#why did they name him redux

[gargyshmub]

Biggie smalls and little biggums

i fucked up the shading just a wee but other than that this shit is Done

[nctinkverse]

Promissa Redux

Pairing: jaehyun x f. reader

Genre: mature, smut, angst, fluff, minors dni.

Preview and plot warnings (I will update as I go): dad Jaehyun, pregnancy, MC is a mom, mature, slow burn, excessive angst, abundant plot, and probably way too much dialogue, exes to lovers, Jaehyun 's family is in this (at least as I imagine they might be), a lot of intimacy, explicit content, swearing, alcohol consumption, mention of exes, heavy make-out session and annoying co-workers.

WC Preview: 1000

WC Total: Not sure, probably it will be 5.000 - 10.000?

Chapter 1 - Shattered promises & Broken vows. Chapter 2 - Valentines Day.

Chapter 3 - One call away is not close enough.

SYNOPSIS: Most of the fairy tales and romance novels, it all seems perfect after the happily ever after. But what if some stories started at the end?

Well not the end per se, nobody was dying.

But you always questioned, do princess get a divorce?

Do female main characters give up the man they fought to love after so many chapters?

At 32 years of age, divorced, mom to an incredible 5-year-old girl who was the greatest thing you and the love of your life ever did, you thought again about the same questions you had when you were 14 and your parents got divorced.

Jung was your last name for 2 years, Mrs. Jung was your title and you loved it, he was sweet, loving, an amazing father and so good to you in bed that you never forgot truly what it felt like to be loved by him.

Your story stated way past the end, the not so happily ever after.

It didn’t have many twists and turns like a superhero movie that keeps you hanging at the edge of your seat for the next plot twist.

In your mind, life was already full of uncertainties, hard decisions, mistakes and paying the price for choosing paths.

Life itself was already hard enough without the responsibilities of superpowers.

So how you ended up thinking about all that again at 32 years old, while holding an engagement ring box you found on your lover’s pocket while picking it up of the floor, it was something you will have to find the answers, probably soon.

------------------------Preview----------------------------------------

You were fast asleep when the phone rang. The name on the screen making you jump, why is he calling at this hour? This can’t be a good thing.

Immediately you laid your back on the headboard and answered the call.

"Hi."

"Jaehyun, is something wrong?"

"Oh, no…" You let out a relieved breath, being half asleep making you grumpy.

"Good lord, Jaehyun, it's 4 a.m!" You said, raising your voice a little.

"Oh shoot… um sorry… I didn’t check for the time zones. I should have called another –

You interrupted his rambling. He’s not usually someone to call, he could just spill so you can go back to sleep.

"Jae, spill, what’s the gossip, huh?"

He let out a little laugh since the gossip joke was an old one between you two.

"No gossip, but I do have something."

"Clearly, it's something good or you wouldn’t be calling on impulse, spill, Jaehyun."

"Yeah right…" He hesitated a bit, his telltale sign usually being him coughing even though there was nothing wrong with his voice. "I got sent this script for this movie, they want me as the main male character..." He hesitated again, which made you ask.

"Jaehyun, what did you do?"

"I sent a copy of the script to your mailbox."

You could feel your sleepiness going away as you scolded him.

"Jaehyun, are you nuts? You can’t ship stuff like this in the mail! What if it gets –"

"It got delivered today." He interrupted, making you stop your thinking.

Scrambling for a thought since he didn’t elaborate, you asked.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with it?! I’m not a male actor, Jung."

"Read, dummy, read."

"And do what?"

"Tell me if you want it."

You opened your mouth to be obnoxious, pointing out the obvious, but Jaehyun must have listened to your 'I’m about to give you an earful' breath and went first.

"Listen, it’s an amazing script, just like the ones you used to want to work on. There’s an opening for a cinematographer, and I know you’re a hell of a good one, so if you want, it’s yours." He said in one breath, probably afraid you would interrupt again.

But from all he said, this part really got you confused.

"What do you mean it’s mine?"

"I showed the director your profile and portfolio, and he said yes."

"Fuck, Jaehyun." You didn’t know what to say since he was never one to interfere in your personal life since the D word.

"You’re sleepy, and I know how grumpy you can be at this hour, so… I still have to tell you two more things, the job is in the states, probably 3-4 months of filming, and I am supposed to give an answer on the male character in 48 hours. We would have to work together, and we would probably have to strike a deal with my parents since we can’t pull Junnie out of school, so…"

You understood what he said, but you needed at least a cup of coffee to process it. But before you could say anything, he went off again.

"I can give it up if you want." He said almost like a whisper.

"Give what up?"

"The character."

"You didn’t like it?"

"No, but –

You interrupted again.

"So, if you do like it, why would you give it up?" It made no sense to you.

"For you –"

It still didn’t make sense why he would give it up.

"Give it up for ME?"

"I like it, Y/N, but this script has you written all over it… and I don’t want to make you uncomfortable by being there."

Now you got him, yet he was about the last person in this world who could make you uncomfortable.

"Yuno…" You said in a softer tone.

You heard his breath and a soft "yeah?"

"I don’t hate you." You stated in your most soft yet firm tone, it was one of the things he must not forget about you two.

"I know, Y/N, I know."

"I am going to read it and think about what you said, ok? Don’t do anything hasty."

"Ok, I will let you go back to sleep."

"I’m not sleeping after all this, you know right?" You said, letting out a small huff.

"I know."

"What I am about to do is getting up, making some coffee and grabbing the script out of my mailbox, does it sound good to you?" You were being just a bit playful.

"It does, love."

That word made you warm like butter melting on a frying pan. Still, that wasn’t something out of the ordinary for him to call you. So, you let it slide.

"Well, for sure it’s better than staying in bed tossing and turning."

He let out a small giggle, he knew you were one of those to fight a lot with your bed at night.

"Good morning, love."

"Good afternoon to you?" You didn’t know what timezone he was on, so you tried.

"Try again." He said with a smiling voice.

"Good night!" You said like you had guessed the lottery numbers.

He let out a giggle sound and said, "Give little Nari 1000 kisses from me, will you?

"Why just a thousand?" You said with a little pout. You could hear his playful tone.

"Don’t you know our daughter? She might ask for in real life a thousand kisses; since you are the closest parent, you might fall victim to it, so I think that’s a great number for kisses."

You both giggled, Jung Nari, the lily to our garden, was at that phase where hyperboles would be a tough concept for her to grasp.

"Ok, fine." You agreed still giggling.

"I will call… stay safe."

"You too, Jaehyun."

"Bye."

"Bye."

And the line went silent.

[himluv]

Hard Truths (redux)

As promised, here is an update to my fic Say My Name (Say it Twice). Merry Christmas! This is a rework of my first attempt at writing Lucanis back in November, so while there is some overlap here, there's a ton of new stuff too. Enjoy!

SNIFFFF! Sweat and salt and coffee. Lucanis. Sulfur, too. Candles, burned low. Powder. Ash. Rough velvet on calloused fingertips. Press to the stone. Won’t forget. CANNOT. HIDE!

Yessssss. Good! They will know. I. Am. Here!

“Hey, Lucanis?”

Sniffff. Brimstone. “No Lucanis. Only Spite!”

“Ugh. You again?”

“Yessss. Always here. Waiting.”

“Right. That’s not creepy at all.”

Brimstone. Calm fire. No fear. Why no fear? “You don’t. Fear us. Why?”

“I’m Rivaini. Spirits don’t bother me.”

“Demon! Not spirit.”

“Sure you are. Now, let Lucanis go.”

“No!” Must get out. Go, go, gogogo!

“Hey, Taash. What’s going on?”

SNIFFFF. Campfire and berries. ROOK!

“Demon’s back.”

“I don’t think he ever leaves, actually.”

 “Then he’s acting weird.”

Sniiiiiiffffff. “Smells like… melon and woodsmoke.”

“Hey! No! No. Sit your ass back down.”

“I’ll handle this. Maybe make sure the eluvian room is blocked?”

Brimstone. Gone! Just Rook. Just. Us! “Now. We get to talk.”

“When demons say they want to talk, that usually means they want to bargain.”

“Lucanis. Made a deal. He hasn’t kept.”

“What deal?”

 “Break our chains. Kill. Escape our prison. And Liiiive!”

“Isn’t that what happened?”

“NO! I want out!”

“‘Out’ to where? Tevinter? Orlais? Nowhere’s safe for a possessed man.”

“No! No! He promised! Tell him! Make him–”

–Lucanis blinked in the familiar dim of the pantry, the candles lower than they should be. Much lower. But even in the low light, Rook shone like a star. She wasn’t looking at him, her eyes cast to the side as if to give him privacy.

“Rook?”

“You were sleepwalking,” she said. 

Ah. Of course. He noticed the chill in his neck now, the telltale sign that Spite had been in control. He looked down at his feet. “Spite was sleepwalking.”

“He didn’t go anywhere,” she said. Her tone was light and reassuring. “Nothing happened.” 

This time. But how many times could he lose control before someone got hurt? Before she got hurt? Just imagining Spite touching her, hurting her with his hands made his skin crawl. 

“I didn’t want you to see that,” he said. “Again.”

She took a step closer and he finally looked at her. Her eyes were clear, her expression earnest and soft. She always seemed to carry so much softness for him. 

“Nothing I’m seeing makes me want to look away.”

How? How could that be when he could barely stand looking in the mirror? How did she always say just the right thing to make him feel like he wasn’t completely drowning?

He shook his head. “How do you always do that?”

“Do what?” There was a teasing lilt to her voice that he now recognized as flirtation, but Lucanis couldn’t quite bring himself to match it. 

“Break apart my perfectly gathered clouds of doom.” He frowned. “You deserve better than to deal with my mess.”

Rook leaned against the wall, her hands behind her back. “You’re more than what you’re going through. And, you wear it well.” She gave him a smile so tender, a look so openly fond, it made Lucanis ache.

Time and again she had shown him that she was there. She’d been by his side since the Ossuary, unwavering in her support. Her actions and her words proved her trust in him, despite everything. She offered her hand, her heart, over and over again. And no matter how conflicted he felt, no matter how many times he drew close just to pull away, she never gave up on him. 

It made him wonder… could he be the man she seemed to think he was? Could he be the man he wanted to be, for her? Could he be what she deserved?

Lucanis took slow, intentional steps towards her. Finally, they would address this thing between them. And he would give her every opportunity to see reason and turn away. 

He shook his head once. “This isn’t a good idea,” he said.

She watched him approach, eyes bright with curious warmth. “Sometimes a bad idea is better,” she said. Still teasing him.

He was a small man – he had no qualms about it, it let his targets underestimate him – but Rook was even shorter. He placed his palm against the wall, just above and to the right of her head. He leaned into the wall and looked down at her. 

She tilted her chin up to meet his gaze, and the challenge in her eyes sent fire up his spine. She had no idea what she did to him. 

“You like to walk a little too close to the edge,” he countered. 

She reached for him, so slowly, and for a moment Lucanis thought she might hook her finger through his lapel chain and pull him in for a kiss. His stomach flipped at the notion, but she stopped just short of actually touching him.

“So do you,” she said.

Mierda, her lips. He wanted to know how they’d feel pressed to his. Wanted to taste the coffee on her tongue. If he was being honest, he wanted anything she would give him. He was a man standing on the edge of a cliff – it would take the barest touch to send him over the ledge. He would fall helplessly in love with her, and she had no idea. 

He looked right at her, his tone soft but serious when he said, “at least I know when I’m doing it.”

They were so close. The closest they’d ever been. Lucanis felt her warmth radiating against his body, smelled the hint of smoke in her hair and the coffee on her breath as she leaned closer. Her eyes closed and her chin lifted. 

Here she was, trusting him, offering herself to him as he leaned over her. It was a scene right out of one of his romance novels. He couldn’t help himself. He leaned into her, noting the beautiful spray of cinnamon-colored freckles across her nose, then closed his eyes. She was perfect.

And he… was not. He was a man on the edge of a cliff. If he fell, he would take her down with him. Mierda, what was he thinking?

Lucanis opened his eyes and turned his face away from her. It hurt to do so, to get this close only to stop. Again. Maker, what must she think of him?

“I…” he couldn’t look at her as he stepped back. “Need to clear my head.” He glanced up at her, saw the confusion and concern in her eyes, and though he wanted nothing more than to make her smile again, he kept walking away. With his palm now pressed to his waistcoat he gave her a tiny nod. “Excuse me.” 

Then he turned and hurried out of the room, ignoring the weight of her gaze on his back. He brushed a hand through his hair, tugged at his waistcoat, desperate to feel composed. It took surprisingly few strides to cross the dining room, climb the stairs above the kitchen, and step out onto the landing outside the dining hall. He took a deep, shaky breath and quelled the urge to rub at the constant itch behind his eyes. 

This wasn’t like him. He felt jittery, out of control. Perhaps all the coffee mixed with the sleep deprivation had finally gotten to him?

She makes you nervous, Spite sneered. 

Lucanis said nothing. There was no point lying to Spite, it would only encourage the demon to keep talking. Surprisingly, Spite remained quiet while Lucanis stood staring out at the blank expanse of the Fade. He needed the height, the perspective, and to breathe. It took a few minutes, but finally his heart settled some in his chest. 

Finally, the demon asked, why?

Lucanis sighed. “Why what?”

Spite growled, irritated at having to explain himself. Rook. Makes. You. Nervous. WHY?

Lucanis winced as the word rebounded inside his skull. “You don’t have to shout.”

Spite made an unconvinced noise.

“And besides,” Lucanis said. “You know why.”

Make it make sense. We. Like. Rook.

Lucanis pinched the bridge of his nose. “A little too much.”

Ahhhhh. Spite sniffed, as if savoring something delicious in the air. Scared.

Another truth he’d have to let lie between himself and the demon. 

Let her in and get cut deep. See inside then turn away. Won’t. Want. You! Oooh, or worse, she does want and then she di–

“Enough!” The word echoed out into the Fade, silencing the demon. “Enough,” Lucanis whispered. He didn’t need Spite to help him overthink all the ways kissing Rook could go wrong.

Want more than kissing.

The most surprising truth of them all. Lucanis could count the number of people he’d felt genuine attraction for on one hand. The only one he’d ever tried to pursue had misread him so completely he’d just given up. 

As much as he longed for romance, he just wasn’t good at it. Love was something meant for characters in novels, or people like Teia and Viago. Not him. 

If not love. What?

Before the Ossuary, Lucanis would have had an answer to a question like that. The Crows. House Dellamorte. Mediating peace between Illario’s ambitions and Caterina’s wishes. He liked being a Crow. He was good at it, and had never wanted more, a fact that had vexed Illario and pleased their grandmother. 

