#once upon a time in venice

[auburnandamberangel]

What do you think is a hobby Armand would really enjoy but probably hasn't tried?

I've always personally liked the idea of and headcanoned glass making or blowing. The potential of Milliflore and paperweights. Even though a huge furnace is involved in the making aspect. I can imagine him happily making small pieces with pipe glass and a blow torch. And as he lived in Venice, the home of so many Marano studios, how could he not have gotten to visit and try this artist process out as a pampered Prince of Marius.

[tctmp]

Once Upon a Time in Venice: Directed by Mark Cullen. With Bruce Willis, John Goodman, Jason Momoa, Emily Robinson. A Los Angeles detective seeks out the ruthless gang that stole his dog.

[denimbex1986]

'...it was Fanning’s work as a Charles Manson acolyte in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time . . . in Hollywood that convinced writer-director Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List) she would be the perfect Marge Sherwood in his eight-part series Ripley, a provocative adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 novel The Talented Mr. Ripley. An aspiring writer whose understated confidence exudes the air of upper-crust society, Marge is a constant companion of Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn), the errant playboy who is suddenly orbited by an odd stranger named Tom Ripley, played bewitchingly by Andrew Scott. Where others are taken in by the suave grifter, Marge can sense that the man is not what he seems.

Fanning jumped at the chance to play the character and take on the challenges associated with the role — not least of which was learning Italian prior to the months-long location shoot that visited Rome, Venice, Palermo, Capri, and Atrani on the Amalfi Coast. Perhaps the greatest artistic thrill, she says, was working opposite Scott in the confrontational moments between Tom and Marge: “I knew that it would be really fun to do those scenes with Andrew — and it was.”

Krista Smith: What drew you to Ripley and why did you want to play Marge Sherwood?

Dakota Fanning: Having eight hours to explore these characters that you think you know, whether through the book or through the [1999] film adaptation, I was like, “Oh, that’s going to be amazing.” I was such an admirer of Steve and of Andrew. So when I [was cast as] Marge, I was overcome with excitement. Just hearing Steve’s vision and how devoted he was to the story, you knew that you were going to be supported. He’s so detailed, you were always going to know exactly where you stood. And that’s what I like as an actor.

Watching your back-and-forth with Andrew Scott is mesmerizing. How was that to play some of those scenes and what was happening between takes?

DF: There were some moments where we were so [in character that we just wanted] the other one to drop dead. Steve would cut, and Andrew and I [would say to each other], “You bitch!” Then we’d crack up. We had to bring that play and joy to it. The tension between the two of us [would be so palpable] that when “cut” would happen, my whole body would relax. That energy is harder than running all day. So, I loved it. I was happy to not just be a pawn in Tom’s game as Marge. You see her own opportunistic tendencies come out sometimes and you explore that vanity in her as well. I think that’s deeply human.

Ultimately, in this series you’re exploring people and what people are capable of. You almost feel like you’re reading everyone’s thoughts through their eyes, which is what I like to do as an actor — finding what’s underneath and not focusing on the exterior.

You shot all over Italy, and so much of the aesthetic of that country plays through. How does being immersed in that kind of environment influence your performance?

DF: It’s really comforting. Having the luxury of actually being where it’s written that you’re supposed to be, that’s a rarity these days. So I didn’t take any of that for granted. It was a lot of hard work from a lot of different people.

I once found Steve rearranging the knitting needles in the knitting basket in [Marge’s] house. There’s that closeup of the knitting basket and it’s this perfect mess, [which] says something about Marge. It’s all for a reason. Every shot is important, every moment is important, every costume is important. I’ve been doing this a long time, and a lot of the time, it’s hurry, hurry, hurry and rush, rush, rush. That was not ever said [here]. Watching [the series] was a very moving experience for me because it all came full circle. You see how him rearranging those knitting needles did do something, and you think, Whoa...'

[fuori-orario-film-posts]

“Nessuno t’amerà mai come ti ho amato io. C’erano momenti disperati che non ne potevo più e allora pensavo a te e mi dicevo: «Deborah esiste, è là fuori, esiste!». E con quello superavo tutto. Capisci ora cosa sei per me?” (C’era una volta in America).

[havithreatendub4]

#ouatim #Once Upon A Time In Mexico #2003 #cast #interview #Venice Film Festival

[uchihaxitachi]

itachi’s june -> day 20: going on a trip

a/n: aanddd she’s back writing a little about itachi after ages. im sorry we’re already??? more than half way with july and im still stuck in june 🤣 but i think it eez what it eez i’ve just been so busy tackling irl stuff (modern au, husband itachi)

“i wish we could go here.” you mumbled, watching the tourist movie with depp and jolie. “you want to go to venice, my dear?” itachi hums, a face mask on which you made him wear since this was supposed to be the ✨ self care ✨ night. the cute headband that prevents his hair from coming at his face makes him look undoubtedly more cuter.

“shyeah- look at this, i mean, this looks so aesthetic.” you hummed, grabbing some popcorn while you lean against itachi’s shoulder. “at least the visuals are aesthetic.” itachi comments, squinting his eyes at the movie. yeah, he didn’t like this movie at all. you snorted, “jeez, its a fun one time watch movie itachi, why you gotta be so judgy.”

he rolls his eyes slightly at the insinuation. judgy? he’s not being judgy… he just doesn’t get invested in mundane movies. le sigh. 😮‍💨 however, if you have indulged in this movie and wanted your husband to watch it with you, he would. and he did. while YOU ended up falling asleep.

a soft smile creeps upon itachi’s face as he leans in and kisses your forehead. “goodnight. angel.” itachi gets up, carrying you princess style to the shared bedroom. lathering you with soft covers and turning the aircon on. for some time after, itachi took out the tablet and researched about the destination you wanted to visit… hmmm…

the next morning was the usual, itachi woke up a little earlier and prepared coffee for you along with your daily supplements. you wander around the kitchen and give him a chaste peck. “mornin’ uchiha.” you snicker. he looks so disciplined at times. especially when he is occupied with something.

“are we still as excited for venice or did we sleep it off?” itachi grins, his beautiful close eyed smile. you blink, chuckling, “of course we are! hell yeah we are?!?!” and so it began. itachi had booked the flight tickets for the next week.

throughout the preparation for the trip, it was the little things handled by your husband that made your heart flutter. personalized passport cover? he knows you’re an extra little thing and spares no details for the same. facemasks for relaxing in the flight, some melatonin for good sleep, earbuds with noise cancellation, he was thoroughly prepared. itachi knows you also like to match outfits and didn’t mind the to and fro you did while packing all of the stuff.

once you both boarded the flight after the security check in, itachi lets you babble all about venice and how you think it’d be. you and him travel frequently because even itachi has a keen interest to look at the world. to absorb things which are different from the mundane.

when yall reached venice this dude has no brakes? booked the hotel you liked in the movie?? observant mcgee? brought you gowns and took you for dinner, spend the time in the boat with you watching the sunset, did some brand shopping— what! that prada bag looked extra nice. 😒 and the love making ofc 🤭

itachi has a habit of recording your candid pictures and videos just for the sake of it. there is a cute sense of enjoyment that he feels when you excitedly collate all these videos together for le social media. :3 best husband ever :3 best man ever :3

[thebeesareback]

Every episode of New Who in chronological order (Doctor Who)

Spoilers: it makes no fucking sense. Also, there are some episodes which occur in two or more time periods

"The Fires of Pompeii" - 79 David Tennant

"The Eaters of Light" - 2nd century Peter Capaldi

"The Pandorica Opens" - 102 Matt Smith

"The Big Bang" - immediately after "The Pandorica Opens", 102 Matt Smith

"The Girl Who Died" - 851 Peter Capaldi

"Resolution" 9th century Jodie Whittaker

"The Magician's Apprentice" - 1138 Peter Capaldi

"The Witch's Familiar" immediately after "The Magician's Apprentice", 1138 Peter Capaldi

"Robot of Sherwood" - 1190 Peter Capaldi

"The Bells of Saint John" - 1207 Matt Smith

"Can You Hear Me?" - 1380 Jodie Whittaker

"The Day of the Doctor" - 1562 Matt Smith and David Tennant

"The Vampires of Venice" - 1580 Matt Smith

"The Shakespeare Code" - 1599 David Tennant

"The Curse of the Black Spot" - 16th century Matt Smith

"The Witchfinders" - 1612 Jodie Whittaker

"The Woman Who Lived" - 1681, sequential to "The Girl Who Died" Peter Capaldi

"Legend of the Sea Devils" - 1807 Jodie Whittaker

"Thin Ice" - 1814 Peter Capaldi

"The Haunting of Villa Diodati" - 1816 Jodie Whittaker

"Spyfall Part Two" - 1834 Jodie Whittaker

"Deep Breath" - Victorian era (between 1837-1901) Peter Capaldi and Matt Smith

"The Next Doctor" - 1851 David Tennant

"War of the Sontarans" - 1855 sequential to "The Halloween Apocalypse" Jodie Whittaker

"The Unquiet Dead" - December 1869 Christopher Eccleston

"Tooth and Claw" - 1879 David Tennant

"A Town Called Mercy" - somewhere between 1865-1890 Matt Smith

"Empress of Mars" - 1881 Peter Capaldi

"Vincent and the Doctor" - 1890 Matt Smith

"The Snowmen" - 1892 Matt Smith

"The Crimson Horror" - 1893 Matt Smith

"The Name of the Doctor" - 1893 Matt Smith

"Ascension of the Cybermen" - "the early 20th century" Jodie Whittaker

"Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror" - 1903 Jodie Whittaker

"Survivors of the Flux" - 1904 sequential to "Village of the Angels" Jodie Whittaker

"Human Nature" - 1913 David Tennant

"The Family of Blood" - Immediately after "Human Nature", 1913 David Tennant

"The Power of the Doctor" 1916 Jodie Whittaker and David Tennant

"The Unicorn and the Wasp" - 1926 David Tennant

"Daleks in Manhattan" - 1930 David Tennant

"Evolution of the Daleks - Immediately after "Daleks in Manhattan", 1930 David Tennant

