was trying to murder your other brother, anyone who says you were wrong to kill the fucker can fuck off.”

But I mean, hey maybe that’s just me. LOLOL.

[twentiethcenturymoviesandtv]

The Wizard of Oz: The Characters

Perhaps the most vital element of any story, whether television show, movie, or book, is its characters.  You might have an interesting plot, but without compelling characters, it doesn’t stick, and The Wizard of Oz is no exception to that rule.  In fact, The Wizard of Oz has probably given us some of the most iconic and compelling characters ever created. People don’t forget characters Dorothy Gale, or the Wicked Witch very easily.  Today, we’re going to be taking a look at just what makes those characters so memorable, and so timeless.  First up, let’s check out our heroine.  (Spoilers below!)

Dorothy Gale is one of the most well-known and loved characters in all of pop culture history.  Despite originating as a character from a children’s book, Judy Garland’s portrayal in 1939 has been firmly cemented as the essential Dorothy Gale, and with good reason.

Every protagonist should have a problem, preferably a problem pertaining to the plot (say that five times fast!) and Dorothy’s problem is, initially, Smalltown Boredom.  She is surrounded by adults, authority figures who love her, but don’t understand her, and she’s the only one on her side willing to take action when her dog’s life is threatened.  This reveals something important about Dorothy’s character that remains consistent throughout the entire narrative: Dorothy always tries to solve her problems, even if it isn’t always the best course of action, such as deciding to become the Runaway to save her dog’s life.

Despite her willingness to take action when necessary, she’s not a fantasy hero when it comes to the action itself.  She never learns to use any weapons, or how to fight; her first instinct is to befriend, and she consistently shows politeness and kindness towards others.  Her status as Accidental Hero Trapped in Another World never goes to her head, even after she frees two separate groups of people from underneath the rule of the Wicked Witches of the East and West.  She helps the Scarecrow down from his pole, and oils the Tin Man’s joints, listens to their, and the Lion’s, problems, and then suggests that they join her so they can all get help together.  For heaven’s sake, she even apologizes when she commits Accidental Murder!

While we’re on the subject, let’s discuss that Accidental Murder for a moment.

The witch’s death wasn’t a dragon-slaying moment, it’s a result of Dorothy’s attempt to save the Scarecrow.  Dorothy is certainly not a She Who Fights Monsters character, in any sense of the term.  She never craved adventure, she left the house to save Toto.  She doesn’t try to attack what she thought was a vicious lion until he went after her dog.  In fact, the only times she becomes angry in the film are when someone she cares about is threatened.  She even forgives: she asks the Lion to join them after he attacks Toto, and she’s nice to the Wicked Witch’s guards.  Dorothy is a character who always tries to do the right, and kind, thing, something that sets her apart from many fantasy heroes that have come before and after her.  

Like I said in the last article, Dorothy Gale is an earnest dreamer, a scared, but brave little girl.  She’s a nice person and a brave person, but more than that, she’s a good character.

Good characters change throughout the course of a story, and while at first it might not seem like Dorothy changes at all, a closer look reveals a different story.

As I’ve mentioned previously, Dorothy is one of the first and most famous examples of the Hero’s Journey on film, and a character can’t go through the Hero’s Journey without learning and growing.  Much like her friends, searching for things they already had, (more on that shortly) Dorothy is searching for home, before finding out that she had the means to get there the whole time.  Dorothy’s ‘journey’ in a character sense is discovering her own strength and agency, not allowing herself to helplessly watch others affect her life, while not losing what makes her a good and nice person.  Not only is this a different moral than a lot of fantasy stories, where the hero does need to train to gain something before his narrative is finished, but Dorothy’s change also kicks in at a totally different time in the narrative.

The moment where Dorothy’s goal changes, the scene where she stops wanting to get away from Kansas and wants to get back to it, doesn’t happen at the end of the second act, it’s not a dramatic realization after the hero has gone through much of their journey; no, Dorothy’s priorities switch the exact moment she lands in Oz and is hailed for killing their witch. This doesn’t make her a bad character, or a bad example, because it makes a lot of sense for a young kid to immediately realize that they don’t belong in this fantasy world, and that they have family that’s probably concerned about them.  Dorothy’s learning and growing is done on the journey to get back, struggling to return to the place she realizes that she belongs.

In summary?  Dorothy’s a sweet kid, who doesn’t let adventure turn her into a harder person, just a kinder and stronger one.

But a hero is only as good as their villain, right?

The Wicked Witch of the West is rock solid one of the most memorable villains in film history.  Everything from her laugh to her look is firmly cemented in the minds of moviegoers, even though she doesn’t really look like her book counterpart at all.  She’s the quintessential witch: shooting fireballs, riding on brooms and cackling, but perhaps the most interesting part about her is the fact that she, like multiple other characters in this story, is not one person, but two.

Ms. Gulch is the original Big Bad of the film, an uptight woman who ‘owns half the county’.  Fed up with Dorothy’s dog, Toto, she obtains the legal right to have him put down.  We don’t see a lot of her, and there is even evidence to suggest that Toto did chase her cat and run through her lawn often as well as bite her, but there is also a lot of evidence to suggest that Ms. Gulch had it coming.  Toto tends to be a good judge of character, and even Dorothy’s aunt and uncle, while legally powerless, don’t let her go without letting her know exactly what they think of her.

It makes sense that Dorothy’s frightened subconscious would exaggerate nasty Ms. Gulch into an evil, hammy, black-clad, laughing mad, Wicked Witch.

In the realm of Oz, that one key character trait of Ms. Gulch (besides overall nastiness) did carry over: power.  In our world, she can order around the sheriff, in Oz, she has an army of flying monkeys and magic powers.  And once again, just like in the real world, she uses an offense as an excuse to hunt Dorothy and Toto down, using the death of her sister as a way to get her hands on the magical shoes that she wore.  Throughout the entire movie, she is never shown mourning the death of her sister, but she is very much focused on those shoes, and the fact that Dorothy is wearing them is enough to make the Witch vow vengeance. (‘I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!’)

In this, the Witch is an extraordinarily good villain.  Just scary enough to frighten young watchers, and still mean enough to make older viewers wince with disgust, the Witch proves an excellent foil to Dorothy.  She’s the ultimate oppression in a child’s life: an unjust adult with power.

(It’s important to note that Dorothy never ‘overthrows’ her as is often seen in these types of scenarios.  Like I’ve stated above, the death of both witches is a total accident on her part, and Dorothy even shows remorse afterwards.)

The Witch maintains a steady threat throughout the film, arriving to throw fireballs, threaten, or just cackle when need be.  She also follows through.  Towards the end of the movie, she kidnaps Dorothy, which leads to the most important thing about being a villain: being beaten.  The Witch goes out in one of the most memorable and iconic deaths in movie history, melted by her Weaksauce Weakness: a bucket of water.

In the end, as with Dorothy, we don’t know a lot about these characters, but in that, both hero and villain feel (fittingly) very much like characters from a fairytale: archetypes for young audiences to immediately grasp and understand.  Sure, the Wicked Witch is no Darth Vader, but does that make her a less effective villain?  I don’t think so.  There’s a reason she’s a Breakout Villain and the second most famous character in the film.

Of course, there’s more to look at here than just the two main driving forces.  No movie is complete without its supporting cast.

The first of the trio of supporting characters that Dorothy meets in Oz is the Scarecrow, a more exaggerated version of his own Kansas Kounterpart.  The Scarecrow’s defining trait is his value of brains, intelligence, and sense.

The thing about the Scarecrow is that he always had brains, he was just under the impression that he didn’t.  Every idea the gang gets is from him.  He figures out how to get Dorothy apples, he comes up with the plan to get the trio into the castle, and he even uses the Tin-Man’s axe to bring the light fixture down on the Witch’s guards.

Once again, part of the brilliance of The Wizard of Oz is that both the Oz trio and Dorothy have the same problem: lack of confidence in their own abilities, constantly using what they think they don’t have to reach their goals.  If it wasn’t for Dorothy’s realization that she needed home, or the Scarecrow’s idea that he needed brains, neither would have ended up on this adventure and neither would have grown as people the way that they do, or learned that they already had what they were looking for.

Same goes for the Tin Man, probably the most emotional character in all of cinema.

Like the Scarecrow, his Kansas Kounterpart also puts a lot of stock in having a specific trait, this time in having a heart.  The Tin Man’s stock is in remaining emotionally open and caring, and also like the Scarecrow, the Tin Man spends most of the movie bemoaning the absence of something he clearly has: a heart.

