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issaxcharlie · 3 years

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You’ll always be the answer

Pairing: Charlie Gillespie x Fem Reader

Requested: YES💚

Summary: For the first time Charlie and Y/N have to do an interview together and things get pretty interesting and chaotic as always with the couple.

*In the wired autocomplete section the part of the question that was covered will be in bold*

Pretty much based in the we say we’re friends world, (yes, again😤 I love their dynamic I’m sorry) you only need to know that Y/N is a musician by profession, wrote the JATP soundtrack, a childhood friend of Charlie and now his current girlfriend.

The couple is completely excited because today they have their first interviews after the confirmation of the second season of Julie and The Phantoms, and usually they are not on the same interview team so this is new. Charlie always does them with the band and the singer usually does them with director Kenny Ortega representing the people behind the scenes.

“Hello everyone, I’m Charlie Gillespie and I play Luke in Julie And The Phantoms.”

“And I’m Y/N Y/L and I play Daniela in Stardust.”

“Baby, you are here today as the songwriter of the album.”

“I know?” She thinks for a few seconds until she realizes what she said. “Oh. Well, this is embarrasing. Make my selfpromo accident worthwhile and watch Stardust after watching JATP!”

“Nice safe, beautiful. Pretty natural.” Her boyfriend teases as she smiles proudly.

“I like to believe I could be an actress.” Charlie begins to laugh at the seriousness with which she answered and looks at her, full of happiness. He loves that they can enjoy moments like this where their careers can go exactly on the same track.

They know that it will not always be this way so they should make the most of the experience.

“I’m excited to have you back, Y/N. And a pleasure to meet you Charlie. You both sure are full of amazing energy, I love it. Let’s start with the questions. Charlie, this is your first leading and in a fairly complete role, you acted, sang, danced and even wrote one of the songs, how was the experience?”

“Pure magic. They are all incredibly talented and so supportive of us, they worked so hard to unleash our full potential in an accelerated manner. They had a lot of patience with me in the dance part, they taught me to use my voice properly, they supported me in the change to electric guitar, it was simply a dream to work with every single person in the project.”

“Sounds amazing. Next question is for you, Y/N. Much has been said about the unreal chemistry between Julie and Luke. How was it for you as his girlfriend to have to witness it live? As I understand you were present throughout the recording."

"Oh man, it was awesome!" Charlie laughs at her pure response and the interviewer looks at her in disbelief.

"I'm Team Juke all the way. I know I may sound like a liar or something since I'm the girlfriend, but here's the thing.

I can't see my Char in Luke. Charlie is so good at bringing him to life that I can't believe that cool rockstar is my adorable goofball. It’s like Clark and Superman with the glasses thing. Beanie and electric guitar? Oh, hi Luke. You are so hot, wait... don’t tell Charlie I said that! Bandana and acoustic guitar? Hey baby, give me a kiss in the forehead and sing me to sleep.

What I was saying again? Oh, yeah. So... I see Juke and I’m soft, they are perfect for each other.”

“So you think Luke is hot, huh.” he pretends to be jealous and folds his arms.

“What can I say, I have a thing for rockstars, my legs melted during now or never."

He snorted a laugh. “Good to know.”

The interviewer cannot contain a laugh of her own.

"It's always a pleasure to have you here, Y/N. You are such a character and I always enjoy listening to you, and I love that even though the years go by and you are no longer so new in the industry you continue to have that fresh and iconic personality."

“Thank you so much Maria, If I can be myself here it is thanks to the beautiful atmosphere that your interviews always have.”

“My pleasure, ‘golden star’. Let’s continue. Y/N, We know you already knew Charlie, but who did you get along with better from the rest of the cast?”

“Oh my, definitely Owen. He was Charlie's roommate throughout the project so we hang out together a lot in our free time taking turns as third wheel. I'm pretty sure he's going to apply the same card to me this second season now that I'm gonna be the roommate.

But it’s okay, I totally deserve it. May the best third wheel win, Joyner!” Charlie grins and does a fistbump with his girlfriend who looks really hyped about going back to Canada with the band.

“I’m rooting for you, girl! Let’s go back to Charlie a little bit. The album that Y/N wrote is a resounding success and a very important piece for the series to be as brilliant as they are. I imagine that the four of you have a special affection for the album, but how do you feel that your girlfriend was the one who wrote a soundtrack of that level for such a special project in your career?”

Charlie looks so proud. He looks at her in a way that makes the young woman blush.

“I’m just so blessed that the things happened they way they did. She’s the love of my life, you know? I couldn't be more proud to sing her songs. She has always been insanely talented and nothing gives me more happiness that knowing she gets to do what she loves and is able to share it with the world.”

The singer's eyes water and she puts her head on the actor's shoulder, who kisses her hair sweetly.

“You two are so pure and so cute to watch, I have a new favorite celebrity couple.”

They continue the interview for a few more minutes and then they have to move on to the second section, in which they are handed some boards with the most searched questions on the internet regarding them.

“Okay guys, introduce yourselves again. I’m not going to be in the segment this time so you’ll have to help each other.”

Both agree without confessing that they have seen videos of this segment until 5 in the morning when they have nothing to do the next day and have sleepovers.

“Hi, we are Charlie Gillespie and Y/N Y/L and will be doing the wired-autocomplete interview today!”

“Okay handsome, let’s start with yours.” Charlie smiles and takes the sign in his hands, while his girlfriend removes the first tape and reveals the first question.

“Does Charlie Gillespie have a girlfriend?” Charlie smiles proudly and kisses his girls nose.

“I do, and she’s so adorable.” He touches gently her cheek and she closes her eyes at his touch.

He gives her a light kiss in the forehead and then uncovers the next question.

“What is Charlie Gillespie like in real life.”

“I’ll answer this one, Char’s a total goofball. He is cheerful, funny, always full of energy, talented, caring, and really, really hot. All done, next question!”

He laughs while blushing and reveals the next one. “Is Charlie Gillespie married?”

“Well I tried but someone ate the ring.”

“I would do it again, it was really good. Answering the question, he is not yet, but he is taking too long, maybe one of these days I will declare myself.”

He opens his eyes wide, he knows very well that his girlfriend is capable of doing it, and honestly he wants to be who does it, so he makes a mental note to prepare everything soon. Thank god he is working on the rings already.

“It’s Y/N still dating...”

“If the question says Ross Lynch I’m goin’ to lose it. No shade though, man.”

She laughs, after the James Larkin show, a lot of people showed anger as they felt that she was a much better match with the blonde, and Charlie couldn't help but feel a bit offended.

“...Charlie Gillespie! Yes, baby!” Both high five, Charlie looks almost relieved, is adorable.

“The answer is always yes folks, get use to it.”

“Who is Y/N’s best friend?”

“Well, this one is easy.” She turns to see Charlie and gives him a flirtatious little smile. He blushes and reaches out to kiss her, but she answers the question just before their lips touch.

“Ross Lynch.” She leans over and presses her lips against his for a few seconds as Charlie reacts to her response and then gapes in disbelief.

“You did nOT.” He laughs and and wrinkles his nose feigning annoyance.

“Yes I dID. But to be honest, has to be this man right here. Not a lot people know this but we’ve been best friends all our lives, so yeah. You baby, of course.” He blushes and kisses her hand, clearly happy with the answer.

“Is Y/N going to be in Julie And The Phantoms S2?”

“Will you?” He asks, genuinely curious. She never tells him what Kenny secretly confesses her about the project so as not to be unfair to the other members of the band.

“I will, but probably still back the scenes, guys. I'm really enjoying this part and learning from the best of the best so I am very happy not to be in front of the camera for now.”

“And you are doing an amazing work, love.” She grins and kisses his cheek.

“Thank you for watching us being ridiculously corny for 30 minutes, don't forget to watch Julie and the Phantoms Season 2 only on Netflix! I feel sorry for that poor people that will have to see how cheesy we are.”

“We were still recording Y/N, but never mind. The editing team has a lot of work ahead.”

“Well, damn. I’m sorry guys!” Charlie laughs for the thousandth time today. There is nothing better in life than sharing your days with your best friend. He can't wait to formalize that ‘forever’.

Thank you for reading✨

NEXT PART HERE

Taglist: @writerinlearning , @ghostofmgg, @strangerthanfanfiction713, @thebloodthirstyvampress, @kinda-really-lost, @kcd15, @magnet-girl, @aliandthephantoms, @stxrkspidey, @pinkrockstar19, @s0uz4s, @shycupcakealissa, @cookiebuba, @fangirlangioma, @sageellsworth05, @twist3dtinkerbell, @sunsetcurvenotsunsetswerve, @caitsymichelle13, @ifilwtmfc, @luckylouiebug, @bibliophilewednesday, @totomoshi, @siennanoelle01, @lunashadow6955, @bookfrog247, @morganayennefertyrell, @kiss-themoongoodbye, @rachelle3musicals, @imsydneywalker, @really-dont-forget-it

#charlie gillespie imagines #charlie gillespie fic #charlie gillespie fanfic #charlie gillespie x y/n #charlie gillespie x reader #charlie gillespie one shot #charlie gillespie fanfiction #charlie gillespie imagine #luke patterson fanfiction #luke patterson oneshot #luke patterson imagine #luke patterson x y/n #luke patterson x reader #jatp one shot #jatp fanfiction #jatp imagine

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startwithbrooklyn · 3 years

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THE GREAT ND REWATCH OF 2021 / SEPTEMBER 28-29, 2019 // the bonny scot

posting this a day later than normal because this is one of the rare episodes that shows a passage of time from one day to the next yayy love that for them

-wonder what filming these beginning sexy scenes is like for them in real life

-sooooo can lucy see nancys sexy dream? is she judging? does this mean she likes nancy with owen or nick more? or is she trying to tell nancy that her sex dreams are irrelevant to the mystery at hand and she needs to focus?

-seeing people in the ✨prison chair✨: gomber, carson, karen (voting for josh s3 just saying)

-completely ignores carson's question about herself typical nance

-"or maybe i did stumble across a knife" its like hes trying to make the case against him look plausible while attempting to maintain innocence. this is a slippery slope for carson to try and encourage her to keep her pacified + hide the truth while also trying to keep her from getting involved bc hudsons

-"genetics gets you in the door" aaaaand then she walks in to everetts office to meet him and crashes their family dinner

-ok who tf is dawn and why is she in charge here

-this guidance counselor of nicks is my favorite person

-"i admire your allergy to pleasantries" bess and nancy both have reveals to big families but nancy does not have the graceful, accepting reveal to her rich family like bess does at this lunch. nancys reveal is messy, cold, bloodstained and sticky-fingered, not nice in any way whatsoever. and this little chat with everett (bit of a parallel to lucy's) just highlights how nancy is always bad at bargaining with her grandparents*- always trying to fight on their level but giving up her equal hand bc she doesnt know how to hide it when they bring up something she doesnt know. like confronting celia at the masque: she was so confident with her theory and what she knew, but then we got a "what does that mean?" like. the instant you say that, you lose. and she walked right into the "yes i do have someone, hes in jail" 🤦🏼‍♀️ even in the car with ryan at the end of s1, he literally just fucking leaves her there. like 🤷🏼‍♀️ what did u think was gonna happen sis?? for all she can predict how past things lead to present circumstances shes fucking awful at seeing the direct future *(grandparents except for patrice bc her dementia makes her inaccessable)

-lmaooooo this awko ass portrait...i get the empty space is for nance but who on earth thought this was a good pic??

-LISBETH 🥺💙

-"will u help the claw for me?" george struggles financially to keep her livelihood while nancy is somehow shown as being taken care of even when her parent is incarcerated; both nancy and george live in single parent homes now with mention of both medical debt and george being breadwinner yet nancy has no struggles while george does. (i wonder if ryan had been able to help george here how the story would have changed)

-"when it comes to following people around without their knowledge or consent i am somewhat of a repeat offender" 😂😂😂

-"he wasnt endgame after all" BESS lmaoooo

-"...okay." lmaoooo i fuckin love owen

-i was hoping the girls' faces would be more shocked like with a glance to owen but they just....werent

-"we're the good guys" <---- this statement is soooo interesting in terms of how they structure the show and how the characters see themselves (its an interesting contrast with the more definitive good vs evil with things that are both clearly good and clearly evil but theres also a lot of moral grey area here, the show is kinda swamped in it. are nancy and crew the good guys? are they the bad guys in someone else's story? concerns.)

-"i'd call it more than just stuff" like why did u concede that??? and then the shit about oof that didnt sound like a compliment lmaoooooo why does she suck at arguing?? she and owen wouldnt work long term bc theyre so similar (as mentioned later on)

-i LOVE george slowly falling in love with nick here- hence how upset she gets when nick bails on her for nancy later (which is totally justified!!!)

-i am LIVING for the little nod this driver guy gives bess when she turns back around all nervous 😂

-"i do like buying things" i would so say that too tbh

-"you'd have plenty to talk about" LMFAOOOOOOO SHE KNOWS "marvins dont marry drivers" so diana is totally fine with the gay its just the poor she has a problem with 😂💙fuckin love that

-love how nancy just casually ruins everything for nick/george lmaooo

-"i have seen you at your best, nancy, and there is nothing like it." 🥴😳 i love this still-in-love look nancy gives him thats so strong he had to change the subject

-so is haunting time 11 pm? from that clock of bashiir's?

-how do NO neighbors notice this fucking water and shit

-these are TOTALLY AWFUL fake screams from the bonny scot crew 😭

-"i know well enough not to get involved when he's in play" both carson and ryan avoid engaging with everett even though nancy is willing to do so armed with less info and more balls/ but "could i trust him" and ryan says yes lmaooooo NO honey + that makes ryan 0/2 for helping the girls when they ask this ep

-"find a project of your own" and he does, with his youth center 🙏🏻💙 what s2 foreshadowing!

-"god i wish i still drank" 😂😂😂

-"she is darling." 💙👌🏻

-okay wtf is mirror bay??