"Let's Kill Hitler" - 1938 Matt Smith

"The Angels Take Manhattan" 1938 Matt Smith

"Victory of the Daleks" - between 1939-1945 Matt Smith

"The Empty Child" - 1941 Christopher Eccleston

"The Doctor Dances" - Immediately after "The Empty Child", 1941 Christopher Eccleston

"The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe" - December 1941 Matt Smith

"Demons of the Punjab" - August 1947 Jodie Whittaker

"The Idiot's Lantern" - June 1953 David Tennant

"Rosa" - 1955 Jodie Whittaker

"Village of the Angels" - November 1967 sequential to "Once, Upon Time" Jodie Whittaker

"The Impossible Astronaut" - 1969 Matt Smith

"The Day of the Moon" - Immediately after "The Impossible Astronaut" 1969 Matt Smith

"Blink" - 1969/2007 David Tennant

"Hide" - 1974 Matt Smith

"The God Complex" - 1980 Matt Smith

"Cold War" - 1983 Matt Smith

"Twice Upon a Time" 1986 Peter Capaldi and Jodie Whittaker

"Father's Day" - 1987 Christopher Eccleston

"The Return of Doctor Mysterio" - 1992 Peter Capaldi

"The Eleventh Hour" 1998 Matt Smith

"Rose" - contemporary to release, March 2005 Christopher Eccleston

"School Reunion" - 2005 David Tennant

"The Christmas Invasion" - contemporary to release, December 2005 David Tennant

"Aliens of London" - Approximately March 2006 Christopher Eccleston

"World War Three" - Immediately after "Aliens of London", approximately March 2006 Christopher Eccleston

"Rise of the Cybermen" - contemporary to release, May 2006 David Tennant

"The Age of Steel" - Immediately after "Rise of the Cybermen", May 2006 David Tennant

"Love & Monsters" - contemporary to release, June 2006 David Tennant

"Army of Ghosts" - after "Love & Monsters", summer 2006 David Tennant

"Doomsday" - Immediately after "Army of Ghosts", summer 2006 David Tennant

"Boom Town" - autumn 2006 Christopher Eccleston

"Turn Left" - autumn 2006 David Tennant

"The Runaway Bride" - December 2006 David Tennant

"Smith and Jones" - contemporary to release, March 2007 David Tennant

"The Lazarus Experiment" - contemporary to release, May 2007 David Tennant

"42" - contemporary to release, May 2007 David Tennant

"The Sound of Drums" - contemporary to release, June 2007 (immediately after "Utopia") David Tennant

"Blink" - 1969/2007 David Tennant

"Partners in Crime" - contemporary to release, April 2008 David Tennant

"The Sontaran Stratagem" - contemporary to release, April 2008 David Tennant

"The Poison Sky" - contemporary to release, May 2008 (immediately after "The Sontaran Stratagem") David Tennant

"Last of the Time Lords" - contemporary to release, June 2008 (sequential to "The Sound of Drums"), David Tennant

"The Stolen Earth" - contemporary to release, June 2008 David Tennant

"Journey's End" - contemporary to release, July 2008 (immediately after "The Stolen Earth") David Tennant

"The Lodger" - contemporary to release, June 2010 Matt Smith

"Night Terrors" - contemporary to release, September 2011 Matt Smith

"Closing Time" - contemporary to release, September 2011 Matt Smith

"Fear Her" - July 2012 David Tennant

"Dalek" - 2012 Christopher Eccleston

"Asylum of the Daleks" - contemporary to release, September 2012 Matt Smith

"The Power of Three" - contemporary to release, September 2012 Matt Smith

"The Rings of Akhaten" - contemporary to release, April 2013 Matt Smith

"Into the Dalek" - contemporary to release, August 2014 Peter Capaldi

"Listen" - contemporary to release, September 2014 Peter Capaldi

"Time Heist" - contemporary to release, September 2014 Peter Capaldi

"The Caretaker" - contemporary to release, September 2014 Peter Capaldi

"Flatline" - contemporary to release, October 2014 Peter Capaldi

"In the Forest of the Night" - contemporary to release, October 2014 Peter Capaldi

"Dark Water" - contemporary to release, November 2014 Peter Capaldi

"Death in Heaven" - contemporary to release, November 2014 Peter Capaldi

"Last Christmas" - contemporary to release, December 2014 Peter Capaldi

"Amy's Choice" - 2015 Matt Smith

"The Zygon Invasion" - contemporary to release, October 2015 Peter Capaldi

"The Zygon Inversion" - contemporary to release, November 2015 (immediately after "The Zygon Invasion") Peter Capaldi

"Face the Raven" - contemporary to release, November 2015 Peter Capaldi

"The Pilot" - contemporary to release, April 2017 Peter Capaldi

"Knock Knock" - contemporary to release, May 2017 Peter Capaldi

"Extremis" - contemporary to release, May 2017 Peter Capaldi

"The Pyramid at the End of the World" - contemporary to release, May 2017 Peter Capaldi

"The Woman Who Fell to Earth" - contemporary to release, October 2018 Jodie Whittaker

"Arachnids in the UK" - contemporary to release, October 2018 Jodie Whittaker

"It Takes You Away" - contemporary to release, November 2018 Jodie Whittaker

"Spyfall" - contemporary to release, January 2020 Jodie Whittaker

"Fugitive of the Judoon" - contemporary to release, January 2020 Jodie Whittaker

"Praxeus" - contemporary to release, February 2020 Jodie Whittaker

"The Hungry Earth" - 2020 Matt Smith

"Cold Blood" - 2020 (immediately after "The Hungry Earth") Matt Smith

"Revolution of the Daleks" - September 2020 Jodie Whittaker

"The Halloween Apocalypse" - contemporary to release, October 2021 Jodie Whittaker

"Once, Upon Time" - contemporary to release, sequential to "War of the Sontarans", November 2021 Jodie Whittaker

"Eve of the Daleks" contemporary to release, January 2022 Jodie Whittaker

"Kill the Moon" - 2049 Peter Capaldi

"The Waters of Mars" - 2059 David Tennant

"The Rebel Flesh" - 22nd century Matt Smith

"The Almost People" - 22nd century (immediately after "The Rebel Flesh") Matt Smith

"Under the Lake" - 2119 Peter Capaldi

"Before the Flood" - 2119 (immediately after "Under the Lake") Peter Capaldi

"Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" - 2367 Matt Smith

"The Beast Below" - some point after the 29th century Matt Smith

"Sleep No More" - 38th century Peter Capaldi

"Planet of the Ood" - 4126 David Tennant

"The Time of Angels" - 5000 Matt Smith

"Flesh and Stone" - 5000 (immediately after "The Time of Angels") Matt Smith

"The Girl in the Fireplace" - 5000-5100 David Tennant

"The Husbands of River Song" - 5343 Peter Capaldi

"Silence in the Library" - 5100 David Tennant

"Forest of the Dead" - 5100 (immediately after "Silence in the Library") David Tennant

"The Long Game" - 200,000 Christopher Eccleston

"Bad Wolf" - 200,100 Christopher Eccleston

"The Parting of the Ways" Immediately after "Bad Wolf", 200,100 Christopher Eccleston/David Tennant

"The End of the World" - 5 billion (plus 2005) Christopher Eccleston

"New Earth" - 5,000,000,023 David Tennant

"Gridlock" - 5,000,000,023 David Tennant

"Utopia" - 100 trillion David Tennant

"Smile" - it's in "the far future" Peter Capaldi

No indication of the date:

"The Impossible Planet", David Tennant (Broadcast June 2006)

"The Satan Pit", David Tennant (Broadcast June 2006)

"Voyage of the Damned", David Tennant (Broadcast December 2007)

"The Doctor's Daughter", David Tennant (Broadcast May 2008)

"Midnight", David Tennant (Broadcast June 2008)

"Planet of the Dead", David Tennant (Broadcast April 2009)

"The End of Time", David Tennant (Broadcast December 2009)

"A Christmas Carol", Matt Smith (Broadcast December 2010)

"The Doctor's Wife", Matt Smith (Broadcast May 2011)

"A Good Man Goes to War", Matt Smith (Broadcast June 2011)

"The Girl Who Waited", Matt Smith (Broadcast September 2011)

"The Wedding of River Song", Matt Smith (Broadcast October 2011)

"Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS", Matt Smith (Broadcast April 2013)

"Nightmare in Silver", Matt Smith (Broadcast May 2013)

"The Time of the Doctor", Matt Smith (Broadcast December 2013)

"Mummy on the Orient Express", Peter Capaldi (Broadcast October 2014)

"Heaven Sent", Peter Capaldi (Broadcast November 2015)

"Hell Bent", Peter Capaldi (Broadcast December 2015)

"Oxygen", Peter Capaldi (Broadcast May 2017)

"The Lie of the Land", Peter Capaldi (Broadcast June 2017)

"World Enough and Time", Peter Capaldi (Broadcast June 2017)

"The Doctor Falls", Peter Capaldi (Broadcast July 2017)

"The Ghost Monument", Jodie Whittaker (Broadcast 2018)

"The Tsuranga Conundrum", Jodie Whittaker (Broadcast November 2018)

"Kerblam!", Jodie Whittaker (Broadcast November 2018)

"The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos", Jodie Whittaker (Broadcast December 2018)

"Orphan 55", Jodie Whittaker (Broadcast January 2020)

"The Vanquishers" Jodie Whittaker (Broadcast December 2021)

"The Timeless Children" sequential to "The Ascension of the Cybermen", Jodie Whittaker (March 2020)

Key: red is Christopher Eccleston; orange is David Tennant; green is Matt Smith; Peter Capaldi is blue; Jodie Whittaker is purple

[delta-pavonis]

Ficlet: O that I were a glove upon that hand

Dreamling || Human AU || Rated E || ~1100 words

(Because Tom doing Romeo at VogueWorld 2023 gave me some feelings and Ferdie is often in his Venice Preserv'd look in my head... although with longer hair.)

