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wordupcomics · 3 years

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Where are the rest of the villains in this AU? :0

So I've actually answered this question before, and was just gonna link you to the post....but I can't seem to find it so....guess I'll be answering this again...(I honestly wouldn't care if there weren't enough villains to fill a college campus 🤦‍♀️)

So a lot of this is repeated from the last post, wherever it is now 😂 but I believe I expanded on several of these villains too.

First let's cover all the villains as a whole. They are all no longer villains! Tobey went good at around 14 and ended up unintentionally inspired a lot of villains to slowly do the same. The last few villains gave up crime when WordGirl retired because they didn't feel like crime would be the same without WordGirl coming to stop them. A few years after Tobey went good, when several villains had already gone good, Two Brains and Tobey teamed up to create the Anti-Villain Association (AVA), which was intended to be a place where former villains and criminals could talk out their issues with other former villains so that they wouldn't turn back to crime. It's still running to this day and they meet once a week at Two Brains's old lair. They don't just keep it to their meetings, they also have fun functions and activities. For the most part the city doesn't think twice about the AVA, but you know there are always those people who don't trust others, and these types of people are convinced the AVA is simply a cover up, that all the former villains are still villains and are gathering to plan a teamed take over of the city or world. The AVA generally ignores these people. Many of each villains' respective weapons were destroyed after going good, but some weapons still remain for different reasons. Some weapons are nice to have for an emergency (Two Brains has rays that don't hurt people, just trap their feet with spray cheese, a nice thing to keep around in the event of a burglary), some weapons have uses in every day life (when making dozens of sandwiches at once, Chuck's condiment ray comes in handy), some felt it was wrong to destroy them for no reason if they weren't hurting anyone or anything (Tobey's robots who weren't destroyed by WordGirl are happily living in a very large cabin DEEP in the woods, Tobey didn't feel right about destroying them, they are practically sentient!) and some the villains felt were too dangerous to destroy (Mr. Big had more advanced mind control tech that he and Leslie were worried would send out a mind control signal if destroyed, rather than take the risk, they simply locked them up under high security.)

Now let's get into each AVA member (well I mean i guarantee I'll forget people, but I'm gonna try and if I missed a specific former villian you want to know about let me know):

Two Brains- The Steven brain was especially inspired by Tobey's actions, and wanted to be a good guy again. However he knew keeping the mouse brain at bay would be a challenge, and knew his only chance of being good was to find a legal way of getting his cheese fix. So Two Brains started making his own cheese. He even made a cheese aging ray to speed up the process. He ended up being able to make more cheese than he could eat, and turned it into a business. Because he doesn't have to spend actual time on the aging part, he can sell quality cheese for a cheap price, and it's a very successful business. I don't have a company name for his cheese business, but the slogan is "Evilly Delicious!" His henchmen joined his efforts and still help with the cheese factory. One henchmen, the one with no name, had a daughter (also unnamed because I think I'm funny XD) that Two Brains always considered to be a granddaughter to him. She is aware of her family's past actions and is fine with it. She sometimes will help in the cheese factory but generally prefers not to. Two Brains still co-runs the AVA with Tobey.

Chuck and Butcher- Since they went good around the same time and did the same thing, I'm just doing them together. Chuck went for his dream of running his own sandwich shop, which started as a food truck and now is a restaurant, and Butcher partnered with him and helped him. Chuck makes the sandwiches and figures out the recipes, and Butcher helps and supplies the meat. They buy their cheese from Two Brains. Chuck has a better, albeit not perfect relationship with his mom and brother. Chuck also at one point made T shirts to sell in the sandwich shop...the only people who bought any were the other members of the AVA, and that was only to be supportive. The only people who ever actually wear the T shirts are Butcher and Whammer, and again, it's really only to be supportive and it's not very often they get worn. Butcher got married, had a son, and later had a divorce. The marriage was fine, and the divorce was civil, and he's really good friends with his ex-wife and her new husband. His son's name is Kale and he has powers similar to his dad, except dealing with vegetables. Butcher and Kale don't have the best relationship, and this is really on Kale's part. Kale's very prideful and shuts out help when it's offered to him, even if he needs it (which is often) and Butcher's instinct is always to help his son. Kale has a son of his own who he had at a younger age, and who's mother is currently out of the picture. The son's name is Baker, he's 8 and like his father and grandfather (and great grandfather!) has food related powers, his relating specifically to bread (bread, not pastries! Though Baker does like baking pastries!). Baker loves his grandpa and loves spending time with him. While Kale may shut his dad out when he needs help, it's nothing that would ever make Kale keep Baker away from Butcher.

Granny May- Oh yeah, she's still alive. TBH she's probably the oldest person in the city lol. She simply retired crime upon her family's request. She currently is living in an assisted living facility and is still going strong! She's in a scooter now, but still carries a cane with her for no other reason than to whack people of her own volition.

Mr. Big- Big really struggled with going good, despite wanting to. eventually he figured out his problem was greed and wanting money, so he went in the complete opposite direction and became a minimalist hippie. He currently lives in a trailer park, still has a collection of soft bunny toys and uses a walker now. He and Leslie are good friends.

Leslie- When Big went all hippie, he gave his business to Leslie. She, practically overnight, turned it around into a very successful, but also very sustainable and ethical business. Essentially it's Amazon if they had a heart 🙃

Whammer- Whammer loves his job as a professional demolisher! You need an unsafe building torn down? Call Whammer and he'll wham it down! Remodeling your kitchen and need it gutted first? Call Whammer, he'll be happy to wham your kitchen! Snow covering the ground and need the roads cleared? Call Whammer with caution cause he might accidentally pile all the snow against the buildings, trapping everyone inside, but damn those roads sure will be whammed clear!

Amazing Rope Guy- ARG got decent at rope tricks and is now an entertainer. He will certainly not be considered for America's Got Talent but if you want to entertain children at a birthday party and are on a budget, he's your guy! Becky and Tobey used to call him for every one of Theo's birthday parties (to support him) until Theo politely requested they stop. Now he's being hired for Julie's parties.

Lady Redundant Woman- over the years she moved up in her copier place, and eventually had done every position there. Now knowing how to do every position required in a copier store, she opened her own store and her copies are the employees. It's perfect because no matter what, she always has the EXACT right amount of workers, and technically she's the only one working so she can keep all the money for herself or her business (corrupt business people, don't get any ideas!). Dave visits her often and is so proud of her. She hates this. But she sure does love her copy store!

Ms. Question- She got hired onto the police force as a professional interrogator. As you can imagine, she's VERY good at her job. She doesn't even use her powers most of the time. That being said, if it was a severe crime like a murder and the person just wasn't talking or she had reason to believe they were lying or withholding details, she would be happy to use her powers, but most of the time she refuses to use her powers on others.

Learnerer- Is a detective! He watches suspects and learns their habits and can easily detect clues that will tell him exactly who it was if it was someone he's observed. He works with Ms. Question often and they're actually a pretty good team. How's that for a team up?

Victoria Best- When her and her brother were teenagers, they were taken away from their parents and put into a foster family. At first neither of them were happy for obvious reasons, they were just taken away from their parents and home. However, while Victor stayed loyal to his parents' wishes and refused to believe that they should have been taken away, Victoria soon began to see their parents for who they really were, and her own past actions for what they really were. She joined the AVA and made an effort to change, encouraging her brother to let go of their parents' control. She currently has no contact with her biological parents, and sees her foster parents regularly. She has one daughter who she loves deeply and always encourages her to just have fun with things. Try everything and fail with pride. Victoria's daughter sees Victoria's foster parents as grandparents. Victoria visits her brother somewhat regularly for small talk, sometimes she'll try to convince him to join the AVA, but she's learned to not push it. She really just sees him to stay in touch, her daughter has never meant Victor, and while Victoria would love for her daughter and brother to meet, she refuses to let them until Victor starts making an effort to be better. She still has hope her brother will come to his senses one day. Victoria runs a daycare, and did so because she wanted to be able to catch warning signs of poor parenting early in life so the children don't have to suffer in a bad household for as long as she had to.

Eileen- Inspired by, I think it was one of those "The Time I..." commercials Disney Channel used to do, Eileen learned that many people don't have the resources to have as nice birthdays as she does. She felt bad and started donating things to charities so people could have as wonderful of birthdays she always wanted to have every damn day. She currently runs her own charity, and if someone seems just a little too greedy, Eileen goes all hulk on them and turns into the Birthday Girl. People usually listen after that.

Hal- Hal sells his old blueprints for weapons to the cops so they can get a lead, and might even work undercover at times to sell current villains crappy weapons that allow them to get caught.

Coach- Instead of coaching new villains on how to be villains, Coach coaches newcomers to the AVA on the basics of staying good when you just want to commit a crime.

Seymour- Started a Youtube series called "Can You Spot the Scam?" where he exposes scams around the city and gives advice on how to spot them and avoid them. What he's learned from this is: people are not very good at spotting scams.

Inviso-Bill and Big Left Hand Guy- Married. They got married before going good and before WordGirl retired. AVA members and current villains and WordGirl were all invited to the wedding. They spent a little bit of time as a married criminal duo before retiring. They still don't really know what they should do with themselves as good guys, they both sort of hop from job to job. But they are happy none the less!

Rhyme and Reason- Retired after WordGirl did, just didn't feel right to continue crime without her. They are in a QPR and like Inviso-Bill and BLHG don't really know what to do with themselves, but are happy just to have each other and the AVA

Okay I'm probably missing people, so again if your curious about someone in particular that I missed, let me know!

#villians #former villians #ava #don't mind me i'm just actually tagging things so i can find this one later #i will not type this shit a third time lol #word up

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ofmcxie · 5 years

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&&. ( ada rhodes ) was just spotted in amsterdam. rumor has it ( she ) is a ( 768 / appears [25] ) year old ( vampire ) who resembles ( anya chalotra ). ( she ) has been said to be ( dauntless & protective ) but also quite ( possessive & volatile ).with all the chaos surrounding the magical underworld, ( she ) has chosen to align with ( the vampires ). ( she ) is currently serving as ( an assassin ). hopefully the city doesn’t devour them whole. // fulfilling celine dahl’s rival

(( Hey guys!! I’m Jade and will be playing the lesbian vampire disaster that is Ada here. I’m always awful at these intro things, but i’m really looking forward to rping with you all :D Feel free to hmu for plots anytime because I live for them lol. Also, i’m going bullet point in the hopes I don’t write an entire essay and it gets too long to read, but we’ll see how well that goes...xD ))

Backstory:

Ada didn’t had the easiest start in life. Born to simple farm folk who never really wanted her, in a time of knights and holy wars when a woman’s sole purpose was considered marriage and children.

She had never been that kind of girl. One of her earliest memories being a time she had tried to go out training with the boys only to be dragged back to their homestead to help her mother cook.

Her father drank a lot, and was an incredibly abusive individual. It certainly wasn’t helped by the fact he was a self-riotously religious man, and Ada had been born with a defect. Her irises had taken on a purple hue from the day she had opened them; not enough to be obvious unless you truly looked, but he had deemed it a mark of the devil.

Ada hadn’t seen it that way. Instead, growing to relish in her uniqueness. Like a physical manifestation of her defiance burned into her very soul, it meant she wasn’t born to be weak.

It caused a great many fights with both her parents who weren’t exactly good people at the best of times, going to bed beaten and hungry more often than not.

The years that followed were no kinder, Ada haven all but given up until one night, were a chance encounter would change her life forever.

She’d been following the well-trodden path home when she’d been ambushed.

Having nothing of value to give the bandits, they’d settled for some other form of payment.

She’d tried to fight them tooth and claw when she realised what was happening, unarmed so fighting dirty, their blood both under her nails on her lips by the time they’d got her to the ground. But they had her now, and they were angry...She’d grown up used to getting in fightings, it was probably the reason she’d lasted as long as she had, but there were just too many of them.

Ada had been incredibly lucky that day. The men not having time to do much of anything before they were being flung off her with such a speed and force that it blurred together. She couldn’t even see what was causing it, but was pretty certain she heard bones crack as they hit trees.

She’d jumped to her feet uncertain whether to expect the same fate, but the whole situation had her reeling, and she’d fallen to her knees again before being able to do anything about it.

An eery quite followed suite, and by the time she’d caught her breath long enough to look up again -- she would have never been prepared for the sight that met her.

It was a woman; beautiful, covered in blood dripping from her mouth and...glorious. Where most would have been terrified Ada only found herself awestruck.

She’d briefly contemplated if this individual’s fangs were a defect as her eyes had been, and the words were out of her mouth before she realised what she was saying.

The comment may have been idiotic, but it seemed to snap the woman out of whatever trance she had been in. A low chuckle leaving her lips instead going for Ada’s neck.

They’d begun to talk, and she’d found this woman was a skilled assassin of all things, apparently it’s easy to do when no one ever sees you. Women certainly weren’t capable of such a thing; it made her work easy.

By the end of the night they’d ended up in a contract of sorts. This woman would teach her some tricks of the trade in exchange for her blood whenever asked for.

Ada was hardly innocent, and if meant gaining even a modicum of power over her own life then she would grab it with both hands.

They met in that very same spot often after that. Three years of being taught certain tricks; where to nick so you could leave the scene before anyone would notice, what substances made for the least traceable poisons.

She’d also helped her get over how she originally reacted to pain, teaching her how to lean into it instead. It was good thing to have in one’s repertoire if she ever got caught and interrogated -- But she unwittingly developed a slight thing for it in the process though she’d be damed if she’d ever admit that, and while she’s 100% a sadist at heart, she does still have a small weakness for it on certain occasions.

The addiction of a vampire bite was no small thing either, and Ada began to believe she might be in over head with this woman; until the night raiders ransacked her village.

She’d been left for dead, convinced it was the end...and yet woke up with a new lease of life.

The woman had turned her, their relationship no longer being a one way street it seemed.

Ada stayed with her for a few centuries before they eventually branched off on their own, though they’re still incredibly close to this day.

Over the years that followed, she quickly gained notoriety for her ability to complete with freelance kill contacts so efficiently, and eventually flagged on the vampire court’s radar --- In the end being taken into their employ of her own volition, more than happy to serve the species that had granted her freedom.

It was during one of these contracts she met an insufferable fallen angel who happened to be after the same person. It turned into a weird game of cat and mouse trying to thwart each other’s attempts, and Ada’s not even certain who actually got the kill in the end, but they still argue about it to this day.

She’s been working for the king and his inner court ever since, and is incredibly loyal to them. She takes pride in being good at her job, and has no qualms killing for them without question -- Her only hard line is children, but that particular request has never come up anyway...

Personality:

Ada keeps her true nature very lowkey and acts differently around most people aside from a select few. She’s very much the ‘look like an innocent flower but be the serpent under it’ type character, and incredibly manipulative when she wants to be. This is especially prominent in the fact that Ada’s gay af, but she has no qualms flirting with men when they’re prey or she needs something from them.

She really does love the colour of her eyes and is glad they didn’t change when she was turned, but on a job she’ll usually experiment with different coloured contacts due to the uniqueness of such features.

Additionally, Ada’s completely down with this notion of vampires coming out of hiding, believing them to be a superior species that shouldn’t have to bow down to mutts or mortals just because their precious guardian angels deem it so — She plans on doing whatever she can to help further that cause.

Connections:

I’m literally open to anything, but here are just a few thoughts:

Enemies with benefits: Filled by Celine Dahl. These two HATE each other; like passion of a thousand suns hate. I mean, Ada isn’t always the calmest person at the best of times, but Celine can somehow PISS HER THE FUCK OFF MORE THAN ANYBODY ELSE IN THE HISTORY OF EVER. With that being said, there’s also this weird pull between them. It’s like all that anger and hatred and loathing spills over into everything they do -- but Ada kind of lives for it. They just try to get under each other’s skin in every way possible. They’ve even slipped up a few times and had some pretty intense hate sex because FUCK I HATE YOU SO GOD DAMN MUCH AND I REALLY WANT TO HURT YOU BUT YOU’RE ALSO REALLY HOT AND NOW MY HAND’S AROUND YOUR NECK AND YOUR STUPID FACE IS INCHES FROM MINE AND...screw it, i’m totally topping though don’t even try!!

Fuck buddies/booty calls 1/4: Rosalia Fuentes, TBA. Ada has nothing against sex workers and sees it as a reputable job like anything else, but like, girl is egotistic af and frankly sees the thought of paying for sex offensive of her skill set. These would basically just be her go-to people whenever she’s back in Amsterdam, and wants someone who’s just completely dtf from the moment they meet up rather than pursuing someone new.

Vampires with the same maker who she weirdly considers family despite hating the term: TBA. I just...love the idea of this? Like Umbrella Academy-esk sort of misfit family that would actually kill for each other.

People who’s family members/loved ones she’s killed, not that they’d know it was actually her...Or if they do there’s no way to prove it: TBA. Just give me allll the angst!

I would love you 5eva if you actually brought her Maker here.

Her favourite blood doll: TBA. Same as the fuck buddies connection, but already pretty addicted to being bitten. Ada doesn’t mind paying for this sort of thing as much, though this would be someone who doesn’t make her pay for it even if they work as one, or maybe that’s not even what they do for a living? Basically an individual Ada would consider making personally her’s if she was around more consistently and didn’t run the risk of having them in constant withdrawal mode.

Anything else you can think of, come at me!!

#nhqintro #abuse tw #non-con tw #blood tw #murder tw #//They're very vague or brief mentions but I thought i'd flag them all just in case #//Side note: The bullet points did not help lol

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seouledbysisi · 5 years

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Ambitious Dreams

Chapter Nine

Three weeks later

Nova sat in a waiting room. She looked around at the swollen bellies. She had actually coped with the pregnancy, might as well since she couldn’t change it and honestly she was bluffing about the abortion thing. Truth be told she didn’t believe in taking a life whether it was born or not. Her parents weren’t happy with her especially when she told them that she wasn’t giving up on her internship. She was going to ride it out as long as she could and if they couldn’t understand that then so be it! All of the pregnant women had a glow. A glow that she just didn’t have. The fathers even had a glow. She saddened a bit. Her child would never experience that type of happiness. Her child had irresponsible parents who hadn’t even planned on having her. The mother was striving to become a stylist. At least her father would be someone it could look up to. He was making a name for himself and was gaining success. A tear escaped her eye.

Nori looked over at her and squeezed her hand. “It’s going to be okay.” She gave her a small smile.

Nova nodded with a smile. “I know. I’m just second-guessing myself as usual.” She shrugged.

“Nova Chaplin?” A lady in a unicorn scrub called.

Nova took a deep breath and raised her hand. She looked to Nori. “Come with me?”

Nori looked over at the entrance door.

Ash had emerged. He was late but he was there. “I’m sorry I’m late.” He told her immediately.

Nova glared at Nori.

Nori raised her hands up. “I’m sorry I just thought he should be here.”

“I won’t go back there with you, I’m fine sitting here if you’d rather Nori go back. I just wanted you to know that you’re not alone.” Ash reassured.

Nova nodded. “Come on.” She said plainly.

Nori patted Ash’s shoulder. “She’s talking about you.” She smiled.

Ash looked up at her with grateful eyes. “Thank you.” He said and walked to the back with her.

They waited in the patient room. Not having said a word to one another.

The doctor finally came in with the nurse towing in behind her.

She and Nori had decided to go with a OB-GYN’s office in Hongdae because they had a doctor who was also fluent in English.

