#her parents died in a car crash and unknown to those two

[saintsarefake]

[eldritch-hall-asylum]

I’ve been thinking about a vampire AU, so here are my current ideas/notes about it. Let me know what you think. (Thsi may be multiple parts, so apologies if it turns out to be.)

General vampirism rules in the EHA universe: (a) Vampires can age, however age very very slowly. A born-vampire, or youth-turned, will age normally until age 21, then begin the very slowed aging process (eg. A 50 yr old will look around 30, or so). (b) Vampires are not too common, but they also aren’t rare. Those that are vampires have to keep their state-of-being under wraps, as not to alert scientists, who tend to get grabby and very experimental. (c) Vampires are very tough beings. They can go through a lot, and not a single scratch will appear on their body. Octavian used to take advantage of this a lot and jump off high buildings (late at night) for the adrenaline, especially during manic episodes.

The (biological/born) Windroe family are vampires. They are generational vampires, with the vampirism going down decades/centuries, and the general tradition was for two vampires to marry, and have kids.

When Elspeth wanted to marry River, a human; it follows normal EHA canon and she is forced to marry Richard, a vampire, from a very wealthy family.

Elspeth and Richard then had four kids, Zephyr, Octavian, Ciero, and Favio, made only to prolong the vampirism in the Windroe family line.

Richard died from an unknown assailant shooting him with a silver bullet. To this day, his murderer is unknown.

Those married into the Windroe family, who are not vampires, are a very new development, and only one (so far) has been changed into a vampire since.

Patrick was turned when Ciero found him after his attempt. He was almost certainly going to die unless he got medical treatment immediately, and since that was not available, Ciero did what she thought was the next best thing, and changed him into a vampire.

Everyone found out what Ciero did as Patrick started going through the initial “feral” stages of turning. She got into quite a lot of trouble because of it.

Jack G is not a vampire, his sister, Jill, is, though (she got turned when they both lived in London, they were both 18 and close to their departure date to go to America). Zephyr has taken a very strong liking to Jack, and has actively talked about turning him.

Frankie is not a vampire, and isn’t too sure if he believes Elspeth when she says she is one. He’s unsure if he wants to get turned, though.

I’m not too sure if Mira would be, I don’t think so, but I’d love to hear your thoughts.

—

Jack K was born a half-vampire; his mother was a vampire and his father was a human. Jack was fully-turned by his mother a year before his enucleation, it’s unclear why she did it, but his turning did save him from almost dying. He really enjoys hunting, it’s oddly calming for him.

Olly is a half-human half-vampire, like Natalie. She knows what she is and has no current plans to fully turn.

Bentley is a vampire, both of his parents were vampires. He knows what he is, and is… okay with the fact. He can’t really change it now, can he? At least he can talk to Jane about it and get some tips for better dealing with it.

Jane is a born vampire to two, now dead, vampire parents. She isn’t too sure whether to like or hate her state of being, but at least her new parents have some good tips!

Natalie is a dhampir; a half-human, half-vampire. She isn’t aware of this, however. If she were to become aware of it, I think she’d want to stay as she is, not too sure, though. Any thoughts you have are appreciated.

Toby and Cody are probably vampires? They may’ve been turned after the car crash? I genuinely have no idea.

Jay is a vampire. He was forcefully turned against his will. It was one of the most painful and traumatic moment of his life. He hates being a vampire, and has tried to starve himself multiple times. It’s also really sucky because it means he can’t practice Islam with Naveedah (spelling?).

Brian is a vampire. He uses his immortality for evil, he loves setting fire to shit and walking out mainly unharmed. He also very much enjoys the hunt.

Doby might be human? Again, I don’t know. Kate smells like a human, but it’s hard to definitively tell.

And, everyone else is human.

Ooh, Mira would probably be some kind of lycanthrope, I feel...

I also feel like Natalie would be a werewolf too, however... purely bc her uncle James is very werewolf coded to me.

I love this idea, anon. And I'm actually half convinced to start a blog with this concept tbh...

[howwelldoyouknowyourmoon]

All these UC members were killed while fundraising for Sun Myung Moon and Hak Ja Han

DETAILS OF THESE UNKNOWN
:

Sharon ____ , killed fundraising in Las Vegas in 1976. She was 21.

Denis Stride was killed while fundraising

Young Lim ______ . She was killed in a fundraising accident in 1981/82.

Japanese sister (Midori?) hit by car while fundraising in Newark, NJ
. 1980s


Young woman fundraising for the UC at a stop light in the US. She was hit by a truck and dragged some distance and died. Her body was very badly mangled. No other details known.

Chieko was murdered in 1983 while fundraising in east US (on Kiyoshi Nishi’s IOWC team.) Her parents flew from Japan for the funeral.

▲ Chiyoko lwamoto-Drevici was killed in New Jersey in 1985.

_____________________________________________

Details discovered:

Mayumi Komatsu, 22, was raped and murdered while fundraising for the UC in California on April 5, 1985

Reader Advisory: This is a horrific story  ––>   LINK

_____________________________________________

“While traveling on IOWC I had a Japanese friend whose personality was like liquid light. She was the happiest, most loving person you could meet. I loved her so dearly. Being sleep deprived, as is the norm, she was fundraising at a light when she stepped off the curb to make her way to a customer. She was hit so hard she flew 50 feet and died instantly upon impact with the ground. No one on the team spoke of her after it happened.

I remember on MFT, one leader came and gave personal alarms to the sisters and told the MFT team leaders that sisters should be in pairs, especially after dark. Then he left and the team leaders confiscated the alarms. Isamu Saito said the alarms could be sold for money. The sisters were still sent out singly because “they could get more money that way”. We reminded Saito that his leader had given those directions, but he said “That’s God’s love but we need to make money.”

There were a good number of good-hearted, fervent, bright Japanese women raped and murdered and forgotten.”

_____________________________________________

HWDYKYM wants to honor the victims of the Unification Church

_____________________________________________

England, probably in 1982. Robert Wiggins and a French member, Bruno Marze, were killed in a van accident. They had been fundraising for the day as part of a CARP team which had a Japanese leader.

There was another CARP member who was the main driver, but he didn’t like fundraising, which is why the Japanese team leader told Robert to drive into London instead, so the other guy could be kept fundraising.

Robert was an inexperienced driver. They crashed near Luton on their way back to the Lancaster Gate HQ in London. They may have been in a hurry to get back by a certain time. There were roadworks on the stretch where the accident happened.

The CARP members seemed to have a habit of driving too fast and Robert Wiggins was not an experienced driver, so it is more likely he lost control while driving through the roadworks, rather than falling asleep. It was a head on collision with a big truck. Robert’s chest was crushed by the steering wheel and Bruno was decapitated. Joanna De Souza was thrown out of the van and left badly handicapped.

From a resident of Lancaster Gate at the time: “Bruno used to laugh a lot, and he was good at doing mimes. His Austrian wife had just had a baby, a few weeks before. Straight after the accident, Bruno’s wife went back to Austria; we made a small collection for her in Lancaster Gate. The donations came from the members themselves. I don’t think the Church gave anything.”

_____________________________________________

In Australia,  in the early 1980s, there were members of a fundraising team that came from New Zealand that died when the driver fell asleep. Also around the same time, another two Australian members were seriously injured in a car accident on MFT in Australia. – John Reed

_____________________________________________

In France there was a fundraising van accident in about 1976 where one French member, Albert Reignez, lost a leg.

_____________________________________________

There are so many parts of the global Unification Church experience that we do not know. So many young members have gone missing in Mongolia, Thailand, and the Philippines throughout the years, as well as members from other parts of the world.

_____________________________________________

Hiromi Kazuni disappeared, and was likely killed, while fundraising.

A mother dropped her children off at Jacob House, N.Y., and went to fundraise – as directed by Sun Myung Moon. Michiko Koide was killed…

Atsushi Funaki murdered while selling roses in E. Philadelphia

Hitoshi Hara was murdered on July 20, 1987 while selling roses for Sun Myung Moon’s church

Montreal girl (probably Ruthie) died fundraising for the Unification Church in 1977. She was hit by a car.


Jin-joo Byrne was raped and murdered in August 2002. 
She was just 18. She was fundraising on her own with costume jewellery in Charlotte NC. Some time later it was arranged for Hak Ja Han, on a visit to Seattle, to meet the family. She was not very sympathetic. A Korean person understood what Hak Ja Han said.

The Purity Knife – Jen Kiaba

Reinhard Jager was killed while selling roses; hit by a drunk truck driver

Eric Mahnken was killed while on a fundraising trip in 1984

[reaganrackett]

Task 11: Intro & Connections

Name: Reagan Rackett Age: 22 Gender: Trans woman (she/her) Occupation: Doing shady work for Oz Borror Sexuality: Heterosexual (closeted lesbian) Birthplace: Unknown Redwood Hollow Residency: Lifelong resident

FULL BIO | MUSINGS | HEADCANONS | ALL MUSES

TL;DR BIO:

Reagan was born, along with their twin, to loving parents, who died at age 1 in a car crash. While her grandmother attempted to take care of them, eventually they were separated and put in the foster system.

Reagan was known as Jacob Rackett for many years and was a menace of a child, causing trouble and starting fights wherever she went.

Eventually she was placed in a group home with a pack of children that would become known as The Lost Boys.

One of those kids she got on with better than the rest--Rowan Rackett, who would become her “twin”, as was their nicknames. What neither know is that they are biological twins separated at birth.

While she started experiencing feelings of womanhood early on, Reagan was very afraid of them and buried herself in the closet. She leaned into toxic masculinity throughout her adolescence--getting into physical altercations, hooking up with and then dumping girls, and being mean as a form of affection.

It’s only when The Lost Boys started to “grow up” and grow apart did those habits start to break. When Rowan came out as non-binary, Reagan was finally able to accept herself and come out as a transgender woman.

While The Lost Boys know her true identity, she has otherwise invented herself as an entirely new person. If anyone asks, Jacob Rackett died two years ago.

Rowan went to college but Reagan has no interest in academics. She was couch surfing between all the Lost Boys after aging out of the foster system, and did whatever part time jobs would hire her to hold her over financially.

In an attempt to get money, she went to the Snake Eyes Casino and made a huge bet, which she lost. Now to work off her debt, she works for Oz Borror, doing whatever he asks. She stays in the hotel connected to the casino.

PERSONALITY:

Boisterous, bubbly, and bitchy, Reagan is here for a good time, not a long time. She has various vices such as alcohol, gambling, and kleptomania, all of which have been known to get her into trouble. Still, she has no intentions of stopping now.

While she swears she’s like, really into guys, Reagan spends almost all her time trying to get the attention of cute girls. She attempts to hook up under the guise of “practicing for the right guy”.

While she and Rowan are as different as can be, she still views herself as Rowan’s protector and will beat the shit out of you if you mess with them.

WANTED CONNECTIONS:

Cute girls: Listen, Reagan is literally always looking for cute girls to talk to and flirt with, it’s her main mode.

Party people: Although she doesn’t go to college, Reagan is crashing college parties all the time. She also spends a lot of time at bars, clubs, and other less-than-reputable events.

Corruption: Reagan is here to corrupt the precious cinnamon rolls of the world, more than happy to lead people down the path that rocks.

Rowan mutuals: If you know or talk to Rowan, you will most likely run into Reagan at some point or another.

Gamblers: Reagan is currently working for Oz, and spends a fair amount of time at the Snake Eyes Casino.

Troublemakers: Present and past, if you’re causing trouble, Reagan will be there. Maybe you are trying to reform your ways, and Reagan is tempting you back to the dark side.

Ex-hookups: Back during her time as Jacob, she was constantly hooking up with, dating, and then dumping girls. She was a real heartbreaker, and maybe it’s time for her past to bite her.

Thievery: Reagan has stolen from your business and you catch her, either in the act or after the fact.

WANTED PLOTS:

Slowburn Gal Pals: Reagan worms her way into your girl’s life, whether it be through partying, flirting, or whatever else. She and your character are hooking up, and maybe you even buy into her “practicing for a man” bullshit. But as time goes on, feelings start to change, and the ensuing angst and drama is all encompassing.

Bring Her On the Right Path: Your character finds Reagan and finds a wayward soul in need of guidance. Maybe you see her in yourself, or maybe you just love a project. Either way, you want to bring her on the right path--whether that’s reforming her ways, or leaning into it harder than ever.

Breaking Up the Twins: Whether your interest is in Reagan or Rowan, you’re getting a little too close with one of them, and the other is starting to feel their twin slipping away.

TAKEN CONNECTIONS:

Twin: Rowan Rackett @rowanxrackett

Friends: The Lost Boys, Peter Pan @itspeterpxn, Tina Bell @xaspiringbeamoflightx, Tootles @tate-polecat

Dislikes: James Hook @magicaljameshook

Cute Girls: Ariana Neptune @arianaxneptune, Anna Arendelle @ofanna-arendelle, Lilo Pelekai @imsorryibityoux

OTHER:

More Lost Boys, please! Nibs, Slightly, Cubby

In terms of new bios, maybe more cute girls such as Mirabel (Encanto), Moana, Raya, Twenty-Two (Soul)

[drchenquill]

The results are out! Thank you for everyone that voted!

Now, which one was the lie? *drums roll*

The second was the lie! I'm pleasantly surprised at how many of you voted for it! The man hates exercise more than he hates himself. You will never see him jogging anywhere.

As for the two truths, I'll drop some OC lore for you all!

TW: mentions of death, incident , abuse and hallucinations Leon's parents died on his fourth birthday. Baby Leon wanted to go to a theme park for the occasion and wouldn't take no for an answer, so Mum and Dad packed their bags and got in the car. They strapped Leon in and drove off. Unfortunately, what no one could see coming was that it started to rain cats and dogs. They had to turn back, but baby Leon was only four and didn't understand the concept of "rain = no theme park". He threw a tantrum in his car seat. Stressed and overstimulated by the situation, combined with a very slippery road, dad lost control of the wheel and the car crashed, overturning into a small ditch on the side of the road.

"It's loud. The rain is pattering against the car window, at least what's left of it. I don't understand anything, only that my body hurts. I'm hanging upside down out of my seat, the blood rushing to my head.

Mum and Dad don't respond to my calls, no matter how loud. Loud sirens wail in the background, almost as loud as my crying. I am dragged out of the car by unknown hands, I don't understand what is happening around me. It was loud, people talking, bright lights blinding me, I want to go home, I want to go home, I want-"

The road was almost deserted because of the heavy rain, so they weren't found immediately. Perhaps an hour later, a stranger drove past them and called an ambulance. His mother died on the way to hospital from severe internal bleeding and a traumatic brain injury. His father died a few hours later from broken ribs, brain injuries and internal bleeding.

Now to his hallucinations!

As I may have mentioned, he was abused by his grandparents. This brought to the surface serious (undiagnosed) mental health problems. At the age of fifteen he had his first hallucination. He doesn't remember what it was, what made it appear, he just knows that he was terrified. As he had no one to talk to, no one to look after him, he kept it to himself. But as it got worse, he was desperate for help, so he told his grandmother. Let's just say it didn't go well. That was the moment he shut himself off completely. He wouldn't let anyone in, preferring to suffer alone rather than be called crazy or looked at with disgust. When he was in his early twenties, the liberating day came when his grandparents died (grandpa first, grandma a few days later). He thought he was free, rid of abuse, neglect and mistreatment, but his hallucinations took the form of his grandmother.

"A blurred figure stands in the middle of the room. A woman, small, with her back bent slightly because of her age. She is completely black, all I can see are those piercing, guilty eyes. They don't blink because they have to see my every mistake."

Nobody knows about it, the only ones who did, belittled him and now rot under the earth.

So that was a bit of extra lore! Thank you for voting and thank you for reading this! <3

2 Truths and a Lie Tag~

Thanks @the-golden-comet for the tag!

2 truths and a lie for my baby boy Leon! I keep it simple, I promise~

Tagging with no pressure @finickyfelix , @thecomfywriter , @theink-stainedfolk , @rivenantiqnerd , @oliolioxenfreewrites and open tag~

[cookiecandy22]

Modern nnt Au headcanons I’ll be using in my upcoming fic:

Part 1

• The Bandits

- He lives with Zhivago, his adoptive dad. Zhivago’s oldest son is right now at university in Belgium.

- Ban’s biological parents are from Argentina (yay Latinos). He maintains the language as Zhivago is Latino too (Puerto-Rican).

-When Ban was young his parents abused of him and his little sister, after her passing away someone unknown called Cps on his parents and as they didn’t have any close relatives he entered the system when he was 10.

-Long story -short (I’ll explain in the fic) Zhivago ended up adopting him.

• The Demons

-Derieri is the cool cousin.

- Galand and Melascula are the cool uncles.

- Meliodas is short, just short. He just stopped growing at 14.

- Genetics run strong in the family and Zeldris didn’t grow as much as well. Btw he had an emo fase when he was 13-15, Meliodas jokes that that fase isn’t over cause he continues to dye his hair black (yes he is natural blonde). The truth reason behind this is that people mixed the brothers up a lot of times and Zeldris didn’t like that.

-They have that dynamic of troublemaker brother and responsible brother going on, you know which one is each. Mel is two years older than Zel.

- Big BIG family, Christmas is wild.

-Mel and Zel’s mom was German, they know German for that reason. He died in a car crash when they were very young.

(I have more but I’ll make a part 2 probably, so...)

• The Mages

- Gowther and Merlin have two cats (Meldor and Chaos)

- Merlin rides a motorcycle. I dunno the model yet, perhaps a Liberty but I wanted something more... More, you know? (The motorcycle is black btw).

-They live with Gowther’s single-father Gowther, who’s also Merlin’s uncle (Merlin is living with them cause his father is no longer in the picture and her mother passed away, Gowther sir decided to take care of her). Gowther’s mom passed away during childbirth, lots of trauma assured.