-i really wonder about the extent of celia x sebastians relationship here. did she truly care about him or was it just secret and exciting sex? also would love more hints of diana vs celia moments like these. celia doesnt even look upset. i mean shes had time to deal but like wtf. and who exactly is sebastian to diana? not her husband? like damn what if he was. somehow i doubt she'd talk about him diddling celia if diana was disrespected also

-i wonder if celia being so invested in dna testing nancy was bc everrett dna tested ryan to make sure he was his bc of sebastian / other men (which would be totally valid on his part!! but wouldnt it be funny as fuck if ryan wasnt his 😂)

-what a neat hiding place in this frame lmaooo who put that in for them tho? like how do u go about ordering that

-"you certainly are your fathers daughter" this quote is doubly ironic and foreshadowy bc theyre referencing carson here as being a useful hudson attaché but nancy is playing everett just like ryan played celia about putting his house up (but TRIPLY ironic bc carson pulls off the long con of hiding nancy from the hudsons right under their noses this whole time!) the one time nancy is successful against them

-that bess/lisbeth look while lisbeth does something badass (+diana reassessing now that lisbeth has been revealed to be useful)

-"almost as fun as a real fight" why do i believe him? lmaoooo a bit weird that he would enjoy a fight w a partner, but i also think this is an acknowledgement of nancy being an "opponent" who exists at his level. but i also love the "let me take you out" as a direct mirror of her relationship with nick, where she avoids the public acknowledgment/"going out" but prefers the more subtle/hidden arrangements of staying in. but as shown with later eps, owen is way more capable of meeting nancy where shes at, which is so important to her + the only way of getting close to nancy. (the only foil is ace who somehow is able to do both)

-"not always about a guy" <---- this could have been such a powerful statement if the show had thought having nancy end up alone/choose herself instead of pitting her between love interests (nick, owen, gil, even potentially ace, in only 2 seasons) was a more worthy stance to take ; as an aro/ace person i cant tell you how much i would kill to see just one female protag choose herself over a man. and its more realistic to end up alone than have a happy ending anyway, for all that these shows try to be as "real" and gritty grimdark as possible

-"is that what you want?" this is an interesting question to his mother- like maybe he senses her unhappiness? combined with his issues with his father- still trying to look out for his mom? either way it's sweet. (it could also potentially work as foreshadowing of something happening to her, but i think that was played with but then diverted when it was revealed who really killed her) "i think its time i steer this ship" still kind of patriarchal tho. i get that its him coming into his own as a dad technically but still. i also like how he calls her "mother" and not mom

-love that old white people thumbs up at george asking about his clams 👍🏻

-okay fuck dawn tho lmfaoooo

-"stressful dinner huh?" 😂 i fucking love lisbeth so much why didnt they bring her back (wouldnt it be Fucking Hilarious if they brought lisbeth back to bounce bess on her expired visa since the marvins kicked her out and didnt fix it lmaoooooo)

-BESS IS A TOP lmaooooooo i fuckin knew it

-nick says "you can pay me back" wonder if thats gonna come back in s3 considering their "marital problems" (also, those bonds are sosus lmfaoooo if any single person cashing those was looked at sideways they'd confess in 2 seconds that some random guy is handing out bearer bonds they dont even make anymore with absolutely zero proof as to how he got them)

-"you wanna finish what you started?" 👀 (dont mind if i do)

-"i need my dad back" parallels s2 when she asks him to come home

-parent politics: "you are taking your life in your hands / no, i'm putting it in yours" vs "i know well enough not to get involved when hes in play" both carson and ryan try to dissuade nancy from pursuing her pulling this con on everett but go about it different ways: carson is wildly concerned with nancys physical wellbeing but ryan appears to be leaning more towards weighing the odds for her/ like a "you cant win so cut your losses/dont try" scenario which interestingly might have more weight with nancy; its easy for her to brush aside carson's worrying like second nature but nancy has been established to be a determined winner, and ryan speaks to her here like shes a beginners luck prodigy at a blackjack table by encouraging her to keep her record clean by not dealing in this next round. of course she herself admits shes incapable of not dealing in ie "you know me better than that" but i have lots more thoughts on how effective ryans approaches to nancy can be sometimes (saving for the reveal ep 🙏🏻)

-wonder what all carson knows about the hudsons? + that look on his face when he hangs up... wonder if he was just lying to her about knowing anything or just ashamed at having to admit bad things hes done for them

-love nick & bashiir waiting together 🙏🏻💙+ nicks very strong and pointed "good night" as a means of ending his convo w nancy on his terms (gotta reinforce those boundaries man!)

and lastly

-celia + that gossip girl moment when she just throws the whole phone away 😂(wonder if she was just talking to "gus" or whoever that guy was. keep forgetting the bobbseys' dad is in prison too, wonder if he'll feature in s3)

#brooklyn's ND primer #nancy drew cw #the Great Rewatch of 2021 #you best start believing in ghost stories miss drew - you're in one

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bottlecaprabbitgames · 5 years

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Character Narrative #1, Blake Gautier: The Fly in the Ointment

I do not have a moodboard made for this yet, but I hope the narrative itself is interesting enough to pique your interest!!

==========

Blake frowns as he watches the dusky sky, bats flittering through the air as their time of feasting begins. His frown steadily becomes a grimace as the stitches in his side pull with each breath.

"You need to stop getting into so many fights, mi bebito," Sienna scolds as she deftly sews up the burning stab wound in his side. When he lets out a whiny hiss with a particularly stubborn stitch, the wizened woman snorts daintily. "Dios mío, you're such a baby. If you no can take the pain, you no need to get into fights that cause it."

"It wasn't that simple," he grumbles irritatedly. "The jackass was harrassin' some girl down from the uni. She was 'fraid of him, and I-"

"Couldn't stand to see a hijo de puta do such a thing," she finishes with a wry tone. "Well, I suppose I can let such a move pass for that. But I know your maman taught you to fight, so how did you manage this?"

"Guy's friend."

"Ahh, of course. Trouble's company."

Blake shakes away the flashed memory, but makes a note to buy the old crone some old scotch if he can find it.

Or take it. Whichever works.

His attention is drawn from the gravel under his boots to a high-dollar, customized blazing red Hybusa bike spitting up to him. It slides to a stop only a mere foot from him, the rider's body and head covered in biker leathers and a visored, flamed helmet. Based on the bike, ungodly height and cursing coming from them, he knows exactly who it is, and it makes a smirk slant his lips. He watches as they turn the bike off and remove the helmet, letting loose a mop of unruly, greying shit brown curls.

"Someone still hasn't put you in the ground yet, you old bastard?" Blakes jeers cheerily, making sure to flash his teeth as he speaks. The rider lets out a great snort, before giving a sarcastic, mocking smile.

"Oh, not for lack of trying, old boy," comes the man's strongly Irish accent, along with a flare in his blue-green eyes. "Seems they still haven't figured out a way to put me down like the dog they think me to be."

"Ah, there's always room for hope," Blake sighs with an air of disappointment, but it's ruined by the stupid grin trying to work its way onto his lips. The man scoffs and swings his leg from around the bike, dusts off his jacket, and approaches with a slightly limping gait, one Blake's hazel eyes don't miss. "Your leg still ain't fixed?"

"Nay," the man hisses bitterly, "damn ferjin venom. Stoppin' the muscle graft from takin' properly still."

"Damn," Blake whistles sympathetically; his arm still hasn't felt the same since that fight too, to be fair. "And the eggheads still haven't found a cure or som'mat?"

"Nay, there's been mo' trouble with'at group of rogues movin' through Liverpool at the moment. With ferjinos still bein' all newfound and whatnot, the techies still haven't had time t' look them all over with so much chaos."

"Ah, well, shit." The conversation drops for a spill as the older man leans against the wall next to Blake, both looking right in place at The Devil's Falls bar, it being a popular spot in the supernatural city located just outside of Treeport, Louisiana. The brick wall tugs at Blake's hair and neck uncomfortably, but the inside was too crowded.

And, well, with the viila dancers coming out on stage soon, it was only going to get rowdy enough to bust some ear drums.

"Owens is still interested in you joining us, y'know," the man says breezily, but the squashed look of his lips betrays his feelings on the matter.

"Is he?" Blake responds lamely; decisions, decisions. Blake was always shit when it came to making the most important fucking decisions. The ones that have the longest and most impact.

"You know good'n well he is. With your abilities and willingness to work hard to get shit done? Of course he is." He sighs, then pulls out a flask and unscrews the top. Blake's nose crinkles in distaste as purple smoke issues from it, and he nearly gags as an acrid, rotten eggs smell hits his nose.

"What in the hell is that nasty bullshit?!" he yells in offense, stumbling away with his fingers clenched around his nose. The man throws him a real nasty look before taking a drink with a face of revulsion, and he shivers violently as he swallows it.

"I, smartarse, unlike you do not have super special healin' abilities, so I get to drink this shite for the next couple of days still to take care of whate'er venom is left over." He re-lids the flask and tucks it away, then gives Blake a withering look. "You's a damn big baby, y'know that?"

"Shuddit," Blake snarls, his face still a little green. The man laughs, his teeth clenching a bit in thought.

"Have you decided yet?" His face immediately shifts into something more somber, serious. Blake shifts under the piercing gaze, trying to not look like he's guilty of something.

"No. No I haven't."

"Y'need to, aye," the man sighs quietly, looking skyward. "You need to take care of the other little issue, and high-tail it to us. I doubt your… brothers would take kindly to you joining us."

"No," Blake agrees almost silently, almost like he's talking to himself, "no, they won't."

"Don't let them dictate what you do any longer than necessary," the man warns. "The pack's going downhill, fast. You don't want to be caught up in it when they finally hit the bottom."

"I know. I know." Blake kicks the brick wall in frustration, rubbing the back of his neck near harshly. He jumps when his watch begins beeping with his alarm, then curses. "I have to head back, Seamus. I'll see you soon."

"Let's hope, old boy, let's hope so." The older man claps him on his back once, before both turn to get on their bikes.

An anxious, clawlike snare wraps around Blake's stomach. If he leaves, things won't be pretty. Not for him, not for his maman, not for his sister. But… but they'll have protection, or so Owens promised. It'll be much worse if I'm still around when they finally toe the line too far and become rogues, he reminds himself. There won't be any escaping them. Or anyone else.

It looks like he may have his answer, after all. But, as he rides home to talk to his remaining family, his usually keen eyes miss the glittering, predatory yellow ones peering out from the woods next to the bar.

He misses the fly in the ointment, the spy that'll help cement his decision in more ways than he could have ever thought imaginable.

#blake gautier #mind games #character narrative #fly in the ointment

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survivingthejungle · 5 years

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foreigner’s god

so i’ve been hyped about this story for a while now. i’m considering posting my character list (complete with pictures!) and if i do it’ll be separate, probably right after i post this. ive also got a long ass playlist that i listen to when i write this specific story so if that’s something you guys are interested in let me know!

anyways here we go im so excited to finally share this with you <3

(quick proninciation note, bc this story contains a lot of gaelige:)

