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lightwing-s · 1 year

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the batboys' favorite male marvel heroes

Our golden boy, Dick, is a massive Spiderman fan. He’s not embarrassed in the least to admit it, and he’s also not worried people will think of him as just liking something popular. He has pretty good reasons to like Peter Parker and he’ll defend it to hell and back. He’s young, fun, and lighthearted. Heroic and smart and handsome and sweet and Dick can go on for hours and hours on that topic. At a young age, he sympathized with Peter for a number of reasons: they were both orphans, taken in by someone after this loss; even after all that pain they still grew up to be happy and joyful people to be around; both are very smart. As he grew into his super hero persona, they started sharing a whole lot more, like their flexible fighting style, the way they both deal with villains. And you’d often tell him they share the same bubbly personality. Also, Bruce used to spoil him rotten with spidey gifts. Comics, action figures, school supplies, spiderman shampoo and conditioner, towels… You name it, Dick has had it at home. Truly a spidey fanboy through and through. He also has a costume at home waiting for the day he can go on patrol wearing it.

Let's be honest here, we all know Jason would live for the anti-hero trope. Growing up, he’d always been drawn to more heroic types of antiheroes, like Wolverine for example, who’s hell bent on fulfilling his duty but does not live by the hero standards as some others do. But after a certain incident with a crowbar and a clown, he saw refuge in the spirit of vengeance himself, the Ghost Rider. C'mon, a motorcycling maniac, whose body is completely covered in fire and who fights for justice no matter what? *side eyes a certain somebody* there's no way it isn't up to his alley. He’s in the comic store right after patrol, in the early mornings, to buy whatever issue was released next and reads it like it’s a Jane Austen novel. He also buys older issues, and keeps them wrapped and well stored like his precious babies and he ain’t letting anyone touch them. Perhaps with one dear exception, you. Jay is into the classics though, if he had to pick between one out of all the riders he would have to choose the very first rider, Johnny Blaze. When riding his own bike, he’d pretend to be a rider, spitting lines he remembers from the comics and using them on random robbers he stops on the streets. Don’t talk to him about the movie though, that’s off topic.

Tim Drake is not one to pick “silly” heroes like his older brothers do. Or he at least pretends to do. He’s into the smart supes, with admirable brains and capacities well beyond imaginable. But he’s also a bit of a contrarian, so he won’t go for easy picks like Dick Iron Man. So when he sees a powerful AI turn into a nearly unstoppable android he instantly becomes a fan. Even before living with Bruce and becoming Robin, he would ask his parents to get him the new Avengers issue with Vision in it. However, unlike his brothers he’s very chill about it, he doesn’t feel like he needs to explain why his favorite is the best, or why they're a token of justice or a mad warrior. He knows Vision is good and that no one can fight him about it. He also wishes he could stay awake without the need for rest like he does, but he’d definitely miss the coffee.

Don’t really let anyone know it, but Damian’s favorite hero is his dad. But Batman is a real, flesh and bone man, so it won’t count here. He struggled to have a favorite hero, reading comics is “for children” and he’s too mature for that. He’s an adult. But when he caught a glimpse of Dick sleeping watching the new Moon Knight tv show, this boy got hooked. Not only is he a cool, merciless fighter, he is also intelligent and has a cultural impact on him like no other. Marc’s internal conflict with all of his personalities feels like a reflection of Damian’s own troubles with his families’ contrasting ideals: is he supposed to be a deadly weapon just like his grandfather would want, much like Jake Lockely, or is he a nicer warrior-esque hero like Marc and his father? Anyway, that cape, Dami loves the hooded cape *see that, bats? much cooler!*

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fingerless-glovez · 4 months

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POKÉMON AU LET’S GOOOOO

Dia

• Lives in the forest outside of Tristitas Town

• Very rarely goes into town

• Everyone between Tristitas Town and Akedia City is so worried about him

• The only people who can actually find him are Jay, Lou, and, to his annoyance, Tino

• His partner Pokémon is Linos the Snivy

• Has an army of Morelull, Paras, Foongus, Shiinotic, Parasect and Amoonguss at his beck and call

• Due to their propensity to put people to sleep and suck out their life force, Dia usually patrols the forest to make sure nobody dies

• He then drags them back out and slips a note in their pocket that says something along of "Do not go back in this forest. You almost died. I don't want to drag you out again. You're really heavy."

• Decided to run away after finding Meloetta

• Was already being exploited for his singing voice by his parental guardian, but when he found the mythical Pokémon collapsed in his backyard, he knew it'd be bad for both of them if she found out

• He was at the age where he could start a Pokémon journey anyway, so no one really questioned it when a 10 year old kid ran past them

• Especially not the mysterious man who first found him in the forest and gave him his starter

Lance:

• Lives in the desert outside of Ira City

• His house is at the top of a mountain surrounded by a sandstorm that requires safety goggles to get to

• Uses Gogoat to get up the mountain itself

• Will not go into the city if he knows Addis is there

• His partner Pokémon is Gruscha the Lycanroc

• Gogoat was given to him by Zeneau

• His name is Zeneau Jr., but Lance usually just calls him Zen

• Best friends with Gym Leader Hawke

• Found Christoph and Absol hiding in the cave at the bottom of the mountain

• Christoph is being pursued by the token Evil Team, and Absol refuses to leave his side

• After a bit of negotiation, Lance eventually convinced them to move into his house

• Everyone thinks Lance has a girlfriend because of all the extra groceries he buys now, and he's just like "... no."

• Left Ira City because of daddy issues

• Seriously, Addis isn't even a part of the Evil Team. Dude IS an Evil Team

• Addis is an Elite Four member trying to become Champion so he can basically take over the entire region. He wanted Lance to do it with with him (à la Darth Vader style), but for those of you who know Lance's backstory, you can probably guess why Lance said "fuck no" and dipped

• It wouldn't have upset Addis too much if Lance hadn't stolen his fossil revival machine before disappearing. It's Rotom powered now

Tino

• Lives in Akedia City

• Works at the Akedia City Gym as Lynt’s assistant

• And by assistant, I mean babysitter

• It's not uncommon to see him running around town and diving into bushes looking for him

• His partner Pokémon is Audino

• She usually finds Lynt first due to her amazing hearing

• Tino accidentally hurts her ears sometimes, but she forgives him because she knows he can't help it when he's stressed

• Self-appointed therapy Pokémon. Is always there when Tino's feeling sad

• When he's not running around having a prolonged panic attack or refereeing Gym battles, he can usually be found running the Gym's café

• Fidough is the café's mascot/sous chef

• Audino helps the waitresses

• They all have an adorable working relationship

• It's a very popular place because the workers are just so damn wholesome

• Sometimes he has to run some late errands, and he's managed to befriend the local Gengar that likes to scare people walking around at night

• Tino hasn't actually caught him, but he usually hangs out in his shadow wherever he goes

• Gengar's far from the only mischievous ghost Pokémon haunting the streets, but he's established himself as the scariest

• But Tino is off limits

#court of darkness #pokemon #court of darkness au #pokemon au #dia akedia #lance ira #tino maes #why do i do these things instead something. y'know. productive

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faithghoul · 1 year

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Keep it secret!

Sleep Token has gained popularity for the past 2 weeks, good for them. I'm so proud of seeing them grow and recognized more. These lads are so talented.

But of course, every ups would never gone without the downs. The identity reveal.

A mutual of mine on twitter told me to be careful when you trying to look for Sleep Token on Tiktok since the people there been commenting the member's real name and maybe even showing you the photos of them. Not only on Tiktok, maybe on Pinterest too, or even here.

Listen up. I think it gives you nothing when you try to reveal people behind the mask. Let's say, ok you've known their real identity. And then what? For what? You can still enjoy the music, the concept, the lore without even knowing their real identity. The boys are putting it in secret for a reason. Respect their privacy and the fans who don't want to know about their identity!

In my case, any reveal of what's supposed to be secret (face reveal, identity reveal) will make the mask or the character they build become pointless to me. Thus, the "spark" will fade away. It happened to me when the first time I was still learning about Ghost back in 2021, and I was so frustrated. Definitely not gonna let it happen to me and Sleep Token.

I will fucking block anyone who sends me private information about the members of Sleep Token bc I don't want to know about it.

#this type of shit happens again but this time w sleep token #rambling

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breadthecat · 3 years

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All of MY kindergarten AUs

Here is a thorough list of all of my kindergarten aus. I tried to order them in a mix of most popular and most detailed. As gamer is sorta popular, however it’s not as fleshed out as some of my other aus. Many of the aus on the top have a lot more to them. Also, please don’t copy them, I put a lot of time into these (It’s chill if it’s a similar concept but don’t just rip entire specific details straight from my aus).

Watch, I probably still forgot some. There’s 17 in all.

