#it is crazy that these two are really only tied together through ethan

[the-woman-upstairs]

Just thinking about, in Fallout, how frightened for his life Benji is when they learn that Ilsa’s after Lane and how nothing will stop her from killing him, but Ethan promises to protect him. And then you get to the final showdown against Lane and it’s actually Ilsa that fights to save Benji’s life!

[maneskinrollercoaster]

~ You Don’t Even Have Fucking Balls To Choose The One You Love ~

Pairing: Damiano David x Victoria De Angelis

Word count: 1754

Warnings: a bit of swearing and a slight angst but apart from that none

Summary: One little kiss leads to something unexpected.

It all started with an innocent kiss. They’ve just won Eurovision and all the excitement and adrenaline was too much. His soft lips met hers harshly and she wrapped her hands around his neck. Both surprised pulled away from each other and started laughing, not thinking much of what just happened between them and quickly ran to others, jumping from happiness.

Their lips met again a month later after they all went off the stage in Poland, both sweaty and exited from their performance, blood rushing in their veins. No one was surprised really, it was well known that between these two there was always a spark of chemistry that none of them could deny. Little did they know that this spark will evolve in something much more than just innocent kisses.

One night he entered her room silently, in a rush of anxiety and woke her up gently, trying not to scare her.

What’s going on, Damiano? She said and sat on the bed looking a him with a worried expression.

He looked pale, without any colors on his face, eyes watery and his hands shaking.

I’m scared, Vic. What if all this is too good to be true? What if everything we’re doing is gonna end in a blink of an eye? He said and Vic not saying anything pulled him closer in a warm hug, wrapping her arms around his neck.

That night he stayed in her bed and both of them, not really knowing why, got lost in each other, trying hard for everyone not to hear their moans and fell asleep with their naked bodies tied together in a warm hug.

It kept on happening more often during the tour. In a rush of adrenaline they would lock themselves in a fitting room behind the stage and have sex to make all the stress vanish.

Fans saw something was happening and the two of them knew that their unusual relationship is being slowly revealed to the world. All the stage glances, naked pool pictures and all the interactions they had with each other suddenly became visible for the internet. They didn’t care though, still enjoying each other’s company and support.

The truth was, they’ve always been the closest with each other. They just clicked from the beginning and enjoyed spending time together, even after recording. They often stayed up all night talking about their favorite bands, singing their favorite songs or just chatting about everything and nothing. And because their chemistry was so good and their friendship so strong, they didn’t see anything bad in their small sexual secret.

Not until Damiano’s girlfriend started having doubts about his loyalty. Don’t get her wrong though, Giorgia loved Damiano and she would never even think of thinking of the idea of Damiano having an affair. But all the instagram edits, all the YouTube videos and all the ambiguous pictures of him and Victoria, made her have second thoughts, whether Damiano is truly dedicated to her and only her.

So when she brought it up, Damiano only then realized, what he was doing. He never was the one to cheat but suddenly he found himself cheating on Giorgia with Vic, which was never meant to happen. After all, they’ve been together for four years and he never wanted to hurt her, let alone cheat on her.

So he lied.

Nothing is between us, amore. Are you crazy? You know that this whole chemistry thing is just for show. Also it’s hard not to suspect anything when we’re trying to keep our relationship private. Damiano said and quickly wrapped his arms around Giorgia to assure her of his lie.

She loved him so she believed him. But she wasn’t stupid though and noticed something was different about Damiano. Since winning Eurovision they haven’t been intimate with each other as they used to be before. All they really did was kissing and cuddling but sex almost vanished.

So he lied again.

I’m so sorry, babe. I’m so stressed with all the tour and recording the new album is taking a lot of time. I didn’t realize that I’ve grown distant with you. Let me fix that. He said and kissed her gently.

That night, Damiano tried to cover up his lies and cheating, with sex, which by the way wasn’t all that great for him. The truth was, all he thought about was Victoria and their little secret.

Time passed by and both of them grew closer and closer with each other, slowly catching feelings and making it obvious that something is in the air. It was harder for them to cover it up so around boys they’ve acted as if they were together. Ethan and Thomas didn’t mind, as much as they felt bad for Giorgia, they loved seeing Damiano and Victoria so happy.

The whole band with some of their friends went on a vacation to Bali. Beautiful views, crystal clear water, amazing weather, and everything would be perfect if not the fact that Damiano brought Giorgia with him. He couldn’t do anything about it though, he didn’t want her to suspect anything and it would look stupid if everyone took their closest people and he wouldn’t take his girlfriend.

Victoria couldn’t stand it. All the kisses, all the hugs and their constant laughter. Damiano looked completely lost in Giorgia and Vic’s heart ached at the sight of them having so much fun together. She wanted to be on her place after all and that’s when she realized that she’s head over heels in love with Damiano.

They couldn’t avoid it - you would say. But Victoria really thought at first that their relationship was strictly sexual and everything else between them was just a friendly love. Turns out she was wrong and her feelings for him were strong and sincere.

She told him then.

I can’t hide it anymore Dami. I can’t hide that I’m in love with you. She said and he looked at her with surprised expression.

Damiano knew his feelings and he knew he felt the same, but admitting it to Victoria and more importantly, to himself, hit him harder than he thought it would. He just then realized that he has to choose between staying with Giorgia and hurting Vic, which would possibly cause making things worse for the band, or staying with Victoria and hurting Giorgia, who after all, always been there for him for the past four years. Pretending wasn’t an option anymore.

I love you, Vic. And I don’t know how, but we will get through this together. He said and hugged her the tightest he could, afraid that she will slip through his fingers sooner than he thought.

Days went by and their new album Teatro D’Ira vol 2 was ready to be released. Many songs were about Victoria and her being more and more involved in their relationship, couldn’t stand a fact that Damiano would spend every night at Giorgia’s place. She couldn’t even begin to imagine him telling her that the songs are about her, lying in her face.

So one day she asked him.

Did you tell her, Dami? Victoria asked, entering the studio where Damiano was preparing instruments.

He promised Victoria that he will talk to Giorgia and end things with her as soon as it’s possible. He tried to avoid it, buying Victoria little gifts and filling her ears with sweet words and I love you’s but he knew that she isn’t dumb and that sooner or later she will demand explanations.

Tell who about what? He played dumb and he couldn’t believe that now he’s lying to Vic too.

Her cheeks turned red from anger and her eyes wide opened, gave him a death stare, not wanting to believe his confusion.

Are you kidding? Still nothing, he looked at her with a fake surprise on his face. Giorgia? About us? Don’t play stupid Damiano, you know exactly what I’m talking about! She raised her voice and Damiano gave up.

I didn’t. I’m sorry. You need to give me some more time. She just got out of the hospital, I can’t just go and slap her in the face with the fact that i cheated on her.

Her going out of the hospital is not an excuse! You were supposed to tell her a long time ago and yet you didn’t. Why? Victoria didn’t care if they will argue at this point, she wanted to get the answers and she wasn’t leaving anywhere without them.

Damiano didn’t know what to say. He was a coward, and after a long time he finally admitted it. He was too scared to tell Giorgia, he didn’t want to hurt her and for the first time in his life, he didn’t have the courage to tell someone how he really feels.

You know what, forget it. You don’t even have fucking balls to choose the one you love! Victoria shouted and stormed out of the studio, shutting the door the loudest she could.

She wasn’t the one to get hurt ever but she’s really fallen for Damiano and over the time their bond got stronger. She really felt like he was her soulmate, someone she was always looking for. But now she was crying over a guy for the first time in her life which she promised herself that’s never going to happen.

The tension between them was obvious. Thomas and Ethan could see that something is wrong, but not wanting to make things worse, they let them be. The concerts were less charismatic and their energy wasn’t showing that much, which made fans suspect too.

But the thing that happened next blew everyone away.

I wanna be your slave I wanna be your master. Damiano whispered to the microphone and quickly walked up to Victoria, pulling her in for a passionate kiss.

The crowd went crazy, they were screaming, crying and taking pictures, throwing things on the stage like flowers and clothes but Victoria and Damiano forgot about everyone around. It was only them, kissing on the stage and millions of butterflies flying in their stomachs. The feeling was indescribable, finally being able to do it in front of the fans, but Vic felt even more special because in that moment she knew that Damiano stated his feelings towards her.

It took me a while but the truth is that I would always choose you. He said, leaning his forehead against hers and they both smiled, enjoying each other’s presence.

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

Hello everyone!

Just a little disclaimer, this one shot is not by any means meant to send hate towards Giorgia or anything like that. It’s also not meant to harass Victoria and Damiano, it’s a pure imagination for all those who like to see some Damoria content.

I hope you enjoyed reading! ❤️

Tag list: [ @teenyweenynightghost , @superchrystaldrug , @unitersmoonshine ]

[alwaysmychoices]

Where I Think the OH Gang Ends Up - HCs

After 3 books of falling in love with these characters, I thought I’d share my HCs for where these characters end up - including some about Charlie and Ethan’s future. Obviously, this varies because I’m a Ethan romancer, so I could make different versions depending on your LI. Included is where they live, their jobs, and their personal lives. 

If you have any questions/HCs, feel free to reach out, and I hope you enjoy this!

Location: Boston, MA

Career: Diagnostician Specializing in Pediatrics

After her residency, Sienna worked at Edenbrook for a year before deciding to complete a fellowship in Pediatrics at Edenbrook, where she focused on diagnostics in children, particularly in conditions that are rare or difficult to diagnose.

During her fellowship, this field proved difficult mentally and emotionally, but Sienna’s resilience and strength, coupled with her passion for her patients, made her a leading figure in her field.

She stayed on at Edenbrook, where she bridged the gap between pediatrics and diagnostics.

Personal Life:

When all her friends started leaving Boston after residency, Sienna acted as the “glue” holding them together. She organized Zoom calls, visits, and group vacations. She also gets the best gossip as a result.

She stayed close with the whole group and regularly sees those who remained in Boston.

She still goes to see Danny’s mom for coffee and fresh baked goods.

Sienna met her husband through work. Her patient’s fourth-grade class organized a trip to show their support for their classmate. Andy was their teacher. Six months after they started dating, Sienna knew Andy was the one. She was baking cookies for her next meeting with Danny’s mom, and Andy not only offered to go with her but started helping her bake.

The gang is still very protective of Sienna – so much so that they all rushed to meet Andy to see if they approved. After all, only the best could deserve her.

When Sienna and Andy got married, everyone was so happy for them. But they were probably even happier a few years later when they started their family.

It took some adjustments, but Sienna adapted to her new work and family life balance like a pro – even if it meant she barely slept for those first few years.

Location: Boston, MA

Career: Diagnostician, Co-Head of the Diagnostics Team, Department Head

At the culmination of her residency, Charlie Greene probably could have gone anywhere she wanted, but she wanted to stay with her team. Even as she watched some of her friends go off to start new lives, she felt committed to Edenbrook.

However, it would have been easy for Ethan to stifle her career ambitions purely by taking up too much room and not leaving enough for her to grow. He wanted her to prosper though, so he had to step back when necessary.

Over time, the team dynamic shifted so that they were leading it together, so she deserved the title.

She proved to be an excellent doctor, teammate, researcher, and leader. So, when she was named head of the department many years later, it was an honor well deserved – even if it was one she later started to appreciate less once she realized the amount of paperwork involved.

She’s worked hard for everything she’s achieved, and she’s not done achieving it.

Personal Life:

Charlie married Ethan Ramsey, and after everything they’d been through, saying those vows came with a sigh of relief and joy.

Despite conversations about leaving Boston to be closer to family, they never did. Boston had become home.

They started a family with children, dogs, and a townhouse. They invited Ethan’s dad and Charlie’s parents to holidays, and Charlie’s friends had an open invitation to visit her.

It would be wrong to say that everything was easy, but they were happy.

Location: Boston, MA → Stanford, CA → Boston, MA

Career: Researcher & Attending at a Medical School & its Affiliated Hospital

Elijah went straight into research at Edenbrook after his residency. After a few years of learning from his coworkers and growing as a researcher, he published his research. He received the opportunity to leave Edenbrook and join a research team at Stanford University, and it was too good of an offer to pass up.

Elijah spent the next few years researching at Stanford as an academic, but once their research was published, he decided that pure academia wasn’t the right environment for him.

His impeccable research skills and high recommendations earned him job offers at university-affiliated teaching hospitals where he could do research and engage with patients. He accepted a position in Boston that met his research needs and brought him closer to home.

Elijah’s research contributions went on to help countless patients.

He continued to publish his research and lead several teams, all the way until he was leading his very own lab. By the end of his career, he was a top lecturer at a premier medical school.

Personal Life:

At the end of their residency, Elijah was the least afraid of the distance now separating him from his friends. His familiarity with his technology and his love for the gang meant that he was ready to keep them so digitally connected that they hardly noticed the separation.

Still, he missed them. And he missed Boston when he left, too.

Elijah was never too concerned about finding a partner, so he wouldn’t have minded ending up alone. In fact, for a long time, he thought he would.

Then, he met a fellow researcher, Alicia, at a convention. They bonded over their favorite comic books and their work. Though Alicia lived in Connecticut, they started dating, and within a few years, they were married in Boston. A few years later, they had kids and a shared google calendar blocking out their research days and family time.

Location: Miami, FL

Career: Surgeon

As the star resident, Bryce wasn’t particularly surprised when Edenbrook offered him a full-time position at the culmination of his residency. He fully intended it to take it, too.

But then there was the recruiter from Miami. He entertained the offer primarily for his ego, but something about it struck a nerve. One of his career idols was offering to take him under wing there, and even though Bryce had finished his residency, there was still so much he wanted to learn. He only visited to find out more – not because he intended to accept – but Miami allured him. The familiar heat, sea breeze, and electric energy captivated him.

It was a difficult decision, but ultimately, Bryce packed his bags and moved to Miami (even if he secretly cried about it and facetimed his friends constantly).

There, he prospered and honed his skills as a young surgeon.

When MC (Charlie) visits, it’s clear that Bryce and his mentor have a very similar relationship to that of Ethan and Naveen. So, it isn’t a surprise when Bryce assumes his mentor’s role after his retirement and heads the department – nor is it a surprise when Bryce’s surgical prowess became known outside Miami.

Bryce’s favorite achievement is the Lahela Method, a surgical method he developed, perfected, and popularized.

Personal Life:

Having finished his residency two years after everyone else, he thought he would be ready to leave Boston and his friends, but he wasn’t. They had become his family, and even with their strong bond and efforts to stay close, he missed them.

Leaving for Miami was difficult, but he made friends and kept in touch with the gang.

Bryce was too focused on work to ever start a serious relationship. He preferred casual flings and short romances to long-term relationships.

He’d been in Miami for two years when Kyra came into town for her extended visit. She only planned to stay in his guest room for two weeks, but she ended up staying for a month. He didn’t mind. In fact, he encouraged her to stay. He missed her and liked having her around – so much so that he convinced her to move to Miami.

Kyra was always looking for an adventure, and Miami looked like one. She moved in a few blocks from Bryce, and despite her intentions to soak up Miami, they basically spent all their time together.

He wasn’t sure when he fell in love with her.

But he did. Their friendship turned into a friendship with benefits. Then that got complicated with feelings. Then those feelings became more than feelings. And before either knew it, they were irrevocably in love. Despite never wanting to be tied down, they were tied to each other.

Bryce proposed, but it took them over a year to set a date because they were too busy living their crazy lives. They had so many plans – trips they wanted to take, a house they wanted to buy, and kids they might want to have – but they’re finding their way on their adventure.

Location: Miami, FL

Career: Influencer & Author

Though Kyra enjoyed working at Edenbrook (and really liked making money instead of incurring medical debt), she wouldn’t say that working in hospital administration was her dream.

She became restless, and she traded hospital administration for a series of other jobs.

Kyra started posting more and more on social media, and as she became more comfortable, she started being vulnerable about her health, the scars it left, and how she moved forward. She built a community of people experiencing similar things, and it sparked a passion in her.

Kyra dedicated her time to learning about social media to grow her following and continue sharing resources. A few of her posts went viral, and that was the catalyst to start her career.

After sharing content for a while, Kyra had the opportunity to publish her memoirs – a witty, funny look at her life that was inspiring, hilarious, and beloved by many.

Personal Life:

Kyra didn’t just become restless in her professional life. She also became restless in Boston. She did all the things to do in the city – explored all the crevices and exploited all the excitement. Even though she had been in remission for years, she still craved a full and exciting life.

She started traveling, often to the cities where she had friends who let her crash on their couch.

That’s how she got to Miami.

And how she inadvertently fell in love with Bryce Lahela.

Kyra and Bryce loved their life, and they lived it to the fullest. They took risks. They ate interesting dishes, went to exotic locations, and learned new things. They visited their friends and became the cool aunt and uncle to their families.

Kyra stayed in remission. To celebrate five cancer-free years, she and Bryce got matching buzz-cuts. On the next anniversary, they got matching tattoos.

Location: Washington D.C.

Career: Diagnostician & Activist

Jackie never intended to become an activist for healthcare reform, but once she stumbled into it, she developed a passion for the work after her unfortunate involvement with Panacea Labs. She even moved to D.C. to pursue lobbying.

She kept working as a diagnostician, but as her involvement in healthcare reform increased, she took a lesser load at the hospital so she could start working as an activist professionally. As a healthcare professional herself, she took her experience and used it to inform her activism and her lobbying to encourage Big Pharma reform.

She also worked with nonprofits to help struggling doctors and med students like herself find resources and emphasize ethics.

A woman on a mission, nothing could stop her.

Personal Life:

Though Jackie found her passion in D.C., she didn’t find the love of her life as easily. She was too busy to make anything work. She stumbled in and out of relationships. Her true companion became her dog and her high-rise apartment.

Jackie might not have been able to maintain a romance, but she maintained her friendships. She visited frequently and adored their children.

She liked being in charge, and she liked having things her way. It probably serves her right to have fallen in love with the only woman more stubborn than her.

Sonia was a public service lawyer, and she and Jackie spent their time bickering and adoring each other. They were both career-driven and supported each other’s mission.

Location: New York City, NY

Career: Head of Diagnostics

Aurora spent her time in Boston making peace with her aunt’s legacy, but at the end of Aurora’s residency, she was ready to start her career and make a mark of her own.

In New York, she started working for a diagnostics department, and she earned a spot on the diagnostics team once it was formed. She worked hard. She made a name for herself. She proved that Harper wasn’t the only Dr. Emery to keep an eye on.

Once on the team, she helped elevate it to the point that it rivaled her own hospital, Edenbrook. She often came into contact with her friend, MC (Charlie). The teams even competed on occasion.

Aurora beat MC by becoming the first to head a diagnostics team.

She was an excellent leader and an exemplary physician. The team prospered, and the rivalry with Edenbrook playfully continued.

Personal Life:

For Aurora, career and academic efforts came easily, but interpersonal affairs were treacherous. Still, after finding friends in Boston, she was determined to maintain those friendships and develop new ones in New York.

The friends she made in residency were now her family, and she kept in touch.

In New York, Aurora was slow to make friends, but she did. She formed a close bond with her team and shared an apartment with a team member for a time.

Like her aunt, Aurora went without romantic commitment – until she started research with Dr. Alice Montgomery. Aurora fell head over heels, and despite a few stops and starts, they started a happy, healthy relationship.

Location: Boston, MA → Brazil → Boston, MA

Career: Physical Therapist at Edenbrook

Personal Life

Rafael took the big leap and moved to Brazil. He spent two amazing years living in Brazil, traveling and making unforgettable memories before moving back to Boston.

Once back, he thought about saving up for more travels and spending his young adulthood moving around the globe, but after he got home, he couldn’t bear to leave for that long again. He opted for vacations instead and reinvested in his community.

