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thewritetofreespeech · 4 years ago

Text

Words: 5000+

Rating: M

Pairing: Benimaru (TSSK) x Reader

Summary: You were husband & wife in name only.

AO3

The moon was bright & crisp in the sky over Rimuru. Even without your candle light, you would probably be able to see clearly into your mirror as you brushed out your hair, preparing for bed. It had been a challenging day.

Keeping Shion and Shuna from destroying their Lord with their love was a full-time job sometimes. Being the buffer between them was sometimes more than your poor human body could take; a fact Rimuru-sama was often concerned about. You usually brushed it off with a ‘better me than you’ remark as his peril would be far more of a detriment to others than you, but appreciated his concern. Besides, neither ogre-ess would intentionally hurt you. Worst you’d ever come away with before was a good goose egg from Shion swinging around Hercules’s willy-nilly and caught you in the back of the head. It was an accident, and she could have easily crushed your head like a melon, but Shion still cried for almost 3 days after every time she saw you in apology.

You chuckle a little at the memory. How wonderfully problematic your life had become in this past year. You wouldn’t call it ‘blissful’. It had it’s challenges like most. But your life taken an interest, wonderful turn that had led you to this life you wouldn’t trade anything for. You were safe. You were loved. You were a respected person when just some months ago you were nobody and nothing. How quickly the world turns.

A knock at your door halted the comb in your tresses and you look up surprised by the sound. “Who is it?” You ask. Curious who would be at your door so late at night.

“It’s me.” Your eyes blink in surprise as you hear the familiar deep timber of Benimaru behind the frame. “May I come in?”

You stammer out a reply of ‘one moment’ as you adjust yourself to make your appearance more presentable and told him to come in. It was embarrassing to have him see you in your night clothes. But if he was coming here so late at night, it must be important. Your husband never came to your chambers this late at night.

The title of ‘husband’ was in name only. You and Benimaru were not romantically involved, nor had you chosen each other completely of your own free will. He had saved you, along with Rimuru-sama and the rest of the Kijin, when they defeated the great bandit army that had been sweeping the east. Once just thugs of human and monsters alike, they had grown into a real threat in the land taking anything they please. Money. Goods. Women. When they came to your small village, they had burned it down and had taken you with them when they left. You were their prisoner and slave for nearly two months before Rimuru-sama and his band had come along.

You still remember seeing them for the first time. Bright and regal. A peasant before being a slave, you had never seen such fine strange clothes before. Nor the impending presence of the man in front of you when he’d come upon you.

“I claim this woman as my own.” They were the first words he’d ever said to you. Then he picked you up over his shoulder and carried you away with his band while the smoldering embers of the great bandit army died out in the distance.

At first, you thought it was all going to be the same. One capture was no different than the last; though you were a little concerned about an ogre being your master than a human. But how much worse could it be? The last human captor you had had been a true monster. Being owned by a real one could not be that different. Or at least that was what you thought at first.

The ogres and Rimuru-sama had been impossibly kind. They tended to your wounds from your long capture. Gave you a place to sleep. Clothes. Fed you, although there was some debate on which ogre-ess’s cooking would ‘best suit you’, and treated you as an equal. You were incredibly moved by their generosity. They were even willing to take you home. And when you told them “I have no home” they seemed genuinely hurt by that.

You of course explained to them what happened, and realized now that you really had no place to go. You thought you would die in the bandit camp. So the thought had never crossed your mind where you would go should your imprisonment be over. You were lost and alone in the world. No money. No home. No family. Even if you left, who was to say you wouldn’t be taken up by another group who found your helplessness easy pickings? Or worse, going to that life on your own because you had no other choices…..

“You’re staying here.” Benimaru had announced, much to the surprise of everyone. “You’re my woman now, remember? I defeated those fools and claimed you as my prize. This is your home now. You’re staying here.”

There was a loud commotion from the group as they all thought he had been joking but, apparently, he wasn’t. While the energetic group argued, you looked at Benimaru critically and realized what he was doing. He knew that if you didn’t belong to someone, you could easily be taken by another. If not the remanences of the great bandit army, but someone else; as you feared. Being his woman, letting him lay claim, offered you protection you couldn’t afford on your own. “Ok,” you’d told him. Your soft voice somehow ringing out over the crowd.

Rimuru-sama had of course forbade his general from ‘keeping’ a woman. He said if he wanted to do this, he would have to do the honorable thing and marry you. It had been surprising how quickly he agreed. Then asked if you would be alright with it and you’d said yes. You had been married the next day, and were then husband & wife, and that was the end of it.

Your married life was that of about the same as anyone else in the close group. You weren’t intimate. You didn’t share secrets or stories. You didn’t even sleep in the same quarters of the estate. Aside from a few group outings, communal meals, and when he popped in on Shuna when you were around, you honestly rarely saw your ‘husband’.

Which was why it was so surprising he was here now, at this late hour.

“What is it Benimaru-sama? Is something wrong?” You ask, looking up at him from where you’d been sitting on the floor before he sat down too. His expression was placid, so it was hard to tell if something was going on.

“The envoy from Blumund is leaving tomorrow.” His eyes fixed on the hardwood under your knees.

“Yes, I know. He told me. He’s a little hard to miss.” You reply with a soft chuckle.

The envoy in question was a nice man. Tall, lean. A little bit older than you, but still a jovial person. Rimuru-sama had set you with the important task of keeping him company and being his escort during his stay. His immediate council in the Kijin were nice, but they sometimes lack the social grace or understanding of human culture. He didn’t want to offend the man and trusted you could keep him company during his stay.

“He’s rather taken with you.” Benimaru then stated. Taking you a bit by surprise. “He wants to take you back to Blumund with him.”

Your bit of surprise turned into full blown shock. “W…What are you talking about??”

“He wants to take you back to Blumund with him.” He repeated. As if somehow that made you understand completely. “He said he thinks you’re very beautiful, and charming, and that it would be a better fit for you to live among humans, rather than here in Rimuru with none of them. He talked to Rimuru-sama about this.”

“And Rimuru-sama told you about this?”

“I was there.” Benimaru stated after he shook his head. “He asked for us to severe our bond so you could go with him. So you could marry him.”

Your eyes probably bug out of your head now. Were you being proposed to by proxy by your own husband?!?

“How could he ask such a thing?!”

“Like I said, he’s taken with you.”

“That’s not the point! How am I supposed to marry someone else when I’m already married?!”

“He knows our marriage isn’t consummated.” His eyes finally look up to catch yours.

You feel your whole body turn red. Now you have to look away to stare at the floor. It was true. Your marriage wasn’t consummated. It had been something done to offer you protection and stability. It had never been about love. So you have never laid with your husband as he wished to respect your virtue. “How crude.” You mutter. Embarrassed, more than anything, as you were sure people knew about your unclaimed marriage, but no one would dare bring it up until now.

“Do you want to go with him?”

You look up again and offer a soft noise of surprise at the question. “Do you want to go with him?” He repeated. “As you said, he’s a good man. He has fortune, and power. You’d be a respected woman among your people. You’d be among your people.” Maybe you imagined it, but you thought you saw Benimaru wince at that. “You don’t have to stay here anymore. You don’t have to stay with me. You’re established enough now to make your own choices. You can be free.”

Free? The word played over in your head for a moment. The sheer concept completely foreign to you at the moment.

You’d never been free. First you belonged to your family. Then the bandits. Then Benimaru. Though you had freedom on occasion, you had never been truly free. And now that you had it, you found the idea ironically suffocating. You could choose to leave. Leave Rimuru City and start a new life as a woman of prominence in Blumund. But what if you didn’t want to leave?

“D…Do you want me to leave?” The kijin looked up at you again with a confused expression at your soft words. “If you want me to leave I will. But…I don’t want to leave all of you. I love being here, and being with Shion, and Shura, Rimuru-sama and….you. My ‘people’ have never been kind to me, so I really don’t want to go back to them. I want to stay here. We don’t have to be married anymore, if that’s the problem. We can still break our bond, if that’s what you want. But I’d like to – “That’s not what I want!”

Your eyes flicker up. Startled by the red Kijin’s roar and the burning fire resting in his eyes. “I don’t want to break our bond! I don’t want you to go with him! Do you have any idea how hard it was not to tear that man’s head off at the table when he said that?! I wanted to gouge his eyes out for saying you were beautiful! I wanted to rip out his heart out for ever letting you rest in it! You’re my woman, and my wife, and he thinks he can just say those things to me and live! He should kiss Rimuru-sama’s feet before he leaves because he’s the only reason that wretch is still breathing!”

Silence passed between you for a moment as you were completely stunted into speechlessness by Benimaru’s words. You had never expected such a passionate response out of the man. Until now, you were sure his only feelings toward you were ambivalence and mild friendship. The way he just ‘my wife’ to you, however, let you know that he had thought of this more than just a marriage of convenience. Your body flushed hot again as your heart beat hammered in your chest. “Benimaru….sama?”

“Don’t go with him.” The kijin repeated. Calmer this time as his expression seemed to morph into sadness at the thought of you leaving. “I can’t stand the idea of you leaving with him. When we first met, and I took you as my woman & wife, I will admit that I did it out of pity for you. You lost everything, and had nothing. I know what that’s like and wished to spare you. I thought that, after a few months, you would have a good enough reputation as the former wife of the Ogre Prince, Commander of the Jura forces, that we could break our bond honorably and you could make your own path in the world without fear. But, as time went on, I became more and more attached to you. Your kindness in spite of everything you endured. Your determination. Your desire to work hard to make things better for everyone here. I grew to fall in love with you and I couldn’t let you go. I know it was selfish, and that I’m being selfish now, but please don’t go.”

Your heart was still hammering so hard in your chest that you were scared you might faint. You felt like you could swoon at any moment. “Why didn’t you ever tell me this before?”

He looked down and started to fidget. “I was afraid you wouldn’t feel the same.” His confession less confident this time. “You weren’t really given much of a choice in our marriage. I was afraid that you thought of me as just another man who had taken you. If you didn’t feel the same I could live with it, but knowing was – “That’s not true!”

It was Benimaru’s turn for his eyes to flicker up and be stunned by your confession. Apparently you had more in common than you thought. “I’ve never thought of you that way! If anything, I’ve only ever seen you as my rescuer. You saved me from a horrible existence as a slave. You gave this life that is so wonderful. With friends, and people I can’t live without anymore. I can’t begin to repay you. Or tell you how I feel….”

All these feelings and emotions were rushing to the surface now the more you spoke. You had always been fond of Benimaru. Your strong, brave protector. You just assumed that he wanted nothing to do with you. The distance he put between you making it very clear. So you had pushed your feelings toward the back of your heart. Forgetting them until now, where they crashed to the front like a dam had burst.

“[Y/N]….” You look up into the red head’s eyes when he said your name. Whispered it, really, like it was some secret plea. His hand then reached out slowly to cup your cheek. Those battle calloused hands incredibly gentle against your skin. You really might swoon at the juxtaposition.

Those burning red orbs look at you in earnest before they flicker down to your lips. A silent request. One you eagerly receive.

The only time you had kissed your husband before this was at your wedding. To seal your bond. That, however, had been just a simple peck on the lips to meet the contract. This was a real kiss. Your lips pressing together in committed passion. Intense, but both of you still too shy it seemed to go past pressing your lips soundly together.

“[Y/N],” Benimaru said again as you press your foreheads together after your kiss. You don’t ever think you’ve heard your name sound so sweet. “Become my woman and my wife. Truly. You didn’t get a choice when we first met, but I ask you this now to make your own decision. Will you be mine?”

Your heart swelled unbearably tight in your chest before you nodded against his forehead. “Yes. Yes, I want to be your woman and your wife. Truly.”

You can feel the smile on his lips when he kissed you again. More deeply this time. His tongue snaked into your mouth against yours. The way he was kissing you making your legs feel weak to the point that you were happy you were sitting down. However, if they had buckled, your strong husband could easily pick you up in his arms. A shiver racing down your spine at the lewd thought that had just passed through you.

“Aah…I knew it. This is why I stayed away from you.” Benimaru said, finally letting you go. Your lips were kiss swollen now, and you were having a hard time understanding what he was talk about. “Every time I was near you, I wanted to claim you.” He explained. His expression looking deliriously happy as he examined his handiwork on your lips. “It was so hard to even be in the same room as you with your scent always hounding me every moment I was near. I had to stay away so I wouldn’t do anything horrible to you. But then that was its own torture as well. Near, apart. Both were an agony I couldn’t face somedays. Now that I have you though, I’ll never let you away from my side. You’ve summoned the beast in me. I hope you’re prepared.”

A loud squeak left your lips as the sneaky ogre flipped you. Instantly going from sitting on your ankles to flat on your back. Your world righted again and was filled with Benimaru as he leaned on top of you. His expression soft but heated, making you blush, before he kissed you again. His weight on top of you now making you moan wanton into the kiss this time.

Your world was filled with passionate kisses. They steal your breath away and make you squirm under your husband. You then feel his hands on your side. Touching you. Caressing your curves. You feel them fumbling around for your kimono tie, unwilling to let your lips go for even a moment to get to it properly, and place your hand on his chest.

“Benimaru, wait.”

The kijin stopped instantly and sat back off you. His eyes questing into your own to see what was wrong.

“I just….I thought I should…I mean we never…I’m not…” You stumble over the words to say to him. To explain that you weren’t the maiden he might have hoped for. The words cling in your throat as images of your former life flash across your mind. You feel unworthy. Dirty. Then his hand reached out to you brush your cheek again. Causing one of the tears that were welling up in your eyes to fall against it.

“That doesn’t matter to me.” He said with assurity and a softness that could only be described as love. “It doesn’t change how I feel about you. I love you as you are now. Not who you could be. My only regret is that I couldn’t kill those bastards 100 times more over for ever having hurt you.”

You scoff out a chuckle at the violent decree said so sweetly. You hand came up to clasp his own. “I don’t want to disappoint you.”

“You could never disappointment.” He replied, almost instantly. Then kissed your hand as he brought it to his lips once he removed it from your cheek. “Do you wish to stop? We don’t have to do this now. I can be satisfied with you declaring you want to be my woman and my wife. Well….contented.”

You chuckle again, more light hearted this time, and leaned in to initiate your kiss this time. “I meant what I said. I want to be your woman and your wife truly. I don’t want to stop.”

A sigh of relief left Benimaru. The prince willing to stop if you wanted but clearly so glad you didn’t. You giggle and let him take you in his arms.

The momentary pause in your kissing afforded Benimaru the chance to undo your kimono tie. Loosening it and letting it fall, but not pushing the thin material of your actual robe off your body yet. You reach out for him as well to undo the clasp of his overcoat. The heavy material immediately falling of his shoulders, in contrast, once the hold was released. He seemed fascinated with your work as your hands untie his under coat as well.

“Your touch is like fire.”

“Is that a joke?” You ask when Benimaru growled those words at you. Your apex quivering at the sound, but still curious if he was making a joke.

He chuckled. Another shiver at your core. “No. But I guess I can see how it would be. I mean it though. Everywhere you touch me sets a fire in me.” His hand came up to take yours and slip it under his loose top now. Guiding it over the hard planes of his chest over to his heart. “I can’t get enough of it.”

You kiss again and continue stripping. There wasn’t much to let go of for you, as just before now you were preparing for bed, so you were quickly naked in front of him. He talked about your touch being fire, but his was burning you up inside. His hands were hot. They left a lingering heat in your body everywhere he touched, to the point that you wonder if he had activated his magic. You were helpless against his soft touches. Your body aching already before he even properly touched.

Then, when he did, your body became a livewire.

Your limbs immediately went taunt when his fingers touched your core. “Please try to relax.” He whispered to you in your hair. His own long, hard body nestled beside you. Holding you close.

You try to do as he said and relax. It wasn’t difficult after the initial shock as the pleasure made it easy to succumb to him. Those hands so skilled at fighting working your body with similar expertise. “Mmmm…Benimaru….”

“Ah…say that again.” His deep voice was in your ear again. This time sounding elated, before his tongue reached out to lick the shell of it. “Say my name again. Please.”

“Benimaru…” You repeat his name over and over again. His precious name he held so dear. The name Rimuru-sama had given to him. It fell from your lips like a prayer chant as his fingers brought you closer and closer to climax. When you did, it fell from your lips again in a shout. “Benimaru!��

He continued to touch you until your walls stopped clamping around his digits. Finally setting them free. Your spent body laid against him, and you open your eyes tiredly just in time to see him cleaning your juices from his fingers. “Ah…my love tastes so sweet. I could get addicted to your flavor.”

If you body wasn’t already flushed from orgasm, you would have blushed completely. Benimaru seemed pretty proud of himself, however, before he leaned in to kiss you. You don’t think you taste sweet at all. But the taste of yourself on his lips was something you could get addicted to too. When had you become so perverted?

He let you go for a moment and shuffled around to pull out of his pants. You watched him, in the soft light. His handsome body bare to you. Not a mark on him thanks to his skill and healing. Your eyes travel down and find the proof of his love for you staring back proudly at your face. You gulp at his size. That was going to be inside you.

“Don’t worry. I know it’s a bit bigger than a human’s, but I’ll try not to hurt you.”

“I-It’s alright.” You reply back at his concern. He had mistaken your gulp for a concern about his size. How shameful he would probably find you if he found out that it wasn’t from concern, but excitement, that had caused you to gulp. Again, when had you become so perverted? “I trust you. And I want to be with you.”

“[Y/N]….” He spoke your name softly again before he leaned in to kiss you. Guiding you back down on your back. You feel his weight press on top of you. Your legs spread wide around his pelvis to let him mount you. You can feel the tip of his erection pressing against your entrance and shiver a little at the lower kiss. “Please tell me if I’m hurting you.” Benimaru urged as he started to press into you.

You let out a wordless cry at the initial invasion into your most private place. You can feel your entrance stretch to accommodate him. The sensation a duality of pleasure and pain. And it was only the first few inches. Finally, agonizingly slowly, he was fully inside you. The kijin raining kisses down over your face and neck and everywhere else his lips could get to as you held on to him. His back tight under your fingers as he was very clearly straining to wait for you. “I’m alright, Benimaru. Please. Continue.”

You felt him nod against your shoulder before his hips pull back away from yours, then forward back into you. You both moan at the initial slow thrust. The feeling indescribable and compounding with each shallow thrust. “[Y/N]….”

“Mmmm…Benimaru….” You moan back when he said your name. “You can…go faster….” Not that you weren’t enjoying this slow entanglement, one could only describe as love making, you could tell that he was holding back and it was hard for him. “I..I want you. Please….Make me your woman.”

“I did warn you.” His voice sounded hard now, in comparison to the soft words he’d whispered to you earlier, and you think you hear the sound of nails scratching against the floor mat by your head.