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Teen Punk - an au where Felix and Lily go through a punk phase in high school, at the surface level. The au spans much further then that, however, even post college years. Lily remembers the resets, which really fucks up her life and perspective of everything, the root of her hatred of Nugget and Protag. Ted and Felix actually get along because they grow out of that phase in late elementary school/early middle school. It’s the token Lily x Felix au, and it’s co-created by @randomguygoesviral . That being said, it’s a lot angstier then it first seems :)

Teen Punk Spin-off - an alternate universe where the high school functions similarly to the Kindergarten game. Meaning the protag has a route where he kills Lily and Felix. He kills Lily by tricking her into a room with toxic gas. After lily dies, Felix rushes in an refuses to leave her, eventually succumbing to the gas as well. Despite that brief description, it’s a really hard route to complete and doesn’t feel very rewarding when you do.

Void Lily - Lily remembers the resets, which wasn’t supposed to happen in her universe. This causes her world to collapse and traps her into a white abyss, the void. She slowly grows distant from her other lily counterparts, seeing herself as a separate entity. She uses a wide verity of names, eventually adopting the name Vivi. She discovers how to communicate and eventually hop worlds(aus). Due to her time in the void, she appears around 12 years old but is closer to 20. She was the first and original void based/“omnipresent” au in the fandom.

(Putting the rest under a read more)

Gamer - Billy, Monty, and Cindy are gamers and are dating. Billy is a fairly popular YouTube gamer known for being soft, a good singing voice, and having bright pink hair. Monty and Cindy eventually get roped in. Lily and Billy are on very bad terms. As implied, it takes place during high school years. Outside of crackships, the plot involves games leaking into reality and getting fun abilities from it. I’ve managed to only barely work on the plot

Affinity - if you have a near death experience but aren’t afraid, there is a chance you can develop a super power. This is what happens to Felix, Ted, Lily, and Billy (and maybe some others). Felix and Ted manage to keep these newfound powers hidden for years before their parents find out and disown them, trying to turn them in for study. They get taken in by Danner (Dadner). Unfortunately they don’t escape forever :)

Worst Heir - (TW SUICIDE) Felix grows up feeling like he’s truly a monster and never has done anything good in his life, and decides to “amend” that. Felix doesn’t pass on as expected, having to watch how devastated Ted is. Also some ghost shenanigans.

Soulless - Everyone is supposed to have a soul, a driving force that keeps them going. Without it, you lack empathy, motivation, and warmth, and can eventually result in death. Around the events of Kindergarten 2, the small flicker of a soul Felix had goes out. This is the cause of his cold nature, and leads to him slowly become ill and almost dying. Ted catches on that something is genuinely wrong but is only able to convince his parents when Felix is on the brink of death.

Chosen Ones - each of the kg characters are drawn to a different magic stone that gives them a special power. The pull of the stone is unbreakable, even to the extent that Carla and Monty inadvertently rob a museum for theirs.

Evil Clone - during Billy’s capture, the principle makes a clone of Billy in order to thwart the protagonist. There’s also made clones of the slime trio, however they are imperfect.

Pkm Blessing - a Pokémon au where legendary Pokémon have the ability to gift a trainer with the ability to understand Pokémon, but they can only choose one. Felix is chosen by Mew. Ted also sorta kinda joins the evil group, whoops

Linked - Agnes gives Ted and Felix a telepathic link to eachother to force them to get along. It works, but also brings a lot of pain.

The Remembrance - everyone suddenly remembers all the past routes and takes it very very poorly. Ted repeatedly pummels Felix to death, Cindy and Monty harassed and kill the Janitor, lily and Billy do not take kindly to the monstermon ending. The slime trio and the hall monitors hide away from the chaos

Split - Felix gets separated from his family at a train station and gets horribly lost. Jerome and his mom take him in. Felix developed pretty severe abandonment issues. kindergarten 2 doesn’t happen. Felix really likes the story of the ugly duckling

Fairytale - all the characters are mythical creatures or based in a fairytale setting. All of them know eachother in some way. Lily, due to her “unladylike” attitude, is cursed by a witch and put into a sleeping beauty esc sleep. Due to a magical link with her twin, Billy also risks falling into a permanent sleep too any time he rests. This au actually has an ask blog that never finished its story, but I posted the entire story line there.

Angel of Death - The monstermon ending backfires and gives lily demonic powers to use for evil.

Spoiled - Felix gives lily lots of gifts and spoils her. Rich kid stuff, but wholesome

Deity - lily and Billy are nature deities. Felix accidentally gets Lily’s attention, and if he’s not careful, she would straight up murder someone for him.

#kindergarten #kindergarten 2 #kindergarten lily #kindergarten Felix #kindergarten game #kindergarten au

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sticky-nits · 3 years

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The Story of the Reclusive Mule

As written down sometime after the event by Matt’s Cousin.

In the early days of the band, we travelled much of the world - not gigging, that was only secondary at the time. To even call us a band when this story is set may be somewhat inappropriate, and a little overly optimistic. In fact, we were not much more than scraggly buskers, unkempt and out of work court jesters hoping to please a few passers-by to afford a scrap of food to placate the grumbles of our bellies that we thought of as band members plagued with Tourette’s. We were only just at the very beginning, just starting to write songs, still yet to develop our sound, still to refine our act to something that someone may wish to occupy their spare time with rather than gambling, drinking, smoking opium, or sleeping with porcelain skinned concubine, being the popular past times of the age.

No, our main purpose, our mission, our raison d’etre as it were, was enlightenment. We had studied the religions and beliefs from all corners of the earth, read the time-worn scriptures and volumes of thinkers past, listened to some of the most respected gurus of the generation, and considered the views of the noted men and women of all the intangible professions, be they religious, philosophical, scientific, artistic, or just plain mad.

It was in a foothill some thousand feet above sea level overlooking an Okinawan prefecture when we had an encounter that would change our very lives and, needless to say, the very future course of our musical aspirations. We had just finished supping on a veritable feast of fresh assorted shellfish and purple sweet potato that was afforded to us by a travelling group of Buddhist monks who had recently received a bountiful token of gratitude from the local warlord who had been quite impressed with their philosophical enunciations and sedating chants. Although of course the Buddhists wanted nothing in return for their philanthropical generosity, we felt indebted, and indeed quite compelled, to play them some songs that they may enjoy before their routine meditation prior to retiring for the night.

We played some of our older material, took some short breaks to chat with the monks, and played some more. During one of the breaks, we got into a discussion with them about the true nature of our journey, our search, our explorative passion for the elusive and intangible grail of enlightenment. Though they were indeed pronounced and unyielding Buddhists, we found them quite amenable in discourse on a wide range of differing belief systems and philosophical view points, and then, to our surprise and incredulity, they had a tale to tell of something that drifted into the unlikely realms of the paranormal. Now whether this tale was a local legend, a myth, a ghost story, or something altogether outside the bounds of categorisation, it kept us entranced as they told it. Now it must be stressed, it is not my intention to reveal to you the peculiar details of this particular tale, and nor could I even share it no matter how much I wanted to. We promised that night that we would never repeat the odd circumstances of their story, and though I have never been in any way especially superstitious in nature, it is like many stories of its kind, told in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere, one that comes with a warning, an ominously fatal premonition to any who dare to reveal the secrets of the legend anywhere outside of the myth’s locale of origin.

There is however one element of the story that I do wish to divulge, for it is in fact the element that changed the course of our lives, altered the direction of our musical and creative sensibilities, and is the very reason why I am writing this, and why you are reading it. That element was a character that the monks described as a reclusive Zen Master Samurai. He had no name that any knew of, nor had the monks ever seen him and, judging by the nature of the story that I cannot retell, it would seem anecdotally evident that no person had ever seen him. He was a true man of myth, an unknown legend, a nobody, and a somebody or, again from the nature of the supernatural story, he could have been a ghost, or maybe he didn’t exist at all. ‘Did it matter?’ I remembered asking, as I strummed my guitar. It is often the way with creativity that one can be thinking of something else, or most likely, nothing at all, and have in your hands the tools that facilitate the transfer of artistic creation from the greater collective sub-consciousness to the realm of the senses, the emanation of a tangible quantity into the form of the world from the intangible energy of the universal unformed. It is at moments like this that something unique can be birthed, something it seems that the universe wants to create, in the same way that it wanted to create matter, the same way it wanted to create life, to create us.