And it was all gone. 

Caterina was dead. In his current state, Lucanis was not fit to take her place as she’d desired. Illario would become First Talon, like he’d always wanted. If Lucanis somehow survived this contract perhaps House Dellamorte would allow him back. Perhaps the future they had fantasized as boys might actually come to pass. Perhaps he and Rook… 

Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. Bah!

Lucanis sighed and shook his head. Then he and the demon walked back to the pantry in silence. And in that silence was another, terrifying truth. 

For the first time in his life, Lucanis Dellamorte didn't know what his future held. 

[pianokantzart]

The Super Mario Bros. Redux (Pt. 3)

What would happen if, in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, after Mario and Luigi are separated, Mario was the one who ended up in the clutches of Luigi’s eventual arch nemesis, while Luigi teamed up with some of his own close allies to go rescue him? (This part of the story is in one shot format. Most other parts are written in bullet points.) Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 ________ Mario never coped well with feeling trapped. As early as nine months old he was racing around like his life depended on it, clamoring over gates and out of windows, unbuttoning clothes he felt were too tight and twisting door handles the moment he developed the coordination to grasp them. Starting his own business was supposed to be a path to freedom… or at least the closest thing to freedom one could achieve in the modern world. He never in a thousand years would’ve guessed that the domino effect of his little endeavors would have landed him here. His cell felt more like a coffin than a prison; a golden picture frame hung halfway up the wall in an expansive gallery stacked floor to ceiling with other “artwork.” He could move no more than eight inches to the left or right. He couldn’t jump, lie down, sit, or turn around. The only thing he could do was bang his fists against the transparent barrier keeping him trapped, though that did little more than worsen his sense of claustrophobia.

His surrounding captives– far more accustomed to the cramped conditions– did what they could to calm him, as conversation proved to be the best distraction from their unfortunate situation. The talking turtles and mushroom men– Koopas and Toads, they were apparently called– were generous with what little information they had, and slowly Mario learned where he was, why he was where he was, who was responsible, and that– according to the game of telephone that ran up and down the conversing portraits– he was the only human that had been seen in the gallery. The mystery of Luigi’s whereabouts left Mario conflicted. On one hand, he was relieved. This was the last place his little brother needed to be. On the other hand, it opened up the possibility that he was somehow somewhere worse. He had promised his brother that they would be alright as long as he was together, but… to his shame… there was a selfish part of Mario that simply didn’t want to be alone.

He was listening sympathetically to the woes of the Toad in the neighboring painting when the large oaken doors to the gallery swung open, and a gaggle of cackling boos swarmed in. Mario had learned by now that ghosts of this world, free from the fear of death and any physical need, desired only amusement. They acted with a form of malicious playfulness, like a housecat that continues to hunt despite having long eaten its fill. The boos certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves as they floated through the room, lunging and making faces at the helpless captives, laughing every time they whimpered or flinched. Mario, his heart still clinging to memories of his twin, braced his palms against the barrier and shouted at the ghosts to leave the others alone. His command proved far more successful than he thought it would. All fifteen of the little white ghosts turned their attention to him, then swarmed in his direction, blending together into a whirl of white until they arrived in front of his painting fully transformed into a giant, singular boo, staring daggers with glowing yellow eyes. Mario put on a brave front and stared back.

He was made all too familiar with this enormous specter the moment he first stumbled upon the portraits. He still had bruises to prove the memory, though it was only thanks to the other trapped paintings that he was finally able to put a name to the face.

“Boolossus, is it?”

The behemoth didn’t answer. With a smug, sharp-toothed grin it merely plucked Mario from the wall and flitted away with the plumber tucked under its arm like a piece of common furniture. With his only view of the outside world obstructed by the translucent body of Boolossus, Mario was rendered lost and disoriented, and when at last he was once again hung upon a wall he found himself in a different room, carved out of murky, sulfur colored stone. This new location felt musty and ancient, very different from the colorful, well-tended opulence of the gallery. Long defunct lion-faced fountains stared at each other across the room from between towering pillars, where black grit filled the crevices of intricately carved designs. The only signs this decaying place had that it was ever visited was the lit chandeliers hanging overhead, and the blue flames dancing in the stone lamps that lined the center of the room.

Boolossus maintained his victorious expression as he backed away from the newly hung portrait, then buried himself in a corner to make room for the newcomer, phasing through roof overhead. Mario felt his apprehension grow, not because of the darkness around the ghost's eyes that sharpened the spectral glow of his gaze, or the enormous crown atop his head that indicated his place of royalty, or even his enormous size which dwarfed even that of Boolossus. Instead, Mario was troubled by an instinctive sense of true hatred emanating from him, far different from the impish malevolence of the other specters.

His heart leapt a little when the ghost’s crown lit up, and a field of purple magic reached toward him, plucking his painting off the wall and pulling him suspended mid-air to the center of the room.

“What is your name?” the ghost asked with a thoughtful hum. Mario felt the world spin around him as the giant boo used one of his stubby arms to twirl his painting in the air, then stopped it with such suddenness that Mario’s body slammed into the side of his prison. Slightly dazed, he collected himself enough to answer the question. “Mario.” “Mario… I have to admit, despite the novelty of a human visitor, you don’t seem to know your place in this world. Perhaps you don't know who I am? What I’m capable of?”

“You’re King Boo.” Mario answered after a pause– a brief reflection on his conversations in the gallery. “You shattered something called The Dark Moon, and now you want to lead an army of ghosts.”

“Very good! I guess you’re not as dumb as you look.”

Mario let out a yelp as he felt his portrait turned upside down, his feet remaining fixed in place as his arms dangled over his head and the blood rushed to his face. 

“Speaking of looks,” King Boo continued, his faux smile looking more like a scowl from its new angle, “it appears you didn’t arrive alone. There just so happens to be another human just like you! Mustache and everything!”

Knowing at once who he was talking about, Mario felt every muscle in his body tense up. His stomach tied itself into knots, and he felt his heartbeat double its pace. King Boo’s eyes flashed. His grin widened, and his great purple tongue lolled hungrily at the air like a dog. “Ha ha ha! There’s that fear! Utter terror in fact! So you do know him!”

“Listen, Luigi isn’t–”

“Luigi! Is that his name?”

Mario winced in self-directed frustration, then sputtered to his sibling’s defense. “He’s no threat to you! He’s just– he’s just a plumber! we both are!”

Mario felt his portrait righted, but his relief was short lived when, just as quickly, the frame grew suddenly smaller around him. He took another look at King Boo. His insincere grin had twisted into very sincere sneer. The magic emanating from his crown was clearly the source of the change, and was only making the frame smaller with every passing second.

“Is he now? And what is ‘just a plumber’ afraid of?” “What do you mean?” Mario returned, bracing his arms against the portrait frame, helplessly trying to push it back. “I mean Luigi has decided to make friends with the sworn enemy of my kingdom!” King Boo shouted, shrinking the portrait further in sharp jolts with every word he emphasized. “So if you don’t want to die alongside him, you’ll tell me just what it’ll take to frighten him off.”

“Those are two different questions!”

“What!?”

“‘What’s he afraid of?’ and ‘what will frighten him off?’...” Mario huffed, struggling to squeeze out the words with his head pressed painfully between his shoulders and his arms pinned against his aching chest. “He’s afraid of ghosts, but it looks like you’re not quite scary enough to get rid of him, huh?”

The retort felt good in the moment, but was followed by a sense of dread. Mario squeezed his eyes shut, expecting the painting to crush him then and there, but to his surprise the walls receded.

He would’ve fallen over in relief if his prison allowed, but instead he simply slumped backwards, taking in large breaths and wiping sweat from his brow. King Boo turned angrily to Boolossus, watching from the corner.

“Boolossus!” “Yes, your Highness?” came the answer, fifteen voices speaking as a single entity as they emerged from the shadows. 

“Go to the The Birabuto Capitol! Find E. Gadd and this… Luigi… and bring them here either as paintings or in pieces! Either way is fine with me!”

“Yes your highness!” returned the conjoined voices, falling out of unison as the giant boo flew apart, its fifteen pieces phasing through overhead roof in a gale of otherworldly giggles.

When they were left alone, King Boo turned to Mario to gauge his reaction. It didn’t disappoint, the ramifications of what he’d said clearly dawning on him. King Boo cackled. “Now that’s a face worth mounting on my wall! Let’s keep it that way, shall we?”

Mario opened his mouth to protest, when a blast of violet energy from King Boo’s crown suddenly halted him. Mario's portrait lost all color, motion, and consciousness, paralyzed and wide eyed. The perfect preservation of a moment of true fear.

[settle-down-frohike]

Was rewatching Redux II and thought Bill's POV was really fascinating.

The way he sees things isn't far from the truth. In fact, they're surprisingly clear-eyed (compared to what I'd broadly assumed about him): he laid the blame of the quest at Mulder's feet instead of Scully's; and understood that Scully strove not to disappoint Mulder. However, without all the facts, he then blamed Mulder for Melissa's and Scully's death; and assumed his sister went to work and tried "unconventional treatment" to save face in front of and for Mulder.

He even prodded Mulder's brain in the hallway; because, while he hated the guy's guts, Bill had to know what made him tick-- and if Mulder was at all sorry. So he poked and poked and poked hoping Mulder would give him an answer to soothe his anger.... But instead, Mulder poked back, poorly communicated, then let Bill think whatever he wanted.

And it's part of what you said about Mulder's self-absorption (which is why I'm here, hello!): Mulder is self-absorbed (to an extent); and Bill sensed it (as he sensed Dana doing her best to not let her partner down) and despised it. Moreover, I think he thought Mulder's self-centeredness rubbed off on Scully too much, leaving her to disconnect from her family responsibilities like their parents had raised them to do. And he confronted Dana in Gethsemane; but felt bad, dropped it, and didn't bring it up by her deathbed, preferring to swing at Mulder instead of laying blame and guilt at his dying sister's feet.

Bill's truly a litmus test character: he voices the thoughts of those who don't know or truly understand Mulder and Scully's commitment to the quest despite the toll and the tears. Yet, he has reasonable-ish reasons for believing what he does. An interesting puzzle.

He's also gentler than I remembered. And lethal, in a quiet way. Scully scowls and thunders but Bill only yells when righteously indignant (over Mulder's "science fiction" treatment,) preferring to dress people down with harsh, harsh reproofs in a moderately even tone. (I imagine he takes after their father while Scully takes after their mother.)

And, of course, he has his faults. Big 'uns. Namely, that he tries to protect Scully "without all the facts", which translates to him not trusting her judgment.

Those are my rambly thoughts. Would love to hear yours. :DDD

I think in a way Bill’s character was a voice for a lot of the thoughts the fans maybe did/would/should have had. Especially in Gethsemane, you hear him address Mulder’s absence. He asks verbatim, “Where is he”— which is a very very valid point. You also see that Scully treats Bill in a lot of the same ways that she treats Mulder. She keeps him in the dark, and emotionally at bay. (Another interesting mirror that I noticed in Gethsemane was the acknowledgment that he too remembers her birthday only once every few years—the same as Mulder.) Scully cannot answer as to why Mulder isn’t there, because she is, in part, the reason he isn’t. In Memento Mori she even confesses that she is grateful for it. For his pursuit of his “own path”.

The prodding of Mulder’s brain in the hallway is a *great* point to bring up because there again you see similarities to Mulder, in the way that he too likes to poke, prod and instigate.

What went unnoticed to me for a long time is that like her father and Mulder—Bill is another authoritative male in her life who’s approval she seeks. But she protects herself from their control by use of secrecy. Scully uses avoidant attachment as a way of managing disappointment, and her loved ones see it too, but only when it applies to someone other than themselves. But it does tell me that people see through Scully more than she thinks they do.

A lot of people tend to think that Mulder would have been less self-absorbed had he known more about Scully’s illness and I tend to disagree. Fans seem to regard their relationship during this time with tender eyes and hearts, and the truth of it is is that this crisis brought out some of their more toxic traits. They did *not* handle this well. He very much had the right to know that her cancer had metastasized and she kept that from him purposefully. She withheld information, and as cute as the birthday dinner/snowball jaunt was, his reaction to his panic and grief was to do (as many men do) try to busy themselves by fixing or handling the problem, instead of just caring for an individual as we as viewers and Bill would have rather seen him do. (And I’m well aware that Scully did not make caring for her very easy.)

*I’m going way off on a tangent here because I’ve been watching Gethsemane, Redux one and two a lot lately trying to process my thoughts on it. *

I do think that Bill’s character, however harsh people perceived him to be, was necessary. He exposed a lot of hard truths, outside of his jerkish behavior and accusations based in ignorance. I don’t mean that negatively. I just mean that he literally cannot know what he does not know. You have a loved one who is terminally ill, a natural grieving process at some point is to be angry— and to lash out at what/who seems most culpable. A lot of the accusations thrown Mulder’s way could have been easily dispelled, and yet he chose stand there and take it because he is accustomed to being a whipping boy. That was probably poor writing, but I digress.

What I think Bill, Mulder and maybe her mother, Skinner etc forget is that Scully is on her own journey, -and I quote- “for my OWN reasons” (Momento Mori). Mulder reacts poorly because he blames himself, and Bill reacts poorly because he blames Mulder. There is a lot of evidence that they are two sides to the same coin.

*sorry it took me so long to answer I have SO many thoughts on this timeline, I know this is scattered but maybe it makes a teensy bit of sense. Also I did talk to txt bc fat thumbs. So if you see misspellings 🥴🥴🥴

[randomfoggytiger]

Collector's Edition: Samantha Mulder's (Many) Returns

In honor of anon's request: "I was wondering if you had any fic recommendations in which Mulder found Samantha? I'm having a hard time with closure ahah."

(Here are some previous Samantha fic lists:

Meet the Mulders    

Redux II Samantha Was Real

Little Samantha’s Life in Capture

A Tribute to Samantha's 50th Anniversary)

Loose chronological order below~

CANON-DIVERGENT

Pequod's Way Beyond Blue

He summoned up all the courage he'd ever had, or ever needed and walked into his future.

Pre-Sein und Zeit Mulder has a prophetic dream.

eponine119's

Odyssey

"I'm supposed to believe you did him a *favor* when you killed a little girl and - what, paid some workmen - to plant her scoured bones in that basement?" demanded Scully.

Pre-Sein und Zeit Scully is commanded by CSM not to tell Mulder that Samantha is dead.

Searching in Vain

Fingers moving through disturbed earth over bone. He couldn't look and yet he had to. The right size. The right injuries. Including that final, horrible one.

AU-- Mulder is suppressing the true nature of Samantha's twisted death.

