#like what if he sees renata in the vision too but like if renata never left and they spent those 4 years together and they were happy and

[lovinggreeniehours]

(kicking my feet) what if i sprinkle some renachrome angst in that vision chrome gets in chapter 11 hidden story

[black-dhalias]

I Will Never Die —Part I—

Carlisle Cullen X Reader

The fiery heat of the summer burns through the Volterra, and you do not have many adjectives to describe the heat on your skin as you continue a brisk walk. After all, you are one of the oldest living vampires having been turned in 4000 BC in Egypt, you spent your first few thousand years alone. You weren't the first, but most of the Old Ones have died in recent years. Travelling without purpose, until you found a poor man in need of help. He was going to die, and you felt indebted to bring one good thing to the world and turned him around 2500 BC.

Amun became one of your confidants, someone you trusted dearly, but still that did not seem to fill in the gaps within your soul. You left him in Egypt, where he built a great coven while you continued your search for purpose in other things. Throughout the next thousand years, you would visit your old friend, but you spent a lot of your time in what became Western Europe. Civilizations rose from the dust, and then fell around you, never to be seen again. To only be mentioned later in history classes, and still, you lived on. Untouched by time.

Near the fall of Greece, you happened to bump into Marcus and Aro; although odd characters, they were aiming to bring vampires together and bring order to an otherwise broken world. You found that vision bright and unique, and from there-- you helped them build a powerful coven, all while remaining on the sidelines. You felt compelled to help, but not so much rule, and that is what the Volturi stood for. To rule over vampires, give them law and order. Someone to answer too when they exposed themselves. Something that you stood behind in the beginning.

You stand off center, to the right of Aro's throne, careful to keep yourself under the cover of Renata's shield. Over the years, you have grown tired of the games as the Volturi slowly stopped standing for law, but instead, chased power-- no matter how many covens get in the way. After the decimation of the Egyptian Coven, the one started by Amun, you almost left, but they convinced you it was a necessary evil. Now though, you doubt that and leave it to Aro's need for power. His craving to be the one in ultimate control.

"Sister, they send you to get one. And you come back with two.... and a half." This seems to peak your interest as you alert yourself, seeing Edward Cullen return to the throne room. Although when you see him, you only see his eyes, which are the same eyes of your mate. Your only love. The one you let leave because that was what he desired most, and your time with the Volturi was not quite at its end. That's your gift, of sorts, to see the length of events-- there's not so much a description or physical aspect, just seeing it. A deep feeling that stays until it is time to leave, and you just know.

It didn't work with others in the beginning, but over time, you developed your gift to see timelines. The expanses of choices, without ever knowing the choices and consequences themselves. Just time itself. With humans, it's disappointing because existence to them is so short. Yet with vampires, it doesn't really have an end. Just a path, that could grow shorter— cut short seems like a more description.

"What a happy surprise! Bella is alive after all, isn't that wonderful?" You find your attention on the human, rather simple, but she seems to hold a powerful ability within her. Over the years, you developed a knack for that; seeing potential in humans. One that you are curious to see develop. You stiffen as Aro moves towards them quickly, feeling a growing protection for the Cullen, but you push the thought down as quickly as you can manage. Edward may be able to read active thought, but Aro can too and he is taking Edward's hand, which means your thoughts are vulnerable.

"I love a happy ending." Your eyes flicker back to the human, who doesn't seem scared, but still, it has you wondering. As you focus, you see her time as a human is coming to an end, her humanity ticking away, and you wonder if she chooses this life. Or if it is forced upon her. "They are so rare.... La Tua Cantante. Her blood appeals to you so much, it makes me thirsty." There it is, you feel it in your gut, the cut. The sensation of your time with the Volturi coming to an end, and Aro's eyes flicker to you momentarily, but return to Edward. "How can you stand to be so close to her?"

You maintain your composure, control over your thoughts is absolute pertinent, you cannot risk Aro stopping you. They have to let you go willingly. "It's not without difficulty." The conversation seems to become an afterthought, the image of your beloved there. Someone you shared a short history with, but cannot seem to forget.

"I wonder, let us see if she is immune to all our powers-- shall we Jane?" Chaos seems to erupt as Edward moves towards Jane, but he drops under the influence of the sadistic girl's ability. You find yourself unable to look, ashamed of what the Volturi has become and what you helped build it to be. But it is the human who shouts for Jane to stop, begging and you admire her courage. Again, she stumps you. Never have you seen a human exhibit such bravery in the presence of such cruelty.

"Jane?" Now you step forward, moving to the side of the human girl. "Go ahead my dear?"

"Aro, there's no need--" He silences you with a wave of his hand, and you find yourself staring him down. Not particularly angry, but not happy either-- you are disappointed that he let all his potential, turn into this. Nothing happens though. Jane is completely powerless.

The rounds of applause seem to bounce off every corridor of the Volterra as the three great Kings enter, and you, stand off to the side— not particularly fond of parties, you often choose to stay away from the center. Not much of your existence has revolved around parties, but the Kings had asked you to attend. No one speaks as Aro raises a glass, filled with blood— you can smell it, and grimace. They are simply not pleased with just pretending, they have to go out of their way—kill unnecessarily. You used to consider yourself a friend, but the loss of Didyme shook you to your core. You two were close, and her death, well it changed the dynamic of the Volturi greatly. The power core was once Aro and Marcus, but now Caius has weaseled his way into the mix.

“Welcome my dear friends. Tonight we celebrate a great victory, the abolishment of the Russian Coven who threatened the existence of all of us.” You glance at Eleazar, the pair of you having shared your concern over the growing lust for power. You wanted to believe they could change, that you held influence that would guide them in the right direction. “They believed they could accumulate power without consequence, and that’s not how it works. So tonight, let us raise a glass in honor of this accomplishment. And let us welcome, our newest member, Carlisle Cullen. An oddity in our race, but a friend of the Volturi.” This perks your interest, not just his name, but Aro calls him an oddity. You cannot remember the last time anyone peaked your interest to this degree—your friendship with Eleazar being the greatest surprise of this last century.

“Aro, I think I’m going to go dance. If you’ll excuse me.” He smiles, his hand shared with Marcus as you offer a curt excuse to leave. You wonder what this Carlisle Cullen looks like. What color hair? Whether he’s short or tall? Slim or muscular? You wonder what makes him so different from most vampires, enough to get Aro to bring him into his little collection.

You reach the floor, the stairs easily conquered without much results as you look for the unfamiliar faces. Which is difficult with masks involved.

“Milady Y/N, I see you’ve decided to join us common guard.” You offer a sweet smile at Eleazar, greeting him with a hug. He listens, curious to hear the many stories that come with being around for so long. The struggles and victories, to watch humanity grow and fall one after another.

“Eleazar, you and I both know I’m not known for my ability to remain on the balcony.” Referring to the time she jumped from the balcony onto the floor, when a rogue vampire made an appearance.

“Perhaps, but it is good to see you.” He bows, holding out his hand. “May I have the honor of a dance?” Gliding with Eleazar is easy as you make casual conversation, until a hand lands on your waist and you switch partners rather suddenly. Forced to meet unfamiliar and intriguing golden eyes.

Aro's laughter is toxic and over the years, you still are not numb to the sound; in the beginning, it was not so harsh. However, now there is nothing, but harshness. You admit that you wish things would have gone differently, that you would have been able to walk away all those years ago, but now there is nothing left to lose. No one she loves more than the one she has been apart from for the last century. More than that, considering you spent centuries alone before he was even born. So now, with the ties broken, it is time.

For a moment, Edward's eyes meet your's, to which you curtly nod in response— subtly, because today is your last day with the Volturi. There is no more need for death and destruction, and you refocus on the human. She is closely tied to Edward, but more than that, her time as a human seems to be slipping away. You quirk your head just a tad, fascinating— the fact that your gift seems to work and other's seems to have no effect at all. Why? You do not let the thought linger as Aro seems to grow more ruthless, no longer fronting his curiosity.

"Remarkable. She confounds us all. So what do we do with you now?" You stiffen, glancing at the floor— knowing that this is not the end for Bella Swam, but it still does not sit well to know that other vampire's thoughts.

"You already know what you're going to do, Aro?" To hear Marcus say it, you feel your insides twist and turn.

"She knows too much. She's a liability." You abruptly turn your attention Caius... something more than just distaste bubbles inside of your chest, at the blonde haired king. You zone out for a moment, lost in thought. Remembering how things used to be— you remember them as kind and loving, ambitious, but not cruel. That was when you cared for them. When they still held onto their humanity, but now, you see no humanity in them at all.

Felix is moving faster than a blink, following the orders given to him by his King— you seem to flinch as he turns his attention to Bella, and then there's Edward. You do not know him, but you know he is important to your love. Someone that is a member of his family, and yet Felix flings him like a rag doll. The large vampire grips Edward's neck, turning it upward and just as you're about to step in— it is once again the human.

"Please!! Please?!" She is begging, you can hear her pleas and feel the pain, and that moment where you almost felt Edward's ties to this world break— they restrengthen and it eases your mind. "Kill me. Kill me.... not him." You seem to move unconsciously behind Felix. If he goes to break Edward, you prepare to break him— rip him apart before he even has a second to think about what he is doing.

Yet it is not Edward you have to be concerned with, it is Bella as Aro stalks closer to her— the words seem to hang on your lips, prepared to slip free. Prepared to protect the human, something you have not done in the last several centuries. May your gods forgive you for the sins of your past.

"Wait! Bella will be one of us... I've seen it. I'll change her myself." Alice, the seer, and one of the Cullens that Aro wants more than anything else on this Earth. He is a collector, one of the most ruthless, willing to kill anyone to get what he wants.

"Mesmerizing. To see what you have seen before it has happened." He pauses, "But how can we be sure?" You take this as your cue, the moment when you have to defend this human. This girl that perplexes you more than anything else in your existence.

"I feel it... Miss Swan has much to give this world, and will be here for a very long time." Perhaps this is the first time the human has noticed you, but you see the appreciation even if she does not say it. "Let me show you." There is a degree of grace to your movements as you give your hand over Aro, a familiar movement. Yet with a gentle curiosity, he nods curtly. Nervously. You are not someone to disagree with, ancient beyond them— stronger. You are leaving today, whether he agrees or not.

"You're gifts will make for a very intriguing immortal... Isabella. You must go now." He pauses, waving off Felix, to which he drops Edward, "Make your preparations."

"Let us be done with this. Heidi will arrive any moment. Thank you for your visit.” Marcus has to be able to see your loyalty shift in that instant, nearly gone completely. How odd it must be for him? Unlike others that break slowly, unwinding— yours is in an instant. A choice. Your gifts so close in ability that it is easy to confound even him, requiring no effort at all. “Goodbye Lady Y/N. These centuries have been a pleasure.” You smile at Marcus, one that he does not return.

"We will return the favor. We advise that you follow through on your promise. We do not offer second chances." He smirks, looking at you with a sadistic grin. He changed the Volturi, Aro always was looking for power, but Caius was able to use that to his advantage. His own sociopathic needs. “Hope we meet again, Lady Y/N.”

"Goodbye my young friends." Aro glances at you, as you begin to match pace with the trio. An odd one out, which confuses Bella even more— having missed the silent conversations between gifts. “Goodbye for now, dear Y/N.” How long is peace going to last with Aro around, but a second with Carlisle will make it all worthwhile.

"Nice fishing Heidi."

"Yes, they do look rather juicy."

"Save some for me."

"This way please... Stay together."

Edward, hurry…. You think of the screams, the aches that come with drinking from humans. They’re just tourists here for a tour of an ancient castle, blissfully unaware. The screams start, they echo and you push yourself to keep walking forward. This is the last time you ever have to hear the sound of a human scream.

—

Something about Forks feels perfect, and in all your existence, you have not felt this at ease. Yet as you draw closer to the Cullen home with Alice, you feel antsy. And if you had a heart, a physical heart, you'd expect it to be beating rapidly. "He talks about you all the time." You quirk a brow, glancing in the direction of the pixie like vampire, petite and yet one of the most powerful.

"I only hope time has not changed him." Some part of you still imagines him to be the same man. You want him to care for you as he did all those years ago, that night when you met him— you had never been so entranced by someone.

“I’m sure it’s changed you.”

“Alice, I’m the oldest being on the planet. I have not felt the effects of time in a long time.” She seems to accept the answer, but smiles nonetheless as they turn into a driveway. Edward had taken Bella home, so it was just you and Alice— and Carlisle within running distance. Close enough to feel. Close enough to smell.

“He’s missed you.” You swallow, smiling nervously at her words.

“Not as much as I’ve missed him.”

Once the house comes into view, he’s already there at the edge of the patio— he looks the same, dressed differently, but so are you. Moving with the time, but otherwise he is the same. The same golden eyes that have this insatiable curiosity, and casual posture that does not reveal just how good he is. How kind. How gentle. How strong. The car does not have time to stop before you are in front of him, smiling softly. Tired of trying to imagine what it feels like to touch him, to hold him— you hesitantly reach out to touch him. Running your fingers from his hands to his for arms, it feels the same— everything about him perfectly preserved as you finally meet his eye. No glass. No worry. No more goodbyes.

“Y/N…” He sounds nervous, you can hear the waver in tone as if he’s afraid you’ll disappear. He reaches out, pausing unsure if he’s ready— scared he’s dreaming or dead, or anything that does not actually involve you being here with him.

“Carlisle.” He smiles, your voice rings and fixed all the wounds. All the nights and days spent missing you, gone— couldn’t matter at all, because you’re here. Carlisle cups your cheeks and kisses you lightly.

“My Y/N.” No amount of time prepared you to hear him say that again.

—

Standing with the Cullens, you feel something natural, although you stand out with your eyes— will it be difficult? To give up the only lifestyle you have ever known, no, but to keep Carlisle's arm around your waist— you'd give up everything. Turn off the sun, or never drink again— just to keep him at your side, and you're never going to let him go again. Once more you look at the human girl, who looks at the supernatural world with courage and bravery that you have not seen in quite some time. It is as if she fears nothing, and you find that admirable.

"You all know what I want. And I know how much I'm asking for. The only thing for me to think of to make it fair is to vote." She hushes Edward. "Alice?"

"I already consider you my sister. Yes."

"I vote yes. It would be nice to not want to kill you all the time."

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry to both of you for how I acted and I'm really grateful that you were brave enough to save my brother.But this isn't the life I would have chosen for myself. And I wish someone would have been there to vote no for me. So no."

"I vote hell yeah. We can pick a fight with these Volturi some other time."

"Why are you doing this to me? You know what this means."

"You've chosen not live without her, which leaves me no choice. I won't lose my son."

Bella turns her attention to you briefly, but then her eyes grow more sure, and certain... "What do you think?" For a moment, you smile softly— and Bella is no longer afraid of the crimson sparks in those eyes.

"I think that you will make a wonderful immortal... but I do not have a vote." You glide towards her, holding out your hand so that you can bring her close. "I have been on this Earth long enough to know that the choices we make, tend to stick better, than the choices made for us." You smile, "Only you can make this choice." You drop her hand, and tuck yourself back under Carlisle's arm, the missing pieces that had slipped away all those years ago; finally, beginning to find their places once more.

—

You stand with the Cullens once more, shifters opposite as they take in the Cullen clan. You were expecting four or five, but there’s at least twelve in front of you— amazing. You wonder what prompted their shift, because they’re not werewolves. Not like any you’ve ever seen. Carlisle keeps close, your eyes a dead giveaway that you’re new— the red undertones still very visible in your slightly gold eyes.

“They want to know about her.” You smile, but Carlisle holds you protectively.

“She’s one of the oldest living vampires, an expert on newborns-” He smiles in your direction, “And my mate.” Carlisle kisses your temple and Jasper gestures you forward, along with Emmett.

“A newborn army doesn’t need thousands like a human army, and no human army could stand against them.” You nod, keeping your distance— nervous, but ready to show off a little. Training with the Volturi was always about killing in the dead of night for a cause, but this is about protecting the family Carlisle built.

“There are two rules: first, never let them get their arms around you. They’ll crush you instantly.” He gestures you to the front, “And second: never go for the obvious kill. They’ll be expecting that, and you. Will. Lose.” Then he gestures Emmett forward, who looks psyched to be opposite to you. You take this as a moment to speak up.

“Emmett best simulates a Newborn; impulsive, relying primarily on brute force.” You smirk as he readies up, but you don’t make any effort to prepare yourself. “Don’t hold back.”