In this particular moment, on that particular night, a new song began to stem from my guitar, from my fingers, from my mortal coil’s link to the deathless and the timeless. The other members of the band seemed to be synchronising on the same frequency and joined in on their instruments and we began to create something new, a sound that we as a group had not yet explored, a song that would change us forever, not in the future, not in the past, but now, in the present moment, that night, right where we were. Now whether the nature of the story that we had just heard had any bearing on our sudden creative impulse and our innovative improvisational acuity, I would do best to refer you to the academics to discuss and confer, but what happened next, I can only implore you to take my word, as sure as I stand here today, relating these happenings in honest and impartial writing. As we played, the monks also began to chant, a low drone that united effortlessly and sublimely with our instrument’s tonal discharges. As our music continued and intensified, I felt the whole world opening up around us, our bodies evaporating, our spirits dissolving, combining as one with the environment around us, into the air, into the nothingness. As the music swirled around us and carried up the mountain, we saw a shape moving from a higher elevation, a figure walking down toward us. The monks stopped chanting, leant, and knelt forward on the ground and began whispering, ‘It is him; it is him; he is here…’

As the figure approached nearer, it became clear that it was not a man. It was a four-legged animal, a quadruped in stature and stride. ‘It is his steed; he sends his steed,’ some of the monks whispered. Was it a steed? Who am I to judge, categorise, or possibly even worse, assume? I do know though that it was a beast…a beast of burden…a donkey? An ass? …no, it was a mule.

The animal came right up to us where we were now circled in curiosity and amazement, having finished playing the song to gaze in wonder at our newfound apparition. I would add a note here to say that although I and many others there that night didn’t see it, some of the monks claim they saw a ghostly figure atop the mule, a Zen Master Samurai. I would have to kindly and respectfully say that although these people were devout and near-enlightened Buddhist monks, they were still human, with human minds, human minds that can trick and deceive at any moment, but none more so than in times of extremes, times of unusual and unpredictable circumstances.

The mule stopped and lowered its head. It had strapped lightly to the base of its neck a rolled parchment, a scroll. I cannot tell you a time when I have been more nervous, more anxious, than that moment; how eager I was to know the contents of that scroll, to grasp and understand the meaning that its content possibly held within. One of the monks, outstretched hand shaking like a frightened leaf trembling in exigency from the mere potential thought of wrath from the gods of wind, managed with all his courage and inner resolve to lift the scroll from the beast’s neck and unroll the parchment. He then read:

“Your music…you know how I would describe your music? When foraging for food, always let the hippopotamus go first…unless you're just after the teriyaki beef.”

Now as I’ve said, I can only relate to you part of this tale. The story of some supernatural suspicions I cannot respectfully tell, but I do stand by the tale above, in all its detail, to every aspect. Now whether one believes or doesn’t believe one thing or another is for each and their own, in fact to each their own mind, but suffice to say that as we are all united by the one universal emanation into a form from a formless, it would seem to be of little consequence and much in the realm of triviality to argue over details such as those that seem to haunt our minds on a daily basis. ‘Are our minds even ours?’ you may ask, and if you claim them to be so, how much control do we really have over them? As much as the mind may be said to be a source of trickery, the devil itself even, all I know is, to this day, on that night, I heard an odd tale about a reclusive enlightened man, possibly even a ghost. I did not see a man…I did not see a ghost…but I saw a mule…and its message was not clear.

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melodiouswhite · 5 years

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J&H/Tam Lin crossover or How To Steal A Fae’s Boyfriend

(A/N: Due to popular demand, I have given into the temptation of writing a crossover of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with a well-known Scottish folk tale. And it’s a modern AU, because I can. So here you go, I hope you like it! :D

tw: sexual coersion and abuse. Also, Utterson is a trans guy and I probably didn’t get that right)

Gabriel had heard the stories, of course he had.

Of course he had heard the warning, that he shouldn't go there without bringing a cloak or ring as a token, lest something entirely else would be taken from him.

But being a young man in the 21st century, he had thought it was just old folk tales.

Who the hell took a green cloak or a ring to a forest, just for the purpose of leaving it there?

And so he had thought nothing of it, when he had gone into the woods of Carterhaugh without bringing either.

It was his property, after all. His family had acquired the surrounding lands and given the woods to him.

So here he was, walking through the woods with nothing but a book, a pocketknife (you never knew) and his smartphone, when he saw something odd: a saddled white steed was grassing at a well, generally minding her own business. But where was her owner?

Hesitantly, he stepped closer to the horse.

She wasn't disturbed by his presence and stood completely still, when he gently petted her and examined the saddle and bridal. Such a magnificent creature.

But the saddle and bridal looked so elaborate and fancy, they couldn't be from anywhere nearby. Actually, he had never seen anything like it.

Strange, he thought and decided to walk further into the woods. Perhaps he could find the person the steed belonged to.

But when he looked around, it was already dusk.

Huh. Had he really been here for that long?

He changed his mind and turned to go home.

After walking for a few minutes, he stumbled over a path where wild roses grew.

That wasn't here before …

Normally Gabriel wasn't the rose type of guy.

But never before had he seen anything like this. They were so ineffably beautiful, bright and radiant, that he had to take a closer look.

One particularly caught his eye; a white double-headed rose.

This one would be beautiful in my home, he thought, pulled out his pocketknife and carefully cut it off the bush.

But before he could tug it into his jacket, someone cleared their throat behind him.

He gasped in shock and whirled around.

There stood an otherworldly handsome young man dressed in green.

He was tall, well-built, broad-shouldered, had wheat blond hair and chocolate brown eyes. His skin was paler than his own, but not too much, just that perfect, healthy and rosy complexion.

The young man was frowning.

“What are you doing here in Carterhaugh?”, he asked in the most gorgeous voice Gabriel had ever heard. “Why do you cut off the roses? Haven't you heard the stories?”

The black-haired man could only blush and stutter.

After a while, the blond seemed to grow impatient. “Can you articulate yourself, please? I would like an explanation as to why you strolled in here like you own the place.”

Now Gabriel finally pulled himself together.

“Actually, I do own the place. My parents bought the land and gave the woods to me”, he informed the other man calmly. “And therefore, I don't see why I should need your permission to be here.”

The handsome stranger shrugged indifferently. “Really now. Well, I regret to inform you, that this is my realm and the laws of this world mean little to me. Now, did you know the story or no?”

“You mean the story of Tam Lin? Yes, but I assumed that, if they were true, he would be straight. And I'm not a girl.”

The blond shook his head and laughed (the loveliest laugh Gabriel had ever heard, but that wasn't the point): “As you can see, I'm very real. And I don't care about what your sex is.”

This was just surreal.

He was talking to a folk tale character, who turned out to be – waaaaaiiiitaminute!

“Okay, hold it! Just to make this clear: I just stepped into a magical forest, you're Tam Lin and because I didn't bring a ring or a green cloak – whatever you need them for – I won't get out of here, before you get something else from me?!”

“Pretty much.”

Normally, the black-haired man would've thought this was just a sick joke.

But the person in front of him obviously wasn't of this world. The entire forest wasn't normal and the roses definitely weren't. It was so plain that even a sceptic like him had to acknowledge it. So in other words, he was trapped in some kind of magical forest with someone who wouldn't let him go, unless-

The stranger, seeming to sense his discomfort, spoke up, “Listen, Gabriel John Utterson-”

He knows my name?!

“-how about you give me your smartphone instead? Then you come back tomorrow with a ring or cloak to get it back? I believe, that you thought it was just old tales, but this is still a faerie forest. I can't let you go without a tribute of some kind. And the phone is the second most precious thing you have, after your innocence.”

“How do you know about smartphones anyway?”

The blond shrugged. “You'd be surprised at how up to date the Fae are. Makes it easier for them to mess with humans these days.”

“Oh, okay. And I really can't get out of here without leaving anything?”

“Well, you can try, but this forest is enchanted, so you'd just keep running in circles.”

Gabriel thought for a moment.

It was nice of the ghost/elf/faerie/whatever he was to try and accommodate him.

But there was something about that guy that awakened something in him.

“You know what? Screw it. Off with your clothes, you virginity-stealing creep! Chop-chop, I don't have all night!”

“W-wait, what?!”

“You heard me!”, he snapped and began to undress. “Now hurry up. I'm a gay, frustrated 23-years-old, you're hot and I don't like the folks around here!”

“Okay, this is unexpected. No one has ever actually-”

“Well, it's about time then, isn't it?”, Gabriel snapped and threw away his shirt, “Now what part of 'I don't have all night' did you not understand? I'm a lawyer, I have to go to work early tomorrow!”

Tam Lin – or whatever that man's name was – chuckled and began to take off his own clothes.

“Why, if I didn't know better, I'd think you came here because of the legend.”

“If I had known that this forest actually was haunted by a sexy ghost, I would have!”

Tam Lin snorted: “You wouldn't be the first. But …”

Gabriel felt his cheeks heat up, when the blond's chocolate brown eyes wandered up and down his body. And he felt a little uncomfortable, when they lingered on the chest binder he was still wearing.

“You're the loveliest person I've ever met.”

“R-really? So you don't mind that I'm-?”

