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kaylopolis · 3 months

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Alastor's Shadow (18+) - Chapter Thirteen

Alastor x F!Reader, Alias: Thestral

Synopsis: There’s a new Overlord in town and it isn’t the Radio Demon. Six years after you fell into Hell, you have finally earned your seat at the table as Pentagram City’s newest and baddest and with the Extermination coming six months earlier than planned, it is now time to implement your ultimate endgame. After all, who doesn’t love a bit of power and chaos? Your plan brings you to the doorstep of the Hazbin Hotel as Charlie’s newest Redeemer, but who you find waiting for you will not only turn your entire plan upside down but also challenge your grab for power…

Tag List: Slow burn, rivals to lovers, eventual smut

Masterlist Link: Masterlist

(Let me know if you want to be added to the Tag List!)

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Author note: Dear Hoteliers,

Lots of historical stuff happening, but don't worry, I have little endnotes explaining each with links to more information at the end of the chapter!

Spoiler Warning: Be careful if you flip between the end to read the notes as you read the chapter. There is a major spoiler at the end of the chapter you might accidentally read!

<3 Stay smutty

Chapter Thirteen - The Truth

Content Warning: Spoilers after the end of the chapter; mentions of physical and psychological abuse, panic attack (let me know if I missed any!) MINORS DNI!!!!!

(107 years ago, Heaven)

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

“Enter,” the Seraphim’s voice called from behind the wood.

Your head held high, your shoulders squared, you entered your father’s office. The sword strapped to your side knocked against your hip as you walked. Although you wore your casual blue robes and not your metal armor, the sword never left your side. You tucked your golden wings in, your blonde hair cut short to frame your face, the wisps of your bangs barely brushing your collarbones.

Stopping before Father’s desk, you nodded to the others in the room in greeting: Adam, the Seraphim, and a few of Father’s personal guards who filed out of the room after you entered.

“Father,” you stated, waiting for him to begin.

From a worldwide flood to raining frogs in Egypt, a meeting in this office always meant serious business. After all, out of all your siblings, you were the most trustworthy. “Father’s Golden Girl,” they all called you - and not just because of your looks. You were his warrior, his right-hand man, his perpetrator of action. You carried out God’s will.

“You are aware of the current events of Earth,” a statement, not a question.

It was January 1917. The mortals were in the middle of a war to end all wars. Who didn’t know?

“Just yesterday, our Ishim delegates intercepted a telegram from Arthur Zimmerman to the Mexican Government proposing an alliance between Germany and Mexico to invade the United States.*” Sera slid a piece of paper across the desk. You glanced at it but didn’t give it much thought.

The Ishim were low-level Angels, more human than divinity, really. They carried out more menial endeavors. Father dispatched a hundred to Earth a year before the war broke out. Why? You weren’t sure, but you were about to find out.

“This war is the mortal’s problem, is it not?” You asked.

Adam caught your eye from the corner of the room he stood in, his usual cockiness replaced with… you sniffed. Guilt?

“Not anymore.”

That caught your attention.

“We believe this telegram was sent by Eve.”

You took a step back, clenching your jaw shut to prevent it from falling open. Instinctively, your hand found the hilt of your sword. “She escaped?” You looked at Adam, but he didn’t look back, his gaze downcast as a wave of emotions weighed down his shoulders.

“Some years ago, yes,” Sera answered.

But why didn’t they… Oh, they couldn’t have sent you right away. No one knew she had escaped, and they weren’t about to let it get out that the evil Evelyn of Eden had bested Heaven’s topmost security prison. Technically, it was the only one Heaven had, and it only had one prisoner, but still. Especially after the whole Lucifer and Lilith incident. Rumor had it they were in love.

You eye the telegram on the desk. “What do you need from me?”

Wouldn’t be the first time you hunted down a human. Cain went into hiding after he murdered Abel. You found him not long after - even with the magic he used to conceal himself from you.

“Find Evelyn and bring her back.”

You nodded, taking the telegram. It smelled of roses, how fitting for the Second Lady of Eden.

“Mikaela,” Father called after you. You paused. “Do not disappoint me.”

You nodded before shutting the door behind you.

Time to go to work.

____________________________________________

(1917, Russia)

This tux was killing you. It was itchy, it was hot, and more importantly, it was suffocating. You didn't have much time to find a suit that fitted, so you grabbed whatever the tailor had. Unfortunately for you, the collar was way too tight, and it constantly rubbed against the injury on your neck.

The music echoed off the ridiculously decorated walls of the Palace. Gosh, you did not enjoy the pianoforte. It was like the instrument was screaming every time one of the strings was plucked.

Just find her and get out. You've been chasing her nearly a year and this was as close as you had gotten to capturing her. Eve was slippery...

You pushed through the crowd, making your way around the dancefloor.

"Шампанское, сэр. Champagne, sir?" A servant thrusted a tray in front of your face. You turned up your nose and pushed onwards.

Ugh, alcohol, you've never touched the stuff.

Sniffing, you could smell the roses. The room was filled with the scent of them, the aroma so pungent you could reach out and touch it. So, she was here, but where exactly?

Making your way to the front of the room, you stopped when you finally spotted her. "What is she doing?" You asked yourself.

Evelyn, her brown hair done up in a mass of stacked curls atop her head, was whispering in the ear of the Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich. The feather sticking out of her hair wiggled as she laughed.

What is the Second Woman doing playing fairytale at a royal Russian Ball? She even had the dress to go along with it all.

Whatever, all you had to do was grab her and get out.

You pulled your sword from the Void and took a step forward - wait, no. You couldn't work like this. Ripping off the bowtie, you undo the top two buttons, freeing your neck. You rubbed at the black and blue bruises, the action soothing but also painful.

Okay, let's do this.

"У него есть меч! Он собирается попытаться убить царя! He's got a sword! He's going to try and kill the Tsar!" A woman screamed.

Oh, crap. Last time you were down here, everyone carried a sword. Now, nearly two thousand years later, they don't seem to like it so much... Oops.

The room plunged into chaos.

Briefly, you made eye contact with Evelyn. Her brown eyes flashed with confusion before they changed to recognition and then acknowledgment - she recognized you and knew why you were there. Evelyn smiled, mouthing the words, "Hello, Mikaela," before she disappeared into the crowd.

You tried to follow, but you were tackled by a guard. The sword went flying out of your hand as you hit the ground, a bear of a man sitting on top of you.

Great... You were hoping this was going to be an easy in-and-out type of mission...

Pushing the man easily off of you and collecting your sword. Shoving it back into the Void, you huffed, blowing the hair out of your face. You had cut it so short that the seamstress laughed when you walked into the boutique shopping for a dress. She thought you were a man. You’d be mad but, it wasn’t the first time humanity has made that mistake.

Jesus' Disciples named you "Michael" instead of "Mikaela." Ever since then, humanity thought you were a man. It was kind of insulting when you read the first draft and a little sexist...

Alright, let's get out of here and see if we can track her down.

A wall of guards stepped into your path before you could make much progress.

You groaned. It was going to be a long night...

____________________________________________

(1923, Chicago)

“Another?” The bartender asked. You nodded and watched as she poured you a glass of soda water and lemon. Taking a long sip, letting the bubbles dance across your tongue, you went back to twirling your glass.

“You sure you don’t want anything else to drink? Any alcohol?” She asked.

You shook your head. “Not one for the taste, I’m afraid.”

She finally let you be, busying herself with dirty glasses.

You were growing restless on the barstool, the smoke from the cigarettes giving you a headache. Drinking in public for women was scandalous in this day and age - even though you technically weren’t drinking, you were a woman alone at a bar - and you had caught your fair share of male attention. You broke the last bloke’s finger, and the men finally got the message. The bar girl let it slide - she most likely has her own history with the opposite sex that paled in comparison to yours.

But this wasn’t just any old bar, and you were hoping that, eventually, word of your presence here would attract a different kind of attention.

The aroma of roses hit you before her voice did.

“This seat taken?”

Right on schedule.

“Not at all, Evelyn,” you motioned to the stool. “Please.”

The brunette settled in next to you, her iconic brunette hair chopped and curled around her face. Other than that, she looked exactly the same as you left her, save for the wardrobe change - a string of pearls and a grey silk dress that left her ankles exposed. She was always a fashion rebel, pushing the iconic clothing of the decades to the point of scandal. Speaking of, you tried hard not to look at her cleavage - it would take another few decades before that became appropriate in public.

“Please, call me Eve. To what do I owe the honor?” She sang as the bar girl poured her a gin and tonic.

“Come back,” you ordered.

She huffed, “Oh, come on. This is the first proper conversation you and I have ever had, don’t bore me with the self-righteous bullshit propaganda your father feeds you.”

You've been chasing her for six years now. Every time you met, it was all action before she slipped away. How she managed to disappear every time, you didn't know.

She stirred the ice around in her glass before gulping down the entire drink. “You and I both know I am not going back willingly.”

You had to give her the option.

“You’re going back either way.”

“I want you to meet someone,” she smiled, changing the subject. “Al!” Eve waived to a rather portly man at the back of the establishment. The mortal was dressed to the nines in a blue pinstriped suit and accompanying fedora.

“Hey, dollface,” the gentleman kissed Eve on the cheek before taking his hat off and tipping it in greeting. “Pleased'ta meet’ya miss, Al Capone at your service."

Ugh.

You stood, grabbing Eve’s upper arm as you attempted to lug her towards the main entrance. The motion sent a sharp pain through your bruised shoulder. “Let’s go,” you winced.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Eve giggled. The sclera of her eyes flashed black before she turned back to the bar and screamed. “Al! She’s with the fuzz!”

CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! The echoes of guns loading rang out across the bar.

Fucking Mafia.

You didn’t drop Eve’s arm.

“We can do this the easy way, toots, or the hard way,” Al said, holding a pistol to your face. Despite being no taller than you, he did his best to look threatening.

“Between you and me,” Eve leaned in and whispered. “I’m pretty sure the fat one’s got syphilis.” She motioned to Capone.

Why, Eve? Why was that important right now?

She giggled before pulling out an extremely small pistol from her cleavage. The Angel pointed it at your head. You held your hands up as if feigning surrender. “That won’t kill me, Eve.”

“I know,” she laughed, smiling wildly.

Was this fun for her?

“But it'll kill them,” she motioned to a random man before turning and shooting him straight in the face.

The bar plunged into chaos as you ducked for cover. Rolling your eyes, you mumbled beneath your breath, “The hard way it is.”

____________________________________________

(1937 Lae, New Guinea)

You rolled open the hangar doors. It was late, well past midnight. An oil lantern hung from a mobile post, illuminating the opened engine of a two-seater plane.

Ensuring your sword was strapped to your side, you trudged inside, cautiously approaching the single soul inside. As per usual, the room smelled of roses.

You were but one step in the door when Eve called out, “Mikaela!” Her head popped out from behind the engine. “Good to see you! Been a while, hasn’t it? Chicago, good times.” She dove back inside the engine, half her body sticking out of the contraption. A blue tarp had been laid at her feet, to capture oil as she worked, you assumed.

“You shot up a bar, nearly set it on fire, and almost burned the city to the ground - again… I wouldn’t exactly call that fun.” Keeping your distance, you circled around to the front of the plane. You had better chances of catching the plague than predicting her next move. Eve was wildly unpredictable.

“Oh, my friend,” her sclera flashed black as she smiled over her shoulder. “Chaos is always fun.”

“Why are you doing this, Eve?” And more importantly, what was she doing?

“Can’t a girl love power and chaos with absolutely no motive?” She played dumb, her voice echoing from within the metal compartment.

You crossed your arms, your silence communicating that she had asked a dumb question.

“I’m sick and tired of Heaven, of them always telling me who I am and what to do.” She shrugged, ripping out a piece of the engine. “I’m taking it back.”

“Stop messing around with the airplane, Eve.” You felt like you were scolding a child.

She paused, a metal component in her hand, oil coating her fingers, as she backed out of the engine. Eve waived the metal part around as she spoke. “Aren’t you sick of being their puppet? Of… Of being a part of their machine? Of being told to jump and asking how high?” Grabbing a brown saddle bag, she stuffed the components inside, the tarp crunching beneath her feet.

Oh good, she was sabotaging the plane. Great. You didn’t know why she did half the things she did, but sabotaging Amelia Earhart’s plane? Just... Why? What did that accomplish?

“I’m an Archangel - a soldier - and soldiers follow orders,” you responded, watching Eve clean the oil off her hands.

“And if they don’t?” She raised an eyebrow, motioning to your wrist.

As if on instinct, you tugged on your sleeves to hide the bruises.

“Adam was a dick,” she continued, “but he never touched me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you felt the blood drain from your face.

She sighed as she got to her feet. You watched the conflict play out on her face. Did she push the topic? Did she change it completely?

"Do you know how they caught me the first time?” she smiled.

“Adam.” You answered, your eyes following her every move. She was planning to bolt. You could feel it. She wouldn't get away this time.

“They used him as bait,” she grabbed her satchel and threw the loop over her head. “And trapped me in a Pentagram.” Eve kicked the edge of the blue tarp beneath your feet to reveal the edge of a chalk line.

She was smart; she kept you distracted and annoyed just enough to keep your eyes off the floor to the lightly drawn star and circle hidden beneath your feet.