Glimpse

The hours dissolved as he sat entranced, watching himself on videotape in situations where he knew he'd never been. A wedding. To Scully, a beautiful bride. Surprisingly, the tears didn't come when he saw Samantha on the tape, alive and grown and lovely. The tears came when he saw the children on video.

AU-- Mulder is shot into a horrific alternate universe where he gained (and lost) a happy ending.

@agent-troi's This Heart That I Misplaced

She looked just like the others… but something was missing. Something essential had been taken from her, and somehow that convinced him beyond any last shred of doubt that this was in fact his Samantha.

AU-- Pre-Closure nurse died saving Samantha's life; and her sacrifice kicks off the finale of Mulder's journey.

Justin Glasser's (xphilefic) Orrery

I don't remember a lot about where I was before I was here. I remember someplace else. There was water there, and I wasn't too warm all the time. And I remember that I miss it, but I don't know why. Here is okay, when there are no tests. Jeffrey lets me pet his dog.

AU-- Post Closure Mulder's happy ending is torn from him after Harold's son is found alive.

amorfati3215's The 5 Ads for If Samantha Was Found Alive

“My name is Claire,” she replies softly. “But I used to be called Samantha.”

AU-- Closure Scully tracks down the nurse who rescued and raised Samantha.

@all-these-ghosts's (Ao3) happily ever after

“She was married for a few years, but her husband passed away. Georgie and Lauren moved back in with me after. Lauren was just a baby when it happened.”

AU-- Closure Mulder and Samantha reunite.

DaynaFox's The Return of Samantha Mulder

“Are you another cop?” she asked him. “Did you find my Mom and Dad yet? They only went next store, to visit the Galbrands. Did you ask the Galbrands where they went?”

Samantha, the Galbrands have both been dead for over 15 years… Mulder thought as he gazed at her. 

AU-- Post Closure Mulder is given a call from the authorities: his sister is not dead; and has been returned, not a day older, with no memory of her disappearance.

AU

@ghostbustermelanieking/skuls's

AU: The Mulders adopted Samantha instead of her being abducted.

Later on, he’s kind of glad he’s an only child.

What it says on the tin.

november 27, 1973

Her mother cries, pulls her into her lap and holds her tightly, says, “My baby, my baby,” over and over again. Samantha asks for cookies, and her mother takes her to the kitchen and pours her a glass of milk and stacks three cookies in front of her even though the rule is no more than 2 and not after bedtime. It’s past her bedtime, but she eats them anyway, has never remembered being this hungry.

Different endings to Samantha's abduction.

california winter

Fox gulped. He wanted to change his mind in that moment, but he heard Samantha and Jeffrey crying in the closet and he couldn't say a word. He had to be the brave big brother. He had to protect him.

Mulder and Samantha are both taken; and devise a plan of escape with little Jeffrey in tow.

X-Files Fictober: woman, socks, locker. setting: abandoned storage unit.

He turns and sees the girl, much younger than her with dark hair curling down her back, dressed in the same hospital gown as her. No shoes, just socks.

One Breath Scully escapes with Samantha.

Half-Light Universe

You have another chance to figure out what happened to Samantha. She may not be dead. All of it… you get another chance.

He wonders if it’s worth it.

Revival Mulder and Scully are shot back to those nine minutes they lost in the Pilot, with a chance to make everything-- or more things-- right.

@pilotinthestars's the holding-her-breath girl (Ao3)

It hit him then. She’d never been to this house, the one Teena had bought after the divorce in Connecticut.

Samantha is gone; Samantha is returned; and Samantha might not stay.

Erin M. Blair's

Turning Nine

"It's not your fault, Fox."

Samantha is returned from her abduction; and refuses to tell anyone except Mulder about her experiences.

Newfound Love

"I know," said Samantha as she took the photo from Scully. "I want to find him...."

Mulder, not Samantha, was abducted; and she and Scully (with the help of Deep Throat) help rescue him years later.

Discovery Of Samantha

"You look as though you had seen a ghost," Jennifer remarked, with a wry sense of humor.

Mulder and Scully are happily married (despite Diana's machinations); and find out one of their friends is Samantha.

@discordantwords's (Ao3) Lethe

She cannot remember the song, cannot remember her mother's name. But she remembers the sound of laughter, the red polka dots on her dress, bare toes in thick pile carpet.

Pre-One Breath Scully finds Samantha on the train car.

@i-gaze-at-scully's AU where the Samantha clone was actually the real Samatha

Mulder doesn’t attend the funeral. Can’t face his parents, can’t face the finality of two decades’ worth of his quest finally ending. Can’t face the 28 year old cold body of his 8 year old sister.

End Game Samantha wasn't a clone.

Mystic's

Misnomer

She watched them run test on her blood and her skin, they were exited by everything about her. She didn't understand.

X tells Mulder where to find Samantha... but, as always, nothing is ever clean-cut.

Secrets in the Forest

"Scully there's something you have to know about Kinnear. The night's are cold. I don't mean Washington D.C. cold, I mean cold." Samantha said accenting that last 'cold'.

Mulder and Scully inadvertently find Samantha while investigating a UFO case.

JLB's Lost and Found

"The test results determined that there is a match," she says quietly. "This is Samantha."

DNA confirms that one of Roche's victims was Samantha; and Scully tries to keep Mulder from falling completely apart.

@officialmulder/specialagentpao's broken hearts, paper hearts

It was going to be a snowy day. Mulder smiled to himself. Samantha liked snowy days. It was an excuse to stay in bed and drink hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows. They were allowed to do it once or twice a year.

Roche did kill Samantha; and Tena Mulder blames her son.

@slippinmickeys's

AU where Roche DID kill Samantha (Ao3)

In a photo in the lower right-hand corner, Samantha was posing with a brand new bike, dressed in a floral nightgown, the tree behind her covered in garish amounts of tinsel.

Post Memento Mori Mulder finds evidence that the last girl was Samantha, after all.

Livia Balaban's

180-Word Self-Imposed Challenge: Samantha's Fate - Version Four

And now a new lie. That she is my sister. I look into her unblinking Hazel gaze, and shake my head. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Redux II Samantha appears, again; but Mulder doesn't believe she's his sister.

Cunegund's Restoration I & II

Nine-year-old Samantha sits with us, another addition to our new family, and Krycek seems impossibly pleased with himself as he eats his own omelet with his right hand while he stirs his coffee with his left.

Post Requiem Mulder returns-- via the efforts of Krycek, TLG, and even Morris Fletcher-- with the abductees and his still young sister... right in time for his growing family to go into hiding.

Susanne Barringer's Thicker than Blood

Mulder stepped into the kitchen and immediately Samantha dropped Scully's hand. She shifted her position to put some distance between them, and her face turned hard.

Post Redux II Samantha appears again... and not for benevolent purposes.

Amy's Where Are You, China Blue?

"You're not listening."

"Yes, I am."

"Then stop it, Daddy. Just hear me out. I don't care anymore."

Post Redux II Samantha is sick and tired of CSM's games.

@writingwell/RocketMan's (xanadu) A Jerry Maguire Ending

"Why are you still here, Mulder? Your life long quest has ended. Samantha is back, and you know the reasons behind it, if not the purpose. What keeps you here?"

Post Redux II Samantha is incensed that her brother doesn't want to quit the files.

Susan Proto's

Familiar Faces

There was no doubt in his mind it was Samantha.

Or a clone.

Post Fight the Future Mulder and Scully see a Samantha lookalike; and Scully decides to do some investigating.

Miracles

"Fox, you're wrong. He can help your partner," Christeena attempted to convince. "He cured me, and he can cure Dana. Fox, I swear. I swear on your sister's life."

Scully is pregnant and in a coma, Maggie doesn't consider Mulder 'family', and Tena has known all along her daughter is still alive.

Jennifer Maurer's Perfect Gifts

"Yes. I have Agent Mulder's sister Samantha."

Scully makes a Christmas monkey paw deal for Samantha's return.

Lauren's (MC) The Return

The side profile of the child looked vaguely familiar. Mulder squinted his eyes to look closer. He suddenly felt the strength drain from his body as recognition registered for a brief minute.

Samantha is briefly returned; and CSM tries to use that to his advantage, luring Mulder into a death trap.

Sarah Ellen Parsons's 180-Word Self-Imposed Challenge: Samantha's Fate - Version One

I look at them suspended in greenish liquid - my children.

Samantha is a co-conspirator in the clone project.

Mish's Contact

His eyes swim with unshed tears but his words are steady. "I had the Gunmen search for her. Actually, she seems to be leading a pretty normal, happy life." His lips curve in a watery smile.

Post The Unnatural Mulder brings Scully to watch a little league baseball game; and has one more surprise in store for her.

@cecilysass's The Boy on the Beach (Ao3)

He recounted it like it was an exciting action tale, like it was a comic book, and Samantha just stared at him, gimlet-eyed. Maybe it was right to trust him to handle his own sister. Then again, he had a well-documented tendency to make reckless moves, even when he was in his thirties.

Post Amor Fati Scully is whisked back in time, resigning herself to being trapped in the past forever if she can save Samantha from being abducted.

@o6666666's (Ao3) What's your headcanon for if Samantha was found?

“I’m fine,” Scully calls to her, eyes still beating down on Pfaster. “I’m fine, Samantha!” But she is shaking from head to toe, teeth chattering as if her apartment’s cold. 

Scully, Mulder, and Samantha adjust to the latter's return, riding the ups and downs of Season 7 together.

 finisterre's The Tunnel at the End of the Light

It's her, the woman from the video, peering out of the door. I can only see the right half of her face in the murk of the room. I relax a little; this has to be the right place.

Samantha and her two sons escape, looking for Mulder's help-- not knowing he'd recently been abducted.

Gillian Leigh's (MC) Visitor in the Desert (MC)

"Samantha?" The woman stared at him without recognition for a moment, and then her own hazel eyes widened behind the simple frames of her glasses.

Season 9 Mulder is visited by his daughter from the future-- who helps him prevent William's adoption and reunites him with his sister (and Scully's brothers) in an underground colony.

Donna's After the Future

The atmosphere was nothing like when he had been a child. He could remember hiding in the loft with Samantha watching their parents fight or their father conspire against humankind.

Part II to a Colonization timeline, Scully barters for Samatha's life so Mulder (and their biological and adopted children) can be at peace.

@mldrgrl's Some Other Me

There’s a Fox Mulder whose sister wasn’t taken from him by aliens.  Instead, she died in a drowning accident at their summer home when she was four.

A series of AUs for Mulder, Scully, and Samantha.

@wexleresque/hellsteeth's the holidays linger like bad perfume (Ao3)

“I grew up here, my parents both still live here, but they’re separated. My sister…isn’t well. They share the responsibility of caring for her, and as they’ve gotten older, I’ve been trying to come back more often and help out.”

Mulder and Scully briefly meet on the Vineyard, and swap some intriguing family history.

Leni's Partnership

It had taken a year of partnership to learn about Mulder's little sister. 

Mulder is an author, penning out the stories he'd told his late sister growing up.

@swinging-stars-from-satellites's no but the concept of Samantha Mulder being returned to the world at 14

she wants to know her own history and what Changed Her and it worries her, gets her deep enough into her head — Mulders, conscious of it or not, have depressive, obsessive tendencies — that she finally tries regression hypnotherapy....

Samantha, amnesic and happily adopted, works tirelessly to learn about her old life.

Keri Gontarek's Reunited II

"Yes. And she's fine. A little weak--apparently, Krycek was pumping her full of morphine and other drugs, but she's recovering."

Scully is an FBI Director when Mulder rejoins her life. In part one, it's revealed they have a son. In part two, they find and rescue Samantha.

Taverl's Notes II

But he took it even worse than I had imagined, shutting himself off from anyone and everyone. Especially me. After seventeen years of friendship and almost eleven of marriage, I know Mulder too well not to realize that he never held me responsible for the fact that he didn't find Samantha until it was too late. It was his own innate and well-honed sense of guilt that made him hurl accusations at me; that made him blame me for not finding her it time to save her. That didn't make it hurt any less, though.

Mulder's marriage falls apart after finding his dead sister; and Scully (and Skinner) finds him, half dead, in the tub.

@dreamingofscully's Surely, to the sea (Ao3)

She sighed, then stepped forward and took one of his hands. “Years ago. Samantha.”

Mulder’s eyes dropped to the floor and his hand went limp in hers. Silence draped over them as he processed her words. She knew what he was thinking, because the same ideas flitted around her own mind. 

Samantha's mysterious illness is mentioned as part of a larger casefile (featuring married paranormal investigators Mulder and Scully.)

Medusa's Sandcastles

"Samantha?"

She smiled at him. The most beautiful smile he'd ever seen, bar one.

Mulder wakes from a coma, having dreamt the X-files as an entire, false life.

Thanks for reading~

Enjoy!

[salty-an-disco]

For ParaCold... Pre-Relationship 6, General 6, General 13, Love 11, Love 13, and/or Domestic Life 12? (Yes I am asking a lot, feel free to only answer one of these if you'd prefer! I just love your thoughts on them always~)

(I freakin' knew you'd come at me with the asking sheet lol /aff /pos)

Ship Questions Redux

Pre-relationship 6. What was their flirting stage like?

Veeeeery awkward. At least from Paranoid's perspective; the moment she started consciously flirting, she felt like a shelf full of glass jars constantly shaking and dropping everything onto the floor. She'd go out of her way to compliment Cold's additions to any convo or their appearance, all while sweating bullets and feeling like a giant fuckin' buffoon.

Cold, meanwhile, never registered anything he did as 'flirting', but when they saw Para actively flirting, it found the sight very amusing, and started going out of its way to compliment her back and even say some suggestive lines (cue Paranoid.exe stopping working and going into overdrive)

General 6. How do their personalities complement each other? How do they clash?

I mean– we already talked about this at lenght like aikskdmdjdmd

Cold is uniquely equipped to help Paranoid calm her nerves and look at situations with a more pragmatic view, while Para can make Cold consider being less reckless if only for other sakes, how they can read each other, the way their actions often clash but also helps them grow– aaaaaaaagggghhhh

General 13. Which one thinks they aren't good enough for the other, if at all?

Oh, they both have their own form of Imposter Syndrome.

Para knows she can unlikable to others, with how intense and inquisitive she can be, and she knows it's hard to approach her when she's already expecting the worst from others. And that's fine!! She can live like that, it's safer if others don't even try to approach cuz she seems a bit too prickly. And she often wonders if Cold would've felt the same if they weren't born from the same being–

Cold knows it's difficult. Knows others find it unsettling or menacing. And it's fine with that, really, it's a flattery that so many people think of it as an uniquely evil being. And Paranoid is no exception, she was definitely afraid of it in multiple occasions, but she still puts it aside to try and work with them. They're sure she wouldn't want anything to do with it if it didn't insistently follow her and got into her personal space, but it selfishly wants her attention. And if they're evil and scary and dangerous anyway, why bother if it's being a little selfish too?

