#it’s tricky because london IS just a place and a big one too but also she associated it with him so strongly

[titsthedamnseason]

when she’s in london so i was expecting a lot of sad songs and already put in my guesses but the news drops that travis / her family / close friends are attending the show ….

[bethanydelleman]

Greetings! If you don't mind a little question from someone who's been recently browsing your page (and enjoying it greatly), how do you think the plot of Persuasion would change if the stillborn son of Sir Walter and Lady Elliot lived?

This question is awesome! It would change so much.

Firstly, Elizabeth Elliot would probably be married by the beginning of the novel. She is obsessed with retaining her position at Kellynch specifically and very focused on Mr. Elliot. Without him mattering, she would be more free to consider other options. And she wouldn't have had her big letdown with him at 16 because he wouldn't have mattered to them.

Mary's fortunes may also change because with Elizabeth married, Sir Walter would need either Anne or Mary to step up as hostess. So both Anne and Mary may travel to London and have a greater opportunity to meet men and mix in the world. Elizabeth doesn't want a tag-along sister but Anne is too nice to leave Mary at home.

Next, we have to consider if Lil Walter Jr. takes after mommy or daddy. He'd be about 12 when Lady Elliot died. If he was prudent, he could probably help curb his dad's irrational spending (I do think he could, Emma is able to manage a house at 13 after all). If he's like Sir Walter and Elizabeth, he would probably help drive the family into debt far more quickly. Indulgent as Sir Walter is with a favourite daughter, I think he'd be worse with a son. Lil Walter is the heir of Kellynch! He needs all the trappings of a man of his rank and etc.

The one thing that probably wouldn't change is Anne's first engagement to Wentworth, because if Lil Walter loves his sister... well Lady Russell's advice was sound, and a good brother would also say something like, "Hey maybe don't run off with a penniless sailor you've known for like 3 months total." If Lil Walter is a jerk, he would probably still be against it because he wouldn't want to care for a broke, widowed Anne with maybe some children (which was always a real possibility).

There is a chance Anne would marry someone else, as Austen did write:

More than seven years were gone since this little history of sorrowful interest had reached its close; and time had softened down much, perhaps nearly all of peculiar attachment to him, but she had been too dependent on time alone; no aid had been given in change of place (except in one visit to Bath soon after the rupture), or in any novelty or enlargement of society. No one had ever come within the Kellynch circle, who could bear a comparison with Frederick Wentworth, as he stood in her memory. No second attachment, the only thoroughly natural, happy, and sufficient cure, at her time of life, had been possible to the nice tone of her mind, the fastidiousness of her taste, in the small limits of the society around them.

The problem becomes Wentworth and Anne meeting again. The Elliots would probably either go into debt sooner, therefore before the sailors come home, or not at all, meaning the Crofts would not rent Kellynch either way. Without the Crofts, why would Wentworth return to the area? You could maybe have them all meet in Lyme while Wentworth is visiting the Harvilles and the Elliots just go sight-seeing? That would be the tricky part! They need enough time together for Wentworth to get over his resentment and for Anne to get her groove back.

Really great fan fiction idea! Or Anne marries someone else and Wentworth has to find another woman...

[mylittlemermaid221]

in celebration of the release week, rank songs from ttpd in terms of your excitement/curiosity about each one hehe 🤍

omg this is a good one!! Thank youuuuu 🥰🥰

So Long, London - its a tiny bit cliche maybe but London boy was one of my favs from lover so this one is going to tear me apart. I fear it might be like All too well but I also think she could just go full rock and anger and reputation

But daddy I love him - I mean in my head its a little mermaid reference, no doubt. Obviously no one knows how this song really goes so maybe its not a reference but in my head it is and alway will be. Like the film also came out in 1989, thats not a coincidence (sorry just went full clowning swiftie there 😅)

Fresh out of the slammer - Oh my god I need to know what kind of song this is going to be! Like is it anger or is it just so depressing I won't come outside for at least a week after the release? 😭

My boy only breaks his favorite toys - I have a feeling that the lyrics on this one are going to be devastating...😭 Like the whole album will but I have a feeling this will be peak Taylor story telling.✨

Who's afraid of little old me? - Oh again I have this dilemma like whats it gonna be?! how will it sound?! I think it will be slander and reputation and rock and stuff but again its Taylor, it might just be the most depressing thing you've ever heard. 😃

I can fix him (No really I can) - I don't know why but for some reason I'm going for the long titles. 😆😅 Anyway I just think the title is really funny and I need to know if and how she will sing those words.

loml - Another tricky one. I read theories that loml could not only stand for love of my life but maybe she'll end up changing it in loss of my life or something depressing. Maybe it will be about Travis and its just a happy love song! ❤️

Florida!!! - This is definitely going to be like the ultimate summer festival vibe banger, trust me, it will be that. If not, don't blame me. 😜

The tortured poets department - Another one where I don't know what to expect but the title makes me very excited! ✨ I mean its the title track so it must be something good.

I can do it with a broken heart - Again, I need to see the lyrics, I need to know the story she's going to tell.

The smallest man who ever lived - Omg actually I should've put this one higher but its just so many songs I'm excited for! This is another one that I'm like whats the story going to be? Will it be a country genre? Will it be like evermore/folklore? The title give us a little peak thats big enough for us to be like 'oh I know what this is about' but when you go think about it... you know nothing at all.

Guilty as sin? - Another tricky one... to be honest no idea what its going to be about, no predictions about the genre or style or something but the title sounds very promising. That's with all these songs really, the titles are its own poetry and we haven't even heard any of the lyrics. 😍🥰

Clara Bow - Another girl in the taylor universe! If its going to be anything like the last american dynasty, sign me up! I did research about Clara Bow (okay I lied, I saw an instagram real 😆) about it and her whole persona just makes me curious about this song.

Fortnight - From now on we have the song of which I have literally no idea what its going to sound like, whats it about. No thoughts in my head. 😅

Down Bad - The title sounds so cool but thats it. Furthermore I have no idea about this song.

The Alchemy - Maybe is the one lowest on the list the one I'm most curious of because I see this title and I just have zero thoughts how it will be. And I know it will definitely surprise me and end up being one of my faves, that always happens. 😂🥰

Bonus: Bonus Tracks

The black dog 🖤

The manuscript 🤍

The albatross 🩶

The bolter 🩶

I chose the black dog first cause that's the edition I preordered so it already has a special place in my heart 🖤 For the others I just went with the titles that sounded cool to me and like the aesthetics I picture in my head because I have no predictions furthermore, again. 😆😅

This was soooooo fun to do!!! It became quite the essay but I kind of made it my testament which I can refer back to once we hear the actual song. I mean if I got any of my predictions right, you'll know cause I won't shut up about it🙃 Thank you so much for your ask, Bel! 😍🥰 Always love seeing your name in my inbox 💖💖💖

[suenitos]

stares at u with my big ol eyes. An au you say

its fuckign dire nunki cause i cant/dont write so a full fledged au from me? probably not.. however i did come up with a few ideas

-after joining the spider society each of spider!dteam's philosophies on canon events are a little different. george would probably be a stickler cause he likes rules and structure sapnap is more flexible and dream is on the miles morales-esque approach of having two cakes and saving as many people as possible. these philosophies shift after a multiverse accident resulting in the three of them being stuck together and like learning from each other and shit. later george is more of an anarchist especially after baby and dream and sapnap like a bit more stability but still not totally completely obedient to canon

-they still all grow up in different places: sapnap in texas dream in florida george in london. this makes their swing and fighting styles a lot different than if they were each located in new york but sapnap's style has a cowboy/american western influence with him using his webs more as a lasso and having gun webshooters. i like the idea of him on a horse too but this depends more if hes in the city or in a rural/suburban area. dream's florida is actually a normal US state (still weird nature going on including spiders) in his universe so he's the ONLY florida man which means he can't be super covert but since he grows up without fear of crocodiles alligators etc like everyone else that works to his advantage as spiderman; also he still runs away from the police as a kid in this universe. george's london is kind of the same as ours in that its big and touristy so no one really pays him mind as a dude running around in a spiderman costume and comic con still exists there. maybe he gets famous off of that as the London Spiderman Cosplayer while still fighting crime and villains as Actual spiderman. he probably has a suit that modifies according to if hes actually fighting or "cosplaying". maybe he gets tiktok famous as The london cosplayer

-their aliases are spidernap spiderdream and errorspider. dream comes up with their names after getting to know them through multiverse missions but before that sapnap and george just go by spiderman in their universes prior to them joining spider society. george occasionally calls sapnap "stinker-nap" or stinknap. george wont reveal which earth he's from cause hes weird like that so dream jokes that hes actually an anomaly. generally dream and sapnap call him george cause in george's london he takes advantage of the Cosplayer thing and decides to reveal his name and somehow it works cause theres a million Georges in england lol

-if the baby isnt actually dnf's: she came from a different Earth and stays in the spider society because her parent abandoned her and they take her in or she's babysat by them for more time than her parent has her (single parent?) so they mutually decide dnf (and sapnap) can take her in and raise her as their own. if the baby IS dnf's: george had her in his universe and co parents her with dream after breaking up with her mother or they mutually adopt her from one of their universes (though i guess legally that would be tricky). before getting her they joke that sapnap is their kid a few years into dating until sapnap gets tired and says they actually should be parents and theyre sent down the baby spiral

-gnfAss is still fucking REALLL even more so in the spiderman suit. dream likes it a lot obviously

-dnf chains but george codes it so they work as communicators across verses

-sapnap still studies compsci in his universe and is still a streamer. george still graduates with a degree in compsci and maybe engineering too. dream is a writer but hes still extremely knowledgeable about coding and had a hpfx on multiverse physics cause he needed it for a book. they dont meet in any of their earths even with the internet :(

-dream initially tried to come out as spiderman to his mom cause theyre close like that but she thought his secret was that he was queer and he chickened out and just rolled with it. she turned out to be accepting (florida still conservative) so he decided to not say anything to not ruin the moment. then he discovered he actually was and added the rainbow soles to his suit ^_^ he had to come out as spiderman later because of the george and daughter thing

this turned out way longer than i was intending lol i swear im normal

[moodywritesmoody]

“There they are,” Ella said with a low laugh.

Cresting over a hill lined with beeches was the small van that converted into the camping set-up for mobile Casa del Stally - Sally hated when Janine called them Stally; Stella loved it, in part because it annoyed Sally - the van rolled to a gentle stop beside Ella’s larger and more professional camping van.

Sally hopped out of the driver’s side all smiles, her brown boots landing with a foop on the grass, outstretched arms saying everything she needed to say.

Stella, not to be out-done, leaped out of the passenger side and launched into a bold rendition of “Oh what a beautiful morning.”

“Good afternoon, Stella. Sally, how are you, love?” Ella embraced the two arrivals and they shuffled over to Janine; squeezing the last dregs of London out of her too.

With their arrival, their collective was complete and the midweek weekend could begin in earnest.

… ….. … ….. … ….. … ….. … ….. … ….. … ….. … ….. …

But first, Total silence; for one hour. That was the one and only recurring rule for their camping club.. It had to be done, if they didn’t want their two nights of peace to become a place to endlessly ruminate on the problems they tried to leave behind in London.

Their first camping trip together had proved it necessary. When you had a combination such as they were - Stella who vocalised her anxiety in every way short of expressing what actually worried her, Sally who withdrew so far within that she became completely absent, Ella who got testy in emotionally chaotic situations, and Janine herself who absorbed every other person's emotional spillover and concluded the two days more exhausted than rested - you needed some version of mental zoomies.

So for one hour they would sit, and wring all the most dribbly thoughts out. They could give especially tricky quandaries the attention they demanded and reckon with as many of the pent up feelings as they could manage.

After that: freedom. Any feelings that needed airing out could be expressed, or put away if they didn’t feel like talking about it; either way the pressure valve eased considerably for everyone in attendance. It was yet another brilliant idea from Ella, who as a therapist also tried to leave her work at home; but she still always knew just the thing to say or to do when situations got a bit tense. There was also the benefit of her age; more life experience. Janine tended to feel a bit like a fool around her, but considering Ella sought her out and kept her around willingly, she couldn’t be all that bad, right? If there was one thing Janine had learned about Ella so far, it was her commitment to not being where she didn’t have interest in being. A very very enviable strength that Janine imitated - when she remembered to.

Janine glanced around at the three other women sitting in camping chairs facing the sun, watching it sink farther behind the deep green of the hills, while the sky went from pale blue, to peachy pink, to ripe red; and finally the deepening blue of the night. Even under the same miraculous sky, she suspected they all saw it very differently. She was curious how their thoughts were playing out. Stella liked to listen to music with headphones during her hour of silence, saying it helped streamline her thinking, but everyone else sat listening to the sounds of the stream, and the crickets, and the distant town traffic. Sometimes Janine envied them their worries, she was sure they were more exciting than hers - afterall they’d all chosen such exciting lives. Janine had to manufacture her excitement.