Here's the thing about being a General. You knew how to organize armies, how to train soldiers to fight, how to strategize on a battlefield. You were not a covert spy trained to track down rogue Angels. Sure, you went after Cain, but he was sloppy. Despite going to the Goetia and bargaining his soul for a bit of magic to hide him from you, he left a trail for you to follow. All you had to do was hunt down the Goetia he talked to, and, presto, you had a lead.

Eve wasn't really trying to hide. If she was, she'd have found a way to hide the potency of her power: roses, her magic smelled like roses. You could scent it miles away. The downside to chasing Eve was that she was unpredictable. Her moves didn't make any sense or have any logic to them. She was scattered with her actions. Map it out on a battlefield, and it would seem like random nonsense. There was logic to war but not to Eve. Which made it hard to capture her.

Like trying to trap lightning in a bottle.

“Tootle-loo, Mikaela,” Eve sang. The Angel skipped to the hangar doorway, stopping before she closed it. Something flashed in her eyes. Sadness? Pity? Worry? “Don’t be a stranger,” she smiled softly, and then she slammed the door shut.

____________________________________________

(1945, Germany)

The sirens were deafening as you rounded corner after corner, your fire illuminating the tunnels as you ran.

“Come on, come on,” you huffed, out of breath. You’ve been sprinting through battlefields all night long to make it here before the Russian army, but you were cutting it dangerously close.

BANG! The echoes of a gunshot had your ears ringing as you emerged into a well-lit bunker. A dead body lay at Eve’s feet, scarlet pooling beneath it. Another - a woman - sat slumped at a table in a pile of vomit.

Gross.

“Oh, hey!” She lit up, her brunette curls bobbing.

You sidestepped the blood, trying to catch your breath, “Eve, this is getting old.” You were quickly finding out the Angel had a proclivity for violence - specifically guns. What was with her and modern weaponry?

She did a double take, not of the man moaning on the ground, but of your face. You ignored her questioning look, choosing to bend over and suck down gulps of air. It wasn’t that the running took a lot out of you. By golly, you could run days before getting tired, go weeks without food, go months without water, but broken ribs always made it hard to breathe.

Her happy demeanor turned down a few notches as she holstered the gun. “Hey,” she put a hand on your back in comfort.

You shoved her off.

You did not need her pity.

Eve blinked. “Why don’t we head up top and get some fresh air?”

The Russians were expecting to arrive at any minute, they’d most likely bomb the crap out of this place and bury the two of you alive. You nodded, wincing as you stood.

Eve led you out of a secret tunnel hidden behind boxes of supplies. You followed behind her, summoning your sword as support as you limped to the surface. Ugh, your ankle was so swollen.

Eve pushed open a wooden door, leading you into the morning sunlight. The two of you emerged at the edge of a small lake. The sun was rising over the water, the ruins of Berlin surrounding the park.

Eve sat at the edge of the water, watching the sun rise as armies marched and chanted toward the Capitol behind you. The dichotomy was iconic.

You looked between her and the sword and made a silent decision.

Slipping your sword back into the Void, you joined Eve in the grass - wincing as you sat.

“Germany wasn’t my doing. I just wanted to make that very clear,” she laughed awkwardly. “I’m only here because I wanted to end the bastard myself…” Her voice trailed off, the tension becoming… weird.

You could feel her staring at your split lip and black eye.

“Why?” You asked.

She huffed, turning towards the sun, bathing in its morning warmth, “Because fuck heaven and fuck their design.”

“People are dying because of you, Eve.” You gritted.

“So?” She scoffed. “People are always going to die, more will be made. Either they go to Heaven, or they go to Hell. There’s life after this, so not like I’m robbing them of anything. Besides, they’re nothing but puppets fulfilling some predetermined mapped-out plan Daddy designed. Regardless of their free will, they're powerless to fate. They're just machine parts, Mikaela. Just like you and I were designed to be.”

She huffed. “I mean, look at me. I was literally created from Adam’s rib - designed to be the perfect little wife. That’s all I am. That’s all Dad made me to be. I’m changing that!”

“By messing with Father’s design?”

She nods.

“And you do this how?” You raised an eyebrow in confusion, choosing to humor her behavior.

“The Book of Knowledge.”

You laughed, “The book Lucifer stole and then gave you?”

She nodded.

“Why not use it to do good?”

“Because who the fuck cares if I do good? I mean, if I save a few hundred lives or help further a society what does that really accomplish? I’m only further giving in to God’s will. He wants them to succeed, to become better. It’s all a game, Mikaela, don’t you see that? I mean look at this!” She gestured to all of Berlin. “What kind of fucked up, power-hungry arsehole allows this to happen!? Just so humans can rise from the darkest moments of history, to learn and become better than they were before. All this to teach them a lesson!? I mean… Wow.”

You shut your mouth. She had a point. This was messed up.

The two of you sat for a long while, the orchestra of war playing in the background.

Eve’s demeanor changes. “I saw the bruises in Russia.” Her words were sharp.

Your blood ran cold.

“At first, I thought they were just from training, but then why would a soldier have bruises around their throat from training?”

Please don’t go there, Eve. Her rants about Father you could handle, not this. You didn’t deal with personal emotions, you bottled them up and shoved them deep down and quietly forgot about them - like a good soldier.

“They talk, the guards in the prison. I’ve heard the rumors of Dad’s Golden Girl and her mysterious injuries, of the screams behind closed doors. So, in Chicago, I looked again. You had bruises on your shoulder.”

You shot her a questioning glance.

“When you grabbed me part of your dress slipped just a bit… Mikaela, they looked like hand prints.”

You turned away from her, pulling in your knees and hugging yourself.

“So in New Guinea, I tested my theory. Your reaction told me everything.”

Were you that easy to read?

Eve turned to you then, clearly eyeing the bruises on your face. “He beats you, doesn’t he?”

You didn’t answer.

“I don’t know how you do it. To obey his every command for thousands of years… You, out of all of us, have a right to be pissed.”

“It’s my job,” you gritted, your hands were shaking, all emotion absent from your voice. “Besides, my failures are my own fault.”

“What?” Eve jumped to her feet. “How could you say that!? You don’t ask to be beaten. You don’t ask to have your bones broken and your face bloodied!?”

“My failures are my own fault,” Your entire body was shaking now, your voice cracking.

“Mikaela…” Eve planted herself on the grass next to you. Bombs exploded off in the distance, cheering echoing off the buildings. The Russians have arrived.

“My fault.” You whispered, the words imprinted on your brain like ink on paper. “My fault. My fault. My…”

Eve brought you into a bear hug, holding you as tight as she could as the panic attack overcame you. “It. Is. Not. Your. Fault.”

You sobbed.

"Listen to me - no one ever deserves to be abused, and it is never your fault. Abuse is a deliberate, cruel choice made by the abuser, and it is entirely on them. You are a strong, beautiful woman deserving of respect and love. Don't ever let anyone make you feel otherwise."

Eve turned you to face her. “Say it, Mikaela. It. Is. Not. Your. Fault.” Her words were sharp and to the point, trying to jam the message into your mind. To cut out the toxic and replace it with the new.

“It is…” You choked. “It is not my fault.” You cried.

“Louder!” She demanded.

“It is not my fault,” you repeated, your voice shaky.

“Louder!”

“It is not my fault!” You screamed.

“It is not your fault!” She echoed.

And you hugged her back.

____________________________________________

(Present Day, The Nothing, Pride Ring, Hell)

“You turned against Heaven and joined, Eve?” Alastor asked. He’s been eerily silent the entire time.

You smiled, your yellow irises glinting mischievously. “I joined, Eve.”

The demon summoned his own chair and settled in next to you. Together, you stared off at the silhouette of Pentagram City, its lights shining like beacons into the red sky.

“We spent the next thirty-something years traveling. London, Korea, Russia - we went everywhere, sowing seeds of chaos in our wake. She started me on the little stuff, and I worked my way up from there. From swearing and alcohol to stealing and, eventually, murder. Eve was like a gateway drug; just once wasn’t enough to satisfy you, but it was enough to get you hooked. And, somewhere in that time, Eve became my friend.”

You sighed, your eyes swimming in memories. “But, like any drug, at some point in time, it isn’t enough anymore. You need more to keep going, to stay satisfied…”

____________________________________________

(1974, London)

DING!

“Order up!” The chef behind the counter yelled.

SLURP! You found the bottom of your milkshake. “Fuck,” you cried. “I’m out.”

The two of you, after an extremely long plane ride from America, stopped at a lunch counter for a quick snack.

The time in between master plans was always your favorite but also your most hated. It meant a time of scheming, of plotting something new and exciting, but it was also a time when Eve tended to channel her energy into other matters. Most notably sex, drugs, and music. It's like she needed an outlet for her restless energy.

You put your newspaper down, the title reading "Nixon Resigns!" and turned to Eve. The brunette wasn’t paying attention, her mind on the cute human boy sitting at the end of the counter.

You analyzed her as she daydreamed. The itch was there again, the temptation to bring up what you’ve been keeping silent on for so long.

Eve was fine with toying about on Earth. You didn’t blame her; she’d been locked up for so long, and all she wanted to do was live and do as she pleased, but frankly, you were growing bored. Sure fucking around with the humans was entertaining, but the fact of the matter was you accomplished nothing from it.

Eve believed she was messing with Dad’s grand creation, but if you paid attention, Heaven found a way to fix everything she undid. After all of her meddling, things always returned to normal: war ended, economies stabilized, rulers were replaced, and laws were rewritten. Anything Eve ever did was fixed. And that was starting to bother you.

You wanted bigger. You wanted more. You wanted permanent. And you had an idea to make it happen.

“Eve,” you lightly tapped her hand. Dreamily, she turned to you.

“Oh, you’re done already?” She pouted.

“Yeah… Listen,” you cleared your throat, preparing your speech. “I want to propose a field trip. Maybe a change in scenery?”

Eve blinked. “A change in scenery? What’s wrong with the scenery here?” She motioned to the cute British boy, her voice a little too loud for comfort.

“Nothing! Nothing! I just…” You hesitated. You needed a hook, a reason to get Eve interested.

The truth was, you tried broaching this topic before, but she always blew it off. Eve was content. You were not. She didn’t want a change in the status quo - you were growing bored of the status quo.

So, this time, you were going to baby-step her into your plan - turn her opinion around. Perhaps, help her see the fun she could have by finally doing something your way for once.

“There’s this festival I’ve always wanted to go to,” you suggest. “Lot’s of cute boys. There will be music, dancing, drinking… It’ll be a good time!”

“A festival,” she lit up. “Sounds fun!”

“Cool. Cool… It’s in Wrath.”

She choked, “What!?”

“I know, it’s in Hell, but can we just check it out? If you hate it, we can leave right away. I just… I’ve never been. I thought maybe it would be a new adventure for us?” You shrug.

Eve thinks a moment.

“Plus, we’d be breaking so many rules. Angels aren’t allowed in Hell, after all…”

“Done.” She stands. “Let’s go!” Eve grabs your arm and pulls you out of the restaurant.

In a side alley, you summon a portal and are whisked away into what you would look back on and consider to be the beginning of the end.

____________________________________________

(7 years ago, Pride Ring, Hell)

"I'll be there momentarily, Al," Lilith hung up the phone as you entered the room. "Mikaela, Eve," she greeted.

You step into the office and close the door behind you. “Lilith,” you nod to her in greeting.

Your plan worked. Eve and you spent the better part of nearly fifty years partying your way through the Rings of Hell. It started in Wrath with the Harvest Moon Festival - Eve enjoyed the Pain Games far more than you expected - and resulted in a series of debauchery moving up from there.

You hadn't really spent time in Pride - you've had enough of mortals and their petty problems for a good while. However, your next plan - the ultimate plan - required you to be here.

Nearly 50 fucking years... It took you that long to convince Eve of your plan... and to make it seem like it was her idea. You had discovered that, yes, Eve was a schemer, but her plans were always limited in their size. You were thinking bigger.

This was your third meeting with Lilith and if everything went to plan, it would be your last.

The Queen of Hell stood next to the window, the view overlooking Pentagram City. She didn't want to meet at her home - understandable - which was tucked away in a pocket dimension. So, you met here, at her... office? I guess if you want to call it that, sure. It was an office in the City.

Even took a seat on the desk, her fingers rummaging through everything and anything set before her. "Awww," she grabbed a photo. "The three of you are so cute!"

You tried not to groan. "Eve..."

"Sorry," she dropped the frame, pulling her hands into her lap like a scolded child. The Second Woman turned on her charm before addressing existence's First. "Are we ready?"

Lilith continued to stare out the window, her eyes swimming with unspoken thoughts. Her horns looked rather shiny today, her purple dress perfectly pressed - she dressed for the occasion. The woman smoothed her dress, a nervous habit of hers. The Queen turned to you, her plum eyeshadow sparkling in the light. "Yes."

In a flash, you had Eve pinned to the floor, your hands wrapped around her throat.

Confusion swam in her eyes as you squeezed. "Mikaela?" She choked out.

Lilith leaned over. Making eye contact, the First Woman commanded, "Do not move. Do not fight back."

And Eve froze.

The power of Lilith's voice... It's what makes her singing abilities so powerful; it's how she convinces the masses and rules over Hell so easily.

"I'm sorry, Eve, but I can't have you holding me back any longer."

