#nolan h. // speaks

[ssvperboy]

closed starter @ghostsxagain

"Nah, 'cause this the kicker," Nolan told them, head shaking as he continued, "she thought I was some rapper, right? I 'on't even remember the dude's name, but this broad thought I was famous and 'course I was gonna milk it." He laughed a little, "an' after she gave me a ton of free shit, she was upset 'cause I didn't wanna sleep with her. Like, my body, my choice man."

[ssvperboy]

Brows furrowed in confusion. Nolan could try to understand what it was Veronica was saying, but he couldn't truly see how someone could help a ghost. "You're tellin' me that talkin' to these things makes 'em not angry?" He kind of believed it, figured it was something she couldn't lie about but that didn't mean he was suddenly excited to be around anymore spirits. "I dunno man, wouldn't it just be easier to like, not risk angerin' 'em more 'cause you wanna help? Like, I just don't get how some of 'em are gonna be like 'yeah, thanks for the chat guys, yer right, I shouldn't be so upset that I died'?"

"Not all ghosts or spirits are bad, some just tend to be really angry that they're trapped and can't move on. That's what October's good at, helping them," Ronnie explained though the look on his face told her that she wasn't going to get through to him and that was fair. "Look, if you want to stay as far away as you can from this, that's fine, but nothing you say is going to change my mind."

[deebris]

The Fractured Bonds

Nolan Grayson x daughter reader (platonic!)

Mark Grayson x sister reader (platonic!)

Synopsis: Mark finds himself facing an unexpected threat to his family when Angstrom Levy decides to hold his mother and sister hostage. Despite the family turmoil they've endured and Nolan's departure, he returns to rescue his daughter.

Warnings: Contains scenes of violence, emotional distress and it mentions that the reader was murdered in other realities. The reader is 5 years old. This is just an idea I had a long time ago and kept it stored. This scenario was inspired by Chapter 33 of the "Invincible" comics in portuguese.

Word count: 3.6k

As soon as Mark flew into the house through the window, his heart stopped when he saw you and his mother clinging to each other, as if your lives depended on that embrace. When Eve told him that Debbie had called, but the voice on the phone was a man's, he couldn't help but rush back to you two and imagine that something was wrong, and indeed it was.

At first, he ignored the hideous figure holding you both hostage, but made a point to glare at him with hatred now. His head was larger than that of an ordinary person and the shape of his brain was imprinted around the skull; moreover, the expression on the stranger's face was manic and as furious as Mark's, but there was a kind of excitement shining through.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Your brother's voice was deeper than usual; an attempt to sound more authoritative and intimidating.

"He wanted me to bring you here..." Debbie suddenly began to speak "I-I didn't know where you were. I remembered that Eve had called, I thought maybe she knew." Her voice was faltering, full of pauses between words due to nervousness. And it was while his mother was speaking that Mark noticed her bruised face, with a bleeding nose and purple patches on her arms as she held your small body as protected as possible.

You seemed to be in better physical condition than her, but your injured knee did not go unnoticed, as a thin trail of blood had formed around your calf. In an adult, the wound wouldn't have been a big deal, but your delicate skin stung with the cut, and he knew it hurt because of your sniffles. "I'm sorry, I didn't know what else to do. H-he hurt me, he was going to hurt my baby." She said the last part with regret, referring to you, while holding you closer and running her fingers through your hair.

"In fact, I think your son was talking to me." Interrupting his mother, finally that man had spoken, and his tone was cynical, too unconcerned for the taste of the furious Mark glaring at him. As if that weren't enough, he dared to touch Debbie's shoulder, acting as if he had every right to do so.

"Let them go now." Mark ordered him with dangerously calm voice, although the expression on his face was one of pure disgust.

"Not yet." He opened a diabolical smile as he began his ridiculous speech: "I've learned a lot about you, Mark Grayson. Many things. I know how violent you can get when you're angry, like now..." He paused dramatically, as if he needed to emphasize what he was about to say next, and it was only irritating Mark's impatient. "I know you got it from your father."

The scowl on Mark's face deepened as you tried to peek out from your mother's arms to try to understand what was going on, but she pulled you closer to her embrace. "Stay here with mommy, sweetheart."

Both she and your brother hadn't had the courage to tell you what had happened to Nolan; you were still too young, maybe you wouldn't even understand. They both spent the last few months avoiding mentioning your father at home, and when they did, it was in whispers so that you wouldn't start asking questions they wouldn't know how to answer. No child should know that their own father was a superhero killer, let alone that he had abandoned his own family out of sheer moral caprice.

"Did you know that your identity is public in almost forty percent of the realities where you exist, Mark?" The villain continued his taunts, wanting to get to some point. "That's almost half. And that means you're careless."

"Get to the point already." Mark asked, or rather demanded. If this continued, he was sure he would snap. This dialogue was irritating him, but as long as his mother and sister were witnessing everything, he would need to hold himself together until he found a way to get him away from here.

"You see this?" He pointed to himself, referring to his own appearance "I'm a freak... A deformed freak. So I guess it's understandable that you don't recognize me." Then he wrapped you and your mother around his arm in threat, and the grip was painful. "When you saw me before, when you did this to me, I looked much more normal!"

"Oh, god... You're that guy." Realization struck him, widening his eyes as he remembered the past.

"That guy? Is that all you remember of me? That I was that guy?" If that man's temperament was bad before, now it must have risen about twenty degrees with the lack of importance his sworn enemy had given him. "I'm Angstrom Levy! The next time you forget my name, it will be because you'll be dead!"

He was certainly furious, pouring out hatred and continuing to blame Mark for interrupting his inter-dimensional goals, blaming him for his current deformed appearance, repeating that he would always be a freak, even though he had sought out the best surgeons to reconstruct his shattered body.

"The greatest minds in a dozen realities couldn't find a way to fix my brain!" His hands clenched into heavy, tense fists, ready to crush something "And it's all because of you!"

After that, he exploded and everything happened too quickly for Debbie to stop him, and even if she were quick, she wouldn't have had the strength. In moments, you were ripped from your mother, who had taken a punch to the face. Levy held you and stretched one of your arms with the free hand. You hadn't acquired powers yet and were nothing but a child; you couldn't defend yourself alone.

Mark took a step forward, but Levy raised your arm in a strange position, ready to break it. You cried and sobbed desperately due to the intense pain. "Mommy, make him stop! Mark!" You pleaded as he twisted your arm, and irrationally shouted for your brother repeatedly, seeking someone who could come to your rescue.

"Let her go!" Mark was no longer the Invincible, even in his superhero costume. He was just a man trying to protect his family, and he felt so useless and powerless that it was agonizing. Without thinking, he lunged at the hideous villain in front of him, ready to confront him in physical combat at that very moment.

"That's right. I'm right here. Come get me!" And he did, but Mark was taken aback to find himself in a completely strange place. He was no longer in his home; Angstrom Levy had sent him through one of his portals to another dimension.

He watched in shock the weird jungle he found himself in, with mutant dinosaur-like creatures devouring the carcass of another beast as large as they were right beside him. The animals noticed Mark, and suddenly they... Spoke? He heard the beasts mention that it had been a long time since they had seen any Homo Sapiens, obsessed with devouring him. Apparently, he was in some apocalyptic dimension where humans had been extinct by these beasts. He could have ended these animals in seconds, but still couldn't help but feel fear, not for himself, but for you. How would he return to help you?

At home, Debbie had to plead with Levy to return you to her, and with some pity for your cries after he broke the arm, he returned you, allowing you to be comforted by your mother. But he kept you two close to him, with a firm grip on the older woman's shoulder, so he could use you against Mark at any moment.

"It's okay. It's going to be okay," she repeated comforting words as she wiped away your tears and rubbed your back gently. Debbie had seen and heard of many cruel villains thanks to her life as the wife of a "hero," but how insensitive would a human being need to be to break a 5-year-old's arm like this? Of course, she knew that even more horrendous things had happened to children in this world, but you were her daughter, and it hit her deeply.

Debbie felt you faint in her lap and panicked. She shouldn't have shaken you the way she did, but in the midst of desperation, the last thing she wanted was to see you silent, with your eyes closed. You passed out from the pain. It's normal, she's aware of that, but it was still terrifying. She was only taken out of her stupor when she heard his disgusting voice again:

"I can't believe you're going to lie to her like that." He drew attention to himself. "What kind of mother are you? How can you say that to her? You're not sure about that." Debbie ignored him, and he took it as a challenge. "I bet you're not even listening to me. Blocking me from your mind, aren't you?" He insisted. "Are you sure you don't want to talk? I could use your company."

He tried once more, but still received no response from the woman. Levy shifted his gaze from Debbie to carefully observe you. He knew the pain must be intense; he should have given up injuring you as soon as Mark passed through the portal, but he preferred to do it as a reminder. A warning for when his brother returned. If he returned. "Let's check on your son. Let's see how well Mark managed to survive this reality."

Extending his hands to summon a portal that glowed green, a figure in his yellow superhero uniform passed through the colorful circle.

"You were going to hurt my sister?" The boy shouted as soon as he saw he was back home, numb with a sense of vengeance.

"Not only was I going to, but I did." The statement made Mark's blood run cold.

"Mark?" Debbie called him desperately to show your state. She couldn't bear to see you suffer. Mark held his mother's gaze, interrupting only to finally notice you, who were motionless. Your arm was in such a unusual and swollen position. Your face, which was once red from crying, now had turned pale, and if it weren't for your shallow breathing, he would have thought you were dead.

"What have you done?" He asked furiously.

Levy made no move to respond, taking you from Debbie's arms once again. "No! Let go of my daughter!" She shouted angrily, completely abandoning her earlier fearful expression. She refused to allow that horrendous creature to take you away from her a second time. Debbie had felt how cold and clammy your skin was, and the more she looked at you, the paler your face became.

"Welcome back, Mark Grayson." Levy said after observing the hysterical scene of the woman beside him unfold with some indifference. "Your little sister here is really cute; I personally adore this chubby face of hers." Mark's throat tightened at the sight of you in the arms of that despicable man, scared with force, and seeing his broken mother in the corner of the bed only made his heart beat harder. "You know, I've encountered her in other realities." His tone was perverse, too cynical. "But unfortunately, those versions of her didn't get to advance much in age compared to this one. Isn't that interesting?"

"You bastard!" It didn't take much intelligence to understand what he meant, and it made Mark's nostrils flare with fury.

"That also makes me wonder what must have happened differently for her to survive longer in this dimension." Debbie moved from where she was on the bed and carefully reached for the bedside lampshade while Angstrom Levy was distracted, but a brief glance at her son made her abandon the idea. Mark discreetly shook his head negatively, implying that she shouldn't do that. "Or maybe I am the trigger for this event here," he pointed out with a smile.

"If you hurt her more, I swear-" Mark said with hatred and tense body, but he was interrupted.

"What? You'll kill me? Of course, you will." The villain stared at him seriously, with some skepticism. "Don't worry. However, her well-being really only depends on you. After all, it was you who let Anissa kill her once, and Conquest, and Thragg... Although the latter was more your father's fault," he stated matter-of-factly while scratching his chin.

He seemed like had finished speaking, but decided that the hero needed to hear more upon seeing the boy's shocked face at the mention of those peculiar names, yours assassins, curiously, all Viltrumites. Levy wasn't sure if Mark was already aware of these people, but what really mattered to him was to disturb the boy. "But it's you whom I want to hurt. I want to hurt you so, so much... Your little sister is very safe, as long as I determine that the only way to hurt you is by hurting her."

Then suddenly he lifted your unconscious body in his arms as he prepared to throw you into a portal. Debbie's heart was in combustion, beating faster than ever as she suppressed a scream. But your brother's temper finally snapped, completely determined to kill him once and for all.

Mark moved forward to stop him, but within seconds, the roof of the house was pierced and him felt something, or rather, someone push him away. He couldn't see much, but he followed his mother's pleas and embraced her, protecting her from the wreckage. His throat tightened at not seeing you, not knowing what was happening, but soon part of the dust began to settle.

Struggling a bit, the boy managed to see his father's back, apparently holding the man, who moments ago was about to send you away, in the air by the neck. He relaxed a little more when he saw traces of his hair resting on Nolan's broad shoulder, finally free from the dangerous clutches. Despite the disturbing events regarding his father, Mark knew he wouldn't let anyone harm you under his protection.

Levy felt himself losing breath, his brain throbbing from the blow he received from a piece of wood fallen from the ceiling. An intense pain hit him as Omni-Man began to bash his head repeatedly against the wall. His skull was now partly mashed into the concrete, and the red liquid that was his blood flowed to the ground.

"If my left fist weren't busy, I'd make you suffer much more," Nolan's thunderous and deep voice sounded intimidatingly throughout the room. "Despicable trash like you should keep your filthy hands to yourself."