Love 11. What kind of nicknames do they call each other?

I like the idea of Cold calling Para 'Dots' cuz of her plumage patterns. A cuter way to look at the markings that triggers Paranoid so much. She was very taken aback by it when it was first used, but didn't mind it and even came to like it.

I think Para definitely calls Cold some of the many nicknames the others gave her to tease her. 'Cool Guy' is one of her favorites for this. Avoids names like 'heartless' tho, cuz she noticed how those seem to actually get to Cold (it's very subtle, but she learned to read him at this point).

Love 13. How do they make up after an argument? Who is the first to apologize?

Depends on the argument, and how much one was at fault over the other. Para definitely apologizes as soon as she realizes she was being unfair/going a bit too far. Cold doesn't verbally apologize– almost never, but it does change its behavior when they notice how it upsets others and tries to make up for their actions through other ways.

Domestic Life 12. Who likes to dance with, or sing for, the other?

I know many have Cold with good singing voice hcs, but personally, I think he'd rather whistle than sing. And they have a very haunting but weirdly beautiful whistle, and can make many melodies with it. Para finds it weirdly comforting, so Cold will sometimes whistle for her.

[katyawriteswhump]

the freak in the penthouse part 14

E-rated (for sexual content), accidental millionaire eddie/sex-worker steve. On tumblr: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3.1 Part 3.2 Part 4.1 Part 4.2 Part 5.1 Part 5.2 Part 6.1 Part 6.2 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 or search #thefreakinthepenthouse :) On AO3

Sorry, I am so behind posting this here...

...

Chapter 14: love of my life redux

Steve had to deflect, before he blew a gasket. Or did something worse, like crying: “This is doubtless a dumb question. If you guys are loaded, why are you driving to Oregon?”

That took up the conversation for a while. Driving was slightly cheaper, and budgeting was important to the super-savvy Suzie. Plus, she and Dustin enjoyed the drive and hated flying, despite their rational eggheads telling them it was the safest way to travel. They argued that one out with Nancy and Robin, and Steve actually got to doze.

Eventually, they pulled over and got out to stretch their legs. “Isn’t it mind-blowing?” Dustin beamed, arms wheeling theatrically in the direction of Mount Hood.

“The mountain? It’s creepy,” said Robin, tumbling out of the car after Steve. “All squatted on the horizon, like a creepy, crouchy, toady wart. This whole road is creepy.”

“What’s wrong with you?” asked Dustin. “It’s exhilarating! Aren't you mega-relieved to be free of the stinky city air?”

Robin hitched her lip. “I didn't grow up in hick-ville.”

“Woah. Brutal! Excuse me while I go and enjoy the view with the love of my life.” 

Love of my life.

Steve slunk off to find a quiet friend-free zone. 

Love of my life. Love of my life.

Crap, he’d flipped the hell out at that Extreme cover. Yeah, he was kinda embarrassed about it, though he knew now that he’d already been in pieces and… Jesus, what wouldn’t he give to be watching the clouds misting the mountain with his arm slung around Eddie. The wind ruffled his hair, cut through his thin t-shirt.

‘Love of my life, don't leave me. You've taken my love, and now desert me…’

His teeth gritted against the sob, struggling to the keep the faith in the cold morning light, and then:

“I’m sorry, Steve.” Robin levelled beside him.

“Jesus! If you must yammer on about serial killers and all that cliché crap, will you quit sneaking up on me?” He glared at her, although not with any real intent: “What are you sorry about?”

“Pushing you earlier.” She rubbed his back, and his glare faded further. “Look, whatever you decide to do, whatever happens, I’m here for you, okay?”

“Oh shit, I… I…” This was worse than her pestering him. With a supportive friend at his side… Ugh! He ought to at least try to tough things out. He drifted his focus to the haze around the mountain top, while he tentatively poked the fog around his brain. “I get what Suzie is saying. That I might be… I could be…”

“That you might still be rich after all?”

His stomach performed an unpleasant somersault. “Honestly, Robin? I don’t give a rat’s ass about that.” He swallowed bile. “Okay, I admit, it might make life easier, and I want to say I can handle this. I’ll help take those suckers down. Make ’em eat shit! Truth is, I can’t.” He drifted shaky fingers across his mouth. His whole body started to tremble. “Godchester was one the worst, but… When I think about my mom and dad’s lawyer. He started it all, and… I can’t even think his name. I clamp up. I feel sick. And now… you’re talking about more lawyers that I can’t afford and exposés in the papers?”

“Not necessarily.” She returned to rubbing soothing circles in his back, which didn’t help. Not much, at any rate. “Nancy says we can keep your name from going public. We need to be smart about it. And nobody will expect you to pay for—"

“No! No way!” He swung to face her, raising a forbidding palm. “Look, if we could find Eddie. Maybe if I had that to hold on to I could… I dunno, drag myself back somehow? Arrive in some place where I can deal. Till then… Robin, please. You gotta get them to drop it, okay?”

“Okay. Consider me your personal guard-dog against all mentions of journos and lawyers.” Her softer-than-usual expression segued into a toothy snarl. He snickered, then wrapped his arms around her and rested his cheek on her slightly greasy hair.

Holy crap. What the heck must I look like?

“Christ, Robin. If there’s even the teeniest chance of finding Eddie this morning, we gotta stop and buy some decent hair product.”

…

When they finally arrived at Eddie’s uncle’s house, Steve hung back, leaning on the Volvo. The others trooped to the veranda. It was painted in a pleasant sage-green and cluttered with homey knick- knacks and one of those swingy seats, strewn with patchwork cushions. 

Dammit. What Steve wouldn’t give to curl up there and sleep for an age. Preferably snuggled with Eddie.

It started to drizzle, which made the prospect less appealing. Heck, he’d still take it. 

Dustin knocked loudly on the door. A few moments later, it opened a crack, and an older guy poked his head out.

“Mr Munson! Hey, is Eddie here?”

“Nope.”

Steve’s hopes plummeted through his sneakers.

“You gotta be kidding!” Dustin ripped off his baseball cap and slammed it back on in frustration. “We’ve driven all night!”

“Well, I’m sorry about that, son. Even if he were here—” Steve’s heart leaped—"I’d tell you to get packing all the same. You’ve messed my boy up enough, and I ain’t talking about it with you, Dustin Henderson. You’re not unwelcome, though.” He unhooked the door chain. “If you and your friends wanna come in to freshen up, that’s fine by me. I got a pot of strong black coffee brewing. Can rustle you up breakfast.”

“That’s very kind, Mr Munson, but we really need to find Eddie. We know the police are after him, and that is why we, his bosom-buddies,”—Dustin’s hands clasped meaningfully to his chest—"are here to help him.”

“Sorry, son. I ain’t budging on this.”

Steve sighed and began to pace. Soon the others turned their backs on Wayne and started back to the car.

“What are we gonna do now?” asked Nancy.

“Hey!” Wayne’s shout cut between them. “Are you Steve?”

Steve froze. “Yeah?”

The door flew wide, and Wayne stepped out, smiling broadly and gesturing that Steve should approach: “You come right in, son. I got no problem talking with you.” 

“Oh. Right.” Steve’s fingers and toes began to tingle with the strangest sensations of warmth, hope, and joy.  He sauntered up the driveway and past the others—who looked various levels of surprised and pissed—and into Wayne’s coffee-scented hallway.

…

Eddie scribbled madly at his latest design for Vecna’s Doom Quest II. He’d gotten another pencil in his mouth, soggy and gross from where he’d chewed the wood. Dammit, he missed his ciggies, though the nicotine patches helped.

He’d quit. For Steve. Even if he never saw him again. All of this was for Steve.

Eddie’s drawings scattered far and wide across the floor and walls of the trailer. Meanwhile, the autumn rain pattered ever harder on the roof. It vied with Guns ‘n’ Roses’ endlessly awesome guitar riffs that kicked serious ass on his stereo—criminally quietly, because he didn’t want to draw too much attention to his hidey-hole. And he kept drawing, with shaking hands and knotted stomach, and fingers bruising at the endless effort. He was gonna finish these game designs if it killed him.

And then?

He hadn’t a goddamn clue. He longed to get in touch with Steve. Trouble was, he was on the lam and scared shitless. Once he’d beat his inglorious retreat from California—to Wayne, and then to here, their former home—he’d gotten himself stuck again.

Nope. His agoraphobia was nooooot fixed. All that kept him from total meltdown was the goal of earning more money, so Steve would be okay.

After that, Eddie guessed the police would catch up with him eventually.

‘November Rain’ was next on his cassette tape. He hummed along at first, then… Fuck, fuck, FUCK! The lyrics started to get him. He was such a sap these days.

‘I know it's hard to keep an open heart, When even friends seem out to harm you. But if you could heal a broken heart, Wouldn't time be out to charm you?’

Yeah, right. Broken hearts. Shit. Never been his bag before, huh? Dammit, he well fucking knew what that candy-ass shit felt like now.

He shoved a handful of honey-comb cereal straight from the box to his mouth, then inspected his latest design. Admittedly, he was drawing Steve, over and over. No longer shirtless and in hotpants, but in dead cool D and D outfits. Okay, the chainmail vest was kinda crop-toppy, yet had Eddie finally got that mouth, right?

It was sure getting closer. 

Maybe he’d get it right on the next try. He needed to upgrade Steve’s weapons, too. Initially, he’d tooled him up with a quasi-medieval longbow to match those slender lips Eddie dreamed of. But if digital-sprite Steve was gonna protect grannies and shit from evil flesh-munching plant-monsters, Eddie figured he’d need some kind of flame-thrower.

Eddie located one of his few remaining blank sheets and started again. As Axl Rose’s lyrics wormed through his head, he pressed so hard into the paper, the led snapped:

‘Sometimes I need some time on my own, Sometimes I need some time all alone. Ooh, everybody needs some time on their own. Ooh, don't you know you need some time all alone—'

Eddie slammed the ‘off’ button. Tears blurred his vision and his face felt hot and puffy. Shit! He sniffed hard. He didn’t want to be alone. And he couldn’t bring himself to leave the trailer. Yeah, he was totally broken, and the only one who would fix him was—

“Holy shit, Eddie. Did you really shut off the only Guns ‘n’ Roses song I actually like?”

Eddie remained on his knees, gawking like an idiot. Steve stood in the doorway, in skin-tight ripped jeans and a baggy white t-shirt, arms raised in question. He slammed Eddie with huge, liquid eyes that doubtless matched Eddie’s own.

“Y-you said you liked ‘Civil War’ too,” stuttered Eddie.

“I said a lot of crap back then.” A tremulous smile played on Steve’s lips, and Eddie kept staring, transfixed. Nah. His drawings still hadn’t nailed them. Nothing could ever beat the real thing. “I never said the one thing that mattered. I’m not just crazy about you. Screw it, I’m in love with you, Eddie Munson.”

Eddie opened his mouth. Words failed him. Was this for real? WAS THIS FOR FUCKING REAL?

“Can I come in? It’s pissing it down out here.” Steve pointed at his sneakers. “Honest, Eds, I’ve already wiped my feet.”

“Shut up and kiss me.” Eddie scrambled up, mindlessly flicked the stereo back on, and they tumbled forward into each other’s arms. They kissed and kissed and kissed—messily, wetly, and truly, madly, deeply, till stars wheeled in front of Eddie’s eyes and the world beyond the trailer fell away.  

Yeah, they’d kissed before. This was different. This was new. Eddie took Steve’s face in his hands and Steve mirrored him. Tongues scrubbed together, slickly and sweetly, and their bodies fitted so perfectly together that parting would’ve felt like ripping their skins. Their synchronised hearts drowned the noise of the rainstorm. Even the music could barely compete.

“And when your fears subside, and shadows still remain, oh yeah. I know that you can love me when there's no one left to blame. So never mind the darkness, we still can find a way…'Cause nothin' lasts forever, even cold November rain.”

“I love you too,” murmured Eddie, the salt of their blended tears on his lips. “Never leave me again, Babe. Never.”

...

Part 15 on AO3 Part 15 on tumblr

Thank you for reading. Likes, reblogs and comments much appreciated and will feed the bunnies🐰💕🐰💕🐰💕🐰💕

On tumblr: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3.1 Part 3.2 Part 4.1 Part 4.2 Part 5.1 Part 5.2 Part 6.1 Part 6.2 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 or search #thefreakinthepenthouse :)

On AO3 All my ST stuff on AO3

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s5 episode 5 thoughts

it’s been a few days. and you KNOW what i’m craving!!! 

ohhhh this episode… so i’ve heard about this one before. specifically it was brought up a lot when i voiced my complaints with small potatoes, with a lot of commenters comparing it to this episode. so that doesn’t fill me with a sense of joy and anticipation.

well, i had a nice day. the only way out is through. let’s see if this makes me as mad as small potatoes, shall we?

(author's note: i have many, many questions. i mean i can tell that this was an homage to old spooky movies but beyond that: huh?)

why now in the series? who came up with this? why do multiple episodes explore the concept of forced impregnation as something silly and harmless? why did the agents look so good in black and white? have they danced together before? do you believe in life after love?

let us take it from the top.

we begin with a comic book, it seems? inside is a black and white scene. is this whole episode in black and white? i looked at the image for the episode and it was black and white, too

this guy izzy is trying to go to a comic book convention, but his mom said she’ll kick him out. damn. being a nerd is hard. is this taking place in the distant past or something? well, the cars look older too.

(it was not taking place in the distant past... also, i thought izzy's mom, mrs. berkowitz, was mean at first because she joked about kicking him out, but she was actually the best character in this episode) 

later that night we see their home, including a photo of izzy with a pig, but she’s watching jerry springer. which seems anachronistic to the black and white setting. it’s an episode about a hairy baby. while the windows are being covered up with a sort of striped tent??? and something is smoking. 

enter cher???? no, enter someone else as cher plays. i do like when they put music in the episodes.

mom is coughing while a man with two faces comes to get her???

i mean, okay, the song slaps. i am unfamiliar with the work of cher and i was jamming out to it, even if i had no idea what was really going on except that maybe izzy made a frankenstein dupe in a comic, and it somehow came to life and hurt his mom. sure. why not?

the intro was shortened... you still can’t fool me.

the whole episode is in black and white????