Leaving his childhood neighborhood didn’t stop him from being an active community member. He volunteered regularly and made friends almost everywhere he went.

Of course, he also went back to his neighborhood to see his family regularly, but he liked having the independence of his own place and his own community.

Once he married and started talking about having children, Raf moved back to his childhood neighborhood so he could raise his child with the same level of community and love he experienced.

When everyone came back into town, they always stopped by his place for good food and an even better friend.

He stayed in touch with everyone, especially during his travels, and his friends had an open invitation to visit.

[ambivalent-anarchy]

Euphoria Characters Rated

This is all my opinion soooooooo whatevs. Also I'm keeping it to the people the story is more centralized on the awesome side characters like Ali, Ashtray, and BB aren't on here.

1) Rue

I've always been a huge Zendaya fan so maybe I'm biased, but her performance in this is so good. Rue is extremely relatable for anyone struggling with the same things that she is. I swear sometimes she literally says things that I myself have thought word for word. She's really relatable and it's really just overall always interesting every time she's on the screen.

2) Maddy

I don't get the hate for Maddy. She's going through traumatizing things just like everyone else is and honestly even so she's still an absolute beast of a girl. She has style and I really love her vibe. None of the characters have their lives together and they all do things that hurt other people, intentionally or not. But for some reason there's just no level of understanding for Maddy even though she's literally in an abusive relationship. (Also I've heard that the way she talks is apparently "unrealistic" to alot of people, but I know a ton of girls that sound like that, so idk what you guys are on)

3) Jules

I love Jules so much. She's like a beacon of freedom. She doesn't let anything tie her down and really she's just living life the best way she can. (And with the whole rue×jules thing, they were both messed up and never communicated and everything that happened was inevitable). Jules is such a free spirit and really I honestly just love her soul so much.

4) Fezco

Aside from being a drug dealer, Fez is the MAN. He stood up for Rue, stopped giving Rue drugs, and overall is just a total vibe. He's an interesting character and a truly loyal guy.

5) Nate

Okay, before I get under fire, I don't like my characters based on if they're good people. I base what characters I like based on how interesting they are, if I like their storyline, and overall how I feel when they're on the screen. And honestly Nate is a really interesting character. He has trauma like all of the other characters and reasons (not excuses) behind everything he does. None of his actions are excusable, but people really overlook how messed up and sad his character really is. (And I love true crime and serial killer docs so you know I'm looking to analyze the crazies) And Nate is just a really interesting character and you never know what he's gonna do next and how far he's gonna go. I'd hate him in real life, but as a character👌👌👌

6) Ethan

I honestly feel bad for Ethan and how all he wants is to be there for Kat and get to know her but she's going through this whole messed up thing she's got going on so she just keeps walking over him leaving him wondering what he did wrong when he's actually doing just fine. He's pretty awesome and even though he doesn't have a super interesting story because he's a side-character, he is still a really great character.

7) Lexi

And while we're on underrated characters, Lexi is a queen. There's not really much to say, I just love her so much and she's super supportive and I just want see more of her cuz she's so great.

8) Cassie & McKay

Yeah, these two are tied for me so I just make em a package deal. Cassie is so sweet and sensitive and McKay is really sensible and trying his best. They both have flaws of course (I mean, who doesn't in this show?) and I really wish I could punch McKay's dad. But they really love each other when it comes down to it. I just really like them cuz they're so sweet.

9) Kat

Gonna be honest. Not a fan. She's the only character on here that makes me go "ugh" out loud when I'm watching. I'm not a straight up anti but I don't like her storyline and she's pretty much a bitch with absolutely no redeeming qualities to back it up. She's just not interesting to me and kind of annoying.

[heauxplesslydevoted]

‘Tis The Season

So I’ve had this sitting in my google docs since December 1st. I thought it was time to get my life in order and post something now that the semester is done beating my ass.

Summary: Ethan and Naomi get ready to celebrate their first Christmas together

Warnings: Rated M. Things get a little steamy, but nothing explicit. It’s mostly fluff.

Tags: @drakewalker04 @canknot @lapisreviewsstuff @akacalliope @senseofduties @badchoicesposts @x-kyne-x @paulfwesley @ramseyandrys @choicesobsessedd @a-i-n-a-a-s-h @sparklinglilac  @cream-ray @perriewinklenerdie @barricades-of-fandom @dr-brianna-casey-valentine @doroshi-desu @aworldoffandoms

~~

After a long day of work, there’s nothing Ethan wants more than a drink, a hot shower to knock the December chill out of his body, and to settle into bed with his girlfriend.

But when he crosses the threshold to his condo, he’s met with Eartha Kitt’s version of Santa Baby and the smell of peppermint and pine. Jenner doesn’t greet him at the door like he usually does, and he finds the golden retriever in the living room, chewing on a new toy.

His eyes sweep across the room, noticing it for the first time. There’s a bare Christmas tree in the corner, surrounded by tons of shopping bags. “What on earth is going on here?” Jenner looks up at his owner and trots over, dropping his toy at Ethan’s feet. Ethan bends down and scratches him behind the ears.“Hi boy. What’s this? Did you get a new toy?” Jenner barks excitedly. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

It’s uncharacteristically quiet in the apartment. And usually his girlfriend would’ve come out to greet him by now, if she made it home before him. “Where’s Naomi?”

Jenner turns and starts walking towards Ethan and Naomi’s bedroom. Ethan follows him. They end up in the bedroom, where Ethan finds Naomi, wearing a bright red onesie.

“Rookie, what are you doing?”

Naomi looks up and sees Ethan. She jumps out of the bed and rushes to him. “Ethan, you’re home! Finally.”

“Does this have anything to do with why our apartment looks like the North Pole?”

“Maybe.” Naomi kisses Ethan’s cheek before taking his hand and leading him back to the living room. “We’re only 9 days away from Christmas, single digit territory, and since I’m staying in Boston instead of going home for the holiday, I thought this place could use a little Christmas cheer. So I went a little crazy at Target.”

Ethan chuckles at the understatement. “I can tell.”

Naomi eyes Ethan warily. “Are you mad?”

“What?”

“I know I didn’t talk to you about any of this, but I just thought it’d be nice. It’s our first holiday as a couple who’s living together and I wanted it to be a special occasion.”

“I’m not mad,” Ethan says. “A little surprised though. It was a shock to walk in on all of this.”

“Really?” Relief floods Naomi’s features and she smiles brightly. 

“Really. It’s your home too, you should feel comfortable decorating it.”

“So does that mean you’ll help me decorate?”

The last thing Ethan wants to do is decorate a Christmas tree, but the smile on Naomi’s face is all it takes for him to cave. He’ll do anything to make her happy, even if it means putting up decorations. He sighs. “Just give me 30 minutes to shower and change, okay?”

“Deal.”

~~V~~~

“I don’t know how I’m the one who got suckered into decorating the tree,” Ethan grumbles lightheartedly. Naomi is in the kitchen and he’s untangling Christmas lights. “This was supposed to be a team effort.”

“I’ll be back there in a second!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah!”

“I will!”

Ethan turns his attention back to the tree. It was fake, but Naomi still managed to get a good one. It was pretty tall–standing at about 7 feet–and it was full. Part of him wishes she would’ve gotten a pre-lit tree so he wouldn’t be stuck untangling lights. After successfully untangling them all and draping them over the tree, Ethan is ready to move on to the next step.

“Where are all of the ornaments?”

“In the bag on the couch.”

Ethan walks over to the bag and rummages through it. Naomi’s aesthetic is perfectly clear, all the ornaments either red, gold, or green. There are also a few gold and red bows.

Before Ethan can tear into the first box of ornaments, Naomi enters the living room, holding two large mugs. “Voila! Naomi Valentine’s world famous hot chocolate.”

Ethan takes a mug. “World famous, huh?”

“Yup. Go on, take a sip.”

Ethan eyes the mug before taking a cautious sip. The familiar sting of alcohol and...mint burns his throat and he coughs. “Why didn’t you tell me this was alcoholic?”

“Because it’d ruin the surprise. I mixed in a bit of peppermint vodka.”

“A bit?”

“A lot,” Naomi corrects. “There’s a lot of vodka in these.”

The corner of Ethan’s mouth quirks up into a slight smirk and he takes another sip. He can’t deny that the drink is good, really good. “I can handle it. Good job, Rookie.”

“Ooh, I get Ethan Ramsey’s seal of approval.”

“Just this once.” Taking another quick sip, Ethan places his mug on top of a coaster. “Now let’s finish with this tree, shall we?”

“I have something I want to show you.” Naomi puts her mug down so she can rummage through the bags. After a bit of digging, she pulls out a tiny ornament and gives it to Ethan. It’s a tiny clipboard and prescription pad. “I know it’s kind of cheesy, but I saw it and couldn’t resist. It’s perfect, since we’re both doctors–”

Ethan cuts Naomi off with a quick kiss. “It’s adorable. I like it.”

“I also ordered these a few weeks back.” Naomi hands Ethan another bag, this time full of personalized Christmas stockings. There’s one for both of them and another one for Jenner, his in the shape of a dog bone.

That manages to get a smile out of him. He can already picture Jenner anxiously anticipating whatever treats and toys Naomi is going to fill his stocking with. “You go all out for the holiday, Valentine.”

“It’s the best time of the year. I can’t help but feel excited.”

The couple finishes decorating their tree, telling stories about their day, and the interesting cases that Ethan encountered.

When they’re done with the tree and other decorations — as if Naomi wasn’t going to put lights, garland, and mini figurines on every other surface of the apartment — they take a step back to admire their handiwork.

“I think we did good, Ramsey,” Naomi says as she looks at the tree, the lights bouncing off of the large floor to ceiling windows.

Ethan looks around and nods. His apartment has never been decorated for the holidays before, and while it’s different, it’s a good difference. “I agree.”

“There’s just one more thing.” Naomi scans the floor which is currently littered in bags and boxes. She finds what she’s looking for, a bright red Santa hat and she plops it on her head.

Ethan can’t contain his snort. “You look ridiculous.”

“Okay first of all, I’m freaking adorable. Second, that’s not a nice thing to say to Santa,” Naomi teases.

“Sorry Santa.”

“Sit down,” Naomi urges, a finger poking at Ethan’s shoulder.

Ethan resists the urge to roll his eyes, but he listens anyway and sits down on their couch. Naomi throws herself down dramatically into his lap.

“So tell me young man, what do you want for Christmas?” Naomi asks, leaning fully into their Santa role play.

“If you’re Santa, why are you sitting on my lap?” Ethan shoots back, an eyebrow slightly raised. “Shouldn’t this be the other way around?”

“Santa needs to switch it up every once in a while,” Naomi says with a shrug.

“You’re a dork sometimes.”

“You love it.”

“I love you.”

Naomi doesn’t verbally answer, opting to instead pull Ethan into a kiss. He responds, one hand going to the small of her back. The other hand attempts to grip her thigh, but it’s met with nothing but bright red fleece. He wants to touch her. Why was she wearing this god forsaken one piece?

His hand digs deeper into her skin, almost willing it to break through the clothing and Naomi moans, a throaty noise which he quickly swallows. The hand on her back pulls her in as close as humanly possible and his arousal presses into the back of her thigh.

Naomi whimpers, quickly losing control of the situation. “Ethan…”

Ethan breaks the kiss, only to leave open mouthed kisses along the column of her neck. “I must’ve been excellent this year to be rewarded with a beautiful girlfriend who makes sounds like that.” Frantically, he tugs at the zipper of her pajamas and yanks it aggressively. His throat goes dry when he’s greeted by nothing but her bare chest. “You never have on a bra.”

“Why would I? I was home alone,” Naomi says, feeling the need to defend herself. “It’s a miracle I’m actually this covered up.”

Ethan reaches out to pull the clothes off of his girlfriend but he settles on zipping it down just enough, pushing it off of her shoulders, kissing the newly exposed flesh.

“Can I let you in on a little secret?” Naomi asks.

“Please do.”

“I don’t have any underwear on either.”

Ethan’s eyes darken and a low growl escapes him. He reaches for the zipper, only for Naomi to grasp his wrist. “What? What’s wrong?”

“You’re not the one in charge here. I still have the Santa hat on,” Naomi says, her eyes taking on a mischievous glint. She repositions herself, swinging a leg over his hip so she can straddle him. “So tell me, Ethan Jonah Ramsey,” she kisses Ethan again, a hand traveling under his shirt, reveling in the warmth of his skin under her fingers, “have you been naughty or nice this year?”

She kisses along his jaw and Ethan momentarily forgets the English language. “N-nice. I’ve been nice.”

“I happen to agree. Good.” Naomi’s lips capture Ethan’s ear and she grazes it between her teeth. He lets out a shaky breath, trying to keep his composure. “Want to know why that’s good?”

“Yes.” 

Naomi rolls her hips against Ethan, smirking as his head slightly falls forward at the friction. She does it again and she hears the older man curse under his breath. “Because Santa likes to reward good boys, with lots and lots of treats.”

Before she can move another muscle, she’s flat on her back, Ethan having flipped them over. She falls into the couch cushions with a soft thud.

“What’re you–” Ethan cuts off the question with another searing kiss, stealing the breath out of her lungs. His tongue parts her lips and she quickly grants him entrance, letting him set the tone for the kiss. It’s deep and deliberate and thank god she’s already on her back because her legs feel like Jell-O. He tastes like a candy cane, a consequence of the hot chocolate they consumed.

After pulling away, Ethan plucks the hat off of Naomi’s head and puts it on his own. “I think I’ve had enough of being teased.” His fingers find Naomi’s zipper and drags it down slowly. He watches as she squirms in impatience. “So...Naomi Marie Valentine, have you been naughty or nice?”

A shiver runs down her spine and Naomi doesn’t know if it’s due to the fact that it’s currently 23 degrees in Boston or the bass in Ethan’s voice as he used her full name. “I’ve been a very good girl this year.”

“No,” Ethan argues. He lazily trails a hand from her waist up the smooth expanse of her stomach. He chuckles lightly at how tense she is, trying not to react to his touch.

His large hand skates past her breast, barely grazing her nipple, but it hardens anyway and she arches into his touch, craving more. But the word Ethan just spoke finally permeates her brain and she looks up at him. “No?”

“No,” he repeats firmly. Finally reaching its destination, his hand settles at her throat, giving it a light squeeze. The hungry look Naomi gives him is confirmation enough. “No, I know you, and I think you’re absolutely naughty.”

Naomi takes the hand wrapped around her throat and puts his thumb in her mouth, sucking it before releasing it with a soft pop. “Well I have one question for you, Santa.”

“Ask away.”

“Are you going to punish me in our bedroom or right under the Christmas tree?”

~~V~~

It’s hours later when Ethan and Naomi are finally able to pull away from each other. They’re still in the living room, somehow on the floor instead of on the couch where it all started, a warm blanket thrown over them.

Ethan’s fingers absentmindedly find their way into Naomi’s hair, messing with the soft curls. He’s deep in his actually, only to be pulled out by a loud screech coming from his television. He looks up and sees Will Ferrell running around. “What on earth are we watching, Rookie?”

“Elf!” Naomi cranes her neck to look up at Ethan, who’s just staring back blankly. “Come on, you’ve never seen Elf before?”

“That has to be a rhetorical question.”

“This movie is 16 years old, it might as well be a classic at this point!”

“Never seen it.”

“Gosh, you’re so uncultured.”

“16 years ago, I was still an undergrad. My head was buried in biology and calculus textbooks.”

“It’s one of my favorite Christmas movies. My mom and I watch it together every year. It’s our tradition.”

“Are there any other Valentine family traditions I should know about?”

“We would have a competition every Christmas Eve to see who makes the best gingerbread houses. Naturally, my brother and I win every year because we’re the best. And if we’re hosting the holiday at our house, all of our family comes over, and my mom and aunts get drunk on wine and do karaoke.”

“What kind of music?”

“Mostly Motown.” Naomi laughs at the memory. “They love to sing The Supremes, and they always fight over who gets to do all of Diana Ross’s parts. Then they eventually tire and pass out in the living room. But it’s hilarious, because none of them can hold a note to save their lives. I’m sure I have videos saved on my computer, and if not, my cousins definitely do.”

“I would pay top dollar to see that.”

“What about you? Did the Ramseys have any fun holiday traditions?”

Ethan thinks back to his childhood. He remembers getting a lot of gifts — mostly picked out by his dad’s secretary — but he didn’t have any fond memories, not like Naomi. “No. My sister and I would open up our gifts, then my dad would lock himself in his study and work. Every once in a while my mom would try to get all four of us to do something, maybe go visit my grandparents in Long Island, but nothing special.”

He goes quiet for a long time and Naomi frowns. She didn’t mean to make him feel bad with her line of questions. She knows his relationship with his family is pretty touchy and she wants to kick herself for even opening up the can of worms.

She turns slightly and kisses his chest. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”

“What do you mean?”

“I know you didn’t have the best time growing up. I’m sorry if talking about your past brought up some old feelings.”

“I’m fine,” Ethan insists. “I’m just thinking.”

Naomi rolls over fully and props herself up by her elbows. “Penny for your thoughts?”

“This will be the first time I’ve actually celebrated Christmas since I was 18. I usually spend the holiday at the hospital, working. But with you here, I won’t be doing that.”

“We get to start our own traditions. From here on out, we’ll decorate the condo together every year.”

“And as for the post-decorating activities?”

“Only if you’ve been nice,” Naomi quips.

“We’ll see if that’s amendable.”

“Every year, I’ll buy us a new ornament. One that only an inside thing for the two of us. And  on Christmas morning, we can have a nice breakfast together, open gifts, and just laze around.”

“That sounds perfect, Rookie.”

Naomi settles back into Ethan’s arms, deeply sated and surprisingly comfortable on their spot on the floor. His heartbeat is steady against her cheek and she feels herself losing the fight against her sleepiness.

But before she falls asleep, she speaks again, “Hey, Ethan?”

“Yes?”

“You never answered my question earlier,” Naomi replies. “What do you want for Christmas?”

Ethan silently mulls over the question. He doesn't really need or want anything, having reached a point where he could buy whatever he wanted, whenever.

He looks down at Naomi, who’s surely dozing off on top of him, despite her insistence on watching this movie. He kisses the top of her head. “Nothing. Everything I want is right here.”

[atlas-of-a-human-soul]

1,4 and 5 with Grayson ☠️🎃

1. “Move. I dare you.” 

4. “Scream and you’re dead.”

5. “You’re crazy.”

Halloween Masterlist - DT special

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~           ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

𝓢𝓔𝓡𝓘𝓐𝓛    𝓚𝓘𝓛𝓛𝓔𝓡  ~  G𝓡𝓐𝓨𝓢𝓞𝓝 𝓓𝓞𝓛𝓐𝓝

Part one

Part two

Part three

Part four

Part five

This whole damn series is a WARNING so don’t read if you’re not good with anything serial killer related.

THIS IS THE FINALE   💀

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~           ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Every day at exactly four o’clock in the afternoon, her phone would ring. She tried to ignore it ever since she had picked up the first time, hearing his voice on the other side of the line was hauntingly beautiful…and terrifying. 

For the first time ever, she was scared of what he would do to her if he got the chance, because she felt the tip of his blade press under her rib-cage, preparing to pierce her heart and claim her his victim. She wanted to believe he wouldn’t, that he’d spare her and say his goodbye that night, but she wasn’t foolish. He needed to sever ties with her that night because she knew while her heart beat, he’d always feel like he’s on a leash.

That’s why she called the police. She knew it was time to put a stop to his killings, silently praying Ethan would be nearby and God had answered her prayers.