eoghan = owen

niamh = neeve

labhraín = loren

liusaidh = lucy

Inis = (inish) old gaelic for ireland

At the crack of dawn, four young girls wake themselves up and sneak out of their room, through twisting, winding corridors, and out to the stables to ride off to the forest for a morning adventure. The two twins, Brigid and Niamh— Brigid was the eldest of the two, and would never let the other forget it— had bright blonde hair that shone as yellow as the midday sun. Their skin was soft and white due to the lack of sun in their homeland, and they had nearly identical pairs of light blue eyes. Brigid’s nose was more pronounced, her mouth a bit narrower, and her eyebrows a shade or two lighter than Niamh’s; they were not identical to those who knew them, but many people often could not tell them apart. The other two with them were Labhraín and Liusaidh, the youngest children in the mac Neíll family. Labhraín, unlike her sisters, had curly brown hair instead of her sisters’ pin-straight locks. Her nose was similar to Niamh’s as it was small and undefined- Morrigan always called it 'soft'-, and she had a wide mouth that presented the sweetest dimples when she smiled. Liusaidh was the youngest and, apart from her brother, looked the least similar to the rest of her siblings. She had long, straight, dark brown hair and dark brows to match. She had brown eyes that looked like honey in the rare sunlight of Inis, and her nose was bigger than all of her other sisters’; though It was perfectly rounded. She had the fullest lips compared to any of them, and was almost always smiling and displaying her pearl-white teeth. She had a small chin and round face, but they were proportionate to her features. The two mac Neíll children who had not accompanied their sisters were Eoghan and Caridwen. Eoghan, the eldest of the six children, was also the only boy in the family. This made him the sole heir to the High King of Tara, Aéd— their father. Eoghan had dark brown curly hair all atop his head that matched his eyes and eyebrows. His brows were thick and always appeared to be well-groomed. His eyes were big and dark, and often carried bags underneath them. Eoghan was no stranger to sleepless nights as the future ruler of a large kingdom. He had a wide mouth like Liusaidh, Niamh, and Labhraín, but his own lips were not as full as theirs. He did, however, share the same dimples that Labhraín had. His chin was larger than theirs but segued well into the rest of his face, which was home to prominent cheekbones and a strong jaw. The sun had not yet peaked over the horizon when the four girls left, but was already beginning to light up their world. The fog in the open meadows and fields was highlighted by the sun’s rays and the morning dewdrops on the grass lightly stuck to the hem of their dresses. The group of horses and the girls that accompanied them were headed to the forest at the edge of the cliff, where they often spent their mornings watching the sun rise and climbing the trees until they were expected to begin their daily lives inside of the castle. Liusaidh was the first to begin climbing, which was not at all unusual to them. Though she was the youngest of the family, she was the fastest and often won their lighthearted races. She had made it nearly as high as she could go by the time the rest of her sisters had gotten halfway. Looking out at the terrain all around her, she was shocked when she saw what looked like a boat all the way at the end of a horizon. "Labhraín! Look, look!" she yelled down, as Labhraín was the nearest to the top. "What, Liusaidh?" She called back, now even more eager to reach the top. "Can you see something?" "It's a boat! Look! A boat! I think it's Vikings!" Liusaidh responded anxiously. She'd never met, or even seen, a Viking before; but she had heard plenty of stories about them from her brother, Eoghan. He used to tell his sisters stories before bedtime, and the girls' favorite kinds were scary stories about the big, bad Vikings who lived far away in Norway. Eoghan had never met a Viking, either, but he knew that everyone was scared of them; it made for easier storytelling. Brigid exclaimed her disbelief that Liusaidh had, in fact, seen a Viking boat. "Catch yourself on! There are no Vikings in Inis, especially not this close to Tara; don't be silly, Liusaidh!" Brigid loved her brother's Viking tales as much as the rest, but she always firmly believed that there was no reason to fear ever meeting one face-to-face. 'Father would never let the Vikings get close to us. He'd send out hundreds and hundreds of fleets before they could reach the shore,' she'd tell her sisters when they got scared. "Where is it, Liusaidh?" Labhraín asked once she'd reached her sister. Liusaidh was squinting her eyes and caning her neck out. Labhraín looked in the same direction and couldn't see anything; she told her sister as much. "It was there! I swear I saw it." She sighed, dejected. "Told you there were no Vikings, Lius." Brigid and Niamh finally reached their younger sisters, slightly panting from the climb. "Stop telling stories." Liusaidh was upset at that. "I am not, Brigid! I saw it, I really did!" "I believe you, Lius," Labhraín admitted. "Sometimes I have dreams of Viking boats all on the coast, and that we don't have enough soldiers to send them off, and they conquer the whole island." "But that’s just a dream, Labhraín," Niamh noted. The four of them found comfortable branches to sit down on as they let their legs swing underneath them. "Dreams aren't real." "Not so! Morrigan said that dreams are the doorway to the faeries' land, and that they always give us prophecies-" "Morrigan's a pagan, Labhraín. You can't believe what she says." Liusaidh and Labhraín shared a look with one another at this statement. Morrigan had been the nanny to all the mac Neíll children, even Eoghan. She was one of the few remaining pagan Celts in Tara, and though the girls were all Celtic Christians, she was beloved by all of them. Lius and Labhr were especially fond of her, because she always told them stories about the faeries, and the Tuatha Dé Danann, and the Celtic pantheon. While the two youngest girls were, of course, devout to the Christian God, they also believed deeply in the fair folk. It was why the youngest mac Neíll girls were always so apt to go to the forest; they loved to search for the magical beings. "Let them pretend, Niamh," Brigid chastised her twin. "They're only wains. Didn't you ever believe in the fair folk?" "Niamh is such a bore, she never believes in the fun things!" Liusaidh laughed. "She'll probably become an Abbess and never get married." The sister in question rolled her eyes at this, but the other three all had a good laugh. "You're all so horrible," Niamh grumbled. "I'm going back to the castle before I get in trouble, like the rest of you lot surely will." She swung her legs over the side of a branch and swiftly dropped from branch to branch until she had reached the forest floor and could reach her horse to return home. She was off before the rest of them could say a word. "Lius, Labhraín; we must go apologize to her. We have been particularly wretched this morning," Brigid conceded. Her younger sisters solemnly agreed and soon enough the three of them had also swung down to the forest floor, ready to take off on their horses and head back to the castle for family breakfast. - "You wee wains are going to make your mother sick with worry if she sees you like this!" Morrigan exclaimed, upon seeing the twins and the youngest girls. They'd returned home as absolute wrecks- feet covered in dirt and grass, the bottoms of their dresses covered in grass stains, scrapes from the branches on their arms and legs, and pine needles and small leaves stuck in their wild and unkempt hair. "I'd best lock you all up each night so you can't get to your stables before sunrise. Wee devils, so you are," she muttered, grabbing a handful of maids to help her fix the young princesses up properly. They'd been promptly ushered back to their room upon their return, and scolded by Morrigan (as was a part of their usual morning tradition). "Or maybe I'll send you lot off to the Wasteland and leave you there!" she considered, while picking through the girls' hair to rid them of the pine needles and leaves. She then instructed the maids to brush their hair out smooth while she retrieved their day clothes. "No! Morrigan, we are so terribly sorry. We didn't mean to get this messy." Liusaidh was desperately trying to save her and her sisters hides in the face of such a dangerous threat. Morrigan hummed in amusement. "Is that so?" "Really, Morrigan, honest," Labhraín swore. "We'll be more careful next time. We're sorry." "So are we; We really didn't realize it," the twins added. Soon enough, the girls were decently cleaned up and properly dressed, and they were all sent down to breakfast with their parents, eldest sister, Caridwen, and eldest brother, Eoghan. "Ah; good morning, my girls!" King Aéd greeted them cheerfully. "Eat your breakfast, we have something to tell you all afterwards." "Good morning, father." They each greeted him with a kiss on the cheek; then their mother. "And where have you little sprites been all morning?" Caridwen asked, winking at them. She knew, of course; she was the one who'd began the tradition of tree-climbing in the morning, back when the twins were little. Eoghan had sometimes joined them, when he was seven and Caridwen was six; before he had to begin constantly preparing to become High King of all Tara, and therefore all Inis. "I'm certainly positive they weren't climbing in the forest," their mother, Queen Danu, mused, staring down each of them before returning her attention to their breakfast. "Now don't you girls be late to your music lessons today. Your father and I haven't heard you play in so long!" "We won't be late, mother; We can't wait to play for you," Liusaidh grinned at her. Her mother smiled back. The rest of breakfast was eaten in relative silence as the six children of the mac Neíll family pondered over what news their father might have for them. The longer the silence continued, the more anxious they became. Breakfast was over soon enough and King Aéd decided to deliver the news to them while they were all still gathered. "Wains… I've-- Well, I've arranged for Caridwen to marry. A Saxon prince, so he is! Right good lad." The children were dumbfounded. Their eldest sister, their voice of reason, their anchor… was being married off across the sea? Caridwen remained silent and did not show any sign of reaction; she kept her mouth shut and stared straight ahead at the cleared feast table. Her siblings, however, were not inclined to be so passive. "Father," Eoghan began, "She's only fifteen--" "And I've been in contact with the Saxon king; his youngest wain, Alfred, is also fifteen. They won't be wed immediately, lad! We've decided to arrange the official marriage in three years’ time. As for now, they'll only be courting one another." Caridwen, Eoghan, and all of their sisters breathed a unified sigh of relief. At least she would get a chance to know the boy before they had to marry, and at least he was her age! She knew that as the eldest daughter of a royal family, that was not always guaranteed. "What about before she gets married, then?" Labhraín asked. "May she stay here in Tara, with us? Sure I don't want her to be gone forever!" "Of course your sister won't be leaving, Labhraín!" their mother responded. "She won't be living with the wee prince until their wedding. She will stay home with us until it is time for her to leave." "When will I meet my betrothed?" Caridwen finally asked, eyes still focused on the table. Her parents noticed her cold demeanor but decided to let her come to terms on her own accord. "We'll set sail for East Anglia tomorrow, Caridwen." "May my sisters accompany me?" She knew Eoghan had no chance of going, since he was expected to watch over Tara in his father's stead. "Labhraín and Liusaidh may," Aéd agreed. "The twins will stay to keep your mother and brother company." Brigid and Niamh weren't happy that they couldn't partake in the voyage, but accepted it anyways. Lius and Labhraín, however, were deeply grateful that they could be with Caridwen when she met her husband-to-be. They loved their big sister dearly and cherished all the time spent together before Caridwen inevitably would be sent off to marry as a political alliance. The Queen decided to end the conversation there. "Wains, please; don't wear such sad faces! Your sister is doing a great act for the future of Inis; and she sure may come to love the Prince! But for now, how about we all do our duties for the day and focus on the rest later. Hm?" — The next day the four mac Neílls set sail to Wessex; in another two days they'd arrived at Caridwen's future home. The family was met by two representatives from the House of Cerdic: Judith, the Princess of Wessex, and her son Alfred, the prince, and Caridwen's betrothed. The meeting, for the both of them, was awkward and uncomfortable. She was very thankful that they were the same age, because she knew that he must have been just as anxious and unexcited as she was. The queen welcomed them all to her kingdom and guided the mac Neílls back to the castle, where they were shown their living quarters for the time being. Judith, after a brief conversation with Aéd, instructed for Alfred to give Caridwen a tour of their home, accompanied by Liusaidh and Labhraín. Their parents, in the meantime, were to discuss the more 'political' matters that would be a part of their marriage arrangement. Once the four children were out of earshot of their parents, they finally felt comfortable to speak freely with each other. "You… You're not excited about this, are you?" Alfred asked Caridwen, not able to look her in the eye as he said so. She looked at him wide-eyed as she disputed the statement without missing a beat. "Oh, no; of course I am! I'm so sorry for being so aloof with you," she admitted, "It's very difficult to speak freely among our parents." Alfred breathed a sigh of relief. At least she doesn't hate me, he thought. "Yes, I agree. I'm glad to know that you don't despise me." He smiled softly at her. "I'd never! That wouldn't be very convenient for either of us, now would it?" she responded teasingly. "I suppose not. And these are your sisters?" He gestured to Liusaidh and Labhraín, who were walking behind them. "Yes," she smiled, "The wee babies of the family. That's Labhraín, and that's Liusaidh." They smiled warmly at him, and he was glad that his betrothed's family was not behaving coldly towards him. "Where are the other two?" "The twins are at home with our mother and brother. I'm sure you'll get to meet them soon enough." "You have a large family," Alfred noted. "Yes," Caridwen agreed. "And I love them all so dearly." Her smile now was bittersweet. "I'm very sorry that you must leave them. I hope you know that when we are married, you ought to feel free to visit them whenever you want. They can even come to Wessex, if that would be better," he offered. Caridwen took his hand and thanked him heartfully. Liusaidh decided to interrupt the conversation she'd been listening in on. "Sure you’ll swear it? We can come whenever we want?" Alfred took her hands in his own. "I swear it, Liusaidh. I'd never try to keep your sister away from you." She grinned widely and embraced him; at which point he was unable to hide his initial shock. Caridwen and Labhraín couldn't hold in a laugh at this, and soon enough they were all in a much better mood than when they had all met at the docks. The young royals' happiness wasn't to last for much longer. The announcement of unexpected visitors at the castle entrance was enough to dampen the joy. Judith and Aéd were quick to find their respective children. "Children, all of you; to your rooms.. We have… unexpected guests. From Norway." Liusaidh glanced, wide eyed, at Caridwen and Labhraín, who wore a similar look of concern on their faces. She leaned over to Labhraín and whispered quietly, "I told you I saw a wee Viking ship." — It had been days since the arrival of the Northmen, and soon enough the children had found out that there were only two of them; the King of the Northmen, Ragnar, and his son, Ivar. It had been whispered through the hallways that his son was a cripple, and that is why he was not being treated as harshly as his father. On the third day, after the King had invited Ivar to dine with him and his father, he was brought back to the solar with the other royal children currently in Wessex. Caridwen and Alfred were in the midst of a game of chess, while Liusaidh and Labhraín were watching them and making comments to one another about each players choices. It was just beginning to irritate Caridwen when Prince Ivar was thrown in with them. "Prince Alfred, Princesses," a guard stated, "The King's ordered that the Northman's son be kept with the other children." "Yes, I understand," Alfred responded, dismissing them and approaching Ivar. "Do you speak our language?" he asked the teenager, speaking with more enunciation than most usually would. "I speak enough of it." His quick response was almost shocking to the three young girls. "You are the Prince?" Before Alfred could respond, Labhraín butted in with a question of her own. "How do you know English?" He looked to her with a blank expression, but through it Liusaidh could sense bitterness. "I learned it in Kattegat." "Is that your wee kingdom?" Liusaidh wondered. "Yes. It is in Norway. I would like to return, but I can not leave without my father." He glared at Alfred. "Your grandfather is keeping him locked in a tiny cage; like an animal." Alfred looked troubled. "I'm sorry, Ivar; there's nothing I can do. I have no power over the king. All I can do is assure that you will be treated well by all of us," he gestured to the three girls behind him. Ivar looked past him again at the three girls. "And who are you? I knew of a prince, but no princesses." "We are from the country of Inis, the kingdom of Tara. I am Caridwen. These are my sisters, Labhraín and Liusaidh. Prince Alfred and I are arranged to be married as an alliance between our two nations." "How diplomatic of you," he rolled his eyes. Dragging himself over to the table where all the royal children had just been sitting, Liusaidh took particular note of the way he resembled a snake. "What happened to your wee legs?" she wondered. Labhraín slapped her arm and Caridwen gave her a sharp look. Ivar was less offended than her sisters had been. "I was born with weak bones. But do not be fooled," he warned, leaning closer to her than she would have liked, "I could still kill you in the blink of an eye." Her eyes went wide and she turned her head to focus her attention on her lap, refraining from any more questions. "You are playing chess?" he asked Caridwen and Alfred. They nodded. "Let me play next." "Of course," Alfred told him. While Caridwen and Alfred finished their game of chess, Liusaidh was struck with the uncomfortable sensation of being stared at. She looked up from her lap and was met with the sight of Ivar looking directly at her from across the table, as if he were peering into her head. She averted her gaze swiftly but the sensation did not fade; he was still staring at her. In fact, he had been staring at her ever since he'd vaguely threatening her life. She felt a chill run down her spine and goosebumps creeped onto her arms. Caridwen lost— by a small margin, her sisters declared— and Ivar took her seat across from Alfred. He was quiet and calculating during the game, not breaking his focus as he moved pieces across the board into Alfred territory. Liusaidh was grateful for his lack of focus on her while he played against her future brother-in-law, but every once in a while, when she wasn't looking at him, he would steal glances at her. She is pretty, Ivar mused. Very timid, like a cornered cat. I wonder what it would take to make her strike. Moments later, Ivar won the match, and a nursemaid entered the solar to inform them all that it was time to eat with Alfred's and the princesses families. All the young royals stood up— save for Ivar— and made their way to the Great Hall for their meal. Liusaidh was the second to last to leave the room, trailing after Labhraín, when her arm was roughly grabbed by a gloved hand. She looked down to her left to see Ivar still seated, his grip on her not wavering. Her breath hitched in her throat. "I could kill you," he reminded her, referring to their previous interaction, "But what a waste that would be." He pulled her arm down and she was brought down with it. His free hand reached her face and he brushed some stray hairs back, letting his gloved palm rest on her cheek, his fingertips residing on her temple. His thumb moved across her cheek and she felt unable to breathe. Ivar did not break eye contact with her, but unlike with the rest of the royal children, he was not glaring at her. It was more of a gaze than anything else she could describe. She was finally able to find her voice as she meekly pleaded, "Please let me go." His momentary trance was broken and he released his grip. "Your sisters will be waiting," he noted, "You'd better hurry along." She wasted no time in obeying, swiftly exiting the room and moving down the hallway to follow behind her sisters and Alfred. When Ivar arrived in the Great Hall to join them, pulling himself forward on the ground, he seated himself directly across from where Liusaidh sat. She made a point to look anywhere but in front of her. Judith, sitting at the right hand of her husband, broke the silence after they had all eaten their fill. "Girls," she began, smiling at the princesses, "Your father tells me you are gifted musicians." "Father flatters us," Caridwen smiled, looking from Judith to Aéd. "Well. I would love to hear you all play something for us. Wouldn't you?" The sisters agreed and moved to the side of the room with an assortment of instruments ready to be played. 'What would you like us to sing for you?" Labhraín asked. "Something from your home. A traditional song from Inis, if you would; we had best begin to learn the culture of our allies," she smiled at them, then at King Aéd. He returned the look and turned his attention to his daughters. "The wains do have lovely voices. None better in the whole kingdom, so it is; and I'm not just speaking as their father," he stated. "Go on wains; sing us a wee song." "Very well, all of you. We'll sing something." Each sister sat down in the chairs set up amongst the instruments and picked one— a fidil, a cláirseach, and a buinne were chosen by the three. "What do you think we should sing, Caridwen?" Labhraín asked. She pondered for a moment. "Let's do Fáinne Geal an Lae," she suggested. It was one that the siblings had only learned recently, and it was fresh in their minds. It was a simple, slow, melancholic song; but the only ones who'd truly know that were them and their father. Softly, they began. "Maidin moch do ghablas amach ar bruach Locha Léin; An Samhradh 'teacht 's an chraobh len' is ionrach te ón ngréin. Ar thaisteal dom trí bhailte poirt is bánta míne réidhe, cé a gheobhainn me m'ais ach an chúileann deas le fáinne geal an lae?" One morning early I went out on the shore of Lough Leinn. The leafy trees of summertime and the warm rays of the sun; as I wandered through the townlands and the luscious grassy plains, who should I meet but a beautiful maid at the dawning of the day? "Ní raibh bróg ná stoca, caidhp ná clóc ar mo stóirín óg ón speir. Ach folt fionn órga síos go troigh ag fás go barr an fhéir. Bhí calán crúite aici ina glaic; 's ar dhrúcht la dheas a scéimh. Do rug barr gean ar Bhéineas deas la fáinne geal an lae." Not a shoe, nor sock, nor cape, nor cloak had the maiden from the sky. Her golden hair in tresses hung and touched the grass up high. In her hand she held a milking pail; in the dew, she looked so far. Her beauty excelled even Helen of Troy at the dawning of the day. "Do shuigh an bhrídoeg síos le m'ais ar bhinse glas den fhéar, as magabh léi, bhíos dá maíomh go pras mar mhnaoi nach scarfainn léi. 'S é dúirt sí liomsa, 'Imigh uaim is scaoil ar siúil mé a réic. Sin iad aneas na soils,e as teacht le fáinne geal an lae.'" The young maiden sat by my side on a green grassy bench; joking her and claiming that I'd never part with her. She turned and said, 'Please go away, you are not wide awake. Here come the lights, I must be gone with the dawning of the day.’ The three princesses lowered their instruments and were met with lively applause from their small audience. Liusaidh, daring to look Ivar's way, even saw him slowing clapping for her. For me, she chastised herself, That's a silly thought. Even so, I'm surprised he's even clapping at all. "What lovely voices you girls have. And so talented with the instruments, as well!" Judith praised them. "Your mother and father must be very grateful to have such lovely singers amongst them." Caridwen accepted the compliments on behalf of her sisters gracefully. "Thank you very much, Princess Judith. If you would like, we could sing something in English as well?" Judith accepted the offer and Caridwen traded the cláirseach for a timpán. "This love it is a distant star, guiding us home wherever we are. This love it is a burning sun, shining light on the things that we've done. I try to speak to you every day, but each word we spoke the wind blew away. Could these walls come crumbling down? I want to feel my feet on the ground. And deep behind this prison we share, step into the open air. How did we let it come to this? What we just tasted we somehow still miss. How will it feel when this day is done? And can we keep what we've only begun? And now these walls come crumbling down, and I can feel my feet on the ground. Can we carry this love that we share into the open air? Into the open air, to the open air. This love it is a burning sun…" Once again the girls were met with quiet applause. "Oh, dear Caridwen, I do hope you'll play for us when you come to live in Wessex with us." "Gladly, Princess Judith. It would be an honor." "I'm so happy to hear that." Judith addressed her husband and King Aéd. "Aethelwulf, King Aéd, I believe it's time for us to discuss more matters on the topic of our alliance. Children, would you all return to the solar?" The young royals all obeyed, and were soon enough back to the room they'd previously been lounging in. Ivar's gaze never left Liusaidh, even when she caught him staring at her again. 'Does he feel no shame?' she wondered, 'Staring at a girl like that… I suppose that's what Northmen do. Oh, I can't wait to go home and never have to see another Viking again.'