His hips pull back again, this time practically pulling out of you, before they slam back in. You let out a loud cry. One readily identified as one not of pain. Then all you can do is hold on. Your arms wrap tight around Benimaru’s neck as he pounded into you. Before, where you had tried to roll your hips up to meet his thrusts when they had been soft & gentle, all you can do now is lay under him and take it. And become a babbling mess it seemed.

“Ah~! B-Benimaruuu! S-So good! Don’t stop!”

“I have no intention of stopping.” His words were stern. The cool seriousness of his intention to keep claiming you made your walls quake around him. “You’re my woman now. This body is mine. I’ll remind you of it every day if I have to. You’ve possessed me to the point of madness with this love. I can never let you go.” His tongue laved at the sweat collecting on the skin of your neck. Following it up to the back of your ear before his teeth bit into the soft flesh there. You let out a yelp, and call his name again, before you were cumming. Your nails biting him back into his shoulder.

“Ah! [Y/N]! Too tight. It’s too tight. I’m gonna-!” His hard thrusts come to a staggering halt as he spilled his seed inside you. Holding there before his hips roll softly against you as his cock continued to twitch its release.

He collapsed on top of you once it was finished. Your bliss worn body not seeming to care about the extra weight as you held him against your bosom and both tried to catch your breath. Rested, but not to say recovered, the ogre lifted himself up off your body and pulled out. You wince as he did. Those hard thrusts catching up to you, and suddenly feeling at a loss without him inside you. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

You look over to Benimaru, who had apparently seen you flinch, and was looking concerned. “No. Just a little sore.” He looked a little ashamed at that and muttered an apology to you. “Don’t,” you tell him. Reaching on to touch his chest. “It’s not as if I was really complaining.”

You both blush, despite everything you’d just done, still apparently shy about intimacy, before he slid over to you. “Are you sure you’re alright? About everything?”

You nod. Both of you laying on your side to face each other. His fingers caressing your cheek before moving down to the love mark he’d nipped into your skin. “Yes. I meant what I said. I don’t regret it.” You weren��t foolish enough to think that you were going to be instantly happy as husband and wife now. You were basically starting fresh. Starting anew. Though you knew a lot about each other, you had to relearn things and uncover new things as only a spouse would know. It would take time. But you were happy enough for now to at least try to start this new chapter with Benimaru. “You’re not going to kill the envoy before he leaves tomorrow, are you?”

The man let out a boisterous laugh and wrapped his arms tight around you in a hug. “No. I would never disrespect Rimuru-sama like that. As long as he leaves, I’m satisfied. But if he touches you between now and then, I make no promise on the guarantee he will leave with all his limbs.”

“Benimaru….”

The envoy, it seemed, was clever enough to take the hint in not touching you. The murderous aura & killing intent of the red kijin seemingly always just behind you making that clear. You decline his invitation to join him in Blumund. Telling him that the only time you would come to the city to visit him was with your husband. He again took the hint and left without comment. Rimuru-sama gave Benimaru a stern talking to about scaring their allies and ambassadors to their country, but you could also see that he wasn’t very serious about it. He seemed pleased enough that things had worked out, that you were staying, and his beloved friends were happy.

Ever the wonderfully problematic life in Rimuru City.

#;pen & paper (fanfiction)#benimaru #benimaru x reader #tensei shitara suraimu datta ken #that time i got reincarnated as a slime #tensei shitara slime datta ken #tensei shitara slime datta ken x reader #tensei shitara suraimu datta ken imagine #random fandom #imagine #benimaru tssk #benimaru (Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken)#scenarios #[the fact that there isn't more work about my beautiful red headed baby is criminal]

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mymelodyheart · 4 years ago

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Miles Between Us Chapter 13 ~The Reunion~

WARNING: VERY EXPLICIT SEXUAL CONTENT

Previously in Obstacle Course ...

"Claire Elizabeth Beauchamp! Don't ye dare leave me!" He shouted. "We love each other, remember? I was a prick for leaving ye on yer own when ye came to Scotland to be with me. I promise ye this will never happen again. And whatever problem we have together, we can fix this. Ye understand me?" He fell on his knees, grateful for the pain shooting up his thighs because his heart was breaking into thousand pieces. "I ken I could be a selfless arse, but I'm working on being a better person for ye ...for us. I love ye with all my heart, Sassenach, and I cannae imagine life without ye."

"What do I need to do to make ye, believe me, Sassenach? Ye ken, I'll do anything to prove to ye how much I love ye. Does he ken the things I do? Like ...like what song makes ye smile? I can sing it for ye if that's what it would take." When the silence lingered, Jamie puffed out a silent curse. "Christ ... I'll do it. I'll sing that damn song. Just so ye ken, I meant every word I said."

Then he stood up from his kneeling position and gave Rick Astley a run for his money.

If you wish to read this on AO3, here is the link.

If you wish to read this from the beginning:

AO3 link

Tumblr link

The full moon illuminated Jamie's and Claire's path as they made their way to the cottage into the cold night. It seemed they were the only two people in the world, walking in comfortable silence, lost in their own respective thoughts, and the only sounds to be heard were their footfalls and the dance of the trees. Inhaling deeply, Jamie pulled Claire into the warmth of his body, gently kissing the crown of her head, and in turn, her arm slid familiarly under his jacket to settle around his waist. For the first time in five days, every cell in his body was alive and buzzing, and it felt amazing to hold and have her close again.

Earlier, after the excitement and stramash outside Christie's apartment building had settled, they'd gone back in search of Quentin. It hadn't taken them long to spot him where he'd leaned on the wall outside the pub working his phone, most probably trying to call Claire. Though Quentin had looked like he could go for a few more round of drinks, to his relief, he hadn't put up much of an argument when Claire had firmly suggested it was time to call it a day. They'd escorted him back to his lodgings, making sure he had everything before heading for home.

It had been a surreal day, and Jamie knew it was far from over. He'd sensed Claire wanted to talk, and who could blame her? They had a lot of things to discuss, but his depraved mind had other ideas. His alcohol-fueled bravado from earlier had long waned to be replaced with an urgency that pulsed heat below his belly. But he swiftly reminded himself to be an attentive boyfriend first and clear the air between them.

After what he'd put himself and Claire through the last few days, he was done being a prisoner of the past and mistrusting the future. Here, at this moment with her, he was whole, and just having her beside him was healing invisible wounds all over his body. He needed her, but her needs came first even though her sweet scent and the sound of her soft sighs were piercing holes in his self-restraint. At nearly midnight, the air was icy cold, and yet, there was a fine layer of perspiration on his skin brought about by the anticipation of being finally alone with her.

When they eventually reached the cottage, Jamie had a hard time giving up her body's warmth to retrieve his keys, so he turned her to face him and locked her in an embrace. Savouring the feel of her, he wondered how the hell he'd managed to keep his distance; moreover, allow her to go to Inverness with Tom.

"Home sweet home," Claire murmured, breaking his thoughts. She made a move to pull away, but he grabbed her hand and pressed his lips to her icy fingers instead. "I think I need a drink," she said, shivering, "It's been quite an eventful night, don't you think?"

Jamie shook himself and nodded. "Aye. It's been a riot." He finally let go of her, quickly fishing for his keys in his pocket and unlocking the door, letting her pass first. They were welcomed by two happy, hyper animals who circumvented him to get to Claire. Ah, wee traitors!

He shut the door and watched with amusement as Claire immediately fell on her knees, her arm going around Rollo's neck while her free hand scratched Adso's back ear. Jamie grinned when both nudged closer and let out chesty whimpering sounds as they were treated to Claire's lovefest.

His eyes landed on her unpacked bags on the floor. She must have left the cottage as soon as she'd arrived. "How'd ye know where to find me earlier? Ye never called," he remarked, divesting his jacket and dropping it onto the chair.

She looked up at him and smiled. "I didn't. When Tom dropped me here, I realised I forgot to hand in some documents for Mary. I kind of figured you might be out with uncle Lamb. So I thought before calling you I'd walk over to Tom's to drop the papers for Mary and well, ..." she shrugged, her eyes twinkling. "I was about to phone you, and who did I find outside Tom's apartment building? My boyfriend serenading Mary Hawkins, no less."

Almost completely sober by now, his head dropped to hide his embarrassment, his pained groan barely subdued in his throat at the reminder of the recent event. "Oh, Christ!"

She stood up, walked over to him and encircled her arms around his neck, forcing him to glance at her smiling face. "I thought you were adorable." She kissed his chin. "And I think Mary was chuffed to bits hearing your love declarations. She'll never leave the Highlands now, what with Tom as her new love interest and you serenading her in front of an audience. She probably thinks she's heaven's gift to Broch Mordha and vice versa."

Her fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck made it difficult to concentrate on what she was saying. "Ye should be righteously pissed at me for thinking ye were with Tom. And even if ye were in his apartment, I shouldnae have jumped to conclusions."

She contemplated his words. "We all get our jealous moments," she said quietly. "Well, I certainly do ...at least."

"Ye? Jealous? I only have eyes for ye, Sassenach. Ye have nothing to be jealous about." Then the image of Geneva's kiss came to mind, and his throat tightened. With everything that had happened today, he'd already forgotten about it ...until now. He knew only too well how the truth had its way of coming out, and he couldn't just dismiss it as an afterthought even though it didn't mean a thing. He needed to tell her before she finds out from someone else.

"Geneva," she whispered as if reading his mind. "I heard ..."

"Ye heard what?" She's already heard about the kiss? There was no stopping the weight of dread from settling in his belly. "Whatever stories ye heard about her and me, there's a perfect explanation for it, Sassenach. I can assure ye."

She didn't seem to notice his sudden discomfort nor heard the words he'd just said, her gaze too busy following the movements of her hands as they travelled down to his shoulders and over his chest. "While you were in Lallybroch, Willie came to check up on me once in a while to see how I was fairing. I thought it was rather sweet of him to do that." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, he mentioned something about Geneva fancying you, and that didn't sit well because I know she's your therapist, and Jenny preferred her for you." Her eyes suddenly dimmed. "Oh, God! Why am I even telling you this? It's so primary school."

"Sassenach ..." He brushed his lips to her forehead. "It's not ..."

She visibly shook herself. "No, let me finish. I know it's silly, but I couldn't help feeling the way I did. It was torturous knowing you were suffering, and I could do nought about it. I feared that night when you left, I may have made things worse by pushing you to talk about the past." True to her words, her expression was troubled as she chewed her bottom lip. "You see ...I want to be the one who can make things better for you, but I also recognise there are things about your condition that are beyond my understanding no matter how much I try to help or learn about it." She took a deep breath. "Geneva's your therapist, and she knows what she's doing. Sooo ...I have to put aside my petty jealousy and let Geneva do her work. But it doesn't mean I have to like her or the whole situation. So for the sake of ..."

"No, Sassenach. Stop right there." He dropped his mouth to prevent her from saying more, punctuating his words with a kiss. Their breaths collided, his fingers gripping her shoulders hard and digging into her skin. "Ye have every right not to like the situation. Because I dinnnae like it either." He searched her face, but her eyelids were at half-mast, and her gaze seemingly focused on his lips. He tipped her chin up. "I willnae be returning to therapy. So ye dinnae have to worry about her."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Wot? But why?" She stopped and looked at him suspiciously. "Wait. If this is your way of making me stop seeing Tom, sorry mate, not going to happen. This is work. And I'm not stopping you from going to therapy just because it's Geneva either."

"Woman, will ye let me finish?" He took a few cleansing breaths. "I'll wager ye a pound to a penny that ye willnae allow me to attend the therapy when ye hear what she did."

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Why? What did she do?"

"She kissed me."

She stiffened and took a step back. "Wot?" Her expression of softness she had just moments ago made way for disbelief.

He tried to rid the sudden tangle in his throat. "She stopped by today. She said something about wanting to talk about my progress. I told her I was busy. Then she threw herself at me and kissed me. It's nae biggie."

"Nae biggie?!" Her eyes flashed, and her mouth open and closed. And then opened again. "Where did she kiss you? Lips or cheek?"

Her question caught him like a surprise right hook. On any other occasion, he would have probably been amused with her display of jealousy, but the way she was looking at him now, was causing his heart to pound painfully against his ribs. "O-on the lips, but I ...ah ...immediately pushed her away. I swear to God, I did nothing to inspire it."

She rolled her head as if preparing for a fight, and when her eyes landed on the bottle of tequila he and her uncle had been drinking earlier, she made a beeline for it. "On the lips, huh? Did you like it?" She poured herself a healthy measure in one of the used glasses without offering him one and downed it in one go.

Christ! "No!"

"Any tongue involved?"

"Of course not!"

"You sure?" She slammed the glass down on the table, making him flinch.

What the bloody hell? The questions she was throwing at him was making him squirm on his feet, and for the first time, Jamie realised how similar Claire and Quentin were when trying to extract an answer. Both would undoubtedly make great interrogators if ever they'd decided on a career change. "What kind of question is that? The kiss happened so fast, taking me by surprise. I didnae have time to think. She might have tried to put her tongue down my throat, but I stopped her."

"And where did this happen?"

"What do ye mean? I already told ye she stopped by. I was here ...at home."

"I mean, did it happen inside or outside the cottage?"

Jesus! "Outside."

"Outside," she repeated, more to herself.

"Aye, outside. She wanted to come in, but I told her I had things to do and was expecting a visitor ...yer uncle, that is. Anyway, that aside, I didnae think it was a good idea to allow her to come inside, knowing that she's my therapist and fancied her chances with me."

"Hmmm ...so when she threw herself at you, you pushed her away, is that right?"

"Aye."

"Where did her hands go?"

Confusion seeped into his already muddled head. Is this some kind of trick question to catch me of any wrongdoing? "What do ye mean?"

"Geneva's hands. Did it go around your waist, neck or what?"

"Oh, um ...around my neck."

"And what about your hands?"

Huh? "What about them?"

"Where were your hands when she kissed you?"

"They were by my side. The only time I touched her was to push her away from me. Ask yer uncle. He saw the whole thing. I didnae even know he was there."

"And he didn't sock you?"

"Why would he?" he almost shouted. "I didnae do a thing. It was Geneva who initiated it!"

"Fine."

"Fine?" he gasped in confusion.

She didn't answer. Instead, she turned around and took off her jacket. That's it? What the hell just happened? I gave her the truth, and that's supposed to be good, right? Or am I missing something? He followed her strained movement, and he helplessly watched her grabbed her laptop bag and rummaged through it, the silence pulsing around them bordering on awkwardness. This was definitely not how he'd envisioned their reunion, he thought miserably.

"Sassenach," he began, choosing his words carefully. "I can tell ye're upset about the kiss. Ye ken ye've no reason to be, aye?"

She shook her head, refusing to look at him. "No," she agreed, relief washing over him. "I've no reason to." She pulled out sheets of paper from her bag, looked at them and haphazardly stuffed them back in again, seemingly going through the motion of keeping her hands busy.

"Then why are ye cranky all of a sudden?"

She let go of her bag and grabbed the bottle of tequila, sloshing over the rim of the glass as she poured another shot. "I'm not." She grimaced as she threw back the liquid.

"Ye are." When she poured another drink, he frowned at her. "Go easy on that tequila, Sassenach."

Her head spun halfway round in his direction, reminding him of that wee girl in the film, The Exorcist. Her mouth dropped open, and she glared at him.

He forced himself to remain patient. Claire was visibly upset about something, and now he wasn't sure anymore if it had to do with Geneva's kiss. "Sometimes, I associate alcohol with bad judgments and choices," he began calmly. "My own, especially. But ye've helped me make a lot of good ones in the past, and ...I just want to do the same for ye. Talk to me, Sassenach. What's really bothering ye?"

She huffed and balled her fingers into tight fists. "Fine! Do you want to know the truth? I want to start a fight."

"A fight?" He reined in his frustration of not being able to understand and took a step closer to her. "Why would ye wanna do that?"

A deep scarlet soared from her neck to her cheeks as she threw her hands in the air. "The last few days were trying, alright? It wasn't only you who was having a rough time with it. God, I've been worried sick about you. I've been trying to keep it together ever since you left, wondering if I'll ever get to see you before I return to London. And then ...and then," she hiccupped, her hand flying to her mouth to stifle a sob. "One bloody thing led to another. First, I got into a fight with your sister because of some stupid newspaper clipping she had in her possession. Then, not long after that, in the middle of what was supposed to be an important meeting with Tom, my boss dumps the responsibility of babysitting Mary onto my lap, and I had no idea how I was going to manage that with my uncle on his way. Then I got to Inverness, hoping to get at least some work done with Mary to finish her book so I could finally leave London for good and start a new life here with you. And you know what?"

Jamie stood immobile. He longed to soothe her, but he wasn't sure if she wanted to be touched yet, so he waited even though he was slowly dying inside to hold her in his arms.

Her inhale became stuttered, and her eyes darkened with defeat. "I was grasping at straws to keep Mary to sit still long enough to extract a measly one thousand seven hundred words worth of work when I know she could do more in a day. But that's all I got for my efforts because she was too busy galavanting in Inverness with Tom. And speaking of Tom, I still haven't managed to make him sign the contract for his book and when my boss asked me why I couldn't even give him an answer and gave him some lame excuse. The only good thing that came out of Tom is, he convinced Mary to come here. If Tom hadn't been with me, I'd still be in Inverness with Mary. And now ...now I find out Geneva tried to kiss you while I was away. God, I want to scratch her eyes out. But I can't do that, can I? Because she isn't here. So I asked you those dumb questions to find a fault and start a fight because I wanted to vent after the last few days I've had. But even that, I can't do because you've done nothing wrong." She let out a groan of exasperation. "How sad is that?"

Suddenly, it all made sense to Jamie. Claire always put others' needs before hers with no thought for herself. He had to take better care of her. It had been easy to rest all his hopes and fears on her shoulders, and because of it, she was a massive part of his motivation to want more out of his future and be a better man for them. But if they were going to be together, his condition shouldn't always be her fight, and her burdens should be lighter with him by her side and not more. This lass had given him hope, and he's not going to rest until he gave her the same. Until she, too, knew her needs were just as important as everyone else's.

The boyfriend in him wanted to wipe the look of upset in her eyes. Confront the people that pushed her to act out in a way so unlike her usual self. Demand answers to find out what else was troubling her. He sensed, however, that questioning was the last thing she needed. So doing his best to be the protector this time, he opened his arms, relieved when she quietly walked into them. She laid her head on his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist, and he held her, resting his chin on her crown.

After a few minutes of silence, she spoke haltingly. "I'm so sorry, Jamie. I didn't mean to pick a fight. It's just that ...." Her fingers tugged at the edge of his jeans, and he shut his eyes. He could hear the slight slur in her words, making him realise she'd drank tequila on an empty stomach. "The last few days have been mad, and I -I ...oh, hell, never mind. I'm just acting pathetic."