Like I said before, it’s not an exaggeration to say that the Tin Man might be the most emotional character in the history of movies.  He cries over everything. In another example of the truly interesting acting in this film, the performance that Jack Haley gives is dripping with empathy and kindness, directly tonally contradicting his claims of heartlessness.  Ironically, the gentlest of the company is also the only one consistently armed, with an axe no less.  Also like the Scarecrow, what he actually needs, and what he gets at the end of the story, is belief in the fact that he does have a heart, rather than the vital organ itself.  He spends the entire story using and prominently displaying the trait he determinedly says he lacks, and it’s all the more rewarding when he finally believes he’s found what he’s been looking for.

Perhaps the most complicated and difficult of the three to look at would be the Cowardly Lion.  Of the trio, he’s the one who does seem to lack the trait he claims to, routinely running away from danger and displaying extreme cowardice, to the point of being afraid of sheep he tries to count to go to sleep.  He’s not exactly King of the Forest, Dorothy brings him to blubbering with one almighty smack.

While the Scarecrow and the Tin Man obviously display their own intelligence and emotion, the Lion never seems to portray any bravery of his own. He is drug, kicking and screaming, into danger at every turn, heading into the Witch’s castle, the Haunted Forest, and even the audience with the Wizard.  Even during the rescue of Dorothy he begs his friends to talk him out of it.

The real question we must ask is: does this make him a coward?

The definition of courage is not, as the Lion seems to think, a lack of fear.  In fact, the real definition of courage, especially from a storytelling standpoint, is being afraid, and doing what you have to do anyway.  Many of our greatest heroes from fiction have been afraid during their greatest deeds, but did what they did because it had to be done.  With this definition in mind, the Lion’s characterization makes a little more sense.

The Lion does pull through in every case, and yes, he does need some help from his friends to keep him going at times, but if doing everything alone and without fear constituted courage, very few of us would be considered truly brave.  Once again, this brings out the emphasis that The Wizard of Oz puts on friendships, which is possibly another one of the reasons that this film holds up for all ages.  We all know what it’s like to do things we don’t want to for a friend’s sake, even if it’s not exactly storming a castle.

Just like the Scarecrow and the Tin Man, the Lion never picks up on the fact that he too has what he’s been looking for this whole time, the real prize at the end being his own confidence in his ability.  He also shares quite a few similarities to his Kansas Kounterpart, all bluster until Dorothy falls into the pigpen, and despite being afraid, he charges in after her.  Like Dorothy and the others, he too ends the journey with what he’s been looking for.

But of course, there wouldn’t be a journey in the first place without our titular wizard, would there?

Of all of the characters in The Wizard of Oz, the Wizard himself is the most similar to his real world counterpart, Professor Marvel.  He’s a con artist, a Stage Magician in both worlds, convincing Dorothy of his abilities with his ‘Crystal Ball’ in Kansas, and convincing everyone in Oz that he’s an all-powerful Wizard, with enough parlor tricks and bluster to be in charge without ever having to use any real magic.

Despite this penchant for dishonesty, both the Wizard and Professor Marvel display remarkable amounts of compassion.  He’s a nice enough man when it comes down to it, using his ‘crystal ball’ to try to convince Dorothy to go back home to her family, and at the end, again trying to help her get home.  He gives Dorothy’s friends symbols to represent their ‘missing’ traits, and even dropping a few words of wisdom on them.

(Yes, he did send a child on an assassination mission, but in his defense, he was probably trying to buy time to figure out what to do with their requests. Once again, all bluster, remember? And furthermore, this is all a dream of Dorothy’s.  Cut her subconscious some slack.)

Another tidbit to look at: it’s interesting that his relationship with Dorothy is so very similar in both worlds: a con artist who tries to get her home.  It’s also interesting to note that in Kansas, before her journey, she buys it, whereas in Oz, after her adventure, she unmasks him as the Man Behind the Curtain (granted, with a lot of help from Toto).

Despite the fact that in the end, it is Dorothy alone who can get her home, it’s not for lack of the Wizard’s trying.

There are only three remaining major characters in The Wizard of Oz who do not have counterparts in either universe: Auntie Em, Uncle Henry, and Glinda the Good Witch, and rather than sharing similarities with any other characters, this group actually seems to work as contrasts for each other.

Auntie Em and Uncle Henry are introduced as hardworking people, an older couple with a farm in the middle of the Great Depression, by no means an easy job.  They are also raising Dorothy, which is another not easy job.  As a result, Auntie Em especially comes across as a little stern and stressed, distant, and not really understanding of Dorothy’s young impulsive thoughts and dreams.  In a way, they are part of the cause of Dorothy’s journey in the first place by not stopping Ms. Gulch from swooping off with Toto, coming across almost as a betrayal to not only Dorothy, but the audience.  Dorothy and the audience both feel that the couple are unsympathetic to her, and don’t help her when she absolutely needs it, which works as a neat foreshadowing that Dorothy will, in fact, be learning to solve her own problems.

It is only later, when the tornado strikes, that you see the genuine concern and love that the pair have for their niece.  When Dorothy wakes up, both aunt and uncle greet her with relieved affection.  Despite the fact that it is Auntie Em and Uncle Henry’s inaction that drives her away, it is also them that she is so desperate to return to: caring family that she is sure is worried about her.  (She’s right.)  Dorothy’s self-sufficiency does not come at the cost of her family’s love and support, rather, the message seems to be that through relationships with others, you can learn to handle yourself.

By contrast, there’s Glinda the Good Witch, the first person Dorothy meets in Oz, a super-magical being with the power to scare off the Wicked Witch, and with the knowledge from the beginning that would have saved Dorothy a trip.

Glinda has a similar effect on Dorothy’s life as her aunt and uncle, but in a different way.  It is Glinda’s inaction that is part of the reason for Dorothy’s quest.  By not telling her about the power of the Ruby Slippers to take her home, she allows Dorothy to take that journey that Glinda knows she needs.

Glinda is the most otherworldly and magical thing about Oz.  Everything about her is designed to be different to anyone else in Oz, from her mode of travel to her clothes to her way of speech.  She’s immediately friendly and we instantly get the sense that she knows more than both Dorothy and the audience.  Glinda is Dorothy’s guide, sending her off, rescuing her from the Wicked Witch’s poppies, and then at the end, when she tells Dorothy how she can get home to her mentors in the real world.

If you think that these characters seem a little simple, you’d be right.  At the end of the day, The Wizard of Oz is not a story designed to have complex characters with deep motivations, it’s a fairytale intended to have uncomplicated characters that people immediately connect to and remember.  And it works.

Every character in The Wizard of Oz is not only there for a reason, it’s for a good reason.  It was a perfect cast that worked well onscreen, with enough relatability and charm that people of all ages come back to them again and again. They carry the story and make us care about it and them, and in the end, that is the mark of a good character.

Whether you like or hate them, a character is there to make you care, and in this case, this group does their job.  They leave an impact, and a strong one at that. We remember these characters and their quirks long after the movie is over for a reason.

Join me next time where we’ll be looking at another interesting aspect of The Wizard of Oz: We’ve seen the impact it’s had on the culture, now it’s time to see the impact the culture had on it.  Feel free to drop a suggestion or thought in the ask box, and thank you so much for reading!

[lilacmoon83]

Finding You Always

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 214: Worlds Collide, Pt 3

Summer was growing exhausted, as she kept nullifying Mephisto's fireballs by putting them in her bubbles and extinguishing them, while her siblings fought off his heavily armed gang.

"We have to make sure they don't destroy the museum. We can't let all this history be destroyed," Eva feared.

"Yeah...we need to draw them out of here for sure," Emma agreed, as she blasted more of them back.

"He's definitely given these guys an upgrade in fighting skills and power," Leo said, as he breathed heavily, following a fist fight with one of the thugs.

"All right kid, you're our resident powerhouse. What do you suggest?" Emma asked her baby brother.

"An earthquake is the last thing we want in the museum, Emmy," he argued, but then smirked.

"But I think I have a new trick up my sleeve that I've been working on with Mr. Gold," he said. Rumple nodded.

"Now would be the time, lad," Rumple said, as three more of the thugs dropped dead, thanks to the Dark One snapping their necks.

"So much for not killing," Eva said uncomfortably.

"They're thugs...he just saved a ton of lives by killing them. They would have gone on to kill innocent people," Leo reasoned.

"He's right," Regina agreed, as several more dropped, thanks to her. It was drastic, but the stakes were too high. They were already going to be blamed for all the property damage and being the cause of it. But if they had civilian casualties, it would be far worse.

"I won't be surprised if the Major loses the battle with her government and we have them threatening to have the National Guard invade the United Realms," Regina said.

"Mom and Dad will wall us off before they let that happen," Leo assured. She sighed, hoping he was right. Snow and Charming were notoriously forgiving, but after the experience with their darker halves, she hoped they had learned that there were times that the tough decisions had to be made.

"You really think you can take me on, brat?" Mephisto questioned, as the fire in his palms gave the entire room a glow and yet Bobby didn't back away from the intimidating display.