“First time parents?” The beautiful lady with coal black hair asked as she got her equipment ready.

Nova nodded. “Is it obvious?”

The doctor chuckled. “Very. You both are quiet as a mouse and you look nervous.”

Ash cleared his throat and repositioned in his seat. He had a lot to say and so many questions he wanted to ask but he’d better not push his luck. He was just thankful that she was allowing him this opportunity.

“I’m going to lie you back and we’ll get started. Nothing will hurt. The gel that goes on stomach will be very cold but that’s the gist of the discomfort.” She told her and squeezed the gel onto her belly.

Nova jumped at the contact. She stilled.

“You alright?” The doctor asked.

Nova nodded.

“How about you daddy?” She directed at Ash.

He laughed a bit. “I think I’m good.” He answered as he watched the screen. He could hear the monitor but no distinct sounds.

The doctor grinned. “You see that right there?”

Nova and Ash both nodded.

“Say hello to your baby.” She responded.

Nova felt something overwhelming. A feeling she had never felt before. Suddenly she couldn’t control her emotions and began to cry. “My baby.” She looked over at Ash with so much joy. “Your baby.”

He grabbed her hand and caressed it. “Our baby.” He grinned.

“And that noise is your baby’s heartbeat, you’re measuring at about ten weeks.”

“So when is she due?” Ash asked. He could already see himself going shopping for everything that the baby would need. He was itching to buy some things that same day.

The doctor smiled. “Around May 18.” She cleaned Nova’s stomach off and left out.

Ash clasped his hands together. He couldn’t wipe the smirk off of his face. He was happy. Yes, it was unexpected and the tension was high between him and Nova; but he honestly wouldn’t want to go through parenthood with anyone else. Nova was a great woman and he respected the hell out of her whether she believed that or not. He knew his child was in good hands with or without him and that made me him happy. “How do you feel? Is it okay for me to ask?”

She nodded. “I’ve come to terms with it. My parents are highly disappointed in me though.” She wrapped her arms around herself.

“I can imagine. My mother wasn’t the happiest but she said any help that we needed she was here for us. She just imagined a grandchild later in the future.”

Nova nodded. “Does she know that your child is only half Korean?” She giggled a bit.

“Yeah and she doesn’t care. She’s never cared about race and anything else like that. She just wants the baby to be healthy.” Ash smirked.

“Lucky me. My parents want me to come back to the states immediately.” She revealed.

Anxiety rose in his veins. “And are you?”

“That’s the main reason for their disappointment in me. They don’t think I can handle being a mother without them being around 24/7. I can’t just leave my internship. I’ve worked too hard to get where I am and if I’m ever going to be able to financially support my baby then I need this job. And I-“ she took a deep breath and paused. “I can’t just take the baby away from you either. No matter how I feel about you, our child doesn’t have anything to do with it and she deserves you.”

Ash nodded. “I know you don’t believe a word that comes out of my mouth anymore but I’m not just here for the baby, I’m here for you too.” He stood and helped her off of the examine table.

“Thanks.” She told him and headed back into the waiting room to find Nori.

Nori looked up from her phone. “So how’d it go?” She was excited.

“We’re due in May. The baby is healthy.” Nova told her.

Nori eyed Ash as they walked outside. “And how’s?”

“We’re straight, for the baby of course. We’ll be able to co-parent.” Nova told her plainly.

Ash waved. “I’ll see y’all later.” He got into his vehicle and sat in it for a while. He covered his face. He desperately wanted Nova back, more than ever now. She never was really his but she was closer to him than she is now. All over a dumb bet that was never really in play. He understand her standpoint though, and there was no way of proving his innocence.”

Nori pulled up to the studio. “I should’ve asked but you’re cool being here, right?”

Nova laughed. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because you haven’t really been chilling with us all lately.”

“I just needed time to deal with. . .life.” They both got out of the vehicle and walked into the building.

The guys were all sitting around listening to Keem lay his verse down.

“That’s bae!” Nori squealed as she nodded her head to the music.

Nova smirked and sat on the couch next to Hash. Elle was sitting on the other side of him. “Y’all are getting closer and closer!” Nova stated with a smile.

Elle blushed. “Just a little.” She squeezed his arm. “So how’s baby Ash?” She asked in sincerity.

Nova rolled her eyes. “Baby Nova, you mean?”

Ash walked into the studio and found a seat in a far corner.

Nova stilled. “The baby is fine though. She will make her grand appearance in May!”

Changmo laughed. “So we’re betting on what the baby will be, right?” He regretted what he had said immediately when Nova’s facial expression turned sour.

“No more bets please!” Ash interrupted and rolled his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Nova. I wasn’t thinking when I said that. I really wasn’t.” Changmo apologized.

Nova put her hand up. “It’s not a big deal. It happened and I’m over it.” She lied. She wasn’t over it. Her feelings were still hurt. Every time she looked at Ash it reminded her. She wondered if everything had been a joke and he was just trying to make things right because there was a baby involved. What other guy would still be apologizing over and over for three weeks.

Marz got into the booth next. His lyrics captured everyone’s attention. You was killing me from the inside out.

Nova knew this relationship was toxic for him and Jangmi. They either needed therapy together or they needed to call it quits because it wasn’t healthy. They both were suffering a great loss and if they weren’t careful it was going to destroy their whole mental capacity.

Jangmi walked in with Lee.

The whole aura went dark. Everyone stayed quiet. The tension was so thick you could cut it.

“Ash, have you no respect for yourself?” Lee questioned.

Ash was knocked out of his trance. “What?!”

“You had such a bright future and you’ve tarnished it with being linked to that bitch for the rest of your life.” She pointed at Nova.

Ash looked up at her. He had enough of her drama and disrespectful actions. “Lee, why the fuck are you here? You’re like cancer that keeps spreading and spreading until it kills everyone. No one wants you here!”

She was startled at his words. “I’m just saying you can do better. What do you think your fans are going to say?”

He stood up towering over her. “Anyone who is a fan of mines will be a fan of my child. And if you say one more negative thing about Nova, we gonna have some problems!” He pushed past her and stormed off.

Nova stood up and followed him. “Ash?!” She ran down the hall trying to find him. He was sitting on one of the couches in an open common area. His leg was shaking. He was angry. “Ash, calm down.” She spoke softly.

He looked up at her. “Nova, I’m not in the mood and I don’t want to take my anger out on you. Just go back!”

She swallowed hard. She took a step back. “I just wanted to say thank you. . .for sticking up for me.” She turned to walk away.

He groaned. “I just wish there was some way we could go back in time, Nova! You have no idea how much I want you right now. How much I need you, right now! You think this is all a game and it’s not. My heart is ripping apart. The heart I worked so hard to put back together and it’s back, but worse! I know you’re hurt and you’re stubborn so you don’t want to hear all of this but I would never let someone down you like that. I just pray one day you’ll realize the truth.” He was angry, partially at Lee but more at Nova herself. Had she not shared all the moments they had with him? How could they all be fake? How could she walk around like nothing had ever happened?

Nova simply stared at him. He wouldn’t even look at her and she understood his frustration but if she hadn’t heard it for herself she would’ve never believed there was ever a bet but she heard them talking about it so how could she not believe it? She simply walked away. As she got closer to the studio suite she could see Marz sitting on the floor. She slid down the wall next to him.

He looked over at her. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

She smiled. “I think we’re both lost. Maybe sitting here we can help each other be found.” She giggled a bit.

“Why are you so lost?” Marz asked.

Nova sighed. “Well I got a baby on the way by a guy who betted on sleeping with me, so now I’m all alone. And as much as I hate myself for admitting this, especially to you, he’s not even the one I originally liked.”

Marz looked over at her quickly. “Who’d you like?”

Nova rolled her eyes. “Can you believe I had my eyes on you?!” She laughed. “Until you treated me like I was some type of contagious disease, then I was just downright scared of you.”

Marz laughed. “I had to stay away from you.”

“Why?” She eyed him.

“Cause of Jangmi. She’s crazy.” He laughed. “She knew that you were catching my eye too and she used the-“ he coughed and took a deep breath. “The death of our child against me to keep me away from you.”

Nova shook her head. “She had nothing to worry about, I knew she was your girlfriend and I would never overstep boundaries. That’s not my style.”

“That’s the thing, she wasn’t worried about you. She was worried about me leaving her. She knows I’m not happy. Hell, she isn’t either but she’d rather keep me around to beat me up about the baby. It makes her feel better.” Marz closed his eyes.

Nova saddened a bit. They both were catching hell. His version was much worse though and she wished he didn’t have to go through it. “That’s really cruel of her. Have you thought about going to therapy?”

He nodded. “I have my first appointment next Tuesday.”

She smiled. “I’m happy for you. Are you scared?”

“I’m more scared of not getting any help. I feel like I’m losing all my sanity. I can’t live like this anymore. I’m too young and as much as I love her and wish this had never happened, we’ll never get past it being together.”

Nova nodded. “So you broke things off with her?”

“Yep and she slapped me.” He turned his face and his was bloodshot red.

“Damn! Well at least in time you’ll feel better. Maybe not on next Tuesday but the therapy will help. Bottling up feelings isn’t good.” Nova rubbed his thigh.

Marz smiled. “And so will you. I know you heard what you heard but I also know how Ash is with someone he really likes, maybe even loves. He loves hard. That’s what pissed me off so much, because he could have something that I couldn’t. You were an idea for me but for him you were reality and I hated it so I passively treated you like shit and that wasn’t fair.”

Nova’s breath hitched.

“And I know you probably think he’s sticking around for the baby but truth is even if that wasn’t a factor he’d be stuck to you like glue. That’s the type of guy he is.” Marz inhaled deeply. “Better than me, right?” He chuckled.

Nova stayed quiet for a moment. “We’re gonna make it thru this. Together. When you need someone to talk to. Maybe we can be real friends.”

“I think that would be nice. You might fuck around and be my best friend.” Marz said and nudged her with his arm a bit.

Nori sat on Hyoeun’s lap and winded her hips to the music.

“Don’t start nothing!” He told her in her ear.

She giggled. “That’s what I’m trying to do!” Her phone pinged back to back.

Where are you?

Are you busy?

I need you.

Hyoeun could see the messages. He sighed. They had never really spoken about each other exes but he could sense that these messages were ex material.

She texted back quickly. Is something wrong?

She carried along dancing on her new man, trying to forget about the messages but Harry was texting back faster than he had ever.

I miss you. I thought this would be better but it’s not. Can we talk?

Nori went back and forth in her head. Part of her wanted to hear what he had to say so she could shut his ass down. Karma was a bitch! But the other part wanted to just let the demons sleep and enjoy the bliss of Hyoeun for as long as she could. I’m busy. Maybe another time.

She placed her phone on do not disturb. The only ones who would need to contact her were in the building with her so it didn’t matter anyway.

#ambition #fanfic #kpop #stories #soft hours #kpop idols #leellamarz #ash island #changmo #keem hyoeun #the quiett #k hiphop #dok2 #seoul #hash swan #south korea

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findmyrupertfriend · 5 years

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WRITTEN BY: KATEY RICH

Rupert Friend knows he probably wasn't the first choice for the title role of Cheri, and when you mention that he's yet another star that Stephen Frears plucked out of obscurity to stardom, he doesn't take offense. But Friend, also known as Keira Knightley's boyfriend and as the dastardly Wickham in Joe Wright's Pride & Prejudice, may very easily be the Next Big Thing, a sexy Englishman with gorgeous eyes and, oh yeah, acting talent. As the spoiled, lazy Cheri, who starts a six-year relationship with an older woman (Michelle Pfeiffer) mostly because he has nothing better to do, Friend is both the hero and the villain of his own story, a lover to Pfeiffer's character who also causes her the greatest grief. I spoke to Friend during a roundtable interview at the Cheri junket, where he walked in the room by himself, wearing a Hawaiian shirt that may or may not have been ironic. Check out what he said to say below, and underneath the interview watch our exclusive behind-the-scenes featurette about how Cheri got made. The movie comes out in select theaters this Friday.

How did you like the way you looked in this film? The clothes, the hair? We had a lot of visual ideas about Chéri, one of them being the idea that he was sort of a devil and an angel. Physically he looked like a most angelic, sweet, sort of well-behaved boy, but he actually had the morals of a Lucifer. We also had the idea—Stephen and I—of a sort of ballerina matador in the way that he moved, working with Consolata Boyle on the costumes, we very much wanted to keep that element of dangerous grace, where you can be gliding through a room one moment, and pouncing the next with a barb or an action or a look. When I was preparing the role, an image that came to me very strongly was of this lazy tomcat on a hot, brick wall, sort of just lazily watching the world go by, but when a mouse came too close [knocks the table], it was a goner. That was something I felt as soon as I read the script.

Stephen Frears said they were looking for an American for your role, because Michelle Pfeiffer and Kathy Bates were American. But then you came in. Did you know that was what they were looking for when you came in for the audition? Well, I was aware I was probably quite low on the list. And also that I was going to have to fight tooth and nail to get the part when you have a script and a director of this caliber and a star like Michelle comes on, I should think there were many more high-profile actors than I am who were keen to play the role. So I think the script had some fingerprints on it. Stephen is rather reticent in discussing his process and how he approaches working with actors. Could you tell us something about how you discussed where you were going with this role, and what he gave you each day as you approached the day’s shooting? I can understand his reticence because I share it. I think that the process of trying to become somebody else, and obviously the director/actor relationship in trying to do that, is such a weird, undefinable thing. There’s definitely not a sit-down board meeting where you talk it all through, at least not with Stephen. It’s much more of an instinctive, felt thing.

What was your experience working with Michelle? It was nothing but wonderful. She was a very, very generous actor and we established a trust early on, which was lucky because we had to do some very hard work together. Not just the more obvious intimate scenes, but the characters go through these 180-degree changes of emotions seemingly without reason, and you have to feel that you are dancing together, that one will catch the other. Otherwise it’s very exposing.

What did you do to build up that trust? I don’t know. It just happened. We met the night before we were going to start shooting, and knew nothing of each other before then. Obviously I knew her work, she didn’t know mine. So we had a quick cup of tea, and then what I think happened was we left ourselves behind at that point and started to just inhabit the world we were creating. Chéri must have been a hard character to play because it’s so indecipherable. It’s all inaction. Did you have any fears about playing a part like that? It can be a thankless part to play. Definitely. One of the first walls that I came to was this statement that Léa makes, that she can’t criticize his character because he doesn’t seem to have one. Which for an actor, is a tricky thing, because obviously we are looking for character. A great way of finding out about somebody, as an actor, or even in life, is to find out what they want. That can give you a lot of clues about their behavior. But when somebody doesn’t seem to want anything, has everything he could possibly ask for, but doesn’t seem to want any of it, it is a very challenging onion to unpeel.

How do you make your character likable? Or was that not a concern? I do not have a concern to make the character likable. I have a concern to play him truthfully. I believe that if you can discover something of the truth of a person, then you will start to understand, and to understand is to move towards, if not like, then at least an empathy of some kind. Colette wrote a very complicated young man, and I don’t think he was a standard, square-jawed hero—quite the reverse in many ways—and when you start to look at why that might have been: What has kept him a child for so long? Was it Léa’s fault? Could you put it at her feet? Is it his mother’s fault? Is it society’s faulty? Or was he just born that way? It’s more interesting than trying to paint a sympathetic picture every time.

There’s a transition in the film between Chéri being 19 to being 25. That’s a lot of aging in a really short time. What did you do in your performance to capture that six years, and the development of their relationship as well? That six-year period also encompassed Chéri doing more of the same thing. And it’s that curious thing that you see nowadays among the very, very wealthy—the jet set, or whatever they’re called—where you have no money worries whatsoever, and when you’ve sailed in the biggest yachts, and gone to the best tailor, and eaten at the finest restaurants, and you’ve done that every night for six years, and you cannot buy a better bottle of wine than the one you’re buying every night, there’s a point, I think, in the human nature, where you just become incredibly bored of life. You start to become listless and apathetic, and lose your hunger. I think that what drives most of us as human beings is the want for something. You might have a hope, or a big dream, or a goal that you haven’t yet achieved. And when you take that away from somebody, whether by incarcerating them, or in Chéri’s case, by making them possibly over-privileged, you’re left with very little to live for, literally, so it was really trying to explore what six years of that sort of luxurious monotony might have done to somebody.

What do you have awaiting release that you can tell us about? There’s a film called The Young Victoria, about the early life of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and their romance. Are you Albert? Yes. So a much more decent human being, on every level. Yeah, so that’s in the fall, I think, coming out here. He was quite a remarkable man. He was an extraordinary man, and the opposite of Chéri, in that he didn’t ever see his life’s work being done, and had this incredible sense of urgency, about his philanthropic work, about his commitment to his queen, the country that wasn’t even his, and all this in the face of immense opposition from the British people, and even from Victoria herself for awhile. He persevered through all of that to become the love of her life. I was trying to understand what it might be in a man to make a woman mourn for the next 40 years of her reign, never take the black off, build monument after monument to him. That was very inspiring to me.

What about Lullaby for Pi? That was a lot of fun. That was a film that I did this year with Forest Whitaker and Clémence Poésy. It’s about a musician, so I learned the piano, I’m playing a washed-up jazz musician. It’s about a man who’s mourning his wife in a hotel room, and one day a girl bursts into the hotel room and locks herself in his bathroom and won’t come out, and they conduct a relationship through the closed door—they never see each other. So it’s full of music, and he’s a kind of raconteur, so it has lots of rambling musical stories. It’s a very different piece from other things I’ve done.

#words with friend #cheri #rupert friend #interview #cinemablend.com

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honestsycrets · 6 years

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Irreplaceable VI: Stolen Virginity

See my masterlist for the rest of the series.

A/N: Gif to proper owner.

You sit on a heap of information. There are four brothers: Bjorn, Ubbe, Hvitserk and your husband Ivar. Each of which had their own agendas for the fate of the King Sverri. Bjorn would probably be immovable, you see that from the look etched over his strong features. He would do what he was going to do because he was a man. He wasn’t your sweet Hvitserk who would go wherever the wind blew. You knew you could probably change Hvitserk’s mind given the right parameters.

But Ubbe. Ubbe was different.

“You’re acquainted already. Good. How am I not surprised?” Ivar throws back his ale, searing bitter heat down his throat. You ignore his little snark with a roll of your kohl lined eyes. His wary ones betray the snark, eyes lined darkly with a lack of sleep and a jaw locked tight. He was jealous. Somehow, he knew that there was reason to be jealous of his eldest, full-blooded brother by the way you trill Ubbe’s voice. It doesn’t go unnoticed.

“Ivar.” Ubbe sighs a breath out. His eyes crease in concern as you tug the dress over your head. You jerk the strands at your ribs tight to cover your breasts, snuffing the air of your lungs when you snap back to Ubbe.

“Don’t mind him, Ubbe.” You say. “He’s just jealous.”

Your toes hit the cool ground, searching for the cincher to go about your waist.

“What do I have to be jealous of, hm?” Ivar slams his mug down and the sloshing liquid spills over his tense fist. He jams his fist underneath his chin otherwise ignoring you calling him out on the obvious. He chooses to address Ubbe. “How do you know my wife?”