Jamie frowned against her head. "Sassenach, look at me." He drew slightly away and held the sides of her face in her hands, the unshed tears in her eyes crushing him to the core of his being. "First of all, ye have nothing to be sorry about. If anything, Tom, Mary, yer boss, my sister, including myself, owe ye an apology. And ye're no' pathetic and dinnae ever say that about yersel', ever again. Ye do far too much for others, including me, and it's about time ye did something for ye. The rest of the world can wait, and other people getting their act together is no' yer responsibility."

She blew out a breath, bright amber eyes holding his steady.

"As for Geneva, ye have nothing to worry about her. There was never anything between us. I'll talk to my sister and let her know what her friend has done. If Jenny refuses to do anything about it, I will make a formal complaint about Geneva's behaviour to the clinic's head myself. And perhaps, propose a new or my old therapist be reinstated."

"Jamie, I can't be responsible ..."

"Ssshh, Sassenach. Ye're no' responsible for Geneva. She overstepped the boundaries, so it's only right she takes responsibility for her own actions." He pressed their foreheads together and looked her in the eyes. "I chose to be with ye as ye did with me, and I cannae have anyone disrespecting that, no' even Jenny. We're together, and we're supposed to be stronger as a unit. I need to step up my game and be there for ye as ye've been for me. For so long, I was so fixated on my own condition, I ceased seeing other people's difficulties." He pulled back and caressed her cheek with his thumb. "Then I met ye, my feisty wee, Sassenach ...for the second time as a grown-up ...and ye taught me all about selflessness and courage. I want ye to know ye're important ...more important than what I want or what Mary Hawkins wants or what yer boss wants. And the things that hurt ye, they're no less painful than what I go through. Things are gonnae change from now on, and it can't be just all about me. I'm so sorry for abandoning ye and for not being there when ye needed me most."

The worst of the troubled look in her expression faded and was replaced by a wobbly smile. "There's nothing to forgive. We were both trying our best to deal with circumstances that were beyond our control."

He smoothed her hair back, picking up the locks and twining his fingers through them. "No, ye were doing all the heavy lifting. Every moment ye spent with me was a trial of fortitude ye were too stubborn not to meet. It would have been easy for ye to give up on me, but ye didnae. Ye always thought I was enough despite my shortcomings. Ye taught me second chances, and because of that, I dinnae want to believe anymore I deserve no' to have ye." He took a deep breath. "I thought my realisation came too late when I thought ye were with Tom, and I was willing to go at any lengths to win ye back and make ye see what we have is worth fighting for. After what I did out there tonight, I ken I'll be teased for the rest of my life for singing like a fool at the village square, but it's all worth it because I get another chance with ye."

"Another chance with me? I never left you, Jamie. I may have been miffed and hurt, but I've always been yours."

He shook his head, more at the error of his ways. "Deep down, I ken that but the mere thought of Tom with ye, all reason and logic seem to fly out the window. In the future, I promise to keep those thoughts at bay. It's no' good for my sanity." He smiled at her. "Shall we kiss and make up?"

Laughing, tears spilt from her eyes. "I thought you'd never ask."

The urgency that had been building up inside him went off like a gunshot. He drew her in closer. "Christ, I love you, Sassenach and always will." His mouth descended over hers, impressing his vow with a thorough tasting of her lips, savouring the earthy, semi-sweet taste of tequila on her tongue. His thumbs traced her cheekbones and jawline, and when she swayed closer, and the softness of her breasts flattened against his chest, he let out an animalistic groan.

His heart started to pound, every muscle south of his belt tightening. It was as though he'd been in a dry spell for five years instead of five days. His mouth went dry, his palms itched with the need to touch her naked skin, and his body was on fire as the pent-up desire from the past few days burst in a torrent of heat. He was ravenous for her taste and for her hand to encircle his hardness, and he indulged in her eager response that was opposite her usual shyness during lovemaking.

Restless fingers tangled into his hair, clasping his head in place as she kissed him back and met his demand with urgency. When her hips impatiently pressed against him, her scent invading his senses, his cock grew uncomfortably heavy.

He dragged his mouth from hers, twisting her hair in his fist. "Jesus, if ye dinnae take it down a notch, I'll burst in my pants like a schoolboy."

She blinked as if coming from a long sleep, her lips wet and puffy from his kisses and cheeks bright pink. She gave him a slow smile that promised unspoken pleasures, sending his heart up to his mouth. "Not my fault," she hummed, going up on her toes to teasingly brush her mouth over his. "You made me wait this long." Maintaining eye contact, she took a step back and stripped off her clothes, revealing her matching red bra and panty. "So enough talk, Jamie. I can't wait much more. I want you now," she whispered huskily.

Her words did it. His lust-filled brain only gave him a split second to process what she'd just said before the need to be inside her dismissed everything else. That urge he'd felt to make up for lost time raced out of control. He could only see Claire with her dazed eyes, parted lips and loads of naked skin.

He seized her hips, walking her backwards and crowding her against the dining table, pushing the chairs aside to make space. Her breath rose and fell in a choppy rhythm as his mouth dipped for a desperate kiss.

Her mouth moved in perfect unison with his, wee sounds vibrating up her throat, ending where their lips frantically worked together. Lust pumping in his veins, he roughly settled her sweet bottom on the table and gingerly hooked his fingers into the lacey band of her knickers, shoving it down her legs. When she began tugging at the waistband of his jeans, he groaned into her mouth, knowing she needed him just as bad.

"I planned to make slow love to ye tonight. But now I cannae ...because I cannae wait to have ye." His hand slipped between their bodies, and he palmed her between her thighs. Ah, sweet Jesus! Sliding a finger deep into the wet heat of her entrance, he tested and teased, revelling the way her fingernails dug onto the skin of his shoulders in response, his head spinning at the feel of her moistness. "Christ, ye look so needy, ye're giving me nae choice but to take ye right here ...like a wild beast."

"Oh, shoosh, Jamie. Quit talking about it now. You want it just as bad." She began to undo his belt buckle, nipping at his neck as she yanked and shoved. When he was finally freed, he nearly fainted at the relief of no longer being restrained to his jeans. The relief was fleeting, though, when her smooth hands encircled his throbbing cock, her tight grip moving up and down, twisting at the base, preparing him when the only thing he needed was to be inside her. Ah, Christ, but it feels so good. Far too good ...

He couldn't take it anymore. He knew he wouldn't last long. "Enough!" he gritted.

She gave him a look like he'd just taken her favourite toy. She unhooked her bra in retaliation and pushed her breasts up like an offering. His breath caught in his throat, stunned by the vision, her eyes, a translucent gold gleaming with arousal, beckoning him to take his fill.

He parted her legs and fisted his cock before rubbing its tip at her entrance. "I've missed ye so much. I might not last long, but I want this to be good for ye," he whispered hoarsely. "I may be a bit rough," He dipped his head, forcing her back to arch like a bow as he bestowed kisses on her breasts. "Are ye alright with that?"

She nodded, feeling her shudder with anticipation and need.

"Is that what ye want?"

"Yes," she whispered. "Take me however you want."

He whipped off his top and lowered his hand to her buttock, coasting his palm over the firm, rounded flesh and squeezing it tight. "Wrap yer legs around me."

Claire's legs wrapped around his middle and her arms around his neck. Her thighs glid around his waist with such exquisite perfection that he had to bite the tender flesh on the side of her neck to stop from shouting. The friction of his cock sliding between her legs where he'd touched with his fingers was too much. Almost propelling him past his breaking point. Too impatient to take the time to savour, he gripped himself and pushed deep into her entrance.

Watching her teeth bite onto her bottom lip as if to stop a scream from escaping, he groaned out loud as he pushed inch by inch, his focus whittling down to Claire and the heat enveloping his cock. Everything ceased to exist. He pulled out slightly before thrusting again, their mutual moans resounding on the walls of the cottage.

He shifted closer, needing to feel and touch all of her as possible. Keeping their lips locked, he seized her hips and started to move to the ancient dance of mating. There were no words to express the rough, grinding pace of what he did to her. It only bloomed more intense when she began matching his moves, widening her thighs and rolling her hips like she couldn't get enough.

"Oh sweet Lord, ye feel too good," he muttered against her mouth, hips pounding furiously. "How did I stay away from this?"

She gripped the back of his neck. "I missed this too," she gasped. "Please don't stop."

"I'm not hurting ye, am I? Tell me if I'm too rough."

"No ...no, don't be gentle. I need you to take me hard."

A tide surged inside him, mounting and building like a storm. Jamie roughly raised her hips to reposition her, dragging her arse to the edge of the table, her sweet moans telling him she'd like that. Unable to think past how she wanted it harder, there was no easing down now. He could only yank her leg higher and demand she keep up, ramming into her rough and fast. Her sighs and breath came out like hot rushes of air, thighs squeezing around him and starting to tremble. When her internal walls clenched around his cock, it warned him of her imminent climax, making his balls drew up so tight they ached. He dragged her flush to his body and buried his face in her neck, grunting with every deep thrust and muttering her name while his own release clamoured in his belly.

"Jamie!" she screamed, convulsing against him. He immediately silenced her cries with a deep kiss, but she flung her head back and squirmed, tightening up where their bodies joined, pulsing and throbbing. "Oh my God."

He couldn't wait any longer. Hooking his arms under her legs, he pumped his hardness in jerky hauls, faster and faster until his visions blurred. The whimpering noises she made launched him higher, signalling his own peak, and he soared towards it, his climax made more intense from the knowledge that it was Claire who got him there. He thrust into her one final time and thrust deep, growling her name into her hair and squashing her to his chest as he'd borne the full force of what they'd done.

"Oh, Christ, Sassenach."

Her hands ran up and down his back as she continued to take huge gulps of air. He knew he was crushing her, but he wasn't ready to let go. He wanted to remain buried inside her, holding her like this. With her heels digging into his arse and her arms around his neck. They fitted perfectly, her softness cradling his boneless heap, making him hard as steel again. Some part of his brain must have still been functioning because he jerked and reached out for her bra to cover her when his doorbell rang. Christ! Forcing his body to move with marginal success, he yanked her up and pulled up his jeans.

Claire slid off the table and grabbed her clothes. "Who could that be?"

"That better not be yer uncle or ..." Jamie trailed off, muttering curses under his breath, annoyed at the disturbance as he was just revving up for part two of their lovemaking. When he opened the door, a sense of deja vu hit him when he saw Mrs Fitz standing there with what seemed like a plate of a lemon meringue pie. What the fuck?

"Mrs Fitz!"

The older woman didn't bother to hide her curiosity this time as her eyes tried to peer past his shoulders. "Heard ye have company, lad, and I havenae seen Miss Claire the last couple of days."

He was about to say "none of her business" when Claire came up behind him, dressed back in her jeans and top. "Mrs Fitz, how are you? Is everything alright?"

Jamie stepped back and observed how Mrs Fitz's eyes widened in pleasant surprise. He figured instantly, his neighbour must have seen that kiss from Geneva earlier and that she'd probably thought the worse of him after hearing Claire's passionate screams. Right there and then, he decided, this time, he definitely needed to soundproof his home from eavesdropping neighbours.

"Ach, I saw light in yer windows," Mrs Fitz beamed, ignoring Jamie's glare. "Ye see, I've made too many pies and thought ye might like one. I remember ye enjoying this when ye stayed with yer friend over at my place this past Christmas."

"Oh, how lovely," Claire gushed, taking the plate from Mrs Fitz. "Thank you so much. Just what Jamie and I need right now ..." She blushed profusely, contemplating her words. "...after a long day."

Mrs Fitz clapped her hands. "I thought that!"

Seeing how thrilled Claire was looking at the desert, Jamie tamped down the urge to say something sarcastic and just scowled at her.

Mrs Fitz must have read his thoughts as this time it was her turn to crimson, a probable sign of her guilt for being nosey. Suddenly at a loss for words, she rubbed her palms at her sides. "Weel, ye both enjoy it. I must get going as it's rather late. Good night, both of ye." With that, she whirled around and disappeared into the night.

He shut the door and sighed, and followed Claire to the kitchen.

"Lovely lady," Claire remarked, sniffing the pie before placing it on the counter.

He turned her around and kissed her slowly, groaning when she opened her mouth for him without hesitation. "Ye're lovelier," he said against her lips. "But I'm not done with ye yet."

She grinned. "Pie first?"

Realising he'd never be able to compete with Mrs Fitz's homemade pie, he laughed out loud. "Absolutely ...why not?"

Dear Readers,

Well, here you go, their reunion! I hope you've enjoyed this lust-filled chapter. I must admit, though, when I was editing the sex part, I deliberately drank Bloody Mary to lose a bit of inhibition and make the scene a bit grittier. I hope it worked, but if it's too dirty for you, I say tough! 😆 Just kidding!

Anyway, thank you for commenting and showing your appreciation for my writing and your well wishes. I don't always reply back but be assured, your feedback is very much appreciated and anticipated.

And before I forget, it's not long now before this arc finishes. There will be an arc three, and I will let you know more on my next update.

Signing off now and wishing you a fabulous weekend. Stay safe and always take care! X

#melodyheart #wonderwall #milesbetweenus #claire beauchamp/jamie fraser #claire beauchamp #jamie fraser #outlanderfanfic

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ckbookish · 4 years ago

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Tap Chapter Four: Hesitate

for @batbirdies

“Bruce?” Dick answered before the phone had fully wrung. “I’ve been searching for over an hour, are you okay?”

“Dick--” Bruce closed his eyes. “Somethings wrong. The dreams, the seeing stuff… I think it’s real.”

The phone is silent for a heartbreaking second. Bruce can only hold his breath.

“I believe you.”

The words are oxygen, they are warmth in the dark, they are a spotlight at sea, they are life giving. Bruce feels something in his chest give, as a feeling he hadn’t know he was holding back was freed.

“Bruce, I need you to tell me where you are. We’ll figure this out together.” Dick’s voice came over the line even. But Bruce had known him for years. He knew that he was scared.

Bruce looked around trying to decipher just where he was in the city. But his vision was blurring again. He squeezed his eyes shut. Why wouldn’t it just stop, why wouldn’t it leave him alone. He wanted nothing more than to have this nightmare end. No that wasn’t true.

He wanted it to not have happened at all. Bruce opened his eyes, he wanted it to have never happened to any of them. For these were visions of something… the past? Perhaps he was still somehow stuck in limbo? Or even worse had he ever really left it?

“Bruce, I need you to tell me what you see.”

Dick’s words were like water draining slowly through his fingers. What had he said?

Bruce blinked slowly as a room came into focus. He wasn’t in a room… he was in his car. But that was definitely a wall, and a window. Bruce blinked again. What did he see?

“Jason?”

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

The laughter was agonizing. Jason lay staring up at the ceiling wishing it would stop. He wished her so-called friends would leave. Jason rolled over and put his pillow over his face. The horrible stench of the mattress flooded his nose and he fought the urge to gage. They had been staying here for just over a week. The month before they had been a Matty’s and the one before that a boyfriend Jason hadn’t even bothered to remembers name.

But somehow, this was worse. Their own place, after endless blow out screaming fights, was even worse. Jason would happily go back to the screaming and bottle smashing. Anything was better than this hysterical laughter. Paul was over, or Pat. Jason couldn’t remember his name. His voice carried over his mother’s own giggles and made Jason sick to his stomach.

It had been the week from hell and Jason found himself quickly growing numb to it. Giving up blocking out the sounds, as the stench of urine and other unpleasant things became too powerful, Jason rolled over to look at the clock.

It was after midnight. He wondered if prison were this bad. Willis would be sleeping soundly, at least Jason thought he would. He wouldn’t know. He hadn’t seen let alone spoken to the man in over a year.

Continue reading on AO3

#Jason Todd #Red hood #Batman #Bruce Wayne #Dick Grayson #Nightwing #TW Drugs #TW OD #TW Abuse #tw homelessness #tw running away #CK Writes #My Writing #Tap #Chapter four

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vegalocity · 4 years ago

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Seperated (Red Groom AU)

The part of the Albino will now be played by -drumroll- Jin and Yin is that even a question? of course its Jin and Yin.

Also i rewatched this sequence a few times to get the dialogue right and... Am I on glue or are Humperdink and Count Rugen like... kinda into eachother?

Xiaotian awoke with pain. He pulled a hiss between his teeth as a rag—no doubt drenched with cleaning fluids for how much it stung—was pressed to his shoulder. The room he was in was dim when he forced his eyes open, but soon his gaze was met with the red eyes of a silver skinned demon.

“Who-” he croaked. “Where am I?”

“The pit of despair.” The demon hissed, his voice raspy and dim, it reminded Xiaotian of the whispers of a ghost. On some level it made him nervous. “Don't even think-”

“Yin, you gotta stay away from the guy while he's still injured, brother. You sound like a nightmare warmed over.” a far more normal voice made itself known, and Xiaotian watched a golden demon that other than the change in coloration seemed near identical to the silver one entered his vision.

“But Jin I-” The silver demon, Yin apparently, gasped. “Come on, I NEVER get to be the ominous assistant!”

“You're still ill, If you mess up the experiment by getting the prisoner sick Macaque is gonna ACTUALLY kill you, and I don't wanna be an only child.”

Yin huffed and puffed.

“Maybe he should go home.” Xiaotian offered weakly. Less guards meant less people to fight while he escaped after all.

“Pssh!” the gold brother, Jin apparently, waved a hand. “Like we'd EVER- Nah he's just gotta leave prisoner interactions to me. Speaking of!” He snagged the clean rag from his brother's hand. “You'd rather be treated by the one that ISN'T actively sick right now, wouldn't ya, prisoner?”

Yin let out a series of sneezes that nearly seemed to knock him off his feet. So Xiaotian was thankful when he finally shrugged and went over to a worktable while Jin leaned over and went to applying the cleaning fluid on his wound.

“Like my brother was saying though, don't even think to try and escape. Those chains could hold down the Monkey King, they're that strong.” The irony of that statement was lost on Jin, Xiaotian hadn't been in his monkey disguise when they'd captured him, it was unlikely anyone knew of his ruse. Even Red Son while surrendering (his heart still hurt at the memory of defeat in his voice) had been nonspecific about WHAT nearby mountain was his. “And the entrance is like, super secret too, like top secret. Only the Boss, the Prince, and my brother and I know where it is, and Yin didn't even pay attention when we were being shown the way.”

“It was boring!” Yin defended himself from across the room. “You were barely paying attention yourself!” Jin turned around and likely made an ugly face at his brother, whom quickly returned it with one of his own, before he turned back to Xiaotian.