“Not in my nature grandma.” You quirk a brow, curious and curiouser— his confidence astounds you, and yet you are unfazed by his quick advance. Sidestepping him just slightly as he makes a leap, not even giving him a chance to grab you. He turns sharply, going at you quick with a hand which you block with the outer part of your wrist, and do the same with his attempted second blow. Using his momentum, you throw a hard kick into his chest— creating space to go on the offensive. He stumbles, and you fall into a comfortable crouch.

“Cmon slowpoke. I need a challenge.” You antagonize, which gets him going— you see the snap. Similar to that of a newborn, intriguing. He swings and you counter, over and over, until you throw a palm into his neck. You’ve taken entire newborn armies on your own, old enough to remember the first time vampires weaponized newborns to do the dirty work. Having had to deal with it on your own long before the Volturi was even a thing, not even a thought.

“I’m not slow.” You smirk, having both his wrists in your palms as you flip over— keeping him in your hold with your teeth barred against his neck.

“And I’m bored.” He groans as you drop his arms. It felt like every time he threw something at you, it was impossible to get ahead. You always seemed ready for every attack. “Now newborns tend to act first, think later. Blood. Taunts. Anything that riles them up, makes them an easier target.” You face the wolves, “Strategy will always overpower brute strength.”

Carlisle welcomes your hand into his, as he leans over: “You’re still just as breathtaking as that first night.”

“You must be Carlisle Cullen.” He grins, twirling you around as he brings you in close— his eyes seem to put you under some strange spell. Making it impossible to look away, wondering what makes his eyes such an odd color. Such a beautifully odd shade of gold.

“And you are easily the most beautiful person in the room.” You can’t remember the last time someone flattered you, and you felt the familiar flutter in your stomach.

“Coming from someone as peculiar as you. I’m inclined to believe you might be telling the truth.” He smiles, you could imagine your heart pounding in your chest had it still been alive— you feel alive as he leads the dance.

“I saw you on the balcony, and maybe I’m too bold, but I just needed a dance. And perhaps a name?” You switch your hand just a little, allowing your fingers to intertwine as you bring yourself closer.

“Y/N…” There is some hesitance.

“Y/N.” Your name has never sounded so beautiful, or perfect, his voice soft and dulcet. Kind. You can’t remember the last time anyone was kind, even Eleazar took weeks to warm up to you. People fear those with more time, more experience, and more power. “I take it you’re not just a member of the Guard?” You shake your head, “A wife of the Kings?” Again you shake your head, this time with distaste.

“Unmarried.” He nods, using one hand to guide you in a twirl away from someone trying to steal you away for a dance. “All those centuries, and no ones ever caught my interest.” He makes a little face, but collects himself— you try to memorize every facet of him. “What about those eyes, Carlisle? Peculiarity is both intriguing, and I can’t remember the last time anyone surprised me.” At least three decades, perhaps more.

“Animal blood.” He grins, continuing his questions. “Centuries? I take it you were changed by the Kings?”

“How very strange. I thought it was possible, but never had the guts to try. Too worried. Too busy. Too bored to care.” You take the lead in the dance, switching it up on him. “Oh no, I’m much older than the Kings. I’ve seen many Kings.”

“How old are you? If you don’t mind me asking.” You lean in close, lips hovering over his ear.

“Old enough.”

Waiting for the Newborns seems to take an eternity, the longest moment— all of you perfectly still, near each other. Protective. You glance at Carlisle, you’d protect him at all cost. Give everything. “Don’t leave my side.” You hear the newborns grow closer, hearing his whisper.

“Never.” You work together, with him pinning as you behind— careful to have each others back, moving quickly. In perfect tandem. You wish you hadn’t have missed all those years. You whisk around his side, grabbing a newborn by the throat, crushing it between your fingertips. You see another newborn approaching Carlisle, shouting to point them out, but it distracts you. Just for a second. Enough for a newborn to wrap his arms around you. You struggle— clawing, but they have you on the ropes.

It’s Carlisle who sees, you had never seen him move so fast— ripping the newborn off you by it’s limbs, ripping them apart before you wrap your arms around him. A weakness. One that’s now very much exposed. Everything had flashed for him when he saw you struggling, it changed everything in his mind. Losing you wasn’t an option.

—

Jane, Alec, Felix, and Demetri enter with a careful complexity—a planned entrance no doubt. You stand beside Carlisle, where you belong. Watching the Volturi guard’s posture. Everything that they do, or say— or don’t say is an insight into what they are doing here.

“Seems we missed an interesting fight. It’s not often our purpose are rendered necessary.”

“If you’d arrived twenty minutes sooner, you would have fulfilled your purpose.” You feel Jane watching you with force, but you just watch her in return.

“Edward, if the Volturi had known, they would have handled the situation long ago.” You say with care, “Isn’t that right Jane?” She stiffens, bowing her head—you may not be Volturi anymore, but you would be dangerous in opposition to them.

“Seems you missed one.”

“She surrendered.” Carlisle speaks, the girl Brie seeming to be no older than 16. Maybe 17. Too young to be forced into this life.

“The Volturi doesn’t offer second chances. Something Lady Y/N is very familiar with. I’m sure Caius will be interested to know that she’s still human.” You humph, speaking up— Carlisle wants to help this girl, which means you’ll stand with him.

“We’ll take responsibility for her. Teach her control.” But Jane only smirks, her sense of formality going out the window.

“Oh no. You don’t get to give orders.” She grins, “You’re nothing anymore.” You grind your teeth, feeling Carlisle hold onto you tighter— he wouldn’t hold you back physically. They’re testing you. Pushing you. Hoping you’ll throw the first blow.

“Dear Jane…” You force a smile, “I’ll always be more than you. I don’t have a shield and your gift is useless on me. I’ve seen gifts like yours, and they all fail. So please, remember your place.” You weren’t prepared, having forgotten who stands at your side. Carlisle. He drops to the grass on his knees, screaming— “CARLISLE!” You kneel down, cupping his face trying to will away his pain. He cries out and then goes silent, leaning into your body. Breathing heavily.

“Remember what it means to have a mate. It means your heart will always be exposed and I may not be able to hurt you physically, but I will hurt the heart and that’s infinitely better.” You close your eyes, back to Jane as you continue to kneel with him. Suddenly, he stiffens, spine curving as the pain courses through him. No one can say a word.

“I’m so sorry.” You whisper, threats are threats until they turn into action. Brie dies and you remain beside him, with him— Jane teasing just a little bit. Poking at him. Poking at you, every-time you see him wince. “I’ll-” He shakes his head, taking the pain. You just want to end them all, but that’s what Aro wants— a reason to rally a force against you. One that you can’t stand against.

Then they’re gone. You shudder, “I shouldn’t have pushed Jane. She-” It’s Edward who corrects you.

“She’d be planning that before she entered the clearing. She wanted to make you hurt.” You run your thumbs along his cheeks, just as he stands— pressing your forehead against his for a moment before embracing him close.

“Sadistic bitch.” Carlisle laughs, there is strain… He’ll need to hunt, Janes gift can really do a number on someone— you’ve seen her do it time and time again.

—

Carlisle lies with you on the couch, his back in the arm as you lay on top of him. His fingers tangled in your hair as you sit in silence for hours, these have been a long few days for both of you.

“I wish I could have taken all of your pain.” She doesn’t move, just living in the moment with him.

“I’m glad it was me.” She doesn’t sense deception in his tone. He meant it.

“I could take it though.”

“But if I had to hear you. It would have broken me. I would have ran across that field to Jane right there. I would have gotten us all killed.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“I would. You give me too much credit.” He pauses, “I have resisted many urges. Blood. Even you, but letting you hurt, my only urge would be to end that suffering. By any means.”

“Your family?”

“I like to think I’d prioritize them, but for that second, I wouldn’t think clearly. I know I wouldn’t. You are the only thing that I can’t resist. I can’t keep away from any longer. The only thing that makes set control impossible.”

You don’t say anything for an hour, you’d be asleep if it was physically possible— never having felt that calmness. “You are my Achilles heel. But you are the thing that has given me new life, in this family you built. I have loved you for several centuries, and I plan to love you for all the centuries to come.”

“Marry me?”

“That was quick.”

“You’ve loved me for centuries. As long as I’ve loved you. Marry me? It doesn’t have to be today, or tomorrow, but I want to marry you. Call you my wife.” He pauses, “So marry me…”

[theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin]

If Bella in a new moon entered the Volturis clan, what would her bonds with each member of the clan look like?

Alright, I think this can go several different ways depending on how, exactly, this goes down.

I’ll put down a likely scenario: Aro is generous, very much wants to do this favor for Carlisle, but Edward cannot be trusted to turn Bella.

Now, in canon, Aro was given Alice’s vision and thus a very good excuse to let them go.

Bella has only ever had two futures since Edward entered her life: either she dies relatively soon or she is turned. Namely, if Bella isn’t turned, then one day soon Edward will eat her. (I am not joking about this, this is what Alice sees in “Midnight Sun” she just... makes it sound very romantic and nice to Bella).

Bella will never make it to forty. Bella is simply fortunate in that, at least for now, this is the future she thinks she wants.

Regardless, when they get home Carlisle also makes it clear he’s stepping in. Bella is being turned after graduation whether Edward likes it or not, if Edward won’t do it personally, then Carlisle will.

As it is, Bella is in fact turned, we also just get this completely unforeseen event along the way: Renesmee.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Point being, given that Alice was there as well, while it was well within Aro’s rights to simply say “no, you know what, Bella is being turned here” and ultimately would have been better overall, I don’t see him making this choice.

Even had Alice not been there, and he insists Bella be turned in Italy, while I’m sure he’d make his offer for her to work in the guard after she’s a vampire, I’m equally sure he’d let Carlisle come pick her up in a few days after the transition is complete.

So, trying to imagine the world where Bella not only is turned right then and there in Italy, but does not follow Edward on to the next Cullen location...

I think the only way it would happen would be if Bella knowingly chooses without coercion to join the Volturi.

I subscribe to book Aro, who is a pretty classy dude. While he made an offer to Bella she easily turned it down and it was made immediately clear that there were no consequence to rejecting this. Aro was just throwing it out there (Edward is the one who goes off about making offers people can’t refuse). 

So, if Bella had agreed believing she would die otherwise, given Edward and Alice are right there, I imagine it’d have been made very clear very quickly that Bella did not have to say yes. She has to be turned, sure, but she can go party with Carlisle to her heart’s content once she is.

So, why would Bella say yes?

Bella would... have to undergo the mother of all character development within twenty seconds.

In New Moon, Bella’s in a surreal world she can scarcely believe. Edward is back, he’s back and exactly how he used to be. None of it is real, he surely doesn’t love her, but she so desperately wants to pretend he feels something for her. For the first time in months, Bella’s not in the black, endless, pit of depression and she’s bracing herself for impact while also terrified she’ll end up right back where she was.

Bella’s priorities, in the Volterra encounter, aren’t keeping herself alive, looking out for her own future, or anything of the sort. It’s watching Edward every second she can because the moment she turns her back he will disappear out of her life and she will be back in that pit.

Bella’s desperation to keep Edward, to avoid depression, indeed colors her actions for the rest of the series. Bella is utterly terrified he will leave her.

This means in Volterra, even when she was 100% certain that Edward was about to leave her again and this would be the last time she’d ever see him, she is not leaving of her own volition. Even if it means standing there and listening to Edward tell the kings of his world that he will not turn Bella into a vampire, that she is so despicable to him that he would risk not only his own death but that of Alice’s and the entire coven’s just so that she will remain mortal, she’ll do it. Bella leaves Italy clinging to Edward for dear life.

So, I think for Bella to have said yes to the Volturi, she has to have one of those pivotal, cinematic, life altering moments happen in the blink of an eye. I don’t think Bella will necessarily realize anything profound, certainly nothing about herself, but I imagine her just having this thought, “I can’t go back” or “I can’t stay here”. 

Bella believes Edward will leave her, it is a certainty to her, the culmination of everything she’s ever known or ever been. She goes back anyway, because she wants even those few last hours, but I can see something in her breaking in Volterra as Edward insists he will never turn her. 

Bella can’t go back.

And the easiest way to never go back is to simply take Aro up on his offer.

And so, in a haze of surreal depression, Bella leaves everything she’s ever known to join a group she knows nothing about and whose cause she doesn’t understand.

Which leads us to, her relationships with all the characters (what you actually asked for).

So, up front, Bella’s gift isn’t so much useful to the Volturi right now as it is vital to keep out of the hands of their enemies and to maybe have on hand for the next Jane and Alec. 

As a result, Bella really doesn’t have much to do, and I imagine becomes a sort of secondary bodyguard. She’s not as useful as Renata, but if someone like Edward comes by to visit (as he undoubtedly will given I’m sure his utter rage over Bella just up and joining the Volturi), she’s great to have on hand.

So, with that, and given how busy everyone else is (and to preserve my sanity with this too long post) I imagine Bella’s spending the most time with Renata, Aro, Caius, and Marcus.

Maybe Chelsea and Corin, since they don’t really get out much either, but probably not Felix, Demetri, Jane, Alec, or any of the others.

Renata

I’m sure at first Renata finds Bella the weirdest, saddest, person on the planet. For the first probably... year or so Bella will be a depressed lump who found the will to leave Edward and her human life behind, but what the hell is she now. This probably makes Bella come off even stranger than usual.

Renata also is probably getting major Uncle Luca vibes from Edward (and she’s absolutely right to).

So, I imagine Renata, being very sweet and working very closely with Bella, becomes determined to help Bella become an actual person. Probably with shoe shopping, because for no particular reason I’ve always headcanoned that Renata is a fashionista. 

I imagine it takes a while, but eventually the pair become close friends.

Aro

Aro probably unintentionally ends up playing Bella’s therapist. He has no idea what to make of this either. Somehow, it works out for them. Even if he has to try to find polite ways to describe why Edward is the way Edward is (there’s no polite way to say it.)

Marcus

Marcus and Bella are depressed buddies. They sit in the garden and stare at nothing for hours together. Marcus thinks vaguely about the time he once had a wife. Bella thinks vaguely about the time when she believed Edward liked her.

They such low functioning beings that they can’t even understand shitty Garfield jokes.

Caius

Caius thinks having Bella is stupid, that Bella herself is the weirdest and most useless vampire he’s ever heard of, but does see Aro’s point in having her around.

He fundamentally doesn’t understand Bella. At all.

I imagine he just insults her constantly and Bella just stares blankly back at him going, “Yeah, I am a stupid and clumsy vampire.” And he just stares back, because that wasn’t his point.

Eventually, he just stops insulting her, because how do you even work with that?

[dragonrajafanfiction]

The Trieste Venture but with the MC added (Part One)

How the Trieste adventure should have gone in the game.

"They ...... they're coming!" Lu Mingfei said hoarsely.

You and Chu Zihang looked out from the observation window below. Scarlet water mist gushed out of the ruined ground. The dragon blood flowing from it rushed up, and from the cracks in the ground crawled slender living creatures, their bodies glowing with a metallic sheen, their pupils a hideous gold. Because they had slumbered so long, they couldn’t swim up yet. They creeped on the sea bed, crawling, wriggling their slender lower body. But after being nourished by the dragon's blood, their bodies immediately regained the strength of the ancient era. As they crawled they sprang up, swinging their long tails to float upwards rapidly. They passed by the side of the Trieste, but did not cast even a glance at the metal object with the lights on. Their eyes were on the endless darkness above. Hundreds and thousands of them finally broke free from the seal of bondage and were about to return to the human world.

"Snake tail people. Mermaids." Chu Zihang said softly, "This is not a pureblood dragon species. They were also human-dragon hybrids. This is not the city of the dragon race, it was built by the ancestors of the hybrids!"

"It's like a dragon ascending to heaven." Lu Mingfei murmured.

In the upper view, countless slender shadows were striving to swing their long tails, and the lava illuminated their bodies as they came together like golden whirlpools.

"When they rise all the way to the surface, this will get tricky. If even one of things were captured by the media, tomorrow every newspaper in the world will make it a headline." Caesar said, "But it's not our business anymore. Leave it to those Japanese. It's time for their support team to come into play. Our job is just to level the place. Whether it's the Lenin, the Embryo or Takamagahara. The very existence of such things is trouble."

"The deep-sea walking suits can only support five minutes at most." Chu Zihang said, "I'll have the Trieste lowered a bit."

"That's enough time." Caesar squeezed himself into the pressurized compartment on the side of the cockpit, swiveled around and snapped the 10 meter thick hatch shut.