Clearly ill at ease, Ubbe stands back up and makes his way to his brother, setting his hand on Ivar’s cheek. At any time his brother might snap. The younger of the brothers turns his face up like hard stone falling in Ubbe’s hand. Before Ubbe can say anything, you beat him to it.

“Ubbe was my first love.” You say with clear defiance of the softness Ubbe tries to contract on his younger brother. You walk around Ubbe as Ivar throws off his older brother’s hand. How was he not surprised? Why oh why was he not surprised? Had Kitta not told him?

“She’s fucked one of your brothers, you know.” Kitta said one night. Ivar had come in a wonderful mood from visiting you. He had it all. The family he always wanted and a beautiful first wife that laid on top of his ruddy furs.

“What?” Ivar scoffs a laugh, stripping himself of his tunic and trousers both. They are shed in another direction.

“One of your brothers.” Kitta reaffirms. “She slept with one of them. She told me that she lost her virginity to them.”

Ivar felt a low boil in his gut. Rage? Confusion? You never told him who the man was that stole your precious virginity. The virginity that should have rightfully belonged to him as your first husband. His mind flies to the first offending party. He couldn’t ignore it. Was it… Hvitserk?

“I think its Hvitserk.” She giggled and Ivar would see red.

Hvitserk.

Suddenly spinning on his heel, he left the space with quick steps. Bjorn looks between his brothers, skating out of the room behind Ivar. Ubbe’s fingers pinch the bridge of his brow. “You could have dealt softly with him.”

You pull the heavy furs over Ivar’s spacious bed, sliding your hand across bulky pillows to collect Ivar’s old clothes from the ground. “I could have.” You say, folding creases into his trousers.

Ubbe paces to your side. “How am I to talk to him now?” He says with a twitch of his lip accentuating the high arch of his cheekbones. In a petty way, you hoped that the only thing that Ivar would think of was your relationship with Ubbe. After keeping it a secret so long as to not hurt him, you were glad that he knew.

You hoped he fucking drowned in the knowledge that it wasn’t his.

“Simple, you talk.” You snap out of your trance.

“It is not that easy for a brother who betrayed him, (Y/N).” Ubbe sighs.

Now that you thought of it, nothing was that easy. Being Ivar’s wife? It wasn’t that easy. Moving on after the shortly lived fling in Uppsala? It wasn’t that easy. There was no love lost between Ubbe and you but in Ivar’s head– you knew what he would be thinking of. His brother had your virginity under his belt. But he also had countless other women’s as well, surely he knew that.

“How would you prefer to tell him, Ubbe?” Your hand raises to sit on your plush hip. He knows at that moment he’s fucked as far as this conversation goes, eyes drifting down with every word that bites the cool chill wind that spills into the tent.

You go on.

“I spent a week balls deep in your now wife with no intent on marrying her? I slaughtered her honor and left back to Kattegat like nothing happened?” You probably should have stopped there. But you didn’t. Even with the biting hate of tears behind your eyes.

“Or perhaps I am the reason that she could not get another husband that would not share? That she could not marry Sverri Askteill?” You snap.

The folds underneath Ubbe’s eyes crinkle as you speak, glancing off across to the bassinet that is brought into the room by a few lanky thralls. You walk up to a the brunette slave, Ragnhild, to take your child of her arms. Her eyes dart to the door and you see her off with a small smile. Then you twist your head to the side with a nod as she shoots off into wherever she came. Little Aslaug was finally back into your arms. The baby had a cooling effect on your nerves. You bounce in place as she coos, speaking back to her in a sort of gibberish that Ubbe doesn’t even understand.

“If I had known… I wouldn’t have. It wasn’t like that, (Y/N)… I will make it up to you.” He murmurs, ignoring the excuses bounding around in his head. He could have said he was young– and you had a fat ass. The truth of the matter wasn’t just what laid underneath your clothes, but the way you looked at him. You looked at him like he was an actual man. Not a prince, not Ragnar’s son, but a man. Now, there seemed to be no love lost between Ubbe and you. Somewhere beyond all that hurt, you both managed to care for one another.

“Of course you will.” You say, tapping Aslaug’s slight nose. She extends her hands out to grasp your forefinger. “You will cover for me with Ivar tonight.”

“Cover for you?” Ubbe asks. He answers his own question as soon as the words slipped of his lips. “Are you going to betray him?”

It bothers you how quickly Ubbe jumps to that assertion. But… would he really be wrong? Your eyes scan Aslaug’s gentle features. “Of course not, Ubbe. What if I wanted to do something for Ivar?” You ask.

“You hate him.” Ubbe says in a matter of seconds. He’d only seen you together once and yet– he questions why you are still here in the first place.

Did you really hate him? It stops you cold, glancing up to look at your once called lover with the knowledge of what you once were to him. “I do not hate my husband.” Your voice is low, drawn out.

“You act like it, (Y/N).”

You brush past him.

You look for Ivar in all the places you thought he should be. Planning by himself or limping along the camp, even gazing out toward Sverri’s place in Kattegat. Instead of all of those places you found him in the one place you never thought you would: outside with his young sons. He watches them play chess, one piece after another. Veifnr would take a piece and move it wordlessly across the board in a game of cat and mouse. Uxi being the brash boy he was, chased after Veifnr’s wooden pieces.

“Is he using his mind this time?” You come up beside Ivar, who hunches over his crutch. Ivar spares you a slight glance.

“Does it look like it?” He snorts. “He reminds me of Bjorn.”

The uncle in question was crouched beside his little nephews, giving Uxi an unintelligible look. Uxi must have interpreted it, because he slid a piece in the opposing direction.

“It’s cheating if uncle helps you.” Veifnr says monotonously.

Uxi snorts. “It’s only cheating if he speaks.” He says. The boys banter back and forth as to what constitutes cheating while you laugh, Aslaug shifting in the wrap against your breast, sound asleep.

Ivar glances over to her. “She missed her mother.” He remarks through grit teeth. “The thralls couldn’t still her.”

Looking down at the little girl, you would have thought it to be much different. There weren’t many lactating mothers in camp. But someone else had given her breast in your absence to keep the child alive. With that in mind, you highly doubted that she would need anyone else other than a breast to call on tap.

“I’m sure she would hush for a breast.” You mumble. After a few moments, Ivar forgets completely about this false moments between his children and you. They would have to deal with Sverri– then he would have to deal with your mood after. Ivar bites his tongue at the venom threatening to spill out about Sverri. Surely he would too, the way he looked at you like that. His mind races to thought of that damn shaman so many years ago.

“Do you love him?” Ivar asks. The air is stifling, almost choke worthy, and you lean into Ivar.

“You have no faith in me for being the same man that had another wife. Who are you to be jealous, hm? Besides, you would just as soon get another.”

“I have no interest in another wife.” Ivar’s eyes slide shut, slowly opening with an obnoxious glower at your person. He hadn’t even brought up Ubbe. Which he so, so desperately desired to do. To make you shut the fuck up. His lips part almost to say something when you hush him again.

“With Kitta gone there’s no one to wet your prick… have you gone to the thralls? Or is your need why you are trying to kill Sverri? Do you miss her…?” You ask.

Ivar stands up as straight as he could manage with the crutch in his hands. “I made a promise to never take another wife. With Kitta gone, there’s no reason not to give you what you want.” Ivar says, his palm flatly on top of his ebony crutch.

“And what is that?” You ask, curious to hear it from his lips.

“Monogamy.”

Monogamy. Your heart lurches up into your throat, cursing the effect he still had on you. Why was it… that you hoped it wasn’t too late?

@igetcarriedawaywithyou, @kylobien, @titty-teetee, @breathlessouls, @nejijjeoroo, @bcat1291, @readsalot73, @mslothbrok (no mix), @romanchronicles, @ateliefloresdaprimavera, @ailucascen, @michaeliskindahot, @ilovemyangelforever, @directionlessbuthappy, @hizz-hizz-mothertruckerz, @some-blondes-unicorn,, @l-e-a-t-h-e-r–n–l-a-c-e, @atequila, @bcat1291, @rekdreams247, @ivarswonderlust, @writingeverynowand-then, @hp-hogwartsexpress, @minarawr, @haliannej, @strangunddurm, @cbouvier23, @peachesnpisces, @elenawrit, @Equalstrashflavoredtrash, @roxxck, @ilvebeenabad, @vikingsmania, @the-geeky-engineer, @huntingbears, @my-little-wolfe, @mitchiri-nek0, @dakotacheyenneee-blog, @seize-the-droid, @Certifiedpoison, @hotshotstar, @a-writers-dreams, @quaint-and-curious-being, @ivarthotbrok, @mitchiri-nek0, @dakotacheyenneee, @seize-the-droid, @salimahbicharara-comun, @ilovemyangelforever, @capstefanbrandt, @kickbacksnextdoor, @alicedopey, @imagine-this-motherfucker, @zoetrope1997, @kingniazx, @lost-and-wandering-alone, @amandaseib,

#ivar #ivar the boneless #ivar lothbrok #ivar ragnarsson #ivar's heathen army #ivar's sister wives #vikings irreplaceable #honestsycrets #irreplaceable update #irreplaceable VI #vikings/reader #ivar the boneless x reader #vikings x reader

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tuesniverse · 3 years

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<< Would Adam get along with Addie? Would he envy him for his relatively stable family and because he is a success in a series of failures, unlike Adam? Might he even want or wish that he could trade places with Addie/be a part of his family in his darkest moments, especially in AUs where Maddie’s dead? >>

《 I see Adam being more confused by/annoyed with Addie than feeling hatred. It takes a lot for Adam to really hate someone and Addie is too sweet to intentionally hurt Adam.

The "being a success in a long line of failures" thing would probably sting at first, though Adam wouldn't feel nearly as bad if he knew what effect that had on Addie. Adam feels sort of disconnected from his siblings since they were all made in one batch, but it probably hits different for Addie knowing all of those dead siblings were what led up to his creation.

As for the envy thing...Adam might want to have something more similar to what Addie has, but I can't see him wanting to necessarily trade places with him. For one, Fessie is very different than Maddie as a mother (especially when it comes to Addie). Adam would just want to have Maddie back though he wouldn't wish death upon Fessie either. He doesn’t have strong feelings about Adam's family and he wouldn't wish that pain onto anyone else. Additionally, Adam wouldn't really want to have both of his fathers be involved like Addie's are for obvious reasons. He'd want a closer relationship to Dimauri, though he doesn't want to go as far as to have the same dynamic that Addie has with Dimitrie. Maybe he'd want a little more sap if he didn't have Maddie, but Adam has his limits and wants to stay realistic. Expecting Dimauri to act like Dimitrie would be like Dimauri expecting Adam to act like Addie (which I doubt he'd do but that's the best comparison Adam can come up with).

Regardless, I feel like Adam could use someone like Addie to counteract with him. Knowing another hen/mouse/duck hybrid who isn't ashamed of who he is might help Adam with his own insecurities and he honestly could use a friend. 》

#ooc tag #answered

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Evil Season 2 Episode 1 Review: N Is for Night Terrors

https://ift.tt/2UoRnVP

This Evil review contains spoilers.

Evil Season 2 Episode 1

Evil season 2 returns bearing gifts in episode 1. The Pop-Up Book of Terrifying Things MMXXI is open to the chapter “N Is for Night Terrors,” and Dr Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers) gets proactive on things which might disturb her sleep.

The first season ended on news of the death of Orson LeReaux, a serial killer Bouchard tried to help the DA’s office put away. He got out on a technicality, threatened her family, and Kristen grabbed an ice axe and took off into the night. Ben Shakir (Aasif Mandvi) later noticed a drop of blood on her leg, which she willed him to unsee. As season 2 opens, Kristen takes that mountain climbing tool out of her trunk, where she’d concealed it beneath the spare tire and, after a half-hearted attempt to bury it, cleans it with bleach and puts it back with the umbrellas. That’s just a little too obvious. Really, if she killed Orson with it, would the show open its season with its cleaning? That’s what we’d be expecting, and Evil is about confronting the unexpected.

David Acosta (Mike Colter) hits the ground running this season, and the ambient noise and camera angles make it seem like he’s evading arrest. The audience knows the pre-ordained priest takes regular exercise and he’s even wearing athletic clothes, but after what looks like an obvious criminal coverup on the part of his partner, the mind makes its own assumptions. Such is the power of cinematography and psychology. Evil puts the makeup of evil under the microscope of science and religion and magnifies its ambiguities.

The first series focused on piecemeal investigations of the Church’s backlog of unexplained mysteries, but this season has a focal point. Many of the possessions the team investigated could all be linked to RSM Fertility, which happens to be the clinic Kristen used when conceiving one of her four, intensely curious, children. David believes “a demonic presence is trying to corrupt a generation through manipulating their eggs,” and suggests the team go on the offensive. After all the research and puzzle pieces the trio uncovered during their investigations, a clear pattern can be discerned. Just as David makes the case for specializing all their efforts on the one site, the church brings in a major distraction.

Say what you want about David’s immediate boss, Bishop Thomas Marx, but Peter Scolari, the actor who plays him, is a master of the double-take. The audience visibly witnesses him wrapping his head around the concept of an evil fertility clinic, and will see him perform further cranial contortions while trying to understand David’s theological priorities. But when he learns the new parishioner seeking an exorcism is getting married to Kristen’s mother, the Bishop almost gives himself whiplash. It is a marvelous moment most people might miss. It also says a lot about his character, who will continue being battered by the unbelievable at regular intervals.

Leland Townshend is an unexplained object, and Michael Emerson only gives false clues to his true origin. He says he voluntarily surrendered to demonic possession to get even with a cruel bus driver who harassed him while he was on his way home from marching band. Leland conjured his “Father Below” while his parents were watching M*A*S*H in the next room. Unlike the rewards which come from Christianity, which don’t come until death and are fairly undefined, a deal with Satan is a clear contract. He sold his soul for the “excruciating death of that bus driver,” Luke Ferriday. But Leland isn’t looking to renege on some teenaged whim, he wants to double down.

Kristen is masterful at unraveling the “cornucopia of biographical information” Townshend provides, but Ben approaches it with the common sense of a building contractor who has had to pay off inspectors. He lets Leland take as much rope as he needs to hang himself, but the Church further binds itself with it. The pair bring a fascinatingly uneasy dynamic in their scenes together. Kristen’s kids think Ben is “The Magnificent,” and he is a reliable friend. But he treads treacherous waters during questioning. It really seems like the more Ben presses Kristen about “her dead serial killer,” the more she consciously acts as if she’s got something to hide.

Evil Season 2 is Paramount+’s First Big Opportunity

By Alec Bojalad

In the last episode of the first season, Kristen’s hand burned when she put a cross in it. Looking at the scene again, in the “previously on” segment, it looks like Kristen expects something diabolical to happen. She gives the cross to Ben to find some reasonable explanation, and when he asks “Let me see your hand,” she says no. They are playing a cat and mouse game, and sharing the cheese.

Robert and Michelle King, who also made The Good Fight and the all-too short-lived political parody Braindead, expertly mix the creepy with the comedic. For every soul seeking deliverance in hell, there are more who just want to be taken to Funkytown. Even the night terror demon torturing Ben knows how to turn a phrase. Evil is on Paramount+ now, and stakes its pay-cable claim early. When told the Church wants to move forward on Leland’s request for an exorcism, Kristen says “we cannot believe a word that comes out of that fucker’s mouth.”

Another thing which is unbelievable is what’s in the mouth of Kristen’s daughter, Lexis (Maddy Crocco). The gore on Evil is fairly low-key, but when they decide to go for it, be warned: the show goes for understated realism and familiar locations, and the results are bitingly effective. Two of the most subtly disturbing frights come in a brightly lit bathroom, though the payoff comes in a universally frightening location, a dentist’s office. Is it safe? Not as safe as Kristen’s therapist’s office. The sequence where she ensures Dr. Boggs’ (Kurt Fuller) patient confidentiality commitment is a breakthrough for both characters. She’s not bothered by the death of Orson LeReaux and wouldn’t change her actions, even if she was.

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David’s idea of “getting proactive with evil” appears to be sidelined by what will be the ongoing Leland charade. “N Is for Night Terrors” establishes how the canon will play out during the season. The characters’ relationships are a lot more complicated this season, nuanced in occasionally contradictory ways, and sometimes infuriatingly obstructive. The opening chapter of the popup book of scares maintains its suspense, often exquisitely misleadingly so. This brings an underlying aura of paranoia, which may or may not be delusional.

The post Evil Season 2 Episode 1 Review: N Is for Night Terrors appeared first on Den of Geek.

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thegingerlikes · 7 years

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Literal brOTP

My new favorite thing, especially in Marvel films, is family relationships. My favorite part of GotG2 is the Nebula-Gamora dynamic, my fave part of Spiderman: Homecoming is Dad!Tony and his Spiderson, and my favorite part of ANY Thor movie is the Thor-Loki sibling rivalry. I’m going to focus on the latter in this squeal-essay.

I have really enjoyed Loki and Thor’s development over the films, both separately and together.

Thor is my favorite Avenger now because he has gradually shed his brawn-heavy approach and become more of a strategist. That, coupled with his loyalty and his newfound selflessness, make him a great role model and a perfect foil for Loki.

In the first Thor film, Loki progresses from a restless little brother to a man obsessed with simultaneously proving himself to and defeating his adoptive father and brother. At the core, this validation is all he really wants, even more than dominion over others (though he might settle for widespread fame and adoration). In Thor: The Dark World Loki experiences the ACTUAL loss of one of his “false” family, and is actually affected by it. This surprises even him. This causes, I believe, for Loki to stop trying to kill Thor and Odin. In Thor: Ragnarok, Loki realizes he not only doesn’t want Thor dead, but he wants to be a family with him. I’ll delve into why later on.

As Thor and Loki evolve over the span of the films, so too does their relationship with each other. To me, this is the most interesting part of either of their characters: Thor isn’t as compelling without Loki, Loki is just another trickster without Thor.

Even in his initial jerk form, Thor is loving toward his little brother. Even when he finds out they aren’t related, he’s still loyal and believes the best of Loki. Pre-first film, I like to think this was a point of pride for Loki. He’s able to do whatever he wants and still retains the love of Thor. But since Loki is a trickster, he may think Thor only loves the mask of the dutiful brother he puts on. For a while this is partially true, and prevents Loki from truly connecting with his brother.

Loki’s family history is truly tragic. He was thrown away as a nuisance, picked up as a boon, and deceived his whole life. He has such low self-esteem that his first reaction to his Jotenheim heritage is to completely eradicate it. When a reformed Thor denounces the genocide, Loki is confused: didn’t Thor want war with Jotunheim before being banished? Then he realizes his brother has changed. What’s worse, he’s changed for the better, and Loki had no hand in it (this is why Loki is so bitter about Jane in Thor. Not because his brother was in love, but because Jane had accomplished in days what Loki couldn’t in years. Though, in reality, Jane didn’t do much to humble Thor). In his eyes, he’s not only lost his adoptive father to the Odin sleep, but he no longer knows his brother.

Thor, conversely, doesn’t ever consider Loki not his sibling, even after learning that Loki is a frost giant. But he also holds onto the brother he knew like a totem, not considering that Loki might have changed or, even worse, had always been different than the way Thor saw him. This blind love produces blind loyalty in Thor. Thor’s loyalty infuriates Loki. He wants to be the victim, wants to be completely justified in the horrible acts he commits. Thor’s love for him prevents that, in the eyes of others and even himself. So he denies Thor’s feelings as illegitimate, while simultaneously striving to make Thor hate him to kill off the last scrap of connection he has to his adoptive family.

