#i actually had a sense of relief when I saw Alison

[getting-messi]

Knew Uruguay were going to go through but here are a few thoughts

Why did the camera man keep showing all these baddies in the crowd😭😭

Who is that pretty boy gk for Uruguay🤭

Who the hell are all of these people playing for Brazil and who is this man coaching them🤔

Was that Joel embiid in vini’s box??

[shebeafancyflapjack]

A Strange God (Part 6)

Silver (oc) tries to make sense of her gift.

"What did you do?!"

"I...I don't know." She blinked, rapidly. One moment, she'd been holding Robin on her lap, trying to mimic how she'd seen Mary settle him before.

Then it was though she blacked out, just for a moment, not fainting or sleeping, just...

Birdsong made her look to the window.

"...What time is it?" She asked, disoriented. It had been nighttime just a second ago. She'd been awake for less than an hour.

Robin shifted Kya in his arms as he took a breath, calming a little, then pointing to the clock on the shelf.

"It uh, dong dong dong dong dong do-"

"Seven. In the morning." She clarified for herself. She'd lost a whole night in a flash. How? What happened? "I don't...Why are you backing away from me? What happened?"

The caveman frowned, tilting his head as if to assess how truly innocent she was. He tucked his sleeping cub back beneath shift and took a step closer to her.

"You really no know?"

Silver shook her head.

"...Me saw son in dream." He told her, "Me dream of family lots but never see their faces or hear them well. It been too long to remember. Only have feelings. But...in dream, I see him. It clear as day. It...best dream me ever had..."

"...So why did you jump up like I'd done something awful?"

"Because me no ask you to mess with head! Don't matter if feel good, you no have right-."

"I didn't mean to! And it's not like I saw anything, I just blacked out! I must have just been sat here in a trance for nine hours while you were dreaming. But I didn't intend to get in your head, Robin, I swear, I'd never do that!"

The tears in her eyes must have given her credit as he began to soften more, his knuckles rubbing against the fur at his front as he regarded her, still knelt on the floor.

He took another step and then crouched down before her.

"...You really not know how it happen?"

She shook her head, "I...I remember asking the moon to cut you a break after all you've gone through. Then I touched your forehead and then...Skip to the end. Literally."

"...Could you try to do again?"

Silver stared at him, extra confused now; "I thought you were upset with me about it?"

"Not if you no control and no see. Moonah bless you with good dreams you always tell us about. Maybe your gift be to share good dream with rest of us?"

Was that possible? She looked down at her fingertips, hands partially covered by her velvet fingerless gloves. Did she actually have a...power? A gift? Like a real witch?

She glanced up at her caveman friend, who was watching her with intent curositiy and...hope?

Silver reached her hand up and touched his forehead with her index and middle finger.

Robin closed his eyes. Then opened them.

"Anything?" She asked.

"No." He grunted.

"I guess you have to be asleep already." Part of her felt a twinge of relief. She didn't fancy losing more of her precious, limited time so soon.

Robin nodded, looking a tad disappointed; "Have twenty nine other sons and daughters. Would like to see them too. But...got plenty of time. Maybe tonight, when tired, you try again? Please?"

"I guess..."

She didn't want to say no. It's not like it hurt her after all. It was only time. There would always be another cycle of it to spend next month.

Looking back down at the floor, she was suddenly reminded of how she'd exploded at the other ghosts and Alison last night. A sour sensation oozed down her throat and pooled in her gut as she regretted her words.

"Hey." Robin put his finger beneath her chin to tilt her head up, meeting her eyes; "What wrong?"

"...I might have been a little harsh with the guys last night. I thought they were making fun of you and...I just thought you deserved a bit more respect, given all you do. I mean you saved Mike's life and they were still talking about you like you were the smelly family dog."

"You no have nose? Me is smelly! And me more ugly than Barclay's dogs! Got way more fleas too." He grinned. "Me no care if they laugh at me. Me laugh at them all time! And so do you!"

"I...." Silver couldn't deny that. A blush crept into her cheeks; "Yeah, I suppose."

"It no mean we not family. Or they no care."

"I know...I was just..." Anger didn't seem to justify it, not when they hadn't been the primary reason for why she snapped; "...I'd just found out about Mary."

"Oh." Robin nodded, face turning serious. "Julian dealt by getting mad too. You have in common with Tory."

"Don't ever say that." Silver managed a half-hearted laugh.

He smiled and brushed a tear from cheek.

"Fanks for sticking up for me though. Never had anyone fight for me...probably since mother protect me from wolf. Been a while." That was saying something; "Bet you telling off Cap just as impressive."

"He ain't as scary as he thinks. He's a pussy cat. When he's not trying to the big man in charge, I actually get on with him." She confessed. "Probably went a bit far calling Fanny a bat though."

"Hmm. She more an owl. One of those white ones always frowning." He tried to mimic her cross expression and it made Silver giggle.

Robin's hand moved to squeeze her arm.

"That better. Moonah girl always shine when smile."

She didn't feel much like shining at the moment, for as much as he was managing to cheer her up.

The growing realisation of her loss was too heavy to ignore.

"I can't believe she's gone. I only just got used to realising I'd never see my old family and now her..."

"Me know. No matter how many time I go through it, how often me get used to it, pain always there. But pain good thing. Helps remind how much we loved."

That made sense. It was drops of wisdom like that which inspired Silver to defend him as she had last night.

"And she love you. She tell me. She say she wish she had daughter like you, even if you devil worshipper."

Silver half sobbed, half laughed, not caring about the inaccuracy or if she'd been serious or not. Robin moved forward and wrapped his arms around her. Silver was mindful of Kya as she leaned into him, grabbing fistfulls of his fur. Finally, she allowed herself to have a proper cry.

"Did it work that time?"

She assumed so, before he answered, having just opened his eyes as he lay on his bed. The early morning sun was streaming through the window, casting a shadow from the slanted wooden beam.

The caveman had awoken with a smile on his face. He sat up, stretching.

"Oh yes."

"Did you see your kids?" She asked, hopeful.

He shook his head; "No. Old friend, William. Funniest guy me ever met. Dreamed he came back from stars and we went on pub crawl. It funny, me never drink more than puddle water, but could taste beer...so fizzy and disgusting but fun."

"Is that what you wanted to dream about?"

He shrugged; "Don't think so. Didn't really plan, just wanted good dream and me got. Can see children tonight maybe."

Silver gulped, biting her lip.

"If that's what you want...."

He frowned; "Why say like that?"

"I was just wondering if maybe I should tell the others. They might want some nice, lucid dreams too." She explained, "None of them except Kitty and Pat spoke to me yesterday, I think they were all still mad at my little rant. Maybe this could be my way to apologise?"

"Oh." Robin nodded, deflating a little, "Yeah sure. Nice to share. Just try not to make Fanny dream she turn into real bat."

"I'll try."

Catching his gaze, she could see the flicker of heartbreak in his eyes. There was a selfish part of him, hidden deep inside, who wanted to keep her gifts all to himself, to experience all that he's missed out on after a thousand lifetimes of open air imprisonment.

He could have tried to emotionally blackmail her into keeping it between the two of them. Use her as his own psychodelic drug on the few nights he was able to, until he became a true addict. The temptation was clear as day.

But he let her go.

This was already her last day of this month's cycle. Taking away the time she'd lost using her gift, she'd barely been awake twenty four hours.

"Will you come with me to visit Mary's memorial?" She asked.

"'Course." Said Robin without hesitation.

"And then maybe you can be my backup when I make my big apology speech to the others after Alison has breakfast?"

The caveman chuckled and nodded. It was the least he could do for his Moonah girl.

[angeltrapz]

hhmmmmvnfj asks abt Lawrence? umm in a selfship way: what’s ur favorite gift he’s gotten u? — in a character analysis way, bcuz I’ve posted a lil abt it n u mentioned it in DMs too: if William had survived, bc Lawrence was handling new disciples at that time (like Brad n Ryan), how do u think Lawrence n William would’ve interacted? (esp bc we know William was at least vaguely aware of who Lawrence was pre-trap bc of their connections to John)

dfhskj thank u!!! finally getting 2 this

okay fr the selfship part: mentioned it a little bit when replying 2 the other ask u sent, but it’s a worry stone made out of rhodonite (which looks a lil like this), bc he knows how interested I am in gems + rocks n stuff like that but also bc he wanted me to have smth to fidget with in case I forgot my lil lanyard of rolling beads when we went somewhere! it’s smth I just run my thumb along bc it’s smooth n soft n fits perfectly in the palm of my hand. a lot of times if I’m in an uncomfortable situation I can’t get out of, having that w me helps a lot bc it’s grounding n it reminds me of him 💞💞

fr the character analysis part: KJSKFS YEAH I love getting 2 talk abt that bc I actually think abt it quite a bit. as u said, William and Lawrence have always been vaguely aware of each other on account of being connected thru their interactions w John, the doctor who he felt wasn’t kind/sympathetic enough n the insurance agent who denied his (EXTREMELY experimental, mind u) foreign treatment request. I’m not sure that they ever interacted face-to-face PRIOR to John’s death, but after William survives his test it’s just kinda like... who else does he have 2 talk to that might be able to understand even the tiniest bit what he went thru? he loves Pamela to pieces, of course he does, she’s his only family - but she didn’t see what he’d had to do, doesn’t rly KNOW like Lawrence would.

but I still think he’d absolutely be Cautious, bc even w the desire to be understood n maybe even have someone he could confide in, William knows now that Lawrence has been helping John for quite some time - as we see in 3D and as u said, Lawrence is the one handling new disciples, something that only John ever did; Amanda didn’t have her own apprentices, n Hoffman sure as hell didn’t either. that, n William doesn’t know how much involvement, if any, Lawrence had w his own test - that’s smth that wld haunt him a lil, I think. it’s hard to be comfortable around a person who is not only directly involved w the person who felt it necessary to put u in a trap, but who Also may have been the one to put fucking explosive bracelets/anklets n tattoos on u + SEWN A KEY inside of u, which is INCREDIBLY violating of his bodily autonomy. that could warrant a whole discussion of its own tbh.

but. Lawrence is the closest John ever got 2 having a TRUE successor (which I have conflicting feelings on; my reading of Lawrence in SAW 2004 was not someone who wld have joined up w someone who caused him so much pain, but fr the sake of exploring this, I think tht after going thru something as horribly traumatizing and irreversibly changing as he did, he sought that life of control n routine that he felt he had prior to his game, and well, John could certainly provide that,,,) n William would likely know this. Amanda’s dead, Logan is off doing who knows what n living his life, Hoffman is only doing it out of a weird sense of obligation?, and Jill isn’t rly a disciple, just some1 who’s been dragged into it too. (I think William n Jill actually would’ve gotten along tbh,, it’s a different thing entirely whether William would WANT to interact w her.)