Not that her life was completely dull, whenever she related bits of it she could tell that her experiences were unusual as far as experiences went; so it only mystified her more that she felt so grossly uninterested by her daily life.

Ever since she’d finally gathered her big girl panties and quit being a Corporate PA to focus on writing full time; it had felt like she was searching for the special something that would be the source of her creative fountain. She needed more than just creativity and wit, she needed inspiration.

She could tell because for the last year, she’d write a few odd characters and try to create wild and uncommon circumstances for them to be played in; but time after time, it all just felt cheap, and contrived – she was imitating writing, and not writing in a real way. Who the fuck would care about their silly situations, she’d think every time, she could barely get herself to care.

Now Janine was hardly an idiot, she had some idea about where the blockage might lay. While writers didn’t absolutely need twisted or mind bending lives to have interesting things to write about, they at least needed some kind of fire for their own life. A burning problem for which their own stories were just simulations. After-all, weren’t they just sharing all the things within them that were overflowing? Janine churned, sure, but she didn’t have any kind of flow at all.

All she knew for sure was that for as long as she could remember, there was nothing she enjoyed more than stories; whether it was her Grandmother’s old Iranian folk tales or whatever serialised TV show played after school, Janine latched onto them like they could give her life its meaning. Both then and now, she was clearly enchanted by something, she just wished she knew what it was.

Perhaps when their hour was over she might pick Ella’s brain… or she might not. Ella would probably just probe at her dating life again; and there was nothing there but a series of failures - the perfect fodder for trauma analysis probably.

But Janine didn’t want to talk about her love life anymore. She was afraid of what Ella would discover, because she knew her friend; even if she weren’t a trained therapist, she had an eerie knack for seeing to the heart of the matter and standing right next to it as the both of you looked at it - even if she didn’t point at or mention it. Ella made her honest, and sometimes honesty hurt her, and scared her.

Wow Janine, could this possibly be the mysterious thing blocking your creativity that you refuse to address? This door that says ‘Danger, do not Open,’ this couldn’t be important could it?

She knew, at least, that part of why she couldn’t understand was because she didn’t want to. Perhaps her self awareness was itself the problem. If she weren’t self aware, she at least had a chance of tripping into a solution in disguise: her true self under a trench coat. Accidental confrontation.

She glanced at their designated hourglass where it was perched on a camping table, it was almost completely poured out. But she wasn’t sure how to conclude a thought that she already turned in circles day in and day out. It never really had an end; only some compromise that gave her temporary peace.

———————————————————————

Chapter 2 Snippet: Fucking Silence

[wolfpants]

Hello beaut! I'm a really big fan of your writing. I'm reading Pages of You for the second time and just loving it so much. Your fics are worlds I want to stay in and I find them really comforting and safe, especially during this unsettling time.

I know this is a bit of an annoying / tricky question for writers to answer, but I wondered if you could talk a bit about where you get your ideas from? Do they sort of fall into your head or do you work them out for a while? How do you know which idea is the one you want to go ahead with? Do you have lots of different fics on the go or do you just focus on one?

I've always wanted to have a go at writing but I get overwhelmed by all the ideas I have and I never know which one I should go with. If I do sit down to write one, I get really into it for a few days and then it sort of fizzles out, and I move on to something else so I never complete anything!

Hello sweet anon! What a lovely message to recieve, thank you so much for your kind words!

Not an annoying question at all. But hopefully my reply isn't too disappointing!

My ideas come from loads of places. Real life, films, books, history, songs... I tend to grasp on to little nuggets of ideas in fleeting moments, and when I do, what works for me is writing them down. Even if it's just a few words on a notes app, which I then add to my WIP trello board if I think the idea has legs (and yes, I usually have 2+ things on the go at once!).

For example, I've been thinking a lot about a Quidditch/mystery fic lately that came out of watching the TV show Yellowjackets earlier this year. Back then, I jotted it down and let it marinate for a while, because I knew I had a bunch of other things I needed to focus on - fests, gift fics, another long fic I've been planning for a while - so I only came back to it yesterday to flesh it out a little more after watching another film that got the little cogs in my brain whirring.

I think it's absolutely fine to jot down an initial idea then come back to it later - you might have more to add to it after an experience or a conversation, or after reading a good book or article or watching something inspiring, and this way you can watch it grow like a plant and evolve. That method works for me for my longer projects.

For my shorter things, I definitely start by thinking of all of the different 'ingredients' of a fic before I start baking it:

the simple outline or perhaps just the context of where the characters got to be where they are the moment the fic begins (as I tend to 'open' my stories with action),

the atmosphere (this is a huge thing for me in my writing - I like writing that evokes feeling, that incorporates the senses through setting and environment),

whose POV I want to focus on and how they are feeling and how they got to where they are feeling (you've probably noticed that I pull in a lot of memory in my writing, I like to layer memory with present action),

and then I usually think about the end point/conclusion to the story and work my way backwards from there.

I'm not a professional writer by any means, I don't read many, if at all, writing tips literature or use that many tools to help with my writing as sometimes I can feel they hold me back rather than help me (disclaimer: this is just my way of working, and won't work for everyone!). I just follow my emotions when I write and often that leads to, some amount of, success. I feel deep empathy with my characters and just let that run through me.

I think it's really important to also remember that you need to love something in order to get it done (or at least get it done to a standard that you're going to be satisfied with). Pages of You was hard for me in places to get through, don't get me wrong (100k is a lot of work), but I was very in Harry's head the entire time I wrote it and I was in love with his point of view of the world, of his way moving through and navigating the landscape I'd created for him (queer London in the 80s). Originally, I thought about a multiple POV story and was going to write Draco's POV too, but as I got started I realised I just didn't want to leave Harry. And I loved falling in love with Draco from Harry's POV too.

So if you're struggling to complete something, perhaps ask yourself if you should be coming at it from an angle that makes more sense to you, that you love: a POV change? A setting change? Maybe even a ship change? Even something like a tense change! Experiment! There's genuinely no rule book here.

Good luck with your writing, I think the main thing is to just start, to enjoy yourself, and to give yourself grace and a break when you struggle. You will get there. I believe in you.

[khaleesiofalicante]

Hey! Hope you are doing well today.

This chapter was great thank you for that! I saw it coming because I know how hard is it to take care of someone with depression.

And while I knew that this fic is angst.. I don’t know I couldn’t believe that Alec in any universe would want to hurt Magnus just because of pettiness.

When I’ve read chapter 6 (the middle part) I knew that Alec wouldn’t obstruct Magnus from going to London just out of anger/petty/heartbreak whatever.

Because he let him go - out of love.

Because he want him safe.

Nevertheless I really thought that Rafeal wanted to live with Magnus that caught me off guard! But then I read that part again and I saw what I missed. I totally forgot that Rafael was only 17 (almost 18) at the time.

Now I’m a bit older (okay, not only a bit) so I can’t really remember what it was like, but one thing I know for sure. I was a baby when I was 18 😂

That was too much on Rafael. But I can understand Alec. Magnus needed family. His family contain only one adult and this certain adult was his to-be-exhusband.

Girl this is so fucked up I love it😃

But I have a question.

Do you think that Magnus would be angry if he really heard that voice message? I thought about it and I don’t know. I think it was so obvious how much it hurt Alec (the baby thing). I think that Magnus would be hurt because he would relize that he hurt Alec so much. And also I think that Magnus should tell Alec about the photoshoot in a first place.

Also another one 😃

Why Magnus doesn’t tell at least his family that he isn’t dating Shinyun? Like dating dating. But they are not public yet so his family are the only people who know that Magnus and Shinyun are dating. But why?😂 I just can’t put a finger on it.

Okey I’m done, have a nice day❤️ Hope that at least one thing in this day will make you happy. Take care.

Very good observations! Thank you!! As for your questions:

I don't think he would have been angry. But he would have been hurt. And I think he would have dealt with that hurt/pain in a much healthier and more constructive way.

That's a big tricky. I feel like it's not necessary for them to know WHY he is dating her. It's important they know - and magnus tells them immediately. But the reason as to what that relationship entails doesn't impact any of them (other than maybe alec). I also think it's weird to tell them. Like "hi I am sort of fake dating my close friend because I haven't moved on my ex-husband" is not an easy convo to have I suppose. hope this makes a little sense :)

[ramp-it-up]

Fresh Squeeze, Ch. 5

Pairing: Daveed Diggs x OFC Linden Marshall

Set in 2023, post-pandemic

Warnings: Cursing, Angsty Angst, drug and alcohol use, surprise flights, Anthony Ramos. Lots of Plot.

Word Count: 3.5 K

Plot: Linden Marshall just finished law school at Columbia University in NYC. Daveed Diggs is still creating magic with his platonic life partner Rafael Casal in the form of their Blindspotting musical, Bay Boys. Linden’s boyfriend WAS Mark Monaco, star of the superhero movie series Invincible.  They were together for years, and her trauma and his addictions were toxic. She knows now that wasn’t love. 

A/N: Keep in mind that this the same AU as Arrivals, with Holly Woods, but is BEFORE Rafa and Holly get together. And don’t come for me about Anthony.

Read the Previous Chapter.

===================

NYC, May 2023

Jasmine was blowing up your phone as you were trying to get dressed.  You had to search for it under the pile of clothes on your bed.

You had procrastinated getting ready, trying to finish one of your applications for a summer internship at this law firm in Harlem that you were excited about.  

You wanted to finally relax after finishing Columbia law in the top 10% of your class. You just wanted to relax and enjoy this weekend.

Craig, your mom and your uncle were the only ones to attend your graduation.  They knew you didn’t want any fanfare, so your famous friends didn’t attend, and they had a show to do, but they’d sent you tons of well wishes.

We're coming up, get decent!

You chuckled and shook your head. Anthony usually raided the refrigerator when he came over. This time, you told him to bring his own snacks..

You slipped on what you were wearing for the night.  Craig was in his room getting ready and you had volunteered his place, so you were playing hostess. You were surprised that he was so chill about it, actually. 

“Pika Pika,” you said to yourself in the mirror then ran to answer the doorbell. It was almost 6 pm.

You opened the door for Cookie Monster and Big Bird.  You burst out laughing. But you stopped when you saw Anthony's face. He had like five bags from Whole Foods that he was juggling in his blue arms.

"Jazzy!!!! There's my girl.  Hey Ant! leave the food and your girl. We may run off together."

Anthony came in the door loaded down with bags and kissed you on the cheek.  

“I love you Lindy, but fuck you man.” You punched him on the shoulder. 

“Ow! Time to get this party started!”

Linden heard Jazzy’s Brooklyn accent turn into a London lilt as she started play fighting with Ant. They felt like family at this point.

=================

Ever since the launch party in January, Jasmine had pursued you as a friend persistently. You normally didn’t let anyone in because of the circumstances of your life, but Jas was oblivious to your awkwardness with normal human beings.

“Girl, you are fucking DOPE, and you are NOT gonna deny my love.  I know your life has been a trip, and you don’t have to tell me all of it, but I’m not gonna let you shrivel up and be a little retiring wallflower. Life is to be lived.” 

Jasmine telling you that during a Saturday brunch date in February was the key to your heart. She drew you out, and you didn’t see what value you added to her life.

But she loved you anyway. And you loved her, and of course, Anthony was part of the package.  

He was beautiful, loud, talented, and reckless, but he reminded you too fucking much of Dell to be annoyed with him very long.

Your circle had certainly widened from just Craig. That was one thing for which you could thank Mark. You were working on him being a distant memory.  He hadn’t lasted too long in Bay Boys, quitting soon after the musical opened in March.  

Daveed’s hands and feet had ‘slipped’ one too many times during the scene when he was stomping his ass on stage. Mark cited health reasons, and publicly spiraled a bit. He was currently in rehab. 

Again. 

You had not heard from him and that was absolutely fine with you.

Because Jasmine was in Bay Boys and that was her life, the cast and crew became yours as well. Rafael was the type of chaotic creative genius that fascinated you; you could listen to him talk for hours.  

Things with Daveed were more tricky. Ever since that awkwardness with him after the launch party, you’d kept your distance, but you hung out a lot, so you were trying to be friends.

When you and Jas and Ant and Rafa hung out and talked, Daveed was there, smiling shyly and sneaking glances at you, throwing in pearls of wisdom every so often. 

He was so dope and so talented and intelligent and so freaking hot, but you were trying to get yourself together.  You were convinced that night in January had been a mistake. 

You needed some space. And time.  Law school was no joke, and you were in therapy so entanglements was not what was up.

Daveed sensed your hesitancy and decided to stop pursuing you. But he couldn’t stop how he felt.

You were both a little wasted and keyed up the night of the launch party, and despite the way you were beautiful and intelligent and sexy as fucking hell, he was not going to press you. 

Daveed was sure that you two could be something special if you would give it a chance, but he didn’t want to chase you, but he was so gone for you, that if you just nodded your head at him, he would be at your feet.