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jordan202 · 5 years

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15x10 Review

At your demand, here it is! Since you guys have flooded my inbox with requests, and I am now going to flood your timeline by replying to each one muahaha.

I have to say, I didn’t have many expectations going into the episode, which turned out to be great, because I was very positively surprised, especially with the finale(s). Let’s go through that.

Ok so, there is an established tendency in Grey’s to center subplots of an episode around the same common theme. For me, this episode was entirely focused on choices.

Catherine dealt with her choice to hide her cancer from her family and loved ones.

Meredith continued with her saga and her unavoidable upcoming choice between DeLuca and DeLink.

Bailey and Webber chose not to allow their mental health issues to dictate who they are.

Glasses chose to be Lenses.

Owen chose Amelia.

And I made my choice too.

I will explain that better! Click on the expand button and join me on the ride!

The episode picks up in the immediate aftermath of the last installment. Tom is asking for Amelia’s help in coming up with a treatment plan for Catherine’s tumor, but it’s her mind isn’t very focused. She is tearing up, clearly distressed by the (IMO) very mature decision she and Owen just made to give each other time to process what’s going on. It’s not necessarily a breakup, more like a timeout to get your head out of the water and see things in a different perspective.

What I really liked about this scene was how obviously affected Amelia was. None of us like to see her suffering, of course, but it was a remarkable display of affection and longing for the man she loves, and the relationship she is so invested in. I remember last season one of my main criticisms about the way they were writing Amelia was that they gave a lot of focus to the repercussions of her post-tumor status at the workplace, but gave little room to her personal life. We saw how the tumor affected Amelia’s work skills, but we rarely got to see how her emotions were in her journey to figure out who was sans tumor.

This season however we are getting a full plate of Amelia’s feelings and thoughts, and so far I like this feast. I like that her vulnerable side is again at the table, because this is a character we can absolutely relate to.

Meanwhile, we see Teddy pursuing a job, so she of course, went to Bailey. Bailey is someone I used to admire a lot in the first seasons, but have come to quite dislike as the seasons progressed. I have to say though, she absolutely nailed it with her reaction to Teddy’s pregnancy. To me, her body language was saying “Oh, so you got yourself in this complicated situation, moved here at your own will without even bothering to check if you’d be welcome first, and now you’re acting like you’re a victim to your own demise? Yeah, I am not interested in hearing about that. Go find someone else to whine to.”

Bailey walking out of the situation is exactly what I felt like doing when I first learned about this storyline. It just seems excessively contrived, unnecessary, avoidable and absolutely unwelcome. No one needed that drama. No one.

But since the writers apparently weren’t done making Teddy even more of a pity case than she already has become, we had to witness her insulting both Maggie and Karev (probably the two people more like to back Amelia after Owen).

What bothered me about this moment isn’t the fact that Teddy was dumb enough to change her entire life without checking first. It wasn’t even the fact that she quit her job and changed continents to pursue a guy who clearly doesn’t want to be with her, and now acts like she is being demonized because she can’t get what she wants. It’s rather the way she arrogantly puts herself above others and talks down on people she doesn’t even know.

Owen appears and somehow, he looks hot and manly even when wiping his runny nose. Typical Owen to work even when he has the flu (as a pediatric intesivist, I wonder who gave them the flu in the first place?) That’s right, I am looking at you, you daycare virus carrying little monster.

Owen then learns that while Seattle has many hospitals, Teddy has chosen to work at the exact place he is in. Because that won’t make everything even more complicated, right? But apparently, as every other decision that Teddy makes that affects him too, he is not consulted and is the last one to find out. And whereas Owen has no say in where Teddy decides to work or not, her lack of courtesy and consideration for the way her decisions are affecting his life becomes quite highlighted here.

“Do you know that Alex Karev is interim chief?”

Uh, no Teddy, he doesn’t. He’s only been running a department at the hospital for a decade now, but has no idea who is in charge and who he should report to. HEHEHEHE

Teddy is upset that Owen is angry with her, and she tells him that the only reason why she changed her entire life was FOR HIM. That’s right, FOR HIM. She immediately follows it with a “so that you could be a part of the baby’s life”. And I know this was not intentional, but talk about a Freudian slip. I will explain.

Never since this entire thing began (and this is one of the main reasons why I have a beef with this arc and the hypocrisy of the writers by saying they are not “making a triangle”, “putting woman against woman”, etc) Teddy has never really made it about the child. Instead, this is all about herself. About the sacrifices she’s done, what she wants, what’s better for herself. I didn’t see her making one decision based on what’s best for the baby. Initially, she was worried about how Owen would receive the news, worried that he might “claim her” for the wrong reasons, worried that she might be vilanized, etc. Aside from the first moment we found out she was pregnant, I haven’t seen Teddy expressing joy or taking comfort in the fact she is having a baby, or making it about the baby. By saying she “the entire reason I upended my entire life was for you,” to Owen, she is confirming with words what we’ve seen her doing with actions, which is pursuing Owen despite the fact he was horrible to her in Germany, pretty much ignored her presence ever since she arrived in Seattle, chosen Amelia over her repeatedly, and hasn’t done anything to deserve her consideration. Teddy’s lack of self respect added to her ulterior motives have turned her into someone quite hard to root for.

I mean, she was the one who had a steady job in Germany. According to herself, she had a good social life, a great job, friends, a system that supports mothers. If that was so great, why did she even move? By her description, life in Germany was better for her and for the baby, so how come Owen’s needs and wishes were placed before her own, at the point that she moved to Seattle for him?

Grey’s writers, you are doing a terrible job inspiring people out there who are in similar positions.

Anyway, the conversation ends with Owen pointing out that had Teddy not taken that long to inform him of the consequences of their action (and let me point out that not once Owen has even considered not taking responsibility for them, as he should), things might have not escalated so much. He used the words “Crap Situation.” It really is a crap situation, because Owen is getting to have something that he has always longed for, but in the worst possible conditions. He’s always wanted a family, but having a baby with someone other than the woman he loves wasn’t what he had in mind and we all know it.

Amelia shows up just in time to hear the last bit of the conversation, and without the context, she has every reason to be upset, especially considering we’ve seen how much she’s hurting over this. We’ve seen passive aggressive Amelia before, but passive aggressive vulnerable Amelia has got to be a fan favorite.

Casting Teddy aside, Owen is quick on his heels to chase her.

In the following scene, we see Owen trying his best to communicate and apologize, but Amelia is not going to make it easy for him. When I first watched this scene, my first thought was “great, now we’re back to season 13 and Amelia is pushing Owen away and torturing him and we’re gonna have to endure long weeks of that.”Thankfully, that was not the case. Sarcasm can be a real outlet to deal with hurt feelings, but it’s not funny when it’s a character’s (or person’s) only resource.

Tom is quick to meddle in the conversation and while at it, he is quick to pester Owen about his “flu”. “We’re busy. Way too busy to catch whatever it is that you’re losing a fight against, so…” It might seem Tom doesn’t care about what’s going on, but I see it as him taking Amelia’s side and helping her avoid dealing with a situation she is not exactly in a condition to confront right now.

After unsuccessfully trying to get Amelia to talk to him (Owen actually volunteering to talk about his feelings, what a nice change!), Owen accepts that it’s not happening and retreats. I honestly expect to witness many more of these little battles between Tom and Owen in the future, because the dynamics this can potentially have is very exciting. It’s a nice clash of the Alpha Male versus the Omega Male and it’s a huge turn on. I need more of that in my screen instead of having to put up with Jackson Soy Boy Avery as the representation of masculinity on the show.

Teddy then resorts to Maggie, but the conversation doesn’t go very well. As the current chief updates her on how the department is run, Teddy’s primary response is to make sure Maggie knew she was responsible for making improvements when she was in charge. Teddy preaches an honest exchange, and the hypocrisy of her claim added to the resentful way she made her remark lead Maggie to (rightfully) question her logic.

And instead of simply admitting that hiding her pregnancy for so long wasn’t right, which would have put an end to the conversation and probably embarrassed Maggie to bring out a personal issue during that professional conversation, Teddy just infuriates us even more by somehow trying to justify herself.

I mean, I am not saying Teddy owes Maggie any kind of explanation, but she is the one who went to Maggie in the first place. If she wants to be considered as a candidate, and if she wants to work under Maggie, the least she can do is try to make a good impression. But nope, not gonna happen. Teddy might as well just keep playing her victim card.

Meanwhile, Amelia and Tom are still trying to figure out a way to approach Catherine’s tumor and he drops one of the best lines in the episode. “Don’t take your baby daddy drama out on our tumor baby”. Tom is just becoming a fan favorite at this point. My favorite thing about the guy is that, while he is very supportive of Amelia and her feelings, he doesn’t put up with any bullshit and doesn’t care for drama. I really can relate to how practical he is about things, and while the “suck it up”approach isn’t the best or healthiest motto to live by, there are moments in our lives (and I can personally attest it) where we have to put our feelings aside and just focus on work, because at this job, a poor performance can lead to immeasurable consequences.

Another good sequence comes in, in which Tom asks Amelia where is that neurosurgeon who operated on Nicole Herman’s tumor, to which Amelia replies “that was brain tumor Amelia. Non-Brain Tumor Amelia is a reasonable surgeon, who asks reasonable questions.” I think the situation with Catherine’s tumor and this important, complicated surgery is a perfect moment for Amelia to sort of regain some of her confidence. I disagree that the Amelia who operated on Herman was inconsequent and unreasonable. She was bold, driven, she took a leap of faith. Yes. But we also saw a lot of Amelia questioning herself, overthinking her plan, carefully considering each little detail. That’s why I say this tumor arc was a total retcon, because back on season 11 it was not at all obvious that Amelia had anything pathological going on (unlike for example the moments in the s14 premiere, when she acted like a crazy person who wasn’t considering any risk when she set out to operate on that boy’s face against Jackson’s advice - that was a forced, artificial moment). The Herman arc served to establish her as neurosurgeon just as talented and skilled as Derek (or perhaps even better). It wasn’t out of character and inconsequent at all.

I think even if this upcoming operation turns out not to save Catherine, there can still be success at some level, or even some kind of breakthrough for Amelia (and Tom). Amelia has always been a brilliant, determined surgeon, but unlike Derek, she always humble. She always respected her enemy (the tumors) and the rules of the game . Right now, even if she takes on a more conservative approach and needs more time to carefully go through everything, it doesn’t mean that her brilliance and resourcefulness went away with the tumor. Impulsiveness has nothing to do with talent and vocation. The tumor was causing the first, not enhancing the latter. And I am glad that they are pointing out the fact Amelia is more reasonable now, not only with words but also with actions.

As Amelia and Jo exchange a conversation about a technology that can potentially help the neurosurgeons in their quest to beat the tumor, Tom steals the scene by making the most hilarious faces. Greg Germann is a gem, and he is so charismatic that his version of Dr. House (also known as Tom Koracick) came out better than the original. I also love how unimpressed Amelia is about Tom’s whoreness. I imagine that she’s had to put up with him acting like that around women a million times while she was studying under him. Just priceless.

At the same time that is going on, Owen is apparently really sick. In reality, it looks like he was just done performing at a Rocky Horror play, but we are meant to buy that he was perfectly healthy the day (or night?) before but then developed some nasty flu symptoms in a spam of a few hours that actually required intravenous rehydration.