Nolan struck one last time as he whispered in a chilling whisper the last words that man would hear before having his skull pushed against the wall slowly, until it crushed like gelatin: "I'll ensure that every version of you that dares to appear here on this Earth, or anywhere in this Universe, has a slow and painful death before laying a finger on my daughter again."

And as the Viltrumite increased the grip on Levy's neck and continued pressing his head against the wall, it seemed like his eyes were about to pop out. The skin that was once brown now split between purple and pink in some spots due to the continuous pressure while him was dying.

Observing the man coldly, Nolan withdrew his hand and took care not to stain you with the blood dripping from his fingers, portraying a much gentler grimace as he observed your sleeping figure. He always found it adorable to see how incredibly tiny you looked in his arms, It awakened an intense feeling of protection. But upon noticing that you were injured, his eyebrows furrowed, carefully examining your broken arm while wondering how Mark had let this happen.

"Father, what-" Mark broke free from his mother, finally finding words amidst the shock, but was interrupted.

"Your sister needs to go to the hospital." His voice was distant, almost emotionless, successfully masking the concern.

Debbie honestly wasn't ready to face the man she had been deceived by so soon, but she couldn't care less when the only thing she had wanted for hours was just to keep you safe and close to her. She avoided his eyes as she anxiously waited for an opportunity to have you back in her arms, and her ex-husband seemed to have noticed. As hesitant as he was, he walked over to her carefully, avoiding showing a more human side of himself to his family, but also not being hostile in his gestures. He surrendered to the act and pressed his lips to one of her temples before putting you in her arms.

"Take good care of her." He stared at his son with some severity. "I can't always be here, I'm entrusting her life to you, Mark."

The boy looked at him with some indignation, as if his father doubted that he would do everything to protect you, but he knew he had been too careless, as Angstrom Levy said he was. Even though he had the strength to defend his little sister, he still found himself vulnerable tonight, almost incapable.

"You don't need to ask for that." Mark was firm, and Nolan nodded satisfactorily. He thought about saying something more, even though he didn't understand why, the last thing he should want is to speak to his father again. Perhaps it was to unload the disgust he still felt, but the health of both of you was a more important matter to him now.

"Go away." Debbie's voice surprised them. She was obviously defeated, too tired for all this, but still found the energy to stand while holding you. "It was the necklace, wasn't it? Are you spying on us?"

Nolan's gaze was hard, trying to hide how his ex-wife's contempt affected him. The months of bitterness he spent in space had changed his demeanor a bit, but he thought it would be less painful for both of them not to hear his regret after all the harm he had caused. He didn't consider himself worthy of his family's pity, although now they considered him a stranger. He knew that Mark and Debbie still harbored a monstrous image of the person he was, and perhaps he really was.

"Aren't you going to admit it?" She asked him again with indignation, seeing that the man didn't make a single move to leave.

The object she referred to was a gift from both of them to you, or rather, from Nolan. He was the one who had the idea of ​​putting the necklace around your neck with the excuse of keeping you safe. He wanted to know where you were and who you were talking to, and the way he found to do that was by projecting this piece with the help of his planet's technology. "I hope every time you hear this little girl mention your name, you wriggle with remorse and agony, if you still have any kind of heart. You were better off away."

She still remembers when he told you: 'Whenever you want to talk to me, just hold your necklace close. That way I'll always be with you.' At the time, it was something so beautiful, something they hadn't thought of doing with Mark, but now it could be different. In your childish mind, it was as if it were magical and a piece of your father would really be with you all the time. But now it stirred disgust in her, she wanted to destroy it.

"Don't take it off, Debbie. Please." Nolan's imposing voice had become softer, almost frightened, and he had finally shown some kind of weakness after so long. "Please." He repeated the plea.

"Mom, maybe it's a good idea to let her keep wearing it. At least sometimes." Mark interfered not for his father, but thinking of you. If Nolan had been able to appear today to save you, he could come to your rescue more often, although the idea of ​​you being in danger again gave him chills.

Debbie hesitated, giving up tearing the necklace off your neck. Knowing that Nolan would be able to experience their day-to-day life bothered her, but she would deal with it later, remembering that you needed medical care. She was very hurt, but her own condition didn't matter to herself as long as she saw you awake and well again. "Mark. Hospital." she announced hurriedly ignoring the fourth person in the room and the bloody scene beside her.

Nolan sighed in relief for a moment, looking one last time at you and Mark, ashamed, but adopting the stone-cold expression he had previously. "Mark, don't let her take it off." He didn't want to sound like that, but the tone of his voice carried a threat. The boy cared little about giving him any kind of response, returning a grim expression to his father as he departed at a thunderous speed through the now-open roof, just as he had come, raising the dust once again.

"Let's go," Mark said gently to his mother, lifting her delicately since you were in her arms.

[lightwise]

“Remain calm. Cooperate. And you might survive.”

A character study on Dr. Emerie Karr

I’ve had a post about Emerie wandering around the back of my mind all season, but haven’t really been able to pull anything together yet that I felt would do her character justice. In addition, I believe there are other people who can speak to some of her position and experiences in a cult-like environment where she has been raised with bounded choices and lack of agency better than I can, but I will still touch on those things here a bit.

Many people have been frustrated at Emerie’s character, even going so far as to say they hate her for not acting in ways we wish she would and for working in the Empire, conducting horrific experiments, and going along with Hemlock’s plans. While I understand the frustrations, there is nothing that Emerie has done that truly exceeds anything that Crosshair or Cody or Wolffe ever did under the Empire, especially when considering that her actions and choices are all very firmly rooted in a very chaotic, traumatizing, and lacking environment that she was raised in. She may not have had a chip (we don’t know), but regardless, she has not been given the amount of free will and expansive thinking that her clone brothers and Omega experienced during the war and after. Even still, her Jango Fett genes are showing through, with a natural affinity and compassion for children tugging on her latent moral compass the more and more she is around them. 

“Remain calm. Cooperate. And you might survive.” We first meet Emerie in season 2, when Crosshair is transferred to Tantiss after killing Lt. Nolan. She notably uses his name immediately, and seems to have a slightly more caring nature to her than any of the other medical assistants (like Dr. Scalder) that we have seen on Tantiss. She is focused and seems content and dedicated to her work, but wants Crosshair to survive and not be harmed more than is necessary. She seems to have traces of both Tech and Dr. Hemlock in her, with a dedication to science and the tasks assigned to her, and a mind that is obviously adept and capable of accomplishing various procedures. While she follows all of Dr. Hemlock’s orders completely, she shows traces of compassion to Crosshair along the way, and begs him not to try and escape. At this point, her own access card doesn’t even allow her to get outside, and we’ve never seen her on any of the landing platforms. She seems to have an intimate knowledge of how impossible it is to escape the facility (has she tried to herself?)

“She is a clone. And therefore Imperial property.”  Hemlock is talking about Omega here, but the camera pans to include Emerie standing beside him, looking at him. This cinematography choice will occur several times, where dialogue from Hemlock or Omega is overlaid with a shot of Emerie’s face to show that comments about freedom and clones and specimens and choice all have double meanings that include Emerie, even if she has the supposed station and respect of a doctor’s position. At this point it is unclear whether she fully understands how she is just as much a prisoner inside these walls as Crosshair and the other clones are. 

“A prisoner? You are no such thing. It is far safer in here than it is out there.” This is but one of many times that Emerie uses the word “safe” in regard to being on Mt. Tantiss, following the rules, and doing what is expected. She comes to retrieve Omega every morning, mostly chipper and focused on including her in her tasks for the day. She shows care for Omega but is fully absorbed in her duties and what to her is normal daily life. An empty room that locks from the outside is probably the norm for her. For Omega, it is decidedly not, and Omega’s curious but justice-oriented nature begins to tilt the axis of Emerie’s perceptions. When first meeting her, Emerie acknowledges her as her sister and wants her to trust her. It’s clear that she maybe knew of Omega at some point, even though Omega had never heard of her until now. We get a slight glimpse of why that would be, when Emerie tells Omega that she was on Kamino initially but was “sent elsewhere until Dr. Hemlock took me under his wing.” There is a LOT embedded in that sentence. Sent away by Nala Se? Why? What was her initial purpose in being created? Why was she discarded? Was Omega a “better” version of her? Where did she go, and how and why did Hemlock find her and bring her up as his medical assistant, seeing “potential” in her. It’s obvious Emerie’s sense of self-worth, while relatively strong, also hinges on following Hemlock’s orders. All of this screams abandonment and grooming even if not of a sexual nature, and Emerie certainly seems to show the submissive, trusting, and yet fearful disposition one might expect from someone whose life has been defined by those circumstances. 

 “You don’t know she won’t survive. She deserves a chance.”  A conversation about letting a domesticated Lurca hound out into the wild to fend for herself is clearly paralleled with Emerie’s fate. Emerie tries to act as a mediator between Hemlock and Omega, hoping that the girl won’t be hurt or punished. Hemlock scoffs at Omega’s decision to let Batcher go, and her impassioned statement above. He sneers “the flawed logic of an idealistic child. Emotion and sentiment have no place within these walls. You would do well to remember that.” Emotion and sentiment have seemingly been lacking in Emerie’s upbringing, yet they continue to have an influence on her impulses and actions more and more. A testament to this is the fact that she keeps Omega’s straw Lula doll after it is found during a midnight room inspection, and eventually gives it back to her even though it breaks protocol. She will later keep this doll hidden after Omega escapes, and give it to one of the Vault “specimens”, Eva, in an attempt to comfort her. In that initial confrontation with Omega, Hemlock had added a final warning: “Actions always have consequences. Sometimes not in the ways we imagine.” What will this mean in the future for both him and Emerie? Their choices until recently have seemed in line and coherent, but they are diverging more and more.  

“It’s best not to ask questions.”  Emerie once again demonstrates the dichotomy of her perspectives as she affirms the authority and deference that she believes she owes Dr. Hemlock, while also being attentive to Omega’s shift in mood after being told by Nala Se that she must escape. Emerie tells Omega to get some rest, thinking she isn’t feeling well. There is no reason for her to do this other than the fact that she cares about Omega, as against protocol as those feelings are.  

“You’re not thinking clearly. Escape is not possible. This is for your own good.”  After finding Crosshair and Omega ready to escape through the Lurca hound tunnels, she begs both of them to see what to her is reason and sense. She doesn’t want either of them to get in trouble or be hurt, and would have covered for them if they would simply surrender and return to their cells. She affirms again that escape is not possible, from her perspective, and that what is best is quiet acquiescence. We see this continued struggle between her own budding moral compass, her sense of duty, her fear, her belief that it is safer to stay and to be quiet and to stay small. After they escape the facility, she finds out that Omega’s blood is the binder they have been looking for all along, and partly out of scientific duty, and partly knowing that this knowledge is the only thing that will save Crosshair and Omega’s escaping ship from being shot down, she informs Dr. Hemlock. 

“Do you trust me? I’ve spent years working by your side. I could be more useful.”  Before Omega is recaptured, we get an entire episode from Emerie’s POV (which also establishes her as a very important character for the remainder of the season). Here we begin to see more of her conflicted moral compass, and also her budding sense of self esteem. “You wish to be the new chief scientist Dr. Karr?” “I believe I’ve earned it.” This fully encapsulates the dynamic that these two “doctors” have shared over the years. Emerie knows that Hemlock only values things that are useful, and probably only sees her own value in the light of what she can contribute, due to how she was raised and the circumstances she has been trapped in. Hemlock’s tone of voice implies that he has never considered her as being the new chief scientist, and yet he acquiesces quite quickly, almost as though he’s just too busy to think about it and if it means things are brought back up to production standard then he’s fine with her taking Nala Se’s place. His utter disregard for Emerie as an actual human and someone with merit is disgusting, but to Emerie it comes across as respectful benevolence (as long as she follows the rules). It is good to see her start to stand up for herself, although she has no idea what she is getting herself into.  

“You’re safe SP-32.”  Emerie’s experiences watching over the children in the vault begin to chip away HARD at the beliefs she has grown up with and the perspectives she has kept herself sheltered behind. She initially tries to connect with one of the children, Eva, but Hemlock quickly stops her and tries to force his perspective that these are simply “scientific assets. Specimens.” The children defy this characterization at every turn. Eva compliments Emerie’s glasses, shares her name. Jax reiterates that his number is not his name when he tries to escape, and Emerie spends the entire sequence of him trying to escape torn, worried for him, and disgruntled at how violently Scorch and the other commandos treat him. Her conflict continues to grow as Eva asks how Jax is after the escape attempt, and she has to face her duplicity in telling Eva everything would be fine, when it is not. 

“They’re children. Like I was. Was your plan to discard them too?” Finally, Emerie confronts Nala Se, and we get more of a glimpse into the circumstances of her childhood. Emerie obviously carries enormous bitterness and resentment for however Nala Se treated her and the choice to abandon her in favor of Omega, and she throws this back in Nala Se’s face asking why the rest of the children in the Vault haven’t been protected either. “The Empire will keep them in order to control them” — once again a layered statement that includes Emerie’s own position. “They don’t belong in here” — Omega’s hopeful and determined perspective has gotten through to her on some level, just as it did with Crosshair. However, despite her growing sense of guilt and remorse, Emerie still feels powerless and at the mercy of her environment. “I don’t have that kind of power.” But Nala Se challenges her that she does, and that her choices going forward will need to be hers and hers alone. 

