#unfortunately i think to survive the left has to become a little unhinged

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

i love your metas! I just discovered them today and have spent all afternoon reading them. I have two part ask, if that's okay. Firstly, do you think a sensible version of bella could survive if she recognised early on that keeping on Edward's good side was her only survival option? and secondly, on the flip side, just how unhinged do you think bella could be before edward rejected her?

Ooh, both interesting questions, anon. Let's do this.

Sane Bella and the Yandere Simulator

Last time, on The Carnivorous Muffin's ridiculous blog, we covered what would happen to a sensible Bella who realizes the Cullens are not fluffy bunnies she should take home.

The long and short, Edward eats her.

Edward's romantic interest in Bella, the thing that has him fighting his own baser nature to keep her alive, is dependent on a few things.

One of those is Bella's interest in turn.

In time, if Bella truly was not interested in him, he would eat her. Alice tells us there's only two paths for Bella: death or vampire. Leaving her and walking away is never a true option for Edward.

So, Sane Bella loses Yandere Simulator because she doesn't realize the key aspect of Yandere Simulator: You Never Say No to Yandere.

However, you point out something interesting here, that this is a sensible Bella.

Sensible people do not immediately think they're playing Yandere Simulator. You don't run across people like Edward often, there aren't many of him, and while there are red flags early in Twilight Edward did a pretty good job of making them not particularly visible.

By the time we hit Eclipse he's pretty much thrown pretending to be nice and sane out the window. Luckily for Bella, that doesn't appear to bother her as much as it should.

Bella thinking "if I don't play along with this inhuman whack job he'll eat me", is paranoid lunacy. It is not the first conclusion a reasonable person would jump to.

That it happens to be the right conclusion is irrelevant.

But alright, I'll play ball.

Paranoid Bella and the Yandere Simulator

Bella is utterly paranoid and wearing her tin foil hat when she enters Forks. She remembers Biology very well and when Edward comes back and pretends to be nice she gives him a strained smile and thinks, "This motherfucker will eat me the moment my back is turned."

Bella considers travelling back to Florida, but that would be leading Edward to her mother, more it would be very easy to find Bella if he truly wished to.

Florida isn't an option.

Bella tries to keep her distance from Edward, hard when he sits next to her in Biology, but he seems willing to ignore her. Bella calms down a little, maybe this will work out.

Bella is nearly crushed by a van, desperately pretends she definitely did not see Edward fold that van like a pretzel. Nope, no siree Bob, Bella is concussed! She then stays awake all night in terror and OH GOD HE'S CLIMBING THROUGH HER WINDOW! HE'S GOING TO EAT HER IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT! HE KNOWS THAT SHE KNOWS!

Bella pretends to sleep, horrified, and Edward stays there all night. Staring.

(Edward, meanwhile, is realizing he's in love.)

Bella enters school a nervous wreck, waiting for that fateful Biology class and... Edward is studiously ignoring her. He doesn't even say hello.

Bella would be relieved, except he keeps sneaking into her bedroom at night, staring. Bella gets no sleep for weeks.

Then the blood testing happens and suddenly Edward is talking to her. He tells her they shouldn't be friends and he doesn't want to be friends, GREAT, EDWARD, THAT'S GREAT. But then it's very clear that he's after something, and Bella's spidey senses are tingling.

Edward doesn't want to be friends.

Oh, oh shit.

Suddenly, Edward sneaking into her room at night takes on a whole, new, sinister twist. First he'll rape her, then he'll eat her (or who knows, maybe vice versa, Bella certainly doesn't want to find out).

Bella is driven home by Edward (he insists) and enters the house to wheeze into a paper bag.

She thinks over her options.

Edward can crush cars, Bella trips over asphalt. Even if she wasn't Bella, there's no way she could outfight him even if she wanted to.

Edward was very concerned when he suspected that she knew, he likely still suspects and Bella's not a very good liar. Bella doesn't want to find out what happens to her if Edward realizes she really does know.

Edward appears to have a romantic interest in her. Does Bella really have the option of saying no?

Bella, still wheezing in her bag, comes to what seems like an inevitable decision. She must humor Edward at all costs. For the sake of her family, of her own life, she must play into his romantic overtures. Bella can't act but now, her life depends on it.

Well, Bella still can't act, but luckily for her Edward doesn't care.

Edward just thinks Bella's very jumpy, a little nervous and shy, and just plain weird (given he thinks Bella's just plain weird in canon this is not too far from normal events).

So Bella gets to live in terror for things like the meadow, where Edward talks about how easy it would be to eat her, how he contemplated murdering Biology in cold blood to eat her in the most efficient manner, how he loathed her for daring to smell delicious, how Alice warned him there was a good chance of him eating Bella in the meadow today, all while pressing his cheek against her hammering heartbeat.

"AH HA HA HA HA, EDWARD, YOU'RE SO CHARMING."

Edward invites Bella to the house. These creepy, man eating, people all meet her with smiles. Edward has composed her a lullaby. One of them, Alice, tells Bella they're going to be best friends.

"AH HA HA HA HA, EDWARD YOUR FAMILY IS SO NICE."

In other words, somehow, all of Twilight still happens because Bella is terrified of saying no.

At least, until Volterra. Given Bella's being hunted by Victoria, even had Bella not gone cliff diving eventually Alice would see her eaten and then black out as the wolves chased off Victoria instead.

Bella spends New Moon having a great time. Mostly. The Cullens are finally gone, she's free, she spends weeks on edge thinking they might come back.

Just when she starts to relax, fucking Laurent shows up and learns Victoria's trying to kill her. Because of Edward, because of course, it's always about Edward. WHY ARE VAMPIRES ALWAYS TRYING TO KILL HER?!

Regardless, Alice shows up and goes, "Bella, my god, you're alive!" And Bella dies inside. Alice Cullen is back. Oh no.

Bella pretends she's thrilled to see her. Alice, her best friend, her favorite demon. Hurray. Alice fills Bella in on the New Moon scoop, Bella pretends to be very invested. Then Alice gets the vision.

Edward has decided to commit suicide via the Volturi.

Bella has no problem with this, unfortunately, she realizes that Alice clearly has a problem with this. Alice fully expects Bella to run off to Italy to save Fucking Edward.

Once again, Bella isn't sure she's allowed to say no.

Bella runs to Italy, finds herself saving Edward's life, and then she's brought before the Volturi where she might very well be executed because Edward Cullen happened to involve her in this mess.

BELLA NEVER WANTED TO BE HERE.

Bella snaps. She's crying, she just can't take it anymore, and she finally loses her shit at Edward. SHE NEVER LOVED HIM! HE IS SCARY AND WON'T LEAVE HER ALONE! IF THEY'RE GOING TO KILL HER JUST DO IT NOW BECAUSE SHE CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE.

Aro watches Bella's mental breakdown in utter amazement. Naturally, while Marcus suspected something was funky with those two, Aro did not see this coming from Edward's perspective.

Aro offers Bella her out, it is unfortunately death or vampire, but vampire is very much an option and Aro will offer Bella sanctuary in the Volturi.

Bella takes that offer and runs with it.

Edward is devastated and blindsided.

Somehow, neither he nor Alice saw this one coming.

But to answer your question: Paranoid Bella survives Yandere Simulator By Defecting to the Volturi

How Unhinged Does Bella Have to Be For Edward to Dump Her?

He won't.

Remember, Edward in canon thinks there's something legitimately wrong with Bella. She doesn't think like normal people, she always makes the least rational choice, and he can't hear her thoughts.

Edward doesn't think Bella's gifted just that she's... different. (Bella, hilariously, immediately picks up that Edward's calling her a freak. Edward backtracks hard on that one.)

Bella's decisions also become increasingly ridiculous as the series goes on.

She stabs herself in the middle of a battle, she insists on having sex with him while human, she consorts with shapeshifters (to Edward this is lunacy), she picked up motorcycle riding, she threw herself off a cliff, she ran from his sweet protection to the reservation, she believes he doesn't love her, and she doesn't want to get married.

I imagine Edward thinks there isn't anywhere left for Bella to go. She's left the planet, unhinged is her middle name.

But none of that matters.

I already linked the Edward/Bella post I always link near the top so I'll just recap. For Edward, it's all about the blood, the silence, and the projection.

An unhinged Bella is still a delicious and silent Bella. He can still pretend she's Carlisle.

Even if Bella became addicted to cocaine, and ruined that sweet scent, it wouldn't tarnish her memory. He'd nurse her back to health, then eat her so she never relapses.

That's the trouble with Edward/Bella, it's not about Bella, not at all. You could replace her with sweet smelling cardboard and Edward would not notice a difference.

[angsty-prompt-hole]

Number 4 and number 10 for the ask game!

4. Who's your favourite OC? Why? Do you think you would get along with this OC if you met them in real life?

Oooo this one’s hard. I have a couple of favorites, but I think right now I’d have to go with Haven. Her story is basically that when she was younger, she got caught up in a whole conspiracy involving her father who had disappeared and an eldritch entity, ended up losing her hand and becoming immortal, and then became sort of an interdimensional vigilante who tracks down people who worship that eldritch entity and commits extreme violence against them. She’s just a lot of fun to do stuff with and I really enjoy writing stuff with her. Haven would probably not like me very much lmaooo. She does not like being challenged and I tend to butt heads with people like that.

10. Ramble about an OC! Say whatever you want about them and go on as long as you like ♡

Hi hello yes I shall ramble about someone related to Haven’s story because this OC has been all I could think about for weeks. His name is Liam Prescott, and he’s sort of based on Dewey Riley from the Scream movies. He’s from a version of earth that is infested with eldritch creatures. His sister and her friends got caught up in a serial killing spree committed by two dudes. His sister was murdered, and he was nearly killed, but he and three of his sister’s friends survived. The killers escaped.

Liam got super drunk one night and went out searching for the devil to make a deal to get back at the killers. He did not find the devil, but he found a deal-making sort of eldritch person by the name of Kiz who pointed him in the direction of a cult that worships this evil deer entity. They gave him the power to track down and kill the serial killers, who he found out were actually eldritch monstrosities themselves. One of the other survivors followed him and witnessed the brutal murder, which fractured his relationship with them.

After that, he sort of became a shut-in and never left his apartment. Unfortunately for him, he lived in the same apartment building as this woman who is basically the peacekeeper between eldritch entities, who also happened to be close friends with Haven. Haven was visiting her one night and sensed the lingering eldritch energy from Liam, marched to his room, broke in, and threatened to murder him. 

After the misunderstanding was cleared up and Haven learned Liam’s whole backstory, they started hanging out more because of their mutual friend, the peacekeeper. Haven was very, very aggressive and confrontational towards him at first because he was completely unphased by her acting unhinged or any of her physical oddities like her missing/replaced with a cybernetic prosthetic hand. 

Over time though, Haven settled down a little bit and began to open up to Liam. The two had been through somewhat similar experiences and it really helped both of them to have someone who understood their trauma. Liam’s kind of a dingus though and Haven is so out of touch with her own emotions she never knows what she’s feeling unless it’s rage, so these two took forever to realize they actually really liked each other. 

Liam’s dorky ass upon realizing this decided he was going to panic, and he could not look Haven in the eye for like a week until he was done having a crisis and decided to ask her out. Poor Liam had no idea their first date would end with them having to fight a monster and him learning that Haven can still die, she just resurrects immediately, which was very traumatic for the poor guy. 

Anyways Liam is a dork and likes to buy presents and stuff for people he likes, and he always tries to get people to talk about their interests, only to make a fool of himself because he knows nothing about whatever the person is talking about. He also sometimes overthinks things and ends up really stressed for absolutely no reason. 

[yanderecandystore]

can we get the bullies with a male slasher s/o?

I swear like-

I swear I already did something like this?? But maybe no??¿? XD

So anyway- Alright boo, let me see what I can do- Sorry but I decided to take liberty and… Make this one be very stupid XD

TW/Tags: killer reader :3 // mentions of death // mentions of h o r n i n e s s // I have no like- Idea how to make this work so- Let's just go with it lol // low-key based on dbd, although I never played the game I know only a bit about it- // REALLY silly :P

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

Horror Movies Cliches [Yandere!Bully OCS x M!Slasher!Reader - Headcanon]:

🎇 Let me set the stage for a quick sec!🎇

Let's just create a bit of context- Imagine the most over the top horror movie cliche you can think off- Some teens, hanging around a haunted place, everyone is organizing a creepy party while also trying to prank one another. The twins are part of this party because duh- They're popular? Rich? Pretty af? Everyone wants a piece of them tonight, especially you.

Although technically, not in the same way the horny bastards around here want to. While some are trying to impress them, and others try to prank them and humiliate them for at least once in their lives- You're looking for something more, well, important. You were done with being the one left behind, always ridiculed by the twins and their mob of "friends".

You wanted nothing more than sweet revenge tonight, and it didn't matter which rich asshole's blood would be spilled tonight- And even if your plan wasn't exactly foolproof, you were still going to go down and smash their skulls.

With a mask covering your face, gloves to cover your fingerprints and a baseball bat- You were ready for your first hunt tonight. What could ever stop you if not God itself?

Maybe you didn't calculate all possibilities of what could go wrong today, perhaps you should have considered that you weren't the only one bloodlusty in this party.

→ Adrien Coldwell:

Adrien is not really a- Adrien is-

What can I say about Adrien? Adrien is not the best at survival, or trying to survive, or wanting to survive-

Adrien is too lazy for this- He doesn't really put an effort in trying to hide himself, since he is sold 100% that this is just another prank. The only thing stopping you from finding him and smashing his bones is his natural luck which is conveniently protecting himself from being found.

God, this party is boring.

You would probably find Adrien by accident, just- Eating some snacks as all the other participants of the party were already dead. However- You weren't so lucky when you tried killing him right there, he ran away before you could grab him.

Now noticing how real the situation was, he was ready to find any means of communication to call for help, but it seems like all possible means of easy and quick communication has been cut off.

Adrien can either hide and pray for someone to come help him, or try to fight you off and stop you from hunting him. And of course he ain't fucking attacking you, what do you take him for?? Insane?? Dumb?? Nah bitch, he is hiding.

Up until this point, Adrien had no idea you were the one behind the mask. He thought you were a random creep that went insane and decided to take his anger out on some rich people- Which could mean he is half right and half wrong!

But honestly though, you're the last person that he imagined being capable of killing so many people in one night! He didn't even know you were invited to this party, which makes this so unfortunate to him, he could be wearing a cuter outfit if he knew you would be here!

One would assume that after showing their true identities to their victims before their death would cause their victims to become even more frightened and beg for mercy!- In your case though? Nah, that ain't happening.

Adrien is treating this situation with much seriousness as one would imagine he would- With none. Knowing that you're the one killing everyone with a bat is kinda pathetic if not hilarious to him.

After all, it's just "you". What evil can you do? Honestly, you came all the way to this place to make him "pay for his actions"?? Don't you have anything better to do on a Saturday night, honey?

To be fair- He kinda digs the "unhinged maniac" look you have going on, blood suits you so well. Hell! He bet it would suit him just as well too.

Your night was supposed to be one of pure gore and carnage, revenge against those that have harmed you- Yet here you are, being flirted with by Adrien, who is getting a little too into the "killer x victim" dynamic going on.

Ugh, you don't feel in the mood anymore… It feels so wrong when he keeps flirting about it.

In the end, you two have inverted the roles in a way. You were trying to get away from Adrien who was chasing you and making you embarrassed with as much flirting as possible.

Such an unfortunate night.

→ Alexandra Coldwell:

Alexandra would think this is all an elaborate spooky prank, yet she would be lying if she said she didn't find this all…. A bit too much.

No, s-she isn't scared! Just frustrated that this party sucks! It's so immature to just- Try to humiliate her by making her scared! Is such a low move.

Alexandra wouldn't do much effort into hiding since she doesn't think there is any danger nearby. You would have found her very early on, and you can imagine how frustrating it was to see her escaping from your grasp- You have forgotten how athletic Alexandra is, of course she would have ran away faster than you could snatch her.