"Considering I can do that too...yeah I think I do," Bobby retorted, as fire came alive in his hands. By now, most of the innocent bystanders had been evacuated, but there were still a few reporters and camera people that were braving the spectacle in order to get in on video.

"And I can do way more than that...like this," Bobby said, as he grabbed Mephisto's wrists.

"I may be able to wield all the elements, but I still specialize in earth powers," he said, as they disappeared with a jade green puff of smoke.

"Look!" Leo called, as they saw something burrowing beneath them through the ground and followed it outside the museum. There was another puff of jade green smoke, as the two emerged from the ground and Bobby tossed Mephisto onto a parked car.

"Ooohhh…I hope they have insurance," Emma commented. Mephisto was seething, as he pulled himself off the wrecked car.

"If you think for a second that this is over, brat...you have another thing coming," Mephisto growled, as disappeared in a fiery display of flames. His four older siblings descended upon him at that point, patting him on the back and ruffling his hair.

"That was awesome!" Leo exclaimed.

"Yeah...he was pissed. Good work, kid," Emma congratulated him. Bobby looked down a bit shyly.

"Thanks," he said.

"Come on...we need to find Mom, Dad, and Grandpa Xander," Eva said. They all agreed and with the rest of their family, they ventured back inside the museum to try and discern where they could have gone.

~*~

Snow and David chased them through the Museum, but when they followed them into the Ancient Egypt exhibit, they found the room empty.

"We lost them," Xander hissed.

"No...there's no way out of this room other than the way we came in," Snow realized.

"She's right," he said, as they willed the chalice forth in its joined form and used it to scan the room for any residual magic or portals. There was an ethereal glow on the replica of the Giza pyramid and they exchanged a glance.

"That's why no one can ever find them. They're using this exhibit to portal somewhere else," David said.

"But this land has no magic without the two of you in the vicinity," Xander said.

"No...but would creating a portal with some of Clayton's technology be impossible?" Snow asked and he sighed.

"No...that's very possible," he agreed, as the chalice glowed and the magic opened up the portal from the residual trail left by whatever technology they had used to slip away.

"We have no idea what we're walking into," Xander warned.

"No...we don't. But we don't have a choice. We have to stop them and it looks like we're the only ones that can," David said, as he looked at Snow.

"The kids will find us too…" she assured them. They nodded and walked through the portal.

~*~

"Wow...this is a really old book," Tink mentioned.

"It is and it was really hard to find. That's why I think it might be important," Rose replied.

"But I thought you were able to catalog everything in the library?" Neal asked.

"I was...that's why this one is so unique. This book is not in my catalog," she replied.

"The plot thickens," Tink said, as she flipped through it.

"Because new books literally appear all the time, that's happened from time to time, but I just have a feeling that this one had help appearing," Rose replied.

"You think it was being hidden, my angel?" Fandral asked.

"It's possible. I don't know who is suddenly helping us or maybe it's because Blue has committed the ultimate crime," Tink replied.

"The murder of another fairy," she said.

"Not to mention a human, even a deplorable one," Fandral added.

"Who did Blue answer to as Head Fairy?" Neal asked.

"Zeus himself," Tink replied, as he took the book.

"And who do you answer to now that you're Head Fairy and Zeus is dead?" he asked.

"Well…I've had no formal meeting with any other Gods, except Aphrodite. I suppose it would be Athena, but she has yet to formally meet with me," Tink replied.

"And if Zeus, for some reason, forbade Athena from interfering, she might use other means to get the information to us," Rose deduced.

"It's entirely possible," Tink agreed.

"Did Blue ever answer to Hera?" Neal asked.

"No…Hera would have never had any authority over the fairies. She may have been Zeus' wife, but they hated each other. He didn't trust her," Tink replied.

"That was probably wise...look at this," he said, as he showed them an image on the page.

"That's Blue...and Hera," Tink said.

"Standing over the unconscious body of Aphrodite," Rose added in alarm.

"Can you translate this?" Fandral asked. Tink nodded and used her wand to translate the book from Greek to English.

"We best start at the beginning," Rose said, as she took the book and began to read.

~*~

Flashback

The young blonde girl cried, as she looked out over the ocean, tears glistening in her eyes, as the sea foam bubbled to the surface of the crystal blue water.

"It's time, my precious one," Zeus called, as he stood behind her.

"Why Daddy?" she asked.

"Mother has been gone but a few weeks and you are getting married again!" Aphrodite shouted.

"You know it's not my choice, young one," he admonished.

"I am the God of the skies. I must have a Queen...it is one rule I cannot break," he said, as she stood up.

"And it is time for you to learn of your duties. You are the Goddess of love and beauty, daughter of Dione and you will fulfill her vision of championing true love," he announced, as an item appeared in his hand.

"Mother's chalice," she said in awe.

"Your chalice now...its magnificence and power is now yours," he corrected.

"What do I know about true love?" she asked bitterly. He smirked.

"You will, my sweet girl," he assured, as he kissed her forehead.

"Hera will not like that she does not get mother's chalice," Aphrodite said wearily.

"She has no claim to it. You are our pride and joy and she wouldn't want anyone but you to have it," he replied.

"It's a big responsibility…" she said with trepidation.

"One that your mother knew you would excel at. After all, who better than to choose the truest loves each millennium among the mortals than a product of true love herself," he said. Aphrodite smiled and hugged him.

"I miss her, Daddy," she said.

"Me too, sweet girl," he replied. They were both unaware of Hera's blistering gaze upon them from the shadows.

~*~

"Are you sure they're okay?" George questioned, as he looked at the pair. The moment James had given Aphrodite true love's kiss, the curse on them shattered, but as a side effect of the complete unlocking on Aphrodite's memories, they collapsed into unconsciousness. Neither Zeus or Dione seemed alarmed though and Nyx had magicked a bed to lay them upon.

"They are fine...this is part of it. They will only awaken when they have relieved their entire past," Zeus assured.

"What kind of curse is this? And who cursed them?" George asked.

"You will know that soon...but not before them," Dione replied and they went back to waiting for them to awaken.

~*~

"These are exquisite," the man said, as he examined the artifacts.

"These are genuine Olmec Terracotta's...they're priceless," the woman next to him added, as she looked them over as well.

"Everything has a price...getting these wasn't easy," Natalie commented.

"Yes...they are nearly untouched, despite their age. How did you find these?" the woman asked.

"I'm not an archeologist that plays by the rules, so to speak. But I know what I'm doing and able to excavate certain sites that have forbidden said excavation," Natalie replied.

"Clayton always did hire the best. It seems you have surrounded yourself with the same skillful people that your father did," she commented, looking to Johnny. He smirked.

"I was groomed from birth to step into his shoes," he agreed.

"And I do manage to find the best, however, our previous translator passed and we need a new one for this," Johnny mentioned.

"Oh a quipu...is this the one you've been hoping for?" she asked.

"We'll see," Natalie replied vaguely.

"Well…I may know of someone that can translate this for you. But I expect you to give me a deal on these beauties," she said.

"Then I assume you and Dr. La Guerra are interested in the jade as well?" Johnny asked.

"Normally, I would pass on the jade, but the condition this is in is rare," the doctor replied.

"Then you had better be prepared to pay a pretty penny," a new voice said, as Natalie turned.

"Mother…" she said in a warning tone.

"You'll let these real treasures slip through your fingers on the off chance that another silly quipu will lead you to a grander one that might not even exist," Thalia argued.

"I can't believe you discount the existence of Cibola or El Dorado when I was born in freaking Atlantis," Natalie argued back.

"Clayton was hundreds of years old and knew some of the best explorers. He even knew her ancestor, one of the greatest and most ruthless conquistadors in history," Thalia argued, gesturing to the woman.

"And he still never found it," she finished.

"It's real mother...and I'm going to find it," Natalie snapped back. Thalia sighed.

"You and finding things," she muttered under her breath.

"What?" Natalie asked, but her question was interrupted when Snow, David, and Xander appeared in the secret meeting place.

"Well, well...you found your way here, after all," Johnny said, as he tapped his glass.

"Ladies and Gentlemen...the illustrious Snow White and Prince Charming themselves, in the flesh, along with the chalice of Aphrodite!" he announced, instantly drawing the entire room's attention to them.

"My father's murderers!" he continued, with a hiss.

"We didn't murder him. His own arrogance destroyed him," David snapped back.

"Your chalice...it was all I ever heard about growing up, you know. Father was always a bit miffed that he knew about such an object, but it was the one thing he couldn't collect. Thus why he decided to collect the pair of you," Johnny retorted, as he looked to Xander.

"You remember the stories. I still remember those nights here and there where father was too busy to deal with me and the nannies were at their wits end. But you would get me calmed down and put to bed," he recalled, with a bit of fondness.

"All while you knew you abandoned your own son and your granddaughter that was out there in some group home," he added with a vicious smile.