“And where did this child come from?”  Emerie starts to take small steps towards more independent choices when she insists on accompanying Scorch to pick up the next force sensitive child. Whether her plan was to try and fudge the results so he could be returned to his home, or just find out more information about how these children are procured and how many are being kidnapped, she can’t change the outcome of Bayrn being brought in. But her dismay at how young he is and how much worse this situation keeps getting is evident. Just as telling is Hemlock’s misinterpretation of her hesitation of taking in another “specimen.” He thinks she’s afraid of them harming her in an escape attempt. He doesn’t see that her personal convictions have started to become louder in her mind and heart than his commands and manipulation. She continues to take steps toward autonomy by comforting Eva, using the girl’s name, and bringing her Omega’s straw toy, that she had kept against orders. The situation is wearing on her more and more. But there’s hope for her yet.

“Emerie, you don’t have to do this.” Once Omega is back on Tantiss, Emerie retreats back into her shell a bit as Hemlock orders her to test Omega’s blood again. She knows what will happen and where Omega will be taken when the sample comes through, and she looks utterly defeated and cornered, sighing, her shoulders slumped like Crosshair’s when he was still imprisoned. Yet even as far as she’s come, she can’t see a way around completing this task. “I’m sorry, but I do.” She tries to soften the blow with “for what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re safe.” But Omega is not having it. “Am I??” Emerie knows she’s not, sighing in fear and resignation again as Hemlock takes Omega away to the vault. She tries to console herself by giving the children better games to keep their minds engaged, and pointedly asserts her rank and decision to keep Omega in contact with the other children even when Dr. Scalder disagrees with her choice. Her confidence is still growing. Her sense of right and wrong is slowly becoming more and more defined. She is now starting to show a split front between her attempts to placate Omega vs. the questions and doubts that have been festering inside her. Will she finally be able to push through her fears and use her influence and position to help the children, the clones, Omega, and the Batch escape by the end? Or will she remain trapped in a life that she didn’t choose but that she has long since begun to question and pull away from?

Just like the rotating dial of test vials that she oversees every day, Emerie’s moral compass continues to inch closer and closer toward a resolution, until hopefully it will click fully into place. And when it does, Hemlock will (hopefully) regret every ounce of trust he’s ever placed in her. And Omega will hopefully be fully justified in the trust, pleas, and examples that she has been giving Emerie, her big sister, this whole time. Emerie’s sense of identity, justice, and conviction hang in the balance. She can be an agent of change for everyone’s fates, if she chooses to step into her own.  

✨ Tag List ✨

@drafthorsemath @freesia-writes @sunshinesdaydream @ladyzirkonia @jedizhi @the-little-moment @the-bad-batch-baroness @heyclickadee @burningfieldof-clover @dreamless-daydreamer

[mrbeastimagines-3]

ouuu. could you write a nolan x reader where the reader and him meet in one of those “ages 1-100 compete for money” videos, and the reader catches nolan’s eye because she’s so silly and stays goofing off!

( :0 yes ofc!!! )

Love at First Challenge

NolanHansen x fem!Reader

suggestion by: @ieatedyourcrayons

ft. nolan, y/n (25), mack, karl, + jimmy !!

tw: cringe.

y/n: your name

h/c: hair color

e/c: eye color

y/b/f: your best friend (irl)'s name

◤|◥◤|◥◤|◥◤|◥◤|◥

Nolan's POV

"Another day, another filming session-" Is what Nolan thought. He wasn't too hyped about this video that's for sure, but Jimmy *insisted* on making another "1-100" video since it did so well before.

Nolan did enjoy his job, though. He was just bored. Jimmy didn't exactly let the crew do anything, so there was nothing much for him to do during filming, other than monitor the capsules.

Today was the first day of the video. Nolan, Mack, and Karl were all walking around, asking how different challengers felt about this video. From across the warehouse, Mack was currently talking to contestant 25. As Nolan briefly glance over, he spotted you.

You were a generally pretty person, but Nolan was immediately awestruck. The way your H/C hair blew beneath the AC, the way your eyes shimmered under the florescent lights, Nolan seemed to feel more and more attracted to you.

But your looks weren't all, it was also the way you smiled. Your tone of voice. The way you'd answer each of Macks questions caught him in a trance. You were funny. Silly, even. You seemed to be having the time of your life and Nolan was here for it, staring endlessly at your capsule.

Karl suddenly walked up behind Nolan, giggling as he speaks. "Dude what are you doing-" Karl raises his eyebrow as Nolan immediately bolted his head in Karl's direction.

"Holy crap Karl-" Nolan groans, embarrassed. "you scared me-" Nolan then almost immediately glances back at your capsule, which Mack had now left. Karl shook Nolan in attempt to pay attention to their conversation.

"Nolan are you crushing on 25-?" He laughs, as Nolan's cheeks slowly grew hot.

"What? Pfft- no- I'm just- looking-" Nolan attempted to excuse Karl from asking anything else, but, failed.

"Go talk to her man!" Karl playfully punches Nolan in the shoulder.

"Leave me alone dude-" Nolan laughs with a groan as Karl grins before walking to a different row of people.

After a few more hours of Nolan coming and leaving the warehouse to check on contestants (cough cough, you), until finally building up the courage to talk to you.

He stepped towards your door, opening his mouth to say something, so you could turn to face him, but Jimmy suddenly announced the first challenge.

In a panic, Nolan just dashed away without you noticing. He silently cursed under his breath, as the first challenge went on.

After the challenge was over, you were luckily still in. Since it was almost night, Nolan decided to wait till tomorrow to talk to you, since you would probably be here for a long while...

The next day, Nolan and Karl came to the warehouse alongside Jimmy who was working on the next challenge. Nolan and Karl decided to do a race on who could talk to half of the group first.

"I can deal with 1-50 if you wa-" Karl began to suggest, until getting interrupted by Nolan. "Nope! No don't even worry about it. I'll do 1-50, you do 51-100"

Karl was hesitant before agreeing, yelling "I'm winning Nolan!!!" rushing towards the other side. Nolan immediately went to your capsule, knocking on the door. He wanted to, no, needed, to talk to you.

You perk up from whatever you were doing, walking over to the glass door with a smile. "Oh hi Nolan"

Nolan almost stopped working for a second, his voice failing him. "Oh hey-!" He let out a fake, shaky laugh before restoring himself. "Uh- how are you doing-?"

You raise your eyebrow about how suspicious he was being, but still smile. "Great-! I'm really glad I'm here like, so many people I get to meet, y'know?" You sat down on your bed, Nolan coming into the room.

"Good- good- uhm-" He hesitates before asking. "Anyone that you feel is like a threat to your game?"

You hesitate, before answering "32 is a bit of a threat towards me specifically but, y'know" You shrug. "Nobody's really hated me so far so yayyy"

Nolan gently smiles in relief. "Awesome! I'm gonna go talk to other people now I guess-" He regretted saying that, but he couldn't just let Karl win the race.

"Alright, it was nice talking to you Nolan" You smile. "It's a nice change of pace from Mack, so... Feel free to drop by whenever you can!"

Nolan's heart fluttered at that. Why were you so nice to him?

Y/N's POV

You were extremely happy about your interaction with Nolan. He had always been your favorite member, and it's been your dream to be on a video, especially with him.

You layed back down on your bed, as giddy as ever. Were you smiling? Maybe. Did someone notice? Yep.

24, your closest ally here, just woke up, and could notice your change in demeanor.

"Uh... What's going on-" Y/B/F said, rubbing their eye from sleep.

You look over at them through the glass, smiling. "Nothin" You attempted being casual. You were a grown woman, acting like your crush at school just asked you to the dance.

"Uh huh." Y/B/F rolled their eyes. "Sure."

"Fine.. Fine... Come closer to the glass." You sigh, giving in. Y/B/F moved their ear to the class as you whispered "Nolan talked to me"

Y/B/F pulled their ear away, looking at you unimpressed. "Wow. Nolan talked to you on a MRBEAST VIDEO. DUDE."

You winced at their change of voice. "Look I dont know-! I just-" You dreamily sigh, sinking back on the bed. "It felt special... Y'know?"

Nolan's POV

The next challenge started later that day, Nolan not being there for it since he was busy. But the entire time, he was worried you would get out. Even just thinking about you made him goofily smile and lose track of time, so he couldn't afford never seeing you again without saying goodbye.

Even though you met yesterday, he could already see a future, a life, with you. You were everything he could ever ask for, and he didn't even know your real name.

That evening, he went back to the warehouse, stepping in and seeing so many capsules gone from the previous challenge. He immediately panicked. Did you leave?! Were you voted out?! He then saw Mack and Karl step down from the stage.

"Hey Nolan" Mack says, giving Nolan a quick high five handshake thing (a/n: IM SORRY I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT IT'S CALLED).

Nolan nods. "Hi- uh- what'd I miss?"

Karl then spoke up. "Jimmy made sure a lot of people were voted out today for like, editing reasons, but I'm pretty sure your girlfriend is still here."

Nolan immediately perked up, not even responding when he ran to 25. He skidded up to the capsule, before noticing, you were miserable. A wash of worry goes over his face as he knocks on your door.

"Hey 25" He tries to smile, but saw how sad you looked. "What's... What's going on..?"

"Oh, Nolan, hi" 25 weakly smiled, as Nolan walked in and sat next to her.

"What's wrong?" He frowns, unaware of placing a hand on her shoulder which made you blush.

"24, uh, they got out..." You sigh. Nolan looked at her confused.

"Oh uhm.. Why is that such a big deal-?" He asked, worrying he could offend you.

"They were my best friend here I guess, and I'm just... Kinda alone now..." You sigh, putting your face in your knees.

"Well, uh.." He looks around the room, looking for something he could do to help you. "I'm still- here- for you-" He mutters. You let out a watery laugh, looking up at him with a smile.

"Well thanks Nolan"

He smiles back, you looking deep into each others eyes for what felt like forever. Suddenly, Karl shouted from the entrance door "NOLANNN! COME ON"

Nolan jumped, taking his hand off your shoulder. "I should go" He sighs, stepping towards the door.

"Alright... See you tomorrow Nolan"

"See you tomorrow 25" He smiles.

"Wait uh-" You stand up and grab his wrist. "Call me Y/N."

Nolan's cheeks turned pink at that as he smile. "I- okay- see you tomorrow Y/N".

◤|◥◤|◥◤|◥◤|◥◤|◥

( little cliffhanger for you guys >:] i hope u liked this.!!! my first nolan centered fic- i hope I did him well enough for u guys )

( anyway this was so much fun to write! thank you @ieatedyourcrayons once again for suggesting this!! PLEASE SUGGEST ME MORE *￣3￣ )

anyway goodbye my simps :D

[0perfectimperfections0]

What if, instead of being punished by the washer, the robots dragged Lou to a pipe that leads to the factory. Because he was a "rogue prototype," but the best model they had, they erased his memory. Now the all the dolls see Lou when he was kinder and sweeter, like Lou in Ox's flashbacks, but in the present.

I had to go ahead and write this because I love everything about this idea.

Okay, so for background, there are ideas that @natalie-the-writer and I have tossed back and forth regarding what Lou was like during his initial creation. You'll see what those ideas were in this story.

I'm also adding onto that with how I made Lou in the prequel of the movie I'm working on called "Basting Stitch" which is on Wattpad.

<><><><><>

"He will be fixed."

That was all one of the robots had told them as two other ones drug the prototype toward the far end of the Institute. Ox's memory was well enough to remember that being the direction of the pipe Lou had led him to years ago. His gut wrenched at the thought of Lou being recycled. What could even become of a prototype? Or a Perfect Doll? The recycling was designed for dolls like Ox or even ones like Nolan who needed to be rearranged into something acceptable for a child.

But, even with all of that, Lou still wasn't considered acceptable for a child. Perhaps there was no coming back for a recycled prototype. You can't get better than perfect and if that still wasn't enough to go to the Big World, then there was no use for him.

It made Ox sick.

More so did the dolls who were smugly grinning in the direction in which Lou had been dragged off to. This was a victory for them. The "dictatorship" Lou had subjected them to was finally over.

But then it suddenly wasn't.

Those same two robots (but they all looked the same, so who could be sure?) rolled back into the Institute a few days later. The Uglies were in the process of renovating the whole expanse of the area with the help of the rebelling Pretty Dolls. For dolls that had so fervently aspired to go be with a kid, it was a wonder they decided to come back at all. Maybe the Big World wasn't as wonderful as they thought it would be.