Now noticing how real the situation was, she was ready to find any means of communication to call for help, but it seems like all possible means of easy and quick communication has been cut off.

Alexandra can either hide and pray for someone to come help her, or try to fight you off and stop you from hunting her. And of course she'll be fighting you- Pfft, what? You think she'll chicken out?? You literally made her break her nail- You psycho!

Up until this point, Alexandra didn't know you were- Well, you! She thought you were some random ass psycho trying to ruin some teens party for some "revenge" bs. So maybe she was half right, and half wrong!

Alexandra would have never ever imagined that you were the killer! Were you even invited to the party?? Why has nobody told her? She could have chosen something more cute for you, damnit!

One would assume that after showing their true identities to their victims before their death would cause their victims to become even more frightened and beg for mercy!- In your case though? Nah, that ain't happening.

Alexandra just laughs it off and treats it like every school day- Belittling you while all's giving mix signals of affection.

She isn't afraid anymore, why would she? You're just a little wimp who thinks that getting a wooden bat and dark clothes makes you scary. Dearest, you have forgotten who is the bigger dog around here-

You wasted your whole night just to make her terrified? Honestly, you need a better hobby- Obsessing over your bully is such a loser move on your part, although she would be lying if she said she doesn't appreciate the fact you care so much about her.

Alexandra was getting a little too interested into this "roleplay" going on- Wanting to be your final girl, after all it didn't sound half as bad. Maybe she has been a little too into those slasher fanfics she has been finding around- But damn, you look almost acceptable while drenched in blood.

Her lack of care or empathy towards those who have been brutally killed, while also drooling over you, reminds you that- Honestly? Fuck this. You should have expected a Coldwell to be a morally fucked up person- Why are you surprised?

You've been trying your best to go back home, but being constantly followed by an overly affectionate Alexandra is just as bad as being humiliated by an overly sadistic Alexandra. You got no rest that day.

Such an unfortunate night.

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

[aboveallarescuer]

Daenerys Targaryen in A Storm of Swords vs Game of Thrones - Episode 3.4: And Now His Watch Is Ended

In this series of posts, I intend to analyze precisely how the show writers downplayed or erased several key aspects of Daenerys Targaryen’s characterization, even when they had the books to help them write her as the compelling, intelligent, compassionate, frugal, open-minded and self-critical character that GRRM created.

I want to make it clear that these posts are not primarily meant to offer a better alternative to what the show writers gave us. I understand that they had many constraints (e.g. other storylines to handle, a limited amount of time to write the scripts, budget, actors who may have asked for a certain number of lines, etc) working against them. However, considering how disrespectful the show’s ending was to Daenerys Targaryen and how the book material that they left out makes it even more ludicrous to think that she will also become a villain in A Song of Ice and Fire, I believe that these reviews are more than warranted. They are meant to dissect everything about Dany’s characterization that was lost in translation, with a lot of book evidence to corroborate my statements.

Since these reviews will dissect scene by scene, I recommend taking a look at this post because I will use its sequence to order Dany’s scenes.

This post is relevant in case you want to know which chapters were adapted in which GoT episodes (however, I didn’t make the list myself, all the information comes from the GoT Wiki, so I can’t guarantee that it’s 100% reliable).

In general, I will call the Dany from the books “Dany” and the Dany from the TV series “show!Dany”.

Scene 4

Summary: show!Dany enters Astapor and exchanges Drogon for the Unsullied. Then, she orders them to attack the masters and has Drogon burn Kraznys. At the end, she frees the Unsullied and leaves the city.

As I've explained many times in my reviews of episodes 3.1 and 3.3, the show writers have sidelined Dany's thoughts and feelings and overall motivations a lot in their adaptation of the books' events. The moment above is another example. Do we have any clue on how show!Dany is feeling in the screenshot above? Because we do in the books:

If I look back I am lost, Dany told herself the next morning as she entered Astapor through the harbor gates. She dared not remind herself how small and insignificant her following truly was, or she would lose all courage. (ASOS Daenerys III)

When it comes to this change, it's important to have in mind how the show writers (particularly Benioff) perceive Dany at this point:

Benioff: Dany is becoming more and more viable as a threat, you know, both, you know, in attaining an army and because she's the mother of these three dragons who are only gonna get more and more fearsome. (Inside the Episode, 3.4)

~

The darker moments can weigh on fans, though. The Red Wedding in particular is infamous for making many fans very upset with the books. One reader once claimed on the EW boards that there are no heroes in Martin’s novels, only victims.

Benioff: Well, that’s not true. It’s hard to think of Daenerys Targaryen as a victim.

Weiss: She started as a victim. But many heroes start as somebody who is powerless. (x)

Because show!Dany is "becoming more and more viable as a threat" in Benioff's eyes, she is no longer even acknowledged as a victim (as if one ever "stopped" being one) and her emotional expressions are flattened accordingly. In the show, expressing fear and anxiety and sorrow is restricted to either powerless victims or unhinged characters, not "badasses". In the books, on the other hand, Dany is allowed to feel a variety of emotions:

Dany fed her dragons as she always did, but found she had no appetite herself. She cried awhile, alone in her cabin, then dried her tears long enough for yet another argument with Groleo. “Magister Illyrio is not here,” she finally had to tell him, “and if he was, he could not sway me either. I need the Unsullied more than I need these ships, and I will hear no more about it.”

The anger burned the grief and fear from her, for a few hours at the least. Afterward she called her bloodriders to her cabin, with Ser Jorah. They were the only ones she truly trusted.

She meant to sleep afterward, to be well rested for the morrow, but an hour of restless tossing in the stuffy confines of the cabin soon convinced her that was hopeless. Outside her door she found Aggo fitting a new string to his bow by the light of a swinging oil lamp. Rakharo sat crosslegged on the deck beside him, sharpening his arakh with a whetstone. (ASOS Daenerys III)

On the night before she frees the Unsullied, Dany is restless. That's quite understandable - she is putting the lives of her entire retinue (which she describes as "small and insignificant" in numbers) and her child at risk to fight for the dignity of the slave soldiers. She even cries on her own, perhaps due to her guilt over the exchange of Drogon for the army. Then, she asks for the people whom she trusts to sleep in her cabin because she can't stand being alone during these hours in which there's nothing she can do but to wait and have doubts. This moment of calm before the storm is crucial because it perfectly illustrates Ned's lesson to Bran back in AGOT - by allowing us to see Dany's fear, her bravery becomes more apparent later. By allowing us to see Dany's vulnerability, we get a better sense of how difficult her narrative conflict is and her ultimate triumph feels even more hard-earned. Unfortunately, the show writers never understood any of this.

The calm before the storm is also important for this reason:

“Khaleesi. You ought to be asleep. Tomorrow will be hot and hard, I promise you. You’ll need your strength.”


“Do you remember Eroeh?” she asked him.

“The Lhazareen girl?”

“They were raping her, but I stopped them and took her under my protection. Only when my sun-and-stars was dead Mago took her back, used her again, and killed her. Aggo said it was her fate.”

“I remember,” Ser Jorah said.

“I was alone for a long time, Jorah. All alone but for my brother. I was such a small scared thing. Viserys should have protected me, but instead he hurt me and scared me worse. He shouldn’t have done that. He wasn’t just my brother, he was my king. Why do the gods make kings and queens, if not to protect the ones who can’t protect themselves?”

“Some kings make themselves. Robert did.”


“He was no true king,” Dany said scornfully. “He did no justice. Justice ... that’s what kings are for.” (ASOS Daenerys III)

This is one of the key moments of the chapter, not only because it's one of the hints of Dany's eventual breaking of the deal, but also because it highlights Dany's character development: after being a slave and witnessing what others experienced as slaves, she comes to the conclusion that she is no true queen if she doesn't fight for and protect the oppressed. There are no feudal alliances or benefits to be found here, Dany is doing this just because it's the right thing to do.

Benioff may say that the surprise attack made sense in the books because of the hints scattered across the chapter, but neither he nor Weiss seem to have considered including any of the scenes above into the TV show. More than just signaling what will happen, they are pivotal to understanding Dany's character motivations. By understanding them, the resolution of the conflict becomes obvious in retrospect. Unfortunately, they don't care enough about them to make sure that they are conveyed onscreen. As a result, the show scene begins on a much weaker foundation.

Some key details are missing in the exchange scene of the show:

Aggo went before her with his great Dothraki bow. Strong Belwas walked to the right of her mare, the girl Missandei to her left. Ser Jorah Mormont was behind in mail and surcoat, glowering at anyone who came too near. Rakharo and Jhogo protected the litter. Dany had commanded that the top be removed, so her three dragons might be chained to the platform. Irri and Jhiqui rode with them, to try and keep them calm. Yet Viserion’s tail lashed back and forth, and smoke rose angry from his nostrils. Rhaegal could sense something wrong as well. Thrice he tried to take wing, only to be pulled down by the heavy chain in Jhiqui’s hand. Drogon coiled into a ball, wings and tail tucked tight. Only his eyes remained to tell that he was not asleep.

The rest of her people followed: Groleo and the other captains and their crews, and the eighty-three Dothraki who remained to her of the hundred thousand who had once ridden in Drogo’s khalasar. She put the oldest and weakest on the inside of the column, with the nursing women and those with child, and the little girls, and the boys too young to braid their hair. The rest—her warriors, such as they were—rode outside and moved their dismal herd along, the hundred-odd gaunt horses that had survived both red waste and black salt sea. (ASOS Daenerys III)

As we can see above, in the books, Dany brings her entire retinue and organizes them in a way that makes them look more imposing to the masters; it's a detail that showcases her political skills. In the show, she is only accompanied by Jorah, Barristan and Missandei (and Drogon). The Dothraki mentioned in episode 3.1 are nowhere to be seen here.

This part is also cut:

He looked at Missandei. “Tell her they are hers ... if she can pay.”

“She can,” the girl said.

Ser Jorah barked a command, and the trade goods were brought forward. Six bales of tiger skins, three hundred bolts of fine silk. Jars of saffron, jars of myrrh, jars of pepper and curry and cardamom, an onyx mask, twelve jade monkeys, casks of ink in red and black and green, a box of rare black amethysts, a box of pearls, a cask of pitted olives stuffed with maggots, a dozen casks of pickled cave fish, a great brass gong and a hammer to beat it with, seventeen ivory eyes, and a huge chest full of books written in tongues that Dany could not read. And more, and more, and more. Her people stacked it all before the slavers.

While the payment was being made, Kraznys mo Nakloz favored her with a few final words on the handling of her troops. “They are green as yet,” he said through Missandei. “Tell the whore of Westeros she would be wise to blood them early. There are many small cities between here and there, cities ripe for sacking. Whatever plunder she takes will be hers alone. Unsullied have no lust for gold or gems. And should she take captives, a few guards will suffice to march them back to Astapor. We’ll buy the healthy ones, and for a good price. And who knows? In ten years, some of the boys she sends us may be Unsullied in their turn. Thus all shall prosper.”

Finally there were no more trade goods to add to the pile. Her Dothraki mounted their horses once more, and Dany said, “This was all we could carry. The rest awaits you on the ships, a great quantity of amber and wine and black rice. And you have the ships themselves.[”] (ASOS Daenerys III)

We do get Kraznys's advice on what to do with the Unsullied, but we don't see the exchange of the trading goods happening in the TV show. Some might consider this a minor change, but it is, nonetheless, part of an overall pattern to reduce the extent of Dany's sacrifices to save the Unsullied.

Like in the books, show!Dany also asks Kraznys if the deal is done after she hands him the dragon and is given the whip. The way that show!Dany confirms that the Unsullied are now hers is different from the books, though:

She stood in her stirrups and raised the harpy’s fingers above her head for all the Unsullied to see. “IT IS DONE!” she cried at the top of her lungs. “YOU ARE MINE!” She gave the mare her heels and galloped along the first rank, holding the fingers high. “YOU ARE THE DRAGON’S NOW! YOU’RE BOUGHT AND PAID FOR! IT IS DONE! IT IS DONE!” (ASOS Daenerys III)

~

DAENERYS: Unsullied! Forward march! Halt!

In a way, I actually like this change. That show!Dany makes a command (rather than just an announcement) that the Unsullied obey gives her (and the audience) even more assurance that they will remain faithful to her - she is being clever here.

My only quibbles are that:

In the books, Dany shouting that the deal is done and that the Unsullied are now hers is Dany making sure that they'll fight against their former masters when she offers them freedom. This ties back into her questions to Kraznys and Missandei about whether the Unsullied want (or even can) turn against their previous owners. In the show, as I said, making sure that they follow a command is a surer way to guarantee their allegiance, but it's not connected to any of the many hints that she'd eventually rebel like the moment from the books is.

In the books, we are supposed to be unsure about whether the Unsullied would take Dany's side or not (and it's important that we don't know until the very end), but I'll get to that in a second.

Another change is that, in the books, her advisors do not look surprised when they see her speaking to the Unsullied (we witness Missandei's surprise earlier in the chapter), only one of the masters do (while the others are too distracted to pay attention):

She glimpsed old Grazdan turn his grey head sharply. He hears me speak Valyrian. The other slavers were not listening. They crowded around Kraznys and the dragon, shouting advice. Though the Astapori yanked and tugged, Drogon would not budge off the litter. Smoke rose grey from his open jaws, and his long neck curled and straightened as he snapped at the slaver’s face. (ASOS Daenerys III)

While we're at it, remember how I mentioned in my reviews of 3.1 and 3.3 that the show writers tend to center on show!Jorah's perspective and make it the one we're supposed to relate to?

Like in episode 3.3, his reactions were conceived to mirror those of first-time viewers (and Benioff's):

“It’s a hallmark of a number of scenes in [A Storm of Swords] where, in retrospect, I should have seen it coming because George laid out all the pieces, he had given you all the clues,” Benioff said. “The best kind of surprises aren’t the ones that come out of nowhere. The best ones are where after you see it you’re asking yourself, ‘Why didn’t I see that was coming?’ I remember reading [Dany planning to give up Drogon to the slaver] and thinking, ‘Oh, this is kind of disappointing.’ When the real plan was revealed I think I even called [Weiss]. This was before we had met with George, when we were still trying to figure out if this show was possible. The culmination of that scene was one of those moments when we were like, ‘We got to make this f–king show.’ It was very gratifying seeing that wish fulfilled … I think it will be one of the most staggering things ever put on television.” (x)

It is, of course, problematic to prioritize the perspective of a male slaver over that of the female revolutionary who is the POV character in the books. It's also sad to see, even early on, that her male advisors were given priority over her. It just wasn't as noticeable because, despite everything, we were still supposed to be on her side rather than torn between her and her male advisors.

Like in the books, Drogon won't obey Kraznys, which leads Dany to tell him that "a dragon is no slave". Then, the sequence of events change.

In the books, Dany makes that statement, hits Kraznys in the face with the whip (as a payback for his whipping of the slaves and everything else he did in the previous chapter) and has Drogon breathe fire on him immediately after:

And Dany swept the lash down as hard as she could across the slaver’s face. Kraznys screamed and staggered back, the blood running red down his cheeks into his perfumed beard. The harpy’s fingers had torn his features half to pieces with one slash, but she did not pause to contemplate the ruin. “Drogon,” she sang out loudly, sweetly, all her fear forgotten. “Dracarys.” (ASOS Daenerys III)

Chaos ensues in the Plaza. The masters shove one another as they attempt to escape, Viserion and Rhaegal are unchained (which doesn't happen in the show) and Dany's bloodriders and Belwas defeat the Astapori guards before they can do anything to help. Meanwhile, the Unsullied remain still. The master who heard Dany speaking Valyrian tries to order the Unsullied to attack her in vain:

“Unsullied! Defend us, stop them, defend your masters! Spears! Swords!”

When Rakharo put an arrow through his mouth, the slaves holding his sedan chair broke and ran, dumping him unceremoniously on the ground. The old man crawled to the first rank of eunuchs, his blood pooling on the bricks. The Unsullied did not so much as look down to watch him die. Rank on rank on rank, they stood.