OH GOD. this lady felt a presence in the room, woke up three days later and was pregnant??? with izzy??? 

so frankenstein is the father????? and it happened again??? and she heard cher when it went down??? man. man what.

scully is reading this letter… LMAO mulder was mentioned on the jerry springer show episode about the wolf baby, which is how she found him <- BAHAHA this cannot be good for his covert work!!!! 

her name is mrs. berkowitz and she is pouring our agents a soda as they enter her home. it is very kind to offer them caffeine as they rely so heavily upon it. and she wants to know about the wolf baby. it feels very weird to hear mulder do the medical talking.

WHAT THE HELL??? she is somehow pregnant again despite having a tubal ligation…. hey what. how is she not losing her mind? scully looks utterly gagged. 

the camera work here is so different, there are these intense closeups on the character with a sort of fisheye effect, it's both off-putting and cool

mrs. berkowitz says mulder knows what is happening, but he says he’s not even sure if he believes in aliens anymore??? he has to be lying. or does he actually believe that everything was faked as put forth by the redux trilogy? i thought he saw through that when he told CSM to go fuck off. also, i KNOW he is not dead.

sorry, but scully looks so good in black and white and a pinstriped suit. ohhhh my god.

anyway, scully says hmm, your description of the intruder is funny... because it MATCHES THIS COMIC BOOK CHARACTER FROM IZZY’S ROOM!!

izzy created that comic book character… so the plot is thickening??? 

enter izzy. we must confront him with this fact. he says that he’s seen “the great mutato” too, and that plenty of people have!! is he hanging in the neighborhood?? doing evil activities??? he's like, a real guy? and not some mysterious intruder???

cut to izzy outside with a peanut butter sandwich, luring in the beast

“i think what we’re seeing here is an example of a culture for whom daytime talk shows and tabloid headlines have become a reality against which they measure their lives- a culture so… so obsessed by the media and a chance for self-dramatization that they’ll do anything in order to gain a spotlight” (twirling my hair... kicking my feet a little... hey scully...)

“i am alarmed that you would reduce these people to a cultural stereotype” <- YEAH YOU TELL HER MULDER ‼️

they’re fighting about if this is possible or not and frankly i think they should just kiss about it 

(about the rumors, he says:) “but nonetheless unverifiable, and therefore true in the sense that they’re believed to be true” hey. when they talk all academic?? i'm swooning.

and they’re soooo close as they're fighting over all of this <3

“is there anything that you don’t believe in, mulder?” <- i was really looking forward to hearing him answer that, but no!! a distant moaning cut him off!!

scully….. oh my god…….. nothing to note here in terms of plot, she’s just pretty

the great mutato EMERGES for his sandwich!! and mulder is in trackstar mode absolutely SPRINTING, coat billowing behind him as thunder crackles and his long long legs carry him into the woods. and scully is fast too, but he is so much faster it’s actually funny. that man was made to run. absolute horse DNA

oooooo spoooooky, mulder is running after the great mutato into the woods with scully not too far behind, and they can’t find him!!

BAHAHA the old school movie effects are kinda endearing. mulder pointing “there!” and then a dramatic crash of thunder revealing a silhouette… yeah, i giggled 

i’m not well versed enough in old movies to understand all of these references, but i bet they had the horror girlies losing their minds 

but it’s just some guy walking a pig?? telling them to gtfo. well!

guy with pig sends them to his son???? who i later learned is named dr. pollidori. and who has a newspaper article about some experiment he did. this guy is looking like a stereotypical mad scientist. “my father is a simpleton farmer. he understands nothing of my scientific achievements” <- okay nerd, let’s not get in a science-off with dr. scully… also, let's not be mean to your dad!!

this mad scientist dr. pollidori says he is going to remembered for his incredible discovery of the “homeotic hox gene” and i hope he is taken down by scully. i hope she disproves every single thing he says. and then spits on him. fuck this guy for real.

i paused to write that down and she’s smiling at mulder behind this evil doctor’s shoulders :,)

mad scientist dr. pollidori tries to pull the whole “oh, let’s have scully explain my incredibly advanced research” card, further proving his evil tendencies, and she says it has something to do with growth. which is more than i could say.

he says he has to leave to go to an important international talk and she hits him with “sir, unless you want your scientific achievements to end up as a footnote on the jerry springer show, i suggest that you make the time” <- DAMN, GET HIM AGAIN FOR ME!!! i love when she puts people in their place.

i love this sort of "fishbowl/actors looking right into the camera" angle, because they look so cool standing like that. and i want to draw them like this, but i can’t draw. so i will just admire them instead. yeahhhh. they look cool as hell.

so it seems that what this mad scientist fellow dr. pollidori does is torture fruit flies and act mysterious? while thunder crashes about. kind of a sick gig aside, from the fly torture, but i could be mysterious and be way nicer. i could be a friendly mad scientist. i know a few of those, and they’re fascinating people!

so he fucked up some fruit flies and gave them legs in their mouths. that is rude as hell.

mulder asks “why would you do that?” (we were all thinking it) and mad scientist dr. pollidori says “because i can” with another crash of thunder. throw him to the dungeons at once!!! 

dr. pollidori says "it" (editing genes to put legs in mouths) could theoretically be done in humans. scully tries to assure mulder this really isn’t the case, and it’s not quite that easy, but mulder isn’t so sure

“given the power, who could resist to create life in his own image?”, mulder asks <- honey, you just need a cat. you’re not ready for a child yet. i know you want one so badly, but you sleep on the couch. it's just not the right time.

ohhh she got him with just that LMAOOOO “we already have that ability, mulder; it’s called procreation” <- i am very attuned to scully, as you can clearly tell by me anticipating that line

she says she’s going to really see if mrs. berkowitz is pregnant tomorrow... i did not know that this was a service scully could provide. but i guess i should have assumed.

dr. pollidori has a wife??? her name is elizabeth. she wants to talk to him about children?????? but he says “you know how i feel about children” okay well elizabeth seems too good for you anyway, so??

“what happened to our dream?” “i think that’s your dream” <- BABE LEAVE HIM!!! FUCK THE MAILMAN!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!

everything is so incredibly 1950’s coded in this scene, down to her little apron

i’m picking up a sword for elizabeth, why are you being so mean to her, mad scientist dr. pollidori!!!!!!!!!!! NO, SHE’S CRYING!!!!!!!!! DIVORCE, BABES, DIVORCE!!

but something is at the window?? NO!! STAY AWAY FROM HER, GREAT MUTATO, SHE’S HAD ENOUGH!!

diner time with the agents. seems the whole town is there and they are smiling at them. in an unsettling manner. oh lord, why is MULDER so good looking in black and white too?? someone put me down like a rabid dog.

awww, scully finds a newspaper and it mentions their FBI stuff… who snitched on them!!! :(

mulder is presented with an IMMENSE amount of food (he only wanted coffee!) on behalf of JJ (that’s with two J's), and i still can’t figure out the vibe here, because on one hand we’ve got spooky silly mad scientist dr. pollidori, and on the other hand we have a rapist monster so. like?? hey???

some reporter character next to mulder is writing down everything he says and does. and this waitress gets right in his face to ask if jerry springer is coming to town. i’m uncomfy, you’re uncomfy, we’re all uncomfy.

so the newspaper article had everything they said last night word for word!!! who was sneaking around?? other than that person who was just sneaking over mulder’s shoulder, but we had not seen before??

izzy is being questioned for potential recording of their conversation and they’re sticking their heads in one at a time LMAOOOO. mrs. berkowitz has had ENOUGH of izzy's shenanigans!

he pulls out a tape recorder, and their whole conversation from the night before was on there!!! and then mulder rewinds, and they hear the cher song???? what!!! how is this connected??? and they hear a voice singing along!!! it’s the great mutato!!! he wasn't even there when that happened!!!

SO WHO WAS RECORDING EVERYTHING?????

the great mutato is dancing around in the doctor’s house!!!!!

LMAOOOOO mulder’s spouting frankenstein analysis in relation to this case (hey. call me btw) and scully hits him with the “mulder, i’m alarmed you would reduce this man to a literary stereotype” <- yeah the roasting should be mutual

he asks who else would go to such lengths to get mrs. berkowitz pregnant, and she’s looking around as if she has to gently break the news to him that "well, mulder, certain men love to hurt women", etc etc

scully is reading mrs. berkowitz’s file as they drive off, and everything DOES look true, both the tubal ligation and the pregnancy!!! when mulder starts driving the car backwards???

WE GET ANOTHER CHER SONG MOMENT as they run into a house that is covered with a tent!!! like we saw before at the very beginning with mrs. berkowitz!!! i think it’s dr. pollidori's house!!! and it’s filled with smoke!!! 

the girls (the agents) are breaking in!!! have we considered that scully should get out of here considering what happened last time we saw this exact scenario go down????? she’s coughing!!!!

mulder emerges from nearby, but nooooo!! they both collapse!!!!!! and the pig guy/dr. pollidori's father from before has a gas mask and says there ain’t no monster!!! HUH??

dr. pollidori comes back to his home a few days later, and poor mulder and scully and elizabeth are on the floor in a heap, looking terribly hung over from this gassing. they must have been out for like three days!!!

mulder says out loud that he thinks that he thinks dr. pollidori's wife elizabeth was impregnated, which is crazy to say btw, but elizabeth seems deeply excited at the fact. and then he tries to stand up and confront dr. pollidori, but he crashes into some stuff. and people are so right, mulder IS my baby girl. 

scully, meanwhile, is explaining that she thinks this is all some big hoax.

but mulder!!! he finds a frying pan!! and mrs. berkowitz also had her frying pans “violated”, in his words!!

his tie is all messy and he’s stumbling around. we are given a brief insight into what drunk mulder must appear like. but a principled man, he has generally sworn off alcohol, so this is all we can use to imagine how such a sight would appear.

when they pull out an empty jar of peanut butter like izzy used to summon the great mutato, he proclaims that he found his smoking gun. lmao

IT’S THE DOCTOR'S DAD?????? THE ONE WHO WAS WALKING THE PIG EARLIER??? HE’S BRINGING THE MUTATO SANDWICHES AND CALLS HIM "SON"??? please put your son on a leash sir, because he is clearly committing crimes

ohhh confrontation time between dr. pollidori and his father…. OHHHH choking is going on. the dad said he did "it" because he can….. terrible reasoning to make a guy, btw

mulder is back in the diner, and now everyone is avoiding his gaze, throwing things at him, trying to trip him!!! JJ spits on his plate!!! he still looks good as hell though. 

THEY POUR THE COFFEE RIGHT IN HIS LAP???? RUDE AF????

now the newspaper is publishing that the agents think the monster is a hoax, which i guess explains his treatment. so do the townspeople LIKE the monster, then??? and so denying him is to deny what makes them unique? but hold onto that thought, because now everyone is running outside!!!!

THE POLICE HAVE IZZY???? he has a mask on!!! the cop says they've caught their monster. a cosplay mask doesn’t make him a monster, you utter fools. mrs. berkowitz is a good mom though; she says she WILL throw hands with the whole town for judging her boy, and i respect that 

oh, scully with the big reveal: the stuff on the frying pan they found at the doctor's house is used to knock out farm animals???? and farmers have to be on a register to use it!! which leads them to dr. pollidori's father aka the guy who walked his pig!!!!

the great mutato finds his father dead in the kitchen and mourns him, bringing him into the barn where he sobs and digs him a grave. it is sad. but. he still did those terrible things to mrs. berkowitz and elizabeth, so i'm not sure how bad i'm supposed to feel.

so the agents arrive, while it seems he is hiding up in the rafters. they find a puck of that weird gas that knocks you out, and mulder says he thinks they’re too late as they find the freshly dug grave

OHHH they hear a creaking and he WHIPS out his gun, but does this thing where he backs up so he is RIGHT in front of scully… wait, i need to watch that again. yeah, it was good. 

it’s the journalist person??? from before at the diner?? here to get a good scoop on the murder!!!!

but now the angry townspeople are arriving!!! lead by dr. pollidori! it’s very much giving gaston in beauty in the beast with the flaming torches. well. they’re going after him. while our agents are in the rain. probably still enduring a crazy chemical hangover. 

NOOOO!!!! scully turns around and sees the mutato!!! wow, she actually saw the creature for once lmao. that never seemed to happen in the early seasons

so they go in the cellar after the mutato and find a shrine to CHER NOW HOLD ON. HOLD ON. i have to pause and laugh. WHAT THE HELL. LMAOOOO

at least he has taste, i guess??

they find him in the corner and tell him to come out. scully seems deeply compassionate.

meanwhile, the barn is fully on fire as the journalist tries to write everything down. who will think of the sheep and pigs??? and even the chickens???

they emerge from the cellar but nooo, the journalist sees them!!! and the townspeople are invading!!!

the doctor says to let him go or they’ll burn him out. and he reveals to the crowd it was his FATHER who created him!!

mulder holds up a finger to wordlessly say “WATCH IT, WISE GUY” while the mutato is trying to say something. oh he can fully talk. “i have never acted to harm another soul” <- BUDDY. BUDDY WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING TO THOSE WOMEN????????

he’s monologing now, explaining he was the product of the doctor’s experiments. but his father rescued and loved him. and he tried to learn the science to make him a friend. also a horse is listening to all of this btw.

dr. pollidori's calls mutato a mistake which is rude as hell. 

however, if i’m supposed to feel bad for this guy for saying sorry after being caught raping women, i’m not gonna 💀 it sucks that he was abandoned and unloved, but we still need to have ethics in our conduct

scully looks deeply upset though.

he says he learned so much about humanity, and about love; “cher loved that boy so much” <- well. yeah. i laughed.

izzy declares that the great mutato is no monster!!!! i guess that he is his father, so he might be a bit biased there.

mulder is troubled by the fact that unlike in the original book of frankenstein, this monster did not escape to look for a bride! he wants to speak to the writers

“there’s not gonna be any bride, mulder. not in this story” “well then where’s the writer? i want to speak to the writer” <- LMAOOO why did this feel like a dig at the MSR shippers, i'm HOWLING

we end with more cher as cars drive down the road. AND THE AGENTS HAVE THE GREAT MUTATO IN THEIR CAR??? he’s just chilling in the back.

AND THEY TAKE HIM TO A CHER CONCERT??? OR IMPERSONATOR??? OR SOMETHING!?? AND HE’S LOSING HIS MIND?? WHILE IZZY AND THE AGENTS WATCH???