Over the movies, he succeeds, to an extent. Thor holds out hope for Loki all through the murders he commits during the Chitari invasion, continuing to fall for Loki’s tricks because he still trusts him. Then Loki kills Coleson. After that, Thor accepts that Loki’s darkest side has consumed him: Loki is selfish, murderous, and without remorse. Still, he doesn’t hate him, doesn’t kill him. He never even comes close.

And Loki doesn’t, either. Upon rewatching Avengers recently, I noticed Loki’s hidden blade he stabs Thor with was very small. It would have been easy for Loki to carry a longer knife (heck, maybe he did), but his goal was to hurt Thor, but not kill him. Loki might tell himself he spared Thor because he wants his brother to witness his success, but really, he values his blond counterpart.

Loki’s dependence on Thor for validation becomes more obvious in Thor: The Dark World. This movie is a mess, but it does accurately depict how the Attack on New York would affect on the brothers. Loki has begun to realize his limits, and Thor has realized how dark and demented his brother is. At the beginning of the movie, both men are content to despise each other for all time. Then, Frigga dies.

Frigga’s death greatly impacts how each son treats the other. Thor’s opinion of Loki changes very little, but he does want to be reasonable with Loki, so as to honor their mother’s memory. Loki, on the other hand, gains a stronger appreciation for his family after experiencing how profoundly his mother’s death affected him. The viewer can see him wrestle with this during the film, as he wants Thor to trust and pay attention to him, but also does whatever he can to rattle Thor’s cage. And in a hilarious turn of events, Thor accidentally encourages this behavior by pulling tricks on Loki.

My favorite parts in any Thor movie are when Thor gets one over on Loki, because not only is it funny, but most of the time you can tell Loki loves it. Before, Loki played a one-sided, cat and mouse game Thor didn’t even know about. Now Thor is in on it, and Loki is surprised to find he likes the challenge. It also feeds into Loki’s pretty obvious masochism, but I won’t get into that here.

One of the obstacles to Loki trusting Thor is Thor’s blind faith in Loki. It’s not until Thor begins distrusting Loki and anticipating his schemes that Loki believes his brother could actually love the true him. The tables have turned: now that Loki has finally attained his goal of making Thor disillusioned towards him, he now he wants Thor’s esteem. We have to give the trickster some credit: he knows his brother, and he knows what works for him. But instead of playing the long game and slowly regaining Thor’s trust, he fakes his own death, banking on the moral benefit of dying for another, and the “absence makes the heart grow fonder” principle.

And that death scene. Oh boy. I acknowledge Loki’s main motivation in faking his death was to escape prison and be venerated as a hero on Asgard, but he put in the extra effort to be Thor’s hero specifically. He says he’s sorry (for what? It could be for “not listening”, it could be for all his sins in the past), then he admits he died for Thor, not Odin. When recounting Loki’s heroism, Thor would have left this out, and Loki knows this. He wants to show Thor his hope in him wasn’t unfounded. Thor, his loyalty for his brother renewed, accepts his death (again), not believing even Loki could pull off such a deception.

But of course, he does, and even succeeds to peacefully and deftly usurp Odin in the process. Then, in the last scene of Thor: The Dark World, Loki as Odin talks to Thor. He gives a very self-aware speech about being proud of Thor, which I know is mostly for the audience’s benefit, and Loki could have only said what he thought Odin would say. What caught my imagination was that Loki!Odin didn’t send Thor on some long mission, or banish him, or suggest he wasn’t ready to rule. In addition, Loki couldn’t have been sure Thor would reject the throne, so what if Thor hadn’t? I believe Loki would have relished being Thor’s mentor, of ruling Asgard with him. This ambition definitely comes across in the next film.

Thor: Ragnarok is the culmination and resolution of all the past development between the brothers. Thor, bless him, figures out Loki’s deception pretty fast because, as Neil Gaiman writes in Norse Mythology, “when something goes wrong, the first thing [Thor] always thinks is, it is Loki’s fault. It saves a lot of time.” Even though he thought Loki was dead.

So Loki is almost back to square one as far as Thor is concerned. Thor distrusts him, and is angry with him for hexing and sending away their father. However, Loki doesn’t comprehend how badly he’s screwed up until Odin dies and Thor get murdery-eyed on the Norwegian plain. In that split-second, Loki knows that Thor is dangerously close to hating him. Curiously, he doesn’t prepare for a fight, but looks as if he’s going to beg for his life. Who knows what would have happened if Hela hadn’t shown up.

To his credit, Loki doesn’t attempt to join her side at any time in the film. Loki continues to act like Loki, though, putting his best interests first and his brother’s second. But Thor is his second. On Sakaar, Loki immediately invites Thor to be his co-conspirator in a coup d’état, again showing his willingness to rule alongside his brother (even if Loki is first-partner).

However, this is all too soon for Thor, who still sees his brother as an adversary, not an ally, and he rejects Loki’s offer. During the famous elevator scene, Thor tells Loki he agrees they shouldn’t even keep up the pretense of being a family. While Loki is obviously conflicted about this, Thor’s speech also isn’t all that seems. In a role reversal, Thor how Loki thinks, and he knows Loki thinks he’s stupid, too stupid to manipulate him, or to know when he’s being manipulated. He carefully constructs his speech and responses in the elevator to push all of Loki’s little brother buttons (this coming from an older sibling with experience in this area).

Thor begins by telling Loki flattering truth: that he idolized him and thought they’d be together forever. This inflates Loki’s ego, as he always wanted Thor to recognize him as an equal or superior. In the same moment, he realizes this is no longer the case due to his actions. Thor then alleviates some of the burden, inferring with “you’re you and I’m me” that their separation was inevitable. This and the paths diverging statement are both beliefs Loki has held, but never wanted Thor to have. He’s used to his brother chasing him. In order to reinstate this status quo, Loki says “it’s probably for the best that we never see each other again.” He expects Thor to protest here. After all, Thor has crossed galaxies, fought armies, risked death to be with his delinquent brother. Thor doesn’t deny or affirm Loki’s statement, but responds with the piece de resistance: “It’s what you’ve always wanted.”

This is the ultimate challenge to Loki. First of all, Thor is presuming to know what he wants, which Loki doesn’t think Thor can know about him, which makes Loki rethink what he actually wants. His gut reaction is to rebel, to say “don’t tell me what I want!” but that would mean he actually wants to stay with his brother, to be a family. Is that what he wants? Maybe. Now that Thor accepts the idea of their separation, maybe being a constant thorn in his side isn’t a bad prospect. All this, of course, ends up being a distraction so Thor can put the shocker on Loki’s back, but that it distracted Loki at all is telling. In reality, Thor didn’t agree they should become strangers, but he knew framing it that way would make Loki consider becoming his brother again. And that’s sibling love right there.

Immediately after this heart to heart, Loki pulls another Loki and tries to betray Thor. Thor doesn’t even hold it against him anymore: he just thwarts his brother and carries on. Perhaps he knows Loki will show up when he’s most needed later.

He’s right, of course. And when he does show up on Asgard, he does so in typical Loki fashion: in a cry for attention. But that’s who Loki is: selfish, murderous, short-sighted, but sensitive and seeking acceptance. Thor has now accepted Loki for who he is, and Loki isn’t about to lose that. Not only does he go along with Thor’s plan for Asgard (and revels in his brother’s recklessness), but he recognizes Thor’s kingship for the first time. That moment when Loki looks up from the final battle to see Thor embracing his true power, and that pride on his face… oh, my heart!

If I were writing the continuation of Thor and Loki’s relationship, I would never give Loki a redemption arc. Loki is the god of mischief. Instead, I would make him a part-time ally, but only with Thor. He doesn’t do anything selfless unless he knows Thor would be disappointed if he didn’t. He still plays tricks on his brother and the Avengers, but he no longer commits major crimes in their jurisdiction. Loki is at his mildest when bantering with Thor, and at his fiercest when Thor’s life is threatened. This is all selfish, though: without Thor, no one would accept him or be his equal. Thor knows all this, and is resigned and secretly flattered. He takes their relationship from day to day, enjoying fighting side-by-side again.

After Infinity War, though, (God willing they both survive) I think Loki would strike out on his own for a little while, in search of what would make him “more than a god of mischief.” Because he sees his brother’s progression, and like a little brother, he wants to keep up.

PS I know I focused a lot on Loki in this essay. This was unintentional, but happened because Loki’s development as a character is more dependent on Thor than Thor’s is on Loki. Thor’s changes center more around Odin, Frigga, and Jane, and the loss of said people. However, I wasn’t writing about their separate development in this essay, but the progression of their brotherly relationship. I hope I succeeded.

PPS In lieu of the new “news” about Loki being on Thanos’s team, I have heard multiple theories, and here’s what I like:

Anything involving Loki being mind-controlled. It prevents the whole “Loki, again?!” reaction, and provides lots of nice conflict.

Loki being forced against his will in some other way.

I will say this: they better not kill Loki off, because that’s also cliche at this point. They should kill Thor, and have Loki go ballistic. And then bring Thor back in some later film. Because, once again, Loki isn’t himself without Thor, and Thor isn’t a hero without Loki.

#thor #loki #thor odinson #loki laufeyson #thor: ragnarok #thor: the dark world #marvel #infinity war #character development #opinion #essay

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poipoi1912 · 7 years

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Carisi-centric thoughts on Ep 19x06

I’m here! So sorry for posting this late, this week got away from me!

(also, I’ve spent quite a bit of time writing my 19x06 episode tag, because I gotta strike while the iron’s hot! :D)

(also also, I’ll reply to your comments and asks tomorrow because I’m wiped out and I need to sleep! I’m so so sorry, I remain the worst when it comes to time management)

Overall Thoughts

This episode was very promising, with a relatively fresh case, but the execution was somewhat choppy. It started off well, with that tour of the rehab facility that was clearly too good to be true, but in a wonderfully unsettling way, as opposed to an obvious SVU way (if that makes sense), and all the solid guest stars really gave life to the stilted lines.

I was also very pleasantly surprised by the insurance angle, because it was an interesting twist on the usual motive. Instead of a perverted sicko who exploits young girls, we had a money-hungry monster who both exploited young girls and knew how to game the system. Plus, we also got a different kind of abuse of special victims which wasn’t exclusively physical/sexual.

But then the case was resolved via murder. Poetic justice, one might say, but I would call it “a cop-out, the one time Barba would have something fun to do in court”. Mentioning the RICO charges and the Romeo & Juliet laws vis-à-vis coersion was almost annoying. Why bring up multiple interesting legal topics and then do nothing with any of them?

That said, I liked the episode overall. I wish the case had been better explored, and it did get a little too convoluted by the end, but it was different enough that it kept my interest.

The Rolivia Corner

I love their new dynamic. I don’t love how Amanda’s new job is to constantly trail after Liv and ask “are you okay?” (at least not without Liv reciprocating, once in a while), but I love this new trust between them. In the previous seasons, if Amanda pulled a stunt like this, Liv would be like “next time I’ll have your badge”. This time, Liv was more appropriately mad as a superior, but she didn’t hold it against Amanda. But I did laugh when they made it seem like Liv just invented the concept of “inevitable discovery” to legitimize evidence which was illegally gathered. Like we haven’t seen this on every other procedural ever (including SVU itself).

But seriously, I do love seeing Liv confiding in a friend. That said, “addicted pregnant woman” is a subject which could have also resonated with Amanda. She was a gambling addict and she got pregnant and she turned her life around. Is Amanda even still a mother? I mean, as Liv and Amanda bond, maybe they could also talk about Jesse (or Queen Kim!), not just Noah and Liv’s issues with the new grandmother.

Sonny and Continuity

Sonny’s still Catholic! Jesus yay! And he still looks amazing in blue!

The Barisi Corner

I will never not love watching Barba tease Sonny. There’s a hilarious resignation there, almost like Barba feels compelled to do it, because it's their thing. And we also got Classic Carisi, looking up to Barba and idolizing him and thinking Barba can pull a rabbit out of his hat.

That said, and as funny as “what are you, a bat?” was (AN INSTANT CLASSIC, AND A WORTHY ADDITION TO THE BARISI HALL OF FAME, RIGHT NEXT TO ‘BOOYAH, FORDHAM LAW’ AND OMG I LOVe them ok I’ll stop), I don’t know if that moment was a nod to continuity, or if it was just the writers not knowing how to advance the Barisi relationship and going back to the basics.

Then again, the basics are pretty fun :D

Either way, I'm glad were getting the classic "Barba and Carisi have a special relationship" dynamic again. Barba doesn't tease anybody else, and Sonny doesn't kiss anybody else's ass. That’s something they share, something that’s unique to their relationship. Barba has moved on from being the snarky sidekick, maturing to a more mellow individual, except when it comes to teasing Sonny like he’s doing a standup routine, looking for the next joke. And Sonny has moved on from being the green rookie, maturing to a more confident individual, except when it comes to kissing Barba’s ass like he’s still an eager law student, bringing his professor an apple. That’s the one thing that hasn’t changed about them, even as everything else has.

Also, on a meta level, I always felt the Barba/Carisi (platonic) interactions have significantly stood out from all the other dynamics on SVU, just because of the broader humor and their natural rapport. Sonny is more developed, so he has relatively well-drawn individual relationships with pretty much all the other characters, but Barba doesn’t have that with any other character except Liv. The Barba/Carisi dynamic allows us to see a different side to Barba, and Sonny specifically is the reason. That's the only time Barba is allowed to be fun, when he's with Sonny or talking about Sonny. I think we need to see that, as viewers, as opposed to just watching a sweet, sad, supportive Barba in BFF mode, weeping as Liv talks about her problems.

Sonny is the only character who brings out Barba’s sass well-naturedly (well he and Rita who’s Rita?). Usually Barba directs his sass at the perps or the defense attorneys, and there’s a bite there. But when Barba teases Sonny, there’s a fondness there, and that’s sweet to watch.

Also, as always, Peter and Raul are hilarious, individually and together, and every single of their interactions is gold. Sonny’s “what?” face was the highlight of the entire episode.*

Also I’m sorRY BUT BARBA CRACKING HIMSELF UP? WHEN JOKING ABOUT SONNY? ALL “GIVE CARISI SOME TIME OFF TO WRITE AN ARTICLE! AHAHAHA”? LIKE, IT WASN’T THAT FUNNY, SIS! No but that chuckle ended me. When is the last time we heard Barba laugh? NEVER, THAT’S WHEN.

Stray Thoughts

Lux? Are the SVU writers watching Lucifer, like I am? Can they look for some pointers on how to write a good show? :D

Must Liv be physically present at every crime scene? Even when it’s not even the primary crime scene, and it’s just a dead body somebody ditched randomly? Why use that contrivance to have her leave Noah in the middle of the night? Liv, girl, you’re a Lieutenant! That’s exactly the sort of stuff you’re supposed to leave behind when you get promoted!

I liked the Narcotics guy. He had flair. And I also liked his rapport with Fin. I kinda wished we were watching that show. Fin working Narcotics with this dude who had an actual personality, busting perps on the street. That scene, and the scene where they caught the first dealer, they sparked (because of Fin). The rest… not so much.

Brooke Shields and Mariska Hargitay are both so gorgeous and compelling. I wish their scenes were less tedious, because they’re actually doing some nice acting.

Sonny’s face after Liv’s “I’m the bitch” speech? Same.

I was that girl asking Sonny “where do you live, in a hole?” Like, for all we know, that’s exactly where Sonny lives.

Did that social worker say “the software’s a little glitchy” and then go on to smack the mouse against the desk? I love SVU.

Liv: “Was someone else raped?

Amanda: “Do the insurance companies count?”

me: fuck no

*wait I lied. Best part of the entire episode was Ice-T hearing the rehab guy’s bullshit and saying “That’s beautiful!”

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lenific · 7 years

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A Season Of Miracles

@nropay asked Emma & Gold, “Are you really going to do that on Christmas?”

Set in Makes Three. Ao3 link.

—

One of the many drawbacks of Storybrooke was that he couldn’t avoid a stubborn princess by dint of magicking himself - or, more likely, the girl - away to distant parts. Even Belle, much as he’d loved her, had occasionally been banished to her library when Rumpelstiltskin couldn’t make time for her.

(The difference being that when Belle tracked him down again, and she often did, he didn’t really mind.)

Now, however, there was no avoiding Miss Swan as she stood between him and the door of his own shop. Acquainted with that obstinate tilt of her chin after countless meetings with her father in their summer palace, Rumpelstiltskin resigned himself to a conversation - wheels already turning to see how to use this development to push the Savior in the right direction.

At least he had the advantage of throwing the first salvo.

“Ah, come to tell me you’re finished with the weekly report before closing time? What a pleasant surprise.”

Emma stood taller, unaware that opponents of bigger size had ceased to be a concern for Rumpelstiltskin centuries ago, and crossed her arms over her chest. “You know why I’m here, Gold.”

He met her glare with a raised eyebrow. “Oh?”

“I just came from Mary Margaret’s.” Her mouth flattened. “Honestly, Gold. You’re not this much of a hard-ass.”

He blanked his features, allowing none of his own distaste for the role the curse had imposed on him. Regina might have granted him financial security and the status of a rich man in a small town, but she had made sure to cut him off all the tenuous alliances Belle had convinced him to build in the year before the curse was cast. Charming and his wife - separated as they were in this world - counted among Mr. Gold’s most frequent victims. “Care to elucidate, Miss Swan?”

Their eyes met, hers shining with the thirst for justice that ran in her blood, while he kept his gaze clear of anything that wasn’t a landlord secure of his rights within a contractual relationship with a tenant - particularly one who’d missed two payments in a row.

Never mind that Mary Margaret hadn’t been able to catch up in twenty-eight years.

At last Emma broke the silent battle of wills. “Look, I know you love and breathe formality, but you’ve granted an extension at least once in your lifetime.”

He tightened his lips, aware of her meaning. “And I got a hard-working housekeeper for my trouble,” he replied, tightening his grip on the handle of his cane at the thought of the maddeningly distant woman Belle had become under the curse. With a scoff, he returned his thoughts to the matter at hand. “Surely you’re not suggesting I offer Miss Blanchard a similar deal? If I gave a job to every person who owed me money… That’s just poor business sense, Miss Swan.”

“Surely,” she replied, imitating his patronizing tone, “you can see that Mary Margaret is nothing like the other people you’ve sent me after. She doesn’t drink; she doesn’t gamble; she certainly isn’t a penny-pincher with less brains than what God gave a mouse…” She took a deep breath, shaking off the annoyance of her encounter with the cursed version of Midas, and continued, “Mary Margaret is a primary school teacher, for God’s sake, and a damn good one from what Henry tells me.”

“Then teaching is truly a dreadful career, if she can’t afford to pay her rent.”

Emma glanced down, hunching her shoulders guiltily for a second before she straightened again. “Yeah, well. Somehow the bank got wind that a minor had used her credit card, and even more strangely, a clause has popped up that blocks her from using it until the situation clears up.” She huffed with exasperation. “Regina isn’t helping out.”

“I’m shocked,” Rumpelstiltskin muttered, though it was obvious to both that he wasn’t. “However, that makes no difference to me.”