Nonetheless, most of them were present in the center of the Institute when two robots escorted a familiar doll back into their presence. Babo turned, giving a small heart attack to the toppling tower of Moxy, Wage, LuckyBat, and Ox that were grasping onto each other's shoulders. They had been trying to paint the Gauntlet an array of different colors before the octopus doll would eventually toss it into the water for the heck of it.

"He's back!" One Ugly panicked and bolted it toward some random direction. Pretty Dolls murmured amongst themselves and, despite already being a good distance, continued to step further away from Lou as he approached. The robots kept an even pace in front of him.

Ox scrambled down from the tower of dolls he was on and eventually slowed to a stop before the robots. "Prototype Model 12 has been fixed." They announced.

Again, the details of what being fixed entailed were lost to them.

The robots parted to give a full view of the blond. It didn't look like anything had changed. Perfect hair. Perfect body. Perfect suit. It wasn't as if Lou had any outward imperfections before, but what exactly did the robots fix? His attitude?

A little more than that, actually.

Those blue eyes looked different. But only to Ox. They reminded him of some part of Lou that had been long gone since Moxy's little rendevous. They were wide, open, and full. His pupils were dilated in a way that made him look younger. Mentally younger. The kind of innocent look that would provoke you to use a soft voice and bend at the knees to speak to him.

And then Lou spoke. "Hello. Welcome to the Institute of Perfection. My name is Louis. And you are?"

Ox's ear twitched as he eyed Lou up and down. His friends walked up behind him. Wage had a disdainful look in her eyes. "It's the Institute of Imperfection now--"

"H-Hold on," Ox waved a hand behind him to quiet her. He looked up at Lou curiously. He'd heard those exact words before. From Lou, too. But...had Lou not been recycled? "You're Lou, right?"

The doll tilted his head, arms folded behind his back. "Louis. My name is Louis."

"But Lou is your nickname," Ox clarified.

Lou blinked at the foreign term. Instead, he looked evenly at Ox. "What is your name?"

Mandy leaned toward Moxy. "What's wrong with him?" She whispered. Moxy was too perplexed to even shrug.

"You remember me, Lou. I'm Ox." The bunny put a hand on his chest.

"Ox," Lou repeated. "Your name is Ox. Welcome, Ox, to the Institute of Perf--"

"Alright, what's going on?" Wage interrupted as she stormed up to Lou. "What's wrong with you, huh? You're acting weird." She put a finger to his forehead, tapping it roughly. Lou squinted against the action, leaning back to try and put distance between them.

"Your voice has gone higher," Lou noted, rubbing his forehead. "Why?"

"Why? Why? Because you're acting weird and stupid and it's frustrating!" Wage screamed. "What did those robots do to you?"

One of them wheeled forward to offer some form of explanation. "Prototype Model 12 has been fixed. His memory has been erased and he is now reset to factory default."

That was it! That was where Ox had seen that look and heard those words. It had been when he had first arrived at the Institute and Lou had said those exact words to him. Lou couldn't have been but maybe two or three years into existence at the time.

And now, he had started all over again.

Wage glared at the blond. "That still doesn't explain why you're acting weird."

Lou seemed to shrink under her gaze. "I...do not know what you mean."

"You! The way you're talking! Your whole attitude!"

"Your voice is rising again," Lou noted. Wage looked about ready to strangle him if Ox hadn't eased her back.

"He don't know what you mean when you say weird. He ain't learned that word, yet."

"What are you talking about?" Wage narrowed in on Ox now.

The bunny ignored her and instead looked up at Lou. "What she means is that she isn't used to you. We know a different Lou--I mean Louis."

"I am Louis," Lou's brows pinched in confusion.

"You are," Ox assured, "but not...you're not the same anymore. You don't remember anything."

Moxy hummed and seized the opportunity to bound up to Lou and catch his attention. "Maybe that's a good thing! Hey, Lou--"

"Louis," he corrected.

"Whatever. Do you think I'm ugly?" She asked, arms crossed.

His eyes blinked and he looked at Ox. "It means not pretty."

"Oh," Lou straightened again and took this definition into consideration. "You are not a model 12. A Pretty Doll."

"Yeah, duh, but am I ugly?" She pressed.

"I...do not understand what you are asking," Lou tilted his head again.

Moxy groaned. "He's really stupid without his memory."

Ox swatted her. "Don't say that! He ain't stupid. This is just how he was when I first met 'im. He just ain't learned all of those words yet."

Mandy finally walked up to this new, wide-eyed Lou. She scrutinized him for a moment. Lou blinked at her, head tilting again. "What is on your face?" He asked.

She idly touched her fingertips to the rim of her glasses. "Glasses. They help me see."

"Glasses," Lou repeated the word. He looked her up and down. "You are a Pretty Doll. Model 12."

"Yeah?" Mandy squinted.

"Yes." Lou didn't understand the rhetorical nature of her question. "Pretty Dolls have ideal hair and bodies. You fit both of those standards." Mandy flushed but continued scrutinizing him. Lou caught on to that. "Your cheeks are pink. Why?"

Luckily, Moxy spoke up again so Mandy wouldn't have to figure out an answer to that question. "Do you think she's ugly?"

"I do not know what that means."

"Not perfect," Moxy stressed. "What other definitions are there? Not pretty. Not good-looking. Not up to your standards. Pick one, I don't care!"

Ugly: To not be perfect.

Lou hummed and looked back at Mandy. "You look perfect to me. You are a Pretty Doll. Pretty Dolls are made to be as close to perfect as possible. So, you are perfect."

Ignoring the heat coming to her face (because surely he didn't understand how his words were coming across) Mandy raised an interesting question. "Wait...so, if Lou never knew what the word ugly meant, then who taught it to him?"

They went quiet.

That...was a good question.

[thatwasuzi]

49 years ago today

SS Arthur M Anderson: "Fitzgerald, this is the Anderson. Have you checked down?"

SS Edmund Fitzgerald: "Yes we have."

Anderson: "Fitzgerald, we are about 10 miles behind you, and gaining about 1 1/2 miles per hour. Fitzgerald, there is a target 19 miles ahead of us. So the target would be 9 miles on ahead of you."

Fitzgerald: "Well, am I going to clear?"

A: "Yes. He is going to pass to the west of you."

F: "Well, fine."

A: "By the way, Fitzgerald, how are you making out with your problem?"

F: "We are holding our own."

A: "Okay, fine. I'll be talking to you later."

The crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald would never speak to anyone outside of the ship again. After the Fitzgerald entered a squall and was obscured from the Anderson's radar. Some time shortly thereafter the Edmund Fitzgerald sank with all hands aboard.

Michael E. Armagost, 37, Third Mate, from Iron River, Wisconsin

Frederick J. Beetcher, 56, Porter, from Superior, Wisconsin

Thomas D. Bentsen, 23, Oiler, from St. Joseph, Michigan

Edward F. Bindon, 47, First Assistant Engineer, from Fairport Harbor, Ohio

Thomas D. Borgeson, 41, Maintenance Man, from Duluth, Minnesota

Oliver J. Champeau, 41, Third Assistant Engineer, from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

Nolan S. Church, 55, Porter, from Silver Bay, Minnesota

Ransom E. Cundy, 53, Watchman, from Superior, Wisconsin

Thomas E. Edwards, 50, Second Assistant Engineer, from Oregon, Ohio

Russell G. Haskell, 40, Second Assistant Engineer, from Millbury, Ohio

George J. Holl, 60, Chief Engineer, from Cabot, Pennsylvania

Bruce L. Hudson, 22, Deck Hand, from North Olmsted, Ohio

Allen G. Kalmon, 43, Second Cook, from Washburn, Wisconsin

Gordon F. MacLellan, 30, Wiper, from Clearwater, Florida

Joseph W. Mazes, 59, Special Maintenance Man, from Ashland, Wisconsin

John H. McCarthy, 62, First Mate, from Bay Village, Ohio

Ernest M. McSorley, 63, Captain, from Toledo, Ohio

Eugene W. O’Brien, 50, Wheelsman, from Toledo, Ohio

Karl A. Peckol, 20, Watchman, from Ashtabula, Ohio

John J. Poviach, 59, Wheelsman, from Bradenton, Florida

James A. Pratt, 44, Second Mate, from Lakewood, Ohio

Robert C. Rafferty, 62, Steward, from Toledo, Ohio

Paul M. Riippa, 22, Deck Hand, from Ashtabula, Ohio

John D. Simmons, 63, Wheelsman, from Ashland, Wisconsin

William J. Spengler, 59, Watchman, from Toledo, Ohio

Mark A. Thomas, 21, Deck Hand, from Richmond Heights, Ohio

Ralph G. Walton, 58, Oiler, from Fremont, Ohio

David E. Weiss, 22, Cadet, from Agoura, California

Blaine H. Wilhelm, 52, Oiler, from Moquah, Wisconsin

[starrypawz]

@swtorpadawan tagged me for a 10 facts about an oc challenge so here's 10 Lucas facts

tagging if you want @amlovelies @impossible-rat-babies @mihqorio @kruk-art @kittlesandbugs @catastrofriend @themidnighttiger @jaysworlds and @ml-nolan

Lucas likes to run, when he was still in high school there were a few attempts to try and recruit him for the track team but he eluded them

He has a coyote tattoo on his right shoulderblade and a 'birthmark' that looks like a very faint Lichtenberg figure that runs down his spine

He did nearly pierce his own ears but Livvy intervened at the last moment and took him to get them done properly

Two of his celeb crushes include Heath Ledger and Keanu Reeves

English was one of his better subjects in school as he's a bit of a lit nerd, it was generally one of the classes he actually sometimes bothered to make an effort with

One of his favourite films is The Princess Bride

He really likes mushrooms

His certified 'weird child' sandwich choice was cheese and peanut butter

He enjoys the art of Frida Kahlo, Zdzisław Beksiński and H R Giger (and on that last note, yes he is a fan of the film Alien)

He has a drawl when he speaks, it becomes more noticeable if he's incredibly stressed and or sometimes if he's really excited

[denimbex1986]

After the formal pleasantries of the BAFTAs award ceremony which saw the host David Tennant crack pre-watershed gags and winners gracefully accept their gongs - the celebrations really began.

From Robert Downey Jr. to Emma Corrin, the BAFTAs dinner was the hottest ticket in town on Sunday night as stars flooded out of the awards hall into the function room of London’s Royal Festival Hall.

Though large, it was perhaps less glamorous than one would expect from a party designed to host Hollywood A-listers, similar to a fancy school prom night. Stars later peeled off to separate parties at Annabel’s and Chiltern Firehouse.

...the night sparkled with the film industry's biggest names.

After scooping up awards for Best Film and Best Director, Oppenheimer’s Christopher Nolan was inundated with people coming over to his table to shake his hand.

Cillian Murphy had won Best Actor for his starring role in Christopher's film and went over to introduce his fellow nominee Past Lives’ Teo Yoo, 42, to the award-winning director.

The pair spoke for some time as Cillian, 47, made his way to the neighbouring table to speak to Emma, 28, and their boyfriend, Rami Malek, 42.

While chatting with the Peaky Blinders star, the couple could not keep their hands off each other, with Rami rubbing The Crown star’s back...

While Christopher hid his two Baftas for the majority of the evening, Oppenheimer star Robert strolled through the party with his Best Supporting Actor gong, proudly tucked under his arm.

The Iron Man star, 58, did not stick around for long and fought his way through the crowd of tables to the exit with his wife Susan and a large entourage of bodyguards...

Deep in the opposite corner of the function room Andrew Scott was accosted by a group of female BAFTA staff who were trying their luck at getting a selfie with Fleabag’s infamous ‘Hot Priest’.

Andrew starred opposite Paul Mescal in All of Us Strangers last year but he missed out on a nomination for Best Actor.

Hair ruffled and wide-eyed, the 47-year-old planted a kiss on the cheek of an overjoyed woman as she held her arm up to snap a picture with him.

Immediately afterwards another woman tapped the shoulder of his burgundy suit for her turn and he willingly obliged.

It wasn’t until two more women insisted on a selfie with the Sherlock star that his young assistant intervened, pulling him out of the tussle and the pair made a run for the exit.

They ducked between tables crouching low and Andrew had to refuse yet another selfie before they made it to the grand stairway.

Andrew had almost made a break for it before another woman who he seemed to know leaned over the entrance hall stairway and shouted down for him.

Ever the gentleman, he stopped in his tracks and ran back to say hello, much to the dismay of his assistant.

Andrew’s departure was closely followed by Emma Stone - the winner of Best Actress - as she too descended the staircase accompanied by a large entourage before facing a sea of fans outside the venue...'

[ask-missparker]

Familiar additions / AU series

Pairing: Charming!Nikolai x Snow!Amelia, Liane x Ethan, Cole x Jeremy

Characters mentioned/shown: Joshua Nolan, Belladonna St. James, The Twins, Cinderella!Rochelle, Mal!Liane, Rumple!Cole and etc

Summary: What happens if a glimpse of hope starts to become truly foreign to the touch? In other world, the pages aren’t as they seem to be.