I think Lawrence wld want to be able to reassure William that he had no hand in what happened to him (I don’t even know if Lawrence is the one who fitted the bracelets/did the key?), but he like. wouldn’t even know where 2 begin bc how can he explain that in a way that William could ever rely on? how could he ever convince William that he truly wasn’t responsible when all the other man wld have 2 do is look at all of th ppl he assisted John in securing/operating on? Hoffman was the one who put William in his trap, but Lawrence doesn’t know he’ll ever b able 2 prove that in a way William can believe. n I don’t think he’d expect William to believe him, not at all, but I think Lawrence at that point truly doesn’t have anyone - he and Alison are divorced and she has Diana, Adam isn’t around obviously, John + Amanda are gone, Hoffman doesn’t know he exists, so who does he have? I think he longs fr that sort of connection, even if it Is forged thru smth as terrible as what they were both individually put thru by John - they have tht common ground of being involved in his diagnosis + the way he responded to them (petty fucking grievances... kramer I will literally knock yr teeth in u fucker) n being ppl he considered partially responsible fr his downfall in a way (Lawrence wasn’t “kind enough,” William said no to a highly expensive and experimental international treatment that they weren’t even sure wld WORK). and like, not necessarily 2 the same extent, but they were both physically altered by what they went thru. Lawrence is missing his foot. William has scars + tattoos that he could get covered up, sure, but the experience isn’t going away. the scar on his side where the key was hidden is never going away. Lawrence’s prosthetic is functioning but the fact that he cut his fucking foot off isn’t going away. n that’s not even TOUCHING the lasting mental effects.

so I think William wld be feeling rly lost. he just doesn’t know what to do. he doesn’t know if he can even go back to the life he led b4 (if he does, it’s not for a very long time) n he has a hard time looking Pamela in the eye bc he feels personally responsible fr her having been there too + bc of what he’d been made to do to so many ppl. he feels alone, much more than he ever has before, n that’s saying smth bc his personal life was already extremely solitary bc he felt it was safer for him + his career. no one could possibly understand what he went thru, bc nobody saw it. nobody saw the way he tried so hard to keep every1 alive, the way he tried to help the people he worked with + CARED FOR even if he had 2 put himself thru pain to do it (holding onto those pulleys until his shoulders were almost DISLOCATED fr Addy n Allen, burning himself w the steam so Debbie could get thru the maze, the entirety of the shotgun carousel). Tara + Brent didn’t see him sacrifice himself fr his coworkers, n neither did Pamela. nobody knows. William wants some1 to connect with, n that just doesn’t seem like a possibility given that what he went thru in there is knowledge that only he himself + Hoffman carry.

but Lawrence knows. he understands n he's the one 2 kinda make that offer, to just be like “u don’t have 2 trust me right now, or even ever, but I understand n if u want some1 2 talk to, I’m here.” bc what does he have to lose? Adam is gone. Alison n Diana are gone. he’s by himself. and so is William, though he has Pamela. they’re both men who went thru smth unspeakably terrible bc a dying man wanted 2 play god n they came out of it much worse off than they ever were b4 John “helped” them. n William is just like. how much worse could it get? after Jigsaw, what could possibly be worse than what he’s already gone thru? so he’s just kind of like, “okay, we can work this out, I can’t say I trust u right now but maybe I can in the future. we can do this together. we can help each other.” n that’s how they end up meeting for coffee or breakfast/lunch/dinner every so often (coffee meets are at least weekly), n it’s just kind of like. the reassurance that some1 has seen the very worst parts of u and are still around. the relief of knowing someone sees u and knows how hard yr fighting to rebuild a life that’s been shattered into a million tiny pieces. n they’re struggling against that current together, and maybe it starts in a place of “I have no one else so I might as well chill w u,” but eventually William and Lawrence kind of fall into this uneasy friendship. they’re there for each other. William calls Lawrence when he has a nightmare that keeps him up fr hours after, shaking n w his heart beating out of his chest bc he doesn’t want to remember. Lawrence spends th night at William’s place every now n then bc he can’t be alone w his thoughts n the phantom pain in his leg just won’t quiet. they meet for coffee. they have breakfast sometimes. Lawrence has clothes n a toothbrush at William’s and vice versa. they’re in this together.

n maybe that escalates into more (which I believe wld only happen after they get 2 a point where they’ve discussed, at length, John’s legacy n who exactly would be continuing it + if anyone WLD be, n after Hoffman is “disposed of” in a sense), but even if not, they both know they Have Someone who looks at them n doesn’t see them as a monster, not the horrible person John thought he needed to “fix.” they both carry scars, both physically n mentally, frm what they went thru. they’re both struggling to get their bearings + Lawrence is still coping w what he’ll need to do after John’s (and eventually, Jill’s) passing. it won’t be easy, but they’re not walking alone. they’re wading thru the mud together, hand in hand, and fr William n Lawrence, that is enough.

[whitesparrows97]

A Thousand Springs – Part 1

Pairing: BTS x Reader/OT7 x Reader

Genre: Soulmate AU, fluff, smut, fantasy

Summary: Life is short. Eternity is long. Why you in particular are approached by a super attractive man in a club, you did not understand. You understood even less why he wanted to kill you. Fortunately, seven young, also incredibly handsome men show up to help you with this little problem. Purely by coincidence, of course. Or do you really believe in fate?

Warnings: Angst

Word Count: 3.6K

Next 

(picture credit: photograph by Mok Jung Wook for TIME Magazine)

Loud music poured out into the cold night, every time a group of people passed the bouncer and went into the club. Yet again you stepped forward a few steps. It’s been going on for about half an hour. You and your best friend Alison needed to pick one of the most popular clubs in town. Especially on a Friday night you might have expected that you would have to wait a while. You were annoyed that you hadn’t thought of taking a jacket with you. 

To give your body some warmth, you wrapped your arms around yourself and jumped a little on the spot. Alison didn’t seem to have a problem with the cold or the long wait. On the contrary. She beamed with happiness and looked at the queue before you with sparkling eyes.

You also watched the people before you, but not with as much enthusiasm as your friend. They were the typical partygoers. You immediately realized that the other girls probably had been standing in front of the mirror several hours before to get ready for the night. You, on the other hand, hadn’t even known you were going out tonight until an hour ago. Alison had more or less talked you into it and you had just enough time to trade your sweatpants and shirt for something more appropriate.

You felt out of place to say the least. 

Although you should actually study for your next exam, you were persuaded by Alison to come along tonight. However, something had told you that you should go out with her tonight. You often felt like you missed out on life when you were constantly sitting in front of your computer at home or lying in bed thinking about life.

You just weren’t the type of person who liked the hustle and bustle of people and loud music. Not like Alison, who probably felt more at home on the dance floor, crammed between strangers, than in her own four walls. And sometimes you envied her for it. She made everything seem so easy, while you had to reconsider every little thing.

Once again you were able to take a few steps forward and you realized with relief that there was only one group before you. Soon you could finally go back into the warmth and you were never so happy to finally enter a club. But this joy did not last long when you two entered the narrow, dark passage inside the nightclub. Only colorful light tubes, which were attached to the two walls on your sides, illuminated your way.

“I’m so glad you decided to come with me, Y/N!” Alison shouted over her shoulder to drown out the loud music and pulled you out of your thoughts. 

“I can’t always let you go out on your own, Ali,” you joked when you made your way through the crowd to the bar. 

To describe the club as full would be quite an understatement and you wondered how Alison wanted to dance with all those people around. But luckily that wasn’t your problem, you thought, while you dropped on one of the few free bar stools.

“Do you really not want to dance,” Alison asked after ordering something to drink for the both of you. You just shook your head.

“I don’t like dancing very much, you know that. I’m very comfortable here at the bar.” 

Thankfully, you took the drink from her, which she pushed over the counter to you.

“Okay, each to their own,” she replied, shrugging her shoulders. “Don’t let strange guys chat you up,” she said with a smile before she made her way to the dance floor, her drink in one hand.

You just shook your head, laughing. You were almost never talked to, which was partly because you spent most of your time alone in your room. On the other hand, if you ever did leave the apartment, you were probably just too ordinary. You liked to stand in a quiet corner and watch people. That was usually more interesting than being in the middle of it and you were able to get a good overview of the situation. 

That’s exactly what you did right now while sipping your drink. You winced, the bartender had not skimped on the alcohol and you had to be careful not to drink too much of it at once. Probably this one drink would be enough for you not to remember the whole evening tomorrow morning if you just drank it fast enough. Although maybe that wouldn’t be the worst alternative, …

“What’s a pretty young woman like you doing here all by herself at the bar?”

You flinched and spilled something of the drink you had just put to your lips. 

“Shit,” you mumbled as you looked down at yourself and noticed the spots on your white dress. A deep laugh, however, quickly pulled you out of the attempt to somehow make the stains disappear with your fingers and you looked up at your left.

Right into a man’s dark eyes and you could still see the laughter in them. He was handsome, you noticed when you let your gaze wander across his face. He had dark hair, a few strands of which hung on his face, prominent cheekbones and teeth so brightly white that you wouldn’t be surprised if you saw him in a toothpaste ad on TV.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you,” he apologized and his smile gave way to a thoughtful expression. 

Immediately you noticed the small wrinkle between his perfect eyebrows and you had to pull yourself together not to get lost in it. Or in his perfect dark brown eyes.

You cleared your throat once and tried to smile, which you hoped looked rather self-confident. “Oh, everything’s fine. I just got a little bit startled,” you confessed and you were relieved when you realized that your voice sounded strong and not anxious. 

Because of the music and the many people, the mysterious man stood right next to you, which made you all the more nervous. 

“I am David,” he introduced himself and held out his hand to you. You took it and a warmth flowed straight through you, which made you completely relaxed.

“My name is Y/N,” you replied, and this time your smile was real. 

The other people in the club and the loud music had faded out. The only thing that mattered was David, who gave you such a warmth smile that you couldn’t help but smile back.

“Nice to meet you, Y/N.” His voice was so soft and melodious that you would love to listen to him all night. He raised his hand and carefully stroked a strand of your hair out of your face and you could literally feel the heat rising into your cheeks. 

“You’re wonderful when you blush,” he added with a little smile as he studied your face even more. 

You didn’t know what it was, but you felt like he could look right into your mind. The whole moment was so intense that you didn’t even notice how fast your heart was beating or how the hair on your arms stood up. And even if you had, you probably would have ascribed these symptoms to excitement, even if that hadn’t been the right assumption.

But instead of taking a step back and taking a closer look at the situation, as you so often do, you could only shyly laugh and continue to look at him. It was as if he was part of a magnet and you were the opposite part, you felt so attracted to this stranger. You could barely see his mischievous grin as he leaned down to whisper something into your ear.

“Maybe there is another place we want to go,” he whispered and you shuddered as his warm breath grazed your ear. 

Your heart began to beat even faster and you feared you would soon have a heart attack if it did not calm down. 

But suddenly a wave of his aftershave came towards you and your heart stopped for a moment. The smile on your lips faded quickly and you tensed up while sitting on the bar stool.

David also seemed to notice your mood change, and he withdrew a little. His face was so close to yours that you could see the tiny golden speckles in his otherwise almost black eyes.

“You all right, pretty?” he asked and gently stroked your right cheek with his thumb. Now you noticed the goose bumps that had formed and you immediately knew why your body reacted the way it did.

You forced yourself to smile.

“Yes, sure. I was just a little surprised, normally I’m not even approached,” you confessed and tried to laugh. It sounded false, but you hoped David wouldn’t notice. 

“Totally incomprehensible to me,” he replied and his voice, music in your ears a moment ago, now caused an uncomfortable feeling in your stomach. You smiled again while wrapping your little purse over your shoulder.