Their arrest was all over the news, covering each part of their lives since they were babies until the night they went pitch black, no stars. They covered his obsession with girls alike his girlfriend…her…and how she ended up being the reason for their downfall. 

She avoided Lisa and Cameron like the plague, unable to give them answers they seek because any question they had would come with an answer they don’t want to hear. How can you just go ahead and say: ”Your sons are cold blooded killers”?

She couldn’t.

But even as time went on and the trial concluded, even the appeals, Y/N had been reluctant to see him. Ethan had been kept at a different prison, the charming duo’s possibly worst punishment of all, for they hadn’t seen each other in the three years while the trial lasted.

Y/N was in therapy, trying to move on and let him go even as he plagued her dreams and while she did change numbers, he always managed to find her new one, even from inside a maximum security prison. That scared her.

She couldn’t make herself trust any man after him, even those who were truly pure and kind and loving toward her. How could she? After all, she was fucked up enough to trust serial killers and love them even after everything…even now.

Y/N just needed the trial to be done with, to know he was gone from her life for good. She needed to let him go and she saw the support some of the public showed him and Ethan, so she was forced to think about what would happen if they release them.

Many had fallen for their charming facade, their ‘not guilty’ plea and good looks…too many for Y/N to feel comfortable.

But when the last trial had put them both on a death sentence, Y/N felt her heart drop at the same time a heavy sigh escaped her, allowing her to draw in a full, fresh breath of air for the first time in years. However, she also knew she needs to see him.

One last time…on December the 16th. The only request the twins had was to die on their birthday by lethal injection, together in the same room. 

So, she found herself on the other side of the glass, seeing the man she still felt so strongly about  - she couldn’t decipher what she felt really; love, hate, fear, anger, sorrow? All of it? But she certainly felt too much to remain indifferent.

“You’re here?” 

She hated the way his voice softened and the way his eyes turned to melted chocolate the moment he realizes it’s her who requested to see him only hours before his death. She hated the way a smile formed on his lips, and not the cocky one he wore when he had control whether she lives or dies, but the one he wore when they first met…the smile that won her heart.

“You’re not gonna speak? Came all the way here and you’ll just sit there?” His smile fell, the disappointment clear in every line of his still handsome face, but the softness in his eyes hardened slightly.

“Why? What should I say? Something along the lines: Scream and you’re dead?” She countered, her eyes narrowing at him as she adds: “Believe that’s a little more your style, don’t you think?” She raised an eyebrow, noticing him perk up, his chest puffing up as if he’s proud she still knows him so well and reads him better than any of the psychiatrists they sent his way.

“Aaah…I missed your sarcasm almost as much as your lips, my dear swan.” He tilts his head to the left, dropping his gaze to her neck, hidden by a turtleneck. That’s when his eyes hardened a little more and his smile grew colder.

“You’re crazy. You know that, right? Just as I am. It’s why you can’t stay away.” Grayson smirked, leaning forward, trying to get closer despite the glass separating them.  

“Perhaps. Maybe it’s what drew you to me.” She pursed her lips, tucking a strand of hair behind her left ear before leaning in, as well.

“But I’m not the one who killed.” She adds, her left eye twitching ever so slightly that most people would miss it, but he didn’t.

“That’s not really true, now. After all, you got me and E. arrested. You’re why we’re both dying today. You’re a killer too.” He remarked, placing the tip of his index finger against the glass baiting her.

He knew she was struggling to hear him through the sound of her own heart beating so loud, so strongly he could see it moving her chest. He knew she was just realizing what he said is true and while they were far from innocent, he made sure she’ll always see their blood on her hands for as long as she lives. Because she IS the good girl he believed her to be and her conscience alone is why she came to see him…it’s also what will keep him alive inside her - like a poison, an infection, eating away at her until she’s as empty as he is.

“Move. I dare you.” He smirked, watching her roll her eyes at him, her finger still not at the glass where his is.

“Always stubborn. But don’t worry. I was angry before, not anymore. I’m actually proud of you. You’ve grown to be just like me. Dying with that in mind, with you in the gallery…it will be a good way to go.” He tapped his finger against the glass once more, hoping she’d give him the satisfaction of doing the same - of having one last moment of control over her. 

Instead, she smiled - not quite as wide as she used to, not quite as bright like he preferred her to - more of a small smile, content, but broken.

“But you’re wrong about one thing there…I won’t be there. Send my regards to Ethan.” She stood up, watching his eyes widen as he jumped up as well. Giving him a small wave, she turned around, trying to ignore his calls for her to come back, for the guards to let him go, the sounds of him punching the glass in hopes of it breaking…She walked away, slowly, on shaky legs, but with her head held high.

She didn’t look back even if her heart did bleed. She didn’t look back because she knew this…living the way she did, loving him, letting him hollow her out…it was no way of living at all.

And she cried that night. She let herself cry that night until she had no tears left to cry, letting go of the man she loved and the best friend she trusted, because in her heart, those two weren’t the monsters who had died that night…to her, they were just as she chose to remember them - good people who took a wrong turn in life. 

She never cried for them again, putting them out of mind for 364 days a year successfully. The only time she’d let herself think of him...them, would be on December the 16th, running her finger along the scar Grayson left on her thigh and simply by lighting a candle for their souls, hoping their spirits no longer cling to Earth…a candle for who they were and not what they became.

Tags: @dolanstwintuesday @peacedolantwins @xalayx @godlydolans @heyits-claire @dolandolll

[chicagocityofclans]

Ryan Cleirigh → David Corenswet → Warlock

→ Basic Information 

Age: 179

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Straight 

Powers: Illusionist

Birthday: March 23rd

Zodiac Sign: Aries 

Religion: Buddhist

Mark: Cleirigh 

Generation: 3rd

→ His Personality Ryan is unsure if it is tied to his gift but he is an OCD clean freak and somewhat of a perfectionist. Ryan wants nothing more than to be the best that he can. Ryan never waivers from his vision of becoming the best and perceives all reality through it. Every decision he makes is aimed towards it. Being born into a long line of warlocks has drawn most of his personality traits for him. He’s egotistical, cunning, resourceful and ambitious. Ryan does internally feel that he has a disadvantage due to his lean physique but his intense focus on his mental capabilities make up for it. However, he is his father's son. Making Ryan an engaging, charismatic, intelligent man devoted to inspiring enormous creativity in others and fostering them through wise insights and leadership. Just like his father he has an infinite amount of wit, intelligence, creativity, and wisdom.

→ His Personal Facts

Occupation: Mentee and Part-Time at Wondering Worlds of Magic

Scars: None

Tattoos: None

Two Likes: Order and New Moons 

Two Dislikes: Harry Potter Series and Chick-fil-A

Two Fears: Seeming Unworthy of the Cleirigh name & Mark and Teleporting somewhere inescapable. 

Two Hobbies: Podcasting and Cycling

Three Positive Traits: Outgoing, Family-Oriented, Friendly

Three Negative Traits: Spiteful, Emotional Obtuse, Secretive

→ His Connections

Parent Names:

Judson Cleirigh (Father/Former Mentor): Ryan admires his father and has learned a lot from him. He is grateful that his father is also his friend and mentor. Judson did his best raising him in the supernatural world but also feeding the aspects of humans and their world.

Angelica Northmore (Egg Donor): Ryan doesn’t know much about Angelica only that she agreed to be his father's surrogate. At first Ryan didn’t know how to feel about it but now he doesn’t care. 

Sibling Names:

Possible Half Siblings (Unknown): Judson said the private program ensured him that it was Angelica's first time as a surrogate but all surrogate mothers can return every 10 to 12 years, up to the age of 1000 years old. Ryan and Judson are unsure if Angelica ever returned and if Ryan possibly has half siblings. 

Children Names:

None

Romantic Connections:

Katherine ‘Kate’ Brooks (Interest): Ryan finds Kate physically attractive and thinks she is highly intelligent. He’s unsure how to approach her since she is human and doesn’t yet know about the supernatural community. 

Platonic Connections:

Altair Cleirigh (Uncle): Ryan doesn’t care what anyone thinks, Altair was a scary baby and a scarier toddler. Now that he’s older Ryan can be more hands on but he doesn’t respect Altair pulling the “I’m your uncle” card on him already.

Teyla Cleirigh (Aunt): She is by far the cutest thing on the planet. She is a perfect mix of his grandparents. He loves their weekends together and thinks she’ll be a great influence on Margo Wilhelm and their community in general. 

Nathan Cleirigh (Uncle/Podcast Guest): Ryan doesn’t remember much about Nathan growing up but he has had a large impact in his adult life. Nathan often comes on his podcast to talk about mental health as supernaturals. 

Ethan Cleirigh (Uncle): He remembers his uncle’s awesome bedtime stories and their trips to the circus or magic shows. Ethan introduced Ryan to podcasting after one of his deployments. Ethan has joined his podcast once or twice but Ryan knows he listens to all of his recording and promotes him too. 

Akasha Genesis (1st Cousin Once Removed/Podcast Guest): Just like her mother, Akasha has a strong voice and supports the female supernatural population; both mortal and immortal. They get along great whenever she is not trying to pull rank.

Gennifer Genesis (1st Cousin Once Removed/Podcast Guest): They aren’t as close as Ryan is with Owen or Akasha but they get along well enough.  

Owen Genesis (1st Cousin Once Removed/Podcast Guest): Ryan really likes Owen. His cousin usually joins his podcast and talks about the importance of not relying on magic too. Ryan is currently trying to bring him over on the darkside. 

Ronan Cleirigh (Granddad): He’s granddad isn’t bad at all but as a child Ryan was absolutely terrified of him. He and Ronan get along and Ronan usually takes his side against Judson when needed. Sadly, Ronan refuses to join his podcast.

Ishtar L Cleirigh (Grandma/Podcast Guest/Co-Host): Loland is by far Ryan’s favorite person in the world. She is one of the sweetest yet scariest person he knows. She has co-hosted with him multiple times. Her quick wit and no nonsense attitude livens up the place. 

Jia Cleirigh (Mentor): Ryan had to fight tooth and nail to get his father to let him mentor with Jia. Ryan has known Jia his whole life thanks to Jia dating Garrett. He hasn’t been mentoring under Jia long but has learned a lot from him already. 

Patch Cipriano (Godfather): Patch is his father's best friend and Ryan wasn’t surprised when he learned Judson had the documents legally drawn up. He’s heard rumors that his grandparents had it dissolved but he’s unsure. 

Audo Wilhelm (Friend): Audo is Ryan’s downstairs neighbor and they often watch sports together. Audo has always been around from what Ryan can remember.

Raphael Caron (Best Friend): Ryan attended primary and secondary school with Raphael. He was surprised when he found out his childhood friend had been turned into a vampire. They quickly restarted their friendship; making it easier now that Ryan did not have to hide his power and they are both immortal.  

Churchill Darling (Friend/Podcast Guest/Co-Host): Ryan met Churchill via Patch. He introduced him to his podcast and has him on as a co-host on most nights.

Garrett Cleirigh (Great Uncle/Podcast Guest): Ryan thinks Garrett is the crazy one, not Roman. He loves his great uncle but he’s a psycho. Ryan usually avoids Garrett requests to be on his podcast due to his bluntness and uncaring attitude. 

Roman Cleirigh (Great Uncle/Frequent Podcast Guest): Roman is entertaining. Ryan remembers being watched by his ghost as a child and Roman’s awesome babysitting skills and rules. Podcasting with Roman is one word… Interesting.

Brighton ‘Bee’ Genesis (Great Uncle/Podcast Guest): Bee is Ryan’s great uncle by marriage to Kaylor. Bee’s mellow personality alway makes Rayn feel welcomed.

Kaylor Cleirigh (Great Aunt/Podcast Guest/Co-Host): Kaylor is the Cleirigh free spirit that offered Ryan his first drink and blunt. She is a guest and co-host that is the voice for women everywhere, especially those without a voice of their own. 

Clarisse Fields (Podcast Guest): Clara comes on to talk about the Field’s history in Chicago and the extinction of larger animal shifters. She was one of the first animal shifters to grace his show and ratings were off the charts.

Vincent Kane (Frequent Podcast Guest): Vincent comes on to inform the supernatural public of their findings and what can be done to help them out.

Jace Cicero (Podcast Guest): Jace was one of the first witches Ryan got onto his show to talk about his history and his part in the local Council. He doesn’t come on frequently but when he does it’s a hit. He plans on becoming Jace's friend.

Edith Walker (New Friend/Podcast Guest): Edith is a local nimble shifter reporter that reached out to Ryan about joining him as a guest, Ryan quickly accepted. 

Duke Thornton (Distant Cousin/Frequent Podcast Guest): Duke usually comes on with Peter. They promote Anon and speak about homebrewing. Ryan is trying to get Duke and Peter to open up about the supernatural LGBT community.

Peter Knox (Frequent Podcast Guest): Peter usually comes on with Duke and speaks about Anon and homebrewing. Rarely does he open up about his history. Ryan is trying to get Peter to open up about the supernatural LGBT community.

Rayner Hamelin (Frequent Podcast Guest): Ray is one of Ryan's most anticipated guests. Ryan does try to get more information than Ray is willing to let out but it never works. Ryan takes whatever information Ray can give him.

Helo Adama (Podcast Guest): Helo does not come as often as Ryan would like. They can never stay on topic and talk about everything, including politics.

Minsky Edison (Frequent Podcast Guest): Minsky comes on to promote learning about supernatural powers and beings that are not their own. 

Briar Larson (Frequent Podcast Guest): Briar comes on to promote the happenings of the Underground. Ryan sometimes let Briar announce the blood types that the Underground are missing and hint toward people willing to donate.

Hostile Connections:

Catherine Barr (Dislike/Conflicted): Cat has tried endlessly to get his podcast shutdown. She thinks it's a huge breach of security and has brought the case to the Council more than once. He doesn’t know why she’s against him or his podcast. 

Tim and Lee Boaz (Indifferent): Tim and Lee have both made hateful comments about Ryan’s accused false and native reporting on his podcasts. 

Pets:

None

→ History Ryan was raised by a single parent but his community had a lot to do with his upbringing. He grew up around warlocks, witches, animal shifters, human shifters, vampires and humans. While he is not following in his father's footsteps, Ryan does have a hand for charms and spells. Thanks to his uncles, Ryan has been introduced to a lot of human technologies. One of his favorites being podcasting. Instead of reading or staying up late to watch TV, Ryan would stay up late listening to podcasting and thinking of ideas of his own. It wasn’t long before Ryan started his own podcast for the local supernaturals. Of course it starred his family mostly at first but he slowly started winning over more guests. He was the youngest Cleirigh until his grandparents decided they wanted kids again sometime after the Y2K scare. He likes his new uncle and aunt but misses being the youngest. → The Present Ryan has been working on Psychosomatic Illusions behind closed doors. He’s approximately 20 years away from advanced magic but his curiosity had gotten the best of him. He hinted to Jia that he would like to learn the basics of his advanced powers. He promised not to try and go further than the basic understanding and construct but Jia quickly shot him down. Having perfected altering his appearance and the appearance of things around him and excelling in his basic powers, Ryan is growing bored. His family has warned him of the dangers of practicing alone but he is throwing caution to the wind. 

Ryan's podcast has never been so popular. All of the local supernaturals are buzzing around and the last ratings showed an increase of activity all across the Midwest. In between his regular personal life, mentoring with Jia and continuing his potion and spell knowledge with Judson and Roman, Ryan wants more air time with his speakers and fans. Juggling everything has been a hassle now that he is sure Kate is interested in him. Ryan is plotting out ways to ask her out and thinks his next podcast will be about supernaturals dating humans and the necessary precautions.

[sugarcrash]

Clumsy // Ethan Dolan

 (A/N: So, I’m taking up writing again, now that I’ve gotten the swing of things in the new school year! Feel free to request! Also, ya’ll better be grateful, this took a long time to write and it’s 4,396 words lol)

Summary: When Y/N gets clumsy, she ends up making a mess - on Ethan Dolan. So how will it go down when they meet again?

Warnings: Swearing, quite a long intro (lol sorry)

*****************************************************************

“Ugh.” Y/N groaned at her phone. The alarm had been going off for the past minute, blasting the same annoying tune into her ears. Rolling over, she hit the “stop” button on the glowing screen.

The girl turned to snuggle back into her sheets when the door opened, revealing her mother, who was still in her pajamas.

“Y/N, you’ve really got to stop setting that thing so loud.” she complained. “It’s woken your brother up twice this week, and I honestly can’t handle it anymore.”

The young lady smirked into her pillow. Her 10 year old brother, Tyson, was a crazy creature when woken up early. She heard his tinny little voice singing the obnoxious Pokemon theme song, and it was clear he was seeking attention.

“Ty!” her mom stalked to the little boy. Y/N listened in silence as she heard her mother scold him for almost waking up their cranky father.

Just as she was checking the time on her iPhone, her older brother, Asher, appeared at her doorway. “Hey nerd, gonna get up or what?” he raised an eyebrow. 

Y/N let out a sigh and shifted her head to meet his eyes. “Just because I wear glasses doesn’t mean I’m a nerd, y’know.”

Asher rolled his pupils to the ceiling. “Well, the glasses and the fact that you’ve never gotten a grade lower than a straight B.” he knew she couldn’t argue with that.

“Whatever. Now leave so I can get dressed.” he did so, shutting the door behind him.

Y/N lugged herself out of bed and stared at her body in the full length mirror next to her dresser. She rubbed her tired eyes before glancing at the digital clock on her wall, which read 5:30 am.

“Why does school have to start so early?” she whined to herself as she bent over to her drawers, shifting through them before finding some simple black leggings and a pale yellow sweatshirt, one of her favorite outfits.

Before Y/N threw them on her body, though, she gave herself a quick sniff. Sure, she’d taken a shower last night, she smelled fine, but the bra she had been wearing for the past two weeks did not. She quickly changed her bra and panties before noticing there was a red splotch on her underwear.

“No, no no! Shit! You’re not supposed to be here for another week!” Y/N grumbled. Thankfully, she never put her tampons in the bathroom. Not only is it farther away from her room, so she’d have to run in bloody panties, but Asher and Tyson would probably find them.

She reached to her secret stash in her nightstand, pulling out the familiar blue-wrapped tube.

After she put in the tampon, she shoved on her clothes and rushed to brush her teeth. While she was doing so, Y/N received a text from her best friend, Lola.

*Text*

L: Hey babes!

L: How ya doing?

Y/N: Not good, Aunt Flo decided to visit

L: Aww u poor thing! Cramps start yet?

Y/N: Nope, just waiting in agony. I hate having to walk around school with a little box of tampons

L: U can do it! For women everywhere!

Y/N: Cheers, bitch

*End*

Y/N spit the foamy toothpaste down the drain, watching it swirl as she got lost in her thoughts. Wasn’t that math quiz today? No, that was tomorrow. Would she see her crush, Alex? Would he acknowledge her?

“C’mon, dork, if you want a ride, get a move on!” Asher announced, walking down the hallway. Y/N grabbed her laptop and phone from her desk, brushing her hair as she made her way down the stairs. She grabbed her backpack from the coat rack, shoving her electronics and hairbrush inside before checking to make sure her tampon box was ready to go.

In the little flimsy plastic pouch she had found in a tampon kit for this very reason, there were three orange paper tubes. With a sigh, she stuffed them in her low side pocket on her leggings, throwing on some random socks and her Adidas tennis shoes.

Y/N checked the time again. 5:45. School started in around 20 minutes, and it was 15 or so minutes away from the house. ‘We’re gonna make it’ Y/N decided as she pulled her hair into a quick ponytail.

With her backpack over her shoulder, she wen to the kitchen to look for breakfast when Asher shouted “Think fast!” Before she knew it, Y/N was hit in the face with a breakfast bar.