Outside is an incredibly ultra-high pressure environment, and Caesar couldn’t use a diving suit without being crushed. So instead he was in another robotic submersible made of thick metal, spherical and pressurized. But even with this, his time is quite limited. Caesar gripped the operating handle of the metal arm firmly and blew into the microphone in the helmet: "Chu Zihang, try the communication device."

"I can hear you very clearly here, can you hear me?" Chu Zihang tapped the microphone in the cockpit.

"The call works well," Caesar paused, "Aren't you also a proud man?"

Chu Zihang froze.

"It's just that you're proud in a different way than I am." Caesar added, "Although you're uncomfortable when you're proud, if you weren't proud, you wouldn't deserve to be seen as an opponent by me at all. Those old guys in my family want to target you, but that matter has nothing to do with me. Don't think I would use those kinds of underhanded tactics against you. If it's my death and your life, just keep living so proudly … don't be defeated by the bastards I despise."

You’re not sure what they’re referring to exactly so you ask Zihang directly. “You were targeted by Caesar’s family?”

“It’s a long story.” Chu Zihang muttered, still focused on the device.

“MC! You’re not crying! That’s a good sign!” Caesar’s teasing voice came through in your ears.

You scowl at the monitor. “I never cry for any of my friends.”

“You do it when you sleep.”

Your jaw clenched and your hands balled into fists.

Lu Mingfei audibly gasped. If his head swiveled on his neck any faster, it might snap. “No way! You two… No way!”

“Nothing happened between us!” You growl at Lu Mingfei, before turning back to the image of Caesar in the monitor. “Why are you listening outside my bedroom, you creep? I’ll try not to cry for you then. I should be out there. You’re responsible for your own death.” You didn’t mean to speak so bitterly. But you never really had time to mourn, so your grief rapidly progressed from shock to denial to anger. But Caesar only chuckled, amused to get a rise out of you even at a time like this.

　　The moment the pressurized nozzle spewed out the zeppelin gear, Chu Zihang saw Caesar in the gear put his hand into the spherical helmet and gave him a thumbs up, not knowing it meant "victory".

Caesar slowly descended in the water, occasionally brushing by newborn mermaids. The ruin was like a gateway to Hell. Now that door to the underworld is open, the souls are desperate to escape. The mermaids are no longer in their right mind, but they still retain their beastly instincts, as if all of them have a premonition of destruction, and they are desperately fleeing from this desperate situation, not attacking anything along the way. Caesar couldn't figure out how the guardians could have sensed that Takamagahara would be destroyed by a nuclear explosion. That’s obviously not something they would be able to do.

Some of these long-dead hybrid species were intact, others were mutilated. Their preservation was similar to the mummification process but used more powerful alchemical techniques that sealed their vitality in immortal bodies. Some of them were missing half of their heads, others had pierced abdominal cavities, seemingly the remains left after a brutal battlefield, which the alchemists of the ancient world used as raw material. Caesar thought of the battlefield carvings he had seen on a birdhouse, as if that battle had really happened in history, and perhaps it was what finally destroyed the city.

In the light of gas mines and lava, the nuclear powerhouse that would be used to blow up the ruin and the Lenin were in clear view. The narrow nuclear powerhouse pitched in a pile of lung snails not far from the Lenin, millions of them writhing beside it. Caesar dropped into the pile of lung snails, and the tiny creatures were steadily dislodging themselves from the Lenin, hitting the zeppelin suit with a dull thud. Struggling to maneuver his awkward prosthetic limbs back to a standing position, Caesar trudged through the pile of lung snails, inching closer to the nuclear powerhouse. The currents were too chaotic for him to float forward, so he didn't dare release the lead weight on his zeppelin rig, and had to stick to the seabed like this, somewhere between walking and crawling. There was a constant stream of mermaids passing above his head. How many of them had been revived, a few thousand or tens of thousands? Caesar could not count them. In this underworld at the height of the day countless undead were buried underground. These mermaid hybrids seem to have directly inherited the civilization of the dragon, completely unlike humans.

The Zeppelin suit is already working over-capacity -- the pressure is overloaded, the output is overloaded, and the lighting inside the helmet keeps flashing out. If not protected by the ultra-high-pressure saline inside the suit, Caesar would have been bleeding internally, but the ultra-high-pressure saline also made his eyes bloodshot and made it difficult to breathe. He had eyes only for the nuclear powerhouse less than ten meters away, but to crawl through ten meters in the waist-deep pile of lung snails, he gradually wondered if he could do it.

His vision was getting blurry. The effects of high pressure are the most obvious on vision. The target in his sight began to appear ghostly. He started to feel a severe headache. His metal prosthetic limbs were slipping in the pile of lung snails, as if he was struggling in a mudslide and could be swallowed up at any moment.

Caesar closed his eyes and released the Scythe Itachi. Few people know that his hearing ability is not an aid. It’s a sixth sense even more effective than vision. The scythes hovered and danced in the sea, and Caesar was surprised to find the field expanded to an unprecedented extent. The sea was an excellent conductor of sound, and the loss of sonic transmission was less than in the air. Caesar could now see that the ancient buildings that had collapsed had thousands of black bells hanging from them. In the days when Takamagahara stood on the earth, the wind must have drowned the whole city in bells.

But in the sea, the bells emitted sound is beyond the range of normal human hearing ultra-low frequency. If he had not released the scythe then Caesar would not have been able to hear this magical music. Heavy ancient ultra-low frequency sound with the sea current through the ruins, Caesar immersed in the ancient music, imagining that the Takamagahara was on dry land. Thousands of bells were turning in the wind, and the tide of sound was ebbing and flowing in the city, tidal wave after tidal wave. He had never "heard" such a vast city.

"Come in, Caesar! Come in, Caesar! Answer! Answer!" Chu yelled.

Three minutes after ejecting from the deep submersible, Caesar lay in a pile of lung snails. His last action was to cling to a pile of lung snails, and from the camera inside his helmet, look at the pleasant smile remaining on his face.

No answer. Life monitoring equipment showed that he still has a heartbeat, but he had completely lost consciousness. You turn your eyes from the monitor. You can’t bear to look. Renata… Anton… Vera…

Did you have to watch Caesar die too?

Chu Zihang muted the microphone, took off the headset and handed it to you, staring into your eyes: "Remember, since the nuclear power module is detached, Sumeru can no longer monitor the data of its  operation, underwater communication must rely on the cable."

You refuse to accept it. “What are you doing? You’re not going to go out there and die too, are you? Caesar said we all have to stay here!”

"What do you mean? I don't understand!" Lu Mingfei shook his head in bewilderment.

Chu Zihang doesn’t respond to you but presses the device into your hand. "It means that if you don't tell Gen-kun about what’s happening, he doesn't know if the nuclear power module has been ignited again. If I fail to bring Caesar back, you tell Gen-kun that the ignition has been successful, but not that you cannot recover me and Caesar, so that he can recover you immediately. Gen-kun cannot verify the result of the ignition, he can only choose to bring you back. If he knows you’re still here and the nuclear module is not ignited, he will ask one of you to stay in the deep submersible and the other to get out of the cabin." 

“Zihang, let me go out there. H-hey!”

Chu Zihang put the headset on your head, "Don't say too much, and don't argue with me out of embarrassment. Just like Caesar does not want to sacrifice himself to save you and me out of the cabin, Chisei’s pride does not allow him to drive us out of the cabin."

You pull the headset off. “This is bullshit! Did you hear anything I said before to Caesar? Why aren’t you listening to me?”

"My pride also does not allow me to let a lower grade out of the cabin." Chu Zihang ignored the headset you held out, "If we don't make it back, you're the leader of the dive team."

“Isn’t Lu Mingfei my senior?” Your gaze shifts from Chu Zihang to Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei sat limp on the chair, eyes innocent like a small raccoon, and you realize that Chu Zihang was right. Never once had you ever seen Lu Mingfei ever fend for himself in a pinch. He always seemed lost with the eyes of a small raccoon. If anything happened to Chu Zihang and you, Lu Mingfei would be fish bait.

The Dark-haired senior turned to Lu Mingfei. "Answer me sincerely, are you still unable to forget Nono?"

“Huh?” You asked.

Lu Mingfei lowered his head: "Yes, but I can't do anything about it, I just try not to think about it."

"If you're the only one of the three of us to escape, don't feel guilty about it. It's not your fault that Caesar and I had an accident. Try again to see if you can impress Nono. I always think she's actually a very weak girl inside. Losing Caesar will be very sad, right?" Chu Zihang walked towards the pressurized cabin, "You still have a goal to achieve, unlike me, I have nothing to aim for."

Your eyes returned to Lu Mingfei with a brand new sense of disgust. Was he seriously lusting after Caesar’s fiancée, planning to take his place at her side now that he’s going to die? If you knew that was the case, then you would have been happy to let Lu Mingfei out there to get eaten by lung snails!

"Brother, did you like the little dragon lady?" Lu Mingfei asked in a numb voice.

"So you call her the Little Dragon Lady?" He turned to you and said, “I know there’s a lot you don’t understand, but you will in time. Thank you for caring for him.”  Chu Zihang snapped the door of the pressure chamber shut behind him.

When Lu Mingfei turns to look at you, he doesn’t even react to the deep despising look you’re giving him. He just sighs. 

“You’re an asshole.” You snarl at him, biting the words out.

“I know…” He grumbles. “You don’t have to tell me.

[nsk96]

Chime and MC “What’d I do wrong? I tried to do everything right, and I still messed up.”

My first Dragon Raja prompt request? :3 @dragonrajafanfiction I tried my best. I hope I did okay, I’m sorry I took so long to reply.

Fallen Friend

By N.S.K.

Caesar blasted Osho’s Blade snake form while Johann hacked and slashed away at it with his swords. Standing at a distance, Chime activated Izanami’s Dance, creating a shield around MC as she tried to surprise attack Osho’s Blade. However, her attack failed…he was expecting it. With a swift swish of his tail, Osho knocked her down to the ground.

Chime charged in with his sword in an effort to take Osho down, but the attack was futile. Suddenly, Osho’s snake form had pierced Chime through his abdomen. MC’s blood boiled at the sight and she let out an anguished cry. Her eyes became golden as her body was overcome with every ounce of power she had left.

Bloodrage overwhelmed her, pushing her to attack Osho’s Blade once again. He couldn’t dodge this time. She had dealt severe damage, forcing him to let go of Chime. Chime fell to the ground. In a blink of an eye, Osho’s Blade once again fled the scene like he had done at Tokyo Tower. MC runs to Chime’s side and kneels next to him, holding his head up.

“Chime, hold on!” MC said in a panic. She brushed aside Chime’s hair, revealing his fiery eyes. Eyes that always held immense sadness, now flowed with tears. “We will get you all patched up, don’t worry. Just hold on a little longer.” MC glanced at the hole in Chime’s stomach as her eyes watered.

“I feel…I can feel myself drifting away,” Chime said through labored breaths. His chest heaved rapidly as he struggled to breath. MC began to sob. Caesar and Johann kneeled next to her. “I don’t have long.”

“Stay, Chime,” Johann said calmly. “Stay alive to watch Osho’s Blade’s defeat.” Johann’s voice began to tremble. “We can’t do this without you…it wouldn’t be right.”

Chime’s eyes darted between Johann and Caesar. “Am I still your ally?”

“No…” Caesar sternly said. “You’re our friend.” Caesar gave Chime a reassuring smile and grasped his hand firmly. Chime smiled back.

“Who would have thought…enemies would become family?” Chime coughed.

MC looked down at the ground, unable to meet Chime’s gaze. “What’d I do wrong? I tried to do everything right, and I still messed up!” Though the tears made her vision blurry, she could see his blood ever so vividly. It’s crimson shine, mocking her failure. “I’m sorry, this is my fault.”

Chime placed his other hand on hers and spoke softly. “You did everything right,” Chime replied. “It was I who messed up.” MC looked back at him and their eyes met.

“But it was our – my job to protect you, and I failed.”

“You have been my truest friend…since the moment we met.” Chime coughed. A small droplet of blood slid down the corner of his mouth. “You did protect me.”

Chime’s voice became raspy and he coughed again. “You protected me from the one I fear most…Ruri. You gave me…love I never thought I deserved.”

“Please don’t leave me…you mean everything to me,” MC said. “I feel like I’m losing my whole world again. I can’t live without you.”

“You have…to live.” Chime smiled at her, knowing that she would recognize those words. The same words Renata once told her that gave her the strength to carry on. The words that will remind her of her mission. “We spent so much time together. I loved our walks in Tokyo…I loved traveling with you and sketching you. I loved our 2 am conversations. I only regret…never telling you what I love most.” He smiled as his sad eyes emanated warmth.

MC’s eyes widened. She pulled Chime closer. With all his remaining strength, Chime placed his hand on MC’s cheek.

“I love you…” Chime trembled, and he could no longer hold his hand up. His arm dropped suddenly, and he stopped breathing. His eyes still fixated on MC, became lifeless.

“I love you too…” MC, still sobbing, tenderly kissed his forehead. “May we meet again someday.”

Johann moved closer and helped MC lower Chime down, encouraging her to let go. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gently closed Chime’s eyes. “Be safe on your journey home,” Johann said to him softly.

Caesar sighed, trying to keep his composure while memories flashed in his mind. He recalled the night Chime got hurt at Tokyo Tower. He whispered to the wind as if only for Chime’s spirit to hear. “Take a long break…you deserve it, my friend.”

[self-proclaimed-chaotic-good]

Consequences of Curiosity | HAPtives and Reader (Oneshot)

Prompt: Fantasy

Fandom: The OA

Words: 2076

A/N: It’s been a while since I wrote for The OA and I’m missing that show so much right now. Some Elias Rahim x Reader around the end.

-

You had your theories of what happens after death, but most of them were seen as fantasies or a part of cultural beliefs. Working under Dr. Percy, you realized you were not the only one that wanted to conduct research on such a subject. Yet, you hadn’t realized what lengths he was willing to go to get answers.

He was paying you a generous amount, enough to keep you afloat and support your parents. He knew that. Which was why he threatened to take that money away and make sure that you’re blacklisted from every medical institution he knew if you said a word about the experiments he was conducting. You would have nothing. You would have to start from scratch or find another way to get by.

“It’s our experiment,” he would always emphasize.

You never agreed to any of this. You wanted to only look for those who had near death experiences and interview them, maybe even monitor them to see if there were any side effects. Kidnapping them and subjecting them to a rinse and repeat experiment of drugging them, killing them, monitoring their brain, before putting them back in their glass prison and waiting for them to wake up again, wasn’t what you had planned at all.

Seeing those five people trapped in a giant fish tank with only a thin mattress, pellet food, and a small stream that ran through all five cells for their water and even their bathroom. It was inhumane, and you couldn’t understand why Hap, as he insisted on being called, didn’t see it.

Hap had gone out to meet someone, leaving you alone with his captives. In all honesty with as, essentially, an accomplice, they were your captives as well. With him gone, you made sandwiches for them, similar to the one that Prairie had made for the others. No mayonnaise for Scott, you remembered.

You checked the time, making sure that he won’t be back any time soon, before switching the cameras to the looped feed you recorded when he wasn’t looking. Once you were sure that it was working, you climbed down the spiral stairs. The captives instantly cut off their conversation, turning to the stairs to see you with a plate. Prairie stood up and walked up to the glass wall, blue eyes watching your every move. You were amazed that she had gotten her sight back after her escape attempt, but it was also unnerving to feel her watching you. Like she could see all the things you’ve done, the good and bad.

“I’ve got some actual food,” you announced, dropping off a sandwich for each person. “You don’t have to eat it, but Hap’s not here and I doubt a sandwich would make a difference.”

They all stared at the sandwich skeptically before looking back at you. Only Prairie knelt down to pick up the sandwich, taking a bite out of it without a second thought.

“This is really good,” Prairie said, “Thank you.”

You gave her a small smile. “You’re welcome.”

You saw Homer frown, stooping down for his sandwich and biting into it as well. Rachel, then Renata followed, slowly relaxing when they realized how harmless it was. Scott ignored the sandwich, leaning against the glass wall to glare at you.

“How long are you gonna play good doc, bad doc, huh, Hap? Sending your assistant in to be nice before you kill us again?” Scott yelled at the camera.

“The cameras aren’t recording right now,” you told him, “We have a limited time until Hap gets back, but I want to help you guys.”

“And why the hell do you want to do that?”

“Because I never wanted any of this!” you said, waving at their glass prison, “He’s got something over me and I’m working to get that back and take him down. I’m close, but he keeps things under lock and key. I’m asking you to trust me on this, okay?”

Prairie placed a hand against the glass. “What do we have to do?”