-Gowther sir’s father was Japanese, they talk in Japanese at home because he thinks it’s important to know more than one language and because it’s a part of his identity he wants to show his kids.

-And Yes, Gowther sir is cousin of Mel’s father by part of his mother.

• The Giants

-Diane is one of those kids who goes to a thousand extracular classes relating to dancing, corporal expression and sports (like gymnastics). Overall a very sportsy person.

-Matrona works as a gym trainer, she’s Diane’s oldest sister who has already finished a master in sports and health (Diane visits her at the gym).

-Dolores is Diane’s youngest sister, doesn’t like sports very much but likes playing the drums (Diane also plays the drums).

- They live with their (single) uncle Drole after their parents passed away years ago.

Ok I’m finishing this here, I’ll make the rest (Faeries, knights, Liones family, Escanor, Arthur, etc). If it goes as planned if I manage to finish the fic I want to make an extra for 4kota but we’ll see.

This is useful to me to remember everything I want to write down. Also this are my headcanons but you can use them or add anything as well, It would be awesome to see any of your ideas.

[wthcew]

JayTim, flirting, falling in love and cuddles and JJ Tim who gor adopted by Harley and Ivy pretty please??

Sweetie, you just jumped on my train of JJ fics, I hope you don't mind that I added a little bit of smut

I'm so sorry it took me that long to write it, I hope you like it!

_____________________________________________

30 days

_____________________________________________

The first time he heard about it he was under the ground. He felt like he was choking, his helmet somewhere unknown and with it his communication with Oracle. He isn't talking to B (not after he chose the fucking Joker over him) but he does help Nightwing sometimes, and oh, did he wished right now that he would have never let Dick in his safehouse.

Nightwing and Red Hood were about to bust a drag ring, but the thing is, it was an ambush, so now they're both under ground, Hood's leg impaled to the ground by an iron pillar from one of the walls that exploded and that they're buried under, his helmet in an unknown place and 'wing trying to call for help.

Jason tried to slow his breath but being under ground is bringing back bad memories (He can't breathe, he's locked, and all he want right now is his dad-) of being six feet under and he's hysterical- because everything is hurting and broken and half his face are burned and he can't breathe so please, please he just want his dad, "please dad come save me"-

He's so gone into his mind, letting his panic control him that he's flinching away when Dick touching his shoulder, but it's pulling him out of his head (and just when did the tears started to spill out of his eyes?), and Dick is looking at him, the whites lenses of his domino mask are gone and instead Jason's getting those blue eyes that are full with concern.

"It's okay Jay" Dick smiled at him, a small smile that somehow made Jason believe that it's okay. "B and baby bat are on their way right now," Dick's hand found Jason's and he squeezed it in reassuring. Jason returned the squeeze. "We will be fine"

...

"Did someone ever told you about the kid who almost killed Joker?" Dick asked after couple minutes of silence, when Jason's breath is under control and he isn't so much as hysterical as he was couple of minutes before.

Jay turned his head to Dick, "No" his voice was hoarse, too hoarse for his own ears but Dick didn't seems to mind, he just nodded his head and smiled softly at him.

"He was thirteen years old back then, Joker took him, when Babs still was Batgirl" And at that moment Dick's comn beeped and after five minutes they were out of the ground, Bruce and Damian next to Dick, checking if he's fine while Jason took his helmet, the hole in his leg isn't that bad and when Dick looking at him the Red Hood already swing away.

_____________________________________________

The second time he heard about it was because he wanted to, he was curious and he wanted to know what happened to the kid, what made a thirteen years old kid almost kill the Joker.

So, he was on his couch, his leg bandaged and a cup of hot tea on the coffe table, his laptop open and working and the reading lamp's orange light made his shadow look like some villain from kids cartoon.

It's hard to find anything about it but he is (A bat) Red Hood, if he wants to he'll find out what happened back then. And he want to.

So Jason cracked his fingers and started to work.

The seconds became to minutes that became to hours of work and clicking on his keyboard, it's hard to find anything because apparently this whole story is shushed and all Jason gathered until now came from a video of the news report and all they said there was that Joker broke out of Arkham and decided he wanted a son, kidnapped some unlucky kid and deleted the boy's personality with electrical shocks until he becamed Joker Junior, and then he kept torturing the kid until the Batman and Batgirl found the kid, broken minded and holding a gun to Joker's head.

It was quite the story, but Jason didn't know what happened later, who the kid was or what happened to him.

But he will, just to know if the kid's okay. Or to ask why he hadn't pulled the trigger..

So he kept digging, looking for anything that may conect to the story. And that's how Jason found himself reading article about Jack and Jent Drake disowning their only child Tim Drake. The kid was only thirteen back then, and all he took before he took off from the face of earth was a stuffed Kola and a camra.

And it may be his curiosity about this because he don't remember the kid and apparently they were neighbors or the JJ thing but he knows that he'll find Tim Drake.

_____________________________________________

Jent Drake died two years after she disowned Tim in a car crash, her husband got depressed and started looking for Tim to reown him but then he met Dana Winters.

There was some love story there that Jason wasn't really that interested in reading but in the end they married and left Gotham, never coming back. And the most annoying thing is, that Tim was never found.

But he did found out that there was some kid that helped Harley and Ivy sometimes, he had a faded red hoodie and faded green jeans.

The hoodie's hat always hiding his face and from the little Jason saw, his skin was more white than normal human skin.

Jason couldn't find a lot of photos of the kid but he did find one of Harley hugging the kid.

Jason looked at the photo, it was fuve years old, when Tim desperate and all the JJ thing happened. The way he held himself was familiar to Jason, something deep in his mind, memories that he couldn't remember, but it was there, and Jason knows that this Tim kid is JJ who is also somehow Harley's kid.

_____________________________________________

"I need your help"

"Oh that's nice, what aby 'hey Babs, how was your day? Did Dick pissed you off and going to sleep on the couch tonight? Can you please help me with this thing?'"

Jason smiled, shifting the phone that was pressed against his ear "What did Dick did?"

"He was a dick"

"How was your day?"

"What did you wanted help with Jay?"

"Clown boy"

"Hmm?"

"Joker Junior"

A sharp breath "What about him?"

"You know who he is?"

"We found him after he took a dip in the acid, and he was dressed like the Joker, too much make up, green hair, purple suit, couldn't recognise him"

"But you know don't you?"

"Batman doesn't know"

"Well you're Oracle not Batman. It's simple question O, you know? Yes or no?"

"I know"

"I think I know too"

"Who do you think it is?"

"Tim Drake"

"..Yes it's him"

"Why didn't you told Bruce?

"He's a good kid"

"He's with Harley now"

"Tim isn't bad"

"Babs, if he's Joker Junior and he's with Harley he can't be that good"

"Jay, Harley and Ivy gave me the tip to find him and Harley took him in after his parents disowned him, he may be stilling sometimes or helping Harley and Ivy but he is good"

"You kept tabs on him?"

"He's smart, he may have lost a lot of his memories because of the Joker and he is crazy but he have support"

"Does Bruce know you're helping hiding him?"

"No, and he wouldn't. Not until Tim decided that it's fine"

"You're in contact?"

"We're just talking, I'm sending him puzels and riddles and it's helping him keep clean mind"

"Can I talk to him?"

"I can't tell you where he is but I also can't stop you from doing this"

"Thank you Babs"

"Not a problem Jaybird"

_____________________________________________

It was a week later that Jason walked into a small unnoticed coffee shop.

The design of the place gave him a feeling of happiness, like it was some kind of home.

He looked through everyone there, couple next to the window, three old ladies sitting in a table for four, chatting and laughing, couple of collage students sitting with something to eat and something warm to drink and typing on their laptops, and on the farthest side of the coffee shop, in a table for two, sat a teen, his hands paler than any human skin, his long hair hiding his face, a coffee cup in front of him and his legs shacking.

"Hello! Can I help you?" A cheerful voice called from the cashier desk, he put on a smile on his face and turned to see a black haired girl, with a big smile on her face.

"Yeah, do you have Eral Gray?"

"We do! Anything else with this?"

"No, thank you"

"Okay, just a minute"

When he got his cup he paid the girl murmuring a "Thank you" and walking to Tim.

When he sat down in front of the teen, icy blue eyes looked at his face, and his breath hitched when he saw the little cuts on at each end of his mouth, creating a smile.

"Hey" Jason said, smiling at Tim.

"Hey.." Tim's voice almost didn't reached his ears and Jason's smile grew wider when Tim smiled at him. A shy little amazing smile.

"I'm Jason"

"T-Tim"

"Nice to meet you"

"Why are you here?"

"I wanted tea"

"You aren't scared?" Tim's eyes looked a bit insane when he said the last word, his smile grew wider and he leaned closer to the table. The cuts on his face and his pale skin made him look like Joker but there was also something else there, something in his eyes that said 'Pleas don't be scared' and Jason swallowed and forced his nerves to calm down.

"No, you actually seems nice"

Tim blinked once.

Twice.

And then his smile became nicer, less dangerous and more shy. He relaxed and took a sip from his coffee.

Jason smiled, sipping from his own cup while making a note in his head to be careful with this one.

They drank a couple more cups together, chatting about nothing in particular and when Tim excused himself and left, Jason found a paper next to the cup.

He opened it because of his dammed curiosity and bis breath hitched.

'Ha ha ha'

_____________________________________________

It was in the middle of the night, the streets lamps flickered on and off every couple of seconds, and the stars were hidden in the sky, behind the clouds.

His parents just left the town. Without telling him. Again. And it's fine, he can't be mad at his parents for leaving him -he is, like his mother says, rotten child- all the time.

But sometimes he wonders if he'll ever be good enough for them to stay. If he'll ever be good enough so his mother wouldn't need to hiss his name through clench teeth and his father to hit him.

Maybe he would never be good enough..

In those nights when he wonders about it, he goes to a walk. It's always makes him calm and shuts his mind down. It's leaving him with the feeling of wholenesses, like some how the wind that hit his body in cold sharp hit is welcoming, or the cold of the night is like his stuffed Kola -the one he got from Bruce Wayne In a gala that his parents hosted when he was four and since then he hides it from his parents and hugging it when he need comfort- or like the silence out here is better than the silence inside the empty house.

And maybe, just maybe hr would see his heros.

And as Tim kept walking he could barely hear this cursed laugh, followed by the soft like song-

Mary had a little lamb

Little lamb, little lamb

Mary had a little lamb...

"Cutie pie?" His mama's voice rang, it was muffled but it was still there. "I'm hearing laughing, it's a good joke?"

A knock on his door "Sweetheart?" His laugh grew and his eyes burned, tears dropping from his eyes.

"Timmy?"

He hugged his legs to his chest, laughing and crying and this song is stuck in his head and he can't stop it and-

"Mary had a little lamb"

Mama's hands are around him, hugging him and petting his hair "Shhh shh shh, everything's fine baby, I'm here"

He can't breathe and the song is on full volume in his head but mama's here and mama is safety, she's safety. He's safe. Safe

_____________________________________________

"What the hell were you thinking?" Oracle's voice rang through the comn in his helmet.

"You need to be more specific than that O"

"Tim blocked me, Selina is mad at Bruce because one of his kids hurt her niece, Harley and Tim are nowhere to be found and Selina and Ivy are planning something"

"I didn't hurt Tim and I don't know why you told ma all the other stuff"

"Hood, Tim's smart, maybe too much smart but his mind is broken, he's crazy and genius"

"Okay and..?"

"He wants to go -and I’m quoting him- Boom he always wanted everyone to know that he's Harley's kid, and I always made him take more time, think about it more the fact that he blocked me means that I can't tell him to sit back anymore"

"You can remove it though"

"I did, and he just throw his phone away"

"So I broke him?"

"No, Joker broke him you just set him off"

"Shit"

"Yes. Shit"

_____________________________________________

"Wohhooo" Was shout out to the sky as Tim set in shopping cart, Harley -in her rollerblades- holding the handles of the cart, and they're both 'driving' down a road, laughing.

The air hit Tim's face in the best way he could have ever imagined and he laughed so hard that his cheedk burned, and maybe he ripped his stiches oncr again today but he dosen't care.

He is happy. So, so happy, like he was with this hot guy in the coffee shop, before his meltdown.

But right now, right now it's all this.

His mama and him, having fun, his mom and aunty kitty somewhere doing her own thing and everything's okay.

He laughed again as they started to speed up, the wind throwing his hair in any direction possible.

After a few minutes they cane to a stop, his mama's smile is so loving and he hopes that his smile is loving as well.

"Come on sweetie, let's do it" Harley smiled as she gave him the lighter, he jumped out of the cart and lit the lighter, his eyes sparking as the fire started spreading.

Tim and Harley walked away because they're crazy not stupid.

There faces lit up as the fireworks blew and flew to the sky.

Harley hugged him from behind and he relaxed into his mama's touch, watching the fireworks becoming to words that are shining over Gotham's sky.

30 days

_____________________________________________

"Hey Hoodie" A cheerful voice called from behind him.

Red Hood turned around, a gun in his hand just to be met with Tim's lovely smile.

"Chill, chill" The teen said, holding his hands up "I'm not going to hurt you"

"What do you want?" Hood asked, lowering his gun.

"We have never met have we?" Tim said, his smile calm

"I don't think so"

"No, but I did met Robin"

"So you met the Demon"

Tim frowned "No. The second one."

"Don't know him"

"Red Hood can't meet Robin II"

"And why's that?"

"Robin II's dead, dad killed him" Tim shock his head "I don't like dad, I liked Robin II and dad did it because it's funny. It's not!"

Tim looked so frustrated, his eyes big and he's looking at Jason like he hope that he would understand that and, something in Jason change, his face are softer under the helmet and-

"Okay Tim, I know you aren't the Joker."

"I didn't met *you* but we did met, I know Robin and I know Jason and now I know Red Hood?"

"You know who I am"

"No, no no no!" Tim looked him straight in the eyes, like he could see his face behind the helmet "You're Red Hood now, you were Robin and you always were Jason but now you Red Hood, I don't know Red Hood!"

"Okay, okay, relax, you don't know Red Hood, that's fine"

"I need to know Red Hood"

"Why?"

"Because I need Red Hood to help me"

"You need help?"

"Yes"

"Okay, but why Red Hood?"

"Because.. Ummm because- Because of Dad! I need Red Hood to help me kill dad"

To kill.. the Joker.

To kill the Joker.

The Joker dead.

'Yes'

"I would help you, Red Hood and Jason, okay?"

Tim nodded "Yeah, okay."

The sky started to glow and they both looked up, looking at fireworks that formed

29 days

_____________________________________________

It was so logical and simple that Jason almost laugh.

He sat next to Tim in some small safehouse, looking at Tim up and down as he was solving Sudoku.

They're waiting for the others to decide exactly who will go in and kill this son of a bitch and aho will make sure that everyone else will be present in that day.

They are waiting for Tim's small family, and Jason smiled at the thought of this family, he once had one and then he died and he was replaced by Stephanie Brown who is now Batgirl so they're fine now. But he doesn't have this family now, all he have are some blurred memories.

Tim let out a little "Yay" with a cute, small giggle that made Jason smile.

"Hey!" Tim suddenly said, looking at Jason with big eyes, Jason looked around him, trying to find something that would make Tim look panoco "What-"

"Are you hurt?" Tim's voice was soft and caring and Jasom heart might have skipped a beat, "No?"

"Than why do you have split lip and bruise on your jaw?"

"I've got into a fight, it's not serious" But Tim was there in seconds, his worry eyes looking at Jason's jaw and just wow- Jason swallowed the lump in his throat when Tim's slender finger touched his lip and-

"I've the best thing to help!" Tim pulled away and his finger caressed Jason's lip in a way that made Jason hold his breath.

And in the next moment Tim putted a chocolate bar in his hand, smiling at him "It help!" He said and Jason huffed a laugh, mentally shacking his head.

"Thanks Timmy" Jason said an smile on his face, opening the chocolate and cutting a line.

It was milk chocolate with pop candy and it was amazing, Jason hummed as he ate it, looking at Tim solving a new sudoku.

After the meeting (if it even can be called that) Jason took the rest of the chocolate bar, just to have something sweet after patrol tonight.

_____________________________________________

Jason stripped from his Red Hood gear, stretching his hands out and poping his back.

He took a quick shower and pulled on a sweat pants and grey hoodie from the deep of his closest 'Maybe it's time to do the laundry'.

Jason smiled as the sky were lit in 25 Days and turned the lamp off.

His lip tickled as some kind of reminder that Tim touched him there, he looked so worried and that just warmed Jason's heart.

And that amazing chocolate- maybe he will have to get hurt more just to have it.

He closed hid eyes, ready to fall asleep and then it hit him-

Oh.

Oh.

Oh shit.

He- he have a crush.

_____________________________________________

The sun was in the middle of the sky when Jason woke up, blinking into the darkness because the blinds are close.

He groaned as he stretched his body, still in the bed under the warmth of the fluffy blanket. The sleepiness still has her claws clutching on him and made Jason wonder why the hell his bed isn't as comfy whenever he's trying to sleep but is when he tries to wake up.

He almost fell asleep again, but the *Bam! Bam! Bam!* on his door made him jolt up from the bed, the gun that he hides between the mattress and the bed in his hand, walking to the living room without making a sound, looking through the peep hole.

He huffed in relief, opening the door looking at Dick who smiled at him. "You woke me up you asshole"

"Sorry little wing" But Dick didn't sounded sorry at all and that just made him groan.

Jason followed Dick to the kitchen after Dick let himself in, the door closing behind them.

"What are you doing here?"

"I can't visit my little brother?"

"Not your brother" Jason turned around to the pantry to take out a tea bag just when Dick flinched from the words as if they're physically harming him.

"You're my brother, even if you don't see it like that"

"Dick."

"No! You're my brother, I count you as my brother" Dick snap and Jason would lie if he said that that didn't touched his heart, even if it's not true because in the end Dick have his new little brother and also a sister and it's really is fine that Jason isn't part of his family. It is.