“Did I call you by your dead name?”, the blond replied and shook his head. “No. If you identify as a man, you're a man. Whether your biology corresponds with that or not doesn't matter.”

Gabriel felt a lump in his throat and swallowed it.

“This is fine”, he whispered hoarsely, took off the binder and lay down.

“Certainly is”, Tam Lin agreed and followed.

Gabriel shuddered, when the other let his hands wander over his tanned skin.

“You really are quite handsome”, the blond murmured.

The black-haired man smiled and dared to steal a kiss.

…

“Wow”, Gabriel breathed, when they were done and getting dressed. “This was wonderful! If that's what I get for coming here without a token, I should do it more often. Uhm …” he blushed awkwardly. “… You wouldn't mind, right?”

“I …” To his surprise Tam Lin also blushed. “I would love to see you again”, he admitted quietly and took his hand.

…

When Gabriel went home, he felt like he was walking on air.

Never in his life had he been so happy and he wondered, if this could be love.

Later, as he lay in bed and the flowers were in vases, he thought about what had happened today.

He fell asleep smiling and remembering what the elven knight had said, when they had parted.

“You're the only rose that still grows fairer after being plucked.”

How theatrical …

…

When he returned to the enchanted glen, Tam Lin was waiting for him.

After spending an hour of passion, they sat beside each other at the well and talked, while the white steed was grassing nearby.

He went home with another bouquet of flowers and feeling just as blissful as the first time.

In the following weeks, he continued to see the mysterious blond.

He found himself falling for him more and more.

But then things became problematic.

First off, Tam Lin listened with interest, when Gabriel talked about himself. But he became oddly cagey, when the black-haired man asked him to talk about himself too.

Why was the blond so secretive?

Worse, his father and grandmother had noticed that something was up and now they wouldn't leave him alone about who “the lucky guy” was. But how was he supposed to tell them that he was sleeping with a mysterious elf from a haunted forest? Not to mention, when he knew next to nothing about him?

What was their relationship status anyway? Were they dating? Or was he just a fling to the other man?

Damn, he didn't like how uncertain everything was!

And to add insult to injury, he hadn't thought about using contraceptive measures and guess what, he was pregnant! How could he have been so careless?! Now he was carrying a child he wasn't ready for!

He cursed his own stupidity and desperately hoped, that no one would find out.

…

Of course he wasn't that lucky.

It was Sunday, 31st October, when his father found out.

To Mr. Utterson's credit, he didn't freak out as much as Gabriel had feared. Instead he just took a deep breath and demanded to know who was responsible for this.

That made Gabriel really angry. “The only one who's responsible for this baby is me! Oh, and my boyfriend who lives in the woods.”

“What?!”

After an argument, he persuaded his father not to press charges.

(“I'm going to call a lawyer!” - “Dad, I am that lawyer!” - “Oh. Right.”)

But now he was upset and needed to be somewhere else. So he ran back to Carterhaugh and somehow ended up in the enchanted glen, as usual. There he crawled behind a rose bush and cried.

This was just too much.

He was a pregnant man, who wasn't prepared to care for a child, the entire situation was just so muddled and he didn't know what to do!

Although … there was an emergency exit, he suddenly realised.

He had been sleeping with Tam Lin for about two months, so he could be no further on than that.

It wasn't too late for a safe abortion …

“Wait, please.”

He jumped, when Tam Lin appeared before him.

“Gabriel”, the blond said gently and crouched down before him, “I know that you're desperate and overwhelmed, but please consider; it's my child just as much as it's yours.”

“You can say that so easily”, he sobbed, “You're not the one carrying the baby! You could just as well run off and pretend that you never knocked up some unfortunate human, while I'd be stuck with a child I wasn't ready for! You can go off to faerie land and do whatever elves or faeries do, but I can't work as a lawyer and take care of a baby all by myself! And what will I say, when they ask me who the father is? That it's some elf bloke from an enchanted forest, who will never be with me, because I'm just some insignificant human, who will grow old and die?!”

The blond looked beyond hurt. “Is that what you think of me?”, he asked in disbelief, “Do you really think that I would be so heartless and irresponsible?!”

“I don't know!”, Gabriel wailed. “I don't know anything about you! Not even your real name! You can't convince me that Tam Lin is actually your name! I'm pregnant and the father is a man I know nothing about, because he never bothered to tell me anything about himself!”

Tam Lin was silent for a while. But he looked so sad, that the black-haired man almost regretted snapping at him. Almost. Gabriel was in the right and they both knew it.

“You're right”, the blond finally sighed. “I should have been more open. But I chose to be a coward instead and kept my mouth shut, because I feared that you would be disgusted and want nothing more to do with me.”

Gabriel stared at him. “What gave you that idea?”

The blond sat down next to him. “You will understand, once I have told you my story.

First you need to know that I'm not actually an elf or faerie, like you thought. I'm human like you. I'm not even the first Tam Lin to haunt these woods. Although that should be clear, because the legend is older than I.

My real name is – was – Henry Jekyll. I was a medical student and my lifestyle was … well, not exactly proper. When my parents found out that I had slept with both men and women, they threw me out. I needed a while to find a steady place to live and it happened to be the farm you live on now. Then WWI happened, I was sent off to France and returned to Scotland as a shell shocked* war veteran.

One year after the war ended, I was taking a stroll through the woods and decided, that climbing that oak over there would be a good idea (don't ask). And wouldn't you know it, I fell off and right into the arms of the Queen of the Fae, who took me to the kingdom under the hill, where the Fae live. He (and yes, the Queen is a he) made me his consort and named me after the real Tam Lin, to loosen my ties to the human world. Do you see the ring on my finger? It's a magical chain. As long as I belong to him, it won't come off.

You know, Gabriel, most people have a completely wrong image of faeries. They're not like those cute tiny pixies from children's books. Even the more benevolent Fae are dangerous and the ones I live with aren't benevolent. They are Unseelies**, mischievous at best and outright evil at worst. They assault humans and make them suffer for their entertainment. And if they like one, they steal them away and keep them as slaves for all eternity. Mostly children, because they're purer and easier to lure.”

“But the Queen of the Fae is one of the nicer ones, right?”, Gabriel asked hopefully.

Tam Lin – no, Henry Jekyll – stared at him.

Then he broke into a horrible cackle: “One of the nicer ones?! Him! I've been there for a century and I never met a faerie worse than him! He has hundreds of child slaves and abuses them to his heart's content – that is, if he had a heart! One day we went on a walk and there was a big puddle. Of course he didn't want to get his robes dirty. And do you know what he did?! He ordered a 9-year-old boy to lay down and make a bridge, and then he just walked over him! And he was going to do it again, when we went back on the same path. But I lay down and had him walk over me instead. Then I called him out and he would have struck me, if the Queen Dowager hadn't stepped in. She's one of the less malevolent Unseelies and the only one he respects.”

Gabriel gasped in horror. “That's awful”, he whispered. “Oh my god!”

Henry sighed and continued: “Yeah. Well, I guess he was somewhat impressed, because he stopped with the child trampling altogether. The upside is that I can use my privileges to try to be a good influence on him. I try my best to be kind to him, because … well, there must be a reason why he is like that. But he never lets me forget that I'm just a toy to him. And do you know what the sickest part of this is? I like it. The way he smirks at me, talks to me, touches me, makes me melt like butter. When I share his bed, he bites me, scratches me, bruises me and whispers hurtful things into my ear and I can't get enough of it.

At first I thought that he had bewitched me. But when I confronted him, he laughed and said that it wasn't necessary, I'm just that corrupted. I didn't want to believe it, but the Fae don't lie, not even the evil ones. That's their one redeeming quality.”

Gabriel felt his heart ache and touched the other's cheek. “I'm sure, it's not true”, he tried to comfort him, “He just said that to hurt you. I've seen that kind of people, they know how to take away people's sense of self-worth.”

Henry just lowered his head. “It doesn't matter. After being there for a hundred years, I'm starting to forget who I was. The Queen Dowager told me that I can be saved, as long as I preserve my humanity by remembering who I am. But there are so many things I want to forget and the more faerie-like I become, the more power the Queen holds over me.

Anyway, I had come to terms with spending eternity as his slave. But then I found out, that the Fae have some sort of obligation. Every seven years on Halloween, they pay a tithe to hell. Of course they won't sacrifice one of their own, if they have humans to use instead. This year I'll be the sacrifice. When I found out, I didn't even care, because hell can't be much worse than my life so far. But then … then I met you.”

The blond smiled at him so tenderly, that he felt his heart flutter and his stomach went fuzzy (and not from nausea).

“I've never met someone like you before. You walked into my life and it was as if the sun was rising for me. Suddenly I had someone waiting for me here and something to look forward to. You made me feel warm, at peace and most of all … you made me feel loved.”