"Shut up, you little prick," Xander hissed, which only amused the sadistic son of the Collector.

"And you," he said, with reverence, as he looked at Snow.

"Father always was enamored with you the most, because of your resemblance to the Goddess. She was his original obsession," he revealed, surprising them both.

"Oh, didn't know that, did you?" he said.

"I suppose you wouldn't, since the Goddess has had her memories scrambled more times than even you two," he retorted.

"Yes...he almost had it all. He made you crush his heart to cast a curse and he would have had the chalice. And you...but then you know that part. It still haunts you," he leered.

"Shut the hell up," David growled, as he pulled Snow even closer to him.

"And you...the hero Prince Charming. He wanted to be you, in a way, just without all the selfless heroics. The people's Prince...the husband of the fairest of them all. The truest loves. I came to loathe your story," he said bitterly.

"It's not our problem that your narcissistic father didn't hug you enough. Trust us...we never wanted his kind of attention," David retorted.

"Oh, but you got it...every bit of it," Johnny replied.

"We're here to retrieve the stolen items that you took," Snow said, as she looked at Natalie.

"Including the quipu. It's not yours," she added.

"Oh and I suppose you're going to take it from me, Princess?" Natalie challenged.

"Don't tempt her. That's not a fight you'll win," David challenged, as blue eyes met blue eyes.

"I think I can handle more than you know," she challenged back.

"Thinking you have any advantage here would be unwise," the older blonde woman next to Natalie said.

"Who the hell are you?" David asked. She smirked and looked at Xander.

"He is definitely yours," she replied.

"Long time no see...Xander," she purred.

"Thalia," he said stiffly.

"You know her?" David asked.

"Oh he knows me...quite well, in fact," she replied. Snow's eyes narrowed and she looked at her father-in-law.

"How well?" she asked, watching him swallow nervously.

"It only happened a couple of times," he assured.

"Oh my God…" David exclaimed in outrage.

"David...your mother had been gone a long time and I was struggling," he tried to explain.

"Yes...he was. The alcohol...the guilt with you laying in a hospital bed and his granddaughter in an unhappy group home," Thalia revealed.

"Stop it," Xander growled.

"Yes...to be fair, you wanted to reunite your family then, but Clayton convinced you that it would be a mistake," Thalia said.

"I've made a lot of mistakes and I wasn't always a good man. My son knows my shortcomings," Xander insisted.

"Apparently not with the way he's looking at you right now," Thalia said.

"Oh and I suppose your daughter knows everything about you?" he challenged. She frowned.

"Not everything…" Snow interjected and the older blonde glared at her.

"Stay out of this, princess. It's none of your business," she retorted.

"David is my business and I have a feeling there's something that she doesn't know about you," Snow challenged.

"Snow?" David asked, as he watched her look at his father. He sighed. He had known Snow long enough to know that she wouldn't let this go until she had answers for her husband.

"Is she mine?" he asked and Natalie looked alarmed by that question.

"What? Mother?" she asked.

"We're not doing this…" Thalia hissed, as the three of them cried out and a shield appeared around them.

"Ray shields...I think you'll find them quite impervious to your magical chalice," Thalia said, as they tried to use it to nullify the shield, but it didn't work.

"The auction is over for tonight!" she called, as they could only watch, as most of the people dispersed through portals that seemed to be catacombed within the strange chamber.

"Where is this place?" Snow wondered.

"We're hundreds of feet underground. Trust me, no one is going to find you," Natalie refuted.

"Underground?" David asked, as he and Snow shared an amused glance.

"You're going to eat those words," Snow said.

"What about our deal?" doctor La Guerra interjected, as there was suddenly a rumble beneath them and a huge plume of jade green smoke, as Bobby burrowed to the surface with his siblings and Regina, while the others waited on standby on the surface.

"That was the weirdest thing ever, but really cool," Leo said.

"There is a ton of dirt in my hair," Regina complained, as she started trying to brush it out.

"At least your hair is dark enough not to show it," Emma grumbled.

"Mom! Dad!" Eva called, as she ran to them.

"Careful honey...we don't know what this shield is, but the chalice couldn't break through," Snow warned. Regina waved her hand over it.

"It's not any magic I know," she said.

"Maybe it's not magic at all," Leo said, as Eva spotted a control panel on the wall.

"Not one step, princess," Thalia warned, but was shocked when Leo used a lightning bolt to fry the control panel, destroying the shield.

"Let's go…" Johnny growled, as he grabbed Natalie's hand. She spared another glance at them, as Johnny escaped with her and Thalia. The doctor and his companion weren't so lucky.

"Freeze!" David warned, as he pulled his gun on the mysterious pair and they were forced to put their hands up. Emma waved her hand and cuffs appeared on their wrists. David holstered his gun and they used the chalice to create a portal back to the surface.

"No idea who you two are...but you're gonna tell us," he said, as they gathered the stolen artifacts, except the quipu, and filed through the portal.

~*~

Flashback

Hera stormed into her Temple and huffed, as she sat down in her Throne.

"For someone that just got married to the All Mighty Zeus...you don't seem very happy," Blue mentioned, as she emerged from the shadows.

Zeus had created the fairies to be messengers between the Gods and mortals. For some reason, the mortals saw fairies as a symbol of good and did not fear them like they did the Gods. Mortals had their reasons to fear the Gods though, since the past was filled with bloodshed between the monarchs of Mount Olympus and humans.

Reul Ghorm had been chosen by him as head of the fairies, but as it often did, power slowly began to corrupt Blue and just as bitterness had set in for Hera, it had for Blue as well.

Blue wanted more power and control over mortals, but Zeus had long forbade it. She had even tried to endear herself to Dione in hopes of having a hand in choosing the truest loves. It was a vision that Dione had and never realized. She planned to select two mortals, who represented the epitome of true love, to bestow the power of her magical chalice to.

The chalice was forged by Dione's mother, Gaia herself, from the essence of the earth she loved so much and all its elements. She gifted it to Dione and she wanted to do good for mortals with it. But the recent Titanomachy had given Hera the perfect opportunity to eliminate the woman that had the Throne she wanted. Dione had been mortally wounded, but it was not what it appeared to be. Hera had colluded with the Titans to topple Zeus and Dione, promising them positions of power if she was crowned Queen if they killed Dione and her precious daughter. Naturally, she betrayed them all and they were cast into Tartarus with her secret remaining unknown. The end result was that Dione was dead and she was Queen now. However, their offspring lived and the coveted chalice now belonged to Aphrodite.

"He gave the chalice to his daughter!" she hissed.

"Then perhaps we need to arrange an accident for the little blonde bimbo," Blue suggested.

"You know that's impossible. The war with the Titans distracted Athena enough that she could not see our deception, but now it will not be so easy," Hera reminded her.

"True and if Zeus loses the apple of his eye...well, there will be no Earth to rule. He would smite us all and the mortals just in sheer blind rage," Blue agreed.

"Yes...and even as Queen, I am still overshadowed by Dione's precious little flower," Hera complained. Blue smirked.

"If we can't kill her...then we can certainly manipulate her," she suggested. Hera's interest perked at that.

"What do you have in mind?" Hera asked.

"I will befriend the empty headed beauty and help her choose her champions," Blue replied. Hera smirked.

"Champions that we select...champions that ultimately could lead to our control of the chalice," she deduced. Blue nodded.

"Precisely," she said and Hera tilted her head.

"You already have a pair of mortals in mind, don't you?" she asked. Blue smirked.

"Yes...and they will serve us well. The man I have in mind will do anything for power. Faking true love with some woman will fool the little twit and when she gifts them her chalice...it's as good as ours," Blue replied.

"Then this is our plan. Proceed...and do not fail me, Blue," Hera said.

"Never, my Goddess. Zeus may think my loyalty is to him, but we know that you are my Queen," Blue said, as she became small in her fairy form with a Blue glow and descended back to earth.

~*~

"Wow…" Tink said, as Rose finished reading the beginning passages.

"So Blue has really been loyal to Hera all along and was working for her," Fandal said.

"That's heavy...but something tells me more happened later between them. I mean, this explains why Hera hates Aphrodite, but this implies that Blue was only doing Hera's bidding at first," Neal said.

"He's right...somewhere it became personal for Blue too," Rose said, as she closed the book.

"I'll read more when we get home and then we can discuss more tomorrow," she said. Tink smiled and used her magic on the book, duplicating it.

"Now we can both read...because I have to know more. Then I think we can finally bring her down," Tink said. Rose nodded and smiled at her.

"Guess we're doing more reading when we get home instead of other stuff," Neal muttered. The blonde smirked.

"Behave and you might get more than reading," she teased, as they joined hands and left the diner.

"I'll round up the children," Fandral said, as he kissed her cheek and went to get them from the table where they were playing a game.