She leaned over, face twisting into a mad expression when she saw what it was. She picked it up, then complain loudly to her 18-year-old brother. “Asher, you idiot!”

“Keep it down! Dad’s trying to sleep!” her sleepy mother came downstairs, Tyson weaving in between her legs.

“Mommy said that’s a potty word!” he announced, making Y/N roll her eyes. She needed to escape this mess, so with her breakfast bar in hand, she turned the handle and stepped out the front door. 

She hopped into Asher’s worn-down pickup truck, a gift from their grandfather on his 16th birthday. Y/N’s older brother soon appeared in the driver’s seat, using the key to start the car. Y/N pulled some headphones over her ears and let the music consume her.

A few minutes later, Asher pulled his car into the school parking lot with an abrupt stop, as to get Y/N’s attention. He lunged forward a bit, her headphones slipping off her ears.

“We’re here, sis.”

“Well, duh, I know.” the 15-year-old grumped.

“Alright, then get out.”

Y/N huffed and opened the car door, stepping out and taking a deep breath before starting toward the doors.

She looked down at her phone, and the time read 6:10. She had exactly five minutes before classes started and she was in trouble.

Y/N practically ran to the front doors, almost falling twice before reaching them and yanking the metal handles, revealing a main area full of students, most groggy.

She rushed to her locker, twirling the familiar lock to the right combo when Lola appeared next to her. 

“Hey, hon.” she chirped. Lola had always been a morning person, whereas Y/N was not.

“Hey.” the girl’s locker swung open, the small mirror reflecting her face. She gave a little smile to it before stuffing her backpack inside the cold metal space, grabbing the materials for her first class, language and literature.

“Aren’t you so glad that we have lang and lit this hour? Poor Maddie, having to go to math first.”

Y/N nodded her head just as the warning bell sounded, demanding that students get themselves ti their classes before they needed a  late pass. “Better start walking. We don’t need Mrs. Cooper getting mad at us again.” she nudged Lola, teasing her for yesterday’s mistake.

“Okay, okay, shut up.” she groaned at the memory. “Don’t look now, but someone’s right there!” her voice dropped to a singsong-ish whisper, and Y/N blushed, knowing just who she was speaking of. 

She glanced and caught his eye as they passed. His.

Alex Kallio’s.

The brown-haired boy had been Y/N’s crush since eighth grade, but he never noticed her. He fit in with the popular crowd. She did not. It only actually worked in movies.

“Y’know, Hayden was over there, too.” the girl told her friend. Her cheeks instantly flushed, and Y/N smiled. “You can’t deny it anymore.”

“I don’t have a crush on him! God!” her face was adorned with playful annoyance as the young lady next to her rolled her eyes, showing that her little love was all too obvious.

“Sure, whatever you say.”

“Stop it!” Lola whined. They pretended to be mad at one another before looking at one another, bursting into laughter.

They then reached the door. “Wanna know something?” Lola asked Y/N, who nodded. “I think one of the Dolans was totally looking at you.”

“No way. They’re, like, the most popular sophomores. And so handsome.”

“Looks like someone has two new crushes. Move over Alex, here come Ethan and Grayson.” the two giggled and took their seats just as the teacher walked in.

“Good morning, class.” Mrs. Cooper spoke, her voice filling the room.

“Good morning, Mrs. Cooper.” the class groaned back.

There was a click from the door and in waltzed the Dolan twins, goofy smiles on their faces. “Sorry.” they apologized together, but it was clear that the word meant nothing.

“Boys! We’ve talked about this before, you can’t continue to be late to class every day!” Mrs. Cooper scolded the teens.

Y/N raised her eyebrows and closed her eyes, her ears soon filling with the daily lecture on how it’s important to be a good student, and blah, blah, blah.

The twins sort of just stood there, secretly stealing looks and rolling their eyes at their friends, showing that it was clearly not a care. Then Ethan caught Y/N’s glance for a split second, and that’s when she realized she’d been staring.

“Lola!” she hissed at her friend. “How long was I looking?”

The girl let out a giggle. “The whole damn time.”

Y/N groaned and hid her face in her hands at Lola’s response, lifting it up only to see that class was starting.

*Time Skip*

Finally, 4th period. Lunch. Y/N could finally hang out with all her friends at once, rather than having to pass along notes and retell stories over and over again.

Y/N subconsciously walked into the cafeteria, lost in her thoughts. She found herself heading over to the lunch line, thinking about her love life.

“Do I really want Alex? What about Ethan? Or Grayson? I suppose there’s always that one kid, Adam, who’s always been nice to me.” she thought to herself, grabbing a tray from the stack.

As she made her way down the line, she noticed that the kids at the popular table somehow got a hold on a small foam football. She shook her head, getting a focus back on reality, rather than daydreaming and watching.

Y/N waited patiently as the long line got shorter, until she was next to get food. A school cook scooped some spaghetti onto her little tray, along with some salad.  Just as she had gotten out of line, she turned to her usual table, where all her friends were placed. 

Y/N began to fast walk toward them, not looking at her surroundings. Neither was Ethan Dolan, who, at the moment, was making an attempt to catch the small football before it hit the ground. He caught the ball in a jump and settled on the ground

Y/N was walking forward, but her head turned when she looked across the room, getting back to her thinking. She headed straight toward Ethan and, BAM! They collided.

Y/N spaghetti flew out of her hands , landing on her favorite sweatshirt with a thump, probably leaving a stain. She fell backwards onto her butt, the small tampon pack in her leggings flinging out, unclasping and sending the products all over the floor. 

Ethan had barely flinched at the contact.

He took a look at who had crashed into him, before realizing what a mess the girl was in. He immediately ran to go get napkins for her, as she got herself up and tried to gather everything.

People started to laugh as they noticed what had happened, and Y/N felt hot tears begin to prick at her eyes. “I’m so stupid, so clumsy.” she thought.

Ethan came back while she was still attempting to clean, though it was hard. She sat on her knees for a moment, resting her hands on her sides before feeling around.

Her tampon box was gone. Y/N started to mentally freak out, now frantically looking before someone found them and she got even more embarrassed. But it was hard to search, seeing that her eyes were blurry with tears.

“Hey, are you okay?” Ethan asked. Y/N only nodded her head. “Are you looking for something?”

She was about to nod again, stopping herself and realizing that, if she told him, he’d want to help, and he’d have to know what it was. She decided against his help, responding with a short “No.”

“Well, it looks like you are. Here, I’ll help.”

Y/N panicked as he looked on the floor, trying to find something that he didn’t even know what it is was, before his eyes settled on the bright orange tampon wrappers, along with the little blue box. Y/N was doomed.

The muscular boy picked them up and smiled, proud of himself that he did something right, but then Ethan realized what they were.

Both sophomore’s faces flushed with embarrassment as people realized their predicament, roaring with laughter around them.

“A-Are these yours?” Ethan asked sheepishly.

Y/N snatched them out of his hand, touching it for only a second, but long enough for something to spark. She looked into his eyes, then tore her gaze away, sprinting out of reach and into the empty hallway.

Once alone in the girl’s bathroom, Y/N broke down, tears running down her cheeks. Her favorite sweatshirt was ruined, she embarrassed herself and a popular kid in front of the whole school, and her crush would probably never look at her again.

The door burst open with a bang, hitting the wall behind it, and in came her friends Lola, Maddie, and Zoe.

“Oh my god, are you okay?” Maddie asked. 

“We saw the whole thing!” Zoe exclaimed.

Lola sat down next to Y/N, and the two other followed. They gave her a huge group hug and let her cry.

After Y/N was finished, Lola suggested that she get a new shirt. The girl agreed, and the four went to the office to look for something in the lost and found.

“Well, honey, why don’t you go look in the bin? There should be a shirt or two in there.” the secretary told the girls.

They sifted through the large blue bucket and found two shirts, an old white one that smelled awful and was looking a little yellow, and a stupid Lego Batman shirt that was in pretty good condition, but smelled as if someone mixed too much cologne and sweat together.

“No doubt, these are from the boy’s locker room.” Zoe pinched her nose with her left hand as she used the right one to hold the shirt far away from her while she examined it.

“Whatever. At least it’s better than the one I’m wearing now.” Y/N grabbed the dangling shirt and sighed before marching to the bathroom.

A few minutes later, Y/N came back into the office. The shirt fit her perfectly, giving a sign that it was probably from some nerdy kid with no build whatsoever.

“Oh, good, sweetie, you found something. Now, you kids better get back to class before your teachers get mad.” the secretary instructed. The four girls nodded and headed out.

Once alone in the hallway, Maddie spoke up. “Okay, like, I know this whole thing was traumatizing for you, Y/N, but can we just talk about how cute you and Ethan would be?”

Zoe and Lola laughed, but Y/N quickly clamped a hand down on Maddie’s mouth. “Don’t! Someone could hear!”

“Yeah, but it’s not like it’s a false statement.” Zoe giggled.

Lola smirked. “Totally. I ship.” 

Y/N covered her ears, playfully getting annoyed at her friends and running ahead of them, making the girls chase after her. They reached the sophomore hallway, laughing as they rushed to their lockers as to not be later than they already were.

Y/N collected her binder, pencil case, and laptop before turning to her friends. “Bye guys, see you after class.”

“Bye.” they called in unison.

The rest of the day went on painfully slow, and Y/N was called out several times during the day, getting comments on how she was clumsy or embarrassing. But there were always a few nice kids who asked her if she was okay.

By the time the bell rang at the end of the day, the girl was exhausted. Sh had been assigned at least 5 pages of homework, and probably an essay or two. But she couldn’t really say, because she hadn’t been paying that much attention.

To top of all the bad luck of the day, Ethan hadn’t looked at her again. No matter how many times Y/N attempted to catch his eye, he’d purposely turn his head the other way. They both knew what he was doing.

“Fine then.” Y/N thought to herself. “Save your ego. Can’t have anyone catching you look at me.”

She then blushed, realizing she was getting mad at him like he was her friend. They had barely ever interacted, why was she feeling and acting this way?

Y/N met Asher outside of the school, in the student parking lot. He was already in the car, obviously annoyed that his little sister had taken so long.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” she babbled apologies as she clambered into the car and buckled up. Though she would never admit it, she tried to impress her brother and stay on his good side. He was in with the popular crowd at school, and she took every chance she got to look cool to him.

“Yeah, whatever. Listen, I heard what happened to you today.” Y/N’s face flushed red when he brought up the memory. “I know you had a bad day, so I’m gonna give you a deal. It’s a one time thing, though, okay?”

He turned to look at Y/N, and she nodded. 

“If you want, you can come to this party with me tonight. I’m hearing that some of the sophomores will be there, too, so it’s not like you’ll be alone. You wanna go?”

“Oh, yeah. That sounds like fun.”

“Okay. We’re leaving at 8:30. If mom or dad asks, we’re going to the movies with a few friends. I will not have my night ruined by some kid who can’t keep her mouth shut.”

His sister pursed her lips, showing that her lips were sealed. He put his key into the ignition and started it, driving back to the house.

Once they arrived from the ten minute drive, Y/N raced straight up to her room, taking no time in saying hello to the rest of her family. Really, though, it was only her mom, because her dad was at work and Tyson was still at school.

Y/N immediately texted her friends about the party.

*Text*

Y/N: Guysss!!!

L: Wat

Z: What is it??

Y/N: I’m going to a party 2nite!

M: R u serious? How?

Y/N: Asher

L: Ah, that makes more sense

Z: What r u gonna wear?

Y/N: idk

M: Well, when r u leaving?

Y/N: 8:30, why?

L: IT’S 3:30 U ONLY HAVE 5 HOURS TO DECIDE WHAT TO WEAR

Z: R U INSANE HURRY

M: U guys r so overdramatic

Y/N: Agreed. Will text when I have perfect outfit.

*End*

Y/N set her phone gently on the bed before turning it off, going over to her dresser and rooting through it to find the perfect combination of an outfit.

She pulled out various dresses, skirts, pants, and shirts, sifting through each one carefully and pairing together different items that may look good together. Y/N tried on each option before settling on the perfect ensemble, one that was casual but cool at the same time. “Coolsual”, she called it.

Y/N flopped onto her bed and flipped open her laptop, going to YouTube to entertain her for a few hours before she showed her friends what she’d be wearing. 

Eventually, time passed (though Y/N would admit quite slowly because of how excited she was to go to this party)

She threw on her outfit, a skin-tight black off-the-shoulder top that adorned long sleeves, paired with a pretty black and white plaid skirt with a small chain hanging off the hip and connecting to one of the belt loops. Y/N also had on knee-high black socks, and finished off with a slight coat of make-up.

The girl stood in the mirror, snapping a picture before sending it to her awaiting girlfriends, who responded with “omg!”s and “love it!”s.

Y/N smiled at her phone, knowing they would’ve said the same thing if she staples herself in a trash bag, even if she knew they were lying. 

“Are you coming or not?” Asher yelled from the bottom of the stairs up to her room. Y/N hadn’t realized the time and yelled back in response, grabbing her purse and heading downstairs.

She pulled on some quick tennis shoes, not wanting to be bothered with the burden of having heels on, even if they weren’t that tall.

“Finally, you slowpoke, I texted you only a million times!” her older brother complained.

“Girls take longer!” she complained, but the both of them knew that she was just lazy in getting ready.

Asher chuckled and shook his head at the younger girl. “Whatever. Let’s go.”

They started out the door and into the driveway, entering the car. The senior put his key into the ignition and they drove the 5 minutes in silence to his friend’s house.

Once they arrived, Y/N noticed that there were so many more people than anticipated. She could already tell that this wasn’t going to be as fun as she expected, and she recognized no one out on the lawn.

“Whatever.” Y/N thought to herself. “I’ll just hang out by the cooler the entire time. No big deal.”

But she was lying to herself, and she knew it. It was a big deal, seeing as she was never one to be so involved with large crowds of people. She had her group of friends, and that was all she needed. Nevertheless, she snapped out of her thoughts and brought herself to push open the car door. 

The minute they stepped out of the vehicle, Asher was swooped away by his friends, no surprise there. Y/N, left to fend for herself, went to the food. It was in the corner by some chairs anyways, so it was a nicer place to be alone rather than out in the sea of bodies that were dancing, some quite inappropriately, she may add.

Suddenly, the girl felt someone sit next to her. Y/N turned her head to find Amber, a girl that she sometimes talked to in her math class. They were getting to know each other pretty well, finding things in common when they had the time.

“Hi.” the brunette spoke, a bit quietly. It could’ve just been the loud music, but Amber was a known introvert, so it was a surprise to see her in a place like this.

“Hey. What are you doing here? I wouldn’t expect to see you at a party, no offence.” Y/N responded.

“None taken, and I could say the same for you. My friend Samantha dragged me here. I don’t know why though, because she knows I don’t go to these things.”

“Ah. My brother offered to take me, since I had a pretty bad day, but I realize it’s definitely not my scene.”

Amber hummed in response, and the two girls people-watched for a few minutes, until Y/N noticed a certain someone in the crowd.

Ethan Dolan.

He stood next to his twin, Grayson, talking animatedly to a few of his friends. Y/N hadn’t noticed she was staring until Amber poked at her side for the second time.

“Y/N! Earth to Y/N!” she called, before noticing who she was looking at. “Ooh, you like him?”

“Yeah.” the girl called absentmindedly, unaware that Amber had even asked a question, let alone what the topic was.

Amber squealed. “Oh my god! It’s gonna be hard to get to him, though, he practically has a line of girls waiting for him.”

“What?” Y/N turned to Amber. “Please explain, I have no idea what you just said.”

As Amber talked to the sophomore next to her, unbeknown that she was being watched.

From across the room, Ethan was looking directly at her, watching as she talked to a girl that was probably in the grade, but never bothered to learn who she was.

Y/N and Ethan had only ever crossed paths a few times, seeing as she was obviously less popular than he. But after today, he felt butterflies dashing around in his stomach, and he wasn’t sure if it was from embarrassment or having a crush.

Little did he know, Y/N felt the same way.

Whatever the feeling, the muscular boy decided to suck it up and go talk to her. On the other side of the room, Y/N was oblivious to his attempts to get her attention.

After a few minutes, her gaze eventually shifted to him, and Y/N grinned at Ethan when they made eye contact. He ended his conversation and sauntered over to the sitting girl.

“Hey.” he spoke, causing Y/N to blush a little bit. She couldn’t believe it, a popular kid, talking to her. Willingly.

“Hi.” she quietly spoke, afraid that she would mess something up. The two sophomores looked at each other for a minute, small grins on both of their faces.

“So,” Ethan broke the ice. “How are you doing after today? Y’know, with the whole cafeteria thing...”

Y/N silently thanked him for asking “I’m doing good. Unfortunately, my favorite sweatshirt was ruined, but it’s okay.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I should’ve been watching where I was.”

“No, no, it’s my fault.”

The taller boy breathed out of his nose before speaking again. “So, see you around?”

“For sure.”

With that, Ethan left Y/N to go find his friends once more. What they didn’t know is that both of them felt the same feeling of butterflies invading their bodies, jittery and nervous.

Alex Kallio who?

[ashadowsideofme]

"I’ll give you something to believe in, I’d rather fail than never try"

:: Solo ::

The sound of my mobile phone buzzing against the hardwood of the bedside table, caused me to jump and pull from my sleeping slumber. Barely able to open my eyes, I reached over to grab my phone. A groan surpassed my lips and my hand moved to pinch the bridge of my nose. My eyes squeezed shut. I tried to figure out where I was, actually who I was. Sometimes I even forgot who I am and what my own name was. My head was banging and I could feel the vein in my forehead pulsating like a bitch.

The sound of my own blood rushing through my system was heightened in my ear in the silence of the room. Wiping the sleep from my eyes, and peeking open an eye. I punched in my passcode and groaned as my phones backscreen came to life, almost blinding me.

“Ah, shit!”

Another groan came as I placed the phone, screen down onto my chest. Using the balls of both my hands, I pressed them into my eye sockets. I needed painkillers and a shower to even attempt to wake me. Taking in a heavy sharp breath, eventually taking my hands away from my face. My surroundings slowly began to come into focus.

“What the f…….”

This wasn’t my apartment, nor my bed. I had yet again woken up in a hotel room. At least it wasn’t a gutter. That was kinda one of my worst fears. Being so blind drunk and ending up in a gutter. I had done some crazy ass shit over the years. One time while on tour with my band ‘The Shadow Side’, I was so wasted while on stage, that I thought it was a good idea to jump from the stage to another platform. Completely misjudging the distance, I landed nose first into the railing, breaking my nose, and cracking four ribs. But I had so much alcohol in my system, that it completely numbed my nerve receptors that I continued the performance despite of that.

So the fact I was actually in a bed and it was only my head that was pounding. I was taking this as a complete ass win. Even if it wasn’t the most brightest idea I have ever had. I felt a heavy weight finally across my stomach and raised the covers. I was naked. Fucking score. Way to go Ethan. We know what you did last night. An arm, which wasn’t mine laid across my stomach. Turning up my nose, I turned my head slowly to see the mass of red hair covering the girls face. I couldn’t even remember coming back with her, let alone her name or even what she looked like. Classy Ethan. She wasn’t the first, nor would she be the last of one of my rebellious indiscretions and I was going to need to slip out before she even woke up. Hopefully.

Picking up my phone from my chest, I used the other to gingerly take her wrist, I lifted her arm up off of me and slipped out of the bed, it wasn’t until I was perfectly free from the bed, I placed her hand down slowly. Cringing when I heard a slight moan. My body freezing as I waited to see if she is going to wake up. She doesn’t and I breathe a sigh of relief. Looking around the bedroom. It slowly came to me that we were in a hotel room. Thank fuck for that. I could escape easily and never have to worry about seeing her again, whoever ‘she’ was.