Confusion turned to fear as you channeled your fire into your hands and began to burn - Holy Fire. You've killed members of the Angelic kind before - mostly lower-level Angels prone to corruption, like the Ishim. It was easy to erase lesser beings, and surprisingly, it was easier to take down Eve than you originally thought. Especially considering she never thought you turning against her was a possibility.

Eve screamed as she died, and when her body was nearly ash, you were left with not a soul before you but the physical embodiment of power: a book. not just any book, but the book. It was ethereal and partially incorporeal as you collected it in your hands.

"Having second thoughts?" Lilith asked.

"No," you immediately responded. "No, just... I've been thinking about this for a long time. Longer than when I originally approached you and proposed the idea. Now it's finally here... It doesn't feel real."

(In hindsight, this wasn't just one of the hardest decisions you had ever made but a defining moment that had left a mark on your very being. If you were willing to kill one of the most important people in your life, what else wouldn't you do?

So, no, dear reader, you did not tell Alastor how much this killed you. You did not tell Alastor how much you cried. You did not tell him the real reason why you needed music to sleep at night was not because the screaming disturbed you but because when you fell asleep, those screams morphed into that of Eve's.

There would be a day, however, when you told the Radio Demon how much this hurt, and he would see you cry and completely fall apart. A day when you would broach this topic and eventually heal this ugly part of you.

But - as we all learned from the Full Moon episode - years of trauma does not get resolved in one conversation.

Alastor, however, could see it in your eyes. You didn't need to tell him. He may not have ever killed Vox, but there was something there, something that happened with which he could relate to what you were feeling right now as you told him your story.

And you were thankful for it, because he gave you a look which said you did not have to go there right now - he understood.)

Hesitantly, you brought the golden, glowing book to your chest and felt the power fuse with your being.

Printed text exploded across your skin as the magic accepted its new host. The energy flooding your veins, the high unlike anything ever before.

Fuck, is this how Eve felt all the time? No wonder she was always so restless with energy.

"Okay," you turned your back on Lilith and unbuttoned your shirt. You would NOT let yourself revel in how good this felt. You would NOT let yourself drown in the ecstasy of power.

Pulling ink and a quill from the void, you stood there as Lilith etched a rune across your back. When she had finished, the text across your skin was pulled towards the rune and locked beneath the seal.

You breathed deeply, feeling the weight of the power lift from your shoulders, "It worked."

It had to be contained until the time was right. You couldn't have anyone sensing what you carried. The potency of power is how you managed to track Eve down on Earth - it made her a target. Plus, you didn't know what that kind of power would do to your head - it made Eve scatterbrained and impulsive. Constantly chasing the high. You needed clarity to accomplish what you and Lilith had planned.

Power is a dangerous thing. You saw what it did to God, and no part of you ever wanted to have any similarities with that man. So, long ago, when you made the ultimate decision to take the power from Eve, you decided it needed to be locked away as well.

"This is written in Leviathan," Lilith observed. "Didn't Dad -?"

"Yes," you cut her off.

It was before the dawn of man, during Dad's experimental age. The monsters were violent and could not be controlled. He ordered you to corral them into a pocket dimension: Purgatory. You raised and led an army against them, and still, it had taken you years to subdue and capture them all. Your reward? Father pushed you in behind them and locked the door.

"Find a way out," he ordered - punishment for disappointing him. How had you disappointed him, you ask? You took too long.

"I have some... baggage to take care of before I leave." She began, noting the pile of ash on her carpet. "Your contact in Pride is no longer an option."

Fuck. You'd put considerable effort into vetting the Overlord Lilith had pointed you towards - Husk. Now, you were going to have to start over with someone else.

You'd later learn Husk fell from power, losing it in a game of cards to Alastor, of all people. The demon had become a thorn in your side long before you ran into him at the Hotel.

"Whom do you suggest?" You rebuttoned your shirt.

"Rosie, she's a wonderful woman. She'll be good to you, and I trust her."

You had no choice but to take her word for it. Question her now, on the eve of the beginning, especially when you sensed hesitation within her, might just tip her over the edge. She was leaving her husband and child behind, after all.

You held out your hand. "Shall we?"

Lilith considered your offer for a moment. Although she agreed to help you double-cross Eve, you never finalized the contract. You agreed not to, pending how killing the brunette played out, but Lilith came to play.

Your heart held no sympathy for the Queen. She was about to lose everything, but it was temporary. Lilith would be returning home to a husband and a child - to a family. You? You had no home, no family anymore. Lilith could handle a few years away.

Eventually, the demon shook your hand. The room exploded in blues and purples, marking the contract you two just made.

You smirked, "I guess it's time for my grand entrance." You made for the door. "You'll be fine?"

Lilith sighed, "If anyone knows how to handle Adam, it's me."

Right...

"Goodbye, Lilith."

She stopped you, her fingers wrapped around your arm rather tightly. "No harm comes to her." The purple in Lilith's eyes flashed.

She was talking about Charlie. Her daughter was part of the deal: no harm comes to her or her family.

"Of course..."

She let you go. "To power and chaos."

"To power and chaos," you responded as the door shut behind you.

You nearly landed on Rosie a few hours later...

____________________________________________

(Present Day, The Nothing, Pride Ring, Hell)

Alastor leaned forward in his chair, his elbow on his knees, his chin cupped in his hands. His eyes bore into you with every word of your story. The demon listened intently, paying attention to every detail, every flicker of emotion on your face.

Was he expecting you to lie? Was he expecting deceit? You had offered up nothing but the truth - for once. You told Alastor the entire story.

“You killed Eve.”

“I did.”

“For power?”

“Yes.”

Alastor’s eyes finally leave yours, his gaze wandering to the City before you.

“I know why you’re at the Hotel, Alastor.”

That caught his attention. Surprise fills his face as he raises an eyebrow at you, ears perked at attention.

“Oh?” He purrs.

“I know about the deal with Lillith, but it’s more than that. You’re looking for Roo.*” You cross your arms in front of your chest, a sly smile worming its way into your crooked grin. Finally, you could let the demonic side of you shine - the curse of Knowledge slipping through.

“Is that so?” He intertwines his fingers, his hands coming to rest in his lap. The Radio Demon is clearly amused with your statement - yet his radio static is nowhere to be found.

Interesting.

“Power and chaos. Isn’t that always the story?” You stand and take a step towards him, cautious yet curious to see how he will react.

“And what would you know of Roo?” His lips curl.

There it was. There’s the Radio Demon. The power-hungry murderer. God, that look gave you chills.

“I know that’s not her real name,” another step.

Alastor sits up straighter.

You can’t believe he hasn’t put it together - or he has, and he’s toying with you.

“Oh?”

“Rule number one of Hell, don’t go by your God-given name.”

He waits for you to elaborate.

“Roo’s real name…” You take another step, his eyes flicker over your form, noting the proximity. Was he anxious? You leaned forward, your hands on the armrests of his chair as you towered over him.

You stopped close enough to feel Alastor’s breath on your face, his eyes automatically dropping to your red lips. You smirked, “...was Eve.”

You feel the tattoo on your back shift as you break the rune which was sealing the magic within.

Words fly across your skin, roaming the unclothed flesh. Your sclera turned black, your hair coming undone by the power surging through every fiber of your being. Horns grew atop your head, your spiked tail unfolding from your backside. Your wings popped out, their black feathers shining in the light. The Radio Demon watched as you let the power of the Book of Knowledge, hidden deep within you, flow freely for the first time in nearly a decade.

He could feel it, he could smell it - the power so potent he could taste it on his tongue: roses, the Book forever carrying a remnant of its original owner, Eve.

You were the epitome of power - the Root of All Evil.

Roo.

After Lucifer ran off with Lilith, he returned to the Garden of Eden with a gift: the Book of Knowledge. He granted it to Eve before he left. Eve never said why he did it, but she was grateful. She would do anything to get away from Eden. Eve took the book and attempted to flee, but Father lured her back, using Adam as bait. Despite what the Second Woman claimed, part of you always believed she had feelings for the First Man...

But, before Eve was taken, she merged herself with the power from the Book so it could never be separated from her. They’d have to kill her for it.

Instead, Father had her locked up and contained. The devil you know is better than the devil you don’t, and he didn’t want to risk that power passing on to a different hand only to breed a more powerful enemy.

Eve stewed in isolation for thousands of years before finding a way out, before she made her way back to Earth to brew chaos and destruction.

That’s when you were sent to find her. That’s when you befriended her. That’s when you killed her and took the power from the Book for yourself.

Alastor’s smile widens far past what you thought was possible for the demon. His eyes meet yours, his gaze exploding with fire.

“Interesting.” From the Void, Alastor pulls a blade - Velvette's blade. He palms the handle, gripping it in greedy temptation as you, the object of all his desires, stand before him.

You couldn’t recall when the Angelic blade had ended up in his possession, but you weren’t surprised. You knew he was going to try and kill you when he found out - he’d need Angelic steel to do that.

The demon cups your face, his thumb running across your cheek. You could see the hunger for power in his eyes, the constraint with which he fought to maintain composure. Briefly, his pupils flashed into radio dials.

“Absolutely beautiful,” Alastor breathed, his voice absent of static. His lips found yours as he kissed you long and gently. You let yourself melt into him, memorizing his smell, his warmth, the way his lips felt against yours for one final time...

(Keep scrolling)

... and then Alastor plunged the blade deep into your belly.

Could you imagine if I just ended the series right there? That would be HILARIOUS, right? …right? Ha, ha, don’t worry, the story goes on.

-> Chapter Fourteen

History Guide (if you read any of this, read the red at the bottom; it's super important to understanding the fanfic):

1917, Russia - A month after Eve and Thestral's meeting in Russia, Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich and the rest of the Romanov family were taken prisoner during the February Revolution in 1917, which ended Russia's involvement in WW1 and the Imperial reign of the Tsar. They were executed in July 1918. Yes, I am implying Eve had something to do with this. Link to Wiki

1923, Chicago - Al Capone (also known as "Scarface") was Chicago’s infamous Prohibition Era gangster. He was famous for bootlegging, illegal gambling, and violent crime. He ran one of Chicago's largest and most infamous gangs: Link to Wiki

1937 Lae, New Guinea - Amelia Earhart's - the famous American Aviation pioneer who attempted to become the first female pilot to fly around the world - last known location, before they found her plane in the sea, was Lae, New Guinea: Link to Wiki

1945, Germany - Did I just imply that Eve killed Hitler? Yes, yes, I did. Fun fact, Russia beat the USA to the Capitol of Berlin by only a few hours: Link to Wiki

1974, London - Although our protagonists (arguably antagonists at this point, am I right?) are in London and not Washington D.C., the major event of this segment is Nixon's resignation. I am implying that they had something to do with Watergate without directly stating it: Link to Wiki

*The Book of Knowledge: Okay, go back and watch Episode One, "Overture." In the beginning, when Charlie is reading the story of Heaven and Hell, there's a point where she says: "Together [Lilith and Lucifer], they wished to share the magic of free will with humanity, offering the Fruit of Knowledge to Adam's new bride, Eve, who gladly accepted." The scene shows Lucifer handing Eve a book. The idea here is that knowledge = power, and Lucifer handed over the most powerful well of magic to Eve unknowingly. Knowledge = power = literal physical power = power corrupts = Roo is born.

BOOM. The entirety of my fanfic was birthed from one scene in Hazbin Hotel! But, in actuality, I do think Eve is Roo in canon. Link to Transcript

Tagged Hoteliers (Let me know if you want to be added!):

@sirens-and-moonflowers @wonderlandangelsposts @saccharine-nectarine @mommymilkers0526 @goyablogsstuff

@eris-norwega @missgirlsstuff @alastor-the-radio-demons-blog @sillywormtrixareforkids @its-a-dam-blue-brick

@cloverresin20 @blue-bird251 @speedycoffeedelight @littlebluefishtail @saw1987

@mopeyghost @beelz3bub @fraugwinska @minamilinaqueen @demoarah

@diffidentphantom @divineknightmare @animecrazy76 @sleepykittycx @graunta

@reath-solia @satansdaughter123 @mysticatto

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queer-ship-tournament · 1 year

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LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

Finals ongoing

Your Competing Ships Are:

Tara x Darcy - Heartstopper

Nora x June x Percy - Red, White & Royal Blue

Nico x Will - Riordanverse

Magnus x Alec - The Shadowhunter Chronicles

Alex x Henry - Red, White & Royal Blue

August x Jane - One Last Stop

Simon x Baz - Carry On

Tao x Elle - Heartstopper

Nick x Charlie -Heartstopper

Kit x ty - The Shadowhunter Chronicles

Helen x Aline - The Shadowhunter Chronicles

Thomas x Alastair - The Shadowhunter Chronicles

Benedikt x Marshall - These Violent Delights

Jesper x Wylan - Grishaverse

Tamar x Nadia - Grishaverse

Shara x Chloe - I Kissed Shara Wheeler

Ari x Dante - Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Andrew x Neil - All For the Game

Eric "Bitty" Bittle x Jack Zimmerman - Check, Please!