"Mom...what if the Blue Fairy realizes you're reading her story and she tries to stop you?" Carina asked worriedly.

"I won't lie to you, sweetie...she very well may try. But your Papa will never let anything happen to me," Rose promised.

"Your mother is right," Fandral agreed, as he took her hand and pulled her to her feet.

"The Blue Fairy may have magic, but this Asgardian warrior will not let her silence more people," he promised, as they left the diner to head home for the evening.

~*~

"Dammit...you two were careless! And now we lost a fortune worth of jade and rare terracotta's!" Thalia roared.

"Relax...the quipu is what we really wanted, especially if it is the one my father sought. The key to Cibola or El Dorado. They have enough treasure to command power over the entire world," Johnny replied.

"Or it's just another ancient series of knots and strings full of riddles! Taunting the truest loves was a horrible misstep!" she cried.

"They already knew exactly who we were!" Johnny snapped.

"That woman...the Major has them chasing us like her own personal team of fairy tale agents," he added irritably.

"Pack up...we're leaving. Back to the Athens base," Thalia ordered.

"Oh no...we're not doing that. It's time for offensive measures," Johnny refuted.

"Johnny...that's not a good idea," Thalia argued.

"I'm in charge of this operation!" Johnny snapped.

"I am my father's heir!" he added.

"Besides...the cowardly doctor will talk. I have no illusions that Prince Charming and his brats will interrogate the truth right out of him," he said. Thalia sighed.

"Then you better work on getting that thing translated and hope that it's what we need," she said.

"Not until you tell me what you're hiding," Natalie interjected.

"Natalie…" she started to deflect, but her daughter cut her off.

"Were you and Xander...involved?" she asked.

"Of course they were," Johnny answered for her.

"Stay out of this, Junior," Thalia snapped.

"Mother…" Natalie pressed and she sighed.

"It only happened a couple of times," Thalia insisted, stunning her to silence. She was almost afraid to ask her next question, because somehow she knew the answer.

"Is…is Xander my father?" she asked. Thalia turned away in frustration.

"Mother...is he my father!?" she shouted and her silence spoke volumes.

"Wow...that I didn't know, but I guess it makes sense," he said.

"You knew they were together at one time?" Natalie asked in an accusatory tone, but he shrugged.

"We were never together…" Thalia refuted.

"I remember seeing them together here and there as a child. When my father wasn't pulling him out of the bottle...your mum was. Honestly, I never really put it together, but it makes sense," Johnny said, as he started to laugh then.

"Father must certainly be laughing now...you're a Charming!" he exclaimed to her.

"Well...half Charming," he teased.

"Shut up!" Natalie hissed.

"Mother…" she growled.

"It's true...Xander is your father," Thalia revealed.

"You said that my father died…" Natalie hissed.

"I lied...and it was for the best! Xander was gone most of the time, on missions for Clayton and when he was around, he was drinking and wallowing about the children he had already abandoned. He would have abandoned you too," Thalia said.

"That wasn't your choice!" Natalie hissed.

"Xander is a traitor...and our plan remains unchanged," Johnny said, as he loaded his gun with a clip.

"We cannot count on Malina's source to translate the quipu...but I've located a back up. Let's go…" he said, as Natalie glared at her mother and had a moment of pause.

"Natalie...are you coming?" he asked. She looked at him and then nodded.

"Yes," she replied. The revelation that Xander was her father and she had this huge family out there was jarring. But she didn't know them and they certainly wouldn't want someone like her. No...this didn't change anything.

~*~

After returning to the surface, they escorted the two mysterious captives back to the Boston FBI headquarters for interrogation. Agent Green and Agent Brooks insisted on taking the first crack at their interrogation. Some of the other agents began processing the recovered artifacts, while David observed the interrogation from the glass, along with the Major. It was late, so he insisted that everyone go back to the hotel to get some sleep, but he wasn't surprised when Snow came in and put her arms around him. She could see the questions in his mind and knew his father was probably waiting in the conference room for him. But he didn't want to think about any of it right now, because he knew he knew lashing out in anger wouldn't get them anywhere. He wanted answers, but knew he wouldn't like hearing any of them. So for now, he was focused on the two potential investors in the next room. Snow managed to get a bit of his frustration to ebb away, but it was growing since the two agents weren't getting anywhere.

"How much more time are we going to let these two waste?" he asked impatiently.

"The lab is running their prints. If we get a hit, then I'll let you go at them both. But I'd rather you go in there with something, because they're not giving an inch," the Major replied.

"It's going to be okay," Snow whispered to him, as she kissed him gently. He sighed and pressed his forehead against hers.

"You figured it out before me…" he said.

"The bitterness rolled off that woman in waves and when I saw that it was directed at your father...it wasn't much of a leap after that," she replied, as the Major came back into the room with a file and Xander followed her in.

"We got two hits…" Patricia said, as she put the file down on the table in front of them.

"Did we even need to?" David asked, as he looked at his father.

"Do you know them too?" he demanded to know.

"Yes...I know of them. I only met them a handful of times," Xander said. David gripped the metal table, his knuckles turning white and probably the only thing that kept him from raging at that moment was Snow's hand on his arm.

"The man is Dr. Hector La Guerra. He technically had his medical license revoked in 1945 and he fled his homeland of France for the United States," Patricia said.

"Funny...he doesn't look that old," David commented.

"None of these people are what they seem. He was born in 1918 and worked for the Nazis during World War II," she continued.

"Oh wonderful...a real life Nazi," Snow said.

"He lost his license for human experimentation and specializes in working with disease and poisons," Patricia continued.

"Clayton recruited him after the war and brought him to Atlantis. He introduced the doctor to all the magical plants, herbs and substances he had in his collection. It was Dr. La Guerra that created the youth potions. He was able to synthesize the water from the fountain of youth with his own mixture of magical herbs and created a way to utilize the water without tying the user to Atlantis," Xander explained.

"Boy, the good news just keeps coming," David deadpanned.

"We never saw him in Atlantis...but I spent a lot of time in the infirmary with Eva during that time. There were many rooms sealed off to us and I can still remember the screaming of people coming from some of those rooms," Snow recalled, as she got a haunted look on her face. Xander nodded.

"That would be him. There is other things I could tell you about what he does to people, but it's too horrific and I'm not going to do that," he added, as they looked at him.

"I'll tell you everything you need to know, but I will not tell you the specifics of what he does to people, even children, inside those rooms. You won't be able to handle it," Xander said firmly. Snow shuddered and David let that lay, as he turned his head back to the window.

"Enough about the sick bastard...what about her?" he asked.

"She is Malina Pizarro, born in Spain and if you know anything about the history of the Conquistadors, yes, she is of that Pizarro bloodline. The conqueror of the Incas was her ancestor and she has continued her quest to pillage and destroy indigenous cultures all over the globe," Patricia replied.

"Born in 1936 to her powerful and wealthy parents in Barcelona, she followed in her family's footsteps and led many expeditions that resulted in the destruction of ancient sites, their history, and complete pillaging of their cultures," Patricia added.

"How are evil pieces of crap like this not in prison already?" David hissed in frustration.

"You know why, David...that's the reason you and your family are here," Patricia reminded him. He turned back to the window in frustration and then stood up straight.

"They're not getting anywhere...I'm going in," he said, as he walked out of the room. He drew his sword and barged into the interrogation room.

"Excuse me...we're in the middle of an interrogation," Agent Green argued.

"And for normal perps, your methods might work...but not for this evil scum. Get out," he ordered. Agent Green huffed, but when Patricia entered the room and motioned them out, they reluctantly obeyed her order.

"Uh oh Malina...Prince Charming is here to intimidate us," the doctor goaded and she smirked back at him. David responded by kicking his chair out from beneath him. The man cried out, as he fell to the floor, but not before he hit his chin on the table on the way down, causing him excruciating pain. Blood leaked from his mouth from busted teeth and he glared up at the Prince.

"You ignorant brute…" the doctor hissed.

"You're going to tell me where Junior is off to or you're not going to live to see another day," David warned. The doctor chuckled.

"Right to the death threats…" he laughed.

"Believe it or not, your Highness, you don't scare me. I've done things that would make you double over and retch where you stand," he warned.

"So I've heard," David retorted.

"Oh no...you haven't heard the details, because you're still standing," as he turned his attention to the window. It was one way glass, but somehow he must have known she was there.

"I remember seeing your lovely, fair wife in Atlantis...your children too. None of you ever saw me, as Clayton forbade me contact with you, for he knew I wouldn't be able to help myself," he goaded.

"Specimens like them...now that would have been a glorious experiment. Magical blood...I begged him to let me at her, but alas, it didn't happen. I imagined her tortured screams though and watching her red blood slide down her white, delicate skin…" he said, as he licked his lips. David lost it at that moment and picked him up, before slamming him against the wall.