So he didn't reply to it, just let Dick think what he wants to. "Do you want to tell me why you actually came or what?" He asked as he started to boil water.

"I wanted to talk to you"

"About?"

"You said you'd this case, how's it going?"

Jason took the teapot off the gas, pouring the hot water to his glass, "I didn't told anyone that I've a case"

"Well no but Babs told me"

"Babs don't know, and she would have asked if she wanted to know" Jason took a sip from his cup and turned around to glare at the older man "What it really is about?"

"Bruce saw you with Harley and Ivy and their kid and he wants to know what you all doing"

Jason saw red for a moment and them took a calming breath, a long sip from his tea and walked his way toward the island, putting his mug down and glaring at his so called brother.

"So you're here on a mission?" His voice was cold and full with venom.

"N-no!"

Jason raised an eyebrow "You just said it"

"I don't care what B wanted, I came for my brother"

"Damian isn't here"

"Jason!"

"What? You want me to say that you didn't came because Bruce said something on me? You don't want to know what I'm doing with Harley, Ivy and their kid? Ah? That's what you're telling me?"

"I-"

"Ha! And you just said we're brothers!"

"We are Jason"

"No! You have your own little family, I'm not part of it, never was!"

"You are! You always were and you always will be!"

And at that moment Jason saw green, throwing his mug down on the island, the shatterd flew everywhere and the hot water started to drip down to the floor.

And as a last resort Dick yelled "TIM DRAKE!"

It made Jason blink, and look at Dick, "What did you just said?"

"Tim Drake, it's this boy Joker kidnapped, Harley and Ivy's kid"

"How do you know this?"

"Well, family of detectives and all"

"What do you want?"

"Is he threating you?"

"What? No!"

"Jay, you can tell me the truth"

"Oh I can?"

"Yes, of course!"

"Okay so fuck off"

"Wh-what?"

"The truth is that I want you to fuck off and don't ever come back. Bye."

"..Jay.."

"I'll throw you out of the window"

"Okay, okay. But.."

"Go!" _____________________________________________

Tim sat on an air conditioner motor that was on the roof of a building, his legs tangling down, one shoe red with zigzag lines on it and the other one yellow with glitters. His pants in a fading green colour and a black-blue t-shirt. And Jason just looked, glad that his helmet hiding his face as a stupid smile crossed his face.

"Hoodie hood!" Tim's cheerful voice made Jason's smile wider, and Tim pushed himself of the air conditioner motor, when his feet touched the roof his yellow shoe started to sparkle with light, like little kids shoes.

"Hey clown kid" Tim smiled, something sweet and beautiful that made butterflies fly in Jason's belly.

"I don't like this helmet today" Tim said, his hands touching lightly at the sides of the red helmet.

"And why's that?"

"I can't see your hair. I love your hair!"

Jason smiled, Tim was just... just.

"Thanks baby clown, I love your hair too"

"Baby clown?"

"Yup"

"I like it"

"Good"

Tim took Jason's hand in his and started walking them to the air conditioner motor.

They both sat down, Tim's hands now in his lap and Jason opened his helmet, setting it next to him.

Tim looked at him, his blue icy eyes glinted and a small smile on his face. Jason looked right back at him, the blue-green eyes looking like some amazing place that kids are being told about in fairy tales.

Jason don't know who moved first, or what exactly happened. All he knows is that Tim is sitting in his lap, Tim's hands in his hair and Jason hugging him close. There mouths pressing against each other's. Tim's mouth have this amazing chocolate taste, a hint of coffee and Tim.

In the dark sky above of them, the fireworks draw the 18 days.

_____________________________________________

Jason is happy. Like really truly happy. He couldn't stop smiling this stupid love sick smile since the kiss.

He met Tim every patrol and those small kiss were the best, 10/10 would definitely do again.

Tim's cute and smart and he seems to really like Jason which is amazing because Jason really like him too.

None of the Bats came to annoy him, and everything is just amazing. For once in his life everything is just good.

His grapple gun shot to the next building and the cold wind never felt better. As Red Hood's boots hit the roof a "Hey there, love bird" greeted him.

"Cat," He called back, doing a small '*hi*' with his hand "'sup?"

"We need to talk"

"About?"

"Tim"

Jason sat next to her, his legs tangling down from the roof, "You here to give me the talk?"

"Not the talk you think about, I'll that to his moms"

"Then what talk?"

"Are you serious with him?"

"For now.. for now yes" he said with a bit hesitation.

Selina nodded "That's good for me"

"Thank you?"

"You're welcome sweetie, anyway you nrrd to be careful with Timmy"

"I know that, I wasn't born yesterday Cat"

She huffed a laugh, "Oh I know that sweetie, but you still need to know about Tim's past"

"Isn't he supposed to tell me about it? In his own time?"

"He will, I'm going to tell you only things that he won't because it's a trigger for him"

"The torture?"

"Yes, the torture, and what lead to his kidnapping, and it'll give you an idea yo what his parents were like"

Jason looked at her in the eyes, seriousness burns in them. "Okay, let's hear the story" _____________________________________________

His parents left again, it has been hours since the screaming stopped, his cheeks were wet from tears and his eyes red.

He was hiding in the closet, his hands holding his stuffed Kola close, his left arm is numb except for the cut on it, but it's a small cut and he deserved it. He isn't supposed to talk back to his father.

The dry blood on his arm itched and he needs to treat the cut, but he don't want to move. The closest is a safe place because mother and father can't get in.

New tears slipping down his face and he hugs the Kola tighter.

_____________________________________________

When Tim woke up his neck hurt and his left arm felt like a million fire ants stung her.

He opened the closest door, stumbling out of there holding the Kola in one hand, dropping it on his bed and walking to the bathroom, pulling the first aid kit from under the sink, treating his wound with a hiss of pain.

A quick glance out of the window and he knows it's in the middle of the night, and his parents were supposed to stay home for more couple of days but once again they just left the town. Without telling him. Again. And it's fine, he can't be mad at his parents for leaving him -he is, like his mother says, rotten child- all the time.

But he doesn't have something to do now, and his arm's fine, he can go out and see Batman, and maybe Robin too. Though Robin isn't around a lot now, maybe something happened... _____________________________________________

The streets lamps flickered on and off every couple of seconds, and the stars were hidden in the sky, behind the clouds.

The cold wind hit him merciless, but it just made him smile, he loves the winter. It always made him feel better with himself.

His camera clutched in his hands, his black stocking cap falling on his eyes every couple of minutes, and yes it may be annoying but it's also letting him something to do, because tonight he can't find Batman...

What the hour anyway? Maybe he's late and Batman's back in the cave...

And then he could hear it, some quiet voice singing.. Maybe a kid.. What if the kid need help?

"Hello?' he called out, moving closer to the voice, he can hear the words now.

"Mary had a little lamb Little lamb, little lamb Mary had a little lamb..." _____________________________________________

He cried out, pain strobes through all hid body, tears on his face and blood run down his chine and neck

This psycho laugh making him shiver and try to run away. This hateful song in the background..

And this voice.. "Come on Little Lamb, be a good son for little old me, and tell me. What's. Your. Name?"

"T-Tim"

He screamed as he got electriced again. _____________________________________________

He is shacking, scared out of his mind, tears rolling down his face. And it doesn't stop.

He can barely breathe, the electrical shock isn't stopping. And Tim is honest to God scared.

He don't know what's next to come, he can't actually believe it's happening and everything- everything hurt.

He can feel himself leaving his body, his heart- _____________________________________________

He woke up, everything is hurting again and the fucking Joker is looking at him, this psychotic smile on his face-

"Welcome back my Little Lamb"

-And this horrible song again

"Mary had a little lamb Little lamb, little lamb Mary had a little lamb..." _____________________________________________

"What's your name?"

"Tim!" _____________________________________________

"What's. Your. Name?"

"Ti-" _____________________________________________

"Your name?"

He don't even* know *anymore, and it's really frustrating... _____________________________________________

He is laughing. A manic good laugh. Happy laugh.

He's happy because he remembers who he is and it's funny- why did he forgot anyway?

"What's your name?"

"JJ!" _____________________________________________

He laughed as his dad cut his face open do he'll always smile. He laughed as dad throw him to the acid. He laughed as dad painted his hair.

He laughed and he laughed, and laughed and laughed-

But it's not funny anymore- dad isn't here and his hair is black... JJ scowled at the mirror, dad don't like his hair black. He like green. Yes, green hair and purple suit, and red- red, red, red blood. And it's funny- everything funny so hr laughs, but the mirror- The shattered glass flew everywhere and it's so funny that he can't stop laughing-

"Timothy!" Mother's standing by the door, she looks horrified.. it's not funny anymore- it's not-

He can't breathe, he stumbles backwards, tears rolling down his face and he. Can't. Stop. Laughing. _____________________________________________

One night he heard his mother and father talking. It's not fine, but what is fine anymore? He's finally Tim but he's also JJ and it's so confusing.

"I can't look at him anymore Jack, he is pathetic!"

"I know Janet, don't worry"

Tim chokes a whimper. _____________________________________________

The next week Ivy and Harley found Tim trying to drown himself and took him in... _____________________________________________

Jason took in a deep breath, his eyes wet and his heart ache for his little clown.

"It's..."

Catwoman gave him a small smile, "A lot? I know. Those are once of the memories Tim still have"

"I'm- I can't even-" Cat smiled at him and squeezed his shoulder.

The words 13 Days shined in the sky above them.

_____________________________________________

"Hood" Oracle's voice filled his helmet.

"O, how many times do I need to ask you not to hack my helmet?"

Oracle completely ignored him "How's Tim been?"

Jason swallow, he forgot that Babs is actually one of those people who really care about Tim (and him. Because Babs amazing).

"He's been good, happy" Just like Jason. It's like they feel the same thing. He can see Babs smile in his mind at that, like something changed in the weather just because of what he said, and it pulled a smile in his face.

"That's good, how are you?"

"Same as Tim"

And now he can hear her smile when she talks "I'm happy to hear that."

"How are you O? Does Dick head annoying you? 'cuz I can beat him if you need"

O snorted, "Two days sleeping on the sofa and he'll be begging for my forgiveness"

Jason laughed. And they kept talking about nothing for two more minutes, before Babe had to go.

And that's when Jason shot his grapple to another roof and went flying in the sky, the feeling of happiness all over his body.

But it all stopped when hr heard it.

It came straight out of his nightmares, something from his deepest fears.

This manic laugh. Joker's laugh.

And no just no. Thete's no way this stupid fucker got out again.

He dropped to the ground with a thud sound, looking for the fucker but instead seeing a group of teenagers, kicking someone on the ground.. someone who couldn't stop laughing like the Joker and his heart stopped beating for a second when he realised who it is.

A shot noise ripped through the air and the teens stopped, looking back at the red hood holding a gun at one of them.

All he needed to do wad to say "Go. Away" and the teens ran away, leaving Tim on the ground, hugging his legs to his chest, blood and tears mixed together on his face, and he couldn't breathe because the laughing wouldn't stop.

Jason hurried to him, helping him to sit up and uncurl himself, unable to look over Tim's face since he wouldn't let him.

"Tim, sweetie, my baby clown," Jason kissed his cheek, hugging him close to him "It's me, remember? Red Hood"

And at that Tim's head moved, looking up at him. Eyes full of tears and his face twitched in this manic smile, blood dripping down from the now open cuts in his chicks to his chin.

"Timmy babe, can you hear me?" He received a small and hesitate nod that he took as yes.

"Can you give me your hands?" He asked, showing Tim his gloved hands. The smaller man put his hands in his, feeling the fabric.

Tim relaxed, his eyes fixed on the red helmet, the tears stopped rolling down his face.

The laughing quiet down a bit, but still were there.

"You remember me, right? We are friends, hell I'm hoping even more than friends"

Tim nodded, but Jason wasn't sure what he was agreeing with so he just kept talking.

"We have this amazing plan, because you are my little smarty boy right?"

Tim could take in a breath and that was good, he wasn't laughing anymore but he also didn't talk exactly, just watched Jason and every couple of seconds squeezed one of his hands (never the both of them together for some reason).

"Hell I even kissed you that night and it was the greatest thing in the whole world baby clown"

"No." Tim's tiny voice waved on the air.

"Hah?" If Tim didn't like Jason like that... It would be ok, he will be heart breaked for a few days but he would be fine at the end... Somehow.

"I kissed you" Tim said, looking at him with this witty little smile that Jason grew to love so much.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah" a small smile tug on Jason's lips, and their lips met. It was amazing just like the first time they kissed, and it sent sparkles down Jason's body.

And after a minute he let go, both of them taking deep breath.

"Come on baby clown, let's go to my home"

Tim took his hand and he pulled him up, hugging the smaller man.

The words 7 Days exploded in the sky exactly when they reached Jason's apartment.

_____________________________________________ 

Waking up with Tim by his side is amazing.

The smaller man was curled next to him, a hand clutching at the fabric of his shirt. The long black hair messed up but still so beautiful. Tim's face relaxed, a samll smile on his face.

Last night Jason gave him one of his own shirts, and the younger basically swam in the white shirt.

Jason looked at the paler than normal skin that was now available. It was in the same colour of the shirt.

He pulled Tim closer to him, kissing the beautiful man's forehead and closing his eyes.

Immediately going back to the welcoming blackness of sweat dreamless sleep. _____________________________________________

The next time he woke up was because Tim wasn't next to him.

Jason didn't know exactly why he woke up because of that, but the moment Tim's weight left his body his eyes snapped open, meating beautiful blue eyes.

Tim smiled at him, a sleepy smile. His hair a whole lot of mess and Jason's heart beated faster as he smiled back.

The sun was already in the middle of the sky and the clock on the wall said it was already one A.M.

"Mornin' Jay" Tim whispered.

"Morning baby clown" _____________________________________________

They ate together, silence surrounding them in the most comfortable way.

Jason couldn't exactly point it out but something about Tim made him.... just feel whole. Like he didn't felt since he woke up six feet deep.

Both of them were in Jason clothes and Jason found out that for some unknown reason, white looked better at pale skin.

And Tim.. Tim was the most beautiful human he saw. His blue eyes, his black long hair, and this perfect smile. Jason started asking what he fucking did right to get this angel. _____________________________________________

He didn't knew how it happened but Tim's hot wet mouth was on him and he was practically in heaven.

His hands gripped the black hair and pulled slightly, making Tim moan and himself gasping as the moans vibrate on him.

He was definitely in heaven and this angel between his legs was the most perfect thing to ever happen to him.

"Oh God" he said and moaned Tim's name, his legs shacking.

"Tim I'm about to-" and with that he came down Tim's throat, the angel swallowed it and looked him in the eyes, giving him this beautiful smile. And well, Jason might die happy this time around. _____________________________________________

This night he hugged Tim closed to him, the smaller man hugging him back.

Outside the words 6 Days colored the black sky with pink, green and yellow.

_____________________________________________

It was simple. Very simple, and Jason did it already so why the hell is he freaking out?

Harley and Ivy started a riot somewhere in the city while Catwoman helped them in Arkham and said that she's going to take care of the security. So from there they were alone.

And it wasn't like he didn't knew the plane by heart, it's just that it really is happening. He's going to kill the Joker. They're going to kill the Joker.

And it's not a dream. The mother fucking clown is going to laugh for the last time. _____________________________________________

Each floor has a minimum of two guards, thanks to Killer Croc Arkham was down six guards, so floors 1-3 only had one guard each during the day (Because Gotham’s criminals are all geniuses and think that night is the best time for a breakout).

So doubling up only happened at night on these floors until the guards either recovered or replacements were vetted and hired.

Floors 4-5 had double guards at all times and floor 6 was more storage and extra holding cells than anything else right now.

Thanks to Harley and Ivy's riot there weren't a lot of guards where they were, everyone waiting to catch the two. Catwoman didn't lied about helping them from afar as every door opened to them without problems. _____________________________________________

The elevator doors opened at the fourth floor, Jason noted that there weren't any guards around, wondering what Catwoman did as he heard the muffled noise of an alarm from the floor above them.

Jason walked to the guard station and peeked in to see two men slumped over and unconscious. From the looks of it they have been knocked out, 'help from afar ha?' he thought to himself, smiling a little. Looking over at Tim, the little clown being too quite for so long, the teen smiled, his skin somehow more pale than normal, and his gun at hand. Jason nodded to him and Tim did the peace sign.

They followed a hallway around behind the booth and came up on a large metal door. They waited couple of seconds and the door opened, revealing another hallway with another large metal door several yards down. There were three such doors in their's way and each one opened and closed behind them, making them closer and closer to the goal.

Jason paused and took a deep breath before the final door. This is it. This stupid clown is as good as dead. The door opened.

And there was the Joker, laying on a thin metal like bed that was bolted to the wall.

All that stood between them and the Joker was a wall of bulletproof wall with several inches thick with small round air holes cut evenly to allow air to flow into the (if it could even be called that) room.

The Joker slowly rolled off the bed when he saw them, and came to stand in front of the clear wall, a sick smile on his face. “Well, well, well, what have we here? Visitors? Oh, I know you!" He said as he looked at Tim, his grin getting wider "You're my little lamb. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!”

Jason's heart started to beat faster, looking at Tim's hand gripping the gun so tight that his fingers turned whiter than usual.

"I'm not" Tim said, his voice quite.

"What did you said little lamb? Talk louder for papa"

Tim smiled, a small smile that made Jason question if he's going to follow the plan or not.

And of he really think about it, he was never told about this part of the plan... How will they kill the Joker?

"JJ?"

"I'm not a fucking lamb you old fucker" Tim said and shoot.

