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avengerscompound · 7 months ago

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The Interview - Chapter 17

The Interview - A Captain America Fanfic

Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Rating: E

Warnings: recreational drug use

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Melody Danes

Word Count: 2346

Summary: Melody Danes gets the break of a lifetime when as a lowly intern, she’s assigned to write a profile piece on Captain America. Steve Rogers is a hard man not to fall for and as she and Melody get closer and Melody’s career takes off, jealousy leads to sabotage, and the potential to bring her whole world crashing down.

Chapter 17

Melody was restless.

She still had her column to write and there was some online content to approve. Not to mention they were doing another vintage food interview at the end of the week and she still needed to track down two more recipes to be made for it. There were plenty of things to take her mind off the fact that Steve had now been away on a mission for over a week without a single word from him, and yet her brain was refusing to be distracted.

As soon as her fingers paused on the keyboard to try and work out the word she wanted to use, the thought that maybe Steve was in serious danger would pop into her head. When she went to Google recipe homemaking magazines from 1981, as the page loaded, she’d become certain that he’d been killed and that no one had found his body yet. It was becoming a serious problem, and not just because she wasn’t getting any work done, but because the more time passed, the more likely one of those terrible thoughts might not be her imagination getting the best of her, but something that had happened.

She wasn’t sure when the full-blown panic she was feeling set in. Steve had had to go on plenty of missions since they’d started dating. It was his job after all, and it was something he took seriously. Every time he went on one, she worried. It was hard knowing the person you loved was out there risking their life like that. It was harder still when there was no contact for a week. She didn’t like it, but she understood and it was something she’d been coming to terms with. This was something new. He’d never been away so long before without any contact at all. And he’d never been this late home. The dread had been building in her gradually, every day that passed it got more and more and tonight she just felt consumed by it.

She wasn’t alone in it. It was awful to be grateful that she had someone who was in the same situation as she was, and yet, the fact that Bobbi was in the same position Melody was, made her feel like less of a burden. It wasn’t her just dumping her woes on a friend who would never quite understand how she felt, it was the two of them sharing them and supporting each other.

Bobbi had been pacing a lot this evening. She’d tried distracting herself by watching TV, and then by sewing. Nothing seemed to be able to distract her. Melody understood. Even journaling her feelings hadn’t helped Melody.

When the music started playing, Melody stood up from her laptop and headed out into the living room to check on her. Bobbi was standing by the window tapping her fingers against her thigh. It had been a few years since either of them had smoked weed, but the way Bobbi was tapping her fingers like that, reminded Melody of when Bobbi was in college and dealing with transitioning, her unsupportive parents, and trying to keep on top of her grades so she didn’t lose her scholarship. There were a lot of nights back then when the two women had used pot to take the edge off their stress, and when they smoked, Bobbi always sat in the window holding the joint against her thigh.

“How are you doing?” Melody asked, coming over to Bobbi and wrapping her arms around the other woman’s waist.

“Fucked,” Bobbi said as her arms circled Melody. “How about you?”

“Yeah. Same,” she said. “Can’t stop thinking something really bad has happened.”

Bobbi frowned. “I just wish there was some way we could know for sure. All my Google alerts have been dead since that thing in Minsk.”

“Mine too, and none of my contacts have heard anything,” Melody complained. “I texted Steve again today.”

“Mel…” Bobbi scolded. “You know he’ll message you as soon as he can.”

“I know,” she said. “But I don’t know. It makes me feel better.”

“Does it?” Bobbi asked. “Or does it make you watch your phone for ten minutes in the hope that this time he replies?”

Melody pouted. Sometimes it was hard having a best friend who knew her that well.

Bobbi’s phone chimed in her pocket and she pulled it out. Melody looked at her expectantly, hoping that this time it might be Bucky who was messaging her. Bobbi started to reply to whoever it was but looked up at Melody and shook her head. “It’s Mattie. Asking if we’d heard anything.”

Melody rested her head against Bobbi’s chest with a sigh and as Bobbi sent texts back and forth with Matthew, she played with Melody’s hair. “Need to start a club,” Melody said.

“Oh yeah?” Bobbi chuckled. “What? Like an Avengers’ partners’ support group?”

“Yeah. Exactly. We can all talk about our feelings and then we can get drunk,” Melody said.

Bobbi laughed. “Sounds like a good idea. Maybe I should invite Mattie over now.”

“Yeah, do it,” Melody agreed. “We can all freak out together. I’ll order pizza.”

The pizza arrived before Matthew but not by a lot and soon the three were sitting around in the living room with cocktails and pizza feeling sorry for themselves.

“We really need to do something to get our minds off this,” Melody said as she swirled her margarita around in her glass.

“I thought that’s what we were doing,” Matthew said.

“No,” she said. “We’re moping. We need to not be moping. What can we do not to mope?”

Matthew fished into the pocket of his pants. “I do have weed,” he said, pulling out a baggie.

The image of Bobbi standing by the window smoking a joint popped back into Melody’s head again. “Yes!” she said. “Yes, let’s do that.”

“God, it’s been so long,” Bobbi said, getting up and going to the window to open it as Matthew began to roll a joint. “This is going to go straight to my head.”

“Yours?” Melody teased. “I was always a lightweight in the first place.”

Matthew finished rolling the joint and put it between his lips. “Well, this will be distracting anyway.”

He took a deep draw and held it as he offered the joint to Melody.

“You two,” Bobbi scolded. “Not inside. We can’t have the place reeking like pot.”

Matthew rose quickly, held his breath, and dashed to the window. When he reached it he let it out, laughing to the point he started to choke. Bobbi lost it giggling and patted him on the back.

“Let’s just sit out on the fire escape to do this,” Melody suggested as she came over, pinching the joint between her fingers.

The trio climbed out of the window and sat side by side passing the joint between them. The laneway below was fairly quiet, and if they looked to the side they could see past the busy traffic of Central Park West and just into the park. Even with the sound of the traffic, it was peaceful and Melody began to relax into a soft contentment, her head fuzzy and soft as the joint got smaller and smaller.

“He’s worth it though,” Matthew said. Both Melody and Bobbi turned slowly to look at him.

“Hmm?” Bobbi hummed.

“Sam. This is so fucking stressful, but he’s worth it. I know we haven’t been dating as long as you two, but when we started dating I never considered myself the settling down type. I had boyfriends and one-night stands. I didn’t commit. But if Sam wanted to go exclusive, I’d do it. He’s the only guy I’ve ever been with that I could see spending a whole life with,” Matthew explained.

“Do you want to be exclusive?” Bobbi asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “No. Yes. Maybe.”

“Well yes, that’s all the available answers,” Bobbi deadpanned and the three of them broke down into peals of giggles.

When Matthew finally got his laughter under control he had another long drag on the joint. “I don’t know. I said I needed to be non-exclusive to start and he was fine with that. I can’t be the one that turns around and changes the conditions.”

“If you don’t do it, he’s not going to do it,” Melody said.

“Mm… but I also don’t know if it’s really what I want. I don’t know if it’s something I can even do,” he said. “But I would try for him if he wanted to. Maybe what I want is for it not to be casual.”

“Well, you should talk to him,” Bobbi said as Matthew handed her the joint.

“I will if he’s still alive,” Matthew said. “And he comes home safe.”

That made the three of them sag against the wall again, matching frowns on each of their faces. Bobbi took a drag and held it, looking over at the park again. She let the smoke out in rings and sighed. “Bucky’s for sure worth it. He took a while to open up, there’s a lot of trauma there. But I can relate to that. Our trauma is different but it recognizes each other. And seeing the person he is under that - I feel privileged. This sucks, but the amount it sucks so outweighs how amazing being a person he trusts with that feels.”

Melody smiled and nudged her. “You’re such a poet,” she said.

Bobbi smiled and leaned her head on Melody’s. “Steve’s worth it too,” Melody said. “I feel like on paper we’re so mismatched but he is so kind and respectful and funny and kind of an asshole. I’ve never met anyone like him and I just love him so much. I want to spend the rest of my life with him.”

“It’d be cool if we all work out because we’re all friends and they’re all friends. We’ll get to be playing cribbage on the porches of our houses that we own next to each other,” Bobbi said.

“We might have to learn how to play cribbage first,” Melody said and they all broke down into giggles again.

Melody took another draw of the joint. “You think they’ll approve of us sitting out here smoking weed?” she asked.

Matthew snorted. “I’ve smoked with Sam before, I don’t think he’ll care.”

Bobbi shrugged. “I don’t think Bucky would care either way.”

Melody tipped over sideways groaning and curled into a ball. “Oh no. He’s gonna be so disappointed in me.”

“He’s not your dad, Mel!” Bobbi said, laughing loudly.

“I know, but he has a disappointed dad voice!” Melody whined.

Bobbi and Matthew completely lost it, doubling over in peals of laughter as Melody covered her face. She was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts by the vibrating in her pocket.

“My butt’s vibrating,” she said, sitting up and fumbling her phone from her pocket. She narrowly avoided dropping it down the fire escape and pressed accept without looking at what was written on the screen. “Hello?”

“Mel? I didn’t catch you at a bad time did I?”

It took a moment for her brain to work out what was going on. She knew it was Steve on the other end of the line, but she couldn’t quite accept that it could actually be him calling. He sounded exhausted and a little confused. She held the phone in front of her face and saw his name and quickly slammed the phone back against her ear.

“Steve? Is that really you?” she said.

Both Bobbi and Matthew sat up to attention, looking up at her expectantly.

“Yeah, sweetheart. It’s me. Are you okay? You sound funny,” he said.

She burst into tears. The stress she’d been holding all bubbling up and releasing at once. “I thought something had happened,” she sobbed.

“I’m so sorry,” he said. “It was complicated, but I’m fine. Exhausted and a little banged up but fine.”

She took a moment to just sob, and Steve sat quietly letting her cry it out. She could almost feel the reassuring arm around her shoulders that she knew would be there if he was there beside her. “Matthew and Bobbi are here,” she hiccuped as she started to get her tears under control. “Are Bucky and Sam okay?”

“Yeah, they’re here, put us on speaker,” he said.

She did as she was told and held the phone out to them. “Okay.”

“Bobbi!” Bucky’s voice sounded a little far off, but he didn’t sound as tired as Steve. “I missed you.”

“Buck!” Bobbi yelped. “Oh my god. Babe. I was so worried.”

“I know. I missed you so much. I wanted to call but we weren’t allowed,” he said. “I’ll be home tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” they all said at once.

There was laughter on the other side of the phone. “Hey, Matt,” Sam said. “Missed you.”

“I missed you too,” Matthew said. “Will I get to see you tomorrow?”

“Are you working?” Sam asked.

“Yeah, but I can get off,” he said.

“I’ll come meet you at work. We can go home together,” Sam said.

“Will you come see us?” Melody asked Steve.

“Yeah, sweetheart,” Steve said. “We have to debrief when we get back. But I promise Bucky and I will be at your door as soon as it’s done.”

“I can’t wait. I’ll have dinner ready,” Melody said, wiping her face. “I love you so much, Steve.”

Steve laughed softly. “I love you too. We’ll be back soon. And I promise we’re fine.” There was some noise in the background, and Steve sighed. “We have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow, Mel. Bobbi, can you hug her for me?”

“You got it, Steve,” Bobbi replied as Melody started sobbing again. “See you soon, Bucky. Love you.”

“Love you too, Darlin’. See you tomorrow,” Bucky replied.

“See you tomorrow, Matt,” Sam called out.

The call disconnected and Melody, Bobbi, and Matthew all piled in on each other, hugging, laughing, and crying as relief took them over.

// NEXT

#marvel #avengers #steve rogers #captain america #steve rogers fanfic #captain america fanfic #steve rogers x oc #steve rogers x ofc #ofc #original character fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #smut #the interview #avengerscompound

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the-trashy-phoenix · 4 years ago

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Supernatural season 6 review (part 1)

Link to part 2:

At the beginning of the sixth season we have the chance to see and appreciate a new side of Dean: as he had promised Sam, he came back with Lisa (who seems to have accepted him straight away, because, even after all those years, she realises he’s the only man she’s ever loved) and lives in a proper family, behaving as Ben’s, Lisa’s son, father. Of course he still thinks about Sam, but he seems to be happy for the first time in his life, as he now has everything he’s always dreamed of since when he was a child. He’s a good dad to Ben, he’s so careful to avoid becoming like John and he’s also really faithful to Lisa. His life as a hunter clearly made him understand the advantages of having a quiet life and a “normal” family, so that he appreciates them a lot more than anyone could do. At first I thought Dean was not cut out for being a dad, and that Sam would surely make a better one, but these episodes proved me wrong, especially considering what Sam has now become. We already know (from the last episode of season five) that Sam is alive, so that’s not a big surprise, but we still have questions on what happened, the same ones Dean has when he meets him. As a matter of fact, he finds out he’s been alive for a very long time, hunting with his new family, the Campbells, led by their mother’s dad, Samuel, who’s been brought back to life with Sam, even though they both don’t know who did it. Dean is at first angry with Sam (but we’re used to it at this point) because he didn’t tell him he was alive, but Sam’s intentions were good, as he wanted Dean to maintain his happy family life. This dream of letting Dean out of hunting appears to be utopic, because being a hunter is far from being just Dean’s job, it’s part of his soul and now that he knows his brother is alive he can’t ignore anymore the continuous impulse of starting hunting again he constantly feels. Dean is deeply in doubt about what he has and wants to do, because he can’t bear either to lose Sam or Lisa and Ben: a sort of compromise is proposed by Lisa, and Dean accepts. He’ll start to hunt again with Sam and he’ll come and visit his family whenever he can. I really loved Lisa’s comprehensive attitude towards Dean, which testifies she loves and knows him so much she understands he could never give up on his life as a hunter and accepts to adapt to whatever makes Dean happy. That’s rare considering the people Dean can count on are few. However, what Lisa and Dean haven’t fully considered at first is that Ben and her will automatically become one of Dean’s weak points and that could put them in danger.

About Castiel, he’s a little absent in the Winchester’s hunts (but he always somehow finds time to help them when they need it, and that shows how much he loves them and cares about them) because he’s fighting in Paradise against Raphael who wants to take power. By the way neither Castiel knows how Sam was saved. One of the main plots of the season is the loss of some weapons from Paradise, which are now on earth and are improperly used by people. As always is Sam and Dean’s job to avoid a catastrophe caused by angels and recollect those weapons, while fighting ordinary demons and other monsters. It comes out that an angel, Balthazar, owns some of those weapons: he’s quite of an ambiguous character, as angels sometimes are in this show, and seems to be just indifferent to what happens both in Paradise and on earth. He’s surely not a completely good angel, as Castiel, but sometimes helps the boys in hunts and in their personal issues. I think he could be compared to another weird (but very interesting) character we’ve met in the last season and we get to know better in this one: Crowley. As Balthazar is an angel, Crowley is a demon, and we’ve learnt that in Supernatural there’s not a big difference between the two. I think what makes them similar is the fact that they keep fighting the Winchesters and pretend to dislike them, but they never actually harm them and seem even to quite like the brothers.

Through an involving episode based on Bobby’s point of view, the fourth, we understand more deeply what he does on a typical day apart from helping Sam and Dean. His routine is very stressful, so that we can justify him for being a bit rude and actually feel more than ever like the Winchesters take him for granted and never thank him enough, which they finally do after a small fight at the end of the episode. This change in perspective was quite unexpected, in a show were the main and only focus are Sam and Dean, but it was really appreciated as it gives the chance to see the story and past plots under a new light. Speaking of Crowley and Bobby, the old man is smart enough (even if he’s so busy giving Rufus and the brothers his precious help) to find out the demon’s real name and a way to make him change the terms of the contract: he’ll live his life without being persecuted in ten years and will as well keep his legs.

At this point I have to mention episode five, which constitutes a turning point for a lot of reasons (by the way, I also loved the reference to Twilight, first of all because I really appreciate how Supernatural refers and quotes other real shows or movies, but also because, I have to admit, some years ago I was a huge fan of the saga). As I was saying, this vampire episode is interesting because Dean himself is transformed. This fact marks a deep change in his relationship with Lisa and Ben: Dean, convinced he’s going to die soon, goes and visits his family but can’t control his vampire instinct and accidentally harms Ben, and as a result Lisa banishes him from their lives. At that moment Dean has the last proof he can’t maintain his bond with them, which will lead him and Lisa to fall apart without even clarifying the situation after Dean turns human. As I said loads of time regarding his relationship with his brother, one of the Dean’s features I hate the most is the fact he’s never able to talk with his loved ones straightforwardly about serious stuff, and that’s why problems always grow bigger. At the end of the season, the story of Lisa and Dean brutally comes to an end, since Ben and her are captured by Crowley’s demons and Lisa gets severely injured: that’s the point where Dean understands definitively they can’t have this kind of relationship for their own good and asks Castiel to erase their memories about him. This is one of the saddest parts of the entire season, because we know well what Lisa and Ben meant to Dean and we also know that they were his last hope for happiness, which is irremediably gone.

Talking about Sam, here it is the second shocking scene of episode five: Sam sees Dean’s transformation happening under his eyes without doing anything. When Dean recalls it, he gets mad, of course without asking Sam for some explanation, as the two are not able to solve their conflicts in a civil way simply by talking, and adds this episode to the list of Sam’s weird behaviours, which makes him think there’s something wrong with him. As Dean is the person who knows Sam better, he’s sure his brother is not okay, even though everyone, including Sam himself, thinks he’s exaggerating. He asks help from the only one person he can really trust (apart from Bobby), Castiel, who reveals to him the shocking truth: Sam’s soul is gone, and was probably left in hell in the cage with Lucifer. That explains Sam’s recent behaviour, far from the kindness and humanity we’ve learnt to love about him. I was really worried about him in finding out why he had behaved so badly and he had at times preferred Samuel (with whom he hunted a lot in the past year and did some regrettable things, as we learn from some flashbacks), also because both Cas and Crowley are convinced Sam’s soul is lost forever and irretrievably damaged by the devil, but part of me was relieved the Sam we had seen so far in the season was not the real Sam. However, I think there was a kind of contradiction in the way the authors depicted soulless Sam, as he sometimes seems to actually have feelings left, for example when he doesn’t show up with Dean to let him go on with his happy family life, in the first episode, but that could just be an isolated moment of awakening, moved by his huge love for his brother.

From that moment on, a new phase in the storyline is opened, as Sam has to depend completely on Dean who tries to teach him a sort of morality and at the same time looks for a way to restore Sam’s soul. Dean even has to convince his brother he has to want his soul back, because he cannot trust him without it, while Sam seems to feel better and stronger without. As if all that soul thing wasn’t enough, they have to face the Campbells: Samuel proves himself untrustworthy, and Dean decides to follow him to his secret hideout. He finds out Samuel is hiding some creatures he said he had killed and that he’s looking for a place Dean had no idea existed, Purgatory, and he’s doing it working for Crowley. Dean never really trusted his granddad and the Campbells, but could never imagine not only that they were working for a demon, and a very powerful one (even if Samuel did it because Crowley promised to resuscitate Mary). Also, Samuel said nothing about the fact that he and Sam were brought back by Crowley to help him find Purgatory and extend his power. Moreover Crowley, ambiguous as always, says he can restore Sam’s soul and cunningly obliges the Winchesters to hunt for him. Sam, who is way more rational because of the lack of soul, knows it’s their only choice, while Dean accepts more recklessly. As a matter of fact, this situation doesn’t last as they decide to break their subjugation and find another way to save Sam, with the help of another quite ambiguous character, which appears and disappears both to kill and help the brothers, Meg. This time she helps them fight Crowley and at the end they (a strange group formed by the Winchesters, Cas and Meg) manage to kill him. Therefore, we find ourselves at the middle of the season with Dean basically at the beginning of his research for Sam’s soul. Luckily, he finds really soon a way; unfortunately, it implies a deal with a quite dangerous character, Death: he will restore Sam’s soul if Dean will live a day in his shoes. What I appreciated of the personification of Death is that he isn’t properly evil in the show, just as the evil connotation mankind gives to death is merely arbitrary: Death is nothing more than a natural phenomenon which must happen necessarily in each human life, and Dean is given the chance to understand that deeply and reconsider his thoughts about it.