This has, perhaps, gone too far.

Let's back up.

Everyone in the department, most people on campus, and – because of a viral video of him going off at the director during a dress rehearsal of a Shakespeare in the Park performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream – a damned large swath of London all know of Dr. Robert Gadling's particular and peculiar hate of the Bard. It is what makes this whole thing incredibly frustrating.

Gifts. Hob has been getting gifts. Left for him in conspicuous places, each more finely crafted and expensive than the last. And each with a goddamned Shakespearean love sonnet on it.

If it wasn't for the nature of the gifts themselves Hob would be absolutely certain someone was taking the piss. (Jo, that would probably be Jo.)

But each gift is so bloody thoughtful; carefully chosen with an uncannily tuned awareness to Hob’s personal needs and tastes. This person either really cares for him or… well, he would think the person a possible stalker except that everything they have done relates to something that has happened in public, with full easy access for many people to make a judgment that Hob likes or needs something. 

There have been six of them now. And aside from the fact that Hob’s living room wall now looks like all those movies where the authorities are frantically tracking a serial killer, complete with a map of London and lots of red sharpie, he is rather… flattered? 

It has been a long time since… well. The anniversary of Eleanor's death will be rounding on eight years this winter. 

Hob thinks he has worked out a pattern to when he gets the gifts, is like 80% confident he can guess when they have gotten placed in each location, from his university office, to the men’s dressing room at the White Horse Community Theater, to his usual table at the New Inn. Add to that his approximately 60% confidence in the reasoning behind the temporal spacing of the gifts, and he is ready to roll the dice.

He locks up his office a tick early, as usual on Thursdays, and makes all appearances to head home before going to that evening’s rehearsal. But as soon as he gets home he is donning a new hoodie no one has seen him wear before, slinking back out the garden door, over the hedge, and jogging to the theater. Hob closes himself into the darkness of the men’s dressing room a solid two hours before anyone is scheduled to be anywhere near the place. 

And he waits. 

Hob is good at waiting.

He is crouched where he will be behind the door when it opens, but this puts him immediately next to some of the accessories storage for costuming for this show. And oh, they have gotten in a new pair of leather gloves for him.

Just because he is good at waiting doesn’t mean that he never gets bored. 

Hob slips on the new gloves and works his hands in them. These will be perfect to swordfight in, fantastic.

And then the door creaks open. 

He freezes and watches, only the sliver of light coming from the hallway to help him. A masculine figure, slim, in a peacoat, walks silent as a hunting cat to the second chair from the far wall, just where Hob usually gets ready. 

A hand runs softly across the back of the chair once before a small box is left on the tabletop. Then as quietly as they came in, the person turns to leave. 

Just before they get to the open door Hob pounces.

There is a shout and a scuffle, the two men – for it is another man, of that Hob has no doubt – grappling as one tries to escape and the other hold on.

Which is how Hob ends up with his black leather-gloved hands wrapped around the pale swan neck of his longest friend. 

They haven’t seen each other in… fuck, it feels like more than a hundred years. And they had not parted on good terms. 

“Christ, Dream?” Hob pants out the nickname but does not let go. 

Diamond-sharp blue eyes that could belong only to one person stare at him from beneath heavy lids. He parts his lips to speak, but at the same time Hob shifts the grip of his hands and any words Dream was going to say get lost in a breathtakingly thready moan. 

Barely a heartbeat later they meet in the middle, Hob’s hands going to the back of Dream’s head and Dream’s arms going around his shoulders and their mouths fit together like goddamned puzzle pieces and Hob knew, he fucking knew, it would be like this. 

They knock over no less than two chairs, collapse against a wall for a minute, then one of them pushes off and they are almost going ass over tea kettle onto the couch. A bit of quick footwork on Hob’s part and they are on the opposite side of the room.

By the time Hob has Dream sitting on the vanity they have gotten their shirts off and his bare back slams into the mirror’s surface, sliding and squeaking with the thin sheen of sweat. He gets his hands under Dream’s thighs, hikes him up to grind their clothed erections together, and once Dream has his legs wrapped around Hob’s hips he brings one hand to his mouth to pull off the gloves.

An unsteady hand grabs his wrist. “Leave them on.” Dream’s voice is even lower than Hob remembers it. 

There is fumbling to get flies open and then Hob has his hand wrapped around both their cocks and is pumping. Dream’s fingers are now tugging on Hob’s hair, his body arching prettily as Hob gets his lips and tongue onto that beautiful neck.

Hob is about to be embarrassed by how quickly he is nearing completion when Dream pulls him into a kiss, moaning into his mouth as he shudders through his orgasm. 

“Come with me, Hob,” is whispered against his lips and Hob is absolutely lost to it, shouting into Dream’s collarbone.

They are still panting, large heaving breaths, when Dream tugs Hob’s hand up from where it is wrapped around their spent pricks so that he can lick the leather clean. Hob watches that pink tongue dance between his fingers and his cock almost twitches in interest. He huffs a laugh and takes Dream’s chin in his grip, pulls their mouths back together so that he can speak against them. 

“Hello, Stranger.”

[justabigassnerd]

Never Your Fault

Pairing - Ethan Hunt x daughter!reader

Word count - 6,254

Warnings - MAJOR DEAD RECKONING SPOILERS, death, injuries, blood, knives, violence, guilt, grief, nightmares

Summary - after witnessing a traumatic loss, you begin to blame yourself. can your dad help you out or is he too wrapped up in his own grief?

A/N - the first official part of the lil' Hunt series y'all! I'm so excited for y'all to read this I've been working so hard on it! it was really fun exploring these new dynamics and I genuinely enjoyed writing this so much (even if it was super painful at times). anyways I won't ramble anymore, as per y'all, please send in requests, feedback and enjoy!!!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Most people go to places like Italy on their holidays or maybe even visiting loved ones, but you and your dad? You travelled to Rome in search of a woman who had half of a key that was crucial in the shutting down of an ever-powerful AI named The Entity.

Your dad had been tracking Grace since she made off with half the key in the Abu Dhabi airport and had managed to track her down in Rome before she escaped his grasp once more. He, Ilsa, Benji, and Luther managed to track where Grace’s next move might be and it was in Venice, at the party held by someone Ethan and the IMF had dealt with before, Alanna Mitsopolis, better known as the White Widow. They figured if Grace was heading to Venice, then the person who hired Grace must be at that party or in the area.

Ethan decided that he and Ilsa would go to the party to see if they could track Grace or her buyer down while you, Benji, and Luther remained in the safe house and ran surveillance while the two were at the party.

“y/n, be good for Benji and Luther.” Ethan says as he tugs on his blazer, folding the collar down and checking he looked alright in the mirror before Ilsa walked in.

“Seriously? I’m not a kid you know.” You scoff jokingly as Ethan looks over at you with a grin.

“Well gotta put the warning down just in case. And if you want to leave the safe house, make sure Benji and Luther know where you are and-”

“Stick to lit areas and always stay alert. I know dad.” You finish his sentence for him, smiling up at him as he lets out a soft, breathy laugh.

“You’re too much like me, you know?” Ethan says softly, reaching out to tug you into his arms for a quick hug before pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

“I love you, dad.” You say quietly, squeezing him a little before pulling away.

“I love you too, y/n/n.” Ethan replies before he releases you and he and Isla gather the last of their stuff and bid a last goodbye to the three of you remaining in the safe house before leaving.

“You’ve taught her well, Ethan. She’ll be just fine.” Ilsa says with a gentle smile upon seeing the hidden worry in Ethan’s eyes. She knew how much he worried about you and your well-being, but she also knew that he was protecting you as best he could. The two make their way out onto the streets of Venice and head in the direction of the party to begin their investigation.

Not long after you heard that Ilsa and Ethan had arrived at the party, you stretched your arms above your head and stood up from your chair once you relaxed.

“Guys, I’m going out for a walk. I haven’t gotten a chance to explore yet.” You say as you grab your jacket and throw it on before grabbing your phone.

“Location on?” Luther asks, glancing at the phone in your hand as you nod.

“You know it.” You reply as both Benji and Luther see your phone location appear on their screens.

“Yep, there you are. Be safe out there y/n.” Benji says, looking at you worriedly as you smile softly at him.

“Always am.” You say reassuringly, bidding Benji and Luther goodbye before exiting the safe house and beginning to wander the streets of Venice. You didn’t have a set location in mind and since it was relatively quiet out on the streets you decided to let your legs take you wherever they wanted to go. You’d never been to Venice before so you took in every sight you came across, knowing that you may not come back to this beautiful city again after this mission. You find yourself at one point sitting on a bench near one of the canals and admiring the stars in the sky, you always found the night sky so calming.

Meanwhile, at Alanna’s party, Ethan and Ilsa had tracked down Grace and discovered that Alanna was the one who hired her to steal the half of the key that Ethan had attempted to acquire in Abu Dhabi. They found out that Alanna was planning to sell it on to someone else and despite Ethan’s best efforts, he couldn’t convince her to not sell it. Gabriel stood before the four sat on the plush sofa and revealed that The Entity had been listening in and had infiltrated the party thanks to Gabriel and his men.

“Ethan Hunt. The Entity knows all about you. And your precious little daughter. y/n, is it? Yes, that’s the one.” Gabriel starts, noticing Ethan’s body tense up at the mention of your name and a twisted grin covered his face. He was getting the reaction he wanted and now he was going to have Ethan play right into The Entity’s plan. Ethan’s heartbeat was pounding in his ears, and he could barely focus on anything around him other than Gabriel and his sneer.

“The Entity has also decided that you have to pick someone to die. Ilsa, or y/n. You cannot save both Ethan.” Gabriel says, his grin widening as Ethan shoots to his feet, immediately held back by Gabriel’s men from attacking him.

“If you hurt either one of them, I swear, no one, not even your god will stop me from killing you.” Ethan growls angrily, fighting against the two men, desperate to launch at Gabriel who stands there and laughs at Ethan’s threats. Gabriel slinks off with a couple of men in tow after Alanna leaves and Ethan and Ilsa take the opportunity to attack the men to keep Ilsa safe and buy time for them to find out where you were so they could keep you safe too.