[pricescigar]

Lucia Lindemann

Born: 28th November 1992

Age: 24 (In 2016)

Nationality: German

Gender: Female

Height: 172cm (5ft8)

Parent(s):  Theodore & Evangeline

Hair colour: Black

Eye colour: Grey

Nicknames:  Lucia, Luci ________________________________________

Personality: An intelligent twenty four year old woman the CEO Of her family company. Attending to University, with 3 PHD'S in her hands. Despite her being so cold hearted, mean and blunt. As many would say, and it is true deep down. She shows that caring side of her, which is a rare sight to see. Only those close to her, get to see that side of her.

Likes: traveling, working, reading, building things, learning new projects, helping others, saving the world, hanging around with the avengers

Dislikes: disrespectful people, people ignoring her advice, summer, hot weather, certain alcohols, taking medication

_______________________________________________

Backstory:

Luciana "Lucia" Killian Lindemann was born on the 28th November 1996 at 3am, she was born in the military hospital Bundeswehrkrankenhaus in her home town Berlin. Lucia is the daughter of the famous business man Theodore Lindemann, and Evangeline Meier who was a nurse at the hospital. It was the life that Theodore longed for to have in his grasp, for him to have a wife and a child. Yet this was only the start of it all...

On the night of December 1st 1996 18:00pm three days after Lucia was born, Theodore and Evangline died in a tragic car crash. The causes of it was unknown

Tiberius, Theodore's younger twin brother. Had to resign from the marines, and to be the next heir of the family company. While taking the pressure of taking care of his niece Lucia.

In Theodore's will it wrote:

'Keep my daughter safe, let no one know about her until the day she turns sixteen.'

From that moment on, Tiberius and Vulcan did anything to keep Lucia safe. Hidden away from the world, until she was sixteen years old.

Growing up in the Lindemann household, at the young age of Six years old. Tiberius remarkably watch her intelligence, becoming very noticable day by day.  She began to read books even her age can't read, she played chess well even pulling the old tricks, playing around with all the equipment, creating blueprints.

Lucia was also fluent in Polish and Russian too, which is also the other two main languages the Lindemann family spoke the most in. Tiberius knew his niece was gifted.

The rejection of the many schools in Germany, made it more difficult than it seemed for Tibeirus:

"She's too intelligent" , "we can't keep up with her." , "she'll destroy children's confidence." , "we don't have the resources for her."

Tiberius organised professionally for an IQ test to be done, with children the estimated time takes 60 - 85 minutes to complete. While Lucia completed it in 40 minutes, which shocked the testers. Tiberius' only solution was to keep her here homeschooled, and so for the next eight years Lucia spent most of her childhood homeschooled.

October 1st 2012 Lucia was around sixteen years old, close to seventeen years old. Around the time the Chitatri Invaded New York. Her identity finally got revealed to the world, although Tiberius was still lenient about revealing her identity, the world still needed to know who she was.

That was also when she finally got accepted to The Technische Univerdiät München (The Technical University of Munich)

Together Tiberius, Vulcan, Lucia and a group of bodyguards temporarily moved down to Munich. In order for Lucia to go to University, Vulcan suggested for Lucia to stay in the dorms. While Tiberius felt uneasy, reluctantly he allowed it.

Tiberius specially requested five courses, to keep Lucia entertained. The following courses were: Mechanical engineering, Neuroengineering, Biochemistry, Data engineering & analytics and Chemical biotechnology.

German Universites are divided in two semesters: "Wintersemmesters" & "Sommersemmester."

The winter terms began on October 1st until March 31st, and then the Summer terms begin on April 1st until 30th September.

Lucia started her first day of University on October 1st, she never felt more scared, insecure in her life. This was easily out of her comfort zone, she was in a place full of eighteen year olds and adults. Luckily a group of body guards were undercover, blending in like all the other students.

Still all of this felt so new to her, considering she spent most of het life inside, secured and protected like her life depended on it. Meeting all new people, and especially in a new city she knew nothing about.

In her Biotechnology class, that's where she met someone... Damien. One day when she was simply alone, sitting under a tree. Damien approached her, and introduced himself offering if he can sit down next to her. Lucia agreed, and the two began to talk together.

Damien was fascinated by Lucia's intelligence, and found it so amazing. He never met anyone like that before, and he found it quite impressive. He praised her in how intelligent, talented, amazing she was. It was these simply words, that stuck with Lucia forever:

"Never be afraid in who you are Lucia."

September 30th 2013 when Lucia was seventeen years old when she graduated University, graduating with her 5PHDs. Tiberius and Vulcan were proud of her, making her the youngest person to graduate Universiity in Germany. Yet. The trauma that came from it...

Back in April 1st Lucia became concerned for her friend Damien, as she knew something was going on. She went over to his dorm, to make sure that he was ok. That moment when she opened his door, her eyes were met with a pool of blood. Her eyes wielded when Lucia rushed over to him, trying to stop the blood. He sliced his throat, the blood pouring out like anything. She called for help, as loud as she  could the tears falling down her eyes. The blood staining her clothes and hands. 

It was no use, Damien was going to die. She remembered the last moment of looking at Damien looked up at her one last time, and the same words he said to her before passing:

"Never be afraid in who you are Lucia."

The last few months of University, were the worst years of her life. She refused to go out of her dorm, refusing to eat, sleep, drink water, even shower and take care of herself. She didn't want to do anything, the trauma hit her hard. Whenever Lucia had to go outside, she would scream not to, panicking while breaking down in tears. Begging not to. Even a couple of times she was harming herself, just to relieve the stress just for a little while. 

Tiberius became concerned, immediately he organised for Lucia to see a therapist. Over the observations, and explaining all the symptoms. Lucia got diagnosed with: PTSD, Depression, Anxiety and Insomnia.

That moment when Lucia graduated University, they immediately left Munich and it was the last time Lucia had been into Munich. Even the thought of Munich, her university, even visiting Damien's grave would easily break her down.

A couple of weeks after they moved back to their home in Berlin, Lucia encountered Eryk Darski. Who was the rival family, why did they hate each other? God knows. The two got into a fight, to see who was the best. Ending for thr both to be rushed to hospital, Lucia having a scar on her neck. And Eryk having a cut across his face.

The two accepted that the two fought well, and whole the was recovering in hosptial and shook hands and ever since then. They've been good friends ever since. Lucia also found one of her blueprints, when she was Six years old. And the brightest idea came to her mind, and all she had to do was keep on working to make it successful.

December 1st 2014 18:00pm shortly after Lucia turned eighteen, two years after her identity revealed to the world. Shocking world wide news, tragedy struck when Lucia and Tiberius suffered a car crash. Lucia escaped with a couple of bruises, cuts and a sprained arm. While Tiberius had taken the worst, he was severely injured. Mainly because he protected Lucia.

Vulcan was lucky to survive as well, he had the same minor injuries as Lucia had. The two immediately fled, and rushed Tiberius back home so they could mend his wounds. By the time they got back, he was already losing a lot of blood and didn't have long to live.

Lucia did all she could to stop the blood, but it was no use. The last moments spent with her Uncle, was when he pulled her into a tight hug. Before he then died in her arms, as Lucia held on to him. After Tiberius' funeral Lucia became the CEO of the company, which indefinitely made her the first female heir, and first Female CEO.

Once more she met the only family member she had left, her Godfather Klaudiusz. He was surprised that she remembered him, but Lucia said she would of never forgotten him. Lucia had the opportunity, to meet Viktor Ivanov and Marcellus Isoua. Who two families were in great allies with the Lindemann family.

While Lucia being eighteen years old was the hardest time of her life, her and Eryk became business partners. Eventually getting five more business partners, with turned into one big family. A family Lucia thought she wasn't able to have, or even know what it's like to have a family.

At the same time, Lucia was struggling with her depression. And losing her Uncle, it terrified her the thought that If she lost Vulcan and Klaudiusz. She wouldn't know what to do with herself.

Lucia began harming herself a lot more, to the point it gotten worse and she was rushed to the hospital because she lost so much blood. She spent three days in recovery, before allowing to go home. That's when she started to grow her hatred of hospitals, and made a promise whenver she was near to a relapse. All sharp things would be taken away from Lucia, until she would feel better.

While bored one day, Lucia thought it would be funny to hack Tony's comms as a joke. Mainly because she didn't have any other form of work to do, and she simply felt like hacking his security systems. The  strangest thing was that Tony wasn't angry, he was more amused than ever. And that moment on, through the comms Lucia began to work for the Avengers.

March 30th 2015, Lucia had been mainly focused on her business, and nothing more. Easily becoming a workaholic, and a coping mechanism for her. She began to take medication, to help her sleep.

She had also fallen in love with Eryk, but when they knew their freindship was far too strong. They remained as friends and are still freinds to this day, while also being a massive help to the Avengers even behind comms. She gave them everything they needed, and promising one day they would meet. Just not now.

Decembter 3rd 2016 after Lucia turned twenty, she was rushed to the hospital. And was on the verge of death, over time her depression, anxiety, anger issues, harming herself and nightmares got the best of her. It felt like she was drowning in her feelings again, when she lmee she couldn't take it no more she overdosed. Luckily Vulcan was the one to find her, and rushed her to hospital.

While having a near death experience, she saw her father.  And simply said to her that "she wasn't ready" Then she woke up in a hospital bed, the three months of recovery was awful. But she managed successfully, with the help of the people she loves and cares for.

When March came along, Lucia thought it was time to finally meet the Avengers. Face to face, as if nothing had ever happened to her.

In 2017 early 2018 Lucia shortly after turning Twenty-one years old, in the year where Thanos set out to find the rest of the Infintiy Stones. Along with the black order beside him, Lucia teamed up with Tony, Peter Parker Doctor Strange, and the guardians of the galaxy. They set off to the planet Titan deep into the galaxy, after they failed to stop Thanos.

Lucia died during the snap, and was reserved 5 years later 2023 by no other than Bruce banner still. "Twenty years old" She fought along side, with the rest of the Avengers. And Tony being seen as hero of the whole universe, when he sacrificed his life to kill Thanos. After the events of Endgame, Lucia is still regularly seen fighting along side of the Avengers.

Assisting during the events of WandaVision and Falcon and The Winter Solider.

[razieltwelve]

The Sound of Thunder (Spoilers)

This post contains spoilers for the future direction of The Sound of Thunder. If you do not want to read spoilers, stop here.

The Sound of Thunder is basically inspired by Silence of the Lambs with Lightning playing the role of Hannibal Lecter and Fang stepping into the shoes of Agent Clarice Starling. 

The story opens with Fang be sent to interview Lightning in a secure facility. Amodar wants to get her insight into a case since someone has begun to commit murders that are eerily similar to those committed by Lightning. The critical difference is that while Lightning killed sister, she often focused her ire on the younger sister whereas the present murders seem to show greater anger toward the older sister.

Lightning’s sister, Serah, is currently in protective custody, her whereabouts unknown.

After a brief conversation, Lightning taunts Fang but takes an interests in her, revealing the differences between her murders and the present murders.

That’s where the first chapter finishes.

The basic idea of the story is fairly simple. Fang is going to try to put together the clues to identify the murderer while bodies continue to pile up. 

Things get increasingly tense when Yuna and Rikku are abducted. Yuna’s father is a powerful politician, and he demands that something be done. What disturbs Amodar and Fang is that the two aren’t actually sisters. However, when asked about this, Lightning tells Fang that it isn’t necessarily the blood relationship that matters, so much as the bond between the two. After all, she didn’t just target any old pair of sisters. Lightning always went after the sisters that were the closest.

It is during this time that Serah Farron apparently disappears from police custody. After consulting with the witness protection program, Fang discovers that the murders have occurred in areas not far from Serah. She believes that Lightning’s ‘admirer’ is trying to finish what Lightning started by killing Serah.

Lightning just laughs when she’s told this, telling Fang that her ‘admirer’ would never be so crass as to take what’s hers, not if they know what’s good for them. Fang points out that Lightning is stuck behind bars, but Lightning merely smiles and tells Fang that she’ll be out soon enough.

Fang begins to believe that Lightning knows exactly who the killer is. This belief is further bolstered when forensic analysis shows that the weapon and style used to kill the latest victims is archetypical of the veterans from Lightning’s old unit in the military. Many of them simply vanished off the face of the earth after the war, and still others were lost in the conflict but never confirmed dead.

With the days passing and Braska (Yuna’s father) growing more desperate, he decides to use his political clout to force a meeting with Lightning. Lightning was a former soldier, someone who loved the outdoors and a good bit of exercise. These days, she’s cooped up in one of the most secure cells in the world.

His offer is simple. If she can give information that allows them to save his daughter and Rikku, he will have her transferred to a new cell on a deserted island. She will still be confined, and the island itself is so isolated that escape would be meaningless, but she will get more time outdoors, and a cell that allows her to do some indoor exercise.

Amodar urges Braska to reconsider, but Braska is adamant. It is at this point that Fang’s sister, Vanille, disappears. Fang is horrified, especially when a cryptic message left at the scene suggests that the one responsible is indeed the killer. She seeks out Lightning’s advice, only to find that Lightning has already been transferred as is being held in another secure location.

Dr Jihl Nabaat tells Fang that she should hurry. As Lightning’s former warden, she protested the move, but was overruled. She doesn’t think that Lightning’s new minders will be able to hold her. They don’t know what they’re dealing with.

Fang hurries to the location where Lightning is being held.

Meanwhile, Lightning is being wonderfully civil. She has passed on information to Amodar indicating that the killer is a former colleague, someone who grew up in a broken home, someone who grew to blame someone in his life that he viewed as something between a sister and a lover for his ills. During their time on the front, they came to understand one another and she learned that he planned to enact his own bloody vengeance on the world.

His name? Caius Ballad.

During a seemingly uneventful dinner, Lightning begins her escape. Faking a seizure, she lures the inexperienced guards close enough for her to kill them and take the keys. She then takes their weapons and sounds the alarm. As the backup team rushes to her ‘cell’, Lightning begins to systematically hunt them down, wiping out the entire team. She does this by wounding some of the members to lure out the others and erode team discipline while using the bodies of the guards she killed as props to draw attention at critical moments.

Rather than attempt to escape through the front door, Lightning instead takes advantage of the building’s geography to escape first to the roof and then over to a nearby building where she kills someone else, takes their clothes, and disguises herself using a hat to hide her hair. She even changes her gait and simply walks out of the building as reinforcements rush into the original building.

Fang arrives on the scene shortly after, and Lightning actually stays to watch her. When Fang somehow manages to trace Lightning’s steps via intuition and cunning, Lightning ambushes her. Rather than killing her, Lightning knocks her unconscious, but not before leaving her with a few clues.

When Fang regains consciousness, she tells Amodar what she has learned, and she finds out that Caius Ballad isn’t really the one responsible. Instead, when they track him down, they find out that he’s been dead for years. In fact, it looks a lot like Lightning killed him herself. The isolated cabin he was in was also rigged with a trap that killed most of the team sent to apprehend him.

Following Lightning’s tip to investigate the ‘chains of the past’, Fang delves into Lightning’s history. She discovers evidence that after Lightning’s parents died, she and Serah became abnormally close. At this time, they were badly let down by the system. They lost their house. They had to resort to begging to survive, and Lightning ended up joining a gang to make ends meet. It was during this period that Lightning’s kills were believed to have begun. This relationship only deepened until Serah met Snow Villiers. This enraged Lightning who saw it as a betrayal.

Lightning went to war only to return and find that Serah and Snow were going to get married. It was around that time that Lightning’s killings began to ramp up. Fang believes that Lightning saw Serah marrying Snow as the last piece of her family abandoning her and leaving her all alone. It was notable that in the car accident in which Lightning’s parents died, Lightning never lost consciousness whereas Serah did. Lightning spent three days in that ravine trapped next to the dead bodies of her parents trying to get out of the wreck and save her sister. The other driver would escape charges due to political connections but would later be killed during a robbery gone wrong.

Snow would later be killed in a car accident, but the more Fang investigated the matter, the more certain she grew that it wasn’t an accident at all. That was when Lightning’s killings took on an even more gruesome style, culminating in the hideously awful murder scene where Lightning forgot to cover her tracks. Some of her hair was found on the scene, along with fingerprints. This was how Lightning was caught.

But something about the old case files bothers her. Looking more closely at the wounds on that last, pivotal set of murders, Fang notices that the older sister was actually harmed more than the younger one - something closer to the current murders. Moreover, the knife work isn’t quite as expert as in Lightning’s older murders.

She doesn’t know quite what to make of it, but as she delves into the archives containing Lightning’s old records, she finds a note about a location very dear to Lightning: an old beach house in Bodhum. It was never hers, but her family used to walk past it every day. Fang has a hunch, and she follows it to the beach house.

There, she discovers that although it should be abandoned, there are signs that it has been lived in recently. Preparing herself, she makes her way inside. She finds Yuna and Rikku huddled together in a dark pit. She tries to call it in, but there is a jamming device in place. She is about to leave and call for reinforcements when she spots a familiar bit of clothing nearby. It belongs to Vanille.

Fang can’t bear to leave. She presses onward and finds Vanille unconscious and strapped to a chair. However, before she can leave, she is ambushed and knocked unconscious herself. When she wakes up, she finds herself staring into the face of Serah Farron.

Suddenly, it all clicks in Fang’s mind.

Lightning was never the sole killer. She and Serah had been killing people together, right from the start, most likely beginning with the driver who crashed into their car and killed their parents. The reason they’ve been killing sisters is because they don’t very highly of them. They see them as not being close enough, of not caring about each other the way Serah and Lightning do. In fact, Fang remembers that as close as the murdered sisters generally were, there were always rumours of friction and occasional arguments - imperfections in Lightning and Serah’s eyes. After all, alone and with none one else to turn to, Lightning and Serah always had each other. How could they respect people who couldn’t even manage that?

When Fang tells Serah this, the other woman is impressed.

Fang also explains her suspicions about what happened later. Snow’s accident wasn’t an accident. Lightning sabotaged his car. Serah says that is exactly what happened, and she framed Lightning for the last murder to get her arrested and killed. However, Lightning surrendered and avoided being killed, and she was then put out of Serah’s reach for revenge since she genuinely loved Snow.