But when Owen got accidentally injected with propofol, I understood the purpose. Sadly, we are not getting to see him sing Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me. What a pity. I was getting hyped about this.

When Owen is knocked down and can’t breathe, he is intubated and taken into a room, and that’s where the vomit-inducing part of the episode came, because we had to put up with Teddy acting all wife-y over him.

It doesn’t take long before she points out how much of a victim she is again, this time asking for Owen’s sympathy. Teddy is even bold to say that she didn’t do anything against Amelia, which I absolutely disagree with. She might not have attacked Amelia directly, but by withholding the information she should have disclosed a lot sooner, Teddy invariably brought Amelia into a situation she could have chosen not to be a part of had Teddy spoken sooner.

Teddy says she doesn’t understand why she is the only one who has to sacrifice anything (which she was never asked to do, by anyone), and then suggests that Owen moves to Germany (because again, she doesn’t want to do anything to Amelia lol). Forget Amelia, let’s us be reminded that Owen has Leo, a foster child whose custody he doesn’t have, which means if he leaves to Germany, he’d have to leave Leo behind, alongside Amelia and Betty.

Yeah, Teddy, you’re being such an inspiration.

This nonsense idea ends when Owen suggests that Teddy takes his job and runs the trauma department (because in Grey’s Anatomy, it doesn’t matter if you’re a thoracic surgeon, you can run trauma; and if you are a trauma surgeon, you can run general. I think I’ll quit the Peds ICU and ask for a job in the Ophthalmology department, I heard the hours are good).

What I love about this decision is how zero f***s Owen gives about his job, his status, his position. While Teddy has been whining during the entire episode, complaining about “working under a twenty something”, Owen takes the more practical route and simply offers her the job, if it means so much to her to have a power position. He doesn’t care. Owen is the kind of person who doesn’t need to have a formal position to be a leader. He’s always been one. And while Teddy is running in circles trying to get validation out of a job, he can simply forfeit his because to him, the baby and the people he loves matter a lot more. In two episodes, Owen has acted a lot more like a parent than Teddy has for 16 weeks, but who’s counting, right? He is able to acknowledge the sacrifices Teddy has done (even if she hasn’t done them for the right reasons lol) and his motivation isn’t egoistical, he is just trying to make a crap situation a little better to everyone involved. That’s my man!

And to make it even tastier, Owen goes on and makes the best choice of the day. I confess that I expected the show to drag this out a while longer, to toy with the idea of the “triangle”, but I am very glad things got resolved really quickly.

A while ago, I mentioned that Amelia needed to be sure Owen was sure about his decision to carry on with their relationship during this messy situation and I think that last scene was a perfect portrayal of that. It’s the third time Owen looks for her (first in the stairwell, then in the neuro lab, and now outside the hospital) to try to salvage their relationship. He’s determined, he’s not giving up. And more importantly, he is proving what he is saying with his actions.

Owen informs Amelia that he gave Teddy his job. He wants them to stay and the honesty with which he says that really affects Amelia, because she is obviously linking those wishes to Owen having conflicted feelings. But then comes my favorite part of that dialogue (and that was a really hard pick because Owen said wonderful things!): “It’s the truth, Amelia, and I have to be able to tell you the truth. I have to be able to make mistakes, because there is no clear path here.” The only thing Owen knows for sure is that he’s having a baby with Teddy, but the real family he has is with her. Amelia is his family, she has been for a long time. And none of the good things coming his way are going to be that good if she’s not in it with him. Owen misses her and them. He doesn’t need time, he needs her.

And that’s how Amelia is sure Owen is sure.

As if our hearts hadn’t skipped many beats, Amelia gets very emotional. It’s clear on her face that she’s deeply moved by what he says. For a moment, we hold our breaths in fear that she might reject his words, but once her hands run on his chest and they exchange that classic, loving, emotional Omelia glance, I know it even before she drops the line.

That’s the confirmation (to us and to Owen) that she is also on board with this, that she also misses what they have and doesn’t want to give up their relationship. It’s Amelia agreeing that yes, they have to be able to make mistakes and tell each other the truth. It’s perhaps the most important step in their relationship so far, and it’s crowned by the cutest little twirl in the history of the show.

Everything about that scene is absolutely adorable, from the cute looks and the touching, to Amelia sneakily getting inside Owen’s embrace.

And since I roasted Teddy enough, I thought I should say that while I knew she and Tom would hit it off, I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed watching them together. For the first time, Teddy wasn’t acting all defensive and making wrong decisions, instead she seemed to be taking on what’s coming ahead for her. I sense this is going to be a friendship who will later develop into something more.

Alright, bonus notes about the episode:

1) Catherine and her tumor: Catherine is someone who I don’t like, can’t relate, feel like is excessively arrogant and standoff-ish. She is very good at patronizing everyone around her while treating everyone’s feelings with disregard, and that’s not being a leader, that’s being a tyrant. Her way of functioning is basically she gets to dictate all the rules (and change them when it suits her), make all the mistakes she wants and disregard the consequences, and when things get bad, she doesn’t need to deal with any of it, because she can simply change her last name or play the cancer card. I don’t care for people like her because she might seem like she’s strong and empowered acting as if she is immune to everything and everyone but in reality, she is weak and very fragile. Deep down, she is terrified of her feelings, can’t deal with them and that’s not at all a sign of strength. A high IQs doesn’t necessarily make up for high emotional intelligence, and walls don’t keep people out, they lock you in. Catherine is the living proof of those. The outcome of her plot is only interesting because Amelia is involved and might play a role in it, but other than that, I have tried really hard but honestly can’t feel any kind of sympathy for her (probably because of the way she treats the people in her life – I would hate being related to her).

2) DeLuca or DeLink? While I don’t care if Meredith ends up with one, both or none, I confess I enjoyed learning a little more about DeLink’s background. The whole childhood cancer thing felt a little contrived, I admit, but I think it’s a nice explanation to why he sees the glass half full. I like his optimism and how upbeat he is, and I sincerely hope we get more of the guy in the future episodes.

3) Kid Bailey is officially the worst actor ever. I know I shouldn’t be saying these things because he is a kid and all, but I am.

4) I was very happy that for once, Omelia’s plot wasn’t about Leo and Betty.

5) Glasses is that awkward friend we all have that gets inspired by the most unbelievable things, and then goes and embarrasses himself by doing something impulsive or inappropriate. But rarely, very rarely, that leap of faith pays off and when it does, it’s really cool to watch.

6) I have decided we are not getting enough Jo, or Alex, or Jolex.

7) Why does Maggie’s life revolved entirely around Jackson now? Did I miss something?

And now a personal bonus. This is entirely un-related to the developments of the characters, but it does involve Grey’s Anatomy and like I said, a choice I made.

To make it short and simple: for a few weeks now I have been getting to know two different guys – one works in the same hospital as me, and the other trains in the same place I do. They are very, very different people. One is a well-bred, delightful, ambitious, sophisticated and funny guy who understands my work hours, is absolutely responsible, driven and cultured, and knows damn well what he wants. The other is a carefree, laidback, family oriented, energetic, boyish business owner who is a hardworker, makes me laugh and thinks the idea of a good time is to dispute who can spit the farthest.

As you can imagine, making a choice between the two guys was incredibly hard, especially because I wasn’t really focusing on relationships at the moment. So I have tried not to place too many expectations on anything and simply took it lightly just to see where things went.

To my surprise, despite us working in the same place, things kind of got cold with the doctor, but the cuckoo head who works down my street makes more time to see me than the other does, and he brings food whenever he comes over.

Last Thursday, I was coming home from a long, strenuous double shift and all I wanted was to come home and watch the new episodes of Grey’s and Suits before I went to bed. But he called and came over, saying he didn’t mind staying in and watching the episodes with me if I was too tired to go out.

May I point out, this is someone who up until last week thought Grey’s Anatomy and ER were the same show, doesn’t watch anything other than sports competitions, formula 1 races and superhero movies, and asked me if he can come over to my hospital to “pretend he is a doctor and play with my 3D Glasses Simulator” when Tom and Amelia were trying to work up a plan to approach Catherine’s tumor. He was very disappointed when I told him my work does not involve any kind of 3D simulations.

He also stated that “there were more people in the OR gallery than in (his football team’s rival)’s stadium”, asked me if “Future Medicine Fellow is a fancy name for researcher”, decided on his own that “the skinny blond woman (Teddy) looks more lost than Sandra Bullock with a blindfold on Birdbox” and ultimately, said that “That guy (Tom) is the real hero because he gets to play videogames and chill while everyone else is working”. And to my delighted surprised, he came up on his own with the conclusion that “the guy you like (Owen) made the right choice to go for the brunette because they are the most good looking couple in the show.” Not exactly the reason I would go for, but I agree with it!

The point is that, in an episode about choices, everything worked out as it should. And from there on, there is no more triangle. Owen made his. I’ve made mine. Even if after looking over my shoulder, he focused on the Super Mario on my screensaver instead of the absolutely adorable things I wrote about him.

So, Owen and Amelia are together. Now what?

I think moving forward, we are going to see these two dealing with things as a couple and navigating this unprecedented situation of having a family, while Owen is going to father someone else’s child. I think the Teddy drama will be put on hold for now, at least while Owen and Amelia deal with their own domestic situation. From the synopsis, we can assume that Betty (and perhaps even Leo) are at a high risk for leaving the show, and I confess I am very interested to see Owen and Amelia dealing with an empty nest if that turns out to happen. It would be a challenging situation for sure, considering that these kids were how they initially got closer again, but aren’t the real reason why they are together. I think there’s a lot of ground to explore there, but since I’ve spent too much time dissecting the events of the past episode, I will leave the speculation to the following posts.

I hope everyone has a lovely week, and thanks for making all the way here! See you soon!

*all uncredited gifs go to @bafy-usy

#omelia #owen hunt #amelia shepherd #review #owelia #greysanatomy #greys anatomy #jo wilson #alex karev #teddy altman #jolex

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douxreviews · 5 years

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Legends of Tomorrow - ‘The Getaway’ Review

"My friends and I here are time travelers, we’ve kidnapped Nixon and we’re headed to Disneyworld."

The Legends serve up a giant sugary treat to help us get down a couple of awkward bitter pills. They don't need to get to Disneyworld, we're on an emotional rollercoaster already.

See what I did there?

There is a philosophy of screen-writing that, if at all possible, having the protagonist confront their emotional problem should be the solution to solving whatever their plot-related problem might be. See, for example, Craig Owens defusing a spaceship by declaring his unspoken love, or more subtly, Willow's lies finally being brought to light curing the Scooby Gang's amnesia.

It's easy to see this as being formulaic, but really it's just a matter of solid storytelling and remembering to give your narrative an emotional core. With the caveat that if it's done too awkwardly it's a one way ticket to schmaltz-town. See, for example, Craig Owen blowing up Cybermen with the power of father-love.

So, when I observe that this episode of Legends of Tomorrow is a textbook example of solid comedy overlaid onto a situation wherein one character is avoiding dealing with the emotional consequences of recent events, only to pivot to heartbreaking pain and reconciliations as the characters learn to honestly deal with their emotions, that's not a criticism. Doing that kind of thing well is a real skill, and they pull it off here quite well. Again, "Tabula Rasa" is a great example of the all-comedy to suddenly-way-too-real-drama pivot. It's done badly much more often than it's done well, so what we have here is well worth praising.

It helps enormously that the jokes in the jokey parts are pretty much all laugh-out-loud funny. The swallowable bug that makes you tell only the truth is 100% uncut phlebotinum, but it's grade-A phlebotinum, and it leads to Mick Rory confessing his desire to grow out his hair like Fabio, so let's all agree to cherish it forever. The phlebotinum-iness of it is made even more easy to take due to the fact that it's only used to cause Sara to blurt out those hurtful truths to Mona, which drives Mona away from the team. The painful truths that Sara has to confront to fix the situation, in which she both confesses how much she's hurt by the loss of Ava and how much she's failed Mona by not being there for her are all completely coming from herself and her own heart, which gives them genuine emotion and validity far beyond 'magic made me say it' plot contrivances.

The takeaway here, future screenwriters, is that you can only use the phlebotinum for the jokes. The genuine emotional responses have to be just that – genuine. I promise that that's the last time I will use the term phlebotinum in this review.

But we have to also acknowledge something about this episode. All the jokes and the post-breakup heartache and teambuilding are at least partially on display here to help us to get past the one, big, awkward, clunky plot correction that this episode needed to make happen.

This was the episode that needed to make Hank Heywood not the villain of the season anymore.

It will be interesting, later on, to find out exactly when and to what extent the plans for the season changed, but it seems abundantly clear that change they did. The Hank of the first half of the season was an unmitigated bastard, with the occasional moment of charm. He was being built up to be the face of the 'government turns monsters into evil monster soldiers' plotline. At least, it seems reasonably clear that that was what was happening to the monsters. That wasn't a spoiler, just my assumption about what Hank was doing with the monsters when he had them tortured. However, at some point they appear to have decided that Hank needed to be redeemed, and so we do a lot of back-paddling here in a short space of time to justify Hank suddenly deciding to let the Legends go when he finally had them dead to rights in order to make things right with his son.

Now, that's a fair story to tell, and I think they would have pulled it off easily if that's where they'd been intending to go all along. But here, in this episode, it feels very much like a retcon/course correction, and I just didn't buy it. Having the demon Neron in Dez' body kill Hank immediately after his redemption, and setting up things so that Nate thinks Nora killed him, thereby setting up a Nate/Hank rift, just felt contrived to me. I'm sorry about that, because the rest of this episode was fantastic, but there it is.

Still, we shouldn't complain too much over one awkward bit of plot housekeeping. It was great to see all the Legends together, more or less, and a road trip in an RV was just what they needed.

Aim for the horsies! Wait... .wrong show...

So what have we learned today?

We've learned to stop asking questions, since nobody seems to care about causality anymore. The Legends can watch Nixon's 'incorrect' version of the 'Not A Crook' speech from a future vantage point, then go back to change it so it doesn't happen. But then Mona becoming a were-kaupe in the middle of a restaurant goes totally unnoticed by history, not to mention the theft of an RV and a patrol car.

I don't know, I think maybe I should just enjoy having a show with time travel in it that doesn't get too concerned about temporal physics. As the MST3K them song so eloquently stated, 'If you're wondering where he eats or sleeps, or other science facts/ Then repeat to yourself, "it's just a show, I should really just relax."'

Sound advice.

Everybody remember where we parked.

Nixon's famous 'I am not a crook' quote was from a televised Q & A that was, in fact, at Disneyworld on November 17, 1973. The Legends pick Nixon up pre-emptively in Washington D.C. a few days before that, but apparently Nixon's truth telling was already an observed problem by the White House staff. We hope that after the events shown they got around to going back for Charlie. The running joke of realizing that they'd forgotten her was very, very funny. I'd forgotten her too, the first time it came up.