His smile faded. “That's why I was afraid of telling you the truth. That the man you have slept with – the father of your child – is the whore of a psychopathic Fae Queen and will be sacrificed to hell tonight. Can you still look me in the eyes and say that you're not disgusted?”

Gabriel cupped his face and looked him dead in the eyes.

“I'm not disgusted. Why would I be? No one deserves this kind of life. And how could I not want to have anything to do with you? I never knew that I needed someone else in my life, until I met you. You make me happier than I've ever been. What you just told me changes nothing about this. Actually, it just makes me want you more. I will keep our child, but only if I can have you too. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, make you feel happy, safe and loved. I love you, Henry Jekyll.”

He was surprised at how easily those words came out of his mouth.

But it was the honest truth.

Henry stared at him. Then he burst into tears and hugged him tightly.

…

“We have to figure something out quickly”, Gabriel spoke up, when they both had calmed down enough. “You will not be sacrificed to hell tonight! There must be a way to prevent this!”

The blond thought for a moment. “Hmm … now that I think about it, there is a way for you to win me.”

Gabriel's sky blue eyes filled with determination. “Tell me.”

“Alright”, Henry said seriously, “Listen closely …”

…

After a short trip home, he had come back to wait for the faerie procession.

Now he was hidden between the bushes, wearing a green coat he had borrowed from his father.

He was incredibly tense.

When was it finally midnight?

Couldn't the procession show up already?

Well, at least it wasn't raining.

At last green lights appeared at the end of the path and grew bigger.

The procession had arrived.

Finally!

He crept behind a bush and got into position.

Figures came into view.

In the front a small, dark-haired faerie with a crown, riding a black horse.

The next was a yellow-haired faerie on a brown horse.

But he ignored them and concentrated on the man riding the white steed.

Without a moment's hesitation, he grabbed him by the arm and yanked him out of the saddle.

The two riders before him whirled around, when Henry yelped in shock.

When the dark-haired faerie saw, that Gabriel was holding the blond in his arms, he screeched in outrage: “HOW DARE YOU TAKE WHAT'S MINE!!!”

And promptly transformed the man in Gabriel's arms into a lizard.

Then a snake.

Then a bear.

Then a lion.

But all the while Gabriel remembered what Henry had told him:

“As I'm the father of your child, there will be no way for me to harm you. So whatever they turn me into, don't let go. You have nothing to fear.”

So he didn't let go, not even when the Queen of the Fae turned his lover into a chunk of red-hot iron. It was only when the Queen turned him into a blazing flame, that he promptly dumped him into a conveniently located well nearby.

Now Henry emerged from the water as himself, but naked and now obviously a normal human. Gabriel quickly bundled him up in his coat and hugged him protectively. The blond stuck out his hands and tested, if he could take the ring off. It slipped from his finger effortlessly.

The Queen, seeing that he held no more power over him, shrieked in fury and … wait, was that anguish?

But then the yellow-haired faerie with the ice-blue eyes – probably the Queen Dowager – put a hand on his shoulder from behind and said something in a language Gabriel didn't understand.

The dark-haired faerie took a deep breath and composed himself. Then he smiled grotesquely.

“Congratulations!”, he purred sardonically and his glowing acid green eyes were full of hatred. “You caught yourself one stately groom! Curse you, Gabriel John Utterson! May you suffer a horrible death! My fairest companion, taken away by a mere mortal man in a girl's body! And you!”, he turned to Henry, “If I had seen this night coming, I would have turned your eyeballs into wood!”

Henry glared at him and responded by throwing the ring at him.

The Queen of the Fae caught it and stared at the blond. For a second, his hateful, angry grimace slipped and Gabriel caught sight of something that looked suspiciously like grief.

The dark-haired faerie gave off one last terrible shriek and glared at the black-haired man.

“This is your fault! But do enjoy dealing with his issues and the bastard he put in you and think of me, when you gaze into his lovely brown eyes!”

Gabriel tightened his protective hug and snarled: “With all due respect, your Majesty, you're an arsehole and you brought this upon yourself! You abducted Henry and coerced him into becoming your sex slave, he owes you nothing!!!”

The Queen responded with a “Tsk!”, then turned his back on them and returned to continue the procession.

It was only after the figures were out of sight, that the two men relaxed.

Henry took the other's hand and kissed each finger. “My hero. My saviour. I am yours.”

Gabriel grinned. “Let's go home, you damsel in distress. It's cold and you're still wet and half naked. The next months will be busy. We're going to be parents and you'll need legal papers.”

“I know – wait, did you just call me a damsel in distress?!”

---

*shell shock - an old word for PTSD, used esp. for the war traumata of WWI soldiers

**Unseelie - “Unhallowed/Unholy”, a Northern/Middle English word for dark, malevolent faeries

#The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde #tam lin #fairy tales #Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde #Dr. Jekyll #henry jekyll #Mr. Hyde #edward hyde #utterson #Mr Utterson #Gabriel John Utterson #jekyllxutterson #oc

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ventiluvr · 6 years

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Meaning of colors

au where Yoongi was born blind, the kind no laser can fix. One day when he heard someone step closer, his blindness fades.

Yoongi had always been confused when people associated colors with emotion. Why is red 'fiery'? Why is blue 'sadness'? All he had seen in his life was black. Ebony black, no other colors. What did black mean? "Are you seriously asking that? Hahaha it means you're evil! You're not innocent! Do you think you're innocent Yoongi?" The kids would always tease him when he asked that question. He wished throughout his life that he could just see the color white. To wash his darkness away.

On the other side of the school, there's a boy. Kim Seokjin was his name. The middle of the spotlight, the whole school knows about him. Looks? Check. Heart? Check. Attitude? Check. Everyone wanted him as a best friend or boyfriend. He himself knows his perfection as well. Going around confident in a hot pink jacket, sending hand kisses to make girls (and guys) squeal, admiring himself in the mirror.. you name it. He is the color of white. The spotlight.

On a moody, drizzling day, Seokjin happened to stumble on a remote corner of the school. A playground, yet there was nobody. Well, there was nobody but one person. A boy with dark hair and pale skin, sitting on the swing back-faced towards Seokjin. He was sitting in the rain, and looked almost unaware that it's raining at all. Seokjin could almost sense an aura of serenity around the boy. He looked so much at peace, Seokjin didn't want to bother him. Yellow-green. He left the area with the color of confusion.

He saw the kid again. This time the sky was shining blue, the sunlight hitting his black hair, making it look brownish. Seokjin found himself staring at the boy once more. "Dude that kid is weird.." "Yeah his eyes are like completely white. Looks like a ghost" His friends spoke. Seokjin decided to cut in, giving each person a hand chop to the neck. "Dude I'm serious! That kid has issues-" "So is he blind?" "-Yeah." "Why doesn't he get laser surgery?" "Said he did and didn't work or something" That's weird.

"Then I'm sure My looks will cure him •ᴗ•!" His friends looked at him like he was an idiot. "Dude even surgery couldn't fix it what makes you think-" "Don't underestimate the powers of my handsome looks!!" Adjusting his round glasses, he steps closer to the boy.

Yoongi sat on the swing alone, the only place he knew where he could be friends with the birds. He smells the warm spring, feels the rays on his skin, hears the chirping of his friends, feeling a little thirsty without his water bottle. As usual, he wished for a fifth sense. To see his little friends, see the swing he was sitting on, see the plants around him. To see colors, that was all Yoongi could wish for. He wished in that moment, that someone, anyone, could be his light; could be the white to his blackness.

Suddenly, as if he was heard, the darkness began to fade. Yoongi's heart began to race, his mind going into a panic. He had never felt like this. At that moment, he heard a pair of sneakers walk closer towards him. The closer this person got, the more his darkness faded. He could also hear.. squeals? Yoongi didn't know why, but he couldn't be bothered about it then. All Yoongi could focus on was.. brightness, light. Is this white? Is this the color of innocence? Is this the white that Yoongi had been wondering about his whole life?

After awhile, the whiteness begins to fade, and colors filled the space. The first thing he could see were the red flowers he held in his hands. Yoongi had to feel around for them earlier, but he was really seeing it. He could see the flower. He doesn't know what color it is, but it's vibrant. Next the blue pebbles on the ground sharpened in his vision. But before he could register anything else, an object with 2 round frames and extending hinges was shoved on his face. The bent temples rested nicely on his ears. Surprised, Yoongi looked up. He looked up to a sight indeed.

"I knew the glasses would fit you." The boy's face softens into what Yoongi guessed was a smile. Yoongi should really be looking around and taking in all the new colors, but he his eyes were fixed on the gorgeous human being in front of him. Pink, his cheeks were.