AND THEN WE SEE THE GREAT MUTATO BABIES ON JERRY SPRINGER and when he asks if the babies are hard to love due to their two faces (rude??) mrs. berkowitz says “what’s not to love?” <- okay queen!!!! she may have gone through a lot, but damn she loves her babies!!!

and then… mulder takes scully, and they dance??? they dance??? i knew there was a dance scene actually because i had seen in mentioned before, but i am seeing this??? with my eyes???? oh my god???

they love each other man... and maybe that’s romantic or maybe they’re best friends and maybe it's both or some secret third thing, but that is LOVE!!!!! LOOK AT THEM!!!!!

and then izzy turns it into a comic book??

WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST WATCH LMAOOOOO

guys please be kind to me if you understood this because i did not. i’m half laughing and half soooo confused

????? man, hold on

again, i see the similarities to small potatoes as has been mentioned before. and we’re supposed to just feel bad for the great mutato and wave off the rape. which doesn’t fly for me. and also why have there been two episodes with this theme now. what was chris carter smoking? and can we get him a different strain? 

tbh, i really haven’t listened to cher before but if nothing else this episode put me onto her?? i guess??

i don’t have that same visceral sick feeling that i had from small potatoes, which i take is because we did not see scully as the victim of the violence this time around, but still. not great. 

it felt like a huge inside joke i’m not in on. so i’m confused. and i appreciate that this is referencing old movie tropes, but that doesn’t mean i understand them any better, you know?

but they danced :( they danced :(

i waited two days before writing this up to try and let some time pass and hopefully make my perceptions a bit clearer, but i don't think it worked as well as i had hoped. this has to be a record for most question marks per episode writeup. so i am going to NEED to know what the wider community thinks of this episode. and also what you, the person reading, thinks of this episode. is this a cult classic? am i simply too young to understand the references? or is there truly nothing to get and the episode is just Like That for some reason?

i was, all in the span of 40-ish minutes, amused, disgusted, enamored, and baffled. with different percentages of each.

conclusion: mrs. berkowitz is real as hell, mulder and scully look AMAZING in black and white, and i do not forgive the great mutato. also they danced, btw. not sure if you caught that.

however, if i may venture a guess: this episode and the last were more silly than usual, and i appreciate that. but, i actually do sort of know what happens in the next two, in a "describe it in one sentence" kind of way, because before i decided to watch this show i googled it to see what it was about... and i came across this plot point. and maybe they decided to do something a bit more light-hearted before coming in with the emotional devastation. although, that did not stop them last season, so who knows?

i am excited to watch the next two.

[silvandar]

BG3 Durge run: casualty list, sunmary etc. Durge spoilers.

I absolutely loved this run. Durge is like playing a completely different game! The plot is fantastic, and the dialogues are hilarious and very clever.

My Durge looks almost exactly like this! Love this tattoo design.

Party: Durge fighter, Astarion, Shart, random hireling sorcerer. Picking Duergar was a Choice, their movement is dogshit and they keep getting stuck on jumps 😭

Act 1

Gale: maimed, presumed dead. Unless Mystra took pity on him.

The Grove: bloodbath. Stole everything that wasn't nailed down.

Wyll: dead

Goblin leaders: dead. Minthara tried to shiv me when i picked Astarion over her, should have rerolled just to see her romance scene but it was late and I was tired.

Karlach: dead. Attacked me on sight yelling about the Grove massacre, which was weird but cool. How did she knowwwwww.

Laezel: dead, because she tried to shiv me when i was sick. Otherwise we were besties 😭

Act 2

Oliver: squished

He Who Was: openly likes me, headcanon dating.

Last Light Inn: bloodbath

Jahira: dead

Isobel: dead

Yurgir: freed from contract because i couldn’t trick him into yeeting himself

Nightsong: dead

Shart: Dark Justiciar mode.

Durge plot: think I'm figuring it out. Orin is getting slapped later.

Daddy Thorm: dead. Surprisingly easy to kill when everyone has misty step and range.

Githyanki plot: pretty much ignored.

Romances: dating Astarion, flirting with Shart.

Durge has slayer form which everyone else in the camp thinks is gross, but Durge absolutely loves it.

Act 3

Picking and choosing quests is fun! I'm already level 8 so can easily ignore stuff that feels too "good" to be of interest.

Somehow my general terribleness has made me Chronically Single. So I had to bang drow beef without the offer of a foursome. Sigh. Choosing the "kinky" options was hilarious.

Kissed and made up with Gortash. He's a good guy really, very swauve. Looking forward to killing him later.

Ascended Astarion. Went at level 10, fight was surprisingly easy now I know the mechanics of the power boosts. Also having Turn Undead is big and clever. Watching Cazador scuttle like a cockroach was very cathartic.

Murder tribunal: Met Saravok, he was fun! Chatted about the old days, killed an elephant, bathed in some blood. Good times.

Nightsong redux: Robbed Lorroakan while he sulked about the Nightsong being dead. Astarion can now summon Ghouls. (Genuinely, just hopped on downstairs and cleaned out the vault. Not a single combat reaction from anyone. Bugged? Or just wizarding hubris? Didn't try to take anything from the main tower tho as I didn't need the robes or staff.)

House of Grief: Shart turned about 1/4 of the adds to our side, so it was a surprisingly easy fight. Shart is now God's Extra Special Princess.

Orin: died in 3 turns, just went Slayer on her and ripped her apart. Fun! Astarion has a new sword.

Saravok redux: Durge has a nice new sword and hat. Although he did one-shot me at one point. Don't know why I expected anything other than a fight, honestly.

Gortash: roasted by the Netherbrain. Saves me killing him I guess. Bit annoyed that I couldn't loot him.

Ignored Raphael and Orpheus completely. Gave the Emperor the Netherstones. Pretty much zero Githyanki plot on this run, as it seemed pointless with Laezel dead.

Netherbrain: much harder with only 2 sets of allies! Blinding the dragon helped, and for some reason the mage got stuck and glitched, so I consider the fight Cheesed By Accident.

Ending: murdered the Emperor, dominated the Netherbrain, turned my party into thralls, ruled the world as Bhaal's Chosen. Epic end scene, absolutely brilliant. IN BHAAL'S NAME!

[something-in-your-walls]

ALL THE MELVINS HAVE A GROUP CHAT HERE ARE WHAT SK MELVIN HAS EACH OF THEM SAVED AS + SOME OF HIS SMALL THOUGHTS ON THEM!

“megamind” AKA Villainborg (created by @drc00l4tt4) NOTES- refuses to let me put him as a witty nickname, but i did it in secret anyway, and apparently, he’s a supervillain too

“opposite me” AKA SK PPV (created by me!) NOTES- takes after blunder sometimes, even though he’s really nice

“guilt issues” AKA Guilt Ridden Melvin (created by @airim2023) NOTES- i don't like to bother him, he sure seems to be going through it, man

“original? I think?” AKA Book Melvin NOTES- actually he’s specifically known as the ‘book version’, whatever that means

“show?” AKA Show Melvin NOTES- no witty nickname, idk what else to call him

“original borg” AKA Melvinborg NOTES- cocky bastard and I kinda admire him for that ngl “my borg” AKA Borg (created by me!) NOTES- my future self, call only if there’s an emergency

“anti-humor boy” AKA Movie Melvin NOTES- apparently he’s the ‘movie version’??? again, I still have no clue what that means

“sneedly” AKA GP Melvin (created by @n4talia-chaparro) NOTES- very very sweet, i just have to be careful abt messaging him because his krupp can and will kill me if he finds out about our chats “sneedborg” AKA GP Melvinborg (created by @n4talia-chaparro) NOTES- barely ever online and has notifications off at all times, just in case

“opposite original” AKA PPV Melvin NOTES- he’s nice enough, even if there’s barely any braincells in that empty head of his

“alien barista” AKA Livmen NOTES- he acts like he's been conditioned to follow orders, which tracks, bc according to villainborg he was enslaved a while???

“egyptian original?” AKA Melvinites NOTES- can’t be bothered to spell his dumbass name right now, i'll figure it out later

“eat the rich” AKA Melvinport Sneedlyfeller III NOTES- his name is so fucking long, plus he gets annoying QUICK when you ACTUALLY have to deal with him

“snelvin” AKA Bizarro Melvin NOTES- try to dumb stuff down for him, he is NOT good at deducing things, and honestly, I really should know this by now

“professor s” AKA Professor Sneedly (created by @warrior-of-waistbands) NOTES- very clearly does NOT like kids and also refuses to let me give him a witty nickname

“hypno” AKA Hypnostuck Melvin (created by @somepancakeonline5377) NOTES- i think he's magical or something??? and apparently he’s from a game called homestuck????

“hypnoborg” AKA Hypnostuck Melvinborg (created by @somepancakeonline5377) NOTES- im not allowed to block him for his insane ass plans for some reason??? i dunno why though, his plans are probably the most flawed out of everyone's, ngl

“nuclear nerd” AKA Chemical Overdose Melvin (created by @dib-thing-wannabe) NOTES- this kid has fucking superpowers from nuclear waste??? and I thought MY universe was weird

“90’s ‘cool dude’ stereotype” AKA Broski Melvin NOTES- pretty cool I guess, but some of his lingo makes me physically cringe at times.

“she-devil” AKA Merlin Sneedly (created by @bluartist) NOTES- acts like show, but is a girl, and i'm pretty sure that’s basically the only real difference not much to say here about her

“hellraiser” AKA Merlinborg (created by @bluartist) NOTES- merlin’s version of borg, so just borg, but a girl, basically not much to say here about her, either

“rebel roboticist” AKA Redux Robotix Melvin (created by @sketch-twentytwo) NOTES- follows the rules but doesn’t seem to find the adults all that trustworthy???

“mythbusters wannabe” AKA Lab Comix Inc Melvin (created by @infinitree) NOTES- into pranking and tends to see impossible things as a challenge, when they really REALLY aren’t

[nctinkverse]

Promissa Redux - Chapter 3

Synopsis: A life-altering phone call from Jaehyun prompts reflection on your personal life and career choices. Despite initial confusion and concern, he surprises you with a movie script offer. Memories intertwine with present decisions, revealing a longing for closeness. Accepting the script becomes a opportunity to have your best fried back, you miss the banter and tender moments you had with him more than you thought you did.

Warnings: minors do not interact!, for this chapter we've got a little angst, smut and crude words.

Pairing: jaehyun x f. reader

Word count: 1.760

Autor note: This chapter takes us back to Jaehyun call we saw in the preview of Promissa Redux, some parts are a little more detailed and at the end, there's a flashback were we get a glimpse of what their relationship as a married couple looked like. Sorry for taking so much time to update and enjoy!

Unauthorized copying or translation of this work is strictly prohibited.

-------- Preview with all the warnings and Chapter 2 -------------------

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Chapter 3 - One call away is not close enough

A call two years later changed everything.

Your career…

Your personal life as well.

You were fast asleep when the phone rang. Jaehyun’s name on the screen made you alert, is he alright? Did something happen?

Laying your back on the headboard you answered the call.

“Hi” he said using a normal tone. That made you a little less worried.

“Jaehyun, is something wrong?”

“Oh, no… I’m sorry… I didn’t check the time difference. I should have called another-

“Jae…spill, what’s the gossip, huh?”

He let out a little laugh since the gossip thing that a old joke between you two.

“No gossip, but I do have something.”

“Clearly, it’s something good or you wouldn’t be calling on impulse, spill, Jaehyun.”

“Yeah right…” He hesitated a bit coughing a bit, his telltale sign that he was nervous.

“I got sent this script for a movie, they want me as the main character…” He hesitated again which made you ask.

“Jeong Jaehyun, what did you do?”

“I sent a copy of the script to your mailbox.”

You could feel your sleepiness vanishing as you started to scold him.

“Jaehyun, are you nuts? You can’t ship stuff like this in the mail! What if gets – “

"It got delivered today." He interrupted, making you stop your thinking.

Scrambling for a thought since he didn’t elaborate, you asked.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with it?! I’m not a male actor, Jung."

"Read, dummy, read."

"And do what?"

"Tell me if you want it."

You opened your mouth to be obnoxious, pointing out the obvious, but Jaehyun must have listened to your 'I’m about to give you an earful' breath and went first.

"Listen, it’s an amazing script, just like the ones you used to want to work on. There’s an opening for a cinematographer, and I know you’re a hell of a good one, so if you want, it’s yours." He said in one breath, probably afraid you would interrupt again.

But from all he said, this part really got you confused.

"What do you mean it’s mine?"

"I showed the director your profile and portfolio, and he said yes."

"Fuck, Jaehyun." You didn’t know what to say since he was never one to interfere in your personal life since the D word.

"You’re sleepy, and I know how grumpy you can be at this hour, so… I still must tell you two more things, the job is in the states, probably 3-4 months of filming, and I am supposed to give an answer on the male character in 48 hours. We would have to work together, and we would probably have to strike a deal with my parents since we can’t pull Junnie out of school, so…"

You understood what he said, but you needed at least a cup of coffee to process it. But before you could say anything, he went off again.

"I can give it up if you want." He said almost like a whisper.

"Give what up?"

"The character."

"You didn’t like it?"

"No, but –

You interrupted again.

"So, if you do like it, why would you give it up?" It made no sense to you.

"For you –"

It still didn’t make sense why he would give it up.

"Give it up for ME?"

"I like it, Y/N, but this script has you written all over it… and I don’t want to make you uncomfortable by being there."

Now you got him, yet he was about the last person in this world who could make you uncomfortable.

"Yuno…" You said in a softer tone.

You heard his breath and a soft "yeah?"

"I don’t hate you." You stated in your most soft yet firm tone, it was one of the things he must not forget about you two.

"I know, Y/N, I know."

"I am going to read it and think about what you said, ok? Don’t do anything hasty."

"Ok, I will let you go back to sleep."

"I’m not sleeping after all this, you know right?" You said, letting out a small huff.

"I know."

"What I am about to do is getting up, making some coffee and grabbing the script out of my mailbox, does it sound good to you?" You were being just a bit playful.

"It does, love."

That word made you warm like butter melting on a frying pan. Still, that wasn’t something out of the ordinary for him to call you. So, you let it slide.

"Well, for sure it’s better than staying in bed tossing and turning."

He let out a small giggle, he knew you were one of those to fight a lot with your bed at night.

"Good morning, love."

"Good afternoon to you?" You didn’t know what time zone he was on, so you tried.

"Try again." He said with a smiling voice.

"Good night!" You said like you had guessed the lottery numbers.

He let out a giggle sound and said, "Give little Nari 1000 kisses from me, will you?”

"Why just a thousand?" You said with a little pout as if he could see.

You could hear his playful tone in reply.

"Don’t you know our daughter? She might ask for in real life a thousand kisses; since you are the closest parent, you might fall victim to it, so I think that’s a great number for kisses."

You both giggled, Jung Nari, the lily to our garden, was at that phase where hyperbole would be a tough concept for her to grasp.