The Time Bureau still appears to be in 2018, although they didn't directly say so. Zari once again appears to be a conduit between the 2018 Bureau and wherever in time the Legends are at the time. It's just a show. I should really just relax.

Abrupt redemption arcs can be quite painful.

Quotes:

Mick: "What? No Redford? No Sundance. No indie film. No artful nudity. We gotta fix this!"

Gary: "I’ve always wanted to untangle a conspiracy. I’ll need a bulletin board… index cards… I already have yarn, I’ve been getting into crochet." Zari: "Yeah? Me too." Gary: "We should start a club." Zari: "We’ll talk."

Mona: "Grrr."

Agent: "Here that? The truth. Something is very wrong with the President."

Hank: "Siri… Alexa… Gideon! Fire up the ship!"

John: "A bit on the nose, no?" Sara: "We left subtle back in Mexico."

Mona: "You know, I’ve never been in a car that’s a room before."

John: "Not to bother you, but we’ve lost the ship, drugged the President, and I’m stuck in the back with her."

Sara: "Maybe it’s best if we all just don’t talk."

Sara: "Maybe that’s what family is – the family you don’t mind being annoyed by."

Bits and pieces:

-- The group truth telling scene was comedy gold.

-- It looks like they're definitely setting up Zari and Nate as a couple. Sigh. Oh well, I'll learn to live with it.

-- We finally get a Ray and Mick pairing on their own mission, and we barely get to see any of it. That was disappointing.

-- No Ava this week. I wonder if that was for the plot convenience of Hank being in charge, or if Jes Macallan had another commitment. It was probably the right choice to take her completely off the board while we process things with Sara.

-- Several clever plot details this week. Zari's solution to communicating with the RV and Nate's plan for getting Hank's password were both nicely done.

-- This was the first time they've found a way to use Charlie's powers that didn't make her feel too powerful to be part of the team.

-- Whoever's idea it was for all of them to have changed into t-shirts that read, 'Barnes family vacation – Our family is a trip!' should be given anything they ask for, immediately.

-- John's little 'not really a speech' to Sara was a nice bit of dialogue writing.

-- Having a were-kaupe on the team who retains their personality and reason and who can transform on command kind of works.

-- Despite the way she was set up for being blamed for Hank's death being a little contrived, I like the way they got Nora back onto the board here. I hope they don't go the obvious route with Nate wanting revenge.

-- Did they ever give even a handwave explanation for why Zari is working at the Bureau and not on the Waverider now? I mean, from the Bureau's perspective. I get from Zari's point of view why she's there.

So much funny. So much emotional honestly. Just a little bit of clunky plot mechanics.

Three out of four forbidden red toilet buttons.

Mikey Heinrich is, among other things, a freelance writer, volunteer firefighter, and roughly 78% water.

#Legends of Tomorrow #Sara Lance #John Constantine #Ray Palmer #Mick Rory #Zari Tomaz #Mona Wu #DC Comics #Arrowverse #Legends of Tomorrow Reviews #Doux Reviews #TV Reviews

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willelbyers · 6 years

Text

Shadow

Summary: ‘“You would not believe the day I’ve had,” Mike sighs, tossing his bag onto the counter.

Will looks up from the stove, where he’s cooking rice. “Well hello to you, too.”’

Mike has a story to report on, and Will’s suspiciously not pleased.

Pairings: Mike/Will, background Lucas/Max, past Mike/El

Notes: It’s a future-fic, about 4,200 words, with the whole Party mentioned if not involved somehow. It’s set in the mid 1990′s, most of the Party is either done with school or going to grad school. Mike’s a reporter for the NYT, Will is a freelance artist applying for a teaching job, Lucas is going to school for engineering, Dustin is a marine biologist, El is doing vigilante work, and Max’s occupation isn’t mentioned but I’m going to tell you right now that she’s a stunt coordinator for movies. There are a few suuuper minor original characters mostly there to push the plot forward.

prompt: @ anon: Wait, my hero’s secret identity is… you? To be honest, I’d kind of always hoped… + Byeler

Posted on Ao3 here as well as written out below the cut. Enjoy!

November

“Hey,” the woman snaps, grabbing his arm. She’s young, with startlingly piercing eyes—and a really annoyed expression. “You work here?”

Mike blinks at her, coffee clutched in his hand, her own hand on his wrist. “Well, that’s what it says here.” He points at his ID, hanging around his neck, with his free hand. “Um. Who are you?”

“I need to speak with someone who can write an article,” she continues, not answering the question. “I have a story.”

“Your name, miss,” Mike insists, because look. He’d be happy to help. But she probably doesn’t have clearance to even be in the building, and if he can’t even bring Will in for the occasional lunch then he can’t let some random lady in, either.

“Kara Sigo,” she says, finally. “And before you ask, no, I’m not supposed to be here, but I need to speak with someone who’ll listen to my story.”

Mike takes a moment—just a moment. He’s bored, okay? “Okay. I can listen. Ten minutes.”

She grins at him, smile thin. “Sure. You’re gonna end up listening to me for a longer time than that, anyway.”

“You would not believe the day I’ve had,” Mike sighs, tossing his bag onto the counter.

Will looks up from the stove, where he’s cooking rice. “Well hello to you, too.”

Mike sighs again, making his way to the small fridge. “Sorry. Hi. It’s been crazy.”

“Tell me,” Will says, flicking off the burner and spooning some rice onto small plates. There’s a little bit of chicken in the fridge, so Mike pulls that out.

“Some woman came in to the building today,” Mike starts, picking up forks. “Got past security—the New York Times, what awesome safety precautions! Anyway, she told me this whole story about how some guy tried to mug her last night. And that’s not weird at all, but what she said next was.” He waves his fork before scooping up some rice. “She said that somebody, some shadowy figure, just, like. Appeared. And saved her. Knocked the guy right out and then vanished just like he’d come. She couldn’t even see what he looked like.”

Will looks startled, eyes slightly wide. His food remains nearly untouched on the counter. “Huh,” he says, letting a little huff out of his nose.

“The weirdest thing?” Mike says. “I believe her.” Will blinks and he shrugs. “We’ve seen stranger stuff, right? El, the Upside-Down, everything we know about Eight—Kali. Maybe this guy is another subject.” He leans forward onto the counter. “Should we call El? I mean, you guys have been working with Owens, trying to find the others. Maybe this is a lead.”

Will doesn’t respond for a moment, looking lost in thought, so Mike nudges him. Will looks at him. “Yeah, sure. I’ll check in with her.”

“At least,” Mike says after a moment, “I believe she believes what she saw. If this doesn’t pan out.”

“Hmm.”

They eat in silence for a while, the scraping of forks against plates the only noise.

“Oh,” Will says suddenly, setting his fork down. “Lucas called earlier. He’s got a few days off in a week, so he’s gonna come visit. Max’s schedule may line up, too, but they’re not sure yet.”

“Alright,” Mike shrugs. “Remind me to clean beforehand and we’ll be good.” He pauses. “Wait, when did Lucas call? When did you get back?”

Will shrugs. “He called around noon, and I got back at around… three in the morning? Good to know I didn’t wake you up. I tried to get home earlier, but Mrs. Rodriguez insisted on her kitchen getting finished literally yesterday so I had to finish up the paint job.”

“Man, she’s a piece of work,” Mike laughs, throwing his head back. “She’s kept you overtime at least five times!”

Will laughs, too. “Well, you’ll be glad to know that I finished that project. I’m gonna be working on a mural for that school down the street for a few weeks while my job applications get reviewed.”

“Good,” Mike says firmly. “You deserve that job, you’ve wanted to teach art for ages.”

“Thanks, Mike.” Will looks down as he says it, face slightly pink, and Mike grins. He takes pride in being one of the few who can make Will see how highly others think of him.

“Always,” Mike says, because it’s true.

Kara is sitting at his desk the next morning, and Mike stops in his tracks as he sees her. “Jesus. We really need actual security.” He plasters on a smile and walks towards her. “Miss Sigo. As much as your story interests me, you really should call ahead.”

“Kara,” she replies. “Call me Kara. You can’t be very old, and it’s weird for someone around my age to be calling me ‘miss’. And I will call ahead next time.”

“Better late than never, I guess,” Mike shrugs. There’s gonna be a next time? “So, Kara, what brings you back here?”

“My story,” she says like he’s an idiot. “Except it just got better.” She tips her head at a younger girl hovering by the wall, who Mike hadn’t noticed. “She goes to school with my younger sister. She heard my story and came to talk to me right away. She met the shadow figure, too.” Kara gestures for the girl to come over, and she does. Slowly.

“Hi,” she says, voice soft. “I’m Jen. And Kara’s right. I saw him.” She leans forward, voice dropping until she’s basically whispering in his ear. “And even better: I remember what he looks like.”

The story gets published, and there are four additional witnesses for Mike to add to the piece—two older women, an older man, and a teenage boy. The story probably is helped along by the fact that the boy is his boss’s nephew.

And there’s a drawing. One of the witnesses, the older man, is a freelance artist like Will, and Mike gives him the task of drawing what Jen had seen. And, look—it’s a good drawing but not a great likeness, there’s still far too much shadow across his face. But you can see a man there—no, a boy around, Mike’s age. Young, narrow and sharp, pale, hair flopping over his forehead, frown playing across his lips. It could be almost anyone, or at least, any young light-skinned guy. But there’s—there’s a person there.

He comes home that day in a happy daze, but as soon as he walks into the apartment he and Will share he’s met with a sharp smacking sound as a copy of the New York Times bounces off his chest.

“Ow,” he says belatedly, even though it didn’t hurt because it’s a paper. But Will is still standing there, glaring at him. “What?”

“Why did you publish this?” Will asks. He nudges the paper with a toe, and Mike feels a flash of annoyance.

“I write stuff, Will,” he says. “That’s my job. This story fell into my lap, and you know I had to take it.”

“It can’t be safe, Mike,” Will protests. “You—you know what this is like. Do you—do you see the byline?”

Mike rolls his eyes. “Yes, Will, I see my name.”

“No, Mike!” he snaps. “This is you. People will know who you are. People who might think this is fake could ruin you, and the people who committed those crimes will look at you!”

“So what? It’s not dangerous, is it? You said El didn’t know anything about this guy, so he’s not a lab subject. First-person accounts aren’t always accurate. The adrenaline can get to the witnesses. Kara and Jen and the others might have just seen some guy save them in the middle of the night and the power of suggestion got to them. It could just be a normal guy. So it’s fine.” Mike knows, as he says it, that it sounds stupid and contradictory. How would six different people have those same accounts? And it’s not like he doubts this shadow man could exist—he’s seen so much weirder. But. “Don’t take this from me, Will. Please. This is—this is big. Powers or not, this guy is giving me a real story.”

He doesn’t want to fight, and Will must see it on his face, because his own face relaxes, resigned. “Yeah. I just—yeah. I worry.”

“I know.” Mike steps forward, over the fallen paper, and hugs Will tight. “You don’t have to.”

“Yes, I do,” Will mutters into his shoulder, softly, and Mike just holds him closer.

“So, Max called me yesterday and said she’d come in three days. She’s gonna try to stay with a cousin in Brooklyn, but if that falls through…” Lucas trails off as he glances out the window of diner, his implication clear. The rapidly darkening sky casts a purple haze across the restaurant.

“Of course she can stay with us,” Mike assures him, glancing at Will, in the seat next to him, to make sure there’s no dissent. There doesn’t seem to be any. “Seriously, we’ve got everything all set for you guys. Dude. Tell us what you’ve been up to!”

Lucas grins and launches into an explanation of his engineering classes at Brown, excited, and Mike can’t blame him—Lucas is so close to being done with college, for real. It’s something he and Will both can’t really relate to, seeing as they only went to typical four years and then immediately looked for a job. No; Lucas wants it all, and he’s good enough for it.

He casts a glance at Will, who is looking at Lucas, but he notices his brow is furrowed and his head tilted, like he’s listening to something faint. Mike hooks his ankle into Will’s for a moment, startling him. You okay? he mouths, and when Will just shrugs and smiles in return, Mike accepts that. Will doesn’t really hide stuff from him anymore, not since the Mind Flayer. There hasn’t really been a point.

“And you guys?” Lucas finishes. “El calls me, like, once every two weeks, so I know a little bit about Will, but Dustin’s always just talking about marine biology, which isn’t any help.” He grins a little. “But I saw that Mikey-boy has an article out! A big one, huh?”  “Yeah,” Mike tries to tamp down a proud smile. “I didn’t really do anything. The story happened to fall to me, and I did the interviews and wrote the article.”

“He’s being humble,” Will counters, standing. “Mike’s a really good reporter. Now, I have to use the bathroom, so I’ll be right back.” He makes his way to the back, and Mike watches him until he turns the corner.

Instantly, Lucas leans across the table. “So. How are you guys?”

“We just told you,” Mike replies, confused. “Fine. Jobs are fi—”

“No, not the jobs,” Lucas dismisses. “I mean you guys. As humans. Living together still working out and everything? You… I don’t know, dating anyone?”

“No,” Mike says, maybe a little too quick for his own liking, but there’s something in Lucas’s tone that makes him nervous. Lucas doesn’t seem to notice. “I mean, living together is fine. Good. Saves money, and we get along, obviously. My job makes enough, and Will gets those government subsidies. But dating… no, not that. Too busy, I guess, and El and I didn’t carry on like you and Max did. Again. Obviously. You knew that, you were there.” God, he’s rambling for no reason. Will better get back soon, because he’s making a fool of himself.

As if on cue, Will appears from the back of the diner, smoothing down his shirt. He drops back into his seat in the booth, next to Mike. “Alright, where were we? Did I miss anything?”

“Not really, I—who, dude!” Lucas cuts himself off, eyebrows shooting up. Will looks vaguely startled by his rapid reaction. “Your nose is bleeding.”

“Oh, shit.” Mike’s startled by Will’s curse, because he doesn’t really do it, but the amount of blood pooling on Will’s upper lip probably does warrant it. He snatches up a napkin and hands it to Will, who pinches his nose with it.

“What happened?” Mike asks.

“No clue,” Will replies, muffled through the napkin. “It’s kind of dry out, that’s always what Hopper said makes some people’s noses bleed.”

“Speaking of a Hopper,” Lucas says. “El told me a little bit about that project of yours, using the lab systems to find the others. Tell me about it. As much as you can, I know it’s classified.”

Will grins around the napkin. “Oh, you’re gonna love it.”

And Mike listens, because he really does want to hear about this.

The next day, he arrives at work to find an unfamiliar boy at his desk.

“Uh, hi,” he says, and when the boy turns around Mike takes a step back. He looks terrible—sixteen or seventeen at the oldest, bruise on his cheek, cuts and scratches up his neck and onto his face.