And did not move. The gods have heard my prayer. (ASOS Daenerys III)

This is why I said it was important that we didn't know that the Unsullied would be on Dany's side or not until the very end of the chapter. Not only that intensifies the tension, it also highlights that Dany's leap of faith ultimately paid off because the Unsullied were still willing to fight for their freedom. Kraznys might have said that they no longer had any desire of their own and weren't even worthy to be called men anymore, but the narrative ultimately proves him wrong: there is still enough strength of will in them to fight for their dignity. So, when the chapter closes on this note:

“Unsullied!” Dany galloped before them, her silver-gold braid flying behind her, her bell chiming with every stride. “Slay the Good Masters, slay the soldiers, slay every man who wears a tokar or holds a whip, but harm no child under twelve, and strike the chains off every slave you see.” She raised the harpy’s fingers in the air ... and then she flung the scourge aside. “Freedom!” she sang out. “Dracarys! Dracarys!”

“Dracarys!” they shouted back, the sweetest word she’d ever heard. “Dracarys! Dracarys!” And all around them slavers ran and sobbed and begged and died, and the dusty air was filled with spears and fire. (ASOS Daenerys III)

It is all the more impactful because it reinforces that the Unsullied willingly took the opportunity that they were given to fight for their rights.

On HBO, after show!Dany says that "a dragon is not a slave", she doesn't attack Kraznys with the whip nor does she burn him via Drogon. Instead, this is what happens:

KRAZNYS: You speak Valyrian?

DAENERYS: I am Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen, of the blood of Old Valyria. Valyrian is my mother tongue.

As @mytly4​ explains here, Dany's mother tongue in the books is not Valyrian in the books, but rather the Common Tongue of Westeros. My guess is that this mistake was made simply because they wanted to make it clear that show!Dany is sassy and completely outsmarted Kraznys. Don't get me wrong, I love to see Dany being a badass, but it was still a change made overlooking her characterization (which, sadly, is the pattern for the show writers).

Then, she orders the Unsullied to kill the masters and has Drogon burn Kraznys:

DAENERYS: Unsullied! Slay the masters, slay the soldiers, slay every man who holds a whip, but harm no child. Strike the chains off every slave you see!

KRAZNYS: I am your master! Kill her! Kill her! Kill her!

DAENERYS: Dracarys.

The change in the order of events is a problem here. As I just explained, the books make this moment about the Unsullied: when they refused to obey and then responded to Dany's order, it meant that they decided to fight for themselves. On the other hand, in the show, Dany gives the Unsullied the order before their former master attempts to have them obey him once more, so their act of defiance from the books:

The Unsullied did not so much as look down to watch him die. Rank on rank on rank, they stood.

And did not move. The gods have heard my prayer. (ASOS Daenerys III)

Is impossible to happen in the show. This change makes the show scene culminate in this point:

DAENERYS: Unsullied! Slay the masters, slay the soldiers, slay every man who holds a whip, but harm no child. Strike the chains off every slave you see!

KRAZNYS: I am your master! Kill her! Kill her! Kill her!

DAENERYS: Dracarys.

When it should have culminated in this one:

“Unsullied! Defend us, stop them, defend your masters! Spears! Swords!”

When Rakharo put an arrow through his mouth, the slaves holding his sedan chair broke and ran, dumping him unceremoniously on the ground. The old man crawled to the first rank of eunuchs, his blood pooling on the bricks. The Unsullied did not so much as look down to watch him die. Rank on rank on rank, they stood.

And did not move. The gods have heard my prayer.

“Unsullied!” Dany galloped before them, her silver-gold braid flying behind her, her bell chiming with every stride. “Slay the Good Masters, slay the soldiers, slay every man who wears a tokar or holds a whip, but harm no child under twelve, and strike the chains off every slave you see.” She raised the harpy’s fingers in the air ... and then she flung the scourge aside. “Freedom!” she sang out. “Dracarys! Dracarys!”

“Dracarys!” they shouted back, the sweetest word she’d ever heard. “Dracarys! Dracarys!” And all around them slavers ran and sobbed and begged and died, and the dusty air was filled with spears and fire. (ASOS Daenerys III)

To summarize what's happening above:

Books: Master Grazdan tries to get the Unsullied to his side, but they choose not to => Dany commands the Unsullied to attack the masters => Dany says dracarys and the Unsullied shout it back

Show: Show!Dany commands the Unsullied to attack the masters => Kraznys tries to get the Unsullied to his side => Show!Dany says dracarys

As I just said, it was important that Dany would give the Unsullied the order to attack the masters only after they decided to not remain on the masters' side - this reinforces that the scene is not only about Dany, but also about the Unsullied's newfound agency. On HBO, the scene where show!Dany gives them the order happens before Kraznys tries to have them to get them to his side, so it becomes less about them and simply serves as a buildup to Dany saying dracarys and burning him.

Speaking of dracarys, as one can see in the quote above, the word is associated with freedom in the books. This intertwines Dany's mhysa identity (the part of Dany that wants to protect the freedmen and give them freedom) with her mother of dragons identity (the part of Dany that birthed the dragons and said dracarys). That's only fitting since, as @yendany​ said to me in a conversation, Dany was acting as mhysa way before she was hailed as one. On HBO, dracarys will be remembered simply as the word that show!Dany used to burn Kraznys (which happens in the books, of course, but the most relevant part is cut). Changing the order of the events overfocuses on show!Dany's "capacity for cruelty" (as Weiss puts it) which was not the point in the books.

Also, as @yendany​ notes in this meta, many of Dany's servants were seen actively helping her during the slave revolt. In the show, their roles are transferred to the Unsullied while her entourage reacts to the events passively and seemingly with apprehension:

While partly triumphant, the song "Dracarys" also hits dark notes that signal show!Dany's so called "capacity for cruelty", which is not at all supposed to be the purpose of the scene in the books. There, the author cuts the action in the middle of it because the point is not to highlight the violence and how ~wrong~ it is, but rather the adrenaline one feels in the midst of a successful and rightful slave rebellion. These statements from Frederick Douglass that GRRM recently posted in Not A Blog only further strengthen this reading:

“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.

~

“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.”

On HBO, on the other hand, having show!Dany order the Unsullied to attack earlier leads to the audience witnessing the slaughter of more people than in the books (which cuts the action). Again, this deviates from the main thematic intent of the scene. That's not to say that Dany did things perfectly in Astapor - we'll see negative consequences on ASOS Daenerys VI, when we find out that her council was deposed for the sake of the Butcher King. Here, however, Dany is doing the right thing. One can still interpret the show scene as such, don't get me wrong, but it rubs me the wrong way that the show writers would rather talk about this scene as one that indicates show!Dany's "capacity for cruelty" or how she is "becoming more and more viable as a threat". Also, in light of the show's ending, the scene becomes even worse: because show!Dany is killing Ghiscari characters, the show asks us to root for her. When she eventually kills Westerosi characters, on the other hand, she (and the Unsullied and the Dothraki) will be the villains.

*

DAENERYS: You have been slaves all your life. Today you are free. Any man who wishes to leave may leave, and no one will harm him. I give you my word. Will you fight for me? As free men?

This part of the scene was an addition from the show writers. It's a good one on its own. To begin on a positive note, we see show!Dany explicitly freeing the Unsullied, promising that none of them is forced to stay with her and wanting them to fight for her because they want to fight for her. This erases any doubt that show!Dany didn't free show!Missandei in the previous episode (which didn't show Dany immediately freeing her like in the books).

That being said, there are still issues when you compare what happens in the final scene of the episode with what happens in canon. In the books, as I said, the Unsullied are seen willingly rebelling against their former masters when they ignore Grazdan's order. In the show, while this final scene still features the Unsullied making their own choices, it doesn't have the same impact because they weren't shown choosing a different path even when they had another one just as viable (similar to how the negotiation scene on HBO took away show!Dany's alternatives and undermined her altruism).

One could argue that there was another viable path in the show scene too: they could have left. However, considering that the option of staying with your master (which is the one the books presented) would be much easier and that the books deliberately complicate how much of a choice the former slaves really have even after being freed ... I would say that the scene does lose part of the impact. In other words:

Books: Do I stay with my former masters? VS Do I fight for my freedom?

Show: Do I stay as a freedman with Dany? VS Do I leave?

One dilemma is about their freedom, the other is about whether they join Dany or not. This change ties back into others I've addressed in previous episodes, namely how the show writers have overfocused on Dany's need to get an army.

Second, I don't like that it's implied that show!Dany leaves Astapor in the same day that she sacked it (she's still wearing the same clothes she wore during the sack of Astapor and it's evening). It gives weight to the superficial read (that ignores her entire characterization, of course) that she primarily wanted an army and freeing the slaves was convenient. In the books, I highly doubt that she left in the same day. Since we know that she left the city with a new government, she must have spent some time there choosing (or letting the freedmen choose) which freedmen she would support as the new leaders:

Dany had left Astapor in the hands of a council of former slaves led by a healer, a scholar, and a priest. Wise men all, she thought, and just. (ASOS Daenerys IV)

We'll find out in episode 4.5 that show!Dany did the same thing, sure, but, on its own, the scene makes it seem that she just sacked the city and left.

Third, we don't see the Astapori freedmen following her like in the books:

Yet even so, tens of thousands preferred to follow her to Yunkai, rather than remain behind in Astapor. I gave them the city, and most of them were too frightened to take it. (ASOS Daenerys IV)

For all the show writers will say that they cared about showing the viewpoint of the lowborn when they had show!Dany burn King's Landing, they sure as hell didn't care about it before.

Fourth, I've seen people argue that the timing of show!Dany's rejection of the whip means that she is doing what she's doing for self-interest. In their opinion, she should have discarded it before she had the Unsullied attack the masters and before she asked them to fight for her. That's another stupid misreading that would have been easily fixed if the show writers had had show!Dany use the whip against the master and thrown it away earlier like in the books.

Fifth, it's certainly gorgeous to see the dragons at the end of the scene, but it also makes me resentful considering that the show writers think Dany is overdependent on them and her advisors (so much so that they thought that she had to learn to be self-reliant in season two):

Weiss: This whole season is really the season where Dany learns the lesson of self-reliance, she's never, it's a very painful lesson for her to learn, I mean, she's lost all her people, she's lost her husband, she's lost her bloodriders. The temptation for her has always been to lean on someone else, a man of one kind or another. So, I think for her, what she's learning in this episode, especially, is that she can't trust in other people, ultimately, she ends up in a place where she needs to do things for herself and she needs to do things that nobody in the world could possibly do, except her.

Benioff: Dany is so defined by her dragons, they're so much a part at this point, they define her so much that when they're taken from her, it's almost like she reverts to the pre-dragon Daenerys, you know, everyone is a bit defined by who they were when they were an adolescent, you know, no matter how old you get, no matter how powerful you get, and Daenerys was a scared, timid, abused adolescent and I think when her dragons are taken for her, all those feelings, all those memories and emotions are triggered and come back and all the confidence that she's won over the last several months, it's as if that just evaporates and she's back to being a really frightened little girl. (Inside the Episode, 2.6)

None of this, of course, is true in the books, hence why I've been writing a series of metas to show how Dany's choices and actions are her own. Heck, even in this episode, the dragons barely play a role. Drogon was the bait, sure, but Dany's plan was all hers.

While one can appreciate the final scene simply for what it is, it's important to have in mind that it is informed by the misconception that Dany is "nothing without her dragons".

My comments on the Inside the Episode 3.4

Weiss: We never really got this, a sense of her capacity for cruelty. She's surrounded by people who are terrible people, but haven't done anything to her personally, and it's interesting to me that, as the sphere of her empathy widens, the sphere of her cruelty widens as well.

Benioff: I think she becomes harder to dismiss, you know, for a long time people have been saying, even if she was alive, you know, really, the only threat she poses is her name, she's a Targaryen, great, but she's a little girl in the edge of the world, so she's starting to knock on people's doors a little bit.

Weiss: All at once she becomes a major force to be reckoned with, she spent a lot of time kind of banging her fists on the doors and declaring that she was owed the Iron Throne by right, but now she's stepped in her own as a conqueror.

Benioff: Dany is becoming more and more viable as a threat, you know, both, you know, in attaining an army and because she's the mother of these three dragons who are only gonna get more and more fearsome.

Weiss: I've already written on how the dichotomy of mhysa and mother of dragons doesn't actually exist in the way people like Weiss talk about. In fact as I said above, this scene in Astapor actually merges these two identities. Also, while I was complaining to @rainhadaenerys​ about what D&D were saying, she called attention to how stupid it is that he is saying that show!Dany is cruel for harming people who "haven't done anything to her personally". This informs the show's framing of the Starks taking Winterfell back or show!Sansa's killing of Ramsay or show!Arya's killing of the Freys as "righteous" while show!Dany's pursuit of the Iron Throne was seen as "bad".

Benioff: His observation about the episode showing how "Dany is becoming more and more viable as a threat" misses the point because, in the books, the scene is not framed negatively in a way that makes us focus on and/or question the violence. Instead, it is framed triumphantly as the Unsullied get to make their own choices and Dany's draconic force is associated with freedom. Also, it's infuriating that he thought that "the only threat she poses is her name, she's a Targaryen" until the sack of Astapor, for we already had lots of moments in which Dany displayed her intelligence and political skills before it happened.

Show!Dany’s clothes

This is what Dany wears in the exchange scene:

Today she rode her silver, clad in horsehair pants and painted leather vest, a bronze medallion belt about her waist and two more crossed between her breasts. Irri and Jhiqui had braided her hair and hung it with a tiny silver bell whose chime sang of the Undying of Qarth, burned in their Palace of Dust. (ASOS Daenerys III)

I appreciate how the single bell is mentioned to indicate Dany's confidence:

“Drogon,” she sang out loudly, sweetly, all her fear forgotten. “Dracarys.”

~

“Unsullied!” Dany galloped before them, her silver-gold braid flying behind her, her bell chiming with every stride. “Slay the Good Masters, slay the soldiers, slay every man who wears a tokar or holds a whip, but harm no child under twelve, and strike the chains off every slave you see.” She raised the harpy’s fingers in the air ... and then she flung the scourge aside. “Freedom!” she sang out. “Dracarys! Dracarys!”  (ASOS Daenerys III)

It will be mentioned again in the next chapter (where she will have one more bell after her victory in Astapor) when she is talking to the mercenaries and when she rides to meet her children:

“They will not hurt me,” she told him. “They are my children, Jorah.” She laughed, put her heels into her horse, and rode to them, the bells in her hair ringing sweet victory. (ASOS Daenerys IV)

Not only the bells give Dany confidence (the way her Targaryen heritage does) in ASOS, they also come up in these moments in which she is embracing her mhysa identity by giving her people the agency they didn't have. This is very fitting; as this meta notes:

Khal Drogo is, admittedly, a surprising model for a lefty revolutionary to pattern herself on, but I think the important thing is less his example, and more that he and his khalasar provided her with a new set of rules to explore herself within. Knowing them gave her permission to live among her people, putting on the face she needed to guide them to safety, and to allow herself to be called upon through a criteria other than blood and birthright.

While it's true that the Dothraki culture is rooted in violence and misogyny, it's also true that it helped to shape Dany's sense of equality. That's why it's appropriate that the bells are ringing in these moments from ASOS and will ring once again in TWOW. As @yendany​ aptly said to me, Dany gave up on being both mhysa and mother of dragons when she allied herself with the slavers (even if she thought she was doing the right thing for the freedmen). On the other hand, by re-embracing her Dothraki roots and her identity as the mother of dragons, Dany will be able to truly protect her children and be their mhysa.

On HBO, show!Dany is still wearing the blue dress, this time with a cape:

I couldn't find any interview from Clapton or anyone else explaining why that cape was added. @rainhadaenerys​'s guess is that she wanted to have show!Dany look like a superhero, which is a good one, though it's questionable since she couldn't remember show!Dany having ever done anything that is not necessarily for personal gain until season seven.

What actually impressed (and delighted) me was to realize how show!Dany's and show!Missandei's outfits are made to resemble each other starting from this episode until the end of the series:

I'm not sure how these similarities were designed to tie into show!Dany's characterization since both the show writers and Clapton misunderstand the character she's based off. That being said, if you choose to not take their word into consideration (and that's more than possible, considering the vast amount of show canon evidence that there is to support show!Dany in the last season), I would say that they highlight how show!Dany, like her book counterpart, also desires equality for everyone.