Her plan was to then commit more murders knowing that Lightning would be drawn out. This succeeded, and she went after Vanille to get to Fang since she thought Lightning found Fang intriguing, and Lightning hates it when people mess with her stuff.

Sure enough, Serah is still talking when Lightning arrives.

The two sister square off. In the midst of their battle, Fang manages to free herself and Vanille, and they run for it, saving Yuna and Rikku along the way. The beach house is destroyed in an explosion when Serah, who starts losing, detonates a trap she’d set beforehand.

This spells the end of the two sisters.

Or so Fang thought.

A few months later, having received a commendation for her efforts, Fang gets a letter. It’s from Lightning. She thanks Fang for a most interesting adventure, especially the chance to reunite with her sister. Fang doesn’t have to worry. Lightning has other scores to settle and other people to kill, and she wants to see how far Fang can go.

A few days later another letter arrives.

It’s from Serah. In her words, she tells Fang that the world failed her and Lightning. They spent years afraid, wondering what new horror the next day would bring in. She talks about how often Lightning came back home bruised and beaten from her work with the gang, and how often Serah had to steal and lie to get essentials. She tells Fang that she and Lightning are going to settle their score one day. She hasn’t forgiven Lightning for Snow, and she probably never will, but she has other people to go after first.

A few days later, two sets of murders begin. They’re no longer targeting sisters, but Fang knows who is responsible. She joins the special team Amodar is putting together to catch the two sisters.

X     X     X

Author’s Notes

So, yeah, there is an unedited stream of consciousness of the ideas I had regarding where the story would go. Obviously, it’s very rough, but this was the ‘skeleton’ of what I thought might happen. Had I written it in full, I would have fleshed it out and tinkered with it a lot.

[simplyshelbs16xoxo]

'Falling Through the Cracks' Chapter 3: Falling Fast

Ao3 | Buy Me a Coffee?

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It was quiet in the room, apart from the sound of their breathing. Molly stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep whilst Sherlock’s eyes were only on her. He understood what she was going through to an extent. His parents died in a car crash and his brother disappeared. Hers were murdered whilst she was away and now she was next on the hit list. “Do you know why?”

“Hmm?” she turned to look at him. “Why what?”

“Why these men went after your family,” he clarified, wanting to reach out just enough to tuck her hair behind her ear.

She sighed in reply to his question. “I come from an important family—not just because of our power to open or create any door, but because we’re a noble family.” She gauged his reaction to this information, but he appeared unconcerned over her status, an observation that pleased her. “My parents are—were—The Duke and Duchess. Those I’m not acquainted with call me Lady Margaret. I just prefer Molly, though.”

Sherlock lowered his voice. “I prefer ‘Molly’ too.” He was satisfied to see the effect he had on her, adoring the way she bit her lip and smiled. “Is there anyone else who could help you?”

She shook her head. “I’m afraid not. I do have a theory that these men work for the Queen. I heard she murdered her way to the top, either by her own hands or by hiring those two. She doesn’t want anyone challenging her, and as far as I know, I’m the last person she needs to be rid of. I have hope it’ll all work out, though. Meena already sent out my message with the rats. It should reach The Ice Man by morning.”

He had to admit, things were strange in this other London, but Sherlock couldn’t shake the feeling he belonged here. And with her. None of it made any sort of logical sense, but for once, he found he didn’t care. Molly Hooper had him under her spell, wrapped around her delicate fingers. And if it bothered her that he curled himself around her as they drifted to sleep, it didn’t show. She only snuggled in deeper.

.

.

“Ahhhhh,” Moriarty exhaled dramatically. “It’s good to be home.” He and Seb had returned to London Below having realised that Lady Margaret once again escaped their grasp. They had broken into the flat she stayed in briefly to find it had just been left behind, which only meant her rescuer was most likely traveling with her. At least they had found the name of the man—a piece of valuable information—and wouldn’t the Queen be so pleased to have both of them.

Seb looked around the foggy streets, searching for a lead of any kind. They stood in the marketplace area of the city, vendors selling vegetables, hand-stitched clothes, and jewelry, among other things. There were a few kids running about, making a nuisance of themselves if Seb had anything to say about it. “Suppose we should start asking around?”

Moriarty shook his head. “Draws too much suspicion; we’ll just have to do it ourselves.” He then got that look in his eye, the one he always gets when he’s feeling particularly vengeful. “I think…before we bring them to the Queen, I shall have a little of my own fun first.”

“And what about her threats, Jim?” Seb asked.

With a roll of his eyes and a drawn out sigh, Moriarty replied, “I’m through with her boring games. We are not her puppets. And what she doesn’t know won’t kill her.” He began walking ahead of his right-hand man, setting the path they should take.

“Might kill us, though,” Seb muttered, following behind.

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Morning light illuminated the room. Sherlock had woken an hour ago with the realisation that none of this had been a fever dream. Here he was in an unknown London with an enigmatic woman on the run from dangerous criminals. Molly Hooper still slept, clearly exhausted from the last few days. Carefully, he slipped out of bed and crept down the stairs where the guests were having breakfast. He scanned the room, his eyes meeting Meena’s.

The young woman greeted him with a smile. “Sherlock, was it?”

He nodded in confirmation. “Molly is still asleep, but I thought I’d bring breakfast up for her. You know her better than I do; what does she like?”

Meena motioned for her to follow him. On a tray, she set a bowl of porridge, a side of fried eggs, and a cup of Earl Grey tea with vanilla cream. “And for you?” she asked, handing him the tray.

“Oh, none for me, thanks. I don’t eat whilst working a case. It slows me down,” he informed her.

She raised a brow at him. “You’re a strange character. I see why she likes you.”

Surprised by her words, he blinked rapidly a couple times, his brows furrowed. “Yes, well, thank you for your help.” As he turned to make his way back up to the room, Meena called out to him.

“Don’t forget this!” She handed him a small envelope. “Just arrived before you came down.”

Sherlock took the offered letter and made his way upstairs. It must be from The Ice Man. Hopefully, he’d be closer to cracking this case wide open once he met him. When he got to the door, it swung wide open. Molly stood in front of him, dressed and ready for the day ahead. “I brought you breakfast."

She smiled, relieving him of the tray. “Thank you! I’m starving. What’s that you got there?” Molly pointed toward the envelope.

“I believe it’s the correspondence you’ve been waiting for,” he replied, handing it over. Sherlock watched as she sat down with the tray on her lap and opened the letter.

Molly furrowed her brows as she read. “I think it’s written in skip code. Have a look.”

He raised his brow at her, giving the message a once over. “And how, Miss Hooper, do you know skip code?”

She opened her mouth to answer, but soon realised she had no way to do so. “I don’t really know. Perhaps it’s something I picked up when I was younger. I can’t really remember.”

“Hmm,” he sounded, looking over the message again. “So we’re to meet him at the harbor. He’ll be on a ship with the name ‘Redbeard’ painted on the side.” Memories of a wooden sword held tightly in his hand whilst running after a girl amongst the gravestones, her brown hair flying behind her, appeared at the forefront of his mind. But wait…there was someone else there too—a boy with red hair and a dimpled smile. Who were they?

“Sherlock?” she gently coaxed him out of his thoughts, laying a hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

Turning to her, alarm in his eyes, he replied, “I don’t know. And I don’t like not knowing.”

[say-the-name-sebongie]

Marjorie

Synopsis: “What died didn't stay dead.” 

Pairing: Junhui x fem!reader 

Genre: angst 

Warnings: death/being dead, funerals 

Word Count: 900+ words

Part of Evermore Series

A gray sky hovered over the group of mourners as he made his way towards _____’s funeral, clouds collecting above them. Even the weather seemed to be weeping for her as a light rain started falling from the sky. Judging by the big number of people already there for the burial ceremony, it seemed as if all the guests were already present and that he was the last to arrive. Taking a shaky breath, he removed his keys from the ignition and got out of the car.

Whispers followed him as he strode over to where the white casket was displayed on a podium. Several eyes looked in his direction as he stood in front and offered his condolences to _____'s parents and husband. It didn't go unnoticed to the crowd of mourners how stiff the two men looked as they shook hands. Who this mysterious man was and why he was at the funeral? The answer to that question was unknown to everyone but _____'s closest friends and family.

His name was Junhui and he was _____'s first love.

It took nearly all his will to keep his tears from falling when he drove to the cemetery. Finding out that the person he was once free to love had already passed on from this life hurt more than Junhui had expected. The stinging in his eyes only worsened when Junhui finally lay eyes on _____ pale body, made to look as if she were only sleeping peacefully though everyone in that place was already aware that she would never wake. His heart broke to see her in this state.

He didn't know if it was some cruel joke that the dead were fixed up like this. It was only fueling the false hope that the deceased could be deceased no longer.

Junhui bit his lip to keep his emotions at bay. Even in death, she was still the most beautiful thing he had ever laid his eyes on. He would have kept staring at her if _____'s husband hadn't roughly pushed him aside to let the other guests have a turn.

Walking to the back of the crowd, he swallowed down the cry crawling up his throat. It was only now that it sunk in that she was dead. When the news had been broken to Junhui, he didn't believe it. _____ was young and healthy— at least, he'd like to think she was— and the thought of her dying any time soon was far from his mind. He knew that Death had a peculiar way of choosing his victims but it never occurred to him that _____ would be a victim so early. Yet here he was at her funeral saying goodbye to her for the last time. He would never be able to see her ever again. She was gone.

People went up to the stage one by one to tell stories about _____. Unoriginal and repetitive stories they were. It was as if they had no other words to describe her other than nice and friendly, words too simple to embody what kind of person _____ really was.

Junhui knew that she was so much more than that. She was nice and friendly but she was also brave and comforting. She was a person who saw the good in everything and could light up the room with her every smile. Her warmth was enough to melt any cold heart and make flowers bloom in the winter. A person gifted with a heart that loved with all it had. _____ was an angel that had flow down to earth but was taken back too soon.

The memory of the night they had separated replayed itself in his mind as he zoned out. How he had gotten back home to find it empty. Any trace of her ever living there was gone. There was nothing that was left that he could hold onto. No forgotten clothes, pictures, not even a note explaining her disappearance. Junhui had done everything he could to find her and when he did, when he found out why she left, he did all he could to forget her. He killed any fluttering in his heart that involved her and thought he had done quite a good job up until he came to see her at her own funeral.

Before burying the casket, each guest was given a chance to look at her one last time. When it was Junhui's turn, he immediately froze when his eyes locked on _____'s face. It really did look as if she was just sleeping. It was like those days when he would wake up to her sleeping beside him. As if she would wake up at any moment and give him the smile he had fallen for so long ago.

The feelings he had made sure to keep inside him, the ones that he was sure had died a long time ago, came rushing back into his heart, spilling out of his eyes as tears. Sobs racked his body as he clung to the casket and begged _____ to come back. His legs gave out and he crashed onto the floor, _____'s mother coming over to comfort him but she too broke into tears.

Junhui thought that everything had been taken from him the day _____ left. He thought that she had already been torn away from him when she chose to marry someone else. But as his eyes followed the white casket being lowered into the ground, he realized that it was at this moment that he had lost everything. They were burying his heart along with her.

What he should have died in his heart didn't stay dead. It was certainly ill-fated for Junhui that his feelings came back to life as the very reason for them to have blossomed was now six feet under the ground.

[wandercrss]

‹ kathryn newton. cis woman. she/her. muse 1q. › cassandra ‘cass’ mitchell is back in rochdale for the summer. they’re currently twenty two years old and are known as the lot soul of the rioters, especially after they were constantly skipping classes and smoking during school hours. they graduated in 2017 and since then they’ve been nomadically moving from place to place working odd jobs. they decided to come back for the summer because she’s alone and secretly feels like the rioters are the only family she’s ever had. let’s hope they have the summer of their dreams! ( jess. she/her. 24. est. )

trigger warnings: death, abandonment, drug mention

full character page here

G E N E R A L

FULL NAME: cassandra elaine mitchell

NICKNAME(S): cass

TROPE: the lost soul

B A S I C S

AGE: twenty-two (22) 

BIRTHDAY: november 1, 1998

NATIONALITY: american

ETHNICITY: caucasian

GENDER: cis-woman

PRONOUNS: she/her/hers

ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: panromantic

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: pansexual

POLITICAL AFFILIATION: liberal 

RELIGION: atheist 

OCCUPATION: moves from job to job / currently looking for something new

R E L A T I O N S H I P S

PARENTS: kristen mitchell (mother - estranged), biological father (unknown)

SIBLINGS: penelope mitchell (older half-sister - deceased)

SIGNIFICANT OTHER(S): none.

CHILDREN: none.

CLOSEST FRIENDS: tbd.

RIVALS: tbd.

ENEMIES: tbd.

P H Y S I C A L   T R A I T S

FACECLAIM: kathryn newton

EYE COLOR: blue

HAIR COLOR: blonde

HEIGHT: 5′5

BODY BUILD: slim

NOTABLE PHYSICAL TRAITS: eyes

AESTHETIC/STYLE: casual (punk undertones...yes, i’m making that up)

P E R S O N A L I T Y

POSITIVE TRAITS: brave, determined, adventurous, loyal

NEGATIVE TRAITS: resentful, secretive, deceptive, isolating

TYPICAL MOOD/EXPRESSION:  neutral

ZODIAC SIGN: scorpio

MORAL ALIGNMENT: lawful evil

ENNEAGRAM: type eight - the challenger

MBTI: entj

HOGWARTS HOUSE: slytherin

M I S C E L L A N E O U S

SKILLS: getting out of trouble, making something you’d least expect an adventure, thought-out pranks, ‘hangover cures’ 

HOBBIES: sketching/photography, pulling a prank on friends, smoking/drinking, more to come

FEARS/PHOBIAS: being left completely alone, losing those she loves

FAVORITES: iced coffee, burritos, thunderstorms, sunrises over sunsets

B I O G R A P H Y

cassandra elaine mitchell, mostly known as cass, was the second child born to kristen mitchell on november 1, 1998. cass’s upbringing was known to be rocky, at best. kristen was a single mother to cass and her older half-sister, penelope. cass and penelope were almost seven years apart in age, but that couldn’t get in the way of their bond. 

from a young age, penelope felt very protective over cass. part of that was out of necessity. see, kristen wasn’t exactly committed to the whole mother-gig. penelope and cass weren’t apart of her plan, just byproducts of drunken one-night-stands. kristen often had trouble holding down a job and seemed more invested in finding herself a relationship to dive into. when it came to being a mother, though, she often didn’t even try. she relied on penelope a lot as the girl got older, even leaving the young child in charge for days at a time as kristen went off on another bender or to another party. penelope tried to shield cass from a lot of it, but that wasn’t an easy job. 

when penelope turned 19, kristen was even more of a mess than usual. she had lost her job completely, their home was about to be repossessed, and the woman just couldn’t handle it all. so, she disappeared. packed up and left, leaving cass under penelope’s care. 

it was less than ideal for a 19-year-old to now be on her own taking care of a 12-year-old child, but penelope and cass were closer than anything. they knew they could make it work. now that it was just the two of them, they didn’t have to worry about their mother coming in and screwing things up. penelope began working two jobs in town so she and cass could rent a tiny one bedroom. it was tough, but it brought penelope and cass together. 

with penelope at work so often, cass was suddenly on her own more and more. it was lonely and isolating, so she decided she would find adventure for herself. cass was always an explorer. a wanderer, as penelope would often call her. she liked to dive into unknown territory, discover new things, and jump off high places just to see how it would feel. it drove penelope crazy, but it made cass feel alive. 

cass always prioritized herself over school. it wasn’t that she wasn’t smart. it was that she hated the idea of being cooped up in a classroom for eight hours every day. she became known for her skill in cutting classes. 

when cass was in high school, she started to make more and more friends. eventually, she found herself apart of the group known as the rioters. other than penelope, cass had never really had a family. and slowly but surely, the rioters really became to feel like one. she was their very own sarcastic, jaded, adventurous lost soul. some of her best memories ever were with the rioters. 

as high school came to a close, cass had to decide what was next. most of her friends were off to exciting things, but cass didn’t have a plan. neither did penelope. but the older girl was exhausted all of the time, having spent half of her 20s just working to put a roof over their heads. so, the two decided to leave rochdale behind and actually see what else the world had to offer. after graduation, they jumped in their car and were off. 

they spent many years travelling...setting up shop in small towns where they could earn some money, spending nights eating one-dollar cheeseburgers and sleeping in their car. it was far from glamorous. but it was exciting. all they needed was each other. cass would take photos, documenting their journey. they would pick up jobs in retail during the holiday season or waitress at a local diner for a few months until they decided to move on.  they lived their lives month-to-month. week-to-week. minute-to-minute. 

eventually, penelope felt like they should think about settling down somewhere. as much as she enjoyed the adventure with her sister, she craved stability. cass didn’t agree. this was the life she liked. nomadic. impermanent. nowhere they could hang around too long and risk getting hurt. they fought about it. weeks went by, and the two still couldn’t agree. hurtful things were said, accusations were made. cass and penelope had finally found the thing between them they just couldn’t settle. 

one night, cass stormed out of their motel, having had enough of her sister. little did she know, penelope went after her. she drove around all night looking for her sister, but it was no use. penelope was starting to feel tired behind the wheel. she decided to go back to the motel, thinking perhaps cass had returned. on her way back, penelope was drifting, trying like hell to stay awake. she didn’t even realize when she had run the stop sign. then...crash. 

the police were already at the motel when cass decided to head back. she found them there, lights flashing, waiting. they told her about penelope and the crash. they told her about how her sister, her person, died instantly from the impact. and that day, something inside cass broke. 

as soon as she could, cass packed up her stuff and left. she was full of anger and resentment. she hated the world, but mostly, she hated herself. cass continued to travel around, now on her own. she spent a lot of time in colorado, working on a horse farm. but she couldn’t let anyone get close to her. she was incredibly lonely. after almost a year of life without penelope, cass felt herself drawn back to rochdale. for how long? she didn’t know. maybe just the summer seeing old friends would do her some good. but she was afraid to admit the truth. she needed them. the rioters. the only family she had left.