Laurent x Damianos - The Captive Prince

Ronan x Adam - The Raven Cycle

Kieran x Mark x Christina - The Shadowhunter Chronicles

Patroclus x Achilles - The Song of Achilles

Nina x Hanne - Grishaverse

Diana x Gwyn - The Shadowhunter Chronicles

Evelyn x Celia - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Mateo x Rufus - They Both Die At the End

Luc x Oliver - Boyfriend Material

Aziraphale x Crowley - Good Omens

Simon x Bram - Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Bree x Sel x Nick - The Legendborn Cycle

Blue x Red - This Is How You Lose the Time War

Propaganda is highly encouraged! Tag me in it and tag with #the-queer-ship-tournament if making a separate post.

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pizza-is-my-buziness · 1 year

Note

Hope you’re having a nice day. Can I ask what are the best queer books you’ve read?

Okay anon. I feel like I've trained for this my entire life lol

So full disclosure, most of the queer books I've read are sapphic books so pretty much all of my recommendations will lean in that direction.

Realistic Fiction/Romance (YA)

She Gets the Girl (this is my absolute most favorite in the entire world I think lol)

Forget Me Not

Home Field Advantage

Melt with You (another top tier favorite -I finished this book and cried because it was what I had been looking for my whole life and that's when it dawned on me that I could just...keep reading books like this forever)

She Drives Me Crazy

The Lucky List

Not My Problem

Out of Character

6 Times We Almost Kissed (And One Time We Did)

You Should See Me in a Crown

Margot Zimmerman Gets the Girl

Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea (middle grade not YA)

Realistic Fiction/Romance (Adult)

Delilah Green Doesn't Care/Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail

Mistakes Were Made

Cleat Cute (it isn't out yet but trust me it's so great)

In the Event of Love

Payback's a Witch

Kiss Her Once For Me

One Last Stop

Horror/Fantasy/Sci-fi

The River Has Teeth (I am obsessed with this author)

Squad (graphic novel)

I'm the Girl (definitely check trigger warnings for this one)

These Fleeting Shadows

The Bone Spindle

The Restless Dark (seriously this author)

The Dead and the Dark (obsessed)

Missing Dead Girls

Scrapegracers

*I would probably check trigger warnings for most of the horror stuff just in case!

Also honorable mention to the Truly Devious series which is just so awesome but a secondary main character is in a queer relationship with a non-binary character and another character identifies as ace. The mysteries are also amazing.

Historical Fiction

Last Night at the Telegraph Club

Miseducation of Cameron Post (not so much romance, more coming of age)

The Mercies (does not have an on-page happy ending)

Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (I didn't love this one but it feels like it has to be said lol)

A Few Notes....

I know that I'm forgetting some. I basically sat by my bookshelf/went through my Goodreads for the past 3 years so I'm sure I'm missing some older ones or some classics.

Basically what I look for in a queer book is that it's going to make me happy and make me feel good so hopefully that will be true for other readers -horror is, of course, my favorite and...wow the romance just hits differently

I have a huge TBR I have amassed that has lots more titles that I haven't read personally but would be happy to post for anyone interested

I know that a lot of these books are of similar perspectives/backgrounds/etc. and would love further recommendations and suggestions!

If anyone wants to add to this list I would be thrilled!

#long posts #just #books #also where is all the historical fiction at???

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artisticlegshake · 2 years

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RADIX SAN FRANCISCO RESULTS 2022/23

JUNIOR SOLOS:

1st Fiona Wu - YOKO’S OTE!

2nd Sophia Schiano - DANCEPLEX OTE!

3rd Joy Lin - YOKO’S OTE!

3rd Ava Ding - YOKO’S OTE!

3rd Tayah Kilmuck - EVOKE OTE!

4th Harper Ducale - HYPE OTE!

5th Aubrey Franck - ELEVATE

5th Claire Gestring - EVOKE

5th Charlotte Boyd - ELEVATE

5th Emilie Ko - YOKO’S

6th Joah Moore - PAVE

6th Ava Torres - WESTLAKE

6th Holland Fraley - THE ACADEMY

6th Elyse Distefano - NORTH STATE BALLET

6th Brooke Marinella - NORTH STATE BALLET

7th Rylee Harper - HEAT

7th Aubrey Thomas - DANCERS TURNOUT

8th Bryn Zimmerman - PAVE

8th Iris Chan - YOKO’S

8th Stella Sherman - DU BOISE

8th Zoua Liebig-Williams - STUDIO 49

9th Nicole Yordanova - LOS ALTOS

9th Sabina Vess - DANCEPLEX

10th Sienna Jones - PAA OF MARIN

10th Anika Le - MLDA

10th Sawyer Chisholm - PAA OF MARIN

10th Naima Trammel - HEAT

10th Evelyn Hoyt - DU BOISE

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fridaythe13ththeseries · 2 years

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Mesmer's Bauble

Episode Recap #46: Mesmer's Bauble aka The Secret Agenda of Mesmer's Bauble

Original Airdate: May 6, 1989

Starring: John D. LeMay as Ryan Dallion Louise Robey as Micki Foster Chris Wiggins as Jack Marshak

Guest cast: Vanity as Angelica Martin Neufeld as Howard Moore Laurie Paton as Anita Devon Eve Crawford as Mrs. Burns Jennifer Cornish as Girl #1 Sandra Brown as Girl #2 Tim Gannon as Jogger Tony De Santis as Roger Zimmerman Patrick Brymer as Kirk Bill Vibert as Security Guard David Clement as Henry Pinkman Evelyn Kaye as Woman Bystander

Written by Joe Gannon Directed by Armand Mastroianni

We open on a sexy woman singing a song. It is the superstar Angelica, and it turns out we are seeing her on a television set, in a room covered with posters and photos of her. A man is applying makeup to his face in the mirror, then he walks through the room, caressing her image on the walls. He seems obsessed and sad, mouthing "I love you" to a poster, then he begins to sob.

Cut to the outside shot of the Vinyl Museum Record Depot, where the man, Howard, works. He is busy filling a display for Angelica's music, and his boss tells him a PR rep for Angelica's label will be stopping in. She also gets Howard's hopes up by hinting maybe the rep can even get Angelica to stop by herself.

Some teen girls are shopping, and an overzealous Howard tries to help, wanting to show of his knowledge of Angelica. They mock him and leave.

That night, Howard is walking home and looks at his reflection in a window. As he does, two men jump out of a car and smash a store window, grabbing items and fleeing as the alarm sounds. Howard walks over and finds a chain with a crystal bauble. He picks it up just as a bystander grabs him, thinking he is the burglar. Howard tells the man to drop dead, and the bauble kind of puts the man in a trance. He walks off, we can hear his heart pounding and he collapses. Howard goes to check on him, but the man is dead. The cops arrive.

Later, Howard is finally at home and examines the bauble in front of the mirror. He asks it to fix his skin, and his face instantly looks smoother. He then asks it to fix his face, but nothing happens.

At Curious Goods, Ryan is excited to have to tickets to Angelica's concert. Ryan really likes her, but Micki pokes fun at him. Jack then finds the bauble in the Manifest, and shows the cousins the police report of items stolen, and it includes Mesmer's Bauble. Jack tells them Mesmer was a hypnotist, and they wonder what Louis' curse did to the item. Micki and Ryan leave to investigate.

At a club called The Copa, fans eagerly await as Angelica arrives. Howard among them. She waves and signs a few autographs then is ushered inside.

Howard arrives at the record store and his boss introduces him to Anita Devon, from Angelica's label. Howard is excited to meet someone who actually knows his crush. His boss comments on his face looking clearer.

Howard shows Anita their storeroom and she gives him an autographed photo of Angelica. He also spies her backstage pass. Howard continues to ask questions, and it quickly gets too personal. Anita thinks he is a wacko fan, and is uncomfortable. She wants to go, but Howard pushes, and she says Angelica wouldn't be attracted to someone like him. He pulls out the bauble and puts her in a trance. He tells her to go for a walk. She obeys, walking out of the store, only saying goodbye to Mrs. Burns at Howard's insistence. Howard walks out with Anita and tells her to walk into the traffic. She is hit by a semi. His boss runs out and tells him to call an ambulance.

That night, Howard rushes home and again holds the bauble, asking it to make him beautiful and someone Angelica would notice. He writhes on the floor in pain.

At The Copa, Howard arrives with Anita's backstage pass. He looks more attractive, and even his hair is flowing. He heads backstage, where Angelica and her crew are rehearsing. Howard follows the monitors and soon he is within feet of the singer, watching her. Roger, Angelica's manager, is ushering her out when they encounter Howard, who says he is there replacing Anita. Roger says he better do better than her, to Angelica's chagrin. Howard and Angelica shake hands. Roger takes her away, saying they can talk business later. A stagehand says there is an issue with too many fans and asks if Angelica will come out and sign some autographs. Roger tries to blow him off, but Angelica goes to them. Howard wanders backstage.

Later, Roger is ranting about lost time as he and Angelica finally get to her dressing room. He says she is too good to her fans. As she goes to change, Howard watches from the clothing rack. Angelica says Roger is too possessive, and Howard realizes they are a couple.

Micki and Ryan arrive at the store that was burglarized. They talk to the owner, and tell him the cops caught the thieves and got most of his items back. They ask about the bauble. He thinks the crooks fenced it, but Micki says there wasn't time. He mentions the kid who talked to the police, and Micki asks if he means Howard Moore. The man calls him and ugly kid, and talks about the jogger that died. Micki and Ryan head off.

At another rehearsal, Howard watches Angelica perform. He then approaches as Angelica and Roger go to leave, but Roger rudely tells him he should be working and not hanging around, and then takes off as Howard seethes.

Micki and Ryan are at the record store and talk to Mrs. Burns. She said Howard called and quit this morning, and tells them kids were always giving Howard a bad time over his looks. Then she tells them about Anita getting hit. Micki says to Ryan that everywhere Howard is, someone dies.

Howard lies in bed, listening to Angelica's music, and says out loud that he knows she wants him. A knock on the door and Micki and Ryan are there. They ask about the robbery and if he noticed the bauble. He says no, but Micki spies all the Angelica photographs before he shuts the door. She comments to Ryan that he is not at all ugly. They wonder if the cursed antique is already at work. Micki thinks he wants Angelica, so they leave to find where she is staying.

In his apartment, Howard holds the bauble.

At the hotel, Roger stops shaving to answer the door. It is Howard, who holds the bauble up and entrances the man. Howard tells him to finish shaving, really close, with no water. He keeps telling him to go closer and closer, and not to forget his throat. Blood hits the sink and Roger collapses. Howard looks in the mirror and tells the bauble he wants to be Angelica's lover.

In the hotel lobby, Micki and Ryan see a body wheeled out. A woman says it was Angelica's manager. Then, Angelica and Howard get off the elevator, together. Howard has instantly replaced Roger, telling the assembled group to give her privacy.

Jack is reading about Roger's death, with a quote from Howard saying Roger was depressed. Micki says Howard spent the night planning Roger's funeral. They are sure he has the bauble. Jack tells them about his research, that the bauble fulfills fantasies. Ryan wonders if Howard will hurt Angelica. They head to the club.

Angelica is crying in her dressing room when Howard arrives with a rose. He tells her he took care of Roger's funeral, and she cries on his chest. She wants to cancel her show, but Howard insists she must go on, for all her fans. She is unsure. A man knocks on the door, and Angelica says she will go on. Howard tells her he wants to show her something.

We cut to him taking Angelica to his apartment with all the photos of her on the walls. She asks if he wants her and begins to undress.

Micki and Ryan burst into the club, wanting to find Angelica. A man stops them, and Ryan asks where she is. The man says she left with her new manager.

Howard and Angelica are naked, and he is caressing her body. He keeps looking from her to her photos, then he is touching his own chest, then the bauble. Angelica asks what's wrong, and kisses him. She pulls him to the floor on top of her, but Howard says he can't do this, it isn't what he wants. He says he wants to be her. She struggles, as he holds her down. The power of the bauble works on his wish, melding their bodies. Later, Howard who is now Angelica looks in the mirror and laughs.

That night, the stagehand tells Howard/Angelica it is almost showtime. She admires herself in the mirror.

Ryan and Micki arrive at Howard's apartment and bang on the door. Ryan forces the door open. Micki sees weird slimy ooze on the floor, and they rush off to the club.

As the show is about to begin, the fans fill the club. Howard/Angelica prepares to go on stage. Micki and Ryan head in with the other fans, looking for Howard. Angelica/Howard is introduced and comes on stage, singing and dancing.

Micki notices the bauble around "Angelica's" neck and as the singer makes her way around the stage, Micki reaches up and grabs the bauble, pulling it off without their knowing. Suddenly, Howard/Angelica's voice goes deep, his body and face change. He is transforming into Howard again in front of a freaked out crowd. He hears the mocking voices in his head, backs up in a panic and falls into a floor panel of lights, sending sparks into the air. Micki, Ryan and the club all watch in horror.

At home, Ryan is listening to Angelica on the radio, and Jack and Micki tell him to try and make sense out of it. Micki says the bauble is in the vault, but they blew it this time, lamenting being unable to also save Angelica. Jack says there was no way to know what was going to happen, or what was going on in Howard's mind. Ryan looks at the ticket stubs and thinks of Angelica.

My thoughts:

Wow. What an episode. I remember the first time I saw this one, I was really confused as to what happened. Makes way more sense now, but quite the twist here.

One thing that is nuts is how much is made of how 'ugly' Howard is. Are all the people around him so superficial and mean to that extent? Sadly, I can see it being true. Might be a bit played up for the drama, but people can be real jerks. Still happens to this day. So maybe I shouldn't be surprised.