———

It’s been a short while since the young brunette moved into the cozy loft of the man who offered him a place to live. Not just that, due to him being rather young he was forced to stay out of trouble and go to the school in Fighter-Town. It wasn’t so bad because his newfound friends were there and he was able to go to Riley’s grandfather’s diner afterwards.

School day wasn’t so bad. Belladonna and him got to be in the same English class with Professor Charles Xavier teaching them about William Shakespeare’s books, it was rather nice. Professor Xavier was pretty noble and gentle with his students young and old, speaking every single of them with such a nice voice. Lunch was okay being able to hang out with everyone, usually he was the loner kid in the hallways at school or in the library eating his meal, never really got a chance to socialize properly. The twins, Georgia and George, were silly enough to talk about bicker on and on about a which superhero was better, Riley shared her chips with Belladonna and he brought everyone extra water bottles.

He didn’t know why he felt so comfortable within this little Scooby-Doo gang but he just did.

Once all the class would ended, he would sit outside of the steps with Belladonna watching the teachers and students leave. Rick would come over with Riley to speak with Belladonna about going straight home if possible after school as she would nod, Riley would giggle knowing the young latina wanted to roll her eyes at her father but didn’t. Rick would suspiciously eye Joshua giving him a once over and a hint of snarl at the boy’s demeanor but something about him felt calming, he couldn’t place his finger on it.

Rick would go over to Rochelle, his co-teacher, for a quick talk as their children chatted. Rochelle would listen to Rick’s theories and thoughts every now and then on things that came to mind. With Rick being always more intense about things, he tends to be suspicious about any harm that might come to their children, such as thinking Joshua was a pot-head or something, in which Rochelle would shake her head and chuckle at his ideas.

Yes, the boy seemed nice by all accounts but his gut feeling says that there is something fishy about this new teen boy hanging out with the other kids. But he guessed since Riley seemed to like him, maybe wasn’t so bad per say.

Rochelle has heard about the boy from her twins and even come across him at the park once in a while, to find him harmless in her eyes. But a part of her felt familiar wave of fairness and nice dose of spunk when she came across Joshua, a go with the flow attitude that sometimes reminded her of Nikolai. She assumed it was because they were living together their personalities clashed.

Rochelle would pick her kids up from the park, along with Riley, where she would find the young brunette reading a notes in a book and scrolling on his phone. She smile and lean over the bench, “Hi.”

“Hey.” He replied with a soft smile, putting his book down getting a sense of sweetness from the redhead.

“I couldn’t help but notice your now living with Nikolai. How’s that working out for you?”

“H-how did you..”

“He’s does my ear piercings and we tend to chat a lot. It’s surprising how he let you stay with him, he’s not one to have too much company.”

“Yeah, he offered to help me out and after his little rescue a while back, he seemed in need of some company..it just feels right, you know? I’ve never had someone do that for me…”

“Why’d you say that? You seem like a nice kid, at least where I’m staying.”

“I’ve been alone for a few years now, no one to ever give me a chance..and my parents, I never found them..”

“Maybe you might find them one day.”

Joshua glanced at his notebook with ripped pages inside muttering, “Maybe closer than I think..”

Rochelle placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled, “Keep hoping, kiddo.”

——

———

Ethan clearing his head after a hangover when suddenly there was a knock on his door, as in walked his daughter who exclaimed in a killer tone of attack how this is a minor bug in her plan.

“Uh what?” He asked.

She groaned, “I got you here. Brought Nolan here to see his parents and you met mom, the sheriff kinda doesn’t like you very much…yet something is missing.”

“You’re talking about your book again?”

“What else would I be talking me?”

“I don’t know? Your a teen girl, shouldn’t you be focused on parties, texting your friends and boys?”

She made a face in disgust at his comment, “No. I’m not my mother, focusing on my social life and work. I got bigger things on my plate.”

He deadpanned and sighed, “Right. Because that would be ridiculous, I’ll play your little game, since I don’t want trouble with your mother.”

“It’s not a little game. Theses tales are real, just not as realistic as you may think. Why do you think you’ve felt like a idiotic loner for so long? You keep drinking and drowning yourself in the question of where your family is all this time? A part of you knows something is wrong here. You were suspicious of the Mayor like I am, he is up to no good.”

“Bella, honey, the mayor is playing his own business here. Yes it was suspicious he and your mother were Ms. Spencer’s emergency contact, but there has to be a good reason for that.”

“A very good reason. I asked mom if she had any actual paperwork on her years prior and she said no. That it was sorta odd for her. Ethan, I’m not one to believe in many things but in this, I am. I’m just asking for a bit of knowledge on your part, even if you don’t remember anything yourself.”

The man sighed, taking in her information and repeatedly telling himself that his daughter might be onto something here despite his own thoughts. She was right about him being a huge drink and a slight lowlife. He wasn’t quite convinced of the whole truth about this town or the tales she is tell, her face meant that she was serious.

He bite his inner cheek and groaned, “Fine. What is it that you meant me to do?”

“Get a job. Make yourself known around here and possibly go out on a date with my mother, if you can get your head out of your ass.” She said with blueness in her tone, but a hint of a smirk on her face.

With that, the girl left. Went out of his small room at the diner, Ethan asked around for paperwork knowing the Mayor might have his head for hearing that fact about him somewhat jobless. He was recommended to ask certain accents shop, so he stepped into a vintage looking store only to be met with a brunette behind the counter.

The brunette, Cole, was sipping on a glass putting away to meet his eyes. He half smiled, leaning against the counter to find his brother entering his store. Both men have crossed paths before briefly on the street but he has never been in here til now, which meant something happened. Like always his idiot older brother needed something from him and he sighed knowing he was relentlessly provide it.

Ethan looked at Cole, asking what can be done get a job around here that won’t draw much attention and give me some kind of respect. Cole smirked telling him to be one of the sheriffs around town, but he would have to prove to Erik he is worth the time and enough, that not just a save for a missing persons case would help his act. Ethan took a few seconds to take in what he meant and left the store, not without a slight glare at the Mayor who entered the moment he left to the station.

Alexander walked inside the store, glancing over at Cole with a glare, “I need you to do something for me.”

“And why would I do that? I’m a busy man, I got a date within a hour at the library. But what would you know your lonely and single?” Cole replied sipping his drink with glee.

“Zip it! I have two new town members here and one of them is Belladonna’s father. And my sources tell me that he is a alcoholic who has been in jail more than once. I don’t need a day drinker here.”

“I’m the town’s day drinker, mister mayor. So your out of luck, Ethan is just some normal guy who is here to be with his child.”

“He solved a case with my brother some time ago and dragged everyone down with him. I want him gone, or at least something worse.”

“Like what? Jail? Alexander, please, your working yourself up over nothing. Your just bitter your brother is having a decent day and Ethan is being liked around the townsfolk.”

“What do you know?”

“Nothing of the sort, just that he is not leaving anytime soon.”

Alexander turned around to leave but stopped short when Cole said, “And he will be getting a job as sheriff here very soon.” That seemed to turn the mayor’s attention bright red as he stormed out calling Liane to file down and order whatever paperwork to be printed by noon on Ethan. Liane with a deep breath did as told going to have the mall sent out about the handsome brunette despite her best wishes, a little saddened by the information as well.

Cole snickered to himself loving the idea of Alexander fuming over things not being in his control, he went to prepare for his date with Jeremy. A part of him wished he could tell his man the truth and hoped to figure out a way soon to tell him, for now it was sorta nice having a chiller version of his husband. Once he returned to the front desk, leaving his shop and closed the door he noticed his old friend walking past him with a small smile wearing a jacket.

Amelia looked calm yet nervous, fluttering her hands a bit as she nodded at him. She may not remember him since she just got out of a coma with foggy memories, it was pretty nice to see her out of a hospital bed. From his sources, he heard she has been wondering around town trying to get back to the swing of things and even met some familiar faces at the diner. Sadly due to the false memories everyone had, it was like they forgot Amelia existed and never went looking for her, to even claim her as their own at the hospital. But the moment she woke up from the coma, some of the townsfolk were reminded of her existence again.

It was odd.

He noticed she walked into the tattoo parlor that was nearby his store, as a small grin appeared on Cole’s lips. He knew why. Knowing that information, he stumbling in the library to find Jeremy waiting for him holding two bottles of champagne and take out from the diner, pressing a kiss to his cheek. Cole rolled his eyes and winked, sighing softly at the sight loving the thought of his husband out of all black leather and in lighter colored outfits, wearing a prosthetic hand that suit his well. Even though he liked the hook more.

——————-

Amelia walked into the tattoo parlor, in awe of the placement inside. The prints of different types of designs on the wall, the display cases of earrings, the big comfy chairs, the accented details and even the lighting was cool toned. The rooms seemed to be occupied by clients, so she awkwardly waited sitting in one of the chairs. She saw men and women walk in and out of the rooms, chatter could be heard and sounds of tools ringing her ears. She winced hearing a small scream that seemed that a women that calmed down shortly afterwards, then said women walked out thanking the person in the room.

The said women, who she recognized as pink haired lady from the record store, being Luna, paid at the front desk, giving Amelia a small smile then walked out. Then in came from behind one of the double doors was the man was waiting to see, dressed in a gray hoodie, boots, a couple of tattoos himself and a baseball cap that suited him very well.

His eyes seemed to stutter for a moment the second he noticed she was there and held back a little cocky grin. But his grin couldn’t help but shine across his entire face. He remembers that night he saved her and not having the full blown courage to see her again properly despite crossing with each other at the diner more than once. He didn’t know why he never came up with a good reason to talk with her but here she was.

“Hey.” He said, walking up to her having the grin laced softly across his face.

She returned the soft grin, “Hey. I um..”

“It’s okay, take your time. Are you here for a tattoo or piercing?”

“I don’t think I’m brave enough for one, yet. I actually came in here to thank you for the save earlier. You found me.”

He nods taking a soft bow, “I guess it’s all in a days work, m’lady. Anyone would’ve done the same, I’m just glad it was me who uh, did it.”

“You were brave enough to be the one to break me back. I don’t know how to repay you. And honestly I wish I could tell you more about myself but my mind is still fuzzy from being asleep..sorry.” She replies with a soft smile.

“How about a date?”

“A date?”

“If you’ll have me, I can take you on a little tour and have dinner later.”

“I’ll like that.”

He wanted to see if she was playing with him but the innocent look on her face said otherwise. He smiled telling her that he will pick her up near the flower shop a few stores down from his shop. She smiled at that, waving at him as she walked out just as another customer walked in. Nikolai waited for her to walked out to fist pump himself for scoring a date that fact, he wasn’t expecting it but he did it!

——//—-

Meanwhile, the word spread about Ethan being a slight alcoholic and someone who has been in trail more than once for past mistakes, resulting in a few surprises being his daughter. Belladonna sound out as the newspaper dropped on her lap that afternoon when she was at the diner, shown to her by George who sighed stealing two fries from her plate.

She groaned about to say something when Ethan slip into the booth and quietly exclaimed, “You weren’t supposed to know half of it.”

“I bet. It must’ve been my mother, he made her to do.” Belladonna added with a sigh, “What are you gonna do about it?”

“I need to get the town to see me not as a asshat..but first I thought of evening the playing field.”

“Like how?” Said a voice, that belonged to Riley who was standing in front of them with a curious tone.

Ethan raised an eyebrow, “How long were you standing there?”

“Long enough. I’m silent like a wolf.”

“Okay? I was thinking of cutting down the man’s bushes.”

“Yes!”

“No!” Belladonna yelled over them, knowing Riley can be a little insane and will definitely go for an idea like that, “As much as I would like to do that myself, or better burn his house down, it’s too early for that.”

“That’s plan B then! I wanna cut down a tree.” Riley said with a smirk nodding.

“Yeah but..we gotta think smart here. Ethan has to prove himself a hero.”

“But how?”

“I’m working on it..”

But it seemed like a certain shop owner had an similar idea to the long haired Latina…

At Town Hall, Rick and Liane were discussing with Alexander on the topic of the school tax rates along with activities that could be done for students. Rick was on about more field trips and after school activities he would like to be such as expanding on the greenery of the area. Liane was surprised by his suggestions, wondering on how they can bunk that up with any legal issues, possibly even adding a larger playground at the school.

Alexander was half listening, taking down notes and reading over the files on how all of this can contribute to the overall development budget of the town. There were bustling across the building but few people here today.

Ethan was in the building himself waiting to speak with whoever could be help him with the current situation surrounding him. He was in the hallways of the second floor getting impressively impatient about to walk into the room when he smelled it, slight noise of smoke.

He ran down the hallway trying to slam open the door until it swung open as he yelled, “Sorry to intercept but there is more pressing matters.”

Liane scoffed, “Uh excuse you, Ethan, but we are in a meeting!”

“She’s right. I’ll have to ask you to leave now or I’ll get have get someone to escort you out.” Alexander spat standing up from the desk.