[sloppy-butcher]

Whats your hcs for Frank, Evan and Herman?? They are my 3 loves so im curious... (love your work ya poes

how old are you sir? I must ask to see ur ID. a babey can’t be using language like that >:(

anyhow, the 3 boys eh? I’ll gladly write anything for them uwu. I’m going to be doing general relationship hc’s so things will probably get fluffy and maybe a little angsty. i can’t help myself sometimes. I’m going to try include one NSFW hc for each of the 3 stooges, so be prepared. it may be bad. the reader will be left as ambiguous as possible

edit: i write way to much :/ i think i should only do 1 or 2 character requests from now on T_T

hope you enjoy!

General relationship HeadCanons

The Legion (Frank Morrison)

With Frank, there was no real start to your relationship. There was no moment in time, no exact, pinpoint instance when one could say that that is when you two starting everything. It kind of just happened. Maybe it was when Frank first kissed you, it felt like fireworks and the snow in Mount Ormond was no longer cold. Or maybe it was when he first saw you dancing along with Suzie to one of her favorite songs, the twirling of your feet mixed with perfectly timed head slams dazzled him and he wanted nothing more than to have you give him a private dance. In the end, these are all speculations and the truth may never be known.

Around others, he was hesitant to show his emotion. You two could be sitting right next to each other your thighs all but alined when out of nowhere Joey sticks his head in. Frank snaps like a mousetrap, retreating back away from you as if he was embarrassed. You confronted him about this, you told him everything’s okay and that no one would judge him for being human. He refused you and, not to lie, it really hurt. But one day, just as you were walking away you felt his hand snake its way into yours. He hesitated for a moment, afraid you might reject him but of course, you gladly wrapped his hand in yours. You heard Joey wolf-whistle from somewhere behind you and Frank very enthusiastically tossed a middle finger at him. You couldn’t see it, but Frank was blushing under his mask.

Franks, not a romantic guy so don’t expect flowers or gifts or really anything nice. He grew up with virtually nothing so the idea of wooing someone with items of material affection is very foreign to him. He believes that if his presence and physical affection aren’t enough to prove to you that he appreciates you, then nothing will. But you never cared about gifts. All you ever wanted was Frank and he couldn’t help but feel giddy at the thought.

!NSFW! Frank was a pretty vanilla guy. He doesn’t have much experience when it comes to the department of extremely intimate affection and therefore knew literally nothing about the pleasures of the flesh. But the keyword here is ‘was’. After meeting you and your guiding hand he blossomed into a very wild and very hungry individual. His favorite position though is when he gets to look at you. And if you call his name he will instantly crumble. Afterward, or during the act you need to reach out and caress him. Touch and explore his body, mainly his face and he’d moan even louder. Your hands are so soft and gentle and when you touch him he floats with elated glee. He feels alive when he’s with you.

The Doctor (Herman Carter)

You would have to be extremely special or out-of-the-ordinary in order to catch the eye of the Doctor. But somehow you managed to do it. Herman was a man unhinged, incapable of empathy and compassion. He never looked at other humans as people with feelings and conscious ideas and thoughts. He only ever saw them and you as test subjects. But something about you was off. You did something that made this machine of a man halt in his pursuit of human torture. What exactly did you do? Well, nothing really. As he approached you, electrical energy between his hands flexing and growing ready to turn your brain to mush, you never screamed, never flinched away and never took your tired eyes off him. The first few times when you welcomed death he didn’t notice and it was only after a significate amount of encounters that finally Herman realized he had never heard your cries of fear and pain.

He would amp up his power when he would find you in trials. He would kill you much more violently than he would the others, make your liquified brain ooze out your ears and make your heart stop and start like a busted old car. Sometimes he would even through away the whole trial upsetting his boss greatly, just to get to you. But no matter what he did, you never offered him what he wanted. You had seen and experienced much worse than him and when death never gives you a release, torture becomes mundane and repetitive. When Herman finally understood that you weren’t afraid of him, he relented, snuffed out his power and walked away. He had his attention now.

Whenever you would visit him during off-time he would follow you as you wandered around the massive mansion known as Léry’s. Sometimes he would lead you, taking you to the rooms which he liked the most (operation rooms). Herman can not talk, the contraption in his mouth has stretched his lips to the point that they can no longer function and his voice box is beyond repair, damaged thanks to his constant flow of electricity that would otherwise kill a man. But he doesn’t need to talk to you. You always seem to know what he wants without hearing a single word.

!NSFW! Sex with Herman is out of the question. The man is pumped with endless volts of electricity and if you were to so much as touch him, your body would recoil and spasm painfully from the contact.  If you ever wanted to experience pleasure from or with the man, he would have to try rein back some of that overflowing energy. But the man is too prideful and would never dare try to cull some of his ability. Unfortunately. But maybe after some time, he might learn to listen. There is no time in the Fog, only eternity and humans were never meant to live for that long. Our minds dull and our intentions warp from the time spent existing and maybe even someone as mad and determined as Herman could learn that it’s not so bad to let others into his life.

The closest you could ever get to kissing Herman is probably just planting a soft peck on his cheek.  A dangerous move considering the possible consequences of actually touching him with such a sensitive part of you, but a risk you were willing to take. One day, however, in the silence and fog of the mansion Herman would reach out for you. He would lean down to your height and very slowly take your hand. There was no static shook when your skins met. He was telling you that he was calm. He would then guide your hands to his mouthpiece and he would tell you to take it off.  Delicately you would peel away the metal from flesh and his mouth would furiously bleed and dretch his teeth with red. When he was free you would quickly meet him and you would hungrily kiss his chapped lips. He would kiss you back, his lips unable to keep up with yours but his tongue is wild and eager. However, after only a minute he would shove you away violently. As you feel the connection between you two break, the space around Herman lits up and crackles with mad energy. You would have to wait for him to calm down again if you wanted to continue your endeavors.

The Trapper (Evan Macmillan)

Despite being one of the most diligent and consistently brutal killers in the realm, when Evan is alone and the only eyes watching him are yours, he is a gentleman. He would speak to you softly, asking about your day already knowing that it was pretty shit. He would hold doors open for you and he would always make sure you were warm, either with a spare blanket or a seat extra close to a fire. He would fuss over you. Your soft skin, so clean and pure, untouched by the horrible and evil ways of the world made him marvel at how human you were. To him, you were what humans were meant to be, good and kind, whereas he was a monster charred and broken, unworthy and incapable of affection and of all those things that were meant to make life wonderful. He wanted to protect you, preserve that softness of you and although he couldn’t do anything to help you when the camera’s all turned back on, during this time he would smother you with whatever cautious and motherly behavior he could muster.

He was drawn to you because of your confident behavior. He found your energy alluring and would always find himself somehow infected by your hope and optimism. You were like a fire, burning everything in your path and he just happened to be close enough to catch alight. In the beginning, Evan would become very annoyed by your seemingly endless ideas of survival but as time went on and you never seemed to dampen like the others he found that his annoyance turned into curiosity. A part of him wanted to know what it was like to be under your light of hope. It yearned to be rescued but a bigger and much louder part of him, a voice oddly resembling his fathers, drowned it out. However, that didn’t stop his feet from walking towards you and it certainly didn’t stop you from staying with him.

In the early stages of your relationship with the mountain of a man, you had to the one initiating affection. You had to be the one to reach out and grab his hand. He would look down at you and you swore you could hear him gasp. And when you would want to hug him, you would either have to wait until he sat down or you would have to climb atop a box. It’s not that he was afraid to reciprocate your feelings, he just felt like he didn’t deserve it. He tried to remain stone-cold and distant hoping that it would detour you and make you give up on him but you weren’t known for ‘giving up’. Eventually, when you refused to leave and he had to accept that you wanted to be with him, all you needed to do for a hug was open your arms wide and beckon him closer with your hands. He would roll his eyes and very stiffly lean down for you. You would eagerly wrap yourself as best you could around his neck and, if you were laughing or in an infectiously good mood, he would engulf you in his own. Sometimes he would even stand up and sweep you off your feet. He would bury himself into your neck,  trying his best to smell you through his bone and metal mask.

!NSFW! This has been said many times before but Evan has handles. Those large pieces of metal piercing his shoulders and down his back. It scared you at first when he suggested you hold onto them, they looked so painful and the skin around the puncture wounds were all puffy and red. He reassured you and explained that he doesn’t feel much of anything anymore. When he said that you looked at him confused then, without thinking, you lean forward and gently place a kiss on the wound. He tries to watch you as you trail butterfly kisses over his exposed chest. “Feel better?” You ask pulling away for a moment. He couldn’t respond, his throat welling up with shook, disgust and absolute fascination. You clearly didn’t care about what he looked like, what kind of monster he had become, and it gave him so much more confidence. Hold on to his handlebars, pull and yank them as he thrusts into you, he likes to feel your weight vibrate through the bars into his ribcage. Evan enjoys the feeling of control he gets when he is the one giving you pleasure and also foundation.

BONUS! Drag your tongue along one of the bars. Make sure his eyes never leave you and when you finally lick the whole length of the metal, plant your lips firmly on his mouth. He will kiss back passionately, amazed at how dirty someone so pure and good like you could be.

[sacrilegetm]

nick     wilde     i     would     die     for     u          .          now     that     you’ve     read     that     ur     a     furry     apologist     sorry     that’s     jus     law          .          hello     i     am     unfortunately     rosie          (     she/her     )          though     i     will     respond     to     hole     for     sebastian     stan          ,          most     profanities          ,          n     the     general     sound     of     clown     honks          .          am     twenty2     n     yes     i     think     about     the     passage     of     time     every     day     bcos     of     it<3     i     luv     unhinged     women          (     see     :     women     with     blood     smeared     faces     looks     literally     so     natural     )          ,          n     believe     cinema     peaked     at     s2     e8     of     westworld     titled     kiksuya     no     i     will     not     shut     up     about     this          .          don’t     have     a     fancy     graphic     for     these     bcos     she     took     my     photoshop     creativity     in     the     divorce          .          if     u     would     like     to     plot     or     feel     sorry     for     me     then     my     discord     is     𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑎 ℎ𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡#7585     bcos     i     live     n     die     by     furry     rights          !          anyways     the     runts     are     under     here     x

case     file          :          clarke     ,     isaac               my     god          ,          whose     performance     am     i     watching

associations          :          blood     staining     a     once     white     bandage     into     something     ugly     and     polluted     where     it     wraps     around     an     injured     hand          ,          unspeakable     tribulations     endured          .          an     ache     that     makes     a     home     somewhere     in     your     bones     for     something     more          (     just     out     of     reach     and     taunting          ,          teasing     )          yet     the     refusal     to     heal     beyond     flesh     wounds          .          a     stubborn     refusal     to     die          —          facing     the     hellmouth     with     a     smile     and     clever     remarks     coated     in     an     arrogance     learned     from     birth     and     fine     tuned     throughout     the     years          .

1974          ,          canada               what     is     this     space     between     myself     and     myself

synopsis          :          arrogant     boy          ,          born     to     lift     the     weight     of     the     world          .          boyhood     like     clay          :          to     be     made     and     molded     by     hands     that     would     care     little     of     cracks     and     dry     air          .          what     is     known     of     identity     if     perfected     by     another          ?          king     of     an     empire     that     was     condemned     to     fall          ,          citadels     in     smoke     and     a     broken     crown     at     his     feet          .          when     the     end     comes          ,          made     to     watch     as     survivor’s     guilt     digs     its     claws     into     marred     flesh          .          salvation     found     after     months     of     trials     faced     with     no     one     to     convict     but     himself          .          all     that     charisma          ,          all     that     ego          —          where     is     fate’s     reward     in     a     world     that     cares     little     for     either          ?          if     he     spins     the     chamber     enough     times          ,          maybe     he’ll     catch     a     bullet     in     the     end          .

full     name          :          isaac     vernon     clarke

nicknames          :          n/a

birthdate          :          jan     1

hometown          :          canmore          ,          canada

current     location          :          atlanta           ,           usa

languages     spoken          :          english          ,          will     claim     he     knows     basic     french     from     elementary     school     but     can     really     only     count     to     a     hundred     and     ask     if     he     may     use     the     bathroom

distinguishing     features          :          scars     along     his     left     hand     from     getting     it     caught     in     a     bear     trap

positive          :          affable          ,          audacious

negative          :          temerarious          ,          vexatious

fears          :          not     being     able     to     protect     those     he     loves

aspirations          :          isn't     too     sure          ,          just     wishes     to     stay     alive     long     enough     to     see     the     next     day

case     file          :          rambler     ,     virginia               this     skin     is     far     too     soft     for     me

associations          :          a     body     scrubbed     raw     in     the     bath          ,          dead     eyed     stare     at     the     cold     and     broken     porcelain     until     the     water     runs     red     with     blood          .          a     throat     made     raw     from     screaming          —          empty     nothingness     all     that     greets     with     a     familiarity          .          black     anger     burning     inside     like     a     wildfire     made     to     devour     anything     and     untamed     in     its     path          .

1991          ,          usa               maybe     i'm     just     meant     to     bleed

synopsis          :          born     clinging     to     life          ,          heart     too     small     and     breathless     cries          —          resilient          ,          even     when     they     didn’t     know     it          .          striking     fists          ,          vicious     tongues          ,          teeth     bared          ,          veins     of     ruined     ash          .          the     atlas     they     were          ,          shoulders     carrying     demons     from     lives     long     lived          .          one     way     ticket     and     by     fourteen          ,          just     another     teen     runaway     and     painted     in     malice     and     anger     for     a     world     that     long     turned     its     back     on     her          .          when     calamity     rears     its     ugly     head          ,          they     become     acquainted     with     loneliness          ,          making     a     lover     out     of     it     to     indulge     and     caress          .          genesis     begins     in     this     new     world     of     chaos     and     massacre          .          wicked     girl     not     made     to     survive     the     forest          ,          but     become     it          .

full     name          :          virginia     adelaide     rambler

nicknames          :          rams

birthdate          :          december     15

hometown          :          san     carlos     apache     reservation          ,          usa

current     location          :          atlanta           ,           usa

languages     spoken          :          western     apache          ,          english

distinguishing     features          :          heavy     bags     under     the     eyes

positive          :          reticent          ,          idiosyncratic

negative          :          fickle          ,          perfidious

fears          :          becoming     comfortable     in     the     loneliness     that     they     have     built

aspirations          :          finding     some     semblance     of     a     home

case     file          :          javadi     ,     roma               evil     is     unspectacular     and     always     human

associations          :          memories     like     ghosts     that     haunt     you     wherever     you     go          (     a     taunting          ,          like     a     rite          ,          to     be     revered     yet     feared     all     the     same     )          .     wildflowers     grown     where     blood     once     spilled     deep     into     the     earth          /          the     creation     of     beauty          —          of     something     divine     and     grand          —          after     tragedy     that     punctured     so     many          .          the     tar-thick     feeling     of     the     air     as     a     thunderstorm     approaches     and     everywhere     you     look     is     dark     like     an     omen          .