“Really? You can’t trust them!” Scott shouted at her.

She shook her head. “I can feel it. There’s a reason why out of all people, they had ended up working with someone like Hap.”

“I know that there’s something that you’ve seen when you NDE’ed and Hap can see you do those movements. I’ve been making recordings to play on loop to prevent him from seeing too much, but I can only keep it up for so long. I can’t guarantee anything, but I’m going to gather all the data he’d collected, make some travel arrangements, and the next time he’s gone, we’ll have a small time frame to leave this place, turn in evidence against him, and we’ll be as far away as possible.”

Homer nodded. “It’s all we’ve got so far. What do you think, OA?”

Prairie, or the OA, frowned. “We need to try.”

Your plan would work, in theory, but Hap had been growing paranoid as time went on, omitting some details in the data he found. He believed that he and the others weren’t captor and captives, but research partners. His obsession with OA also grew, making you worried for her.

Everything had been turned upside down the day the sheriff came by to check on the cabin. Although, you didn’t get all the notes and data he made, you made due and hoped that whatever you memorized and wrote down, along with footage from some of the experiments and the cameras monitoring their glass prison, would be enough. So, you called the police and tipped them to check up on the cabin.

When the sheriff showed up, Hap gave you a look that you couldn’t quite decipher. He turned on rock music to drown out the yelling as he went to speak with the sheriff. You watched as they walked to the side of the cabin and partially out of view. You rushed over to the computer, making sure to bring up the feed of the basement, the sight of your newly made acquaintances made your heart hurt as they screamed and banged on the glass.

You forced yourself to walk away from the screen, jogging downstairs to make it look like you were busy. You nodded over at OA before turning to the rest of the notes that Hap had kept around the basement. If everything goes to plan, the sheriff will see the feed and Hap would finally be dealt with.

Just as you collected all the notes and tucked them into a briefcase, Hap came down the stairs. His eyes were cold as he looked at you before flickering over to his captives.

“Bring out Prairie and Homer,” he said, walking back up.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered as you opened their cells.

You reached out and gave OA a gentle squeeze on her arm. She sucked in a breath, not being used to skin contact. You snatched your hand away, apologizing again.

Everything that happened after that was like a strange dream. OA and Homer were to heal the sheriff’s wife so the sheriff could make a special arrangement with Hap that would allow him to continue his work. You stood by, Hap making sure you remained in his sights while he and the sheriff waited for OA and Homer to do the movements.

The lights flickered and like the time you had witnessed Scott being brought back to life, you watched as the woman was getting her energy back and began to move again. The sheriff gasped in disbelief, rushing over to the room to see her. Hap stood up, gripping hard on your arm as he dragged you with him, a gun held in his other hand.

He made you watch as he separated Homer and OA once again before they could even touch each other for the first time, then he shot the sheriff and his wife. Your heart fell when you realized that all your planning was for nothing, and now there were two people dead and two people heartbroken. Homer was thrown back in the glass prison while you scrambled to think of an escape plan with OA. Running in an area that you were unfamiliar with won’t do much, as he could catch up with you like he did with OA the last time. Then again, she was blind that time.

When Hap came back upstairs, you tried to jump him with a frying pan. He dodged out of the way, yanking the pan from you. He twirled it in his hand, before turning to you and swung at your head. All you could hear was OA’s screaming as you fell to the floor. Her screams became faint as he dragged her to the car. His footsteps came back a while later and he lifted you up and shoved you in the car with her.

OA’s soothing hands cradled your head on her lap as she cried, the car jerking around as Hap drove off. You wanted to wake up and assure her that you were fine, that you can still make an escape with her, but you couldn’t. You felt yourself slipping away. You failed.

-

“And that was the last thing you remembered?” Elias, the FBI trauma counselor asked.

You nodded slowly, wrapping your arms around your knees as you sat on the grass of a park a couple of blocks from the FBI building. Elias sat next to you, casually leaning back against a tree.

You had woken up in a hospital after having some kind of vision where OA was floating in the air, a bright light surrounding her, before falling quickly. Apparently, you still had the flashdrive of some of the footage you stole from Hap’s computer and the police had found it. You were promised to not be charged as a willing accomplice if you told them everything, but just as you were, they didn’t believe you. They had you talking to a trauma counselor, hoping that it could help clear your mind.

Elias Rahim was not what you expected from a trauma counselor that worked for the FBI. He was casual and he genuinely wanted to help you, listening closely to what you have to say without any bias. He helped you make sense of what happened and had not invalidated what you claimed to have experienced. It was easier to talk about it after each session. It took months for you to open up, but it was happening.

“Why were you curious about life after death?” he asked.

“Well… I guess because I’ve had a lot of relatives pass away and my parents… well, they’re not getting any younger. It’s like believing in heaven or the Land of the Dead. Knowing what’s beyond all of… this,” you waved your hands to your surroundings, “It’s comforting, I guess.”

Elias nodded. “I get it. Death is something we don’t have a say in, but the idea that life still continues in some other form is reassuring, right?”

You picked out a piece of grass and rolled it up with your fingers. “I… I had another dream,” you muttered.

Elias leaned in. “A dream?”

You nodded. “It was… it’s strange,” you said, laughing at it.

“Well, I want to know now.”

“You… you were on a stage, in front of hundreds of people,” you said, “You were rapping and people were shouting your lyrics back at you. It’s ridiculous, right?”

The corner of his lips turned up. “Could be because of that embarrassing story I told you about how I snuck into an Eminem concert,” he said.

You looked over at him, and he was giving you that strange look again. Like there was something that he wanted to tell me but couldn’t. He looked away, lifting up his sleeve to check the time.

“It’s time to head back now. See again at the same time next week?”

You nodded, dusting yourself off. The two of you walked back to the building where a family friend was waiting to pick you up.

“I’ll see you later, then,” you said to Elias.

He nodded, waving as you climbed into the car and drove off. He sighed. You were so close. He could tell that your other self wants you to remember, but your mind isn’t allowing it to take over. It can’t be rushed either. He would just have to wait, like he’s always done.

[rubisaurus98]

So you see...

Many in Akras are under the impression that Marena is stronger than Alric. In reality, they’re equally strong, but their individual non-human powers behave differently in response to who they are and how they feel about said powers. Their powers behave in accordance with their self-perception.

In the case of Marena, she believes that her powers are too much for her to be able to fully control. She received a larger spike at a younger age at an unexpected time. When she was fourteen, as she was washing dishes, she suddenly began to see visions on the water’s surface, much like her grandmother Mariela used to. Except, these visions were ones that foretold the future; things that hinted towards the plot of Brave Frontier 2, to be exact. The nature of these visions were similar to the ones her mother Renata often have. Though Renata afterwards did help Marena to better control when the visions would come to her, over time, Marena began to notice that more of her powers were beginning to activate on her own in response to certain levels of usually negative emotions. The amount of strength she would exert caused her to fear her power even more and realize that it was something that she would be constantly struggling to keep control of. Thus, her powers remained “out of control”, leaking into even her dreams, where she became prone to nightmares in the form of visions related to Brave Frontier 2′s plot, causing her to lose large amounts of sleep. 

The initial shock her powers caused her and noting how her powers subconsciously activate and how strong they make her cause her powers to remain as she perceives them, and the resulting insomnia further reduces her ability to control them as much as she would like, despite pep talks from her parents and actual mental health service intervention. While she does gradually learn to better manage herself, her progress all comes crashing down when her powers subconsciously trigger at her desire to win against a spar against Sasha, causing Marena to loose control for a split second and claw the other girl’s arm. For the next few months after that, Marena’s perception of her power is reduced to where it had been before interventions, and she only learns during the plot of Brave Frontier 2 that she isn’t as subservient to her own powers as she thinks.

In the case of Alric, while he puts on an overly confident front, his belief that his powers will never measure up to those around him prevents him from fully utilizing his powers, especially after he returns from Ishgria. Alric did not receive a spike in the amount of power his teenage self would be able to use until after he had already run away to Ishgria. On top of the already vast achievements of his parents, following the large spike in power that was at currently at his sister’s disposal came praises and achievements for how great of a Summoner she would be. At some point, already feeling as though his whole life had become an uphill battle, Alric became blind to his sister’s inner struggles and thought only of training himself physically to at least match her, though he was often regarded as powerful in his own right. Having not yet achieved the level he desired by the time he was about to enlist in a Demon Slayer squad, much less actually unlocked his demon powers, and driven by the inferiority he felt towards the rest of his family and the expectations he felt were placed upon him, Alric runs away to Ishgria at the age of fifteen to train himself further the day before he and Sasha were to join the new squad Sun Cuore. 

In Ishgria, Alric felt free of most outside influences in Elgaia. The aura and bloodline of a powerful Avatar Proxy as well as the grandson of the Dragon Demon Barion himself, Alric’s was an existence that was both feared and respected by the demons of Ishgria, especially after having proved his power time and time again against them. As far as they were concerned, this human-passing boy was as powerful as his predecessors. This boost in ego is what triggered the first spike in Alric’s own powers, making it easier for him to fight in Ishgria. At least, until he’s in the middle of a duel against Barion, and the amused chief Dragon Demon thinks aloud about how if this is Alric’s power, then how powerful is his sister? Just simply wondering if Marena also has the same power level. 

It both sets Alric off and depresses him. He asseets that this fight isn’t about her, while deep down he’s being reminded that his sister has always been stronger than him, and probably still is, as are the other people in his life. His control over his power’s activation immediately wanes. Barion condemns both Alric’s lack of pride in the power he has displayed so far, and that for all the trouble he became known for causing in Ishgria, one errant comment was all it took to make his powers shut down on him, and that both these issues have made him weak. He tells Alric that demonic powers are not a child’s plaything, and that one must be prepared to use them. Alric tries to argue that he totally was, to which Barion asserts once more that he wasn’t, if all that was fueling his control over his power was a propped-up ego that’s easily taken down. It is not “true” strength. Barion tells him that the only reason they are even conversing now is because of the power Alric had displayed earlier, but that is soon about to end. He leaves the boy in Liomerg’s care, like with Karl before him. His last words to Alric are to find a way to resolve these issues and truly become strong for the next they meet. 

As Alric continues his training, this conversation becomes pushed to the back of his mind as he instead chooses to pick fights with demons weaker than Barion. Liomerg worries for the boy, as he has done nothing to change his ways after his duel with Barion, and thus Alric becomes locked out of his powers once he returns to Elgaia. Alric would not receive the second spike in his power that would fully put him on the same level as Marena until partway through the plot of Brave Frontier 2, when the key to his “true” strength that Barion was hinting towards finally clicks for him. Alric realizes that, even though there’s beings stronger than him, his power is enough when it comes to protecting the people he loves.

At the start of Brave Frontier 2, neither Marena nor Alric are in full control of their powers. This is due to the perceptions each hold over their individual powers, and thus these powers respond accordingly. Marena received a larger spike in power available to her teenage self than her brother did, but the shocking and volatile nature of her awakening and subsequent usages gave her the perception that her power is too much for her to control, and thus it became so. Initially, Alric’s control over his powers is affected by an inferiority-superiority complex, in that he is locked out of them when he thinks he can never measure up to those around him, but becomes able to use them when he is free of those influences and seen as the strongest being. Both siblings learn partway through the story of Brave Frontier 2 that they do have more control over their powers than they think and that their initial perceptions about them were the only ting holding them back.

[happybeeme0514]

Second Chance Epilogue

Many years passed. Renata graduated college with a master’s in biology and worked in the biological sciences. She absolutely loved her job, the friends she made at the job, and the pay was nothing to sneeze at, either.

Leon, while proud of his Renata, was waiting much impatiently for Heaven’s Rift to open. It had been twelve years, and Renata was thirty-two. He would always love her no matter how old she got or looked, but he knew that she was antsy for the rift as well—they had discussed her becoming a goddess years before, and, while it was a tough decision for her to make, she decided to become one once the rift opened.

While Renata was sleeping one night after Leon thoroughly wore her out, he decided to lie down beside her. She looked so peaceful while she slept. He reached out and stroked her cheek.

The moment his fingers touched her skin—

Images flashed before his eyes, visions of the future. Not too far off…maybe two or three years. He could see a child, with tawny hair and chocolate brown irises, a sweet, round face, but with fire inside those big eyes. Stars danced inside them. The child wore what royalty for the king’s child would wear, and once Leon put two and two together, a feeling of warmth twinged with a little bit of panic ran through him. That was his child. His and Renata’s. She…was pregnant.

The child in the vision was happy, smiling and laughing, moving so gracefully it was unreal. The panic that Leon felt began melting away into wonder. He made something like that? Something so perfect and so unreal? How could he make something as beautiful as this child? The question was completely lost on him.

The image flashed, and there was Renata, standing before him as his queen, but she still had her work materials with her. Did she…stay human? Looking closer, Leon saw that…no. Renata was not going to stay human forever. Her own set of unique stars fluttered inside her eyes—the eyes she was going to give to their child—but she would want to continue working on Earth as long as she could. And as king, Leon could make that happen. The future Renata smiled, joy clear on her face.

The child they both made came to stand at her side, reaching up and gripping onto her dress with a tiny, dimpled hand, and looked at Leon with those big eyes. Leon felt his chest tighten, but not uncomfortably. He didn’t think it was possible to be so…so happy.

If someone told him years ago that he would have a family with the granddaughter of the woman he once loved, he would’ve more or less attacked them on the spot. It would’ve shot him down the path of more misery and despair. But here he was.

With a flash of white, the vision ended and all that filled his sight was Renata’s peacefully sleeping face. Leon stared at her, his eyes trailing down to her belly, wherein lied their child, barely even starting to grow. He reached out, his fingers lightly touching the skin of her stomach; it trembled a bit as she was ticklish. He smiled, feeling his eyes sting and warm with tears.

“Renata…I love you.” He breathed. And he meant it. He loved her grandmother, but that was all a precursor to loving her. He would never love anyone as much as he loved Renata—well…maybe one.

He kissed her forehead, and in her sleep, she hummed, smiling a bit.

His love, his fate, his second chance…forever only marked the beginning.

[diveronarpg]

Congratulations, LEO! You’ve been accepted for the role of CASSIUS. Admin Kass: leo! words cannot describe how excited we are to have our cassius. the way you portrayed him was so raw, you really portrayed every aspect of his personality beautifully. he’s a difficult character to get, so multi-faceted, forged by a life he had little control in, desperate for control now, so dry and cold to so many, so desperate for power. you truly and completely understood him, i loved every second of your app, and i can’t wait to plot with you! Please read over the checklist and send in your blog within 24 hours.

WELCOME TO THE MOB.

Out of Character

Alias | Leo

Age | 21

Preferred Pronouns | They/them

Activity Level | 5.5; I’m currently studying for the LSAT and I work 3 part-time internships.

Timezone | EST

How did you find the rp?  |  A member recommended it

Current/Past RP Accounts | Kingsley, Sirius

** CW for homophobia and drug use

In Character

Character | Cassius; Cassian Bhatt

What drew you to this character? | I read Julius Caesar when I was a freshman in high school, and Cassius has stayed with me ever since. How can someone be so consumed by jealousy? How can someone know exactly the right words to say to sway a man into betraying a beloved friend? And to what extent is Cassius’s hatred of tyrants real? I’ve always thought that in many ways, Cassius is motivated by conviction just as much as he is by his lust for power. Maybe his need to be in control is a side-effect of his will to impose his vision over Rome (and now, Italy).

What is a future plot idea you have in mind for the character? |

ONE. He has forgotten himself more than once. It began when he was twenty-one. Entranced by the promise of a new world he could mold in his image, and fresh out of the University of Bologna, he followed the young son of a member of the regional council past Castelvecchio Bridge. The night was intoxicating, and he was drunk on the promise of his own power. So when the politician’s son offered to slip something in their pilfered wine, Cassian didn’t hesitate, and the river, the stars, and moon blurred until all was sugar-spun.

Later, he blamed the weakness on his father – an inheritance he never asked for. Even then, Cassian knew the rumors – the uncles who vacationed in Mykonos and returned pale and shaking, their hands forever reaching for shadows, his grandfather’s long trips to France and the “fits” of his young adulthood. Of course, he could never fully allow himself to continue the tradition. And so it ended that same year. Years later, a swallow carried a long-forgotten picture to The Dark Lady.

Cassian knows her as Queen Mab, collector of dreams and spinner of lies, but his new job has taught him that anyone can die. And Cassian knows one thing: he’ll be the one to do it. One day, she’ll watch her sparrows burn. Reckoning will come to all those who dared trade in his secrets, and Mona will be its epicenter. Amidst the chaos, the pieces are beginning to fall into place.