C U R R E N T L Y

cass has just come back to rochdale for the summer. she is looking forward to seeing her old friends again, but she is more than scared to admit how much she feels like she needs them. she intends to play it cool...exercising her usual bit of not letting people in. at least, not enough to see the pieces of her she keeps hidden away. 

having been on the road for a long time, cass isn’t used to staying put, so she might start to feel a little restless. despite her loss, she still craves adventure and maybe even a bit of recklessness.

C O N N E C T I O N S / P L O T S

partner in crime: i would love for there to be someone who was cass’s ride or die, her partner in crime while they were in the rioters. 

on-again-off-again: cass is bad relationships, but there could have been someone she was in that classic on-again-off-again relationship with. she probably cares about them a lot, but just couldn’t let her go there. 

unrequited love: come on, she would also be the type to have head a friend that was like in love with her or something, but she never knew or never wanted to admit that she knew. 

frenemies: someone she bumped heads with a lot. maybe they got in each other’s way or just couldn’t stand each other. 

exes (flings, hook-ups, brief relationships etc): anything like this i’m totally game for.

hateship: am i a sucker for a hateship/enemies-to-lovers trope? perHAPS

anything at all: i am truly open for anything. please don’t be afraid to ask if you think she fits something you want for your character too. i can be bad at asking for plots so please don’t hesitate to hit me up!! :) 

[theparanormalperiodical]

Top 10 Scariest Horror Films You Didn't Know Were Based On A TRUE Story feat. Trailers + Where To Watch

There’s something about horror films that are based on real events that just make me weak.

So weak, in fact, I’ve decided to spend the last *checks watch* one and a half years of my early 20s delving into the facts and the fiction haunting the horror genre. 

My parents must be so proud.

Most of these films wear the badge of ‘this is reality or close enough to it, anyway’ with dignity, leveraging gullible paranormalists like me to drive ticket sales. The Conjuring (2013) is just one of these films that is explicit in its basis in reality, going on to rake in 16 times its budget and inspiring me to delve deeper into my occultist journey.

(No, really, they’re so proud.)

But the ventures of Ed and Lorraine Warren are not the only experiences of horrifying and haunting events to be reinterpreted via the silver screen. There are some horror films you wouldn’t expect to have reality flushing through their veins.

Some of horror’s biggest hitters aren’t just living in your nightmares. They actually happened IRL.

Which is, ummm, fine, yeah, it’s not like I need to sleep anyway.

*Stay tuned to discover the horror films you didn’t know were based on true stories and the real accounts that inspired them.*

Jaws (1975)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1fu_sA7XhE 

This cinematic classic follows the adventures of a great white shark as it terrorises the summer resort town of Amity. A couple of corpses later, and the local police chief, rookie marine biologist, and wild-card shark hunter track the beast down themselves.

Most horror films use a person or a story as a basis for a film. Jaws, however, is an amalgamation of experiences recorded by the writer of the novel inspiring the film, Peter Benchley.

Benchley admittedly had a life-long obsession with sharks and was inspired to write a book on a rogue great white after reading about a bloke called Frank Mundus.

"...in 1964, I read an item in a newspaper about a fisherman who harpooned a 4,500-pound great white shark off Long Island. I remember thinking at the time, Lord! What would happen if one of those monsters came into a resort community and wouldn't go away?”

Quint, the wild card shark hunter, was based directly on Mundus.

Another influence, although not referenced by Benchley, was the 1916 New Jersey shark attacks.

In high summer, five Americans were attacked by a great white off the coast of the Jersey Shore with 4 falling victim to their wounds. For the next 11 days, the same shark cruised along the 70 miles of the beach towns and small villages. The shark even performed the first shark attack reported in US history, countering the long-standing belief that sharks couldn’t bite through human bone.

(Spoiler alert: they can.)

When beach goers came to the beach early morning to discover the 3rd victim bitten in half, this was disproven. After that discovery - which bares a striking resemblance to the opening scenes of Jaws - the story hit The New York Times front page.

Just like the film the mayors tried to deny there was a deadly shark making the rounds to secure profit to their seaside resorts. And just like the film a swimmer was even mauled in an estuary.

It wasn’t long before they settled on the identity of the perpetrator and the locals set off with rifles and pitchforks.

(Not sure how useful they’d be against a shark, but okay.)

The shark met its end after it attacked one of the hunters’ boats, a scene we also witness in the film.

You can rent it for £2.50 on Amazon Prime.

Deliver Us From Evil (2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWDM_p68HAQ

We follow a policeman who has a side gig as an exorcist as he encounters strange goings on in the Bronx. Ralph Sarchie chases up the paranormal activity and attempts to untangle why possessed people are painting ancient messages and images in various places.

Here’s the thing: none of this actually happened. As far as we know, anyway.

What this film is based on is the real Ralph Sarchie who wrote the memoir Beware The Night as an ode to his work as a demonologist. It’s based on his character, his tone of voice, and how he carried out his work.

Sarchie presents his work as his destiny, as some form of divine intervention he believes was signalled by his survival of a severe illness he contracted when he was 10.

He claims to carry a splinter of the ‘true cross’ - I guess the one Jesus actually died on - and considers himself more of a priestly figure armed with relics and holy water than a paranormal investigator.

Sarchie has worked on many possessions and hauntings, claiming he didn’t charge a cent despite the high fee he probably got from the book sales and the film’s debut. The most famous tale is that of the ‘Halloween Horror’:

A woman named Gabby began to see a woman floating in a cloud of white smoke in the corner of her bedroom. It wasn’t long before this smoky woman began to speak through Gabby according to her partner Dominick.

Gabby’s friend then says this was the ghost of a woman murdered on her wedding night. She then apparently saw the spirit of her father. Activity followed with flying books, moans and growls, and the word ‘HELP’ written on the mirror. Eventually an incubus rocks up and is hell bent on attacking various family members.

When Gabby gets possessed in the presence of Sarchie and his paranormal-busting-partner, he exorcises her of the spirit.

In total, Sarchie has assisted in 25 exorcisms and hundreds of ‘house exorcisms’.

You can watch it for free on Netflix.

The Blob (1958/1988)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdUsyXQ8Wrs

*cue the canned screams*

In some rural town in America, a meteorite crashes to the ground. Someone investigates and a jelly globule attaches itself to their hand before consuming it. It then begins to consume their entire body. It’s not long before it starts to consume, well, everyone and everything in its path.

8 years before the horror icon first became a cult classic, two police officers in Philadelphia saw something float down from the sky. They thought it was a parachute and decided to investigate.

What they discovered was a six feet wide purple glob of odourless gloop. It was filled with crystals and gave off a mist. One of the police officers took the plunge - quite literally - and dipped a hand in. He kept the hand, but noticed the sticky residue left on his hands.

The gloop quickly disappeared and left the grass underneath it unbent. It was allegedly only there for 25 minutes. They were the only ones that saw it. It soon made its way into the press and the FBI asked the Air Force to investigate. They declined.

You can watch it for £3.50 on Amazon Prime.

Wolf Creek (2005)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S13W69FQhs

Two British tourists are backpacking across Australia when they run into trouble in Wolf Creek National Park. A helpful local offers to help fix their broken down car and provide some shelter. Turns out the helpful local is actually a psychopathic xenophobic murderer. He entraps tourists, lures them to his shelter, and tortures/kills them.

Most gory horror films can be compared to real life murders and other crimes. Unfortunately, even the most imaginative forms of torture or murder has probably already happened. But the film was directly based on the backpacker murders committed by Ivan Milat in the 90s.

Milat murdered 7 people aged 19 to 22, preying on those encouraged to backpack across Australia after several tourism campaigns revealed how cheap and easy it was. In ‘92 and ‘93 the bodies were discovered in Belanglo State Forest with the wounds and injuries suggesting the scenes played out in film were similar to those Milat committed.

In late ‘93 a force dedicated to hunting the unknown killer emerged. It used gym memberships, gun licensing, and police records to narrow down a list of 32 suspects.

It was only when Paul Onions, a British backpacker reported he was nearly murdered near Belanglo State Forest that the police could pinpoint that Milat.

You can watch it for £2 on Amazon Prime.

Open Water (2004)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9q1qJi1nMs

It’s everyone’s worst nightmare: being left in the middle of the ocean. A distant couple decide to take a relaxing break and head out for a scuba-diving vacation. Their holiday is ruined, however, when the guy driving the boat f*cks up the head count and thinks everyone is back on board after a diving sesh. The couple come back to the surface and discover the boat is gone.

Yep, this all happened in real life.

In 1998, Thomas and Eileen Lonergan went on a scuba diving trip to Australia’s Coral Sea. They were mistakenly stranded by the boat crew leading the dive and their absence wasn’t noticed until 2 days later when a bag containing their belongings was discovered.

The crew and other rescue teams searched the area but did not discover their bodies. Personal belongings were found.

A diver’s slate - a device for communicating underwater - was one of these items.

"Monday Jan 26; 1998 08am. To anyone who can help us: We have been abandoned on A[gin]court Reef by MV Outer Edge 25 Jan 1998 3pm. Please help to rescue us before we die. Help!!!"

The other items that washed up, including a wetsuit, suggested they had probably not fallen victim to shark attacks but had become disoriented, dehydrated, or injured by coral. Alternate theories claim it may have been a murder-suicide to avoid the slow, distressing death of being left at sea, or that it was a faked death/disappearance. No bank accounts had been tampered with, however.

Tougher regulations for scuba-diving in Australia shortly followed their disappearance.

You can watch it for free on Amazon Prime.

The Rite (2011)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hG3ktopqv8

We follow exorcist-in-training Father Gary Thomas as he navigates the loss of this faith. When the opportunity for fighting growing demonic possessions arises, Thomas decides to become an exorcist. We see Thomas as he is confronted by evil and reaffirms his devotion to God.

Portrayed by veteran actor Anthony Hopkins, Father Gary Thomas is a real American exorcist - one of the 14 Vatican-verified exorcists working State-side. He did in fact study in the Vatican to become an exorcist, and another student he met there would chronicle his experiences in the book The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist.

Thomas even spent a week on set advising the director, utilising his experiences of the 100 odd people he had seen possessed in his career.

Just like in the film, Thomas echoes that most people that come to him for an exorcism have been abused in their past, linking mental health issues to demonic attachment. Thomas also has a lot of praise for the film, claiming the way those possessed moved in a serpentine way is accurate to those he has seen:

“I was beginning to do some deliverance prayers. Within a few minutes she began to tremor and her facial countenance began to change. You saw a snake. She began sticking her tongue out like a snake and hissing and rolling her eyes. She coiled herself up.”

- Father Gary Thomas on a possessed Venezualan woman

You can watch this on Amazon Prime for £2.50.

The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6Mm8Sbe__o

Anthony Hopkins refers to a staple horror film - a film with truth spilling like blood from a bloated corpse…

This psychological horror sees an FBI trainee as they work with an imprisoned serial killer to hunt down a murderer, Buffalo Bill. Add in just a dash of transphobia and we arrive at the film that made my parents actually walk out of the cinema when they first saw it.

First, let’s talk about Hannibal Lecter and his role as an advisor to the FBI: this has actually happened, using a seasoned killer to catch another. The most famous example of this is none other than Ted Bundy, one of the most infamous in history. Bundy told investigators to stake out the graves of victims or the places where bodies had been dumped as necrophiles like himself would return to the site.

Bundy actually helped them catch Gary Ridgeway who killed an estimated 90 people.

Now let’s turn to Buffalo Bill. The characters were never directly inspired by real people but their crimes were. He was an amalgamation of other crimes with Ed Gein serving as the main inspiration. Ed Gein, most known for skinning his victims and wearing the skins, took 9 lives and would also inspire the character Norman Bates.

He would make clothing out of body parts, make soup bowls from dug-up skulls, and build chairs from human bones.

Ted Bundy even made another appearance in Buffalo Bill’s character in terms of how he lures his victims, acting hurt and helpless until the victim was just within reach.

You can buy this film on Amazon Prime for £8.

Scream (1996)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWm_mkbdpCA

This satirical slasher redefined the genre, putting comedy firmly into horror as we know it. It follows Sidney Prescott, a preppy high school student, as she navigates high school drama and a rampant serial killer.

Just like The Silence Of The Lambs, the crimes witnessed in Scream had basis in reality. Daniel Rolling - the Gainesville Ripper - was an American serial killer who murdered 5 students in Florida within the short span of 4 days back in 1990.

Rolling would sexually assault, rape, threaten, and kill his young victims before leaving them in ‘sexual’ positions. He even decapitated one of those murdered and left the head on the shelf opposite the rest of the body amongst other vile acts. He later claimed his motive was to become a ‘superstar’ like Ted Bundy.

Yeah, that’s enough of that.

You can watch this on Amazon Prime for £2.50.

The Hills Have Eyes (1977/2006)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUQd9OB75dw

It’s time to hear about another vacay gone cray-cray. In the middle of a roadtrip to California, a family’s car breaks down in a mysterious area closed off to the public and they encounter a strange community of cannibals.

Instead of being based on modern crimes that hit far too close to home, this film is based on a historic event - or the legend of Sawney Bean.

Bean was a mythical leader of a cannibalistic group of insurgents in the 16th century. He grew up in a community of witches and later began his own community full of his children which he expanded with rampant incest. They would leave traps and eat their prey in a cave.

The King of Scotland, James VI, even led a team to root the family out of their lair. According to legend they were burnt at the stake while others were hung.

This tale also bears similarities to urban legends from Russia: there is a trope in the Southern Urals which claims after the Chernobyl accident irradiated peoples would become savage peoples, echoing the nuclear testing themes shown by the film.

You can watch this on Amazon Prime for £2.50.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1978)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKn9QIaMgtQ

In this cult class gore-fest we see a group of friends visit an old homestead but instead run into a family of murderous cannibals.

Yet again the crimes of Ed Gein make an appearance. The friends walk in on a home full of furniture made of human remains and meet a man - Leatherface - wearing a mask made of human skin. We also witness various people butchered in different brutal ways.

But this film also has a more political inspiration. Tobe Hooper - the director, producer, and writer - pinned his inspiration on changes in the cultural and political landscape, focusing on misinformation that overran America during the 70s.

*looks into camera a la Jim from The Office*

Hooper pinned the claims of a true story onto the film, responding to how he felt he was being lied to by the government regarding things like Watergate, the 1973 Oil Crisis, and the Vietnam War. The news only confirmed the brutal acts of humanity.

"man was the real monster here, just wearing a different face, so I put a literal mask on the monster in my film".

You can watch this for free on Amazon Prime.

Well that was, uhh, fun?

If you enjoyed these traumatic discoveries - you know, that some of the most terrifying horror films of all time are based on real people and crimes - then make sure you like ‘n’ reblog to let me know.

I post a new article on horror and the paranormal every Saturday + a new real ghost story everyday so make sure you hit follow to tag along for the ride!

[calzona-ga]

She might change her mind; she certainly has before. But midway through an interview, Ellen Pompeo casually drops the bomb that after more than 360 episodes, the upcoming 17th season of “Grey’s Anatomy” may be its last.

“We don’t know when the show is really ending yet,” Pompeo says, answering a question that was not at all about when the show might end. “But the truth is, this year could be it.”

Pompeo has played Meredith Grey — the superstar surgeon around whom “Grey’s Anatomy” revolves — since its start. The show, created by Shonda Rhimes, premiered on ABC on March 27, 2005, and became an immediate, noisy hit. Since then, for a remarkably long time in Hollywood years, the drama has been among the most popular series on TV, even as the landscape of television has changed seismically. At its Season 2 ratings height, the program drew an average audience of 20 million viewers. And all these years later — in a TV universe now divided by more than 500 scripted shows —“Grey’s” ranks as the No. 1 drama among 18- to 34- year-olds and No. 2 among adults 18 to 49. In delayed, multiplatform viewing, Season 16 averaged 15 million viewers.

Strikingly, technology is such that teenagers who were born when the show premiered, and later binged “Grey’s” on Netflix, watch new episodes live with their parents. The series has spawned two successful spinoffs for ABC, “Private Practice” (which ran from 2007 to 2013) and “Station 19” (which enters its fourth season this fall). “Grey’s Anatomy” has been licensed in more than 200 territories across the world, translated into more than 60 languages, and catapulted the careers of music artists — from Ingrid Michaelson and Snow Patrol to Tegan and Sara and the Fray — whose songs have played during key emotional sequences.

In its explosive initial success, “Grey’s Anatomy” was an insurgent force in popular culture. The Season 1 cast featured three Black actors — Chandra Wilson, James Pickens Jr. and Isaiah Washington — as doctors in positions of power at the Seattle hospital where the show is set, and Sandra Oh played the ambitious intern Cristina Yang, who would become Meredith’s best friend. For the women characters, the “Grey’s” approach to sex was defiant and joyful, starting in the pilot with Meredith’s one-night stand with Derek (Patrick Dempsey), who turned out to be one of her bosses at the hospital.

Rhimes presented these images to the world like they were no big deal, when in fact, nothing like “Grey’s” had ever been seen on network television. Krista Vernoff has been the “Grey’s Anatomy” showrunner since Season 14, as anointed by Rhimes, and was the head writer for the first seven seasons. She remembers the moment she realized how radical “Grey’s” was — a medical show driven entirely by its characters instead of their surgeries — as she watched an episode early in Season 1. “My whole body was covered in chills,” Vernoff recalls. “I was like, ‘Oh, we thought we were making a sweet little medical show — and we’re making a revolution.’”