1975          ,          usa               it     shares     our     bed     and     eats     at     our     own     table

synopsis          :          earliest     memories     are     ones     of     cruelty     and     vitriol          .          taking     the     worst     of     it          :          nobody     would     ever     touch     her     sister          ,          cherubic     cheeks     to     be     left     uncoloured     by     bruise     or     laceration          .          when     they     ask     of     tribulations          ,          a     smile     with     niceties     and     explanations          .          one     splintering     crack     in     the     facade     and     its     enough          (     years     of     maintaining          ,          of     grit     teeth     and     fists     clenched          ,          unmade     at     the     chorus     of     bells     )          .          awaiting     trial          /          javadi     parents     found     dead          ,          eldest     daughter     suspect          .          when     hell     descends     on     earth          ,          steel     bars     act     as     protection     for     the     brunt     of     it          .          still          ,          somewhere     her     other     half     is     alone     in     the     world          —          buried     maybe          ,          or     the     empty     shell     of     a     woman     roaming     and     rotting          .

full     name          :          roma     lourdes     javadi

nicknames          :          n/a

birthdate          :          november     9

hometown          :          new     york          ,          usa

current     location          :          ober     gatlinburg           ,           usa

languages     spoken          :          english

distinguishing     features          :          round     doe     eyes     that     suggest     something     sinister     beneath     an     innocent     guise

positive          :          reticent          ,          seraphic

negative          :          irascible          ,          mendacious

fears          :          succumbing     to     an     evil     that     she     has     swallowed     down     her     whole     life

aspirations          :          find     her     sister          ,          no     matter     the     cost

[the-only-straight-fander]

Never a Hand to Hold

Pairing: None mentioned

Warnings: Blood and gore mentions

The first time Logan called out a hit, he was 15. Many would say this is far too young to be involved in a business so heavy laden with death and murder and gore and revenge, but Logan had always been mature for his age. 

Logan grew up as middle class, plain and simple. Not above, not below, right on the line. Both his parents worked full time jobs and he and his siblings were fairly content. Until one night. Until the night.

He was about 5 at the time, still young, impressionable, and full of hope, vivacity, life. But everything changed in one night. Under the cover of darkness, everything in Logan's life was ripped away. The cold stars watched from above as the joy was extinguished, happiness dowsed; his childhood died with his family. He was flung headlong into foster care. Eventually, he was taken in by an old professor. The old man was not cruel, no, just… cold. Unable to discern whether he cared or not, Logan simply assumed he didn’t. After all, who would care for an orphan with no prospects? It is worth mentioning that, due to his history in the academics, the professor took it upon himself to educate the boy. He saw something that Logan himself was still, as of yet, unaware of. Under the man’s somewhat aloof care, the young boy flourished. Oftentimes the professor’s lessons were somewhat unconventional. When being taught how to shoot a gun, throw a knife, and being forced to solve seemingly obscure puzzles, the boy, knowing no better, thought these occurrences normal. Through all his studies, Logan continuously saw himself as below or unworthy, since he had nothing to compare against. However, in reality, he was consistently several grades ahead. Still oblivious to his true level of intelligence, Logan graduated high school at the age of 11. Around this time, he began a side project: hunting down his family’s killer. 

Anyone who knew him before that fateful evening would say he had a good future ahead of him, that he would find a good job and live a steady, mediocre life, that he was a quiet and respectful and shy boy who wore his heart on his sleeve. Afterwards, well, he was unrecognizable. Instead of quiet he was outspoken, respectful became sharp, cutting words; shyness morphed into steel that gleamed within dark blue eyes, his heart caged, muzzled, muffled, silenced, locked away. In his quest for vengeance, retribution, Logan wanted to be extraordinary. The realization that mediocrity would lead him nowhere in life prompted him to strive for greatness. Yet, some aspects of his personality remained. The boy that used to conform to societal norms and blend in with the crowd grew. He still used his invisibility to his advantage, but if you looked more closely, there was a sort of brutal, animalistic look in his eyes, a cold cunning that made it seem as though he could look straight through a person and discern all their secrets with a glance. His unfortunate lot in life forged him into the man that was needed.

Unbeknownst to him, the professor had more than one career. Teaching was his passion, but sometimes people have responsibilities. His just so happened to be to the mob. Or, more specifically, to his father’s legacy as the mob boss. This particular man had no love for his responsibility. He did what he did out of a sense of duty, out of necessity. One job in particular haunted him. They had been hunting a particular free lance assassin who had struck out against the family for a multitude of years. Upon finding him, they discovered that not only had he retired, but he had a family. However, in accordance with the family laws, he and all of his family was executed. Well, almost all. A boy survived. Logan survived. Haunted by his sins, the professor decides to attempt to atone through the adoption of the boy he himself orphaned. All of this Logan discovered after years of research and investigation. In addition, he uncovers a multitude of heinous acts, varying in their weight. They disgust him.

Considering his options, Logan lands on the preferred: vengeance. In accordance with his goal, he reaches out to a family of professional assassins. He finds that a pair of 18 year-olds are the only members willing to take the job. They’re hired.

Now, in the mob, it is customary for the boss to keep the role of leadership in his family or choose his successor. Of course, this leaves plenty of room for issues. Namely, what if the boss has no children, and is abruptly murdered?

Or, what if the boss is murdered on the order of his adopted son?

The twins -- for he finds out that they are twins -- do their job well; they follow his orders to the letter, although there was slightly more blood than he anticipated (he suspects this to be the fault of the mustached twin who seemed slightly unhinged). As planned, he enters after the twins have left. The professor is still alive, but barely. He reaches out, wordlessly asking for help, for mercy. Logan stares at him with those clear, dark eyes. The man dies with him watching.

Logan, with the help of the twins, cleans up the mess and buries the body. The Kings both make the decision to stay, urged by Logan’s convincing argument and assurance of work. Several weeks go by before a group appears at the door and asks for the boss. One of the King twins leads the men in to Logan, who is sitting in an armchair. The men glance at each other in confusion. With his usual coolness, Logan marks the page in his book, carefully places it on the table beside him, and steeples his fingers before launching into his story. At one point, one of the men, angered, makes a move to pull out a gun. He hits the floor before his hand even reaches his pocket. From the doorway, one of the twins exaggeratedly blows away the smoke from his gun and winks. Things go smoothly from thereon. The story is told, light is shed. The advisers (for that is their role) harbor very little anger on the whole, for the professor had all but abandoned the family, and his brutality left him disliked and unloved overall. After more than some deliberation, a deal is struck. Logan shall take his rightful place as mob boss due to being the adopted son and heir of the previous upon turning eighteen. And, in return, he shall keep them as his advisers. 

While walking away, the men, inevitably, talk amongst themselves. "Who the devil does he think he is? The little devil cornered us into a deal!" 

"He takes after his adopted grandfather in that respect," says another, grimly.

Inside the house, one twin watches them leave from a window. "Oh come now, Lo. You don't truly plan to keep those old bags as advisers do you? They're all corrupt and slimy and sleazy." Here he whirls around and points a dainty finger at the figure in the armchair. "If you ever become like them I'll quit right away!" vows the valiant would-be knight.

Logan chuckles softly. "I expect nothing less, Roman. But, to answer your question: no, they will not advise me in their derogatory, antiquated, facetious manner. If you'll notice, your darker self is currently absent. In direct relation to that fact, at least two of those men will have an unfortunate car crash tonight. As for the others, we have three years. Make it interesting."

And Roman smiles.

Taglist: @tshauntedhouseau @petrichor-passions

[honey-bri-books]

The Barn: Team Castiel

The character of Castiel created by Eric Kripke. Based off of CW’s SUPERNATURAL. Location of story: The barn where Castiel and Dean first met. Takes place roughly two days/nights after episode 15 x 03′s ending.

Angels:

CASTIEL: Angel of Thursday

LAILAH: Night, Conception

JOPHIEL: Wisdom, Understanding, Judgement

AGLIBOL: The Moon is his domain.

Four angels exit a bar, when a small pack of vampires pull into the lot. The angels slow, and try and veer off to the side to avoid confrontation. The first vampire to exit the car, calls out to the angels as they reach their jeep parked at the other end of the lot. 

Vampire #1: Lailah! Where are you off to in such a hurry? He sneers viciously, and raises a hand as if he were only interested in polite conversation. Lailah rolls his eyes and turns around, with a plastic smile on his face.

Lailah: Terry! Long time no fighty! Decided to take a break from the killing spree in Kansas City? A recent bloodbath (supposedly caused by a vampire nest) had been reported on angel radio, but just for the sake of keeping all informed on current events. All angels had been ordered to avoid as much confrontation with vampires as possible. The  dwindling population of seraphs had put everyone on high alert and self-preservation had taken precedent to soldiering their namesake around, protecting humans. In other words, no fight was worth another angel’s life. If a severe crisis were to arrive at any point in time, allowances were to be made. As if that didn’t mean every day, here on out? 

The other vampires who were riding in the same car, step behind their leader, as if ready for a fight. They were all in an off limits zone, the parking lot being included with the actual  safe-spot bar, so no one was going to leave with blood in his mouth. But that didn’t make the incident any less irritating.

Terry: Surprised to see you’re still alive. Still no wings, though? Any angel juice left in that vessel, at all? The others sneer, but keep their fangs in. The truth being that everyone was just plain tired of one another. Even the opportunity to talk down an angel before grabbing a drink (stolen blood from the hospital on the menu), didn’t satisfy nowadays. Castiel and Jophiel stand behind Lailah, daring the vampires to try anything stupid. Aglibol steps in front of Lailah, trying to prevent anything embarrassing from occurring. 

Aglibol: You know that if you so much as let your fangs out, you’ll burn where you stand? The witch who runs this place has spelled this lot to a level where most don’t even bother looking others in the eye, if they aren’t belonging to the group they came in with. We were just leaving. Hope you have a nice night. Aglibol forces a friendly smile while thinking How many died tonight, because of this blood-sucker? How many innocent lives? At the hands of a monster who would suck the life out of a pre-school for dinner, if given access? A part of him respected the no-kill zones set up, over the years. But when confronting monsters like Terry and his gang, and to be banned from drawing his blade.. The other vampires are already bored and call Terry to join them. Lailah waves goodbye, ending the conversation.

Lailah: Your children seem to need your help in getting the door open. We’d better let you go. It was awful running into you like this, call me, Kay?, Bye-bye! Terry starts to respond, but the four angels are already in the jeep. Jophiel gives Terry the finger from the rear window, as Aglibol speeds out of the parking lot.

Castiel: That was awkward.

Jophiel: That was a friggin’ waste of time. How are those creeps still alive? Aren’t hunters usually more on top of crap like that? Do they even care anymore? It’s not as if we’ re allowed to do anything. Castiel leans his head against the window. He thinks of Benny. While his initial reaction to the vampire had been untrusting, he couldn’t deny that Dean survived Purgatory and escaped successfully because of him. Rumor had it that Benny had even chosen to remain sick, with little access to blood, in a resistance to feeding on humans. Cas remembered Dean mentioning bringing Benny hospital blood, to try and help.

Castiel: Not all vampires deserve to be killed. Some can be useful, they may even care to help the innocent, at times. Jophiel stares at Castiel as if he’d grown a second head. Both are in the back seat. 

Jophiel: Are you out of your mind? When was the last time you even killed a vampire, before the new law? And we heard, but didn’t believe, that you helped keep a were-wolf safe for a stretch and then let him escape? What’s happened to you, man? Aglibol and Lailah are quiet in the front of the car. Aglibol clears his throat. 

Aglibol: Calm down, Jophiel. Times have changed. I’m sure Castiel had his reasons....

Jophiel: You know, ever since that demon trash Meg tried to seduce him, Castiel never really bothered to help with...Jophiel stops. Castiel’s stare is deadly. Lailah shakes his head, annoyed at it all, and starts fixing his hair out of nervous habit.

Lailah: Let’s just drive in silence, for once. Please? You’re all giving me a head ache. No one says anything for a long time. Day has come and gone again, since Castiel’s suicide attempt. While the expectation was to get Cas to open up in the bar and to explain himself, mostly the night out had been just drinking, staring at the ceiling, the floor, the table top. Cas had barely said a word, all evening. He was the only one who didn’t sing, when the other three signed up for karaoke slots. Some of the patrons scoffed him for it. When an angel walks into a bar with a stage and a microphone available to him, there are expectations. Angels’ voices have been known to heal and regenerate anyone listening, through music. But Castiel just stared ahead of himself, not touching his drink in front of him, the whole time.

After awhile Castiel recognizes a landmark on his side of the car. He scans the land up ahead, and sees a dirt road nearing.

Castiel: Aglibol, turn left at the next exit. Aglibol finds Castiel’s eyes in the rearview mirror, suspicious. 

Aglibol: Why? Not that they were in any hurry to be anywhere. But Castiel’s silence had been worrisome enough, since they found him at the rest stop, where they witnessed Castiel attempting to take his own life. And there was nothing of import within the vicinity as far as Aglibol could tell. But Cas pleads with him, so the jeep makes a sharp turn onto what seems to be an abandoned road leading to an old farm. When they pull up next to a barn seemingly wasting away to nothing, thunder can be heard in the distance. Lailah jumps in his seat and claps his hands together. 

Lailah: Hallelujiah, praise What’s-His-Face! I’m over-due for a re-charge!!! I’m actually at 7% right now. Whenever there was a major thunder storm, angels had the opportunity to chase thunder and hopefully get struck by lightning. While not giving you lasting power, a bolt of lightning could charge an angel to full power, sometimes on an archangel level, for 24 to 48 hours. After that, the power would slowly drain to whatever level of charge the angel had been at when first getting struck. But those first hours especially were prime. Think as if Captain Marvel and the Flash could split their super powers to form a new action hero. While not giving angels the same gift of flight as to when they had their wings, it was an upgrade from driving and helped out when running into trouble with monsters. The only thing better than getting struck by lightning was hiding out in heaven, if allowed in. Unfortunately, certain strictures have been set up where the elevator wasn’t always open for business. Mainly due to short staffing. An angel now needed to be waiting at both the bottom and the top of the elevator for it to be legal for access, but with the dwindling numbers....Breaking and entering had become a commonality.

The four angels get out of the jeep and Lailah and Jophiel sprint out to the open fields, looking up in the air. It hasn’t started to rain yet, but they’re hopeful. Aglibol starts to follow them but realizes Castiel isn’t with him. He sees Cas enter the barn alone. Sighing heavily, Aglibol longingly looks up at the sky and then heads back to join Castiel.

In the barn, Castiel carefully retraces his steps. The sigils on the walls have faded and with the chipped paint, were now of no use protecting hunters from demons or monsters if they were to take shelter there. The table where Dean had been standing by is gone, and there are empty beer cans and burnt cigarettes in the corner. When Castiel reaches the point where he first met Dean Winchester he stops, and looks up at the ceiling. Some of the roof is missing. He remembers parts of the barn rumbling and unhinging on his first arrival to the site. While he’d never forgive himself for wearing Jimmy Novak, stealing his life from him and his family, he was thankful for the protection his vessel gave to Bobby Singer and Dean, when they first met. 

Castiel thinks back to the moment he first spoke to Dean. How Dean had responded by stabbing him in the heart. Then the wonder and curiosity in his eyes, when Castiel just stared back at him. Even then there was no hate. Not disgust or even really any fear, on Dean’s side. The last look Dean gave him before he left the bunker, the day Rowena died, the day he killed Belphegor, burning Jack’s body to a crisp...Dean had never looked so angry. There was so much hurt, so much accusation in that stare. What could I do to take away the pain? What do you need? Castiel had hoped his absence from Dean’s life could be a start of new healing for them both. But now he wonders if just by Castiel’s existing, Dean would never be free to feel joy or pleasure in life, again. Aglibol approaches Castiel, not sure what they’re doing inside the barn when a thunderstorm is brewing outside.

Aglibol: Castiel (thunder can be heard rumbling), you need to recharge. When was the last time you were caught in a thunderstorm? You look worn, almost human. Please come outside with me. Castiel looks around the barn, wanting to understand why he was chosen out of all the angels to call on Dean. Why he failed, with every attempt to do the right thing? I’d do anything, if it meant you could rest. If it meant that you could be happy, with your brother, for the rest of your life. Don’t you understand that I don’t care what happens to me? Everything I’ve done since I met you has been for you, because of you... Aglibol puts a hand on Castiel’s shoulder. Cas turns around to look at him. What are you doing? Aglibol removes his hand, trying not to look hurt. He knows he’ll never take the place of Dean Winchester, in Castiel’s heart. It was a lost cause. Friendship was the most he could hope for, at this point.

Aglibol: Let’s join Lailah and Jophiel. The rain’s begun to fall and we have a real chance of catching the lightning, tonight. It sounds brutal, out there. He holds out a hand to Castiel. You don’t care for me, in that way. But I’ll take what I can get. I’m here for you, Castiel. Please? For me? 