“I’m just gonna go to the restroom, and then we can leave. Is that all right?” you asked as you got up from the bar stool. Only now you realized how tall David was. You barely reached his chest and you had to swallow.

“Of course, pretty. I’ll wait here,” he replied and you couldn’t get rid of the feeling that it was more a threat than a promise. 

While you were making your way to the toilet, you had to suppress the need to sprint. You felt his eyes in your back and only when you turned around the corner and exhaled with relief you realized that you had held your breath the whole time. The corridors here were also relatively dark and had the same lights as the entrance area. In contrast to the dance floor and the bar, there was astonishingly little activity here and the toilet room itself seemed to have been swept empty. 

As you looked at yourself in the mirror, two wide-open eyes stared back at you. You couldn’t help but compare yourself to a scared deer in the spotlight of a car. Your cheeks were reddened and your hair was sweaty at the back of your neck. Despite that, you’ve been incredibly cold since you smelled David’s aftershave. You were glad it had brought you back to your senses. Your body had wanted to tell you from the beginning that there was something wrong with him. It had practically begged you to flee the situation and to get as much space as possible between you and David.

The aftershave. 

You turned on the tap and let lukewarm water flow over your wrists. For a moment you closed your eyes, while pictures of the past captured your thoughts. Your father had used the same aftershave and it had always reminded you of home and a carefree childhood. At least until one evening when the police stood outside your door trying to tell you that your parents had died in a car accident.

With a little more force than necessary, you shut the tap and dried your hands on the rough paper. There’s no way you’re leaving with David. You didn’t know why, but something told you it wouldn’t end well for you. Some might think you’re crazy for missing the chance of a night with a super attractive man just because he used the same aftershave as your father. Yet you wouldn’t make the mistake of ignoring your intuition.

The club was full of people, he probably wouldn’t even notice if you walked right along the wall to the exit. Besides, you might get through there even faster because most people were in the middle of the club. You could also take a taxi home, even if you would normally walk the way. Thinking that you would be home in less than 15 minutes you relaxed a little. Before leaving the room you took a deep breath and stepped into the dark corridor.

You immediately noticed that the passage seemed even darker than before and quickly found the reason for it. The lights in the immediate vicinity of the toilet rooms were switched off and only the lamps at the beginning of the corridor about ten meters in front of you lit up the hallway. Your blood froze in your veins when you realized that a person was standing right in that part of the hallway so his face was in the dark and you couldn’t see it. You didn’t have to, because you knew right away who that person was. 

You panicked and as he slowly started to approach you, you felt like a side character in a horror movie. You would be sad if the person died, but at the end of the movie you’d forgotten them again. You were not the protagonist who, miraculously, survived all circumstances and horrors unscathed and at the end of the story rode happily and satisfied with the love of her life into the sunset. 

As you kept retreating, you realized that you have never been the protagonist, not even in your own life. And when you couldn’t back off any further because you felt the wall at your back, you knew it was okay. You always thought it was okay that you were the second choice; always acting in the background. Alison would quickly find someone who shared more interests with her and would soon take your place. It wouldn’t be long before she would have forgotten you, you were sure when you pinched your eyes in fear so as not to have to face your end. 

David now stood right in front of you and you lowered your head, your eyes still closed with such force that they were already aching.

He made a sound, which sounded like a mixture of a short laugh and a growl. Then there was another sound, a squeak, which you couldn’t identify at first. But when you heard footsteps, you knew it must have been the door to the toilet room. 

“Is there a problem here?” cautiously asked another very deep male voice.

You finally dared to open your eyes to look up and immediately wished you hadn’t done it. David looked at you with so much hatred and anger that your breath got stuck in your throat. His lips were pressed into a narrow line and you could see that he clenched his teeth tightly. He once inhaled deeply through his nose and relaxed his jaw before he answered and you were shocked at how gentle, almost lovely, his voice sounded.

“No, everything’s all right here.” He did not turn around, but fixed you with his gaze and you felt like the prey the hunter was watching.

“I would like to hear that from her,” demanded the unknown voice and it sounded much closer than before. He had to stand right behind David, but his broad shoulders blocked any view. 

You couldn’t answer, not with David looking at you the way he did at that moment. You didn’t need to be able to read minds to know that if you said the wrong word, he could kill you here and now. 

“Well?” The voice sounded tense and every trace of caution from before had disappeared. David’s look indicated that you should reply to the unknown person.

“I... I–” you started, but your voice was quiet and no more than a whisper.

“I think that’s enough for an answer. You’d better leave her alone.” 

You exhaled with relief when you heard those words. Whoever this unknown person was, quickly realized that something was wrong.

“Otherwise, what?” David asked, demandingly, and turned around. You could catch a glimpse past him and you saw a strand of blond hair. The rest, however, was denied to you, because your field of vision was occupied by David’s muscular back.

You took the chance that presented itself to you and pushed past him while he was still distracted by the unknown person. Before David could react, the person had pushed himself between the two of you and was now standing in front of you. He wasn’t quite as tall as David, but still had quite broad shoulders and what you could see from his face was at least as attractive as the dark-haired one, if not even more handsome. You didn’t know why you had to think about that right now.

“We’re going to leave this club now. Without you,” he added, turning his head slightly towards you. You nodded, even though you didn’t know if he’d asked for your consent. 

“You can try someone else, but you leave her alone.” 

Before you knew it, he grabbed your hand and pulled you with him. 

“This isn’t the last time we’ll see each other, Y/N!” David shouted to you, but despite the threat, you were relieved when you realized he wasn’t following you.

You hardly noticed the loud music and the countless people, you had the feeling of being in a trance. You felt the warm hand that had clutched yours tightly, making sure you didn’t get lost in the turmoil. You used the time you needed to get to the exit to look closely at the stranger. 

His blond hair hung partly in his face and partially covered his ears. His lips were slightly open, as if he was absorbed in thought, but he observed the surroundings through narrowed eyes. It almost seemed as if he expected David to appear in front of you at any moment. It was probably better to assume the worst, so that you could not be negatively surprised. 

Only now you noticed how casual he was dressed. He wore washed-out blue jeans, a plain black T-shirt and a black sweat jacket. It looked incredibly good on him, but you still couldn’t help but think that it didn’t seem to fit into this party scene. 

You quickly shook off the thought when you finally stepped outside into the open. The cold you hated before came in handy now, because it sharpened your senses again and got you out of your trance-like state.

Your eyes were fixed on your hands; his hand was still tightly wrapped around yours, but he hardly seemed to notice. As you looked up again, you noticed that his eyes were on your face, full of worry. 

“Y/N, is it?”

You just nodded.

“Is everything okay?” he asked and you noticed his incredibly deep voice again as he looked at you waiting for you to answer his question.

This time you managed more than just a nod.

“Yeah, apart from some weird guy hitting on me at the bar and then lurking outside the restroom, everything’s great.” You smiled at him, still very conscious of his hand. 

He also laughed softly and let go of your hand. You immediately missed the warmth that emanated from him and where now only the cold wind grazed your palm. Immediately you shivered and wrapped your arms around you again, as you had done before when you and Ali were waiting outside the club.

Since then, at most an hour had passed, but you had the feeling as if the whole night had elapsed, as tired and exhausted you were.

“I’m Taehyung, by the way, I wish we’d met under different circumstances,” he said, giving you a kind of boxy smile. 

You laughed for a second. “Yes, that would have been nice. But thank you so much for stepping in. I don’t want to know what he would have done if you hadn’t shown up,” you replied and tried to banish the images from your mind that appeared as soon as you said it.

“I don’t think you have to read minds for that,” Taehyung said and his eyes darkened. 

“Hmm,” was all you could say. For a moment you two enjoyed the pause, only the muffled music that came out of the club filled the silence.

“Oh, I’m sorry. You must be freezing. Here,” Taehyung suddenly said and was taking off his jacket.

“You don’t have to do that, Taehyung,” you tried to persuade him, but he just shook his head and came closer to put his jacket around your shoulders.

He was so close to you that his blond strands of hair tickled your forehead. You could feel the heat rising directly back into your cheeks, even though you were freezing all over. For a short moment his hands grazed your shoulders as he wrapped his jacket around you and for a second he stood close to you as if he were thinking of saying something. Apparently, he decided against it because he took another step back to examine you.

“Thank you,” you whispered and pulled the jacket even closer. It smelled like him and you were glad you didn’t associate the scent with a family member. Yet it reminded you of home and a pleasant feeling rose up in your chest. 

“Shall I call you a cab? I’ll wait until it gets there, too,” Taehyung asked while he was digging his cell phone out of his pocket.

“Oh no, that’s not necessary,” you replied and waved your hands defensively, which he probably couldn’t see because your hands were covered by his much too large jacket. “I only live about ten minutes from here,” you explained further as Taehyung paused questioningly in his movement.

“Oh, okay, but then I’ll take you home,” he said and you heard by his tone that any attempt at discussion was pointless.

“And how do I know you’re not some weird guy, too, who’ll kill me in the next alley,” you asked jokingly, and Taehyung smiled with his typical rectangular smile, which you’ve already taken to your heart.

“You can never be sure.”

Written 2019-2021. Do not copy, translate or repost without permission.

Hello! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, even though it’s more of a prologue than a real chapter. Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes, English is not my native language, but I have tried hard to make as few mistakes as possible. However, if you notice anything, I would be very happy if you let me know. And of course any criticism of the chapter itself is very welcomed. ♥️

[imaginesrus]

When It All Comes Flooding Back

Vanya Hargreeves/Diego Hargreeves

The Umbrella Academy

Summary: Following on from the final episode of Season 2. The Hargreeves are staying at a hotel after finding out that once again they are not quite home. Vanya continues to regain her memories and while seeking relief finds the she is not the only member of the Academy having trouble sleeping.

Ao3 Link : When It All Comes Flooding Back

The revelation that their ‘home’ was not their real home in this reality had been disappointing to say the least. Once again they had ‘royally fucked up the timeline’ as Five so eloquently phrased it.

They had found a hotel nearby, not prepared to separate themselves again after they had just found each other. They had managed to find somewhere with enough rooms and beds to accommodate them all. Vanya was sharing a room with Klaus and Alison, while Five, Diego and Luther had reluctantly bunked together despite Five’s arguments that he as the senior member of the group should have his own accommodation.

The hotel receptionist hadn’t asked any questions when they had asked for the rooms, and it looked like the kind of place that wasn’t in the habit of asking too many questions which was just what they were looking for.

She had tossed and turned in her bed envious of Klaus who snored loudly from the couch, and Alison who looked just as perfect in her sleep as she did when she was awake. It seemed only Vanya was unable to find peace in sleep. She had gained and lost so much over the past few days she couldn’t keep up. Her heart still ached for Sissy and Harlan and the life she had given up to stay with her family.

Then there had been the new memories that she had regained, they were painful in a different way. She could feel them in her bones, the anger, the frustration that they brought with them. But they were also confusing, there were some parts of them that she couldn’t quite reconcile herself with. So many decisions that although she knew were her own it felt like a different person had made them. Not the person that she was now.

She wanted to ask the others about them, but she found herself holding back. She didn’t want them to be afraid of her again, the more she talked about what had happened in the past the more afraid she was that they would remember what she had done, and who she was. It made her heart pound and head ache. She had taken two aspirin already to little relief.