Still, no one expected “Grey’s Anatomy” to become the longest-running primetime medical drama in TV history, outlasting “MASH” and “ER,” the previous record-holder. Since 2005, “Grey’s” has inspired countless women to become doctors, and along the way, its depiction of illness has even saved a few lives. The show has remained popular through three presidential administrations, the Great Recession, tectonic shifts in how people watch TV and two cultural reckonings — one feminist, one anti-racist — that demonstrate how ahead of its time “Grey’s Anatomy” has always been.

And they’re not done yet. When Season 17 premieres on Nov. 12, “Grey’s Anatomy” will tackle the subject of the coronavirus as experienced by the doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial, all while filming under strict COVID-19 protocols. The season is dedicated to frontline workers. And Pompeo, a producer on “Grey’s” — whose Meredith has removed a live bomb from a patient’s body, was in a plane crash, was widowed after Derek died in a car accident, was beaten nearly to death by a patient and, in a separate incident, actually did die briefly after a ferry accident — is intent on making the show top itself once again.

“I’m constantly fighting for the show as a whole to be as good as it can be. As a producer, I feel like I have permission to be able to do that,” Pompeo says. “I mean, this is the last year of my contract right now. I don’t know that this is the last year? But it could very well could be.”

Pompeo has been refreshingly transparent about her fight to become the highest-paid female actor on television, having detailed a few years ago how she negotiated a paycheck for more than $20 million a year. She clearly knows what she’s doing with these frank pronouncements as well.

As Pompeo laughs over the phone from her car, she says in a near shout: “There’s your sound bite! There’s your clickbait! ABC’s on the phone!”

The “Grey’s Anatomy” team — led by Rhimes and executive producer Betsy Beers — created the first season in a vacuum, because the show did not have an airdate. The 2004-05 season was a comeback year for ABC because “Desperate Housewives” and “Lost,” both of which debuted that fall, became phenomena — not only ratings successes but also watercooler events.

But at “Grey’s,” Rhimes was getting noted to death by network president Steve McPherson. According to Vernoff, McPherson — who resigned in 2010 under a cloud of sexual harassment allegations — stonewalled with “pushback every step of the way,” as ABC’s then- head of drama, Suzanne Patmore Gibbs, fought for the show. Vernoff was close with Patmore Gibbs, who died in 2018, and recalls her talking about her clashes with McPherson.

“He just didn’t get it; he didn’t like it,” Vernoff continues. “Honestly, I’m going to say, I don’t think he liked the ambitious women having sex unapologetically.”

Wilson, when she was cast as Miranda Bailey on “Grey’s,” was a New York theater actor (“Caroline, or Change”) relatively new to series television. But she was well aware of the network’s issues. “We took a creative break around the Christmas holiday, which to me meant ‘Oh, we’re out of a job.’”

Pompeo was frustrated: “Once we finally got an airdate, two weeks before that airdate they wanted to change the title of the show to ‘Complications.’”

In an email to Variety, McPherson disputed these assertions, saying, “I made the original deal with Shonda. I developed ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ at the studio. I picked it up at ABC.” He praised Patmore Gibbs, and added, “As for defaming me again and again, I don’t know what to say other than it’s sad that anyone feels the need to spread lies about me.”

Yet there was so little faith in the show that the writers were asked to clear out their offices when they finished the season. But to Vernoff, who had clicked right away with Rhimes, the early episodes had “felt like a labor of love.”

And it was worth the battle. “We fought for the right for Meredith and Bailey to be whole human beings, with whole sex lives, and not a network TV idea of likable,” Vernoff says. “You might not have been likable, but now you’re iconic.”

As far as the medicine went, the cases were often ostentatious. “Every kind of crazy accident that had ever caused terrible harm to any human ever, that was our homework at night,” Vernoff says. It was up to Zoanne Clack, an emergency room doctor-turned-writer, to be a sounding board in the writers’ room. She began as the only doctor on staff during the first season, and is now an executive producer. “What was interesting was that the writers don’t have those boundaries because they don’t know the rules, so they would come up with all of these scenarios, and my immediate thought was like, ‘No way!’” Clack says. “Then I’d have to think about it and go, ‘But could it?’”

When the program finally premiered — on a Sunday night after “Desperate Housewives” — to massive ratings, it was a shock to the cast and crew, given that they had shot the first season under a cloud, Pompeo says, adding, “So the fact that the numbers were that huge the first time we aired was a big f–k-you to McPherson!”

With Season 2 now a given, everything changed, Vernoff says: “It was like a hurricane-force gale, and everyone was just trying to hold on.” They had made 13 episodes for Season 1, airing nine of them and holding the final four for Season 2 — Meredith finding out that Derek was actually married (to Addison, played by Kate Walsh) had felt like the perfect finale. But upon the writers’ return, Vernoff says, the feeling was “Holy s—. We have to make 22.”

The entire cast — mostly unknown actors like Katherine Heigl as the sunny Izzie Stevens, T.R. Knight as the chummy neurotic George O’Malley, and Justin Chambers as the troubled, secretly vulnerable Alex Karev — had become famous overnight. For Wilson, whose Bailey was the stern teacher the interns called “the Nazi,” it was a new experience. “Folks were scared to talk to me, like in the store or in the Target — people would just kind of leave me alone,” she says. “It was like, ‘What’s going on?’”

According to Vernoff, “Paparazzi were following the cast to work — it was wild.”

The mid- to late-2000s were the height of glossy gossip magazines such as Us Weekly (and its copycats), as well as the inception of TMZ and Perez Hilton as celebrity-hounding, news-breaking forces that fueled (and soiled) the fame-industrial complex. The cast of “Grey’s Anatomy” was firmly in the sights of these new, often toxic forces in media.

Pompeo says the cast was so talented that it “was all worth it” — but yes, the transition to stardom was hard for the group: “At the time, it was just a real combination of exhaustion and stress and drama. Actors competing with each other — and envious.”

Heigl, Knight and Isaiah Washington all went through press cycles that made the show seem scandal-prone. To rehash it all now seems pointless; you can look it up. Washington was fired in June 2007. Knight and Heigl asked to be written out of the show preemptively, in Seasons 5 and 6, respectively.

Vernoff and the other writers were watching the internal messes unfold. They had to deal with how the fallout affected the show’s plot, as when Washington was fired just as Burke, his character, was about to marry Cristina. “When word comes down that an actor is leaving the show, and what you’ve got scripted is a wedding …” Vernoff trails off, laughing.

“There was a lot of drama on-screen and drama off-screen, and young people navigating intense stardom for the first time in their lives,” she continues. “I think that a lot of those actors, if they could go back in time and talk to their younger selves, it would be a different thing. Everybody’s grown and changed and evolved — but it was an intense time.”

Pompeo doesn’t want to talk about what happened with individual actors from the show, because when she has in the past, “it doesn’t get received in the way in which I intend it to be.” But she does make a point about the way television is produced. “Nobody should be working 16 hours a day, 10 months a year — nobody,” she says. “And it’s just causing people to be exhausted, pissed, sad, depressed. It’s a really, really unhealthy model. And I hope post-COVID nobody ever goes back to 24 or 22 episodes a season.

“It’s why people get sick. It’s why people have breakdowns. It’s why actors fight! You want to get rid of a lot of bad behavior? Let people go home and sleep.”

Debbie Allen would eventually be Pompeo’s savior in that regard, but that was years away. Allen — an actor and a dancer — began her directing career when she was on the 1980s TV series “Fame” as a “natural progression” because, she says, “I was in charge of the musical numbers, and so many directors didn’t really know how to shoot them.” She went on to be a prolific director and producer, most notably overhauling NBC’s “A Different World” after a tumultuous first season. As a fan of “Grey’s Anatomy,” Allen wanted to work on the show, and in Season 6, she was hired to direct. To prepare for it, Allen shadowed Wilson, who had been tapped to direct by executive producer-director Rob Corn. (“He came to me and said, ‘You should direct,’” says Wilson, who has now helmed 21 episodes. “And I said, ‘OK.’ Because I didn’t know what else to say.”)

Directing that sixth-season episode led to Allen’s fruitful relationship with “Grey’s.” In Season 8, Rhimes wrote Allen into the show to play Catherine, a star surgeon, a love interest for Richard Webber (Pickens) and the mother of Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams). Ahead of Season 12 in 2015, Allen became the show’s EP/director. Her duties included hiring all of the directors, weighing in on scripts and casting, and, as Allen puts it, “minding that people feel good about themselves.” Several years before the revived #MeToo movement would lead to calls for systemic changes behind the camera in Hollywood, Allen set a goal of hiring 50% women directors. She also increased the number of Black men who directed “Grey’s” during her first season as executive producer, among them Denzel Washington. (When she sold him on it, she recounts, he said to her, “I’m going to say yes, Debbie Allen.”)

Pompeo and Allen are close. Allen began her new role the year after Dempsey left, “at a time when we were really broken,” Pompeo says. “And so much of our problems were perpetuated by bad male management. Debbie came in at a time when we really, really needed a breath of fresh air, and some new positive energy.”

Pompeo continues with a laugh: “Debbie really brought in a spirit to the show that we had never seen — we had never seen optimism! We had never seen celebration. We had never seen joy!”

According to Pompeo, Allen began advocating for her to have more humane hours — Fridays off (Pompeo: “And I was like, ‘What? What? Fridays off?’”) — and for the show to shoot 12-hour days maximum, and ideally no more than 10 hours (Pompeo: “And I was like, I love this woman.”).

Allen speaks affectionately about her bond with Pompeo. “Coming out of Boston, she’s so earthy and real in a way that you might not know,” Allen says. “There’s a sisterhood between us — I guess you would say it’s almost a Blackness that exists between us. And she’s part of our tribe.”

Allen has been a key member of the “Grey’s Anatomy” brain trust since Season 12, and two seasons later, Vernoff returned to run the show. She’d left at the end of Season 7, consulted on “Private Practice” for a few years, and then went to Showtime’s “Shameless” for five seasons. As her contract was set to expire, Rhimes asked Vernoff to lunch, and told her she wanted her to take over. “It felt like she was saying, ‘Hey, our kid needs you,’” Vernoff says.

Before accepting the offer, Vernoff had to catch up on the show. She had always written “Grey’s” as a romantic comedy, and what she saw on-screen during her binge was dark as hell — especially after Derek’s death. “If this show that you are currently making is the show that you want ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ to be,” she recalls telling Rhimes, “I am, in fact, not the right writer for it.” But Rhimes was insistent, saying it was time for a change after the mourning period for Derek.

Vanessa Delgado, who started as a production intern during the seventh season and has worked her way up to being lead editor and co-producer, says the show’s trajectory shifted when Vernoff came back — it was a return to the original, saucier tone of “Grey’s.” “We changed the music completely,” Delgado says. “The dialogue felt lighter and more fun, and wewere having fun again.”

That lightness will be difficult to maintain this year, of course, when, as Allen puts it, “COVID is No. 1 on the call sheet right now.”

Vernoff at first wondered whether “Grey’s” should ignore the coronavirus, thinking the audience comes to the show “for relief.” But the doctors in the writers’ room convinced her this wasn’t the time for escapism, saying to her, “This is the biggest medical story of our lifetime, and it is changing medicine permanently.”

When they’ve had doctors and nurses come speak with them this season, Vernoff says, “they were different human beings than the people we’ve been talking to every year. And I want to honor that, tonally. I just want to inspire people to take care of each other.”

Pompeo, who is not shy about offering criticism, sounds positively enthusiastic: “I’ll say the pilot episode to this season — girl, hold on.

“What nobody thinks we can continue to do, we have done. Hold on. That’s all we’re going to say about that!”

Pompeo has a few more months before she decides whether she wants to continue — and as Rhimes and ABC have made clear in recent years, the show will likely end when she leaves. “I don’t take the decision lightly,” Pompeo says. “We employ a lot of people, and we have a huge platform. And I’m very grateful for it.”

“You know, I’m just weighing out creatively what can we do,” she says. “I’m really, really, really excited about this season. It’s probably going to be one of our best seasons ever. And I know that sounds nuts to say, but it’s really true.”

Vernoff doesn’t worry about the creative well drying up. “We’ve blown past so many potential endings to ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ that I always assume it can go on forever,” she says.

And Wilson knows how important “Grey’s” is to its audience, in that the characters have essentially become people who “live in their house.” As one of only three actors who’ve been on “Grey’s” since the beginning — the other is James Pickens Jr. — Wilson is in it until the end: “In my mind, Bailey is there until the doors close, until the hospital burns down, until the last thing happens on ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’ That is her entire arc.”

Whenever the show does conclude, part of its legacy will be about the talent it launched into the world, beginning with Rhimes, who will soon release her first shows for Netflix, after her company, Shondaland, made a lucrative deal with the streamer in 2017.

But it will also be about the characters of “Grey’s Anatomy”— mostly women and people of color — who are trying to make the world a better place as they find friendship, love and community.

“The show, at its core, brings people together,” Pompeo says. “And the fact that people can come together and watch the show, and think about things they may not have ordinarily thought about, or see things normalized and humanized in a way that a lot of people really need to see — it helps you become a better human being. If this show has helped anybody become a better human being, then that’s the legacy I’d love to sit with.”

[cordoniantrash]

the seas within me

Hello one and all! There’s my day 4 submission for the Choices 12 Days of Fictmas (It’s my 2nd year doing this! Can you believe?!) . Huge thanks to  @leelee10898​ and @emichelle​ for hosting this year and to  @grenadineandsunshine​ for betaing this one (along with all my works here tbh)! 

Title from Notos by The Oh Hellos. Here’s some angst I guess?

Book: Distant Shores

Pairings: Oliver x f!MC

Rating: G

Warning: none

Words: 2770

It was snowing when they arrived. The rising sun at their back had splashed colour on the white piles of freshly fallen snow at their feet while the distant sea breeze froze them in place. Claire felt something tug at her heart. There was something about this place, an almost indescribable tingle, a feeling of a feeling, which reminded her of him. She felt like she could close her eyes and find him there. It was absurd. They haven’t even had the chance to spend a winter together. All her memories of him, of them, are tethered to the waves, the ever present salt in the air and the unrelenting heat of the sun. So why can she almost hear his voice in this cold, snow-covered place?

“Huh. Expected something fancier.”

Claire felt the corners of her lips turn into a frown. It was becoming a steady companion in this hare-brained scheme. Her frown deepened when that indistinct tugging faded at the sound of his voice. It took some effort to unclench her jaw and her fist. To bite back the venom in her retort. It wouldn’t do to annoy him out of helping me. And so, stealing herself, Claire took a deep breath and repeated the mantra that began the moment she agreed to this plan.

Just until I get back.

Just until I find them again.

Find him again.

“What time’s that tour supposed to start again?” she asked instead. Robert, ignoring the too long stretch of silence between them, stepped into her line of sight. Claire carefully wiped her face clean of emotion. Uneasy allies they might be, but she’ll be damned if she let him glimpse a crack, however small. Being betrayed once was enough for her.

If only the compass worked like last time! Suppressing a sigh, she turned back to the estate. She’d been optimistic when they reached out to touch the compass. After all, all it took for her to travel that first time was a simple touch. The devastation when nothing happened nearly sent her to her knees in the middle of the museum.  It was only a slight consolation to find out that Robert had expected the same thing.

A breeze ruffled past them, the air fresh and bitingly cold. Claire rubbed her numb nose, her frown forgotten. At the corner of her eye, she saw Robert trying to hide his shivering. Claire suppressed a smirk.

Silence once again stretched between them. A bus full of students pulled up near their rented car. Claire couldn’t help but smile at the little faces peering from the windows, all of them bundled up despite the light snow. The adults with them did not seem to mind the cold as much. Tightening her hold on her hand warmer, Claire tried not to feel jealous.

Maybe we got used to the Caribbean. Too used. Man, I really want to go back.

“Well,” Robert sighed as a staff member opened the door of the estate. “Here’s to hoping, I guess.”

“D’you think this’ll work?”

Robert glanced at her. Claire took it as her queue to walk.

“His family had the compass before some descendant of his thought it’ll be a good idea to donate it to the museum. If there’s anything that can explain why it’s not working now, it’s probably here.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Robert paused, letting the last of the children run past them. “All those records of you as a captain must mean we got back.”

Claire frowned, “And what about you?”

Robert’s profile seemed to blend with the snow clouds ahead.

“That’s what we’re here to figure out, isn’t it?”

**

Vice-Admiral Sir Oliver Francis Cochrane KCB (born c. 1722-24, Durham, England—died unknown) was an English naval officer most known for his short but successful maritime career where he had earned the moniker of “The Pirate Hunter” and his much speculated and scandalous personal life. Decades after his last known sighting, he had become a well-recognized literary romantic icon.

Despite his early moniker of “The Pirate Hunter”, Cochrane had occasionally worked with pirates, particularly with the crews of Captain Edward Mortimer and the much disputed Captain Claire Velis. Whereas association with pirates is enough grounds of treason, Cochrane retained his position and rose through the ranks of the navy for his work in exposing the crimes and treason of other naval officers, most notably, his own father Francis, often with the help of Mortimer, Velis and their pirate crew.

Excerpt from High Seas and Piracy: A History of English Maritime Advances 

**

The compass was silent.

Claire turned it over, as she had done again and again since she entered her hotel room. Robert had mumbled something about rum and a free bar before awkwardly hightailing out of the lobby. Claire felt too rung out to even think of a quip about pirates and alcohol.

The golden finish of the compass seemed to glow in the dark room, mocking her with the faint possibility of a return. Outside, the Christmas decorations glitter amidst the darkness and the sea breeze.

The tour hadn’t gone exactly as planned. For them, at least.

Not for the first time, doubt crashed and tumbled in her mind. Apparently there was a reason poets after his time found Oliver so fascinating. As someone who knew him, loved him, stayed and fought at his side, whose hands were stained with his blood—

Claire closed the compass with a snap.