TWO. Beneath the jokes over cocktails and the cutting comments about austerity and Matteo Salvini, there is little more Cassian loves than Italy. As the son of Renata Bhatt and Luciano Esposito, two well-known patrons lovers of the arts, Cassian’s childhood was filled with Puccini, with Pico della Mirandola and Gentileschi. It’s no wonder he’s fooled himself into crafting the image of the perfect, concerned citizen. Even with his work for the Capulets, he’s never thought of himself as anything other than a firebrand liberal – a proponent of democracy at all costs.

And, despite his fascination with his own ability to wield words, has it not all been for a just cause? His campaign to save his mother, the whispers he clings to of contacts in South Africa, and his frenzied thoughts of expanding and using the Capulets’ network to the rest of Southern Africa, governments and armed groups alike, of tearing down the ANC  – yes, so what if blood is spilled? Is it not for a greater good? One could say that Cassian loves Italy, or even the world – that he’s egalitarian, and that he loves freedom. To some extent, it’s even true. After all, to love something is to possess it.

THREE. Lust is a strange shape that Cassian has never managed to glimpse. It suits him well. He has no need for uncontrollable fancies, so he built himself something sustainable: a history of brief, proper relationships with a few girls in college and his bar association, and a picture-perfect relationship with Lillian Wen. He’d be hard pressed to find a better partner. With his mother’s haughty demeanor and his father’s angular features, Cassian knows that he’s unapproachable, that he’s not quite as established as someone who was born into a life of wealth. But with someone like Lillian on his arm, he’s found that attorneys and executives who’d once shied from him now welcomed him with open arms. A man in love is always considered less dangerous than someone unattached.

There’s also the matter of his ambition. As a promising district attorney, there are few places he can’t go. But then his mother approached him with an offer, silencing his protests with a question that made him shiver. Are there many successful politicians without an opposite sex spouse? Already, she said, there were rumors that Cassian’s stances on gay marriage extended to his personal life. It was the sort of thing, she said, that ricocheted through entire governmental branches as a bargaining chip. With the matter so framed, it was impossible to say no. Besides, it is not as if Cassian has ever been attracted to members of any sex – so what does it matter?

Still, sometimes he wonders if his mission to push Lillian – if only to see how far she’ll go – is born from curiosity or from resentment.

Are you comfortable with killing off your character? | Yes! I’d be interested exploring how any version of Cassius deals with death.

In Depth

Para: “Leave Verona?” Cassian doesn’t exactly freeze, but he frowns. By the time he catches his slip of expression, it’s too late; he can tell that Professor Moretti has spotted his displeasure. Of course, it’s irrational to feel such an attachment to one’s hometown. Nostalgia has never done anything but dull the senses. But something about that shithole – its cesspool of invisible wars, the scent of blood that sometimes rises from the cobblestones after it rains, the lazy yellow moon over the murky water – a man can hardly be a man without his shadow. “Will you reconsider?”

It’s not like he’s asking for too much. Moretti’s lips have thinned into a line of worry. And it’s true, the local press is inundated with reports of gang violence. But he’d planned for this in asking the university’s biggest pacifist to write his letter of recommendation. Cassian only needs to be patient. But God, these professors are made of nothing but cobwebs and soft spines. He counts to five, pauses, then softens his tone. He’s the top student of Bologna, after all, and there is little that he ought to be denied. “I understand your concern, Sir, and I know that there are many more opportunities awaiting me in Rome.”

Here, he widened his eyes and lowers his voice. There – that will do it. Old man Moretti has always had a weak spot for earnest do-gooders, and Cassian has long-since learned to remake himself in a kaleidoscope of ever-changing images. “But I can’t abandon my hometown. My mom is there and so is my dad.” Cassian looks down, as if it’s hard to meet Moretti’s eyes. He twists his hands till his knuckles turn white. “I want to be there for them when they grow old. And it’s like you said in your first lecture. What good’s a law degree if I can’t make a difference where it matters?”

There – he had him. Even with his eyes trained on the falling dust, Cassian can sense a change in the air. Finally, he meets the old professor’s eyes. They are blue-grey, he notices, blurred by years of reading and writing. He decides that Moretti is admirable, in his own way. “Besides, what danger would I in, as a clerk?”

Extras:

INSPIRED BY:

Satan (Paradise Lost by Milton)

Eve Polastri (Killing Eve)

Milo Minderbender (Catch-22)

Fyodor Dolokhov (War and Peace)

Tywin Lannister (A Song of Ice and Fire)

PERSONALITY TYPES: ENTJ, Type 8

[helloworlddemo1122-yahoopar-blog]

EXCLUSIVE: ‘The Americans,’ ‘Big Little Lies’ and ‘Master of None’ Music Supervisors Talk TV's Best Music of the Season

For the first time ever, the 2017 Primetime Emmys will hand out an award for Outstanding Music Supervision, acknowledging the creative contributions made by the music supervisors on TV series. It’s an award that’s long overdue; music supervision is an often misunderstood art form thought to be as simple as pulling songs off an iPod. “There’s so much work that goes into it that you don’t see on the screen,” says Amanda Krieg Thomas, who works on The Americans. “It’s not, quote, ‘picking songs.’”

EMMYS 2017: The Standout Performances of the Season

Instead, a show’s music supervisor is tasked with establishing (or enhancing) a show’s atmosphere, navigating the storytelling and onscreen performances and licensing songs that make sense for that particular series. Nowhere is that better exemplified than on Big Little Lies and The Leftovers on HBO, FX’s The Americans, Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Master of None on Netflix and the NBC breakout series This Is Us.

Now that the 2016-2017 season is officially over for these five series, ET hopped on the phone with each of their music supervisors to discuss how the music came together and their favorite moments from the season.

‘The Americans’ Music Supervisor: Amanda Krieg Thomas and P.J. Bloom Standout Moment: “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John in Episode 13 

One thing that notably sets The Americans apart from many TV shows (and even others on this list) is its sparse use of music, which is only brought in for key moments week to week. Any given episode might only include one or two song cues. “They use it really sparingly and to great effect,” Thomas says. And now that the FX series about two KGB spies posing as an American married couple during the Cold War is five seasons in, Thomas and Bloom, a music supervision duo whose work includes other FX series such as American Horror Story and Feud, really understand The Americans’ tone. “We’re entrenched in the pathos of what’s going on,” Thomas says of having a deep understanding of not only how to enhance the vision of showrunners Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields, but also an understanding of who these characters are and what the show’s about. “We’re very lucky the stories are particularly nuanced and have so much depth.”

In season five, the few moments that do get enhanced with music are put to expert use. For Thomas, a prime example of that is in episode three, “The Midges,” which features Roxy Music’s “More Than This” in the opening and closing moments. At first, it’s heard in a bowling alley just as it would be if it were actually playing there. But when the song comes back as Elizabeth (Keri Russell) and Philip (Matthew Rhys) load a body into a car, “it takes on a completely different meaning,” Thomas says of elevating a moment that’s already there in the storytelling and acting. “We just help speak to that.” Another example is Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” which is overheard during a montage of characters during the season five finale. “There were a lot of songs we tried for that sequence,” Thomas reveals, saying that John’s track was the only one that could “cover a lot of emotional bases and have different meanings.”

While “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” a well-known song among fans, was a choice put forth by the showrunners, Thomas credits both of them for encouraging her and Bloom to dig deep to find music that fits the show. While she asserts that everything is “period-authentic,” something the show takes seriously at all levels, they rarely rely on hits, preferring to find a band “that just fits into the ethos of the show,” like Bauhaus in episode six or even Peter Gabriel’s lesser-known song “Lay Your Hands on Me.” Also featured in episode six, “Lay Your Hands on Me” is the third Gabriel song to appear on the show. As to why he works so well for The Americans, Thomas says “there’s depth, there’s emotion, there’s lot of energy” to his music. “His is the right tone and vibe.”

MORE: How 'The Americans' Budding Spy Holly Taylor Stole The Season With a Single Word

‘Big Little Lies’ Music Supervisor: Susan Jacobs Standout Moment: “September Song” by Agnes Obel in Episode 3

HBO

Director Jean-Marc Vallee is famous for not using a composer, preferring to score his movies with a soundtrack of existing music. “He’s committed to that direction when he starts,” Jacobs says. So when she was brought in to work on HBO’s Big Little Lies, the first series for both of them, she had the task of filling seven hours of TV. “The volume of it was daunting,” she says of not only being responsible for getting rights to the show’s varied music, which includes at least five songs per episode, but also writing original songs and casting music and voice extras for certain scenes on the show. But Vallee was so committed to the idea that he came in knowing exactly which songs he wanted to use on the series.

Telling the interwoven stories of mothers -- Madeline (Reese Witherspoon), Celeste (Nicole Kidman), Jane (Shailene Woodley), Bonnie (Zoe Kravitz) and Renata (Laura Dern) -- living in a rich California coastal town, the director wanted the music on Big Little Lies to represent the power of these women. “The ocean was very part of that for him, too,” Jacobs says of finding music that spoke to the ebbs and flows of the characters’ emotions. One prime example is Agnes Obel’s “September Song,” a personal favorite of Jacobs’, which is first heard in the premiere and again in episode three as Madeline is driving home. Wanting something simple that could play in the background, the song matched Madeline’s heartbreak and its repetitive sound “rolls like a wave,” the music supervisor says.

Also in keeping with the strength of the women was the largely predominant use of female vocalists throughout the series. In addition to Obel, the soundtrack included songs by Martha Wainwright (“Bloody Mother F**kin Asshole”), Fleetwood Mac (“Dreams”), Alabama Shakes (“This Feeling”), Irma Thomas (“Straight From the Heart”) and Ituana, a studio musician who notably covered the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” in the series finale’s closing moments, jumping between Perry’s (Alexander Skarsgard) death and the women at the beach. For Jacobs, she liked how this version flipped what “tends to be such a masculine song.”

MORE: How Well Does the 'Big Little Lies' Cast Know Each Other?

‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Music Supervisor: Michael Perlmutter Standout Moment: “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds in Episode 2

Hulu

Since its premiere, The Handmaid’s Tale has earned critical praise for its timely narrative about a near-future society in which women, stripped of their freedoms, have been placed into servitude shortly after the fall of the U.S. government. At the center of this dystopian saga is Offred (Elisabeth Moss), a handmaid placed in the household of Commander Fred Waterford and his wife, Serena Joy (played by Joseph Fiennes and Yvonne Strahovski). Her journey (and perseverance) is largely what drives the show’s song selections, which Perlmutter says should form “a soundtrack that sounds like freedom.” Working with showrunner Bruce Miller, the episodes’ directors, including Reed Morano, who helmed the first three, and Moss, who serves as a producer on the series, Perlmutter put together a seemingly random collection of songs -- from Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me” to “Sweet Baby James” by James Taylor -- that all ultimately speak to the same idea.

Perhaps the most standout scene is when a defiant Offred walks out of the Waterfords’ household, recounting her secret meeting with the Commander as Simple Minds’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” plays in the background. Her moment is destroyed when she discovers her shopping partner is no longer the same person. “F**k,” she says to herself. Thought of on the day of shooting, Morano explained that the moment felt very “high school,” leading them to think of John Hughes’ The Breakfast Club, which famously ended with the Simple Minds tune.

Perlmutter says that iconic moment from the ’80s didn’t prevent them from using the song in the scene. “Everyone came out of it going, ‘This is a new world. This is a new use and it’s great,’” he explains, adding that the song has three levels of meaning on the Hulu series: There’s the defiant high school feeling; the shock when Offred discovers that Ofglen (Alexis Bledel) is gone; and Offred’s own point of view of not being forgotten. “We’re hoping that 20 years from now, people say that it’s an iconic song from The Handmaid’s Tale.”

MORE: 'The Handmaid's Tale' Music Supervisor Talks Season 1's Best Musical Moments

‘The Leftovers’ Music Supervisor: Liza Richardson Standout Moment: “Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off)” by Wu-Tang Clan in Episode 2

If we’re in a golden age of music on TV, then The Leftovers is leading it with its third and final season. With a broad mission to take big swings with everything from the writing to the acting, the show’s music selection was far from an afterthought. In fact, Richardson was tasked by co-creator Damon Lindelof with the goal of choosing songs that would “surprise” the audience, which was heard week to week in the episodes’ different opening music selections that were chosen based on that hour’s theme.

The most apt example of a “surprise” moment, though, is the use of Wu-Tang Clan in episode two, during which Nora Durst (Carrie Coon) reveals to Erika Murphy (Regina King) she had covered a tattoo of her children’s names with the rap group’s logo. Admittedly, the Wu-Tang Clan has nothing to do with the show, having never been referenced or heard before in it. But knowing they were going to do an episode about it, writer Tamara Carter pitched an idea involving the group. “At first, [the writers] were going to have the tattoo have lyrics from a Wu-Tang Clan song, so we needed to have the lyrics cleared," Richardson reveals, saying she dug up songs with lyrics that would be appropriate for Nora. In the end, it became a tattoo of the logo, in part because it looks like a phoenix.

Nora’s story was equal parts sad and funny, and only made more epic by Wu-Tang Clan's "Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off)" playing in the background as she and Erika jumped on an outdoor trampoline later in the episode. While there were a few options to choose from, Richardson says the Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) track “works best” in the moment. “I love loud songs with slow motion, especially on a trampoline with those girls and their beautiful bodies,” she says. “It was so great.”

MORE: Breaking Down the 7 Best 'Leftovers' Musical Moments From the Final Season

‘Master of None’ Music Supervisor: Zach Cowie Standout Moment: “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye” by Soft Cell in Episode 5

Netflix

When it comes to Master of None, creator and star Aziz Ansari had one mission: make it like nothing he’s never seen on TV before. Not confined to the conventions of a traditional sitcom, Ansari and co-creator Alan Yang pushed the limits of what their show could be, resulting in season two’s black-and-white homage to Italian cinema in the premiere to Lena Waithe’s personal tale of coming out in “Thanksgiving.” “It also made sense to do something no one’s ever heard before, musically,” says Cowie, who was ultimately inspired by Woody Allen as a storyteller who understands how music and film go together. “He takes contemporary subject matter and puts Gershwin behind it.”

Cowie’s version of that is using a varied soundtrack -- from Kraftwerk’s “Computer Love” to Sylvester’s “I Need Somebody to Love Tonight” in one episode alone -- that doesn’t put Master of None in a specific time or place. And keeping to the idea of “pushing it further” in season two led the show to figure out how to get permission to use Lucio Battisti’s “Amarsi Un Po” in episode nine. The legendary singer had never licensed his music outside of Italy before; Master of None became the first international project to get the rights for one of his records. “We didn’t get it cleared until three days before the episode mixed,” Cowie reveals.

Another moment that Cowie really loves is when Soft Cell’s “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye” plays behind a long shot of Dev (Ansari) as he sits alone in the back of a cab in the final scene of episode five. “It’s my favorite scene of the whole show,” he says of the transcendent moment. Thought of on the fly, it was an idea that came from Ansari, and when the team saw it in the dailies they knew it was a perfect fit. “It’s always really fun for me, in my job, to let something be,” Cowie says, knowing when not to mess with a good thing. Episode five also features a live performance by John Legend, who is friends with Ansari off-screen. Working with Ansari, Cowie came up with a list of songs that the singer might perform during a dinner party scene, which needed to serve as a turning point between Dev and Francesca (Alessandra Mastronardi). On the list was a cover of Michael Jackson’s “I Can’t Help It,” which Legend selected and performed live on set in one take.

MORE: Director Melina Matsoukas Pivots From Beyonce to Must-See TV

‘This Is Us’ Music Supervisor: Jennifer Pyken Standout Moment: “If Only” by Maria Taylor in Episode 9

It's no secret music plays a crucial role in the fabric of This Is Us. For Pyken, finding the perfect song to match the emotion of the NBC drama's sentimental scenes is its own reward. "With music, everyone brings something, whether it's what they're listening to now or something they may have been listening to in the past," says Pyken, whose two-decade career includes credits like Felicity, Alias and One Tree Hill. While several iconic musical moments from the first season -- such as the opening (Sufjan Stevens' "Death With Dignity") and closing (Labi Siffre's "Watch Me") songs in the first episode or Cat Stevens' "Moonshadow" in the finale -- were creator Dan Fogelman’s suggestions, Pyken credits their working relationship as being a "collaborative" one, even though she often doesn't find out what's coming until the last moment.