There were some in particular that she wanted to ask Diego about, but she wasn't exactly sure how to casually just bring it into conversation. Flashes of hands interlinked, his lips brushing against the column of her neck while her fingers twisted in his shirt. A heat rose to her cheeks and she groaned in frustration.

She huffed into her pillow, when in truth she wanted to scream. She rose to her feet quietly in hope not to disturb the others, the bed dipping as she did so, and she was grateful that Alison didn’t stir at the movement. She tiptoed around the small hotel room, shrugging on her jacket and shoes.

She opened the door quietly and closed it slowly behind her. The cool air against her face brought her some welcome relief.

She spotted a familiar shape further along the narrow balcony, resting against the railing, his head bowed down so that his hair covered his face. But she had a feeling that she would recognise him anywhere.

Diego.

He looks up, as if he can sense her presence, and she feels frozen. A familiar headache takes hold as more memories slot carefully into place inside her mind.

“Couldn’t sleep?” he asks her as he moves closer before leaning against the balcony next to her, looking over the car park below them.

She shakes her head pulling her lip between her teeth. He gives a chuckle, low and heavy.

“Yeah, me neither.” He had lost so much as well. He had wanted to stop everything from happening save the president, be the hero, and yet everything had gone to shit.

He had lost her asl well, the woman who had been trying to kill them, or perhaps more specifically Five. He had said that he loved her and she wasn’t sure how that made her feel. She shouldn’t feel a pang of jealousy at the confession, her heart also had been given to someone else, but it is there anyway and as these memories continue to make themselves known it only makes more and more sense.

He examined her carefully, “What’s going on in there?”

"Too much,” she sighs, pressing her forehead against the cool metal of the balcony railing. It was simpler when she couldn’t remember who she was. She was free. And now.

"I know the feeling," he mumbles, pulling a metal flask from his pocket and taking a sip, she looks up to see a grimace across his face. "Five has the worst taste." He holds out the flask and she eyes it carefully, before relenting and taking it from his hand. A peace gesture.

The alcohol burns her throat as soon as it hits and she gulps it down, before coughing as Diego grabs the flask from her hand before she can spill it.

When the burning starts to dissipate and she regains her breath, she manages a staggered, "That's awful." While Diego just nods in agreement before taking another swig.

And then it hits her like a train, the strength of the memory as it appears, neurones firing and connecting all at once as the piercing feeling at her temples returns.

She feels his hand grasp her arm, holding her upright, as the world becomes out of focus and her knees give way.

"You stole from Dad's office?" Vanya's eyes widened.

"What? It's not like it's hard. Klaus does it all the time."

"Yeah, but,"

"You want to try?"

She considers the bottle in his hand, a brown amber liquid, that is both tempting and forbidden. There is also the feeling of being included, she knows they all meet up without her when they think she won't notice, or perhaps they simply don't care. Diego's eyebrows are raised in a challenge, waiting for her to chicken out, expecting it.

"Give it here," she orders, pulling herself up straighter, despite still being much shorter than him. He chuckles handing her the bottle, watching her carefully as she takes a tentative sip, before spluttering and pushing the bottle back to him.

She expects him to tease her, to laugh at her and tell the others another example of how she is inferior to the rest of them, but instead he wraps his arm around her shoulder.

"Damn, Vanya, I didn't think you would actually do it."

She decides immediately she likes the feeling of his arm wrapped around her and leans into it. He tightens his grip for a moment and she is sure that she feels the pressure of his thumb against her bare elbow, moving gently across her skin. He has never acted like this before, she is sure he has never actually spent this long alone in a room with her since they were children. But then Luther comes barging into the room and he jumps away from her like he has been electrocuted.

“Dad’s coming and he is pissed!” Luther shouts as he eyes the bottle in Diego’s hands, rolling his eyes.

“I’ll distract him,” Vanya offers, earning a grateful smile from Diego, and a shocked look from Luther at her uncharacteristic boldness. “Go, put it back,” she tells him, ignoring the little butterflies that have taken residence in her stomach, when he smiles broadly at her.

“Thanks, Vanya.” He gives her a little salute before he leaves the room, leaving Luther shaking his head at the two of them and Vanya quickly concocting a plan to distract their father for long enough for Diego to make it back to the office.

“Are you okay?” Diego’s voice cuts through the memory and she feels the ground return beneath her feet, the solid arms wrapped around her preventing her from crashing into a heap on the cold concrete.

“Vanya,” she blinks her eyes open looking up at him, seeing concern etched across his features, while she stares blankly back at him, “Vanya!,” he repeats again, louder this time and the world finally comes back into focus. As he holds her steady she grips onto the balcony managing to support her own weight and he lets go, his hand still resting on her forearm.

She notices the flask has fallen to his feet, the liquid pouring out onto the pavement. “Five is going to kill you when he finds out,” she remarks as she nods to floor. Diego doesn’t even glance in it’s direction his attention centred on her.

“Let him. What is going on?” She takes a deep breath, the methodical pounding behind her eyes, continues to thump on. “Vanya? What was that?”

“I’m still remembering things.” She pinches the bridge of her nose in the vain hope that it may subdue the thumping and she almost considers taking another sip from Five’s fallen flask.

“I thought that everything came back?” He bends back down to pick up the flask, replacing the lid before pushing it back into his pocket.

“I did too, I mean there was so much, but I keep getting these flashes, memories of … before, back at the academy. It’s like everything in my brain is still trying to connect it’s…” she searches for the best words to describe the sensation of her head splitting in two, “overwhelming.”

Something crosses his face and before she can question it it’s gone again, pushed down somewhere. Diego has always been so difficult to read. She thought that she understood him back when they were children, but perhaps she had only ever been able to just scratch the surface.

“Maybe you should go back inside.”

“I’m okay, really,” she assures him, “just a little longer,”  and while he does not seem convinced he leaves it be. They continue to stand there in silence, looking out over the empty parking lot. She feels oddly at ease. Perhaps that’s what gives her the confidence to say what she does.

“I didn’t understand it at first,” she muses out loud.

“Understand what?”

“Why you hated me more than the others did,” she replies quietly, eyes focused on her own fingers.

“I didn’t,” he tries to explain but she continues.

“When I first saw you at the electronics store there was something else there when you saw me, it wasn’t fear or disappointment like the others. It was something more visceral like ... betrayal.” She looks up from her hands to meet his gaze.

“And I needed you to accept my apology more than the others, and I didn’t quite understand why.”

She had looked out  over that porch at Sissy’s farm, watching the quietness of the hills, feeling at peace with her decision, when he came to sit down next to her. Closer than he had before, no longer treating her as some fragile, breakable thing. A thing to be wary of.

He had been the one that she had felt the most confused about. She felt that in her gut they should be closer. But there were barriers between them she could ‘feel’ them.

The memories that she had regained so far had told her enough to understand.

She leant her head against his shoulder, needing to feel that connection again however fleeting it may be, half expecting him to pull away, but instead he moved his head to rest against hers, as they sat in silence.

She felt the same urge now, knowing all that she did, to reach out and place her small hand over his as it clung to the railing beside her.

“So you remembered … ” he asks her, as he holds onto the railing tighter, his knuckles becoming white with the pressure.

“Yes,” she replies quietly, barely above a whisper. “Sort of.” She knows what he is asking really. Whether she remembers him and the memories that they shared together, some good, some not so much.

“I’m sorry,” he tells her and she feels a weight lifted from her shoulders. Two words, that she has been waiting to hear since he left her on that evening, leaving her alone in a world where she felt so unloved. It is a weight that she inherited when those memories came back, and it was crushing. “For everything.”

“Me too.” She lays her hand across his, a thumb tracing the skin of his knuckles, encouraging him to release his grip, she wants to feel his hand against hers. The way he would take her hand in the middle of the night, when the thunder rattled the windows of the old mansion and he would whisper to her that everything was okay, it was just a storm and it would pass.  

They always did.

She holds onto that memory, it’s a good one.

[creepyalienghost]

Orphanage Farm 2

That night Everyone slept peacefully in there beds like always, everyone but Henry and Joey. Joey had a hard time getting sleep since he kept seeing buddy’s bloody body laying there with his eyes wide and horrified look and the creatures they seen, every time he closed his eyes. Henry wasn’t much better off. He had nightmares of what they saw and what they witness. He would be Awaken by them and terrified as the images in his head never faded away. Joey eventually gave up on sleep and watched the children sleep for moments as he thought about what to do. After a minute he decided to walk around the house to see if he could find anything or come up with a plan to help Henry.. He got out of bed and quietly left the room as not to disturb the other’s.

As he roams the dark hallways of the orphanage, he started to believe that they should tell Norman about all this. He could help them by snooping around the place to see what he could find out. Maybe what those creatures are or why they were doing this to them. Norman could also help them come up with a way to escape from this farm. But of course they couldn’t tell Sammy about this. Not yet at least. He would be so crush by the news of mom farming them and that’s if he’d believed them at all. He’ll talk to Henry about it in the morning. He still couldn’t believe that sweet caring old mom would let them eat them. He thought he loved them all. It scared him to know the truth.

Joey stopped in the bathroom to looked in the mirror at his number tattooed on the side of his neck. All there necks had a number. 85389 was his. All his live he never understood why they had these. But now he knew they were only just food. His hand reached up to it and rubbed the number. There was no texture to the tattoo. It just felt like the skin around it.

Joey uses the bathroom, washed his hands then he walked out of the bathroom, only to run into mom as she was passing. “Ah!” Joey looked up in fear. “Oh. H-hi mom!” He forced himself to be calm and put a smile on his face.

Mom looked down at Joey with a smile she always had. “Joey my dear. Your not pulling any of your tricks again, are you?” He voice was kind and caring as always around them. Not the cold dark voice her herd in the tunnel.

Joey shook his head no. “N-no ma’am. I just Uh...just needed to use the bathroom.” He replied. “That’s all mom.”

She nodded down at him. “Alright Joey. Let’s get you back to bed now.” She motherly took joeys hand with hers and lead him back to their room. “Goodnight Joey.”

“Goodnight mom.” He went back to the room were everyone was still sleeping and crawled into his bed. Though he still couldn’t sleep from the images in his mind still. for hours he tried to but was to disturb what he’s seeing. Eventually his body got to exhausted and he passed out.

When morning came with the bright sunlight shinning through their windows, Susie was the first one to wake up, like always. “Guys! It’s time to wake up!” She shouted, leaping out of her bed. “It’s a new day!”

That got everyone up and moving. They all slowly crawled out of their bed and making them like mom taught them then after they all changed into their plain white uniforms. The older children helped the younger ones out with the bed making and getting on their uniforms. Once they were charged and there bed was made they’d run out of the room for breakfast after. One by one the room grew empty intel it was just Henry and Joey

“Henry. I think we should tell Norman.” Joey started as he sat on his bed. “He has the skills to get around without being seen or herd. He could help us with figuring out how to get out of this place.”

Henry came over and sat next to joey facing him. “I was also thinking about telling him to for the same reasons. And I wanted to talk to you about it.” He chuckled. “I guess it’s decided.”

Joey couldn’t help but smiled even in the situation they were in. Henry always made him smile. “I guess it is.” He agreed.