Her anger made a swift return, but Rumpelstiltskin still was shocked to see a thread of disappointment in her manner. She had expected him to offer a deal, he realized. Unlike her parents, Emma didn’t see a problem in his penchant for trading his help for something of equal value; a side-effect of growing up in a world where having strings attached to a favor was the norm.

“Come on, Gold,” she insisted. “You can’t be looking forward to handing out an eviction notice, not to Mary Margaret. You’re not that cold-hearted.”

He counted it as a personal triumph that she honestly believed that, even after everything she must have heard about him in town. Belle would be proud of the lengths he’d gone to, to earn a measure of the Savior’s trust.

“I don’t,” he agreed, meeting her eye and letting her gauge his sincerity. “However,” he continued when she exhaled, unable to give her the easy solution she wanted since showing lenience to Miss Blanchard after twenty-eight years of apathy would rile up Regina and point her closer to the discovery of his true identity, “there is still a contract signed in Miss Blanchard’s own hand.”

“A reprieve-”

“Would be a fool’s choice. The next thing I know, I’ll have a line of people outside asking for the same.” He raised a hand to stop her reply, shading his voice with a hint of friendliness. “Miss Swan, you are a smart woman; you have lived in Storybrooke long enough, and most of that time has been spent chasing down the more outstanding debtors and hearing them whine about how they spent the money they owed me. You, more than anyone, know how many people would happily cheat me off my payments. Can you tell me in all honesty that I’m wrong?”

Emma pursed her lips. “No one actually needs to know,” she muttered.

Rumpelstiltskin chuckled. The odds of any version of Snow White keeping a secret were on par with her daughter believing in magic without proof. “I understand Miss Blanchard is your friend,” he said, shaking his head, “but I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do.”

“Are you really going to do this on Christmas?” At his stare, she shrugged. “With only three days to go, you might as well.”

“Your friend will be better served by using those days to pack and move on, so she can spend Christmas Eve in her new home. A cheaper one.” No need to tell Emma how her mother had spent decades moving from one small, ill-fitted apartment to the next, always with one foot on the street. “Now, if you excuse me-” he waved at Emma to stand aside- “I really can’t afford to waste more time.”

Unsurprisingly, the girl didn’t move. “Come on, Gold. You’ve helped me before, and I have the feeling you enjoy thwarting Regina even more than Henry does.” He couldn’t help the curl of his lips at that understatement, and Emma pounced on his apparent flash of good mood. “See? Anyone can see that evicting Mary Margaret will make Regina happy. For whatever perverse reason, she’s decided that Mary Margaret is the source of her troubles, like I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her!”

That twist of phrase, so true in the most literal of senses, wrung out a chuckle from deep in his chest.

His amusement gave Emma new wings. “Help me out here, Gold. Please.”

He couldn’t give her more than the barest hint. The idea itself had be her own initiative, or he’d leave himself open to Regina’s scrutiny when she came sniffing at Snow White’s change of luck. “I’m sorry, Miss Swan,” he said, locking gazes with her, “as I told you before, there is nothing I can do.”

He saw her eyes widen, taking in his meaning. “But what can I possibly…?”

Rumpelstiltskin tilted his head, taking advantage of her distraction to ease past her. “I have no idea what you mean,” he told her, and could tell by her suspicious expression that she wasn’t buying that. She opened her mouth to question him further, but he was already letting himself through the door. “Have a good night, Miss Swan!”

Emma didn’t chase after him, which prompted a sigh of relief. The last thing he needed was a public argument, but he’d wagered that the suggestion that she could act in Mary Margaret’s defense would keep her in place as she worked it out.

If all went well, mother and daughter would be living under the same roof for the first time in their lives. It was a long shot, but Emma building stronger ties within Storybrooke might hasten the process of her accepting her quest; and even if it didn’t…

Well.

It still would give Snow White more of an insight of her adult daughter, by the time the curse had broken. Speaking as a parent who longed to reunite with his own child, Rumpelstiltskin thought it was an acceptable exchange for twenty-eight years of making Miss Blanchard miserable every end of the month.

Merry Christmas, Your Majesty.

And if Mr. Gold chose the long route to reach Miss Blanchard’s apartment, and perhaps stopped by a store or two to look for appropriate gifts for a young, beautiful woman and her three-year-old child… Well, it was the season for miracles after all, right?

The End 25/12/17

#ar: makes three #ch: rumpelstiltskin #ch: emma swan #minor rumbelle

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pleasefeedthebirds · 7 years

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“Send Me a Headcanon and I’ll Tell What OC I Associate it With - Part 2″ NaNoWriMo Prep

Original post credited to @the-moon-dust-writings

And also thanks to my boy @boundtoanandroid for sending me this because I love bringing up the morally gray trash creatures I call my NaNoWriMo OCs.

Now let’s do some gotdamn headcanons.

Likes their music loud: The captain, Marcelle O’Bithel, without a doubt. As far as she’s concerned, she’s over the hill and thus ready to party as much as she can before dying. She’d stoke the fires of any tavern band any day, so long as no one truly respectable objected to it.

Would poison someone if given the chance: If Kaia sincerely saw Agnetha one day as a threat to Marcelle’s safety, she’d cunningly off the old crone with decisive action, but considerable sadness.

Always happy: As long as Gideon’s got a body to live in and the charm necessary to make friends on the go, he’s got a song in his heart, a skip in his step, and a silver lining to fall back on wherever he looks.

Afraid of spiders: Just as an elephant fears a mouse, Svorlen despises the little things as if they personally hanged his mother. However, Rostov is always the first to squash them out of their sense of duty, despite the masses of remorse they feel for doing so.

Would jump out of a plane: Svorlen would present the crew with the idea, to which the captain and in turn Mirabel would readily agree. Kaia would need some convincing, before shrugging it off and going down with the ship. Dune would thoroughly oppose it, but eventually cave, while Rostov and Gideon would stick to the sidelines out of their similar fear of heights and physical exertion.

Calls people ‘Dude’: Kaia and Svorlen are both guilty parties, though the former is significantly more so.

Wants to just lay down and not move: Rostov would love nothing more. Of course, the captain would allow them their wish to a reasonable extent if they only just asked, but Rostov is too loyal to their duties to willingly take it easy.

Has the perfect come backs: Kaia and Gideon generally have a mutual respect for each other’s abilities, though this is especially the case when it comes to tearing down catcallers in the local taverns.

Can punch someone and the person they punched would thank them: A punch from Kaia, or rather, the fabled “Papillon-Rouge,” would earn someone free drinks for a year in return for a glimpse of the scar.

Listens to everything but common sense: Marcelle’s always a willing ear, unless someone’s telling her anything that’s for her own good.

Gives nicknames to others: Mirabel’s woodcarving talents ensure that everyone’s bunks feature some of her abundant, occasionally nonsensical nicknames.

Likes to talk to code: Again, the winsome nature of Mirabel would find great joy in the concept of a code language.

Doesn’t open up to others very easily: It isn’t even Rostov’s lack of a tongue that makes them hardly inclined to talk about their self.

Is painfully obvious on who they like: Though Rostov tries to be an altruist in love and distance their self from the subject of their affections, the majority of the crew has them figured out in a split second.

Would get a tattoo on a whim: Svorlen would ink up in a heartbeat. Probably even faster if it were for the purpose of a dare.

Has a strong eyebrow game: Rostov’s bushier brows frankly suit them, even if they refuse to belief it could ever be so.

Would jump off a building: In a crime of passion, Captain Marcelle just might.

Likes to travel: Marcelle makes it clear that even a pirate captain can appreciate the scenery, though Mirabel is open to stow away on any promising adventure just as well.

Likes roses: Both the supple beauty of rose petals and the brutal sting of the thorns are well appreciated by Mirabel.

Talks in song lyrics: If it were for the purpose of entertaining Kaia, Marcelle would recite an entire musical ballad on the first of her whims.

Is tol: Svorlen, and he ensures that it’s hard to miss.

Is smol: Rostov is second in smolness only next to Marcelle, though the captain makes up for it and more in personality.

Would murder someone if given the opportunity: Mirabel is a sincerely deadly force when she acts upon her philosophy of judgement. If her “one bullet” rule did someone in, then she’d say so be it.

Had a sad childhood: Though Rostov, Gideon, and Svorlen all had it bad to varying degrees, Dune’s was the most severe.

Loves their parents: Rostov loved their mother as much as Mirabel loved her father, but it’s Kaia who still maintains the strongest relationship with her parents.

Hates fish: Svorlen can’t stand the taste, texture, sight, or smell of the things.

Questions everything: Rostov can never seem to keep their rampant thoughts from turning to contemplation.

Would keep up with celebrity gossip: He wouldn’t be proud to admit it, but Gideon would most likely be in the know on the juiciest, most slanderous filth. Marcelle could easily harbor a guilty pleasure for it, too.

Would make it rain in the club: Dune would absolutely kill the mood just by looking at the dance floor the wrong way.

Likes hugs: There are few things that Gideon loves more than the sheer comfort of a loving, expressly consensual hug.

Kisses their partner good night: Giving his wife a peck on the forehead is as crucial in Gideon’s routine as shedding his foppish attire in favor of bedclothes.

Likes to give piggybacks: Svorlen is a self-declared madman when it comes to piggyback rides, ready to take two, maybe even three willing victims onto his broad back at once. Dune secretly aspires to be half as good as him at it someday.

Likes to sing in the vehicle: Marcelle is quick to rouse a song, while Mirabel and Svorlen are always the first to join the round. So long as she’s alone, Kaia gives new meaning to her role in the crow’s nest by belting like a songbird.

Would join the circus: Svorlen would risk life and limb as an acrobat if it meant he could have an audience, though Dune would likely be the most qualified for a role.

Could be a stand up comedian: Rostov’s self-deprecating nature might just be able to make itself useful for once in the world of stand up if it weren’t for anxiety.

Has bad luck: If Dune ever got married, there would probably be a tornado on his wedding day.

Likes pretzels: If she ever heard the rumor that pretzels were stylized to look like children in prayer, Mirabel would revere them for everything they stood for

Loves the rain: If he could get away with it, Svorlen would strip naked and run barefoot through a field at every first sign of a storm.

Can knock out someone’s tooth in one punch: As a proud pugilist, Dune might not even be lying when he claims that he’s done it before.

Will kiss someone to steal their wallet: Kaia would do all that and spit at their feet if she thought it were well-deserved.

#nanowrimo prep #ocs #rostov vasiliev #marcelle o'bithel #mirabel reed #svorlen sommer #dune eskandar #kaia madrigal #gideon blythe

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imsarabum · 7 years

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{PART 26} I Won’t Stop You // Jeon Jungkook, Vampire!AU

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Genre: Vampire!AU, Fantasy, Angst, Smut

Summary; Jungkook attempts to do the impossible; keep Yoongi under control for as long as he can in his own Manor. But, after an unsuspecting escalation - everything ends in tears...and blood.

“How sobering it is, to love something that evil can corrupt”

|| Warning: This chapter contains violence and some scenes that readers may find upsetting ||

I update this series every Tuesday evening, 9pm-10pm (UK Time)

{Part 1} // {Part 25} {Part 26} {Part 27}

As the Manor door opened, you stood beside a smirking Yoongi – still being firmly held in Namjoon’s leathered grasp while Taehyung, Jimin, Seokjin and Hoseok all lingered behind you in the freezing cold. The wind and the rain continued to lay their mark upon the land with no intentions of stopping anytime soon, as you raised your eyes to look into Jungkook’s; hearing the rumbling of thunder loom in the distance.

“Good evening, cousin. Shall we skip the aspects of meaningless, polite, sociable behaviour – or would you care to tell me about how much you’ve missed me?” Yoongi’s sarcasm was so thick; it could have been cut with a sharp knife as he raised his eyebrow to gauge the Prince’s reaction. Jungkook tightened his jaw upon seeing you – wanting nothing more than to reach forward and pull you right into his grasp. But he knew he had a war to fight, and compromising his composure would surely be the downfall of you both. Jungkook bore his eyes into yours – seeing the tear stained rings around them, noting how your mouth had since become all red and chaffed from the rag that silenced your inaudible whimpering from the cold. It was almost as if no words needed to be exchanged between you both at that moment, as even then – you could somehow sense that Jungkook was on the same wavelength as you, both of you apologising profusely to each other, with the prominent look of guilt and disgust of himself that swam deep in his dark pools of distress.

“Please, put this over (Y/N) and make your way into the main living room to the left” Jungkook held forward the plush throw that usually sat upon one of his chairs to Namjoon.

“Of course” you heard Namjoon’s gentle whisper from behind you as he took the throw off Jungkook, before proceeding to carefully place it around your body. “He doesn’t seem as harsh as Yoongi and the other two...is it just his demeanour? Or is it something deeper than that?” you pondered quietly to yourself as Jungkook stood back to let you all inside while you felt your chilly bones being engulfed by the slight warmth of the Manor.

“I like what you’ve done with the place, my Prince. It’s very...Jeon style” Yoongi chuckled as waltzed inside and took a left into the living room. “What a nice cosy love-nest you’ve made for you and your pet...the aroma in the air is one that turns my stomach, however” he added in reference to the smell of both of your love-making still thick in the atmosphere as Jungkook closed the front doors, before joining you all in the living room and closing the living room doors in turn. Jungkook almost lost his temper at how Yoongi referred to you – as a pet, reducing you and your intelligence to nothing more but a mere plaything to describe his relationship with you. He looked to you, still shivering, bound and gagged as your eyes never left his; but he couldn’t help notice how Taehyung and Jimin’s eyes almost never left the floor – which let Jungkook instantly know that they harboured the same guilt and hatred he had for himself. “I was a fool for misjudging you both...” Jungkook winced – regretful that all he could do, was stand there and watch.

“There’s hardly much need to keep (Y/N) bound and gagged like some species of vicious animal, Yoongi. Surely now that we’re all inside – and seeing as no one is going anywhere, it makes no sense to take such extreme measures?” Jungkook asked for the sake of your comfort – and also to further stall to allow for more time to pass. Yoongi licked his lips boldly as he took a step forward to Jungkook, as if to square and size himself up to the taller Vampire, before looking back to Namjoon and nodding his head.

“Surely, my Prince – as long as she knows to keep her wonderful hands to herself...understood?” Yoongi questioned you as you nodded your head quickly. You knew from the moment the binds were placed on you – and from how all of the rogues had gone to the trouble of covering every possible area of their skin that they could; that they didn’t wish to have your domitor touch marry their bodies – not like you would have wanted to lay your hands on the Vampire that murdered your family, either. Yoongi continued, “You know – she’s been such a good little mouse for me the entire time we waited in the car for you to arrive back home. I thought that she might possibly give me some trouble after she came to from her little dose of chloroform...but she was such an angel – undressing in front of all of us and slipping on that beautiful, thin dress for me”

You widened your eyes as Namjoon removed the gag from around your mouth – knowing that every word that passed Yoongi’s lips was a lie. You thought back to just a few hours ago; how the only people left in the car had been you, Taehyung and Jimin, how Taehyung instructed you to put on the white dress that Yoongi had told him to make you wear; and how both Vampires turned away to allow you to keep your dignity intact while you reluctantly changed. You knew that the entire time – Yoongi had been with the others outside - talking amongst themselves after driving a far enough distance from the Manor. “He’s trying to get a rise out of Jungkook...” you flashed Jungkook a look that said “It’s a lie – don’t believe it” as you desperately tried to calm your heartbeat by taking steady breaths – feeling Namjoon loosen the rope around your waist that held your hands in place. Jungkook picked up on your signal, but it didn’t stop him from feeling petrifying anger nonetheless.

“I believe you requested permission to enter my home so that we could discuss all of this?” Jungkook shifted his weight as he folded his arms rather defensively – looking at Yoongi, but never taking his sights off you either as you hugged the blanket further around yourself; your throat still dry and hoarse from when you had gulped down chloroform from earlier. Yoongi began walking slowly – producing echoed footsteps that only seemed to add to the throbbing headache that had since made itself at home in your frontal lobes.

“You believe correct, my Prince.” Yoongi circled around Jungkook.

“Then shall we all take a seat – rather than standing on ceremony?” Jungkook’s eyes followed Yoongi’s every movement – his senses working double-time as he kept them focused on each soul in the room. Yoongi snickered at Jungkook’s diplomatic remark, before walking in front of him to face him once again.

“I suggest you drop your little ‘holier than thou’ act, my Prince. We shall all stand for the duration of our conversation. I don’t plan on being here for long. No doubt your mother dearest will be on her way with reinforcements...by which time; it will all be too late” he sneered with delight as you felt a shiver run up and down your body. Not only were you terrified of Yoongi for the patently obvious reason of what he had subjected you and your family to in the past...but his whole presence was nothing less than the feeling of evil. His eyes – his stare, the maddening stare that your brother had been drawing his entire life; and you could see it right in front of you.

“As you wish” Jungkook inclined his head ever-so-slightly, playing along with Yoongi and letting him believe he was the king of the chessboard to keep him calm and docile. “Perhaps, if I might ask to break the ice...how did you manage to escape your mansion?” Jungkook asked plainly as if it were the most normal question that could happen during small-conversation. Yoongi smiled – baring his teeth and gums as if he found something to be terribly funny.

“My poor old mother has a soft heart, my Prince. Did you honestly think I wouldn’t have been able to manipulate her into letting me flee to avoid my certain death? Well...not like she had much of a choice. I did have father in my grasp – ready to remove his head from his body. You see, Jungkook – emotions aren’t all what they’re cracked up to be. Sure, you can feel pleasure, happiness...but you can also feel pain; guilt...remorse...tenderness” Yoongi’s eyes glistened feverishly as he knew Jungkook was probably feeling every sense of negative emotions; and he fed on it like it was his only life source.

“I see.” Jungkook responded, looking over to Taehyung at the mention of his parents. “And – Taehyung and Jimin?”

“Same scenario, cousin! It’s amazing how weak a Vampire can be when they feel. It’s laughable how – when someone they love is in immediate danger...that even a Vampire would be willing to do anything. Even if it means fucking someone else over in the process!” Taehyung shut his eyes tight at Yoongi’s description – hating absolutely every inch of his own entire being...but knowing that he would have done anything for Jimin, just as Jungkook would do anything for you. It had never even crossed your mind before this moment – but you found yourself thinking, “Would it have been better if I never made Jungkook feel emotions? As a domitor...does he hate the weakness that I made him feel?” you became filled with even more remorse than before.

“It’s true – emotions can be good and bad and, I’ve learned that recently. But, through learning that – one can come to understand that there can never be light without shadow...or good without evil in the world. I believe it’s balance that makes the world what it is. Don’t you agree, cousin?” Jungkook found himself almost smiling as that’s exactly how he thought of you – the balance, the love and the power that drove him to become a better version of himself every day.

“Hmph” Yoongi snorted, stepping away from Jungkook and proceeding to linger around you.

“I suppose you must be very confused as to how I knew that (Y/N) was a domitor?” Yoongi asked plainly as you and every other Vampire in the room became more than interested for an explanation; as no one had ever known Yoongi’s plans or intentions. Yoongi pursed his lips together, looking at you as you stood with your hands on either side of your thighs – the fright in your eyes making him feel more enthralled by you in response.