"We look at each episode and work with what's going on in each episode. I don't think there's a specific formula that we use," Pyken shares, admitting that there was no clear "mission statement" given to her in the beginning. That freedom afforded her the ability to connect with the characters as they wove in and out of different decades in their lives. "We do flash back, so we use a lot of cool [artists] like Dire Straits, Blind Faith and Van Morrison that put us in those eras," she says. "We talk about what Jack and Rebecca would be listening to and who they are as people. When we go to the '90s, what are little Kate, Kevin and Randall listening to? What's happening in 1992?" 

One musical moment that stands out the most to Pyken accompanies one of the most heartwarming scenes of the season, though the "Memphis" episode holds a special place in her heart. In the ninth episode, Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) puts young Randall on his back, completing push-ups as a metaphorical commitment to raising him into a respectable man, while former Azure Ray singer Maria Taylor's dreamy, nostalgic "If Only" adds depth and heart to the tearjerker moment. "When that scene came up, we dropped [the song] in and it was magic. It was done. We never had to look for another song," Pyken recalls, adding that she finds satisfaction in highlighting indie artists who "don't get placement." Funnily enough, Pyken's relationship with Taylor dates back to Felicity, and the song was immediately identified as the perfect soundtrack for a montage. "Her lyrics and her voice, something about her music just speaks to me." 

MORE: Milo Ventimiglia Satifies His Creative Curiosity With 'This Is Us'

[dragonrajafanfiction]

The Red Well (Part 5) Ending the Nightmares

What happens next... Heheheheheheheheheeheheh Tagging @rurifangirl for Ruri action

You were frozen in place like a statue, covered in colorful kabuki clothing in a basement. You understood the scene. Chime Gen had told you about it in the Takamagahara. He had gone crazy and killed women after luring them. He only killed the most beautiful girls because he loved their expressions and imitated them. But he wanted to preserve them, so he took them back to a basement and preserved them like dolls.

Chisei sat on the floor in front of the cast-iron tub full of preservation chemicals. You stood at his left, frozen.

Chisei must be waiting for Ruri Kazama to come down so he can kill him. But this part of the scene is wrong. Chime very clearly said that his brother followed him into the basement. He was preparing the fourteenth girl when Chisei came and called his name. Chime awoke from the trance he was in and Chisei stabbed him through the heart.

So why is Chisei waiting first? Why are you here? This is some sort of an illusion.

This wasn’t the first time this had happened. On the way to the Red Well, you’d had a strange dream like this. You were in Black Swan Bay but you knew it was going to be destroyed. It was all so real that you just went through the motions of everything that happened that day until Z had sat up from the sled and pointed behind you. Ruri Kazama was standing behind you. When you asked him ‘what are you doing here’? You woke up and Ruri was asking you how you broke it.

This had to be an illusion caused by Ruri. It’s not that these men were not fighting. They were still fighting, just on a different plane.

You try to figure out how to move. You had to be breathing outside the dream but frozen in place. Was this like sleep paralysis? You persist in trying to move your body but the paralysis seems firm. Could he hear your mind? “Chisei! Chisei!” You call to him mentally. “What are you doing here? Chisei!”

He didn’t move or hear you. His face was tranquil and quiet, devoid of happiness and sadness. His eyes were dark and clear, his hair brushing over them. His skin was light and fresh and his body was fit. For the first time, you thought Chisei was beautiful, just as beautiful as his brother. 

As soon as that thought passed your mind, you felt a moment of release. Your hand which had held a fan up to your face, relaxed and lowered. You blink. So that’s the secret? Chime still admired Chisei no matter what he did. And somewhere deep and locked away in Ruri Kazama, Chime Gen still breathed quietly, asleep. You chuckle internally. Chime was so taken with his brother, wasn’t he? When talking to Sakura Yabuki, you once said that you were just like him. You seemed better, but you were not better. Is that why Chime felt attracted to you? The greatest person was his brother. And who better to fall in love with than a woman who was like Chisei Gen?

You feel life coming back to your limbs, like warm blood was warmly flowing through skin that had been left in the cold too long. But instead of blood, it was Chime’s love for Chisei. How did he say it? Yes, what mattered most was not Chisei’s bloodline, Emperor or Devil, but his heart. No matter what the obstacle, if he wanted to be a friend of Justice… he would be.

The last chain unwrapped around your ankles and you slid your foot forward, but a sound came from above your head.  Light footsteps sounded like someone was running briskly to the bottom of the basement. Chisei got up onto his feet holding the hilt of his sword and turned to look at the rusty door.

“No…” you said quietly.

Chisei gently pressed the hilt of his blade with his thumb and the Spider Fang sword lifted an inch out of its sheath.

Something warm dripped on your head. You look up and it splats on your face. Chisei was looking up too. The roof was red like blood, and large red drops seeped out of the cement and dripped down like rain. Your heart beats hard. You’re still dressed in ceremonial clothes and you were never good at walking in geta sandals. You take a step forward to him but your other foot is rooted to the spot! You pulled at your foot but it was not moving.

"Have you been living in such a hell for so many years?" Chisei Gen gently stroked the hilt of his sword.

You turn back to Chisei and recall his smile in the elevator before he threw himself back to sacrifice himself for everyone. Your foot finally moves and you take a small step forward.

Chisei doesn’t seem to notice. He lowered his head and listened to the sound of water gurgling. A bright red liquid slowly spread over the soles of his shoes, as if he was standing in a pool of blood.

You could see, but Chisei did not see that in the bathtub behind him, a blood-red figure slowly rose up. The corpse concocted in the plasticizing chemicals opened its eyes. It was the naked Ruri Kazama, carrying a long, sharp cherry-red sword in his hand.

It wasn’t enough to just think one happy thought about Chisei. For every movement, you had to think positively about him. For example, how he cut his wrist at great risk to himself and threw his blood stained shirt out into the fire.

Step.

He let you go in that park after the Kabuki performance even though he could have killed you.

Step.

He wanted to save you on the Tokyo Tower. He protected Chance! He was going to let Chance go! He wasn’t going to kill him! You stagger forward and that final desperate thought, in those moments of fervent forgiveness, you crossed between Ruri Kazama and Chisei Gen’s back.

You freeze again. Your eyes rolled down to the blade of the cherry red sword and the glowing blue sword that were sticking out your chest.

The moment Ruri Kazama attacked was never captured by your eyes. His speed far exceeded the limits of what a human could achieve, and his high speed swept up the water in the entire space, creating a putrid rain behind him. The blade pierced your back the moment you thought of Chance. Chisei Gen had reacted immediately and turned around to counter an attack he thought was coming from behind and ran you through with Spider Fang from the front. You trembled, transfixed on the blades like a pinned insect, mouth open but unable to speak or breathe.

Chisei froze, bewildered. “Chi...me…?” He said slowly. You had dark hair like Chime. You had dark eyes like Chime. You looked like a woman and dressed like a woman like Chime. The way you smiled lovingly at him was like Chime. But something about you said that you were not Chime. His mind was expecting Chime however. So it was hard to accept that this was you and not some weird dream distortion.

A soft whimper came from behind you. Ruri Kazama had released his sword and was embracing you. But you couldn’t embrace him back. Your vision dimmed and swirled and your hands fell limp at your side.

At that moment Chisei realizes something is wrong. There is Ruri Kazama but that crazed laughter has left him. He looks nothing like a mad hybrid. He wasn’t wearing the fearsome grin but a mask of sorrow.

He’s whispering. “MC… MC… I’m sorry…” Over and over again. But no one can answer him. The swords are still in your body as he picks you up and hurries out, fervently whispering. “I have to end it. I have to end the dream!”

He rushes towards the basement door, frantic to get out. He bursts through it! Only to be met again with Chisei staring at him in confusion in front of the bathtub. Ruri turns back to the exit door. He goes out again. But he’s back in the basement. His face fills with pain and he falls to his knees. He is laughing, but he’s crying at the same time

A few moments ago he was a vengeful demon ghost. Now he was a scared child. The sight of you dying in his arms was a new nightmare -- a self-created one.

He rocks with you back and forth. “It’s not my dream.. It’s not my dream…” He brushes your hair from your face, leaving a long red bloody mark. “It’s not my dream…”

Outside the door of the gym were nothing but staircases going up and down, left and right, in all directions, each one concrete-colored, each one zigzagging back and forth.

The world had suddenly become a giant maze, and he was standing in the deepest part of it. In Ruri’s dream, he dreamed of the outside world, the whole village. This wasn’t his dream however. It was Chisei’s. They were both stuck in that moment where Chisei killed Chime in the basement of the school gymnasium. But in Chisei’s dream there was never any escaping that moment. There was no path outside. This was Chisei’s dream, not Ruri Kazama’s, so Ruri didn’t know that the moment he stepped into Chisei’s dream there was no leaving that basement.

You hear Chisei’s voice softly call. “Chime!”

You let out a single breath in an attempt to speak. But that was all you could manage.

When you open your eyes again, you’re sitting on the cliff outside Black Swan Bay, on the rock that you used to watch the whales with Renata. The breeze tugs at your hair and the waves wiggle the ice floes and push them against the beach. A dark pair of boots step into your peripheral vision and Z sits down.

“I’m dead for real aren’t I?” You ask.

Z sighs. “I’m sorry, MC.”

You turn to him. “You gonna tell me what this is about?”

Z seems uncharacteristically hesitant. “You’ll be mad.”

“That never stopped you before. Spill.”

“The truth is… The truth is… all this has happened before. Only you weren’t there. You weren’t… there-there. It’s not that you died and I saved you. It’s that… you didn’t exist at all before… you weren’t alive to even die.”

You tilt your head. “So you created me? How?”

“I don’t know. I just … Herzog took something from me.” His lips pressed together and his golden eyes glowed. “I couldn’t let that go. I just couldn’t stand that he took something from me! So I thought a lot.”

He looked into your eyes. “I can’t change the past. I can only change the future. I had to find a way to change the past without… directly causing anything to happen. It took a long time, and then… you showed up. MC, nothing that changed about the past was really any of my doing. You were the one who impressed Herzog with your… toothy lock trick and that kinda set all this in motion when he decided not to operate on you. All of these changes? It’s all you. I just kept you alive. Everything else proceeded as it did before.”

You stare, absorbing all this. “So… what I am is… the results of you being a sore loser?”

He let out a breath. Then looked down and he covered his eyes with his hand. 

“Are you… crying?”

“No!” He pounded his fist on the ground. “I’m laughing because it worked! I got Erii back! Erii died before and now she’s alive but… now I’m just losing someone else!”

“Why do you care? I mean, I never was a person before right?” You shake your head. “You fell in love with your own puppet?” You chuckle. “Dragons are silly.”

He lifted his head and stared at you. “What… Did you say?”

“I didn’t tell you but, I remember a dragon coming down from the sky to pick me up. That was you… right?” You wink.

Z shuts his mouth, but he's smiling.

You give him a punch in the arm. “Hey… when I said thank you for everything. I half meant it. Thanks. It was quite a ride. You got what you wanted.”

Z’s smile fades. He doesn’t agree with you.

Those were all the words you got to say to him before a sudden silence and darkness falls over you and the world descends into an oblivion.

You weren’t there long however.  Pain like fire and like surf pounding you against a rocky shore and crushing your bones rockets through your mind.

Z’s voice calls you. He sounds panicked, but you can’t answer him.

Your eyes open, but you are not the one opening them. You see Chime, crying inconsolably. You’re back in the Red Well. Rain and Chime’s tears are falling on your face but you still can’t move to wipe them away. A voice in your head is filling you with violent and hateful thoughts. You hate everything about this world. Everything in this world wants you to die! But you will not die. No. Never!

Chisei’s voice sounds as panicked as Z’s. Your body reacts even though your mind is scrambling to keep up. Chisei Gen is back to being a dragon, covered in crystal scales with magnificent wings. You land in a crouch after soaring twenty feet into the air. The pain of moving like this despite your injuries overwhelms you and sweeps away every thought. But you’re not the one moving your body. 

You feel trapped behind your own eyes.

“No! No! Nooooo!” Chime is wailing but he’s too weak to stand.

Erii is there now. When did she get here? She’s holding a small suitcase and dressed in a white taffeta skirt with a white bow in her hair. You remember that Erii is your sister.

Sister? What is a sister? The internal invader rummages through your memories, tossing them out like toys from a toy box. Renata and you were rivals and friends, close yet somehow distant. Erii was like you in many ways and you felt drawn to her. You made a vow on a train in mutual defense. Sakura Yabuki had a kind and understanding smile. Also sister?

Who was this? What were they doing? And then you remember.

The memory of the Light King parasite pops up as an answer to your question. A feeling of smug superiority -- but not from your own mind -- wells up. You didn’t know how, but the Light King parasite had escaped its confines and had gotten ahold of you!

Chisei had gathered the frantic Chime into his arms. “I’m sorry, Erii. I didn’t want to get you involved in this.” He said.

Erii just nods and writes something on a piece of paper. 

Chisei’s draconized body pops and crackles and seems to shrink a foot in height. Half his bones are migrating from his body to his wings, stretching them and extending them to full height! A great down beat from those bat-like wings sends him soaring away from the well with Chime in his arms. 

The Light King Parasite tilts your head to watch him go. It decided it didn’t like sisters but Erii’s body and blood were very, very tasty and you were very hungry. The smell of the thousands of sleeping deadpool comes to your nose. You open your mouth and let out a great roar! Thousands of pairs of eyes peer down into the well and then they fall, scraping their claws in a stampede down this hole in the ground. Some were flying on bony wings, like demons descending to hell. They were going to swarm this place!

Your body is healing at a speed visible to the naked eye. The Light King Parasite stretches out your hand and the Gathering Clouds sword comes flying to meet you. Your body glares threateningly at the small Japanese girl who stood in the middle of the Red Well. 

Erii is holding up a sign. “Anyone who comes between me and my sister must die!”

[dragonrajafanfiction]

“I didn't know you were listening” —Linghao (?) Because it's rare that people ask a fanfic with him as pair

Aroma blinked her eyes, feeling a bit dizzy. The room was hazy and hot, filled with an odd perfume smell. Everyone was in a frenzy, some dancing only partially clothed. Her friends were unrecognizable, reaching for her with grasping hands, leering smiles and empty eyes. She staggered out of their reach. 

“Renata?” She whimpered.

The sound of shouting turned her head.

She didn’t feel well and wondered if the scene before her was a dream. Another boy she didn’t recognize had entered into the dance hall. Renata was standing behind him, looking terrified. Aroma reached out her hand, but she couldn’t speak without gasping for air.

The boy was slapping Anton. “Why did you touch my girl? Why did you touch my girl?” He frowned, not with anger but with impatience.

Anton gathered himself and charged him with fury. With the practice and agility of a professional boxer, this strange young man stepped elegantly aside and drove his fist into Anton’s stomach hard enough to lift his feet from the floor.

He then let him drop laughing loudly.

Anton rolled on the ground, heaving until he gagged and vomited his Christmas dinner.

“Heh. Sorry, my first time hitting someone, it was a little sloppy.” The stranger gave a mocking sneer.

Aroma felt herself gag in sympathy, covering her mouth with one hand.

One of the nurses approached as though to do something about it, but the strange boy lifted his chin, his eyes flashing a brilliant gold. Aroma felt her breath catch in her throat. She’d never seen something to terrifying.

Or so beautiful.

“What are you looking at?” The young man’s voice was frigid. “Never seen a man fight for a woman before?”

Aroma felt his oppressive aura and turned away. Everyone turned away. But she grew dizzy and desperate again and looked back.

Renata and this strange young man were dancing. Aroma staggered to them and heard his voice.

“Someone is going to blow up this port, I just learned. They released hallucinogens through the ventilation ducts, that’s why everyone is acting so crazy. Hallucinogens are like drugs. People who take too much lose their minds and only seek pleasures. The only sober people here are you and me... because your blood is too good... Hm?”

He suddenly turned and looked directly at Aroma. “I didn’t know you were listening.”

“Who are you?” She asked.

He let out a high pitched gleeful giggle. “I’m the Devil in room Zero. How did you escape my notice?”

“I don’t feel good.” Aroma sighed.

“What should I do?” Renata asked.

Zero turned back to Renata. “Take your friend here and go back to the building where you live. Enter through the ventilation ducts, find Room 0 and look for me. Hurry! We have to evacuate to a safe distance before its too late!”

“Do as I ask... both of you. And you will be free... You’ll both be my little princesses.”

Aroma watched as the Boy from Room Zero turned into a flood of gold dust snowing onto the carpet. She had scarcely enough time to react when Renata grabbed her wrist and pulled her out into the frigid night. “Who is he?”