“You're gonna die down here my good fellow.”

“Then why heal my wounds?”

“I 'unno. The boss tells us he likes his test subjects in tip tops before he messes them up.”

“We generally leave between 'experiments'” Yin added on, before letting out a loud grunt as he moved some heavy looking contraption across the area. “He's like.... Super creepy when he gets into it. Gives Jin the willies.”

“Honestly there are some times when I can't remember why we even work for him.” Jin agreed with a visible shudder and a shake of his head.

“Cuz mother said she would force us out of the house if we didn't find work, and he pays well.”

“Oh yeah, that.”

He wasn't paying much attention to the brother's banter, he'd already put together what matters.

“So they're going to torture me down here?” Jin hummed in agreement as he continued to clean him up of left over blood. “I can handle torture.”

Yin let out a raspy laugh that was somehow less disturbing than the audible shudder that went up Jin's spine.

“Look, my man, you're new here, you don't know.” There was something close to pity in Jin's voice and it almost immediately set off every alert in Xiaotian's nervous system. “that machine they rig people up to, it's no joke. We only heard the damn thing a few times and it's really, REALLY bad.”

“I still get nightmares!” Yin agreed.

But then Jin had finished cleaning up his wounds and went over to aid his brother in whatever he was doing moving things around, leaving Xiaotian to his thoughts.

Something so bad that it made demons recoil in fright? What sort of horror display was he in for? That Six-Eared Macaque did seem the sadistic type, but what did that entail?

He had to get out of here. He tested the chains, but no dice, his arm was still injured though the bleeding had stalled, and he was strapped down with both hands nearer his waist than his head so he couldn't even try to summon some backup in the form of a clone. And his shapeshifting was still rudimentary at best, he couldn't do any forms that would change his size quite yet and that was the one thing that could help him break out of here!

He'd have to stay put for just a little longer at least until he could figure something out.

At this point the Prince wasn't likely to kill Red Son until they were already married, and though his heart ached at the idea of his love being forced to play along with that cruel beast's games until he found a way around it, or managed to escape on his own—as he knew that he would at this point. Now that he knew that Red Son's heart had remained true, and Red Son knew he was alive, he knew his love would stop at nothing to get out of this arrangement and find him again, he was far too clever to simply go along with this and hope that those mercenaries were wrong or deceitful—he could find him on his own.

He knew he would. Red Son was far too intelligent for anything else.

–

Within three days time the Prince's father had died. And on that very night he and Red Son were married.

It was the day after the ceremony and Red Son, now a married man, was to be prepared not to be a demon king in his own right like he'd always assumed but-

–

“What? That's not right! Grandpa you're telling the story wrong!”

“What do you mean, little one?”

“Red Son doesn't marry the prince he marries Xiaotian! He's his true love not the prince!”

“But Red Son turned himself in to the Prince to save Xiaotian's life, remember?”

“But! But after the Forest-! And everything Xiaotian did to get back and save him from the mercenaries-! After everything he did he doesn't even get to marry him in the end?! That's so unfair!”

“Whoever said life was fair? Where'd it ever get written down that life was fair?”

“B-But! But! Xiaotian is still in the Pit of Despair! He needs Red Son to save him like he saved him! ”

“You wanna know how this ends or not?”

“...Yes...”

“Thought so. No more interruptions, alright? Where was I...-”

–

-It was the day after the ceremony and Red Son, now a married man, was to be prepared not to be a demon king in his own right like he'd always assumed but the husband of another. And as such he didn't know his new court anywhere near as intimately as he did his own back home. So he was taken to oversee the goings on of this court and acquaint himself with the advisers and nobles within.

He was dressed now not in the warm tones that his family was known for, but the cool pale purples of his husband's own court and in his own opinion, it clashed horribly with his hair, if it were a darker purple maybe, but this simply wasn't a good shade for him.

But that was just one in a long, long line of things that were wrong about this situation, so he did his best to appear the unflappable demon prince he once was.

Examining the court before him he could only compare it to the one he knew back home, and in many ways he found it much the same. The same types of sniveling yes-men, the same kinds of conniving power-seekers, and the same sort of surprisingly wise elders.

And then just three steps away from him, one of the advisers snickered. A cruel, twisted sound, a mocking laugh.

Red Son... was on a bit of a hair trigger for obvious reasons and whirled around at the noise, approaching the previously assumed sniveling coward, and feeling his hair light aflame behind him.

“Is there a problem?” He tried to make his voice as unshaken as possible, but the rage that was so quick to boil in his gut was difficult to contain.

“Oh no, your highness-” the adviser gave an melodramatic mocking bow. “No problems here, I simply find it funny how everyone else here seems to think you worth our respect!” The Demon loosed another gale of laughter and didn't seem the least bit frightened when Red Son reached forward and grabbed him by the collar. He didn't even seem surprised.

“What was that, you infernal garbage?!”

“The only garbage here is you, Red Son!” The Demon howled with laughter, before looking among his fellows, trying to gain support. “Can you all even believe it? This cold hearted princeling had true love in his hands and he let it go!” His gut dropped. “After everything Xiaotian did for you! To come back to find you! To save you and keep you alive when you couldn't even summon a candle's worth of flame in that forest and you repaid him by betraying him!”

The demon slipped from his slack grasp as he chortled, and Red Son found his limbs very weak indeed, his anger replaced by a cold, sick feeling.

“They were- He was going to kill Xiaotian, I had to-”

“Oathbreaker! Xioatian lives and you marry another! You had love in your hands and you treated it like garbage!” The demon leaned against the side of another adviser, whom seemed frozen in place. Much like how Red Son felt.

“Because that's what you are your highness! Garbage! Prince of all refuse!” The Demon shook his neighbor's shoulder. “Bow to him if you want! Go ahead! Bow to the prince of all slime! The prince of all filth! Prince of all putrescence!” His laughter never once abated, and when the demon took a step toward Red Son, he instinctively backed away.

“An oathbreaking fool! That's what you are!”

“Muck! Filth! Coward!”

His laughter was piercing.

Red Son awoke with a startle, heart thumping in his chest and a cold sweat across his brow. The King was still alive and the wedding was ten days away, yet his nightmares were getting worse. And on this morning he came to one conclusion:

“I cannot afford to bide time any longer.”

–

“See? I told you he'd never marry that rotten prince!”

“Yes you're very smart, shut up.”

–

As quick as he possibly could he changed from his sleep shirt into proper attire and began to plan his escape. His betrothed would attempt his life the second he let it slip that he knew of his plans, so he had to be quick, he had to be clever, and above all, he had to be sneaky.

He didn't know why his betrothed had decided to assume sincerity, but since he wasn't dead yet he could only guess that he was waiting until the wedding night to enact his plan and frame whoever he wanted to frame for Red Son's 'assassination'.

So he had ten days. Child's play, he could do it in three, tops.

The hard part would be keeping a low enough profile until he made it to Flower Fruit Mountain to evade whatever hunters his soon to be ex-fiance would send after him. How ironic, he thought to himself, that it was now his turn to make an impossible death defying escape and make his way back to his love.

He didn't have much by way of sewing skills, but the wardrobe of the rooms he was given had no mags with which to carry his supplies, so he had to make do with a spare blanket and what little he knew of hemming fabric until something resembling a traveling pack was made and ready.

It was about then that the prince made summons for him.

Red Son turned over what to do or say in his head as he approached the sitting room, and came to the conclusion that if he acted like he was alright with all of this then he would arouse suspicion. Red Son was well known for his temper, and he'd made it obvious that he had a love in Xiaotian. Though he'd willingly given himself up for his safety, the fact of the matter was that the prince had been willing to fight and hurt him, and if Red Son didn't already have plans to run then that would mean he'd be furious.

So he held himself as stiffly as possible and didn't hold back his scowl when the prince came into view.

“Ah! Beloved! How wonderful to see you!”

The prince seemed unshaken by Red Son's fury and remained unwavering as he stiffly marched over and sat across from him. It occurred to Red Son as he sat that the prince would likely expect him to try and call the wedding off at least once. He would do everything in his power to either try and convince Red Son to take back his announcement (he wouldn't be able to) or restrain him to the palace until he could force him to acquiesce.

“I refuse to lie to myself any longer.” He spoke only then, His betrothed's brow raised in curiosity. “I love Xiaotian, I have since long before my parents ever reached out to yours, and I always will.”

If anything this might be an interesting way to see if he's going to play along or not. “If I am forced to marry you in ten days you must understand that on the eleventh I will be dead.” There, if he set the assumed date afterward, then the Prince wouldn't think that he was moving the timetable of his own plans up-

“I could never cause you such greif.” He said after a sigh. “Consider the wedding off.”

He knew this was a ploy, he had a plan of some kind. But Still Red Son felt the tight clamps pressed to his chest loosen at the words being spoken aloud.

“You returned this 'Xiaotian' to his mountain?” The prince turned halfway and Red Son was startled to see the macaque standing in the shadows, he hadn't even seen him when he'd entered!

“I did.”

“Then we'll send a messenger for him.” They wouldn't. They'd sent Xiaotian back to Flower Fruit Mountain no doubt, lest they risked starting conflict with his own army. However Red Son knew the prince had no problems at all lying to him. Any messenger he oversaw a letter being handed off to would likely get out of sight and shred the note to bits before lying low for a time and returning. “But, Beloved, Can you be sure that he'd still take you back?”

The laughter of the demon in his dream echoed in the back of his mind. “What do you mean?”

“I simply mean that, it was you who did the leaving back in the forest.” Red Son couldn't fight back a flinch at the reminder. “And... kidnappers aren't exactly well known to keep their word.” Thankfully he didn't need to fake outrage.

“He didn't kidnap me!”

“Well... then may I suggest a deal?” The prince considered his tea before taking a sip. “How about this; I'll send my four fastest messengers along different routes to your Xiaotian's mountain, and you'll write four separate letters explaining the situation for them to deliver. To decrease the likeliness of the message getting lost due to bandits and the like. Your Xiaotian is sure to receive at least one of them by that. And if he accepts you back, then good fortune to you both.”

The Prince's brow furrowed with worry, and once again he reached out to try and take Red Son's hand. He pulled his hands back. “But if he doesn't, If your love decides this was one betrayal too many, then please at least consider me as an alternative to suicide.”

He was trying to get him to doubt himself, to doubt Xiaotian. Trying to put something like that in the back of his head so he'd be less convicted when he had some notary of some kind fake a letter of rejection.

“Are we agreed?”

“We are.”

He'd be gone in a few days time anyway. And if the prince was right, if Xiaotian did feel rejected and betrayed, and angry, and if he somehow did decide that he didn't want him back...

...then he'd just have to win his heart again. If that were the case it may be difficult, he hadn't exactly gone chasing him all that time ago in the Inn, He wasn't sure if he knew how. But he'd try, whatever it took.

He just had to get out of here first.

–

“You know, now that I've spent a time with the prince, I can see why so many other demon suitors were banging down his door for so long. A mote too angry for my own taste, but even for a more human-looking demon he's not too bad on the eyes.”

“Don't go falling in love with my groom Macaque. I'll not have you ruining my plans.”

“Pff! No worries there, highness.”

“...You know, when I'd hired the Spider Queen and her ilk to kill him on their way to my mountain I thought THAT was a work of genius, but it'll be so much more moving to cut his head off on our wedding night myself I do think.”

“His parents will be furious.”

“Especially once I blame the Monkey King when I send word to them about it! They'll insist on going to war and our combined forces will finally claim that eyesore of a mountain.”

“It's going to be a bloodbath.”

“Which I'm sure YOU'LL enjoy my six-eared friend.”

“Now.. where is that secret knot... damn thing's always changing locations I swear- Ah... Are you coming down? Xiaotian regained his strength, I'm going to be starting him on the machine tonight.”

“Macaque, You know how much I love watching you work; but I've two anniversaries for different alliances to plan the celebrations of, My wedding to arrange, my husband to murder, and the Monkey King to frame for it, I'm swamped!”

“Get some rest my prince. If you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything.”

“I hate this, I hate this, I hate this.” Jin was mumbling over and over as he and Yin rolled the slab of wood Xiaotian had been strapped to this whole time across the ground, and up against an unmoving water wheel.

“By all means, quit if it upsets you so.” The Six Eared Macaque stated idly, and out of the corner of his eye Xiaotian could see him scribbling something down, some sort of notation.

“He doesn't mean that.” Yin assured his brother as he forced Xiaotian this way and that, tightening leather straps to his chest and head. Hollowed out iron funnels were affixed to small holes in the straps, the cone sides pressed to his skin while the nozzles were being slowly attached to a set of copper tubes. “He'd be without any assistants that can keep their mouths shut without us.”

He couldn't move with these stupid straps all up and down his body—well... he already couldn't move MUCH, but the lack of what little mobility he'd had from there lost further was upsetting.

“Got back to work you miscreants.” The macaque snapped before standing and approaching him. When those eerie purple eyes were peering down at him Xiaotian had the uncanniest of feelings that he was trying to look like the Monkey King. Like some sort of crazy fan that wanted to steal his life or something. No wonder he hadn't realized that Xiaotian was actually disguising himself as such with Sun Wukong's blessing.

“Lovely machine isn't it? Been working on it for a solid century now.” He patted the strange device affectionately, as though it were a beloved pet. “You probably know by now your 'love' isn't the only scientific mind among our kind. But where he's interested in any field of study he can get his hands on I'm more interested in... shall we say... the study of pain.”

“Made my living stealing other people's powers for my own ya see, and it's been fun, but it's maybe getting a bit old too. Because I've been doing that, basically my whole life, and I kinda wanted to change it up. So I decided to see how much I can make someone hurt. I'm still testing this thing out mind you, so...Be honest with how it feels, alright? It's for posterity's sake.

“Now, this being our first try, I'll ease you into it. We'll start on the first setting.”

Xiaotian tensed, steeling himself over for whatever pain would follow.

The Macaque pulled the lever-

The machine whirled to life-

And there was pain.

#Spicynoodleshipping #MK Red Son #Qi Xiaotian #MK Demon Brothers #Six Eared Macaque #Vega writes stories too #Princess Bride AU #red groom au

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vs-redemption · 4 years ago

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Crime is Common. Logic is Rare. (Ch 18)

Chapter Eighteen: Those Words (HawksxGN!Reader)

Plot summary: You thought your hands were full as a regular quirk geneticist, but then you meet Hawks and things get even more exciting!

Warnings:

⚠️This story contains spoilers from the manga.

⚠️Some events and plot points have been altered from the original manga

Tag List: @gayforkeigo @marshmallow-witch @redflannel @toyo-shiro @elsasshole @astronomyturtle

Next Chapter : Chapter Guide

“Hey, I brought over a book I want you to check out.”

You turn away from the food you were cooking to raise an eyebrow at your boyfriend who was standing behind you holding a decent sized hard cover book with ‘Meta Liberation War’ printed across the cover. Hawks had an apologetic look on his face, but you weren’t surprised he was doing this. Staging the murder of Best Jeanist had definitely earned him points with the league of villains, but now he had to continue winning their trust by doing everything he could to prove he believed in the ideals they’d adopted after merging with the liberation army in Deika city. It would look strange if he never brought up the topic he was pretending to be so passionate about with the person he was dating. You let out a sigh, knowing you had to play along.

“Isn’t that book a little outdated?” you ask while turning back to the stove. “Plus, I’m pretty sure the guy that wrote it ended up in prison.” You decided not to jump on board right away so that Hawks would have the chance to convince you. It would help the villains trust him even more if they heard how much he understood and supported the cause.

“The fact that he was arrested is all the more reason to check it out,” Hawks comes up behind you to see what you were making. He hardly got to see you anymore now that he spent half his time in another city with the league of villains, who were now calling themselves the paranormal liberation front. It made communicating very difficult since there were limits to what you could tell each other over phone or text. You both had to make do with seeing each other for an hour or so at a time when you could find time between his hero duties and spy duties. “He was an advocate for quirk liberation back when people first started getting powers and governments around the world were fighting to suppress the people’s freedom to use those powers.”

“He was an advocate for chaos,” you correct him calmly. “There’s a huge difference between rallying people together to protest laws you don’t agree with and scaring people into listening by committing acts of terrorism.”

“That’s simplifying the story just a bit, don’t you think?” Hawks begins sending his feathers around the kitchen to get out any plates and utensils you both would need. “Our quirks are a part of who we are, and putting so many rules and regulations on them is a form of repression.”

“I’d hardly say anyone is being repressed,” you retort with a laugh. “We’re allowed to use our quirks as it suits us in our careers and in the privacy of our homes. It would be much worse, for example, if someone was forbidden to use the extra set of arms they were born with or something just because most other people only have two. I don’t think it’s unfair to restrict the use of quirks in public though.”

“Why do you say that?” Hawks asks curiously as you both grab some dinner and head over to the small table to eat. You really wished you could talk about something else in the limited time you had with your boyfriend, but it was important to act like you had no idea what he was up to with the villains.

“Well, I mean, think about it Bird-kun,” you can’t help but smile at the way he perks up when you use the stupid little nickname, “you spent so many years training your quirk just so that you’d be able to use it safely and effectively around other people. Can you imagine if a person without your control tried sending feathers out everywhere like you do and stabbed someone by mistake or blocked someone’s vision and caused an accident? And that’s just one example. If you imagine a whole community of people using their quirks all willy-nilly like that, you can start to see how things would get out of control.”

“The idea isn’t to create a world like that,” Hawks continues his spiel, “it’s about allowing people the chance to use their quirks to defend themselves or help others instead of having to rely on heroes all the time.”

You let out a sigh, wanting to put this conversation to rest now so that you both could enjoy the rest of your dinner like a normal couple. “Look, It isn’t like I think the system we have now is perfect or anything,” you tell him honestly. “And I won’t claim that I have any better ideas. I’m a scientist, after all. My area of expertise is quirk genetics not quirk regulation.”

“I know, and that’s fine,” Hawks promises. “But, can you at least give the book a shot?” He gives you puppy eyes from across the table. “For me?”

“Magic face.” You mutter under your breath while rolling your eyes dramatically. “Fine! I’ll read it if it means that much to you. You’re lucky I love you.”

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Hawks asks, looking genuinely taken aback to hear you say something like that.

“Huh?” You tilt your head, “I said you’re lucky I love you.” You had been trying to tease him but a look of vulnerability crosses over his face as he processes your comment. It was the first time you’d said those words to him, but you really hadn’t expected them to trip him up like that. Surely it couldn’t be that much of a surprise. Suddenly, Hawks leans forward and cups his hand around his ear with a small smile.

“I heard the first part,” he says, “But one more time… I’m lucky what?”

“I love you.” You decide not to make him work for it since it obviously meant more to him than you realized to hear how you felt. You hoped he didn’t feel strange that you’d thrown something so real into a fake conversation. By the way the feathers on his wings fluffed up you assumed not.