The attraction was undeniable. There was a crazy little dance you two did that everyone recognized and respected.  This group seemed to know you were fragile, and that you didn’t need to be pushed too far.

But the more they persisted, the more you came out of your shell.  The more you trusted, the more the old Lindy came back. 

Craig noticed first soon after you started hanging with the crew when you were trying to find a place to live. He went to one showing with you and sat you down for a talk.

“Girl, I love the light in your eyes.  I haven’t seen this Lindy since…well in a long time. Stay with me for as long as you want. I know you need to get through this last semester of school, you don’t need one more thing to think about. I’m proud of the work that you’re doing on yourself, Linden.”

You were grateful to Craig.  His place on the Upper West Side was super convenient to Columbia, and not having to think about finding a place was so clutch.  Third year was kicking your ass.

“Besides, I wouldn’t have this place if it wasn’t for…”

“Hush,  I don’t want to hear that.  Dell would have wanted this. I love you cuzzo.” 

=================

Craig came out in a Sully onesie and immediately dragged Jasmine into a conversation about the Met Gala that had happened a few days ago. 

You approached the kitchen where Ant stood, food all around him on the counter. You were whispering. He smiled a secret smile at you.

“I’m so proud of you doing this for Jasmine.  It’s good for you all to get away. I’m glad that she got a little break. She deserves it all.”

Anthony had arranged for this little get together to be a surprise for Jasmine. This was going to be a kickback weekend.

The show was on a four day hiatus while the set was moved to a bigger theatre.  It was a hit and was destined for a long run.

Ant’s green eyes lit up as you kept talking about Jasmine.

“Yeah, she does. And the woman of the hour deserves all the happiness in the world.” He lifted his beer to you.

They way he said that was weird and you were about to ask him what was up with that when the doorbell started ringing, you went to answer it and were stuck there for a few minutes as people started coming in. 

The food and the drinks were flowing while all kinds of characters came in. 

Now they also had Jack Skellingtom, and a Care Bear in the house to add to Big bird, Cookie Monster, Pikachu and Sully. It was an odd cast of characters who were jamming to 90's rap, eating chicken wings and basically tripping like only friends could do.

Then there was Toni, some tag-along chick who showed up with Rafa.  She had on a plain gray onesie.  What a downer.  

You’d  pegged her for  a star fucker who only hung with Rafa because of who he and his friends were.  The girl was too much in everyone's business. 

"Sooooo. You and Mark ARE broken up for real for real. The tabloids say y’all are back together!  I told my friend Susie you weren’t, but she wouldn't believe me."

You  just smiled and didn't confirm or deny, treating Toni like the paparazzi. The girl was oblivious to your hate and just kept talking.

Daveed rescued you. 

"Hey, Toni, show these folks how you can blow. They're setting up the karaoke machine over there. Show us what you're working with. Someone might hook you up with a gig."

Toni perked up and hurried over to Anthony and Craig, who were setting up the lyrics on the big screen to match the karaoke music. Some Bad Boy joints were up.

Rafa was behind them screaming, "Dylan, Dylan, Dylan!" 

They were a scene.  You  breathed and relaxed a little.

"Don't stress. She's not coming with us  to the island."

You looked up at the tall, fine Grumpy Care Bear who was nursing some of your special 18-year-old Chivas Regal that you had gotten for graduation. His beautiful smile shined out of his brown face and beneath the curls tumbling out of his hood. 

“I’m not pressed. I’m chilling. You can do what you want. With who you want.”

“She’s not with me. Rafa brought her for the ride to the airport. And it’s not entirely true that I can do what I want. With who I want. Because what if who I want to do doesn’t want to do me?”

You knew what he meant. But you eyed his drink instead of looking at him. It wasn’t that you didn’t want him. That was far from the truth. You didn’t want to get lost in him. And you could see that happening.

Daveed saw your wheels turning. You were over analyzing again.  He’d spent three months observing you every chance he got. He felt like he knew your anxieties.  So fucking smart, but here you were thinking too much.

"Hey Genuis Ass. Want some?" Daveed’s voice was softer as he grinned and offered you some of his drink.  “Or, I could go make you something?” For some reason he wanted you to get loose. 

"Nah, I'm good Diggs.”  For some reason you needed to stay in control.  You played it off by changing the subject. 

“I still can’t believe y’all call me that.” 

Daveed just smiled and nodded, chuckling a little. He craned his neck and looked at it, having to dodge a smack upside the head.

“That ass is genius, you know. That’s the one thing He Who Shall Not Be Named was right about. And you’re one of the smartest humans I know.”  

You had to look at him then. The flecks of gold in his eyes tho.  But you could tell from the slight redness that he was a little zooted.  He didn’t get that way around you a lot, but you knew for the stories that he partied occasionally. 

He and Rafa and that Toni chick must have pre-gamed.  You remembered the last time you two were  tipsy together.You cleared your throat and looked away.

“Why did you lie to that girl? She can’t sing.” You were shaking your head, scowling at Toni’s screeching from the karaoke machine.

He winked at you. D was well on his way to getting LIT.

"What? She can blow.”  Daveed sipped his drink and watched her. 

“She’ll suck your soul out and spit it back in your mouth." Daveed was loose. And so was his mouth. But he didn’t care.

Your mouth was hanging open at Daveed as you wondered what Daveed had done with Toni, what Daveed AND Rafa had done with Toni... 

Shit, you were just going to ask.

"How do you know that she..."

"AWWWW SHEEEIIIITTT! THAT'S MY JAM! REMEMBER THIS LINDY??"

“No, I was like, negative 5..”

You raised your voice as he traveled away from you, smiling. He was not slick.

“Well you missed out being tardy to the party…” 

He was backing toward the mic, knocking it out of Anthony’s hand and starting the rap. Rafa joined him, trading verses.

Now as the record spins around, you recognize this sound,

Well, it's the underground,

You know that we're down with wutchyalike

Yeah, with wutchyalike, yeah

And though we're usually on the serious tip, check it out:

Tonight we're gonna flip and trip and let it all hang out tonight,

We're gonna say what we like.

'Cause, yo, yo, we want to know how many people in the flow,

Would like to just let yourselves go

And doowutchyalike,

Yeah, well tonight's your night.

Just eat food, try not to be crude or rude,

Kill the attitude, chill the serious mood,

And doowutchyalike,

Yeah, and doowutchyalike,

Everybody doowutchyalike

Everyone was dancing and Daveed had effectively deflected your question. But you would never forget.

By 8 o’clock, Craig grabbed the mic and motioned for Jasmine to come with him. You had enjoyed some cocktails finally, and just figured they were going to duet Wind Beneath My Wings just like they always did. 

You were actually moving to the music and feeling good.

"Ok guys, whew.  I'm hot.  Is it hot in herrrre?" Craig was fanning himself.

“Whoooo! Nelly!”

You yelled and everyone laughed.

Craig took his hood off and started to unzip his onesie. Jasmine did the same.

You kept dancing nervously, not realizing it, looking around at the others who were also disrobing. You did a double take as D’s abs came into view.  What was going on?

Craig continued.

"Lindy, I just need a minute to talk, can you stop whatever it is you're doing?"  He grinned at you from across the room. "You're still moving Lindy."

You blushed and stopped fidgeting.

"Ummm, Craig, what the..."

One by one people dropped their onesies, all except Toni, who had no clue what was going on. Soon, everyone was standing in Craig’s condo in their swimsuits, looking fine as hell. 

You just looked around, then in your cup wondering if you were too drunk and hallucinating.

“Lindy, you’ve worked real hard, and this past few months have been crazy, so we wanted to do something special for you this weekend, for your graduation, and for your birthday, WHICH IS SUNDAY!!”

Everyone cheered as Jasmine took the mic. “You think this party is for me. Well the joke’s on you bitch, because you have been hosting your own party!”

You opened your mouth, squeaked a little, then spoke,

"But why?.. Everybody?  But what..."

Daveed moved close.

"Damn, you fine," you whispered. 

Your hand flew to your mouth when he smirked in response. Everyone was rolling because turns out, you didn’t whisper.

Daveed cleared his throat. "Thank you. You’re fine yaseif. Anyway, Anthony and Jasmine have a house there, and we’re flying out of JFK tonight.  In about two and a half hours in fact. So we gotta get going.”

You still had only a part of a clue of what was going on. But you couldn't resist all of this.

"Okay? But... I don't have any clothes. And I don’t have a ticket..."

Craig came from the storage room off the kitchen with one of your suitcases. Others started getting their bags as well

"Everybody's shit has been in my house for a week. And girl, you know I got your information. It ain’t nothing but a thang.  Your ticket is ready and waiting. Just sent it to your email.”

Your mouth dropped open and you stared at Craig as everyone pulled their onesies back up and got their bags together.

Your eyes filled with tears that you hurriedly brushed away. Craig came over and hugged you. Then every else joined in for a group hug.

"You deserve, Lindy. Let us celebrate you."

You looked like you didn't quite believe it, but you went along. You laughed, visibly deciding to go with the flow.

"I'm down!"

Toni was nearby. When the hug broke up, she started asking questions.  Your  patience was wearing thin.

"I don’t believe that all these people really roll like this. Y’all wild. Susie won that bet."

You just continued to look at this fool.

"But isn’t this dope?  All these famous, successful men being so fearless with their love and appreciation for Black women, of all people. Who woulda thunk they didn't want white women?"

Toni just kept saying the wrong thing. It was the "of all people" for you.

You stared daggers at your houseguest. Toni caught the look.

"Wait, are you mixed?"

You narrowed your eyes and said, "Black mixed with Black."

Toni clutched her pearls.

"Oh wow. Didn't mean to offend. I just mean everyone knows Jasmine is mixed, with her dad and all, as black as can be. But her white British mom saved her from his skin tone. I mean, she has braids in now, so you can see it, but all she has to do is blow her hair straight and she can pass..."

Toni jumped when Rafa spoke. She didn't know he was there.

"Toni. Not Jas. She's the homie." 

The look in his ice blue eyes could burn. 

"And you are a Black woman, so you know how dope they are. Why would anyone NOT worship at your feet?"

Lindy just sipped her drink as Craig entered the chat. "Amen!"

"Maybe it is time for you to get going, honey. I might call you when I get back."

Rafa  led Toni to the door as she protested.

"But I was going to take you to the air..."

"And I APPRECIATE you Black woman, but we'll get there.  See you later."

Then Rafa shut the door in her face. Linden discovered she loved him eternally at that moment. She was rolling.

No one mourned Toni’s departure as arrangements were made for cars to take everyone to the airport.

"You and Daveed can ride with us, Rafa." Ant to the rescue.

"Yeah, Jasmine loves to look at my profile." Jas pinched him so hard he jumped.

“Fuck!”

Ant  was screaming as he, Jasmine and Rafa went out the door. 

"Peace! See you at airport security.  If you get nabbed by TSA, you on your own!”

Daveed lingered. “I don’t know if all of us and our bags will fit in one car. Can I ride with you and Lindy, Craig?”

Craig smirked at Daveed, but didn’t say anything. “Of course...you good with that Lindy?”

You tried to keep it light. 

“Sure.. no biggie,” you cleared your throat and headed to the bathroom to make sure you had everything you needed.

=================

By the time you got to your Uber, the traffic was horrible. It took over an hour to get to the airport. You felt both anxious about missing the flight and keyed up about sitting next to Daveed in the car.

His thigh and side pressing into yours in the dark in the back of an Uber Black brought back memories of that reckless night. 

When he put his arm up on the seat behind you, “For more room,” he said, in that voice and flashing that megawatt smile, you were enveloped more into his scent and warmth. You had to control yourself not to melt into him.

Craig was sitting on his phone, sneaking glances at you and smirking the entire ride. He’d insisted that you be in the middle because you were so tiny.

The whole world was against you, you thought, as you and Daveed both stared straight ahead, both flashing back to that January night.

You were the last three people to run through the airline gate just at they were about to close it. All your friends in first class cheered when you took their seats, and Rafa popped a bottle of champagne.

"Talk about cutting it close," Ant commented as Rafa gave Daveed a high five.

Daveed looked at you. You shook your head at him. Somehow, you were sitting next to him. You just decided to let it be and have some time.

“Just make sure you don’t molest me under this blanket, Ms. Marshall,” Daveed intoned when you were settled and given amenities for the night.

The flight attendant had to tell y’all to keep quiet as the cat calls went up.

Welp, you thought. This will be the vibe the entire weekend. 

You weren’t mad at it. You loved these people. And you were safe. You just smiled, settled down, and looked out of the window to watch the lights of New York fade away.