The antique is quite a powerful one, basically acting like a genie's lamp in granting wishes, as long as you give it deaths, and don't let it go. Howard obviously wanted very specific things, but he could have had literally anything from it, it seems.

Our group is getting real good at investigating things, but you have to wonder if the cops have questions about these people always wanting information on things. A recurring cop or someone on the inside would have helped with this.

Glad to have the three of them back together after three episodes with them apart.

The final transformation on stage in front of the crowd and the at home viewers had to have been big news. No way to keep that a secret. I assume Micki and Ryan just took off, but all those people watched Angelica transform into Howard, who then fell and died. And Angelica was gone, too. Had to be huge news! But they make no mention of how it was explained to the world, at the end.

Do appreciate their melancholy, though. They did their best, but Angelica still died. Not easy to live with, I'm sure.

Next week: Wedding in Black

#mesmer's bauble #bauble #necklace #jewelry #season two #episode recap #curious goods #jack marshak #micki foster #ryan dallion #john d. lemay #robey #louise robey #chris wiggins #vanity #music

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just-a-bookish-reader · 1 year

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Back to School Readathon 2023

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Starting a few days after the fall semester starts for my university, Liv is helping to host another readathon, except that this one is not 24 hours, its almost a week long! With both reading prompts and photo prompts, each based on particularly school themed events and classes, there is about to be so much going on from August 25-August 31!

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Unlike the graphic novels and manga readathon, I do not plan to try to read more than the books I'm selecting for each reading prompt this time, unless I read way faster than I'm expecting! As far as the photo prompts, based on the spirit week we all know and love, we don't actually have to dress up or even have our faces in any of the photos! As mentioned in Liv's announcement video, you can simply use props to do flat lays with books, and I'll be mentioning one that I'm already planning out (and will likely take the picture super ahead of time!).

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Gwen has put out some awesome movie suggestions for the "study hall" prompt as well, specifying that the prompt is just that the movie needs to take place in a school, not necessarily a dark academia or anything like that (literally you can watch High School Musical even!) and if you are a patron of Gwen, she'll be hosting a live viewing of Heathers!

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While there are enough prompts for a full school day, there is no particular order required or even recommended to my knowledge of how to follow each prompt. It certainly is not expected for you to knock out more than one prompt in one day unless your second prompt is the "study hall" aka movie prompt!

Here are some examples that I had to sift through of my own books to narrow down to my final selections!

English

Sirens & Muses by Antonia Angress

My Last Innocent Year by Daisy Alpert Florin

The Whispering Dark by Kelly Andrews

I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

Only a Monster by Vanessa Len

Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Torzs

Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl by Brianna R. Shrum

Dear Medusa by Olivia A. Cole

The Cloisters by Katy Hays

Bunny by Mona Awad

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Ordinary Monsters by J. M. Miro

Math

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine

Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake

The Second Death of Edie and Violet Bond by Amanda Glaze

The First Bright Thing by J. R. Dawson

Seven Faceless Saints by M. K. Lobb

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

The Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix E. Harrow

Master of One by Olivie Blake

One For My Enemy by Olivie Blake

The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley by Sean Lusk

Once a Queen by Sarah Arthur

Physical Education

She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen

We Are the Song by Catherine Bakewell

Sing Me to Sleep by Gabi Burton

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

Lunch

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Science

Red Dust, White Snow by Pan Huiting

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

The Pomegranate Gate by Ariel Kaplan

Dragonfall by L. R. Lam

The Sun and The Void by Gabriela Romero-Lacruz

Girls Like Girls by Hayley Kiyoko

How High We go in The Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

All the Dead Lie Down by Kyrie McCauley

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner

The Midnight Girls by Alicia Jasinska

Book of Night by Holly Black

Study Hall

Grease

Love, Simon

Easy A

Edge of Seventeen

Legally Blonde

The Breakfast Club

High School Musical

Superbad

Booksmart

Dead Poet Society

Heathers

Social Studies

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Weyward by Emilia Hart

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

Furyborn by Claire Legrand

If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio

Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

First Bright Thing by J. R. Dawson

Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland

How High We Go in The Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Final Results:

English:

A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee

Math:

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

PE:

A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross (activity is music)

Lunch:

Poison by Bridget Zinn

Science:

How High We Go in The Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

Social Studies:

Weyward by Emilia Hart

Art:

Nimona

Study Hall:

Easy A

#Youtube #back to school #readathon

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monriatitans · 1 year

Video

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Realism is Bad, Actually

Offset your carbon footprint on Wren: https://wren.co/start/zoebee The first 100 people who sign up will have 10 extra trees planted in their name!

* Description: * We say we love "realistic" fiction like Batman, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Horizon: Forbidden West. We say we love when our characters "act like real people" and "have realistic dialogue." But it's worth asking: Are these things ACTUALLY realistic? And if not, is realism even worth trying to capture?

* chapters: * 00:00:00 - Intro: Concrete Monsters 00:04:17 - Part 1: Using Realism 00:10:34 - Part 2: Investigating Realism 00:17:27 - Part 3: Criticizing Realism 00:40:32 - Intermission 00:43:17 - Part 4: Replacing Realism 00:59:16 - Conclusion: Sounds Good 01:08:39 - Outro & Poem

* Sources: * ---Books ------“Gamic Realism”: Player, Perception and Action in Video Game Play - Hanna Sommerseth ------Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds - Jesper Juul ------Hunting the Dark Knight - Will Brooker ------Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist - James Gurney ------Maps of the Imagination - Peter Turchi ------Method and Madness - Alice LaPlante ------reality tv: realism and revelation - Anita Biressi and Heather Nunn ------Rules of Play - Eric Zimmerman and Katie Salen ------The American Monomyth - Robert Jewett and John Shelton Lawrence ------The Militarization of Childhood - ed. J. Marshall Beier ------The Rules of Play - Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman ------What is Cinema? - Andre Bazin

---Articles ------“A Grounded Investigation of Game Immersion” - Emily Brown and Paul Cairns ------“Foley Sounds vs Real Sounds” - Stefano Trento and Amalia De Götzen ------“Footsteps with character: the art and craft of Foley” - Benjamin Wright ------“Making fictions sound real – On film sound, perceptual realism and genre” - Birger Langkjær ------“Perceived realism and the CSI-effect” - Logan A. Ewanation, Susan Yamamoto, Jordan Monnink & Evelyn M. Maeder ------“Reading Realism: Audiences’ Evaluations fo the Reality of Media Texts” - Alice Hall ------“Realism in FIFA? How social realism enabled platformed racism in a video game” - Sam Srauy and John Cheney-Lippold ------“Selling Marvel's Cinematic Superheroes through Militarization” - Brett Pardy ------“Skeleton Keys: Teaching the Fiction of Narrative Truth” - Douglas P. Felter ------“Social Realism in Gaming” - Alexander R. Galloway ------“The One Measure of True Love Is: You Can Insult the Other” (Interview) - Sabine Reul and Thomas Deichman ------“The Perceived Realism of African American Portrayals on Television” - Narissra M. Punyanunt-Carter ------“Videogames of the oppressed: critical thinking, education, tolerance and other trivial issues” - Gonzalo Frasca

---Videos ------"Reality Isn’t Always Right" - Solar Sands ( • Reality Isn't Alw... ) ------"SHUT UP ABOUT PLOT HOLES" - Patrick (H) Willems ( • SHUT UP ABOUT PLO... ) ------"What's the Point of R-Rated Superheroes?" - Patrick (H) Willems ( • What's the Point ... ) ------"Why Do We Care if Movies Are "Realistic?" - Patrick (H) Willems ( • Why Do We Care if... ) ------“MASSIVE sound design breakdown of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy” - INDEPTH Sound Design ( • MASSIVE sound des... )

* Further Watching: * ---"How Animal Sounds Are Made For Movies And TV | Movies Insider" - Movie Insider ( • How Animal Sounds... ) ---"Does Representation Matter?" - Legal Kimchi ( • Does Representati... )

* quote reads (in order of appearance) * ---Caelan Conrad ------Twitter: https://twitter.com/CaelanConrad ------YouTube: / caelanconrad ---Mica (Ponderful) ------Twitter: https://twitter.com/PonderfulYT ------YouTube: / @ponderfulyt ---Little Hoot ------Twitter: https://twitter.com/hoot_little ------YouTube: / littlehoot ---Aranock ------Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aranock1 ------YouTube: / @aranock

* edited by Charlie Flowers * YouTube: / @xxinrealtimexx Twitter: https://twitter.com/xXinrealtimeXx

* To Support Me: * ---Become a channel Member! ➤ / @zoe_bee ---Join the Patreon! ➤ https://www.patreon.com/zoe_bee ---Make a one-time donation! ➤ https://ko-fi.com/zoebee ---Join the Discord! ➤ https://discord.gg/8GBmS9Qug9 ---Check out my second channel! ➤ / @zoecee ---Watch my D&D game! ➤ / @thejaycorn ---Watch my Blades in the Dark game! ➤ https://www.twitch.tv/itucrew

(disclaimer: This video was sponsored by Wren.)

#Zoe Bee #realism #realism is bad #plausibility #typicality #factuality #involvement #narrative consistency #perceptual pervasiveness #what is realism #immersion #mirroring experience #mirroring reality #emotionally evocative #idealized version of reality #audience story contract #dress-up

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misscrazyfangirl321 · 2 years

Note

Will and his little sister: I feel so sick.

I just realized I messed up on ages a bit here. Evie is 16, and Will is 28. Technically he’s supposed to be 15 years older than her, but just ignore that for the sake of this fic, pretty please.

TW for drug use/withdrawals.

Will hears the footsteps coming, but doesn’t bother to open his eyes. His head is pounding, the lights are way too bright, and his whole body aches. Besides, the only people who have a key to this place are Danny and Kayla, and he trusts them both completely.

It isn’t Danny coming, he knows; the footsteps are too quiet, too close together. Kayla, then. That’s good; hopefully she brought him some food, because he’s starving.

“I feel so sick,” he says, and he knows he’s whining, but he can’t bring himself to care. Distantly, he’s grateful that he has friends he can whine to, friends who will take care of him even when he feels like this: miserable, jittery, in pain, fighting both insomnia and fatigue (always tired, never sleeping, like some sort of twisted fairytale curse). One day, when this is all over, he’ll have to thank Danny and Kayla for letting him crash on their couch (letting him fall apart, and not shaming him as he tries to piece himself back together).

The footsteps reach the living room, then stop, lingering in the doorway. “Will?” The voice is soft, but it cuts straight through him, and his stomach turns. Not her; anyone but her.

She-his precious little sister, the best thing that’s ever happened to him, the only one in his family that doesn’t treat him like a freak half the time-cannot be seeing him like this: burning from withdrawals, fraying at the edges. She’ll never look at him the same way again.

Part of him wants to ignore her, to pretend she isn’t there. Maybe he can convince himself that this is all some sort of dream, or a hallucination of some kind. But… She is there, and already, he knows she’s scared.

Digging up every bit of strength inside him, he opens his eyes, and tries to sit up. Nope, bad idea. The room spins, and he lets his head fall back onto the couch cushion, settling for facing her. “Hey, Evie.” His voice is hoarse, like he’s been screaming for hours (and maybe he has; the past few days are a blur in his mind), but he can at least force a weak smile. “What are you doing here?”

She knows something’s wrong; it’s written all over her face. But she’s still young (younger than he ever was at her age; by sixteen he was bitter, and angry at the world, aware of anything and everything that could dull the pain), so as long as he can put on a good show, she won’t figure out what it is. Hopefully.

At last, she speaks, taking a tentative step toward him at the same time. “I just wanted to show you what Mom and Dad got me for my birthday.” It sounds almost like a question.

Wait, birthday? No way; her birthday isn’t for-

Oh no. No, no, no. He’s never missed her birthday. Not once, even from her very first. He’s doted on her with cake, presents, and singing, making sure she knows exactly how important she is to him. But since he missed his first dose, the details of life have gone by the wayside, and now all too soon, she’ll know he forgot (though it’s so painfully obvious, she probably already does).

“What-” He’s shaking, he realizes absently, and tries to force himself still. “What did they get you?”

There has to be something he can do, he reasons. Something he can pull out of thin air, some way to convince her that no, really, he didn’t forget. It should be easy enough-he’s always been a quick thinker-but now it feels like his brain is fighting through a sea of fog, and it’s losing. He’s losing.

“A car.”

“Nice.” Really nice; they definitely never bought him a car (and the anger stirring in his chest must be a withdrawal symptom, because he never even asked them for a car, but it burns all the same).

This isn’t helpful. He needs to focus, but it seems almost impossible. Hunger, pain, frustration, and exhaustion war in his mind, and he can’t seem to push past them. Not even for her.

Against his will, his mind is drawn to his backpack, to the stash even Danny and Kayla don’t know about. It’s just across the room, and it would be so easy for him to get to it. It wouldn’t take long for the effects to hit, and he’d start to feel human again. Just one dose, a voice at the back of his mind whispers. Just one dose, for Evie’s sake. Is there anything he wouldn’t do for her?

And then what? Is he going to quit a second time? To start this misery over from the beginning, and go through withdrawals all over again? No. Deep down, he knows that if he gives in now, this will never end. He’ll always find another excuse, another reason, to take just one more dose. He’ll be trapped in this cycle, never quite able to break free, and he’ll never stand a chance of getting into Quantico.