After a long and painful period of time passed in the panic room, Sam wakes up for the first time in a year with his soul, protected by a wall which is aimed to hide all that’s happened from when he fell in the hole with Lucifer and Raphael, because hell memories could kill him (and he’s already been through a lot). It was a joy to see our good little Sammy back, we (and Dean) had missed his gentle and cute attitude so much! He’s been through so much with demons and psychic things Dean keeps thinking any problem could be too much for him and he will explode, but somehow Sam is always able to bear them, while Dean always tries, in vain most of the time, to protect him. This time, as Sam doesn’t remember a thing from his soulless year, Dean hides him the truth (at this point of the show we know him so well he is completely predictable and the pattern of the brothers not telling each other important facts is the exact repetition of some other episodes), but it ends better than other times because Cas reveals Sam everything without knowing he didn’t know and Sam seems to understands Dean’s motives (after all, they’re brothers).

Before moving to the finale, I can’t but mention the metanarrative episode of this season, the 15th, in my opinion the most mind blowing of this type: Dean and Sam find themselves trapped on the Supernatural set where they’re actors and of course known by their real names. This episode gifts us with the most funny scenes of Castiel, whose real name is Misha, posting tweet all the time about the most stupid things and of Ruby/Genevieve, married with Jared in real life and also in this episode: that’s where reality seems to be weirder and funnier than the show itself.

After Rufus’ death, another really good character left on the way, and the defeat of the “Mother of all things”, the main villain of the season who’s killed quite easily through phoenix ashes collected back in 1861 by Sam and Dean themselves –nothing strange-, we find out the last shocking fact of the season: the alliance between Castiel and Crowley (who’s still alive) to find Purgatory. I was quite surprised because I couldn’t believe the naïve angel would cooperate with a demon and, even worse, without ever telling the Winchesters. I don’t think they would be happy about their deal, but at least they could’ve honestly known what their friend was up to: this way he cheated them so badly they couldn’t even believe it until the very last moment. That’s no excuse that Cas allied with Crowley just to take on some soul from Purgatory, gain more power to finally defeat Raphael and win the war in Paradise, and also that he made the demon promise the Winchesters and Bobby would be safe, because to reach his purpose he spied and lied to his friends the whole time. He should’ve known the brothers have very few people they can trust and losing them is extremely painful. Castiel himself has no real friends apart from Sam and Dean, but he seems to think they’re expendable for a higher purpose and doesn’t seem to realise how guilty he will feel after betraying them and how it will hurt to lose them.

We are now at the last episode, and we’re given a new reason to be mad at Castiel: he breaks Sam’s mental wall, letting him recall all his memories from hell. Not satisfied with all that mess he’s already made, he manages to open the Purgatory and take all the power on him, refusing to give Crowley his part of the deal. I really can’t figure out what’s wrong with end-of-sixth-season Castiel, I guess the perspective of having a huge power and becoming a sort of god went to his head, but still I think his behaviour is so incoherent. I couldn’t believe it when he told his old friends to worship him as their god if they didn’t want to get killed… Like, for real Cas? I don’t know what’ll happen in season seven, I just know I want dear old Castiel back.

- Irene 💕

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katehuntington · 5 years ago

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Title: Ride With Me (part twelve) Fandom: Supernatural AU Characters series: Reader, Dean Winchester, Bobby Singer, Ellen Singer-Harvelle, Jo Singer (Harvelle), Benny Lafitte, Garth Fitzgerald IV, Ash Miller, Castiel Novek, and many more. Timeline: 2008 Pairing: Dean x Reader Word count: ±5600 words Summary series: Y/N is a talented horse rider who is on her way to become a professional. In order to convince her father that she deserves the loan needed to start her own farm, she goes to Arizona for six months, to intern at a ranch owned by Bobby and Ellen Singer. Her future is set out, but then she meets a handsome horseman, who goes by the name of Dean Winchester. A heartwarming series about a cowboy who falls for the girl, letting go of the past and the importance of family. Summary part twelve: After finally opening up to each other, Dean is having a hard time keeping his hands to himself. But the flirting is soon interrupted when one of the horses gets caught in a dangerous situation. Warnings series: NSFW, 18+ only! Fluff, angst, eventually smut. Swearing, smoking, alcohol intoxication, alcohol abuse. Mutual pining, heartbreak. Crying, nightmares, childhood trauma. Description of animal abuse, domestic violence, mentions of addiction. Financial problems, stress, mental breakdown. Description of blood and injury, hospital scenes, character death, grief. Music: ‘How Far This Road Goes’ - Gareth Dunlop, ‘Seven Riders’ - James Horner & Simon Franklin (second scene). Check out ‘Kate Huntington’s Ride With Me playlist’ on Spotify! Author’s note: Thank you @kittenofdoomage and @girl-with-a-fandom-fettish for helping me. You girls are awesome betas. Thank you for your endless patience!

Ride With Me Masterlist

With a grin wider than the horizon, Dean puts the rolled-up mattress on Ted’s back, attaching it behind the saddle by tying the leather strings around it. He barely slept last night, but he doesn’t feel tired, not in the slightest. Nothing will get him off this high cloud, because last night, he kissed Y/N. The head wrangler hums a Led Zeppelin tune as he tightens Ted’s cinch a little, patting his four legged friend on the shoulder when he’s done. Joplin is waiting next to him, rather impatiently, tied up to the strung rope between a boulder and a tree, like the other seven horses. Her female rider moves in between the dark mare and Ted, causing Dean to fight back an amused scoff. Y/N could have tacked up Joplin from the left side, which is the usual protocol when handling a horse. But instead, the cowgirl chose the small space between the two large animals, the space Dean already occupied, making it a tight fit. “Morning, Yankee,” he teases, still with his back towards hers as he secures his lasso. “G’morning,” she greets back. “Were you humming ‘Whole Lotta Love’ just now?” Dean chuckles now, “I’ve got a reason to be cheery.”

Y/N presses her lips together, very much aware why her supervisor is in such a good mood. She is also very much aware that he’s only inches away, the two almost touching. The chemistry is evident and she needs to remind herself that the others are also readying their horses; they are not alone like they were last night. Giving her hands something to do, she checks the saddle bags again, even though she has done so already. “Did you sleep well last night?” Dean wonders casually, but she caught the lower tone in his voice. That tone that makes her heart beat faster and has her closing her eyes and taking a moment to compose herself. “I did actually. A little short, though,” Y/N returns. “What about you?” “Oh, I couldn’t sleep.”

She can hear Dean’s boots crunch the gravel underneath them as he turns around. He comes closer and Y/N forgets what she’s doing, one hand holding the stirrup, might she need the support. She feels his hand on her hip, the touch so featherlight that she could be imagining it. Holding still while he moves in, she fights a shocked whimper when his breath fans past the junction between her neck and her shoulder. How contradicting; the warm breeze leaves goosebumps over her entire body. “How come?” she manages to utter, her voice close to failing. Y/N feels his lips against her hair, but he doesn’t kiss her there, even though she silently begs him to do exactly that. She moves into his touch only slightly. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” he whispers in her ear.

Before the others notice, he moves away and his hand slips from her hip, leaving a burning sensation where his fingertips gently pressed into her skin through the fabric of her jeans. The cowboy who has clearly found his way into her heart and her mind, shoots her a wink over his shoulder when she follows him with her gaze. Chuckling, she shakes her head in response. It’s a good thing she held onto the saddle, because her knees feel weak. God, the things he’s doing to her. “Y’all ready to mount your ponies?” Benny checks, before he gets on his horse himself. When all the wranglers have untied their horses, Dean rolls up the rope that functioned as a makeshift fence and adds it to the load carried by one of the pack-horses. He then puts his left foot in the stirrup and swiftly moves his leg over the saddle, the fringes of his chaps whipping when the breeze catches them. The others follow his example.

“Alright. We’ve got a long day ahead of us. We ride to the next spring, but it will be roughly six miles from here. That’s more ground to cover than yesterday. It will be rocky terrain, so stay sharp and keep up.” Dean turns his horse with the reins in one hand. “Don’t forget to keep an eye out for the herd. They were last seen in Marsh Valley by hikers, but that was four days ago, so they could be long gone by now. If we don’t find them by the time we reach White Rock Spring, we’ll set up camp there and continue the search tomorrow. Y’all good with that?”

The rest of the company agrees, both wranglers and horses excited to get moving. Joplin especially; the waiting has made her impatient. She rears, lifting her front hooves a couple of inches from the ground, repeating the action several times. Y/N rides it out, her hand reaching to pat the hot blooded mare on the neck in order to calm her down. In perfect balance she gives her horse enough freedom of reign, but controls the movements with her seat. “Joplin certainly is,” she laughs, amused with the mare’s enthusiasm. “Alright then,” Dean returns grinning, admiring her riding skills for a moment longer. “Let’s ride.”

It’s past midday and there is no sign of the herd so far. The group of riders passed Weavers Needle hours ago, a thousand foot column of rock that forms a distinctive peak, visible from many miles away. Y/N felt so tiny when she rode through the landmark’s shadow, like an ant on the forest ground. She quite possibly strained a muscle in her neck from looking up, but the young woman from the North couldn’t help herself. The landscape, created by volcanoes ages ago and molded by wind and time, leaves her in complete awe. The further they travel into the Superstitions, the more surreal the scenery becomes.

Benny told stories last night about the mountains. About the legend of the Lost Dutch Gold Mine, and the hundreds of other abandoned tunnels, hidden in the volcanic stone. About the Indians, how some of them believe that the hole that leads down into ‘the lower world’ is located somewhere in these valleys, and that winds blowing from it create the severe dust storms in the metropolitan area. It’s a magical environment that, despite having a desert climate, seems alive. The way the wind plays with her horse’s mane and whispers as it breathes through the canyon. The way the mesquite bushes rustle and the Saguaro cacti reach their arms for the blue heavens above. This land has a personality of its own; unpredictable, layered and rich with wisdom.

“Enjoying the view?” Dean held up his horse as Y/N was staring up at the renmands. She didn’t even notice she fell behind. “Sorry…” she mutters apologetic. “It’s just… everything here is so beautiful.” “Sure is.” The cowboy smirks at her, not just complimenting the landscape. Joplin’s rider is unable to hide her flattered smile. “You can stop trying to win me over,” she returns jokingly, resting her hand behind her on the cantle of the saddle. Dean side eyes Y/N, triumph in the way he holds himself, “Because I already did, right?” “Don’t get ahead of yourself,” she warns. “Last night was amazing, but it was just a kiss.” “Oh, I didn’t plan to stop,” he makes clear, copying her action without noticing, gripping the back of the saddle with his free hand as well. “Next chance I get, I’m gonna kiss you again.” “Is that so?” she teases. “Unless you’d rather not have me.” Dean observes her, eager to pick up on her reaction.

His lower leg brushes against hers, the metal of the stirrups jingling when they collide. He stares into her eyes longer than he should, breaking through the resistance with more ease than Y/N wants him to. Honestly, she has never been an easy catch. She pictured she would at least let him work for it, prove to her that this isn’t just a fling. But her defense crumbles with every connection, no matter how small. The intern can’t help but crave for her supervisor to touch her, to kiss her right here and right now. Both of them being on horses complicates things, however, especially since one of those horses is Joplin, who is getting anxious now that she is a few hundred yards away from the group. “I wouldn’t mind it,” Y/N admits, on a more serious note. Dean smiles, delighted at that, looking down at his horse for a brief second. “You oughta catch up then.”

The wrangler moves his hand forward and pushes his heels to his horses flanks simultaneously, the aid triggering Ted to shoot forward like an arrow from a bow. Without giving Y/N a chance to respond, Joplin’s instincts kick in; she needs to stay with the herd. In a blink of an eye she bolts, surprising her rider, who can only just prevent a squeal from escaping her throat. The experienced rider is quick to recover, though. She moves her weight forward, allowing her horse to move under her freely, giving her all the reins she needs. Within five strides, Joplin is at full speed. Y/N can’t recall that she ever galopped this fast. The wind pushes the tears from the corner of her eyes, dust blocking her view. Her hat falls back, but she’s quick enough to catch it and push it tighter on her head. She doesn’t care, though, because she feels like she’s flying.

Before they reach the others, Dean sits back in the saddle and pulls the reins, telling Ted with a ‘ho!’ to slow down. Joplin is next to him within a second, her rider laughing out loud. The cowboy watches her, laughter erupting from his throat as well. “You’re crazy!” Y/N accused, a wide grin on her lips nonetheless. “What if I had fallen off?” “You’re too good of a rider,” he returns, never worried she couldn’t handle herself. “And it’s about time you let go.” “I usually don’t like losing control,” she returns, trying to be stern. He cocks his eyebrow. “You didn’t mind last night.” “Underlining ‘usually’,” she repeats with a tone, shaking her head at the up-to-no-good grin on his face.

“Well, you—” He points his finger at her accusingly before he pushes his hat up a bit. “— should loosen up a bit. Picture it like riding.” Y/N frowns at the wrangler next to her. “I thought we were talking about riding.” “It doesn’t matter. What does, is if you hold onto the reins too tight, your horse will tense up. You will tense up. But if you relax at the right moment…” He moves his hand forward, giving Ted enough space to drop his head and the gelding blows out a satisfied sigh. “So will your horse. You allow things to be. And those are the best rides, ain’t they? The ones where the balance is perfect, and everything just clicks.”

Y/N agrees to that without words, smiling at the comparison. Dean lets the true meaning of his message sink in as well. It’s good advice he’s giving. Maybe he should take it himself. In silence they take each other in. She has rolled up the sleeves of her dusty shirt for the warm breeze to caress her bare skin. Not so long ago, Y/N came walking into the Saloon, ironed button up, polished shoes, hair band and clips not allowing a single stubborn strand to spring free. Look at her now, like she couldn’t care less about appearance. Look how beautiful she is. “By the way,” the woman next to him recalls, her voice softer so that the tourists can’t hear them. “Hm-hm?” “You were right. That was a lot more than just a kiss.” With those words she canters away, and he’s only able to breath out again when she passes the other riders to lead the group. Don’t be fooled, he’s confident about how things are going, but that doesn’t mean that ‘allowing things to be’ is easy. Even he, the guy who doesn’t plan ahead and takes it day by day, is daunted by the possible commitment that this adventure with Y/N will bring. But one look at her, seeing the change she’s going through, the difference in her demeanor and her lifted confidence; she’s all the inspiration he needs. “You better wipe that smile off your face, Chief, or the coyotes might start wonderin’ why you’re all giddy.” A little startled Dean looks aside as Benny holds back his horse until he’s next to Ted. Caught in the act the head wrangler glares at his friend from under his Stetson, but the smirk doesn’t die down. No need to respond in words, because both know why Dean is on top of the world. And so the two companions ride next to one another for awhile in silence. Dean’s eyes never leave her, though, watching how she handles the bubbly mare, who’s excitement got peaked by the little race. Joplin isn’t for everyone, but she’s taking his advice and gives the dark horse free rein, trusting her, and eventually the mare transitions to a walk.

“Well, now you’re just embarrassingly gaping,” Benny notices, clearly amused by the sight of his lovestruck friend. Dean snaps out of it and eyes him again. It’s not so much the fact that Benny is mocking him, more the fact that he himself can’t get a grip. “Shut up,” Dean mutters, shaking his head chuckling. “You were the one gaping when you interrupted us last night.” “It was 3 AM and I wasn’t even close to awake, and what do I find?” Benny lazily points his finger at the intern, then at the man next to him. “You two, giving each other one hell of a Yankee dime. I mean, don’t get me wrong, brother. I’m proud of ya, but excuse me that I was a little taken aback.” The Southerner pauses, his piercing blue eyes brassy and up to no good. Clearly he enjoys taunting his pal. “Took ya quite a while to notice me too,” he comments, adding fuel to the fire. “I was kinda in the middle of something!” Dean exclaims. “Hell yeah, you were.” Benny sniggers. “Good think I stopped ya right there. At least now you saved some for later.” “I wasn’t gonna go all the way with her,” his friend declares. It doesn’t convince the rider next to him, though, because he laughs out loud. “Don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s rainin’.” “Dude, I’m serious!” Dean states. “I ain’t gonna rush this.” “Ah-uh.” “I said: shut up.”

The farrier’s laughter is contagious, hiccuping as he takes in air, and his friend can’t help but chuckle as well. The head wrangler adjusts the ranch rope hanging over his horse’s shoulder, the broad smile never wavering. It’s not just the smile, though, that tells Benny that Y/N is the girl for him. It’s his eyes. He has never seen them shine so bright. He has never seen Dean so contented. “You two go together like peas and carrots,” Benny vouches, looking from the cowboy to the cowgirl. “I’m happy for ya, brother.” “You’re talking like we’re about to settle down and get a dog,” Dean scoffs skeptical, even though deep down he wouldn’t mind an outcome as such. “Give it time,” the Southerner recommends confident. “After all, two months ago, you would have thought I was crazy as a soup sandwich, if I’d predicted you to be on cloud nine by now.” He wiggles his eyebrows and Dean sighs in response. He’s not even going to fight his friend on this, Benny is enjoying this way too much to ever let go.

“Dean!” The call comes from the front of the group and it seems urgent. Dean snaps his head to the sound of Y/N’s voice and the clatter of hooves. The intern has turned Joplin around and ridden back to the tourists. One of the pack horses, Cash, who Macy was guiding along side, tries to flee away as he kicks violently to the ground. He spins in circles around the rider and her gelding Jimmi, who is starting to panic as well. “Pull the knot, Macy!” Dean commands, pushing Ted towards the commotion. Fighting to control her own horse, she reaches for the rope that ties Cash to her saddle, trying to yank the safety knot. By this time, however, the distressed animal has pulled on the cord with all its weight, and there is no way it will loosen. “I can’t!” she yells back, fright evident in her voice.

Trying to not get caught up in the line, she steers Jimmi to stay head to head with the anxious pack horse. Dean is with her in a split second, maneuvering Ted close to her and staying free from the web. “Listen to me, Mace. When you’re on the other end, I’m gonna take over.” He takes the end of Cash’s rope, wraps it around the horn of his saddle four times and locks it in his fist, hooking it behind his hip for leverage. “I need you to get yourself to safety the second that rope unties, alright?” He makes eye contact and she nods frightened, all while trying to calm Jimmi, who is getting more claustrophobic by the second. The experienced wrangler then backs up Ted, using his horse’s body weight to pull the safety knot. The second Cash feels the freedom, he bolts. Macy is clear, but the head wrangler and his four hooved partner are about to be catapulted by the horse on a rampage.

Thinking fast, Dean moves his reins towards Ted’s ears, triggering him to rocket forward. Three strides later Dean can feel Cash jerk at the saddle, Ted bracing himself, the well-trained cattle horse maintaining his balance. The rope slips from Dean’s fingers, but he is able to keep his ground, even though the rough material burns in his hand. With tension on the line, the wrangler tries to keep Cash away from a boulder that came rolling down Bluff Spring Mountain, but can’t prevent the panicked horse from slamming the water tank he is carrying into the large rock. Even though drinking water pours from the hole, it’s not Dean’s first concern. Cash is holding his hind leg up, still kicking the ground as the black horse halts, breathing out nervously. Dean spots a trace of blood, just below the fetlock joint. “Shit…” He gets off, dropping Ted’s left rein on the ground, a signal for the horse to stay in place and wait. Shit, shit, shit. Cash, who is shaking and breathing fast after all the commotion, turns his head into the wrangler, seeming to seek comfort from him. Dean gently rubs the gelding’s withers and slips his hand down the hindleg to take a better look. Two distinctive small holes are visible on the white sock, crimson drops rolling down. It seems like barely anything, but he has lived in this area all his life; he knows a snake bite when he sees one. “He got bit,” Dean informs the five wranglers, who are waiting on the path in anticipation. Benny curses under his breath, getting down from his horse as well. “By what? A spider?” Y/N wonders, sticking with the tourists on a safe distance. “Nope.”