The boy looked at Yoongi confused. "I thought your eyes were supposed to be white? Did they lie to me.." "White? Is that the color eyes are supposed to be?" Yoongi responded "Uh, no. It's supposed to be black" "Oh.." His face fades into a frown. Eyes really do reflect your soul

"Wait.. you can see? Weren't you blind?" "I-I don't know, once you came I could... see" It was that moment it hit Seokjin; the nonsense he spouted earlier came true.

Yoongi wasn't sure when, but this boy, named Seokjin, eventually sat down on the next swing and started a conversation. He didn't seem to judge that Yoongi was born blind. In fact, he shared the newly-discovered world with him, teaching him the little wonders of his universe. If Yoongi had to associate the feeling he had now with a color, it would be orange, with hints of red.

After a long while, Seokjin had to return to classes. "Keep the glasses on you, it looks good." He said as he walked away. "Wait.." Yoongi reached out his hand as his vision of Seokjin's back faded into darkness once more. He didn’t turn back.

It shouldn't even be a surprise. Of course, it was only temporary. He doesn't deserve any of that happiness. Maybe Seokjin won't even come back anymore. Hell, maybe this whole day was just a dream. If that's the case, he wished he could wake up soon; to darkness, his only friend.

"Yoongi.. Yoongi are you there?" Yoongi opened his eyes to something waving up and down in front of him. It was the next day. He looked up to see Seokjin smiling down at him once more. See..? He could see again. "Were you sleeping? lol" "You came.." "Yeah of course. I like talking to you." "Why..? I'm not very interesting" "More interesting than my friends at least," He says, sitting down on the same spot as the previous day. "you don't talk to me because of my reputation. I feel like we're having a genuine conversation." "Reputation..” “Yeah? I’m a bit on the popular side of the school y’know.” “But.. am I to be trusted?"

"Why would you say that?" Seokjin asked, surprised. "...I've always been told that black meant impurity and everything bad. But that's all I see throughout my life. Am I really that undeserving? What did I do?" Seokjin stayed quiet for a moment. Yoongi could see he was pondering his next few words.

"..Well you know how they say someone's soul reflects in their eyes?" "Yeah..?" "Your eyes are naturally white, y'know." "What?" "I saw you from a distance earlier. Has nobody ever told you your eyes are white? It only seems to become black when I'm around" It hit Yoongi then, that no one ever told him his eye color was the color of innocence. The color he so desired, it was in his eyes all along. "And being your friend of one day- (he said that rather proudly) I can vouch that you are definitely deserving of everything good."

Seokjin watched as Yoongi bowed his head, staring at the floor. For the first time, he saw Yoongi smile. "..You can tell me anything you want, I'll listen. A small token of appreciation for being my friend, I guess" Seokjin decided to slip in. Yoongi looked up at him with soft, glistening eyes. In a soft whisper, "Don't leave me... I go blind when you leave." "..Oh? That's simple. Sure!" "...Isn't it selfish?" "Not really.. I don't have anywhere to go anyway. I'd rather talk to you, who makes me feel alive." "Oh.." He's pink again.

Seokjin stood and stretched his hand out to Yoongi. He stared at it before looking up at him, adorably confused. "Well? You need me to stay with you right?" Seokjin didn't wait for a response before pulling on Yoongi's hand, interlocking their fingers. "Let's go!" Yoongi didn't bother resisting him. In fact, this was rather nice. What is this feeling? Yellow, red, orange, it doesn't matter. Yoongi seems to be genuinely happy for the first time in his life. That's it, smile, Yoongi. You deserve it.

All Yoongi had seen in his life was black. Until one day, his key to the colorful world came to pick him up, and showed him a universe that was more than just one color. The world may now be a pretty rainbow of colors, but to him, Seokjin will always be more colorful than anything.

#my writing #copied the entire thing from my twitter thread weeeewooooooo #bts au #yoonjin

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samanthachowiln3001 · 3 years

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Viaduct Tavern Research

The Viaduct Tavern was opened in 1869 and was named after holborn Viaduct, which was opened the same year. It is the last remaining example of a 19th century Gin Palace left in the city, and has been beautifully decorated in keeping with its history. The original toll booth is still in situ. Apparently the pub was so rough, the landlord had to sell beer tokens from the booth to the costumers to keep money away from his bar stuff!

The immediate location surrounding the Viaduct Tavern is steeped in history. It is situated just across the street from the present Old Bailey, which is built on the site of the old Newgate Prison. The exit stop where any executions were held from Newgate Prison, now marked with a small fountain, is visible from every window in the property. Some reports say the pub is also built on the site of Newgate Prison and/or the old Giltspur Street Comptoire, a detours prison in use between 1700 and 1853, but evidence has some to light that this claim is doubtful. The absence of graffiti carved into the brick, the size and locations of the “cells” and the location of the pub itself makes this very unlikely to be the case.

However the Viaduct Tavern does have a great atmosphere, and has had much history in its own right as a former Gin Palace with an opium den located on the first floor. One of the large paintings in the bar has a hole in it- it was done by the drunk ww1 gunshot/ bayonet of a soldier during the first world war in a scuffle! Many other things have happened here and it is certainly worthy of investigation by the club.

The pub is just across the road from the Old Bailey. Its interior design was based on a very flamboyant Victorian opera house. The Viaduct is built on the cellars/foundations/cells of the Giltspur Street Compter, an old remand prison, which took the overflow from Newgate Prison across the road. The Cells are now used as the pubs cellar, if you ask the bartender nicely they may even let you take a look.‌ The bartender then started telling me about someone who had died in that cell, and that in his opinion most of the paranormal activity at the pub was focused in this cell. The barmen also told me the staff didn't like to be down in the cellar at night on their own because sometimes the lights went off and the doors locked themselves and noises were heard, terrible noises of pain.

In 1996, a manager was tidying the cellar one Saturday morning, when the door suddenly slammed shut and the lights went out. Feeling his way to the door, he found that no matter how hard he pushed it just would not open. Fortunately, his wife heard his cries for help and came down stairs to investigate. She found that the doors, which would not open from the inside, were unlocked and easily pushed open from the outside. The paranormal activity on the upper floors is attributed to a murdered prostitute. The Landlord says several mediums have visited the tavern and all either saw or felt the spirits. One saw a face in an upstairs window, others claim to have seen or sensed a spirit nicknamed Fred haunting the cellar.

It is also prone to suffer from bouts of poltergeist activity. “Poltergeist” is derived from two German terms Poltern meaning “to knock” and Geist meaning “Spirit”

Built on site of Old Newgate prison, where hundreds of executions and hangings took place, the original debtors cells are still in the cellar of the pub! There are rumours of the first floor being an opium den when this pub was opened, a highly popular taboo during the Victorian era. The upstairs is an area that most of the pub staff will not go up to alone... a woman in white has been seen here on more than one occasion. The pub itself retains original features from its perios, including the deep red walls with mirrors surrounding, giving a very dark yet oppulant vibe. Also still intact behind the bar is the token booth installed by the landlady many years ago. She didn't trust her light fingered staff, so had her patrons buy tokens from her at the booth so they could buy there gin and ale. Staff have many stories here of being touched, hearing loud bangs and footsteps from upstairs, poltergeist activity in the cellars and some rather unusual activity in the toilets!!

Buzzfeed Unsolved Network:

‌people loved gin for a long time you'll see why they love gin there's a reason why gin was popular among poor Londoners due to the fact that legislation in the 19th century caused gin to be cheaper than beer gin palaces were designed to be as opulent as could be with rose and gold details large windows and gas lamps illuminating the palace the tavern had a diverse clientele including the working-class lawyers and government officials as well as criminals due to the nearby prisons.

debtor's prison that was demolished in 1854 across Newgate Street loomed the notoriously dreadful new game Jail living conditions were horrific inside Newgate with some prisoners sleeping on the floor while more nefarious criminals were locked in cells underground as a result of these horrendous conditions sickness and disease ran rampant throughout the facility.

located just outside the doors of viaduct tavern was the former gallows of Newgate Jail where public executions were held at 8 o'clock in the morning as the bells of the nearby st. sepulchers rang executions became sort of a morbid social event with crowds of rowdy and drunk people gathering to watch as a form of entertainment or fascination some people would even arrive the night before to ensure a good view in fact one pub that still stands today across the street from viaduct called magpie and stump would have viewing rooms that people could rent out and even offered an execution breakfast.

two most active areas of the building starting with the upstairs loft in 1982 the daughter of the landlord was reading the paper one Sunday afternoon in the upstairs loft as she was sitting on the couch she reportedly heard footsteps coming quickly up the stairs the door of the room swung open and the

newspaper was grabbed out of her hands and thrown on the floor the door swung shut and she could hear footsteps descending the stairs afterward the landlord's daughter searched the pub and couldn't find anyone around in 1999 two electricians were working upstairs at the tavern when one claimed he felt a tap on his shoulder without a sign of anyone a few minutes after this odd experience the two reportedly witnessed a roll of carpeting rise into the air and fall back to the floor some believe that a murdered prostitute is responsible for these strange occurrences regardless of the source it would seem that there is indeed a poltergeist of sorts lurking in the loft above the tavern. the most haunted part of the building is undoubtedly the tavern cellar in the 1980s a landlord was in the cellar when the lights suddenly went out the cellar door slams shut behind him and he then heard quote there's just us two down here now end quote. some paranormal experts believe that running water tends to carry energy with it and therefore catalyze paranormal activity and this is exacerbated by underground sources of

water one of the rooms in the cellar flooded frequently until they finally realized that there was an underground stream below the cellar. the most famous part of this cellar and the tavern in general is the cell room it’s long been part of the taverns lore that the cells located in this cellar are the

last remaining cells of the former Newgate jail across the street however historical records don't seem to indicate that the tavern itself claims that the cells were associated with the guilt spur Street compter located just next door some believe the cellar cells are merely a storage space for the pub regardless these cells are definitely wedged between two famous London prisons and are reportedly the most active part of the tavern.