“Hi,” the boy replies. “You’re Michael Wheeler?”

“Yep.”

“Good. Hi. I need to talk to you about the man, the man in the dark. He saved my life last night.”

“Look, Will, are you sure El didn’t know him?” Mike pesters. “I know I said it could just be a normal guy. But someone else saw the shadowy guy yesterday, barely a block from where we were with Lucas! And he gave some pretty good descriptions, and. I just. I really think he has powers.” He sighs, running a hand through his hair. “The kid today, James, said that this guy was… shrouded in smoke. He could disappear and reappear places, and the smoke could hold things and move stuff. And he said the guy attacking him… James said it looked like he thought he was going insane, like the shadow man was talking to him up here.” He taps his head. “I don’t know. Just. Maybe I should call El.”

“She said no, Mike,” Will insists. “Look, I’ll ask her to look into it again if you want. But maybe you should let it go. Maybe this guy is covering himself in smoke for a reason, so no one knows who he is. His face is always in shadow, right?” He sounds uncertain, like he’s not sure what to say. That puzzles Mike, because Will is always calm and collected. Ever since the Mind Flayer, Will just… knows. He knows what to do. Maybe being so close to dying gave him perspective or something, but it doesn’t matter because the bottom line is that being uncertain isn’t Will’s forte. Mike… he has to wonder what Will doesn’t want him knowing about the shadow. If maybe he knows something he shouldn’t.

“Shadow,” Mike mutters. “Yeah.”

His next piece is titled just that.

SHADOW: New York’s Silent Hero

And people read it.

Including, it appears, all the way in Amsterdam.

“Hello?” he says into the phone. Will’s out grocery shopping, and Lucas and Max are probably out at some bar, so Mike is eating dinner by himself in the kitchen.

“Mike Wheeler!” an angry voice yells, and he winces, pulling it away from his ear.

“El?” he asks. “Uh. Hi?”

“Your… article! Dad called me and told me about the… the Shadow! You should have told me sooner. I can’t look at our research until I get back from Europe!”

“You’re in Europe?”

“Amsterdam. Yes. Tracking down a lead on Six. That’s not the point. Why didn’t you call?”

“I…” Then he realizes. “I thought Will did.”

“Well, he didn’t.”

“He said he did.”

“He… what?”

Mike suddenly feels numb. “He lied to me.” It’s unreal. “He lied to me.”

“Mike,” El says, suddenly sounding hesitant. “Mike, just think for a minute—”  “He lied.” He lowers the phone. “El. I’ll call you back.”

“No, no, Mike, maybe Will is—”

He puts the phone back into the cradle and grabs his jacket. The door slams shut behind him.

He runs down the street, in the direction of the store Will said he was going to, thoughts going by as fast as his feet are taking him.

Because Will lied to him. And the thought crosses his mind—maybe Will is the Shadow. The heroics make sense. But he can’t be, because Will doesn’t have powers, hasn’t shown any sort of ability in the ten-plus years the Upside Down has been open to him.

So it can’t be him. But. Will knows something.

A yell catches Mike’s attention and he skids to a stop, backtracking slightly to glance down an alley. And—

There’s a man in there, a young girl scrambling back, as the shadowy figure puts distance between them.

It takes Mike’s breath away for a moment—the interviews really didn’t do his appearance justice. The shadows are inky, darker than the night sky, spiraling around to safely shield the girl and trap the man. His feet don’t seem to touch the floor, and his eyes are pinpricks of light in the dark. It’s—something. It’s really something.

The girl finally makes it to Mike, but she doesn’t stop. She stumbles to her feet and runs, and that’s when the man turns—probably to catch his target before she can leave.

Instead, he sees Mike.

Mike hears the gun before he sees it—a bang and then a flash of dark metal. He’s ninety-nine percent sure it’s a killing shot and there’s not even enough time to brace himself and then—

It stops. The bullet stops, midair. And then it drops to the ground.

“Put the gun down,” Shadow says, and his voice is really terribly familiar, laced with an echoey tone that makes him sound a million miles away, “or I will make you.”

The man doesn’t do it, frozen in place, glaring.

“Put it down,” he repeats, and the man’s hands shake a little but don’t let go.

“Fuck outta here,” the man swears, entire body taut like a stretched rubber band. Shadow glares at him and he twitches violently. “Get out of my head!”

“Your mind is strong, I’ll give you that,” Shadow says. He tips his chin down and the gun throws itself out of the man’s hand, clatters to the ground. “Sleep.”

And that’s really all it takes. The man drops like a brick.

Shadow kneels down and touches his forehead, black fingerprint staying marked on skin for a moment before fading. Then he turns to Mike, face shrouded in black mist. “Don’t worry,” he says. “He’s not dead. Just forgetting.”

And that echo is gone, so Mike can hear his voice—his real voice.

“Will?” he says, hating how his voice trembles.

The shadows drop, abruptly dissipating into the night. Will’s feet come back down that half inch until he’s standing flat on the ground. He looks just like he always does as he takes a hesitant step forward. “Mike.”

Mike hears himself make a strangled noise. “How? When?”

“I don’t know,” Will says softly. “I think… this is something I’ve had for a really long time. But I couldn’t… I didn’t know I could do anything like this until recently. Not even El knows. I didn’t tell her.”

“You didn’t tell her,” Mike repeats. “She called me. Said—”

“I know,” Will interrupts. “I. I can hear the radios and telephones. I heard. I knew you were coming.” He smiles crookedly, apologetically. “I was hoping to get home before you could find me out here and yell at me, but. I got busy.” He sighs. “I didn’t mean for you to see this. I didn’t want you to know.”

“You lied,” Mike snaps. “You lied to me.”

“I’m sorry,” Will says helplessly. “Mike, really. I’m sorry. I just… I had to.” He closes his eyes for a minute, shakes his head. “I had to.”

“Why?” This is unfathomable to Mike. Will is and has always been an open book to him, and it hurts that Will would keep something like this from him.

Will doesn’t answer the question. “I can make you forget, if that’s what you want. I can erase the last hour from your memory. We could just… go back to before.”

“Is that what you want?” Mike asks, too stunned by the suggestion to process the revelation that Will can apparently do that. “You want to shut me out again? Why?”

“Maybe we should finish this conversation at home,” Will answers instead.

“But—” he starts, and then. If there’s one thing Mike knows, it’s not to push Will in a direction he doesn’t want to go. So he stops. “Okay.”

Will steps forward. “Don’t freak out, okay?”

“Wh—”

Will’s hand closes around Mike’s wrist and then they’re home, world dissolving and solidifying around them. He stumbles and Will catches him, pulling him close.

And, wow, they’re very close to each other.

“Whoa,” Mike breathes.

“I’ll be honest,” Will says, voice low, “I’ve never tried that with another person before.”

Mike’s brain isn’t working, so of course his mind jumps to their ongoing, unpleasant conversation. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Will’s grip loosens, eyes darting to the floor, and Mike finds his own balance. “I was scared,” Will says simply. “This… thing I do, the helping people… it can be dangerous. When I saw you were writing the articles, I guess I freaked out even more. I want you to be safe.” He takes a deep breath, and when he lets it out it appears as dark smoke. He frowns, annoyed, and waves it away. “And in the beginning, I didn’t know what was going on, what was wrong with me. I know how you feel about Kali, how… dark her powers can get, and I… I didn’t want you to think that about me; think less of me.” He finally looks back up at Mike, eyes meeting. “I didn’t want you to look at me any differently.”

“I would never,” Mike says earnestly. Because this revelation doesn’t change anything. He’s still Mike and Will is still Will, and they’ve been best friends and they still live together and work well and Mike still loves him.

“You’re already doing it,” Will counters quietly. “You didn’t see your face back in the alley. You don’t see your face right now. You’re looking at me like… like…” He trails off, frustrated. “I don’t know. Like how we all looked at El when she killed Brenner. Like she’d done something good, but also something horribly irreversible.” He sighs harshly, rubbing a hand over his face. “It was stupid of me to suggest wiping your memory. I just… don’t know if I could handle you looking at me, knowing what I can do.”

“Hey.” Mike acts without thinking, stepping forward and taking Will’s face into his hands. “You’re still Will, alright? If I’m looking at you differently it’s because circumstances are different, not you. You’re still you. I could never think less of you. And I forgive you, because I understand.” He takes a breath. “And I love you.”

And. Oh. He hadn’t realized it until he said it. That’s a thing. He’d almost forgotten because… it just hadn’t been an issue. He’s pushed it back for so long. But right now… Will is really close. Really close. In-Mike’s-hands close.

Will’s expression is guarded and cold, like he’s trying to distance himself, but there’s pink present high on his cheeks. “Oh.”

Which isn’t an answer Mike had really expected. “Will,” he says.

“Mike,” he responds.

Mike swallows. Hard. Christ, he’s going to do it. “Tell me if… if I overstep, alright?”

Will nods, and Mike just. Goes for it. He kisses Will, firmly, and yeah, Mike’s in love with him. Shadow powers and nightmares and quietness and all. And Will’s not pulling away, either.

“Are you disappointed?”

Mike frowns. They’re tangled up together on the couch, the TV on with the volume low. “What?”

Will shrugs, shoulder digging into Mike’s side. “The… Shadow. You called him a hero, in your article, and I’m just—I’m not that. Are you disappointed that it’s me?”

“Why would I be?” Mike asks, perplexed. “Will. He’s a hero, and my career kind of rests on him for the moment, but you. You’re incredible. You’ve been a hero for forever. I’m glad it’s you.”

Will shifts a little, leaning up, and Mike can see his grin in the dark. “I love you,” Will says, and Mike feels like his heart is going to combust.

“I love you, too.” Maybe it’s too early to be at the ‘I-love-you’ stage, after not even two hours of feelings being out in the open. Maybe they shouldn’t be as stupidly love-struck as Mike definitely is.

But maybe, Mike thinks as he leans down to kiss Will again, maybe this has been years in the making.

Thanks for reading, everyone! Leave me a comment if you’d like. My other stories are here.

#stranger things #stranger things season 2 #byeler #byler #mike wheeler #will byers #Lucas Sinclair #eleven #el hopper #jane hopper #fanfic #fanfiction #long post #logan writes stranger things stuff

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rksora · 6 years

Text

❤ ◞ HI EVERYONE ! ❤ ◞

i dropped a notice on twitter days ago but i’m happy to finally bring in a new character! this is my lil’ jiwon and she’s absolutely harmless if a little more than the usual pessimistic but that doesn’t mean she’s a soil sport (even though she can be), she’s tries her absolute and i mean really hard to not be ( but if you start throwing the word love in her direction, she’s going to spout some very debbie downer preachin’ realism on your ass )

i’d love to get some plots going as well as random starters! so please reply with your favorite or now playing song and i’ll whip some up for you. or if you like this post, i’ll come to you! ( after i answer messages of course which as everyone knows takes me 32492341 years )

also, below the cut are some facts about lil’ miss rain and no shine as well as tiny plots that can be nitpicked from those tidbits ❤

❤ ◞ ALL ABOUT PARK JIWON ! ❤ ◞

❤ ◞ park jiwon ⇢ nineteen ‘99 ⇢ pisces

❤ ◞ she’s a child born out of wedlock, her dad knocked her mom up and didn’t take responsibility. her mom remarried and she has a half brother ⇢ if anyone has a deadbeat dad who could have cheated on their mom with jiwon’s mom, please !!!!! COME AT ME !!! THIS WOULD BE AMAZING !!!! give jiwon some half siblings like fuck Ruin her Life ⇢ childhood friends who know her as the girl always saying “i’ll tell my dad on you!!!” ⇢ got picked on at the beginning of her life because she only had her mom and it was obvious her Dad wasn’t in the picture (lasted until she was seven because her mom remarried and her New Dad was actually super sweet and doting but jiwon didn’t care because it wasn’t her Real dad) ⇢ she had a rocky childhood because of her own making, her family did everything they could to fill the hole in her heart but jiwon is stubborn and she wants what she can’t have

❤ ◞ she has major daddy issues, so let’s not talk about that -- even jiwon doesn’t talk about it ⇢ she’s probably told like two people, ( preferably best friends )

❤ ◞ she works full time ( probably more than she should ) at this thrift shop in hongdae ⇢ she’s pass along her discount bc that’s what friends are for ⇢ there’s also a dog named mayo that sleeps in a basket at the counter. he’s not sick, he’s just lazy. ⇢ she’s practically a Golden employee aside from her spontaneous kpop karaoke sessions that go on via the intercom, some customers have complained but others fill her tip jar ⇢ she can’t really sing, she’s more like saying everything in a higher pitch than her regular speaking voice but girl can spit a rhyme -- watch her mimic the smtm rappers, she can do it ⇢ “they love me!” ⇢ “no -- they’re paying you to stop for the love of god.”

❤ ◞ she’s actually really into fashion but she’s literally a cross between dressing so eccentrically or horrendously, that’s what happens when you work at a thrift shop and on top of it get a 30% discount ⇢ she could have been a fashion ig personality but her ig is p much full of indie-esque film caps ⇢ “how does this one sound -- ‘they’ll never catch me ... i’m fucking innocent.’” ⇢ “how you think owen wilson looked hot in that movie, i’ll never understand.” ⇢ “it’s the nose.” ⇢ “jiwon -- it’s never the nose.”

❤ ◞ she’s also a 365 daily vlogger; she’s not famous but you’ve probably seen her around talking to the camera as if anyone actually cared ⇢ youtube channel: @jiwonahhh ⇢ catch her at your work place, at her work place, yabbering on! ⇢ maybe she was spending a little too long loitering and you had to kick her out ⇢ if you’re a friend, you’ve definitely been shown on her channel whether through an actual thorough video or a 1sec frame ⇢ “jiwon, please put the camera down.” ⇢ “but the light is so nice right now!” ⇢ “what the fuck -- you don’t know jack shit about lighting, stop.”

❤ ◞ she actually has a dull outlook on life, didn’t really have a lot of aspirations; when asked what she wanted to do after high school she literally said, “stay alive.” (so maybe she’s like 2% optimistic and 98% full of survival instinct) ⇢ high school friends, wanted! (i don’t have a high school that she could have attended planned so we can plot for that) ⇢ she’s actually really Sad but she’s also really good at hiding it and can honestly make you think wtf is this girl have an unlimited supply of endorphins ⇢ correction: she has 20% of endorphins, the other 80% is Sad and Pain and Why Am I Not Good Enough

❤ ◞ when you first meet her she seems like a ray of sunshine, always talking, suggesting things to do ( most so she can film and put it on her channel and seem like she’s doing something with her life ) ⇢ catch her off guard and watch her fall into misery.