The Southerner picks up a stick, poking at something in the bushes. Then he lifts the piece of wood, a snake hanging from the end of it. Macy squeals and Y/N inhales sharply, too. She has never seen a snake up close like that, at least not without thick glass between her and the reptile. God, that thing is huge! “Is it dead?” Dean checks, still standing by the wounded horse. “Dead as steak on the grill,” the Southerner confirms, taking a closer look. “Is it a rattler?”

The head wrangler watches Benny examine the animal as he prays to God that it isn’t. Rattlesnakes in this area are highly dangerous. The amount of venom they possess might not be enough to floor a horse, but it will cause extensive swelling for sure, most likely followed by a bad infection that will cut off the blood supply. A bite inflicted by a venomous snake could be life threatening, even when treated by a veterinarian immediately. Miles from civilization with no access to medical resources, it becomes lethal. “I think it is, Chief.”

Y/N looks over at the head wrangler, who drops his head and swears. It slowly begins to sink in that the consequences of what seems like a small injury might have serious consequences. Dean looks up, making eye contact with the intern and motioning her to come over. She rides Joplin off the path and dismounts the mare, leading her to Cash, who she comfortingly pets on the nose. “Listen to me carefully,” he starts, his voice toned down so that the others can’t hear him, as he instructs the intern calmly. “If that is a rattlesnake, I need you to take the tourists a half a mile up the trail. At the junction, you wait until me and Benny catch up.” “Wait, what are you gonna…” she stammers, hesitant where Dean is going with this.

He bites his bottom lip for a moment and looks deep into her eyes, the urgency apparent in his intense greens. “You’ll be responsible for the guests, so be cautious. Don’t take any risks and keep them safe. I know you’re not familiar with the area and that this is a lot, but can you do that?” “Benny could go with them, he knows these trails,” she suggests, but Dean dismisses it instantly. “No. I don’t want you to see this.” “See wh -” she pauses, his penetrating gaze and tensing jaw stopping her from forming words. Shocked she rakes her fingers through Cash’s forelock, only now realizing the difficult task that Dean is facing. “Oh my God, you’re gonna put him down.”

He doesn’t answer, but swallows apprehensively. If Cash has venom coursing through his bloodstream, his chances of survival can be considered zero. A slow and agonizing death awaits him; a bullet to the head would be the most moral way to go. The head wrangler takes a deep breath, composes himself, and shifts his gaze to Benny. Seems like he’s going to have to use the Colt after all. “I’m gonna check out the snake, make sure it’s a rattler. If it is, you know what to do?” Y/N nods uneasy, but determined enough to assure Dean that she can do her part. He thanks her without saying anything, his eyes softening. Then he moves past her, heading back to the trail. Left stunned, she lets her hand glide down Cash’s nose, trying to ease the horse, who in his turn gently presses his large head against her chest. Even though Y/N barely knows the horse, tears prick in her eyes. Poor, poor thing. She looks over her shoulder, watching in apprehension, how the head wrangler crouches down next to Benny, who has the snake at the end of a stick.

Dean pokes the reptile to make sure it’s dead, taking a good look at the animal. The light brown color with dark blotches on its back and smaller dark spots on its side, are indications that Benny is right. He can’t tell much when examining the head, since Cash killed the snake with a fierce kick and smashed its skull. Dean picks up the animal by the tale. It looks different from the rest of its body, but there is no rattle at the tip of it, like he has seen before with the Western Diamondback that is common in the area. He sighs relieved. “It’s a Gopher snake,” he states. “A Sonoran, by the looks of it. Smart fellas; they mimic rattlesnakes to ward off predators.” “Could’ve fooled me,” Benny concedes. “Not venomous?” Y/N checks. Dean smiles her way. “Not venomous.” A weight falls off her shoulders, and the female wrangler rustles Cash’s mane thankfully. She exchanges a look with Dean, silent conversation easing the both of them. Then the group leader turns to the tourists. “Alright y’all, let’s take a break here,” he decides, beckoning at the shade near the big boulders. “Is Cash gonna be okay?” Macy asks worried. “He’s gonna be fine. We’ll rest up for half an hour, meanwhile fix that water tank. Benny? Let’s repack so that we can take the load off Cash.” Dean turns to look at the farrier, who nods in agreement.

They leave the snake for the vultures and move away from the trail. While Benny and Brad tack down Cash and focus on repairing the tank with duct tape, saving the water that remains in the tank by catching it with their water bottles, Dean focuses on the black gelding’s injury. Y/N strolls past him between the horses, who have taken cover in the shade. She watches how the cowboy flushes the puncture wounds with water, despite the fact that Cash keeps lifting his hind leg. “Do you need an assistant?” He looks over his shoulder and nods. “Could you hold him for a sec?” She takes Cash by the rope that he fought so hard minutes ago, rubbing the bay’s shoulder in order to distract him. It works, because the gelding puts his foot down, allowing Dean to press a gauze soaked with betadine on the small holes. “There,” he says satisfied, when he’s done cleaning the punctures.

Y/N lets go of Cash’s halter, picking up the bottle of betadine from the first aid kit, together with a clean gauze pad. “Your turn.” She nods at his hand.“Show me that.” Dean brushes it off. “It’s nothin’.” His intern isn’t having it, though, and after shooting him a glare she takes his right hand and turns it over. Despite that his palm is calloused from years of ranch work, the rope has burned off parts of his skin, leaving fiery blisters. “I wouldn’t file that under ‘nothin’,” she returns stern, mocking his slang. Dean can’t help but grin at that, surrendering to her care. The smirk turns into a grimace when she dabs the damaged tissue with iodine. “Sorry,” she apologizes when she notices him tensing up. “It’s okay,” he assures, looking at her fondly, despite the sting. Y/N blushes at his expression, breaking away from his warm eyes and focusing on his hand again. She applies a clean gauze and dresses his hand, taping the end of the bandage so that it won’t come off. He checks his hand from both sides, impressed with her work. “How do you know how to do that?” The cowgirl shrugs. “I have three brothers who never failed to miss an opportunity to fall from their treehouse or trip while chasing each other through the woods. You do the math.” Dean chuckles, testing the movement of his fingers as he turns towards the other men, who are still working on the tank. On his way over, he glances at the young woman again. “Thank you.” “You’re welcome,” she returns happily, walking past Joplin to pick her water bottle from the saddle bag.

Joining Macy and Jon, she makes the most of what remains of the half hour break, while the other wranglers try to repair the tank. Having lost most of the water, they don’t waste too much time resting up here and decide to move on to White Rock Spring. The other horses take over Cash’s tack, who only has to carry the empty tank. The gelding already puts full weight on his injured leg, the wounds so superficial that he doesn’t seem to be bothered by it. Twenty minutes later Y/N puts her left foot in the stirrup and hoists herself in the saddle. Her limbs are tired, her back is beginning to hurt. Day two of this trail is taking more out of her than she expected, not only physically, but also mentally, after the close call with Cash. Even though it’s early afternoon, she hopes that Dean and Benny will decide to call it a day, once the group reaches the spring.

It doesn’t take long before they pass the rock formation of Black Top Mesa and reach the T-junction Dean described earlier, left leading into Marsh Valley, right to Charlebois Canyon. The two Gold Canyon Ranchers leading the company have stopped just off the trail on the top of a hill. She catches a glimpse of Benny’s face, and he does not look pleased. Not sure if it’s her place to join them, since she’s the intern, she hesitates to ride up to the wranglers, but takes her chances a few seconds later. Dean did involve her when Cash suffered that possibly dangerous injury, afterall. Joplin halts next to Ted as her gaze jumps between the two riders. “Something wrong?” she wonders. “What’s missin’ here, Yankee?” Benny counters, without answering her question.

Y/N looks ahead, down Charlebois Canyon. The land is dry and dusty, rocks and volcanic remnants more evident in the landscape. Now that she’s made aware that something is unusual about this picture, she remembers that the canyons east of Weavers Needle were much greener. More plants and bushes, more life. “Water,” the female wrangler realizes. “There’s no water.” “Yep,” Benny confirms. “That spring is supposed to be over yonder.” “But how can there be no spring? It rained cats and dogs a week ago,” she wonders confused. “Welcome to Arizona, where it can be raining like a cow’s pissin’ on a flat rock on one side of the road while the sun shines on the other,” the Southerner states.

Dean is quiet, the gears in his head turning as he blankly stares ahead. He’s holding his reins with his unharmed hand, the leather feeling a little foreign, since he hardly ever rides left-handed. There are a few more springs close by, but since the whole canyon looks dry and dead, except for a few Saguaro cacti, he’s guessing that those ran dry too. Biting his bottom lip he glances over his shoulder in the direction where they came from, then north. “What do we do now?” Y/N inquires, her eyes shifting from Benny to Dean. “Chief?” the farrier checks with his friend, when he doesn’t respond. “How far do you think it is to Eagle’s Nest?” he questions. “About six miles?” “Give or take,” the Southerner affirms. Dean ponders, but then turns Ted around to face the three approaching tourists. “We’ve run into a bit of an issue,” he starts, updating the guests on the newly occurred problem. “White Rock Spring has dried up, and looking at the vegetation, I don’t think it’s wise to continue east. We’re not gonna find water there, which also means that the herd is most likely elsewhere. The way I see it, we’ve got two options: we either turn around and ride four and a half miles back to Willow Spring, or we move north to Salt River.” “How far is that?” Brad asks as the dark haired student rests his wrists on the horn of his saddle. “Six miles,” Dean declares. “If we leave now, we’ll hopefully make it by sunset. We need an inventory on water and food supplies. And I need y’all - and this is really important - to be one hundred percent certain that you’re up for another six hours in the saddle. If anyone ain’t, we will turn around to the Willow and cut our losses for today. No shame in it.”

The leader of the company now turns to Macy, who has Cash waiting next to her. The black horse looks alert and calm, his weight on all four hooves. “How’s he doing?” Dean wonders. “He seems fine. He’s sound, even in a jog just now,” she returns, having kept an eye on the gelding next to her. Dean nods, but not completely satisfied. He’s torn. Torn between pushing through and marching on to Salt River, or taking the safe route back to where they came from. Going back feels like giving up. It will be another day without a trace of the herd, another day of wasting time and energy. They have enough food with them for five days. Heading back might be a crucial setback, one that could lead to returning home without the group of young horses. He promised Ellen and Bobby to bring them in, but he also promised to keep everyone safe.

“How much water do we have left?” he checks. After a quick count, they come to the conclusion that they have about 10 liters between the six of them, the horses not even included. The animals are used to these circumstances, though, and they can go without water for three to four days. Dean is confident they should be okay. It’s the riders he’s worried about: both the tourists and Y/N. Dean sighs, looking up the trail from Marsh Valley that leads into the mountains. “Is there anyone who wants to go back to Willow Spring?” No one steps forward or raises their hand. Dean looks the crew in the eye, one by one, trying to unravel them and detect even the slightest hint of doubt. His gaze lingers on Y/N, who doesn’t give him an inch and seems determined. He nods, his mind made up. “Alright, then,” he decides. “We ride north.”

Thank you for reading. I appreciate every single one of you, but if you do want to give me some extra love, you are free to reblog my work or buy me coffee (Link in bio at the top of the page).

Read part thirteen here

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biillyhargroves · 5 years ago

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I've also had a shitty day and wish I were somewhere else. Have this: Susan can't do hair well, so Max never had to learn. Billy secretly enjoys doing super intricate braids and styles. Max finally decides she wants to do something different, and Billy jumps on the opportunity and swears her to secrecy. She goes to school with a new look each day and an improved relationship with Billy. Steve catches on. It ends with Billy teaching Steve, and they do Max and El's hair together in the mornings.

You know, it’s kind of funny, my day was honestly great- stressful, but great -but for some reason I had a huge wave of homesickness and nerves hit me on the drive home that I couldn’t shake for the rest of the night. I think I’m probably just feeling stressed and I know I’m not managing my anxiety all that well, but it’ll get better. I’m so sorry you had a shitty day and are feeling badly, too! I hope things look up for you, friend.

And, honestly, this whole thing kind of made me think of a modern AU sort of situation where Max watches hair braiding tutorials on YouTube and tries to replicate them but she just can’t. She always ends up with a huge knot in her hair, and Billy finds her swearing as she yanks a brush through her hair trying to fix it (”You have to start from the bottom, dumbass,” he tells her, and she’s like, “What the hell do you know?” and he says, “More than you.” and he holds out his hand and she sighs and gives the damn brush so he can get the knots out of her hair.

“What the hell were you even doing?” he asks, and she mumbles that she wanted to try something new for the homecoming dance. She shows the Billy the video and he watches it top to finish then tells her to hold still.

And she doesn’t want him to touch her hair! Because Billy’s rough and aggressive and harsh and if her mom trying to do her hair hurts then she can’t imagine what Billy will be like. So they fight, and Billy gets pissed off and leaves, but an hour later Max is knocking on his door asking for his help because no matter how hard she tries she just can’t get it.

Billy gets it on his first try, following along with the video while Max warns him not to pull too hard and to be careful with the bobby pins and, “Shut up, there’s no way I’m hurting you.” / “That doesn’t mean you can’t so watch it.” / “Stop moving so I can.” And when he finishes it she’s equal parts impressed and annoyed because wow, he did that but also how the hell did he do that when she couldn’t? (El begs her to do her hair like that, and its only when they’re alone in the girls’ room that Max admits that Billy did her hair.)

Months later, when the Snow Ball rolls around, Max and El are getting ready when they decide they need Billy’s help. They go into Billy’s room where Billy and Steve are hanging out, listening to music, “studying” by opening books and leaving them on the floor while they talk.

“We need you help,” Max says.

“Fuck off,” Billy tells her. And Steve wants to know what this is all about. I mean, since when does Max willingly ask for her brother’s help? And El says, “We need help with our hair.” and Steve’s go wide because EXCUSE ME? Billy Hargrove can do up-dos? And Billy is pissed, because why the hell would Max tell anybody that he braided her hair?

“It’s just El!” she says. “El’s not gonna tell anyone!”

And El swears she won’t, and Steve won’t stop stammering and pestering Billy with questions because when did you learn how to braid hair? what is this secret talent? do you always do Max’s hair? when did this start? why didn’t you tell me? And Billy finally shouts and everyone to just shut the fuck up. He storms out of his room and into Max’s and he grabs her computer. It’s already loaded up to a new video, a new hair tutorial, and he tells Max to sit down and stay still. And while he’s working, Steve asks El if she knows what she wants, because fuck it, if Billy can do hair, why can’t he? It can’t be that hard, can it? So El pulls out her phone and shows him another tutorial, and Steve gets to work.

He…does not do the best job. I mean, he tries. But when he finishes, and when Billy is done with Max, Billy tells Steve to step aside and he does some quick fixes for El. Before the girls go to the dance (aka: before he lets them get out of the car, because of course he and Steve drive them), he makes them swear on their lives they won’t tell anyone else about this. They promise, but on one condition: Billy has to do their hair whenever they ask. He tries to fight them on it, but he knows he won’t win. They have some decent blackmail on him, after all.

And that’s how modern!Billy becomes an on-call hairdresser for two teenage girls.

#ofteasandinks #answered #billy hargrove #max mayfield #steve harrington #eleven #stranger things au #I hope you feel better soon friend!!!

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orionsangel86 · 6 years ago

Text

Some honest thoughts...

As many of you know, I have tried to remain very positive lately about the show and the current direction. I have always tried to speak my mind and not mislead my followers especially regarding a topic that we are all so very passionate about. This is why I want to write down some things that have played on my mind lately.

Long post under the cut

I have always been honest about my analysis of the show, and what I interpret as I watch. What I don’t think is made clear enough by many of us meta writers is that sometimes the direction of the show changes, sometimes the change is slow, sometimes it happens abruptly. All we can do is let the show guide us. We let the meta guide US, rather than force it to fit our preferred reading.

The one thing I have always tried to avoid, regardless of what idiots on Twitter might claim, is confirmation bias. I will not let my desire for canonically romantic Destiel endgame affect my meta reading of the show. I ALWAYS force myself to see other perspectives and usually, the show still pleasantly surprises me by loading the subtext with Destiel themes.

I have written several posts on the topic lately to remind you all of my current stance:

My view on canon endgame Destiel (plus additions by others)

My view on the business side of things

My last meta piece on endgame themes in Season 14

Since the announcement that Season 15 was the last, I have suffered a whole range of emotions, and many of those were relating to my fear over Destiel. My desire for it to be brought to text is shared by so many of you, I am just another fan like any of you who desperately wants this love story honoured and done RIGHT. My optimism has constantly jumped up and down from episode to episode, from one PR release to another. I can’t make up my bloody mind.

I’m scared.

I’ll probably be mocked for saying that. I half expect the assholes to grab hold of this post when I’m done and use it to twist my words and attack Destiel shippers with. The one thing you can always count on with absolute certainty is the predictability of the bronlies and *others* who have recently aligned themselves with them. I’ll blow them a kiss now and be done with it.

This isn’t a post to announce a *change* of heart as such, but like @tinkdw wrote this morning my optimism on endgame romantic Destiel is currently at a low point.

Ever since the end of the S12/13 escalation after 13x06, I have had this horrible voice in the back of my head telling me that such an abrupt change of pace probably came from higher up. Suddenly jumping from a heavily romantic Destiel arc to zero Destiel focus was extremely jarring and confusing enough even for the general audience to be confused with.

Since then, whilst we HAVE had quite a nice helping of Destiel elements in the show to keep us going, the lack of follow up on that escalation at THIS point is starting to concern me. There is still definitely intentional subtext being laid down for us to enjoy, but in my opinion it has fallen back into the realm of plausible deniability and the characters can easily be viewed as platonic friends/brothers.

Instead, there has been a drastic increase in the focus on found family and the Winchester family unit lately - centering around TFW being the parents of Jack. Sam, Dean, and Cas have all been presented as three equal father figures to their son, the majority of PR has treated the three show leads very equal, and this in itself is amazing for a show that has so often side lined Cas in previous years. This is still a hug win for anyone who sits in camp “Cas is a lead and this show is more than the brothers”.

I always used to say when Dabb took over, that this was a good thing for Cas fans. I still maintain this stance. Cas is more present than ever as an equal to Sam and Dean, and sure they have their disagreements, but his character journey is integral to the brothers journey now. There is absolutely no way that this show will end without the three of them together - whether in life or in death. If it does, then I will be flinging my laptop into the wall in utter despair.

The latest episode was a heavily emotional send off for Mary Winchester. I was expecting her death, though for a short time there I hoped that perhaps it would be subverted. I feel like she was honoured well, but at the same time I am upset that she was given no choice in the matter, and I will never fully be satisfied with her death as on a very basic level, it was yet another fridging. I also recoiled at the idea that her heaven included John Winchester - after an early season build of a potential new relationship with Bobby (one that was heavily DeanCas coded) this is another change of direction that left me blinking in the headlights. It is another element that has shaken my faith in the show’s ability to logically plot story direction. The one comfort I can take here, is that the John from Mary’s heaven was NOT the actual soul of John Winchester, but a happy memory of him. Mary’s heaven’s front door clearly only states her own name. Her and John have never been actual soulmates - just forced soulmates for heavens purposes. I can’t berate Mary on her happy memories of her marriage, but from a narrative perspective it feels like a regression of sorts, put there purely for sentimental purposes. Had it been clear that it was John’s soul, it would have been far worse and I would be in a far worse frame of mind right now.

I have seen some really great meta on this latest episode talking about how Mary’s death has shown once again the difference between Dean and Cas, and Sam and Cas, and how Dean’s extreme emotional reaction to Cas’s desperate attempt to shelter Jack and the brothers from further pain indicates an emotional bond between them beyond the realm of platonic friendship and brotherhood. I really want to agree with this reading. I do. I can see it, and I agree that this could potentially lead to a discussion between them that is desperately overdue.

But I can also easily see this being overlooked. I can see Bucklemming stomping into the story next episode with their gigantic clumsy boots and crushing all of Bobo’s delicately weaved plot full of call backs, mirrors and poetic symmetry. I can see the DeanCas *conversation* that we have been eagerly awaiting now for nearly 2 whole seasons being once again left behind.