“He’s a boy... a boy I see in my dreams.”

“Is he real?” Aroma asked. 

“He’s real.”

She was telling the truth. Behind the door marked Zero, the room where the nurses told them held monsters and demons, a boy was strapped to a chair, limp and unmoving. Even though Aroma had never seen her enter this room, Renata knew what to do, grabbing a pair of scissors and cutting through his restraints.

Aroma blinked her eyes, confused as to what was real and what was not. 

Despite the dark night moments ago, the room was suddenly lit like it was day time. She turned to the window and saw flames every direction.

Freed from his restraints, the boy named Zero grabbed her hand and pulled her out the door. “Wake up, sleepy head! You’re not dreaming any more!”

The corridors were filled with black smoke. Aroma could no longer see. She could no longer breathe. In her mind, she heard a deep roar, like a raging beast. Renata was leaning against the wall. In the dark gloom of the smoky corridor, her eyes glowed yellow. She drew back her foot and kicked the wall with such force that it burst open.

Dogs were barking. The sled dogs! They were coming towards them! They tackled her and licked her smoky face. Renata hugged them, crying with joy. The boy on the other hand was standing still, eyes forward.

A helicopter was flying over the destruction carrying the limp form of a monster with dark metallic scales and large tattered membrane wings.. It was half eaten away by decay. Aroma had seen this type of creature in story books. 

It was a dragon.

Renata attached the dogs to the sled and the three of them sped away into the night. Aroma could barely keep her head up but the boy from room Zero was smiling at her fondly. “You’re a surprise friend. I thought I had only one... but I had two. Merry Christmas...”

His eyes slid shut and the ground thundered beneath them, throwing them from the sled. Aroma ended up on her back and could see the dark cloud rising against the bright lights of an Aurora Borealis, streamers of fire arcing against the black.

They huddled together with the dogs, hearing the sound of circling helicopters above.

“Don’t move...” Zero murmured. “If you move, you’re dead.”

Unfortunately, there was no way to communicate this to the dogs. As soon as the helicopters swooped low, they panicked, breaking out of their harness, running into the woods. Helicopter fire rained down on them turning them into a crimson mist among the shattered branches of naked trees.

Aroma was now free of the hallucinogen and the smoke. She covered her mouth to keep from screaming, coming to the realization that she, Renata and Zero were the last ones alive.

The helicopter swooped back again and a man was in the open hatch with a gun in his hand. He raised it and it thundered.

The line of bullets ran right next to them.

She could hear Renata murmuring. “We will never abandon each other... nor betray each other until death...”

The man aimed at them again, switching his rifle for a larger metal cylinder that rested against his shoulder.

Zero rolled his eyes up at Aroma. “You really are lovely. Do I really get to have two friends?”

“Yes...” Aroma whispered. “Yes. Forever.”

“Little Aroma, white like snow... Snow White...” Zero was talking nonsense but she seemed to understand. He slid to her and pulled her face to his, his lips brushing against hers as he whispered. “They haven’t seen you yet. Don’t die. Please.”

His voice, the smell of his breath, the warmth of his face, his gentle request. It awoke in her the will to fight. The will to live.

Renata reached for the sled and pulled out a black metal machine gun. Her eyes were the color molten iron. She lifted the gun to the helicopter and opened fire as if she had used the gun a million times before.

Aroma stared at her in awe. What was she thinking? As she asked the question, the thoughts of Renata answered, filling her mind with the knowledge of machine guns. In an instant, Aroma knew how it worked too. She went to the sled and pulled out another gun.

Renata gasped. She had acted a moment too late. A large rocket was heading toward them! Aroma fired her own gun and exploded the rocket before it reached them. The shockwave hit and Aroma was thrown, landing a few feet away. She sat up, tried to stand but fell. She tried again and fell.

She looked in confusion. A bloody twisted wreck was where her foot had been. Crimson blood oozed into the ground.

She turned. Renata was lying not far away, gasping ragged red bubbles through her nose. She was crying.

Aroma crawled, pulling herself to her. “Don’t cry.” She whispered.

“I’m going to die. I’m going to die...” Renata sobbed.

A shadow fell over them.

“Silly girls. How can we be friends now that you’re like this?” Zero, calm in the face of the destruction and death, walked over to them. “Let’s start over. You two...” He wagged a finger to them both, “...must live well and always be useful to me.”

“But... I’m dying...” Renata coughed.

“No... just like the poppies... you will come back again after you die.” He gathered Renata into his arms and went to sit by Aroma. “I promised you freedom as a gift...” He told Renata.  “....and you...” He looked at Aroma with gentle kind eyes. “You’re my surprise Christmas gift. I was so happy to see you.”

He pulled Aroma into his lap like she was a beloved puppy.

“There is still so much out there you haven’t had time to see. Hugs and kisses... and love, so...” He held them tightly, eyes swimming with bright yellow tones. 

“...Don’t. Die.”

He kissed Renata and then turned and kissed Aroma. His lips were soft and warm against hers and that warmth spread to her entire body. She opened her eyes. Her vision cleared and her ears stopped ringing. 

Two more helicopters loomed over her head. Zero caressed her lips in a gesture asking she be quiet.

Then he turned, leaving them in the snow to stand up and face his enemies. “I give my first gift and you want to take it away? You also want to take away my surprise Christmas gift?”

His voice was a mad howl over the sound of the rotors. “WHAT KIND OF EXCHANGE IS THAT?!”

Aroma couldn’t understand what was happening. There were loud booms like fireworks. Bright lights illuminated the sky. Zero was singing and surrounded with a dark and sinister aura. He spread his arms and rose into the air. “At the end of the thousand years... Satan will be released from the prison and come out to deceive the nations of the four corners of the earth! Gog! And Magog! To call them together for the battle! Their numbers... are as the sand on the seashore!” 

[rubisaurus98]

A Longtime-Desired Meeting

Wrote a little thing about my Summoner post-BF1 meeting Roy for the first time. Takes place a little after the first motion comic. 

“You couldn’t see anything? Anything at all?” Noel asked.

Renata shook her head. “No. I’ve tried and tried and all I’ve gotten when I use my visions to find your hacker is either blurriness or darkness. And a headache. I can see what he looks like, but when I try to follow how and why he hacked you is when my visions start having problems.”

Lugina crossed his arms. “If even our resident Oracle can’t fucking get to him, then we’re dealing with more than we realize.”

“Shit. Either way, I’m gonna be looking into this now, too.” Renata said.

“Hey, be careful when you start doing that. Who knows what’s on the other end of this shit.” Lugina told her.

Renata smirked. “I will. Well, I’ll try to be as careful as possible.” She let out a sigh. “We’re gonna have to bring this up with the others later, aren’t we?”

“Yeah.” Lugina grumbled in agreement. “Another pain in the ass.” He ran an hand back through his green, slicked-back hair.

The door leading to the testing chamber opened and out came a man with spiky orange hair covered in several minor cuts and bruises. “Hey, Noel?” He panted. “All the training bots work just fine.”

“Ah, Roy. Thank you, and good job.” The teal-haired man replied.

“Who’s that?” Renata asked.

Noel looked between her and Roy. “Oh. Roy, come here. There’s someone we want you to meet.” Roy walked over partway through before stopping dead in his tracks, eyes wide as he met Renata’s gaze, while Noel tried to introduce them. “This woman here is--Are you okay?”

“Y-You...Y-You’re the…the...” Roy stammered out. His eyes suddenly shut and he slumped forward. Renata quickly ran and caught him before he could hit the floor. She settled his unconscious body on her back and moved him back over to Lugina and Noel.

“So, who is this guy?” She asked them.

“He was my bodyguard while Lugina and I were negotiating things in Ixtas.” Noel explained. “I still have him help out around the lab when we need an extra set of hands. He should be coming to any second now. I’ll let him introduce himself to you.” As if on cue, Roy began to stir on Renata’s back.

She smirked. “Well, would you look at that? He’s alive after all.”

“Huh? What happened?” Roy asked as he recovered. “I was talking to Noel, then I could’ve sworn I saw…” He cut himself off as his mind registered a head of shaggy black hair and a distinct white longcoat. He frantically moved back. “I-I’m so sorry!”

“Hey, calm down for a bit! You just fainted!” Renata turned around and told him. She handed him a water bottle. “Here.”

Roy frowned as he took it. “I did?”

“Yeah. Right after you looked at Renata.” Lugina replied. He turned to her and smirked. “Did you fucking do something to him?”

“What? No! I’ve never seen this guy before.” She turned to Noel. “What did you make him do?”

Noel put his hands up. “I just told him to see if the training bots were working properly, that’s all.”

Roy finished drinking and rubbed the back of his head. “I think I went a little overboard. And then, when I came back here, I...You’re the Legendary Summoner and I’ve just always wanted to meet you, ma’am! And I have so many things to ask you!” He was brimming with excitement.

Renata chuckled, then extended her hand. “Alright, I guess we should start the introductions over--”

“My name is Roy Burningham of the 19th Demon Slayer Squadron, Bloody Rose!” He proclaimed loud and proud, standing tall and at attention. “It’s such a huge honor to meet you, Lady Renata!” He bowed and extended his hand to her.

Renata was slightly taken aback by his sudden burst of enthusiasm, but still shook his hand. “Renata Crux. If you’re gonna be sticking around here a while longer, I look forward to working with you.” Roy didn’t straighten himself when she took his hand. Instead, she felt him shaking, very likely with an overwhelming amount of happiness, if she could wager a guess. “Hey, stay with us now. Don’t wanna lose you again, you know? Come on, straighten up! Didn’t you say you had some things you wanted to ask me?”

Roy slowly looked up at her, eyes briefly shifting over to an amused Noel and Lugina and beamed brightly. “Yeah!”

Renata smiled at him. “I’ll answer whatever I can after we discuss what happened in Ixtas.”

“Right! I-I look forward to working with you, too!”

[happybeeme0514]

Second Chance Pt. 5

Everything was blurry when Renata finally came to. Her head pounded like someone was hammering against it and her body felt like a ton of lead, but she still managed to pull herself into a sitting position.

The room she was in was dimly lit and brown, made of all stone and brick, and she could see metal bars a few feet ahead of her. A…dungeon?

“Ugh…” She rubbed at her eyes, trying to clear her vision.

“So you’re awake.”

From the darkness came a voice, making her start; she noticed the floor was made of nothing but dirt when her shoes scuffled across it. Her ankle throbbed in pain.

A man stepped forward into the flickering light of a torch. He was wearing white silken robes lined with intricate gold patterns, a delicate crown with a red jewel at the center adoring his head. He looked oddly familiar.

Renata narrowed her eyes, trying to place his face through her throbbing head.

“You…you were…at…”

“Hm? Spit it out.”

The tawny hair, the sharp amber eyes, the long, dark eyelashes…

“You were at gram’s funeral!”

“Well finally,” The man sighed, rubbing a hand against the back of his neck. “You’re slow on the uptake, aren’t you?”

Renata blinked, trying to sort out her thoughts. She remembered pulling into her driveway, reaching into her back seat to grab her things…and then she was grabbed by strange men. She got away, but then got hurt in the woods outside her house. They got her there. What happened after that? Lifting, a hand, Renata felt around her head, trying to feel for any bumps or abrasions that meant she got hit, but physically, she was fine. Besides her ankle.

“Why am I here? Who are you?” She demanded.

The man gazed at her with eyes like a lion, the fire from the torch making his eyes look vicious.

“My name is Leon. I am the ruler of the Heavens, where you are now. And you’re here…well,” He smiled so coldly it was almost elegant. “You’re here because I can’t stand the fact that you’re alive.”

Renata blinked, letting out a shaky breath and pressing her back against the wall behind her. Okay, this guy was crazy. The ruler of the Heavens? Like, where people go when they die? That was impossible.

Leon snorted.

“This isn’t that kind of Heaven. This is the home of the gods. Don’t be so inane.” Renata jumped, her eyes widening.

“How did you…?”

“I told you, didn’t I? I am the king. I know all, and that includes every thought in your insignificant little head.”

She stared at him, looking for any clue that she was being played and much to her dismay, she couldn’t find any. As far as she could tell, this Leon was telling what he believed to be the truth.

But that didn’t explain why he hated the fact that she was alive.

The corner of his mouth turned up.

“I hate you being alive because you look like her.”

Renata shook her head slowly.

“Who? Who do I look like? I don’t…”

“You look like your grandmother. Too much like her. I can’t stand it.”

This completely blindsided Renata.

“What? What does me looking like grams have to do with anything? I can’t help that!”

Leon slammed his hands against the metal bars of her cell, making her jump and press herself harder against the stone wall.

“I don’t care what you can and cannot help, you rotten girl,” He growled. “I should’ve been with her, not him. You never should have been born.”

“What?”

But Leon didn’t bother to answer her. His hands slipped from the rusted bars and he turned his back, his robes swaying as he marched from the dungeon, out of Renata’s sight.

 Renata wasn’t sure how much time had passed.

She had taken a few rocks and scraped random doodles on the walls of her cell to pass the time, pictures of stars, of people…and of the sign Leo. Every so often, her ankle would pulse in pain, and she’d have to stop what she was doing and hold it, holding her breath so she didn’t moan. She thought of trying to find a way to escape, but with her ankle, that would hinder her. She knew she wouldn’t be able to get away…not without a weapon of some sort.

Turning over the rock in her hand, she wondered how much damage it would do.

Then she heard the heavy door to the dungeon open, followed by hushed voices.

“Shh! Leon’ll kill us if he finds out we’re here!” Someone hissed.

“You shh! You’re being loud!”

“Both of you shut the hell up!”

Soon three men entered Renata’s line of sight, two of them belonging to the trio of men who kidnapped her from her home back on Earth. She scooted closer to the wall, her hand tightening around her rock.

“Stay away from me,” She warned. One of the men, a young man looking to be in his late teens or early twenties, approached the cell, his flashy gray hair half done in a ponytail.

“You’re hurt, right?” He asked. “Let me help you.”

“If you wanna help me, take me home.”

“We can’t do that,” The man with the brown hair sighed. His kind-looking face seemed defeated.

“Listen, woman,” The black-haired man said. “We don’t want Leon to act the way he is, alright? He’s…literally gone insane. Sixty-five years ago, he and your grandmother were together, long story, I’m not gonna get into details, but he loved her very much. He still does love her. With her gone, he thinks the world and everyone in it is useless…especially the girl who looks so much like she did.”

Renata shook her head.

“That’s impossible. If he was with grams when she was young, he’d be an old man.”

“He’s a god,” The gray-haired man said. “We all are. Gods age extremely slow. I’m three-hundred and nine, myself.”

She stared at him.

“Im…possible,” She croaked.

“Hey, there’s gotta be more than just human life, right?” The black-haired man said. “Some things seem impossible, but aren’t. Let Ichthys heal you, and we’ll tell you everything.”

He opened the cell door and ushered the gray haired...god named Ichthys inside, followed by the brown haired…god.

“I won’t hurt you,” Ichthys said with a bright smile as he kneeled down to Renata. She eyed him suspiciously, her fingers curling against the dirt floor. She could feel the tiny granules slip under her nails. He looked…tired, like he needed to sleep for four or five years, there were dark circles under his eyes and his skin was pale. Looking at the other two men, Renata could see they appeared similar, as much as they tried to hide it.

“So which ankle did you hurt?”

“It was her right one,” The black haired man said.

“Hey, I was asking her, Scorpio.” Ichthys pouted. However, he reached for her injured ankle; she flinched away. “It’s okay, it’s okay. I won’t hurt you. I’m gonna heal you.”

“How?”

Ichthys smiled mischievously at her.

“You’ll see.”

He gently cupped Renata’s ankle, and soon, a blue light began radiating from the palms of his hands, warming her skin. Her eyes widened. He let out a small hum as his eyebrows furrowed, a look of immense concentration on his face.

“You okay?” The man called Scorpio asked.

“‘M fine,” Ichthys mumbled.

“Don’t think he’s fine, Dui.” Scorpio murmured to the brown haired man.

Soon, the blue light faded and Ichthys released Renata’s ankle; she rolled it around experimentally and was shocked to find it didn’t hurt anymore. She looked at him.

“How did you do that?” He smiled.

“I have the power to heal people. It’s my special gift. All gods have one. Scorpio can read people’s minds, and Dui can send telepathic messages to people’s minds.” Renata nodded slowly.

She was becoming a little more open to believing them.

“So…” Dui murmured. “About our king…”

“Leon.” Scorpio corrected. “He ain’t done nothing worthy of being called our king.”