Grabbing my boxers and pulling them on, I did the same with my jeans. Slipping my phone into my pocket. I would wait until I got outside to see who had tried contacting me, I didn’t have time to hang around here and I was really in need of painkillers and a shower. Finding my shirt and pulling it on, I made sure I was wearing all my necklaces, rope and bead bracelets, I didn’t want to be leaving anything behind for her.

Sitting on a nearby chair, pulling on my socks and boots, I did the laces loosely. Before pushing myself up and looking around for my jacket. Spotting it near the door, amongst the girls clothes, I snatched it up and shrugged it on. Checking the pockets for my keys and wallet, which thankfully were there. I did the most disgusting thing I had to always do after nights like this. It wasn’t pleasant nor something that I enjoyed doing, but it had become a necessity since these one night stands would do anything these days for money and fame.

Grabbing the bin liner from the hotel bin beside the bed. I tied it into a knot and shoved it into my pocket for now to dispose of when I was clear from the hotel. Wherever the hotel was of course. I had an apartment in New York I shared with my childhood best friend Chelsea. We had known each other since we were six. We both grew up in London, England. To somewhat middle class parents. We lived next door to each other and have been inseparable ever since. Chelsea like to give the impression she was an innocent and naive woman, but she wasn’t. She could drink, eat and kick ass like the best of them.

I have always been into music, and she was always there for the ride. So when we were sixteen, we moved from London to LA with my band, The Shadow Side to try and make it big or even try and make it. After two long years of living in and out of vans, sleeping rough and taking shitty jobs so we could pay to eat. We were finally signed to a label and we hit it big, quickly. Maybe too quickly. None of us would quite handle the shit that was going down. We were massive on the alternative metal scene, and able to live comfortably, but we weren’t rich and famous. Even now, nearly a decade on.

But we were selling sold out shows around the world, we were touring every other year. I went off and did a solo project for a year and now we were back full force as a band. We all moved to New York to get away from the large press and media of LA who was following us around and documenting every mistake the band made. We were trying to clean up our image somewhat, but the moment we got back on tour, shit went out of the window. We were currently recording and writing our sixth studio, my seventh if you include the solo project and things were going well. That just meant tour and that was where we shook hands with the devil and shit got crazy.

Chelsea was our tour manager. She did the organising and made sure everyone had their shit together before we took to the stage. You didn’t want to mess with her and her schedule, because she would drop kick your ass into next week. She was feisty and took zero shit from anyone. I backed her 100%, and no one got away with disrespecting her. Ever. But we lived together. The amount of social media comments on that was crazy. Two people of the opposite sex couldn’t be just friends. It made us chuckle mind. It wasn’t anyone’s business and we stopped defending our friendship a long ass time ago.

So now, with a trash bag with last nights condoms in my pocket, I slipped from the hotel room and closed the door silently behind me. As I walked down the hallway to the elevator, I ran my hand through my hair, puffing out my cheeks. As I waited for the elevator to come, there was a maids cart, so I took the opportunity to dump the trash bag discreetly and shove my hands in my leather jacket. When the doors to the elevator opened. I stepped inside and hit the ground floor button. Resting my head back against the glass mirror. Trying to push the throbbing pain in my head away. It was blurring my concentration. Opening my eyes slowly I remembered my phone message and pulled my phone from my pocket. The doors opened and I stepped out.

Palming my phone as I went to the check out desk. I gave over my details and explained someone was still in the room. I paid with my credit card and shoved it back in my wallet, and into my pocket, peering over at the guy as he checked me out.

“Don’t suppose you have any painkillers?”

He looked me over once before smiling.

“Certainly sir”

I shuddered. ‘sir’ I was twenty-seven. I wasn’t that damn old. Pulling my shades from my pocket and putting them on. I clearly looked like utter shit. I felt like shit. I would say I am never drinking again but that was a complete lie, once this headache went I would be back to my old self again. When he came back with the painkillers and a bottle of water, I took them from him and thanked him. Heading outside, I looked around. I noticed we weren’t far from the bar I attended last night. I knew it was where I was without even having to remember. It was the same bar that Chelsea and I, along with the other band members frequented.

Taking the painkillers and knocking it back with water. I hailed down a cab and got in the back. Giving over my address and settling back. I finally got around to reading the text message. I had a few missed calls from Chelsea, along with Sam, Jamie and Declan, the other guys in the band. I wasn’t surprised by those, and would listen to the voice messages later. Going to my messages, there were loads. I skipped over most of them, really not in the mind space to read them. It was Chelsea’s messages I did open and there were around ten, all starting from three am this morning. Shit. It was the last message that made me chuckle.

“You better be dead or dying asshole because I am going to kill you when you get home”

Aww the love from my best friend. Beautiful. She worried about me and because I hadn’t contacted her, she didn’t know if I had lived out my worst fear and died in a gutter somewhere. I debated on replying but I didn’t. I would give her the satisfaction of killing me when I strolled through the door at 7:30am. I would never take her berating of me away from her. Especially since I needed to be in the studio this afternoon with the guys. Smiling amused to myself, I closed my eyes and rested my head back. Just waiting for the headache to pass now, and get home and shower.

[monleonie]

𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭  𝐥𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐞.

( GIGI HADID, CISFEMALE, SHE/HER ) Oh hello, you must be LÉONIE MONTBELLIARD it’s so nice to meet you. Is it true that you’re a 18 year old REGULAR student and in your SEVENTH YEAR? I should warn you, rumour has it you’re pretty TEMPERAMENTAL & RECKLESS but I think you’re really CAREFREE & AUDACIOUS - people like to gossip around here, but you’ll find out for yourself. Let me show you to CHAMBERLAIN. ( JOCEY, 23, EST, SHE/HER )

yes. I KNOW. i am back with yet another one. bcuz i’m trash. just love me plz and hit that like button to plot with my new bby.

name : léonie marie juliette montbelliard nickname : whatever you can come up with age : eighteen gender : cisfemale sexuality : pansexual hometown : paris, france

━  voici léonie montbelliard, the hot mess extraordinaire™. she is all over the place, hence this intro will probs be all over the place and that is not at all my fault honestly. but forrealz, she never has her shit together. her aesthetic is probably drunk girl stumbling home at 5am in a mini dress, with her heels in one hand, a bottle of half-drunken tequila in the other, and she’s just living her best life yet she simultaneously hates it.   

━  she was born into a very, very wealthy french family and allegedly has familial ties to the dubai royal family on her mom’s side. her parents were basically rich enough to throw money at people to make even more money for them (i.e. they were investors). unfortunately, some of said people weren’t exactly involved in the most legal of businesses, which led to the death of her parents when she was only three years old. there were whispers of the mafia being responsible, but in the official police report, it was a mugging gone wrong.

━  after the death of her parents, leonie was bounced around from family member to family member. even at an early age, she was a problem child and without her parents, it was even worse. eventually, it was her uncle who took her in. he was the youngest of her father’s siblings, had no kids of his own and always lived a bachelor’s lifestyle. having his six-year-old niece thrown into his life did put a damper on things, but that was why boarding schools existed, right?

━  she was close with her uncle jacques, but he was never the parental figure that she needed. growing up, leonie got away with practically everything. the more she got away with, the more she pushed the boundaries, trying to outdo herself each time. she’d been expelled from so many schools that she was practically starting at a new one every other fall. eventually, her grandmother stepped in and held leonie’s trust fund over her head. the deal was to attend bodley manor and to stay enrolled until graduation, or she could say goodbye to her trust fund. the choice was simple, really.

━  she may have promised not to get expelled, but she didn’t say anything about being a model student. it definitely helped that her uncle was just as keen on writing as many donation cheques as it took to keep her from getting expelled. the second leonie stepped foot into bodley manor, they were already in for crazy time. throwing a party in the headmaster’s office while he was away, sneaking in hot kingsley boys every weekend, bringing pot brownies for the school bake sale, getting crates of champagne delivered to the school - the list was endless. 

━  everyone knows leonie for being the wild party girl. seriously, she has the tolerance of a frat boy and can drink anyone under the table. it’s honestly a miracle that she hasn’t needed a new liver yet. but she is also known to be pretty crazy and unhinged sometimes, and tends to have a dark sense of humour. she once took a golf club and went all carrie underwood on her ex’s new range rover after he dumped her. she never had a boyfriend again after that. she was also suspected of being involved in the kingsley fire and was at risk of being expelled, but she’s back and better than ever babyyy.

━  fun fact: she’s never once slept with easton hawthorne, nor does she have any desire to. she’s pretty sure that makes her like a unicorn or something. buuut she has gone through most of the kingsley boys, if she were being honest. quite frankly, if someone claimed to have slept with her, she’d probably agree that it happened even if it didn’t because who can really keep track nowadays? not her apparently.

WANTED CONNECTIONS.

HOE SQUAD  ━  they don’t have to be hoes. leonie can be the hoe mascot idfk. but basically just a squad who accepts her for who she is, y’know?? gimme the carrie, miranda and charlotte to her samantha, or something. or they can all be samantha’s.  taken by ava turner, valentina fernandez PLATONIC SOULMATES OF YOUR DREAMS  ━  exactly what it sounds like. it’s a judgement-free, all love friendship because they’re probably both hot messes. think this and this. leaning towards a m/f friendship cuz i’m a hoe for them.  taken by maddy vasquez FRENEMIES  ━  some days they’re friends, some days they’re not. just depends on the mood and how much leonie wants to grind their gears that day. may not be the best of friends, but leonie sometimes goes to them ‘bout stuffs cuz they give pretty good advice? basically: this and this.  taken by poppy beaumont GOOD INFLUENCE  ━  this person is different from all of leonie’s typical friends because they’re a good influence on her and actually kind of maybe makes her wanna not be so much of a shit show?? she’s done a lot of dumb shit to push this person away because she’s conflicted about the effect they have on her, but they’ve stuck by her regardless.  taken by max petrov BAD INFLUENCE  ━  two diff plots here, but they’re called the same thing cuz idk ok?? #1 is leonie is the bad influence on someone who typically tries to stay out of trouble, but for whatever reason, she keeps talking you into doing dumb shit with her.  taken by julian hwang  #2 is this person is a bad influence on leonie and always encourages her crazy shenanigans, maybe even suggests crazier shenanigans for the two of them to get into.  taken by logan cheong CURRENT/EX FLINGS/HOOK-UPS  ━  leonie gets around, but never had a boyfriend/girlfriend/real relationship after her carrie underwood tribute. we can make it as messy as we want.  taken by preston morgans, alia bradenton EX-BOYFRIEND  ━  her one real, actual relationship that went down in flames after he dumped her and she wrecked his range rover (or whatever type of car, i can change it lol). she’s still kinda hung up on him despite all the shit that went down and maybs they still hook-up every now and then.  taken by ethan donaghues

[prettymuchdolansbitch]

Little Crush - Ethan Dolan

A/N: Hey y'all ! Here's an Ethan one because I had to get back to my lane ;). There is no hate towards Emma here, but ☕️🤷🏾‍♀️. I just used her because "sister squad" is mentioned and she's the only girl in there. WHATEVERR. Thank you for reading ! Enjoy! ps : there's mentions towards smut, but there is none. If anyone maybe wants to write a *continued* part, let a hoe know 🤪

Meeting Ethan and Grayson when you did was a miracle. Not only to you, but to the twins as well. You gave them hope again for creativity and happiness. As of right now, you've been friends with the boys for 3 years. You lived in LA near the boys in your own apartment.

You and Grayson were the best of friends, nothing could tear you apart. As for Ethan, somewhere along the way you slowly started catching feelings for him. You would never admit that to anyone though. The twins were suspicious on why you were being awkward sometimes. But they automatically assumed that you started seeing someone and wouldn't tell them. How wrong they were. Eventually, Grayson got it out of you. You made him pinky swear to never tell Ethan. So far, he has surprisingly kept his promise.

What broke you completely was when the twins made a certain new friend, Emma. At first you were completely okay with it, you got along with the "sister squad". But you couldn't help be jealous when they would all hang out without you. Most of the times, there would never be an invite.

You never told the twins though. You would never want to put them in a position where they would have to choose between you and sister squad. So you distracted yourself a little. Not too much, but you made your own friends at college and started hanging with them more. You and the boys checked up on each other every other day.

While you were debating on starting your paper that was due the next week, you got a text from Ethan. "Weird, we haven't texted separately since forever." you thought. You opened the message to see a very odd but exciting message: "Hey love, come over ? ;)"

You laughed at the corniness of the winky face, but you couldn't help but feel nervous. Does he know that you've been crushing on him? Where's Emma? Where's Grayson? Why didnt he text in the group chat we have with Grayson like usual? Was the text meant for you? So many thoughts were running through your head. You decided to go, but forgot to answer Ethan's message.

You changed from a basic t-shirt to a cropped sweater and put on some high waisted leggings. Your hair was already done from school, so you grabbed your keys and purse and headed out to the boys house.

When you got there, you noticed that Gray's car wasn't there. Even more weird. At this point, you were extremely nervous. You walked up to the door and used your key to open it.

"E-" before you could even finish his name, you see him half naked on the couch with an almost naked Emma on top of him. "What the hell Y/N" Ethan's voice echoed throughout the high ceilings. "Oh my God. I -" You didn't even want to stay there for another second. Before you left, you couldn't help but see a smirk on Emma's face.

You jumped into your car and sped off. You don't want to go home because if Ethan goes there to talk to you, you wouldn't know what to say. You pull over when you're far enough from the twins' house.

You're unbelievably angry with Ethan for sending that stupid text and making you look like an idiot. You were crazy jealous as well because you wanted to be in Emma's position. You knew that you had no right to even be jealous, chances are he never would even feel the same way about you as you do for him.

Instead of dwelling on Ethan, you decide to do your own thing, as always. You called up an old fling, named Jack. He always hit you up asking to go out for a drink or to hangout. But you two never dated. Just a few hookups here and there. You ended it when you realized you liked Ethan. Ethan knew about Jack and your doings with him, and he never liked the fact that you would have one night stands with the kid.

Jack was surprised, but not upset at all. You guys went out for dinner and a drink, then back to his house.

~Next Morning~

The drive of shame was radiating off of your car this fine morning. You took a shower at Jack's and borrowed one of his shirts and tied it up. You put the same leggings on and headed out. Jack insisted on keeping your underwear for God knows what, but you didn't really care. You just really wanted to get out of there.

Driving back to your apartment, you didn't feel too gross for using Jack, but you felt ashamed. Hence drive of shame. You had your sunglasses on and your hair up in a ponytail. You got out of your car not noticing the body on the front porch of your complex.

You recognized the body almost immediately. You kicked him awake. "15 more minutes Gray" He said putting his arm over his eyes to block the sunlight. You rolled your eyes, "Honey if I was Grayson, you wouldn't be on my porch right now. You should be home" You crossed your arms and stood above him.

He opened his eyes and squinted because of the sunlight. "Where were you? I tried calling you all night" He was rubbing his eyes and sitting up. "Turned my phone off for the night" You leaned against the railing watching him still waking up. "That doesn't answer my first question" He said sassing you.

"I went out, does it matter?" You feel the sun heating up your back. Ethan looks up at you for the first time and he sees what you're wearing. "HA to Jack's ?" He shook his head and put his head in his hands. "Is there an issue? You seemed pretty occupied after you texted me to come over. I needed some company. At least he can stick to a plan." You felt your eyebrows scrunching together.

"I never texted you. That was Emma. I was playing Fortnite and she had my phone." He stood up so he could match your level. "You should be more careful with that. Anyways, is that all? I have stuff to do today." you tried to walk past him but he put his arm up blocking you from going inside.

"You know I don't like when you randomly sleep with guys" Ethan says looking down at you. "And do you really think that I care what you think? Plus, he's not random, I've been doing him since last year, whenever I need." You duck under his arm and put the key into your apartment door. "I think you do care what I think considering you've liked me for how long now?"

You froze and turned around. "What're you talking about?" Ethan was turned around facing the street. "I knew it, I thought Grayson was lying but seeing your reaction, I know it's true." He turned around and ran up to you. "Even if it is true, you're with Emma." you were about to turn around to go inside your apartment and cut ties with everyone and everything, thanks Grayson.

"Not after last night. When I found out about her stunt, I kicked her out and told Grayson. And that's when he told me about your little crush." He walked towards you and trapped you between his arms. You haven't moved at all.

Ethan pulled you closer and smashed your lips together. "You could've just told me princess" he pulled away laughing. "Shut up." You poked his stomach and he retreated back a little.

"Do you really have anything to do anything today?" He asked holding you. You shake your head, "Nope, just wanted to get away from you." He laughed and threw his head back. "Good, now let's go burn this shirt, and maybe have some fun of our own." He grabs you by the waist and drags you into your own apartment.

[theajaheira]

2018 fic writing roundup

tagged by @catty-words​ !! thank u darling

i have this lingering suspicion that the 92k mess that is imperfections has a tendency of bumping up my word count, but also i’ve been writing particularly A Lot this year. so. yikes. this’ll be a mess

Total 2018 Word Count: 465,233 (so uh. yikes squared?) Total 2018 Hits: 16,798 Other 2018 AO3 Stats: Kudos: 1,592; Comment threads: 457; Bookmarks: 186; Subscriptions: 121.

Total 2017 Word Count: 171,640   Total 2017 Hits: 9,156 Other 2017 AO3 Stats: Kudos: 841; Comment threads: 172; Bookmarks: 126; Subscriptions: 40.