“Grace take this comm, Luther will guide you to someplace safe, I promise. Now go!” Ethan says, shoving a small communication device into Grace’s hand and encouraging her to get out while she still can.

“Benji, where is y/n? Is she with you?” Ethan says as he dodges a punch and quickly delivers a blow in retaliation.

“No, she left a while ago, said she wanted to go on a walk.” Benji says, his eyes fixed on his laptop as he hurriedly scans the map for your whereabouts.

“Connect me to her comm now!” Ethan says to Benji, landing a punch on an enemy, sending them stumbling back.

“She didn’t take one Ethan, but she does have her location on.” Benji says, hurriedly pulling up the map and searching for the dot that signals where you are.

“Give me directions to where she is right now.” Ethan says as Ilsa subdues the final man and they exchange a brief look before both running out of the building, dodging the men pursuing them from outside the building.

“Yes, directions… wait… what’s going…? Ethan, I’ve lost her she’s not on the map anymore.” Benji’s panicked voice comes through the comms and Ethan feels his blood run cold.

“Benji, where is she? Where is y/n?” Ethan’s voice was clearly panicked, and everyone could tell how worried he was about you. Benji was frantically typing away on his laptop trying to figure out why your signal had disappeared.

“Let’s split up and search while Benji tries to find her. We’ll cover more ground that way.” Ilsa says as the two duck into an alley to avoid being spotted.

“Are you sure?” Ethan asks. He knew Ilsa also had a bright red target on her back because of her closeness to him and he wasn’t willing to lose you or her to Gabriel or The Entity.

“I’ll be fine Ethan. Whoever finds her has to let the other know and we’ll rendezvous back at the safe house. Nothing more dangerous than the stuff we’ve already done.” Ilsa says softly, taking Ethan’s hand and squeezing it softly. The two silently agree on which direction they’re going to head in before leaving the safety of the alley and running off.

“Ethan, I’ve got her back on the map I’ll lead you to her now.” Benji’s voice comes over Ethan’s comm and he perks up, completely unaware that back in the safe house, Benji had not said a word and was instead staring at his laptop in confusion at the voice that eerily mimicked his own.

You were oblivious to everything that was going on as you walked around Venice. You stopped halfway across a bridge and just admired the quiet canal and the sky above before the sound of footsteps reached your ears. You barely glanced their way at first, expecting it to be a passerby who would do no more than maybe offer you a curt nod before continuing on their way but when you noticed out the corner of your eye that they were standing there staring at you, you turned to face them. Your breath hitched in your throat and your heartbeat picked up when you got a proper look at the man standing before you. He stood in front of you, a maniacal grin on his face as he stared down at you. Every instinct was screaming at you to run, to move, to do anything but your body wouldn’t co-operate. It was like you were frozen in place and nothing you did could make you move.

“y/n Hunt. I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you.” The man says, approaching you slowly and your brain finally kicks in enough to make you pull your small switchblade out of your pocket and flick the blade out. Your dad and Ilsa had taught you how to defend yourself should the occasion arise, but you had always hoped and prayed you would never have to.

“Who are you?” You ask, fighting to keep your voice from shaking as you tighten your grip on the handle of your weapon.

“Just an old friend of your father’s.” The man says simply, moving ever closer as you lift your hand that held the blade and ready yourself, your brain repeating everything your dad and Ilsa had taught you as the man launched at you. You managed to dodge his attack and came just shy of your blade meeting his skin. The fight consisted of a lot of back and forth between dodging attacks and trying to land them. You managed to slash the man a couple of times with your small blade before the weapon was knocked from your hand and you looked up at the man in terror before he punches you across the face and sends you to the ground, hitting your head on one of the stone steps of the bridge which makes your world grow dark in an instant.

Ilsa came across you first, instantly recognising Gabriel who reached down and tugged you up by your hair as he lifted his blade to your throat. You were unconscious and unable to fight back and Ilsa couldn’t just stand by and watch.

“In all the years I’ve known Ethan I’ve learnt he cares for everyone. But his daughter will always be his top priority.” Luther’s words echoed in Ilsa’s head as she noticed the switchblade gleaming in the moonlight and she wasted no time in scooping it up.

“Pick on someone your own size.”

When you come to, the first thing that registers is the sound of an engine and the splashing of water against the walls of the canal. Your head was throbbing as you carefully sit up, blinking your eyes to adjust to your surroundings. You glanced to the side as you caught sight of a blurry figure to your right and squinted your eyes to focus them and are surprised to see the man who attacked you was now missing and your dad had taken his place, kneeling over a figure as you force yourself to your feet.

“Dad, what’s going-” You immediately cut yourself off as you approach your dad, recognising the figure he was kneeling by. Tears instantly sprang to your eyes as you stared down at Ilsa. Her eyes were open but there was no sign of life within them. Your hand covered your mouth as you blinked back the tears. You were confused, and you were worried, but above everything, you were scared. You didn’t know who attacked you and whether they were behind Ilsa’s death or even who that man was working for and what his end goal was.

“y/n, Ethan, get in!” You hear the hushed, hurried voice of Benji which breaks you from your thoughts and you see him positioning the boat near the path so you could get in the boat. You shakily make your way towards the boat, taking Benji’s outstretched hand as he eases you down into the boat.

“Careful y/n, are you okay?” Benji asks worriedly, grabbing a cloth from the first aid kit and holding it against your temple, encouraging you to hold it firmly in place as you sit down on one of the seats. In your haze, you hadn’t noticed the blood that had run down your face from when your head hit on the step.

“I’m okay.” You say shakily, looking up at Benji with tear filled eyes.

“Luther will check you over once we’re back at the safe house, just to be on the safe side.” Benji says softly with a small smile before moving to help Ethan into the boat, Ethan refused to leave Ilsa’s body behind and so Benji helped Ethan load her body onto the boat and travel down the canal until he found a place to bury her. Somewhere quiet that he would be able to visit. When he found the perfect spot, he insisted he didn’t need any help and disappeared on his own to bury the woman he loved. When he returned, his face was set and he barely spoke to you or Benji, just silently confirming he wanted to go back to the safe house and Benji complied.

When you arrived back at the safe house, Ethan excused himself to go to the roof while Luther crossed to you, placing his hands on each of your shoulders which makes you look up at him.

“Benji, keep an eye on Grace, and check in with Ethan when he comes back down. y/n lets go to your room and I’ll check that head injury of yours.” Luther says, at first to Benji who moves to sit near Grace at the table while Luther grabs the first aid kit and carefully guides you to the small room you would use to sleep in. Luther doesn’t switch the main light on, instead flicking on a small lamp. He sits you down on the edge of the bed and sits alongside you, carefully taking your hand in his own and moving both it and the cloth away from your injury so he could take a look.

“The good news is the bleeding is slowing, I’ll bandage it up now, but I think it’s best if you don’t sleep just so we can keep an eye on you. How are you feeling right now?” Luther says gently, opening the first aid kit and finding an antiseptic wipe to clean the wound.

“A bit dizzy, but I’ll live.” You mumble, wincing slightly when the wipe comes into contact with the injury, but you didn’t complain, you felt like you deserved the pain for what happened.

“And how are you feeling?” Luther asks, scrunching up the wipe and tossing it on top of its packaging before grabbing some gauze.

“I just told you I-”

“No, I’m asking how you are feeling. Emotionally not physically.” Luther corrects you gently, carefully placing the gauze against your temple and asking you quietly to hold it in place while he gets the medical tape out.

“I got Ilsa killed Luther, how do you expect me to feel?” The words came out sharper than you meant them to. You didn’t mean to snap, not at Luther but the guilt was beginning to take hold, clinging onto you gleefully like some sort of malicious creature and whispering in your ear about how it was your fault.

“y/n, it wasn’t your fault.” Luther says, a gentleness to his voice only reserved for heart to hearts like this.

“The guy that attacked me wanted to kill me I know it. So why did he kill her instead?” You whisper, tears springing to your eyes again as you think of what had just transpired. You were the one who was supposed to be dead. Ilsa was supposed to be alive, and you knew it. Ilsa was dead and it was all your fault. Luther remained quiet for a moment, silently debating his next words. He knew he couldn’t tell you that Ethan had been given a choice to save you or Ilsa, not that Ethan would have ever made the decision. But he couldn’t let you sit by and blame yourself either.

“You can’t blame yourself for what happened it was out of your control.” Luther argues gently, beginning to put the medical tape along the gauze to keep it in place while you remain silent, Luther’s words seemingly hitting a brick wall. When Luther finishes patching you up, he gathers up everything he’s used and stands, looking down at you softly.

“We’ll be in the other room if you need us.” He says before leaving the room. You remain sat on the edge of your bed, various thoughts swimming through your head of how you could’ve saved Ilsa somehow.

“y/n, we need you in the other room. We’re going over the new plan.” Benji says as he opens the door, making you wonder how long you had zoned out and did nothing but listen to your thoughts. You nod lightly at Benji’s words, forcing yourself to your feet and heading into the next room. Grace was still sitting at the table under both Ethan and Luther’s watchful eyes as you enter behind Benji. As you sit at the table, Ethan starts going over the new plan, how both he and Grace would disguise themselves and get the other half of the key and then Ethan would leave the train and meet you and Benji at the rendezvous point so you could figure out the next move from there while Grace would let herself get arrested and get into contact with Kittridge so she could join the IMF. Gabriel, who you learnt was the man who attacked you, was the only man who knew how to use the key so learning what the key opened and how it worked was important to the mission. As Ethan walked Grace through what she had to do, you noticed Luther packing up his belongings and you noticed he hadn’t been mentioned once in the plan.

“What about you Luther?” You ask, confused when he looks up at you with a soft smile.

“I’m heading off the grid for a while, I have traces of The Entity on my hard drive, so I want to investigate it further. I’ll make contact when I have something.” Luther says, putting the last of his stuff in a bag and straightening up.