After the series end announcement, I looked back at several episodes that aired recently, and I speculated that the writers have known this since at least episode 300. Too much of what has been said in the scripts since is obviously a message to the fans. Therefore, everything we are currently watching is also already “the endgame” because the writers at this point should start wrapping up loose plot threads and focusing on finalising the character stories. Setting things up for the big finale.

This is why I believe 14x14′s shock end with Michael being destroyed so easily by Jack happened. I seriously doubt that is how it was originally supposed to go. They needed to clear the path for Jack rather than having various different plots running simultaneously like they usually do.

This is also why I am slightly anxious about Cas’s Empty deal. If this becomes a thread picked up for season 15 great, but I can also see them easily resolving it in some outlandish way to instead focus on whatever big final story will be the focus in season 15. I would love Cas’s deal TO be the focal story, and if this happens, I will also regain faith in a romantic Destiel subplot, but I am wavering.

Since the writers knew when writing the current run of episodes in season 14 that the season would wind up and prepare for the endgame, if they intended Destiel to be brought to text, I was expecting something more than what we have got. Perhaps I’m just finally burnt out, but frankly I don’t think that the way Dean treated Cas in this latest episode read as a lovers spat, I don’t see intentional romance being coded into their scenes together, and I certainly don’t see any indication from Jensen Ackles in his acting choices that Dean is struggling with a deep love for Cas vs his grief over the loss of his mum. I see loss, and anger, and an outstanding performance yes, but his treatment of Cas was far too cold. In fact, when I look purely at Jensen and Dean over the past season, his interactions with Cas have all been rather cold in my mind. I’m sorry to say this, and I would welcome anyone reaching out to me to point out examples where this view is incorrect. But compare his interactions with Cas to any interactions with Sam, and the difference is obvious, and not in a good way.

Misha, on the other hand, as always, has spectacularly portrayed Cas’s love for Dean in such an outstanding and heartbreaking way. Throughout this episode his anguish was so evident. He took my breath away, and that final scene when he tries to go to Dean, but Sam stops him, that really made me want to cry.

So I am still confused, and concerned, because where I see Misha continuing to act his heart out in favour of the love story, I see nothing of the same from Jensen - not since early season 13 anyway. If Destiel was truly on the cards, shouldn’t there be more in the way of early season 13? Are my expectations really so high to want something more than mere one sided scraps?

I need to stress here that I understand the many excuses given towards Dean’s sometimes offish behaviour. He represses his emotions, he hides his feelings, he comes across angry when he is worried. He gets aggressive and violent when scared. I know all of this and will accept this IF the next two episodes SHOW me that he is ALSO capable of apology, of the kind of care and feeling towards Cas that he always gives to Sam.

Because we HAVE seen that softer, more loving Dean regularly in Season 14. We have seen outstanding performances from Jensen in that respect - but only ever towards Sam, or Mary, or occasionally Jack. He has never shown Cas that same treatment. Again, I appeal to you, especially to other meta writers, to point out clear examples of where I am wrong. Because I really really want you to change my mind. Show me where Dean is obviously looking at Cas with clear romantic love, where the music sweeps and his face betrays his emotion the way it does for Misha whenever Cas is with Dean.

Of course, there is a rational argument here. That this is all done purposely specifically for the Destiel drama. If this is the case then GREAT. I want it. Believe me I do. But we have two episodes left of this season and one of them will be a huge mess of pacing, action, clunky plot and terrible dialogue, and the other will be the finale which appears to be mostly taken up by Chuck’s return IMO. I can’t see any DeanCas outstanding drama being resolved in the next two episodes. I really REALLY want to be wrong. But if they don’t resolve that DeanCas drama by season end, then IMO the story between them will remain familial. Because a Dean Winchester coming out story in the final season alone just isn’t plausible.

Again, I stress that I want to be wrong here, but the writers knew the end was coming when they wrote these last few episodes, and if Destiel was something they were doing, then they would have written it into the end of this season. I’m not saying I need a canon reveal, but I do need something more than the scraps we have been given if I am to have my faith rekindled.

Don’t get me wrong, I adore all the focus on found family, and I fully expect season 15 to further push the Winchesters to finally show to Cas how much he is part of their family. I even think there is a good chance that we could get his name carved on the table by final season end - following that heartbreaking shot of Mary’s initials next to her son’s in 14x18. But I don’t see it being romantic, if there is no romantic push coming up. It is far too easy right now for the show to reinforce the notion that Cas is another brother. I do love that the story is developing down a clear path where Cas will likely choose to be human and live a human life with his brothers, but brothers is all they will be.

I really hope I am wrong, but in amongst all the speculation of this big Destiel reunion and conversation that is long overdue, I can’t help but remember that we have been waiting for this conversation for nearly two years. Just because fandom remembers and holds on to the overtly romantic S12/13 escalation doesn’t mean a general audience will remember this. They will only see the present, and in the present Dean and Cas do not act like a romantic couple. If another long hiatus goes by without that conversation having occurred, it is yet another gap in which the general audience will forget, and the writers will be able to drop it as they have always dropped it previously.

This is endgame, we can’t afford to have the deancas important plot points dropped anymore. We can’t afford to have their conversations, and apologies, and moments of making up, left in the subtext. We NEED to have that stuff shown the way they show it if it is Sam and Dean.

If they aren’t planning on doing that, then I doubt there will even be a “Destiel” plot to meta about. It will remain in subtext, as scraps, and maybe something ambiguous right at the end as a saving grace in order to not completely destroy the shows legacy once complete.

The further we move away from any substantial Destiel elements, the more and more likely it is that a CW exec already pulled the plug on it. As much as I love Bobo, and still enjoyed this episode for its melancholic poetic beauty, his own bitterness over Wayward Sisters still shows clearly in his writing (in my opinion) and I don’t believe he truly has his heart in it the way Steve Yokey does. I sometimes wonder if his lack of passion for his episodes recently is to do with more than just the loss of Wayward Sisters. Could Bobo also be upset about a “no” on Destiel?

The saving grace here being that Yokey still fills his episode with passion and plenty of queer coding. Yokey is the other person on the writing team who I focus on in terms of accusations of queerbaiting. Yokey certainly wouldn’t queerbait his own community, but unlike Bobo where there appears to be a certain bitterness over his place on the show, Yokey still embraces his role and seems very happy with it. If they had truly been given a red light from the execs, then wouldn’t Yokey also be feeling kinda pissed off that he is working on a show that is potentially going to go down in history as the biggest queerbait since TV began?

Aside from Bobo, which can be explained by Wayward Sisters, there is still passion and joy from the writing team, and if they were truly aware that Destiel wasn’t happening, I don’t think they would be so proud. So maybe there is still hope after all? They aren’t the kind of people to intentionally queerbait their fanbase. Yet Destiel has definitely been an intentional part of their storytelling for years.

I truly hope that the next two episodes rekindle my faith, but right now I have very little hope for textual romance. I am still 100% on board with the found family, Cas is definitely a Winchester and third lead focus that the show has been pushing. It brings me a lot of joy. But yeah, I need a lot more than we are currently getting if Destiel is really still on track.

Sorry guys. Perhaps I am just not quite out of my rough patch this week. I am fickle enough that by next week I could have totally changed my mind again, but as always. These are my opinions, not to be inflicted on anyone else. You are responsible for managing your own expectations. This is how I manage mine.

xxx

#supernatural #destiel #supernatural endgame #endgame destiel #spn speculation #spn spoilers #season 14 #season 15 #my thoughts #they aren't positive sorry guys #14x18 #my opinions #manage your own expectations #these are mine #the great queerbait debate #destiel dreaming

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btgalaxy · 5 years ago

Text

Twisted

➳ pairing: yoongi x reader

➳ genre: mafia!au, angst, eventual smut, maybe fluff

➳ word count: 3k

Masterlist / Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

Chapter 7:

Your heart drops to the pit of your stomach and you’re nearly sick at the thought. Jimin is here. He is here, and you could see him. And then all the thoughts start racing through your head; should you run, should you find him, should you throw yourself into his arms and forgive everything that’s happened and kiss him again the way you used to? You can barely breathe as an alarm starts ringing, loud and inescapable.

“Fuckin’ hell. We need to get the fuck out of here.” You don’t have time to think over your options, however. You don’t have time to do anything, because Yoongi already has a hold of your wrist, pulling you so fast that you’re stumbling over your feet with a distant expression and flickering eyes, trying to piece together what the fuck is going on.

The hallways fall past you like a blur of foliage outside a car window, meshing together and blearing everyone’s faces that run passed you frantically. You notice that the door- the foul smelling hallway accommodating the off-limits door- is wedged open slightly, and the smell is even more prominent than beforehand; so much so you have to hold your breath until you’ve passed it. Yoongi’s hold doesn’t ease as you run further, now deeper into the depths of the chaos with men darting about in hoards and some even carrying guns? God, you pray nobody gets hurt- even Jimin, and especially Yoongi.

The bells ringing through your ears from the alarm system make you feel woozy as you reach the door to your room, Yoongi hauling you inside and slamming it shut behind you with clear frustration-driven force.

He whips round, facing you, “You need to stay here. You cannot leave this place with him here.”

You frown instantly, eyes widening, “What! But- but this is Jimin! He won’t hurt me- and I’ve been doing all that training,” Yoongi stalks towards you as you speak, but you won’t cease your protests, “and Jin has seen I’ve been improving loads and I could help if I could maybe talk to him and he did love me so he must–“

“I said fucking no!” He roars, slamming his fist above your head against the wall you don’t realise your now trapped against. His body is visibly heaving, a vein protruding out of his neck and his eyes squeezed tightly shut while he attempts to recompose himself. You cower beneath him, gulping back as he exhales, the blow fanning over your face sinisterly.

“Y/N you will stay here,” he growls, “It’s too dangerous. Don’t you dare move or you will face the consequences.” He backs up slightly, leaving you stuck to the wall in fear as he wets his lips and brings a hand to cover his forehead.

“I’ll be back straight after this.” His voice is demanding, domineering, “Don’t even fucking think about opening the door to anyone, but me. I won’t be fucking happy to find out you’ve gone traipsing off with some soldier that turns out to be the informer.” He stares you down, oozing control as he purses his lips, “You got that?”

Your breath hitches momentarily before you swallow back the fear, responding with a frantic nod. You know if you speak you’ll only anger him further, and now is not the time for that. Besides, as soon as he’s gone you know you’ll be straight out of here so that’ll piss him off enough.

“Good. So don’t move, don’t speak, don’t do anything. Stay.” You want to retort telling him you aren’t a dog, but instead you nod faux compliantly as he takes a final deep breath, biting his lip as he leaves. You hear the door click shut instantly.

You sit on the bed anxiously, figuring you should wait a minute or two for Yoongi to be well out of the way before slipping out into the stone corridor. You try to distract yourself thinking about what you should do when you see Jimin- when not if, you’re adamant you want to see him. You want to see what he looks like after so long; if he’s pale with dark bags from the stress of losing you, or whether he’s perfectly fine with that smug smile and just trying to aggravate Yoongi by showing up on his own territory. A part of you is hoping that it isn’t the latter.

You move slowly off the mattress, padding gently over to the door, in case anyone is stationed outside making sure you don’t leave your room. What you don’t plan for, however, is the handle not budging when you go to peer into the tunnel. Of course he locked it. You physically groan out in frustration, rattling the handle as if it will make a difference. You’re stuck.

You slide a bobby pin out of your hair, inserting it into the keyhole and wiggling it about to evoke some reaction from the mechanism, but you’ve only had glimpses of lock-picking in films and never actually knew what they were doing. You grunt again, launching the useless grip to the floor and raking your fingers through your hair, desperately trying to think up a new plan. You aren’t sure how long Jimin will be here, or worse, how long he’ll be alive. You need to see him.

Fuck it. You take a step back, inhaling deeply. The ruckus outside is far too noisy and preoccupied to worry about some banging on a door. You manoeuvre yourself so your foot can make direct impact with the closest part of the door to the lock, then bring your foot up and bend your knee, initiating a rigid kick against the wood. But it doesn’t budge. You suck in a breath through your teeth, becoming progressively irritated. You launch another blow, and still nothing. The next, you drive your heel into the wood more, and this time it shakes. You repeat the movement and the door moulds into an uncomfortable angle. Got it. One final kick and it swings open, revealing an empty corridor, although not for long. The sound of footsteps approaching is prevalent amongst the echoes bouncing off the walls, so you rapidly close the battered wood again as best you can, making a break towards the main training area.

It’s packed with men, all preparing to fight and loading guns, faffing with equipment. You wet your lips, curling your fingers around a column which you lurk behind cautiously, concealing your body from view of the crowds. You can see all the way down the tunnel towards the exit, and you know there’s no chance you’ll get out that way with all the commotion around it- men running up and down the stairs seemingly redundantly, however none you’ve seen yet have injuries which is comforting, although you know it won’t be long till chaos breaks loose from its chains.

You turn on your heel, contemplating another way out. And the only option you can think of is the way Yoongi took you outside for some air the night of the party, except you were drunk and barely remember a thing. But it’s your only choice right now. So you take off in the direction he’d taken you, searching through the blur of that night in your memory to find something that could help. You do remember a sign on the wall of some sort- it said something like deliveries? Portage? Dispatch? You try to think- it was something similar, and as you turn the next corner you see large, black letters pinned to the wall: shipments.

You could laugh with relief, but you have to find the ladder out. You know there was a ladder, that much is clear in your mind, so you head through a door beside the letters on the wall. Inside, the room is filled with boxes and crates all stacked on top of each other, you daren’t think what’s inside, probably drugs or guns or other illegal substances. You gulp, ignoring the anxiety bubbling in your stomach and instead survey the room, spotting in one corner a ladder up the wall concealed by a cut out in the ceiling.

You clamber over boxes, pushing them out of the way and heading towards the exit, when suddenly you hear a gruff voice behind you and the sound of clinking against the floor. Your head automatically snaps round, eyes widening when Namjoon catches you.

“Y/N?” He frowns, “What are you doing?” His eyes travel to where you’re headed, to the ladder, and, being the brainiac he is, immediately deduces your plan.

“Y/N, no you can’t!” He hobbles forwards with his stick, clearly strained and you glance at him with your lips pursed, trying to fight the desire to see Jimin whom you know is just a few steps and a climb away.

You exhale, penitently, “I’m sorry.” And you shove forwards as many of the boxes as you can, spilling a smoky powder from some of the bags released out the boxes and fogging up Namjoon’s vision long enough for you to dart to the ladder. You don’t think about what you’re doing, instead grip each bar one at a time and pull yourself upwards. You groan when you reach the top, struggling to open the hatch at the roof, then finally wielding it open.

It’s evening outside. You weren’t even aware of the time. The sun is nearly out of sight, spilling a dull orange haze over the sweeping fields like a blanket. You brace your hands against the grass, scrambling clumsily out of the hatch in the ground. You quickly spin round, slamming the door shut before Namjoon can follow after you, sliding the bolt across and launching backwards, away from the metal slab now impassable.

You take a deep breath. You don’t have much time now, surely. You scutter rapidly to your feet, immediately taking off towards the direction of the battered house suffused with a vermillion glow depicting some ominous presence. And as you near the house, everything comes into view.

Four sleek black Range Rovers are parked a few metres from the shack, surrounded by an assembly of men uniformed in all black, and at the head of the group he stands. In all his gorgeous glory, Jimin. Your Jimin. And he looks perfect. His hair is swept back over his forehead, a little less slick than you’re used to but still effortlessly faultless, and his skin is still immaculate and glowing, the evening light saturating him with a complimenting crimson. And he’s dressed in his usual crisp, white shirt and pin trousers, glossy black shoes encasing his feet, true businessman style. You squeeze your eyes shut. Now is not the time to be drooling over your ex-boyfriend.

You take another step forward and Yoongi comes into view, Taehyung at his side, and he’s fuming. You can see the veins protruding from his neck as he purses his lips, face reddened to a deep merlot accentuating the clenched fists at his sides and shoulders rising and falling sinisterly. He’s even angrier than he was in your room, telling you to stay put, and fleetingly you consider turning back to the hatch in the ground and going back through the shipments to your room and cowering in your bed. But suddenly every face is looking at you when a voice pierces through the portentous quiet.

“Y/N!” Namjoon bellows, staggering through a crowd of men.

You don’t know where to look with both Yoongi and Jimin staring idly at you. Jimin shocked, Yoongi livid. The expressions are abundantly clear from even this distance. Your eyes are naturally drawn to the man you’ve spent months of your life agonising over, pleasing so many nights, loving for so long. Your breath hitches as you make eye contact, the kind of contact in cliché movies when you can think of nothing but the person you’re looking at and, for a second, everything disappears, and you’re flooded with thoughts of only that person. But the moment is ephemeral.

“Y/N get the fuck out of here- fuckin’- fuck Joon!” Yoongi’s frantic; shouting orders at people as you stare at Jimin. You can see him mouth something, perhaps your name but you’re too far to see clearly, and he takes an infinitesimal step forwards, but, despite the move being so trivial, it’s enough to set Yoongi off.

“Everyone inside!” He’s screaming, face red as he darts towards you. You don’t respond to him, only look at Jimin, now with tears welling up in your eyes.

“Y/N!” Yoongi is at your side faster than you expected, hoped, and is pulling you by the waist, and then wrist frantically towards the house. And that’s when the gunfire starts ringing through the air like whistles loud enough to be directly next to your ear.

The two of you duck down immediately, as does Jimin by the cars. He looks back up at you, and you can see his reluctance to leave, and as a tear slips onto your cheek he shakes his head, punching the car door as he clambers inside.

“No!” You finally scream out as the engine rumbles to life, and you attempt to scramble from Yoongi’s lethal grip, but it’s futile. He’s not letting go for anything, and certainly not to let you run to Jimin.

As the vehicles bolt off, you see a few of the windows smash from Yoongi’s order to fire, encouraging you to struggle further, again with no luck of freedom. Instead, you’re dragged into the shack having achieved virtually nothing.

You’re dragged by an irate Yoongi, everyone clearing out of his way as he hauls you by the wrist through the wilting house, down the hidden stairwell and into the stone tunnels of Manes. It’s somewhat humiliating; like being scolded by a parent in front of a crowd of people as a child. You wear a defiant expression, still trying to pry off Yoongi’s clutch as he yanks you into his office, leaving the door wide open for everyone to hear as you’re launched towards the desk.

“What the fuck was that Y/N?!” He clamours, slamming the side of his fist into the wall next to him, not averting his eyes from your quailing figure.

“I-,” You swallow.

“You fucking what? You just have a fucking death wish, huh?” His thundering voice carries a sarcastic, mocking tone which makes you want to slap him straight across the face.

Jin suddenly comes bundling into the room, Taehyung immediately behind him and Namjoon a little further, limping down the corridor. Jin glowers at you from the doorway, looking nearly as angry as Yoongi as he steps towards you, although Yoongi gets there first, close enough that he’s towering over your frame, clearly wanting to intimidate you.

“What do you think you’re playing at? Do you think this is a fucking game?” He snarls, eyes filled with nothing but unadulterated fury.

You gulp back the fear, “No, I told you that I-“

“Fucking shut up and do as you’re told!” He throws himself back, exhaling furiously, turning to face you again, but as he backs you up to the wall you see the glint of sheeny metal gripped in his veiny hand.

“Woah, Yoongi-,“ Taehyung steps in to interrupt, but Yoongi already has you pinned to the wall, a knife threatening the skin of your throat as you arch your neck up, desperate not to feel the slice of the silver.

“How fucking dare you go against my orders?” He growls, but in spite of his harsh words, when you look up there’s a glint of something else in his expression. A faltering sense of insecurity, of… fear?

You gaze down your nose as he recomposes himself, pressing the weapon a little harder against your throat.

“Boss, you need to-“

Yoongi groans, snapping round to face the doorway, “You need to back the fuck up Taehyung before I push this into your throat.”

Taehyung stills at Yoongi’s not even remotely empty threat, the metal almost instantly against your neck again as Yoongi lours at you, “Why would you disobey me like that? I specifically gave you orders to stay in that room. I locked the door. I ensured you were safe. And what did you do, huh? What did you do?”