“Nobody has ever said that to me before,” He lets out an awkward laugh while leaning back in his seat.

“What?” You had a hard time believing him until you remembered that he hadn’t seen his family since he was taken in by the hero training facility he’d told you about. He’d also mentioned never having any real friends. Perhaps he wasn’t joking, and that made you feel kind of sad.

“Well, I’ve heard fans say that kind of stuff before,” Hawks admits with a shrug, “But I don’t think they meant it the way you do. You do mean it that way, right?”

“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t,” You promise while reaching across the table to cover his hand with yours. He seemed satisfied with that and his vulnerable energy faded away.

“That’s good,” He grins happily while interlacing your fingers, “Because I love you too!”

“Glad to hear it,” you smile back. The two of you finish up the food and clean up just in time for Hawks to have to take off again. Neither one of you wanted to part ways, but hopefully things wouldn’t have to be this way for too much longer. Hawks was gathering as much information as he could about the internal structure of the Paranormal Liberation Front, and you were spending every moment you could trying to figure out what Dr. Garaki was planning with All For One’s DNA. Hopefully once those pieces fell into place, the heroes could be notified about what was happening so that they could stop the villains before things got even worse.

“Don’t forget to read that book,” Hawks tells you, staying true to his role.

“Yeah, yeah,” you pull him into a kiss so that you wouldn’t have to talk about that subject any longer. “I wish you didn’t have to go.”

“I know,” He sighs in disappointment. “But you know I can’t skip my night patrols. That’s when all the really scary guys come out to play.”

“Well, let’s just hope they play nice,” you let out a dry laugh, “I worry about you.”

“Aw,” Hawks coos your name and pulls you into a hug. You prolong the good-bye as long as you can, but eventually he does have to leave. Once you’re alone in your apartment you send a glare over to the book Hawks had left on your kitchen counter. You had already read it cover to cover and knew it was filled with the ramblings of a dangerous extremist who had no qualms about using people to fight and die for his fanatical ideas. If there were problems in society, there were plenty of reasonable ways to find a solution. All-out war, in your opinion, was not one of them.

#Keigo Takami x Reader #Hawks x Reader #Bnha x reader #mha x reader #keigo takami #hawks #mha #bnha #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #my writing

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aion-rsa · 4 years ago

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Back to the Future: The Real Johnny B. Goode Rocked Long Before Marty McFly

https://ift.tt/2QFxici

Back to the Future is a classic comedy, one of the most popular films in motion picture history. Almost every laugh line lands with a perfectly executed punch. Every skateboard flip is a motion picture wonder. It’s one of those films which is broadly silly yet still has heart, and it’s a treasure of commercial cinema. But when Michael J. Fox’s Marty McFly straps on a cherry red Gibson ES-345 he plunders the golden oldies right out of the fingers of the true original. Ignore the bit where “Marvin Berry” calls his cousin on the phone. Chuck Berry didn’t just write “Johnny B. Goode,” he was Johnny B. Goode.

The song about the country boy who could play guitar like ringing a bell could have referred to any number of musicians, from Buddy Holly to Bo Diddley or Ricky Nelson. But the singer-songwriting guitarist who penned the line was born at 2520 Goode Avenue, in St. Louis.

Berry had already made his concession to white commercialism by changing the line “that little colored boy could play” to “that little country boy.” Oh my. But then for years, the Father of Rock and Roll watched the self-styled King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, put his stamp on Berry’s signature. The royalties were sweet though for Berry, and the respect was mutual.

But the backhanded homage in the time-traveling 1985 comedy is really a cheap gag, and the joke is at the expense of Berry’s legacy.

“Long Distance information? Get Me Memphis, Tennesse”

“Chuck! Chuck, it’s Marvin, your cousin, Marvin Berry. You know that new sound you’re looking for?” the fictional bandleader yells into a pay phone at the 1955 Enchantment Under the Sea dance in Hill Valley, California. “Listen to this!”

We then hear the subtle sound of casual racial invalidation. Not only does the line denigrate Berry’s contribution to the architecture of rock and roll; it completely sidelines guitarist Carl Hogan who initiated the opening guitar phrasing on Louis Jordan’s 1946 pre-rock and roll song “Ain’t That Just Like a Woman.” Think, McFly. Think!

Michael J. Fox already has a perfectly winning comic ending to the now-iconic scene: when his fingers stretch back to the future, and he channels Eddie Van Halen on the guitar, even the kids at the 1950s dance think he should act his age. So why does director and co-screenwriter Robert Zemeckis feel the need to shit on Chuck Berry with such a disposable throw-away gag? It is even more insulting when you take into consideration who Berry had to sue over the course of his career for stealing his riffs.

Indicative of a long-standing music industry tradition, the two biggest names in white rock and roll, the Beatles and the Beach Boys, had to cough up to the pioneering artist after infringing on his copyrights. Berry sued to get his name on the Beach Boys’ hit “Surfin’ USA” while John Lennon agreed to cover two songs owned by Berry’s publisher in exchange for copping lines from “You Can’t Catch Me” for the song “Come Together.”

But Lennon still declared “If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it ‘Chuck Berry,’” when he introduced him on The Mike Douglas Show in 1972. “In the 1950s, a whole generation worshipped his music, and when you see him today, past and present all come together, and the message is Hail, Hail Rock and Roll.’”

He Could Play a Guitar Just Like a-Ringin’ a Bell

Berry was the first-ever Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and in the same class as James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Presley. With songs like “Maybellene,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” “Little Queenie,” “Havana Moon,” “Wee Wee Hours,” “Rock and Roll Music,” and “Sweet Little 16,” Berry scored the soundtrack to the 1950s.

Berry didn’t invent rock and roll. Ike Turner is credited with that for his 1951 song, “Rocket 88.” Berry recorded his first hit “Maybellene” in 1955 at Chicago’s Chess Studios, the home of the blues. Berry sped up the blues to a country thump and let his fingers do to guitar strings what lips did to horns.

Berry made rock and roll fun, funny, and subtly rebellious. The teenager in “You Can’t Catch Me” is motorvating away from the cops. His “Brown Eyed Handsome Man” hit a home run with color coded racial pride. The artist who was glad, so glad, he was “living in the U.S.A.” (in the song “Back in the U.S.A.”) was barred from many of the things he found so wondrous in this country to sing about.

Almost Grown

Charles Edward Anderson Berry was born on Oct. 18, 1926. His St. Louis neighborhood, “The Ville,” was segregated. His great-grandparents were slaves. In 1944, Berry was arrested for driving along in an automobile he carjacked at gunpoint after robbing three stores in Kansas City. He did a three-year stint in reform school.

Berry began playing music professionally when he was in his mid-20s, sitting in with local bands like piano player Johnnie Johnson’s group, Sir John’s Trio. Blues icon Muddy Waters suggested Berry bring his songs to Chess Records where Howlin’ Wolf, the Moonglows, and Big Bill Broonzy were recording sides. Label owner Leonard Chess had a good feeling about the song “Ida Red.”

Movies

The History of Back to the Future Began With a High School Yearbook

By Chris Cummins

Movies

The United States vs. Billie Holiday: The Federal Bureau of Narcotics Was Formed to Kill Jazz

By Tony Sokol

Berry renamed the song “Maybellene” when he recorded it on May 21, 1955. It was Berry’s first nationwide hit. He was 28. Willie Dixon was on bass, Johnnie Johnson played piano, Jerome Green shook maracas, and Ebby Hardy beat the drums. Alan Freed and Russ Fratto didn’t do anything for the song, but their names are on the credits as co-songwriters. They effectively collected royalties for teaching Berry a valuable lesson.

Chuck Berry wrote all the songs on his first album, After School Session, which was released in May 1957. It was the same for his next two albums. Berry didn’t include any covers on his albums at all until his fourth album, Rockin’ at the Hops, released in July 1960. Berry starred in some of Alan Freed’s jukebox movies like Rock Rock Rock!, Mister Rock and Roll, and Go, Johnny, Go! He also appeared in Jazz on a Summer’s Day, a 1959 documentary about the Newport Jazz Festival.

“No Need to Be Complainin’, My Objections Overruled”

Berry was arrested in St. Louis, Missouri, in December 1959 for transporting Janice Norine Escalan, a 14-year-old hatcheck girl at Club Bandstand in Juarez, Mexico, across state lines for “immoral purposes.” He was charged under the Mann Act. Berry argued he was offering legitimate employment. An all-male, all-white jury found him guilty on March 11, 1960. Berry appealed, but the conviction was upheld at a 1961 trial. Berry was sentenced to three years. He served 18 months and was released from prison in 1964.

Berry’s career never quite took off again. He had some hits in 1964 and 1965, “Nadine,” “No Particular Place to Go,” “You Never Can Tell,” and “Promised Land.” He was one of the artists in the 1964 concert film The TAMI Show. Berry’s last number 1 hit, “My Ding-a-Ling,” was recorded live in London in 1972 for The London Chuck Berry Sessions album.

Berry never stopped playing live. He traveled with only his guitar and a briefcase for his money, and would grab local bar bands to back him when he hit town. Everyone knew Chuck Berry songs. Simple, three-chord pangs to teenage love, cars and safety belts. Bandleaders like Bruce Springsteen and Steve Miller eagerly lent their fingers and bands to the light traveling guitar player. Most groups were thrilled to get the chance to play for a legend when they weren’t harangued for bending a string too far on an intro. Not even Keith Richards got away with that, just watch the rehearsal portion of the 1987 documentary Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll.

The Rolling Stones’ guitarist had already been brought in as a surprise backing player for a 1972 Los Angeles show where he was kicked off the stage for setting his amp too loud. Berry would also give Richards a black eye for touching his guitar after a New York City show a decade later. Richards’ early guitar work is modeled on Berry’s style. The Stones covered “Carol,” “Around and Around” and “You Can’t Catch Me.” Richards inducted Berry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.

Back to the Future is really just a light, inoffensive, time-bending screwball comedy, and Berry has been the butt of far worse jokes. Spy magazine alleged Berry secretly filmed women in bathrooms. In January 1990, High Society claimed to be “the only magazine with the balls to show Chuck’s berries,” when it published photos of him posing nude with different women.

So when you read an article about Berry recalling the incident where the white kid played “Johnny B. Goode,” remember: it ran in The Onion. Chuck Berry could be accused of a lot of things, but he was an original.

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soiruntotheriver · 5 years ago

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(9) In summary, when things get hard, does Silver go back to what he knows: being out for himself, lost in creating his “perfect” life, even if it means losing the person who loves him/he loves, all stemming from his repression in realizing his feelings, in repressing his past, an inability to stand being truly seen, and therefore an inability in being an honest, equal partner?

Alright, my dude, you’ve got me doing a deep dive on this one haha. I actually went back and re-watched the last three episodes and took notes to sort all this out in my head. Hopefully it all makes sense. This is all about Flint and Silver’s motivations and the actions they take to achieve their goals towards the end of the series. It’s gonna be a long one, so buckle in. As Jack Rackham once said: “Please forgive me, I will go on from time to time, but generally in the service of thoroughness...” I’m gonna post this under the last of your asks, as I believe it addresses most of your points. If I leave anything out please let me know.

Alright so, *crack knuckles* here we go:

For context: Rackham and Max have gone to create an alliance with Marion Guthrie in Philadelphia, Billy has gone to Rogers to show him how to divide Flint from Silver, and Madi has been taken prisoner.

Early in episode 8 we get the first of a number of similar conversations between Silver and Flint concerning the war. This one has Silver asking what’s going to happen after their current conflict. He points out that any time Nassau hasn’t had a someone to lead/support it (Eleanor, Rackham, Rogers) it becomes a place of horrors. If this is meant to be a period of transition, what’s on the other side? Something better, something meaningful? He asks:

‘But what if it isn't? What if the result of this war isn't beyond the horror, what if it is the horror itself. Have you given this any thought at all?’

To which Flint replies that to be rid of England and fashion something else, he knows that they will have to go through a period of darkness and seeming hopelessness. But that he has to believe that it will be worth it and that progress is possible. Silver responds by saying that’s a lot of potential suffering to wager on blind faith. Flint assures that with the right people in place they can get through it. He also states that those people are meant to be Madi and Silver, and that Madi is just as important to realizing their goals as the cache.

So Silver agrees to try Flint’s plan to retrieve Madi, but he still brings the treasure along just in case this all goes sideways. And it does. Rogers just starts shooting people willy-nilly which even Flint seems surprised about. Just as Rogers is about to blow Madi’s head off, Silver shows him the chest and next thing we know we’re on our way to Skeleton Island to make the exchange. On the way there Flint yells at Silver about how he’s just given Julius more leverage against the cause and crippled the war effort. Silver retorts by telling Flint that they’ll make do somehow and demands his support in this venture. He points out the numerous times he’s helped Flint even though he didn’t necessarily understand or agree with him.

‘My god. The number of times I have followed you blindly, backed you with the men blindly, put men in the fucking ground…good men! Friends! Because you said, “I know the way. "Don’t ask me how. Just do as I say.”’

Silver asks again if Flint will support him and Flint answers: “Yes.”

Shortly after this we have two great conversations happening in parallel: Silver with Hands and Flint with Dooley. Hands tries to convince Silver that Flint is Bad and must be killed. Silver asserts that he trusts Flint. Hands says that a crown can’t be split two ways and that he knows that Silver actually wants Flint dead, he just doesn’t know how to ask for it. To which Silver responds:

‘Hear me very clearly, there is no hidden message and no equivocation, you will make no move against him, you will not speak of doing so to any man on this crew nor to me again. Do it, and you'll answer for it.’

Meanwhile, Flint is telling the legend of skeleton island to Dooley in order to bring up the subject of men loosing their wits. He asserts that he believes Silver is compromised and so he (Flint) finds himself in need of a new partner. Dooley agrees and they go to fetch the gold, almost getting killed by another crew member in the process. They are saved by Hands who tells Flint he wants them to go ahead and take the treasure so that Silver will see Flint’s true colors. The end of the episode has Silver witnessing this betrayal and deciding to send men out after Flint, ostensibly to kill him, though I think he knew those men were not a match for Flint and really just wanted to find out where he was going so that he could get the treasure back.

In a fit of true diabolical evil, our writers chose to follow up this last scene from episode 8 by opening episode 9 with the first flashback of Flint and Silver’s fencing lessons. I literally said “Oh, no” to myself several times aloud as I watched Silver climb that hill to the bluffs.

Now these are lovely scenes I could go on about forever, but the most important takeaway for me right now, is that Flint realizes he doesn’t know anything about Silver’s past. Silver says that his past isn’t important. Flint argues that that’s not true. From Flint’s perspective, he’s revealed himself to Silver, given him his history, which defines him, and also the tools Silver needs to guess at Flint’s future actions. Flint goes on to insinuate that Silver wormed his way into Flint’s story by comparing himself to Flint’s former ill-fated partners. That he did this in order to use Flint’s affection for him to make it more difficult for Flint to act against him later. Silver is disquieted by Flint calling his bluff and seems thrown by that last comment in particular, mostly because I don’t think Silver consciously meant to manipulate him that way at all. Flint says he’s not angry with him but Silver is too overwhelmed to continue. He asks if it’s okay if they resume tomorrow, and flees.

I want to revisit the fireside chat here for a moment in order to point out that Silver was, in fact, already very deeply in the story by that point, a story he’d been made a part of largely against his will (by his injury, by Flint’s machinations, by Billy, etc.). In regards to Silver’s motivations during that conversation, I always assumed them to be exactly what they seemed to be: He wanted to understand why Flint was so driven to wage war and he wanted to voice a real, actual warning that he himself might prove to be Flint’s undoing. Flint responds in a way that makes me think he either A. didn’t think Silver would betray him or B. he didn’t think that Silver could get the better of him.

This is an important moment of dissonance between them, because it repeats itself in the sword lesson flashback: Silver asks if Flint is worried about the fact that he’s essentially teaching Silver to best him in combat and Flint waves him off with a smile, saying he’ll take his chances.

The most significant moment within the flashbacks comes when Silver finally finds the words to outline his philosophy and frame his decision not to share his past. I actually think this scene gives Flint all he needs to know about Silver as a person (in terms of being able to anticipate Silver’s future actions), though I’m not sure in that moment he could really wrap his head around it. Knowing the details of Silver’s past are not necessary when you realize that they did, in fact, define him and one can use that knowledge to recognize the ways in which they shape his future decisions.

Silver maintains that he is not trying to hide anything, he merely absolved himself from the obligation of finding any relevance in his own story because there is no coherence, ‘nor sense, nor grace’ to be found in life. But more than that it’s because he’s experienced ‘events some of which no one could divine any meaning from, other than the world is a place of unending horrors.’ He says that Flint knows of him all that’s relevant to be known and swears that Flint has his true friendship. He asks if it is enough for there to be trust between them and Flint, not quite sure what to make of all this, answers by resuming their lesson.

Intermixed with these flashbacks are our real-time scenes, some of which I want to touch on to check in on Silver and Flint’s states of mind. As Silver and Hands pursue Flint in the forest, Hands asserts that he believes Silver will keep finding reasons to forget everyone’s warnings about Flint. He also mentions when Silver tells the men to split up to find Flint that he’s sending at least one group of them to their deaths. Hands makes a point of saying that Silver’s decision here shows that he’s learned a lot from Flint. Aka, Silver is willing to sacrifice other’s lives to reach his own ends. Silver seems uncomfortable with the comparison, likely because he sees the truth in it. Silver’s desire to not be like Flint is very important in the final moments of the show and will come again up later. Silver admits to Hands that he’s not sure if Flint actually wants to save Madi for the sake of it or if it’s just part of his larger machinations. It’s key to note that Silver’s trust in Flint is degrading further. Both because of Silver’s inherent pessimism, and because of Flint’s own actions.

Meanwhile, Flint and Dooley are doubling back to the chest after having chucked it over an embankment to throw Silver’s party off their scent. Dooley essentially tries to convince Flint that Silver might become a liability. Flint defends Silver but Dooley’s like, yeah, but if it comes to it I’ll kill him for you. The look on Flint’s face clearly shows how not okay he is with the thought of Silver dying, but he keeps his reservations to himself for now. At this point, it is important to acknowledge that neither Silver nor Flint wants the other dead. They are both still trying to outmaneuver each other in order to reach their goals.

Silver finally catches up to Flint which leads us to another Important Conversation wherein Silver states that if the war were to continue it would be just like this, forever - lies, betrayals, death. He also tells Flint that he understands Flint’s motivations more fully now because he’s suffered a similar loss. When Madi was presumed dead, he wanted to give her sacrifice meaning by waging battles in her name. But he says that underneath that desire was the thing that Flint himself taught him to recognize: rage. In a very Miranda moment, Silver tells Flint that part of what drives him is wanting to watch the world burn. This is another way in which Silver does not want to be like Flint.