"Last chance to keep breathing. One more word about my wife or children and it's over for you," he warned.

"If you want information...then we want a deal," Malina said calmly.

"Not happening...the only deal you're getting is life in prison and not a needle in your arm. Your list of crimes is extensive," Patricia replied. She smirked.

"Then do your worst, Major Donovan. My family is powerful...I won't spend one day in your jail," she said confidently. But it was Patricia's turn to smirk.

"Oh, it won't be an American prison if you don't cooperate," she revealed.

"Your crimes in other countries have them clamoring to prosecute you. I just put out the word that I have you in custody, thanks to my newest and very special agent," she said, referring to David. She frowned.

"The American prison is at least humane. You'll get meals and a bed and even a few privileges. But the other countries prisons won't be so nice, but not even those are the ones you have to worry about, because if I turn you over to the people that your family has destroyed for centuries...your life is done and your death will not be swift," she threatened.

"You can't do that...your court system does not work that way," she countered.

"It does in this case...do you really want to test me or him?" Patricia said.

"Fine...those in the states that can still translate a quipu are all at Universities, which would be too risky now. So Junior is likely going to Peru. That's about the only place where you're going to anyone that can still read them and even then that's going to be difficult. It's a dead language, as are the Inca people. But I know of one family near Cusco...and so does he. That's where he'll go," Malina revealed.

"And this family? Will they tell him willingly?" David asked. She smirked.

"Definitely not...his father helped the Conquistadors destroy their ancestors, as well as countless other cultures. But like his father...Johnny will get what he wants, one way or another," she replied smugly.

"It's too bad...I'd love to participate in the coming torture," the doctor said.

"Reminding me that you're still breathing isn't wise," David snapped at him, as he walked out.

"We're leaving aboard the Jolly Roger in the morning and those two are going to lead us to them," he said to Patricia. She nodded.

"I'll have them put down in a holding cell until then. Agent Green and Agent Brooks, you and your team will be responsible for transporting these two to the Harbor and joining us. We're going to Peru, O six hundred," she ordered, as she saw David pull Snow into his arms and kiss her. Some of his stress melted away at her kiss and her touch, at least in those quiet seconds.

"David…" Xander interrupted.

"You tucked Clayton's son in at night while your granddaughter was alone in a group home!" he roared.

"It wasn't like that," Xander insisted.

"He was a neglected child that grew into the shadow his father left behind," he added.

"You worked with these people!" David shouted.

"You ate with them! Talked to them! Hell...you even slept with some of them!" he ranted.

"And I hated all of them! And mostly myself most of the time, but Clayton was very convincing! You have to believe me! I wanted nothing more than to get Emma from that group home and bring her to you! But he told me it would be a disaster!" Xander insisted.

"He lied," David growled.

"Yes...and I realized it far too late. I helped him destroy people, because he promised me that in the end, it would lead me back to you and my family," Xander replied. David snorted.

"Well...he was right. Too bad it took you almost thirty years to get to us when you knew exactly where we were," he said, as he took Snow's hand and started to walk away.

"David please...you have to forgive me," Xander pleaded. He stopped and turned to him partially.

"No…I don't and I'm not sure I can," he said.

"David…" he begged, with tears in his eyes.

"How many times?" David asked.

"What?" Xander asked.

"How many times did you stand over my comatose body in that hospital!?" he roared. Xander swallowed thickly.

"Too many," he answered and David shook his head.

"You could have brought Emma to me...hell, you could have brought Snow to me too and you didn't! You were too busy working for that psychopath and sleeping with his operatives," David hissed, as he turned away again and Snow cast a glance behind her, as they walked away from him. She was torn, for the last thing she wanted was for her husband's relationship with his father to implode. But her loyalty was to David first and he had every right to be angry.

~*~

Flashback

The village burned with roaring fire, making it certain that it would be wiped off the map when the flames died. A tall man of Greek descent emerged from the fire and approached his team.

"Did you get it?" he asked, as one of his excavators unwrapped the cloth and presented the jeweled necklace to him. He examined it, but his hope faded and he tossed it back at the worker.

"This is fake!" he cried.

"I'm...I'm sorry sir...the chief finally revealed its location after hours of interrogation. This is said to be the necklace of Harmonia," he replied.

"It's a fake replica! Costume jewelry!" he ranted, as he tossed it into the fire.

"I need that necklace! It can give me eternal youth and find the treasure I seek," he growled.

"The necklace of Harmonia is with Zeus...you'll never obtain it," a voice said, as there was a blue flash and a woman appeared before him.

"A fairy…" he said with intrigue.

"Yes...and you are the man known as the Collector," she replied.

"Sirius Clayton…" he introduced himself.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I must continue my quest for another source of eternal youth if I am to make sure I live long enough to find Atlantis," he said.

"I can help you do that...and more. I can make your entire bloodline for centuries to come...legendary," she offered. He stopped and turned back to her.

"I am not a good man and you are a fairy. Why would you do that?" he questioned.

"Because I want power...just like you and I need a mortal to get that power," she revealed.

"But don't worry...you'll have the ultimate power too," she said.

"Tell me more…" he inquired.

"There is a chalice, created by Gaia herself and gifted to her favorite daughter, Dione. In turn, Dione has gifted to her precious one, Aphrodite," Blue explained.

"Goddess of love, beauty, and desire," he recalled.

"That's the one...the apple of Zeus' eye and instead of giving the chalice to his new wife, Hera, he has given it to his naive, virginal daughter that still thinks that true love is real," Blue said.

"Fascinating...and where do I come in?" he asked.

"Before Dione died, she intended to gift the chalice to a true love pair that she deemed worthy of it to champions of love and heroes to mortals. But she never discovered a pair that she deemed worthy enough," Blue explained.

"Her daughter is determined to keep those standards, but she is wildly more naive than her wise mother," she continued. He smirked.

"You want me to find some woman and convince your naive Goddess that we are the pair she should gift her chalice too," he deduced.

"You are sharp...but it can't be just any woman. It has to be someone convincing and able to pull off the act," she replied. He smirked.

"I think I know of someone," he said.

"But what kind of power are we talking about?" he questioned.

"Unlimited power and eternal youth," she promised. He smirked.

"Where do we start?" he asked.

~*~

Xander sat at the hotel bar and hadn't even bothered to go to his room that night. It was almost two in the morning and they would be kicking him out soon. A glass of scotch sat before him and his stare burrowed into the amber glass of liquid, as a blonde climbed onto the seat next to him.

"Please tell me you haven't touched that, Gramps," Emma said.

"Don't worry...I'm just looking at the thing that kept me from my family for so long," Xander replied.

"You know, I don't blame you, right?" Emma asked. He snorted.

"Your father does...maybe you should. I could have spared you years of unhappiness, Emma. When the Swans sent you back...I should have told Clayton to go to hell and took you straight to your father," he replied.

"You know Clayton would have stopped you or tried to. He might have killed you," Emma surmised.

"And you know Dad...he'll come around. He's almost as forgiving as Mom," she reminded him.

"I don't know, Em...I've never seen him this angry," Xander replied.

"Mom will bring him around...she always does. Just give him time," Emma assured him.

"I hope you're right…" Xander replied.

"Go up to your room and get a little sleep. We're leaving early," she suggested.

"I'm not sure David wants me there," Xander said.

"Yes he does...and you know Clayton's operation better than anyone. Not to mention that you now have a daughter out there that's on the wrong side. You can either stay here and wallow in self pity," Emma said, as he looked at her.

"Or you can fight for your relationship with my Dad and maybe even one with your daughter," she said.

"Her mother has poisoned her against us," Xander replied.

"And we thought George and later Clayton did the same thing to James and now I call him Uncle James," Emma reminded him, as she pushed the glass toward the bartender.

"He won't be needing this," she said, as she threw some money down for it. Xander sighed and followed her to the elevator.

"We always tell you how much like your father you are, but you are every bit your mother's daughter too," he mentioned fondly. Emma smiled.

"I know...I've seen the hope thing work for her time and again, so I took a page from her book on this one. Dad will come around," she assured, as they got in the elevator.

~*~

Snow awoke in the middle of the night, noticing that the warmth of David's body was gone. She got up and padded out to the outside balcony of their hotel suite in her long, white silk nightgown. She found him there, staring off into space and slipped her arms around his waist, before resting her head against his naked back.

"Oh baby…" she murmured, as her heart ached for him.

"I just got used to having a brother...and now a sister…" he muttered.

"A sister that was raised in Clayton's world," he said.

"Not all the people in his network are killers," she offered, as he took her in his arms and kissed her hair.

"I hope...I mean, the stealing I can get passed," he said, looking at her fondly and she smiled back.

"You do have a thing for bandits," she teased.

"Except you were stealing to survive. She steals...for treasure," he said bitterly.