“I didn’t know what it was at first” he began, “I – how does one put it? Bumped into her thirteen years ago while I believe she was with her father. At the time, I had been on my way to work – when this delightful little being accidentally walked straight into me – her hands brushed against the skin on my forearms as we passed each other on the street” his voice was almost nostalgic – as if he were speaking of fond memories. As you searched your mind for recollection of the incident in question, Jungkook and Taehyung couldn’t help but reminisce about how normal Yoongi was back then. Even though there had always a harsh divide between Taehyung and Yoongi; Taehyung had always been proud of his older brother – who used to be one of the top history lecturers at the most prestigious University in the country. “And then...he met (Y/N)...and everything snowballed from there” the missing pieces of the puzzle finally began placing themselves together in both Taehyung and Jungkook’s minds.

“You asked me back then; ‘Why did you do it, Yoongi? What caused you to murder two innocent humans?’” Yoongi’s eyes looked like they were glazing over, as Jungkook recalled his words he had spoken thirteen years ago when he was trying to decide whether or not to dispose of his elder cousin. “At first, I felt as idiotic as you, from her brief skin on skin contact. The emotion, the life, the rush...but it only left me with more questions. Questions that I certainly had the contacts to find answers to. The more I dug – the more information and theories I stumbled upon...” he paused to chuckle – his face coming right up close to yours as you stiffened your entire body; watching Jungkook glare at his boldness as he knew there wasn’t a damn thing he could do.

“...did you know...that domitors can do more than just give Vampires their lost emotions?” Yoongi spoke to Jungkook – however, he never took his eyes off your skin as you reeled in response.

“Do enlighten me.” Jungkook replied – flashing a silent look to Taehyung and Jimin. They, and you included, knew that you possessed more power than just essentially giving life...however, Jungkook wanted to know what Yoongi thought he knew; ultimately, stalling once more and giving you all a little more time, but also seeing how his brain really worked.

“Tell me, Jungkook...do you know what would happen if a domitor were to be turned into a Vampire?” Yoongi relished in the pounding of your heart as the words fell from his mouth.

“It’s to my understanding that no one does. For, it has never been done before. Really –“

“Exactly! Exactly my point, dear cousin” Yoongi cut Jungkook’s sentence off abruptly as he turned away from you to look him in the eye once more. “After I touched her – I began searching for more information...and I happened to stumble across an old archived book in my parent’s mansion that held some outstanding theories on creatures like (Y/N) – how her DNA would change...if – let’s say, a Vampire such as myself were to...change her...” Yoongi’s inner history lecturing persona formed its way to a front.

“And what do you think that would achieve?” Jungkook tried his best to push the rage inside of him down below deck as he watched fear sweep across your face in turn.

“Her power would be limitless, Jungkook!” Yoongi’s mad, manic voice reverberated throughout the living room as his eyes went wild with delusional wonder. “The possibilities are endless – her very stare alone could kill anyone in her way; the amount of knowledge she would possess...she would be able to see as far back in time to when time itself started, and maybe even foresee the future!”

“...he’s...he’s gone completely insane” Taehyung stared at his brother as Yoongi continued to walk around the room – waving his arms in the air and rhyming off things he believed you could do if you were changed. “Even if there was any truth to what he was saying...to want to change someone for those reasons is just – diabolical”

“...and so, Jungkook – as I would be the one to turn her...she would be bound to me; her master...” the very thought of Yoongi’s words not only terrified you, but they disgusted you to no end.

“And what would you do – as her master?” Jungkook lowered his head, watching Yoongi’s face contort in maddened deviance while still keeping his eyes fixed on him.

“Isn’t it obvious? With her power at my disposal in its highest form...I intend to show our creator, our great sanguinem daemonium that Vampires want his presence back in their lives! I’ll be a hero – I’ll be his right-hand Vampire...and I will create a legion of Vampires more powerful than any regium could ever hope to be...” he stared wistfully at nothing as he let out a series of small giggles. As everyone in the room kept silent in the wake of Yoongi’s explanation, Namjoon – who was still standing behind you, found himself with his eyebrows knitted and his mind doing laps of confusion. But before he could even take a moment to collect his thoughts properly, Taehyung spoke up – taking the words right out of Namjoon’s mind.

“You plan to use (Y/N) as a Vampire, domitor hybrid to summon the blood demon once again...based on a random book you found in our parent’s library?” he chuckled to himself inwardly as he knew without a shadow of a doubt that such a plan would never work. Even Jungkook knew that, once a creature from the Netherworld vowed to their word; that they could never go against it. The blood demon made a pact with Jungkook’s grandfather all those years ago – promising never to return; which in turn, meant that there was no sanity to Yoongi’s train of thought whatsoever.

“Yes – my dear, idiot brother! For the blood demon whispers to me often; tells me of what I should do. That is why I’ve hunted (Y/N) down; that’s why I intend to take her for myself...to become the God that this world needs. And she’ll be by my side...helping me to rid the world of Vampires who wish to stain our heritage by fucking drinking manufactured blood! We are hells children...and it’s shameful that it has even gone on this long, don’t you think?”

In that moment, Jungkook thought about all the ways in which he truly wanted to respond – “You’re delusional, you’ve gone insane” and so on, but it only left Jungkook and Taehyung with the notion of your touch, which was meant to be a true blessing to their species, had seemingly turned Yoongi into a power-hungry monster with a god complex; and a thirst for blood. “It’s almost as if...he was born evil” Taehyung shuddered at the thought. No matter, Jungkook knew that regardless of what exactly you would turn into – should you be turned at all; you would be absolutely bound to Yoongi if he was the one to bite you. And that was something he would certainly not allow. However, you had since been working everything out for yourself in your own head – concluding on something that Jungkook failed to pick up on.

“Yoongi...Yoongi needs me. He ‘plans’ to use me to do all these things...which means; he can’t hurt me. He can’t afford to lose me. Essentially, I’m the greatest weapon in his arsenal” you found yourself growing an extra layer of skin as your backbone hardened to steel.

“And the best part of my plan?” Yoongi continued to pace around the living room – Hoseok and Seokjin nearby with Namjoon still standing right behind you. “I’ll have the power to eliminate anyone who chooses to get in my way. Either they join me...or I’ll destroy them. How long I’ve wished to eradicate the privileged regium that have looked down upon me for as long as I’ve lived...” Yoongi’s words made Jungkook flinch at the thought of his entire family being decimated by him.

“...why would you even reveal any of that?” you spoke up – catching everyone completely unaware as Jungkook shot his head in your direction. “(Y/N)...” he gave you a concerned look – all while Yoongi panned his vision back to you; his stare ice cold as his features donned a look of confusion mixed with disgust.

“Excuse me?” Yoongi let out half a laugh, wanting to entertain your boldness to speak up; before your voice took on a mind of its own and wrapped itself in a severely clipped tone.

“Well – haven’t you just given your entire position away? Like – I’m not a Vampire or anything but...why would you even bring me back here, reveal all of your ‘amazing’ plans to Jungkook and then proceed to tell him that you’re gonna’ kill him and his family? Seems a bit counter-productive...if it were me; I would have opted for the element of surprise. But what do I know? I’m just a weapon that’ll be controlled by some fucking maniac whose tree...whose tree clearly doesn’t go the whole way to the top” you muttered your last sentence under your breath; but it was heard loud and clear.

Every single Vampire in the room stood with their mouths wide open – most of them impressed that you seemingly possessed larger testicles than all of them combined. Yoongi; however, was not in the least bit impressed at your sudden outburst that he found to be the height of rudeness. That – and you had just hit him right where it hurt him the most; his ego. Before Jungkook even had time to blink, Yoongi was right in front of your face – grabbing a fistful of your hair in his hand to pull your head back – peering deep into your eyes as you struggled to push him off you.

“You’ve got a lot to say for someone who’s the weakest one here; don’t you?!” Yoongi snarled right into your face – producing a knife that Jungkook could smell the potent aroma of deadly toxins coated on its steel. Jungkook knew that, although such toxins couldn’t necessarily kill a fully grown, regium Vampire like himself; but it could severely weaken him to the point of sickness and exhaustion; which in turn, left him standing a few feet away from you – ready to pounce if Yoongi were to show any sign of further hostility towards you. It was then, without thinking, you gathered every drop of saliva that pooled in your mouth, hawked it to the back of your throat – before spitting it out right on to Yoongi’s unsuspecting features...a small smile of meaningless victory spreading on yours in turn.

“...you crude little slut!” Yoongi went to raise his hand to strike you; however, Namjoon pulled you back into his chest – causing Yoongi to completely miss you altogether. “...Mother was right...Namjoon has a tenderness in his heart that he cannot escape” Jungkook thought as he watched the situation play out from a few feet away – hardly believing the spitfire insolence that exuded from you; but he knew you were strong, and he knew that unless it was life threatening...you didn’t need anyone to protect you, other than yourself.

“You...madam...you are very lucky that I have great use for you” Yoongi proceeded to wipe the remnants of your saliva off his face with his leather-bound hand, before smearing it back over your own face while his thumb toyed with your bottom lip. “You’re a feisty one...we’ll have lots of fun together, (Y/N)...just you wait...” his voice was ominous and his eyes even more vicious than before, but you had since grown tired of his psychotic behaviour as you took his words with a pinch of salt. Meanwhile, Jungkook took to taking deep breaths and clenching his fists – feeling the consumed blood inside of him almost rise to a boiling point at the image of Yoongi with his hands anywhere near your body; but he knew that he had to keep his cool...for your sake as much as his own.

It was then that Taehyung took it upon himself to clear his throat, catching Yoongi’s attention while also meaning to defuse the situation. “Yoongi, while your plan may or may not work with your intentions to turn (Y/N) yourself...what would happen if – for talk’s sake...if (Y/N)’s body could not handle the change? I have done my own research on domitor DNA, and I have deducted that it’s entirely possible that complications due to three different types of DNA combining inside her could cause her body to just...shut down. Have you considered it?”

Yoongi blinked several times over, taking his brother’s words into account while keeping his eyes fixed on your stare that held equal amounts of anger and fear. “I have thought about such things...but really – what have I got to lose? If she dies, she dies – and I’m no better off than I was beforehand. It would be a shame, but I’d still find a way to get what I want” he smirked unapologetically – however, Namjoon knew that Yoongi was definitely concerned about such a thing as Yoongi had secretly gone to extreme lengths to research about the unknown transition of a domitor to a Vampire...alas, he was always left being no wiser than he was before. However, his words and lack of conscience sent a roaring fire of hatred to sweep Jungkook’s entire patience. You knew from the look on Jungkook’s face that he was fighting against himself to bite his own tongue – to not say or do anything that would cause a full scale fight to break out.

“(Y/N)’s question is a valid one, Yoongi” it took every ounce of self-control Jungkook possessed to swallow his anger and pride; to try and keep the situation firmly in his control. “One can’t help but wonder why you would reveal all of this to me. Unless – you’re just doing it for fun and dangling the idea right in front of me?” Jungkook could see you looking at him out of the corner of his eye as Yoongi finally turned around to him once more.

“Because, cousin; I never forget”

“...what is that supposed to mean?” Jungkook tilted his head as his eyes narrowed in confusion.

“Thirteen years ago – you could have sentenced me to death for the ‘crimes’ I committed. However, with the begging and pleading of my mother and the righteous nature of the way you had been brought up, my Prince...you spared my life. I believe your words were ‘I’m giving you the choice of redemption...and you’ll live out the rest of your days in solitude to repent for your sins...’” Yoongi smiled wickedly as Taehyung widened his eyes; knowing exactly what Yoongi was about to say.

“...I’m going to give you the same chance...the same choice to either live in my world; or die in yours” Yoongi stepped forward – his unkempt raven hair as wild as ever. “Join the legion of Vampires that (Y/N) will help me make...join me – serve me as your King and I’ll make you my right-hand auxilium – my advisor; my consiliario!” Yoongi’s deranged tone only further instilled his madness as he took to circling Jungkook once again. You, Taehyung, Jimin – and now Namjoon; all watched to see how Jungkook would respond; however, Yoongi continued.

“The offspring that (Y/N) and I will produce will create a new race of Vampires – far superior to the ones that currently inhabit the earth’s surface. With my guidance and control over her power; we will improve our own DNA as we know it...and the new legion will dominate the new world” Yoongi stopped right behind Jungkook to whisper in his ear “...join me, cousin...join me and use your own prowess the way it’s meant to be used...”

You scrunched your eyebrows together at the mention of ‘offspring’ with Yoongi – multiple thoughts of how you would never willingly lay with the one being that you wished nothing but death upon; however, Jungkook soon took you straight out of your thoughts with something you would have never thought in a million years he would say.

“...do you think the blood demon would be okay with me joining your legion?” Jungkook’s voice remained calm – keeping a sense of interest prevalent in his intonation as you looked to him; seeing him flash you a reassuring look that ultimately confused you even more.

“Of course he would! You are regium – you are the current Prince! You’re strong – you’re somewhat intelligent and I could make great use of your physical strength” Yoongi replied very matter-of-factly as he walked back around to stand with his back facing you to converse head on with Jungkook.

“Oh, that’s nice of him” Jungkook widened his eyes – relaxing his furrowed brows to look like he was displaying believable relief to Yoongi; however, you picked up on the fact that Jungkook was essentially playing ball with him – as did Taehyung, Jimin and Namjoon; all while Hoseok and Seokjin remained none the wiser. “What about the others though? Your own, current right hand-soldiers...Namjoon, Hoseok and Seokjin...do you think the blood demon would approve of them? What if he doesn’t?” you swallowed the lump in your throat as you could practically feel the itch that burned deep within Namjoon to know Yoongi’s response.

“In the grand scheme of things – do you honestly think that I would care if the blood demon told me to get rid of them? I created them – I am their master...they’re a means to an end, and they’ve known that from the very beginning. Sure...I would like to keep them around – Vampire’s are creatures of habit too, after all” Yoongi replied with a crooked smile – never looking around to observe the obvious hurt and frustration sketched on Namjoon’s soft features. You looked over to Hoseok and Seokjin who were standing some distance in between Taehyung and Jimin to watch over them, seeing both of them looking as clueless as the first time you laid eyes on them. “Those two seem to just be blindly following Yoongi – is that the power of being bound to someone?” you questioned, before silently raising your head to look back at Namjoon. “Then why is this one different? Is he like Taehyung? Has he tapped into his human emotions? Or...or is he just lost?” you wondered as you found yourself feeling a little sorry for the rogue who had shown you the most mercy out of all of them. “You pulled me back from Yoongi...does that mean you don’t wish to see me hurt?” you had more questions than answers available. However – despite Jungkook’s attempts to keep Yoongi calm and under control, you found yourself unable to hold your tongue a moment longer.

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you mentioned that our ‘offspring’ could bring about this great new legion of Vampires; and that sounds impressive and all, but I can’t help but notice some shortcomings of your fantasies” you rolled your eyes as Yoongi looked at you out of the corner of his. Jungkook’s head shot in your direction – giving you a look that screamed for you to be quiet; but you paid no heed.

“For one – how do you know that I’m even capable of bearing children? Have you checked? Have you conferred with my general practitioner? And furthermore; going off of Taehyung’s point, let’s say that I live to see the other side of becoming from Vampire-domitor hybrid. How do you know that the change wouldn’t make me barren? Do you even know if a Vampire-domitor can bear children? Or are you just pulling these ideas out of your ass – like everything else you have done thus far?”

“(Y/N) – that’s enough” Jungkook spoke up in the wake of your words as everyone else in the room could practically feel the steam of rage rise from Yoongi’s shoulders as he just stayed quiet – keeping his unwavering stare fixated on you. Deep down, Jungkook certainly couldn’t help but smile to himself in secret – knowing that essentially, he had gotten to you first and ‘made his mark on you’ in such a way that no one else in the room except he knew about.

“I might have to put that gag back over that...lovely mouth of yours; if you don’t shut the fuck up...” Yoongi’s baritone whisper growled at you – but this time, none of what he said scared you, rather...it only angered you into antagonising him further.

“Yoongi...what if I’m not the problem at all? What if you’re the one who’s the problem, hm? How do you know you’re not firing blanks? I mean – do you know if you can even produce children? ‘Cos like, you have been locked up for thirteen years. I don’t know much about Vampire sperm but...what if you’ve gone sterile from having a major case of blue balls?” you tried your best to stifle back the giggle that was building at the back of your throat – but you did a piss poor job of it as your small voice tittered throughout the room. You could see each Vampire’s face as you looked around you – most of them in shock, Hoseok and Seokjin looking like they were about to burst out into fits of laughter at your crude, distasteful joke. However, Taehyung, Jungkook and Namjoon held sobering stares...while Yoongi took to cracking his neck with one swift motion, before setting his sights back on you with vengeance clear as day in his eyes.

“I was planning on waiting for the Prince’s answer before doing this, but it looks like there’s no time like the present!” Yoongi roared at you as he began striding towards you much quicker than you anticipated. Contrary to your previous spitfire, you froze on the spot as all you could see was the epitome of rage and disaster coming right into your personal space; but before you even had time to blink, let alone take a worried breath – you felt yourself being firmly pulled to the side by a pair of strong arms...but they weren’t Jungkook’s. In no more than a split second, you observed Namjoon as he proceeded to use himself as a shield for you – while Jungkook wasted no time whatsoever in grabbing Yoongi by both of his shoulders in a backwards motion; the force of which sent both Vampires crashing to the ground in a heap on top of each other. You let out an inaudible scream as you looked over Namjoon’s shoulder to see Jungkook and Yoongi scrambling to their feet with twisted faces, all while you tried to push Namjoon out of your line of vision; feeling incredible guilt for letting your pride build up inside of you that further antagonised the most hostile creature known to the world.

“I thought you’d be smarter than this, Jungkook! But it appears you’ve chosen the weaker life to live...so you’ll die by my hands...right here, right now” Yoongi’s voice thundered at Jungkook. Jungkook knew that his mother had told him not to engage in battle, but now he was left with no other choice.

“Then so be it, cousin” Jungkook snarled back at him – before the most vile, frightful scene unfolded right in front of your eyes as all you could do was stand there and watch; not being able to take your eyes off the two Vampires as they began...changing.

The first thing you witnessed was the sound – the sound of bones snapping, joints dislocating and locking into un-human positions as you saw the build up of Jungkook’s jaw-line become distorted. You watched in horror as his jaw completely snapped of its own will – seeing his mouth becoming at least four times larger than its previous size...to allow for what you saw next; his upper canines and lower lateral incisors growing at least four times their natural size, with the upper canines being much larger than the bottom fangs. Wondering how you were still able to stand up straight, you then witnessed the broadening of Jungkook and Yoongi’s shoulders – their entire body form becoming more of a monsters than resembling an average human as Jungkook’s white shirt ripped at the seams to allow for his growth – with Yoongi’s leather jacket doing much the same. Ignorantly, you just assumed that only the fangs would grow in length. But right then in that moment as you saw Jungkook’s beautiful hands claw into something that resembled something made from nightmare fuel, the true nature of a Vampire was unveiled right before your eyes – and you could hardly breathe due to feeling formidable terror sink you like an anchor into one of the deepest oceans. And as if things couldn’t possibly have become any more terrifying – you heard the sound of the roaring thunder crash over the Manor; along with a fierce strike of lightning that seemed too close for comfort. Unknowingly, you had been gripping on to Namjoon’s protective arms for dear life as the whole scene played out in front of your eyes – and every Vampire could hear your heartbeat pound like a maddened drum as it pumped your blood through your entire body at an undeniably quickened rate.