Links and Titles to 2018 Works (buckle up kids)

ten questions for new year’s eve (6,669 words) lonely s4 giles meets jenny on new year’s eve. basically fluff laced with some light angst, which i think set the tone for most of my writing this year

forever (4,738 words) some assorted femslash ficlets from tumblr that i immediately forgot about after february. it of course got buried under a deluge of jenny fic but there’s still some cute stuff there! i had a lot of fun in particular writing about bb willow and the beginnings of her attraction to girls

she’s your destiny (9,560 words) AHHHHHH I FORGOT I WROTE THIS. blessings of writing This Much. soulmate au with buffy/willow and giles/jenny where like. none of them are soulmates but they fall crazy in love anyway.

the happy-ending bouquet (3,851 words) set in 2018. giles and jenny have been married for something like 15 years and are still very happy and in love. basically just an endless deluge of fluff

personas (2,729 words) hhhhh i hesitate to count this as a 2018 fic, because i technically posted it in summer 2017 and then deleted it for reasons unknown (even to me). but there aren’t enough fics that explore jenny’s fractured sense of identity and her broken heart and i love my girl so much. so. wrote that.

something real (2,173 words) my valentine’s day fic!! a friend and i share the headcanon that jenny would have finally shoved her way back into giles’s heart if not for the love spell throwing her off, so. wrote a fic where that happened, albeit somewhat angstily.

direct, but not unwelcome (4,478 words) this fic always makes me cringe, a little; the office verse was written largely for faith and tara, and writing giles and jenny in it was a decision i don’t entirely like (mostly bc there really is no narrative place for either of them). but it has a few good lines ig?

putting a ring on it (2,370 words) giles and jenny proposal fic!! a little wobbly in places imo but still so fun to write. those two deserve all the fluff

the second choice soulmates (6,942 words) the inevitable faith/tara sequel to the soulmate au!! i had it planned from the second i started writing the first fic in that series, and i had a lot of fun with it. in which faith and tara have to deal with their soulmates being in love with each other, and end up falling in love themselves.

nightmares and the aftermath (1,205 words) the first fic i wrote in the ripper au! ripper has a nightmare; jenny talks him through it.

the inherent complexity of falling in love (3,519 words) more soulmate au nonsense!! this time with solely giles and jenny!! 

let’s stay together (857 words) i say that this is “a series of vignettes in which ben, ann, and leslie are dating” but really it’s just one. i’ve kept it in bc i really wanna write more than one. ben/leslie/ann is such a blessed ship and there are no fics for it! which is ridiculous! because they really should all be dating!! leslie has two hands y’all

moments of connection in an uncertain world (3,351 words) the olivia/jenny fic that set that amazing ship on its course. set in asoue; jenny’s identity in the narrative is ambiguous bc jenny’s identity in every narrative is ambiguous. mystery bicon

amends (remixed) (2,988 words) i’m like 99 percent sure i spite-wrote this fic after watching amends bc that really seems like something i would do. in which ghost jenny makes sure buffy, angel, and giles all know that she doesn’t blame them for a single thing.

it’s a family affair (11 chapters) jenny, married to giles and mom to two daughters, loses her memory. i meant for this to be an exploration of jenny and giles’s relationship + jenny as a character, but with hindsight i feel like i kinda rushed it. maybe someday i’ll come back and expand this a little?

maybe i’m in love (24 chapters) CRIES. this fic was posted all in one day and got buried under the deluge of fic i wrote this year and i am still so sad that it remains forgotten. even by me. like i forgot it existed till now. but it is the treasure of my heart and i am still not sure what i can possibly do for calendiles day 2019 that will even come close to “slow burn giles/jenny series rewrite in script format.”

dragonslayers (8,048 words) i go back and forth between whether adding a sequel to a sappy-happy-ending fic was actually needed, but i had a lot of fun writing jenny and anya and tara being friends and adopting a dog. those girls deserve so much better.

tech support (1,315 words) jenny works at angel investigations, and giles meets her when he and buffy drive up to la to get a book. unabashed fluff.

family ties (2,294 words) giles introduces jenny to his dad and the aunts. i had giles call himself “rupert” for the entire fic and forgot to explain why i made the choice to do so (and there was a damn good reason!!!) so every time i see this fic....Regret™

i like you (992 words) the product of me realizing “wait, i never wrote a fic about my Very Specific Headcanon that giles and jenny had sex after school hard!!!” and then going ahead and writing that fic. not explicit; lots of giles and jenny being dumb and in love

take me now! (3,460 words) the sister fic to my other jenny/olivia fic! in this one, jenny’s a watcher and olivia’s the sweet librarian who has her all blushy.

the grieving process (9,771 words) this fic! was! such a trip to write! i wanted to write something where giles’s s6 issues were confronted. originally i wrote a jenny’s-alive fic where he goes to her place in la after leaving buffy in tabula rasa, but the mood of that fic was miserable and hostile, so i changed things ever so slightly. and then it became “giles goes to jenny after buffy dies,” and that transitioned into “giles actually finally gets to have an outlet for his emotions,” and then it became a very soft fic that i love very much.

unsolved mysteries (1,704 words) a modern jackaby au! where jenny cavanaugh has trauma-related anxiety and eats pretzels w jackaby in a hall closet! surprisingly soft.

the cleanup crew (2,968 words) post-ted; buffy calls jenny and giles in to help her with ted’s robot body. because that ep was a hot mess and too many things were tied up too fast.

princess charming (2,754 words) written thanks to a throwaway line from the grieving process! about jenny saving fred in pylea! @theforestlesbian​ mentioned in a review that this fic came off as “the adventures of jenny” and that was the best compliment ever.

untraditional, unconditional (4,223 words) ripper au! ripper and jenny get married! i don’t think i will ever write a better calendiles wedding than this one.

gettin’ bi (1,215 words) jenny and giles come out to each other. that’s really it.

intimacy (1,058 words) some root/shaw fluff. g o sh at some point i really should finish poi huh

the battle’s done (and we kind of won) (5,026 words) post-chosen; jenny inexplicably comes back from the dead, and giles works thru the messy aftermath of s7.

chaos, vengeance, love (1,412 words) giles’s exes talk over his grave. (and yes, i do mean jenny and ethan.)

buffy summers, muggle-born (6,075 words) buffy goes to hogwarts! this was meant to set the scene for a loosely connected string of fics, but i could never decide whether i wanted them to be chaptered fics or oneshots. i do have like 3 large chapters saved to my computer, tho :/

a eulogy (920 words) jenny calendar, as told by how she’s remembered.

survivors’ guilt (4,690 words) in which giles dies instead of jenny, and jenny and buffy deal with it poorly. my only problem w this fic is that i really wish i’d explored the messy aftermath of what might have happened if jenny had brought giles back. 2019 project y/y?

regarding honor and honesty in the workplace (43 chapters) CRIES IN JENNY/LILAH. given that i did not shut up about this fucking fic for a good 3 months, i don’t think it needs a summary.

maybe we could have a thing (3,184 words) giles and jenny’s first date!! canon told us they went out beforehand and it really did need to be ficced.

the most important words (2,753 words) passion fix-it! how many of these have i written dfshlsdhdf. anyway, by some lucky stroke, jenny doesn’t die, but she’s understandably kind of a mess. giles tries to help.

that brown-eyed technopagan (2,821 words) ripper au! willow has a HUGE crush on jenny calendar, who in this ‘verse is in her senior year at sunnydale high. lots of high school shenanigans.

seven new and very bad songs about jenny (8,597 words) another ripper au fic, this one about what it takes for ripper to finally give in and kiss the girl.

love of mine (282 words) one of the two fics i have written that involves giles grieving jenny. angst abounds.

the adjustment period (4024 words) i wanted to write about how weak vamp jenny is for her gf, so i returned to the grand romantic gestures ‘verse and explored that. femslash calendiles!!

love, scotch, and late-night parties (2,539 words) the aftermath of eyghon in the ripper au. jenny wants to be smothered in attention from ripper; ripper wants to give jenny the space he thinks she needs. basically the exact opposite of canon with the exact same inability to communicate.

father and son (3,761 words) in which ripper examines his relationship to his dad, and worries about treating his new son the same way. (spoiler alert: he obviously does not.)

imperfections (46 chapters) TECHNICALLY i added a few new chapters in 2018. i stg i’ll at least get closer to finishing it this year.

happily ever after (2,005 words) set after the dire king! jenny and jackaby being dumb and in love and experimenting with “the mechanics of ghost-human relations.”

cardboard robot (2,097 words) ripper au: halloween edition! ripper gets a pumpkin stuck on his head and sings about jenny, who Definitely Doesn’t Like Him What Are You Talking About Shut Up.

tea, with honey (3,295 words) a modern jackaby au, where jenny’s trauma really is trauma with no ghost metaphor. jackaby, darling of my heart, is still just as sympathetic.

very really married (6 chapters) THIS I WILL FINISH IN 2019. FOR REALS. i have too many unpublished chapters on my laptop to NOT finish it. set in s1; giles and jenny get drunk married in las vegas pre-canon. which, of course, adds a whole new level of complexity to both of giles’s new jobs.

coping (2,611 words) i really wanted to write about jenny and eyghon, bc there are like 0 fics that address the absolute mess that canon throws at that woman. so i did. very angsty with no clear happy ending, bc that’s what happens when you write canon compliant fic about jenny calendar.

yours (2,747 words) my first foray into writing phryne and jack! and, if the 4k-and-counting wip is anything to go by, definitely not my last. 2018 brought me a lot of things, but watching mfmm all the way through was definitely one of the best.

family ties (2,640 words) catch me crying about river and the ponds for the rest of my life, probably. centered around river’s graduation from luna university and her relationship with her parents.

decently clothed (1,516 words) lots of dumb calendiles fluff!! based on a paragraph from a btvs novel; jenny and giles go clothes shopping. it’s exactly as cute as it sounds.

making things right (1,060 words) passion fix-it that came to me when i thought “what if jenny survived, but didn’t even care that she’d almost died, bc what really mattered was that she’d fixed things with giles and buffy?? lmao how badly would that fuck giles up, knowing that she placed earning his trust over her own life???” and then i wrote it bc i love pain

bless her soul (6,294 words) s3. jenny comes back wrong. lots of explorations of the guilt that buffy, giles, and angel harbored for jenny’s death, with none of the pain of using jenny solely as a mouthpiece for evil. so like. amends done right.

dear friend (1 chapter, so far) a you’ve got mail calendiles au that i really do intend to work on some more in 2019.

haunted (15,622 words) WHAT a note to end 2018 on. a (mostly) non-supernatural au in which jenny, after an intense & awful trauma, leaves sunnydale and buys a ridiculously inexpensive mansion in england. why was it so cheap? because giles, the ghost who lives there, has been scaring off buyers. naturally, jenny is not easily rattled.

Favorite Fic: it’s hard to choose bc i wrote so many but for now i’ll pick bless her soul. writing the-first-as-jenny and playing up scooby guilt while still getting to bring jenny back for a happy ending??? that was just so much fun.

Hardest Fic: very really married. absolutely. i was in a v weird place while writing that fic, so that certainly didn’t help, but that fic has been giving me Trouble since i started writing it.

Do You Plan to Take Prompts in 2019? always!!

What was the best thing about 2018? friendsssss!!! i’m entering 2019 with a lot of solid friendships, which really wasn’t the case in 2018. 

What was the worst thing about 2018? tbh the answer will always and forever be “my mom” until i am out of this house

Any last thoughts for 2018? how the FUCK did i WRITE more than half of the fics i have posted on ao3 in THIS YEAR ALONE. 55 FICS. i’m REELING.

Goals for 2019

finish the cheesy au g/j multichapters i started

maybe start work on a detective au sequel? i miss that ‘verse

more ripper au fic!!!!!

more jenny/olivia!!!

more jenny centric fic in general like It’s What She Deserves

SOMETHING about jenny and angel. i talk big talk about how much that dynamic fascinates me but i only ever touch on it in fic. it’s never the central focus.

finish the phryne/jack fic i’m working on, and maybe...tentatively...write more?

[clubdolan]

awe hiding-your-face hug with gray

I got VERY carried away with this but it’s cute and fluffy AF.

Grayson and Ethan had been in Australia for a month on tour, vacationing, doing interviews, photo shoots, you name it. Haiden had been in LA, going to class, working her internship, and finding random nannying jobs to make money.

She missed Grayson. She missed staying at his house instead of her school apartment. She missed late night ice cream runs to the one 24 hour dessert place down the road. She missed going to the warehouse to workout… well she missed Grayson making her come to the warehouse while he worked out. She missed meeting him for lunch between her classes and his filming. She missed his hugs, his hands, stealing his clothes; she missed HIM.

Her small desk calendar with hand written numbers, counted down the days till his return. He had sent her pictures of the water fall they were at and the beach and the skate park and his view from his hotel room. He facetimed her and let her complain about her internship and brag about the homemade donuts she had made the day before.

Haiden tapped her pencil on her notes from class, looking at the number three on her calendar as if she stared at it long enough it would change. The first two weeks she had kept her self busy so she didn’t recognize he was really gone. The third week it was hitting her, she texted him more, called him more, facetimed him more, and definitely thought she couldn’t make it another week.

It was the fourth week now. She gave up on her homework and went to her kitchen to grab her secret stash of chocolate chip cookies and wine. She sat in her bed in one of Grayson’s hoodies and ate a cookie and sipped on wine while looking at her album of pictures of them together. She had reached an all time low.

While she scrolled her phone rang, slightly scaring her.

GRAY💕 would like to FaceTime

“No, no, no, no…” She mumbled to herself, pulling up the hood over her messy hair and using the sleeves to wipe of her cheeks from where she might have been crying.

She swiped to answer it, aiming it at the ceiling as she wiped her cheeks off more. “Hold on…”

“I just wanted to call and tell you goodnight.” Grayson said, trying to figure out the blurry images of her blanket and the wall next to her as she moved around. “Where are you? I wanna see your face.”

“I’m here, eating cookies.” Haiden pulled the camera up, her side table lamp barely lit up her room and her on the screen. She fake smiled and help up the bag of cookies. “I gave up on homework.”

“Have you been crying?”

“No.” She gave him a weird look, as if it were crazy of him to assume she had been. Red, puffy eyes and all.

“Put me closer to your face.”

“Gray, seri–

“Haiden, do it.” He demanded and she slowly pulled her phone closer. “Your eyes are red, you–”

“So I’ve been crying, homework is hard and my internship is frustrating.”

“If it was your homework you’d still be working on it no matter how hard it was.” He proved a point, knowing her for too long. “What else is bothering you? Is it your dad again? Did he call–”

“You.” She mumbled, holding back tears. Her eyes stung and her chest felt crushed. “I miss you.”

“Oh god, babe. Don’t cry, please? I hate seeing you cry. I’ll be back in three days and I’ll come straight to you, no matter where you are.”

“The next two days I just have class from eight to noon. The day you get back I have my internship till four.” She mumbled.

“So I’ll meet you at four, right at the door of the office. I’m taking you to dinner and dessert and you can come back with me to our house and we can do whatever, I promise.”

She couldn’t talk, if she did she would break.

“Hai, I promise, you can even meet me at the airport if you want to leave your internship. You’ve made it this long–

“It’s been too long. You’re my best friend, I miss just being around you or knowing you’re near.” She mumbled into her sleeve before wiping off her cheeks. “I’m pathetic, I know.” She laughed to herself a little bit, “That’s why I was crying and eating cookies and drinking wine alone in the dark.”

“In my sweatshirt I’ve been looking for.” He smirked, watching her pull the strings tighter around her head.

“I just want a hug and then you can go back to Australia, okay? There’s a new rule where I can’t go more than ten days without hugging you.”

“I’m fine with that rule– hold on, E.” He sighed as someone knocked on his door. Haiden began crying again, knowing he had to hang up soon. “Babe, come on, don’t cry. I can’t hang up on you when you’re crying.” He unlocked the door, “Unlimited hang out time when I get back, promise.”

“Hi Haiden!” Ethan yelled, diving his face in front of the camera.

“Hai, please answer me.” Grayson begged, watching her sit still on screen. “We’re meeting some people for lunch or I’d keep talking to you, text me, okay.”

“Ubers here.” Ethan whispered.

Haiden nodded, “Bye.”

“I miss you so much, Hai. I love you, okay? You know I do. I’m so sorry I’ve been gone so long.” Haiden kept nodding, “I’ll call you when it’s morning for you, okay? Haiden please answer me, stop nodding.”

“That’s fine, bye.” She hung up the phone, tossing it on her bed before crying herself to sleep. She was already sad that he was gone and now she was mad at herself for making him feel bad.

Half way across the world Grayson shoved his phone in his pocket and followed Ethan downstairs.

“Bro, what’s up? What’s going on with Haiden?”

“She’s just, she misses me, it’s been so long. I forget that we’re distracted doing stuff and keeping busy but she’s working her ass off at school and interning and little jobs and doesn’t give herself a break until I usually make her.”

“I’m glad Kaya has a job like us so she was able to visit. I don’t know how you two do it, four weeks is way too long.” Ethan led him to the Uber.

“I told her I would fly her out here for a few days and she couldn’t. If she doesn’t have internship she’s at class in the morning. She has no days off. This is her last semester though so hopefully we can find some type of normal after she graduates.” He leaned his head back against the seat and closed his eyes, “I feel so bad, I just want to go there now. Why did we add an extra week? Why were we worried about saving money and flying out when it was cheaper? Why didn’t I think of her?”

“Dude, you’re another zone, I’ve never seen you like this.”

“E, I love her. I really love her.”

“I know you do. I know she’s different.” He said, hating to sound cliche, “I know you’ve been missing her, you’ve alternated your background to different pictures of her all week, you both are always facetiming, you know her schedule better than ours, and you keep buying her stuff because it ‘reminds you of her’ which I have never heard you say.”

“I’m gunna marry her.” Grayson sat up quick, “I’m going to marry, Haiden. Haiden Dolan. My wife, Haiden. Haiden Gianna Dolan.”

“My sister-in-law, Haiden.” Ethan said, nodding his head. “Sounds fine to me. She’s cool.”

“Hey, driver.” Grayson leaned up between the seats, “Can you take me back to the hotel?”

“We’re at the restaurant.” Ethan pointed out the window.

“I’m going back to the hotel, packing, and getting back to LA.” He said, starting to look up flights on his phone.

-

Ethan stayed with their friends in Australia.

Grayson spent $1,500 on a flight back to LA.

He left at 2pm on a Monday in Australia and arrived in LA at 4pm on Monday. (I did quick math and looking it up so just deal with the times okay! lololol)

He had texted Haiden a few times, asking about her class for the day and she had said she was spending time in the library or the cafe before going home. Haiden’s plans were to postmates Chipotle and watch The Bachelorette and The Bachelorette After Show.

His suitcase sat next to him in the uber and watching the ‘time to destination’ was the only thing distracting him as they drove through downtown LA.

He must have zoned out because the driver made him jump when he said they had arrived. Grayson was so tired that just getting to her building made him happy knowing he was close to a bed, or even a couch; even happier he was closer to Haiden.

He gave her a quick text, asking what she was up to. Nothing out of the normal so she quickly responded.

Haiden: I think my eyes are bleeding from reading so much and my left foot is numb from sitting on it too long and I have purple pen marks smudged on my hand from taking so many notes.

Grayson: Then stop! haha You deserve a break. It’s your day off.

Haiden: I’ll stop soon. I have two pages left to take notes on. Stop texting me, go hang with your friends. :)

So he stopped.

He put his phone in his pocket, entered the door code for her apartment, and patiently waited on an elevator to go to the 4th floor. Her apartment was down a hall at the end, perfect view over LA, perks of knowing the owner of the complex.

Grayson knocked on her door a few times, standing to the side of the peep hole so she couldn’t see him. He heard foot steps go down her loft stairs before getting louder as they made their way towards the door.

One lock clicked.

The second lock clicked.

The knob slowly turned.

“Nooooooooooooooooo.” She spit out, covering her face and backing up, “No you didn’t. No. Nooo.”

He pushed his luggage in the door, letting it roll until it stopped. “But I did.”

“Grayson.” She sounded mad, “You’re supposed to be in Australia.”

“But I wanted to be here with you.” He grinned, finally getting a hold of her. His arms wrapped around her tiny frame, she hid her head in his t-shirt and he felt her little hands grip onto his waist.

He felt her catch her breath and pushed her back, “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?” He slightly laughed, wiping off her cheek with his thumb. He finally got a good look at her.

Her blonde hair was tied up somehow, sitting messy on top of her head. Her legs stuck out from a small pair of red work out shorts and she had on a faded t shirt she had cut into a crop top. Even her reading glasses were sitting on top of her head and he noticed the purple pen smudges on her hand.

“You’re here.” She grabbed his waist and pulled herself into him again, wiggling her body around in excitement, continuing to cry. “You smell like you.”

“Thank you?” He laughed, squeezing his arms around her before picking her up. He held her up like it was nothing, she wrapped her legs around his waist and continued squeezing herself as close as she could to him.

Haiden’s tears fell on his neck, he heard her breathing in his ear, her hair tickled the side of his face and all he could do was smile. “I love you, so much.” He mumbled into her neck, swaying slightly back and forth.

She sat back, he caught her by her bottom and she continued to hold around his neck. “What?” He questioned, watching her look at him.

“I can’t believe you’re here.” She whispered, leaning her head towards his, touching their noses together. “But you’re here.”

“I wanted to come home.”

“But you’re at my apartment.” She pointed out.

“You’re my home, Haiden.” He whispered, “I hated being gone. I hated not being with you. I wanted to tell you everything. I wanted you to be there. I wanted to be here.“ He explained, looking up to see her eyes closed and a tear falling from one. “Since the day I met you, you’ve made me smile. You make me a better person. You are the first person to… give me butterflies when I look at you.” He nervously laughed, “You continue to give me butterflies and make me happy and make me excited and I think, I think that’s what home is.”