After this is a deeply depressing flashback wherein Silver is trying to explain his relationship with Flint to Madi by saying: ‘I have earned his respect, after all the tragedies that man has suffered (...) I have earned his trust, I have his true friendship. And so he's going to have mine. And as long as that is true, I cannot imagine what is possible.’ And all of our hearts break a little to think of what could’ve been. Because, as I mentioned before, Silver no longer believes he can trust Flint and so he no longer has faith in their friendship.

The episode ends with Rogers blowing up the Walrus which puts a hold on Flint and Silver’s duel and forces them to ally once again with Rackham. Flint makes a little speech about how their priority is to rescue Madi and tells Jack he’s taking over command of the ship to facilitate that end. The next episode starts with Silver questioning Flint’s motives, sure that he’s only placating John whilst continuing his scheming. Flint throws him by offering a very candid and heartfelt reply about how he isn’t sure he wouldn’t have acted exactly as Silver had if it were Thomas’s life on the line. He states that he meant it when he promised he’d see John through this and still wants to put things back together. Silver is visibly torn over whether or not he believes what Flint is saying.

Alright, we can now fast forward to the Final Confrontation. Flint, realizing that something has passed between Silver and Jack that smacks of betrayal, halts their trek through the woods in order to question Silver about it. Silver can’t bring himself to lie. He asks Flint how much more ‘measuring of lives and loves and spirits’ there will be ‘so that they may be wagered in the grand game. How many casualties can be tolerated for the cause, how much loss?’ So it’s not just Madi’s life he’s concerned for, not just his own or Flint’s. He mentions the men, women, and children who have already died for this, who will continue to die for this. And he cannot see where the line might be, because Flint has yet to draw one - this is a man who frequently endangers himself, killed his best friend, sacrificed crew members, murdered innocent civilians, and has no qualms betraying his allies. I think Silver legitimately believes that Flint will stop at nothing. That’s why it’s not a war to Silver, not like any other, instead it’s a ‘fucking nightmare.’

When Flint insists that Silver stopping the war will mean that they will have been for nothing, that this is how the powers-that-be win, that they’ll be distorted to fit false narratives, Silver asserts that he doesn’t care. I personally don’t find this surprising at all, given how little Silver cares about his own personal narrative. I also don’t think that Silver Doesn’t Care At All, it just means that he doesn’t care enough for it to change his mind. I mean he’s lost a leg for these people, risked his life and freedom for this cause, allowed himself to be molded into a better partner for Flint. When Silver opened himself up to a partnership/friendship with Flint and later to a partnership/romance with Madi, he was choosing to allow meaning back into his life. He became a part of a story. But he’s not totally invested in the story itself. He’s mostly just invested in the people in it. Because what does it matter what strangers say after he’s dead? Life up to this point has been about grabbing onto whatever you can in the moment and enjoying it until it is inevitably taken away from you. Experience has relentlessly taught him to have low expectations. So while I think he cares about his relationship with Flint, is proud of what they were able to achieve together, would like to change the world for the better, and wants to be worthy of Madi, none of those goals/states of being are as achievable to him in this moment as ending the war.

I’m not sure that Silver believes that a “good life” with Madi is possible after this - Flint points out that she won’t forgive him for taking the war away and I think Silver knows that’s true - but he’s willing to go for some kind of reconciliation at least. I also don’t think Silver is factoring a post-conflict relationship with Flint in at all - as far as he’s concerned either Flint will be safe somewhere far away with Thomas or Silver will be forced to kill him.

This leads us up to the ending. I personally don’t believe that Silver killed Flint. I feel that’s an important distinction to make when trying to make sense of Silver’s decisions. I won’t go into all the reasons I believe this, in the interests of keeping this thing under ten thousand words, but I will mention a few.

Firstly, as I mentioned above, I think that Silver honestly didn’t want to turn into Flint. When Madi say she thinks he’s lying about not murdering Flint, Silver says that he’s not the villain she fears he is, he’s not him. I think this is in reference to Flint killing his friends to further his goals. I also believe that Silver thought that giving Thomas back to Flint was the key to Madi’s forgiveness and so I think he would have done it for real in case she ever checked up on it. However, I do also think that Silver embellished the story of Flint’s reunion with Thomas. What parts were true and which were false, who can say? He just sounds like he’s dressing up the story a bit, both for Madi’s sake and for his own.

The second main reason why I think Silver’s story checks out actually involves Rackham. Jack tells Marion Guthrie that Flint has retired. Why would he lie about that when telling her Flint was dead would more thoroughly assuage her concerns? He mentions that Flint retiring was a better story to sell the Maroons, but at this point, the treaty has already been signed, so why keep up the fiction?

The third and most tenuous thought I have about it is that Silver uses his “I’ll wait a day, a week...” etc. line on Madi because it actually worked previously on Flint. Maybe some of Flint’s anguish in the woods is over the fact that he’s going to do what Silver’s asking him to do. Maybe he doesn’t want Silver to have to kill him so he gives in and gives up his war.

In conclusion, and to answer one of your questions directly, I think that characterizing Flint as someone who just wants to sate his rage is just as limiting as characterizing Silver as someone who just wants to take the easy way out. And I think that saying that Flint’s motives for reforming the world were noble is as incomplete as saying that Silver just wanted to save the ones he loved at the cost of everything else. All of those things, and more, are simultaneously true.

For me, Flint and Silver were both bad men and good men. Both had room to grow. Both made choices for each other. Both manipulated each other and made mistakes. Both were forced to make quick decisions under enormous amounts of pressure. They were both angry and afraid and courageous and loyal and deceitful and kind. They were both very very human.

It might not seem like it, but I’m more of a Flint irl. Maybe that’s why I’ve tried so hard to understand Silver, because his motivations were a bit more foreign to me at first. I’ve come to love and sympathize with both of them - which is why I continue to talk about them incessantly and devour fan works - especially the ones that get these two to finally work out their issues. If you’re ever looking for fic recs, btw, please do let me know. A lot of this meta is fleshed out beautifully in fan fiction. And those authors say it more profoundly and elegantly than I could ever hope to.

#james flint #john silver #Black Sails #black sails meta #hoo boy it's a long one folks #black sails s4 #this is practically a play by play

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myhauntedsalem · 4 years ago

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True Ghost Stories and Tales of the Supernatural

1. A Baby Crying

“When I was in high school, my uncle would throw me a couple bucks to help babysit his kids with my aunt. They lived in a two-story house by the water, nice area. The kids were about 3 and 6, respectively.

One day I was sitting in their den on my phone when I started to hear a baby crying. Thinking it was the three-year-old, I headed to the bottom of the stairs to check and see if my aunt was up there dealing with it. I called for her a couple times with no response. The baby kept crying. I called for her one more time, and when I got no response I started walking up the stairs. Then I heard my cousins and aunt playing outside.

All the hairs on my body stood up and I literally felt a chill run down my spine. I quietly turned around, walked down the stairs, got in my car, and drove away. The ‘baby’ was still crying when I closed the door behind me.

A few years later I was drunk at a family party and told my uncle the story. He told me that he and his wife used to hear the baby too, and apparently, the previous owners had a kid die of SIDS in that room upstairs. He’s uber Catholic and had a Mass said for the baby. He said after that it never happened again. Still gives me the willies when I talk about it though.” – urgehal666

2. The Man with the Suitcase

“I was 13 years old and drinking lemonade with my best friend in my kitchen. We were alone. From where we were seating we could see a corridor that leads from the front door to the backyard. We were talking and something made us shut up. We looked to the corridor and there was the shadow of a man walking by with a suitcase. I know she also saw him because we both described the same thing: a tall shadow with a suitcase

Fast forward to a few years later, I had to do a school project with another girl. Again I was alone at home, working on the computer when she arrived. She then asked me where my dad was. When I told her my dad was away, at work, she asked me, ‘Well, then who’s the man I saw walking downstairs and carrying a suitcase when I came in?’

So far, no one else from my family has seen him. I haven’t seen him again ever since, but for a while it really scared the shit out of me to be home alone.” – rraarraarraasputin

3. The Exorcism

“I work as a paramedic, got a call to a church, the retired nun who still lived at the church was having some issues. The priest was attempting an exorcism when the family got a state order to get her into a psych facility. We got her into the back of our ambulance and all was fine. Then this 92-year-old, 90-pound woman ripped out of her leather restraints and started speaking in a voice no human could produce. She then told me that her commander in the war had burned and buried her alive during the war when defending France against the Germans.

The whole presence was terrifying and gave me nightmares for years to come. I told my partner to use the lights and sirens so I could get out of there as fast as possible. During the whole transport, she was speaking in weird tongues.” – rbilly0001

4. The Morgue Door

“Used to work hospital security and we had video cameras accessible in the office.

During body escorts, we kept finding the morgue door open. That was weird because it was a heavy door that could only be opened with a keycard. Pathologists were blaming security and security was blaming pathologists for leaving it open, as we were the only two groups with access. I did a body escort one day, made sure to close the door behind me and went back to work. Not even a half hour later, the office got a call bitching that the ‘last guard left the door open.’

I swore up and down I didn’t and went to check the cameras. The cameras showed me pulling the door shut, pushing on it and then wiggling the locked handle to ensure it was closed. I wasn’t even out of frame from the camera yet before we could see the door swing ALL the way open, hit the wall and then slowly swing shut until it was slightly ajar.” – LilithImmaculate

5. The Haunted Hotel

“Not me but a friend who is a pilot. She stayed at an older hotel downtown Chicago and was studying for her recurrent class which was in a few weeks. While at the desk, deep in thought, she heard people talking and laughing. When she looked up, it got quiet. She said it sounded like it was in the room with her and went back to studying. The noise started off softly and then again sounded like a party was going on in her room. She got up and looked around and there was silence. There were no sounds coming from any rooms, no televisions on, no radios, no people in the hallway – the noise was definitely in her room.

That night around 2 am, she was in bed and felt someone brush strands of hair from her forehead and tuck it behind her ear. She jumped up and turned on the light and there was no one there. She didn’t get back to sleep and bid around that overnight so she wouldn’t be in that hotel again.” – Sandbargirl

6. Echoes of the Past

“When I was little I saw a recurring ghost. She would appear for a split second and then vanish, but I could always perfectly recreate the image.

She was a short little girl wearing a frilly blue dress and a big red bow, blonde hair, blue eyes, large ears. A couple of notable sightings were her looking through my mom’s jewelry box and one peering through our glass door at me (with her hands over here eyes binocular style)

It never really bothered me and these happened for a while. A few years later at my Grandfathers house and we were helping him unpack his attic and I found a portrait of his long since deceased sister.

Not quite the same dress, slightly different bow, but the face was absolutely her. She had died as a child quite tragically so obviously I had never met her, but I did know of her but had never seen a picture of her before.

So, not a scary supernatural encounter but rather a heartwarming one knowing the great aunt I never met was saying hello.” – Omni_Omega

7. Alone in the Chuch

“I worked for my church for two years. One day, a coworker and I were closing up the church at the end of the day. By this point, doors were locked and we had checked every room to make sure no one was in the building. The church had two lobbies, one in each side of the building. They were connected with a long hallway lined with classrooms. As my coworker and I were turning off lights and double checking the doors in the one lobby, I looked down the hall and could distinctly see a boy (late teens to early 20s) in a blue plaid short sleeve shirt and khaki pants sitting in the chair. He had his hands folded and was looking at the ground as if in deep thought.

Initially, I didn’t think anything of it as this wasn’t an uncommon sight. I turned and in the second it hit me that we were the only ones in the building. I turned again and he there was no one (from the time that I saw him to when he disappeared all happened in about a second or two). I told my coworker what I saw and we both noped out of there quick.

Being that is was our first unexplained, potentially supernatural, experience, we were both pretty freaked out but we never felt threatened nor was the presence malicious in any degree.” – AgentMarks

8. The Escaped Prisoner

“I worked in a maximum security prison for awhile. I was assigned to central control one night, which is where the camera screens were.

One of the cameras was for the classifications room. I glanced at it and there was an inmate in there. This was super odd because it was two in the morning and nobody was supposed to be in there. Everyone that had keys to that room went home at 5.

Anyways, so this inmate is just sitting in there doing nothing. I got the sergeant’s attention and told him someone was in there and gave him the spare key to the room. He went to go check it out with a couple of other people, but by the time they got there, the room was empty. They searched for like 15 minutes but there was definitely no one in there.” – Bb21297

9. Calls From the Old Morgue

“My colleague used to work in a hospital and would often receive phone calls around 3am but no one would speak at the other end of the receiver. The number was from an extension somewhere in the hospital and when they looked it up, it was from an old morgue nobody has used in a while.” – manicpixiechick

10. The Footsteps

“When I was about 12 our family moved into a new house—new to us, actually quite old. It was in our same village but down a different lane.

Part of it used to be a bungalow so my room and my sister’s room were on the ground floor, down a long hallway. All of the ground floor had walnut flooring and there was a Persian rug outside the door to my room to avoid cold toesies in the morning.

Every night, around 11 or so, I would hear footsteps walking at a fairly slow pace right down the hall, from the end guest suite up past our rooms and away down the hall to the living room.

I was always in bed when I heard them, and so was everyone else. You know how you can tell who a family member is by the way they walk up the stairs, or open a specific door? I knew it wasn’t anyone in my family. Plus, it was the sound of outdoor shoes clacking on the wood and everyone in my family wore slippers inside the house.

I would hear the footsteps start, fairly loud on the wooden floor, way down the hall, come up past my sister’s room and then there would be a pause—while whatever it was walked over the rug. You could hear the gap in the footsteps, about three seconds, then they would start again on the other side of the rug and fade out as they walked down the hall away to the living room.

Then they would come back—same footsteps, break across the rug, resumed on the other side.

I don’t remember ever feeling scared, but I never ever went out to see what it was. I would fall asleep to the sound, it would go on for a really long time. It stopped about 3 or 4 weeks after we moved in and I never heard it again. I didn’t really think about it much after it stopped, but I’ve never forgotten it and as an adult it makes me shiver to remember it.” – KE-1930

#True Ghost Stories and Tales of the Supernatural #shared stories #paranormal #ghost and hauntings #ghost and spirits

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sctanic · 4 years ago

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『 dove cameron. twenty-one. cis woman. she/her. 』 oh heavens, is that THEODORA ‘THEO’ KENNEDY from SYCAMORE WAY i see roaming around mapleview? minnie may’s always calling them -BEWILDERING & -EXTEMPORANEOUS. i happen to think they’re not that bad! they’re a pretty cool PARANORMAL INVESTIGATOR and every time i’ve seen them, they’ve always been +BEWITCHING & +UNBIASED. i hope i see them around again!

hi everyone! i’m nico and i am so happy to be here. it’s been so long since i’ve played theo and i’ve been searching for a place she’d fit in for ages. i apologize for the length of my intro and fully do not expect anyone to actually read the entire thing but if you do and you like what you read, don’t hesitate to give it a like or send me a message to plot!

trigger warnings; parental death, murder, sexual assault, abuse, alcohol, drugs

S T A T I S T I C S

full name : theodora jane kennedy nickname: theo, t.j, teddy to a select few date of birth : september 1, 1999 age : twenty-one height : 5′1″ sexuality : pansexual relationship status : taken by sonny deluca children : river and regan deluca, twins, nearly two years old. occupation : paranormal investigator for ghost adventures aesthetic : dried blood, cigarette smoke, spilled red wine, ripped jeans over fishnets, abandoned houses, late night walks through cemeteries, combat boots, smudged mascara, bruised skin, leather jackets, old film cameras, black lipstick, nightmares, dried out flowers.

P E R S O N A L I T Y

positive traits : bewitching, unbiased, passionate negative traits : bewildering, extemoraneous, impulsive likes : the occult, rebellion, horror movies, the smell of fall, cinnamon dislikes : pizza, romcoms, gender norms, willy wonka, early mornings myer-briggs : ISFP enneagram : type 8

B I O G R A P H Y

╰ ‘ theodora kennedy was born on september 1, 1999 in a small town on long island, new york to a young couple. daniel and christina kennedy already had a six year old son when they welcomed their daughter into the world and although she had not been planned, they were happy to have her. for the first five years of her life, theo had everything, but that all changed on christmas eve of 2004.

╰ ‘ what they thought was an attempted robbery gone wrong left the kennedy family broken. as theo and her older brother hid in the closet and watched from the crack between the door and the frame, christina was shot 4 times repeatedly and left dead. — it would take one whole year for authorities to find out that her own husband was responsible for it.

╰ ‘ no, daniel kennedy didn’t pull the trigger. and no, he didn’t break into his own house but his past life of crime brought upon the tragedy. before meeting and setting down with christina, daniel had been involved in a sketchy lifestyle — drugs, alcohol, parties and crime. he bought, he dealt, he stole and he owed a lot of money. when he didn’t meet his deadline he was warned what would happen, and they had been true to their word. if he couldn’t offer them the money they would take something else, something money couldn’t buy. his wife, and the mother to his two children.

╰ ‘ that christmas was a dark one. there were no celebrations and the kids didn’t open their presents. the new year just brought dread and slowly the kennedy’s began to spiral. daniel began to fall back into his olf lifestyle of partying and crime as a coping mechanism. he became involved with the wrong people once more, people he called ‘old friends’ and more times than not his son jack, who was only eleven at the time, was left to care for his sister, theo.

╰ ‘ the death of a mother would be hard for anyone, but witnessing it had really ruined theodora. she stopped socializing, stopped speaking. her father still swears that she didn’t speak a single word for 3 years, and that may have been true. night terrors and flash backs took over her once pleasant dreams.

╰ ‘ after falling back into his prior way of life, mr. kennedy found himself unemployed. it was really no surprise, he would miss shifts at the auto body shop and when he did show up he was under the influence of something and incapable of doing much of anything and with no steady income, they lost their house. however, with every storm comes a rainbow and although they lost nearly everything they did get to move in with daniel’s parents, theo’s grandparents who she absolutely adored.

╰ ‘ grandma and grandpa kennedy weren’t your everyday grandparents. they didn’t knit blankets and play bingo, no, they owned the town funeral home, situated on a graveyard and lived atop of it. grandpa was a funeral director and grandma a mortician. while daniel had grown up in the funeral home, he wasn’t much phased and his new habits left him home rarely. jack hated it. he avoided the parlor at all costs and refused to tell his friends where it was he was living but theo had never felt more comfortable, surrounded by death.