Henry stood up, taking joeys hand in his. “Come on. Before mom starts to expect us.” Together they walked down to the dinning area for breakfast and helped the others with the younger children.

Mom sat down at her spot after prayer as the children started to dig into there breakfast and talk amongst friends. She searches the faces of each of her children and all looked carefree and smiling. She knew one of them broke the rules and went pass the gate. They most likely saw what happened and she knew they the demons there Conversation. She needed to find who it was and to get rid of them before something happened. But she wasn’t worry though. She knew she will find out who it is. Her spy well tell her soon.

“D-Did you see the way m-mom was watching?” Joey ask Henry. Breakfast was finish and the two had gone to the library for free time. It was a private place to discuss the truth with Norman and make a plan. They waiting on Norman to arrived there like Henry asked before leaving the dining room. ”S-she was like a vulture looking for..” Joey stopped when he released where he was going.

Henry sat down on the table next to him. “Yea. I saw. But.” He looked up at Joey. “I don’t think she knows, yet.” Joey looked back at Henry hard gaze. “And we have to kept it like that.” Henry continued.

“Like what?” Norman came inside though the library’s open door, making the boys jump.

Joey places his hand over his now thumbing heart and breaths a sigh of relief. “Jesus norm! You scared us!”

Norman chuckled by there startled faces. “Sorry you Guys.” He replied. “Now what do we gotta kept what like it?”

The two others looked at each other for a moment, then they turn back to Norman. ”Norman.” Henry replied, standing up. “Close the door and have a seat. We gotta tell you something.”

—

Norman sat there and listen to everything they had to tell him. Like how they don’t actually get adopted to a family. Instead they get killed by sick and twisted creatures and placed in a tube to be shipped off for rich creatures to eat them, and how they found buddy’s dead brutally and herd about how the lowest test scores get shipped out if your between 6-11. 12 years old gets shipped out automatically, They mention that this place was actually a farm to raise them intel it’s time to get shipped off and it might not be the only one. Lastly they told him how mom knows they harvest and allowed it.

Norman looked at each of them for a long while, thinking. “I believe you.”

“What?!” Henry ask, shocked.

“You do?!” Joey ask.

Norman wasn’t one for believing In Radical or crazy things like Joey. He was more logical and based his knowledge in the books he read in class and the library. but he wasn’t they only one. Henry was also logical with what he believed in and he wasn’t a good trickster. Henry was telling the truth. plus Norman had soon some odd things around.

Norman looked towards Henry. “If Henry believes what he’s saying, which he does, then I believe him.”

“Make sense.” Joey nodded, sitting down on the table again. “Now the question is...What are we going to do about it?” He looked from Henry to Norman.

“We’re going to learn about our situation.” Norman replied in a matter of fact tone. “That’s what were going to do.” He stood up going over to a desk and grabbing a pen and a piece of paper to write out a list. “First We need to understand what lays beyond the fence around us.” He told them as he scribbled it down on the paper. “We need to see if there are guard around or anything that could go wrong when running away.”

Joey and Henry both came up beside Norman “We could do that on free time.” Joey said. “That way mom thinks we’re just playing in the woods.”

Norman nodded. “That’s a good plan. We can do that tomorrow. While have more time.” He wrote that down under the first step.

“We need to gather information on the outside.” Henry stated as he stared off into space, thinking. “Like how dangerous it is? Are is there any other farms or even free humans?” Norman wrote that down as well.

“The creatures.” Henry simply said. “We need to know what they are, understand there ..ways on why they eat us.” He told them. Norman writing that down to.

“Alright.” Norman finishes the list. “Anything else we need to learn about?”

They all look at each other for a long moment thinking of anything they missed then they all shouted in unison. “Mom!”

Norman wrote the last idea down on the peace of paper before Folding it up and stuffing it in a book to hide it. They he and Henry heads to the door.

“But theres there’s one small problem.” Joey stated. Henry and Norman turned to him to hear him out. “What about the other children here?” He asked, looking at them two. “We can’t just leave them hear to get eaten. There a family.”

Norman nodded. “We’re figure that out along the way. For now, let just stick with learning as much as we can, alright?”

Joey nodded. He knew Norman was right. They needed to learn these things first before making a plan. Together they left the safety of the library, joining the others outside. Joey and Henry ran out to Tom to play soccer with him and the others, with Norman headed under the tree to hang out with Sammy. He sits next to the nerdy boy and let’s him lean on him. “Where have you been?” Sammy looked away from his book to Norman, with a smile.

“Oh me, Joey and Henry were just missing around in the game room.” Norman hated lying to him. But Henry told him not to tell Sammy about mom. He would crush his innocent spirit.

Sammy looked at him for a moment then kisses his cheek. “Alright.” He Simply stated then continued on with his book.

———

The day goes on and the night quickly came. Everyone started to wined down after their dinner was eaten and cleaned. Tom and Alison sat in the game room playing chess, Alison was just barely beating him. Wally was coloring with dot, he wanted to give it to mom when he was finish as a surprise! Sammy was in the music room with mom -of course-and jack. She was teaching them more the song they have been working on.

The three decided over lunch that they needed to act like there Normal selves tonight so mom wouldn’t get suspicious of them. Henry picked a book and read to the younger ones as he usually did most nights. It helped mom get them to sleep for the night. Norman was in the library again but was studying this time. He couldn’t afford to get lower grades. Mom would notice and he’d Definitely get shipped off. Joey was setting up a prank that he knew he was going to get time out for. But that was his Normal self.

By nine o’clock, all the older children started brushing there teeth and to heading for there soft comfy beds after giving mom a goodnight hug. Henry laid down, hoping there was no nightmares tonight and was asleep by 10 minutes. Poor Joey was so tired from the restlessness of the night before that his body just crashed within half an hour. Norman reads for a book for about an hour before putting it aside and falling asleep immediately.

After a while of laying there and listening to everyone’s breathing so they were sure everything were all asleep, the spy sat up in their bed, looking at each of face to really make sure each was asleep. They slowly pull themselves out of bed and quietly walked down the walkway towards the door, leaving the safety of the room.

The hallway was pitch black and eerie but they were used to this by now, besides they seen a lot worse then the dark. The spy began walking down the long dark hallway all the way to mom’s office. They knocked on the door and waited patiently. The door slightly opens with moms face peering though. “Ah. There’s my dearest little spy.” She smiled as she opened the door widen for them to come in “Come on in.”

——-

Hmmmm. Who can be the treacherous spy?🤔

[linkispink1995]

Better as friends (24) A bewaited kiss

Previously

Series Masterlist

Chapter warnings:language, mentions of childbirth , bit of angst Heavy kissing / making out and mentions of smut)