Castiel looks down and sees a hand reaching out for him. It’s the wrong one. But he takes it anyway. Aglibol pulls Castiel into him, their noses almost touching. Castiel reluctantly looks up into Abligol’s eyes. He knows that look, too well. Hannah, Gadreel, …..Meg. I need to be careful, so as not to lose you too. 

Castiel: Alright. Cas takes one last look at the barn before turning to leave with Aglibol. Outside, Lailah and Jophiel can be seen holding each other, in the rain. A burst of lightning striking them simultaneously, making their vessels glow so bright that even Cas and Aglibol have to look away. When the lightning is gone, both angels stay connected, kissing each other tenderly. Castiel starts. How long have they....

Aglibol: A year. I’m surprised you didn’t know. They’re not as discreet about it, as they used to be. Aglibol sounds sad, almost jealous, but Castiel doesn’t push. He gently lets go of Aglibol’s hand and heads out into the storm. Lightning strikes again, but misses Castiel by a mile. Aglibol joins his side a few minutes later. Let’s hope for a lucky strike. They both look at each other.

Castiel: And soon. Cas opens his arms and looks up into sky, letting himself get drenched with rain. Minutes later, the lightning finds its mark. Castiel feels the warmth and electricity surge through his body. Aglibol reaches out and puts a hand on Castiel’s shoulder, absorbing some of the lightning into his own vessel. They glow bright, together. Castiel closes his eyes and prays....

Castiel: I will fight for you. For all of you. I will live for Dean’s happiness, for Sam’s pureness of heart. I will always be thinking of you, Jack. Will burn for all of you. Will redeem myself to you, Kelly. Forgive me Mary, for everything I’ve done to your family, and know I’m the one guilty for your pain. For Dean’s anger. For Sam’s broken heart. I will give all of me to your family, and your loved ones. If I could erase myself from Dean’s memory...If I could give him back his chance at peace.....I will try my best to give the Winchesters a life of never-ending joy. I will come when they call, and turn the other way when they cast me out. I belong to the Winchesters, and I will love them for the remainder of the my days, but quietly...so as not to be a bother.

Thunder rumbles. The winds howl, and the rain falls in buckets, drenching Castiel’s coat. Four angels burn bright amongst the fields....Four angels in love.

-The End

*See The Rupture: Castiel -Part 2, for back story with the angels/Previous chapter.

https://honey-bri-books.tumblr.com/post/188577693196/the-rupture-castiel-part-2

*See The Warehouse: Castiel (Slash) for continuation of this story

https://honey-bri-books.tumblr.com/post/188649062806/the-warehouse-castiel-slash-fic 

If not a fan of smut, there is a marker splitting the story in half. Continuation of this fic after the Warehouse will not be affected by not reading the slash portion of the next story etc.

[spacemilkies]

pairing: arthur morgan x modern!reader

summary:

the one where dreams aren’t what you make them,

in fact, they’re quite irrevocably the opposite.

everyone talks about changing the past for a brighter future,

but what are you willing to gamble to make a difference?

l | lll

In a very short amount of time, you’d managed to exhaust yourself mentally and physically. It was becoming abundantly clear that dreams were not as flexible as many made them out to be.

After strain and stress, you tried aimlessly to will away your whims and not the slightest feature gave to your demands.

Somehow you remained in your state of dress and even more unfortunately, you’d been unable to strip a single garment from your cowboy.

It was becoming easier to swallow how this might just be a nightmare after all.

Likely the only thing you were going to be able to.

Clothed and apparently more time sensitive than you were, the man whom you’d come to appreciate by the scruff of his beard, was adamant on uprooting you further then just the floor.

You’d resisted at first when he wanted to lead you out of the house. It had only been a fleeting amount of time, or as best as you were able to reason, but it was your only comfort thus far.

It certainly beat risking whatever elements out there.

Your ‘savior’, as you liked to put lightly was beginning to show signs of irritation, however, as he pulled insistently at your joined hands.

And in a childish show of defiance, you leaned back in objection.

Feisty and annoying were clearly painted on a thin dividing line.

“Look, girl, I don’t have the time. I’ve got other people to look after.”

Bordering on hypothermic, there was little argument to be had that would be convincing on your part. But to not cry out against the prospect of galavanting off with a stranger would breach some sort of violation against nativity. Your core temperature had risen enough degrees to at least factor in some common sense.

“Where are you taking me?”

Even in your disagreement, he’d managed to get you near the threshold before answering. The slow drag of movement was almost preferable to the effort it would have taken to walk there properly.

His voice cracked under the fight against the elements,“A place like this is something we need. So I got to get back to them, to bring ‘em here.”

The spiral of possibilities were too endless got you to grasp coherently as you stood shaking under the weight of them all. With no control and little information, leaving your one ‘safe’ space didn’t feel like the most plausible strategy. 

“Wait- were coming right back? Why don’t I just stay-”

Before you could register why he was bending at the knee, he had an arm around yours and had you thrown over his shoulder in the next second. Your head complained louder than your voice as the hazy feeling complied to the weight of a bounder against your skull.

“Oh, god, I think I’m going to throw up.”

That was a lie. It felt as if you hadn’t eaten in days.

It was impossible not to admire his strength as he carried you almost effortlessly, the broad of his shoulder acting like adult heating pack. “We are in need of shelter and I don’t think you would survive long enough for me to return. So yes, we’ll be back.”

Your body sung uselessly as he made the first sunken step into the snow. Everything after that was a series of crunches as the little cabin began to distance itself. As it turned out, it wasn’t solely just a cabin. The further you were away, the more buildings began to appear until a small town of sort rose.

It somehow managed to look aged without necessary years to degrade. The wooden structures looked sturdy but it lacked the reinforcement you knew to be standard in most homes. Even wooden resorts. Not that this place seemed to be popular with the public.

It all begged the recurring question:

“Where are we?”

With a grunt, you were deposited on the back of a horse. Your hands immediately reached for the saddle to balance yourself as you instinctively kicked your leg over to properly straddle the mount. You missed the odd look you received as he situated himself comfortably into the seat in front of you.

All sensibility lost in the storm, you huddled close and squeeze the bareness of your legs as close to the center of heat as you could. His jacket was larger, the length billowing over you like a blanket but in this weather you would need much more.

Your unnamed cowboy waited until the horse fell into an even gallop before answering.

“Somewhere around Ambarino, we think. This wasn’t your destination then?”

Ambarino? 

You weren’t even sure what it was let alone find a reason why you’d somehow ended up here. Given the landscape, you were certainly further up north. The peaks of mountains could easily name a few states but you weren’t nearly comfortable enough to confidently place the town. Coming from a warmer more reasonable southern location, there was really only one you could recall from your childhood.

“Is this in Colorado? I mean I was young, but I came here once. Maybe this hallucination is a deeper psychological analysis or something.” you rambled, fully aware of how unhinged you sounded.

The man made it well clear how aware of his lack of understanding was.

“Girl, somethin’ ain’t right with you. I hope your mind thaws out soon.”

There was too much of a mutual agreeance with his diagnostic to be affronted. The disconnect was glaringly obvious yet you couldn’t grasp the tangibleness of it in order to prove your sanity.

As far as anything you could make clear of, it was just the scenic route of a dream you’d be lucky to remember by daybreak.

Despite its frosty script, it had certain charms that would be worth remembering in.

You’d heard of mountain men before. Read about their solidarity and gruff disposition. Of course in those novels, a young maiden often appeared on their doorstep and the two would warm themselves by the fire clothed in another by their skin and furs.

It was unlikely that a similar plot would pan out for you.

With a visible huff, you snuggled closer into his back comfort outside of the chaos of your mind. The biting wind was beginning to burn beyond the limits of what you could imagine. If it wasn’t for the nonsensical backdrop you would have began to consider that it might just not be a dream.

The sun was setting low on the horizon, but nothing had changed.

Where you had expected to see houses, roads and any sign of life,

you only discovered a continuing theme of snow, trees, some rocks and more snow.

You wanted to question the location more but instead another curiosity won out.

“I didn’t catch your name.”

He’d tried to remain quiet the ride thus far. Though part of it was likely due to his hesitance to inspire more madness from your lips. This was a question he seemed more amicable to respond to.

“Arthur. Arthur Morgan.”

You gave your name response, lip quirking when he mimicked it back in his own twang. It was … soothing. Like the warm scratch in just the right place.

You fell comfortably into it, time working heavily against the strength of your eyes as they sliding close. The unchecked weight against his back seemed to alert Arthur as he cut a concerned glance over his shoulder,

“I’m no doctor but I don’t think you should be sleepin’, ma’am.”

Maybe you laughed, the rumble sounded familiar in your throat as you rubbed your face into the cut of his leather.

“ I thought you were tired of hearing me speak nonsense?”

“Better than you being dead.”

There was no doubting the truth in the statement but it as becoming increasingly difficult to get your body to agree. The environment offered nothing stimulating. The sun was long gone and without it, both warmth and the light to make discernible images was gone. All that was left was the darkness of an abyss as you trotted further into it.

Perhaps this was the end and you’d finally wake up on the other side of the tunnel.

Who knows, maybe you’d continue you adventure with the mysterious Arthur Morgan another night.

Yawning around the thought, you settled comfortably into the admission.

You’re started when you feel an insistent pat on your thigh. You realize blankly how you register more of the impact than the way it knocks against the chill of your thigh.

“Hey now, stay with me, girl.”

You correct him with your name quietly but he hears it, latching on to the thin threads of your quick-temperedness.

“Hey, girl. Tell me. If you ain’t a prostitute, what are you and why were you dressed like that?”

If it was his plan to force you hand in defending your honor, you’d risen irritably to the challenge as you fought away the dreads of sleep.

“God, you really must enjoy a nice beating.”

His laugh is scratchy against the storm,” I’ve survived enough of ‘em.”

“Yeah, well you’re in for a life of them if you keep referring to women as sex workers. I’m a student, Arthur and I was sleeping off a hell of an exam which explains my state of dress.”

You were convinced he’d developed a tone of voice just for you. “Sleepin’ on the floor in the middle of winter in an old mining town … by yourself?”

With all the elements lined up- well, not that it made much sense from the beginning.

“Look, whenever I wake  up from this dream I promise you, Arthur Morgan, that I will book a very expensive appointment with a psychiatrist to work out my obvious issues.”

You can’t see how gave, but it’s okay, because you’re certain. That you can heat the collision of his brows. He hums something along the lines of sleep. The words are so cohesive with your own desires that it could impersonate a lullaby.

A sleep deprived smile, weak in the edges, curls your lips,“How old are you anyway, Arthur?”

All bundled it has hard to guess and the beard still blurred the lines but he didn’t seem like much of a gap.

“Thirty five.”

You squeeze tighter, knocking off the chill on your nose against the back of his neck. His body rolls in complaint but you’re attached too close to be batted away so easily. 

“Huh… maybe daddy issues will be a starting point,” you mused audibly.

“What was that?”

“You don’t want to know.”

Arthur may have called out but it’s lost to the static of the storm. You aren’t sure if it was intentional or not but the horse’s gait had been slowed to a choppy gait, the irritating bump with every step keeping you perfectly unbalanced the peak of unconsciousness.

You think you hear him call out to you again but the voice feels distant. Arthur shifts in your arms, and this time you know it’s his voice but it’s directed away. All at once the white noise collided with the cream of wood and the displeasure of horses treading through the snow.

The build up of frost takes a few blinks to flake away before take in the small caravan lumbering towards you. Arthur slowed to a halt, allowing them to roll closer. The familiarity of conversation makes it easy to assume this was the group he’d been determined to get to. 

“And who is this?”

Even at such a close proximity, its difficult to make out features of the man referring to you. If Arthur senses your apprehension it’s muted against the urgency of the new parameters as he carefully pries open the ring of your arms.

He vaguely explains your predicament as he guides you off the horse and carries you to the nearest wagon. Before you’re able to comprehend the newly familiar loss of his warmth, you’re immediately surrounded by limber hand ands as women tuck various clothing and blankets around you.

The voices rang from different pitches and tones, but you’re too exhausted to try and piece them into something explainable. They throw more questions at you than you have the answers to give.

“Honey, what are you wearin’?”

Too far to reach yet close enough to provide the presence of comfort, you position Arthur hovering near. “Let’s worry about that later. Get her warm.”

The most distinguished touch is that of hands weathered like leather from age. It gives the familiar prickle of a grandparent with the odd firmness of an ox as they try to tear away the comfort of Arthur’s coat.

You find yourself fighting back, clinging to the material for reasons other than warmth.

“Best you give this jacket back to Mr. Morgan, dear.”

When another answers in your stead, you decide that Arthur’s voice is like cinnamon when compared to others. A distinct spicy aftertaste to discern it from the others, and just enough warmth to bite away the chill of discomfort.

“That’s alrigh’, Karen. Let her keep it, I got somethin’ else to do the job.”

Everyone seemed concerned about- everything outside of your sluggish desire for sleep. They were unsatisfied with your tight lip, but weren’t able to give them what they wanted anyway. 

You only wanted one thing and at this point you were convinced that it would be the one remedy to solve it all.

Tucking your face into the pillow of wool, you sought it out from the one provider who help where needed. 

“Hey, Arthur, can I sleep now?”

You’d lost him in the chaos awhile back, but suddenly he was everywhere.

The voice in your ear.

The hands at your hearth.

The weight on your shoulders.

“Yeah, girl. Just make sure you wake up when I call.”

Notes: I don’t know why I spend so much time pregame but I do and regret it every time. But it only took two chapters this time so we’ll roll into the familiar storyline with the next one. Thank you so much for all the positive feedback. This chapter is a bit more slow paced but I want to build everything one piece at a time.

[truthbeetoldmedia]

The 100 6x05 "The Gospel of Josephine" Review

Y’all breathing okay? I think there were a few times when I held my breath this episode and boy howdy! I’m glad The 100 can still give me those moments. Now let’s dive right in to the episode:

Bonjour Josephine!

Last week we got a tiny bite of Josephine. Tonight we got the whole "gâteau opéra”, emphasis on “opera”, for the story of the Primes seems to be a long and bloody Shakespearean affair on an alien moon. Jaux!Clarke (see what I did there?) has barely fired up her silicone memories before she dispatches poor Kaylee with a cheese knife. Apparently Kaylee assisted, or at least didn’t prevent, Josephine’s last host body’s “death”, and she’s been on ice for six years waiting for a new host to be born and grow up. (Which we learn later is because they need a fully developed over-21 adult brain to host an adult’s memory chip, as they overload and kill child hosts. Glad we don’t have to see how they know that.)

Apparently Russell and Simone “jumped line” to bring back Josephine so I’m assuming it’s setup like an organ donor list, except people wait actual decades to talk to their loved ones again. The price of eternal life, eh? Also I can bet there will be some VERY unhappy Primes once they find out Russell and Simone cut line to get their daughter back amongst the living. Josephine seems to be hardened by her long life, and thinks very pragmatically and cold. She has successfully “other-ed” everyone except her loved ones...which is not comforting but also, I can’t help but think the gang would be very happy to have old Clarke back when they get a taste of real cold indifference from Jaux!Clarke.

Her “parents” give her time to adjust and we see Jaux!Clarke painting while dancing to French rap — a sentence I never thought I’d type for a sci-fi show review. She’s of course been given a task: find out how many nightbloods, aka hosts, our Space Popsicles have (since we really can’t call our gang the 100 or the delinquents anymore I’ve decided to call them this, fight me) to keep the Primes from becoming extinct. How hard can it possibly be to pretend to be Clarke right? All I thought was give Bellamy Blake and Jordan Green 10 minutes alone with her and she will figure that out real quick. (Also I was SO pleased to discover I was correct with guessing those two!)  

Space Popsicle™️ Fam finds skeletons in the closet!

Jaux!Clarke meets up with Bellamy, Jordan, Gaia and the rest of the SpacePops™️ Fam and starts acting weird immediately. (Subtle at first but someone forgot to check if she knew Trig ha!) She dodges her first bullet and finds Abby to try and find out how many nightbloods might be on the main ship, only to hear herself called a monster and have Abby compare her book to the Eugenics books of our time. I enjoyed seeing her squirm at Abby’s assessment of her book, though Abby doesn’t have a lot of room to judge...