Jungkook kept his eyes on Yoongi as the two Vampires began circling each other while they crouched animalistically – each one waiting for the other to strike the first move. Jungkook let out a pre-eminent growl – his voice as gravely at the earth’s crust while Yoongi snarled back viciously. You watched on as another lightening strike proceeded to light up the entire room; and you caught the image of Jungkook’s eyes which had since completely blackened; the previous whites of his sclera’s no longer existent as it appeared his pupils had dilated to cover his entire eyeballs; as had Yoongi’s .

Without warning, Yoongi lunged for Jungkook with his fangs fully intent on ripping him to shreds. You screamed, but Jungkook was far too quick as he somewhat gracefully sidestepped Yoongi and circled around him once more. Jungkook then extended his hands to sink his elongated nails into Yoongi’s back – piercing his skin through the remaining leather and dragging them down his spine; producing a river of Yoongi’s previously consumed blood that began painting Jungkook’s wooden floor red beneath them both. Yoongi let out a deafening howl of excruciating pain; one that echoed every hall and room of the Manor as he spun around to try and counter strike Jungkook; but again, Jungkook’s speed and experience far outweighed Yoongi’s ambition to win him in a one on one fight. Once again, Jungkook managed to sink his claws into Yoongi – this time, leaving three deep marks across his face from his ear to his mouth. In the midst of the thunder and lightning and the wicked sounds of battle, Jungkook and Yoongi proceeded to almost dance around the furniture with finesse, occasionally scattering a chair here or a table there to try and weaken the other; but every time, Jungkook proved that he was undoubtedly more powerful than Yoongi.

“There’s no way I can fight him alone!” Yoongi grimaced to himself as he felt his life source of blood drain from him – feeling weaker by the second and knowing that he needed help.

“What are you three idiots doing? Help me – you useless bastards!” Yoongi let out a distorted, demonic scream as he proceeded to once again produce the toxin coated knife that had Jungkook widen his eyes; knowing that if the toxins came into contact with any kind of open wound of his, that he would surely not only lose his battle position; but he would no longer be able to keep you from Yoongi’s wicked, sadistic intentions. In less than a second, Hoseok and Seokjin lunged forward to assist Yoongi in a three verses one battle. With no time to lose, you watched as Taehyung and Jimin went through the same transition into a Vampire’s true form, before running to Jungkook’s side to engage in the fight; making the odds fairer.

You felt a cold sweat make its way across your skin as you looked to your left, seeing Namjoon frozen to the spot; as if he were questioning his very moral stance.

“...Namjoon...” you whispered, dreading to know what he was thinking.

Namjoon took his eyes off the ongoing battle to pull you back towards the window to a safe enough distance. “...I – I don’t want to fight. I don’t...I don’t want any of this...” he almost whimpered back as he looked down to you – his eyes saying more than a thousand words could ever explain.

“Then help Jungkook! Go and fight by his side...Yoongi has already said he doesn’t care about what happens to you...why are you still thinking about what to do?”

“(Y/N) – I am bound to Yoongi...he is my master...I cannot harm him. Although he cannot control my movements or my mind, I cannot fight against him. I just...I just can’t” Namjoon shut his eyes tight as if to try and hold back real tears that threatened to escape his worried, tormented soul. “The only thing I can do to help Jungkook now...is to protect you. I don’t know why...but I feel like it’s what I have to do...”

You searched Namjoon’s entire features for a glint of a lie – a shimmer of doubt; but you found nothing but a broken being, caught between right and wrong and questioning his entire existence. Since becoming a Vampire, Yoongi was all that Namjoon knew. In many ways, Namjoon looked to Yoongi like a father figure, always desperately seeking his approval and recognition; to which he never achieved. “Namjoon...” you whispered, causing him to open his eyes as the crashing of the battle ensued. “Let me touch you – take off your gloves...” you begged him.

As the fight continued, Hoseok was the first to fall unconscious as Taehyung and Jimin took him on – while Seokjin and Yoongi tried their best to corner the Prince of Vampires. With more experience and wit under his belt, Taehyung managed to send Hoseok flying across the room with an uppercut to his head, leaving him knocked out cold at the far end of the living room. It was common knowledge to all Vampires that the only thing that could kill another Vampire; was a Vampire. The sheer strength of removing one’s head from their body was something that the everyday being couldn’t hope to possess or achieve in any way. But since Taehyung didn’t wish to have himself labelled as a murderer, he opted for the next best thing – a blow to a Vampires head; knocking them unconscious for a short period of time.

Yoongi looked back at Hoseok on the floor as he thought about how useless he was – before noticing that Namjoon wasn’t involved in the fight at all. As he watched Taehyung and Jimin jump to Jungkook’s side to take on himself and Seokjin, he quickly looked back behind him to observe Namjoon with his gloves just after falling to the floor; and your hand encasing the bare skin of his fingers.

“That insolent little temptress” Yoongi lost all sight and sense of calm and collectiveness as all he could see was the blind rage that filled his entire body. Not caring that he was leaving Seokjin to fight against the odds that would surely cause his death, Yoongi sprinted over to you and Namjoon as fast as he could – taking Namjoon in his hands, lifting him clean off his feet, before sending him crashing through the window that sent the glass flying in all directions; shattering into different pieces. Completely distracted by trying to defend himself, Jungkook sank his fangs straight into Seokjin’s upper arm – causing him to wail in agony as Jungkook proceeded to rip into him. However, Jimin caught sight of Yoongi just after Namjoon crashed through the window and landed on to the gravel at the front of the manor.

“No!” Jimin screamed to himself as he saw Yoongi turn to you – shaking in vexation and his wild, blackened eyes full of terror and inhuman sickness. You couldn’t breathe, you couldn’t do anything as fear took over your basic nerve functions – rendering you unable to move let alone run away. And just as Yoongi took a step towards you, out of the corner of your eye, you saw Jimin pounce on top of him in an attempt to pull him away from you.

“Jungkook!” Jimin screamed at the top of his lungs to alert the Prince, but no sooner had his name left his mouth, Yoongi turned to Jimin...before stabbing him straight in his chest with the knife in his hands.

“...no...no – Jimin!” you screamed in unison with Taehyung as Jungkook took his eyes away from Seokjin to observe Jimin stumbling backwards towards the living room doors – his hands clutched around the knife coated in toxins buried deep inside him.

“Do you feel that? Can you feel how painful it is? Tell me, Jimin...was protecting her worth it? Was protecting her worth dying for?” Yoongi smirked as he saw Jimin drop to his knees – his true Vampiric form diminishing as he returned to his normal state, hardly able to breathe as he choked inaudible words. “Soon...the toxins will break down your newly formed, weak Vampiric cells...they will dissolve everything from the inside out...it will be a slow death, but I hope you can appreciate the height of your stupidity during that time” Yoongi’s voice disappeared into a menacing whisper as Taehyung fled from the fight to be by Jimin’s side.

“Jimin – stay with me darling, breathe – okay? Just breathe, you’re okay, look at me...god damn it!” Taehyung screamed as he cradled Jimin in his arms, looking into his agonised face as he knew every single one of Yoongi’s words were correct. Although the toxins would take a while to kill Jimin...they would inevitably do just that; kill him. “Everything’s going to be okay, alright my love? It’s...it’s okay, don’t worry, I’m here...I’ll...Jimin...oh god I –“ Taehyung couldn’t stop the river of tears falling from his eyes as Jimin continued to struggle to breathe – feeling the poison engulf his system.

“Tae...I –“

“Shh...don’t speak, it’s okay. Save your strength” Taehyung whimpered back, tasting the saltiness of his own sadness on his lips, while you felt your legs shake as Jungkook continued to try and make his way over to you; but since becoming distracted, it ultimately gave Seokjin the upper hand.

“I...I tried my best” Jimin squeaked, opening his eyes to look into the face of the one he loved with every beat of his heart – both when he was human, and now as a Vampire.

“I know, I know you did;...and I am so, so proud of you...” Taehyung placed his hand over Jimin’s – both of their hands encasing the knife as Taehyung thought about whether or not to leave it in or remove it; knowing that it wouldn’t make much of a difference.

“Tae...I...I love you – so much...” Jimin whispered. “Th-thank you for...a-always p-protecting me..and loving me...and for being th-the only thing in my life...that I’m pr-proud of”

“Don’t you dare say your goodbyes, Jimin – don’t you dare! You can’t leave me!” Taehyung screamed as if he were being stabbed himself as he completely forgot about everyone else in the room.

You stood in silence with tears cascading down your face – watching Taehyung envelope Jimin in his arms as he rocked him back and forth on the floor. You panned your eyes over to Yoongi – seeing him with a detrimental smile on his face as he looked more than impressed with his actions. “I...I did this...” you felt the regret of the entire situation almost grab your heart and clench it forcefully. In less than a moment, all of your memories with Jimin played in your mind; from the moment you first met the blonde in Taehyung’s boutique – how timid and shy you thought he was. You recalled his kindness – his gentle nature, even when he was a natum lamia battling against himself; for he never wished any harm to come to you. You thought back to the instance of him fixing the crystals on your dress, giving you the beautiful pashmina to wear on your shoulders – his beautiful, bashful smile that made your heart pound faster with endearment, and finally; the moment your skin came into contact with his – the moment you took him out of a hellish purgatory and set him free.

“...and now...look what I’ve done” your chest heaved in tormented guilt – the guilt of knowing that Jimin had just essentially sacrificed his own life in an attempt to save yours.

“(Y/N)! Come to me – get over here!” Jungkook screamed at you – but you couldn’t hear anything. You couldn’t focus on anything, you felt numb, you felt nothing but pure emptiness fill you entirely as Jungkook desperately tried to push Seokjin out of the way.

“Not so fast, my Prince!” Seokjin cackled as he successfully managed to send Jungkook flying in the direction of the marble fireplace. Jungkook’s head came into direct contact with the mantle that didn’t knock him out, but severely threw him off balance, just enough to cause him to stumble as he tried to pick himself up...but it was too late.

Before you could even begin to comprehend what was going on, you saw Yoongi swiftly step beside you – taking you in his leathered hands and pulling your head back; leaving him with a direct view of your jugular vein that protruded with each beat of your heart.

“See you on the other side – my beautiful domitor” Yoongi growled into your ear.

“No! Yoongi – Taehyung; s-stop him!” Jungkook screamed as loud as his throat allowed him as he began almost crawling towards you; only to have Seokjin kick him back in his rib-cage that left him near lifeless and energy-drained on the wooden, bloodied floor.

And with that – you felt like nothing was worth fighting for, as you watched Yoongi widen his mouth to its full capacity; seeing the ferociousness of his fangs in all their gory glory while his eyes glistened with hedonistic excitement. At the last second, you trailed your eyes over to Jungkook on the floor – hearing his bellowing screams of torment at having to watch without being able to do anything about it.

“Jungkook...I’m sorry” you whispered, before all you could feel; was Yoongi’s fangs penetrate the skin on your neck – the pain, the excruciating agony that entered your body almost too much to bear as you felt the sensation of his scalding hot venom enter your bloodstream and consume you from the inside out.

“(Y/N)!” Jungkook let out a long, elongated cry.

{...to be continued...}

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helplessly-burning-blog · 8 years

Text

Meet me on the battlefield

Pairing: Marquis de Lafayette x Reader

Summary: You are a good soldier; diligent, brave, smart, and one of the closest to General Henry Clinton. A few months ago he had started referring to you as his right-hand man and your rank and status had heightened swiftly after that. There are only two problems: the first one is you are a woman disguised as a man. The second is a certain encounter with a Frenchman in a blue coat.

Word count: 2,436

Time period: Hamiltime (This starts in 1778)

Warnings: Slowly build relationship, probably more than 3 parts. War, blood, guns, violence, cursing. This chapter is pretty soft so there are just mentions of those things. Warnings might change in the future depending on the chapter.

(Y/LN) is your last name

Note: I wrote this like 3 years ago (or more, I don’t remember) and it originally was for my literature class. Obviously, it wasn’t with Hamilton characters but I found it again and it suits pretty well so I said Why not? I really investigated to write this but even so, there will maybe be a few historical inaccuracies. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! ♡ (Requests are still OPEN guys!)

{2nd part}

____________________________

There is something very beautiful and very perverse in knowing the person who changed your life on what once was a battlefield. You were there; alive, with blood on your clothes and in your file. Many bodies had been removed, and possibly were being buried. "A pity that the living cannot be forced to rest in peace" you reflected, dead tired. You kept walking in the area for a while, looking for one of your companions without much hope.

In nights like this, you couldn’t help but think of home. You wondered how much London had changed since the last time you were in it. If there was a chance that it was even more magnificent than before. You closed your eyes for a second and imagined the Thames, the Church of St Margaret and the Tower of London. The gentlemen with their elegant coats and hats, and the ladies in their silk dresses and corsets… just like the ones you used to wear and you missed so much.

Those thoughts didn’t last long, however, because you were forced to return to reality and open your eyes to the sound of a branch breaking. You quickly raised your musket and aimed to the possible enemy, or at least in the direction you thought it could be.

“Show yourself!” you demanded in a violent tone.

Truth be told, you felt panic for the first time since you came to America. This time you were alone, lost in the darkness of the night and the foliage, surrounded by nothing but silence and trees. If you were to die here and now it would be for nothing, not in a real battle, not doing something brave or heroic, just like a scared mouse… and you definitely wouldn’t let that happen. You stood still, motionless as a monument, sharpening your senses as much as you could and tried to spot the shadow.

Suddenly there were steps. Fast steps. Where they came from? They were everywhere.

“Put the gun down now or you will not get mercy” a voice with a thick French accent threatened.

The voice seemed to come from far away, but in fact, it came out of the mouth you had a few centimeters away from your nape. A mouth that belonged to the man holding a dagger under your jaw and gripping your hair with his other hand, leaving you with no choice but to look up at the starry sky. You slowly lost the grip on the musket and let it fall to the ground.

"Any move and my dagger will be faster. Get on your knees” the voice demanded.

It was over. You were going to die. And you’d have a death without honor; disarmed and kneeling before your enemy. You almost laugh at how pathetic it was, but the knife in your throat would have made it impossible even if you had tried, so you just obeyed reluctantly.

When your knees touched the ground the grip on your hair became stronger, making you hiss in pain. And now you had a face in your field of vision. Dark and deep eyes, curly hair bound up in a ponytail and a stubble beard.

The man who had taken your life and now held it in his hands was placed in front of you, and with the grip on your hair forced you to lower your head to his level. He kept you at his mercy and even so you looked him in the eye with all the hate and rage you had, letting him know you weren’t afraid of him.

The next thing that happened, you doubted whether it was real or not: your enemy shifted his penetrating gaze to a softer one, and milliseconds later the dagger moved.

Your head didn’t roll, but you lost a few strands of hair. It was as if the hand of your attacker had had a fit of anger. The hair was on the floor and the French man had disappeared.

... ... ... ... ... ...

Everybody seemed to be minding their own business when you finally arrived at the camp; a group of men was sitting around a wood fire drinking from their hip flask, others were in the infirmary tent, and other many were collecting the weaponry and the horses, but the man you were looking for wasn’t anywhere in sight.

“(Y/LN)!” Someone called behind you, making you turn around to find the tall figure of Richard Pitt making his way to you “Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Clinton is searching for you”

“And I assume you’re here to escort me to his tent?” you didn’t wait for his response; the two of you were walking already.

“I just want to remark three things,” he said apparently enjoying himself a little too much “First: It was utterly stupid of you thinking going back on your own was a good idea. Second: Nice haircut. Third: General Clinton thought you were dead and almost went bonkers. He sent twelve of us to find you”

“Good to know none of you were intelligent or brave enough to search in the most obvious place” you retorted clearly irritated with his stupidities. “Especially you, since you somehow already know I went back to the battlefield even though I haven't mentioned anything about it”

Surprisingly that didn’t shut him up but made him smile even wider.

“Smith is not here, so the possibilities were pretty much predictable. Or the two of you were dead or one of you was injured and the other one went to their aid. But now that you had returned alone, I think it was a little of the two, hmm?”

You'd never been happier to arrive a tent in your whole life. And if there would’ve been a door, you definitely would have slammed it in the face of that rotter bastard.

... ... ... ... ... ...

As expected, opportunities and death are just around the corner. Or in this case, several distances from the fortification in which you should be.

The wind caressed your hair - disdainful and irregular, thanks to the dagger of the Shadow - your eyelashes, your hands, your clothes. It creaked in your ears, creating the most sublime music that could ever have been devoted to you. You closed your eyes and let yourself be, resting your head on the grass.

After your reunion with the General the night before everything had gone back to place. He was beyond happy to see you in one piece. So much you even had a small celebration just for the pleasure and blessing of being alive; lots of rum, tobacco, stories and jokes were exchanged. Even Pitt got drunk mumbling nonsenses about “how much he wanted to punch that pretty face of yours”. That wasn’t something new, he tended to say it even sober, and you perfectly knew his reasons: You were a good soldier; diligent, brave, smart, and one of the closest to General Henry Clinton. A few months ago he had started referring to you as his right-hand man and your rank and status had heightened swiftly after that, giving you everything that Richard Pitts had always wanted since he was eighteen. Usually, you would ignore him or make quick comebacks, but last night you didn’t mind hearing him, not after you saw your dearest friend Elliot Smith walking out of the infirmary with a smile on his face.

You could have been thinking about the previous night for much longer, but suddenly the birds stopped their chirp and a cold sensation traveled down your body, making you uncomfortable.

When you opened your eyes you found your newest and best-personified nightmare; there was the man who ripped your hair and preserved your life. The same dark eyes and the stubble beard. This time he didn’t have the intimidating gaze he carried yesterday but an impassive and calculating expression. He was riding on his horse, wearing his impeccable blue uniform and being apparently weaponless.

It definitely wasn't the moment to think about stupid things such as vanity but even so, you were embarrassed by being dressed in casual clothing instead of your own red coat and white uniform. The fact that your hair was a mess and couldn’t fit properly in a ponytail anymore didn’t help either.

You didn't know how long you both stayed like that, just staring at each other. But God, it was terrifying and stressful at the same time.

“I have no idea who you are but you are terrible at keeping your guard up,” He said suddenly, apparently trying to break the ice.

You stood up slowly, with your chin up and your eyes stuck to him.

“And you are a lousy barber” you accused, crossing your arms over your chest “… Who speaks horrible broken English”

Okay that last part was a childish lie but you couldn't help yourself, the rivalry between Britain and France was something that seemed to be endless for people in both countries no matter which was the circumstance.

“Well, it’s one of the most unpleasant languages I ever had to learn,” he said giving you a half-smile.

"Yet here you are, pronouncing the r’s in a disagreeable way”

"I'd like to see you trying to speak French in a minimally respectable way"

“Don’t count on it” you blurted out. It was not going to happen, not even if your life depended on it.

The man laughed. It was a simple sound that made everything lighter. You two were criticizing your mother languages and it was strangely funny. You also felt the smile on your face.

But after that little joy, the two of you stared at each other again, becoming more and more serious.

“Why are you here?” you asked again with your cold expression.

"I could ask you the same thing” he pointed out “But let me clarify that I’m not doing it”

“Why not?”

“I have other inquiries” he answered simply.

Your brows drew together at his words “What kind of inquiries?”

“What were you doing last night all by yourself on the battlefield?”