Viaduct Tavern Bibliography:

Ghostclub.org.uk. (2020). [online] Available at: https://www.ghostclub.org.uk/viaduct.htm [Accessed 2 Nov. 2020].

www.twilightghosthunts.com. (n.d.). THE VIADUCT TAVERN GHOST HUNT - UK Ghost Hunting with UK Ghost Hunting | Halloween Ghost Hunts | Book a ghost hunt. [online] Available at: https://www.twilightghosthunts.com/events/43-the-viaduct-tavern-ghost-hunt [Accessed 2 Nov. 2020].

www.ghost-story.co.uk. (n.d.). The Viaduct Tavern, London, England. [online] Available at: http://www.ghost-story.co.uk/index.php/haunted-buildings/haunted-pubs/364-the-viaduct-tavern-london-england [Accessed 2 Nov. 2020].

Amy’s Crypt. (2018). Haunted Viaduct Tavern, London. [online] Available at: https://amyscrypt.com/viaduct-tavern-london-haunted/ [Accessed 2 Nov. 2020]

BuzzFeed Unsolved Network (2017). London’s Haunted Viaduct Tavern. YouTube. Available at https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKUYVu2qZuk [Accessed 29 Oct. 2020]

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chevalier-on-the-wall · 6 years

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Story: No Small Token

((Happy Dawning, Guardians! I guess you could call this little fic a “Holiday Special”. Enjoy!))

If Torch was being honest with himself, he was, perhaps, just an eensy weensy, teeny tiny, little itty bit completely and totally panicked.

It all started innocently enough. The Dawning had come to the City, and both Guardian and civilian embraced it with gusto. They had a lot of triumphs to celebrate, and a lot of horrors to forget. And so the snows were allowed to accumulate atop the Tower, lights were hung, decorations were set, lanterns were lifted into the sky.

Days before the celebrations started, Torch was a bundle of nerves for what was ostensibly a very good reason. It was his Guardian’s first Dawning, and he wanted to--no, he HAD to make it a good one.

“The Dawning is a time we look back on what we’re thankful for and welcome a brighter new year,” Torch explained. But he didn’t get much farther than that before Reynault decided to roll in a snowbank like an oversized dog. He probably should have expected as much; the Titan had done this on his very first Cosmodrome patrol, an event that seemed so long passed, despite having been less than a year ago.

Less than a year ago, he was alone. Torch hadn’t even bothered celebrating the last...what, seventeen Dawnings? Now he had a Guardian, he’d watched his Guardian grow by leaps and bounds, he felt like he knew his Guardian better than his own internal file structure. And now he was introducing Reynault to a holiday he hadn’t celebrated in so long, and he had to make it memorable. No pressure, right?

He’d brought Reynault to a frozen pond down in the City. “Ice skating is a popular activity in the wintertime,” he explained.

Reynault cocked his head to the side. “I thought only Titans could skate?”

“What? ...No, no, ice skating! You put on these boots with blades on the bottom, and then you...then you….” Torch trailed off. Of course he didn’t know how to ice skate. He hovered everywhere.

Before he could look up any worthwhile instructional material, Reynault had already taken off, Titan skating across the ice.

And then, when Torch had finally caught up, Reynault asked, “Hey, you think it’s too late to get Ikora something?”

“I...what? Get her something for what?”

“There was that big pile of presents by her in the Tower. I figured it must be her birthday or something.”

Torch momentarily froze up as he realized he forgot all about one of the most important Dawning traditions of all. “Oh, no, those aren’t all for her. They’re for a bunch of different Guardians. Exchanging gifts is part of the Dawning.”

“It is?!” Reynault brought himself to a stop. “Oh la vache, we’ve got to go get gifts!”

The rest of the day was spent in a frantic whirlwind of shopping and shaping steel. Some gifts were crafted or purchased and mailed out the same day; others had yet to be finished. Gifts for friends, acquaintances, and just about all the usual suspects around the Tower; Reynault was particularly concerned with getting a set of steel crochet hooks exactly right, and he’d put a lot of care into shaping a medallion engraved to look like a pizza. He had even sent Torch off to procure some adhesives at one point while he bothered Master Rahool about Traveler-knows-what.

And that brought Torch to the present moment, in the early hours of the morning, where Reynault was finally, mercifully asleep. Reynault was certainly going all-out on the gifts, and Torch had nothing to give him in return. So the Ghost was maybe, just maybe, a little worried, and by a little worried he meant several internal processes were printing nothing but “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA”.

Okay. He knew Reynault pretty well by now. What did Reynault like? Armor. Punching things. Working with his hands. Reynault liked him, but Torch hardly considered himself a gift. Commander Zavala. The view from atop the Wall. Electronic dance music. Minestrone, pizza, brioche, and beer. Tactile displays of affection. Absolutely none of this was inspiring any gift ideas--

The view from atop the Wall.

Torch diverted his internal screaming to different memory sectors as he began searching himself for images and recordings. After nearly half an hour of processing, he settled on one still image from his memory: a clear night, the Traveler resplendent with its self-repairs, and the tall City buildings twinkling with all the lights in their windows. All as seen from on top of the southeastern Wall.

It took him a few minutes to gather his courage before he slipped out into the night. Torch made a beeline for a print shop, had the image printed out in a standard poster size, then stowed it and slunk back to the workshop as the sun was rising.

Safe at home, Torch was taking a moment to collect himself and consider his next move, when the unexpected happened: Reynault came in the front door behind him.

“Oh, there you are!” Reynault didn’t sound upset in the least; he still flinched like he expected to be scolded. “I wondered where you’d gotten off to.”

“I’m sorry,” Torch replied on instinct.

“Sorry? What for?”

Torch silently cursed himself; there really wasn’t a reason to apologize, was there. “I was just...picking something up for you.”

“For me? You know I would’ve been happy anyway, right?” Reynault had one of those grins that made the room seem brighter than it really was.

Torch hoped he’d stay that happy. Without any fanfare, he deposited the rolled-up print in front of Reynault.

The Titan picked it up, unrolled it, and a wave of relief washed over Torch when his eyes lit up. “Woah! This is beautiful! Can we hang this somewhere?”

“Anywhere you want.”

“I’m putting this somewhere in my room!” Reynault rushed off toward his single-room apartment, giddy as a young child during, well, during the Dawning. At least the gift had gone over well. That alone brought Torch’s anxiety down several notches.

“Hey, c’mere!” Reynault called from his room. “I got something for you too!”

What?

“...What?” Torch gave voice to his inner thoughts. He should’ve expected it, considering how gifty his Guardian was, but it still caught him off-guard.

He entered the little apartment to find Reynault holding his work tablet and stylus, with a portable external drive plugged into it. “Got this from Rahool,” Reynault explained. “Go ahead. Scan it.”

Torch glided up beside his Guardian and connected to the tablet. As he processed the contents of the external drive, he didn’t quite know what to make of it. They were...games, all games. Farming games, city builder games, sim games, a few survival and adventure games, and all of them together made for a surprisingly tiny archive size. A good percentage of these games were likely pre-Golden Age, Torch hypothesized, as he scanned the files again.

“Soooo?” Reynault looked between Torch and the tablet. “What do you think?”

“They’re games,” Torch replied. “You got me...games?”

“Not just any games! I asked for stuff you could run on your own--y’know, when I’m asleep and you’re bored, or something. And you can beat all of ‘em without fighting anything. I know you don’t like fighting unless you’re hiding in my armor.”

His Guardian had thought to get him a gift, and that gift was a collection of games, picked out just for him. He hadn’t expected any gift, much less one chosen with such care. He’d never even dreamed that any Guardian of his would ever….