=================

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Tagging:  @braidedchallah @einfachniemand @sillyteecup @commandersmiley @ohsoverykeri-blog  @theselilwonders @theatrenerd86 @sebastianabucknettastan @imatyoursurrvicesurr @riiyy @ivycomet @lonelydance @jbrizzywrites @id-do-it-for-free-babe

[growingstronglikeahighgardenrose]

Sanditon Season 2: all the news & my thoughts

So, we're getting not one but two new seasons of Sanditon! After a year of tremendous effort on behalf of the Sanditon sisterhood who kept the fandom alive, we'll be looking at a new season. Although I think the biggest thank you probably goes out to Bridgerton, which showed that romance, regency, a diverse cast and butts are a perfect mix to lure audiences.

I want to take this moment to reflect on what I think we'll win, what we'll lose and what we can expect in the future.

1. No Sidlotte HEA

This is probably the most heartbreaking salty news we could get. But I know Theo James, he likes new projects. And after divergent's disaster, I can't blame the boy for not wanting to hang onto another franchise. As a fanfic writer, although mainly an Esther/Babington one, I broke my head for over a year on how to get Sidlotte together. I had to imagine the grandest schemes to get them together. Tom needed 10 000 pounds in less than a month. Even Babington was probably not worth that much. That's over 6 million in today's money if adjusted to inflation. Regency era's England's top 1-2% made that in a full a year, and most of that is probably in assets and investments. And they don't just get to keep that money, most used a good chunk of it to keep their estates running and to pay their staff. Anyone know someone who has a casual 6 million lying around?

There's only two realistic solutions: either have Eliza die: which would be cruel and take years (unless you kill her in childbirth 9 months in), or create a grand scheme that would take months and see Sidney, Crowe and Babington actively work hard on their 'business' while in the meantime Charlotte, Lady Denham and Lady Susan get everyone including the prince regent to come to Sanditon. I kind of accepted they would have a hard time getting out of that plot twist. It was likely that Sidlotte could not be endgame.

Personally, I never felt a strong connection to Sidlotte, and had hoped that Charlotte, like Jane Bennet, would go to London with Lady Susan to recover from her heartbreak, and I kind of hoped James Stringer would eventually go down there for his apprenticeship, where a sort of Captain Wentworth-like situation would come to exist where he is a young man trying to make something of himself. I know Charlotte didn't love him. But I also knew that Charlotte wanted adventure and perhaps needed to grow as a person. But in the new season she'll probably be a bit jaded, closed off, and depressed. And will probably need a softer more available man. Growing up goes with swinging to extremes. She was an open optimist at the beginning, and eventually turned to the opposite, not letting her emotions shine through and being very guarded (@miss-holly-goes-lightly did a wonderful post on this). Adulthood is finding a good balance again.

So while I am saddened, because this brings along a long set of questions like: "Does Sanditon still take place in Sanditon then?" "Where will Sidney live, will he then live in London with his wife?" "Why doesn't he come help his brother the next season or visit his family, as we know Tom will make a mess of things" The show will have to answer these questions in a believable manner.

2. No Beaufort twins

Mollie Holder said on her instagram that the Beauforts wouldn't be returning. This leads to quite a few questions like: where will Georgiana stay then? What will be happening to Mrs. Griffiths? Will Georgiana be her sole ward while the Beaufort's absence is explained as them having married or having become governesses?

3. Who remains aboard

Rose Williams is definitely on board. It's also pretty certain Tom will be there again. Lady Denham is also likely to return. The child actors and their parents were willing, but worried about their increasing age a few months back. Old Stringer said he'd have loved to be part of Sanditon again and to see it continue, but he's well... dead on the show so he won't return. So who will join Charlotte?

Leo Sutter might not return. He plays an important role in the next spin-off of vikings. Vikings has a new season each year. On top of that he's currently busy recording Gateway 6. We don't know how long that might take. And perhaps by the time filming ends he's required for the next season of the Walhalla series. Leo Sutter is a rising star, he might not even have the time to return. Especially for two seasons. At his age and point in his career, he needs to cement his name, or he'll remain b-list while he has a-list potential. So he might have to give up Sanditon for his career. It's sad, I'd love a Stringer/Charlotte future where they both grow to being suitable for each other while becoming people confident in their own abilities. But in the end, I would be alright with it, as Charlotte didn't express immediate interest in him. Writing him out would also be fairly easy, they could just write that despite thinking he had to stay home after his father's death, he went to London in the end under Charlotte's encouragement. Perhaps he could then come back for a guest appearance.

Crystal Clarke will reprise her role as Georgiana. Clarke has, since Sanditon, spoken out about the sometimes tone-deaf director and scriptwriters. She had to step in a few times to make sure Georgiana was done justice. She also said she hoped Georgiana, if the show was continued, would get the space to breathe and be independent, instead of playing a minor role as token black friend of Charlotte while under the control of Sidney. It will be complex to have her return without involving Sidney, as his character will have to be written out. I imagine this can be done with a timejump, but the timejump would have to be 4 years to make Georgiana 'of age' as she is 17 in the show. They'll probably place her under someone's care while saying Sidney is "still her guardian, but away". Georgiana is, in my opinion, an essential part of Sanditon. Bridgerton showed the world wanted to see diverse faces. Austen wrote a black character as a wealthy and desirable woman. They simply have to do more with her in the future. Clarke will reprise her role, this time with black writers to do justice to her character. I'm excited to see what will be done.

The actor who plays Arthur, Turlough Convery, is a good actor and mostly in period pieces. However he's never overly in demand, and usually stays with shows for multiple seasons. I think he's quite willing to come back and it means Georgiana would have a friend. I also hope they delve into his character, especially after his "I don't think i'll ever get married".

Matthew Needham and Mark Stanley, Crowe and Babington, are Sidney's best friends. It will be hard to have them come back without them explaining why Sidney is never with them. But I believe they would work well as a duo: the drunk and the one braincell are a fun dynamic. Both are not much in demand, despite that I quite like them as actors. So we might see them returning. Their return would also be vital for the return of a few other characters:

Their return would also be vital for the return of a few other characters:

Charlotte Spencer's Esther Denham is married to Babington. Without Babington returning, how can Esther? And vice versa. Their storyline was also the main romance for me and a big part of the last few episodes. They kinda need to return. Babington is also Sanditon's access point to high society. To cash in on Bridgerton's success they should search that royal connection. Babington is friends with the Prince Regent. On top of that he has the most money. If he hosts a party and Charlotte is invited, this is where they get those grand-bridgertonesque scenes.

Lily Sacofsky's Clara had a romantic subplot with Crowe. In their final unaired scene they went to London together. She could return. However, the chances are quite slim. Clara is in London, and Sanditon takes place in Sanditon. Unless Lady Susan takes Charlotte to London for a while and she meets Clara and Edward there, cooking up a plan to get back at Esther and Lady Denham.

4. Predictions

There's no words to describe the popularity of Bridgerton, so this WILL influence Sanditon. I predict: more sex, more scandal, and even more ahistorically modern ideas and characters, multiple female characters and multiple male characters that each get screentime and their separate storylines and developments like in bridgerton, instead of just Charlotte's pov we follow. Glamorous scenes. And more POC.

The season will start with a timejump in all likeliness (as it is easier so they don't have to focus too much on her grieving). Charlotte will catch us up with what has happened while perhaps narrating over some letters she's written to georgiana and lady susan. She'll return to Sanditon during a summer. Sanditon will have been partially rebuilt with Eliza's money, and many activities will be planned. Sanditon will be in some kind of trouble. Charlotte will still be a planner. Her being very actively involved in things and having a vision was one of the most alluring parts of her character. In the books there was a rival town Tom hated. That might be a bit tricky to adapt so they could introduce some local competition for attention around Sanditon. A local duke hosting parties could overshadow tom's events. Or the social season in London could lure everyone there instead of to Sanditon. Charlotte will try to help Tom with this while getting reacquainted with everyone still in Sanditon, and hearing about the reasons why Sidney/Esther/Stringer/The Beauforts (to be seen) aren't in the show anymore. She'll also rebuild her relationship with Georgiana.

Then one day for an event Charlotte will invite Lady Susan, who will invite her to the London season to get over her heartache à la Jane Bennet. Charlotte will join Lady Susan to lure a crowd to Sanditon. There, she'll be confronted with some of her demons of the past season. Perhaps a pregnant Eliza Campion makes an appearance to rub it in Charlotte's face. In Sense & Sensibility Margaret discovered Willoughby's relationship in a most shocking manner in an almost public setting. Sanditon likes to nod at all Austen books so this could be a nod at that book when Charlotte discovers unpleasant news in a public manner. Charlotte will congratulate her and wish them happiness, and afterwards either a girlpower moment could happen with Lady Susan or Georgiana supporting her, or a love moment. Mrs Campion has tried to talk Charlotte down in front of people in the past, if she did it again, a new love interest could step in at that time to compliment her and then take her off for a dance. That could be an emotional moment for her, as she realized her feelings for Sidney in London during a dance the last time around as well. And she could have her cinderella moment by excusing herself and running off after the dance, uncertain of her feelings. She'll have some grand balls, might be harrassed by a man and risk a scandal, or try and prevent Georgiana from ruin during a scandal.

At the last moment she'll succeed in her goal and lure a crowd to Sanditon's events that will put Sanditon on the map. Either the local competitive duke, or someone from London will be impressed with her, but she won't be ready to marry yet. I trust that by the end of the second season, she'll finally have a realisation that she's quite happy with how she's living her life and how good her work is, and that she has finally stopped feeling sad. So the second season will stop with her atop a cliff, letting go of the traumatic loss she suffered on that same cliff a season before. By the end of the season, one or two love interests will be set up for the last season.

So the nudity and big romance will have to come from elsewhere. Georgiana will get more agency and action in the next seasons. She could be trying to tempt Charlotte in joining her adventures as a single wealthy independent woman. She might even leave to find her place in the world via boat, returning to where she was last truly happy: Antigua. The second season could maybe end with Charlotte overlooking Georgiana's boat leaving from the previously mentioned clifftop. Another option is Georgiana falling in love with a local man and taken an interest in the town. Financially speaking, Georgiana could be the only one able to save Sanditon. But I don't think she owes the town anything. Another option is the writers focus on Georgiana navigating her relationship with Otis, who might be back home for a holiday after navy duty. We could also see some political debates à la Poldark S5 about freedom, servitude, independence and so on. The first plan for Georgiana doesn't even have to exclude the second, she could decide to sail away with Otis to find their place in the world. In any case: race shall not be brushed under the carpet and Georgiana will kick some shins on her way to her happy ending. In Jane Austen, we have rarely seen a woman who tried to elope, or escape her guardian, get a happy ending. Georgiana Darcy, Eliza Williams, Eliza's mother, ... they're all tragic tales of women falling for bad guys who try to steal their virtue or take their money. And in the end they always become dependent on men again. I hope in Sanditon Georgiana will learn and grow herself, instead of being coddled by men. A lot could be done.

Esther and Babington could be a very cool insert if the actors join. They can really connect the high society to Sanditon. They could host balls, invest in Sanditon or drive the London plot. But they can also be an emotional backbone to the show. Esther married Babington, but she wasn't in love yet. I'm not a fan of the edward/Esther angle. After all he did, I rather she hated him with burning passion and never spoke to him again. But he could try to blackmail her and ruin her reputation in London. Perhaps become some kind of Lord Whistledown. With Charlotte coming to Esther's aid. Esther's plotline could be about learning to trust people and open her heart again. Perhaps she could have a conflict with Babington about him wanting a family and she still being uneasy with marriage, let alone children. Maybe they could have a fight, with one of them going to London. In their separation they might realize they love each other. And then the other comes back home from London with Charlotte and they fix everything. Another route is them having a fight, Esther going to confront Edward or Clara about their blackmailing or maneouvring. Babington thinks it's because she doesn't love him, but actually it's because she loves Babington and wants to be rid of her past. But she gets into an accident and Babington only realizes the truth later on, leading to a happy ending.

Other things I'd love to see: Mary finally growing a backbone and telling Tom to either be open about his affairs and finances or be gone. Arthur and Diana growing a backbone and telling their brother he's a fuck up. Charlotte realizing Tom is stupid. Lady Denham appointing Charlotte or Arthur to head of Sanditon after showing their worth an entire season. Tom being repentant. Diana getting over her fears. Arthur getting a love interest. Crowe being in Sanditon, I just love him. Kisses. Healthy love interests that aren't broody and traumatized and in need of fixing by women. Jane Austen's men need to do their growing ON THEIR OWN. And then they earn their brides.

5. What we'll lose

- A Sidlotte ending: once the new season comes out, Sidlotte is no longer headcanon.

- A happy Esther/Babington ending: they married and looked happy, despite Esther's rushed turn around. If they're in the new season, their marriage won't be perfect. They'll have conflicts, just for plot. Whatever headcanons we had for them will probably be falsified. We might come to dislike them or their relationship. I've seen almost all my ships crumble to dust on the rocks of multiple seasons dragging out relationships and piling on conflict just to keep it interesting.

- A part of what made Sanditon Sanditon: we'll lose many faces we've come to love. And the dynamics and relationships will therefore change a lot.