The thought is enough to steel him. Is he really willing to do that? Give up the chance to put the bad guys behind bars, to save little kids from having to weep over dead mothers? Not for a second. No, taking another dose isn’t an option; he’ll just have to deal with Evie on his own, even if everything in him is fighting back.

Evie’s watching him expectantly, and he realizes she must have answered while he was lost in his own head.

“Sorry, what’d you say?”

But apparently she’s had as much of this as she can take. “What is wrong with you?”

What’s wrong with me? A bitter laugh slips out of his mouth before he can stop it, a thousand answers bubbling up in his mind. Should I start with my childhood trauma, the constant pressure I’m under, or my feelings of isolation? No reason to let that psychology degree go to waste, after all. What’s wrong with me? How long do you have?

Inhale. Exhale. This is his little sister. This is Evie, and he loves her. He will not allow the fire in him to scorch her.

“Stomach bug.” He manages another shaky smile. “Might not want to get too close to me.”

“Stomach bug?” She echoes. Fear gives way to gentle concern, and Will can finally breathe. She’s actually convinced. That’s good, because everything still hurts, and if she doesn’t leave soon, his control might start slipping. It’s taking everything in him just to hold it together.

“Mmm. Something I picked up at Harvard.” It’s not even completely a lie. “Listen, as soon as I’m feeling better, we’ll do something together, okay? You can even drive me somewhere in that car of yours, if you promise not to speed.” How he finds an ounce of teasing to slip into his words, he has no idea.

Pursing her lips together, she seems to weigh her options. “Maybe you should come home. Mom makes a really good chicken noodle soup.”

Soup sounds amazing, and Will’s stomach grumbles (and maybe, just maybe, there’s a child inside him that really loves the idea of going home, of having his family there to help him through this), but he firmly ignores it. Evie may be young and innocent, but his dad and Michelle are not. They’d take one look at him and know, and then their whole family would know.

“I’m okay.” This one is, in fact, completely a lie, but a necessary one. At the very least, he can follow it up with some truth. “Danny and Kayla are taking good care of me.” Then, because he has to ask, “Wait, how did you find me? Did they tell you where I was?”

If they did, he might never forgive them.

“I saw Kayla at the grocery store.” She shrugs. “She was picking up those weird cookies you love so much, so… I had a hunch, you know?”

“And how did you get in?”

She has the grace to look a little sheepish. “I looked around until I found their spare key.”

And part of him wants to be angry-not at Evie, never at Evie, but at Kayla, for giving away his location, or at her and Danny, for having their spare key in such an obvious hiding place-but he forces himself to exhale. This isn’t their fault, he tells himself, and mostly believes it.

Deep breaths. Keep joking, keep teasing, and get her out of here. “Pretty sure breaking and entering is a crime,” he points out, and she huffs.

“I didn’t break anything! I just-” But her voice rises, and Will can’t help but wince, closing his eyes in a helpless attempt to stop the echoing noise. She pauses, and when she speaks again, it’s soft. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he says, but it’s strained, so obviously a lie that he can’t even look at her.

“I should go. Get to feeling better, okay?” She starts walking; he hears her, but doesn’t bother opening his eyes again. It hurts too much, and besides, he’s exhausted, frayed to his limits in an effort to act somewhat normal for her. “I’ll leave some candy in your backpack in case you get hungry later.”

“Hm.” Candy sounds good, even if walking all the way over there sounds like a lot of work. He’s hungry, so hungry, and Danny and Kayla still aren’t back with food. Maybe he could ask Evie to bring it over to him instead, but he’s already told her he has a stomach bug; she has to keep her distance.

Still, though, surely there’s somewhere closer than-

His backpack.

Horror dawns, and he shoots upright on the couch, eyes flying open. It’s too much, too fast, and his entire body protests, but he ignores it, just focuses on a desperate “Evie, no-”

But it’s too late. When his gaze lands on the corner, he sees Evie: a vial in one hand, a syringe in the other, looking more pale than he’s ever seen her.

No. No, no, no. He has to keep a clear head, has to think this out, but desperation and pain are clouding his mind, and the only thing he can think to say is, “Put that down.”

“What is this?” But she’s sixteen years old, she’s read the label, and innocent doesn’t mean stupid; she knows what this is and what it means, so why is she dragging this out?

“Put it down.”

“Will, what is going on?”

“Evelyn, just-”

“Are you high?”

It’s out before he can stop it. “No, but I wish I was.”

She withdraws as if he’s slapped her, and he has a moment-just a moment-of painful clarity. Reality settles in, not drowning out the aches but mingling with them, nearly too much to handle.

“I’m sorry, I-just put it down, okay?” His control is slipping, and he swallows roughly. When she complies, he continues, “It’s withdrawals, Evie, just withdrawals. I promise, I’m trying t-I’m trying to get better. It just takes time.”

Tears glisten in her eyes, and he can’t stop the panic clawing at his chest. His own vision blurs, but he ignores that. She’s crying. He made her cry, and it’s his fault, all his fault, and he’s so stupid. None of this would’ve happened if he’d just taken one more dose-

No. No, he can’t think like that; it’s not right. Not right. (He’s spiraling, and he knows it, but he can’t seem to stop, mind growing more and more muddled with rage and fear, with desperation, because he made his little sister cry, and-)

“How long?” Her voice shakes, but she holds her ground. “How long have you been-using?” The word sounds like poison on her lips.

He can’t even think to form some sort of reassurance; all he can do is admit, “Since the second week at Harvard.”

“And you’re-you’re quitting?”

“Yes.” He wills her to understand that he means it, that he’s done with that awful stuff for good.

“So I can pour the rest of this out?”

And in spite of everything-in spite of every firm conviction that he’s done, that he never wants to touch that stuff again-there’s a part of him, wild and desperate, that wants to say no. Wants to beg her not to take it from him, or worse: shove her away, so that she’s nowhere near his precious stash.

It’s that last urge, more than any other, that leads him to nod. Because no matter how bad things get, no matter how suffocating, he’s never going to let anyone lay a hand on Evie. Especially not him.

She takes the vial and the syringe, and when she comes back again, she has neither. Wherever they are, they’re gone, and he can never have them again. There’s a pit of loss in his stomach, but with it, something like relief. One way or another, this is over.

“Evie, I-”

“Do Danny and Kayla know?”

“Yeah. They’re taking care of me. Evie, please-” He doesn’t even know what he’s asking for at this point. For her to not tell anyone? For her to not hate him? For her to not look at him like a complete failure?

She stares at him for several long seconds, expression unreadable, until finally, he looks away. His back to her, facing the edge of the couch, he waits for her to leave. He won’t blame her, he knows; after everything she’s seen, she has every right to leave him behind. The tears in his eyes slowly start to slip, and he wants to scream. He doesn’t cry in front of Evie, not ever, and-

And suddenly there’s someone sitting on the couch behind him, arms snaking around his waist, and a warm weight against his back. Her tears soak through his shirt, and he’s shaking so hard he can hardly think, but she doesn’t let go, and he reaches up, clinging to her arms like they’re the only thing keeping him from drowning.

“I’m sorry,” he says at one point, or she says; it’s hard to be sure.

At last the tears subside, and she releases him, patiently waiting for him to look back at her. When he finally does, his heart breaks at the calm, steady expression on her face. It’s like she’s aged ten years in as many minutes.

“I won’t tell anyone,” she promises, and he’s more than a little surprised. “But you have to get better, okay? Promise me you won’t ever, ever do something like this again.”

“I promise,” he says, and he means it to his bones. No matter what, he’s never going to put her through this again.

“Good.” At last, she smiles, shaky but sincere. “I love you.”

And it’s so much more than he deserves, almost enough to bring him to tears all over again. “I love you, too, Evie,” he says quietly. “We’re gonna be okay, okay?”

Maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but someday, they’ll be okay.

#stay tuned to the end of my tags for screaming about the writing process for this fic bcs it was something else #will zimmerman #evelyn zimmerman #sanctuary #my fics #my writing #mine #answered #thanks for the ask!#lattes of love #ec snowed in #okay rant time #this is the fic that i wrote almost in its entirety on tumblr #then lost #i almost immediately tried to rewrite it #but i didn't like how it was going #so i didn't finish #later i decided to pick this story up again but i was like 'yeah that one doc is terrible i'm just opening another one'#and it was... better #i didn't love it #but it was okay #i didn't finish it that time either #i went back later to work on it #and went to the wrong document #anyway long story short i ended up with two nearly completely versions of this story to replace the one i lost #(except the ending. i only wrote everything after the initial confrontation once; i didn't even get there the very first time i wrote this)#so today i opened a new document #and basically copy-and-pasted my favorite versions of each sentence #and reformatted a tiny bit #and when i didn't like either sentence i wrote a new one

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nymphaforesta · 3 years

Note

can u rec any good books🥺

the lost flowers of alice hart by holly ringland, circe by madeline miller, the binding by b. r. collins, dead blondes and bad mothers by sady doyle, women and other monsters by jess zimmerman (she gifted it to me xx), the alchemist by paulo coelho, the night circus by erin morgensern, the smell of other people's houses by bonnie-sue hitchcock, the seven husbands of evelyn hugo by taylor jenkins reid, the japanese lover by isabel allende AND MORE

#hope this was good enough lol #asks #anon #book recs

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malkalaila · 4 years

Photo

The Duchess of Cambridge attending Wimbledon through the years

#kate middleton #duchess of cambridge #cambridge queue-tie pie #fashion files #kate attends wimbledon #kate attends wimbledon 2014

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mirdaniaa · 4 years

Text

tagged by @nyx4, thank you!!

CHALLENGE: TOP TEN THINGS

in no particular order …

MOVIES:

Cloud Atlas

What We Do in the Shadows

The Parent Trap 1998

Star Wars just as like. a collective unit.

The Princess Diaries

Annihilation

Mad Max Fury Road

Birds of Prey

the lady Ghostbusters

The VVitch

BOOKS:

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut (it’s been ten years since I read it but it was one of the first books that made me like...think, and I’ll always be grateful to it for that reason)

Emma by Jane Austen

asoiaf by grrm even if I do dunk on it all the time

Bride of Pendorric by Victoria Holt

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

The Sixth Wife by Suzannah Dunn

Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay

Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey

MUSIC (artists): listen i listen EXCLUSIVELY to movie soundtracks so this is gonna be. interesting.

ABBA

Ramin Djawadi

Florence + The Machine

Samuel Kim

John Williams

James Horner

Hans Zimmerman

AC/DC (please do not judge, I was exposed in the womb and have had no choice but to stan)

Joan Jett

Blondie

TOP TEN (CURRENT) SONGS (i’m currently listening to the got soundtrack so that’s what i’m putting down here and y’all can judge all you want)

Jenny of Oldstones by Florence + the Machine

The Night King

Winterfell

Light of the Seven

Needle

The Winds of Winter

Dragonstone

The Bear and the Maiden Fair but the Hold Steady cover

Spoils of War parts 1 and 2

Ironborn

TV SHOWS:

ATLA

Derry Girls

Game of Thrones, I know, I KNOW, stop judging

What We do in the Shadows

The Great

Stranger Things

The White Queen

Fleabag

The Mandalorian

Bob’s Burgers

Tagging @supremeleaderkylorens, @maywemeetagaincommandr, @lyanna, @annnesbonny, @kendallroy, @rhoynishnym, @kirarahu, @imagineagreatadventure, @annie-knowby, and @alienas!