No, there was a time he did dare. Long ago, amidst tents and campfires huddled in the snow beneath the Traveler, the people who would go on to found the City exchanged gifts, and he dared to dream of receiving some small token from the hypothetical hero he imagined for himself.

But this was real, and this was here, and this was no small token.

“I love it,” Torch managed at last, his voice wavering with emotion. “I love it. I didn’t think...thank you. Thank you so much.”

Reynault set the tablet on the foot of his bed and sat beside it. “I’m glad. Wanna try them out?”

“Now? Could I?”

“Yeah, now. I wanna get a few more hours of sleep before patrol time.”

Now it was Torch’s turn to feel giddy. He nestled into one of the pillows and booted up one of the city building games in his internal processes. A few minutes later, Reynault flopped down on the bed, pulled the blankets up over them both, and dozed off.

#fanficnault #destiny #destiny fanfiction #destiny 2 #destiny (game)#destiny the game #bungie's destiny #destiny dawning #destiny the dawning #reynault the smith #torch the ghost #rahool gets a name drop but nothing happens #the pizza medallion is for ikora because this is after 1am vault pizza #ghost guardian feels #tw anxeity

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Who is Ms. Marvel? Explaining the Next MCU Star

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Kamala Khan will become part of the MCU with a Ms. Marvel TV series on Disney+. She's a perfect fit for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

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A Ms. Marvel TV series is coming to streaming service Disney+, based on the Hugo-award winning and critically acclaimed comic book series of the same name. The first Muslim superhero to headline her own series for Marvel, Ms. Marvel has already made it to the small screen as part of the Marvel Rising animated series, but this will be her first foray into live action.

Created by writer G. Willow Wilson, editors Sana Amanat and Stephen Wacker, and artists Adrian Alphona and Jamie McKelvie, Ms. Marvel is Kamala Khan, a nerdy Muslim Pakistani-American teenager living in Jersey City who gained powers after coming into contact with Terrigen Mist. Descended from Inhumans, the mist unlocked her ability to shapeshift, like Daisy/Quake on Agents of SHIELD. The Inhumans have been a big part of Kamala’s comics story, with Lockjaw the teleporting dog helping her out, and Medusa the Inhuman Queen feeling more comfortable with Kamala than she does with others on Earth. Given that The Inhumans TV show was cancelled and derided by critics and fans, Ms. Marvel will likely only retain her inhumanity as far as her origin, or it could be left out altogether.

Ms. Marvel Powers and Abilities

Ms. Marvel is a polymorph. That means she can completely transform her body in any way she pleases. She can look like a specific person if she wants, although so far she’s only used that to look like Carol Danvers and her mother. Kamala is far too much of a goody-goody to go around impersonating people, especially since she’s experienced firsthand what it feels like when someone impersonates you and steals your voice. But it’s easy to see how this power could help the Avengers or be exploited, Loki-like, if Kamala were forced or some kind of body-snatching happened.

Most of the time, Ms. Marvel gets very big to take on literal big bads, or gets incredibly small (think sliding under a door or through a keyhole) to sneak into tight spaces and do recon. That puts her in good company with Ant-Man, although she doesn’t need any special tech for her transformations. She can also selectively change her shape and size radically, like “embiggening” just her fist.

Watch everything Marvel and more with a FREE Disney+ TRIAL, right here!

There is one major drawback to Ms. Marvel’s powers, which is her healing factor. When Kamala gets burnt out, she’s essentially stuck in whatever form and size she has at the moment until she recharges. If that happens mid-battle, she simply has to make the best of it. While she does have better healing abilities than the average person, she does take more hits than the rest of us do, and she needs to sleep it off after to heal. As a teenager sneaking out at night and needing to heal up after, she often finds herself sleeping through her alarm in the morning and falling asleep during class, much to the collective dismay of her parents and teachers.

The Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel Connection

A few different people have held the title of Ms. Marvel, but the most important ones are Carol Danvers and Kamala Khan. A huge fan of comic books, the Avengers, and especially Captain Marvel herself, Kamala took up the mantle of Ms. Marvel since her personal hero Carol Danvers had already started going by Captain Marvel and no longer needed the name.

Captain Marvel has played a big role in Kamala Khan’s development as a hero from the beginning. When Kamala was sprayed with the Terrigen Mist, she had a very confusing experience of going into a cocoon and hearing a voice ask her what she wanted to be. Kamala answered, “Captain Marvel,” and when she burst out of her cocoon, that’s exactly who she was, which obviously freaked her out a little. After a minute or two she figured out that she didn’t get Freaky Friday’ed, she was a shapeshifter.

read more - The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: Who is John Walker?

More importantly, Kamala learned that she didn’t need to be someone else to help others. Jersey City doesn’t need Carol Danvers, it needs Kamala Khan. She returned to her own form and came up with her own costume, inspired by both Carol Danvers’s Ms. Marvel-era costume and the salwar khameez, as a tribute to both her culture and the person who inspired her to heroism.

Since then, Kamala and Carol have actually met and worked together, with Captain Marvel giving Ms. Marvel superheroic pointers. Carol gave Kamala a special locator token made out of both of their symbols (the Hala Star and the lightning bolt) so Kamala could reach Carol whenever she needed her. They became colleagues and even friends, with Kamala joining the Avengers.

Unfortunately, one of Kamala’s biggest moments of growth as a hero was when she had to defy Captain Marvel during Civil War II, when Carol was relying on a teenage Inhuman named Ulysses to predict the future, arresting people before they could commit crimes, which eventually it turned out they might not even commit. Turning her back on Captain Marvel was hard for Kamala, but she couldn’t turn her back on her community either and violate due process and other rights of her friends and neighbors.

read more: Complete Schedule of Upcoming MCU Phase 4 Marvel Movies

It’s unlikely the MCU will revisit Civil War II in this way, but you can bet Kamala and Carol will have a close mentor/mentee relationship, similar to Tony Stark and Peter Parker. It would be powerful if they can find a way to incorporate the story beats, issues of justice, and emotional heft of the Civil War II story line in another way, to demonstrate Kamala’s maturity and Carol’s blindspot when it comes to racial profiling and the shortcomings of law enforcement and communities of color.

How Will Ms. Marvel Fit in the MCU?

A few things to note for this television show, which has us pretty excited. First, it’s live action. That means we’re going to be getting some cool effects for Kamala’s powers. Second, it’s going to be written and run by Bisha K. Ali, a British comedian and screenwriter whose work you might have seen on Netflix’s Sex Education or Mindy Kaling’s television version of Four Weddings and a Funeral on Hulu. Both shows are coming of age dramas with a lot of comedy and fun to them, which is pitch-perfect for Kamala.

Finally, and this is a big one: as Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige promised back in May, Ms. Marvel is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is a Marvel Studios production. That means Kamala can be promoted to an Avengers movie as needed, and any number of her heroes can stop by Jersey City for a cameo to help out with a particularly tough villain, just like they do in the comics. Kamala is a fan first, so when Captain Marvel, Spider-Man, or anyone else stops by, she just about loses her noodles. And since there are new Marvel TV shows incoming with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, WandaVision, Hawkeye, and Loki, there are bound to be some visitors. Hawkeye is meant to be training Kate Barton as his replacement and if she’s anything like her comic inspiration, a teen who is friends with Ms. Marvel, fans should expect Kate and Kamala to meet sooner rather than later. Ms. Marvel’s cameos seem to go best when her fangirling comes up against stern men who do their best to be unmoved by her boundless enthusiasm, so hopefully she’ll get to bug Falcon and Winter Soldier into begrudgingly loving her, too.

There’s no word yet on casting, but hopefully Disney will find a Pakistani-American who can bring Kamala’s goofy charm to life.

The rest of Kamala’s world is populated by her immediate family, including her somewhat conservative parents and devout brother Aamir, and her friends Bruno, Nakia, Mike, Zoe, and Josh. In Marvel Rising, she’s been seen as friends with Squirrel Girl, Quake, Spider-Gwen/Ghost-Spider, and other young heroes her age. Kamala tends to always be in diverse groups of young people on the rise. A big part of her identity is being part of the B-squad, a young and growing hero from a second-tier city. Even when she’s called up to the big leagues by major heroes, she tends to question it, much like Miles Morales in Into the Spider-Verse or Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Far From Home.

In the comics, Ms. Marvel has taken on gentrification and identity theft, Hydra and gerrymandering, multiple terrorist groups, and even a walking, talking evil cockatiel clone of Thomas Edison that preyed on teens with low self-esteem. She has worked with her hero Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel and became a member of the Avengers. She eventually ditched the Avengers alongside her pals Miles Morales, Amadeus Cho, and Vision’s daughter and formed The Champions so they could do the real neighborhood-level work that the supposed big damn heroes were forgetting about.