Ethan glared, “Escort me out, go ahead and do it some other time, mister mayor. But we have to go now.”

Rick was deeply confused barking a few things to Ethan until the smell reached his nose and entered his lungs. Fire. He gasped, “No he’s right! We gotta leave now, like right now. Come on Liane.”

Liane was suddenly pushed out of the door by Rick as Ethan ushered Alexander who elbowed him past the double doors, leading everyone down the stairs carefully. Ethan and Rick escorted all four of them down the stairs as the fire on the first floor grew. Liane screamed loudly grabbing Ethan’s hand quickly as Rick tried to search for an way out meanwhile Alexander shouted over them, climbing down the stairs first opening the door.

Rick yelled, “Wait!”

The moment the door open, the fire behind them caused an exploding blast that pushed all of them back. Rick mustered all the strength he had standing up, sharing a glance with Ethan as they both helped the others up. Alexander hit his shoulder from the blast laying in the staircase as Liane landed nearby a gray wall. Rick helped the blonde up from the ground, who yelled how didn’t she expect this to happen today as Ethan held out his hand for Alexander to take.

“Dude come on!” He yelled.

Alexander scoffed not saying a word taking his hand and groaned in annoyance, asking, “What’s your genius plan now?”

Once he was pulled up the ground, Ethan and Rick jumped in front of them, coughing and shouting as they did. Rick noticed a fire extinguisher and an axe lifting the red objects from the wall and tossing one to Ethan. Both men smirked nodding to one another. Ethan used the fire extinguisher as white foamy smoke filled the air, dying down the fire as much as possible but still grew and Rick grinned swinging the axe with all his might breaking down the doors as they all walked across from the entrance.

As they got outside, coughing and sneezing stumbling out the way, Erik and others came in to finish the job. The fire department and ambulance arrived behind him just as quickly. Liane coughed and squeezed her eyes shut hearing a voice that belonged to her daughter along with a couple of kids.

Ethan was holding Liane when Belladonna came rushing asking if they were okay, sharing looks with one another.

“What happened?” She asked her parents with concern in her eyes, a true moment of event feeling.

“There was a fire, someone must’ve forgot to turn something off or something.” Liane said, trying to figure out what happened, “B-but we’re alright..yeah.”

“That was oddly dramatic. Glad you’re both doing well. Uh, I guess you got a savior, mom.”

Liane glanced up at Ethan who tiredly smiled as she muttered, “Yeah..yeah i guess so.”

Erik rushed over to make sure they were doing alright, bringing over two nurse practitioner with him.

Rick was laying Alexander down gently as he heard his own daughter’s voice followed by a couple of adults. It seemed like Belladonna and Joshua were hanging out with the youngest member of their crew, when they saw the fire department and ambulance coming across Town Hall.

Joshua was holding Riley’s hand leading her carefully to her father, as Rick picked up his daughter mumbling in her ear, “Shh, shh I’m here. It’s okay.”

Riley lay her head on his shoulder, “You were brave out there..”

“Yeah. Yeah, you can say that was. I sensed the fire as soon as it hit my nose.”

“Of course you did!”

Riley gasped seeing the axe next to her dad and grinned, “Cool!”

Rick chuckled softly then looked down at Joshua who stood there awkwardly and sighed, “T-thank you for watching over her, i guess..”

The young brunette shrugged with a half smile, “It was nothing, we were all worried about what happened..”

When Rochelle arrived with Cassie, she gasped wanting to go see if her friends were alright, apparently Nikolai and Amelia weren’t far behind since all four of them saw the fire department and ambulance from the flower shop.

Nikolai rushed over to his brother who was sitting on a chair with a nurse who was checking his shoulder for any hard damage, Alexander brushed his brother off saying he was fine. Nikolai was trying to be nice and see if he needed any help but his big brother wasn’t having it, scoffed saying he just needed to ice his shoulder tonight. He’ll be fine in the morning, if he wanted to help he would’ve been there in the beginning.

Nikolai rolled his eyes at his brother’s soft outburst and walked away from him going to check on the others. He found Amelia with the Rochelle’s twins talking to the others about the accident.

No one was badly injured or anything, just needed to ice themselves, rest and most importantly get cleaned up, which wasn’t half bad. As well as file any paperwork if needed.

—//—

The next day couple of days were busy with soft noise. Some newspapers about Ethan’s time in jail were forgotten as he was seen in a better light. The students in class had something new to talk about, which resulted in poor Professor Xavier along with Rochelle to quiet down the children and return back to their textbooks instead.

Rick and Liane went to have their meeting at her house instead, without Alexander around, due to the man wanting to deal with fixing the Town Hall building instead. Especially since Rick busted down a couple of doors with a freaking axe, which Riley was bragging about later on, finding it very cool.

Ethan was seen as a good man after that, Erik even though about it and offered him a job as co-sheriff after seeing his bravery. He took the offer but couldn’t help but stay curious as to how the fire starters in the first place. He has been racking his brain about it for a long period of time until it hit him.

He left his desk at the station and rolled up to the shop, opening the door with a small lined smile. The small bell rang alerting his attention.

The man in question had his back turn and sighs, “I guess when i brought that ‘We’re closed’ sign, i was just wasting my money.”

“I guess so.” Replied the older man with his arms crossed watching the younger one turn around, “I know what you did.”

Cole leaned against the counter and shook his head. The stance in front of him reminded him of his younger days in wonderland where him and his sister got into some chaotic fun, then his older brother would show up with some questions.

He decided to play coy and said, “Did what? Oh! You mean the fact that i used the roof of the library to watch the stars last night? Yeah i did.”

His brother rolled his eyes sighing, “No. You set up the fire.”

“I did that? Ah can’t remember.”

“You did it to make me look in front of everyone.”

“Someone had to do it. What were you gonna do? Fight fire with fire this early in the game?”

“Hmmm. I could have handled it myself! I could have you arrested for that.”

Cole hummed and smirked, “But you won’t do that, would you? I did you favor, you don’t look bad in front of the townsfolk and now you get to play hero. Isn’t that what everyone want?”

Ethan looked down for a moment and bit the inside of his cheek, “Okay, I’ll let it slide, for now! Don’t try to pull that shit again, I’m letting you off with a warning.”

“Feels good, doesn’t it? Don’t lie. Your kid seems to have a smile on her face, her mother possibly likes you, Mr. Banner and his friends were saved. Oh and my favorite, the blast gave the mayor a little boo boo! All is right in the world.”

“And what’s in it for you?”

“Let’s just say I like to see the heroes come out on top. And, now that I made you look good, when the time comes that I ever need a small favor from you, I’m betting you will help me with that.”

“Sure. Whatever. As for you using the roof for stargazing, I know about that too. Why am I so important to you?”

The young brother just shrugged, “Because you just are, sadly, you are. Now go off, enjoy your day! I heard the diner is having a special on half priced pancakes this morning, and I know how much you love to eat.”

Ethan didn’t say a word and just rolled his eyes walking out, realizing that he needed to get himself a better apartment soon but first, he wanted some breakfast. Well, a second helping of breakfast.

~~~~~~~~~~~

On the other side of town, after visiting his brother because the man wanted to talk with him about the tax rate of his tattoo parlor, in which he remarked how his business was doing fine and how his clients seemed fine with his prices. The tattooed brunette found himself stumbling at the park side, to find a certain young brunette wearing a uniform and jacket that he recognized all too well.

He stifled back a laugh shaking his head and slide onto the park bench beside her saying, “Hi.”

The girl looked up from her fingernail to face him with a nod, “Hey.”

“You got a job I see?”

“Oh yeah, the town’s redhead..Rochelle? She recommend me to work at the coffee place for a while.”

“Funny. I used to work there myself, it’s not a bad place and it’s right next to my shop. You’ll love the cafe, I promise.”

“Loving it already.”

The two chuckled, as cheesy their dialogue seemed, it sounded pretty nice. The brunette winced as he remembered the last couple of day and said, “I’m sorry by the way..”

“About what?” She asked, title her head a bit rubbing her eyes.

“Our date was cut off by the fire attack at Town Hall. We barely got a chance to grab a coffee or dinner..”

“Oh no it’s fine! I get it, I would’ve done the same.”

He thought for a moment and hummed, “How about I make it up to you? Right now. You and me, head back to my place, I’ll make up a early lunch, or we can get food from the diner, whichever you prefer.”

She chuckled at his forwardness, “Already inviting a girl over? I haven’t been asked out yet.”

“Well I move kinda fast, it’s my whole thing. And technically, I already did ask you out I just didn’t precede with my intentions! So what do you say?”

“I say, you got yourself a deal.”

He stood up as he held out his hand for her to take, as she took it with a light grip following him to the apartment. The two chatted and chuckled, as the man gave her a small tour of the town while leading her home. He honestly didn’t know what came over him to be so forward with his decision but he liked it, a lot. They ordered a small lunch from Bruce’s diner as they did so, her giggles were promptly stated the whole way home.

~~~~~~

Joshua was at home, reading some ripped pages from the text book given to him by Belladonna earlier during class that day. A small part of him choose to possibly believe in the idea of her parents being Snow White & Prince Charming, from the moment they saved one another in the tale to the very night they met in the woods of Fighter Town.

Not just that, Belladonna pointed out how him and Nik loved the smell of dark rich coffee in the late afternoon, along with a nice slice Italian beard. Yes, it was a simple sense of a meal but comforting. Just like George pointed how his mother was Cinderella based on the fact that both tales connect to the sliver lining almost glass like jewelry she wears. Riley, being always the optimistic young blonde, loved to state the obvious to her father’s traits and who her mother seems to be.

To be honest, every single one of the stories seemed to be interesting with the finest details to the larger interconnect ways they lend to the other. His favorite had to Rumple’s way to making a dramatically sparking appearance in every tale, it made him laugh.

Okay? Was he getting invested? Can you blame him? He loves to read and watch movies like any other person on the face of the planet.

He looked up when he heard the front door open and he saw Nik walk in with a guest. He didn’t think he’ll be home yet with a lady friend, he had to bite back a small grin due to it. Nik hoped he didn’t mind if he invited the girl over, in which the young brunette shook his head.

“Nope. Not at all.” He smiling warmly at the young women, “I don’t think we formally met. I’m Joshua Nolan, his roommate.”

She smiled shaking his hand politely, “Amelia.”

Nik smiled unboxing the bag of burgers and fries from the diner, watching the two interact. He didn’t expect them to be rather polite to one another, especially after the fact that he accidentally brought a pretty stranger into his home unannounced.

He noticed their similar eye color being a blue-green but didn’t a word, until Amelia pointed out, “You two got similar, almost identical cheeks and hair, but more rounder? Weird.”

The two guys muttered a soft, “Weird.” Nik just shrugged with a light smile putting the burgers on the plates, asking the young brunette if he wanted to join them but he denied his offer saying he had some homework to get started on. He nodded watching the boy leave.

“What was that about?’ Amelia said with a chuckle.

Nik sighed and smiled, “Honestly? No idea. The kids in this town are plain weird.”

“I like weird, added a sense of..unique factor.”

“Maybe. I can see where your coming from. But normalcy and commonality is sometimes more my style.”

“Says the guy who invited me into his home for dinner?”

“Hey! I never said I was completely normal.”

“Yeah okay, sure, Romeo. Let’s go with that.”

——

Joshua showed up at the St. Jame household that night knocking on the front door, in which Ms. St. James opened the door. The two of them haven’t properly met before so it seemed a little awkward but she looked kinda dressed up. As if she getting ready to go out somewhere.

“Um hi..Ms. St.James. I’m Joshua, a friend of your daughters..” He said with a half smile looking up at the blonde women.

Ms. St.James, Liane, got a sense of urgency but calmness from the boy’s face as if she had seen it before. She shook her head and smiled, “Ah yes, your the kid who Bella said was her Pen Pal, right?”

“You can say that. Yeah. Is she come? I wanted to see her about our English homework.”

“Yeah, she’s upstairs. Glad to see my daughter making some friends her age.”

The blonde let him inside and pointed up the stairs, as the boy nodded thanking her. Once the young teen entered the room, he saw Bella lock eyes with him raising eyebrow wondering what exactly he was doing here. She was sitting on top of her bed about to insult him, but stopped noticing the look on his face.

“Uh, we need to talk..” Is all he muttered.

She closed her computer and hummed, “Go on.”

—-

———-

Welcome back to the town! I hope you liked it, let me know what you think

Tags: @missstrawbs2001 @purpleprincessonfyre @meiramel @gcthvile @rickb-chaos @gaminggirlsstuff @wizzzardofoz @thechoooooosenone @sherloquestea @luna-d-marsh @rooster-84 @thecavalrywife @cherrysft and etc

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

lies are only as good as the person telling them (and you've never claimed to be) part 6

Read on Ao3 Masterlist

Pairings: nolan/john/bishop

Warnings: none

Word Count: 3457

It’s the day of the gala. And where once he would’ve been not-so-secretly thrilled that Nolan couldn’t come with him, now it’s simmering under his skin like a badly healed bruise.