She leaned back and opened her mouth to talk but stopped because she was holding back tears. He felt her take a deep breath, “You’re my home too.” She choked out, “Never leave me that long again, okay?”

“I promise.” He smiled, leaning into kiss her.

[browniefox]

Who let the dogs out

Yup. I guess that’s the title now.

This one is a bit lazier than the other two, but I still like it. Also, I’d really love to write more of this but I’m not really sure what so if anybody has any suggestions that’d be great! 

Amy takes Mark for a walk. It doesn’t go as planned.

oOo

“I can’t thank you enough,” Tyler was lying on the couch, but he really did look like being more or less useless was killing him.

“It’s really not a problem.” Amy assured him, leaning against the wall close to the bathroom. Mark’s pained grunts could just barely be heard, the door luckily blocking out most of the sounds. “You had surgery, Ethan’s busy, and anyway, it’s fun playing with Mark.”

“I know, I just… it’s my job. Like, literally part of what he pays be is because I do this for him, and I’m also his registered Retriever,” Tyler sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“It’s really fine Tyler.” Amy repeated and went to open the bathroom door. Out bounded Mark, now shifted into his technically-a-werewolf-but-more-like-a-big-puppy form. For a moment it looked like he was about to tackle Amy, a thing he seemed to very much enjoy doing to everybody, but instead ran off to Tyler.

“Mark, Mark c’mon, I’m fine.” Mark whined at that, nose tapping Tyler’s knees before the wolf darted off up the stairs and came back down with the comforter from his bed in tow. He set it down in front of Tyler, and when the man didn’t grab it right away he barked. “Okay, geez, you know I’m supposed to be looking after you today.”

“Face it Tyler, right now you’re more pitiable than the man with a terrible illness that makes him a literal monster three days of the month.” Amy teased. Mark quickly got distracted by Chica, who jumped on him playfully. It wasn’t long before the two were running around the apartment.

“... Amy, there’s one more thing I have to ask.” Tyler shifted uncomfortably under the blanket. “It’s not really something I like to put on other people but, well… Mark, when he’s Mark, hasn’t been getting out as much lately. So that leaves Wolf Mark very restless. I, I want you to take him for a walk.” Tyler grit out the phrase. He always made an effort not to dehumanize Mark while he was shifted, but it did get hard not to give the wolf head scratches.

“No problem,” Amy watched as Mark rammed into the some of the kitchen cabinets as he chased after Chica. “... how am I supposed to do that, exactly.”

“We have… a collar.” Tyler sighed. “And a leash. Mark suggested it himself, otherwise I never would’ve bought one.”

Tyler helped Amy get the collar - actually, two collars clicked together - onto Mark and the chain-leash on. Mark sat surprisingly still through the whole thing, tail wagging like crazy. As soon as the chain was clipped on, though, Mark was hopping around again and basically dragged Amy out the door. Tyler was able to shout one last ‘Good Luck!’ and ‘Sorry!’ before they were out on the sidewalk.

“Mark, stop!” Amy did her best to grind her heels into cement, and Mark actually did slow down, sniffing everything in sight. They walked around for a bit in silence, only passing one person that didn’t give them any trouble. Mark did watch them as they passed, eyes following them until they were well behind them. “If you start peeing on something, that’s a relationship ender.”

Mark turned to look at Amy and then howled, and Amy rolled her eyes but couldn’t help but to smile. He was always so dramatic, no matter what form he’s in.

Both of them froze, however, at the answering howl.

Mark sped ahead of Amy, causing her to let go of the chain, and then went back by her side, almost walking under her feet. He growled and even nipped her hand when she tried to pick the leash back up. His head was turning every which way, ears perked up, but he was hardly making a sound.

Another howl, this one closer.

Mark stepped in front of Amy, head still up, still alert. That was when the monster jumped down from the rooftops and landed in front of them.

Realistically, Amy knew that monsters existed. Tyler had explained to her that there were other werewolves. It was just hard to match up Mark with the creature in front of them. It looked more like how werewolves were portrayed in movies, more bipedal with large clawed hands, a mix of human and wolf. Torn clothes covered it. Golden, glaring eyes stared at Amy, saliva dripping from its open mouth, allowing Amy to see the sharp fangs.

Mark charged the other werewolf, running behind it and biting its tail. The other spun around and snarled, swiping at Mark. Mark was able to jump away before being hit, managing to lock eyes with Amy. It was the most clear, complex emotion she’d ever seen from him shifted. Urgency, and protectiveness. He nodded to Amy, and ran.

The other werewolf gave chase.

oOo

Mark woke up on cold, hard floor.

Yep. That was pretty par for the course. The bathroom wasn’t exactly heated. This time, though, there was a blanket covering him.

Mark sat up, groaning and looking around. Well, looking around as best he coul without his glasses or contacts. The blurry sight that met him wasn’t quite familiar. The general set up, however, was. Great. Must’ve been quite the night if he was waking up in a Retriever Hold.

Through the metal bars around him, Mark could see there were a few other cells, six in total, in this particular room. Across from him was a guy, rather young, snuggled into a blanket identical to his and snoring rather loudly. Right next to his cell was another man, older, a chain from a cuff on his neck going to the back of the cell. This guys was awake and had tied the blanket around his middle while inspecting various cuts and bruises, even bite marks. Mark couldn’t help but to notice the clear bite, well-scabbed over, on his arm.

“Morning,” Mark greeted, getting up and shuffling over to a box near the edge of his cell. It had a simple latch on it, and inside were some granola bars an a set of sweat pants.

“Do, do you know where we are? What’s going on here?!” The man demanded.

“Yeah, I do.” Mark tossed the man one of the granola bars before rummaging a bit more into the box and taking out a few bandages. He was also littered with bloody slices and could feel more than see the bruising. “What do you remember from last night?”

“I-, w-what did I do last night?” The stanger’s brow furrowed in thought.

“You were attacked by a monster recently.” Mark stated. “Welcome to the werewolf life.

“What?!”

“You don’t have to like it, but there’s really no subtle way to put it.” Mark looked into the other’s cell. The man was silent for a moment, then opened his mouth to say something else. He was cut off by a door opening and a woman walking in, a clipboard in hand.

“Good morning gentlemen. First of all, do not worry; we did not kidnap you. All will be explained in a bit.”

The man glared at her, not saying a word, but Mark stood and slipped the pants on underneath the blanket.

“Mark Fischbach. You should have my records. I just want to get this over with.”

“Of course, right this way.” She unlocked his door and led him out into a waiting room of sorts, filled out some information, and was given a copy of the incident report. He’d apparently been found locked in combat with a Lupus furorem - the guy he’d been talking to. They’d taken down the furorem with a dart and had hoped to just lead Mark back to the Retriver hold, but apparently Mark had seen them as the next threat had fought them when they’d tried to get to the other werewolf and had had to be drugged himself.

It sounded familiar, Mark could remember running from something bigger and scarier than himself, being bit into and biting into something else. Just the memory brought a growl to his throat that he didn’t realize he was making for a moment. Probably the worst part of the moon cycle: canine traits slipping in around full moon time.

“Mr. Fischbach, your Retriver is here to pick you up.” Mark sighed, folding up the report and going into another room. Tyler was there with Amy, who was holding his collar and leash - presumably what he’d been found with - and left.

Amy fussed over every scrape.

Mark did his best not to make a big deal of her scratching his head.

[mystique-6]

What I Read in January

Hello everyone!  I hope you are having a great day wherever you are in this crazy world.  I had originally intended to try and get a YouTube channel going about books I have read or plan to read this year but I quickly discovered that recording myself is way too awkward and not a fun activity for me, but I still really want a platform to talk about books with others so I am going to try that here.  

I plan on making at least two posts a month.   Those posts would be for what I plan to read for a month and what I read in a month.  I may also make some posts to review a book or series but if I end up doing reviews there probably won’t be one for each month.

So as the title for this post states I will be covering the books I read during the month of January.  For this type of post I will state the book and author(s), a brief non-spoiler summary of the book, and how I felt about the book.  I will then give the book two ratings; an objective rating and a personal rating.  

I’ll explain why.  Sometimes I will read a book that I don’t enjoy, but it’s not because the book was bad.  Sometimes a book just isn’t for everyone and I don’t think it’s fair to only rate a book on how I felt about it personally when I am sharing that rating to the public.  

So what does an objective rating mean to me?  When I am deciding on the objective rating I am thinking of how strong the plot of the book was.  I am thinking of how strong the characters in the book were.  I am thinking of the prose and considering how easy was the book to read?  Did the prose make the story flow?  Or did it make the story confusing?

I probably don’t have to state this but the personal rating is completely determined by how I felt about the book.  Did the story resonate with me?  How did I feel about the characters?  Was I entertained while reading the book?

A lot of the times these ratings will match, but I wanted to have them both because there are times when they differ.  One more thing about the ratings before I hop into the point of this post. I will be using a one to five star scale.  There will be no half points.  So this means nothing will be 4.5 or 1.5.  The ratings will only be 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5.  With that said let’s get to in.

I lied.  There is one more thing I want to state about book ratings.  I will not be providing a rating for any nonfiction work.  Nonfiction is too personal interest and if I read one where I don’t know much about the topic before reading I don’t think I could fairly assess whether the book was truly good or not.  

POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNING:  The second book I will discuss does revolve around a school shooting.  It’s a fictional school shooting, however that could still be triggering to some people and I don’t want to cause anyone mental stress.  If you feel you will be triggered by this at all please skip over the second book mentioned.

1. Beautiful Creature by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl.  This book is about a teenage boy, Ethan, living in a small Southern U.S. town.  This town is very set in its ways and he longs to get out when he finishes high school.  His life becomes more complex when a new and mysterious girl, Lena, arrives in town. Ethan has been having dreams about Lena and the two quickly become drawn to each other and begin unraveling many secrets hidden within the town as they try to find a way to save Lena from her family’s curse.  

I actually started reading the book in December but the holidays slowed me down.  This was actually a reread for me.  I read this book once before, probably around when the movie came out.  I had enjoyed the book originally and I enjoyed it again upon rereading it.  Although the book is rather long it keeps track of its plot and has some really great and interesting characters.  I also really liked how it melded traditional smalltown U.S.A. with this magical world.  The authors did a really good job of melding the two together.  

My objective rating for the book is 4 stars.  I think the plot is solid.  I think there are some really great characters.  The story flows and it was a really fun read.  The plot itself, however, is something I’ve seen before even if in different ways.  It did remind me of both Harry Potter and Twilight.

My personal rating for the book is also 4 stars.  I really love magic, especially when it’s set in the real world and I don’t have to rely on the author to set up a picture of the world in my head.  The characters were great.  They all had their own personalities and quirks and I really enjoyed them.  And although I struggle to stay interested in longer stories I was hooked from the very beginning to the end and left looking forward to the sequel book.  

2. Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult.  This book is about a school shooting and how it effects the town and characters involved with the shooting.  This is another book I began reading in December but finished in January.  It is also a reread.  Jodi Picoult is my favorite author and I frequently reread her books.

My objective rating for the book would be 5 stars.  The plot of the book is really strong.  The characters are diverse and very realistic.  It is very easy to read through the book.  The plot flows right along as it leads you through the shooting and its aftermath and flashes back to show what lead to this character deciding to go into school and hurt/kill his fellow classmates.  

My personal rating for the book is also 5 stars.  Jodi Picoult is so good at pulling you into the story and showing you the different pov’s of her characters and the different thoughts and opinions regarding a sensitive topic all while allowing you to form you own thoughts and opinions.  Every time I finish reading this book I am just struck by how good it is and I just want to read more from her.

3. Moonshine: A Celebration of America’s Original Rebel Spirit by John Schlimm.  This book discusses the history of moonshine in the America’s and how many of its makers became folklore heroes and how it ties into the American Spirit.  I did find the book enjoyable.  I had bought it for my dad as a Christmas gift and when he was done he gave it to me to read.  I did enjoy learning about the history of moonshine and the folks who made it.  I definitely plan on trying some of the cocktail recipes provided in the back of the book. 

4. Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl.  This book follows Ethan and Lena after the events of the previous book.  Lena struggles with the consequence of a decision she makes at the end of the last book and Ethan struggles to hold onto Lena as she draws away from him.  I was nervous heading into this book because I had read through some of the book before, and as it turns out I actually did read the whole thing before and just forgot, because I remembered not enjoying it as much as the first book.  And the first quarter of the book I did struggle with.  I’m not going to go into why because I can’t without mentioning some spoilers but it just really goes along with a trope that I just personally don’t like  The rest of the book though is fantastic!  We get to learn a little more about this world and about Ethan and how he’s tied into it.  

My objective rating for this book is 4 stars.  Once again the plot is strong.  There aren’t any tangents and everything that happens in the book happens for a reason.  The characters continue to be interesting while also growing and we are introduced to new characters as well.  

My personal rating for this book is also 4 stars.  Once again, despite it’s length, I was entertained throughout the entire book.  Not once did it feel like the plot was paused for a moment while it decided where it was going to go.  I really enjoyed watching the characters grow and I am dying to learn more about the new characters.  Unfortunately, my opinion on one of the characters did change due that trope I can’t stand so I hope in the next book that will be fixed for me, but otherwise I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next in the series.

5. Long After Midnight by Iris Johansen.  This book revolves around a doctor who has made an important medical discovery that could change the world for millions of people, but there are those out there who want to stop her for their own selfish reasons.  The doctor rushes to get their discovery accepted while also trying to protect herself and her son from an assassin.    Unfortunately this book was my first dud of the year.  The plot, although redundent, was very strong the book had very weak characters.  They were all Mary Sues and just not realistic.  There were also other storylines and plot devices thrown in that just didn’t need to be in the story.  They didn’t add anything and in fact, I think, detracted from the story.

My objective rating is 2 stars.  I’ve seen this plot before but it was strong.  The author really stayed on topic.  The writing style was good.  The book flowed right along.

My personal rating is 1 star.  I really just didn’t enjoy this book.  I think it’s because I prefer character focused stories and I just couldn’t connect to the characters in this book.  I do think those who prefer more plot focuses stories would enjoy this book more.  I think this book has an audience but I’m just not part of that audience.  

And that wraps up the post!  These are all the books I read in January.  Tomorrow I will post what I plan to read in February.  Or maybe later today.  I hope you enjoyed.  Have a great day everyone!  Happy Reading! 

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Weekend Warrior 12/11/20 - MINARI, THE MIDNIGHT SKY, LET THEM ALL TALK, WILD MOUNTAIN THYME, PARALLEL, WANDER DARKLY and More!

Honestly, I almost didn’t write a column this week for reasons I’ll probably be ranting about for a few more months, but the long and short of it is that I’ve now been writing movie reviews for 19 years, as well as writing a weekly column through most of that time, and I’m kind of sick of working my ass off, usually for very little money, and just not getting anything out of it.

This mainly came as I crossed 200 reviews for the year a few weeks back. As I was preparing to write this week’s column, Rotten Tomatoes, where most of my reviews have been available as FREE content for the past 17 years, decided to upgrade a number of critics to be “Top Critics”… but not yours truly. I have a lot more to say about this but don’t want to waste any more of my time or anger right now. I will be wrapping this column up and taking some time off for a month in January and deciding whether I want to keep wasting my time every week for no money and little feedback. It really just isn’t worth it anymore.

Fortunately, I saw a few good movies this week, and more than a few bad, so let’s start with one of the good ones, shall we?

This week’s “Featured Flick” is Lee Isaac Chung’s MINARI (A24), which like Nomadland last week will get some sort of virtual cinema release in New York and L.A., presumably that can be seen across the country. It will then get its official release on February 12, 2021.

The movie stars Steven Yeun from The Walking Dead as Jacob, a Korean father who brings his family to an Arkansas house in the middle of nowhere in the ‘80s, hoping to start a farm. His wife Monica (Yeri Han) is not happy with this decision but their kids Anne (Noel Cho) and David (Alan S. Kim) try to adjust to the new life. Things aren’t going well but then Monica’s mother Soonja (Yuh-jung Youn) shows up, that just adds more pressure on Jacob, and the kids, especially David, who hates the quirky older woman who acts nothing like a grandmother.

I’d been hearing about Minari going all the way back to its debut at Sundance, and though I remained skeptical, I finally saw it a few months ago an again over the weekend, and it’s one of my favorite films of the year, probably Top 5. To me, it’s somewhat in the vein of The Farewell, my number 1 movie of 2019, vs. the Oscar Best Picture winner, Parasite. It’s a very personal story for Chung who based some of the experiences on his own childhood, which once again proves the adage that if you’re going to write a movie, make it personal since that’s the most likely to connect with others. (Not always true, but it was great advice when I was given it.)

It takes a little time to understand why Minari is so beloved, since Chung takes an interesting approach where we see various scenes that don’t necessarily seem to tie into some sort of plot. Characters like Will Patton’s ultra-religious zealot who seems to be a bit lost when Jacob takes him on to help with his farm. Otherwise, we see various character interactions as things get tenser and tenser between Jacob and Monica, who are fighting all the time. Although the drama does get intense at times, there’s a lot of joyful and fun moments, particularly those involving the wacky grandmother and her dysfunctional relationship with her grandson. I also enjoyed the relationship between the two kids where Anne is always protective of her younger brother, who has some sort of heart illness. 

It's a beautiful movie with an equally gorgeous score, but it’s really in the last 20 minutes or so when we start to see where Chung has been going with all these seemingly disparate elements, which builds up to a wonderful ending. Yeun is terrific, and the fact he reminded me of my own father -- we’re neither Korean nor have I ever been to Arkansas -- shows why his subdued performance is so effective. Overall, the film proves that however many awful things life might throw at you, your family can always fix things. I love that message, and I hope others will find and love this as well.

After its one week in virtual cinema, Minari will get an expanded theatrical release starting February 12… hopefully, New York City theaters will be open by then and I can see it in a theater.

Film at Lincoln Center in New York also is starting its 49th annual “New Directors/New Films” series, which was delayed from March, although being virtual, the movies in it can also be viewed nationwide for the first time. I feel like a lot of movies that were scheduled to play ND/NF ended up being released already but there should be some interesting things in there.

George Clooney’s latest film THE MIDNIGHT SKY is based on Lily Brooks-Dalton’s novel Good Morning, Midnight, in which he plays Augustine, a scientist dying on his own at the Barbeau Observatory in the Arctic, who has to warn a group of astronauts returning to earth that it’s no longer safe for them to return.

Clooney has made a lot of good and great movies over the years, so that I’m one of those people anxiously ≠waiting for him to make something great again after the disappointment of Suburbicon. Midnight Sky is definitely one step forward and a few steps back, as it’s impossible not to think of previous Clooney movies like Solaris and Gravity, as well as The Martian and Passengers and Ad Astra. Yes, we somehow have gotten to the point where every year there’s some sort of space movie, and while Midnight Sky at its best is better than Solaris or Ad Astra (sorry, but I was not a fan), there’s enough that’s so quizzical and confounding I’m not sure people will be able to follow what’s going on.

Much of the first half of the movie involves Clooney’s Augustine alone at the Artic base interacting with a little girl (Caoillin Springall) who is completely silent. If it’s ever explained what the girl represents, I must have missed it. There are also flashbacks to Augustine’s earlier career as a scientist and explorer played by a somewhat only semi-impressive Clooney kinda look-alike in Ethan Peck.