You choke out a sob, the top of your head hitting the wall as you press your eyelids closed, a tear rolling down your face onto the blade of the knife, tarnishing it ever so slightly.

“You thought Jimin was gonna be your knight in shining armour, huh? You thought he was- he was gonna be some fucking hero? Yeah? Well, he’s not.” His tone is cold, unrelenting, austere. “He was here to negotiate to get more drugs. He wasn’t here for you. He was here for himself. He doesn’t give a shit about you and he-“

“Boss.” The interrupting voice belongs to Jin, and is the only thing that surprises Yoongi enough to slowly remove the blade from your throat. “Boss I think you’re violating one of our most sacred rules right now. I think you need to go and calm down.”

Yoongi glances at you, then to the knife in his hand, then to your neck. He pulls back. You’ve never seen him look so- so hesitant, so- so vulnerable? He drops the knife to the ground, breathing heavily enough that his head rocks with each breath. You bring your head down from against the wall as he looks at you, painfully, and then he’s out of the room shoving past everyone faster than you can blink.

That night, in your room, the distant screams feel louder than ever.

Masterlist / Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

#twisted #bts reactions #bts imagines #bts suga #bts mafia au #bts angst #bts fluff #yoongi smut #admin lottie

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harpermiller · 6 years ago

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(I can't find the pen emoji) talk about all your memori au kids!!

Thank you for the birthday present lol

Gets ready for a wack load of kids

(Canon universe is basically no praimfaya happened - but everything up to the fall of ALIE did)

Ace Murphy: Canon universe: 18. He’s training to become a guard. Best friends with Augustus Blake. Absolute idiot meme stupid boy. Spitting image of Murphy, with his sense of humor to match. His smile and intelligence is all Emori. Head over heels in love with Poppy Reyes. Loyal, compassionate, protective of his loved ones. Emori’spast caught up to her when Ace was 10 and he was kidnapped and tortured, hestill has the scar that runs down his cheek from the whip. Fluent in trig.

Modern universe: Literally a dumbass and always doing stupid shit. His main goal in life is to make Poppy Wick laugh. Adores his little siblings. Runs a spam instagram account. Doesn’t get along very well with Wick, but Raven loves him. Can often be seen sneaking out of Poppy’s bedroom window. Sucks at sports. Reigning champion of neighborhood hide and seek.

Nova Murphy: Canon universe: 17. When Emori gets pregnant with Nova, Murphy and her give up the idea of leaving Arkadia anytime soon. Spitting image of Emori. Sarcasm is all Murphy. Best friends with Selah Blake. Will listen to anyone who tells her stories about space. She’ssly, curious, cunning, and resourceful. She knows how to defend herself. Shestill has her adventurous streak and often convinces the other kids to sneakout the gates and explore (she gets grounded for two weeks after getting caughtsneaking inside the mount weather ruins). She has a girlfriend who lives in a near by Trikru village. Fluent in trig.

Modern universe: Values her friends and the memories they make together. Very open about her sexuality (Bi). One of those people who has their aesthetic all figured out and everything about them reflects that. She’s always put together. Rebellious and adventurous. Secretly a really good singer. She’s the badass stereotype but is also secretly super soft.

Kira Murphy: Canon universe: 16. Emori gets pregnant for the third year in a row and Abby realizes they need a more effective form of contraceptive. Perfect mix of both Murphy and Emori. Has a hand that matches Emori’s Helps Abby out in the medical wing and with the farm fields. Best friends with Bobbie Miller (lowkey in love with her too). Sheoften offers to watch over the little ones in camp rather than venture outsidethe gates. She’s cautious and a little timid. Monty and Jasper teach her how tomake moonshine and she picks up baking quickly after watching the kitchen staffa few times. Fluent in trig.

Modern universe: Very bubbly, happy, sunshine girl. She’s that friend who takes candid pictures of her friends. Loves everything Disney and often hosts movie nights at the Murphy household. Loves dresses and pretty things. Doesnt mind babysitting her younger siblings.

Jax Murphy: Canon universe: 12. Emori almost dies giving birth to him. Lovesrunning around and causing trouble (usually with Jonah Blake and Zach Murphy). Usually found around Jasper. He wants tojoin the guard when he gets old enough and learn to drive the rover. Veryinterested in learning the political side of the camp. Once got snagged up intoa hunting net and was there for hours until Miller found him when on patrol andcut him down. Fluent in trig.

Modern universe: 100% his dad except has Emori’s smile. Likes to play sports and is on the soccer and baseball team. He’s a little shit and is always bugging his siblings. Looks up to Ace a lot. Pulls pranks on everyone and drives Clarke up the wall with everything he pulls. Can step into a leadership role when needed.

Zach Murphy: Canon universe: 10. Emoriand Murphy got Zach when Indra road into Arkadia carrying a small bundle. Shesaid that a trikru family did not want him because he could not talk and she knewthat Skaikru had no problem with frikdreina. Upon hearing what Indra calledhim, Emori automatically asked Kane if she and Murphy could have the baby andhe agreed. Theyhave created a form of sign language for Zach to communicate with. Lovesreading and will read in the strangest of places (favourite spot is the back ofthe rover). He loves when it’s quiet. Is totally a mama’s boy. Has no interestin becoming a guard. Understands both English and trig.

Modern universe: People often mistake Jax and him for twins because they are close in age and are always together. Jax and Jonah Blake often get him into trouble with their shenanigans. He gets along really well with Harper and Monty, he enjoys how quiet their house is most of the time. Emori dotes on him a lot. Bellamy recommends books for him all the time. Always begging his parents for a dog. literally the sweetest.

Sabrina Murphy: Canon universe: 8. WhenEmori and Murphy are in Polis on a sort of get away they pass by an orphanageof some sort. A little 5-year-old Flokru child attaches herself to Murphy’sleg. Emori uses her expert lying skills and trig to talk the woman in charge ofthe orphanage to let them take the little girl home (“Just don’t let her know you’re Skaikru and we’ll be fine”).Sabrinaloves to hang out in medical with Abby, Jackson, and Clarke. She enjoys whenOctavia does her hair up in grounder braids. Best Friend is Camden Reyes. When Luna comes for a visit onceto make trade agreements, Sabrina busies her with questions about Flokru. Luna almost takes Sabrina home after learning she’s of Flokru decent, not wanting the child to be with Skaikru. Everyone has to convince Luna that Murphy andEmori are the best parents she could have and that she belongs with them. Fluentin trig.

Modern universe: She’s the stereotypical Disney Princess child. Loves princesses, sparkles, dresses, and magic. Loves singing and playing karaoke with whoever will join her (Usually Jasper or Ace). Likes when the older girls braid and do her hair or paint her nails. Very smart and is top of her class at school. Is bugging her mom to put her in dance classes. Likes to follow Clarke around (”Princesses can be Doctors too, just look at Clarke”).

Giselle and Holland Murphy: Canon universe: 6. Emorigives birth to the first set of twins in Ark history in the dead of summer onehot night. Abby and Jackson both loose sleep over the stress because they’ve never delivered twins and the chances of everyone surviving is slim, luckilyeveryone does. Always getting into trouble. Moreoften than not are off bugging Kane and hanging off his legs or making a messin the communal kitchens. Whenever they get to be too much, Jaha takes them to thesorting bins and lets them sift through all the things for redistribution forhours. Fluent in trig.

Modern universe: They have Murphy wrapped around their fingers. Very mischievous. Often make a mess of the kitchen because they want to make something (without asking permission first). Maya loves to back with them. They love bubble guppies and like to pretend they’re mermaids. Giselle takes gymnastics and Holland is in dancing.

Maverick Murphy: Canon universe: 4.Emorigives birth to their last child in the dead of Winter and everyone calls himthe miracle baby as he shouldn’t have survived (Emori calls him her little Nemiyon (miracle)). He’s an absolute charmer and has the camp wrapped around his finger. Often sits with whoever is going out to the field that day. Can be seen following around Murphy or one of his older brothers. Fluent in trig.

Modern universe: Excellent negotiator and can persuade almost anyone. Likes to give kisses. Loves to dance with his mom around the house when she holds him in her arms. A little momma’s boy. He thinks Lincoln is the coolest person ever. Likes to sit with Nova when she’s doing homework (he’ll just sit on the floor playing with toys when she works). A little sweetheart. Has so much of his father’s personality in him.

Ellie Murphy: Canon universe: does not exist.

Modern universe: 2. Loves when people read her stories - especially when Emori and Murphy do it together. When she’s tired she’ll grab the nearest pillow and fall asleep anywhere. Loves car rides. Her favourite is Monty and loves to sit in his lap at big gatherings. Loves when her oldest sisters and brother play with her. Loves fish and often will sit in front of the Green’s fish tank and just watch the fish. Very sweet but can be very dramatic.

Gabe Murphy: Canon universe: does not exist.

Modern universe: 6 months. Loves making faces and fart noises. Love people and is a very verbal baby. Happy and giggly. Loves snuggles and being held.

Send me a “🖊+an OC“ and I will talk about that OC!

#the 100 #memori #memori kids #the 100 kids #asks #john murphy #emori the 100 #next generation

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gutterballgt · 7 years ago

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I feel like we all need to watch 2004′s Stepford Wives again and marvel at how much more relevant it becomes with each passing year. I mean, it is a comical, existentially terrifying meta on toxic masculinity and how mediocre a man can be and still be considered the hero of a story, worthy of the heroine’s devotion.

Loooooong post. I got a lot to say on this subject.

It starts out with a few clips from a new season of TV shows, each with a feminist thrust about empowering women while men stew about being left in the dust without them actually doing anything to warrant keeping up. In the last of these promos, a married couple are separated on a tropical island and housed with professional prostitutes to see if they can be tempted away from their marriage vows.

The man, surprisingly, turns down his hot prostitute to stay “in Omaha with my Barbara”. It’s supposed to be this sweet moment of love and loyalty. Of sacrifice, because his wife is so homely while the prostitute was gorgeous and seemed devoted to his pleasure. Awwww.

The woman, who has been bombarded by multiple hot people who want her and who has only ever been with her husband, says she does love him, then jilts him for all the people responsible for what could only be a sexual awakening for her. We’re supposed to see her as a disloyal slut, turning her back on her sensitive, caring husband to have hot, dirty sex with the entire cast of a porno and a ridiculously built Hawaiian dude. How dare she, right? The Jezebel!

Then, we go back to the main studio where the heroine, Joanna, is clearly selling the new season with verve and all the confidence of a woman who knows she’s hit a hot button, and the jilted husband from the promo shows up and, instead of continuing the “sensitive, loyal man with a broken heart” shtick, he pulls out a gun, proposes a show called “let’s kill all the women!”, and tries to shoot Joanna.

We find out later that he’s already shot his wife and several of her new lovers.

I’m sorry, but we see that entirely too much in real life when women say no, when women try to leave, when women try to move on. Men become violent, even murderous, and wreak devastation on FAR more than the so-called source of their “broken heart”. At this late date, it’s too true-to-life to be as funny as it used to be.

There are too many so-called sensitive guys who feel entitled to a woman and think she has no say in the matter.

And that action -- that sudden, shocking violence by a jilted, shamed man -- is at the heart of literally everything else that happens in the movie. It’s the toxic masculinity we’re finally at least battling in public these days. The “if I can’t have you, no one can, and I’ll kill anyone who says otherwise and tries to help you” attitude.

Enter Walter, Joanna’s long-suffering husband. When she’s fired -- BECAUSE SHE WAS SHOT AT BY A VIOLENT JILTED MAN, not because she was bad at her job, her career and sanity sacrificed to some random asshole’s incoherent rage -- he quits his (lesser) job at the same company in a grand gesture of solidarity. Of course, they’re both ludicrously loaded (he states later that she’s always made 6 figures more than he could ever dream of, so it’s more like she’s loaded and he’s married to her), so it’s a largely empty gesture that costs him nothing. But it’s presented as oh, so romantic.

They proceed to move away after a short stint in a mental health facility for Joanna, who was understandably traumatized by her entire career and sense of place being yanked out from under her in addition to being shot, and again, Walter is portrayed as the supportive, caring husband, where Joanna is self-absorbed (ie., RECOVERING FROM TRAUMA) and snide to all their new neighbors (who are kind but empty behind their plastic smiles and kinda weird her out and are politely disdainful of her).

Everything about the set-up puts Joanna in the wrong to the point that she, herself, decides she’s a bad woman, a terrible mother and wife, and that she should literally change her entire self to be more like these false-smiled, plastic bimbos who are so objectified by their “drooling nerd” husbands. She even tries to recruit her friends -- Bobbie and Roger, the only two people she can connect with because they’re just as free-thinking and independent as Joanna has always been and were big names in their industries, just like her -- to buy into the Stepford way of life, though it goes so far against their grain that they can’t help but laugh about their attempts to fit in.

And Walter is thrilled. Here, he finally has the doting, stay-at-home wife and mother he always pictured for himself. He describes Stepford to the other men as “it’s like the way life is meant to be”. And, in a man’s mind, it sure is: he’s living the no-work life on his wife’s money, and he’s finally convinced her to be subservient to him. Why wouldn’t he be happy?

Isn’t that what every man wants?

So, with the dream in his hands, why wouldn’t he be insecure when Joanna starts to point out all the craziness around them, all the inconsistencies? Why wouldn’t he realize that she ISN’T really subservient to him? Not really? That she’s only doing so of her own volition and he has no real way to keep her acting that way if she chooses to take the kids and leave, as she’s threatened to when he refuses to listen to her?

This... is when his own toxic masculinity starts to grow.

Because he could have stopped the whole show when Roger was turned into a Stepford husband. He clearly knew what had happened, but he defended the whole thing 100%, arguing with Joanna about stereotyping Roger as a flaming gay instead of letting him be gay his own way, telling her that people change and she was being hysterical and selfish to find fault with Roger’s newfound “happiness”.

And he didn’t lift a finger to stop Bobbie’s transformation, even knowing she and Joanna had become best friends who were clinging to each other even harder with Roger’s sudden off-putting falseness. Even then, he was already planning Joanna’s transformation, as exemplified by the remote control she found in her house.

He’d already bought in. He was already willing to trade Joanna’s humanity for empty-eyed smiles, for sex with a subservient robot who could only praise him even if she felt nothing, for a tidy house and plenty of baked goods (which, may I remind you, Joanna was already doing while she tried so hard to be what he wanted her to be).

Then, when Joanna finally figures out the whole story -- because OF COURSE she did all the hard work to figure out who these poor women really were and what had been done to them -- and confronts him about it, what does he do? Ignore her entirely and start listing his grievances against her with his man friends cheering him on. And all his grievances are simply that she’s better at everything than him.

And she is. She’s a remarkably intelligent, talented, driven woman who had great success until a man tried to kill her and ruined her career, making her doubt herself.

She IS better than him. And that’s what he can’t stand.

That’s what none of them can stand.

And instead of feeling lucky that he got her, that she chose him even despite his obvious mediocrity, he’s furious and petulant and whines, “No! I got to hold your purse!” All the assholes chime in with “yeah, we’re the girl! and we don’t like it!”, etc., with no sense of irony that they’re demanding their wives “be the girl” because that would be okay somehow. Because women are supposed to wait on them hand and foot, raise the children out of sight and out of mind, keep the house spotless, present their perfect bodies for fucking whenever it’s wanted, and be silent and supportive whenever they’re NOT wanted.

So, it comes down to Walter’s big “hero” moment, where Joanna makes a passionate plea to save her humanity and he, at the last moment (and, more notably, out of sight of the other men), decides he can’t do that to her. Can’t turn her into an automated sex toy.

And we’re supposed to cheer.

For this minimal, absolute-least-he-could-do gesture. He just... didn’t erase his wife’s individuality when he had the chance, because he couldn’t look her in the eye and effectively kill her.

So heroic. Such a fucking sacrifice.

In reality, Joanna did all the fucking work, and all while having to convince the man she loved, who supposedly loved her, that she’s a goddamn human being that shouldn’t be turned into a goddamn robot just because he felt insecure about being a mediocre nobody.

She’s the one who had to pretend to be a perfect, subservient robot for who knows how long to fool the whole town until they could get back into the transformation facility to free all the other women. She’s the one who distracted Mike so Walter could get away and sneak into the facility.

He doesn’t even have, like, mad hacking skills. He’s allowed into the secret lab because he’s a man. And even then, he just pushes buttons randomly on the first screen he sees until the file corrupts itself and the programming breaks down. He doesn’t even know he hasn’t KILLED the first woman before he’s slapping at all the screens without rhyme or reason until all the programs stop.

And Joanna, bless her heart, gives him the credit for it. “No, that’s a man,” she says admiringly.

And then she proceeds to save Walter (again, because she’s already saved him from himself) by knocking Mike’s head off and exposing him for the robot he is, revealing the twist that Claire, Mike’s wife, was the actual neurosurgeon mastermind behind the entire plot.

And, lo and behold, her insanity sprung from her husband, the real Mike, cheating on her. From her catching them in the act and being so stressed out from overwork and trying to live up to expectations that she snapped and killed them both.

Of course, the whole plot is undone now -- thanks to Joanna -- and all the men get their house arrest in Stepford, forced to live the roles they forced on their wives (without the loss of their will, of course, so it’s not anywhere near a comparable sentence)... except Walter.

Because he’s supposed to be the hero.

I just....

Don’t get me wrong. I love the movie. It’s entertaining, and it does a masterful job of slipping in the little micro-aggressions that women deal with daily -- my favorite little stiletto through the ribs is when New Roger calls on Joanna at the assembly, but instead of calling her by her name, Joanna Eberhart, he calls her “Mrs. Walter Kresby”, completely erasing her from the address; it’s funny but also infuriating because it’s, again, too true to life -- and it’s just so well done. Stepford looks like a dream and feels like a nightmare, and it is masterful moviemaking.

But it still pisses me off because, for all its feminist edge, for all its warnings about the dangers of toxic masculinity, it still treats Walter as the hero and makes Joanna grateful to him, his doting wife who’s so proud of him.

Walter.

Who, during that last interview, is very distinctly not carrying her purse.

#toxic masculinity #male entitlement #stepford wives #I've watched the flick a hundred times easily #and I love it #but I love it because it's almost too possible #if we had the technology #every bullshit entitled male in the universe would do it #without a second thought #as long as they thought they could get away with it

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2020laxteentour · 4 years ago

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Day One (Arrival)

Today was very eye opening, I expected Los Angeles to be all pretty and filled with expensive things. But today I really saw the up and downsides of Los Angeles. I know everywhere has it’s hard areas, but to see the major differences between and how there so close really made me think. People really spend lots of money on non-essential things when people are really out here with little to nothing. -Bascia P.

Seeing Skid row and Rodeo drive all in one day really gave me insight on how close and far rock bottom is from making it big at the top. Both were two extremes one filled with poverty and struggle and the other filled with excessive luxury both separated by a few miles and quite a few thousand dollars. On a lighter note seeing Trump's star absolutely trashed on the walkway was very enjoyable to see. -Essence H.

Today was very much a lesson and a experience. As an experience we got to go to the beach next to the pier and truly bask in California. We also watched an altercation take place within McDonald’s but that’s neither here nor there. As part of the lesson we were shown first hand the highs and lows of California. Doing this by first going to Skid Row and seeing all of the impoverished homeless people as the low, then making our way later on to Rodeo Drive and seeing all of the expensive things. This really opens up the eyes of people who might not realize that right around the corner from the big city and wealth there’s people living on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. -Bobby H.

I really like UCLA and it is so big. They even have a little town in UCLA. I don't like how they have a whole street for homeless people. I really like the beach but there was a lot of people without masks. I went to the Hollywood Walk of Fame with the stars and I saw a lot of famous people. -Jamil B.

Today was a reminder to slow down and appreciate the world and people around me. Sometimes I can be encumbered with stress and I forget how magnificent it is to be alive. Today, those anxieties came crashing down like the waves of the Pacific as I indulged myself in the warm breeze and gentle glow of the sun as it slowly settled beneath the horizon. I'm grateful for today and the people who made it possible for me to enjoy it. - Giovan B.