When Abby questions why her left-handed daughter is writing with her right hand, Jaux!Clarke needs to find a reason to exit stage left and she sees Bellamy and Murphy looking for Jordan and follows them. They find Jordan in the spooky science closet full of skeletons (subtle the Primes are not) and Bellamy is of course in full Dad mode™️, asking Jordan what the heck he’s doing. Jordan delivers quite possibly my favorite line of the season, thus far:   

“What you would’ve done, The you before Praimfaya, anyway. Heart over head. That was always my favorite Bellamy.”

Monty and Harper's son, ladies and gentlemen!! Y’all I nearly jumped to my feet and clapped! Because that Bellamy is also my favorite Bellamy! And this whole season is a little odd feeling to me because Bellamy already feels like he’s been body snatched. Let’s hope this wonderful line delivered with perfection by the fabulous Shannon Kook is a sign we will get some old “I say, screw fear. I’m telling my own damn story” Bellamy Blake back this year! (Can I get an amen!)

Back to the science skeleton closet:

Jaux!Clarke Tries and fails to lure team SpacePops™️ out but Jordan and Gaia keep digging around and they end up watching the first “successful” upload of Josephine by Gabriel and her now very old looking father (og body) Russell. We also learned it took 25 years for them to develop and perfect the AI tech and lord knows how many corpses to get there.

We don’t know yet but I have a feeling we can guess the “old man” is Gabriel and “the Children of Gabriel” are followers against the “Primes ways” and are a result of him regretting playing God to get Josephine back and exiling himself once Josephine and fam got a little to unhinged about “hosts” and “nightblood”, leading others to follow his example. After Jaux!Clarke calls Murphy “John” and says a few other strange things, Bellamy asks to speak to her alone and, I’m just saying, if you watch this scene you see that Bellamy already KNoWS this isn’t “normal” Clarke. He isn’t sure what’s wrong yet, but he knows enough to test her and he can tell she can’t really understand what he’s saying in Trig! So he pulls a signature “Bellamy” move and yanks her back by the throat and starts asking questions because he’s now officially in panic mode —

BUT alas! She had a syringe of that lovely paralytic on hand just in case and the last thing we see in this scene is the horrible realization in Bellamy’s eyes as he lies helplessly paralyzed on the ground: there is a cold stranger behind his best friend’s beautiful blue eyes...and he cannot process his fear and loss fast enough. Welcome back heart over head Bellamy, we’ve missed you!!

Cut to Jaux!Clarke finding Murphy in the bar and revealing her true identity and confessing “Clarke is dead. My parents killed her” (listen I don’t buy it kids) and offering our favorite morally questionable cockroach something he might not be able to pass up: eternal life. Given his recent brush with death and sudden fear of hell….oh boy! It’s gonna take him a minute to realize he should help his friends, I just hope he realizes that before he’s made a full deal with the devil.

Diyoza and the Brat

This pair is a surprising team up, but if I have to suffer through Octavia’s “redemption” they couldn’t have picked a better reward than my favorite Season 5 addition (besides sweet Shaw! I’m still bitter about that guys) DIYOZA! Sassy, amazing fighter, the universe’s longest known pregnant lady. I could watch an entire show about her. (Also Ivana Milicevic is a dream in this role.) She’s the gift that keeps on giving, cool as a cucumber while stuck in space quicksand as Octavia is about to go under because she cannot be still for one second. Probably because if Octavia’s quiet she’ll think and with that comes dark thoughts: how she failed as a leader, how she was willing to abuse, torture and maybe even kill her brother, how her brother, the one person who she thought would always love her through her greatest faults, finally couldn’t take anymore and rejected her. She doesn’t have anything left to lose. Rock bottom meet Octavia Blake, Octavia Blake meet rock bottom.

Now I know I sound harsh but after Season 4 I was beyond seeing her as anything but a villain. I know she is on her way to redemption, but I’m glad they are giving her the long way through the dirt and mud, letting her soak in the cage of her own making a while. And giving us the wonderful Diyoza to lighten the mood. I am all for unsuspecting road trip buddies in shows (Arya and the Hound anyone?) but unfortunately so far all Octavia’s done is try to murder people, throw tantrums, and sulk. Oh well, at least Diyoza is getting in some practice for when she finally gets to have her 200-year-old baby! Really though bless her heart, she deserves some kind of sainthood for this.

Mount Weather + City of Light + Commander worship, shaken not stirred

I actually dig the intersecting of all the “bad guy” storylines into one big villain origin story wearing Clarke’s face. If nothing else it’s a poetic rehash of all the previous seasons, but refreshing enough to not seem stale...for the most part. I grow tired of the Flame/commander story and miss the more simple “teens surviving the unknown my learning to depend and care for each other” story of the first few seasons. BUT considering Season 5’s underwhelming last half, if there is one thing I can say about Season 6 of The 100...it’s not boring! And for a show that sometimes paces the plot too fast I was actually okay with that this time around! I did not want it to take three episodes for our fave family of 150 year old space popsicles to discover Clarke is “dead”. Also I am so glad it was the magic duo of Bellamy and Jordan that made the realization first.

Final thoughts

Eliza Taylor has grown so much as an actress over the seasons! She looks like she had so much fun playing Jaux!Clarke and she gave her such a different “spirit” than our usual worried and sometimes snarky but mostly serious Clarke Griffin. Just the way her eyes dance lets you know it’s not “real Clarke”.

I neglected to mention the importance of Jordan knowing “Delilah” before her change to Priya VII, so his spidey senses also go off around Clarke because he knows what a person who just got body snatched acts like! When he took “Delilah” the flowers I was like my poor son.

This episode was great because the focus was tighter and had fewer characters to keep up with! (Listen I love ensemble casts but they have not given Raven a strong independent storyline since Season 4, and I love Emori but she doesn’t really have a lot to do at the moment either, as for Echo...why she was made a main character when Harper was right there all those seasons? I’ll never know.) All that to say, I like when they break up the cast a bit and just focus on a few at a time to really get that interpersonal development between characters. That used to be the bread and butter of this show. Don’t get me wrong, I still love The 100 and find it unique and fun and twisty and exhilarating and at times beautifully heartbreaking.

(Episodes 1x05, 1x07, 1x13, 2x15, 2x16, 4x13 and 5x13 are perfect examples of this.)

But I do yearn for those slower, deeper days of, say, a boy and a girl grappling with the moral quandary of torturing a stranger tied up in the cockpit of a crashed spaceship to save a dying friend. Sometimes bigger and shiner isn’t always better. But no matter how this season goes, The 100 is still one of my favorite TV shows ever, and deserves a spot up there with a lot of other great sci-fi dramas of the past two decades.

As of now all I need to know is: where the heck is Bellamy Blake and is he okay?!

Gina’s episode rating: 🐝🐝🐝🐝

The 100 airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on the CW.

[leta-the-strange]

My troubled relationship with the FB community.

Okay, here goes. As ridiculous as it sounds (because in reality, it is ridiculous) I have taken a rather lengthy break from my writing – both here, on A03 and Fanfiction.net for my health. I have a few significant health problems and for as long as I can remember, writing is one of the few escapes I have – one of my true joys. Now, I’m by no means one of the ‘greats’ in any of the fandoms I’ve written in. I’m always in awe of the talent of some of the writers that I have been lucky enough to read and although I’m not at their level, I’ve been so excited to have the opportunity to have these platforms to share the stories I’ve poured my heart into and so mindblown and grateful to have people not only read them but take the time to leave feedback or thanks.

My love for Leta Lestrange began way back in the very first film when we knew very little about her. But I was starry-eyed from the get-go. A woman of colour main character? She quickly turned into my new inspiration and I was lucky enough to be one of the first Leta Lestrange-centred writers and blogs and meet some other great creatives and like-minded fans in the then tiny Leta loving community. I started developing my first multi-chapter story and (as daunting as it was considering the incredible talent in the stories I had read) started uploading the first chapters to share. A few people started reading my stories and left encouragement, advice and comments that absolutely made my day and I would feel so driven and inspired to keeping going and looked forward to spending my evenings putting together new chapters. My heart would skip each time I got an email saying that someone had left a comment, a review, kudos or notes.  

I was quite naïve in not knowing much about ‘ship’ and ‘fandom wars’ and when I found out that was a…thing, I did my best to stick to safe, neutral content, staying out of the confrontational tags, not engaging in the fandom too much – only to share things I created or liked (what all this is supposed to be about). Unfortunately, no matter how well I did that foreign, poisonous part of the fandom I was naïve enough to believe I could easily avoid by minding my business found its way into my life and quickly consumed something I loved.

PLEASE understand that this post isn’t about the characters. This is about real people. As a young girl of colour, yes there have absolutely been moments where I feel sick at some of the racist undertones in a large majority of the fandom’s depiction of Leta – I am happy to put my feelings on this in a more eloquent fashion in a separate post but again, the purpose of my first post back is about real people.

There are people in this fandom, quite a lot of people actually who all belong to one particular community, who not only are lucky enough to have the free time to create and share the things they love on the internet but also apparently have enough spare time to actively go seeking out posts, stories, works, etc that are centred on fictional characters and relationships that they don’t like (to put it lightly) for the sole purpose of abusing, bullying and degrading the creators to the delight of their followers that have little more than mic-drop gifs, ‘oh snap’s, and ‘#preach’ to contribute. 

This behaviour is disgusting, appalling, unacceptable and harmful.

And of course, not ALL people from this particular, I don’t know the word…’shipping group’ do this (so many are kind, talented and supportive) but enough have that I feel like even if I eventually came to like this pairing, I would never, ever feel safe engaging in that community myself.

I have characters I like, characters I love, ones that I am impartial to and ones I don’t like much. That’s the great thing about fictional characters. However, I have never felt the urge (or had the time or energy) to obsessively track the tags of ships and characters that I don’t like to leave hateful comments designed to make the creators feel unsafe and unwanted in a community in which they are just as entitled to be involved in than anyone else.

This obsessive, abusive behaviour destroyed my love for writing. One of the few things that drew me out of depression when I was unable to physically do much else activity-wise gave me intense anxiety and as much as I still received beautiful comments, I panicked when I received notification that someone had messaged me. 

My story has been called disgusting, dumb, awful, gross etc. I have been called deluded (apparently for not following a canon ship), a crazy dumb bitch, illiterate – just off the top of my head. I found a thread last year that encouraged people to upload new Fantastic Beasts content to A03 asap to get my story off the first page when I would upload a new chapter.  I was torn to shreds on both fanfiction websites after the second film came out and told that I hadn’t seen the movies (I had started my story well before the second film so I had to fill in the gaps which were quite a few). It seemed so pathetic and laughable at the start, I would just make sure I could monitor my reviews and would delete or not answer the abuse I received. 

Eventually though, it become too overwhelming and I found it too difficult to continue – my inspiration was gone and I was emotionally drained. A few times I actually became pale, shaky and vomited from the relentlessness of it. I tried to claw back the thrill and love writing gave me by practicing getting back on the saddle by doing prompts on Tumblr while I was in hospital battling one of my illnesses. I thought it might be nice to take requests from people – a gentle re-entry into my beloved hobby and reconnecting with other fans. I did a piece on Theseus and Leta that I had overwhelming support for. I actually cried when more than a couple people left beautiful messages in regard to my Theseus dying/Leta surviving prompt. A few people left me Newt/Leta related prompts. I got around to completing a first kiss request that earned me an anon informing me that my writing was trash, made them gag in their mouth and I should seriously reconsider inflicting my unwanted pieces on a fandom that doesn’t want them and to keep my shit out of the tag. 

I have seen blogs disappear from it and stories, posts and artwork removed. I was scrolling through Instagram and someone (quite notorious for this behaviour across all platforms) simply comment ‘ew #newtinaforever’ on a beautiful Leta fanvid that would have taken such a long time to put together. Surprisingly, the comments I got that were simply ‘ew’, ‘gross’, etc were more hurtful than the torrents of abuse sometimes. 

Just a few days ago, someone posted something absolutely non-confrontational and innocent about them personally liking Newt/Leta because they found it cute which of course opened the floodgates for abuse and I read a comment relating to people who don’t personally ship the ‘canon’ ship (this sounds so ridiculous now that I’m typing it) as deluded and needed to check into a mental ward. This is quite personal but I am someone who has an illness that is accompanied by psychotic symptoms and I have spent periods of time in a psychiatric hospital (and will likely need to during my lifetime) for my own wellbeing. I felt physically nauseous by this. I feel anxious now disclosing this as I know this will give more ammunition to the people who have not yet been blocked by me and enjoy taunting me but I want people to understand the weight of their childish, uneducated, ignorant outbursts.  

Because of my experience, PLEASE understand that when I say ‘unhinged’ I am not meaning it as a slur, it is coming from a place of serious concern. I think there are people in this fandom that are becoming quite dangerously confused between reality and fantasy. These characters ARE NOT REAL. If I can get through years of one my favourite characters being constantly hated on, written by fans as an abuser, rapist, you name it while far more ‘bad/problematic’ (white) females are adored and shipped with various characters quite harmoniously, and not resort to commenting, abusing or harassing people than you can get through your fave not being someone else’s fave. If your favourite pairing is canon, why are you so insecure about people liking other pairings? In Harry Potter, the most popular fan-favourite ships are non-canon and don’t cause any harm.

If someone writes on THEIR OWN BLOG that they personally don’t follow a certain ship, or they find a character bland or boring, or don’t agree with a casting, or don’t see chemistry between certain actors or like a pairing that differs from your own, JUST KEEP SCROLLING (and certainly don’t go on a witch-hunt by tracking down posts, blogs and stories you know you won’t like).

These are not real people. There is absolutely 0 reasons to be offended by someone saying that they find a certain character or pairing bland (which I haven’t done before). Of course you can disagree but if you are enraged, or offended, or feel inclined to personally attack or threaten A REAL PERSON over their preferences in something make-believe, than please, I implore you for your own mental wellbeing, to seriously assess if this level of emotional attachment to made-up characters is healthy.

I am planning on getting back into my story in time. I would love to get through the prompts and (nice) messages in my inbox now that I’m feeling a little more secure mentally and physically. I do thank all the beautiful people who have taken the time to request things, leave notes and such – I’m only back for them and feel confident that I can work through the toxicity and superiority complexes in this fandom with their support. I will do my best from now on to call out and check people when I see them mistreating others and to have more respect for myself and my work and not tolerate this any longer. I may respond and share some of the less pleasant messages I’ve received if I believe my responses can be helpful to others but there are some that require no response or audience.

I feel very content in the knowledge that I can see a story, visual, video, etc, involving a fandom, character or pairing that I don’t necessarily like and still appreciate the time and effort the person put in and find enjoyment in it too. If you still feel incapable of controlling yourself around people who are not a carbon copy of yourself, please just save yourself the distress by just blocking me instead of wasting valuable time and energy finding new ways to abuse me. I am not a harmful person, I am not an abusive person. I encourage you in your journey to hopefully become the same and if you need to remove yourself from temptation than I applaud that decision no matter how much I cannot personally relate. 

To anyone who has read my stories or sent me prompts, thank your for your patience and encouragement. I look forward to being able to get back into a community I have found such joy in.

[filmsisnice]

Published by Film Ireland

‘The Shape of Water’ opens with an opening of its own.  Tunneling through sunken corridors as if narrow chinks of the mind the camera gently slips us beyond the gilded gateways of slumber.  It’s here in this boundless bliss where lamps and tables tip-toe and drift, a clock overhead, a chair undertow, untethered, unhooked, untucked and let go. We too soon find ourselves upended and utterly immersed into the realm behind closed eyes where a “princess without a voice” can be heard without a sound.