Her heart felt heavy, an anchor dragging her down further into despair.

Charlie had made a name for herself, doing what she loves in freedom.

Charlie, who while being wily and nimble, ultimately could not outrun an empire.

Edward, doing more good and ascending into hero hood, depending whose side you ask.

Edward, who despite his strength and loyalty, was betrayed and handed over to the British.

Oliver, the successful navy officer. Loving father of two.

Oliver, who never got to rise to the ranks he deserved, who became a widower, ultimately becoming a figure of tragic romance, his final fate unknown.

All of them were shining brightly.

All of them doused before their time.

If I go back could I change things? Can I lift them up, move them forward? Or will they run aground because of me?

The edges of the compass dug into her hands, forming indents where hands softened by inactivity pressed into the compass’ sides.

Or will I just make things worse?

To return would mean chaos, but to stay where she was supposed to belong felt hollow.

Should she even go? Either way, it will turn her world inside out. She’d cause them all grief one way or another, the family she had in this present and the family she found back in time.

The tour guide’s words echoed in her mind:

“He left England a hero and an eligible bachelor to boot. Almost a decade later he returned a father of two small foreign looking children and claimed himself a widower. His ever loyal crew refused to shed light on what happened during those years at sea.”

Claire blinked. Tasting salt on her lips, she hastily wiped away the tears that splashed onto the compass.

Outside, the fairy lights continued to twinkle. Their rhythmic pulsing at odds with the raging sea within her.

What happened after I left?

**

Oliver Cochrane was a creature of contradiction. Of chaos, one might even say. On one side, he was an exceptional officer, a step away from becoming an Admiral before he mysteriously disappeared. On the other side, he was an excellent example of British hypocrisy.

Throughout his career, Cochrane toed the line between audacity and treason.

He had exposed numerous corrupt navy officials, while he also worked with pirates. What’s more, he had a rather well-known love affair with a pirate captain.

Records at that time proclaimed the affair short-lived, painting Captain Claire Velis in a rather unflattering light but contemporary evidence now opposes that idea and posits that the identity of his deceased wife (whom historians have precious few documents about) was none other than Captain Velis herself. Common consensus among society (and among historians) was that the mysterious mother of Cochrane’s children was the pirate captain herself. Further cementing Cochrane’s strange status in both 18th century Britain and in history.

This personal life aside, his apparent friendships with Captain Edward Mortemer and Captain Charlotte “Charlie” Smith was so prominent that one of the most salient theories to ultimate fate after his disappearance was that he himself became a pirate when he last left England’s shores, a contradiction to one so hailed for his honour and morals.

Excerpt from Cochrane: Behind the Myth

***

“Oh, hello dear.”

Claire turned and almost collided with a smaller figure. The tour guide from yesterday was standing in front of her. A glance at the pin on her blazer identified the older woman as Tina. In smaller letters under the name was the word CURATOR. Claire hastily stepped back.

The curator smiled.

“Aren’t you one of the people on the tour yesterday? The names Tina,” she said as she offered her hand. Claire found herself smiling as they shook hands.

“Uh, Claire Velis. Nice to meet you,” as soon as the words left her mouth, Claire felt herself freeze. Damn it! The hell was I thinking!

Tina’s eyes seemed to sparkle, “Claire Velis, you say? My, what a coincidence!”

Claire blushed.

“My parents were fans,” she mumbled.

“I’ll say!”

“Uh… yeah.”

“You must have loved the mention of your namesake then?”

Claire arranged her face into a smile.

“Right. Yeah. It was very interesting.”

“You know, I’ve always wanted to meet Captain Claire,” at Claire’s wide eyes, Tina let out a tinkling laugh. “Of course, I never thought it’ll be a namesake, but here we are. In fact, you look quite a lot like her drawings.”

Claire swallowed, “Is that so?”

Tina nodded, “Oh, would you like a cuppa? I noticed you were very interested in the tour yesterday. Besides, it’s almost the holidays,” she leaned in, smile growing. “We’ll have some tea and some mince pies as well! What do you say?”

“Oh! I wouldn’t want to impose –“

“Oh, pish posh! It’s no imposition at all, dear.  It isn’t often we get tourists here, you know what I mean? Usually it’s always field trips and the like. Sometimes academics, if we’re lucky. Besides, tea is just the thing when it’s this cold out. ”

Claire followed the curator inside the building, bewilderment and relief making her mind buzz.

As they passed by an open doorway, Claire felt something tug at her.

A familiar tug.

Claire stopped in her tracks.

The room looked similar to the public exhibitions, with glass boxes in pedestals displaying some artefact or another. The feeling, however, was leagues away from the public rooms.

It was tugging me here.

“Oh, what a lucky find!”

Claire jumped. Tina smiled as she leaned toward the doorway.

“It’s a special display, see? We’re going to show it to the public soon.”

“W-what’s in this one?”

Tina glanced at her, eyes twinkling again. “It’s a collection of Oliver Cochrane’s personal effects. Or what’s left of them. Would you like a peak?”

“I—are you sure?”

“Of course, dear,” Tina’s eyes seemed to droop. “Captain Claire may not have had the chance to see it. At least a namesake can. Wouldn’t you agree?”

 Throat suddenly dry, Claire offered a nod.

“Let’s go then!” Tina exclaimed as she entered the room.

Claire stepped forward.

The world seemed to blink.

“Claire? You alright? Hang on, I’ll call the nurse –“

“Wha—no, no, please. It’s fine.”

Tina’s eyebrows furrowed. Claire straightened, pointedly ignoring the twinge in her temples. The headache had taken her by surprise.

So different from the first time I travelled.

“—here, just sit down here for a moment.”

“I’m really fine—“

“Of course,” Tina smoothly interjected. The curator seemed to regain some composure. “But better safe than sorry, yes? I’ll get the nurse, dear. Be back in a jiffy.”

Claire sighed as Tina left the room, exchanging a couple of words with the security guard before waving back at Claire and rounding a corner.

Claire shook her head and looked around the room.

She froze.

There was a necklace inside the display in front of her (not the one she was currently wearing. The one that belonged to her grandmother). No, this necklace was obviously old and weathered besides. The shine of the silver peeking behind dark spots. The label under it calls it a Cochrane family heirloom.

And it was the same exact copy of the one hanging on her neck.

Except she wasn’t wearing this necklace when she travelled for the first time.

Outside, the waves crashed and crested. The snow kept falling.

Going forward will mean turbulent waters and uncertain winds.

But a ship cannot sail in becalmed waters.

Inside her, hope surged.

**

1752

“Will that work?”

“Well, we haven’t been twiddling our thumbs while you were off smooching with high society.”

“Charlie.” One word contained an entire conversation’s worth of chastisement. Charlie shrugged but fell silent.

Edward sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know. But it seemed like the compass is lacking a catalyst of some sort.”

“A spark if you will.”

“That’s not a guarantee.”

“No. We’re groping in the dark here. But there has to be something that can work on this side.”

Oliver sighed. “I suppose it’s better than nothing.”

Charlie smiled, “That’s the spirit. We’ll get her back here yet.”

Oliver’s lips curled into a shadow of a smile.

**

The compass was humming.

Claire and Robert stand amidst a partially shattered exhibition room. Security alarms had just started blaring while some artifacts seemed to pulse with light. Beside her, Robert looked tense. But Claire felt calm. There seemed to be some form of energy in the room for the compass to actually come to life.

“Well. Here we are. Just in time for Christmas too.”

“Yeah. Whodathunk?”

“Certainly not me, Velis.” A particularly loud alarm blared. They both winced. “You ready?”

Claire took a deep breath. “As I’ll ever be.”

“… do it then.”

There was a flash of white light.

.

.

.

A moment later, the doors burst open. The staff looked around in shock and bewilderment. The room was in chaos, that much was clear.

But there was no one inside.

**

When I was younger, I used to pretend my mother was a mermaid. My older brother had indulged my fantasies and our imaginary mermaid mother would become a fixture in my make believe plays. On the days, months and years that bordered the beginnings of our fleeting visits and even shorter holidays, I, an imaginative child prone to wild fancies, would sometimes believe my own story. 

Before I understood what really was going on, I used to ask Father of her fate. He would humour me, a twinkle in his eye as he told me she was lost at sea, a romantic fate that contrasts with the pitying looks thrown our way when Father wasn’t looking. 

Perhaps it was one of his favourite sayings that stuck this particular fancy within me. After all, he always told Eddie and me that the sea was in our blood. My older brother, ever the man of reason, took that quite literally and followed in our Father’s footsteps, becoming a sailor as soon as he could.  Experiencing adventures that our parents surely had. Whereas I was content enough to experience adventure through the page, whether through my brother’s letters or my own pen. 

But sometimes, when I look out to the sea, I can’t help but wonder if there was any truth to my childhood fancies. But that probably is just sentiment talking. Father had always remarked that my stories should set foot on a stage of some kind, something that Aunt Adelia and Uncle Axton would heartily agree with. 

Over the years, I had often wondered at the irony of a navy officer’s daughter having pirates as aunts and uncles. An unforeseen consequence of being the Pirate Queen’s progeny, I’d imagine. 

Perhaps Mother was a mermaid masquerading as a pirate. Or perhaps it’s the other way around. 

All I know is that being lost at sea, for all its romance, does not quite fit my parent’s fate. 

I hope—no. I know—they must have found each other.

The sea is in our blood, after all. 

- Excerpt from the diary of Marcelline Somerset née Cochrane, Viscountess of Ashbourne

#

A/N: This surprisingly had a lot of number wrangling that didn’t make the text (rip my last braincell - don’t get me started on the research and the excepts). Also had a bit of a crossover with The Unexpected Heiress (haven’t played it yet). Anyways, lemme know what you guys think!

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[curious-wildflower]

Silent Hill – 1983

Without the other half of her soul, Alessa could not birth God, so Dahlia casts a spell that would attract the baby back to Silent Hill when she grew older.

Four years later Jodie dies of a disease making Harry a single parent.  Harry still grieving from Jodie's death, a now seven-year-old Cheryl begs him to take a relaxing vacation to the resort town of Silent Hill, and he gives in.

Due to car troubles, they arrive late at the outskirts of Silent Hill, Harry sees a girl (an astral projection) walking across the street in front of the car Harry having to swerve to avoid hitting her is knocked unconscious by the resulting car crash.

Upon waking it’s discovered Cheryl has disappeared and he is forced to venture into the snowing, fog-covered town to rescue her. At first glance Old Silent Hill, seems to be abandoned. In the distance he sees Cheryl running away, and he immediately hurries to follow her. Chasing her through the streets of Silent Hill, he finds himself running down a small residential road and into a dark alley.

The sky suddenly turns dark, a siren blares in the distance, and when Harry lights the area with a lighter, he finds that his entire environment has altered into the Otherworld. Everything is covered in rust and blood, topped with barbed wire, and the shapes of hanging bodies are discernible behind the mesh. The sounds of industrial clanking and grinding metal form a constant cacophony of ambient noise. With nowhere to go, Harry follows the alley and finds the disturbing body of a mutilated corpse hanging on a fence before him. Moments later, he is attacked by small, child-like monsters known as the ‘Grey Child’ Harry is eventually overwhelmed and ‘killed’.

He wakes up in a diner called Cafe 5to2. An officer Cybil Bennett from the nearby town Brahms questions him about the current state of the town and she provides him with a handgun before leaving to look for help. In the diner, Harry arms himself with a map, a knife, and a flashlight. As Harry attempts to leave the diner, a radio on a nearby table starts emitting static, causing Harry to investigate it. A flying creature crashes through a window and into the store attacking him killing the monster he starts to move through the streets encountering others, he quickly discovers the radio's usefulness when it emits intensifying static as monsters grow closer. Following a clue left by his daughter, Harry eventually finds his way to Midwich Elementary School to search for her.

Instead of students and teachers, Harry finds many Grey Children or Mumblers.

He works his way around, eventually unlocking the clock tower in the school's courtyard. Upon reaching the other side of the facility across from it, he finds the world has once again shifted into the Otherworld.  In the Otherworld school, Harry travels to the boiler room. Inside a flaming corpse illuminates a creature known as Split Head.  

With its defeat, everything turns to darkness, and then the light returns reveal an ordinary boiler room. A girl, Alessa Gillespie, is leaning against the boiler, and she turns to Harry before disappearing into thin air.

Confused, Harry departs from the school. He hears a church bell ringing in the distance and heads to the Balkan Church, where he sees a woman praying at an altar.  

In a confusing conversation she reveals herself to be Dahlia Gillespie. She gives Harry a mystical item called the Flauros and tells him to make haste to the hospital. Before Harry can ask any questions, Dahlia leaves, and Harry exits the church. He crosses a bridge that leads to Central Silent Hill.

Harry arrives at Alchemilla Hospital, where he encounters Michael Kaufmann, a doctor who is as bewildered as Harry about the current circumstances.  

Shortly after this meeting, Harry obtains a red liquid known as Aglaophotis, which purpose is later revealed, drinking it. Harry endures another shift to the Otherworld the hospital now infested with monstrous nurses. Along the way, he also meets Lisa Garland (Yeap same nurse from Origins). Before he can get any answers, he is transported back to the real world, where Dahlia reappears and tells him that the "Mark of Samael” seen in various locations, must not be completed, lest "the darkness" devour the whole town.

Meeting up with Cybil, who has seen a girl out on the lake, the pair find a hidden altar in an antique store, Harry disappears out of sight, much to her confusion. Harry, meanwhile, finds himself back in the hospital with Lisa, who gives him directions to the lake, but also tells Harry she feels she's "not supposed to leave". On the way to the lake, Harry passes through some sewers and enters the Resort Area.

Here you determine Kaufmann's fate (and the game's ending) by choosing to assist him in Annie's Bar and doing a side-quest. Canon-wise, Harry saves Kaufmann and fulfills the side-quest. Kaufmann is thankful, but his business presses him onward. Harry finds a motorcycle stash of a mysterious red vial in a gas tank, Kaufmann reappears and angrily snatches it away.

Soon after the Otherworld begins to take over the town again. Regrouping with Cybil and deciding to stop the mark's completion at Dahlia's desperate request, Harry heads to the lighthouse, while Cybil's goal is reaching Lakeside Amusement Park. As an unknown assailant attacks Cybil, Harry once more sees Alessa and the "Mark of Samael" at the top of the lighthouse before heading to the amusement park himself.

On the amusement park's carousel, Cybil appears, possessed by a parasite. The player may choose to save or kill Cybil, once again affecting the game's ending; if Harry wishes to save Cybil, he must use the red liquid he obtained at the hospital on her, Cybil is killed by Harry in the regular Good and Bad endings. With Alessa appearing once more, Harry unwittingly uses the Flauros to trap her. Dahlia appears, revealing that she manipulated him into confining her, as he was the only one who would be able to get close to her, and that Alessa is in fact her daughter.

With Alessa's powers out of control, Harry awakens to find himself back in the distorted Otherworld hospital. He finds Lisa bleeding from every orifice in front of him, Harry flees when she approaches him. Lisa's diary, left in the room, explains that she was the nurse who attended to Alessa in return for a drug she was addicted to, PTV.  

PTV is a drug made of a plant that grew only in Silent Hill, the ‘White Claudia’, in order to create hallucinations and mysterious visions popularly used by The Order and tourists.

(Fun Fact! The white flowers may be a reference to Morning Glory, that is also found in the same areas near water as the White Claudia, they’re a family of flowering plants with hallucinogenic seeds that were used in Native American religious ceremonies.)

Dr. Michael Kaufmann, the manager of Alchemilla Hospital at Central Silent Hill, is the one responsible for the illegal distribution this drug. Harry then witnesses a flashback of a meeting between Dahlia, Kaufmann, and two cult doctors discussing Alessa's hospitalization and the rebirth of God.

Harry soon finds Dahlia and possibly Cybil if he saved her previously (Cybil's survival may or may not be canonical), as well as a figure in a wheelchair wrapped in bandages: who is Cheryl and Alessa recombined and Alessa's astral projection.  

Both a flashback and Dahlia's words explain that Dahlia sacrificed her daughter to fire seven years ago in an attempt to nurture and bring about the birth of God worshiped by the Order, of which Dahlia is a priestess, and that the God now resides within Alessa's womb. AS mentioned at the beginning Alessa split her soul in half to prevent God from being born. The other half of the soul manifested itself as Cheryl, who as said before was found as a baby on the road outside of Silent Hill.

In the present, when Cheryl was called back to Silent Hill, Alessa began inscribing several Seals of Metatron around the town to purge Silent Hill of reality, killing herself to prevent God's birth. Alessa manifested herself as an astral projection in the town to place the marks Harry has seen in an attempt to keep the God at bay. Dahlia also reveals that the "Mark of Samael" is the Seal of Metatron and she used Harry as her pawn. With Alessa's plan defeated and the two halves of her soul now back together instead of birthing God Alessa births something twisted by the world views of the person (Dahlia) in charge of the ceremony known as the Incubus.

In the most endings, Kaufmann appears and throws a vial of Aglaophotis at the god, Aglaophotis as it turns out is obtained from the refinement of an herb of the same name and has the ability to dispel demonic forces and grant supernatural protection against such forces to those who use the item. So, when hit with the substance, the Incubator falls to the ground, screaming as the Incubus emerges from her back. The Incubus kills Dahlia, Harry then fights and defeats the god, and the Incubator gives him a baby (who is revealed to be Heather Mason in Silent Hill 3) and shows him the escape route. Harry, Cybil, and Kaufmann try to escape, but a blood-covered Lisa Garland appears and drags Kaufmann with her into the abyss. Harry and Cybil continue their escape, but the Otherworld is collapsing too quickly for them to make it on their own, so the Incubator (Alessa) uses the last of her power to stop the world's destruction in order for them to escape she is then consumed by the flames, and Cybil and Harry escape together with the baby.