“I’ll see you around Ethan. Don’t kill Gabriel, we need him.” Luther says, clapping Ethan on the shoulder as he approaches him.

“Luther, wait!” You call quickly, leaping to your feet and rushing over to give the man a hug which he quickly reciprocates.

“I’ll see you around Lil’ Hunt.” Luther whispers as he hugs you back, bringing a small smile to your face at the nickname Luther had been calling you since the moment he first met you. After pulling away you bid Luther one final goodbye before he leaves to investigate The Entity further. After Luther leaves, Benji notices that the mask machine has broken while making the mask for Ethan.

“Grace, you’ll have to get on the train by yourself. I’ll figure out another way on.” Ethan says, glancing at Grace who is visibly worried by the news.

“Promise me you’ll be on that train.” Grace says to your dad, and you watch him carefully to see how he’ll respond.

“I promise.” Your dad responds, and despite the lack of emotion on his face, you knew he was being one hundred percent serious. He’d never let anyone who trusted him down if he could help it. Grace is then given a mask with Alanna’s likeness and is instructed to put it in a bag so she can board the Orient Express and track down Alanna. She’s also given a sedative to knock Alanna out long enough for Grace to take her place and retrieve both halves of the key.

“We should probably make a move guys; we don’t have long until the train is due to leave.” Benji points out, scooping what he needs into his bag while encouraging you to do the same, so you quickly go into your room and grab the stuff you need and shove them into a bag and sling it over your shoulder. The four of you then head down to the garage that was used for IMF vehicles. Ethan immediately grabs the motorbike, gets on it and looks at Benji.

“You take Grace to the train station. Get her on safely, okay?” He says directly to Benji, barely sparing you a second glance, making you look to the ground, fighting back any potential tears as you follow Benji to the car and get in the back seat while Benji gets behind the wheel and Grace gets in the passenger seat. You lean back against the seat and squeeze your eyes shut to fight back the tears further. Seeing your dad actively avoid looking at you was just confirmation to you that he thought it was your fault Ilsa was dead. That he wished you had been the one who died instead of her. You watch as your dad revs the engine and drives off, with Benji following. When you reach the train station that the Orient Express will stop at, Benji pulls over and lets Grace out, reassuring her that she’ll be just fine before watching her walk into the station.

“Come on y/n, get in the front.” Benji says with a smile, turning back to look at you and fighting back a frown when you shake your head.

“I need my co-pilot for this.” He then says, noticing how you perk up just a little at his words. He knew Ethan tried to keep you out of the IMF life as much as possible but Benji figured that helping out behind the scenes wouldn’t hurt and so he taught you all the technical stuff he knew and allowed you to help out if you wanted to. Convinced by his words, you move to sit in the passenger seat, smiling softly as Benji smiles back.

“Atta girl.” Benji says with a smile before starting the car up and beginning the drive to the rendezvous point. You figured it would be a straight shot and a lot of waiting around. Your dad already knew where he was going to attempt to board the train and Grace was already on it, so it was just you and Benji until your dad met you at the rendezvous point with the key.

“Benji, the train didn’t slow down I need another place to get on!” You hear your dad’s shout come over the comms as you exchange a worried look with Benji.

“y/n, get my tablet and pull up the map.” Benji quickly instructs and you do as he asks, opening the map and handing it to Benji as he puts the car on autopilot. You and Benji scour the terrain and areas your dad could use to get on the train. You notice it first, switching your comm off and pointing it out.

“He might not like it, but this seems like our best bet.” You say, glancing from the map to Benji who lets out a small sigh but nods regardless.

“Okay, this is where you need to go.” Benji takes over directing Ethan where to go while you remain silent, listening to the pounding of your heart echoing in your ears. When you heard your dad confirming he reached the top of the mountain and wondering how he was going to get down you started to worry. Benji insisted he’d be fine since he had his parachute but when your dad’s comm went silent you started to worry that you had caused your dad’s death as well.

By the time you had reached the rendezvous point, you had confirmation that your dad had made it onto the train, but you didn’t hear from him after that, leaving you to wonder if he was okay.

“He’ll be fine. He’s Ethan and nothing stops Ethan.” Benji says reassuringly, noticing you fidgeting and the obvious tension in your body.

“I could’ve gotten him killed with that mountain idea.” You mumble, looking down and fiddling with the charm bracelet that sat proudly on your right wrist.

“It’s the only way Ethan could’ve gotten to the train, there were no other chances for him to get on. Your dad knows what he’s doing, and I bet it won’t be long until he turns up.” Benji says reassuringly, shuffling in his seat so he can face you as best he can. When you remain silent, Benji speaks up again.

“Are you okay, y/n? You seemed shaken up on the bridge and I haven’t gotten a chance to check in with you yet.” Benji asks softly, worry written across his face as he remembers watching you realise that Ilsa had died.

“It’s my fault Ilsa died, isn’t it? And dad thinks it’s my fault too.” You mumble, your gaze not moving from the bracelet as you flick one of the silver charms lightly, watching as it flies away from your finger due to the impact and then bounces harmlessly off your wrist. As you stared at your bracelet you neglected to see Benji’s expression shift to one of shock at the realisation that you were not only blaming yourself but thinking Ethan blamed you too.

“y/n/n, Ilsa’s death was not your fault at all. You didn’t even know what was happening because-”

“You’re right, I didn’t know what was happening and I should’ve. I should’ve taken a comm with me so I would know if anything was happening, like some mad man wanting to kill me. I should’ve known so I could’ve gone back to the safe house and Ilsa and dad wouldn’t have had to run around Venice looking for me.” You say, frustrated tears filling your eyes as more potential ways you could’ve saved Ilsa pop into your head.

“y/n, even if you did have a comm it wouldn’t have helped that much. The Entity managed to mimic my voice and use it to lead Ethan somewhere else when I was trying to figure out where you were because it wiped your signal from the map so I couldn’t lead your dad or Ilsa to you to keep you safe.” Benji explains, his heart breaking for you, wishing he could take this pain away from you because in his eyes you didn’t deserve it.

“It doesn’t change the fact that dad obviously blames me. He couldn’t even look at me before we left, and he didn’t talk to me either.” Your voice was no louder than a whisper now as the tears escaped their confinement and rolled down your cheeks. Benji’s face softened when he saw how upset you were and placed a gentle hand on your shoulder.

“Ethan would never blame you for what happened to Ilsa. He’s just trying to put the mission first, so he doesn’t have to deal with his emotions. You know what he’s like. Try and talk to him when we make it to the next safe house, it’ll do you both some good to talk things over.” Benji says softly, squeezing your shoulder gently to make you look up at him, eyes still filled with tears.

“I know you’ve got it in your head that your dad blames you, but he couldn’t. Ethan knows it’s not your fault. It’s Gabriel’s.” Benji assures as you sniffle lightly, reaching up with your hand to wipe at your eyes harshly.

“Benji, I’m on my way now stand by.” Before you had a chance to respond, Ethan’s voice crackles over the comms and you immediately move to sit in the back of the car, knowing it’ll be the easiest way to avoid talking to your dad. You waited with bated breath for your dad to arrive and as soon as he landed, he took his parachute off and loaded into the car.

“I got it, Benji. We’ve gotta get somewhere to lay low and get into contact with Luther to let him know we’ve got it.” Ethan says, holding up the key to show off that he has it while you curl into yourself in the backseat, avoiding even looking in your dad’s direction as Benji starts the car to drive to a safe house you could use to lie low in. Halfway through the journey, Benji glanced in his rearview mirror and saw you staring out the window intently, tears evident in your eyes and fought back a frown as he then glanced at Ethan out of the corner of his eyes and saw him focused on the road ahead.

The drive to the new safe house was silent other than the rumbling of the engine, and when Benji parked the car in the garage you were quick to jump out, grab your bag and disappear in the building, leaving Benji and Ethan behind. Benji, having had enough of the silence, turns to Ethan.

“Ethan, mate, you need to talk to y/n. She’s not okay right now and I know the mission is important, but I think right now your daughter is more important. You weren’t the only one there when you found Ilsa. She blames herself, Ethan.” Benji says, his tone gentle but with a certain strength in his voice showing how he wanted to get his point across. Ethan briefly looks in the direction of where you had gone and nods so lightly that the movement was almost imperceivable. Ethan decided to wait until he could find an appropriate time to talk to you since he needed to get into contact with Luther and try and figure out where to start searching for the Sevastopol so he can end The Entity. Before he knew it night had fallen and when he sticks his head in the room you decided to occupy to see if you were awake, he was greeted with the sight of you curled up in bed. He pressed his lips into a firm line and backed out of the room, vowing to talk to you in the morning.

What Ethan didn’t know was that you were faking it. You couldn’t fall asleep no matter how hard you tried. Every time you closed your eyes you were greeted with the image of Isla’s dead body on the bridge and the heartbreak in your dad’s eyes. Your brain refused to let up as you continued to try, coaching yourself through methods your dad had taught you to help you get to sleep. After hearing silence fall around the safe house and realising that everyone has gone to bed, you get up, grabbing a blanket and tugging it around your shoulders as you head out onto the balcony to sit and watch the stars.

An hour after you went out onto the balcony, Ethan shot up in bed, panting heavily as flashes of his nightmare replay in his head, making him squeeze his eyes shut in an attempt to rid of them but immediately regretting his actions when he sees the dead body on the bridge again, but instead of Ilsa, it was you. Opening his eyes again, Ethan pushes himself off the bed and heads to your room, wanting to check in on you just to prove to himself that you were fast asleep and safe within the building. When he opened the door, he squinted to search for your figure beneath the covers, but panic rose in his chest when he realised you weren’t there. He rushed over to the bed to look for any signs of a struggle but when he found nothing, he left your room to look for anything that might clue him into your whereabouts, pausing as he walked past the doors that went out onto the balcony when he noticed a figure outside and when he focused, he realised it was you.