Our “princess” is Elisa (Sally Hawkins), a mute janitor whose routine of mopping floors in a government research lab plunges into the extraordinary as she becomes mysteriously drawn to their latest top-secret “Asset”. Tall, athletic and gorgeously gilled this ancient creature turned captive might just be the edge the USA need to push them ahead in the ongoing space-race.  As a bond blossoms between them, Elisa soon realizes the creature’s survival may entirely rest in her hands.  Teaming up with her neighbor Giles (Richard Jenkins) and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) a plan is hatched to save the otherworldly creature from a looming government autopsy.

There’s no doubt that Guillermo Del Toro has a fierce finesse for engineering visually stunning environments and ‘The Shape of Water’ makes no exception. From the opening score’s pirouetting notes we are effortlessly nudged afloat into a world bathing in rusted greens and deep-diving blues.  Elisa’s home appears almost submerged in an oceanic palette where apartment antiquities form curious clusters of knick-knacks, freckling floors like barnacles clinging to shore.  Down below, a derelict cinema pulses flickers of fantasy through Elisa’s floorboards, a tempting invitation to a world of wonder. A wonder that can often be smothered between the functional and formidable dank walls of the government facility. But it’s here where we first meet our captivating creature, an enchanted combination of performance and costume.  His taut physique ripples with slippery sounds, from fluttering gills to guttural gasps; this “monster” is truly alive.  

Del Toro’s delicate designs aren't just left bobbing at the surface, they stem from a colour coded labyrinth emanating from the film’s centre. However, the way in which the film conveys its core ideas are anything but subtle.  Heavy handed messages and symbols are underlined and foregrounded leaving little for audiences to digest. At his best Del Toro’s films have always opened up a dialogue between the past and present and in ‘The Shape of Water’ the director takes us back to 1962 to explore ‘the moment where America crystallizes the notion of a dream that never came to be’.  Jet finned luxury Sedans, a coca-cola bottle in hand and a television in every home, this is the American dream brought to you by Budweiser.  It’s a mythologized era that echoes through people who vow to ‘Make America Great Again’.  The film offers to wash away that myth, peeling back its varnished layers to reveal a rust festering beneath, the rampant racism, the homophobia, the Russian threat, the impending death of cinema and asks the question, has anything changed?

The film’s main characters are outsiders, world weary wanderers living out of step with time.  Each person tries to carve out an identity, negotiating their own existence with a world bent indifferent. Each suffer in silence as voiceless as Elisa.  Michael Shannon’s unhinged charisma is neatly packed into Strickland, a callous government agent whose surface of certainty soon gives way to rot.  Prowling corridors, clutching a stiff cattle prod by his side one can’t help but think he may be compensating for something.  Sally Hawkins proves again why she is one of the best actors working today.  Her subtle expressions skip along the spectrum of human emotion with such transcendent ease it becomes quietly mesmerizing.  Not only is Elisa courageously curious in her endeavors, she also expresses her sexuality with a brazen honesty.  Del Toro strips the sensational from the sensual and leaves us with something far more satisfying.

The film works at its best when following Elisa’s courtship with the sinewy specimen. A symphony of glances and gestures swim through silences where timid connections are made.  Each speak a universal language both dizzy, daring and strange, from light jazz records to hard boiled eggs we sense an intimacy simmering between the two.  Unfortunately, the moments of magic only last so long as we’re catapulted through a rushed second half where the film tries to reach towards the profound, only to pull a muscle.  It wants us to let go, allowing the current to carry us away but at certain points (one in particular) I found my self resisting its reverie.

With hands endlessly twirling the escape hatch of certainty, Guillermo Del Toro pushes us into the deep end of his imagination. A technicolor realm of delight, there’s no ignoring the craft involved here, the sets glisten, the soundtrack twinkles and all the actors are on top form.  However the allure of the opening soon becomes weighed down by an uneven latter half.  At times the movie can seem like a Rubik's Cube waiting to be solved but there’s a sweetness to the science where you can almost feel the director’s passion unfurling before your eyes.  For all its cosmic tingles, Del Toro manages to smuggle a deeply personal film across Hollywood’s border where beneath its haunted charm lies an immigrant’s story rising to the surface, setting us adrift in a dream.

[mermaidsirennikita]

July 2017 Book Roundup

In July, I read eight books--most of which were unfortunately mediocre to poor.  However, there were a couple of standouts, and one of them was fantastic.  My favorite book of the month was Riley Sager’s Final Girls, a thinky thriller that deconstructs the concept of a final girl, while at the same time embracing the best parts of slasher movies.  If you love Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, you have to try this book.  

So--below is the good and the (unfortunately, moreso) bad or fair to middling.

Dividing Eden by Joelle Charbonneau.  2/5.  After the assassination of the king and crown prince, the kingdom of Eden is left in turmoil.  The crown would go to the king’s widow, but after she goes mad, that’s not an option anymore.  That means that twins Andreus and Carys are left to battle each other for the throne--or else give up their family’s rights to the kingdom and endanger their own lives.  Aaaand that’s pretty much it.  There are romances thrown in, but the book moves incredibly slow for its length.  The assassinations--events that we know occur because that’s the plot--take forever to actually happen, and for that matter once it does happen it’s really fucking nothing.  It’s super predictable, the villain can be spotted from a mile away, and that makes Carys and Andreus seem super stupid.  Also, Andreus is cursed or something and Carys has a magical drug addiction.  The other issue I have with the book is that so much is made of how close the twins are--and a brother-sister twin relationship is such a cool topic to write about--but the fact is that they aren’t close.  If they were, they wouldn’t be ready to stab each other in the back at a moment’s notice.  Not the smartest book.

The Shark Club by Ann Kidd Taylor.  3/5.  As a young girl, Maeve was bitten by a shark.  The event sparked a lifelong passion for the creatures, and at thirty she’s returning home to her grandmother’s hotel as a successful shark researcher.  Recently, she’s sparked the beginnings of a romance with fellow researcher Nicholas--but back home, she runs into former fiance and childhood love Daniel, now the chef at the hotel and the single father of a young girl.  Maeve’s feelings for Daniel return as she bonds with his daughter, the situation further complicated by an illegal shark finning operation nearby.  This book is well-written, and while it didn’t thrill me in any way, it was pleasant.  It’s very much a “finding yourself” story, and I think that a lot of people would like it--you could call it a thinking beach read.  At the same time, however, I found certain plot points to be rather predictable.  But I appreciated the focus on sharks, animals that I love, and the ongoing threat of finning.  

One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid.  3/5.  Emma married her high school sweetheart, Jesse, with whom she was madly in love.  The day before their first wedding anniversary, he went missing, and was presumed dead.  Three and a half years later, Emma is engaged to her new love, Sam, when she receives the news that Jesse has been found alive.  Now--who does she really want to be with?  I gave this three stars because I read it over the course of a day and it was certainly engaging, and Reid writes romance in a really lovely way and many people have and will love this.  But this was no Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.  It actually kind of infuriated me.  It’s painfully obvious what Emma’s choice will be, the first half of the book breezes through each romance in a way that makes it difficult to get attached to either one, and the latter half is largely Emma dithering and treating each guy like shit.  The thing that irritated me most is that--well, look, I felt condescended to.  The old Emma loved to travel and see the world, and it’s implied that this was all a part of her youth and now she’s more mature and values the Real Things.  She’s Mature.  And I’m like, bitch you’re just kinda boring now.  There’s a scene where she’s basically like “I don’t like to fuck on kitchen counters anymore, I’m not in my twenties anymore I’m in my thirties”.  BITCH YOU ARE THIRTY-ONE HE HAS BEEN MISSING FOR 3.5 YEARS NOT TWENTY.  Like I respect her moving on and have no issue with that time frame, but Emma acted as if Jesse had been away for decades when he just hadn’t.  Sigh.

The Incarnations by Susan Barker.  4/5.  Beijing taxi driver Wang begins receiving mysterious letters from a stranger that claims to be connected to him through their past lives.  Detailing their different lives together, the stranger clearly also knows a lot about Wang’s current life, including his troubled marriage and his young daughter.  Desperate to find out who his “stalker” is, Wang becomes obsessed with the letters, and in the process confronts his own troubled past.  This is a dark fucking book, and it isn’t for the faint of heart because it honestly has a little bit of everything--to the point that I couldn’t give it a 5/5 because I did find some points a bit too disturbing.  Not in a gratuitous sense--it was the right choice for the book, just not always for me the reader.  But it is so well-written, and really original, and interesting in a way that so many reincarnation books aren’t.  It goes to some very interesting places, and was incredibly gripping.  For that matter, you get to see a number of different periods of Chinese history, which is always fun to read about.  Highly recommend if you’re looking for something really different.

Because You Love to Hate Me, edited by Ameriie.  3/5.  This anthology--featuring authors like Renee Ahdieh, Marissa Meyer, Susan Dennard, and more--focuses on villains.  Each story is actually a response from the author to a challenge given by a different writer; the challenger follows up the story with an essay, reacting to the story and discussing villainy.  Many of the stories are takes on classic villains--Moriarty from the Sherlock Holmes series, The Little Mermaid’s sea witch, the Erl-King/Queen--while a few others are completely original.  As with almost any anthology, this was a bit of a mixed bag.  A few of the stories were really excellent.  “Marigold” was the first thing I’d read from Samantha Shannon, and now I’d really like to see something else from her.  “Jack” was one of the few stories I found actively gruesome, and “Gwen and Art and Lance” was a pleasant, different surprise.  “Indigo and Shade” and “The Sea Witch” were also interesting.  However, a few of the stories weren’t for me just because of their style or content, and a few more seemed to fail at really being... well, about villains.  I felt like I was reading a bit too much about sympathetic villains, you know?  And the essays weren’t really for me--they felt like Tumblr posts.  But with that being said, it was enjoyable, and I think a lot of people would love it.

Final Girls by Riley Sager.  5/5.  At nineteen, Quincy Carpenter survived a massacre at Pine Cottage, during which all of her friends was killed.  As the only survivor, Quincy was immortalized by the press as one of the “Final Girls”, the other two being Lisa Milner and Samantha Boyd, who survived similar such massacres.  Ten years later, Quincy is shocked when Lisa commits suicide, and the mysterious Samantha shows up on her doorstep immediately after.  If you’re a fan of slasher movies, I highly recommend this book, which not only deconstructs the “final girl” archetype but tells a hell of a story.  It shifts between the present and what happened to Quincy on the night she survived, and both stories are equally compelling.  Quincy is a remarkably complex and flawed character, as is Sam--I was enthralled by both.  While I had an inkling about one of the twists, I certainly didn’t predict all of them.  It’s not only a great story, but an important one--while few of us experience traumas as horrible as Quincy’s (thankfully) the way she dealt with hers was very familiar to me, and the Sager does an excellent job of examining the difference between being fine on the surface and being fine in reality.  A must-read.

Every Last Lie by Mary Kubica.  2/5.  Clara, mother to a four-year-old daughter and a newborn boy, has her world shattered when her husband is killed in a car wreck.  What is written off as a tragic accident becomes more complicated when their daughter, Maisie--who was in the car with Nick when he died--insists that her father was being chased by a “bad man”.  Becoming obsessed with what happened to Nick, Clara begins to trace the last few months of her husband’s life--while, in alternating chapters, we see the truth unveiled from Nick’s perspective.  I gave this book two stars instead of one because I do think it portrays grief well--Clara is irrational to the point where she becomes unhinged and obsessive, and this does ring true to me, especially since she’s probably suffering from postpartum depression as well.  But the ending.  UGH.  THE FUCKING ENDING.  It ruined the book for me, as did the fact that we were clearly supposed to sympathize with Nick when he was a complete dirtbag.  Spoiler alert: Nick wasn’t cheating on Clara like you might initially think (he keeps going on and on about her pregnant body, and I was like wait are you into this or are you resentful of it idek) but he was keeping a million things from her.  An ex-girlfriend showing up in his life again, a kid that was possibly fathered by Nick before he met Clara, a malpractice suit, the fact that he’s apparently the worst dentist on Earth and deserved the malpractice suit...  God.  I should have known that I would hate Nick as soon as I realized he was a dentist.  Clara isn’t much better.  She idolizes Nick, jumps from one conclusion to the other over the course of a couple pages, and honestly doesn’t seem to have any kind of life outside her husband and kids.  Drop this, read Final Girls.

Close to Shore by Michael Capuzzo.  3/5.  In 1916, the Jersey Shore experienced a series of shark attacks that would really be the first attacks in American history to capture the public’s imagination.  They remain pretty distinct, as they occurred in a short period (from July 1 to July 12) across both the ocean and a nearby creek, and four people were killed and one injured by what seemed to be a single shark.  I read this in honor of Shark Week and because I’ve always been seriously fascinated by these attacks, ever since I was very young.  Capuzzo does a good job of describing the shark’s potential life and the attacks themselves.  But he also spent a lot of time fleshing out the lives of people who often weren’t even the attack victims themselves but their loved ones, which like.. fine, I’m sure that worked for a lot of people, but I’m here for the attacks.  I also feel like more time should have been spent on discussing theories regarding shark behaviors and what made these attacks so unique--and were they really unique at all?  Capuzzo seemed to be very set on the idea that this was a juvenile great white, that it was attacking for these reasons, etc.  And not all scientists, at least from what I’ve read, agree with him--even a discussion of outlying, unlikely theories would have been nice.  Capuzzo also didn’t seem to explain why he was so set on the great white theory, when a bull shark would be another likely candidate--some would say more likely than a great white, especially during the creek attacks.  With that being said, if you’re interested in the topic it’s a quick read and nicely informative.  To paraphrase Jon Snow, I like the shark bits.

[theorderofthetriad]

okay, I actually just wanna make my whole own post for the tags I wrote on this post:

#there is a mega-extreme left that wants all the crazy things the right is scared of #but its literally just me taking everything to the extreme #in part bc of Hari Kondabolu's bit about how if Obama had proposed something more extreme than medicare for all #then we would have medicare for all right now #the problem is the reasonable leftist demands need to be paired with completely fucking erroneous far leftists demands #that even the moderate left thinks is extreme #and those demands will pull the discourse further and further left #which by the way this is exactly what the right has been doing since i was a fucking kid. #currently we think of bernie and aoc as far left as the political discourse goes and thats exactly the problem #we need people even further left than that because bernie and aoc need to be seen as moderate by comparison

Here's the Hari Konabolu bit I was referencing.

Now some of you might be thinking "Well, Hari Kondabolu, that proposal sounds so unreasonable." Yes, and if we had started with it, we'd have the Public Option by now.

This is a tactic I've grown up watching the right using, and it's fucking worked. The political discourse has swayed so much further right because we have republicans so unreasonable that the democrats have had to compromise further and further to the right. There is a reason the right has these politicians that to the left seem like complete fucking jokes that make these absolutely batshit statements and have seemingly absurdly extreme positions.

Political discourse has been so warped towards the right that there are people who genuinely believe Joe Biden is far left. Joe Biden.

Honestly, we need people to bring actually extreme leftist ideas into the political discourse, ones that will make a pearl-clutching right-winger literally shit themselves in fear. I've been on tumblr for over ten years I know you freaks have some out there political opinions. Well it's time for you to take those opinions on your tumblr and bring them into more public forums like town halls and city council meetings and letters to your politicians. Hell, if you're up for it, run for fucking office (though I would do that with caution because you might split the vote and cause a conservative win, or you might actually win.)

Not sure what sort of extreme position you should be touting? Think about what you want and make it a notch or two (or three, or four, or five...) more unreasonable.

For instance "I want medicare for all!" could become "I want to completely dismantle the private healthcare industry and built a government run system from the ground up. Also I want every current and former private healthcare executive to be charged for the murder of every patient that died because they could not afford care."

And if you read the extreme version nd thought "Well, actually I do want that." Perfect! Go out and preach that shit from your heart!!!! You wont get it, at least not this decade, but it'll bring us all closer to something better than the now that sucks.

And ya know what? The right is already making extreme accusations against us for having reasonable views like "lgbt kids should be supported" so we can actually just spout our extreme views with impunity because they're already calling us the worst possible things they could. The right is wasting their hard hitting insults on moderate positions (which is literally just another example of being extremist to pull the discourse further to your side) so when they call you a marxist p**o you can just be like "yeah but you also called Joe Biden that so... *shrug emoji*"