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cinemalerta · 6 years

Photo

25TH ANNUAL SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS – NOMINEES

FILM

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING

Emily Blunt – Mary Poppins Returns as Mary Poppins

Glenn Close – The Wife as Joan Castleman

Olivia Colman – The Favourite as Queen Anne

Lady Gaga – A Star Is Born as Ally Maine

Melissa McCarthy – Can You Ever Forgive Me? as Lee Israel

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING

Christian Bale – Vice as Dick Cheney

Bradley Cooper – A Star Is Born as Jackson Maine

Rami Malek – Bohemian Rhapsody as Freddie Mercury

Viggo Mortensen – Green Book as Frank "Tony Lip" Vallelonga

John David Washington – BlacKkKlansman as Ron Stallwort

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Amy Adams – Vice as Lynne Cheney

Emily Blunt – A Quiet Place as Evelyn Abbott

Margot Robbie – Mary Queen of Scots as Queen Elizabeth I

Emma Stone – The Favourite as Abigail Hill

Rachel Weisz – The Favourite as Sarah Churchill

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Mahershala Ali – Green Book as Don Shirley

Timothée Chalamet – Beautiful Boy as Nic Sheff

Adam Driver – BlacKkKlansman as Flip Zimmerman

Sam Elliott – A Star Is Born as Bobby Maine

Richard E. Grant – Can You Ever Forgive Me? as Jack Hock

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE

Black Panther

BlacKkKlansman

Bohemian Rhapsody

Crazy Rich Asians

A Star Is Born

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

Ant-Man and the Wasp

Avengers: Infinity War

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Black Panther

Mission: Impossible – Fallout

TELEVISION

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES

Amy Adams – Sharp Objects as Camille Preaker

Patricia Arquette – Escape at Dannemora as Tilly Mitchell

Patricia Clarkson – Sharp Objects as Adora Crellin

Penélope Cruz – The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story as Donatella Versace

Emma Stone – Maniac as Annie Landsberg

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES

Antonio Banderas – Genius: Picasso as Pablo Picasso

Darren Criss – The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story as Andrew Cunanan

Hugh Grant – A Very English Scandal as Jeremy Thorpe

Anthony Hopkins – King Lear as Lear

Bill Pullman – The Sinner as Harry Ambrose

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Julia Garner – Ozark as Ruth Langmore

Laura Linney – Ozark as Wendy Byrde

Elisabeth Moss – The Handmaid's Tale as June Osborne / Offred

Sandra Oh – Killing Eve as Eve Polastri

Robin Wright – House of Cards as Claire Underwood

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Jason Bateman – Ozark as Marty Byrde

Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us as Randall Pearson

Joseph Fiennes – The Handmaid's Tale as Commander Fred Waterford

John Krasinski – Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan as Jack Ryan

Bob Odenkirk – Better Call Saul as Jimmy McGill

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Alex Borstein – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as Susie Myerson

Alison Brie – GLOW as Ruth Wilder

Rachel Brosnahan – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as Miriam "Midge" Maisel

Jane Fonda – Grace and Frankie as Grace Hanson

Lily Tomlin – Grace and Frankie as Frankie Bergstein

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Alan Arkin – The Kominsky Method as Norman Newlander

Michael Douglas – The Kominsky Method as Sandy Kominsky

Bill Hader – Barry as Barry Berkman / Barry Block

Tony Shalhoub – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as Abe Weissman

Henry Winkler – Barry as Gene Cousineau

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES

The Americans

Better Call Saul

The Handmaid’s Tale

Ozark

This Is Us

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES

Atlanta

Barry

GLOW

The Kominsky Method

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES

GLOW

Marvel's Daredevil

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan

The Walking Dead

Westworld

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pwlanier · 5 years

Text

Evelyn Statsinger, American, 1927–2016

Large Collage #6, 1982

Drawing, photogram, photocopies, and balsa wood

Sight: 27 ¾ × 35 3/16 (70.5 × 89.4 cm)

Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Restricted gift of Mr. and Mrs. Martin E. Zimmerman, Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Lenon, and the Illinois Arts Council Purchase Grant, 1984.11

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risingphoenixwriting · 6 years

Text

Being Brave

Gonna be brave here and just do it. Here is the first chapter of Phoenix Heart. Y’all may message me what you think of it. I accept CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM, not “you suck at writing and you should just kill yourself” types of responses. I’ve gotten that enough over the years from anonymous cowards as well as from myself lol. Here it is!

Chapter 1

Nestled within the grid-like confines of suburbia, the arrival of an ambulance shattered the tranquility. Silent as death, the vehicle parked before the driveway of an unassuming home and two paramedics exited. They both moved solemnly slow over to the back of the ambulance and opened the doors to retrieve the stretcher. One paramedic pushed while the other pulled and both neared the front door of the home. There were three ceramic flower pots on the front porch with different colored roses blooming in each. The front door opened and the paramedics entered.

Lance Zimmerman sat on the large sofa in the front room of his home. He was a twenty-year old Caucasian with short brown hair and blue eyes. Lance was tall, a couple inches over six feet, and had a slender build.

Lance sat on the front room sofa; knee bobbing up and down, up and down constantly. His blue eyes darted between the room his mother lay in and the large window opposite from where he sat. He watched the paramedics park their ambulance, he watched them ready the stretcher, and he watched in agony as they rolled it to the front door.

A buzz in his pocket sent Lance’s hand delving into the depths for his cell phone. There was an incoming call from a contact listed as ‘Evie’ and Lance stared at the picture of the smiling Latina on his phone screen for a long time before answering.

“H-Hey,” he spoke softly, standing up from the couch.

His footsteps echoed across a quiet home and he left the front room for the adjacent kitchen and dining room. He saw his older siblings, Cole and Ashleigh, sitting at the kitchen table.

Cole was a couple inches shorter than Lance with shoulder-length brown hair, disheveled from stress, and dark brown eyes. Ashleigh was the shortest, standing at around five feet, five inches tall and had long, blonde hair and blue eyes. She was crying while the eldest of the Zimmerman siblings supported her.

“Sorry I missed your call. What’s up?” a tired voice questioned on the other end of the line.

Lance’s hand clenched tightly around his cell phone and he ascended the staircase toward his bedroom before stopping halfway. He stood there, eyes closed, and suddenly overcome with a shaking sensation surging through his entire being.

“Lance?” the voice asked again.

“She’s passed,” he spoke.

Those simple words hammered something deep into Lance’s chest and he lost his balance momentarily. He grabbed onto the railing with his free hand and steadied himself. There were tears in his eyes now. No response came from the other end of the phone and Lance slowly slunk down in the middle of the staircase.

Lance then yelled until his throat burned. Cole sent a pained look to the staircase as his younger brother’s choked sobs emitted just out of his view. The front door opened and the young woman on the contact picture for Evie in Lance’s phone entered. She was petite, standing around five feet tall, and had long black hair and brown eyes. She hurried into the kitchen and offered silent, solemn condolences to Cole and Ashleigh. The latter pointed at the staircases where the sobbing could still be heard.

Evelyn “Evie” Sanchez slowly ascended the stairs to where Lance lay in a heap and knelt down beside him. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder to gain his attention and pulled him into a comforting embrace. Lance sniffled and buried his teary face into Evelyn’s shirt.

“Get up,” she told him, “C’mon, Lance. You need to stand.”

Lance nodded and gripped the railing. With both forms of support, he stood up, and Evelyn led him to his bedroom. Ashleigh blew her nose into some tissue and dropped onto the growing pile. Cole moved his hand from rubbing circles along her back to fold it within the other member of the pair atop the kitchen table.

“Do you think he’ll be okay?” Ashleigh asked, “He and Mom were so… close.”

Cole did not answer and simply stared at his reflection in the glossy table. He took a deep breath in and sighed before standing. Without another word, he left for the front door.

“W-Where’re you going?” Ashleigh asked.

“I need a drink,” Cole responded before leaving the house.

Upstairs in Lance’s room, he sat on the end of his bed while Evelyn set his computer chair before him. She sat down, but was unsure of how to approach him.

“Do you… need anything?” she asked.

Lance shook his head and then lay back. He narrowed his eyes at the ceiling and then groaned tiredly before sitting back up. He sniffled again and wiped his eyes with his knuckle.

“I… I’ve been preparing myself for today. E-Ever since the doctors told us it was terminal,” he muttered, “It still hurts.”

“Of course it does. She was your Mom. I… I couldn’t imagine what you’re going through right now, but I’m here for you, Lance,” Evelyn responded, “If you want to head out or… I don’t know. Just let me know, ‘kay?”

“Mmkay,” Lance hummed.

He lay back down and squirmed up his bed to rest his head on one of his pillows. Evelyn rolled his computer chair over to his bedside and sat there in silence.

“I’m hungry,” Lance muttered, “Is that weird? My Mom just died and I’m hungry. I just want to stuff a dozen donuts in my stupid face hole right now.”

He forced a smile. Lance knew Evelyn was worried about him, so now he was trying to reassure her. His smile faltered a bit. His mother just died and Lance was trying to help someone else feel better. A heavy sigh escaped past his lips and he nervously rubbed at his head.

“Remember when the most difficult part of life was passing a stupid SAT?” he asked.

A bit of dry laughter forced its way out of Lance and he went back to rubbing his eyes. Evelyn remained silent, still sitting beside him, but ever watchful.

“God, I have to find something to wear to the funeral now. Shouldn’t I have done that already?” he continued, “I knew it was only a matter of time. I…”

He cut himself off and seemed to become frustrated. Evelyn leaned forward and flicked Lance’s forehead. He recoiled a bit and stared at her in disbelief.

“What was that for?” he asked.

“You’re worrying yourself too much. You’re acting like me,” Evelyn scolded, “You need to take a breath and just… grieve like a normal person. Your mother wouldn’t want you acting like this.”

“Yeah, but she’d also wanna be alive,” Lance’s rapid response took him and Evelyn by surprise, “Sorry… that came out harsh.”

“I understand. Your Mom just died,” Evelyn responded, “But Lance…”

She paused, expecting him to respond first before continuing. Lance gave her a tired look and lifted his chin slightly to indicate that she had his attention.

“Your Mom just died,” she told him a second time, “You’re expected to grieve and to cry and to curse the world for how unfair it is. You’re expected to do so much more than to worry about what to wear at her funeral. You need to take it day-by-day and just breathe in the meantime.”

She was right, Lance admitted to himself, so he did not argue against her. Arguing against Evelyn Sanchez was a pointless endeavor. She was the smartest person Lance knew and she constantly reminded him of just how smart she was whenever he failed to remember.

“Thanks for being here, Evie,” Lance quietly stated before turning his back to her.

Two months later and Lance lay on a sofa in the office of Dr. Jasmine McKee. His attention was on the second hand ticking along the face of a cat-shaped clock on the wall. His hair was more disheveled than ever and his blue eyes had heavy bags weighing them down.

Jasmine sat at her desk watching Lance avoiding her gaze. She was a middle-aged, heavyset African American woman who had black hair with red highlights and dark brown eyes. Atop her desk were more pictures of cats, which Lance presumed to belong to her.

“Is this going to be another hour of you just watching the time go by or are we actually going to make some kind of progress?” Jasmine asked.

“Y’know I never agreed to going to these appointments,” Lance responded.

“Yes, but you’re an adult who can choose to come or not, and you’re here, on time, every week,” Jasmine countered.

“Only because you’ll probably tell my Dad if I don’t,” Lance assumed.

“I won’t,” Jasmine admitted, “As I said, you’re an adult, and you can make the choice of whether or not to show up. I’m not here to tattle on you if you go against your father’s recommendation.”

Lance sat up, nodded at Jasmine, and then pushed off from the sofa to leave her office.

“But,” she added, stopping him just within the doorframe, “I do wish you’d say something. Open up a little.”

“I’m good, Doc,” Lance responded without facing Jasmine, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I do have class in thirty minutes.”

Jasmine waited a moment to see if Lance would face her, but the younger man never did, so she sighed in defeat.

“You’re free to go,” she relented, “Same time next week, I hope?”

Lance gave her an uncommitted shrug and stalked out of the student health services building. He shielded his eyes from the sun until he could adjust and then paused to gaze out at Element City University’s campus.

The student health services building sat in the corner between the student store and the cafeteria in an L-shape. The student store and cafeteria shared a building while health services stood adjacent to them. A grassy plain littered with trees providing shade stretched out to another L-shaped block of buildings that contained a computer lab, offices for the college officials, and a building for financial services.

Lance left this area of campus and approached a three-story building that housed a multitude of classrooms and offices for professors working at the college. Classes taught in this building were typically courses related to history, literature, and psychology. Lance’s upcoming class, Modern US History, was taught in this block of a building.

He entered through an automatic door and called an elevator down to his level. The doors parted and he stepped inside. He pushed the button to inform the elevator to lift him to the second floor and the doors started to close.

“Hold the door!” someone called out.

Lance recognized the voice and briefly thought about allowing the doors to close, but his hand had a conflicting idea. It shot out as if under its own volition and stopped the doors from closing all the way. The elevator opened up once more just in time for Evelyn to enter.

“Oh! Hey… you,” she greeted Lance with an awkward tone in her voice.

He hummed and mashed the button to rush the elevator to close. He wanted the brief ascent to hasten so he did not have to be in this situation.

“How’ve you been?” Evelyn asked, giving Lance an expectant look.

“Fine,” he responded, ignoring her stare.

The elevator reached the second floor and the doors parted, so Lance hurried away before Evelyn could say anything else. She remained in the elevator with a dejected look on her face and then the doors started to close.

“No, wait!” she called out, thrusting her messenger bag between the closing doors to stop them.

After waiting about twenty minutes for the class before his to leave, Lance entered the classroom where his history class was held and sat in his normal seat toward the back corner. Headphones went in his ears and his forehead met the cool surface of the desk. There was a tap on his shoulder that made Lance begrudgingly return to reality. He pulled his headphones from his ears and gave an annoyed look to his Professor.

“What do you want, Dad?” he asked.

Aidan Zimmerman stood before the desk his youngest son sat at. His square jaw clenched and brown eyes narrowed at the tone in Lance’s voice. Aidan set a recent quiz Lance completed and that he had just graded on the desk.

“See me after class so we can discuss your recent performance in my class,” Aidan instructed.

He returned to the front of the class and Lance stared at his quiz, which had a D-minus grade written on it in red ink. Lance sighed in defeat and rested his forehead on the quiz. As more students began to arrive and countless, cacophonous conversations filled the room, Lance plugged his headphones back into his ears to drown them all out.

After class, Lance tried making a hasty escape before his father would notice. He was in no mood for a lecture and the D-minus grade was probably the least of his worries at this moment.

“Lance,” Aidan’s stern voice stopped him just before the doorway.

Twice in a row, Lance thought to himself, and then returned to the classroom. The rest of the students filed outside and the door closed. Aidan packed up his lesson guides and the work the students finished for today into a briefcase.

“Follow me,” he told Lance and led his son out of the classroom.