The best moments of the movie involve the crew of astronauts on the spaceship Ether, including Felicity Jones and David Oyelowo, who are in a relationship, Demián Bichir, Kyle Chandler and Tiffany Boone, as they deal with various issues. This is really where comparisons to Gravity and The Martian are earned, but that’s such a mighty quintet of actors that these sections are far more interesting than sullen bearded Clooney with his young ward. The production design and visual FX in these portions of the film are also quite impressive.

The Midnight Sky throws a lot at the viewer but then tries too hard to be quizzical and enigmatic about how all of it ties together until the very end. I feel that some of Clooney’s more mainstream fans will be quite confounded and possibly even disappointed. The Midnight Sky is Clooney taking a swing and only partially connecting, and it might require multiple viewings to feel like it’s a worthy addition to his filmography.

Either way, The Midnight Sky will open theatrically in select cities this week and then be on Netflix on December 23, just in time for depressing everyone on Christmas!

Also hitting Netflix streaming this week is Ryan Murphy’s musical THE PROM, which I reviewed last week. It’s great, I loved it, and can’t wait to watch it again!

Next up is Clooney’s pal Steven Soderbergh, whose new movie LET THEM ALL TALK, will premiere on HBO Max this Thursday, December 10. It stars Meryl Streep as renowned writer Alice who is called to England to receive a prestigious literary award. Since she doesn’t fly, she’s booked on a cross-Atlantic trip on the Queen Mary II ship. Alice decides to bring her old friend Roberta (Candice Bergen)—whom hasn’t spoken to her in three decades--and Susan (Dianne Wiest) as well as her nephew Tyler (Lucas Hedges) to serve as her assistant so she can focus on her writing. Little does she know that her young agent Karen (Gemma Chan) is also on the ship hoping to find out what Alice is writing about with the help of Tyler, who is quite smitten with her.  

I’m not sure where to begin with one of week’s films that I probably had the highest expectations and ended up leaving me with the most utter disappointment. I wasn’t really that crazy about last year’s The Laundromat, and I’ve generally found Soderbergh’s work to be hit or miss over the last few years. I loved his thriller Unsanefor instance, and the Magic Mike movies were fun. This one, written by author Deborah Eisenberg, is just plain boring for most of it, offering nothing particularly interesting or insightful, as it’s basically another movie where Streep is playing a character who moans about how difficult her life is and how much better everyone else has it. I mean, if I wanted that shit, I’d spend more time on Twitter than I already do. And then there’s Hedges, one of my favorite young actors over the past few years, who seems to have fallen into a niche playing

In fact, my favorite aspect of the film was Gemma Chan, who plays a character with far more depth and dimension than normal, although much of her role is just to spy on Alice and fend of the subtle advances by the much younger Tyler. The two actors have some fun scenes together, far more lively than anything involving the older actresses, but you always know where it’s going. It’s kind of awkward and painful to watch Hedges bomb so hard. (At least he fared better playing a similar role in French Exit, but in that one, his love interest was Danielle Macdonald.)

The movie looks good with Soderbergh handling his own camera duties and cinematography as usual, and it’s scored with the same hipster jazz he might have used in one of his Ocean movies, but the movie just goes on and on and on, and it hs one of the most “what the fuck?” moments you’ll see this year.

If you can imagine one of The Trip movies without any of the laughs or the delicious food porn…but on a ship, that’s basically what you end up with. More than once while watching Soderbergh’s movie, I was ready to abandon ship.

And from pretty bad, we go to much, MUCH worse. Do you know what thyme it is? It’s WILD MOUNTAIN THYME!!!

John Patrick Shanley adapts his own play Outside Mullingar into a film that will be released in theaters and On Demand by Bleeker Street this Friday, and believe me, its biggest problems isn’t some of the awful Irish accents on display, but they certainly don’t help. Emily Blunt plays Rosemary and Jamie Dornan is Anthony, childhood friends who live down the street from each other in their Irish farming community. When they grow up, Rosemary’s father dies leaving her with a plot of land that forces Anthony and his father Tony (Christopher Walken) to have to use a gate to get to their home. Remember this gate, because it’s going to be mentioned so much over the course of the movie, you’ll wonder why the movie wasn’t called “Wild Mountain Gate.” (It’s actually named after a song that Blunt’s character sings for no apparent reason.)

First, you’ll have to get past the odd choice of the very non-Irish Walken in a key role as the dead narrator of the story with that aforementioned horrid accent. It won’t take long for you to start scratching your head how a noted playwright like Shanley could write such a horrible screenplay. Soon after, you’ll wonder how he convinced someone to finance making it into a movie. I’m normally a pretty big fan of Blunt, but this movie and role might be one of her biggest missteps as an actor to date. As a child, Rosemary was told by her father that she was the White Swan in Swan Lake, so of course that will lead to

It’s not long before Jon Hamm shows up as one of Anthony’s distant relatives who also has interest in Rosemary’s plot of land – nudge, nudge, wink, wink. Pretty soon we’re thrust into awkward love triangle rom-com that falls somewhere between Leap Year and The Holiday. Not exactly something you’d expect from the filmmaker behind the drama Doubt that produced multiple Oscar nominations for the cast, eh?

Instead, Shanley ends up trying to foist the… I don’t want to call it chemistry. What is the exact opposite of chemistry? Between Blunt and Dorman with one long boring conversation after another. At one point, they’re having a romantic chat about suicide, the next Anthony is telling Rosemary that he thinks he’s a honeybee. I mean, what the holy fuck?

Honestly, the whole thing is just grueling to watch, because you wonder how so much talent could falter so badly, particularly Shanley? Even the recent Shane MacGowan doc was a far more romantic take on Irish farming than this could ever possibly be.

One of the nicer surprises of the week is the sci-fi thriller PARALLEL (Vertical), which will be in theaters and On Demand this Friday, and it’s likely to be missed by a lot of people who would enjoy it. Directed by Isaac Ezban from a screenplay by Scott Blaszak, it follows four young people working in the tech sector of Seattle who discover a mirror in a hidden section of the house they’re renting that apparently allows them to experience other dimensions and other versions of their lives. Soon, they’re experimenting with different ways they can make money and achieve fame, although not all of them are cool about how they’re doing it.

Although Parallel opens like a home invasion thriller featuring the great Kathleen Quinlan, we soon learn that it’s a red herring before we meet the quartet of young entepreneurs working on a parking app with an almost impossible deadline. When they find the mirror that leads into an alternative dimension, they immediately start to experiment with figuring out what is happening exactly, and once they do, they realize they can make money by stealing from “alts” i.e. other versions of themselves. Soon, their success starts driving them insane with a desire for even more money and power.

Ezban’s movie benefits from a talented mostly unknown cast, including Martin Wallstrom and Mark O’Brien as boisterous alpha males. Georgia King’s artist Leena is far more than a love interest, although she does become an obsession for one of them eventually – and man, does she remind me of a young Reese Witherspoon. British actor Aml Ameen plays Devin, whose father committed suicide after being accused of corruption, and he’s also wary of some of the activities his friends get up to. There’s also the quartet’s main competitor Seth who gets suspicious of their success as they start producing all sorts of incredible technical inventions.

Parallel is a pretty twisted sci-fi movie that in some way reminded me of the ‘90s thriller Flatliners and even Primer a little bit, but the mirror aspect to it also will draw comparisons to Oculus, one of Mike Flanagan’s cool earlier movies. It doesn’t take long for the twists to start flying at the viewer, and once they do, your mind will be boggled and not necessarily in a bad way. I wouldn’t want to even begin sharing some of the crazy places where the film goes, but even gore fans won’t be disappointed by some of it.

It’s a real shame this terrific movie has floundered without distribution or deserved attention for so long, because there’s absolutely no question in my mind that Jason Blum should be talking to Ezban and Blaszk about doing something together. Parallel is the type of quality high-concept thriller Blumhouse thrives upon.

Another nice surprise this week was Ekwa Msangi’s FAREWELL AMOR (IFC Films), which debuted at Sundance earlier this year and barely got any attention, which is a real shame. It’s expanded from her earlier short, and it’s about an Angolan immigrant named Walter (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine), who is reunited with his wife Esther (Zainab Jah) and daughter Sylvia (Jayme Lawson) after 17 years. As they share a small New York apartment, Walter and Esther try to rekindle their romance while Sylvia tries to adjust to an American school.

Msangi’s film opens at Newark airport where the small family is reunited, Walter not having seen either wife or daughter in a decade and a half. He’s working as a cab driver, and he’s ready to rekindle the old flame and meet his daughter who was only a baby when he moved to the States. (Little does Esther know that Walter was in a relationship with another woman, a nurse who isn’t too happy about having to leave Walter’s life.)

One of the things Msangi does to keep things interesting is that she splits the film into three sections, one for each character that focuses specifically on them, and the story gets infinitely interesting as we learn more about each of them. Walter is somewhat at odds with doing the right thing by his wife and daughter, who is wanting to explore her love of dance that her ultra-religious mother forebids. For some reason, I thought Sylvia’s section would be the most interesting as she deals with the trials of being a teenager, but then Esther’s section shows her to be a far more layered character we might have assumed earlier. She also befriends a neighbor woman played by Joie Lee that helps her expand. The thing is that all three are clearly good people, and you never feel as if one is doing something bad in relation to the others.

Farewell Amor is a quiet but beautiful film that explores an immigrant story in a far different way than we’ve seen before. It’s a discovery film, and I hope people will not just presume it won’t hold their interest. It’s a wonderfully relatable human story, similar to Tom McCarthy’s The Visitor.

Sienna Miller and Diego Luna star in Tara Miele’s psychological drama WANDER DARKLY (Lionsgate), playing Adrienne and Matteo, a couple who recently had a baby. After they get into a horrible car accident while arguing, they end up revisiting the highs and lows of their relationship as Adrienne believes either she or Matteo or both are dead.

This is a surprisingly stranger film than I expected, delving into the supernatural not quite in the way as something like Wes Craven’s Serpent and the Rainbow or Jacob’s Ladder, but having a few elements in common. Although I haven’t seen Miele’s other films, this one feels very much like something Drake Doremus might have made to the point where I’m not sure I could say I fully understood what was happening from one moment to the next. The film seems to be exploring a couple’s relationship through a horrible tragedy but does in a strange way.

With the emotional performances by the two leads being enhanced by an amazing score by Alex Weston (who also scored The Farewell last year), Wander Darkly is more than anything, a performance piece with a decent script and further proof Miller continues to be one of the most underrated actresses working today. Despite those great performances, the movie’s strange premise might be too metaphysical and intense in execution for everyone to be along for the entire ride. In that sense, I probably liked last week’s Black Bear just slightly more.

I reviewed Steve McQueen’s ALEX WHEATLE (Amazon Prime Video) in last week’s column, and that will hit Amazon Prime this Friday, but I think I’m going to save Education, the last film in his “Small Axe Anthology” for next week’s column.  I was also hoping to review Tom Moore and Ross Stewart’s WOLFWALKERS (Apple+) this week, since it premieres on Apple TV+ on Friday, but I just couldn’t get to it. Story of my life.

I’m not sure if I could tell you how many of the Ip Man movies I’ve seen over the past 12 or so years, many of which I saw at the New York Asian Film Festival, but Ip Man is indeed back after last year’s Ip Man: The Finale, but that’s because IP MAN: KUNG FU MASTER (Magnet/Magnolia Pictures) is part of the spin-off prologue series starring Dennis (Yu-Hang) To, who looked enough like a younger Donnie Yen to start a whole sub-franchise. This one is directed by Liming Li, who is also directing a Young Ip Man: Crisis Time prequel movie that presumably stars someone younger than both Yen and To. Got it?

Okay, maybe this needs a little more explaining, although the nice thing about Kung Fu Master is that it works perfectly fine as a stand-alone in case you’ve never seen any of the other movies. This one takes place in the ‘40s as Man is a police captain in Foshan, dealing with the ever-present gang known as The Axes.  He’s framed for murder when the leader of the gang dies in prison, and his daughter, Miss Qingchuan (Wanliruo Xin), wanting revenge as she takes over the gang. Ip Man has other issues like being disgraced as a police officer and then the arrival of the Japanese army who have their own agenda. Ip Man ends up donning a mask to become the Black Knight to fight crime in another way.

I make no bones about my love of martial arts films when they’re not stupid or hoaky and sadly, the Donnie Yen franchise was getting by last year’s so-called “finale.” Kung Fu Master starts out with an amazing action scene of To fighting off what seems like hundred of axe-wielding gangsters, and it barely lets up, constantly throwing interesting and thoroughly entertaining fights at the viewer. Eventually, there’s a bounty on Ip Man’s head with whoever kills becoming leader of the Axes, but he has other issues, like his wife giving birth to their baby boy, just as the police chief and force shows up to arrest him. Cutting quickly between childbirth and kung fu action is just one of the interesting things Director Li does to make his Ip Man debut.

The resemblance between Dennis To and Donnie Yen is more than just facial as his wushu techniques are equally impressive, and sure, there’s a few more dramatic moments between Ip Man and his wife, but it’s Xin’s Miss Qingchuan who ends up being more of a formidable counter to To in just about every way, including a few fight scenes where axes are flying through the air.

Ip Man Kung Fu Master is fairly short, less than 90 minutes, but it still feels long because it feels like it finds a good ending, and then tacks on an epilogue and then another one. There were times I thought it might end on a cliffhanger to set up Ip Man’s inevitable next movie. The abundance of evil antagonists Ip Man must fight in this one tends to become a bit much, but it’s hard not to be thrilled by the martial arts on display and Li’s terrifically stylish visuals that keeps the movie interesting.

Ip Man Kung Fu Master will be available digitally Friday through a variety of platforms.

Filmmaker Adam Egypt Mortimer, who released Daniel Isn’t Real last year, returns with ARCHENEMY (RLJEfilms), starring Joe Manganiello as Max Fist, who claims to be a hero from another dimension that fell to earth. He ends up spending time with a teen brother and sister, Hamster (Skylan Brooks) and Indigo (Zelee Griggs) who want to clean the streets of the local drug syndicate, led by The Manager (Glenn Howerton from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia). It’s a strange and quirky dark superhero movie that includes appearances by the likes of Paul Scheer and Amy Seimetz, and though I ran out of time to review, I do have an interview with Mortimer at Below the Line.

Time to get to some docs, and there are definitely some you’ll want to check out, although I don’t have as much time to write that much about them, and some of them I wasn’t able to watch yet.

Another great doc out of the September festival circuit is Ryan White’s ASSASSINS (Greenwich Entertainment), which follows the assassination of Kim Jong-nam, half-brother to North Korean leader Kim Jon-un in 2017 at a busy airport in Malaysia by two young women. Although the two women had never met before, they were jointly charged with attacking the North Korean ex-pat with a lethal nerve gas called VX but White’s investigation takes him all over South-East Asia trying to get answers to how the two women were tricked into committing the assassination. This is a pretty masterful display of doc filmmaking by White, not just in the sense of the way the story is paced and edited like a good political thriller, but it’s one that keeps the viewer invested even as the last act deals with the trial of the two young women and the bond that forms between them.

I’ll have more about this film over on Below the Line sometime very soon, but it hits theaters and virtual cinema this Friday and then it will be on PVOD on January 15

I saw Seamus Murphy’s doc PJ HARVEY: A DOG CALLED MONEY way back in March when it was supposed to open at New York’s Film Forum, but it’s finally getting a virtual cinema release there. Murphy travelled across Afghanistan, Kosovo and Washington DC with singer/songwriter PJ Harvey as she prepared material for her 2015 album, The Hope Six Million Project, which she produced with Flood and John Parish as an installation at Somerset House where people can walk by and view the recording process.  This is an amazing doc that allows you into the process of writing for an amazing recording artist who has given Murphy and the viewer unprecedented access into her creativity. I had fully lost track of Harvey over the years, even though I was a huge fan of hers when she first hit these shores – in fact, I saw her play a concert where Radiohead opened for her… and there as another band (Gallon Drunk) after them! Because of that, I wasn’t familiar with the album, but I just love good music docs, especially ones that take us behind the scenes of a talented artist, and Murphy has created quite a fascinating film even outside the recording studio, whether it’s following Harvey around (narrated by her own poetic observations) but also with commentary by others they encounter. I found the Washington DC segments particularly interesting, since that’s the one place where I’ve spent the most time.  An absolutely fantastic doc whether you’re a fan of Harvey’s or not.

Also playing in the Film Forum’s Virtual Cinema this week is Thomas Balmés’ SING ME A SONG, the filmmaker’s second doc set in the Himalayan village of Bhutan that’s been isolated for centuries. He returns to update on Peyangki, the 8-year-old Buddhist monk from his 2014 film Happiness, now a teenager who has fallen under the sway of technology including pop music and smartphone games, as he begins a WeChat romance with a young singer, which makes him consider leaving the monastery.

Also premiering on Netflix this Friday is Jim Stern and Fernando Villena’s doc GIVING VOICE, tying into the streaming premiere of August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom next week. It follows six student actors auditioning for the August Wilson Monologue Competition, which brings thousands of students from twelve U.S. cities together to perform the Pulitzer Prize winner’s work.

Joshua Faudem’s doc THE LAST SERMON (Gravitas Ventures/Will Kennan) follows the director and Jack Baxter as they follow 14 years after making their 2004 documentary Blues by the Beach, in which the two ended up in a terrorist attack by British Nationals on Mike’s Place, a bar next door to the National Embassy on Tel Aviv. This event sends Baxter and Faudem across Europe to refugee camps and mosques in order to understand the essence of Islam and the truth about the international terrorists that almost killed them.

Drew Barrymore plays a dual role in THE STAND-IN (Saban Films), directed by Jamie Babbitt (But I’m a Cheerleader). While under normal circumstances, Wild Mountain Thyme would have been the dog of the week, then this movie came along. Yikes. Barrymore plays Candy Black, a comedy star best known for her pratfalls in bad movies (ala Melissa McCarthy). She also plays Paula, Candy’s much sweeter and almost identical stand-in. Candy is a nightmare to work with and after a fall from grace, she holes herself up in her Long Island Estate for five years, while Paula’s own fortunes falter without having that work. I’m sure you can figure out where it goes from there.

Yes, folks, we have what is now one of the worst iterations of a Tale of Two Cities not made by Barrymore’s frequent co-star Adam Sandler, although there are times where you wonder if she is actually playing a version of Sandler with Candy. Eventually, either Candy or Paula or both decide that Paula can take Candy’s place in her attempt to return to work, but the results are just far worse than The Hottie or the Nottie, as Paula also stands in for Candy on dates with the man she’s fallen in love with online through their love of woodworking. (I didn’t make that up.) You almost always know where it’s going and can’t help but groan when you’re right.

Basically, there’s one Drew that’s glammed-down and the other talking in an annoying wispy voice, so there really isn’t getting away from the awfulness even for a second.The thing is that, like the worst comedies, The Stand In is not funny, and it’s sad to see a decent director like Babbitt being dragged into this one. It’s just a terrible overused premise that’s executed quite poorly. Not only that, but the movie also co-stars TJ Miller, who has fallen so far from grace himself, that it’s shocking to see him in another movie.

Besides guaranteeing Barrymore a double-dose Razzie nomination, The Stand In also leaves her with cow shit on her face, much like her character.

Movies I just didn’t have time to get to this week:

Funny Boy (Array/Netflix) Gunda (NEON) Safety (Disney+) Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart (HBO Max) 40 Years a Prisoner (HBO Docs) Through the Night (Longshot Factory) To the Ends of the Earth (KimStim) Rompan Todo: The History of Rock in Latin America (Netflix) The Wilds (Prime Video) Nasrin (Virgil Films) Finding Ying Yin

By the way, if you read this week’s column and have bothered to read this far down, feel free to drop me some thoughts at Edward dot Douglas at Gmail dot Com or drop me a note or tweet on Twitter. I love hearing from readers … honest!