We began the service learning tour on Skid Row, I am aware of the homeless community in my area but not to this magnitude. The homeless tents are camped along the busy streets of downtown. Then to drive shorty over to ‘Bel Air’ Hollywood. By the way, thank you Kristen for the wonderful tour of UCLA. We walked down Rodeo Drive to see all the glitz and famous name. The people I encountered today are not only homeless but mentally ill. There is so much more I can do for the homeless when returning to my community. -Pamela G.

The first day in Los Angeles was interesting and eye opening. Starting off at Skid Road made me appreciate the things that I have and opportunities that I receive. It was also interesting because that’s the part of California that they don’t show on TV and I didn’t expect that many homeless people to be in one area. On tv Los Angeles has the perception of being rich, upperclass, and perfect which is not the case. -Jordan B.

Starting of the day by flying into the well known LAX. As soon as I stepped out the baggage claim I saw the vibrant sky’s of LA filled with palm trees and people. Before coming I thought I would see luxurious communities and places that screamed money, but it was the opposite. Our first official stop was a hidden community of homeless people hidden behind the beauty of downtown. It showcased how even though California is one of the richest states in the U.S it still has one of the highest poverty rates. We then went to UCLA and learned a lot about the transition to college as a minority and some of the programs that UCLA had to support some of its less fortunate students. We wrapped up the day by going to famous landmarks of LA like Rodeo Drive, Santa Monica, and The Hollywood Walk of Fame! -Marcus R.

Today was an eye opening experience. My heart broke for the people we saw on Skid row. I mean, from the tents to the blankets working as insulation and there was even wheel chairs parked outside their campsites. The way they maneuvered, was as if that setting was actually normal. Well, I’m sure to them that is. I did notice, the sense of community though, they looked out for each other. What I gathered from today’s experience, while walking amongst Rodeo drive, the price tag of many of those items, Dior, Goyard or Gucci to name a few could put those on Skid row in a better position. Whether it’s rehab, program for housing, mental health assistance or a simple makeover to boost their self esteem. Ultimately, the “HIGHS” mean Nothing, long as you’re leaving “OTHERS” sitting “LOW”. Thanks a Bunch. -Toquetta C.

Flying into LAX I was super excited. Being it’s my first time to L.A. I’m looking forward to learning a lot. After we left the airport we were able to visit a Los Angeles staple, Randy’s Donut. Along side visiting Randy’s Donuts we were also able to eat at In-N-Out burger which was a much wanted visit for me. As we continued into our day I enjoyed being able to walk Skid Row and see poverty and manipulation of drugs in its purest form. Seeing versus hearing is a huge impact on me because the visual is what makes it stick and in stowed in me that I want to make something out of myself in order to make sure I don’t end up in a situation like that. After going to Skid Row and seeing the beautiful UCLA campus I enjoyed being able to watch the sun set at the Santa Monica Pier. As we ended our day on the Hollywood Walk of Fame I seen some of the amazing Black celebrities stars that have paved the way in the industry of entertainment. Today I can say was a great way to start off my journey in exploring Los Angeles and learning about the state of California and i look forward to learning so much more. -Roderick T.

The first day is always the best. We may be all fighting fatigue-- if not from our travels, then definitely from everything we managed to accomplish. We managed to encompass both polarities of the city, noticing just how close the highly affluent and poorly disadvantaged sit in relation to each other. It's striking to think that one could at one moment be in one of LA's economic epicenters, then only blocks away encounter homelessness, addiction, mental illness, and perhaps many other unfortunate things. For a first day introduction we covered a lot. -Malachi W.

Fully loaded Day 1, I am so glad we started from the poorest areas (Skid road) to some of the richest areas (Beverly Hills, Bel Air and Hollywood). It shows the great in inequality and really shows that for LA to be so rich, it has such a high homelessness population. Walking the beach, getting the clean air in was such a treat too, love seeing so many people from different backgrounds. I expected to see diversity and I did today, from the different areas and of course the different foods offered. I am looking forward to more adventures tomorrow. -Rania A.

Being grateful is a very valuable character trait which should be administered throughout life for as long as you are able to live. Today as we traveled through Los Angeles and we were strolling down one of the main strips, I would get my first look at "skid row" a very heartbreaking view to see. So many potential lives lost due to choices made all I could do was say a prayer. Meanwhile on the other side of town not too far the view was a whole 180, from the nice cars to the better view of the community, even the streets itself were cleaner. Arriving at UCLA was inspiring, considering that was my first time ever being on the campus and who better to give a tour of the campus, Ms. Kristen. Hearing the his-story of how Black Panthers members were killed there and the only way they paid homage to them was to place their names on a stone, speaks so much volume especially during these revolving times were currently in. The stroll down Hollywood Blvd would be new as well to me but its nothing of the fictional sight we see in movies or on tv, there are a lot of changes needed in this country we call The United States of America. I just pray I'm here to witness and also be apart of the change I would love to see. Equality for all!!! -Tia J.

This year’s tour started with a zoom orientation. Different but needed due to safety precautions. Very informative and helpful. Topics included mental health and COVID- 19. In this land of great opulence, it’s humbling to see and walk through the real Skid Row. I didn’t take many pictures, because regardless of their station in life, these people still deserve respect. As Dr. Mike said, “ We must lift as we climb”. Starting our trip with a tour through Skid Row was absolutely necessary. -TeShania B.

I am glad that I was able to give a campus tour of UCLA and talk about my experience as an undergraduate student. I am delighted that everyone enjoyed the campus tour. I personally had not been to Beverly Hills & Rodeo Drive before today simply because I had not gotten around to it. I have not seen Skid Row in person yet, but the area has been of much discussion in my recent classes. Los Angeles is a very diverse and vibrant city that is full of richness and culture. Even though I study other parts of the world, I can easily see the existing inequalities within Los Angeles itself. Skid Row is a great example of when extreme wealth collides with the poor. Even the geography and architecture is different. I think the main question then becomes: How can Skid Row and its peoples standard of living improve without gentrifying it, further displacing the homeless or the residents? It was great seeing familiar faces again as well as meeting new people! -Kristen L.

"This. Is. America." That statement was made by Dr. Weaver today while visiting Skid row. I have seen pictures and even seen clips on television about this place, but to see the eyes of the people, feel the emotions of the environment, and smell the air of the area was very surreal. I seen the hopelessness, the dreams that were lost, the consequences of mistakes, but through all of the misfortune I still seen community, I seen people living side by side and being amongst "family". From Skid row to UCLA from lost dreams to endless opportunities I seen the parallel of two worlds and it left me in a state of wonder on how the world can suck life out of you, but also how if you do the work and apply yourself how the world can be so fulfilling. I really took in and digested everything that I seen today and prayerfully it helps to continue to shape my perspectives on life in such a way that allows me to grow and have grace for others. -Patrice C.

I enjoyed the flight and the little tour that you gave us. It was exciting to see how these people live on the other side of the country. Also the Nipsey Hustle memorial was exciting to look at knowing he was a great and intelligent man. And the people up here respect him and his death. I just got used to the time zone because I didn’t know if I wanted to go to sleep last night or stay up. -Bobby H.

SECOND VISIT--AUGUST 21ST-23RD

It was nice getting to meet up with everyone on the UCLA campus. Even though I’ve been down in the dumps lately, today I was able to relax and enjoy everyone’s company. The Santa Monica Pier/3rd Street Promenade and Rodeo Drive are almost complete opposites of each other. The pier is calming, cool, peaceful and full of lively people while Rodeo Drive has an awkward silence that can only be filled by the rich and privileged. -Kristen L. (PART II)

Today was a busy and eventful day. Walking the streets of L.A. was exactly what I expected. Just being able to take the sights in was an experience in itself. From the many famous sights and buildings, to the landmarks and restaurants, L.A. has been more than just a trip. It was been an experience! -Javon B. (PART II)

Today as we traveled between Inglewood and Beverly Hills, I noticed how deep the wealth disparity in America is. This was very similar to my hometown of Atlanta but it was still shocking to see. I was also surprised at the big homeless population down by the Santa Monica Pier. While I know homelessness is a large issue in the US, I didn't expect to see it all so close to a heavily tourist traveled destination. It was also interesting to see all of the houses in the hills around Hollywood and to hypothesize how high the insurance might be for those people. Overall it was just cool to see the difference between real world LA and tv/movie LA. -Kasamba A. (PART II)

Today’s experience was a sight full ...a great experience for my first time in LA. Everything is so busy & fast paced but absolutely beautiful. I expected the people to be kind of pushy due to the high volume of tourists but they are actually friendly, which is such a relief for someone who’s used to southern hospitality. Being able to tour UCLA was definitely my favorite part of the day. Learning about the historical aspects concerning blacks & how there is little recognition on the campus was different being that I attended an HBCU. It’s good but also sad to know that the racial injustice & protesters that are happening all around the world today are what’s making major universities & cities rethink some of the historical things on their campus. Santa Monica was another favorite, simply because of how absolutely beautiful it was lit up at night. I look forward to the events for tomorrow with being able to give back in some way in another community other than my own. -Markesia B. (PART II)

Different. It was all different from the moment I stepped off the plane the vibe and the energy of the people in the airport and the local eatery was different but I loved it. I also enjoyed bonding and getting to know the young ladies in my room and hearing some of their backgrounds. Beverly Hills is famous for being famous and also presenting the fairytale lifestyle we see on tv. The reality is it doesn’t show the opposite side. The cast out & less fortunate standing next to a Lamborghini being ignored asking for food or saying “anything would help”. What separates us? Why is the separation so comfortable for us to not make a change? I pray one day we will be a able to come together and help those who are a little more unfortunate than we are in the areas of job placement, mental health and also financial stability. Stepping on the campus of UCLA and hearing about all the history and monumental events that took place on their campus was an eye opener. So many of those events never hit the history books but they are ones that are worth talking about especially in our society today. This trip so far has shown me to always be thankful and to give back every chance I get. -Sierra W. (PART II)

So far my experience of learning Los Angeles has been wonderful! This is my longest flight in the books now. A lot of sight seeing from my plane view before I landed. I’ve tried new restaurants also learned about different events that took place at UCLA. I had no clue Martin Luther king had a small speech there. Learning the background and history of each area we visited today makes me want to go back and learn a little more... I’m ready for Day 2, to learn the other areas and it’s history as well! -Joy F. (PART II)

Today was my first day experiencing LA and I must say the day was very memorable and impactful. Our first stop was UCLA! The UCLA tour was very informative. I learned that this institution was a Land Grant Institution, just like my HBCU Fort Valley State University. I like how the institution is taking initiative to rename a building after renowned African American leaders. I wished that it didn’t take the current state of the world to do so. What also interested me about LA was the vast amount of tree species that they have. For some odd reason I didn’t think this city would have so much greenery, it was truly amazing. I also had the opportunity to visit Santa Monica pier and the beach. I didn’t realize how difficult it could be walking in sand, it was a really hard task for me, this made me think about the health of the people in LA and how strong they truly are because that was a workout with in itself. I truly enjoyed my first day in LA. -Sha’Bria J. (PART II)

Wow! My experience here in California has been great so far! I am heavily astounded by the architecture of the buildings here! The vibe of the LA streets was everything I expected and more! The food choice here in LA is spectacular. Los Angeles has a wide range of food variety in Italian, Mexican, Korean and Japanese. The traffic wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be. I’m glad we were able to get to a lot of different locations in a decent amount of time. Out of all the places I’ve been to today the Pier really stuck out to me the most. I loved the foggy view from the pier with the mountains in the horizon. That was an extremely nice view to me and I connected with that the most. I am a huge fan of nature! I expect to see even more great landmarks of LA and I can’t wait to visit them! -DeMarcus D. (PART II)

I arrived at LAX at about 12:15 pm it’s humid but there is a breeze. Not knowing what to really expect from this trip but I knew that LA was going to be good time. After getting settled into the hotel the nonstop adventure began. I’ve been to LA a few times but Never really dedicated a whole day to site seeing and going to most of the major attractions including UCLA. UCLA has never been on my list of places to go but I’m glad I was able experience walking on the campus that I always see on movies. LA doesn’t seem any different than Atlanta, traffic is the same the people are friendly. The only differences that I saw were the way the houses are built some even built into the hillsides, oh and of course palm trees. Today’s adventure was great and can’t want to see what tomorrow has in store. -Alicia C. (PART II)

First things first. Los Angeles has always been on my bucket list for American cities to visit. Being a native New Yorker I felt as if I was right at home as I began to explore the streets of L A.

Los Angeles is a mix between a New York minute and Florida weather without the humidity. It’s hustle and bustle, aggressive driving and bumper-to-bumper traffic along with the stressful pedestrian crowds all fade away as you drive off into the luxurious soothing mountainous views of the Hollywood hills of Los Angeles observing the scenic landscape around the renowned Hollywood sign. Los Angeles is a melting pot for various cuisines from around the world. Choose any restaurant and you’re in for a delicious meal that’s well worth the price tag. That California culture just pops out at you as you experience hippie like culture, millennial skateboard brats, multi-culture model type women, conservative preppy trust fund babies and the many facets of Afro and Latino ethnicities. There happens to be an overload of homelessness in the city which was surprisingly overwhelming; for I have never seen homeless people in multitudes in any city I’ve ever visited, but this I just is what it is... The trip is awesome and I’d absolutely revisit plenty of times for it was very exciting as well as relaxing. -Dameon C. (PART II)

THIRD VISIT--DECEMBER 27TH-29TH

Although I’ve never traveled to L.A. I gathered what to expect from photos & film. There’s the glitz and glamor of Hollywood, but there’s also laid back coastal cities, scenic mountains, and multiple beaches. So far I’ve visited iconic locations, such as the infamous Randy’s Donuts which has appeared in several movie sets and Nipsey Hussle’s clothing store, The Marathon, where he was tragically gunned down. Visiting Oceanside City reminded me of Jacksonville, FL with the towering palm trees, colorful beach homes, and surfing scene. I continue to notice the diverse communities of California which I’ve indulged in with street tacos and tajin fruit salads. I’m looking forward to what tomorrow will offer. -Shauna J. (Part III)

Today’s trip to San Diego from Los Angeles was a trip to remember. We started at the Courtyard hotel then boarded the minivan. Along the way to San Diego we stopped at Oceanside and got some food which was really good. What I ordered was hush puppies, I wasn’t really hungry since I had a big breakfast. When we got to San Diego we walked the entire boardwalk at the pier. On the way back we stopped at an outlet, shopped around and got some food, and finally made our way back home. -Qadir C. (Part III)

Today’s venture to San Diego actually was nice and relaxing. We made two stops before San Diego. One at a scenic rest stop over looking the beautiful massive Pacific Ocean and the other in a beach front town called Oceanside. There was a pier almost 8 stories tall and half a mile out to sea that was spectacular. People were actually surfing in the 60 degree weather and the ocean was a rich green-bluish color. The main stop in San Diego was a real Marvel as I enjoyed the view of the retired naval ships that were docked and turned into museums. As we headed back to Los Angeles we stopped to Window shop at an outlet mall then ended the evening off with some delicious seafood. I had an excellent time. -Dameon C. (Part III)

I am very excited to return to California for the second time. The Christmas decorations here are beautiful. I was so looking forward to a doughnut from Randy’s. I wish I was closer to the lovely beaches of San Diego. Today I also listening to the discussion of the making of the pyramids very interested. Today I had a nice lunch and dinner with the entire group which is different. I am so looking forward to the volunteering project to help to give back to the community. -Pamela G. (Part III)

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thisfellow · 8 years ago

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I’m Too Old.

I just turned 32 years Old!

There is a lot of conversation these days about age. How it defines us, gives us character, holds us back and more. Age is a topic that is discussed almost more than most and it’s often viewed entirely in the wrong way!

I have found so much joy over the years, in almost anything that I’ve done, and I never let my age slow me down, whether I was too young or thought to be too old. To be honest, most of my good friends had no idea I was turning 32 and all figured me to be this 20-something year old guy that they were cool with - which, I’m flattered.

There are loads of reasons to be self-conscious about aging, and, honestly, many of them cannot be contained, like genetics affecting your skin, metabolism, hair growth/loss, etc. But I wanted to focus on some points that I’ve taken with me over the years, that have helped me maintain not only a youthful appearance, but also a youthful spirit.

Learn To Love Your Age

We never want to get older. We hold onto our past with music, fashion and friends but learning to love your age is the best thing you can do, to truly grow with maturity. And the sooner you appreciate and accept your age, whether its younger or older, you’ll sooner stop seeing the separation between the two that most people notice.

Age Is Just A Number

I know so many people that stress about their age, focusing so hard on the number, rather than the relative age they feel they are. I just turned 32 years old and I still don’t feel older than when I did, when I was 22. Try to treat your body as you feel, and you’ll sooner find happiness with each passing day, month and year.

Take Time To Reflect

It’s so important to reflect on who you’ve become over the years. Even looking back to see where you were, what you did or what you looked like one year ago will show you so much about who you are becoming. Use the past as a tool to self-edit and correct mistakes but also to appreciate what you’ve accomplished!

It wasn’t very long ago that I was a room server in a killer hotel in NYC, then fast-forward a few years, some more life-experience and desire to do more and I’m a self-employeed adult, still able to pay my bills and live the life I’ve always dreamed, in the greatest city in the country.

Point is, if I hadn’t moved from Florida, risked everything and started where I did, I wouldn’t know the amazing people I know, I wouldn’t have gone on to be a creative creature, that makes movies and photos for a living, and I would probably have settled for something less that I needed because I didn’t do something great.

Which brings me to my next point.

Do Something Epic

Do something that scares you. This doesn’t only mean jump from a plane. Do something that you would normally never do. If you’ve wanted to travel abroad, it can be scary to plan and book, but if you force yourself to act on some of your impulses, you will become a stronger version of yourself, filled with stories and pride.

I literally was a delivery driver at a Domino’s Pizza for years, and was fine with that. But if I hadn’t had the crazy notion to just save, pack up and move to Brooklyn, I’d still be back in Florida and wouldn’t have much to talk about. Be spontaneous, be firm with your goals and act like you know it’ll be the last time you ever do whatever it is you’re going to do.

Be Grateful For Every Day You’re Here

When we’re younger, it’s impossible to see how finite life can be. It’s easier to run a marathon than to believe that you could be dead at any moment from now. But when you begin to take the time to show gratitude in life and living, you begin to better appreciate the little things that make your day.

There is so much more that I could write about mindfulness and loving your age, but I think that these quick points should be enough to help anyone that might be stuck in a bad place. Just remember that every day we are getting older, so make the most of each moment and love the process. Best, Bobby

Photos by Amy Ezgi Silahtar Gear I use: Beginner Kit Pro Kit

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morganaspendragonss · 7 years ago

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1-40

I get that whoever sent this was probably having me on because I put in the tags that nobody would actually do this, but I honestly don’t care because it’s interaction with my followers.

(Also I love talking about my writing hmu about it)

This is going under a cut because it’s going to be super long.

1. Describe your comfort zone - a typical you-fic

I love to write angsty, hurt/comfort stories that are quiteintrospective and possibly a little existential.

2. Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at,but really want to?

Someday, I’m definitely going to write a soulmate AU fic.

3. Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a tenfoot pole?

I really hate sibling AUs. I’ve avoid reading them and I wouldn’t everwrite one.

4. How many fic ideas are your nurturing right now?Care to share one of them?

Far, far too many. I will write them…. at some point…..

There’s one that I’ve been nurturing for a really long time.Essentially, it’s a Supernatural fic in which Sam dies with Jess in the fire atStanford. Not being one to let his prize horse go before he’s even entered thefield, however, Azazel returns him to life and guides him down the path tobecoming the boy king.

Fast forward two years, Dean and Bobby put together a bunch of strange,demonic sounding deaths. People called Jake Talley, Ava Wilson, Scott Carey,etc. They go to investigate, and imagine their surprise when they find out it’sSam doing all the killings.

5. Share one of your strengths

I’m generally pretty good at characterisation and worming my way intothe character’s thoughts and feelings.

6. Share one of your weaknesses

I’m not great at motivating myself to write. There’s one of my fics thathasn’t been updated in months because I haven’t felt like sitting down andwriting.

7. Share a snippet from one of your favouritepieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

There will never be enough time.