“I think that is pretty much the same question that you’re ‘not doing’ but in past tense”

“So you’re not answering?”

You pondered about it for a moment but finally decided to answer. If you were going to speak about last night then so be it.

“I was searching for someone” you surely as hell wouldn't go in depth about it, so you spoke again to prevent him from asking anything else “Why didn't you kill me?”

“Was it a mistake?”

“Not for me. But for you, it must have been”

“It wasn’t”

“Why not?”

Silence. Steps in one direction. Helmets that were distancing towards another.

... ... ... ... ... ...

The meeting repeated itself again and again in your head for the next few days. It wasn’t normal for someone to prowl casually into the woods, much less without a gun, a sword or even a knife. That’s why you were so surprised to meet the Frenchman in the middle of nowhere basically doing nothing. He could be a spy, a madman, a murderer, a romantic or God knows what else. The same might be said of you, but you actually had a reason of why you liked that spot so much: it was the only place where you could speak with your real voice –even if you were only to speak with the squirrels or yourself- and loose up the bandages in your chest. The mere fact that you had decided not to do it that time was luck, luck that you wouldn’t dare to tempt.

But if the man was indeed a spy you needed to inform the General, so you kept your eye in your not-to-secret-anymore place. In the evenings, always at the same time, with bandaged chest and a little dagger in your pocket, you strolled through those calm and uninhabited lands, looking for the presence of the Frenchie.

In less than a week, he appeared again. Riding his horse and wearing simpler clothes instead of his blue uniform.

“You never have anything better to do?” you asked just like if you haven’t been coming to this exact spot for the last five days like it was your favorite hobby.

“Truth be told, yes I do, but that and me wanting to do it are two different stories” he answered with a smile “How about you?”

“I did all my duties already” that was half-truth, half- fallacy but he didn’t need to know “So I can disperse”

"We're like dogs that they let out for a while, but we'll always go back to where they feed us"

“We?” you wrinkled your nose at the word. It sounded awfully awkward to use plural nouns with the enemy.

“Yes, we” But said enemy didn’t seem to mind.

And you were confused for a second wondering if he had said “yes” two times or just said “We” again.

“You can speak for yourself; I’ve never seen the fort as something to which I should return” It’s not an obligation, is a privilege, you thought. But of course, you couldn’t say that out loud. No men would ever understand.

“Alright, a stray dog then. Who has temporary homes in which families as unhappy as him accept him. Would you mind to share the name of the fort?” He finished quickly with a charming smile on his lips.

“Very funny” you retorted sarcastically.

“It was worth a try” he shrugged.

So… assuming he was a spy –an incredibly stupid spy to uncover himself so easily with such an obvious question – he was looking for the place where you were established, but putting that aside you didn’t have any proof. You still couldn’t inform General Clinton about it.

“Do not fool yourself,” you said reducing the distance between you and the man on the horse “You don’t have any chance of winning, not with me”

“You want to bet?” he asked searching in one of his pockets to finally reveal a deck of cards with a playful smirk.

You raised a quizzical eyebrow at him. Really, this man was an enigma.

“It depends on the magnitude of the victory we are talking about” you answered finally.

Calm witnessed how the two of you seated on the ground, making your plays without a word while the Frenchman’s horse grazed quietly around you.

You two gambled mundane things: cigarettes, some gold coins, dry leaves that you found on the floor. Then, without consulting, you played without betting. Just for the pleasure of beating the other until you lost the account of who carried the glory.

#hamilton x reader #lafayette x reader #hamilton imagine #hamilton imagines #marquis de lafayette x reader #reader insert #Marquis de Lafayette #hamilton fanfic #helplessly-burning writing

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simplyoriginalcharacters · 7 years

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Lezlie Jenkins

((This is one of my characters for NaNoWriMo!))

Hi there, I'll be handling your critique today! Check below the cut for the rest of the profile and my notes! -Kyo

Name: Lezlie Jenkins Gender: Female Sexual Orientation: Questioning Age: 17 Birthdate: 29/02/2000

Alignment: Neutral good Group/Organizational Affiliations: Liston Mural Club

Best Friends: -Mariko Nakamura is the first person Lezlie meets at Liston high school. She’s one of the reasons Lezlie begins to question herself and her sexuality, and has to pick apart whatever she feels for Mariko amongst everything else that’s happening in her life. -Charley Henderson joins the school at the same time as her, and is put in many of the same classes as Lezlie. She joins the mural club, and Lezlie becomes close friends with her. Charley and Jazz are who she confides in mostly when it comes to her personal emotions. -Jazz Sanchez is a person Lezlie becomes friends with when she moves school, and instantly becomes close to. They have a similar sense of humour and Jazz eats with her at lunch, and they go out on the weekends a lot of the time. -Lauren ‘Mango’ Holloway is a girl in the mural club. At first, Lezlie isn’t that close with her as Mango can be a little loud and over the top for Lezlie. Soon though, she realises that when Mango calms down she’s a fun person to be around. -Will Weston is a boy who’s friends with Mariko, which is mainly how Lezlie gets to know him. Although he isn’t technically a part of the mural club, he hangs around and chats with them while they work. He’s usually calmer and less dramatic than Mariko or Mango, and Lezlie enjoys his company. -Callum ‘Mouse’ Matsumoto goes to the same school as Lezlie, and is in the same music class. They get to know each other over their mutual love of music. Relationship Status: Single at the start of the series, taken by the end. Significant Other: Mariko Nakamura Other Relationships: -Lezlie’s relationship with her parents is okay, but there’s a lot that could be improved on. Lezlie hides what she feels from her parents, for fear of them being angry or unaccepting. She loves them, and they love her though, and it’s overall a healthy relationship. Her father is an english teacher at her new school. -Lezlie’s younger brothers Mitchell and Ben get on well with her. She’ll often join in their childhood games, and helps them out with their homework while her parents are working or busy.

Height: 5”7 Build: Lezlie is chubby and tall, with broad shoulders. Skin Tone: Lezlie has warm dark skin. Hair: Her hair is dyed a dark, electric pink. Sometimes she has it natural, with some of it braided like an undercut, and other times she has it in dreads, usually in a loose bun on top of her head. Eyes: Lezlie has wide eyes, with dark brown irises. She has dark lashes. Appearance: Lezlie has a round-ish face, with a flat nose and freckles scattered across her cheeks. She wears a dark, cherry-red lipstick, and varies how she does her makeup each morning. Lezlie wears more formal clothing, like blouses and V-neck jumpers, but on weekends and days out she likes wearing band-shirts, or spaghetti-strap tops with jeans.

Backstory: Lezlie grew up with her father, her mother, and her grandmother. When she was 13, they had twins Mitchell and Ben, her younger brothers who she cared about very deeply. Lezlie’s Grandmother died when she was 16, and her mother was laid off from her travel agency around the same time. By the time Lezlie was 17, they’d made plans to move away so her dad could get a better paying job, and her mother could find work, which is when Lezlie came to Liston. Charley asks her to come down to the art block with her, which is where Lezlie sees the mural club and asks to join.

Personality: Lezlie is usually a calm and collected person. She’s quiet, although she isn’t shy, and is more content listening than talking. However, she has a very strong sense of right and wrong, and if someone says something she disagrees with, Lezlie will join in the conversation to make her point. If she gets close to someone, she’s much more talkative and fun. Lezlie is naturally a very caring person, and she has no problem talking about what she feels unless it’s personal to her, and tries and encourages her friends to do the same if she senses something is up. While Lezlie isn’t a big fan of being told what to do, she’ll follow most of the rules put in place, but if there’s an emergency or if she disagrees with one she’ll have no problem going against it. She loves performing music on a stage, and when she plays the drums it’s all she focuses on, and it’s like everything else disappears. Lezlie is kind to her friends, and polite even to people she doesn’t really like, and always offers to help people with problems as she is naturally supportive from being an older sister, though she prefers to deal with her own problems independently, even if she can openly talk about it. Motivations: Lezlie wants to work so she can help her family, and although she only almost subconsciously knows it, she wants to make her Grandmother proud. Current Goal: Figure out who she is. Life Goal: Become a musician and get married. Motto: Everyone bleeds the same. Best Quality: Kindness, supportivity. Worst Quality: Envy Fears: Never amounting to anything Hobbies: Lezlie plays the drums in her spare time very well. She also enjoys painting, though she’s not very good at it. Talents: Makeup, drumming. Skills: Perfect vision, organizes everything.

Secret: Lezlie hides the fact she is questioning her sexuality. Influential Memory: When her grandma passed and left Lezlie her necklace. When Mitchell and Ben were born and she held them for the first time. Crush: Mariko Nakamura

As I read through Lezlie's appearance section, it became obvious to me that you have a very clear mental image of what Lezlie looks like and what her personal style is. You brought it across beautifully, and I was able to picture her in my mind as well. I don't think this section needs any additional information or clarification at all. I will say that you might want to be careful of repetition - you've used the word "dark" five times in this section. It's not a bad word by any means, but as a writer you always want to be cognizant of what words you're choosing and why. Try looking for other color descriptors that you can use and see what you can come up with!

In terms of Lezlie's personality, it's interesting that almost every sentence is set up as a contradiction - "Lezlie is A, but under [circumstances] she'll be Z." I'm not sure if this is deliberate or not, but it does make this section somewhat difficult to parse in terms of deciding who Lezlie really is. You may want to group similar facts together to make it easier to read. For example, you could write a paragraph about who Lezlie is around her friends and one about who she is around her family and one about who she privately feels she really is, or you could group all of her positive traits in one paragraph and all of her negative traits in another. Think of other ways you could organize this section to make it easier to read, and don't be afraid to use whitespace to separate things.

Lezlie's backstory is pretty sparse, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes people just don't lead very exciting lives, and that's fine. However, you could add a few details here to further flesh out Lezlie's profile and tie things together. For example, when did she learn to play the drums, and why did she choose that instrument over others? Was she interested in art before she saw the mural club? How did she feel about the move, and how did it affect her, especially if she was leaving behind her childhood home and all her friends there? Add in some more detail to give us a better picture of who Lezlie is. If you don't know these things because you haven't started your NaNoWriMo novel yet, that's okay! Just make sure you figure them out before you revise.

Overall, I like Lezlie, and I think you've got a really good foundation here for an interesting character. I'd be happy to look her over again if you decide to revise her and resubmit after NaNoWriMo. Until then, good luck!

-Kyo

#SOC Critique #OC Critique #Development Help #General Help #submission

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Batwoman Season 2: What to Expect

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Batwoman ended season 1 with so many cliffhangers it’s almost hard to keep track – Jake Kane was hot on the trail of his daughter, things between Sophie’s ex Julia Pennyworth were heating up, Alice killed Mouse and face-swapped Hush to look like Bruce Wayne. And then the real world gave the fictional one a run for its money, with lead actor Ruby Rose leaving the show and showrunner Caroline Dries and the producers choosing to recast the role.

With Batwoman season 2 on the way in 2021 and Javicia Leslie has been cast as Ryan Wilder, the next hero to step up as Batwoman and defend Gotham City. At DC’s Fandome event, Trish Bendix of The New York Times spoke with Dries, executive producer Beth Schwartz (former Arrow showrunner) and the crew, who teased what next season may bring.

Where’s Kate Kane?

Dries frames the show in terms of two major stories in season 2: where’s Kate, and a new hero rising into Gotham. It’s not exactly a huge surprise that the first question would be the one on every character’s lips.

Obviously Ruby Rose has left Batwoman, but Team Bat hasn’t shared how they’re going to handle her absence, exactly, other than hiring Javicia Leslie to play a new role rather than recasting Kate Kane. So what happened to Kate?

“Is she alive, is she dead, is she missing, is she on the run, is she held captive, is she lost?” Dries wondered allowed, not giving us an inch. “These are all huge mysteries that push us in deep into the season, and all of our characters are going to have different perspectives on that different conspiracy theories, different points of view and it will create a lot of drama, tension, history, intrigue, and it will be shocking and awesome and amazing.”

It’s interesting that Dries mentioned being on the run and held captive since those are all things Kate Kane experienced during various comic book incarnations, while Alice was held captive, missing, lost, and their mother, who was with Alice, was held captive and then killed.

Introducing Ryan Wilder

As for Javicia Leslie’s Ryan Wilder, she’s a brand new character in the world of DC, one whose upbringing was very different from heiress Kate Kane.

“She was a girl who was a statistic of injustice,” Dries said. “The moment she was born, and the system was not built for this person, and she will constantly battle against the system. All throughout she’s battled through it her whole life and she will continue to battle against it as Batwoman.”

As someone who comes from struggle herself, Javicia will be looking out for her community, as well as the proverbial underdog in general. While Batwoman has never shied away from social issues, Ryan brings a different perspective and a different context, both in-world for Gothamites and for the audience consuming the show.

As Leslie put it, “Just to kind of have that crusader that’s from that part of the community, I think that that’s important and that’s really what we’re going to dive into this season.”

The Kane Family

One obvious point of friction fans have wondering about is how removing Kate Kane as a central figure will impact the show, since Kane family dynamics are so central to the first season and much of what had been set up for Batwoman season 2.

While the Kane family has come a long way from where they were when we first met them in the pilot (and lost a few members), Leslie is not anticipating that they will have a warm welcome for Ryan.

While she says Jake Kane “is not about the whole vigilante street kid life,” the family as a whole will likely be grieving Kate’s disappearance in some way, regardless of why they believe she’s gone and for how long. (I mean, none of the options are “on the Waverider with Sara Lance” or “on the run with Reagan the bartender,” right?)

Luckily, Dries gave us some hope that while Ryan and Kate seem very different on the surface, due to their upbringing and background, Ryan may have a positive role with the Kanes in the longterm.

“I think Ryan will, ironically, ultimately unite the Kane family whether or not they realize it,” she said. “There are all these strands of connection that she brings to them.”

Mary Hamilton

Continuing on to the best dressed member of the Kane family, who has also (hot take) potentially saved the most lives, Mary had finally gotten to a good place with her sister last season when she joined Team Bat. What impact will losing her sister and meeting this new person have on her?

“She’s been a person who I think is always looking for families, always looking for community, always looking for somebody to see her, which is, I think, a huge source of why the clinic exists for her,” said Kang. “There are just much deeper personal reasons for that, and I think her and Ryan, Mary and Ryan sort of have that in common.”

Both Kang and Leslie hinted at the idea that Mary and Ryan might find common ground in the way that they are so personally invested in their chosen way to help make the world better.

Leslie said, “It’s funny because a lot of Mary’s patients can be examples of that community, you know the community that gets overlooked by the hospital, by the Crows.”

Given how open a person Mary is, the heart of the show and a real cheerleader for basically every non-evil character on the show, it makes sense that she might be an early person in Ryan’s corner.

We know Mary already has one person in her corner: Luke. It took them most of a season’s worth of delightful jabbing, but Luke opened up, a rarity for him, and Mary showed up for him in a big way during the appeal of his father’s case.

While they didn’t say whether we’d see any movement on this for season two, Camrus Johnson and Nicole Kang spent some time discussing the Luke and Mary ship, which they say took them by surprise. Johnson apparently came up with the HamilFox ship name himself (which he is very proud of), but he was surprised how quickly fans invested in the idea.

“It happened so early,” Johnson said. “It was like episode three maybe and I think they just figured out like ‘oh smart kid, smart kid, they should be together,’ and on Episode Five whenever Luke and Mary met all the fans are like ‘This is it! They have to date!’”

For the sake of the HamilFox shippers, here’s hoping all this encouraging chatter means that our two favorite smart kids get together this season – or at least just keep up the banter.

Luke Fox

We have plenty of big ideas about Luke Fox’s future, based on last season’s interviews with Camrus Johnson and Caroline Dries, but Johnson shared more about where the very cerebral Luke’s head is at heading into season two.

“Luke doesn’t really trust a lot of people. And it took him so long to trust Batman’s cousin,” Johnson said.

If that sounds a bit harsh, think about how long it took Luke to open up to Kate, Mary, Sophie and Julia, or the fact that he’s only told two of those people about his dad. It’s not surprise, then, that Johnson thinks this next year, with a whole new person in the cowl on top of the fallout from last season, is going to be a lot for Luke.

“What he cares most about is keeping Gotham safe, but at the end of the day, Ryan to Luke is someone from the streets and it was already so hard to trust someone that had the army experience,” Johnson said. “To suddenly give this precious Batsuit to this new person is going to be really hard for him.”

Alice unleashed? And new villain Safiyah

While Ryan will (eventually) have some allies, it’s safe to assume at least one person won’t be.

And when it comes to Alice, “anything could happen” really does mean anything. Everyone’s favorite murderer Alice ended last season killing her own adopted brother after teaming up with Hush to make him look like Bruce Wayne, since her (many) plans to take out Batwoman didn’t work.

Skarsten said “She has this like beautiful intricate plan for the demise of her sister. And that will have been foiled.”

Fan favorite Rachel Skarsten thinks she’s going to be “peeved.”

Alice could easily return to one of her favorite people to torment, Mary, considering their hate/hate relationship last season. As Nicole Kang pointed out, Kate will no longer be there to act as a buffer between them.

“There is/was this triangle between Alice, Kate Kane and Mary. And, you know, without Kate actively in that triangle,” Kang said, “anything could happen.”

Skarsten also teased the introduction of new character Safiyah, a fellow villain whom Alice discussed in fearful, hushed tones last season, saying Alice is going to have a lot to worry about and calling it a, “backstory of Alice that we haven’t had the opportunity to see before.”

Sophie Moore

Finally, we left Sophie in some hot water as her mentor, Jake Kane cut her out so he could pull off a double-whammy of a trap for Batwoman and some good old fashioned mercenary brutality (like police brutality, but for more money!)

As Meagan Tandy puts it, “She is going to have a lot on her plate, there’s going to be a lot that’s going to fall upon her.”

She also mentioned that Sophie and Ryan “don’t like each other at first,” which should be an interesting dynamic to watch develop.

“She’s going to really understand the importance of why Batwoman has to stay secretive,” Tandy says, which could be hinting at the Crows’ quest to take her down, and their hinted turn toward the ever-more-militant.

As for a new Batwoman coming to Gotham, Tandy says, “Sophie is going to have no clue.” It will be interesting to see how the writers square that circle with a costume that makes it clear that Batwoman is a Black woman, since Sophie already knows Batwoman is white – or at least, that’s the reason given for why Julia Pennyworth had to be cast white.

In season 1 we saw so much change in Sophie, and it sounds like we could be in for more in season 2, as she stops coloring inside the lines all the time.

“Ryan, and Batwoman, but mostly Ryan, sort of helps pull Sophie out of her shell. And maybe we edge you up a little bit this season,” Dries said, referring to Tandy and her character.

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There are still so many mysteries left untouched for the long hiatus as we (somewhat) patiently wait for the cast and crew of Batwoman to be able to safely create season 2.

Will Ryan and Team Bat be able to hold off the Crows’ push toward authoritarianism? How long can Hush pull of his Bruce Wayne disguise? How many people left in Gotham would actually be able to see through it, other than Jake and Luke? Will whatever happened to Kate bring Julie and Sophie closer together, and send them farther apart? How will the rest of the Arrowverse (lezbihonest, Kara Danvers) respond to Kate Kane’s disappearance?

We’ve got plenty of time, so share your theories in the comments below.

The post Batwoman Season 2: What to Expect appeared first on Den of Geek.

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