"Then it's your father that's mostly bothering you," she surmised.

"I knew he had killed people...I mean, I've killed people too. We're not so different...at least that's what I told myself," he said.

"But if I knew my grandchild was out there, somewhere alone, being abused...I would have moved heaven and earth to get to them!" he said fiercely.

"I know...I know, my love…" she soothed.

"What if Merlin hadn't nurtured her belief by giving her the book? It would have been ten times worse for her, Snow," he fretted.

"At least the book showed her how much we truly loved her and how we didn't choose to be separated from her. It gave her hope…" he continued.

"But my father could have walked into that adoption agency, submitted to a DNA test, and proved he was Emma's blood. But instead, he was sailing around other realms that weren't frozen by the curse, collection things for Clayton! Treasure and gold and inanimate objects over our daughter!" he stressed.

"Over you...you can say it, my love. He chose those things over you and it was wrong," she said.

"You are a much stronger, braver man than he is. You are your mother's son," she said fondly. He sighed.

"The killing...I can get past as surprising as that sounds. I got past it with James. He was raised by a tyrant. It would have been a miracle if he didn't become a killer," he said.

"But what else has he lied about? There could be so many things we don't know about him. I knew that...and I ignored it. I can't do that anymore. I need to know everything," he added.

"And you will," she assured him, as she led him back inside.

"Until then...we should go back to bed," she said, as he sighed.

"You know I can't sleep now…" he replied. She smirked and gently let the thin straps on her nightgown fall away and it became a puddle at her feet.

"Then let's do some...not sleeping," she replied. His eyes glazed, as he drank her in. His beautiful wife was a master at distracting him and though he knew they would have to deal with all of this in just a few short hours, he welcomed this distraction. He walked to her with purpose and kissed her passionately, while cupping her face in his hands. She mewled into his kiss and then yelped in excitement, as he lifted her up and she hooked her legs around his waist. He carried her to bed and for those few hours, they became lost in each other...

[ruffiorocks]

Supergirl Season 5 premiere review!

Ok!! So there's a lot to process here but first off WOW! Bravo! 👏👏 as season premieres go that was probably one of if not the best.

Ok... So opening scene, you could so tell that was a simulation from the way Kara talked. I should also like to give a big 🖕🖕 to all those that were dragging Lena saying she either:

1. Gave herself super powers

2. Used Kryptonite

3. Punched Kara in front of some school kids.

Is it just me, or does Hope the AI give off an "I'm going to become sentient and be a massive pain in the ass?" Vibe? 🤔🤔

My poor baby Lena, how awful must it be to believe that everyone you know has betrayed you, that you can't trust them and you have no one to talk to? So you create your own personal AI that won't (probably will ) betray you, oh and you bring someone (Andrea ) back into your life when clearly things haven't always been smooth sailing? Poor Lena!

Ugh..Must they throw out politics less that 3 minutes into the show? We have Kara talking about registering to vote?

Ok, so everyone is praising Kara, she's talking about having her work recognised, Baker and Lex being taken down, but yet again there is NO mention of the fact that it was Lena who figured out where Lex was, Lena who helped Kara/Supergirl etc. Oh that's right I forgot, the show doesn't like to acknowledge when things couldn't have been done without Lena 😤😤

Naww Alex and Kelly are so cute.

Kara suddenly has a dislike for technology?? Random and purely there for plot convenience.

Not going to lie but Jonn is kind of boring this episode.

Ok... So here we go again, Kara using stupid excuses to not tell Lena. Ugh.... this is getting so old and cliche to the point it isn't even funny anymore.

Yes!! They have Kara acknowledging that lying to Lena for so long while being all about 'truth' wasn't fair.

Yes Alex the voice of reason Danvers!! She can tell Kara off essentially while still praising her and letting her know she is good. I'm loving how it's ALEX who is saying Lena needs to know!

😂 Miranda Priestly, yes Brainy I quite agree! Id rather face Hannibal Lector than her. Oh bring back Cat Grant!!

😂😂 omg that handshake! I'm willing to bet that Alex's laugh was just Chyler not being able to keep a straight face and they kept it.

James is boring.

Strangely turned on by the way Andrea says her name 😅

James is boring.

Not going to lie, I know Lena wanted Andrea to keep the sale of Cat Co a secret, but I'm actually glad we got to see Kara's shock at not being kept in the loop. Humble pie much??

Ok the exhibit is funny.

Did they have a casting call for a creepy kid?

Dinosaur!!

Katie is so good at the whole pretending to be happy and friendly whilst plotting face 🤣. Morgana much?

Oh.... Kara is being indignant Lena did something without telling them all?? Another bite of pie Kara?

Hahahaha 🖕 to all those that said Lena didn't buy Cat Co for Kara. (I know she might be saying that to explain the sale away, but it's been said so it's canon!)

Oooh Lena is really making it obvious she knows 🤣🤣 awkward much lol

Dinosaur!!

Karas cape is more important than a bomb to Brainy 😂

Ooh here that's scene at Cat Co. I stand by my last post, James and Kara are incredibly rude to their new boss and have zero right to speak to her that way. James and Kara used all of the staff to gang up on Andrea and it's just not on! I love how Andrea roasted James though!!

Does anyone here ever read a contract before signing it?

Am I the only one thought Andrea was Lenas ex when she said "relationship"?? 😅😅 false alarm lol

Why is Kara still flying with a crap cape? She doesn't need one to fly.

trap!!

Midnight isn't all that exciting.

Oh so Jonn remembers Manchester Black, but i take it no one wants to acknowledge his blatant MURDER Of the disarmed non powered human? Ok writers you can forget it all you want, but I'm not going to!

😂 Brainy! It is great fun to watch Jonn shift into Kara!

Oh Alex you angel and voice of reason.

Yay Kelly!! Lovely advice, love how she's the one who convinced James to leave! Kelly just got a massive boost in my eyes!

William is hilariously obnoxious!!

Erm... Did Kara just FULL ON verbally attack her new boss? Threatening to fight her boss on everything? Dictating what Andrea can and can not do? Giving out demands? Jesus Christ, Andrea I know you said you're not going to fire her but man I would have on the spot!! Kara is waaaay out of order and getting way to big for her super boots!

I don't think William and Kara are going to be a couple, that's the exact same story as Mon El and Kara. No one wants to watch that again.

Ok so now Kara is bragging to Alex that she verbally attacked her new boss, telling her what SHE will and will not tolerate? Omg Kara get a grip!

Alex?? You're encouraging this? You were supposed to be the voice of reason!

Naww Alex and Kelly are cute!

Ooh Brainy is so funny! "To small to be perceived". He made her a new suit!

Holy s**t!! Kara just out right came out to Lena!! I really thought she would drag this out start rambling and not actually do it So Lena sees her change instead. But good for her, about bloody time!!

Lena genuinely looks shocked! She didn't expect Kara to come clean! Puts a spanner in Lena's revenge plot there lol

Jesus the acting of these two!! The facial expressions and the tears! Mel is really selling it! Bravo 👏👏

I'm loving how Kara is acknowledging all the things we've been saying, how her reasons for keeping the secret were dumb!

Oh I don't trust this Hope AI at all! She's encouraging Lena to hate on Kara.

Oh the speech, and Alex's awkward look!

No way was Lena going to immediately forgive Kara, I know we wanted to think it but Nooo! Far to soon lol

Omg!! It was Lena Kara activated her new suit infront of!! I'm living for that!

PANTS!!!

HOLY SH*T MUSE!!! Yesssss!!! What a sound track to use!!

Alex "how do you guys change so fast?!" 🤣🤣

Oh.. ... look...... Guardian is there.....Hopefully for his last appearance

Fight itself isn't all that exciting, and I feel like we didn't even get to know Midnight, that was way to quick.

James quit, good! Leave!! Seems a bit stupid he doesn't care about never being a journalist again though. But I won't dwell, because I genuinely don't care.

Alex and Kelly! Oh my heart!

Oh so Brainy has had A LOT of romantic experience then? 😏

Aww he loves her!!

I'm glad they had Brainy acknowledge his feeling at having been dark for that short time.

Nawwww a kiss!

That little girl is way creepy!

Oh so Jonn doesn't know he has a brother? 🤔 interesting.

Oh look Lena gets a super watch, ABOUT BLOODY TIME!! That could have prevented so many problems! Straight out of a fan fic lol

Oh yes, I don't trust this AI Hope!!

Lena no! You are NOT a Luthor!

Ok... so all in all a fab episode, nothing was dragged out thank RAO! I don't hate Lena for wanting to expose Kara, it makes sense from a comic point of view and from the pain she feels. The important thing is she didn't do it. People are allowed to feel like they are going to lash out when they are hurt.