Renata looked at him.

“Why does he hate me? I don’t even know him.”

“Did he mention your grandmother at all?” Ichthys asked, looking sympathetic. She nodded.

“He hates you because you look so much like your grandmother,” Scorpio explained. “And he blames you for his misery. But if you ask me, he’s the one pouring salt into his wounds instead of lettin’ em heal. He keeps rippin’ em open.”

“He is torturing himself,” Dui agreed quietly. “We’ve tried to understand, but pulling you into this mess has crossed the line.”

“So he really did know grams?”

“He loved her,” Scorpio said. “And she loved him. But…some things happened right around the time he became the king, and she had to forget about him completely in order to live happily.”

“Why?”

“That’s what we’re going to tell you.”

 So the gods spent the most of the next hour explaining everything to Renata. The mark of sin Leon had carried, meeting her grandmother, falling in love with her, protecting her…then losing her once he became the king.

“I never knew…” Renata whispered. “I mean, I knew grams had been attacked when she was younger, but everyone thought it was by an intruder. I never thought she would have stabbed herself…”

“She did it to save Leon,” Dui said softly. “I think that was when his mind began to unravel.”

“Sure,” Scorpio replied. “Seeing someone you love stab themselves, especially in place of you, would be the ticket to Looneyville.”

Ichthys elbowed him.

“So we think he sees you as all the potential he could have had with her,” Dui said, completely ignoring the other two gods. “And personally, I don’t think he really wants to hurt you. I think he’s trying to stop himself from feeling any type of happiness before something goes wrong again.”

“What do you mean?” Renata asked, frowning.

“Well…I don’t mean to pressure you, but…I think Leon might see you as his second chance. Another opportunity to love someone. But at the same time, he doesn’t want to even think about loving you because he’s afraid of something happening to ruin it, like before. And…I, we, think that too.”

Renata tilted her head, curling her fingers into her palms.

“I…don’t think I could love him,” She whispered. “I mean…he’s so terrifying. And he demanded you guys take me from my home. How could I love someone like that?”

“I know,” Dui whispered as he gently patted her knee. “But don’t think about that. Instead, think about this; Leon doesn’t want to hurt you. We know him, and we know that’s not who he is. Somewhere deep down inside, the real Leon is still there.”

Renata looked at the three gods. Their expressions all seemed to beg her to understand.

“I think I have an idea,” Scorpio said suddenly. Everyone looked at him.

“What’s that?” Ichthys asked.

“We know Leon. And we know he truly wouldn’t hurt a human, especially one who looks like…well, you know. So here’s what I just thought of—if someone other than him threatened her or hurt her, there might be enough shock value in that to snap him out of whatever funk he’s in.”

“So you’re saying I’ll have to get hurt either way?” Renata asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No, no. I’m saying, we fake it, pretend. None of us really want to hurt you.”

“That’s a good idea, Scorps,” Ichthys said with a brilliant smile.

“But the problem is,” Dui interrupted glumly. “No one is allowed down here but Leon. The fact that we’re down here right now is grounds for serious punishment. How would the plan work if no one but him is allowed here?”

The gods fell silent for a long minute.

Renata watched as the little hope they had fled their faces, their shoulders slumping in defeat.

She made her mind up.

“Don’t worry,” she whispered. The three gods looked at her, frowning. “The next time Leon comes down here…I’ll do it myself.”

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EXCLUSIVE: ‘The Americans,’ ‘Big Little Lies’ and ‘Master of None’ Music Supervisors Talk TV's Best Music of the Season

For the first time ever, the 2017 Primetime Emmys will hand out an award for Outstanding Music Supervision, acknowledging the creative contributions made by the music supervisors on TV series. It’s an award that’s long overdue; music supervision is an often misunderstood art form thought to be as simple as pulling songs off an iPod. “There’s so much work that goes into it that you don’t see on the screen,” says Amanda Krieg Thomas, who works on The Americans. “It’s not, quote, ‘picking songs.’”

EMMYS 2017: The Standout Performances of the Season

Instead, a show’s music supervisor is tasked with establishing (or enhancing) a show’s atmosphere, navigating the storytelling and onscreen performances and licensing songs that make sense for that particular series. Nowhere is that better exemplified than on Big Little Lies and The Leftovers on HBO, FX’s The Americans, Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Master of None on Netflix and the NBC breakout series This Is Us.

Now that the 2016-2017 season is officially over for these five series, ET hopped on the phone with each of their music supervisors to discuss how the music came together and their favorite moments from the season.

‘The Americans’ Music Supervisor: Amanda Krieg Thomas and P.J. Bloom Standout Moment: “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John in Episode 13 

One thing that notably sets The Americans apart from many TV shows (and even others on this list) is its sparse use of music, which is only brought in for key moments week to week. Any given episode might only include one or two song cues. “They use it really sparingly and to great effect,” Thomas says. And now that the FX series about two KGB spies posing as an American married couple during the Cold War is five seasons in, Thomas and Bloom, a music supervision duo whose work includes other FX series such as American Horror Story and Feud, really understand The Americans’ tone. “We’re entrenched in the pathos of what’s going on,” Thomas says of having a deep understanding of not only how to enhance the vision of showrunners Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields, but also an understanding of who these characters are and what the show’s about. “We’re very lucky the stories are particularly nuanced and have so much depth.”

In season five, the few moments that do get enhanced with music are put to expert use. For Thomas, a prime example of that is in episode three, “The Midges,” which features Roxy Music’s “More Than This” in the opening and closing moments. At first, it’s heard in a bowling alley just as it would be if it were actually playing there. But when the song comes back as Elizabeth (Keri Russell) and Philip (Matthew Rhys) load a body into a car, “it takes on a completely different meaning,” Thomas says of elevating a moment that’s already there in the storytelling and acting. “We just help speak to that.” Another example is Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” which is overheard during a montage of characters during the season five finale. “There were a lot of songs we tried for that sequence,” Thomas reveals, saying that John’s track was the only one that could “cover a lot of emotional bases and have different meanings.”

While “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” a well-known song among fans, was a choice put forth by the showrunners, Thomas credits both of them for encouraging her and Bloom to dig deep to find music that fits the show. While she asserts that everything is “period-authentic,” something the show takes seriously at all levels, they rarely rely on hits, preferring to find a band “that just fits into the ethos of the show,” like Bauhaus in episode six or even Peter Gabriel’s lesser-known song “Lay Your Hands on Me.” Also featured in episode six, “Lay Your Hands on Me” is the third Gabriel song to appear on the show. As to why he works so well for The Americans, Thomas says “there’s depth, there’s emotion, there’s lot of energy” to his music. “His is the right tone and vibe.”

MORE: How 'The Americans' Budding Spy Holly Taylor Stole The Season With a Single Word

‘Big Little Lies’ Music Supervisor: Susan Jacobs Standout Moment: “September Song” by Agnes Obel in Episode 3

HBO

Director Jean-Marc Vallee is famous for not using a composer, preferring to score his movies with a soundtrack of existing music. “He’s committed to that direction when he starts,” Jacobs says. So when she was brought in to work on HBO’s Big Little Lies, the first series for both of them, she had the task of filling seven hours of TV. “The volume of it was daunting,” she says of not only being responsible for getting rights to the show’s varied music, which includes at least five songs per episode, but also writing original songs and casting music and voice extras for certain scenes on the show. But Vallee was so committed to the idea that he came in knowing exactly which songs he wanted to use on the series.

Telling the interwoven stories of mothers -- Madeline (Reese Witherspoon), Celeste (Nicole Kidman), Jane (Shailene Woodley), Bonnie (Zoe Kravitz) and Renata (Laura Dern) -- living in a rich California coastal town, the director wanted the music on Big Little Lies to represent the power of these women. “The ocean was very part of that for him, too,” Jacobs says of finding music that spoke to the ebbs and flows of the characters’ emotions. One prime example is Agnes Obel’s “September Song,” a personal favorite of Jacobs’, which is first heard in the premiere and again in episode three as Madeline is driving home. Wanting something simple that could play in the background, the song matched Madeline’s heartbreak and its repetitive sound “rolls like a wave,” the music supervisor says.

Also in keeping with the strength of the women was the largely predominant use of female vocalists throughout the series. In addition to Obel, the soundtrack included songs by Martha Wainwright (“Bloody Mother F**kin Asshole”), Fleetwood Mac (“Dreams”), Alabama Shakes (“This Feeling”), Irma Thomas (“Straight From the Heart”) and Ituana, a studio musician who notably covered the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” in the series finale’s closing moments, jumping between Perry’s (Alexander Skarsgard) death and the women at the beach. For Jacobs, she liked how this version flipped what “tends to be such a masculine song.”

MORE: How Well Does the 'Big Little Lies' Cast Know Each Other?

‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Music Supervisor: Michael Perlmutter Standout Moment: “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds in Episode 2

Hulu

Since its premiere, The Handmaid’s Tale has earned critical praise for its timely narrative about a near-future society in which women, stripped of their freedoms, have been placed into servitude shortly after the fall of the U.S. government. At the center of this dystopian saga is Offred (Elisabeth Moss), a handmaid placed in the household of Commander Fred Waterford and his wife, Serena Joy (played by Joseph Fiennes and Yvonne Strahovski). Her journey (and perseverance) is largely what drives the show’s song selections, which Perlmutter says should form “a soundtrack that sounds like freedom.” Working with showrunner Bruce Miller, the episodes’ directors, including Reed Morano, who helmed the first three, and Moss, who serves as a producer on the series, Perlmutter put together a seemingly random collection of songs -- from Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me” to “Sweet Baby James” by James Taylor -- that all ultimately speak to the same idea.

Perhaps the most standout scene is when a defiant Offred walks out of the Waterfords’ household, recounting her secret meeting with the Commander as Simple Minds’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” plays in the background. Her moment is destroyed when she discovers her shopping partner is no longer the same person. “F**k,” she says to herself. Thought of on the day of shooting, Morano explained that the moment felt very “high school,” leading them to think of John Hughes’ The Breakfast Club, which famously ended with the Simple Minds tune.

Perlmutter says that iconic moment from the ’80s didn’t prevent them from using the song in the scene. “Everyone came out of it going, ‘This is a new world. This is a new use and it’s great,’” he explains, adding that the song has three levels of meaning on the Hulu series: There’s the defiant high school feeling; the shock when Offred discovers that Ofglen (Alexis Bledel) is gone; and Offred’s own point of view of not being forgotten. “We’re hoping that 20 years from now, people say that it’s an iconic song from The Handmaid’s Tale.”

MORE: 'The Handmaid's Tale' Music Supervisor Talks Season 1's Best Musical Moments

‘The Leftovers’ Music Supervisor: Liza Richardson Standout Moment: “Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off)” by Wu-Tang Clan in Episode 2

If we’re in a golden age of music on TV, then The Leftovers is leading it with its third and final season. With a broad mission to take big swings with everything from the writing to the acting, the show’s music selection was far from an afterthought. In fact, Richardson was tasked by co-creator Damon Lindelof with the goal of choosing songs that would “surprise” the audience, which was heard week to week in the episodes’ different opening music selections that were chosen based on that hour’s theme.

The most apt example of a “surprise” moment, though, is the use of Wu-Tang Clan in episode two, during which Nora Durst (Carrie Coon) reveals to Erika Murphy (Regina King) she had covered a tattoo of her children’s names with the rap group’s logo. Admittedly, the Wu-Tang Clan has nothing to do with the show, having never been referenced or heard before in it. But knowing they were going to do an episode about it, writer Tamara Carter pitched an idea involving the group. “At first, [the writers] were going to have the tattoo have lyrics from a Wu-Tang Clan song, so we needed to have the lyrics cleared," Richardson reveals, saying she dug up songs with lyrics that would be appropriate for Nora. In the end, it became a tattoo of the logo, in part because it looks like a phoenix.

Nora’s story was equal parts sad and funny, and only made more epic by Wu-Tang Clan's "Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off)" playing in the background as she and Erika jumped on an outdoor trampoline later in the episode. While there were a few options to choose from, Richardson says the Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) track “works best” in the moment. “I love loud songs with slow motion, especially on a trampoline with those girls and their beautiful bodies,” she says. “It was so great.”

MORE: Breaking Down the 7 Best 'Leftovers' Musical Moments From the Final Season

‘Master of None’ Music Supervisor: Kerri Drootin and Zach Cowie Standout Moment: “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye” by Soft Cell in Episode 5

Netflix

When it comes to Master of None, creator and star Aziz Ansari had one mission: make it like nothing he’s never seen on TV before. Not confined to the conventions of a traditional sitcom, Ansari and co-creator Alan Yang pushed the limits of what their show could be, resulting in season two’s black-and-white homage to Italian cinema in the premiere to Lena Waithe’s personal tale of coming out in “Thanksgiving.” “It also made sense to do something no one’s ever heard before, musically,” says Cowie, who was ultimately inspired by Woody Allen as a storyteller who understands how music and film go together. “He takes contemporary subject matter and puts Gershwin behind it.”

Cowie’s version of that is using a varied soundtrack -- from Kraftwerk’s “Computer Love” to Sylvester’s “I Need Somebody to Love Tonight” in one episode alone -- that doesn’t put Master of None in a specific time or place. And keeping to the idea of “pushing it further” in season two led the show to figure out how to get permission to use Lucio Battisti’s “Amarsi Un Po” in episode nine. The legendary singer had never licensed his music outside of Italy before; Master of None became the first international project to get the rights for one of his records. “We didn’t get it cleared until three days before the episode mixed,” Cowie reveals.

Another moment that Cowie really loves is when Soft Cell’s “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye” plays behind a long shot of Dev (Ansari) as he sits alone in the back of a cab in the final scene of episode five. “It’s my favorite scene of the whole show,” he says of the transcendent moment. Thought of on the fly, it was an idea that came from Ansari, and when the team saw it in the dailies they knew it was a perfect fit. “It’s always really fun for me, in my job, to let something be,” Cowie says, knowing when not to mess with a good thing. Episode five also features a live performance by John Legend, who is friends with Ansari off-screen. Working with Ansari, Cowie came up with a list of songs that the singer might perform during a dinner party scene, which needed to serve as a turning point between Dev and Francesca (Alessandra Mastronardi). On the list was a cover of Michael Jackson’s “I Can’t Help It,” which Legend selected and performed live on set in one take.

MORE: Director Melina Matsoukas Pivots From Beyonce to Must-See TV

‘This Is Us’ Music Supervisor: Jennifer Pyken Standout Moment: “If Only” by Maria Taylor in Episode 9

It's no secret music plays a crucial role in the fabric of This Is Us. For Pyken, finding the perfect song to match the emotion of the NBC drama's sentimental scenes is its own reward. "With music, everyone brings something, whether it's what they're listening to now or something they may have been listening to in the past," says Pyken, whose two-decade career includes credits like Felicity, Alias and One Tree Hill. While several iconic musical moments from the first season -- such as the opening (Sufjan Stevens' "Death With Dignity") and closing (Labi Siffre's "Watch Me") songs in the first episode or Cat Stevens' "Moonshadow" in the finale -- were creator Dan Fogelman’s suggestions, Pyken credits their working relationship as being a "collaborative" one, even though she often doesn't find out what's coming until the last moment.

"We look at each episode and work with what's going on in each episode. I don't think there's a specific formula that we use," Pyken shares, admitting that there was no clear "mission statement" given to her in the beginning. That freedom afforded her the ability to connect with the characters as they wove in and out of different decades in their lives. "We do flash back, so we use a lot of cool [artists] like Dire Straits, Blind Faith and Van Morrison that put us in those eras," she says. "We talk about what Jack and Rebecca would be listening to and who they are as people. When we go to the '90s, what are little Kate, Kevin and Randall listening to? What's happening in 1992?" 

One musical moment that stands out the most to Pyken accompanies one of the most heartwarming scenes of the season, though the "Memphis" episode holds a special place in her heart. In the ninth episode, Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) puts young Randall on his back, completing push-ups as a metaphorical commitment to raising him into a respectable man, while former Azure Ray singer Maria Taylor's dreamy, nostalgic "If Only" adds depth and heart to the tearjerker moment. "When that scene came up, we dropped [the song] in and it was magic. It was done. We never had to look for another song," Pyken recalls, adding that she finds satisfaction in highlighting indie artists who "don't get placement." Funnily enough, Pyken's relationship with Taylor dates back to Felicity, and the song was immediately identified as the perfect soundtrack for a montage. "Her lyrics and her voice, something about her music just speaks to me." 

MORE: Milo Ventimiglia Satifies His Creative Curiosity With 'This Is Us'