Lance did not protest as he was led from the classroom to his father’s office down the hall. Aidan held the door for his son and he entered. As Lance sat himself down on a chair provided for students, Aidan closed the door to his office behind them.

“Begin the lecture,” Lance grumbled under his breath.

“I save the lectures for the classroom, Lance,” Aidan responded, “This is a scolding.”

“What am I five?” Lance countered.

Aidan cleared his throat and silenced his son. He sat down on the opposite side of the desk from him, folding his hands together, and Lance noticed the golden wedding band Aidan still wore.

“It’s been two months and I… respected your decision to return to school. I was almost impressed by it, but with your recent performance in my class and assumed performances in your other classes, I can see now that it was a mistake,” Aidan told his son.

“I’m fine,” he responded.

“Are you telling me or yourself?” Aidan asked.

Lance did not answer the question and stared up at the ceiling of his father’s office. Aidan sighed and ran a hand through his short, sandy-blond hair.

“You should drop your classes, son,” Aidan suggested, “I’ll… put in a good word since we’re past the drop date, but you need to focus on yourself right now.”

“Mom wouldn’t want me to quit,” Lance bitterly pointed out.

“She also wouldn’t want you to fail all your classes because you’re not mentally with us. Don’t assume you know what your mother would want for you better than I would,” Aidan argued.

There was a knock on the door and it opened to reveal Evelyn once again. She had been working as an assistant for Aidan since the semester began. He was thankful for her help, too, as it hasn’t been an easy couple of months for him either.

“Mr. Z, I got you those copies you…,” she stated before pausing when she saw Lance, “… wanted.”

Lance stood up and approached the door. Evelyn hurried to get out of his way and frowned as he refused to give her any form of acknowledgment. Lance stopped just outside Aidan’s office and had his hands in his pockets.

“You’re busy. I’ll see you when I get home,” Lance told his father before leaving.

Aidan lowered his head and rubbed circles on either side of it with his first two fingers. Evelyn dragged her feet over to his desk and set his copies down.

“I am so sorry, Mr. Z. If I’d known you were speaking to Lance, I wouldn’t have walked in. I…,” Evelyn apologized, but was rendered quiet by Aidan’s raised hand.

“It’s okay, Evie. He’s just hurting and we need to give him his space,” he told her, “Thank you for the copies. You can go home now.”

“Th-There isn’t anything else you need my help with?” Evelyn asked.

Aidan shook his head and cracked a grin. She was always so willing to help, he thought to himself. Aidan cracked his knuckles and stood up, leading Evelyn out of his office.

“I can’t have you doing too much of my work, right?” he asked Evelyn.

“No. Of course not,” she responded, “I will see you tomorrow for Lance’s birthday.”

Aidan nodded and thought about it for a moment. Evelyn started to leave and he wanted to tell her not to come over tomorrow. He knew Lance would not appreciate her presence there. Losing his mother had a drastic effect on Lance and their friendship suffered because of it. Aidan wished he had something that could just instantly make everything better for his son. After Evelyn disappeared around the corner, Aidan returned to his office to continue his work.

He sat back down at his desk and stared at a picture of him, his wife, and their three kids from years ago. Aidan smiled as tears built up in his eyes. He wiped them away and took a breath to recollect himself.

“I’m doing my damnedest, Sera. I hope it’s good enough,” he muttered to himself before diving into his work.

#writing #writers on tumblr #writeblr #Phoenix Heart #my wip

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fridaythe13ththeseries · 2 years

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Scarlet Cinema

Episode Recap #42: Scarlet Cinema Original Airdate: February 25, 1989

Starring: John D. LeMay as Ryan Dallion Louise Robey as Micki Foster Chris Wiggins as Jack Marshak

Guest cast: Jonathan Wise as Darius Pogue Julie Stewart as Carissa (as Julie A. Stewart) John Graham as Blair Westlake Peter Messaline as Professor R. Schwartz John Swindells as Taylor McDougall J.R. Zimmerman as Detective Matt Birman as The Wolf Man

Rest of cast listed alphabetically: Evelyn Ankers as Gwen Conliffe (archive footage) Lon Chaney Jr. as Larry Talbot - The Wolf Man (archive footage) Fay Helm as Jenny Williams (archive footage) Bela Lugosi as Bela (archive footage) Maria Ouspenskaya as Maleva (archive footage) Claude Rains as Sir John Talbot (archive footage)

Written by Rob Hedden Directed by David Winning

Open on a theater airing a screening of the Universal Monster classic The Wolf Man. College student Darius leaves at the end, walking to an alley. Under the full moon, he recites the werewolf lore from the movie as he scratches a wolf's paw across his chest, drawing blood. Unbeknownst to Darius, he is being watched by other college guys. His hope of becoming a werewolf is dashed, and the guys reveal themselves, and that they filmed him.

Another day, at film class, the professor is talking about classic films and seems to dislike Blair, the guy who filmed Darius, and engages more with Darius. Blair signals a friend, who turns off the lights and projects the footage of Darius on the screen, for the whole class to see his werewolf ritual. Students laugh, Darius is embarrassed, Blair continues to egg him on. Darius recalls scenes from the film before taking off. A female student, Carissa, seems to feel bad.

At Curious Goods, the gang is doing clean up and repairs, Jack knocking broken glass out of a window pane. Carissa shows up at the store, looking to rent some items for her student film, specifically masks, and when she mentions needing a camera, Jack knows a guy.

Later, at McDougall's pawn shop, Carissa is happy to get a deal on a camera. Darius comes in, and Carissa talks with him, looking forward to his project, and saying how sorry she is about what happened in class. She tries to raise his spirits. Darius spots an antique camera in a case and checks it out. McDougall says it is from 1930, but it's not for sale. Darius is adamant, but McDougall says no. He goes to get payment from Carissa, and Darius uses the distraction to steal the camera and take off.

Back at his dorm room, decorated in Wolf Man and other film memorabilia, he tries out the camera and gets depressed. The camera moves on its own, and Darius picks it up and looks inside. He sees McDougall from the shop, then Lon Chaney's transformation scene from The Wolf Man play out. After the scene where the Wolf Man prowls the cemetery, he appears at McDougall's pawn shop, stalking the man, who has noticed the stolen camera. McDougall then hears noises, thinking Jack has arrived. But the werewolf breaks in and kills him. Darius has seen this all through the camera.

Outside the pawn shop, the cops and a crowd surround the place as Jack approaches. He sees his friend's bloody body carried out on a stretcher. The cop tells Jack it looks like a wild animal killed him. Darius is in the crowd, also watching.

Back at his dorm again, he holds the camera and tries to figure it out. He pulls out the film and sees words written on it: "3 DEATHS AND YOU GET YOUR WISH". He looks at the Wolf Man poster and recalls more of the film, specifically scenes of Larry after he has turned human again, and sees the mark on his chest. Darius also sees this mark on his chest.

At the store, Micki and Ryan are talking about Jack not coming home last night when he does finally return. He is quiet, then tells them about McDougall's murder. Micki asks if he thinks one of their items are involved. Jack tells Ryan to return to the pawn shop, since a camera was missing, and wants Micki to pull out the files on werewolves, to their surprise.

At school, Darius asks Carissa how her project is coming. With this new found confidence, he attempts to asks her out when Blair interrupts. Darius takes off, and Carissa calls Blair an ass. Later Blair and his friends are walking and this time, Darius is recording them with the antique camera.

Ryan, investigating the pawn shop, notices the theater across the street showing The Wolf Man. He goes inside, where Darius is yet again watching the film, mouthing all the dialogue, which Ryan notices.

At the store, Jack is frustrated with not finding anything in the manifest relating to werewolves. Micki isn't having luck with the files, either. But Jack is sure some cursed item is involved. Micki thinks Ryan might be having more luck.

On the school campus, Ryan is following Darius, but loses him as he goes in his building, then spies him watching from his bedroom window. Ryan enters. Darius plays the camera, watching Blair walk to his car. Ryan looks for Darius' room. Darius keeps watching the film, as the werewolf approaches Blair in his vehicle. Suddenly, the werewolf pulls Blair out of the window and mauls him, killing him. Ryan hears the noise and knocks on Darius' door, pretending to look for a friend. Darius tells him he's busy and shuts the door, but Ryan has noticed his Wolf Man decor. Darius watches Ryan leave from his window, then uses the camera to tape him. Ryan notices that, too, then hears a wolf howl. Suddenly, Ryan is being chased across campus by the Wolf Man. Ryan gets into the car and thinks he's safe, then the Wolf Man breaks the window an tries to attack, but someone hears the commotion from Darius' room and tells him to keep it down. This distracts the werewolf from its attack. Darius tells the monster to be patient.

At home, a shaken Ryan has told Micki what happened and she is looking at his torn jacket, glad he wasn't bitten. Jack comes down, having found the camera in the manifest, thinking this must be the one stolen from McDougall's. Ryan tells them about Darius and his room, and Jack says they need protection before going back. He heads out to get silver bullets.

At school the next day, the professor acknowledges Blair's death, but says life goes on. Darius sits next to a surprised Carissa, as the professor begins his critiques, and first up is Darius' Wolf Man film, which includes scenes from the movie as well as Blair walking across campus and his attack by the werewolf. Everyone but Darius is shocked to watch this. The professor calls it irresponsible filmmaking, to Darius' surprise. The teacher goes on to say he wanted to burn the submission. Darius pulls out the camera and records the teacher and leaves the class.

Jack returns, having had a friend make six silver bullets, and says someone matching Darius description was there before him and had one bullet made. Ryan tells them about the death of a student when Carissa arrives to return the masks she borrowed. She hears them mention Darius and tells them about what happened in class. She also tells them about Darius and the werewolf ritual, and they all head off, fearing for the professor's life.

In his room, Darius picks up the camera and sees the werewolf stalking the professor in his classroom. Ryan, Micki and Jack arrive at the school and hear the commotion and enter the classroom, calling for the professor.

In his dorm room, Darius is approached by the wolf man. The creature snarls, then bites Darius, as he had hoped. Darius pulls out a gun with the silver bullet and shoots the monster, killing it before it dissolves. Darius hears a howl, looks at the full moon, then begins transforming.

The dorm is in chaos at all the noise, and Ryan and Micki arrive, with the loaded gun. Darius transforms as he recalls scenes from the film. Ryan breaks in as werewolf Darius leaps out of his window. Micki grabs the cursed camera. They find Jack and fill him in. Jack seems to have figured out how the camera works, and they rush off to find Darius.

Walking alone, Carissa hears a wolf howl. Darius is walking and reciting the werewolf lore. He stalks Carissa, telling her to not be afraid. She is shocked to see him, and Ryan shoots toward the werewolf, scaring him off.

They all arrive at the store, Jack has Micki take Carissa to the vault and tells Ryan to check the windows. Ryan gives Jack the gun. Once it is all secure, Jack sends a reluctant Ryan to the vault, as well. They hear wolf howling, but Ryan listens. Jack waits in the store for Darius.

Werewolf Darius breaks down the doors and attacks, Jack shoots but misses and the monster knocks him out and heads to the vault. He pries the doors open, looking for Carissa, and remembering The Wolf Man chasing Gwen in the film. Darius grabs Carissa and carries her upstairs. Ryan pulls film out of the camera, saying it is coating with silver nitrate. They rush after them, and Ryan wraps the film around the werewolf's neck, choking him, and burning him until he collapses. Micki and Carissa help Jack up, and he goes to Darius, who transforms back to himself as similar scenes from the movie play out. Darius, human again, lies dead.

Next day, Micki is cleaning up, as bandaged Jack and Ryan join her. Ryan wonders why Darius wanted this, and Micki says "Be careful what you wish for", and they all finish with "you might just get it." The last shot is claw marks on the wood outside the store.

My thoughts:

This has always been a favorite episode of mine. The liberal use of full on scenes from The Wolf Man make is quite intriguing and fun for fans of that classic, like myself.

Did notice some plot holes, like Jack saying McDougall had just reported the camera missing from his store, but when we see his death through the camera, he has only just noticed it missing before he is killed, no time to report anything.

And when the professor rips apart Darius' film, he says that replicating Blair's death is in poor taste, but the film clearly shows the actual Blair and his murder. Shouldn't he have alerted the cops to this, since is clearly seems like Darius recorded the murder and appears to be complicit in it?

Confused a bit how the camera also plays sound from what Darius watches, and at a loud enough volume to make others aware of the noise? I don't know much about vintage cameras, but I seem to doubt a camera from the 30s would also be replaying sound as it is watched. Maybe a perk of the curse.

Loved Darius' dorm room decor. Pretty nice tribute to the Wolf Man and classic films, and I think there is also a glimpse of a poster for Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood. Cool!

Also liked the little repair work the gang is doing to the store, only to have the werewolf do so much damage they feel like they are back to square one at the end.

I also like when the cursed items seem to be almost "alive" and proactive in getting the person to use them for their own ulterior motives. Usually the price needed is told to the user almost subliminally, but here it is spelled out on the film strip itself!

Fun episode, if you are a fan of the show and The Wolf Man.

Next week: The Mephisto Ring

#episode recap #season two #camera #film camera #werewolf #the wolf man #lon chaney jr.#claude rains #evelyn ankers #jack marshak #micki foster #ryan dallion #john d. lemay #robey #louise robey #chris wiggins #80s tv #horror

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