At first, Ethan’s instinct was to head out onto the balcony and scold you for disappearing without letting him know but just as he reached for the door handle, he took a step back and allowed himself to gather his thoughts. Had his nightmare not awoken him and made him want to check on you, you would’ve simply remained out on the balcony until you felt ready to come back in and he would’ve woken up in the morning none the wiser. You hadn’t left the safe house. You just needed a moment. After taking a deep breath, Ethan opens the door carefully before stepping out onto the balcony and closing the door behind him. You didn’t turn to face him, your gaze remained fixed on the stars that had provided you endless comfort night after night and when Ethan stepped closer, he noticed the tear tracks on your cheeks.

“Couldn’t sleep?” He asks softly, resting his forearms against the cool metal railings and joining you in looking up at the sky.

“Every time I tried; I saw Ilsa.” You mumble, blinking as another few tears roll down your cheeks. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Ethan turn his head to look at you.

“I’m sorry you were there. I should’ve been there to protect you.” You hear your dad say and that sentence made you finally tear your gaze away from the sky to look at your dad who had tears of his own shining in his eyes.

“It wasn’t your fault dad. Benji told me about The Entity mimicking his voice to throw you off.” You say, a sad smile on your face as you look at him before looking up at the moon, admiring how its crescent shape shone in the darkness.

“It wasn’t your fault either. Gabriel was already two steps ahead of me when he said he was going to kill you or Ilsa. He made it practically impossible for both of you to survive by distracting me.” Ethan says softly, getting your attention once more as he watches you softly.

“But Ilsa died.” You argue, watching how Ethan nods forlornly but his eyes never lose their gentleness.

“She did. But that doesn’t mean I’d want you in her place. It was never your fault that she died.” Your dad says, reaching out to wipe the tears that had fallen down your cheeks. He catches them softly on his thumbs and swipes them away as he considers his next words.

“Ilsa knew what she was getting into. She died protecting you because Gabriel had gotten to you first. I will miss her as long as I’m alive and I will always love her, especially because she saved you.” Ethan then says, silently asking for permission to pull you into a hug which you allow him to do, clinging to him as you fight back more tears.

“I wish there was something I could’ve done to have her with us right now.” You whisper, biting down on your lip to stop more tears from falling.

“Me too, sweetheart. But we can avenge her by using the key to destroy The Entity, and after that, I’m not going to let Gabriel get away again.” Ethan swears, a hand reaching up to run through your hair before he presses a gentle kiss to the top of your head before suddenly being reminded of the injury you sustained.

“Your head, is it okay?” He asks, pulling away slightly to look at the gauze that was covering the injury.

“It’s feeling a lot better than it was.” You admit, a small smile appearing on your face as you look up at your dad who mirrors your smile.

“I’m sorry for not realising how you felt sooner. I was just overwhelmed by losing Ilsa and I let the mission get-“

“Dad, it’s okay. Getting the key was important. And I know you miss Ilsa. Your grief is valid, and I never wanted to make you feel like it wasn’t. I know I’m your daughter and you want to protect me, but you can talk to me, and I’ll try to help.” You say and instead of replying verbally, Ethan pulls you in for another hug, squeezing you gently as he plants another kiss on the top of your head.

“I love you so much, y/n.” He whispers, allowing himself to relax as he holds you safely in his arms.

“I love you too, dad.” You reply, cuddling as close to your dad as possible as you spare the night sky one last glance.

You’d be okay.

[blackdollette]

"we're gettin' high now." | clyde

venice bitch. - lana del rey

⊹₊⋆ summary: you woke up with a nasty cold, so clyde put it upon himself to make you feel better. whatever it took.

✮⋆˙ [tags] @faesucksass @lustkillers @mayathepsychic1999@josibunn @livingdead-materialgirl @romanroyapoligist@auggiethecreator @oliviah-25 @vanlisbon @lankysimp @livingdead-reilly

sick!female!reader x clyde

word count: 1.4k

contents: a little fluffy, mentions of drugs and alcohol, blowjob, facefucking, cum eating, facial

you covered your mouth with the sleeve of your oversized hoodie, coughing up a mouthful of phlegm as you inhale the cloud of smoke that clyde just exhaled. you shot him a glare. “seriously? do you have to do that right now?” a puzzled expression settled on his face. then he glanced at the joint in his hand, putting it out.

you huffed, crossing your arms as the pounding sensation in your head deepened. you had been suffering this cold for 4 days. and you had a feeling that it wasn't going to be gone anytime soon. you picked at lint balls on the nappy blanket you were wrapped in, one that reeked of stale beer and marijuana. 

“feeling any better today, angel?” he grabs a tissue from the box resting between you two, wiping the snot dripping down your nose. you roll your eyes, sniffling. he grabs the box of popsicles that are lying on the ground, altering his voice to a british accent. “here you are, doll. have an ice lolly.” 

a small grin spread on your lips as you accepted it, tearing open the cold packaging. you took out the frozen popsicle, a watermelon-flavoured one, and started kitten licking the tip. clyde watched you out of the corner of his eyes, sighing. he rubbed a hand over his face, speaking warily. “what are we gonna do to fight this cold of yours, y/n? i’ve given you pills, soup, and that expensive wine. but i guess nothing is good enough for your body, huh?” his tone changes to a slightly playful one a he gives your shoulder a pat.

you bit off an inch of the popsicle, the cold instantly hitting you in the brain and granting you some relief from the heat that’s been pooling there. clyde’s mind started to wander as he watched each inch of the cold treat go into your mouth until you slurped it all up, swallowing the whole thing effortlessly and leaving nothing but the pink-stained popsicle stick in it’s vestige. clyde thought to himself, not even a nasty cold can hold this chick back.

clyde replayed the image of you licking the tip, your puffy cheeks and tired, sickly eyes making you look all the more ethereal. he sighed, knowing that you were going through more pain and discomfort than he could understand at the moment. he wanted to take away your misery so he could see that shine in your eyes once again. he snapped himself out of his thought, seeing that you’re looking right at him. 

“you feeling better now, doll?” he plastered on a little smile, putting his arm around your shoulder. you shook your head, coughing. “my throat hurts.” he gives a humourless laugh. “yeah, i know it does.” you put your head in your hands, shutting your eyes for a moment to still the buzzing in your head. each of your gestures filled clyde with a sense of overprotectiveness and lust. a double-edged sword, really.

in his erratic web of thoughts, he stood up, walking over to his drug cabinet. he took out every bottle and every case, seeing what he could make you take. his eyes rested on a bottle of pink cough syrup. he laughed quietly, thinking that it was the same colour as the popsicle you just ate. he picked up the bottle and read its contents, seeing that it was perfect for everything you were ailing. but he knew you wouldn’t take the mixture the normal way, he had learned that the hard way. 

in the knick of time, he finally came up with idea. one that he hadn’t tried yet, but he was certain that it would work for you. he rushed out of the room, taking the mixture with him. you watched as he left the room, sighing. as you were finally getting used to the silence, you heard him call out to you from the bathroom. “y/n! get over here!” you groaned, you world being thrown off balance as you stood up. 

you slowly shuffled your way to the bathroom, using the walls for balance before you got to the door frame, leaning against it. you saw him standing by the sink with his back turned to you. you crossed your arms impatiently. “you called me. what’s going on?” he turned to face you, and nothing had prepared you for what you were about to see. 

he stood there in front of you with his erect cock submerged in the bottle of cough medicine. you couldn’t keep your jaw from dropping as he pulled it out, his length now covered in the neon-pink liquid. you looked him in the eye. “what the hell is this about?!” a few drops dripped onto the ground as he spoke. “it’s my last resort, y/n. we’ve tried everything, but i think this’ll do you good.” your body hadn’t overcome the shock, so he gently patted your cheek with his clean hand. “c’mon, it’ll be just like that popsicle you ate.”

your mind tried to come up with a logical reason to decline, but you couldn’t think of anything. so this was what your life had come to. great. you sighed deeply, getting on your knees in front of him, looking up at him with your tired eyes. he stroked your cheek gently. “i’m gonna go slow, ok? just make sure you go all the way in so it gets to your throat.” you would’ve laughed if you could even handle getting a breath out. whether clyde truly had good intentions or just sprouted an awkward boner and knew that you would take the chance regardless of the circumstances, you didnt know.

you went straight for it, licking the tip just as you did on the popsicle. your signature move, clyde thought as a groan slipped from his parted lips. you scrunched your face as the taste of medicine hit your tongue, but you took it down inch by inch until you were sucking his cock clean. each time the tip hit the back of your throat, you fought back a coughing fit. he brought his hands to the back of your head, guiding you with more force than intended.

pink bubbles of spit came from the corners of your mouth, dripping down your chin. clyde’s breath came out in breathless gasps as your throat tightened around him. he pulled your hair out of your face, watching as you slurped up all the liquid that streamed down his balls. you went all the way down, coming back up again and deepthroating it like it was the easiest thing in the world. one thing was for sure: the common cold had nothing on your undeniable skill.

clyde’s grip grew shaky as his dick began to pulsate as a thin but salty substance leaked from his tip. precum. though you couldn’t taste it as vividly as usual, you could easily recognize its slimy consistency. clyde groaned deeply, tossing his head back. “f-fuck… just like that, baby. y-you’re gonna feel so much better after this…” so his mind was still in the right place after all. you swirled your tongue around the tip, and his heart nearly popped out of his chest. it took every ounce of self-control he had left in him to not ruthlessly fuck your face until you turned blue, but it ran out quickly. he grabbed a handful of your hair, quickly bucking his hips into your mouth as tears rolled down your cheeks.

you gagged and choked on his length, feeling his balls tighten up as he orgasm nearly. he bit his lip so hard that he drew blood as he shoved your head all the way down, spilling loads of his cum down your bruised, swollen throat. you swallowed every last drop, the warm, salty substance ironically making you feel better than the medicine did. he pulled himself out of your mouth, pumping his cock and shooting hot ropes of cum onto your face. 

he panted breathlessly, leaning against the sink as you coughed into your elbow. “s-sorry… got a little carried away there, didn’t i?” you sat there with an unamused expression on your face as his cum dripped down your neck. he couldn’t help but laugh as he grabbed a towel, cleaning you off and giving you a soft kiss on your swollen lips. “guess my idea was kinda garbage, huh?” he shyly scratched the back of his neck. you laughed, your voice sounding much clearer than before. “actually, i feel better already.”

author's note: i was very much under the influence when i wrote this. hope yall liked it xoxo

[manynarrators]

So I'm reading Queen of the Damned for the first time, and the following bit stood out to be. Excerpt (pg. 139-141) under the cut because it's a bit long, but I want to talk about it!