A/N: One more to go thank you to all who have been following along with the series

~~~~

February 10th 1983

Y/n p.o.v

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was dialing the numbers on the phone in my kitchen , while feeling the sharp stings on my back which were making my focus a bit blurry since the pain was almost unbearable. I had fallen asleep on the couch watching a movie when I woke up to these burning sharp stings on my back. It immediately caused me to panic since I new the baby wasn't due for another three weeks but to be sure they were alright I knew I needed to go to the hospital .My parent were at work so I knew the only way of getting to the hospital was to call Steve. Even if we were arguing about pretty much everything at this point , he was still my boyfriend and still the father. “Come on” I said after not getting a response the first time calling him. “Come on” I said “pick up the damn phone you peice of-“ I was interrupted by hearing “hello” it was Steve’s voice. “Steve” I muttered since I was in the middle of a heavy contraction” he responded with “hey Y/n , listen We’re going to the movies you want me to swing by and get you”. I bit my lip in pain saying “Steve , I need you to come get me” he then said “are you okay”. I shook my head saying “no we have to go to the hospital” he chuckled into the phone saying “I don’t know about that , your not due for another few weeks are you sure your not just over exaggerating this” I sighed saying “Steve I need you too come now” I then heard him sigh before responding. “fine I’ll be right there just stay where you are” I nodded before hanging up the phone.

Half an hour later I lying in a hospital bed waiting for the nurse to come in and check on me. “Ow” Steve said “your squeezing my hand” I huffed as the contraction strengthens muttering “ wanna switch places” he sighed saying “never mind , do you want me to go find the nurse”. Before I somewhat respond a nurse came in grabbing my file saying “how are we felling” I sighed as the pain from earlier started to disappear hovering me the strength to say “okay , um is the baby okay”. She nodded saying “seems fine to me ,although there going to be premature and probably be on the small side” I nodded while feeling another contraction , causing me to squeeze Steve’s hand again. Making him say “is she supposed to be in this much pain” the nurse nodded saying “the pain is normal , however the baby’s premature so it’s best advised you do this naturally” I continued to nod while holding onto Steve’s hand. While she added “but we could get you some ice chips , if you’d like”. As the contraction started to weaken I felt I could speak saying “yes please” she nodded leaving the room as I noticed Steve checking his watch for the millionth time. “Got somewhere else to be” I asked , he shook his head saying “your mom said she be here soon so I was gonna-“ I finished his sentence saying “go , you were gonna go” he shrugged saying “well do you really need me here” I nodded saying “Steve we’re having a baby”. He shook his head saying “no Y/n , your having a baby and me being here just makes it worse , that’s why it’s early” before I respond , I saw my mother standing in the doorway holding a small cup of what I assumed were the ice chips, before she walked over , Steve leaned down to kiss the top of my head saying “you can call me when there here and everything is okay , I’ll stop by I promise” I nodded knowing I couldn’t argue with him. As he left , my mother put the ice chips on the small table , she wiped some of the fallen tears saying. “How are you feeling” I began to cry a little bit more I sputtered out “like my heart just got ripped from my chest”. She nodded saying “I know baby , but you know in just a little bit that pain is going to be overshadowed by so much joy” I nodded saying “but he promised mom” she sighed saying “I know sweetheart , but your gonna be fine” I nodded before another contraction struck.

A bit of time had passed before I was holding in my arms my sweet baby boy whom I'd already fallen in love with him. after he was born and I held him The first time I realized he was a miracle and I thought my heart would burst with the love I had for him, thinking know one could love him as much as I did. All I knew in that moment is that he was and would forever be my absolute everything. My thoughts of perfect world with just me and my baby were disturbed by a knock on the door and a voice saying "hi". I looked up from the view of my perfectly sweet little boy to see Steve standing in the doorway , after getting into the recovery room shortly after the baby was born and I had enough strength I called Steve. well twice since he didn’t pick up the first time and the second time Tommy ended up answering the phone and I didn't have the strength nor the patience to withstand a conversation with that asshat , I responded to what Steve had said by saying "come in" . He just sat there in the doorway before I repeated "you can come in" he nodded before walking out of the doorway and took a seat in the chair by the bed. He quietly sat there before I spoke again saying "you can come sit with us". He nodded before taking the small spot on the bed before placing his hand on the baby's back and began to stroke there back in the same motion as I was causing our hands to brush against each other before I asked. "Do you wanna hold him" his jaw feel saying "him" I nodded saying "it's a boy , just like you wanted" he nodded as I added "I wish you were there". He nodded again saying "I know and I'm so sorry and I promise that I'll be there from now on" he then snuggled into the crook of my neck to get a better look at the peacefully asleep baby as he placed a kiss on my chin before he added "your amazing" I then repeating her question from earlier saying "do you wanna hold him". He nodded as I help situate him in Steve's arms causing him to stir a bit , after he was situated he said "how are you feeling" I shrugged saying "tired I guess" Steve nodded saying "he's so little" causing me to giggle saying "four pounds , that's less than a bag of potatoes" he chuckled at my words before he asked "does he have a name". I shook her head saying "no , I wanted for you" he nodded saying "well are there any you like". I nodded saying "Well it's a tie between Jackson and -" he cut me off saying "I like Jackson" I responded saying "you do" Steve nodded saying "yeah I really do". He then pecked my cheek before Jackson began to stir again , I sat there watching Jackson snuggle into Steve thinking about what happy day this was supposed to be until the words I wanted to say just feel out. "I'm really mad at you" his jaw fell as I added "earlier I said I was okay but I lied I'm really mad" he rolled his eyes before saying "can we not do this right now". I sighed saying "I cannot believe you leave like you did and then comeback and act like everything's okay but it's not" Steve shook his head saying "I'm not talking about this right now". I sighed saying "fine but I'm not talking you ever again" he chuckled to himself before saying "I'd like to see you try".

Flashback over

It was only a few hours since mom had offered to take Jackson for the night since she started to tell that the past few weeks were finally starting to get to me and causing me to emotionally deteriorate. I had finally moved out of my bedroom when I realized that there wasn’t really anything in there but dirty laundry and that dreadful box that was practically staring me down. I settled to a spot onto the couch since I could now go to the video store without it being awkward , I could continue to feel the tears flood my eyes and could start to taste the salt of my tears on the spoon I was using to devourer the ice cream that was leftover from Jackson’s birthday party. I couldn’t help but feel them fall and make splatter marks on my face almost as they were creating a Jackson Pollock painting. It felt like it was what was what was supposed to happen , like maybe I was ready to move on and that tomorrow when I woke up that I could finally move on and that my son and I could start a new life together and that we would be able to make new memories and have a normal life. My thoughts of a beautiful new world with my son and I there were a set of knocks on my apartment front door, I sighed and began to contemplate weather or not to see who it was. One since I was perfectly comfortable sitting on the couch with my sweatpants and fuzzy socks and wrapped around a cozy blanket and two because it was after midnight and I knew better than to do so. I peeled the blanket off and began to quietly went to the front door and grabbed one of the more heavier books that I had placed on the table by my door that were way over due to go back to my library. Just as I made my way to the front door, I heard a voice that I was almost afraid I would never hear again, a voice that used to make my heart pound and still would sometimes. I took a deep breath before placing the book back onto the table before opening the door to see Steve who looked as if he had been through the same ring of hell that I currently felt stuck in. Steve didn’t say anything he just simply walked into my apartment before I spoke saying “hi”. He didn’t say anything he just stood in silence as I asked “are you okay” he responded saying “no, um actually I’m not uh Alison and I broke up she was lying to me about being pregnant" I frowned as he added "and I guess we wanted different things” I again frowned at his words even though I was angry with Steve I felt his pain , it practically radiated off of him. I could also feel a sense of relief that Alison was out of Steve’s life since I could tell she was starting to get on his nerves and not only that but now she’d be out of Jackson’s life as Steve stood there silently the curiosity of what caused the break up and what different things could they have possibly wanted began to chip at me causing me to ask. “what kind of things” he sighed saying “well she was in love with me and I uh am in love with you” my face fell in shock but before I could respond I felt Steve pull me into his arms and as the space between us got smaller and small I musked up some courage and grazed my lips on his and he closed the space between us and that’s when I finally got a grasp on what was happening. I was kissing Steve it had probably been five years since I had my lips where they were right now , unless you counted the few accidental kisses we had shared and I didn’t want this kiss to stop

As the kiss grew I felt Steve’s hand make a home on my hips , I wrapped my arms around his neck I then began to walk back towards the couch and Steve followed , his lips not ever leaving mine until my legs hit the back of the couch. As Steve and I settled onto the couch Steve’s lips left mine and started to make landfall onto my neck and started to work on what I knew would be a very intense hickey I then started to know where this was going so I spoke saying “Steve , honey I think we should talk”. He quickly pulled away before apologizing profusely saying “I’m sorry I uh I’m already screwing this up and I’m sorry Y/N, I’ll uh just go and-“ I cut him off with a kiss before saying “Steve honey I want this I just think that maybe we should figure what we are and I-“ he then cut me off saying “I want us to be together and I know I screw up and I know that I left but I want us to be together again and making you choose that day was stupid and I think that maybe there is still a chance for us to be a family again. You , me and Jackson and I know I've made mistakes but I promise I’ll be here for you so we can be together and I don’t want to rush this but I think it’s forever , Y/N I love you”. I nodded before saying “I love you too Steve” before we could reconnect our lips the phone began to ring. I sighed before getting of the couch before answering the phone saying "hello" the person on the other side responded "hey Y/n it's Matt" I sighed saying "oh hey is everything okay" Matt was silent before I heard some faint whispering until he spoke again saying "the baby's here". My jaw feel in shock before I said "I thought it was supposed to be middle of August it's only the-" he cut me off saying "they screwed the date up she's here and she's healthy , oh my god Y/n she's beautiful". Before I could say anything else Steve came up behind me saying "who is it" I mouthed out the words 'Matt' which he clearly didn't understand until I spoke again on the phone saying "well do you mind visitors" he responded saying "no at all , I think we'd actually like that" I nodded before saying "alright well we'll see you in a little bit".

After getting off the phone with Matt I gave Steve the recap Matt gave had given me before we made our way to the hospital. Our drive was quiet with the sound of the radio playing to break the tension , I wasn't exactly sure what was going to happen if we stayed at my apartment. I was sure it was something the two of us hadn't done together in a while and in fact the last we did that it was on a beach towel by the lake and less then nine months later Jackson was born. I shook that feeling aside as Steve turned down the radio saying "just so were clear and I'm not confused we are back together right". I chuckled before saying "yeah were back together" he nooded be adding "just wanted to make sure incase someone accidentally tells someone". I chuckled again before he pulled into the parking lot of the hospital , we entered the hospital and walked over to receptionist before I spoke saying "hi were looking for Collen Thomas's room" the receptionist nodded before saying "she's in room 147" we nodded before making our way towards the room. We quickly found it since the night of Jackson's appendix debacle Steve and I had become pretty familiar with the hospital and its layout. Before we got to the hallway were the room was Steve spoke saying "hey I'm uh gonna stay out here for a few minutes" I frowned saying "why" he shrugged saying "well there kinda your friends" I responded saying "are you sure" he nodded saying "I tell you what I'll give you a few minutes and then I'll come in okay" I nodded before pecking his lips before walking down the hall.

I knocked on the door before hearing a voice say "come in" I opened the door before seeing Matt crammed in the hospital bed with Colleen but not just them. Cradled in Colleens arms was there baby her pink hat matched the balloons tied to the end of the bed and the flowers on the small table , it was no surprise since pink was Colleens favorite color. As I got closer Matt stood up before taking the baby out of Colleen's arms I stood next to Matt to get a closer look at the baby , she looked like almost identical to Colleen but her eyes fluttered open to reveal small peaks of blue eyes like Matt's. Matt spoke spoke saying "do you wanna hold her" I of course nodded since it has been so long holding a baby so small. As I was situated holding the baby he spoke saying "this is Emily but were gonna call her Emma , I felt tears form in my eyes since I knew that was Matt's mother's name who had passed away when Matt was young. He then added "yeah uh Emily Y/n Patterson" I felt even more tears prick my eyes when he said that. I finally spoke saying "oh she's beautiful" they didn't respond instead had surprised looks on there faces which confused me until I felt a kiss being pressed to my cheek. I looked to see Steve standing besides me causing Matt to say "I wasn't gonna say anything but does the lipstick in your teeth have something to do with Steve's hair looking like that". Colleen gasped before saying "Mathew. He shrugged before Emma yawned and reopened her eyes again. The four of took turns holding Emma and talking but I couldn't help but think all of this stuff that had been going on and now was a new life that had brought into this world and I help but wonder what would be in store for us after a few hours of visiting with Matt , Colleen and Emma we went home.