Sarah’s noticed, because of course she has, and she puts her hand on his arm as they’re getting ready to go.

“What if someone comes looking for him,” he mutters, trying to keep his voice low enough that Nolan in the bedroom won’t hear it, “we didn’t move locations the way we should have. Is it safe to leave him like this?”

“If they were going to find us, they would’ve made a move by now. You said it yourself: we lost them enough on the way back that we could afford to stay at least until the next phase.” Still, he sees her glance over her shoulder too. “Besides, he’s a big boy. He can take care of himself.”

He catches the almost imperceptible tremor in her voice and gives her a look.

“Hey!” Nolan’s voice comes from the bedroom. “You guys talking about me out there?”

“No,” they say in unison, which is as good as a ‘yes,’ judging by Nolan’s little chuckle. Sarah rolls her eyes. “We’re leaving now, stay out of trouble.”

“Yes, mother,” Nolan grouses as they walk to the door.

John gets behind the wheel and pulls smoothly into the late-night Parisian traffic. He’s driven these roads so often he practically has them memorized by this point, which is good because when there’s an unexpected detour he know exactly where to turn to still get them to the gala on time.

What isn’t so good is his brain choosing to take that time and focus on the injured Nolan Booth back at their shitty apartment.

Nolan’s caught on to them, at least somewhat. He’s giving them looks now when he thinks they can get away with it; he’s all furrowed brows and tight mouth and puzzling like he’s trying to…well. Like he’s trying to figure out the trick. Only there isn’t one to figure out and he’s not sure he can ever get Nolan to believe that.

He’s already tricked him once. He’s not too egotistical to think he could ever get away with something like that again, even if he was trying, nor is he too proud to admit that yeah, Nolan Booth might be a ship that’s already sailed. Sure, he’s the one that came to them with the idea for the score, and he’s the one who’s been the reluctant go-between for an uncomfortable amount of their contacts, but him? Actually getting to the Nolan behind all the quips and the facades and the walls that he’s still letting them hit?

They might have a better of chance of just walking in and asking if they could have the Mona Lisa.

Sarah’s voice comes from the passenger’s seat when they stop at a red light. Just a quiet hum, but she doesn’t need to say anything else. He sighs and lets himself slump against the seat for a second.

“I’m worried about Nolan.”

”He’s going to fine, John, we won’t be gone long enough for somebody to—“

“Not that.” He rubs his chin. “I mean I’m worried he’s…I’m worried about us.”

Sarah falls silent as the light turns green. He presses them slowly back into the sea of traffic. It takes three more intersections for her to speak again.

“We can’t exactly blame him, we did con him.”

“I know.”

“And we did it by establishing a level of intimacy with him that would be difficult to achieve again.”

“I know.”

“He probably thinks it’s another scheme.”

“I know,” he says, a bit more bite in his voice, “I know that, Sarah, I do. And I know he’s probably thinking the same thing. But this isn’t a scheme.”

He glances at her as he turns and sees the thoughtful wrinkle between her brows reappear. “He’s not going to believe us, not without some sort of proof.”

“We can’t prove a negative.”

“I know.” She turns to stare out at the passing lights as they near their destination. After a second a small smile comes to her face and she huffs a laugh.

“What?”

“I can’t help but think whether this would have been easier if one of us took a bullet for him.”

“Nobody else is getting shot,” John says automatically, but it’s already done what she wanted it to.

What would’ve happened if he or Sarah took a bullet for Nolan? Would they have? He’s the likelier of the two of them, probably shoving Booth out of the way and catching the stray shot in his shoulder. But then would come the exclusion, shutting Booth out even more while Sarah patches him up, her anger at his being hurt redirected at Booth for allowing it to happen. His own gruffness sharpening in an effort guilt Booth into…what? Being less himself? And with Sarah…his hands tighten reflexively on the wheel as he remembers the things he’s done to people who dared touch her, and what he might do to Booth if he were any sort of scapegoat.

“I don’t think we would’ve realized,” he says eventually, “I think it would’ve made things worse.”

Sarah hums. “Perhaps you’re right.”

As they get closer and closer to the mark’s event, he forces himself back into mission mode. There will be time to think about Nolan Booth later. For now, it’s game face time; there’s no use in thinking about what to do after the heist if they don’t get the whole thing off the ground in the first place. Beside him, he can feel Sarah sitting up a little straighter, her icier mask falling into place over her features. They join a long line of cars trailing down the block toward a blood red awning, accompanied by several masked guards and a host in long white gloves.

“Is that him?”

“That’s the checkpoint. If our aliases don’t get us past here, we’re screwed.”

“They will,” Sarah says with a comforting confidence.

John takes a deep breath and squares his shoulders.

Time to go to work.

***

Count Evon Madripoor does not spare any expenses. The hall is lavishly decorated, bordering on the ostentatious; crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling, garlands of ivy and wildflowers forming a pseudo-vaulted look over glittering tables and an actual marble dance floor. There’s a full orchestra up on one of the landings, a conductor with an earpiece talking to someone on the dance floor. Across the way are the doors to what must be the kitchens, suited-and-booted waitstaff carrying plates laden with lobster, steak, expensive dishes the likes of which could probably finance an entire school district. It’s gloriously hedonistic and it makes no small part of John want to spit.

But of course, Arthur and Roxanne DeVale do not spit at the celebrations of their fellow elites, and so they saunter into the midst of the crowds. Sarah’s picked her dark blue dress for the evening, the one that has the tiny crystals in the skirt that make her look like some evening goddess. Another diamond sparkles at the point between her collarbones, two more from her ears. Her hair cascades over one shoulder, hiding the earpiece, the open back distracting from the slight indentation at her covered leg where the holster sits. His own suit has diamond cufflinks and tie pin, charcoal gray covering a night-black shirt. The two of them move through the throng of party-goers until they reach an unoccupied table, sitting and examining the menu in front of them. A waiter quickly comes over and offers them a wide variety of liquor to choose from.

“Gin and tonic,” Sarah orders smoothly.

“Whiskey. Neat.”

“Right away, Monsieur, Mademoiselle.”

He darts off into the back and John turns to casually survey the room for anyone who might resemble the Count. He spies a few people that fit his rough description, but no luck.

“He might not be here yet,” he murmurs to Sarah as they both feign consulting the menu, “rich jerks always like to make an entrance.”

“There’s a staircase at the far end.” She indicates the carpeted marble with a slight turn of her head. “That might be where he comes from.”

“Any idea when?”

“The official start time of the party was about forty five minutes ago. I’d say anywhere from the one to one-and-a-half hour mark.”

That gives them at least fifteen minutes to make themselves as inconspicuous as possible. They’ve faced far worse odds.

The waiter comes back with heir drinks and a bread bowl while they consider their meal options. Sarah refrains from taking any, elegantly sipping from her drink as her eyes travel the room. John takes a single roll, breaking little bits off to eat every once in a while. In accordance with Sarah’s prediction, it’s almost fifteen minutes later exactly when the orchestra gives a sudden musical flare and a spotlight appears at the top of the staircase.

Count Madripoor is as disgustingly overblown as John expected, right down to the golden buckles on his shoes and the gemstones inlaid along the collar pins as he spreads his arms wide.

“Friends, old, new and yet to be made, welcome to my humble little get together.”

A polite titter goes up amongst the crowd.

“Eat, drink, and be merry. Life is for the living, after all, and we have our debt to settle with the reaper upon our passing!”

He claps his hands and the orchestra strikes up again. John and Sarah each exchange a glance before casually arranging themselves to highlight the lack of food on their table. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the count making conversation with more than a few people, shaking their hands and gesturing about, slowly making his way around to the tables. Sarah finishes her drink as he approaches, arching her back just a little to send a surreptitious glance over her shoulder.

Sure enough, it takes barely another moment for the count to make his way over to their table, the faint smell of wood smoke following him.

“It seems a disgrace that there are two such fine faces at my party and I have not the faintest idea who you are.” He bows slightly. “Evon Madripoor, your humble host.”

“You are too kind,” Sarah demurs, looking every bit the blushing maiden, “Roxanne DeVale, the honor is mine.”

”Ms. DeVale. A lovely name for a lovely woman.” He holds his hand out for hers and places a chaste kiss on the back. “And you, my handsome friend?”

“Arthur DeVale. You sure know how to throw one hell of a party.”

“Ah, well, when one is born with more money than can be spent in a single lifetime, that doesn’t mean one shouldn’t try. I notice your table is comparatively empty, is none of the food to your liking?”

“To be honest, we have been struggling to choose.” Sarah peers around and leans a little closer. “And your portions look too generous for me.”

“If I may, Mademoiselle, life is too short not to enjoy good food. But if it is a smaller portion you desire, then of course it shall be made. If you are truly stumped for options, might I recommend the Chef’s delight?” He points to one of the entries further down the menu. “She has been refining her techniques for many years.”

“That sounds wonderful.”

“And for you, Monsieur, do the portions daunt you as well?” The count gives him a smile that’s too intentional to not be flirtatious. “Or is there something else that keeps you from a decision?”

“I’ve had a range of these dishes before,” he says, feigning aloofness, “I’m looking for something more exemplary.”

“Might I suggest the third of the dinner platters, then. A delicacy I assure you that you would not find anywhere else.”

“Are you bothering guests into trying things again?”

They turn to see a graceful woman in a black and white suit glide up to them, giving the count a look before nodding to them both.

“Forgive him his enthusiasm, if you would be so gracious.”

“Anastasia DeVeaux,” the count introduces, “my major domo and the only reason this party is as successful as it is.”

”We’ll take your suggestions,” John says, nodding to her, “nothing to forgive.”

She nods and a whole crew of waitstaff ready themselves. She gives the count one last look that John can’t quite decipher before vanishing back into the crowd.

“If it is not too much an imposition,” Sarah asks, “would you be so kind as to join us? We could hardly bear to keep you from your celebration but—“

“Nonsense,” the count says, waving a hand, “I would be honored to. Come, come, let us talk and drink! I notice your drinks are nearing empty, come, let us get you refilled.”

What passes next is…surreal. Their food comes and admittedly, it is delicious. The count takes no small amount of pleasure in seeing how much they both enjoy it, ordering a dish for himself and engaging them in polite enough conversation. He doesn’t seem to care when they’re a little cagey with their responses, launching off into ludicrous tales of his own to give them time to eat or to decide what it is they want to say next. In a word, it’s pleasant, yet there’s this itch at the base of his spine that he can’t get rid of.

It’s when the count just about makes an innuendo that he realizes what it is: he’s leaving space for Nolan.

The pauses he and Sarah are leaving every once in a while are for his stupid quips. The laughs they feign are so he can make up the next part of the story with some playfully fond insults that he only half-means. The glances they shoot at each other stutter about halfway through because they’re missing the other person to look at. They look for him now, and the realization makes him take an extra sip of his whiskey.

This could be bad. This could be very bad.

“Well,” the count proclaims, throwing aside his napkin, “I do hope your appetites have been thoroughly satisfied?”

“You did not offered undeserved praise, you used is indeed a master.”

“Could you be tempted to a spot of dessert?”

“Not at the moment, I fear,” Sarah laughs, holding a hand to herself, “I’ve already eaten my fill.”

“And yourself, Monsieur?”

John fakes a laugh and waves his hand, mirroring Sarah’s posture. The count simply laughs and acquiesces, getting to his feet.

“I have often found that a bit of mild exercise aids in digestion,” he says, adjusting himself and bowing again, “if you would do me the honor?”

John glances at Sarah. She nods. He inclines his head and gestures to her. “Please, as long as she wants.”

“Oh, forgive me. Although I am sure the Mademoiselle is lovely—“ and here he bows again to Sarah— “I did hope that you would deign to accompany me.”

Oh.

Oh.

John blinks. The count is still waiting patiently, his hand extended, and all he can hear is Nolan’s voice in his head saying I didn’t mean walk like you were going to ask me to dance.

He swallows, forces himself to smile, and takes the count’s hand.

The count leads him to an open spot of the dance floor. To John’s surprise, no one looks twice at them. The count steps carefully into his space, as if expecting him to back out t any moment, and holds out his hand once again.

”I guess that you’d be more accustomed to leading?”

“If it’s not too presumptuous of me.”

“Of course,” and he steps easily into the follower’s position, “I would be delighted.”

The count is a…well, he’s a good dancer. He doesn’t quite have the body type John’s used to leading, but he moves as easily as any dance partner he’s ever had. The only thing is that, well, now Nolan’s voice is really loud.

“Monsieur,” the count says after a few minutes turning about the floor, “if I may be so bold?”

“It’s your party, I’d say that gives you the right.”

“You are too kind.” He wets his lips and sighs. “I will be blunt. Am I a stand-in for the evening?”

John blinks, swallowing his panic with practiced ease, playing surprised instead. “A stand-in? How could you be a stand-in?”