"Ok, fine." You agreed still giggling.

"I will call… stay safe."

"You too, Jaehyun."

With that you decided to get up put some warm clothes, while the coffee maker did her job, you went downstairs to get the script from your mailbox.

When the coffee was ready you got back to your room and pulled the curtains up letting a little of the city lights get into your room. Turning on your lamp you seated yourself on your favorite chair.

The script was big, over 200 pages, there was no way you would finish it before Nari would wake up, but when you reached page 50 you decided it was okay to close it.

Jaehyun was right, it was exactly the type of script you wanted to work with. You were deeply touched he even remembered you talking about it…

-----

“I believe in you.”

“You do?” You asked raising your head from Jaehyun’s chest so you could look at his eyes. “I don’t think I can do it, I think it’s too late”.

He was already shaking his head even before you could finish.

“It’s not late, if you want to change careers you know what to do, I don’t doubt for a second, you’ll get there.”

You were deeply touched by his words. It’s not like you thought he wouldn’t be supportive, you just never imagined needing to hear his genuine tone, the way he looked into your eyes ensuring you could perceive every feeling he conveyed.

Raising your head a little, you gave him a kiss. It was a sweet ‘thank you’ one.

When you disconnected and snuggled even more close to him on the couch, using your leg over his hips to feel every part of you against his comfortable warm body.

“So, I’m curious, if you could pick a type of movie to work on, what it would be like?”

“An 80’s movie for sure.”

“Why baby?”

“Well, you know they are my favorites, the whole boombox thing outside a girls window it's a classic, I also like Ten Reasons Why I Hate You, I love the whole enemies to lovers it’s an amazing plot if done right.”

“I don’t think you can work on movies like enemies to lovers, you might get a crush on Heath Ledger and I could lose my wife.”

You smacked the upper part of his butt for the almost funny insult.

“I do not have a crush on Heath Ledger!”

“Oh yeah babe, you do, you have all his movies.”

“Yes! Because he was an amazing actor!”

“Are you sure he’s not handsome?”

“No!”

“You literally drool when he is on screen baby…”

“Fine! That’s just because he has dimples!”

“Oh, I knew it!”

“You have dimples too, so shut it, Jae.”

“Oh, you’re soo nervous, you’re-

You stopped his sentence with a kiss. A warm one this time, you were trying to make a point so he would forget about stupid cute Heath Ledger and just kiss you dumb.

It took only a few seconds to feel his tongue invade your mouth, playing with yours, his hand that was on your lower back traveled to your butt check and he pressed your body even closer to his.

You moaned, his cock pressing very close to where you needed him, he lowered his lips to your neck. Using your hand, you guided his head to the spot you needed him, your fingers right over one of the dimples you loved so much.

“Yuno…I don’t like other man’s dimples, I just like yours…” You said between breaths.

Against your neck he let out a small laugh.

“Yeah baby, how much?”

“I like it so fucking much I want you to pass it on to our kids.”

“Oh, kids.”

“Yes, kids.” You also replied with your body undulating against his, all tingly with excitement.

He left your neck to tease your lips with his.

“Plural. Interesting.”

You just nodded pleading with your eyes for him to kiss you fully.

“So, you like the idea of babies…

“Not really the point.”

“So, what is the point?” He kissed you a little harder for a few seconds but pulled away again.

“I like trying to make babies with you so much, I know one day I’m going to go insane and tell you to forget the condoms.”

“Or maybe one day I will fuck you so hard and soo good the condom would break.” He completed.

“That’s exactly my point. Now stop being a tease.”

He laughed but finally went back to kissing you.

------

You shook your head so the memory would go away, Jaehyun was the love of your life, your already happy ending was Nari.

But you missed your best friend.

He had a strange sense of humor, was calm and knew what to say every time you needed him.

You missed him so much, so that’s how you convinced yourself to accept the script. Maybe it was a way you could also be close to your best friend again.

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

Taglist:

@dulyrana @clblnz 💚

@electric-hearts @hyuukah @baeseungcheolie @girlinbangtan @johnbanana @fashion-addictedd @peachfulnight @angel63715 @daegalismybiasinnct @chloemargaret @phattyboo90 @oyasueme @peachfulnight 💚💚

@lijennoow @crazywittysassy @matchaforyanna @ihrtsolana @the-universe-in-you-jjh @iarayara @mrsuhnshine @dilfjohnnyaf @xuyiyang @monstanctiny21 @jccv @peachytokki @jaescafe 💚💚💚

The ones in bold are the ones I wasn't able to tag and will be sending the update in priv.

This chapter was a pain in the &&& to post coz tumblr keeps NOT letting me post anything so it's missing spaces and format so so sorry about that.

Tysm!

[deathsbestgirl]

I love your thoughts on the cancer arc and your second post reminded me that Mulder straight up murders the guy who was surveilling him. Now it's been a minute but were there ever any consequences for that? Like officially or otherwise? Like on his soul? Or was it just a case of ooooh it's Blevins and the FBI was so embarrassed that they just gave him a lil freebie?

oh i love this question. i think he got a freebie 🤣 like blevins oversaw the x files for a while, he had a decent amount of power within the fbi. to out a man in blevins' position and being right is actually pretty insane. it was illegal surveillance, scully was dying because of what blevins did/was part of. like they were investigating her cancer, an approved investigation. whether there was any real proof tying blevins to it barely matters because he ran (and then was killed, made to look like a suicide?) all the marks of a guilty man, even though i'm sure he was a small player, most likely a pawn, the perfect fall man. in the end, even though mulder killed a man and broke into a government facility...this time he was right and kind of saved the fbi's asses. (and arguably, possibly helped cover up the bigger conspiracy for the moment. but what mattered then was scully so.) AND if they tried, mulder+scully would have dug up more, and bringing that to the fbi's attention, into a court of law would have been very bad. so like other times, i'm sure csm was pulling some strings. and skinner 100% would have been backing them (even without csm pulling his strings).

i also don't think this was a kill that weighed on his conscience at all. the man he killed, while also probably a pawn, had to know enough about the syndicate. he was part of the conspiracy, undergoing illegal surveillance, at the least keeping tabs on their progress and at worst helping hinder it. which is why he started burning the files when he realized mulder found him out. he didn't simply run, he was protecting his investigation and the men behind it.

it always comes down to how mulder will do anything for scully, and that very much includes killing people endangering her, hurting her, trying to kill her. like in unruhe, he wanted to know more about gerry schnauzer but he didn't hesitate to kill him and he didn't feel any guilt over it. (mulder would do this for anyone being victimized, he regrets not killing the man in young at heart idr his name rn lol and he doesn't hesitate to shoot him when he's holding that woman hostage. but scully is of personal priority, and after everything she's been through, i think he's quicker to react & go to extremes.) like somewhere recently, i mentioned fight the future, which is only a year after this. he gets shot in the head and finds his way to antarctica to save her. he doesn't for a moment question if he can, or should, or what scully would do for him. he just does it. and thankfully, well manicured man hands him the cure. (WHICH i love that wmm does this, because the syndicate knows the best way to take mulder is out is by eliminating scully. but what they did doesn't eliminate her. wmm recognizes this is only going to hurt them. very much like what could have happened in reduxes. antarctica is what solidified that killing either of them, or splitting them up, was not an option. at least that's the way i see it haha)

[maggiec70]

Antoinette Redux...

...and doubtless for far longer than I'm around.

Some time ago I replied to an earnest but largely inaccurate defense of Marie-Antoinette that bemoaned the alleged myths surrounding her. I only remembered this when someone “liked” my response, and I looked at it again. This time, I noticed the five added comments extolling Antoinette and Louis and tossing out red herrings and additional historical bloopers. More important, however, was that the original poster shut it down to any further comments. I wonder why? Disapproves of criticism? Dislikes historical accuracy when it challenges the pretty view she extolls of her historical heroine? Wants the two “fans” to have their say but no more from the nay-sayers?

I will not let this pass, petty as it may seem.  Besides, there are times that I refuse to allow crap about specific historical figures to pass unchallenged.

These are the comments posted in Antoinette’s defense. I haven’t changed a word, but I deleted the names because they are unimportant. My responses are in italics.

Commenter #1:

“There is evidence King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette gave to the poor, provided education and other needs to the poor, and that the queen took a special interest in local children in need.”

In my reblog, I described specifically how Antoinette treated the poor; this is a regurgitation but more generalized, perhaps to make this charity seem much more extensive and continuous than it was. One point here for some accuracy, though marred by clear exaggeration.

King Louis was very 'wholesome' and was the first king not to take a mistress. Yet cartoons of the time portrayed all the royals and nobles as debauched.

Louis had some well-documented physical issues—the two most critical were tight, painful phimosis, which generally inhibits erection and ejaculation, and hypogonadism, which causes diminished libido. I suppose those conditions would preclude a mistress. These conditions also meant that he did not consummate his marriage until Antoinette’s brother, Joseph II, came to Paris to explain the mechanics of sex to Louis. Nevertheless, Antoinette didn’t have a child until eight years later. The contemporary historical records, including reports from his doctors, are replete with medical details. Quite a few are on Gallica, and even more are in the various French archives. Have a look, why don’t you?

Does this low libido and physical condition make Louis “wholesome?” Absolutely not. But it does explain why he never had a mistress. And yes, the cartoons and broadsheets more often showed Louis as impotent and hopeless, watching as Antoinette frolicked with legions of men. Louis was undoubtedly sexually dysfunctional, but Antoinette was not debauched or promiscuous.  These broadsides were the late 18th century’s equivalent of X, formerly known as Twitter, where folks trashed royals and aristocrats.

“Marie apologized to the executioner for stepping on his toe.”

Excuse me, but why on earth does this matter? After almost a lifetime of indifference at best toward anyone not in her intimate circle, Antoinette’s “apology” means squat. However, if this means a great character trait, go right ahead.

Commenter #1, second comment:

“Some of the worst treatment was meted out toward their son, a helpless child, while imprisoned. It is too horrific to repeat here.”

No, this treatment is not “too horrific” to repeat here or anywhere if you want people to know what happened. However, you have to be careful here or regarding any other subject regarding what sources you use. Yes, indeed, the removal of the then eight-year-old dauphin, Louis-Charles, from his mother and sister, Marie-Therese, was harsh. His imprisonment was brutal: cold, filthy, with little water and less food, and no human contact other than his jailers who kept him under constant surveillance and who beat him almost daily, continually criticized Antoinette and Louis, as well as trying to force him to deny God, sing bawdy songs, and learn how to curse. The more gruesome allegations of sexual abuse are plentiful as well but not confirmed in the historical record. All the other types of abuse are documented in plentiful archival documents.

Commenter #2:

“…yes...and this poor child was litterally [sic] taken from his mother [sic] arms... Knowing how difficult it was for Marie Antoinette to have children in the first place ( in the Sofia Coppola movie my heart sinks every time when the young Queen runs to her private chamber to cry when her SIL gives birth) that was the worst thing her enemies could do to hurt her.”

Removing a child from its mother’s arms is a dreadful experience, but certainly not unique to Antoinette. So why is this an issue? Because it truly is not. Think of the many thousands of impoverished French mothers whose children dead from disease and starvation were removed from their arms for burial. Changes the perspective a bit, or it should.

The danger of using movies for any historical knowledge should be obvious. Coppola’s version certainly failed to explain any of the real reasons and backstory for these tears. And they are also exaggerated. You don’t read any history—real history, not Wikipedia, not historical novels, do you?

Commenter #1, third comment:

“Too horrible to imagine.”

I was tempted to omit this part of the chorus as too inane and uninformative, but, you know, truth.

I have no idea this will change anyone’s mind—it probably won’t, since breathless fangurl love for Antoinette, Anne Boleyn, and any one of the Romanov girls is generally firmly in place and generally idealistic.

However, I’m a historian, and I don’t often let misinformation unsupported by archival, primary, and even valid secondary sources go unchallenged. I also know how to evaluate those sources regarding when and by whom they were written and in what political, social, religious, and economic environment.

So here we are. I’ve said my piece—again—about Antoinette. Disagree all you like, but please state on what your disagreement is based: fact, or opinion.

[siilvan]

fortuna redux

characters (ocs): mylène "petra" scholten de ridder, freya "mini" mactavish

summary: the medic of the 141 suddenly becomes two.

genre: general, fluff, light angst?, fem!oc

warnings: semi-proofread, cursing, mentions of canon-typical violence, mild descriptions of blood/injuries, mildly superstitious stuff, they're so sister-coded...

word count: 3k

note: “but navi we want bloodsport” i know babygirls, it’s gonna be my next post 😔 i just need to be cringe with my oc first…

also big shoutout to @sofasoap for giving me the much-needed confidence to write this AND for trusting me with her beloved mini 😌 this is going to get zero notes, but idc, i wrote it for fun lol

you let out a soft breath as you sift through documents, analyzing dossiers and combat records until your eyes burn and beg for a break. it's the season of new recruits, which means late nights, early mornings, and headaches for yourself. why did you offer to train them when price asked?

probably because ghost has a track record of sending new faces running for the hills. as the one-four-one's only other commanding officer, you're the only one fit for the job. fantastic.

after a much needed break – that consisted of you laying back in your chair with a damp cloth over your eyes – you grab the next document off the pile on your desk and scan it like you did with every other. you stop short before you even finish reading the name at the top, though.

freya mactavish.

surely, it can't be...

you flip through the pages of the dossier, blinking at the information that only served to confirm your suspicions. scottish, twenty-two years old, combat medic, has an older brother in the special forces...

"no fucking way." you mumble, staring at the picture attached to the file. you recognize her from pictures that soap's shown you over the years – she is, without a doubt, the "mini" he's told you so much about. why haven't you heard about the transfer request until now?

when you come across the combat records, the reason is glaringly clear. she hardly passed on all fronts; if she was any other recruit, this file wouldn't have even made it to your desk. she can't match the rest of the team in the field, you'd all end up slowing down to accommodate her. it's nothing that can't be fixed with dedicated training, but with how precious the task force's time is, you simply don't have the time to bring new recruits up to speed.

with a quiet groan, you push back from your desk and gather up the files on her, heading out the door and padding down the hall towards price's office.

you round the corner and spot him unlocking the door, his back facing you.

"captain!" you call out from down the corridor, catching his attention. price turns to look at you, pausing with the door held open as you approach.

"you're up early, petra." he comments, reminding you to glance at the time. five am— shit, you spent the whole night pouring over those files. "got something for me?" he continues, pulling your focus back to him.

you nod, waving the document folder at him. "i've got some questions about one of these recruits."

his eyes flick between you and the folder, before a low chuckle escapes him. "think i might know who you're talking about." he mutters, motioning for you to follow him into his office.

he shuts the door behind you and clicks the lock shut before circling around his desk and settling in his chair. you sit across from him and lay the files out, starting when he nods for you to speak.