- Fanfics become dated: I know it is the problem of every fandom, but it's one I regret all the same. Part of why I love Austen fandoms is the fact that the books are written. The characters and relationships won't change. With 2 new seasons coming, all fanfics out there will become dated. The millions of hours authors put into Sidlotte fics will perhaps become barely read when Charlotte gets new love interests. All the headcanons I and many others wrote down for Sidlotte, Esther/Babington, Charlotte/Stringer, will officially become silly fantheories. I've been there a couple of times before that shows changed the entire course and personality of certain characters and then you can't help but feel exhausted and sometimes annoyed because these are your babies and you had dreams for them, and the writers took them in directions that sometimes don't do them justice. But it's canon so you gotta accept it. Sometimes fantasy is nicer than a writer toying around with storylines and characters just to create drama. And I'll have to write my characters in a new way that fits the characters based on the info from the new seasons. I might fall out of love with them. Ah, the burden of being a shipper weighs heavy.

- Perhaps we still lose a HEA: Season one ended with a happy babington/Esther and an unhappy Charlotte who learned a lot, and a Sanditon that was saved. Although Sanditon has been extended for two seasons it's possible that if the ratings for S2 aren't good they may still cancel the third season. If they don't learn from their mistakes and end season 2 on another cliffhanger even Esther's relationship and sanditon may be at stake. If they're getting 2 seasons they will also not marry or engage charlotte in the second, meaning Charlotte will still be single by the end of the series if they cancel season 3. The whole reason we wanted more seasons was for charlotte to have a HEA. So I'm really fearful that she'll be put in another hard spot. They at least need to get her happy by the end of S2.

6. What we'll gain

- More sanditon content

- More regency era content and images and music which is always lovely

- Seeing our favourites again

- Hopefully we get to see new challenges and romance and humor and tense moments and scandal and drama that will be fun to watch

- A Georgiana story arc: a black woman in a realistic historical setting living her life, being wealthy, and England just having to Deal With It. And as cherry on top she'll be written by black writers.

- Happy endings (hopefully)

- New hot men! This is a guarantee

- Perhaps LGBTQ+ representation with Arthur

- Frustration at Tom's antics (guaranteed)

- Maybe some interactions with Charlotte's siblings

- Esther Babington content

- New material to write fanfics and metas about

- Over 8 hours of viewing pleasure

[urmomsstuntdouble]

some skater au yao + hk ramblings bc @mysticalmusicwhispers wanted to know more about them in the au

- he's 56 years old and has owned his casino for 30 years. He first got into the business of casino ownership because he thought it'd be a good source of passive income, but he didn't realize how much a job owning a casino would actually be and took over as the head executive manager person after about a year of struggling to manage another job plus the casino. He actually likes it more than he thought he would, because while it's a super stressful job and requires him to coordinate a lot of moving parts basically all the time, it does allow him to be in complete control of something, which he likes.

-yao is 56 because i think 5 and 6 look good next to each other

-hong kong is a skateboarder and local insufferable goose, and has a weird not quite father-daughter relationship with yao. she was born in hong kong and adopted by arthur, who’s doing the single dad thing. they lived in london until she was seven, and moved around a bit before settling in las vegas when leona was ten. she has come to realize that this was kind of stupid, but she can’t really do anything about it now. 

-yao and arthur aren’t really friends, but they do know each other from youth and sometimes hang out still

-that’s not actually how yao and leona met though. she and some friends (the gen z squad, which includes taiwan, seychelles, iceland, and macau) were being rascally middle schoolers and trying to see if they could trick anyone into letting them into a club. this was entirely based on macau having been asked one time by one of those people who stands on the street corner registering people to vote if he’d been registered yet. he had not, seeing as he was probably like 12 at the time, but it gave them the foolish confidence they needed to try to sneak into an adult establishment

-yao happened to be there that day when the kids were trying to get in, and he was like okay kids, what are you trying to do rn and they were like wym we’re clearly adults and he was like i know for a fact that you’re not, please leave or i’ll call the cops and that scared them right off

-they were also introduced later by arthur, and leona did get into a bit of trouble for trying to sneak into the casino. it was a whole thing

-leona is one of the youngest skaters in the au. she and seychelles are the only minors that hang about the skate park, and the adults there aren’t fully aware of their ages, so it’s assumed that they’re of a similar age range to everybody else. most of the other skaters are within like. 25-35 age range, and most of them assume that sey and hk are college kids or something, and they don’t correct that misunderstanding. they do tag along on some adult expeditions at times, although that’s mostly just going out into the desert to smoke. occasional gambling though

-leona and yao have run into each other a fair few times since they first met. she likes to hang out in the strip because it makes her feel like she’s an adult and independent, but she can’t hang out by the super famous casinos or hotels, because it’s easier to get into more trouble there, so she mostly hangs out in the moderately-well-to-do area, which is where yao’s casino is located. they also see each other decently often as a result of yao’s not quite friendship with arthur, as they do like to hang out from time to time but are both shut ins. yao owning the casino is actually a great way for them to hang out, because it’s sort of like his second home and it feels casual to him while also being the sort of place where you can go to casually get shitfaced, which is right up arthur’s alley. 

-due to yao and arthur’s whatever they have going on, leona has been able to talk to him a few times. she mostly thinks he’s just another old fart who talks too much about the economy (cursed idea but imagine if yao was one of those bitcoin people) but also has a casino, so that’s mildly cool. she does find herself slightly interested in the fact that he is chinese, because she feels a bit disconnected from that part of herself as a result of having been raised and grown up in the west. 

-leona’s casino hanging-out-at really gets started when she’s about 14. she gets upset because she’s been outed at school (she’s bi). though it’s not really a big deal if arthur finds out, seeing as he’s also bi, it felt like a really big deal for her and something she wasn’t ready for. she decides to run away, but doesn’t really know where to go, cause she doesn’t want to see anyone from school and doesn’t know where any of the adult skaters live, so she winds up at the casino. yao is ready to tell her to fuck off until he sees that she’s upset and his passive aggression towards her gets more passive and less aggressive

-he winds up taking her out to eat, and he tries to get her to talk about what happened but she refuses to engage. yao tries to give her a bunch of life advice instead, and she also refuses to engage (but still pays attention because he has a way of talking that makes him seem like everything he’s saying is some sort of law of the universe). 

-there  exists a bit of a rift between arthur and leona, because he’s really not that great of a dad. he has some other kids, but she’s the only one currently living with him. some are in college, some are adults who’ve moved away, but they rarely ever come home for the holidays or anything like that, and most of them have a strained relationship with him. leona is no exception, and she’s sort of like. god i can’t wait to move out. it makes her feel like she has a bit more say in her own life to hang out at the casino, which yao starts letting her do after he gets more analytical of her relationship with arthur. he feels like she needs a space to be herself, and also that he can provide that for her.

-speaking of, yao really likes to analyze people. that’s not specific to this au, i just think that he can sometimes get really analytical and treat other people like they’re characters in a book? like they’re a puzzle for him to figure out, and he sort of treats leona like that. she isn’t pleased with this at all, but that’s the price of being a minor who wants to hang out in casinos, so. 

-yao is pretty passive regarding leona and arthur’s relationship. he has put himself in the position that if they’re mad at each other, he might have to hear about it from both of them. or, worst case scenario- mediate. and he doesn’t really want to do that (he doesn’t really want to be invested in any of this, but damn it hong kong, you were so entertaining to examine) so he just sort of stands on the sidelines sipping a smoothie while they argue. 

-yao does however come to consider himself a better father figure towards hong kong than arthur. he never tells anyone about this, but he feels like, with all his unsolicited life advice, that he’s doing a good job. leona doesn’t really care, and thinks she could do without it, but he will not stop, so. he also helped her study for the sat, which was nice. 

-the idea of fatherhood is a bit tricky with these three though, because leona doesn’t really feel like she has a dad. she knows she has her biological father, and she has her adopted father, but she doesn’t know who her biological father is and we all know that arthur is bad at being a dad. she doesn’t know if she even wants a dad anymore tbh. one time she gets in an argument with yao and she tells him he’s not her real dad, and he just says, totally calm. you don’t have a dad. and that’s pretty shattering to her 

-even so, leona comes to abuse her casino-going privileges. yao doesn’t like this At All, and has threatened to call the police on her multiple times, but leona also threatens to tell arthur what he’s letting her do, so they keep it to this mutual agreement to not do anything about it. because of that, she sometimes brings in more kids, specifically the gen z squad and the ily trio. this makes her quite popular at school, which gets to her head sometimes

[naralanis]

To learn to want (and to love)

“What is it that you want, exactly, Hermione?”

Hermione has to blink, bleary-eyed and not entirely alert. She’s been reading the same paragraph on Transfiguration Today for the past ten minutes or so, and her reading glasses are practically dangling off her nose she’s so out of it, so Ron’s question takes her by surprise.

“I--uh, what?” she stutters, pushing the spectacles up and turning to face him. The lamp on his side of the bed is still on, and it illuminates the circles under his eyes, his slightly receding hairline, and, most importantly, his frown.

“What do you want out of this, Hermione? We’re not--” the words seem to elude him for a moment, so Ron opts for just vaguely gesticulating around the space between them, a gulf in their bed that has been steadily widening for the past decade or so. “We’re just going through the paces here. What are we doing??” He finally huffs out.

It takes Hermione by surprise, but it also doesn’t. She’s not an idiot, she knew the signs were there; she had just chosen to ignore them because they didn’t necessarily bother her at all. She hadn’t thought they bothered Ron either, because he certainly never thought to bring them up -- not when the sex stopped, or when their casual, affectionate touches seemed to fizzle out, not even when they went most of their days not saying anything other than ‘good morning’ and ‘good night’ to one another.

Maybe she had been a little too willfully ignorant.

She wants to answer him honestly, she does, but instinctively she knows that’s not exactly what he wants to hear. So Hermione shrugs  her shoulders and blows out a weary sigh.

“I’m not unhappy.”

Ronald visibly deflates, as she had predicted. He runs a hand over his hair -- it’s mussed and sticking out at all angles -- and he sighs so low and defeated Hermione can’t help but feel terrible about it. It isn’t his fault -- it isn’t hers, either, which somehow makes this worse.

His gaze meets hers and he looks so sad, but there’s a little smile tugging at his lips, like he’s trying to be happy for her sake.

“But you’re not happy.”

Well.

The divorce comes easier and quicker than anyone ever expected, and Hermione is simultaneously surprised and a little bit miffed that it doesn’t seem to catch any of their friends and family off-guard. Even Rose shrugged when she and her brother came by during Easter, saying something along the lines of “honestly, I saw it coming” and going back to her crème eggs.

Hugo, on the other hand, had been inconsolable and angry, and he unfairly directed all of that emotion towards his father, who did nothing more than take it and tell Hermione they would deal with it. Hugo returns to Hogwarts still acting a little cold, but he gives Ronald a hug at the platform and deep down Hermione knows they’ll be OK.

She lets Ron keep the house, because she never really felt any huge attachment to the place and knows he has some pride in the brick walls he erected himself, in the picket-fence he painstakingly paints over every summer or so. They still meet regularly for family dinners, they go out with their friends, and somehow it’s easy, like pressure had been lifted.

Ron helps her move into her new flat in the heart of Muggle London, grumbling all the way about the five floor walk-up where magic is not allowed. Rose enjoys the little reading nook Hermione made for her in her room, and Hugo thaws considerably at the brightly decorated bedroom full of Chudley Cannons posters.

It’s better, for them. Different, but better.

Hermione finds herself enjoying her work more. With no husband to come home to, and the kids away at Hogwarts for most of the year, she stays later, looking over complex runes and equations with more gusto than she’s experienced in years. She almost feels like a student again.

Sometimes -- when Ron goes on dates, or maybe when Ginny needles her enough after a round or three of Butterbeers at the Leaky Cauldron -- Hermione wanders if there’s anything she should be wanting. She’s content, she’s fine. She’s not exactly thriving, but she can’t figure out what on Earth she could possibly want, so she pushes it aside and laughs along whenever Harry jokes about her settling for things too easily.

It’s random and undeniably odd, when it happens. Hermione’s focusing hard on a tricky little rune she came up with while mildly intoxicated with Ginny last week, and now her sober brain cannot make heads or tails of it. She’s so entranced she misses the three insistent knocks, her door swinging open and a harried woman rushing into her office.

“Goodness’ sakes, Miss Granger! Hello!”

She jumps when a hand is impatiently waved right in front of her face, and then she almost falls out of her chair when she finally sees Narcissa Malfoy staring up at her. 

Hermione has no time for a greeting, because suddenly Narcissa tosses a loud, buzzing object at her and practically hissing as she speaks. “Please make this bloody thing stop!”

Hermione’s reflexes barely kicked in time for her to catch...

��Is this an iPhone??” She manages to squeak as the device buzzes and trills, the screen going absolutely nuts with colours.

“I don’t care what it is, will you please silence it without destroying it?”