“You and the Mademoiselle. You both act as if you are missing a piece.” He inclines his head back towards Sarah. “I am not intruding, am I? There is not a third waiting for you both?”

“No, you’re not intruding. He—“ John realizes his mistake a moment too late, but the count gives him a gentle prompt to continue and stopping now would only be more suspicious. “He was supposed to come but he couldn’t make it.”

The count makes a sad noise. “A pity, indeed. I would have liked to meet the man who could successfully charm both of your hearts.”

A sudden image of Nolan’s face makes his step falter. The court catches them easily before they bump into another couple, making it look as though John is the one steering them out of the way.

“Unless…he does not know?”

John swallows. “It’s complicated.”

“Life is complicated, Monsieur. Very few things easily gotten are worth their getting.”

“We hurt him,” John hears himself saying, “I don’t think he trusts us anymore.”

“Ah. Well. That is complicated.” The count shakes his head. “Did he know before?”

“No.”

“Truly complicated. You, Monsieur, are not one for understatement.”

John hums. They dance for a little longer until the count shakes his head.

“Life is too short, Monsieur. Too short to let complications deter you. I ask you now, regardless of the complications, or the history, does he hold your feelings? And the Mademoiselle’s?”

He thinks about the shitty apartment. He thinks about Nolan’s blood still on the back seat of the car. He thinks about Nolan’s face when he asked him to dance, how heartbroken and betrayed he looked on that beach, how he lit up when they found that vault in Argentina, how he looked when he held him out over the train tracks, and how terrified he’d been when Nolan got shot.

Fuck. Fuck, he does. God, he does.

The count smiles when John manages one jerky nod. “I implore you, Monsieur, tell him. If he is the kind of man who could charm the both of you, he is a good enough man to hear you.”

“Thank you, Count,” John says, and he surprises himself with how genuine it is.

“Please, you must call me Evon.”

“Thank you, Evon.”

Evon grins. “Tell you what: I am having another little party in a month or so, at the Louvre. Bring yourself, the Mademoiselle, and this other man, hm? Let me see the three of you with my own eyes.”

“That sounds like a plan.”

John tells Sarah. Of course he does. It’s the second thing out of his mouth as soon as they’re in the car and driving back to the apartment. Sarah just looks at him, reaches across the console to squeeze his hand, and smiles. The cocktails churn in his stomach as he puts the car in park and gets out. Sarah’s heels click behind him as he makes his way to the door, taking one deep steadying breath before pushing it open.

“Booth? We’re back!”

No response.

”Booth?” Sarah quickly comes in, drawing her gun and glancing around. “Are you alright?”

Nothing. John bites back a curse and looks around. Sarah keeps moving toward the bedroom—no sign of forced entry, no trace of the windows being opened or anything, all their stuff is still where they left it, safeguards and all. Maybe he’s passed out in the bedroom? Did his stitches pop and he could’ve fix it? Is he—

“He’s gone,” comes Sarah’s too clipped, too calm voice, “all of his things are gone.”

John races to her side and finds her staring down at a piece of paper. He leans over her shoulder. It’s the address Arlo gave them to pick up the forgery with the time and code words. Drawn under it in pen is a pawn lying on its side like the king at the end of a game of chess.

John just stares at it.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Nolan’s gone.

“We need to get him back,” he hears himself say from miles away, “we gotta get him back, Sarah.”

“I know,” she says, her voice still too even, “don’t worry. We will.”

He wishes her confidence brought him comfort.

[ssvperboy]

nolan anthony henderson tag dump

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

W H A T

I'M SORRY???!?!!?

Honestly I was wondering (half jokingly) if it would be a distraction but WHAT???!

And of course:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ANGELA GAVE BIRTH :'DDDDD!!!! WHOOOOO 🥳🥳🥳🎉🎉🎊🎊🥰🥰😭😭🥰❤️❤️🥳🎉🎉🎊🥳🥳🥳🥰❤️❤️😭😭🥰🥰

Happy sobbing lol

Anyway just AAHHHH all the little wopez moments were gets this episode :'D also of course they were solving a crime while Angela was in labor xD. And of course we love seeing Wesley being the best most supportive husband ever 🥰🥰. I just aAGH!! MY BABEYS :'DDDD ❤️❤️!! AND THEY HAD A BABY :'DDD!!!

I love them so much <333 :)) And I'm sure I'm gonna love their new baby girl :'))

Also even though I love the angst I'm so glad they weren't at home 😭❤️. It would've have been beautifully angsty but I didn't need that stress lol xD I'm just glad they're okay <33

Also I just have to mention: "you'd better not be having a stroke on me right now" SLKGJDHKGJDS XDDD I died laughing at that part LOL

Anyway AAAHHHHH AARONNNNN!!! NOOO I DO NOT DESERVE THIS 😭😭! AND NEITHER DOES HE 😭!! He better be okay DDD': :'(( <333

Also the scenes of Celina sitting with him were just HEARTBREAKING 💔💔😭 :'((

They're besties your honor <33

Also slfkghdhkgs?? Can we talk about hat Chenford battle couple scene?? It was like they were in a zombie apocalypse or something xD. But they slayed SO HARD and I'm glad they're okay :'D

Speaking of AAAHHHH NYLAAA 😭😭. I am so glad Leah's okay <333. And James too of course :)). They're my babeys <33

Also as soon as I thought I saw that closet door move the tiniest I KNEW they were in the house being Bailey and I was RIGHT!! Still AH 😭😭 though. Anyway lol, glad she and Nolan are okay too :'))

And I'm glad Grey's okay too <33 I got a bit nervous at the end their till the others showed up

But oh gosh o.o this entire thing was wild and it looks like it's about to get even wilder xd

Super cool but crazy xD.

Also I assume some of might be dealt with on feds? But I'm not sure ┐⁠(⁠ ⁠∵⁠ ⁠)⁠┌. I figured there would be a bit of a segue cameo at the end if so, but maybe not ┐⁠(⁠ ⁠∵⁠ ⁠)⁠┌? It would make sense if they had their own plot and this was mentioned at the end though, so it can be a thing for the start of BOTH of their next seasons. Eh, I don't know! Anyway :)).

AAHHHHHHH I'm stressed xdd

But it was an AMAZING episode :DD

Such a good finale 😍😳🤩😩

I do live a bit in fear though xd :)

Scratch that, I just totally do xdd :')

Still, it was a great season :))

And it was a wonderful episode <333

[clementinecompendium]

To Be Read July 2023

The Mind

The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity―and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race by Daniel Z. Lieberman & Michael E. Long

The Brain: A Very Short Introduction by Michael O'Shea

Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction by Susan Blackmore

The Mind-Gut Connection: How the Hidden Conversation Within Our Bodies Impacts Our Mood, Our Choices, and Our Overall Health by Emeran Mayer MD

Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino

Sensitive is the New Strong: The Power of Empaths in an Increasingly Harsh World by Anita Moorjani

The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron

Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price Ph.D.

Wired to Create: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind by Scott Barry Kaufman & Carolyn Gregoire

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel A. van der Kolk

Music & The Mind (Art Philosophy, Aesthetics, Neuroaesthetics)

Saved by a Song: The Art and Healing Power of Songwriting by Mary Gauthier

The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory by John Seabrook

This is What it Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You by Ogi Ogas & Susan Rogers

Why You Like It: The Science and Culture of Musical Taste by Nolan Gasser

The Story of Music: From Babylon to the Beatles: How Music Has Shaped Civilization by Howard Goodall

Of Sound Mind: How Our Brain Constructs a Meaningful Sonic World by Nina Kraus

Aesthetics: A Very Short Introduction by Bence Nanay

Equipment for Living: On Poetry and Pop Music by Michael Robbins

How Music Works by David Byrne

General Non-Fiction / History / Science

The Russian Revolution: A Very Short Introduction by S. A. Smith

The French Revolution: A Very Short Introduction by William Doyle

Linguistics: A Very Short Introduction by P. H. Matthews

Mathematics: A Very Short Introduction by Timothy Gowers

After the End of Art: Contemporary Art and the Pale of History by Arthur C. Danto

Flappers by Judith Mackrell

Marketing for Dummies, 6th edition by Jeanette McMurty MBA

Sinatra: The Chairman by James Kaplan

Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland by Gerald Clarke

Self-Improvement

Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself by Dr. Kristin Neff

Self Compassion for Dummies by by Steven Hickman PsyD (in progress)

The Nice Girl Syndrome: Stop Being Manipulated and Abused -- and Start Standing Up for Yourself by Beverly Engel

The Assertiveness Guide for Women: How to Communicate Your Needs, Set Healthy Boundaries & Transform Your Relationships by Julie de Azevedo Hanks, PhD, LCSW

Anatomy of a Breakthrough: How to Get Unstuck When it Matters Most by Adam Alter

Fierce Self-Compassion: How Women Can Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim Their Power, and Thrive by Kristin Neff PhD

The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander

Be Angry: The Dalai Lama on What Matters Most by His Holiness the Dalai Lama,

Anger: The Conflicted History of an Emotion by Barbara H. Rosenwein

The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again by Catherine Price

In Awe: Rediscover Your Childlike Wonder to Unleash Inspiration, Meaning, and Joy by John O'Leary

Creating a Life That Matters: How to Live and Love with Meaning and Purpose by Manis Friedman & Rivka Goldstein 

Fiction

Babel by R. F. Kuang

The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin

A Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne (narrated by Tim Curry)

In/Spectre #2

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (in progress)

The Poisoner's Handbook ed. Raymond T. Bond

[lovefromkelly]

didn’t care for oppenheimer tbh!

some parts were so cool and some were interesting!

but i thought the side characters it picked to focus on were an odd choice that didn’t add much (would’ve liked less focus on communism and the dude who maybe worked on the h-bomb and more on the science and scientists and the making of the bomb since that was his legacy), it did a weird brush over a couple discussions of morals in a way that didn’t illuminate Oppenheimer’s thoughts or beliefs (could’ve been a good acting moment too, but we saw very little internal conflict), they changed some real quotes to be less impactful (Truman just being a doddering old man and calling him a crybaby instead of saying ‘i never wanna see that son of a bitch in my office again. he doesn’t have blood on his hands. I do.”), the women were terribly written and acted and served a very weird purpose (Emily Blunt almost ruined the movie for me also Florence Pugh pausing having sex to have him say the quote was the worst scene in any Nolan movie holy shit it felt like a parody of what Oppenheimer would be), and it took some liberties w the scientists involved that totally sidelined their importance and contributions and made it seem like they were all so proud of the project when every account of the trinity test had EXTREMELY mixed reactions from them and high emotions.

all that said, seeing feynman join them felt like my avengers. I pointed at the screen excitedly every time he was there. LET HIM SPEAK!!!

[lesbianholster]

So as someone who actually did see Oppenheimer unlike a lot of people in the comments, I'd like to say:

The movie literally touches on the effects on Japanese civilians. I'm not thrilled with how (notes in passing, the worst of the effects stylistically given to white people rather than the actual Japanese people that were actually hurt) and it's easy to miss, but, like, it does bring it up.

The bit about not talking about downwinders or the effects of testing is very real. I can very easily see how frustrating it is and the film does ignore a lot of sordid history. That said,

Narratively, we stop in 1945 with Japan surrendering. Yeah, yeah, the framing device is in the 50s, but the actual Manhattan Project bit ends the second the bombs are dropped. You can argue that not discussing testing that occurred afterwards is irresponsible, considering they did touch on the arms race and the H-bomb, but one can maybe see why Nolan didn't. The first American victims of criticality incidents, Harry K. Daghlian and Louis Slotin, are also completely ignored, for example. (There's also a comment from Oppy about wanting to return the site to indigenous populations, but I can't speak on if it was genuine commentary or lip service from Nolan.)

The above tweeter, though her pain is real, did make a provably false claim in the above thread. Take her credibility with a grain of salt.

(And just as an aside: no, filming The Conquerer didn't give everyone there cancer. Local businesses reported no strange findings, the specific tabloid articles pushing the narrative did no scientific research, and John Wayne's cancers were more likely a result of him eating cigarettes for breakfast. Worth noting that AFAIK, rates of leukemia and other radiation specific cancers also weren't abnormal.)

The movie isn't perfect; it has a lot of blind spots and skips over a lot of painful history (and if Nolan truly didn't credit VFX artists for the incredible work they did, then fuck that guy). Just, you know, don't trust everything you read on the internet just because it's on your side.

Don’t forget the first victims when you go see Oppenheimer this opening weekend. Unforgivable not to include them in the narrative.

We love us some Nolan and Cillian but this is also a story that should never have taken place.

For further reading:

This is what happens when the US government goes nuclear-crazy during the Cold War and mines a shit ton of uranium. Lambs born with three legs and no eyes, and human stillbirths and agonizing deformities for those that survive. For decades it was referred to as a Navajo-specific hereditary illness. No one made the link to the mines and the drinking water.