When I entered the apartment I tossed my shoes off before entering the dinning room to put my bag down only to find a bouquet of Roses and a stack of papers which I knew had to be the letter I had for Steve. Upon further examination I noticed that in fact this wasn't my letter , it was one Steve had made himself , Steve had his own letter.....

Please don't plagiarize my work , stay safe and feedback is appreciated

Taglist @disneyprincessbuffyannesummers @queenofthehairharrington @charmed-asylum

[kinetic-elaboration]

March 22: Orphan Black 4x07

Another excellent episode of Orphan Black S4. It’s not disappointing at all. I really can’t remember why I stopped watching when it was on the air. Now I’m wondering if I actually did watch all of S4 but I just didn’t continue on to S5 for some reason--or maybe it was S5 that went off the rails for me?

Anyway. This was a very well-paced episode and it was exactly what the show needed after the turning point of the prior ep. It went all in on the aftermath and it didn’t tone itself down at all, but it also didn’t feel like they were just trying to one-up the previous episode or just up the stakes exponentially. Each clone had her own unique, and uniquely messed up, reaction to their tragedy, so the plot felt varied and yet all the stakes were high.

Sarah reverting to old habits made sense. Before the show, she was a loner, and now she wants to be a loner again, where she can’t hurt anyone or be hurt. I won’t lie, her sections with the club goers and with Dizzy were really hot. But I also think they did a good job of showing how she could be brought to the edge--a better job than they did with Beth, I still think. There was absolutely no greater sacrifice in Sarah’s contemplated suicide, no ‘purpose’ to it at all, like we were possibly meant to think Beth’s had purpose (still not sure if we were supposed to believe that or not but I do think it’s a defensible reading). Where she was in this episode is where I THOUGHT they were leading Beth. But... not quite. I also loved that she was saved by Felix, by her family--one of the biggest differences between Beth and Sarah being again, that Beth was alone, and Sarah has a network of support.

Cosima still feels like the weak clone in this re-watch. I thought she was getting more interesting at the beginning of this ep: now she’s really in it, not just the science exposition; she saw Kendall die, she’s haunted by her own role in the scheme. Trying to put the implant in herself was a ballsy move, but tbh it was undercut somewhat for me by, first, the way she insulted Scott (like come ON man he has been nothing but there for you since Day One, as a friend and as a scientist, you worked with Delphine for like two days, then she abandoned you--do you only appreciate people you fuck? that’s so dumb), and second, that it was news of Delphine that stopped her from her mad scientist experiments. Like I’m just tired of this weird fantasy romance with no basis in the text. It just makes me lose respect for Cosima as a person, honestly.

Alison’s story had a little bit of that distinctive comic relief feel (I want Donnie to tell me ghost stories!) but still hit me hard with Alison’s attempt to write a condolence card. And it did such a good pivot at the end! I loved the fake out with the Reverend, which paired with Duko’s fake out with Art earlier, all brought together in the violent raid on their little suburban scene. Now a new story line has opened up, a new sort of terror that’s really only been hinted at so far: the use of the apparatus of the state to control the lives of the clones.

I appreciate that the show did a cleaning off of the slate in the last ep, because I was getting a little confused about what had been accomplished and what they needed to do and now it’s like... same old problems, nothing accomplished! So it’s been simplified a bit.

Rachel seemed to be mostly about exposition today: finally revealing the island, beginning the history lesson on Victorian Neolution. Pretty hilarious how proud Susan is of being a eugenicist lol. I think Evie has gotten too cocky, and made a big tactical error in telling Rachel she was as expendable as any other self-aware clone, because now Rachel is obviously primed to team up with Sarah et al and take Evie down. Like ‘oh, you don’t think Neolution would ever put a clone in a position of importance? Import this, bitch.”

And the eye! I remember loving the concept of the eye when I first watched this episode, and I still love it, and I hope it develops into something interesting. The bio/body horror concept of something implanted in her that gives her weird visions--fits really well with the general body-horror theme of the season. Their bodies, and any other bodies Neolution gets its hands on, are just landscapes for experimentation. Truly creepy.

We’ll see if it actually fully goes in that direction.

[implexadyth]

How the PLL Finale Retroactively Ruined the Show

This was honestly the most baffling series finale I have ever seen, and that includes (yes, really) the finale to How I Met Your Mother. Let me break it down for you, and explain exactly why it is so mind-bogglingly terrible.

 ~From opening credits to the 40-minute mark: random filler dream sequences, pointless cameos, and fan-fiction lip service smut, the latter of which might have made sense if they hadn’t inserted about fifty sex scenes into the previous two episodes as well. 

Then came what was arguably the best scene of the episode, Twincer mimicking Spencer as she wakes up in her high-tech underground bunker, complete with fake atmosphere and nature, built in a year under the entire town of Rosewood via a single entrance below a private house by contractors who didn’t care about bylaws, zoning restrictions, or the need to provide silent heavy machinery that can be condensed into the size of a doorframe to be reconstructed inside Toby’s house in order to complete their job. Awesome! I thought that was a neat way to introduce the twincer concept, with the mirror imaging. My optimism for the episode rises slightly.

The Spencer-twin theory was the one I was predicting would be brought to the table, so I was gratified to be correct. I’d seen interviews with I. Marlene King where she said she’d read correct theories online, and I’ve read (and constructed!) some very complex ones that would have tied together most of the series, so at this point, my impatience brought on by the complete waste of my time creating a 2-hour finale was dissolving.

Oh man, was I in for it! BLIMEY!

               I’m entirely baffled by the rest of the finale, save for Mona’s ending, which was hilarious if not completely logical (let’s be honest, we all suspend our logic somewhat when watching this show. We have to.) But the A.D. reveal? The only explanation for the way they built Alex Drake’s backstory is that somehow they deliberately conceived of a character whose existence could create an explanation for 90% of the plotholes of the entire 7 seasons, give the show a deeper meaning, and give reason to the fact that multiple random people seem to want to torture a specific handful of (admittedly thoughtless and sometimes downright idiotic) suburban highschoolers-turned-grownups in a game of Pass The Torture Baton ….and then said, hey, fuck it! That’d be too easy; let’s actually go to MORE effort to give her a backstory that not only has raging plotholes of its own, but retroactively ruins the CeCe reveal (which was culturally insensitive in and of itself, but let’s not even go there).

How does this retroactively ruin the CeCe reveal, you ask? Not sure why you would, but let’s indulge. If CeCe was having this sisterly relationship with Alex since she left for France, which was canonically taking place after the girls killed Shana in New York, then why was CeCe’s obsession with Alison? Alison, homecoming queen, must reconcile with my sister Alison! Pictures of Alison all over my lairs, and the dollhouse is so I can bring a homecoming for my sister Alison, and I’m going to leave lots of clues about my origins with the DiLaurentis family. Except I already found a true sister in Europe, and my other actual biological sister is Spencer, but fuck her, because for some reason, the Hastings are TERRIBLE PEOPLE, Alex, just trust me (*cough cough* pot, kettle, black *cough cough*).

Aside from the fact that I don’t understand why Charlotte would have a particular vendetta against Spencer, at least enough to tell Alex that she needs to stay away from her, the timeline also makes no sense. If, as Alex says, Wren and Melissa were already broken up by the time she met him, which was obviously before she met Charlotte, since he introduced them, then the scene with Hanna and Melissa in London makes no sense. How could Hanna run into Melissa in London DURING the five-year time jump, with them conversing about how Melissa and Wren recently broke up, if they were already broken up for good before the dollhouse episodes occurred?

Of course, this is only one of many, many gaping holes (phrasing) in this incredibly condensed half-finale reveal. Many people have said, “it’s Pretty Little Liars! Stop thinking it through so much.” And I’m like, “yes, hello 2017, I realize that suspending disbelief and lowering your standards below ground level are basically a necessity for this brave new world, but somehow I still manage to press on with it.”

The reason that these lackluster explanations are so infuriating is two-fold. First, the show has historically managed to weave complex concepts and suspenseful plotlines, while dropping hints that are obscure and yet indicate the potential that the overall conclusion of the show could redeem the many failings it has. Second, and most importantly, it actually quite literally would have been EASIER to use the twin theory to retroactively explain the overall arc of the show in a satisfying way. At the moment that Alex says goodbye to Charlotte as she returns to the US and says she never saw her alive again, my friend and I paused the show (thank god I downloaded this illegally, I can’t imagine how I would have felt if I’d paid to watch that episode), and looked at each other in disbelief. Don’t worry, past self! It’ll only get more horrifyingly, entertainingly bad.

With the exception of episode 7x19, the entire seventh season was filler, and not even good filler. I convinced myself that it was because they were building up to a dramatic, shocking and satisfying finale. I also told myself I wasn’t going to be too optimistic, but clearly I was in serious, life-threatening denial. After suffering through an entire year consisting of 9 filler episodes and a lot of waiting, the entire deductive process of the main characters discovering A.D.’s identity can be summed up in two lines of dialogue (paraphrased): 

Toby: “you guys! A horse and Jenna told me Spencer isn’t herself! Also she gave me a book! She’s a twin, she’s evil! We have to get her!” 

Everyone else: “uhhh hang on we were engaging in illegal and grossly inappropriate investigation of our friends’ credit card statements and GPS tracking because he was mean and left our other friend at the altar! P.S. I still don’t understand why people always want to torture us! A twin, you say? TWINS RUN IN THEIR FAMILY! Say no more! Let’s hurry and get there before we run out of time in this finale, I swear there was a reason it was two hours long.”

I actually calculated the time that this scene took, and it was exactly one minute. From Toby arriving and spewing nonsense about Spencer’s book when they were asking about Ezra’s whereabouts, to them just accepting what wasn’t even presented as a theory, but a statement of fact based on the testimony of one of their sworn enemies, and a horse (this is so ridiculous, it bears repeating). Literally 60 effing seconds. I’m so glad they stayed true to the fans by indulging in their enjoyment of the process, of the deduction and clues that led to their discovery of villains or potential villains over the years.

Still not convinced? This isn’t enough lead-up? Don’t change the channel! Just wait! There’s more! We’ve got the most exhausted TV trope in history, the “which twin is the evil twin? Let’s ask a question only the REAL Spencer Hastings would know! Better hope the twin never read the book that she knew her doppelganger loved so much, despite the fact that she clearly spent months or years studying her as to effectively mimic her and be able to regurgitate specific bits of knowledge from her life or memories by rote, and also knew to give you the book in the first place. But oh wait, she didn’t even bother to make sure her copy looked like the original, so somehow she is omniscient and yet also lacks a keen eye for detail simultaneously.”

Mona’s ending was clever and satisfying, aside from the fact that they painted Mary Drake as an insane-yet-still-protective mother to Spencer, but then we were supposed to be happy about her eternal torture and misery at the hands of another mentally ill person. Aside from all the incredibly offensive lessons we’ve been taught by PLL about mental health issues, the Mona ending was somewhat fulfilling, and had they ended the finale there, I might have upgraded my evaluation of this episode from 0.0003/10 to 0.0005/10. But no, they had a group of the most awkward and untalented pre-teens regurgitate the exact script from the beginning of the pilot, a move so bewilderingly stupid, I don’t even understand how the executives gave this thing the green light. Who are these people, and why are they getting paid exponentially higher salaries than I am? What is most confusing about this is that I watched an interview with I. Marlene King where she was bursting with pride about this “full-circle moment” and couldn’t wait to reveal it to the fans. Did she actually watch the final edit of this thing? The only part of this that feels full-circle is the way it resembles a dog chasing its tail. Pointless, self-serving, and humorous in the most ridiculous way.

The most entertaining part of this entire experience is that they spent 7 years teaching their fans how to use social media and technology to harass people who have wronged them, and then completed their run by creating an ending that would instil the same emotions into those people. Good luck with that! (N.B.: I do not endorse this in any way. I mean that truly; you deserve better than to waste any more time or effort on this show, or anyone who had a hand in crafting that ending).

               Personally, I’ll end this with my relatively simplistic alternate explanation/ending that would have circumvented all of this bullshit, then sigh a breath of relief at the catharsis that is walking away from all those wasted hours of my life. As an aside, I hope Troian Bellisario goes on to bigger and better things – her accent wasn’t great, but her acting was fantastic. You were the sole saving grace of this episode. In the meantime, I recommend to anyone who hasn’t watched the finale yet: pretend that 7x19 is the last episode, for your own sake. It has a decent ending, and while it doesn’t answer most of your questions, it doesn’t retroactively ruin the entire 7 seasons preceding it, either.

How it Actually Should Have Ended

-          “I’m your twin! Alex Drake!” *Spencer gasps in shock*.