This comes from the chapter about the Talamasca, and this particular passage is David Talbot (head of the organization) trying to prove to Jesse that vampires are real.

Imagine, there is so much of you on file as to be the example that vampires exist. You have been recreated in unsettling detail and kept in the archives. You and the painting both survive, but you are not the you in the painting.

Nor are you the most important part of this, you are a link to a story that isn't even yours. Your theatre isn't yours because the deed is in the name of Lestat de Lioncourt. There's a journal article with you smiling. You only maybe know about all of this.

Five-hundred years and you are a pretty thing on a shelf, still. That is what you will always be to them.

All of which is to say, that the show having just folders upon subfolders on Armand is both somehow more devastating reading the book, and also an accuracy! I want to read the files, what does the Talamasca know? How do they talk about Armand? How many people have seen this painting? Does Armand know about the extent of the archive, if so, how does he feel about that???

I'll take questions that will never be answered but that I desperately want to be for $500.

She saw an enormous painting against the far wall. She placed it at once as Renaissance, and probably Venetian. It was done in egg tempera on wood. And it had the marvelous sheen of such paintings, a gloss that no synthetic material can create. She read the Latin title along with the name of the artist, in small Roman-style letters painted in the lower right corner.

"The Temptation of Amadeo" by Marius

She stood back to study it.

A splendid choir of black-winged angels hovered around a single kneeling figure, that of a young auburn-haired boy. The cobalt sky behind them, seen through a series of arches, was splendidly done with masses of gilded clouds. And the marble floor before the figures had a photographic perfection to it. One could feel its coldness, see the veins in the stone.

But the figures were the true glory of the picture. The faces of the angels were exquisitely modeled, their pastel robes and black feathered wings extravagantly detailed. And the boy, the boy was very simply alive! His dark brown eyes veritably glistened as he stared forward out of the painting. His skin appeared moist. He was about to move or speak.

In fact, it was all too realistic to be Renaissance. The figures were particular rather than ideal. The angels wore expressions of faint amusement, almost bitterness. And the fabric of the boy's tunic and leggings, it was too exactly rendered. She could even see the mends in it, a tiny tear, the dust on his sleeve. There were other such details-- dried leaves here and there on the floor, and two paintbrushes lying to one side for no apparent reason.

"Who is this Marius?" she whispered. The name meant nothing. And never had she seen an Italian painting with so many disturbing elements. Black-winged angels…

David didn't answer. He pointed to the boy. "It's the boy I want you to observe," he said. "He's not the real subject of your investigation, merely a very important link."

Subject? Link... She was too engrossed in the picture. "And look, bones in the corner, human bones covered with dust, as if someone had merely swept them out of the way. But what on earth does it all mean?"

"Yes," David murmured. "When you see the word 'temptation,' usually there are devils surrounding a saint."

"Exactly," she answered. "And the craft is exceptional." The more she stared at the picture, the more disturbed she became. "Where did you get this?"

"The order acquired it centuries ago," David answered. "Our emissary in Venice retrieved it from a burnt-out villa on the Grand Canal. These vampires are endlessly associated with fires, by the way. It is the one weapon they can use effectively against one another. There are always fires. In Interview with the Vampire, there were several fires, if you recall. Louis set fire to a town house in New Orleans when he was trying to destroy his maker and mentor, Lestat. And later, Louis burned the Theater of the Vampires in Paris after Claudia's death." Claudia's death. It sent a shiver through Jesse, startling her slightly.

"But look at this boy carefully," David said. "It's the boy we're discussing now."

Amadeo. It meant "one who loves God." He was a handsome creature, all right. Sixteen, maybe seventeen, with a square, strongly proportioned face and a curiously imploring expression.

David had put something in her hand. Reluctantly she took her eyes off the painting. She found herself staring at a tintype, a late-nineteenth-century photograph. After a moment, she whispered: "This is the same boy!"

"Yes. And something of an experiment," David said. "It I was most likely taken just after sunset in impossible lighting conditions which might not have worked with another subject. Notice not much is really visible but his face." True, yet she could see the style of the hair was of the period. I "You might look at this as well," David said. And this time he gave her an old magazine, a nineteenth-century journal, the I kind with narrow columns of tiny print and ink illustrations. There was the same boy again alighting from a barouche-- a hasty sketch, though the boy was smiling.

"The article's about him, and about his Theater of the Vampires. Here's an English journal from 1789. That's a full eighty years earlier, I believe. But you will find another very thorough description of the establishment and the same young man."

"The Theater of the Vampires…" She stared up at the auburn-haired boy kneeling in the painting. "Why, this is Armand, the character in the novel!"

"Precisely. He seems to like that name. It may have been Amadeo when he was in Italy, but it became Armand by the eighteenth century and he's used Armand ever since."

"Slow down, please," Jesse said. "You're telling me that the Theater of the Vampires has been documented? By our people?"

"Thoroughly. The file's enormous. Countless memoirs describe the theater. We have the deeds to the property as well. And here we come to another link with our files and this little novel, Interview with the Vampire. The name of the owner of the theater was Lestat de Lioncourt, who purchased it in 1789. And the property in modern Paris is in the hands of a man by the same name even now."

"This is verified?" Jesse said.

"It's all in the file," David said, "photostats of the old records and the recent ones. You can study the signature of Lestat if you like. Lestat does everything in a big way, covers half the page with his magnificent lettering. We have photostats of several examples. We want you to take those photostats to New Orleans with you. There's a newspaper account of the fire which destroyed the theater exactly as Louis described it. The date is consistent with the facts of the story. You must go over everything, of course. And the novel, do read it again carefully."

[klaus-littlestwolf]

Random Thoughts: Klaus Mikaelson

Spontaneous Trips

One thing Klaus loves is to take you on vacations.

He loves taking you anywhere you want to go on a normal day, buying you everything your eyes light up upon seeing. Sometimes however you let something slip while watching a movie or seeing something cute about how you’ve ‘always wanted to see Paris’ or how ‘Venice has always seemed so beautiful’ and he always makes it happen. You start watching what you say after the second trip out of the country.

You can’t always avoid the spontaneous trips though as often Klaus takes you away just to get you alone. He once took you on a trip to a cabin in the mountains of Colorado just to escape his siblings for 2 weeks. It had been your favorite vacation you’ve ever been on, spending the whole time snuggled up in front of the fire, watching the snow and being ravaged by a sexy Hybrid.

After the third trip you just stopped asking where he’s taking you, not minding surprises from Klaus. He always makes things fun for you and loves seeing a smile on your face.

When dating Klaus, vacations are going to come with the territory and you need to be comfortable with it. Thank God Klaus speaks as many languages as he does or you would never find a bathroom anywhere you go.

Klaus Mikaelson Masterlist

Random Thoughts

[lesbians4armand]

Part Two of my Preacher’s Daughter is an Armand Album thesis for @nightcolorz 

Thoroughfare

I don’t have too much to say on this song as it’s one of the less Armand songs of the album imo, but there are a few bits still. 

The references to California and the west coast feels very much like San Francisco devil’s minion but not enough to really elaborate. 

Gibson Girl

“You wanna love me right now, You wanna get alone with me, You wanna get my clothes off, And hurt me” For so long , Armand’s perception of love has been so possessive and physical. If someone loves him, they want to own him and they want to fuck him, this is what he was taught too young and it was proven right again and again.

“Says he’s in love with my body, that’s why he’s fucking it up” He’s told that Marius loves him, loves his body, yet is continually hurt and abused and sold until he dies and his body is made that of a vampire because Marius just loves him too much to let him die for real. Him, or what he can offer?

“Then he says to me, Baby if it feels good then it can’t be bad” Being taught that if something is pleasurable then it can’t be bad, whether it be adult’s wanting to fuck him when he’s too young, or killing and drinking blood, or having his blood drunk. If what Marius does to him feels good, then it can’t be bad or wrong like the ones who actually hurt him, right?

“You wanna fuck me right now, You wanna see me on my knees, You wanna rip these clothes off, And hurt me” The lyrics repeat, this time more violently. This again reminds me of the banquet scene, Bianca’s cousin’s and other men wanting to hurt and degrade Amadeo, then Lord Harlech wanting not just to sleep with him but to own him, and trying and succeeding to kill him when he refuses.

Ptolemaea

“You love blood too much, but not like I do.” Armand was addicted to Marius’s blood before he was turned, just as Daniel was addicted to Armand’s. This running theme of obsession with the blood just hits me in such a way. 

“You’d do well to say yes to me” This line is barely a whisper in the song but it’s very Marius being very controlling over Amadeo, not truly giving him a choice as to what he does. 

“Saying I’m the one he’s gonna take me” Amadeo is Marius’s favourite, over any of the other palazzo boys. He is the only one he would bring into the blood, for better or for worse. 

“Calling me the one, I’m the white light, beautiful, finite” Again, Amadeo is the only one he would give the dark gift to, but he also gives him a diamond ring because “diamonds are the white light of God” which is what this lyric always reminds me of. Heis beautiful of course, but as a mortal it’s finite, Marius wants to preserve such beauty, even speaking about what a beautiful corpse Amadeo would be. 

“You poor thing, sweet mourning lamb, there’s nothing you can do, It’s already been done.” I’m not explaining this one. It just is.