"i'm assuming you've connected the dots between the surnames?" you ask, earning an affirmative hum. "you've known soap longer than i have, so maybe this makes sense to you, but—" you flip through the pages of the dossier and slide it towards him, pointing out the large boxes of redacted information with two companies logos plastered at the top of the page. "—i can understand mi6's involvement with this, but what does the cia want with a low-ranking british soldier?"

price leans back in his chair and drags his eyes from the document to you. "it's a long story." he shrugs, pulling a frustrated huff from you.

"come on, price, don't give me that." you reply, shaking your head. "soap's never mentioned anything like this. is there something i need to be worried about if we recruit her?"

his tongue darts out and wets his lips as he lets out a noise, somewhere between a groan and a sigh. "even i don't have all the information, scholten. all i know is that she's damn good at what she does." he sits up straight and thumbs through the dossier, glancing over it like he's already familiar with the contents. he probably is.

"you've been tripling as this team's commander, medic, and medical intelligence expert since its formation. you've already got ghost and myself to handle most of the leadership, but you need someone to help with the rest." he asserts, unclipping the picture from the rest of the stack and holding it up to face you. "you need the assistance and she's reliable. trust me on this."

you blink at the photo, then at him. "she barely passed any of the physical tests – even her marksmanship scores were average at best. there's other medics with better scores, captain. i know we cherish family on this team, but i'm not willing to send someone unequipped onto the battlefield."

price sets the picture down and sighs, low and heavy in his chest. "did you see what she's called?" he asks.

you furrow your brows at him. "something like... what was it, 'lady fortuna?' what does that have to do with this?"

"lady luck, lieutenant. she doesn't look like much on paper, but whenever she's in the field, people always come back. the only person that serves to suffer when she's working is herself." he smiles as a noise of confusion tumbles from your lips.

"never pegged you as the superstitious type," you start, squeezing your eyes shut and pinching the bridge of your nose. "that isn't reassuring, anyway. i can't risk having a soldier, especially family, die under my watch, even if it means the rest of the team makes it home unscathed."

price places a firm hand on your shoulder, jostling you and forcing you to look at him again. "it's your refusal to let her die that'll keep her alive." he mutters, and the plan in his mind finally clicks with you.

she'll keep you from working yourself to death. you'll keep her from dying in her work.

a mutual safety net.

price, you clever bastard.

"you were never going to let me say 'no,' were you?" you cock your head to the side, slumping back in your chair.

he shrugs, mirroring your position and producing a cigar from one of his pockets. "i always respect your judgement." he lights it and places it between his lips. you move to gather the documents and stand, before he snaps his fingers, remembering something. "a transport just picked her up, by the way. she'll be here in a few hours."

you pause mid-action and glower at him. "guess i should get started on the training schedule, then."

⋆⋆⋆

"corporal freya mactavish, reporting for duty, ma'am."

you eye the younger woman curiously, noticing the way she shifts her weight from one foot to the other, shrinking a bit under your scrutiny.

bright blue eyes, just like her brother. she's a few inches shorter than yourself, about five-four according to her files, and you feel yourself soften a bit at the glimmer in her eyes – a soldier desperately wanting to be acknowledged. again, it reminds you of soap.

"so, you're the new recruit?" you regard her with a gentle smile in an attempt to ease her nerves. when she visibly relaxes from her stiff stance, you turn to price. "i'll take care of her, captain."

price uncrosses his arms and chuckles. "don't be so quick to write her off, petra. who knows, she might end up surprising you." he says, tapping your arm and giving mini an encouraging nod, before walking out of the room and leaving the two of you alone.

you turn back to her and rest your hands on your hips, silently studying her again. you don't miss the puff of her chest under her vest when she inhales deeply and opens her mouth to speak.

"you can call me mini, lieutenant," she utters, the stiffness from earlier returning, her shoulders locking up as she stands more straight. "i know i'm not much of a soldier, but..." she trails off, her gaze flitting from yours to the empty space between you.

your brows furrow as you tilt forward. "but?" you repeat, urging her to continue.

she drags her focus back to your face, but still avoids looking directly into your eyes. "my brother's told me a lot of stories about you, and... i swear, i won't disappoint you."

she's sheepish, hands flexing as she confirms her statement, and you almost let the pity you feel flash across your face. she's so similar, yet so different from her brother. every word is said like she has something to prove; to you or herself, you're not sure.

"we'll have to swap stories sometime," you start, stepping closer to place your hands on her shoulders. "soap's always going on about you, he's very proud." you assure her with a gentle squeeze. mini rolls her eyes at it, but smiles nonetheless.

"i hope he hasn't mentioned any embarrassing childhood stories..." she mutters.

you pull back, recalling the many stories the sergeant's told about his family since joining the squad. "just a few. we can share those later, we've got a busy day ahead of us."

⋆⋆⋆

you had hoped the combat records would be out of date, but to your chagrin, they reflected mini's performance well.

her shots are hitting the target... most of the time, at least. you've had to correct her stance and grip more than once, give her several basic tips— so now, you're standing behind her, eyeing the target over her shoulder, your fingers twitching at your sides as you watch her form slip again. before you can correct it, however, she pauses and shifts, fixing her posture and adjusting her grip on her rifle.

it's been three hours, but she's showing some improvement, you think to yourself, the edges of your lips twitching up.

mini lowers her gun after emptying another clip and lifts the headphones from her ears, turning to you. "what do you think?" she asks, searching your face for approval.

you take off your own headphones and step closer, squinting at the target. most of the bullet holes lie around the edges, near misses, or scattered around the torso of the silhouette. there's a handful of headshots, but for three hours of work, it isn't enough.

"you're getting better," you sigh, facing her once more. her face drops and you rub the side of her arm in a small attempt at comfort. "you just need more practice, is all. that's why i'm here."

she huffs and shakes her head, setting her rifle on the counter. "you're supposed to be leading me in the infirmary and the field, not holding my hand through the basics, lieutenant." she complains in a low grumble, crossing her arms tight over her chest. your eyes narrow as your hand drops back to your side; you know her frustration lies with her performance, not you.

mini trails close behind your right shoulder, listening intently as you rattle off the list of activities for the day. basic marksmanship, physical tests, close-quarters combat... things that the rookies even younger than her are working on.

"you aren't going to be seeing as much action as the boys or myself, but you still need to be capable enough to defend yourself if necessary." you say, stopping in front of the door to the shooting range.

she hums, standing in front of you. "i know i'm not as skilled as the rest of you, but i can hold my own." she replies, furrowing her brow.

"i'm not clearing you for duty until you show some major improvement." you assert. her eyes widen, pupils turning into small saucers, before the crease in her forehead returns.

"lieutenant, you can’t—"

"i can," you state, perhaps a bit too stern, as the rest of her rebuttal immediately dies on her tongue. "price put you under my watch for a reason. i can't in good conscience send you out underprepared." you continue, softening to a low murmur.

mini merely stares at you, the gears turning in her head. after several seconds of this, finally, she relents with a barely-audible exhale.

"let's do this, then."

the sound of an irritated groan brings you back to the moment. you look just in time to see mini lean back against a nearby wall, her head tilting back and knocking lightly against the surface. she shuts her eyes and breathes in deeply, prompting you to go quiet as she steadies herself.

once her eyelids flutter open again, you speak. "let's take a break, yeah?" you give her a tight-lipped smile. "we can worry about the physical and close-combat tests later. we have plenty of time."

mini eyes you for a few seconds, deep blue irises swimming with about a hundred different emotions, cascading across the surface like waves crashing against jagged rocks during a storm. you've never seen so much conflict in soap, even in his worst times – whatever she's feeling clearly goes deeper than irritation over slow progress.

"how about we hang out? get to know each other a bit?" you suggest, brushing past the observation.

she seems to ease up at your words, her fingers interlacing in front of herself as she silently considers a response. a short, yet eager, nod of her head brings a more genuine smile to your lips.

you find yourself comfortably settled in on one of the worn couches in the common room after cleaning up the range, leaning back against the arm of the couch to face mini as you talk to her, mug of steaming tea in-hand.

"johnny's never been pleased with me following in his footsteps," she confesses after taking a healthy sip of her tea, her legs crossed under the blanket you haphazardly slung across your laps.

you hum, lowering your mug to rest atop your knee. "can't blame him. once you're in this field, you stop wanting your family close." you chuckle, before adding, "i wasn't particularly happy when my brother joined the forces, so i get where he's coming from."

mini grumbles into the rim of her cup and sends you a half-hearted glare. "i'm perfectly capable, though." she mutters, earning another curt laugh from you.

"i'm not saying you're not – even though there's still a lot to improve on – but, think about his perspective." you lean forward, motioning with your hands as you continue. "his little sister, who sounds very prone to injury and bad luck, going into such a dangerous line of work? i'm surprised he doesn't have you attached to his keychain."

you both pause, waiting to see who concedes in the argument first, before another thought crosses your mind. "speaking of luck," you start, catching the raised brow she sends your way. "ever since i read your files, i keep hearing about this whole 'lady fortuna' thing. even the captain's pretty convinced you're lucky."

another beat of silence passes as you both sip on your tea. you eye mini curiously as her eyes dart anywhere but your face, avoidant, but not nervous by any means.

"i don't want to sound like i'm bragging, especially in front of you," she trails off, only perking up again once you dismiss her concerns with a wave of your hand. "i guess, uh... i've been told that i've got this knack for bringing soldiers home unscathed, even on dangerous operations that should end with casualties. it's become something of an urban legend." she says, eyes settling on the steam rising from her cup.

"and yet, you are always getting injured. guess the luck comes at a price, huh?" you comment off-handedly.

her mug lightly clacking against the table nearby catches your focus, drawing you back to her as she wrings her hands together.

"when one person's fortune rises, another falls," she utters, looking focused as ever as the words leave her lips. "bearing misfortune is the cost of giving good fortune to those around me."

for a second, you almost think she's joking. harmless superstitions exist everywhere in life, but this is a new for you – not only is mini convinced of it, but even the captain believes it to some extent.

when her eyes drag up to meet your gaze, you feel a pang in your chest.

the zero-sum game. one party's advantage is equal to another's disadvantage. mini's misfortune is equal in value to the good fortune of those around her. what could possibly match the value of saving lives, though?

death isn't the opposite reaction; to lose the fortune entirely is a worse fate. suffering is a fate worse than death for the benefactor— it's perpetual, iterative, something that would stick around for the rest of her life. save a life and have your own ruined, it's an equal trade. you set your cup aside and reach forward to wrap your hands around hers, holding them in a loose grip.

"let's split the cost." you murmur.

mini blinks at you, confused. "what?"

you squeeze her hands gently, warming when she mirrors it. "there's no sense in one person bearing the world's misfortune alone. i'll carry some of it and you'll save some of that luck for yourself."

she shakes her head and retracts her hands, sitting up straight and leaving you leaning forward. "i don't think that's how it works, lieutenant. it's not something you can just give or take." she stutters out, stifling a nervous chuckle.

"it works that way if we say it does. you can give out as much luck as you need and we'll bear the burden of it together." you take another sip of your tea and let out a low sigh. "i won't take 'no' for an answer, from you or from fate." you add a moment later.

mini giggles, finally giving in with an affirmative nod and a "yes ma'am" escaping her amidst the giggles.

you don't believe in superstitions about luck or fate. the choices a person makes is what defines them, not a third party pulling the strings. however, if it'll bring her some comfort, then you're happy to bear whatever misfortune you can. at the end of the day, keeping your team safe is more important than shallow beliefs.

as a bright grin crosses her face, you make a silent vow with yourself.

you won't let her suffer.

whatever it takes, you'll bring her home safe.

[bonefall]

I was wondering, how do you feel about Tallstar's revenge? If it's in the rewrite, is it mixed into Brokenstar's cataclysm due to Heatherstar being more involved? Would she have even let him leave?

It kind of caught my eye because (grain of salt I only read the book once and it was two months ago) it seemed the least xenophobic given how windclan allowed cats that weren't from a clan to join, and how while Talltail was sad because Jake went back to his home, it was relatively respected.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, though.

I have a lot of mixed feelings on Canon Tallstar's Revenge. I have a few asks in here about it, so I'm going to be covering the Bonefall Version's fragments when I answer one of those right after this one.

But before I do, I have a few possible titles for the redux. It's important insight to the Campaign Era, so I might title it Tallstar's Campaign as a contrast to Pinestar's reworked SE, Pinestar's Crusade. I also like the idea of putting emphasis on the tunnels and the cave-in that kills Sandgorse though, so "Tallstar's Collapse" would also be a good name.

Anyway, canon

What I really like about Tallstar's Revenge is the clan culture expansions it introduced. I LOVE tunneling and the politics of Tunnelers and Runners. I love the Nomads who are welcomed to visit yearly. I love how much personality is packed into the new characters here, from Woolytail and his gentle wisdom, Sandgorse and his high expectations, Palebird and her journey with grief...

It really made WindClan feel alive. It makes you want to be there-- something that I don't think any other SE has truly captured.

But also, like most SEs, it can be a mess too.

Why is ShadowClan attacking? BECAUSE THEYRE EVIL

Why did Shrewclaw bully Talltail? It was a joke c'maaaaan

Why did Heatherstar abolish tunneling now, of all times? Uhhh it was dangerous actually and uh they didn't show up to 1 battle.

How does Talltail come to terms with how his father hurt him and reckon with the loss of a tradition Sandgorse so desperately wanted his son to love as much as he did, losing the one piece of connection he could have to that parent? Uhhh sandgorse was great and I forgive him for no reason now

Why have a prophecy about Talltail leaving just so Heatherstar can allow him to come back if you're going to play it for tension anyway?

It feels like a lot is established only to be dropped later. More than anything though, I wish they wouldn't have made Heatherstar some perfect leader. I hate that they had to make Cedarstar into an evil gremlin to start this war-- it makes a lot more sense to me that Heatherstar, who says THIS line at the start of the book,

“I promise that I will make WindClan a force to be respected among all the Clans of the forest... And when I join you, I hope you will welcome me with pride at what I have achieved.”

Could have been ambitious instead of just reactionary. It's a battle culture, why do we have to constantly make ShadowClan the cause of all conflict to prevent our other characters from BEING BATTLE-FOCUSED?

And then, it makes a lot more sense to watch Heatherstar essentially dismantle all the things that made WindClan unique. The nomads, the tunneling, if they can't help you win the war, they've gotta go.