-          “How is this possible?” The fans ask.

-          She tells her story:

-          I was adopted from Radley, but given back because by the time I could form memories, I was already too much of a rascal! I was raised in Radley under the name Bethany Young, and Alison lured me from the Sanitarium with the intention to kill me out of jealousy. I can make plans too, though! I convinced another patient with blond hair to come with me, and put her in the clothes Jessica gave me. She was buried by Melissa, who thought she was Alison. The same person who switched Alison’s dental records did the same for me, and also I found out my real name is Alex Drake. From then on, I was obsessed with getting revenge with not only Alison for plotting to kill me, but also the girls who let her get away with being such an abysmal person. As a bonus, one of them is my twin sister who had the luck of being born a minute before me, and therefore got a fabulously privileged life, while most of mine was spent in Radley. So I enlisted Mona and then Charlotte, whom I discovered to be my sister during my investigation of my family tree (and was lucky enough to be cooped up in Radley too! Double score on the background connections!) to help me get revenge on those I perceived to be the source of my own misery in life.

-          No? Too easy? I guess we’ll just have to insert a time-travelling paradox of a backstory to explain my existence, because otherwise our executive producer would have to actually re-watch some of the episodes before writing this finale. And that would be way, way too much work (considering the pittance I’m sure she’s paid) to create the ending to a show whose premise is the unraveling of a mystery. It’s okay, the show was insanely popular enough to give her more work in the future, no matter how badly she cratered the one episode that could have made the whole thing brilliant.

[lxlipetals]

misadventures in babysitting. + self para

TAGGING: Lili Reinhart, Alison Gustin. @theflashgrant, @hyfdanielle

LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA, Lili’s apartment.

TIMEFRAME: May 2nd, 2017. Early evening.

NOTES: A self proclaimed “baby whisperer”, Lili finally meets her match.

Grant and Alison were due to arrive in less than thirty minutes, and Lili was still hurrying around her apartment trying to clean it up. It was going to be just her and the nine month old tonight as Grant and Danielle were attempting a date night, and her two roommates were out and about doing their own things. Lili had offered to watch the little girl ages ago when first meeting Grant and now that he had finally taken her up on it, Lili felt a flutter of both excitement and nerves settle in the pit of her stomach. She felt honored and flattered that Grant trusted her enough with easily the most important person in his life and also anxious that she wouldn’t let him down. Lili had been babysitting practically her entire life; her little sister and her cousins had been her practice and while she knew that she was responsible and confident enough to last the few hours they’d be out..Alison still had never met Lili before so it all depended on her as to how this evening went. Biting her lip at the thought, Lili turned at the sound of the buzzer alerting her Grant was here and she fixed her high bun. He had warned her about Alison’s tendency to pull hair and she wasn’t stupid enough to ignore it. Buzzing him back in, Lili took a deep breath and then went to open the door so that he could just walk right in.

When she saw Alison, Lili visibly melted as she was sure most did around the beautiful infant. “Hi Alison!” She greeted her with a large smile, her voice dipping down into a gentle coo. “Oh my goodness, aren’t you a pretty little thing! You must take after your mommy entirely!” Lili gave Grant a teasing smile and then went alert, nodding as he explained to her Alison’s schedule and gave her a list of all the emergency numbers and information she needed in case, God forbid, anything out of the ordinary happened. Stepping back so he could say goodbye to his daughter, Lili then outstretched her arms to take her and could feel Alison tensing up. She sensed her daddy was leaving her and Lili could see her petal lips scrunching into a pout, ready to cry so she waved Grant off quickly and then winced slightly as the first peal of unease emitted from Alison. Yep. Somebody was a daddy’s girl.

Lili had been expecting this, though. She wasn’t shaken. (Yet) Alison just had to grow comfortable around Lili and as the twenty year old bounced around her living room with Alison on her hip, she genuinely had high hopes that the evening would pan out to be much more smooth sailing than how it had started. “Shh, shh, it’s okay,” she soothed Alison and jiggled her up and down lightly in the attempts of comforting her as the baby cried her little heart out for her parents. “They’ll be back, I promise! We’re going to have so much fun, Ali, you’ll see. Just get it all out and then you and I can get to know each other.” Her hand rubbed soothing circles on Alison’s back and the smallest hint of a headache started to form in the back of Lili’s head from the shrill screams but she continued to smile. They’d be okay.

Except they weren’t.

The longer the hours stretched on, the more frazzled Lili slowly became. She didn’t understand. Babies loved her. She had never held an infant or a toddler that didn’t instantly quiet at her touch. It was a joke in her family that she was the ‘baby whisperer’ because even if one was fussy, the minute Lili talked to them or made goofy faces at them, they’d grow happy and a collective sigh of relief could be heard around the room. She picked up naturally on what to do as well, she was like a mother-in-training without the actual need to push one out herself. So why Alison Gustin wanted nothing to do with her was a mystery and Lili was dying in the attempts to solve it. Was it because she was tired? Was she coming down with something? Did Lili’s face offend her? She didn’t know, and pretty soon, Lili herself just wanted to lay on the floor with the small infant and join her in the crying.

When Lili tried to feed her dinner, Alison swiped off the food and cracked a small smile as it got all over Lili’s floor. When Lili tried to bathe her, Alison screamed at the top of her lungs like the water was burning her skin until Lili quickly scooped her up in a towel, not wanting her neighbors to think she was murdering somebody in her apartment. When Lili turned on TV, Alison made sure her cries overpowered anything that was on the screen. It was a mess of tears, snot, crankiness and general fussiness and Lili’s small headache had evolved into a full blown migraine. She had finally met her match. This nine month old wanted nothing to do with her and to be honest, Lili was pretty sure this was the best safe sex ad she could witness for a very long time. 

When Grant finally came back around to pick up Alison, she could see his eyes visibly widen at how Lili looked. Her hair had escaped its bun and Alison had insisted on tugging on it, it being the only thing that seemed to make her happy so Lili hadn’t had the heart to protest it. Her shirt was damp and had a stain on it from the food Alison had decided to aim towards Lili’s dogs rather than her mouth. She looked like she had faced World War 3..and lost. Like she had lost miserably and she was merely a shell of the woman she used to be. “Your daughter hates me,” she weakly wheezed out and gaped as Alison leaned forward to kiss her cheek sloppily goodbye.

“But - No - Wait, no, she cried all night! She threw - she threw food at me! Your child -” Lili was absolutely gobsmacked as Alison had suddenly transformed from red-faced terror to sweet little angel in the blink of an eye and she wondered in a surreal daze if she had just imagined the whole night. How was it possible that the docile princess resting in Grant’s arms, gazing sweetly at her was the same little girl who had been twisting in Lili’s arms all night, not wanting anything to do with her? 

Lili had been bested by an infant.

“Night,” she managed to get out weakly and then slumped against the door. She needed a beer.

No. Make that straight up vodka.

[ocalaghan]

So... I finally finished Pretty Little Liars, and honestly, WHAT THE EVER LOVING FUCK WAS THAT? The final season was a bit of a shit-storm as it was but the actual finale itself... what the literal... fuck... I’m not even sure I fully understand everything that happened? And the night that Alison got buried/ran away still doesn’t fully make sense to me? 

I just can’t believe that after seven seasons, they went with the evil twin route... TWICE. I’m shook and not in the good way. 

I just still have so many questions. Like, they definitely tied up a bunch of loose ends in the finale which I appreciate but things are still messy and unanswered here and there... I dread to think the amount of plot-holes this show must have? 

I don’t regret watching it or anything because I was genuinely invested and loved the characters so much but it just got so messy. It should’ve ended after season four or five, I think. It suffered from over-arcing climax syndrome where they’d defeat one bad guy and then suddenly, there was another bigger, worse bad guy to get rid of, who had conveniently never been mentioned until the first bad guy was out of the picture. And they did that, like... four times over or something. 

But I am gonna have to read up on the Wikia site for the show and try to figure out some answers to questions I still have lmfao... I’m just so confused. 

However, I do really like that they gave pretty much everyone a happy ending. I appreciate that cheesy shit lol. 

Emily and Alison finally working things out to be together was a relief, and the fact they got two daughters out of it was really nice. I like to think they maybe had a third baby to give Emily a chance to be pregnant this time, except maybe through a consensual sperm donor for once. And Jason still being in Alison’s life was nice; I like to think their dad kinda came back around too. I mean he does have two granddaughters now, so. 

Spencer’s life has been totally ripped apart this entire series but I’m glad they gave her Toby again. I didn’t see how they would get back together after Yvonne died right in front of him but that year-long time-skip in the final episode made it all good lol. Toby and Spencer absolutely deserved to be happy and successful together (and have a baby on their own terms eventually). And it also made me happy that she seemed to finally be at peace with her family. Getting along with Melissa and her mom... I kinda can’t envision Mona being able to keep Mary and Alex imprisoned forever in France so I guess it would also be nice if they went back to jail and Spencer was able to visit Mary again because I can picture her doing that regularly. The finale didn’t seem to mention her dad so I can only imagine she was estranged from him after the divorce, understandably, but maybe they’ll reconcile someday. Who knows. ALSO I was rooting for Jenna for once in that finale too, like yaaaassss girl??? Telling off the school bullies and warning Toby about Spencer/Alex. I hope Jenna, Toby, and Spencer can all get along. It would’ve been cool if we saw Jenna happily dating somebody too (another girl, preferably, because I need more lady-on-lady action). 

As for Hanna and Caleb... my LOVES... I love them so much. I panicked when they seemed unhappy at first in the finale despite their financial and career success but I’m glad they were all good again by the end. I was shook as hell that Hanna was trying for a baby/got pregnant though. Like all these girls seem so bloody eager to have kids; they’re only in their early twenties, hahaha. But I was just so happy for Hanna and Caleb because they really deserved the financial success, and I was even more happy to hear that they were still friends with Lucas. I almost don’t want Mona to end up back in a psychiatric facility -- she can stay hiding in France with her hot French boyfriend as long as she writes to her mom and Hanna occasionally lol. I didn’t really want Mona to go crazy again, I was sad about that. Also, as for Hanna’s mom, I thought it was really cool that she transformed the Radley into a hotel but I was HELLA bummed when it seemed like she and the priest dude who was Charlotte’s real dad seemed not to be engaged any more? I liked them together, I want them to get married. 

And then there’s Aria and Ezra. Vom. I knew they were endgame before I even started watching the show but I’m still really annoyed about that. They took a toxic, manipulative, ILLEGAL relationship between a fifteen-year-old schoolgirl and her English teacher and totally normalised it, even after it surfaced that Ezra had been lying the entire time and using Aria so he could write a book. But, whatever. I’m glad Aria was having success with her book and it being turned into a movie. Again, shocked that she and Ezra were prepared to look into adoption the second they were back from their honeymoon. Like, honey, no. Wait a few years, write more books, make more money, travel... babies can come later. But as long as they’re happy, I’ll deal with it. I would’ve way preferred to see her end up with someone like Holden though. I liked that they brought him back, I’m glad he and Aria met again. Kinda sad that we didn’t see more of Mike in the final season (or see him at all, actually). But he was at college so I guess that can be forgiven lol. He doesn’t have time for his sister’s blackmail drama. 

I liked that all the parents seemed happy too (bar Spencer’s dad, who’s probably gonna be working for the rest of his life to earn his daughters’ trust again), although I’m still so sad about Emily’s dad dying. But she mentioned her mom was dating again so I guess that’s okay hahaha. 

But, yeah. Other than being really happy that all the characters got a happy ending, I wasn’t satisfied with the plot itself. Like, an evil twin? Really? I didn’t even see it coming, mostly because you’d think they’d try and explore something else after already shocking us with the twin thing in regards to Jessica and Mary. I was never even happy about who A was -- Mona, I was surprised at, but when the ‘official’ A turned out to be Cece/Charlotte, I wasn’t very impressed. The girls had already speculated it might be Cece and then veered away from that theory so when it turned out to actually be her, it didn’t feel very shocking, just annoying. 

Also, the actual final end where it shows the mean girl Addison going missing the way Alison did in an absolutely identical fashion with her friends (one of whom was Maya’s niece or something?) was SO cheesy. Like, no, I don’t wanna think about this thing being a cycle. Let it die with Alison and her friends. Addison was just a bitch. I don’t know if they were going to try and create another (failed) spin-off or if they just thought that would be a really clever way to end a seven-season show but regardless, it was dumb. 

I’m also still annoyed we didn’t get a start-to-finish sequence of the night Alison vanished. Like I was really hoping that the final episode would have a flashback of that night, and show everything in the order that it happened, so I could make sense of where everyone tied in, because it was just so fucking over-complicated when they kept adding bits over the years. 

Overall, I don’t think it was a waste of time, it was just a show with a good premise that sadly went downhill after a few years. But the girls are all really talented actresses (as are the guys, actually) and I’ll definitely be keeping track of their careers!