Everyone alive thinks they have all the time in theworld to do everything they want, and so much more besides, and no one realisesuntil it’s their time that we’re all just trapped in hourglasses with the sandsof our lives slipping through our fingers. Death is a far off thing that comesfor everyone whether we like it or not, and when it does we will all wish formore time that we cannot have.

This is from my Harry Potter fic, every second you’re alive. I’m proud of it because I remember writing it and really liking what I had just produced, which is such a rare feeling for me.

(read the full fic here)

8. Share a snippet from one of your favouritedialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

“If the poor man wants to speak with you aloneyou ought to let him,” she scolded.

“Come, Wilhelmina. Let’s leavethe men to it.” She started towards the door, but Alfred moved to stopher, embarrassed.

“Really, Duchess, that’s really not necessary.I’ll just-”

“Apparently it is necessary,” she cut in.“Didn’t your parents ever teach you manners?”

(read thefull fic here) This is from a Victoria fic and I like it becauseI felt like I could really hear the characters’ voices coming through after I’dwritten it.

9. Which fic has been the hardest to write?

My Supernatural-Merlin crossover fic, Our Broken Souls. I haven’t updatedit in a while because it’s quite honestly exhausting to write because I have tokeep track of all the characters and make sure they’re all in character andit’s also my first real long fic so it’s been a challenge to write it whilstalso being in full-time education.

10. Which fic has been the easiest to write?

Probably my Supernatural 13x01 coda, You Say Goodbye. I knew exactly where I wanted to gowith it and how I wanted to write it.

11. Is writing your passion or just a fun hobby?

Both. I really, really love writing, but currently I am only able to indulgein it as a hobby.

12. Is there an episode above all others thatinspires you just a little bit more?

Episode 13x12 of Supernatural really inspired me. Unfortunately, Ihaven’t been able to upload my coda to that episode yet, but I’ll get there.

13. What’s the best writing advice you’ve comeacross?

To always get a second perspective on your work.

14. What’s the worst writing advice you’ve comeacross?

This is just personal, but to keep writing even when you’re notmotivated or inspired. This advice probably works for loads of people, just notfor me.

15. If you could choose one of your fics to befilmed, which one would it be?

Probably my Supernatural 13x07 coda, Little Boy Lost because I need more Sam angst/Sam worrying aboutJack in the show.

16. If you could only write one pairing for therest of your life, which pairing would it be?

That’s a tough one, but probably Charlie Bradbury/Jo Harvelle

17. Do you write your story from start to finish,or do you write the scenes out of order?

Depends on the fic. Generally I write from start to finish, but ifthere’s a particular scene that I know I want to happen, but I don’t know whereit’ll go, I’ll write it beforehand and then insert it in later.

18. Do you use any tools, like worksheet oroutlines?

19. Stephen King one said that his muse is a manwho lives in the basement. Do you have a muse?

It probably sounds strange, but no, I don’t really have a muse.

20. Describe your perfectwriting conditions.

Sitting on my bed, the Game of Thrones soundtrack playing quietly in thebackground.

21. How many timesdo you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

Anywhere between 0 and 3

22. Chose a passagefrom one of your earlier fics and edit it into your current writing style.

Oh man I hate looking at my earlier writing. This is an improvement of a2016 Sherlock fic entitled Lost (readit here)

JimMoriarty shot himself in the back of the head. His eyes stared blankly up atthe blue sky, his lips still quirked upwards into a triumphant grin. He hadwon. He had won, despite the halo of blood spreading across the concrete.

(Sherlockwondered if that was how he hadlooked when it had happened. If anyone deserved a halo, it was John Watson)

(Butthen, Sherlock had seen enough car crash victims to know that wouldn’t be thencase)

23. If you were to revise one ofyour older fics from start to finish, which would it be any why?

My veryfirst fic, Binding Love, a PJO fic from way back in 2014. That was written inthe days where I didn’t know how to structure my fic properly, and my writinghad improved in leaps and bounds since then.

24. Have you ever deleted one ofyour published fics?

I have. Ideleted a Divergent fic because it didn’t get a response, and when I read itover I saw why. I also deleted two other fics because I was honestly justembarrassed about them.

25. What do you look for in abeta?

Someonewith patience because I am the worst at keeping a good updating schedule, andsomeone who is good at spotting grammatical mistakes because my fics often havequite a few.

26. Do you beta yourself? If so, what kind ofbeta are you?

I dobeta. I tend to be quite clinical, going through it and making changes where Ispot errors, but I also like to interact with the writer so that I understandwhat they want to achieve and how I can help them, and so that they understandmy thought process and why I made the changes I did.

27. How do you feel aboutcollaborations?

I’m partof one now! They can be stressful, but I’ve had a lot of fun with them.

28. Share three of your favouritefic writers and why you love them so much.

TolkienGirl onff.net – She has written so many wonderful fics for a huge variety of fandomsand each one is literal perfection. I have never read a single story of hersthat I have not loved.

elsaclack on ao3 – I have only recently started reading their fics but oh my god they areamazing. I finished reading one of them the other day and I was so disappointedthat I have got to the end because I was enjoying it so so much.

Lenelle on ff.net – I amin love with their fic. Again, it’s all so good and they write some amazingSam-centric SPN fic, which is all I need in life.

29. If you could write the sequel(or prequel) to any fic out there not writtenby yourself, which would you choose?

Probablya sequel to Lay Down YourArmour by rainbowflavouredfabulous on ao3. It was such a good fic and isvery deserving of a sequel. Whether I’d be able to do it justice, however, isanother matter.

30. Do you acceptprompts?

Yeah, definitely! I can’t say how long I’ll take to write them, but Ilove receiving prompts.

31. Do you takeliberties with canon or are you very strict about your fic being canoncompliant?

That is very dependent on the fic and on the canon. For example, when I’mwriting episode codas I generally stay true to canon, but I have taken someliberties if I dislike the canon.

32. How do you feelabout smut?

I love to read it, but I’ve never written it.

33. How do you feelabout crack?

Not really my thing.

34. What are yourthoughts on non-con and dub-con?

I generally try to keep away from it.

35. Would you everkill off a canon character?

I have and I do, although not so frequently now as I used to.

36. Which is yourfavourite site to post fic?

I used to exclusively post on ff.net, but I quite like ao3 as well.

37. Talk about yourcurrent wips.

Currently I’m trying to write a coda to SPN 13x09 that’s been in theworks for a long time. I can’t quite figure out what I want to write, otherthan that it’s post-episode from Jack’s POV.

Then there’s my crossover, OurBroken Souls. I really do enjoy writing this because I’ve always wanted towrite a Merlin-Supernatural crossover, but it takes time. I’m hopefully goingto update over Easter.

38. Talk about areview that made your day.

All the reviews I get make my day if I’m being honest, but I receivedone on my fic To Ashes that made meso happy. I was really unsure about this fic, but the review was just so lovelyand really cheered me up.

39. Do you ever getrude reviews and how do you deal with them?

Surprisingly, I very rarely get rude reviews. I got one near Christmasthat basically told me I shouldn’t write because it goes against God’s willetc. etc. It was a guest review so I just reported it.

40. Write analternative ending to [insert fic title]

I wasn’t given a fic so I’ll choose one myself. This is an alternativeending to my Victoria fic, Achilles and Patroclus,in which Drummond doesn’t die.

When the fifth day came, Alfred was sure he was going to lose Drummond.His face was grey, his breathing laboured, and Alfred didn’t know how a personcould recover from that. His eyes filled with tears as he left, certain hewould never enter this place again.

In the end, it turned out he was right, if only in part. The palacereceived word two days later that Drummond was expected to make a fullrecovery, and had been moved to his own home to do so. Alfred barely managed tocontain himself at the news, and rushed off to Drummond’s house as soon as hewas able.

When he arrived, a maid showed him up to the room, warning him not todistress Drummond too much. He assured her he would do nothing of the sort,then stepped inside, shutting the door quietly behind him. Drummond was pale,and his eyes were closed, but his head turned in Alfred’s direction as Alfredmade his way over to the bed. Alfred felt tears gather in his eyes again, buthe blinked them away, sitting down in a chair next to the bed and hesitantlytaking Drummond’s hand in his.

Drummond’s mouth quirked up into a smile at the touch. “Alfred,” hebreathed, and that sound alone caused a warm feeling to spread in Alfred’schest.

“Edward,” Alfred choked out, finally letting the tears fall. Hetightened his grip on Drummond’s hand as they sat in silence, thankful thatthis wonderful man hadn’t been stolen from him.

#my writing #holly answers things #writing

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katehuntington · 5 years ago

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Title: Ride With Me (part six) Fandom: Supernatural AU Characters series: Reader, Dean Winchester, Bobby Singer, Ellen Singer-Harvelle, Jo Singer (Harvelle), Benny Lafitte, Ash Miles, Garth Fitzgerald IV, Castiel Novek, and many more. Timeline: 2008 Pairing: Dean x Reader (eventually) Word count: ±1900 words Summary series: Y/N is a talented horse rider who is on her way to become a professional. In order to convince her father that she deserves the loan needed to start her own farm, she goes to Arizona for six months, to intern at a ranch owned by Bobby and Ellen Singer. Her future is set out, but then she meets a handsome horseman, who goes by the name of Dean Winchester. A heartwarming series about a cowboy who falls for the girl, letting go of the past and the importance of family. Summary part six: Y/N is getting lost in the feelings that she’s developing for Dean, and it doesn’t take long before Jo takes notice. Warnings series: NSFW, 18+ only! Fluff, angst, eventually smut. Swearing, smoking, alcohol intoxication, alcohol abuse. Mutual pining, heartbreak. Crying, nightmares, childhood trauma. Description of animal abuse, domestic violence, mentions of addiction. Financial problems, stress, mental breakdown. Description of blood and injury, hospital scenes, character death, grief. Music: Check out ‘Kate Huntington’s Ride With Me playlist’ on Spotify! Author’s note: Thank you @kittenofdoomage and @girl-with-a-fandom-fettish for helping me. You girls are awesome betas.

Ride With Me Masterlist

Okay, maybe the tequila last night wasn’t such a good idea. Neither was that margarita the previous night, or the drinking game the night before that one. Or was it the other way around? Y/N cannot seem to recall, but today is Friday, so at least tomorrow she can sleep her way through the headache. Never ever did she drink as much as she did this week. Normally that would bother her, especially considering she’s not here on Spring break. But when the drinks are offered in a time when she needs a little something to stop thinking about that damned Dean Winchester, she couldn't care less about the increase of alcohol consumption.

She found the balance quite quickly, too. Intoxicated enough to let go of the complexity that comes with growing fondness of the head wrangler, but sober enough to stop herself from doing anything stupid. The consequence is, however, that on this morning ride, her brain feels like it’s trying to expand beyond the size of her head. Thank God her stomach isn't acting up, because Joplin is trotting under her nervously. Seems like Y/N is having trouble finding the ‘walk’ button this early. The hot-blooded mare fails to respond when her rider asks her to slow down by saying ‘ho’ with a calm voice, but when Y/N breathes out, relaxes her legs, and shifts deeper in the saddle only by a fraction of an inch, the black horse transitions to walk.

“Good girl,” Y/N compliments her.

Three days without riding were more than she could handle. Meadow needed some time to recover from the long journey and to get used to her new home, but Y/N needed to restrain herself from climbing on the mare’s back anyway. She imagined this was a glimpse of what it would be like to kick an addiction cold turkey, going into withdrawal from the lack of her drug. As if not being able to train her own horse wasn't enough, it took another extra day before Y/N got onto any horse at all. It wasn't until yesterday morning that the supervisor decided that she deserved a shot at proving herself as a wrangler. She had to earn that by mucking, shit scooping, cleaning tack, and turning horses in and out. Which she gets, of course. Dean and Bobby wanted to see what she is made of before they let her ride one of their animals. But boy, was she frustrated. She even got to the point that Garth almost caught her muttering a promise to herself that if she had to clean up some horse’s massive dump one more time without a reward, she would be out of here.

Yesterday she finally got to accompany a few guests on a trail. It was amazing to feel the horse move under the saddle again, the experience of the communication that she established within a second, and how the perfect fit on his back felt like home. Apparently, she did well, because on this morning ride, she is allowed to come along too.

Content, she looks ahead at the large group of inexperienced riders, who find their way down the hill with some difficulty. The respect Y/N holds for the trail horses has grown, because their patience and ability to keep their clumsy passengers in the saddle hasn't ceased to amaze her. Bruce, a draft horse mix, has halted several times already, waiting motionless until his overweight German load has pulled himself back into the saddle after slowly tipping to one side. It's quite entertaining to watch.

As she smiles at what’s playing out in front of her, the sound of hoofsteps close by on the rocky surface reaches her hearing. When she glances over her shoulder, a beautiful buckskin is just about to transition to an easy walk after catching up. Her eyes glide up until they meet his rider.

“So, how are you this morning?” Dean wonders, a playful smile on his face. It takes a short moment for her to answer, taken aback by her body’s response to the sight of the wrangler. A whirlwind starts to twist in her stomach, yet the headache suddenly doesn't seem as tormenting as it was a minute ago. “I'm okay,” she claims. He grins. “Sure about that? You had quite a few drinks last night.” “I can handle myself,” she returns defensively, narrowing her eyes at him a little. “Oh, I’m sure you can.”

He chuckles, the warm and low sound rumbling deep in his throat triggering Y/N to peek at him from the corner of her eye. Was that a nervousness she detected? Did she just make him uneasy? He looks down, his lips drawn in a small smile. The sun from the east outlines the sharp lines of his jaw, edged by a scruff; apparently he didn't take the time to shave this morning. Boy, is she glad he didn’t.

“Okay, I'll admit,” she says, trying to take away his insecurities. “My stomach might be a little… unsettled.” Y/N isn’t lying, although alcohol has nothing to do with the butterflies that came to life inside of her. He doesn't know that, thankfully, yet he keeps a hold of his intern’s gaze for a little while longer, reading her. As if Dean’s horse wants to help love a little, the Quarter sways closer to her horse Joplin, the two of them now riding stirrup to stirrup. His knee slightly brushes against hers every other step and despite that it's barely a touch, she’s highly aware of the physical contact.

“Don't throw up on your horse if you want to leave a good impression with me. Believe me, it ain't pretty,” Dean half jokes, half flirts. She throws her head back in a laugh. “Don't worry, I won't. But please don't tell me you have seen that happen.” “More than once, I'm afraid,” he remembers, turning in his saddle to face his younger cousin. “Ey, Jo?” The blonde cowgirl, who is about thirty yards behind them, throws him a confused look, since she hasn't picked up a word of their conversation. Puzzled, she watches, inducing the riders further up to laughter. “No way!” Y/N cries out. “I ain’t kiddin’,” Dean sniggers. “I'll save that story for another time. Y’know, when your stomach isn't ‘unsettled’ by the same tequila that started Jo’s tale.”

He spurs his horse, who canters forward to meet the group of guests up ahead. She observes Dean as the morning sun portrays the cowboy and his horse in a romantic light. Out here, away from the city, the Arizona landscape would have anyone believe that they traveled back to the time, when the Wild West was still the real deal. Cacti surround them, peculiar mountain peaks shaped by ten thousand years of wind erosion obstruct the far edge of the world. And in this perfect portrait rides a handsome cowboy, one with his horse, clouds of dust in their wake. An amused smile allows a glimpse of Y/N’s true feelings to shine through. There it is again, that tingly sensation in her belly. Sure, Dean. Blame it on the tequila, she thinks to yourself.

“What the hell was that?” Now that Dean left his spot next to her, Jo has caught up, gently pulling the reins as she sits back to bring her horse’s pace down. Feeling caught, Y/N looks at her, brought off balance by the spite in the cowgirl’s voice. “What do you mean?” “Oh, c’mon, Yankee. I wasn’t born yesterday, and neither were you. You just completed your master in business, don't act like you're stupid,” Jo counters. “You and Dean, what’s going on?” The cowgirl eyes her in shock, her jaw dropping unpleasantly surprised. Was it really that obvious? How is she going to talk herself out of this one? “I - I don't--” she stutters, blood rushing to her face. “There - there's nothing--” She’s not sure if it’s her shameful expression or the fact that she lost her tongue, but Jo knows enough. She closes her eyes and sighs deeply. “Y/N…” her friend starts, a mixture of disappointment and pity present in her voice. “Please don't go down that road. He will hurt you so bad you're gonna wish you never gone on that flight that got you here.” Now the intern sighs too. Denying will not do her any good. Jo is smart enough to see right through it. “Listen, I really like having you around. You're good company, you're a hard worker, you're great with the horses, and I don’t wanna lose my sis,” the ranch owner’s daughter says genuinely. “I would hate to see you leave because of my heartbreaker of a cousin. I've seen this play out so many times already, don't walk into that trap.” “I think that ship has sailed,” her friend admits out loud.

The words startle the woman who speaks them just as much as they stun Jo; she didn't intend to share that with her new friend already. But now that the comment is hovering between them without a way to take it back, a part of her is glad it’s out there. Dean has been about the only thing on her mind since she first saw him. Not being able to talk about that with anyone was driving her mad. She needs to vent to someone, someone she can trust.

Shocked by the bombshell that Y/N just dropped, Jo turns her head to orient her big eyes towards the man in question. That son of a bitch.. “Well, that didn't take long…” The cowgirl shakes her head, then looks her in the eye after her confession. It's clear she feels sorry for her friend. “I'll talk to him.” “No! Jo, please don't. Look, I didn't forget about your warning and I’m surely not going to act on these... feelings,” she guarantees, barely able to get out the word. “But I can't shut this off. It caught me by surprise as well.” “He tends to have that effect on women,” Jo mutters. “I won't do anything stupid,” Y/N assures her. Jo glances at the intern from under her hat. “Promise?”

She looks backs at her new friend. Honestly, she isn’t sure if she’s strong enough to resist Dean, but this agreement might help her stick to the plan. The plan to complete her internship successfully and return home to start her own ranch. It's all she ever wanted, it has been her life goal for as long as she can remember. Is she really going to let some cowboy stop her from fulfilling that dream? A very handsome, sweet, and utterly irresistible cowboy, but nonetheless. She will reach for the stars and she will have her wish, nothing will stand in her way, not even him. And so a reassuring smile forms on her lips.

“I promise.”

Well, the cat’s out of the bag. Thank you for reading. I appreciate every single one of you, but if you do want to give me some extra love, you are free to like or reblog my work, shoot me a message or buy me coffee (Link to Kofi in bio at the top of the page).

Read part seven here

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torentialtribute · 6 years ago

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Terry Butcher reflects on his life of glory and controversy

Famously bloodied, perennially bruised, occasionally broken, Terry Butcher has survived to look back on a life that has contained glory, controversy and the sort of anguish that makes football and all its works seem a magnificent triviality.

There is pain that goes beyond the sort of head wounded against Sweden in 1989 that left his shirt stained with blood. There is strength, too, that surpasses any ability to dominate an opposing center-forward.

Asked what his spell in Scotland gave him, Butcher replies: "Resilience. It gave me hunger to win, to drive on, to show people they were wrong. It gave me a son, Alistair, born in Stirling. It taught me a lot about life. "

Terry Butcher has looked back on a thrilling life that has glory and controversy

At 60, these resources, mined in Scotland, have become central to his life. There is a temptation to view Butcher's career through the fingers of a Hand of God, the haze of a smashed dressing room by the frenzy or a court appearance after an Old Firm match. However, it might be more productive to measure how a character developed and sought to improve while being tested by extraordinary pressure.

His career statistics are of the highest order: 77 England caps, a UEFA Cup with Bobby Robson's Ipswich side, three titles and two League Cups with Rangers and a place in the Scottish Football Museum's Hall of Fame. But it is his ability to adapt, while retaining that Butcher core, that impresses.