╰ ‘ at only six, she began tagging along with her grandparents while they worked. she learned how to embalm bodies and prepare them for their final rest. of course her interest in the dead and the fact that she lived in a funeral home was a subject of ridicule in school. even in kindergarten she was picked on for it. she instantaneously became the ‘weird girl’. as she got older the bullying got worse, but it made her tough. she didn’t need friends, she had her interests to keep her busy and she liked to believe the dead were her friends. she’d often spend time in the morgue or out in the cemetery, making up lives in her head for the deceased and searching for answers.

╰ ‘ her interest in the occult began very early. she loved anything mysterious and dark. her first report in elementary school was on ed and lorraine warren, her biggest inspirations even back then and ever since she has longed to be the next lorraine. her intuition to the dead is strong and her sensitivity is high. she was told early on by a psychic friend of her grandparents that she had a gift and although they told her that she would one day be able to use it to help the living, she knew right away she wanted to use it to help the dead — the souls not at rest.

╰ ‘ by sixteen theo’s relationship with her father was nonexistent. he was absent most of her life, in and out of jail and always under the influence of drugs. and when he was around, he was abusive. she spent her whole life fearing him and while her brother jack strived to be everything their father was not, to make him proud, theo found herself slowly becoming everything her father was. she was skipping school to smoke in the cemetery and drinking alcohol from her fathers stash alone in her room. she tried to drown out her demons by self medicating. she found herself at house parties and in strangers beds regularly. she was her own worst nightmare. she was becoming the person her peers had made her out to be, a monster. she was mean and bitter and mad at the world, and so very young.

╰ ‘ at seventeen her world turned upside down one more time. a small town murder made the news and left the locals panicked. was there a serial killer on the loose? were they in danger? would the killer ever get caught? a witness met with the police and a sketch was made of the suspect and shared with the world via the local news — and theo knew instantly who it was. she had spent the last week hearing about the brutal murder of a young seventeen year old girl. she had been drugged, sexually assaulted and eventually choked to death. it was ugly and it was inhuman — and it was her father. she was sure of it. with shaky hands and the approval of her grandparents, she called the police and reported her father. after 3 months and a very long trial, he was sentenced to life in prison and for the first time in years, she could finally breathe.

╰ ‘ at eighteen, theodora applied for an internship with the ghost adventures team in vegas and by some miracle she was accepted. it only took six months for them to welcome her to the team full time, making her the youngest member of the crew. she found a family in her ghost adventures crew, looking up to zak bagans like the father figure she never had. her new job and new found family really helped pull her away from the dark path she was going down.

╰ ‘ she soon after moved to vegas, the glitz and glam and partying was dangerous and tempting but her work crew did their best to steer her in the right direction, it was there — in vegas that theo met sonny deluca.

╰ ‘ sonny showed up at theo’s door one morning with his mission partner, asking to talk to her about the book of mormon. one day later he showed back up alone. four days later he was leaving his mission and moving in. it happened quick and they fell fast. theo didn’t think she was capable of loving anyone, especially not in the way that she loves sonny. it only took four days for him to knock down her walls and expose her soft interior.

╰ ‘ it did not take very long into their relationship to learn that they were expecting, not just one baby but twins. both scared and excited, they decided to keep the babies and make the impulsive decision to move. mapleview was their destination, the perfect place to raise a family. they got a house and prepared for the birth of their children.

╰ ‘ still together, sonny and theo now have a set of twins, almost two year old son, river and daughter regan. they are the light of theo’s life and everyday she strives to be better for their sake. without her family, she would be in a very bad place. she’s positive of it.

#mapleviewintro #tw: death #tw: murder #tw: alchohol mention #tw: abuse

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not-your-housekeeper98 · 4 years ago

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Jack + Fallout + Panic + Eyes

After Jack and Mac are kidnapped on their way to Vegas, the effects last long after it was over. Particularly for Jack. Panic attack and PTSD trigger content warning.

I’m posting this later then I wanted to, but that’s how life is some days!

I hope you all enjoy! @septembermacgyverwhump

He was in a room, dirty and dark. The four walls, ceiling and floor made an oversized coffin. The air was thick and choking, he struggled to breathe. Where was he? Why was he here? The only certain knowledge he had was that he had to get out. He had to. Then a door appeared. A feeling of relief coursed through him. He lunged at the door only to be rudely yanked back. He looked down, puzzled. A chain around his ankle prevented him from reaching the door. Fear and despair came crowding back. He held his face in his hands, eyes closed tightly, trying to block out his surroundings. When he looked up, a face was staring back at him, as terrified as he felt. With horror he recognized Mac. No, not the kid, please no. He couldn't help him, couldn't comfort those frightened blue eyes. A loud echoing voice reverberated through his entire body. "One lives, one dies." "One lives, one dies." Over and over again. He couldn't escape it. Jack screamed.

He woke up on the floor of his bedroom covered in sweat and shaking. Sitting up, he once more buried his face in his trembling hands and sobbed. This wasn't the first nightmare and it wouldn't be the last.

Jack recovered somewhat and went out to sit on the fire escape. The night breeze felt good on his face as he tried to forget. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He showed up late to the meeting Matty called in the morning.

"Well it looks like someone had a great night," Matty said, noting his pale features and tired expression.

"Something like that, you should try it sometime," Jack answered, in a flat, dull tone.

Something in his voice caught Mac's attention. Jack usually enjoyed his daily repartee with Matty. His eyes would twinkle as he pretended to be deadly serious. But his straight face never fooled anyone, especially since he could never hide his grin for long. Mac began to watch him closely.

Matty ignored Jack's remark and continued the mission briefing. On the screen was an image of an isolated prison cell. Jack felt his heart skip a beat. Matty continued showing blueprints of the building and the cell where a CIA operative was being held. Finally she pulled up a video taken by the terrorists of the hostage for proof of life. The man was chained to the floor of the cell. His face and body bore marks of torture. He sat listlessly, almost falling asleep, until one of his captors shouted something at him.

Jack suddenly realized he couldn't breathe. His heart was racing and the room swayed. He closed his eyes and clutched his chest, wheezing. His other hand groped the darkness for someone, something to hold onto. "help...I can't breathe...Mas, help," he gasped out.

Mac was already there and grabbed his hand. As if he was underwater he heard Riley asking if he was alright and Bozer babbling something about a heart attack. Matty must of left the room, he heard he barking indistinct orders to someone down the hall. Then his hearing cut out.

He was in the room again. He was trapped with no way out. The walls moved in closer and closer. The weight on his chest tightened, he was suffocating. "One lives, one dies." The words were a part of him. He was staring into Mac's eyes again. He knew he had to die, Mac had to make it. The blue eyes were filled with pain. "Jack, help!" "One lives, one dies." The eyes closed and Mac disappeared. Jack shouted in agony, or at least tried to. He was convinced he was dying, if only it wasn't too late to save Mac. "I'll die, you live" he choked out. "Please, please, take me."

The moment Mac saw Jack double over, he realized what was happening. He had seen it many time in other soldiers, had even been through it before himself. He grabbed Jack's hand and asked Riley to turn the screen off, something on it had obviously triggered this panic attack.

Matty came back in the war room, "I just sent for medical, do we know what's going on?" She asked.

"I think this is a panic attack," Mac replied, "the only thing we can do is help him ride it out."

"Jack? Can you hear me?" Mac squeezed Jack's hand, hoping to get him out of his head. "One lives, one dies. One lives, one dies. One lives, one dies." Jack gasped out between breaths.

Matty, Riley and Bozer looked at each other, they had read the report of course, but only now began to realize the true horror of it all.

Mac continued in a steady voice although his free hand shook. "Jack were aren't in that room anymore. We are safe, we got out, remember?"

"I'll die, you live. Please, please, take me... don't hurt the kid...take me."

Mac's eyes filled with tears and his voice shook a little, "I'm safe Jack, you're safe. You saved us. We got out."

The others in the room were silent.

Mac moved Jack's hand to his chest, "I need you to breathe with me, in and out, just like I am."

Jack felt Mac before he heard him. He tried to match his breathing to Mac's. The walls were gone and he could feel the chair beneath him. Finally he managed to open his eyes. Mac's eyes looked back into his, questioningly.

"Jack?" Mac asked, without changing his position.

"I'll be alright hoss," he answered huskily, "thanks."

The team snapped into action. Riley wrapped her jacket around his still shaking shoulders and Bozer produced a water bottle. Matty dismissed he medical team, and turned to the group.

"Blondie, you take Jack home and see that he stays there. Riley and Bozer we still have a hostage to rescue so I'm assigning you to another team for this mission." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ride home was silent. Neither Mac nor Jack felt like saying much. Once inside, Mac wordlessly put on the first Die Hard film and grabbed a couple of beers. He and Jack watched in silence until the credits ran.

"Mac, about earlier-"

"Don't worry about it. Our lives aren't easy, but we wouldn't want to change that. We'll get you help and make it through this one."

"You know I'll always have your six, kid."

"I know, and I have yours."

"Well now that that's out of the way, what'd you say I grab some more beers, make some popcorn and we watch the next one."

"Sure thing Jack."

The screen flashed on and the two sat together arguing over Bruce Willis.

#macgyver #whump fic #panic attack tw #ptsd tw #jack whump #hurt/comfort

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ericsonclan · 4 years ago

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All Who Glitter

Summary: The Ericson Pirates stumble upon a cave that has a legend attach to it.

Word Count: 2201

Read on AO3:

Aasim leaned over the side of the ship, hurling the remnants of lunch as the ship swayed. A long strand of saliva trailed down and dangled from his mouth before he spit it into the sea. He hated storms but this one had been particularly bad. The skies were an ominous grey as lighting and thunder rained from above. The sea itself seemed to be on a quest to have Ol’ Kickass and all the pirates on it join Davy Jones’ Locker. Luckily unlike other times no one had gotten hurt and thanks to Clementine's steering they were able to get out of it. He felt a warm hand rub his back as a voice he adored spoke.

“You doing okay?” Ruby asked with a warm smile.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine.” Aasim looked around, taking in the foreign location. “But where are we?”

The ship stood before a large cove, its turquoise waters washing in and out, drawing the eyes toward a cave. Water fell from its ceiling, causing a quiet sound to echo throughout as the ripples spread. The cave glowed with a warm golden tone as the water fell, making it an even more curious and mysterious place. Even with the ship docked on shore, Aasim’s stomach still felt a relentless wave of nausea.

“I’m not sure.” Prisha’s voice drew Aasim's attention as she stood with most of the crew on shore. “But we should proceed with caution.”

“I agree.” Clementine spoke as she stared towards the cave. “We should all rest first. That storm was-”

Louis’ gasp cut her off though as he jumped down from the ship. His boots sunk deep into the white sand before he nearly faceplanted due to his rash jump. A few stumbles and wobbly hands and the captain was back on solid footing. “I can’t believe it’s real!” His voice was filled with excitement. He did a little jig which AJ imitated. “The forbidden cove!”

“What the hell is the forbidden cove?” Mitch grumbled as he lay against the ship, his arm clutching his stomach. Brody stood beside him looking concerned for Mitch. She didn’t like how pale his face was looking.

“I’m glad you asked!” Louis shouted. With a mighty leap he jumped onto a nearby rock, his arms outstretched dramatically and his legs crouched as he stood before the crew. “Legend has it that there is a small cove around these waters with a cave hidden inside that only appears during the cycle of a full moon. It’s said to be filled with unimaginable treasure. Gold as far as the eye can see and pearls bigger than any oyster could produce! It would put even the richest men in all the seven seas to shame!”

A gasp came from the younger boys who were entranced by the tale. Louis gave a large smile, clearly enjoying every minute. Sophie strolled forward, clearly intrigued by the tale as well.

“But!” Louis shouted, pushing back his coat dramatically, “Be warned! For whoever steals from the cave will be put under a curse! His body turned into the very thing he tried to steal… Gold!”

That drew out some gasps from the crew. Sophie smiled as she saw Willy excitedly bouncing up and down at the tale. Tenn looked just as interested in the story even if he wasn’t as energetically showing it.

Violet let out a sigh. “Really, Louis? Gold?”

“It’s true! That’s how the legend goes.” Louis exclaimed with a huff before he jumped down.

“We should be careful.” Brody spoke up. “It may just be a legend, but we’ve dealt with things like this that turned out to be real.”

Sophie glanced over at her friend and nodded in agreement. “Make sense. I’ve heard enough tales of your wild adventures and been in enough with this crew to know that if there is a legend the seven seas hold, there has to be some truth to it.”

“Wait! Where’s Willy?” Clementine asked. The crew all looked around before the realization hit them.

“You don’t think….” Ruby’s gaze turned towards the cave. Everyone’s eyes followed hers.

“That idiot!” Violet grumbled as she sprinted forward, her bare feet shifting and slipping in the warm sand. The rest of the crew followed her closely, one behind the other, nervous for what kind of trouble one of the wildest Ericson Pirates could have gotten himself into.

As they entered the cave they all froze as they saw Willy before them. His arms were covered with fancy jewelry. Emeralds, diamonds and sapphires danced on the necklace around his neck and the rings that adorned his fingers. The sharp clink of coins hitting each other drew the crew’s attention to the pirate’s hands. Dozens if not hundreds of gold coins were haphazardly tuck away in his arms and between his fingers. A crown slowly slid down his head as he looked at them with a goofy grin.

“Willy, take it off! Drop the treasure!” Prisha shouted frantically as she began to climb the mountain of loot that the young pirate stood at the very tippy top of.

“Which ones?” Willy’s voice was slightly muffled.

“All of it! It’s fucking cursed!” Mitch yelled as he ran forward to help, slipping on gold and necklaces as he tried to reach him. Willy’s eyes grew large at the sight of Prisha and Mitch climbing up the gold along with Sophie and Violet. Seeing how tense they all looked, he decided it best to listen to their words. Willy chucked off the crown and began throwing away any other jewelry he had been wearing. Rings went flying and necklaces were torn off. The wild-haired pirate spat out coins as he continued his mission to get all the jewelry off.

“Why are there coins in your mouth?” Louis asked as he stared in awe of how many coins were flying out. There must’ve been easily over a dozen that he had spit out so far.

“I wanted to see if it was real or food!” Willy shouted.

“Why would it be food?” Clementine looked utterly confused by the young pirate’s logic.

“Anything could be potential food,” Sophie argued which Mitch and Violet silently agreed to. Growing up on the streets, you’d look for food anywhere.

Suddenly Willy’s feet began to feel heavy; any feeling in his toes had disappeared. His green eyes danced with shock and fear when he looked down and noticed that inch by inch his body was turning to gold.

“What the shit?!?” Louis screamed and began to climb up the mountain of treasure too. “Guys! Help him get all the treasure off!”

The crew ran forward, each person desperately trying to reach Willy in time. Mitch grunted as he reached the top and scurried forward to help get rid of all the treasure as the gold slowly overtook Willy’s chest. Willy took the final necklace off before his arms began to harden. As the necklace fell the last inch of his fingertips was covered. The jeweled necklace dropped with a thud as did the crew’s hearts as they looked on at the sight before them. Willy stood there, a statue of gold.

The crew stared in silence, shocked by the sight before them. None of them knew what to say when suddenly Willy’s body shifted and began to slide down the mountain of treasure.

“Willy!” Tenn and AJ cried out as they scampered to reach him.

“Fucking shit,” Mitch ran forward, sliding down a trail of coins as he clutched Willy’s golden form. Prisha, Sophie and Violet grabbed on as well and slowed down the descent. The four successfully got Willy to the bottom of the treasure mountain safely.

“Get him back on the ship. We can figure out a solution there.” Clementine’s voice was calm even though she didn’t feel like it.

Louis and Marlon stepped forward, each carrying a side of Willy.

“Holy shit! How much does he weigh?” Marlon asked as he tried to move him. Mitch joined in, helping the others lift Willy. AJ and Tenn followed their example and tried to help out even though their strength didn’t match the older pirates’.

“He’s solid gold so it would make sense that he would be extremely heavy.” Aasim noted as joined in. After a few breaks, many hands and some pirates falling into the shallow water and sands of the shore, the crew got Willy onto the ship.

“Alright, we need to start looking for solutions!” Louis announced. “Everyone split up into teams and start looking. Prisha and Aasim, look in your scrolls for anything to do with spells that involve gold. Ruby, Brody and Omar can look into things to do with natural remedies. As for the rest of us, we’ll brainstorm ideas and go from there.” Within minutes the crew got in their respective groups and quickly went to work.

Hours flew by as night turned into day. The feeling of defeat washed over the crew as they stood before Willy’s gold figure, nowhere closer to the answer that would break him free of his golden prison. Garbage hissed in concern as she circled him. Her tail wrapped around his legs as her beady eyes darted around at the other pirates as if demanding they find a way to fix this.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Prisha held a hand up to her chin. “All the gold that he had worn is off.” “According to our scrolls that fact should make it impossible for the curse to remain,” Aasim tsked angrily. “Yet here he is, still a statue of gold.”

The rest of the crew remained quiet. After a few minutes of doom and gloom Louis snapped his crew back into the fighting spirit and once again they continued their search. There had to be something that could help him. The crew all worked tirelessly below decks when suddenly a loud noise came from above decks, causing everyone to run up there.

“Thieves! They got Willy!” Tenn shouted as he ran down the steps and towards the others.

“The fuck they do!” Mitch yelled as he sprinted up the stairs and towards the side of the ship. With one jump he landed on shore, running after the thieves as he swore.

“That dumbass!” Violet grumbled, putting her hands on the side of the ship and vaulting herself over the edge of Ol’ Kickass as she chased after her childhood friend.

The thieves looked back and let out a yelp as they saw Mitch slowly gaining on them, his face twisted with anger.

“Get back here, you pieces of shit!” Mitch snapped.

“Drop it! It's not worth it!” one of the thieves hissed. The other nodded; they had barely made it past the ship. With a scared yell the thieves threw Willy into the sea. His golden form quickly got pulled further into the water’s depths by the tide, heading out to sea. Mitch and Violet’s eyes widened in panic as they both desperately tried to grab him, but his fingers slid out of their reach as he began to sink.

“Marlon!” Louis yelled before jumping in after Willy.

Marlon followed shortly behind. They two dove down, kicking their legs frantically as they tried to lift him up. Prisha and Clementine ran around the deck grabbing any available rope which they threw down to Louis and Marlon as soon as they emerged from the sea. After tying a few quick knots, Prisha and Clementine began to pull. Sophie grabbed the rope and began to help then Brody joined her then Ruby and soon the rest of the crew joined in as the golden boy went up inch by inch. Soon Willy’s golden form stood before them once more, safe and sound.

Everyone was busy catching their breath, thankful that it had worked out when they noticed Willy’s sleeve had been crinkled by the pressure of the ropes. Underneath the sleeve was a small bracelet.