Eyebrows shooting up and jaw snapping closed, Hermione dutifully turns it off, and Narcissa’s breath of relief is loud and heavy.

“Thank you,” she says, taking the thing back from Hermione between thumb and forefinger, as if touching it disgusted her. “Draco gave me this bloody thing, I have no idea...”

Somehow, Hermione hears the whole story about how Draco is “in” with Muggle technology and gave his mother a smartphone to help her “keep up with the times,” a statement that offended Narcissa to no end, and Hermione laughs as the blonde tells her. Somehow, she forgives Narcissa’s blustering intrusion and even teaches her how to turn the contraption off when walking into heavily warded areas such as the Ministry, because that can make some Muggle technology go haywire. Somehow, they end up talking for about an hour and Hermione forgets all about her runes, because wouldn’t you know it, Narcissa is a surprisingly easy person to talk to.

And so, Hermione accepts her offer of lunch the next day as a thank-you for the whole iPhone incident. 

They meet in a swanky little bistro at Covent Garden and Hermione almost walks right past Narcissa, because the woman is wearing dark wash jeans and a bloody t-shirt, with her hair up in a sleek ponytail and cat-eye sunglasses perched on her head. She does a double-take when Narcissa waves her to their table, and Hermione teaches her a bit more about the phone, genuinely impressed to learn that Narcissa has now got FaceTime down pat.

Hermione doesn’t remember how exactly they end up making plans to meet again the following week, but it happens. And then, the next week, and the week after that, until Hermione just blocks out her lunch-time every Wednesday on her calendar. Ginny comments on the meetings with a laugh and a raised eyebrow, but Hermione brushes that off.

They talk, a lot. About everything and nothing, all at once, and Hermione comes to find that Narcissa is not only smart, she’s wicked smart. Like, knows complex arithmancy smart, like ‘I invent potions for fun’ smart, like ‘yes I know basically all the constellations, what of it?’ smart. Narcissa has a wealth of knowledge to share and seems happy to do so with Hermione, who soaks it all up like an eager sponge, leaving their lunches happy and sated from more than just the food.

That isn’t to say Hermione doesn’t teach Narcissa a thing or two, either, iPhone incident aside. Hermione talks her ears off about Muggle authors (Narcissa is absolutely enamored by anything of Agatha Christie’s and the thought tickles Hermione to no end), and she also teaches her all about the Muggle painters of centuries past (Narcissa is inexplicably fond of Vermeer). Once, on a whim, Hermione presents two tickets to Les Misérables in the West End, and Narcissa just sobs the entire time while Hermione just hands her tissue after tissue.

Narcissa learns that Hermione puts her milk in before her tea and they have a spirited argument about it, because the blonde is simply affronted, and it ends with Hermione not-so-begrudgingly vowing to switch it around. Hermione learns that Narcissa has never been on a roller-coaster, so Hermione takes her to The Big One in Blackpool and learns the hard way that Narcissa gets motion sick very, very easily.

Before she knows it, this thing with Narcissa has lasted over a year, and both Rose and Hugo ask her if she’s planning on inviting the woman over for Christmas, and that’s when Hermione’s thoughts grind to a halt, because she had not even considered it, but now that the idea has been planted in her head, she wants, wants, wants.

She wants to invite Narcissa over, so she does, and the Slytherin comes bearing gifts that make Hermione’s children and her ex-husband squeal in delight (to be fair, the dragon-ivory chess set Ron received was lovely, if a bit excessive). And as they eat their roast and drink wine, Hermione gets lost in the vibrancy of Narcissa’s smile and the glimmer of her eyes in the candle-light of her dining room and suddenly she wants, wants, wants.

She wants their parting hug to last a little longer, she wants the kiss Narcissa bestowed upon her cheek to be a few centimeters to the left, she wants to hold on tighter and ask Narcissa to stay the night because she can’t bear to part with her just yet.

And, like that, something suddenly just clicks in her head; a feeling slots itself into place inside her chest and Hermione is a bit overwhelmed, because she’s never quite wanted so much before and she doesn’t know how to deal with it.

It’s Ron who helps her, in the end. She calls him up (on his brand new iPhone -- Merlin those caught on fast) and he comes over immediately, finding her pacing her living room thrumming with manic energy, and once she relays her predicament he just laughs until he can hardly breathe.

“‘Mione,” he says, shaking his head with fondness. “You fancy her. Of course you want to snog her senseless; frankly we’ve all been waiting for you to do something about it.”

Oh.

‘We all’ entails, apparently, literally everyone Hermione has ever met, including her landlady with whom she hardly talks but who somehow knows all about how often Narcissa comes by her place.

So Hermione makes a plan, because she wants, wants, wants to tell Narcissa about her recent discovery at New Year’s. She prepares accordingly, because she’s Hermione Granger and she won’t do anything by halves, so she writes out her confession in about sixteen inches of parchment and carries it nervously with her all through the party.

And Narcissa is absolutely radiant, enough to make Hermione forget all about those thoughts carefully penned to parchment. Hermione wants to dance closer and closer to her, she wants to rest her hands on her waist and sway with her, she wants to tilt her face just so and breathe the same air until their lips brush together.

Narcissa looks at her like she can read Hermione’s mind, and maybe she can; maybe she can see all the want shimmering through Hermione’s eyes, because Hermione never had a great poker face to begin with. And, to her surprise (not to mention relief), Hermione sees that want reflected on beautiful, beautiful azure, so she follows Narcissa beckoning finger until they’re pressed together and the dance-floor fades away to nothing.

Hermione wants, wants, wants, and finally, finally, Hermione gets it.

[purplebass]

There’s nothing worse than feeling like a ghost // Blackdale

Couple: Blackdale, Lucie Herondale and Jesse Blackthorn Rating: T

Lucie always liked to sneak out during the night. While they were in Herondale Manor in Idris, she often went out of her bedroom window to go on little adventures, unbeknownst to her family who had never found out about her little escapades. Lucie’s parents probably thought she stayed in her room to write or to read after her training. Little did they know that she probably left the Institute more than James, who was usually the one who got caught and scolded.

Lucie felt a bit guilty that she left her house without telling anyone, but how could she find more material to use for her writing if she didn’t see the world?

Sure, she and Cordelia, along with the Merry Thieves, went out a lot. But that didn’t mean that she could do what she pleased, because she would still be under the watchful eyes of her friends. Lucie wasn’t secretive, she liked to be upfront and honest about her thoughts, but what she was about to do felt like something she didn’t want to share with the others, something personal. And illegal, maybe.

Midnight. The old woman asked her to come to the Cross Bones Graveyard around that time, and Lucie was obeying.

Naturally, she used a rune to camouflage herself in the disturbing and stormy London night. There were no mundanes around the block, perhaps they decided to take shelter in their homes or somewhere else, because it was raining.

Lucie didn’t want to grab an umbrella, instead she wore a cloak she hoped would protect her from the heavy storm that was raging above her head.

She laughed at herself, and found it funny that the night she was able to contact somebody who could help her with her current problem, was also the first in a couple of weeks where the sky was giving its best to unload all of its watery anger all over town.

She clutched the stele in her pocket. Yes, it’s still here, she thought as she approached the area.

She wasn’t afraid of the night, but still, she was alone. She wasn’t afraid. She was still in the suburbs, after all.

Turn right, and then… She arrived.

Lucie sighed once she saw the stones in front of her. “It’s a cemetery, Luce,” she told herself as she walked towards the first graves. There was a path in front of her. According to what she knew, the person she was looking for was in one of the graveyards in the east area. She hoped she would find it despite the weather wasn’t letting her see what was in front of her clearly. She had already lighted her witchlight, but to no avail. Maybe because that place was plagued by death.

She tried to ignore the ghosts that came out of their graves and tried to scare her. She wasn’t easily scared, especially in a cemetery, but ghosts liked to be tricky, and she had to stay alert.

At some point, she found the grave she was looking for. “Molly,” she whispered, her voice barely audible in the rainy night. “Molly?”

“Who’s calling for me?” the ghost asked, and appeared out of her grave. There she was, Molly, or Old Molly. She was a powerful ghost. “What do you want, little girl?”

“I’m not a little girl,” Lucie protested, even if she was indeed quite short. “And I don’t answer to ghosts. Ghosts answer to me.”

The ghost of Old Molly made a sinister smile. “You’re quite bold, little girl. And my time is precious. Have you taken what I asked?”

Lucie retrieved a small bag from her shoulder and gave it to the woman. Inside, as the ghost would see, there were a lot of golden rings. The woman didn’t accept mundane money as payment. The only thing Molly wanted to do was to find her wedding ring, and leave the world of the living for good, but she didn’t have much luck so far.

“Are they enough?”

“Yes, little girl. Now what do you want?”

“I need these,” Lucie said, showing the ghost a piece of paper with some ingredients written on it. She would never reveal where she found it, but at least she had found it.

The ghost raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I see. Black magic, huh? Do you want to end up like me?”

“What? No! Don’t meddle in my affairs!”

“Calm down, calm down. I’m fetching what you asked,” she said, then she disappeared in her tomb.

Lucie folded her hands and waited. She wasn’t afraid of the dark, and not even of being among the dead at night. She was more scared that Molly would return and say that she didn’t have the ingredients she needed to perform necromancy. She sighed, and shook her head. “Don’t be negative, Lucie.”

Eventually, Molly came back. She wasn’t empty handed, at least. Lucie eyed the small bag she was carrying with awe. She still didn’t know how to process the ingredients, but it was a big step already if she got them, right? As Molly approached, Lucie anticipated the moment she could go back to the Institute to sleep. She had to go back before dawn, and she had to move. It was getting late.

She wasn’t paying attention to anything but the bag, and didn’t realize the demon until he hit her.

“What?” she asked to the void, since she was alone in the cemetery. She realized that Molly had disappeared as well, leaving no trace of the things she was waiting to get her hands on. Her hands fumbled for a blade, for anything, until she found two daggers in the pockets of her cloak. She unsheathed one and tried to stab the demon, but her aim wasn’t good. Perhaps she was out of practice, perhaps she was alone and anxious. She needed to tell someone, but what use was now to think these things? She got distracted, and the demon made her lose her balance. She fell on the humid grass. She willed herself to get up, to fight, but she couldn’t. She had been knocked out too hard, too fast, she couldn’t stand. She couldn’t… she lost consciousness.

Jesse found himself at the cemetery without knowing why he was there. He was surprised at first. The area was deserted, save for the ghosts of dead people roaming around like him.

What pulled him there? Who called him there?

Disoriented, he was about to leave when he noticed someone lying on the ground a few feet from him. Why hadn’t he noticed her?

“Lucie,” he said hurriedly, and run to her motionless body as the rain fell profusely over them. “Lucie, what happened?” he asked tentatively, but got no answer. He touched her neck. She was still breathing at least, but he noticed the slash on her arm. Someone had attacked her, but she probably fell. Maybe that was how it went. But the wound didn’t look too serious, and he tried to shake her body awake. Well, not shake. He caressed her cheek, and whispered her name several times until he saw her eyes slowly open.

“Am I dead?” she wondered, worried.

Jesse smiled instinctively. “Not at all,” he replied.

“Oh, what a relief!” she exclaimed, then she sat down abruptly and hugged him. “Wait, how…”

“I don’t know either, Lucie.”

She removed her hands from the back of his neck and winced. “My head hurts. But still, how it’s possible that I can touch you now?”

“What were you doing at the cemetery at this hour of the night?” he asked instead, and Lucie glared at him.

“That’s none of your business.”

“On the other hand, it is. I know who does their business here.”

“I may have a passion for cemeteries, ever thought about that?”

Jesse rolled his eyes. “Or maybe for ghosts,” he proposed.

Lucie frowned. “Sometimes I wish I couldn’t see ghosts,” she lamented with a snort. “Ghosts are nosy.”

“Living people are nosier, in my opinion. They have to eat, sleep… live. They’re high maintenance.”

She stood up, cleaning her clothes from the dirt, although it was no use since the rain had already soaked her. “But you crave their company.”

“So, do you, with the ghosts.”

“I want the ghosts to go away!” she exclaimed, too loudly for the hour.

She realized her mistake too late. One moment Jesse stood in front of her, the next he wasn’t anymore. She remembered that the ghosts listened to her. They didn’t just obey when she called them, they also went away if she didn’t need them anymore, and that was what Jesse did. He disappeared because she expressed the desire to make him leave. She felt lonelier than she did before she went there, and out of her ingredients too. Molly hadn’t reappeared after the demon came, which meant she couldn’t do anything yet concerning the spell. She sighed, her heart full of regret for sending Jesse away and for losing precious jewels to get nothing in return. She gave one last look at the tomb and then turned around to leave the cemetery. While she walked back to the Institute, she also conjured Jesse to appear again, but he never did.

[horsegirlneigh]

Top five London theatres based on architecture and Vibes?

OOOOOOHHHH this is such a good question.