"It was always in there, I suppose," he says of his drive to win. "When I was younger, I would apologize to people if I kicked them or knocked them over but when you become a professional, that gets knocked out of you. I enjoyed the thrill, the challenges, the physicality of playing. I also liked the skill, the ball was a friend to me, not the enemy. I could pass the ball. "

He could. The left-foot diagonal became a familiar sight in Scottish grounds as Butcher ground Rangers attacks in the Graeme Souness sides from 1986 until his departure to Coventry City in 1990. But there was, too, the innate aggression that found an outlet most particularly on a series of doors, most famously the referee's room at Pittodrie in 1998 and later in a number of grounds as a manager for Motherwell, Hibs and Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

'If the team was wronged or I was wronged , I didn't like that. That was when the anger came to the surface, "he says. "I thought we deserved justice and I didn't think at that time we got it. That made me angry. It didn't sit right with me. My dad brought me up to respect policemen, to respect the law, respect your elsewhere. I carried that throughout my life. Though I didn't respect doors or a lot of referees. "

It is galling to Butcher that his respect for the law did not prevent him from having a spectacular collision with it after an Old Firm match in October 1987 Three Rangers players, Chris Woods, Butcher and Graham Roberts, and Celtic's Frank McAvennie, were later charged with breach of peace. After a trial, Butcher and Woods were convicted and fined, Roberts was found not proven and McAvennie was found not guilty.

The conviction rankles to this day. "A lot of direction that the prosecution took was from the government," he says. "It was a political thing. They needed people to make an example of. Me and Chris Woods were the perfect candidates. I have a criminal record now which will be with me forever. It hurts me, it hurts me, because I am the most law-abiding person in the world. It was farcical when you see what is happening now. All I did was push McAvennie. "

Butcher has retained that competitive element. "I still play cribbage with Rita and I hate to lose," he says of contests with his wife, whom he married when he was 21. But he has shown a commendable facility to change other aspects of his life.

He once admitted he had to take a step back from the madness of 'the songs and the names we called people' after a conversation with Rita.

'It is difficult to admit you are wrong and to change, he says. "But I did." He tried to take that capacity to reflect and react to his management career.

Frank McAvennie (L) is grabbed as tempers flare between him, Chris Woods and Butcher

"Why did Bobby Robson last so long as a manager? He came to Ipswich in the 1960s and was managing Newcastle United in 2004. Most managers would have been out of their depth by how much football had changed but Bobby Robson could adapt. "

He adds:" If you have anything about you, you have to look at yourself and say: "I was wrong". That applies in life and in football. I had to apologize on a Monday often, saying I got the tactics wrong, the subs wrong. I could be angry at the players but I was more angry at myself. I gave them a rollicking but at times I should have given myself a rollicking.

"It is about honesty. If you can show people that you admit a mistake, hands up, let's move on, players respect that. You didn't get that too often in football, certainly not now. It's not a way or absolving yourself or blame. The whole point is: I made a mistake, I will take the flak for it. "

His involvement with football now consists of personal appearances and punditry, most regularly on Radio Suffolk, with the focus on his promised Ipswich Town. The controversies and triumphs of his football career – the red mists and the silverware – have been revised with insight and articulacy but real life has proved the toughest test.

"I have had some hammer blows. Losing Chris was the biggest of all. The ultimate, he says of the death of his son in 2017. Chris Butcher, a former captain in the Royal Artillery, was found dead by his father after struggling to cope with post-traumatic stress disorder following his service in Afghanistan.

"You don't really cope with that," says Butcher of his grievous loss. "It doesn't get any easier. It never will do. You live from day to day. You remember him loads or times during the day. We are surrounded by him in the house. That comforting but it is tragic, too.

"If you go to the sadness side all the time, it will eat away at you." Just remember the positives. We chat about him every meal time. That's how we cope. We have different strategies. We do all right, up to a point. But then it's pretty hard after that. "

His life is softer now, one suspects, his competitive drive sated by the nightly game of his cards, his character molded by education and experience.

'I am more patient now. I was too impetuous, "he adds. "I was headstrong. I thought I was going to play forever. When it's over, it's over. I played too long, too many times with injuries.

"I have had my ups and downs. But you have opportunities to bounce back. You realize looking back that it was just football. It hurts at the time if you are a manager, say, and social media is against you. But you have to be thick-skinned. Try to remember it's just a game. "

This perspective does not diminish the importance of the game to Butcher. "Every football venture was a challenge," he says. "I loved the mission. My dad was in the Navy and everything I got involved in myself 100 per cent. The satisfaction I have with my career is that I did my very best. I couldn't have done anything more. I know there is always room for improvement but not in my attitude. "

His refuge now is his home. "I am not as mad as when I was a player, that could be pretty manic," he says. "It's all about getting home, getting into the castle, pulling up the drawbridge. I can relax with Rita. If things didn't go right as a manager, you do take your troubles home. This is when it is important to have a strong partnership, a strong wife who can talk things through with you.

"We have been married for 39 years. It was perfect at the time. It's perfect now. There is a bit of calmness there. "

No one can begrudge the warrior his element of peace.

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davidoespailla · 6 years ago

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10 Surprising Cities Where a $60K Middle-Class Salary Can Snag a Sweet Home

iStock; realtor.com

Can America’s stressed-out, fought-over, cash-strapped middle class still afford to buy homes?

That’s the megamillion-dollar question these days. Because while the economy is strong and wages are rising, these gains are being left in the dust by runaway home prices. Combined with creeping mortgage rates, it’s enough to make any average-income worker wonder: Will my paycheck ever catch up?

Before you throw up your hands and despair that your so-so salary has placed a fragile glass ceiling on your hopes of buying a home, take heart! The thrifty realtor.com® data team crunched the data to figure out just how much home regular Joes can actually afford to buy—and where they can find a plethora of sweet, comfortably priced abodes.

So where did we locate the greatest share of these real estate unicorns? Hint: It wasn’t Manhattan or the San Francisco Bay Area.

“Generally, these aren’t found in high-growth areas of the country … [places] where we haven’t seen commensurate wage and salary growth,” says Sean Snaith, an economics professor at the University of Central Florida. “You won’t find cities in California on this list.”

Instead, for middle-class affordability, “you need to look toward areas where housing prices have not seen the same appreciation,” he says.

But buckle up: We found a few surprise markets along the way.

To zero in on these hidden mainstream meccas, we started with the definition of a “middle-income” family from the latest U.S. Census Bureau data: a median household gross income of $61,372 per year. (For simplicity, we rounded that down to $60,000).

Then we did the math: We calculated that homeowners should spend no more than 28% of annual income on housing—which on 60 grand amounts to annual housing costs of $16,800. We assumed that these homeowners could get a 30-year mortgage with a 5% down payment and a 5% fixed-interest rate, plus 0.5% in private mortgage insurance (required on down payments below 20%). So we determined that a family earning $60,000 a year could comfortably buy a home priced up to $257,400, max.

Finally, we looked at realtor.com listings for September to find the greatest share of available housing there is at or below $257,400 in the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas (limiting the rankings to two metros per state).*

We found tons of great homes, in nice neighborhoods, that middle-class earners can afford to buy—without becoming “house poor.” No inheritance, lottery payouts, Ponzi schemes, or fantasy-level raises required!

Cities where a $60K salary can buy a home

Claire Widman

1. Pittsburgh, PA

Median list price: $179,100 Share of affordable homes: 64.3%

Home in Brighton Heights in Pittsburgh

realtor.com

These days, Pittsburgh has shaken off its image of a Rust Belt city in decline and reinvented itself as a bustling tech hub. Aided by the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, it has attracted major tech and health care companies to the region. Look no further than Über, which has an office here focused on designing autonomous, self-driving vehicles.

Despite all the changes, home prices have stayed low here. Many houses built in the early 20th century during the city’s heyday were neglected during the city’s years of population loss. But now, these places are getting investor attention. Take Brighton Heights, for example: The neighborhood has Craftsman-style homes built in the 1920s and 1930s lining its streets, as well as young buyers and investors flocking here to snag and remodel homes priced under $125,000.

“Communities that were once the nicer neighborhoods in Pittsburgh in the ’60s and ’70s are now seeing a resurgence,” says Bobby West, a real estate agent at Coldwell Banker in Pittsburgh. “It is a shock to come to Pittsburgh and find that.”

2. Rochester, NY

Median list price: $177,500 Share of affordable homes: 63.1%

Home in Rochester

realtor.com

New York City remains one of the most brutally competitive markets on the planet. But not upstate in Rochester, where home buyers encounter a dynamic mix of inventory and affordability. The median down payment in Monroe County (aka Rochester) is just 5%, compared with 27.8% in Manhattan.

The road to those low prices wasn’t pretty, though. During the ’80s and ’90s, the city lost loads of manufacturing jobs, many of them at former photographic film titan Eastman Kodak, long the crown jewel of corporate Rochester.

But now home buyers can snag beautiful homes only a short walk or bike away from the city’s downtown nightlife. This three-story Victorian would be well over $500,000 in many American cities, but in Rochester it’s only $275,000—and that’s on the high side! There are even a surprising number of four-bedroom homes priced at just $50,000.

3. Buffalo, NY

Median list price: $185,100 Share of affordable homes: 61.8%

Four-bedroom home listed for $139,000 in Buffalo.

realtor.com

For decades, Buffalo was the poster child for manufacturing decline as plants went under and workers fled for greener pastures. But a flurry of downtown investment by the city and the University of Buffalo has helped line the streets with new restaurants, and corporate parks with startups. Meanwhile, outdoor enthusiasts love that you can now kayak down the Buffalo River, a once-befouled industrial waterway that has recently been restored.

“If you came to Buffalo 15 years ago, just about everyone hated it. Locals would tell you to get out as soon as you can,” says Vincent Rondinelli, principal broker at Rondinelli Real Estate in Buffalo. “It’s not like that anymore. The people who live here love it.”

And they love the home prices, too, which are still a bargain compared with other markets—but probably not for long.

“We have investors coming in from out of state as far away as California,” Rondinelli says. “They’re buying old, cheaper homes as investment properties. They’re gutting them and reselling them, and that’s driving up prices quite a bit.”

Bonus: Even the long-downtrodden Buffalo Bills are finally winning these days! (Sorry, just kidding.)

4. St. Louis, MO

Median list price: $209,500 Share of affordable homes: 61.7%

Brick house in St. Louis

realtor.com

In the early part of the 20th century, St. Louis was an industrial giant and among the nation’s largest cities, but decades of job loss and a dwindling population turned some neighborhoods into veritable ghost towns. But that old narrative doesn’t hold as much anymore. Case in point: In September, over-capacity crowds flocked to Anheuser-Busch Brewery’s first ever Love Beer Fest to imbibe not just Budweiser, but over 100 beers from brands across the country. Beer snobs are a clear sign that a city is on the up!

This city is full of beautiful historic homes from an era when one-of-a-kind craftsmanship was the rule rather than the exception. Parts of St. Louis like Lafayette Square and Benton Park are places where buyers can find charming brick bungalows built in the early 1930s.

Plus, like many Midwestern cities, St. Louis has seen a revitalization in its downtown, with cranes popping up and a flurry of remodeling of the area’s gorgeous historic houses. These gigantic brick homes are selling at bargain-basement prices compared with other parts of the country.

5. Cleveland, OH

Median list price: $179,500 Share of affordable homes: 61.7%

Sub-$100K home in Cleveland

realtor.com

Home prices in Cleveland have been suppressed for years, after mass closings of manufacturing plants and an ensuing exodus of longtime residents. But in recent years the city has invested in its downtown, and that revival—paired with still-low prices—is bringing home buyers back.

“Generally, it’s younger people who are moving back home now because of the affordability,” says CJ Trivisonno, owner of the Trivisonno Real Estate Team in Cleveland. “They’ll graduate from college and move to a big city like New York or Chicago, then boomerang back to the Midwest to start a family. In Cleveland they can buy a great house with a yard.”

Getting all those younger home buyers to come back didn’t happen over night. The city, not long ago dubbed by Ohioans as the “mistake on the lake,” needed a stem-to-stern makeover first. IBM’s decision to open an office here sure helped, and that was soon followed by a swath of condos, as well as trendy bars along East Fourth Street.

One caveat: If you prefer brand-new construction, know that new condos in Cleveland’s downtown can easily exceed $600,000. Yet if you dig old houses, Cleveland has many two-story homes with front porches priced under $100,000 that were built between the 1920s and ’50s, during the city’s boom years.

6. Birmingham, AL

Median list price: $219,200 Share of affordable homes: 55.7%

Four-bedroom brick home in Shelby County listed for $279K.

realtor.com

When compared with America’s largest cities, home prices in this famous Deep South city seem like a bargain. Like many urban areas, Birmingham has neighborhoods that have decayed after decades of urban flight that started in the ’70s. But that just made it ground zero for where the middle class can now easily afford a mortgage.

Homes in the city built during Birmingham’s boom years in the 1950s are where some of the lowest prices can be found. Just $75,000 for a three-bedroom home? Now that’s a bargain worth checking out!

And getting those lower prices doesn’t mean you’ll sacrifice fun things to do. The city is packed with parks and museums; motorcycle lovers will get a kick out of this city’s underground biker scene, including the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, which has hundreds of awesome vintage motorcycles on display.

Just know that not all areas boast the same deals. Shelby County in metro Birmingham has both the highest median home price ($260,000) and the lowest unemployment rate (3.1%) in the state. But even that price point is still affordable for many middle-income families.

7. Memphis, TN

Median list price: $214,000 Share of affordable homes: 53.5%

Memphis

Davel5957/iStock

Located along the banks of America’s biggest river, the Mississippi, Memphis is seeing a big movement in its real estate market. The reason: A sizable inventory of homes priced under $100,000 are luring investors into the city.

“Some neighborhoods have been completely taken over by investment properties,” says Joe Spake, a broker at InCity Realty in Memphis. “They’re buying older homes for $60,000 to $70,000 and completely turning them around for profit.”

Generally, these neighborhoods are located in the Midtown area—the center of the city’s art scene and the host of the annual Cooper-Young Arts Festival, which draws around 100,000 visitors.

The region is also making great use of abandoned buildings to help spur growth. For example, the Crosstown Concourse is a massive art deco–style building that used to house a Sears warehouse and, in recent years, was turned into apartments, shops, and restaurants.

8. Oklahoma City, OK

Median list price: $235,100 Share of affordable homes: 53.4%

Home in Moore

realtor.com

Unlike many of the most affordable housing markets for middle-income earners, the population in OKC has long been growing, up 11% since 2010. Rebounding natural gas and oil sectors are fueling this growth—and developers are taking advantage of this by going on building sprees, erecting new subdivisions left and right.

This is in part possible because Oklahoma City is massive, and all that room to grow and lower building costs are helping to keep home prices within reach for middle-class families.

Sprawling neighborhoods like Moore feature tons of recently built three-bedroom homes priced around $225,000. Despite being devastated by tornadoes over the past two decades, Moore has watched its population climb from 41,000 in 2000 to over 60,000 in 2016. Why? Some say it’s due to its stellar school districts, making this area particularly family-friendly.

9. Cincinnati, OH

Median list price: $240,000 Share of affordable homes: 49.2%

Condos in Over-the-Rhine

realtor.com

Every morning, scores of besuited Cincinnatians commute to work at Fortune 100 companies headquartered in the city, including Procter & Gamble, Kroger, and Macy’s. The blue chip companies that this city is known for keep wages up, but without the runaway prices that often come with newer tech firms or startups. As a result, Cincinnati’s modest (but steady) economic growth means modest home price growth in line with people’s salaries.

Once America’s sixth-biggest city, Cincinnati is also full of one-of-a-kind neighborhoods like Over-the-Rhine, a historic neighborhood near downtown that has its streets lined with three-story brick buildings that were built 150 years ago by German immigrants. Over-the-Rhine is seeing a resurgence, as investors rehab the century-old multifamily homes into condos. And renovated Washington Park in the neighborhoods is where all the hipsters walk their dogs.

Just keep in mind that for true real estate deals, you’ll need to head to the suburbs just outside the city, like Anderson Township, a go-to for folks looking for three-bedroom homes priced under $225,000.

10. Detroit, MI

Median list price: $232,500 Share of affordable homes: 47.4%

Converted condos in Detroit.

realtor.com

After years of losing residents, Detroit was finally forced to file for bankruptcy in 2013. But even then, the city was starting to set the groundwork for a grand revival.

“Detroit is growing. The downtown is on fire,” says Thomas Nanes, a real estate agent at Community Choice Realty Detroit. “When you go there, you ask yourself if you’re still in Detroit, because it has changed so much. People are pushing baby carriages, people are riding bikes. A few years back, you wouldn’t have seen this. There just would have been people begging for food.”

Near the city center, condos are being built in converted industrial buildings and selling for around $200,000. Even better deals can be found farther out in neighborhoods where many homes sell for under $75,000. But buyers are still wary of these cheap cribs. Often renovators will get their tools or newly installed furnace stolen while trying to rehab these homes, Nanes says.

Nonetheless, “things are really beginning to change here,” he says. “We have beautiful homes that you have to put some work into.”

* A metropolitan statistical area is a designation that includes the urban core of a city and surrounding smaller towns and cities.

Allison Underhill contributed to this report.

The post 10 Surprising Cities Where a $60K Middle-Class Salary Can Snag a Sweet Home appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

10 Surprising Cities Where a $60K Middle-Class Salary Can Snag a Sweet Home

#TRUSTED LOCAL REALTOR #10 Surprising Cities Where a $60K Middle-Class Salary Can Snag a Sweet Home

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gillespialfredoe01806ld · 6 years ago

Text

10 Surprising Cities Where a $60K Middle-Class Salary Can Snag a Sweet Home

iStock; realtor.com

Can America’s stressed-out, fought-over, cash-strapped middle class still afford to buy homes?

So where did we locate the greatest share of these real estate unicorns? Hint: It wasn’t Manhattan or the San Francisco Bay Area.

Instead, for middle-class affordability, “you need to look toward areas where housing prices have not seen the same appreciation,” he says.

But buckle up: We found a few surprise markets along the way.

Cities where a $60K salary can buy a home

Claire Widman

1. Pittsburgh, PA

Median list price: $179,100 Share of affordable homes: 64.3%

Home in Brighton Heights in Pittsburgh

realtor.com

2. Rochester, NY

Median list price: $177,500 Share of affordable homes: 63.1%

Home in Rochester

realtor.com

3. Buffalo, NY

Median list price: $185,100 Share of affordable homes: 61.8%

Four-bedroom home listed for $139,000 in Buffalo.

realtor.com

And they love the home prices, too, which are still a bargain compared with other markets—but probably not for long.

Bonus: Even the long-downtrodden Buffalo Bills are finally winning these days! (Sorry, just kidding.)

4. St. Louis, MO

Median list price: $209,500 Share of affordable homes: 61.7%

Brick house in St. Louis

realtor.com

5. Cleveland, OH

Median list price: $179,500 Share of affordable homes: 61.7%

Sub-$100K home in Cleveland

realtor.com

6. Birmingham, AL

Median list price: $219,200 Share of affordable homes: 55.7%

Four-bedroom brick home in Shelby County listed for $279K.

realtor.com

7. Memphis, TN

Median list price: $214,000 Share of affordable homes: 53.5%

Memphis

Davel5957/iStock

Generally, these neighborhoods are located in the Midtown area—the center of the city’s art scene and the host of the annual Cooper-Young Arts Festival, which draws around 100,000 visitors.

8. Oklahoma City, OK

Median list price: $235,100 Share of affordable homes: 53.4%

Home in Moore

realtor.com

This is in part possible because Oklahoma City is massive, and all that room to grow and lower building costs are helping to keep home prices within reach for middle-class families.

9. Cincinnati, OH

Median list price: $240,000 Share of affordable homes: 49.2%

Condos in Over-the-Rhine

realtor.com

10. Detroit, MI

Median list price: $232,500 Share of affordable homes: 47.4%

Converted condos in Detroit.

realtor.com

After years of losing residents, Detroit was finally forced to file for bankruptcy in 2013. But even then, the city was starting to set the groundwork for a grand revival.

Nonetheless, “things are really beginning to change here,” he says. “We have beautiful homes that you have to put some work into.”

* A metropolitan statistical area is a designation that includes the urban core of a city and surrounding smaller towns and cities.

Allison Underhill contributed to this report.

The post 10 Surprising Cities Where a $60K Middle-Class Salary Can Snag a Sweet Home appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

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