“That’s it!” Louis shouted as he pointed at it. “That’s the last cursed item!”

“We need to get something that could loosen it.” Prisha said as she stared at the bracelet.

“Cooking oil should work.” Omar said with a matter of fact voice before disappearing below decks. When he emerged he held in his hand a bowl of oil. Each crew member dipped their hand into it and started to rub the oil on the bracelet and around it. After a few minutes the bracelet started to loosen and with one hard collective pull it came off. Without a word, Louis wrapped the bracelet in a cravat before placing it in a slingshot and shooting it towards the cave.

“Bye bye you gold bully,” Louis gave a mock salute. The gold bracelet ricocheted off the wall and into the cave. The crew gave their less than pleasant farewells to the cursed object when a loud gasp from behind caused them to turn and see Willy standing before them, no longer gold. The crew all ran forward and wrapped him up in a hug. Each of them talked over each other and took turns ruffling his hair as short laughs of relief filled the air. The curse was finally broken.

#twdg #twdg louis #twdg clementine #twdg aj #twdg tenn #twdg willy #twdg brody #twdg mitch #twdg ruby #twdg aasim #twdg violet #twdg prisha #twdg sophie #twdg omar #fanfic #a pirate's life for me au

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renee-writer · 5 years ago

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A Strange New World Chapter 8 Willie

Trigger Warning: Discusses the Holocaust

They end up making two meat pies, one lamb and one beef. She makes some of her homemade bread and even a bunt cake for dessert.

The men return as they are setting the table. “That roof is worse then we thought. Will require another day.” Brian tells his wife as they walk in.

“Tis' fine. He can stay here tonight and past, if there is need.” She looks at her eldest son with affection. He stands, arms and head down. “Go wash up for supper lads. Claire and I have made a nice dinner.”

They all take seats around the table. Jamie sits beside Claire. He had found himself missing here today. He grins at her. She returns it. They lower their heads as Brian says Grace. They slowly pass the food around. Willie's eyes get big.

“Aye, tis lamb. Claire asked after your favorite.” His mam says with a look of affection towards her.

“I knew you were all working hard. I wanted to do something special for you. Even made dessert.”

“Dessert too.” Jamie looks at Claire with his heart in his eyes. Willie has to look away. Not that he doesn’t want his brother happy. They are all happy with her. She is a kind and sweet lass. Given him that cookie. It wasn’t her. She wasn’t the reason he rejected it. It was he didn’t deserve any kindness. Not after..

His mind returns to the camp. After being captured..

“Brian, I would like to do something for Mary McNab. Claire and I ran into her today while shopping. She is just barely making it. Is there anyway we can hire her to do some work here?”

Brian smiles at her. “My kindhearted lass. There actually is. She has a fair hand. We need a woman to help design the new labels. You ken fine our whisky and gin is selling well to the lads but this new gin will be targeted to the lasses. If Mary wishes, I will hire her to design labels and marketing strategies to reach the fairer sex. I will pay her well.”

“Simply brilliant Brian. I will ring her tomorrow. I can watch Rabbie while his mam works. It will be nice to have the sound of wee feet in the house again.”

Willie is listening but can't reply, join in. He is trapped in the hell that was that Concentration Camp in Denmark, Camp Froslev. He can still smell the fear and unwashed bodies. The sense of desperation. A camp for Jews, Gypsy's, homosexuals, and others the Nazi's deemed, undesirable, unworthy of live. He even saw a priest there. He wasn’t to be there. By the time they realize their mistake and transfer him to a true POW camp, Of Lag 15, the damage is done. He has seen far to much. Horrors that still haunt his waking and sleeping hours.

The POW camp was filled with British and American soldiers. The British soldiers set out to make trouble for their captors. Escapes were common but they only lead to harsher treatment. They were feed a starvation diet, just a step above what the unfortunate prisoners were feed in the first camp. By the time it is liberated, they are walking skeletons, those that are still alive. He is restored to physical health but..

Jamie takes Claire out to the barn after dinner. To check on the animals but also to get the kiss he wouldn’t yet do in front of his family. As she leans over the pony's stall, he kisses her neck. “That was some good food Claire. I thank you.”

“Do you think I cooked to get kisses?” she teases, feeling light and free.

“You don't?”

“No, I cook because I like too. I enjoy providing for those who provide for me.”

“Sweet.” He says before he takes her lips. They cling together for a few minutes. “Ah Dhai. I need to get you inside afore they come looking for us and while I can still stop.”

“Yes.” She rest aginst him a moment. “We need to stop.”

He leads her back inside. It is soon time for bed, with farm chores starting early in the morning. He walks her to her bedroom door and kisses her goodnight. It is gentler then the kiss in the barn. They both sigh at the parting. “Good night Claire.”

“Good night Jamie.”

Sometime, deep in the night, he is awakened by unholy screams. He jumps up thinking it is Claire. He is on his feet and out the door before he understands it is Willie. He meets an equally shook Claire in the hall. They enter the room together.

Willie stands by the bed, his eyes wild, a dirk in his hand. Jamie pushes Claire behind him. He starts to speak to his brother in Gaelic. “It is alright Willie. It is me. Jamie. You are safe at Lallybroch.”

Claire comes from behind him. “I know Willie. I understand. I was badly abused and tortured myself by my husband and his brother. You can talk to me.”

It happens so fast, like a snake strike. He is standing there and then he is attacking. He lashes out and the dirk comes down on Claire’s arm. Jamie had the dirk out of his hand in seconds. Brian and Ellen enter and find Claire cradling her bleeding arm and Jamie holding his brother.

“I'm sorry. So sorry.” Willie says. They all stare at him, the man who hadn't said anything in many years.

#my writing #outlander fanfic #jamie and claire #cannon divergence #outlander fandom #modern au #a strange new world #willie

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m00nslippers · 6 years ago

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Jason is actually in-character in RHATO Issue #35!?

Wow, we got so much about the All-Caste in this issue. On the one hand, it kind of feels like it was pulled out of Lobdell’s ass, but on the other hand it’s badass and cool and the visuals are beautiful so I don’t even give a shit. Also like, there is just so much of Jason being Jason in the best and most pure way possible in this issue that it’s crazy? Let’s jump into the review and you’ll see what I mean.

We open on Jason in the midst of some kind of charity fundraiser with Isabel. Jason is looking awesome in his suit. The shoulder pads are toned down in most scenes finally, and he doesn’t look like he’s cosplaying Jafar anymore thank goodness.

First off, Jason doing a charity gala for Gotham’s poor is freaking canon now and I love that. Despite his new money and his fame, it doesn’t go to his head, he sees himself as separate from the rich people who didn’t have his experiences living poor on the streets. He still remembers that desperation and wants to help people. He’s a truly giving person that cares about others, always has and always will. Second of all, Jason is hanging out on the balcony being broody which is just Classic Jason™. He’s a loner, an introvert, he doesn’t like crowds. Especially crowds of rich kiss-asses. And he dislikes rich people. It’s so great when characters are written in-character, isn’t it?

And third of all, I love Isabel’s dress. It’s so classy, cream lace on black with a bow at the neck? Nice. You got style, girl.

So Jason opens up to Isabel and is unusually vocal about his thoughts regarding his negative feelings about Gotham and the rich and his father(s). It’s interesting to me because she’s the only person he’s ever really opened up to and spoken about this with. He’s not sharing his plans or involving her with his machinations, but he’s definitely sharing his thoughts, complaining even. This is unusually healthy behavior from Jason, to be honest. He usually bottles it all up and doesn’t say more than a few snide words out loud. Any insight into his feelings are usually given in thoughts, not dialogue. That said, it really shows how much Jason trusts Isabel with his emotions unlike anyone else, maybe even Roy.

The more I read with Isabel, the less I think she’s going to turn on Jason. I never believed that idea to begin with and I still don’t see it. She seems genuinely kind and loving. The only problem is that Jason isn’t as out of the game as he pretends to be and she’s going to be pretty upset with him when she finds out he lied, so I can’t see them lasting. I also still have a bet on that she’s going to die. I’m less confident in that prediction as I was before, but we’ll just have to see what happens.

So Isabel leaves the party because she has to work the next morning and we catch back up with Jason after the gala, getting into his fancy car with James/Wingman as his driver. We get the slightest little bit more of James identity reveal--more like clarification really. Wingman’s name isn’t James, or probably isn’t James, and Jason doesn’t know or care who he really is. Jason tells James that it doesn’t matter, that if he betrays him Jason will just kill him. And again this is just so reflective of Jason’s kind of apathetic view about how others think of him. He really just assumes people are thinking the worst of him, are going to betray him, so there’s no point getting worked up about it--if Wingman turns on him, Jason will be ready, it’s as simple as that. Jason has had too many people betray his trust for him to even care about trust at this point.

Now when it comes to Wingman, I am more and more convinced that James is Jason’s dad in a different body. I am like eighty percent certain now. James knows who Jason is and is loyal to him out of nowhere. James is concealing his true identity. James talks with a rougher accent and calls himself ‘a dope’, suggesting he’s just an average Gotham street thug. He hedges on his belief that Jason should have returned to Gotham, as if sympathetic to how much it bothers Jason to stay there. It just fits, in my opinion. I believe that in the experiments that Jason's dad was a part of when he was in prison, the same ones that created Solitary and mixed up his consciousness and memories with other inmates, Willis's mind was either fully or partially transferred to a different body as well and that is James. Wingman is either Willis’s mind in a different body, or a different person who got Jason’s dad’s memories. I also feel Jason’s Dad’s bat tattoo is going to come into play again somehow. We can only wait and see though.

So James drops Jason off at the docks where he has a freaking yacht ready too take him to the Iceburg Lounge. Suzie meets him there because she heard the Euro-Bloc 'coincidentally' got hit when Jason was in Paris, last issue. Remember that these guys were investors in Penguin’s criminal empire and the casino. Suzie seems to be on to Jason and expresses her concern once again about Jason getting her family involved in something shady that's going to screw them over when this whole thing was supposed to be them going straight. Jason promises her family is going to be okay, which is just inviting trouble. She says for some reason she trusts him, which just goes to show how much Jason inspires trust in people, even his former enemies. He gets on the yacht, and speeds off.

Okay, I know that Suzie had done some really messed up stuff in the past but like...I really like her and I hope her family doesn't get screwed by what is obviously going to happen with Penguin? I didn't like her character’s actions in the New 52 version of RHATO but I've really warmed to her and her sisters here. I really hope her relationship with Jason doesn't become soured after everything goes down, but it seems inevitable.

On the yacht, Jay does some reflection. I love how in-character Jason’s internal monologue is. I know that is an odd thing to be happy about, but sometimes I honestly wonder if the Jason I love is something I made up in my head and the canon doesn't actually support how I and many fans envision him--but it does! It does so much! This is all just so very right, how Jason understands himself but when an issue is painful, when it hurts to think about and he doesn't want to consider it, he just puts it out of his mind. He focuses on action and denies his his pain. Also, Jason acknowledging his growing friendships with his new teammates shows Jason's caring nature as well as his introverted and anxious side. He never means to adopt these people he finds himself with, but he just cannot help empathizing with them and coming to see them as 'his' people, no matter how much he tries to be distant. And yet he's afraid of them being hurt, or them hurting him. I love when Jason's personality is shown off like this!

On the way to the casino Jason is confronted by Essence, who wants to stop Jason from committing ‘petty revenge’ and falling to the dark side...or something. It's very vague what the hell her problem is. I guess she thinks Jason is just running around playing crime boss and that is inherently against the All-Caste code or something and she wants him to give it up but of course Jason doesn’t do what people want him to.

As they are talking, we get a little bit of a flashback showing their relationship, just a scene of them under a tree in All-Caste outfits when Jason was young and they kiss. It seems to me that she was the one who was into him for the most part and it’s both cute and sad that young Jason seemed so surprised by her affections. She still seems into him now, saying she doesn’t know whether she should kiss or kill him but Jason makes it clear he doesn’t have feelings for her anymore, not least of all because of the events in New 52 RHATO when Essence lied to and used Jason to instigate a confrontation with the Untitled which broke their truce so they could be destroyed. Remember that?

Basically they gear up to fight and Essence draws her freaking badass red swords and Jason draws his crowbar and katana and they face off in THE FUCKING ASTRAL DIMENSION, WHAT?!

We get just...so much about the All-Caste here.

Essence was the heir to the All-Caste but she didn't want the job, she wanted to be a warrior, not a peaceful leader.

'All' refers to the ability to see the past, present and future. Ducra, it’s leader, is omniscient.

Jason is the only human to have ever learned their techniques and not gone insane.

When Jason met Ducra, she saw his past, present and future and hoped he could overcome his destiny.

Jason and Essence seem pretty evenly matched, despite her being an immortal empowered by the Well of Sins. So yeah, Jason is a badass.

In the Astral Plane at least, Essence’s sword can make a three-eyed demon oni-looking construct thing and they can both do crazy energy blasts and flames.

So...if omniscience is part of the All-Caste arts/abilities, does this mean Jason can see the future/past if he wants?! I mean maybe he doesn’t use it because he doesn’t want to go crazy, but still that’s freaking cool. Also, this could be another explanation to hand-wave various points when Jason was acting crazy and out of character in certain preboot issues. Previously the explanation was ‘Lazarus Pit madness’, but now we have yet another thing that could make Jason go mad. Like...Jason is really just doomed to be crazy from all sides, isn’t he?

And since when the hell can Jason go into the Astral Plane?! That's it, Jason needs to do more magic stuff! I need a team up with Constantine and Zatanna, stat! No, that terrible arc in Trinity when Jason got possessed by a demon doesn't count. It doesn't even make sense with this new information, and Bizzaro still had backwards-speak like before the reboot and was really irritating, instead his of cute baby-talk. Like clearly the writer of that issue never even read RHATO.

But anyway, the two continue their fight, Jason with his kickass glowing swords and Essence with her red ones in the crystalline Astral Plane. There are crystal looking formations everywhere and asian-style clouds and they float on nothing, it’s pretty cool. The colorist does an amazing job as always, and the art is awesome in this issue, much better than it has been in my opinion. Essence seems to have the upper hand when she suddenly stabs Jason through the chest!

Is this the end for our hero?! Yeah naw.

It's revealed that Essence's sword is called the 'Blood Blade' and works kind of like Katana's cursed sword, it absorbs the soul of evil people it stabs--but if you stab someone innocent (or just not evil) your soul gets sucked in instead. And that is exactly what happens.

I don't think any of us were fooled into thinking Jason was actually going to die for even a moment. As it turned out Jason was playing her, pretending to be rusty at swordplay and the All-Caste magic and mad with revenge on Penguin (that last he didn't do the best job of being convincing, but she already thought the worst of him so it didn't really need much selling I guess.) He just wanted her to stab him with the blade so she would get sucked into it. I like that Jason's strategic ability is being shown off here, but I feel like stabbing him was her plan to begin with so I don't get why Jason needed to fight back at all? Eh, maybe she would have been suspicious if he just stood there and let her stab him.

So Essence is sucked into the sword because Jason isn't evil--surprise! Or not, I think it was pretty obvious Jason isn’t evil. He organized a charity in the first page of the issue for godssake!

Jason explains to Essence as she gets sucked into her sword that he isn't good or bad, he's “just practical as hell.” Which is just so freaking validating. Jason isn't evil, he isn't a bad person, in fact he is a good person with good intentions but you can't make the world a better place on good intentions alone. Sometimes you have to walk the line to get results and Jason draws that line further out than most, further out than Bruce, but his methods are necessary and they work and that's more than most can say.

I still don't know what the heck Essence's problem with Jason was, I guess she shares Bruce's terrible viewpoint, always believing the worst of our Jay, maybe she just had a grudge over Jason leaving the All-Caste, but at least this means my feelings from the beginning were probably intentional and not bad writing--those feelings being confusion as to what reason anyone could have to object to Jason's actions, because he wasn't doing anything wrong! All he did was lock up Penguin, when if he had been arrested for his crimes and not wiggled out of them with all his money, he would have been locked up anyway! His safe room was probably way nicer than a jail cell, to be honest.

So Jason takes Essence's sword and locks it up in his safe back at the Iceberg Lounge when who should appear but Penguin, back in black after having been released by Miguel last issue! It seems like Cobblpot has won Miguel to his side, probably by spinning some sob story that conveniently leaves out that he is a crime lord that uses his money to stay out of jail and oh, also he framed Jason's dad and tried to have Jason murdered and sent goons after him and was trafficking illegal weapons. Yeah, I bet he didn’t mention that part. Miguel is getting played, the poor kid. He’s too innocent.

Oh man, I really enjoyed this issue, there were so many parts when I was just like, "Yes! That is exactly what Jason would do!" and I'm not sure why I am so surprised when he acts in character, but I just am and pleasantly so. The art was also really great, I love with All-Caste stuff shows up because their aesthetic is just cool, and Pete Woods, the artist stepped it up. The fights were great, Jason’s faces looked a lot better than they have, he actually looks like a good looking twenty-something adult and not a snakey thug in most of the panels. Hopefully that trend continues. Also the colorist, I love this colorist, he does such a good job, kudos to Rex Lokus who really brought out Dexter Soy’s art too. I think his consistently really does help tie the run together even with the artist change.

Well, that’s it I'm excited to see the confrontation with Penguin and Miguel next issue and see where it goes! I think we get the Annual later this month? Or next month, that will also be awesome, and I’ll be here for it.

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myhauntedsalem · 5 years ago

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True Ghost Stories and Tales of the Supernatural

1. A Baby Crying

2. The Man with the Suitcase

So far, no one else from my family has seen him. I haven’t seen him again ever since, but for a while it really scared the shit out of me to be home alone.” – rraarraarraasputin

3. The Exorcism

4. The Morgue Door

“Used to work hospital security and we had video cameras accessible in the office.

5. The Haunted Hotel

6. Echoes of the Past

“When I was little I saw a recurring ghost. She would appear for a split second and then vanish, but I could always perfectly recreate the image.

So, not a scary supernatural encounter but rather a heartwarming one knowing the great aunt I never met was saying hello.” – Omni_Omega

7. Alone in the Chuch

8. The Escaped Prisoner

“I worked in a maximum security prison for awhile. I was assigned to central control one night, which is where the camera screens were.

9. Calls From the Old Morgue

10. The Footsteps

“When I was about 12 our family moved into a new house—new to us, actually quite old. It was in our same village but down a different lane.

Every night, around 11 or so, I would hear footsteps walking at a fairly slow pace right down the hall, from the end guest suite up past our rooms and away down the hall to the living room.

Then they would come back—same footsteps, break across the rug, resumed on the other side.

#True Ghost Stories and Tales of the Supernatural #shared stories #paranormal #ghost and hauntings #ghost and spirits

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