Kinda tricky though because I haven't been in them for so long and the vibes have changed big time over the last few years. this is mostly based on V i b e s and memories.

1. If you are going for BIG VIBES its got to be The Palace. Its just THERE. and its got that great facade that just screams "Advertise on me baby", theres a reason so many big shows open there. The foyer is also like N i i c e e. Shame its owned by Nimax and is currently home to Harry Potter and the Tourist Cash Grab.

2. Her Majesty's. The vibe here is kinda different to what it once was. I actually always loved how it was a bit run down and nicotine stained like a relic from the 80s, its a little cleaner now but the ashtrays are still on the walls. Its mostly vibe here that I love more than architecture and the vibe is so chaotic, the way the toilets are designed so you can't get in the door and the crazy amount of stairs and bottlenecks. And the fact that you can't see a damn thing from most of the INCREDIBLY SQUEAKY seats and you can only properly hear the vocals from the Grand. Ah it takes me back. I was also always in awe of the way the original edwardian stage mechanisms were incorporated into the production....but I guess thats kind of gone now.

3. Queen's. Not the Sondheim, Queens. This is my spiritual home. Dress circle A36 (RIP) complete with its resident mouse trap and little bit of fabric peeling off was my happy place. I love that theatre. Its actually a pretty good auditorium too, great acoustics and most seats have a pretty good view ...when you compare it to Phantom at least. The refurb is actually pretty great it just isn't the same...

4. The old Southwark Playhouse The southwark used to be under platform one of London Bridge Station and that was one hell of a vibe let me tell you....

5. Theatre Royal Haymarket I actually hadn't been into this theatre until this year but my gosh its really quite beautiful. I had always assumed from its massive facade that it would be huge and ridiculous inside but its actually surprisingly intimate and much older than I thought. I also love how VASTLY different your experience is in the Dress and the Grand. First two levels you get lavishly decorated staircases but anything above that you are obviously poor and we're not even going to bother cleaning your entrance, enjoy the steep steps to the balcony, peasants.

ASK ME MY TOP 5 ANYTHING!

[celest1all]

Against Orders

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Reader

Request: Can I request for Criminal Minds? The reader is dating Hotch and she works with the team out on the fields with them. On the most recent case, she gets injured and when she gets back, she ignores Hotch’s orders about taking time off to heal and shows up anyways? So he has to keep an eye on her and when he can’t, he asks one of the other agents to?

Requested by; @thefandomnetworkingchannel-32

Warnings: Swearing, some angst, arguing,

MASTERLIST

About two weeks ago, you and the BAU were called in on a case. Two women had turned up murdered and the local police wanted you to make sure another woman wouldn’t be killed. The UnSub had only managed to kidnap the victim and didn’t have enough time to kill her. However, when you went to go arrest the UnSub, he drew his gun on you and shot you. Three times, to be exact.

“Why not?!” You argued back, getting more annoyed by the second. You weren’t about to give up quite yet. What were you two arguing about in the first place? Oh, just the fact that you wanted to go back to work and stop bad people from getting away with their disgusting crimes, no big deal right?

Wrong.

Apparently to Agent Aaron Hotchner, it was like you were asking to buy a pet unicorn or something. Yes, you understood why he was hesitant about going back at work when you were technically supposed to be on leave for another three weeks, but you were feeling better! Why couldn’t the guy see that?

“Aaron, I’m fi-ine, really.” You had managed to move slightly awkwardly which in turn, made you wince. You cursed inwardly at the terrible timing.

“I’m hanging up now.” Hotch stated, making you bite your lip in exasperation. “Go to sleep, it’s late.”

“Whatever.” You said. You registered the fact that you probably sounded like a teenager who hadn’t got their way -- which was what you were, minus the teenager part -- but you couldn’t care less right now.

Your phone bleeped signalling that he had indeed hung up, aggravating you further. Trying to release some of the anger bubbling up inside you, you threw your phone onto your bed with a huff. When that didn’t work, you decided to throw yourself onto your bed.

You were laying there, face down on your mattress for about five minutes -- could’ve been ten, who knows -- when your brain concocted a plan. You knew what time Hotch got to the BAU, so you would just get there before he did. Sure, it will probably annoy the shit out of him, but again, you couldn’t care less right now. He was annoying you, so why not annoy him back?

****

You arrived at the BAU quite early, earlier than you wanted to be honest. It was still dark outside so that told you it was definitely way earlier than you wanted it to be. Your stomach was giving you trouble, the stitches were being more of a pain in the ass than Aaron was being. You tried sleeping, but when that didn’t seem to work, you decided to start your day at four a.m.

You limped your way over to your desk, smiling at the fact it looked the same as it did before you got shot -- messy, but the same. There were still files everywhere, pictures of you and the team and a bobble head you had gotten from London. Your eyes lingered on the pictures of you and the team, your heart warming at the sight of them.

You loved the BAU team like they were your family, hell, they are your family. And for that you would forever be grateful for them, they gave you a family when you didn’t have anyone.

You gracefully fell into your seat, making an oof sound when you landed. You were glad that there was barely anyone around because you would’ve been subjected to their harassment of going home as well.

Since you had approximately three or four more hours before your boyfriend of two years was going to come in, you opted to throw yourself into some paperwork due to it mounting up over the weeks.

You had always found a weird sense of comfort when it came to paperwork. Most of the time, you didn’t realise you had finished it before you started writing on the table.

“That’s what I was say — Y/N?” You recognised that perky voice anywhere. “What’re you doing here?”

Penelope started pulling you into a hug, making you groan out in pain. She began stuttering out apologies which you waved off.

“It’s fine.” You laughed, breathing rather heavily.

“Y/N?” Derek said, you averting your gaze somewhere else, knowing what he was about to say. “What’re you doing back?”

“Um, Hotch let me come back.” You smiled up at the two.

“Hotch let you come back to work after you were shot twice?”

“Three times.” Penelope corrected.

“Three times.” Morgan sent a pointed look your way. You started nibbling on your bottom lip, not really knowing what to say.

You darted your eyes between the two, the looks they were giving you made you slightly uneasy — and annoyed.

“Okay fine, I’m supposed to be on leave for three more weeks,” you relented “But I’m here now so what’s the point of going?”

“He’s going to freak when he sees you.” Penelope grinned, baring her bright white teeth. You shrugged in response, knowing for a fact that he will go ape shit when he sees you here. Not only did you do the one thing he said not do as a boyfriend, but you also went against a direct order — which you kind of forgot existed. You didn’t forget it on purpose, it just had escaped your mind.

Oh this was such a bad plan.

“Oh fuck.” You cursed out loud. Penelope and Derek turned back to face you, both their eyebrows raised.

“What?” They asked simultaneously.

“I think I’ve done a bad thing.” You said whilst rubbing your hands on your skirt since they had become very sweaty all of a sudden. “ A very bad thing.”

The two both sent you a look that told you to elaborate on what you meant, so you did. “I think Aaron may have gave me a direct order on not to come in.”

Morgan and Garcia widened their eyes in understanding. There was a beat of silence before they both started laughing, presumably at your stupidity.

“This isn’t funny!” You whisper-shouted at the two, ultimately shutting them up. You put your head in your hands and begun debating whether you were going to scream or not.

“Calm down, Y/N,” Derek began “Or you’re going to tear your stitches out and then you will definitely be on leave for three more weeks.”

You sighed and leant back in your chair, “Yeah, your right.”

“It’s not too late to go home now, you know.” Penelope pointed out. Just at that moment, Hotch walked into the office, thankfully oblivious to your presence.

“I can’t move that fast, Pen. I’ve got fucking stitches in my stomach — he’s going to see me before I even make it out of the bullpen.”

“He’s already seen you.” Derek added. You don’t think you’ve ever snapped your head up as fast as you did. And just as you thought, Aaron was glaring at you from his office.

Your plan had backfired tremendously.

You had expected for him to start striding his way over to you and scold you for being at work, but instead he just glared, clenched his jaw and turn back to his paperwork. Which was somehow worse, in your opinion.

Thankfully, Garcia’s phone went off which always meant there was a case everyone could focus on, instead of you.

“We gotta case?” You asked, trying to avoid looking at Hotch’s office.

“Yeah.”

“Great!” You began getting up from your seat, albeit slowly, but you were still doing it.

“Ah, ah, ah, ah.” Derek started pushing you back down again, he was rather gentle which surprised you since he was an extremely muscular human being. “Not so fast.”

“Derek, please.” You begged, giving him your best puppy dog eyes.

He stared at you for a second so you stared back. It was like a competition on who was going to break first.

“Is he looking?” He asked you. You quickly glanced at your boyfriends office, and when you saw he was still busying himself with paper work, you shook your head. Derek hauled you off the chair slowly, and helped you stand up right. “You owe me for this.”

“I’ll by you a drink or something.” You mumbled, side eyeing him slightly. You could feel the vibrations of his laugh through you, which threw you off since it was a weird sensation.

Now it was the tricky part; working the case.

****

It took you all about 5 minutes to sit around the round table. You could sense — or rather feel — Aaron sending daggers your way, but chose to ignore it.

You were relieved when you found out the case was local, so you didn’t have to fly anywhere. Since you were still recovering from being shot, you thought it was a good idea to stay at the BAU and work the case from there.

You had guessed that Derek and Penelope has filled the rest of the team in on the current situation, but what you didn’t know was that Hotch had asked Reid to keep and eye on you.

“Hey, Spence?” You said.

“Yeah?” He answered, but still looking at whatever was in front of him.

“Why aren’t you out in the field?” You frowned, the thought hitting you whilst you were flicking through information.

“I thought I would be of better help here than out there.” He replied absentmindedly. You accepted his reasoning and turned back to your files.

Luckily, the case only took you the whole day and night to solve, which was good for you since you were stiff and achey by the end.

Hotch had avoided you the whole day, you knew that for a fact, but you wanted to talk to him. He was your boyfriend first and foremost, he can’t ignore you forever. So you decided to seek him out, if he wasn’t going to talk to you, you were going to talk to him. Leave him no room for debate.

As you expected, he was in his office finishing the case report. You walked — hobbled more like— up his steps and walked straight in, not bothering to knock.

“Agent L/D.” The use of your last name took you by surprise, he hadn’t used it in about two years. But what took you by even more surprise was the lack of emotion in his voice.

“Uh, hi.” You replied rather sheepishly.

“Why are you in my office?” He asked. Apparently you weren’t worth him looking up from his reports. All the anger you had in you last night had disappeared and had been replaced with hurt.

“I was wondering if we could talk?” You fiddled with your hands and swallowed the lump in your throat. All the the emotions you had compartmentalised from when you got shot had now came barrelling at you 100 miles an hour. The pain, the fear, everything. Right here, right now.

Hotch ignored what you said and continued scribbling on the papers that were strewn across his desk. “Aaron?”

At the sound of his name, he dropped his pen rather violently onto the desk and stared at you. “What do you want me to say, Y/N?”

“I don’t know. I just — ” The man stood up abruptly and walked around his desk so he could stand infront of yoy, effectively cutting you off.

“Just what?” He leant back on the wood, watching your every move. When you didn’t — or rather couldn’t — say anything, he decided it was his turn to speak.

“You did the one thing I asked you not to do.” He stated. You couldn’t figure out if he was angry with you as your boss or boyfriend. And you couldn’t figure out which one would be worse.

“I get that, but — ”

“I don’t think you do,” he started. “Because if you did, then you would’ve realised I wanted you to stay at home because then I would know you were safe and recovering.”

You averted your gaze everywhere else but Hotch.

“Look at me.” You didn’t look at him. “Look at me, Y/N.” He said, much softer this time. You turned your tear-glistened eyes his way, nibbling on your bottom lip.

“I wasn’t telling you to stay at home as your boss. I was telling you to stay at home as your boyfriend.” You tried to keep the tears in your eyes, but you were failing miserably. “I love you and I can’t see you get hurt again.”

At that point, you flung yourself at him, not caring about the stitches in your stomach. You probably should’ve just walked and pulled him into a hug since it hurt like a bitch, but too late now.

“I love you too.” You whispered in his ear.

The hug lasted about a minute before you both pulled away. You smiled at one another before you said something, “Did you ask Reid to keep an eye on me?”

“Yes.” He stated, you nodded at him in understanding.

“I’ll leave you to the paperwork.” You waved at him and headed to the door.

“I’ll come over once I’m finished.” Hotch added.

You turned around to face him again and winked, “See you then, Agent Hotchner.”

You left him there in his office, laughing at your antics. Maybe you should go against orders again...