“What fear a man like you brings upon a woman like me” I could talk more about Amadeo here but you know what this lyric really reminds me of? Show Armand revealing his history of sexual abuse to Louis to be told that Louis once ran a brothel. What fear that must be, knowing your partner will never really understand this part of you because he was the one behind doing it to others. Of course, Armand is not a woman but the point very much stands.

The repeated cries of stop and the scream speak for themselves in this song I think.

August Underground & Televangelism

Putting the two instrumentals together as I won’t talk about them much, but the deeply horror vibe of the first and the calmer, sadder vibe of the second is very telling of Armand's story.

Sun Bleached Flies

“What I wouldn't do to be in church this Sunday” Being raised so religious then losing it so abruptly it makes him sick in his horror and longing in Venice. Before then, he had God, and now nothing. 

“God loves you, but not enough to save you” Same thing, Andrei was so devoted to his saints and his prayers he was deemed holy, and then later given the name Amadeo, beloved of God. God loved him, but he was not saved. Not from the slave traders or the brothel owners, not from Marius. Then, even at death he was not saved, forced to remain eternally young and eternally dead. And again, when taken by Santino he was not saved by God. Beloved, never saved.

“So I said fine, cause that’s how my daddy raised me, if they strike once then you just hit them twice as hard.” Violence was so normalised to Armand by Marius, he doesn’t even blink at it any more. 

“We all know how it goes, the more it hurts the less it shows” Armand keeps so much of his story and pain and trauma within it barely shows through, blocking his mind even to much older more powerful vampires like Khayman, only revealing small amounts. 

“And that’s why I could never go back home” He can never really return to his real home of Kiev, because he’s not Andrei any more. It’s his homeland but not his home.Even Venice he can never really return, Marius and the palazzo are no longer there, he isn’t Amadeo any more. All his homes are ghosts. 

“But I always knew that in the end, no one was coming to save me, so I just prayed and I keep praying and praying” Same vibe as “God loves you but not enough to save you.” He will never be saved, no matter how much he prays.

Strangers

“I tried to be good, am I no good?” Armand submits to others so much because he so desperately wants to be good for something, at something, be useful, more than just “having a skill.” It’s deeply heartbreaking. 

“With my memory restricted to a Polaroid in evidence” I’m actually writing a fic with this title atm about Armand and the Vecchio painting but it’s just so fitting. He has little memory of that time, little connection to that identity, yet it’s painted and displayed on a wall for millions to see, still on his knees with torn clothing, always serving.

“I just wanted to be yours, can I be yours?” Whether it be Marius, Lestat, Louis, Daniel, anyone, Armand wants to be loved more than anything, but not just loved. He wants to be owned, for the love to be all encompassing, more than anything else to the other person. They can’t have anyone else because Armand needs them so badly to be devoted to him, to show him the love he’s never known, to provide an end to his awful loneliness. He wants to be theirs. This is why he kills Claudia, breaks down a door with an axe, gives Daniel his blood and the dark gift, abandons the coven for Lestat. 

“If I’m turning in your stomach, am I making you feel sick” Both the references to grief and consumption here are so good. Does feeding from Armand make them feel sick, or is it the guilt in what they have done to him, the horror in knowing what he has been through? 

“Don’t think about it too hard you’ll never sleep a wink at night again” Ending on this lyric that perfectly encapsulates how I feel about Armand. I think about him too hard.

[sashi-ya]

a valentine's mini story 𝑩𝑬𝑳𝑳𝑨 𝑵𝑶𝑻𝑻𝑬 Kuchiki Byakuya x F! Reader

🩰 tw: sfw. beware of spoilers, if you haven't read tybw and don't wish to be spoiled, please do not read. ShunUki mentioned. I suggest you read it with this song. Happy Valentines! 💕 🦢 wc: 579

Slowly dancing, like drifting away with your feet on top of his. His hand, so delicate, grazes your palm and squeezes it tightly. Everything feel so light, so weightless, like being guided by an angel to heaven.

The sharp side of his mandible, his eyes closed with long eyelashes casting little shadows on porcelain cheeks…

So, this is love?

Yes, and it’s always been. There, when his blade protected you. There, when he scolded you for putting yourself at risk. And also, there, and now, on a terrace of Venice. Looking right at the Bridge of Sighs, dancing the night away to the soft melody of Bella Notte.  

“Byakuya-sama, thank you for this night” you murmur, placing your ear on his chest. Your cheek receives the expensive brush of a pure silk tie; never once you’ve seen his hair down, completely free from his noble garments.

“It wasn’t me, but I promise this won’t be the last… this is just the start” he answers back, for the first time with a trembling voice full of, perhaps, shyness.

Traveling to Venice had been a wonderful idea that none of you had planned. In fact, wearing Gigai for so many hours felt -almost- like torture. Why two creatures from other dimension wander the world of the living as humans?

“This is a mission, a special mission” the head captain of the Gotei 13 assured. The tickets were bought. The hotel, booked.

“Kyoraku Taicho, but this… it says your and Jushiro’s name on it” you sighed, right next to a much more mature -and now captain- Rukia.

The head captain painfully smiled. Valentine’s after the war with the Quincy had changed. Jushiro… he couldn’t make it.

“Take Nii-sama! He loves Venice!” Rukia intercepted, to somehow dissipate the gloomy cloud of sadness that had fallen upon Shunsui’s office.

You stayed silent… was it that noticeable?

“He didn’t tell me, we saw you with Renji…” she continued, giggling and tracing circles over her incipient pregnant belly...

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ...

Your eyes blur, as sprouting wetness pools in your lower eyelids. Never, have you ever, been treated this way; the things you thought only happened in the movies were now happening to you.

The night ahead, barely starting, takes over the sky of orangey tints. The canal right by your room seemed as peaceful as ever, and the little Gondolas slide their romantic ways through it. As if Venice knew, today, the humid fog didn’t appear.  

“I’m so in love with you, Byakuya-sama” you murmured, still pressing your cheek against his chest. His heart, raising the beat of it, complimented yours in such exquisite way… in such peaceful but intense way.

But, even if his heart wouldn’t stop beating faster and faster, Byakuya couldn’t keep breathing… He let go of your hand, and his arms surrounded you so tightly, as if he couldn’t let you go for the rest of eternity. His chin, rested on top of your head. And for some moments silence reigned the place.

“I am not exactly sure how to call what my heart feels, it’s been long enough that I have neglected it… but my soul won’t ever let you go, (Name)” he whispers, visibly affected. His cheeks, in pure red shades, invite you to kiss them ever so softly.

You place a peck on his warm skin, being so sure that names aren’t needed to give such a deep feeling a meaning, but still whispering back a simple word…

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ “Amore”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ “Amore mio”

[chick-with-wifi]

The storyline and outfits of Mina Harker (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen)

We are introduced to Mina as a proper Victorian lady, polite and well dressed, who has been widowed for many years. (Please see the image descriptions for more details about her appearance.)

When the group meets with her former lover Dorian Gray in an attempt to recruit him, Mina learns about his immortality for the first time. This is demonstrated by her surprise when Quartermain corrects her assumption by saying, "Quite the reverse. It was Gray visiting Eton...and I was the boy."

During the fight with the Fantom's men, Mina witnesses his invulnerability when she cries out for him upon seeing him shot, but he is unharmed.

When the fight is over, a survivor threatens Mina with a knife to her neck. Revealing that she is a vampire, she brutally kills him.

Afterwards, she holds up a compact mirror. Vampires often don't have reflections and, since she is angling the mirror away from herself and Sawyer points out that she missed some blood, it is possible that she isn't looking at herself. She's looking at the others to see how they react to something she's kept so tightly under wraps for so long.

She puts her hair back up, wipes away the last spots of blood and politely comments, "excuse me", as if trying to return to the image of propriety, despite what they have just seen.

Although her display shocked the team, their reactions range from impressed (Nemo) to forced nonchalance (Sawyer) and curiosity (Skinner). Dorian claims this discovery is enough to renew his interest in joining the League - or rather, he's pretending it is new information for him since, as far as Mina is aware, he didn't know.

Aboard the Nautilus, Mina's appearance is slightly more relaxed.

When she and Dorian get some time alone, he tells her about the painting that ages instead of him and she asks when he last saw it. Having finally found someone like herself, and not just anybody but her ex she still has feelings for, she wants to know how long he's been alive.

Dorian offers her a nightcap and, when the glass breaks, she licks the blood off her fingers. For once she doesn't need to hide part of herself and this freedom adds to the eroticism of the moment for her.

When they arrive in Venice, Mina has both literally and metaphorically let her hair down, and is wearing a looser outfit.

During the chase, she does not hesitate to use the full range of her powers in front of her teammates, including transforming into a swarm of bats and climbing up the side of a building. Also in this scene, Quartermain declares that "the vampire lady has us covered!" which indicates he has moved past both his assumption that she is nothing but a distraction and his disapproval of her unladylike conduct.

Upon learning Dorian is the mole, Mina is furious and insists on killing him herself. ("Not Gray. He's lived long enough.") It is worth noting that the two of them were the only characters on first-name terms, but now she uses his surname.

Before the team go their separate ways for the final fight, they stack their hands on top of each other. Like Sawyer says in a deleted scene, M may have brought them together under false pretenses, but that was his mistake - bringing them together.

Mina is pre-emptively in her full vampire form. After keeping her powers secret or only using them for self-defense in the heat of the moment, she arrives ready to use them for premeditated murder. And during this fight, she doesn't hold back. She gives in completely to the vampiric nature she spent so long hiding. She uses all of her speed and agility, aiming for fatal strikes, and even tells Dorian, "Do you realize what you've done? What you've let out of me?"

Mina kills the one person who understood her experiences, who she wouldn't have outlived. And as he crumbles, she sees a reflection of what might one day happen to her if all the years she's lived, everything she's done, catches up with her.

At Quartermain's funeral, Mina is once again wearing her hat and veil. But this time, she is surrounded by people who know and accept her true self, even if they can't understand what it's like to be immortal. In response to Nemo saying he's done hiding and they are welcome to see the new century with him, she comments, "We've all been hiding in one form or another," using past tense, and follows him to the Nautilus.