I quite like Andrea, she's a breath of fresh air! Plus she isn't wrong in her ideas, just because it's something Kara, Nia and James don't like doesn't mean it's wrong. I think she was treated horribly and despicably by Kara and James though. Especially Kara! That was way to much and she should have been sacked. I'm really happy someone is at Cat Co now that is challenging her and not doing whatever she says, I think the days of Karaolsen magazine and Kara running out whatever she wants are done. But this is good!

Nia is adorable but didn't get to do much.

Jonn was pretty boring this ep considering the villain was out to get him.

James sucks!

Brainy is sooo cute and funny!

Alex and Kelly are the best!

Alex being the voice of reason is what I'm here for, now I want her to go see Lena.

Hahaha Kelly is the one to thank for ridding me of James.

The acting between Mel and Katie here was brilliant, the emotions the tears, the deception? Wonderfully done.

Lena didn't create any VR tech so take that haters!!

Kara's war on tech sounds like it's going to be for boring reasons.

I don't trust this Hope AI!

Lena isn't done for yet, "a fight for Lena's soul!" We can all find our way back to the light!

[wrrgod]

( EMERAUDE TOUBIA. THIRTY. CIS FEMALE. SHE/HER. ) in texas, SCARLETT JIMINEZ is more commonly known as SCAR. they’ve been living in newton for TWELVE YEARS and currently OWNER OF A TATTOO PARLOUR / HITWOMAN. some say they are MANIPULATIVE & RUTHLESS but i’m more inclined to believe those that say they’re RESOURCEFUL & DETERMINED. if you walk by their house, you can sometimes hear ARSONIST’S LULLABYE by HOZIER playing from their window. ( patience on 3%, well worn leather jackets, red lipstick stains, willing to fight the world, the sound of a tattoo gun. )

hello ! it is i, your local demon isabela with yet another demon character. scarlett is one of my oldest muses and i’ve tweaked her backstory up a bit to bring her to the group. as usual, hit me up for plots and all that good stuff.

PINTEREST BOARD !

NAME. scarlett amelia ramirez jiminez. NICKNAME. scar. AGE. thirty. GENDER. cis female. PRONOUNS. she/her. SEXUAL ORIENTATION. bisexual. ROMANTIC ORIENTATION. biromantic. HOMETOWN. seattle, washington. OCCUPATION. owner of a tattoo parlour / hitwoman.

ZODIAC. aries. POSITIVE TRAITS. resourceful, determined, tenacious. NEGATIVE TRAITS. manipulative, aggressive, ruthless. TEMPERAMENT. choleric. LANGUAGES SPOKEN. english, spanish.

HEIGHT. 5′4 EYE COLOR. dark brown. HAIR COLOR. black. TATTOOS. displayed on her pinterest board.

QUICK INFO.

trigger warnings: murder, violence, mention of weapons ... isabela tw basically.

scarlett was born on a rainy night, in seattle, daughter of leyla khalil ramirez and no father in sight. as it were, it was more than fitting that she was born during a storm, as the years would pass and scarlett herself would prove to be a storm of a woman.

because her father wasn’t around, scarlett was raised solely by her mother. leyla was involved in the criminal life for as long as she could recall. growing up, scarlett was more or less involved in it. although her mother tried to keep her out of her business, she wasn’t naive; as such, from a young age she began teaching her how to fight, how to fire a gun, how to walk through a room without being noticed or alternatively, how to be the center of attention. initially, it was only as a means of self-defense. she wanted her to be ready should anything ( or anyone ) happen. but as time went on, the lessons also turned out to be a good outlet for scarlett’s anger. no one expected the petite girl to be able to hold her own, let alone take someone down, and being underestimated only fueled her. there was nothing more satisfying than seeing the look on their faces as she proved them wrong.

she always wondered about who her father was, or what had happened between her parents, why the hell he wasn’t by her mother’s side. whenever she brought up the subject, leyla told her that he had left to protect them. scarlett never bought it ... her mother did dangerous things, her life always threatened, yet she was still around. she’d always been around. for a while, scar thought it was her fault that her father left.

for the first few years of her life, she didn’t truly understand what it was that her mother did for a living or why she was so hellbent on teaching scarlett how to defend herself ( or how to conveniently get rid of someone ). while most of the girls her age were playing dress up and going to the mall, scarlett was learning the most effective ways to send a man thrice her size to the ground. leyla worked as a tattoo artist, but scar always knew there was more. something she wasn’t aware of, something she shouldn’t be aware of ... until the day came for her to find out. leyla was a hitwoman. 

the news didn’t shock scarlett as much as it probably should have. she was only 16 when her mother told her the truth, but she’d already gone through so much training, seen and done so much by then, that she simply saw the world differently. and she knew it was only a matter of time until she followed in her mother’s footsteps.

however, it wasn’t until one of her last conversations with her mother that leyla told her the truth about her father. scarlett learned that she was the product of a one night stand, that her father was a gang member, that he didn’t know she existed. she got a name and a town: eduardo ‘eddie’ jiminez, newton.

that was one of her last conversations with her mother because her mother got killed during a job gone wrong. an eighteen year old scarlett sought to avenge her mother, finding the one who had dared to take from her the only love she’d ever known. it didn’t matter that they’d most likely killed leyla to protect their own life. once that was taken care of, she packed up her things and set off with one destination in mind: newton. her father may not have known about her, and maybe he wouldn’t want anything to do with her, but she needed to see it for herself. she needed to see him for herself.

when she arrived in newton, it was fairly easy to find eddie given his position as former VP and then president in the diablos. the man was skeptical at first, for obvious reasons, but he’d welcomed her anyway. scarlett offered the idea of a paternity test, not only for his benefit but also for her own. she had nothing to lose and she knew her mother had no reason to lie, not about this. with scientific evidence, there were no doubts left. she was his daughter.

since then, they’ve been trying to make up for lost time ─ which proves to be even harder than one would already expect, given scarlett’s nature. still, she decided she was going to stay in newton officially. she also decided to take on his last name, which was more of a power play than anything else. she knows how the towns work and she’s not afraid to take advantage of it.

she became the owner of a tattoo parlour, named diamond ink, fully taking on the job as a tattoo artist. she does, however, work a less orthodox job on the side. just like her mother was, scarlett is a hitwoman.

she’s very private in general, actually. doesn’t like sharing too much about herself, tends to be more reserved. usually, it takes a while of knowing someone until she feels comfortable enough to open up, even about the smallest things.

she has a bit of a temper and is always getting into fights, can be impulsive and often times, reckless. doesn’t have much regard for her safety.

too headstrong and stubborn for her own good.

5′4 but the heels she always has on rarely lets people realize it tbh.

can be very manipulative. it’s how she was raised and she took to the part perfectly. more often than not, she’ll play someone solely because she can, because she wants to, because she’s good at it.

not about that forgive and forget kind of life. resent and remember is more her pace. she’s incredibly loyal ( though it’s hard to pinpoint where exactly her loyalty lies ) if you earn her trust, willing to kill and die for those she cares about, but once you wrong her she’s out, showing her resentful and unforgiving traits.

her nickname isn’t scar just because it’s short for her name. it truly does fit her. scarlett is deadly and vicious, and when she doesn’t want to leave a corpse behind, she still leaves marks ─ in more ways than one.

WANTED CONNECTIONS.

partners in crime ─ always getting in trouble together, whether it be in an illegal sense or not.

clients ─ people she has tattooed before ?? people who ask for her specifically ?? who knows. this one is pretty much always open.

employees ─ people who work at her tattoo shop, either as fellow tattoo artists or anything fitting !

drinking buddies ─ they may not be exactly close to one another or consider themselves friends, but they often get together for drinks and such.

friends with benefits / flings ─  they don’t actually have to be friends; could be just someone she goes to when she’s in the mood.

hateship ─ they can’t stand each other, and whenever they are together, they’re fighting… until they end up pressed against each other, bodies tangled together. that’s how it seems to always go. i’d love to plot this more in depth and work out the quirks and all.

unexpected friends ─ two people who no one ever thought would get along, let alone be friends, and yet they are.

ride or die ─  one of the very few people that she actually trusts, and it goes both ways. they are always there for each other, good or bad.

sibling figure ─ they’re not actually related, but they see each other as siblings.

one night stands ─ they hooked up once, maybe now it’s awkward, maybe it brought them closer, who knows ?? we can discuss details.

flirtationship ─ they enjoy the flirting, the chase and the back and forth that comes with it, but have never acted upon their attraction towards each other.

enemies ─ people are bound to hate each other, right ? give me that angst. we can discuss details.

frenemies ─ not exactly friends but not really enemies either. for whatever reason, they are somewhere in between.

good / bad influences ─ people that are a good influence on scar, that try to get her to be a better person generally speaking. it doesn’t really work, but for some reason they keep trying ! alternatively, someone who encourages her to keep up her ways.

anything and everything tbh