No, you definitely shouldn’t go against orders again.

tag list; @accio-rogers / @angelinathebook / @strawberriesonsummer

if you would like to be added to the tag list, feel free to ask <33

[gerrymike]

OK. commentary on my satg playlist. For reasons

lol it wont let me hyperlink but. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0w9pMZtOvP0plqdxT665q7?si=wEFnvdh3Rjaa0p2UX251mQ&dl_branch=1 Plug

1. PIEDMONT (DESTROY BOYS)

Looks like I'm late for the party Everyone knows the attire but me Glass walls separate us Catch a glimpse into different books On different shelves

i.e. teen crisis where u want desperately to live the same life as ppl on the street but also can’t imagine anything worse

2. SWEET ADELINE (ELLIOTT SMITH)

It's a picture-perfect evening and I'm staring down the sun Fully loaded, deaf and dumb and done Waiting for sedation to disconnect my head Or any situation where I'm better off than dead

i.e. she’s alive! is that worse or better. also jfc, you fucking hate hospitals

3. ALAMEDA (ELLIOTT SMITH)

You walk down Alameda  Shuffling your deck of trick cards over everyone Like some precious only son Face down, bow to the champion

also

Walk down Alameda  Brushing off the nightmares you wish Could plague me when I'm awake And now you see your first mistake  Was thinking that you could relate For one or two minutes she liked you But the fix is in

i.e. oops it’s two elliotts in a row, sorry. just. about the connection you can form with someone given just a short period of time, and how sometimes it gets ruined by, like, a werewolf. pretty similar to sweet adeline. mx weisglass gets two songs. plus “precious only son” 😬 “shuffling your deck of trick cards” 😬

4. CAN I PLAY WITH MADNESS (IRON MAIDEN)

Give me the sense to wonder To wonder if I'm free Give me a sense of wonder To know I can be me Give me the strength to hold my head up Spit back in their face

i.e. for Me mostly because i think the whiplash from elliott to maiden is kinda funny. also the gerry VS twisty animosity, in over-the-top wizardy terms. sometimes you are full of hate and that’s OK 😬 

5. ICU (PHOEBE BRIDGERS)

If you're a work of art I'm standing too close I can see the brush strokes I hate your mom I hate it when she opens her mouth It's amazing to me How much you can say When you don't know  What you're talking about

and

I'll climb through the window again But right now it feels good not to stand Then I'll leave it wide open Let the dystopian morning light pour in

i.e. we’re back in london…and, well, yeah. also, song title! we’re still in sacramento, actually, spiritually, at this point in the story

6. CRY FOR JUDAS (THE MOUNTAIN GOATS)

Feel the storm every night Hope it passes by Hallucinate a shady grove where Judas went to die Unfurl the black velvet altar cloth Draw a white chalk Baphomet Mistreat your altar boys long enough and this is what you get

i.e. crew. i think about him

7. IRIS (THE GOO GOO DOLLS)

And all I can taste is this moment And all I can breathe is your life And sooner or later, it's over I just don't wanna miss you tonight

plus

And I don't want the world to see me 'Cause I don't think that they'd understand When everything's made to be broken I just want you to know who I am

i.e. OK. OK. OK. yeah, OK. damn right all you can taste is this moment…yeah OK. SONGS5

8. KILL ALL YOUR FRIENDS (MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE)

It's been 8 bitter years since I've been seeing your face And you're walking away And I will die in this place

to

It's been 10 fucking years since I've been seeing your face round here And you're walking away And I will drown in the fear

i.e. ah…the lyrical differences in the chorus…yes…also i love how raucous this song is despite what it’s about. it’s got satg energy!!! “seeing your face”, of course, is not literal 😬

9. ENCHANTING GHOST (SUFJAN STEVENS)

Don't carry on carrying efforts, oh no, oh oh oh oh Somewhere there's a room for each of us to grow And if it pleases you to leave me, just go, oh oh oh oh Stopping you would stifle your enchanting ghost

and

Did you cut your hands on me? Are my edges sharp? Am I a pest to feed?

i.e. 😬😬😬

10. PAUL (BIG THIEF)

In the blossom of the months I was sure that I'd get driven off with thought So I swallowed all of it As I realized there was no one  Who could kiss away my shit

and PARTICULARLY

Well Paul, I know you said That you'd take me any way I came or went But I'll push you from my brain See, you're gentle baby I couldn't stay, I'd only bring you pain

i.e. HARROWING TERRITORY!!!

11. PITSELEH (ELLIOTT SMITH)

I'll tell you why I Don't wanna know where you are I gotta joke I've been dying to tell you

i.e. sorry. a lot of elliott smith on this playlist. thems the breaks

12. OPHELIA (THE LUMINEERS)

Oh, Ophelia You've been on my mind girl like a drug Oh, Ophelia Heaven help a fool who falls in love

i.e. callbacks to SONGS5…! and more pain

13. CLOUDS (BORNS)

I forget all my dreams I forget everyones name I meet I forget about time and space But I can't stop thinking 'bout your face

i.e. tfw your memory’s shit and also you just threw yourself into the sky and you’re still not over it. yowch!

14. ARCADE (DUNCAN LAWRENCE)

Oh, oh-oh-oh oh Oh, oh-oh-oh, oh All I know, all I know Loving you is a losing game

i.e. sorry i heard this song first in a c#tradora edit and i have never recovered.

15. WARS (OF MONSTERS AND MEN)

Yeah, I love you on the weekends But I'm careless and I'm wicked Yeah, I love you on the weekends It's a cruel war I still have pieces of you stuck on me Pieces of you stuck on me Yeah, I love you on the weekends It's a cruel war

i.e. PIECES OF YOU STUCK ON ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this is the only song of the new omam i’ve heard. i never got around to listening to it. but this one slaps

16. MONTERO (LIL NAS X)

Lookin' at the table, all I see is weed and white Baby, you livin' the life, but baby, you ain't livin' right Cocaine and drinkin' with your friends You live in the dark, boy, I cannot pretend

AND

A sign of the times every time that I speak A dime and a nine, it was mine every week What a time, an incline, God was shinin' on me Now I can't leave And now I'm actin' hella elite

AND ESPECIALLY

I want that jet lag from fuckin' and flyin'

i.e. God i love this song. re: avatarhood. YOU CAN’T LEAVE!!! not saying it’s like being a celebrity, but it’s like being a celebrity. dual perspectives here with G + his morality regarding the person he loves being, uh, evil? (you live in the dark / i cannot pretend) and M + debt he owes to his god, erosion of his own morals. also, SHEER F*CKING VIBES

17. GEYSER (MITSKI)

You're my number one You're the one I want And you've turned down Every hand that has beckoned me to come

i.e. love songs that serve double as to your god and to your lover

18. THAT’S WHAT I LIKE (BRUNO MARS)

Jump in the Cadillac (Girl, let's put some miles on it) Anything you want (Just to put a smile on it) You deserve it baby, you deserve it all

i.e. this song is here because i say so. a real “sorry it’s been seven years let me make it up to you” vibe

19. RUN AWAY WITH ME (SUFJAN STEVENS)

And I say, love Come run away with me Sweet, falling remedy Come run away with me

i.e. more grand ridiculous propositions. more to come. but they’re born out of a real frustration with the situation at hand! it sucks! also, “falling remedy”,

20. LET’S GET MARRIED (BLEACHERS)

I'm gonna get right for you, honey I'll take all of my medicine, spend you all my money, yeah I know it's hard enough to love me But I woke up in a safe house singing, "Honey, let's get married"

i.e. bro.

21. I WILL (MITSKI)

And while you sleep I'll be scared So by the time you wake I'll be brave

i.e. a lot of these here are self explanatory..

22. ME & MY DOG (BOYGENIUS)

I had a fever Until I met you Now you make me cool

also

I never said I'd be all right Just thought I could hold myself together But I couldn't breathe, I went outside Don't know why I thought it'd be any better I'm fine now, it doesn't matter

i.e. title is significant. and yeah. just. recovery’s tricky

23. I FOUND (AMBER RUN)

And I've moved further than I thought I could But I missed you more than I thought I would

i.e. this is like a staple song for like. basically. any pairing. but i’m pathetic and it gets me every time. there’s something about it. not sure if i’m going to leave it on this playlist but. hm. yeah

OK that’s a wrap. highly likely i’ll put more songs on this as i go

[marireadshellblazer]

Hellblazer Issue #6

While I have read all of this before, I am trying to look at this, in some ways, like I am seeing it for the first time. I’m trying to bring out some of the initial, raw thoughts I had when I had read it the first time.

In keeping with the theme of showing the dark sides of society in these early chapters, it was only a matter of time before the subject of racism and white supremacy came up. This is such a tricky subject to approach no matter what medium is used (comics, novels, plays, TV, etc), and you could argue that it isn’t handled in the most…graceful manner. However, it is good that this is addressed in the series. These dark sides of humanity heavily characterize John’s world; parts of society that a lot of the more privileged members prefer to not see. For John, who sees the worst the world has to offer, these issues are all around him; loud, unavoidable, and heavily tainting even the brightest of moments. John is a cynical man, and it’s not hard to see why. Sadly, this is an all too real reflection of the real world.

I think that growing up the way he did and the area of London he lives in allows John to see a lot of the problems that the upper class (the snobs of the world) and most politicians choose to ignore and puts them front and center; hate crimes, crime just in general, poverty, prostitution/exploitation of women, and the effects this sort of environment has on the young people who can’t escape it. Now, I have never been to London, or Europe for that matter, so I’m not sure if this is just an exaggeration of what the area is like; Delano exaggerating the poverty situation in this area for story-telling purposes. Therefore, I’m not sure how accurate my assumptions are surrounding how “real” this portrayal is of the time this series takes place in. But, I did grow up in another big city; Chicago. And using what I know from life there, I can say that issues like these in certain neighborhoods and projects in and around big cities are very real and very hard to properly impress upon one who hasn’t experienced life there just how very dangerous and terrible they are.

When I left Chicago, I was stunned when I found out that, for people outside the city, gun violence and arson weren’t a normal part of life. Gang activity, using techniques to ward off pick pockets, and knowing which bakeries were fronts for drug smugglers weren’t common knowledge or part of everyday life. It honestly blew me away to see the reaction people had in the other parts of the Midwestern United States I have lived in when someone would go missing or get busted for using meth; the whole town would take it very personally. But for me I felt almost nothing; one person went missing here, but in Chicago, at least 4 people went missing, three died from a drive-by, and the mortician I’m friends with buried two bodies in one casket (one hidden below the other) in order to hide a murder victim who was taken out by the mob (I wish I was joking). So, suffice to say, as sad and disturbing a world John lives in, exaggerated or not, it feels strangely real to me. It’s in big cities like Chicago and London that I think racial violence gets particularly dangerous (don’t quote me on that. But the amount of people who die for being Hispanic/black in Chicago via gun is staggering). Big cities might be seen as colorful due to the mix of languages, ethnicities, and cultures, but it’s also because of this prejudice is often on full display. The more reasons there are to “other” people, the more people will find a way to do it. And it’s a terrible shame. I mean, there’s no reason for that crap. I mean, is it really so hard to at the very least be respectful to each other? SMH

So! That’s just a little bit on where I’m coming from/what’s effecting my reading experience! On to some thoughts!

Aight, well the comment about the Ralph Steadman painting, as it turns out, is not an exaggeration. I looked that shit up and, honestly, he’s not wrong.

I liked that they described creating corruption and as a demon’s real art. It helps hammer home that the corruption and darkness in the hearts of people are a demonic domain which brings the hellish reality in which John lives to life. Very nice.

I love that “weird sex attacks” is in the same line as suicides and cannibalism. Something about that made me double-take.

Nice Bob Dylan reference

Am I the only one that thinks Zed’s hair is weird? Era appropriate or not, I still think it’s weird.

Smooth John…very smooth.

I’m not going to lie, I snorted when I saw what Nergal did to those racists. There’s something poetic about forcing people who unwilling to have empathy and work with/understand others be unable to escape being together. Very nice descriptions of his process in creating the bigot-abomination. Also loving how Nergal is characterized here. He is truly gross. Just…the sewer demon orgy. I was not prepared for that, but I feel like I should have been.  

When they show the abomination leaving the sewers, something about the writing there made me think of The Mob Song from the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast. Anyone else get that vibe?

Now, as far as John and Zed go, I’m not sure if I’d call them a couple. Seems inaccurate. Would this be more like FWB? I mean there is clearly trust there, but we don’t see a lot of depth beyond that. I mean, chemistry? I’m not sure how to say. Not saying it’s bad or anything, but nothing that says “they so cute” either. Maybe this was intentional. 

I fucking love Ray. He is such a sweet man. Dude he just…he deserves better. He really does.

Also, once again, freaking love the cover art. 10/10.

Words I had to look up (also, for the derogatory words I include below I mean no offense; these were honest to God words that I didn’t know the meaning of and saw for the first time here. I figured, based on context, they were not good, but I didn’t really know the meaning. I wanted to share that part of my experience, so I included them here):

dole- benefit paid by the government to the unemployed (familiar with it, but never seen it in that context before so I was confused)

yid- derogatory word for a Jewish person

wog- derogatory word for anyone who is not white

fug- warm, stuffy or smoky atmosphere in a room (this is my new favorite word)

strewth- interjection, expresses surprise. I think it might be something akin to “fuck!”