❤ ◞ she’s a debbie downer when you get close to her and can get real emo when you start talking about issues ⇢ ie. family, love, future, dreams ( pretty much anything off the surface and deep ) ⇢ default answer, “bro, it’s not that deep.”

❤ ◞ she actually wanted to go to college but she has like zero dinero so that was out of the question ⇢ if she actually got to go she would have wanted to be in one of the art majors like film, art history, or something like music theory ⇢ but she likes hanging out at campuses bc Aesthetic and because it makes her feel like Someone, did i mention she’s a Fake

❤ ◞ in high school she was part of the dance club ⇢ she does dance covers in her spare time now and posts it on her not Popular youtube channel ⇢ high school fact: she was nicknamed ‘dimples’ because *surprise* she has very deep dimples

❤ ◞ she’s at the movies literally every weekend, whether it’s for some indie film, mainstream superhero movie or dramatic korean romcom ⇢ “you, again? don’t you have a life?” ⇢ “why do i need a life, the one’s in the movies are so much more interesting.”

❤ ◞ she can be found at the conveince store near her apartment late at night eating midnight snacks (her favorite these days due to the god-awful heat: ice pops) ⇢ have yet to decide on a district to put the girl in so please anyone who needs a roommate! ⇢ or if you’re in need of a neighbor, jiwon isn’t a bad one! ⇢ neighbor and roommate plots galore !!!

❤ ◞ in her spare time ( if she’s not vlogging, going to the movies, or sulking at convenience stores ), she’s volunteering at the animal shelters ⇢ is that friend who preaches ‘adopt, don’t shop!’ ⇢ is also that friend that stops at the front of a pet shop and makes happy faces at the pets

❤ ◞ she tried to go Vegan but the bulgogi too Bomb ⇢ she also saw these leather boots at the thrift shop and going Vegan was Out of the Question ⇢ “it’s hard to be fashionable and animal friendly, i want to be both!” ⇢ “you’re hardly fashionable to begin with --” ⇢ “(insert gasp) i’ll pretend me and my vintage gucci didn’t hear that.”

#❥ ┊ tying red strings .#this was long and i really don't expect you to read all of it but you all get a mod-approved pink star from me if you do #i'm still trying to follow everyone zzzz we are a Lot of people and we could build an Army

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pray4byron · 2 months

Note

This is for your Hazbin matchup!

Hi! My name is Aster. Im bisexual and demisexual. I mostly think romantically about male characters fyi. I’m a huge theater kid, would like to go into directing/playwriting. I’m quite reserved and don’t like loud environments. Would rather stay home and read than go out drinking. I sit in the corner writing an entire script into my notebook from memory.

I have ADHD and many symptoms of autism.

I cannot understand sarcasm most of the time, and I need to take most everything seriously. You can find me picking at my finger pads all the time and having violent mental breakdowns because I can’t figure out a math problem :). I either sleep til 3pm or not at all

Style: Some say I dress like Kurt Cobain. I cannot go anywhere without my shirt tucked in, a musical sweater, and my tote bag. My earbuds are my security item. I have medium length brown hair, hazel eyes, kinda big nose, braces and glasses.

I have huge daddy issues. I’ve seen Zal Owen as a father figure for as long as I can remember. I don’t have any siblings and am not close at all with any family other than my parents.

Love: I love physical touch!! Kiss me, cuddle me, hold by hand, etc. I also love acts of service. I’m such a sucker for romance and intimacy. Like, let me sit so close in public that I can smell your gum. Rose filled bubble bath just for us, hell yeah. I’m so used to being forgotten or discarded socially so I just kinda need THAT person to actually give a shit. I’ve had my heart constantly broken since I was eight. I need a lot of reassurance and care. I’d like a partner/bestie who is invested in my special interests (can talk to about a show, can harmonize properly with, etc). I’m very very clingy, let’s just say that. I can talk for literal hours about my interests and tell you all the info you need about anything Broadway.

I like to see the good in everyone, and will always try my best to help and be the one to love and support others when they’re not getting any, even if we’re strangers. There are some people I just loathe, though.

Hobbies: I play piano and ukulele. I have huge appreciation for music, and love analyzing it. I love writing and sketching, though I’m not the best at either. I just watch a lot of YouTube and sing a lot of showtunes outside alone on my swings after a long day of socializing.

hey aster!! this was an extremely hard tie between two characters haha, but in the end, i went with…

Angel Dust !!

I can totally see you and Angel spending a shit ton of money on musical tickets to just go out and see a bunch of shows

As much as he can be a party animal, he’s willing to stay in for the night just as much as an introvert, Angel’s 100% ready to snuggle up with you and Fat Nuggets and watch shitty Rom Coms and Hamilton (or whatever musical peaks your fancy haha)

Angel has been through his fair share of tough shit, and he’s always willing to reassure you whenever you need it, you both pick eachother up when in hard places a lot <3

He’s also entirely willing to listen to you rant on and on about whatever’s on your mind, believe it or not, but Angel Dust isn’t a bad listener, he’s actually pretty damn good at it

#reqs closed #x reader #mio’s writing ! ☆#mio’s matchups ! ☆#fanfiction #hazbin hotel #x y/n #x you #hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin hotel x y/n #hazbin hotel x you #angel dust hazbin hotel #angel dust x reader #hazbin hotel angel dust #hazbin hotel angel #angel dust #angel

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justsomebucky · 7 years

Text

A Little Dream

Summary: AU. What happens when a dream changes your reality?

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader

Word Count: 3,778

Warnings: language, self-consciousness, fluff, mentions of cheating

A/N: Hi guys! I’m so sorry I’ve been off the radar for over a month now. I got wrapped up in some personal stuff + had really bad writer’s block. I hope you guys still enjoy my writing! This is my submission for @jurassicbarnes‘s One Year Blog Anniversary Challenge. My prompt was 27: “You don’t remember last night at all, do you?” Inspired by the song “Dream a Little Dream of Me.”

Your phone buzzed on the passenger seat as you parked your car. You didn’t even need to look at the screen to know that it was probably Natasha and she had probably heard what happened by now.

“Hello?”

“I really hate Owen!”

You flinched at her tone, your eyes flickering to the window as little droplets of rain began to hit the glass. “I don’t hate him. I pity him.”

“Are you at the restaurant?”

“Yes.”

There were other cars sitting in the lot around you, though there were no patrons just yet. This location didn’t open for another hour, but you had no desire to go back to your apartment right now.

He was still there cleaning out his stuff.

“That’s all you have to say about this?” Natasha’s voice was harsh in your ear. “You can’t just text me that and not give details, Y/N.”

“What does it matter?” you asked idly, watching a particularly bold raindrop absorb others in its path. Just like Owen…always destroying things. “He cheated. I found out. It’s over.”

You heard Natasha sigh on the other end of the line. “I’m really sorry.”

“Don’t be. I��m not.” It pained you a little to admit that, but it was the truth. “I knew it wasn’t going to last much longer anyways.”

“Why? Were you fighting a lot?”

“No. I just…had a feeling.”

“A feeling?”

That was enough about Owen. “What time are you guys getting here?”

The whole purpose of this evening was to celebrate your friend Steve’s promotion at work. He was now a senior partner at a law firm that focused on human rights. The gig was perfect for Steve, and you were proud to know him.

“Steve said Sharon’s running a little late, last I checked. I’m here with Sam and we’re just about to hop in a taxi.”

“Who else is going? I forget.”

“Um, well…Bucky is going to be there with his date, too. I think her name is Maya.”

Your stomach did a little flip, but you ignored it. “I thought he was single?”

“He didn’t want to be the only one without a date,” she said softly.

Bucky Barnes was such an enigma these days. You met him about a year ago, before Owen, when Steve and Sharon invited you to the theatre. Bucky was there too, and you were pretty sure they meant for it to be a double date.

You developed a crush on him pretty quickly. Who wouldn’t? He was handsome, polite, had the cutest smile ever…but when the two of you were sitting beside each other, it was like he shut down. He barely looked at you after the first intermission.

To say you were feeling blue over the situation was an understatement, and you tried to get over your stupid crush by avoiding Bucky whenever he was around. If he noticed, he never mentioned it to anyone.

Then Owen showed up in your life, and blah blah blah…

Not that you deserved what happened to you, though...no one deserved that.

“Joke’s on him! Now I’m the seventh wheel.” You pinched the bridge of your nose lightly. “I’m just going to sit here and wait for you guys, okay? I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Okay. See you soon.”

It didn’t seem like very long after you hung up with Natasha that you heard a tap on the window.

You lifted your head and saw one Bucky Barnes standing there. He gestured for you to get out of the car.

Clearly, you’d taken a nap by accident.

What the hell was he doing here? And where was his date, that Maya woman?

You opened the door, carefully placing your feet on the ground as you glanced around.

The rain had stopped, leaving behind small puddles that now reflected moonlight from the night sky. Yep, the sun had already gone down, and now it was time for dinner.

It struck you as completely out of character for him to be the one to come get you. Where was Natasha? Had everyone else left already?

“Bucky? Did…did I miss dinner?”

Bucky let out a small chuckle, holding his hand to help you up. “No, you didn’t miss dinner. Steve and Sharon just arrived a minute or so ago.”

You accepted his hand gratefully, knowing that your sleep-addled brain was not yet capable of standing up without getting a little dizzy. “I must have fallen asleep in my car.”

“You probably needed the rest,” he reasoned, holding you steady.

Once you were safely on the sidewalk, he shut the door behind you. “I heard about what happened. I’m sorry.”

You locked your car and slipped the key in in your bag. Owen was the last thing you wanted to discuss. “Don’t be. I’m not, especially in light of what happened.”

The tone of your voice ended that particular conversation.

The two of you walked in silence until you reached the restaurant’s double glass doors, where he turned to you with a sheepish look.

“Listen, I’ve been thinking, and...I want to leave it up to you. We can go in there right now and I’ll drop the subject forever, or we can go somewhere else and give it a try, but you have to decide. I don’t have much time.”

What. The actual. Fuck?

This had to be the most Bucky had said to you in months, so naturally it didn’t make any damn sense.

“No time for what? You just said we didn’t miss the dinner?”

Bucky smiled at your misinterpretation. “Not Steve’s celebration dinner, doll. That’s still happening. I meant I don’t have much time to make my case.”

“Your case?” You wrinkled your nose at him. Exactly how long had you been asleep? “Are you a lawyer now, too?”

“No.” He reached out and clasped your hand gently in his. “But it’s not a bad analogy. I feel like this is my last chance to plead my case. Will you go with me?”

His touch sent a shiver down your spine, which only confused you further. “Go where? You’re not making any sense, Bucky.”

“Y/N, I want to give us another chance. I want -“ He stopped himself, looking over his shoulder and into the restaurant. His blue eyes flitted back to yours. “What I want doesn’t matter in the end if you don’t want it, too.”

“Where is this coming from, Bucky? We kinda sorta had a date a long time ago, and you didn’t seem the least bit interested in me. Besides, didn’t you come here with a date?” You glanced around again. “Where’s Maya?”

“I don’t have much time,” he repeated, giving your hand a light squeeze to get your attention back. “Please, just one more chance. I promise, if you don’t enjoy yourself, we don’t have to ever discuss this again.”

He looked so earnest, so hopeful in that moment that you couldn’t bear to say no.

You nodded at him. What was there to lose? “All right, Bucky. One more chance.”

The grin he gave you would have melted even the coldest heart. He held onto your hand as the two of you spun away from the restaurant and over to the street to hail a taxi.

It felt wild and rebellious and completely out of character for you, but maybe that’s exactly what you needed after the day you had.

Much to your surprise, Bucky had the driver drop you both off near the waterfront. There was a little bistro there, complete with elegant outdoor tables and a jazz singer on a small stage. As if the stars above you weren’t enough of a light show, there were fairy lights hanging over a makeshift dance floor.

You had no idea this place existed; it looked like something out of a fairy tale.

“This is beautiful,” you breathed, taking everything in as the two of you were seated. Thankfully, the table and chairs had been dried from the earlier rainstorm.

“If you get cold let me know.” Bucky gave you another quick smile as he picked up the wine list then ordered something that sounded fancy. “I hope you like a sweet red wine.”

“I do.” Your eyes shifted over his shoulder to the singer, who sounded a lot like Etta James. “How did you find this place?”

“I jog along the waterfront sometimes, and I just happened to notice this the other morning. I’m glad I did.”

“Me too.” Your eyes flickered back to his. “Thanks for inviting me out. I think I really needed this, though I feel bad for ditching Steve on his big night. I can’t believe the others haven’t tried to call or text us.”

“I might have told Steve my plan,” he admitted. The tips of his ears turned red, which you thought was really cute. “He encouraged me to ask you.”

Dinner went by far too quickly, and you found yourself wishing that the evening would last a little longer. Bucky paid the check, though, and as he stood up, you let out a sigh and grabbed your bag.

Behind him, the jazz singer began to sing a slow, sweet melody, and your attention shifted back to the stage. You absolutely loved this song.

Bucky noticed your head turn and nudged you gently. “Would you like to dance before we go?”

“Um…” You shifted your bag on your shoulder, feeling a little awkward. “Sure.”

Bucky gently grabbed your bag and set it behind a planter, then twirled you once in his arms, pulling you so close that you could see the fairy lights reflecting in his eyes. The two of you were off in your own little world, one of only three couples dancing.

“Better?”

“Much,” you murmured. Where was all this coming from? Where did he learn to dance like this? When had he decided that you were right for him?

When had you come to that very same conclusion?

It had to be the atmosphere, the music, the lights…maybe even the wine. They were all messing with your head, stirring up feelings you’d long suppressed for a man you couldn’t seem to forget.

You felt so wanted in that moment.

Bucky was so warm, so solid, you couldn’t help but rest your head on his shoulder as he moved you around the makeshift dance floor. His arms held you a little tighter, and he began to sing the words softly in your ear as you closed your eyes.

“But in your dreams, whatever they be…dream a little dream of me.”

You kept your eyes shut, as if that would stop time for a little while. You didn’t want this perfect night to end just yet.

Somewhere in the back of your mind, you knew that your phone was ringing yet again. It was ringing, and you wanted nothing more than to shut it up.

With a low grumble and a hazy mind, you opened one eye and then the other, reaching for your phone.

“Yes?”

“Y/N? Are you okay?”

“Yes,” you replied, sitting up a little. You blinked in confusion as you realized you were sitting in the driver’s seat of your car again. “What time is it?”

“It’s nearly eight. I thought you said you were here already?”

“I- what?” You rubbed your eyes and blinked a couple more times.

How the hell were you back in your car? Why would Bucky leave you in your car after a night like that?

Your eyes widened when you realized the truth…

It was all a dream.

You groaned, smacking your forehead gently. “I fell asleep in my car. I had…the strangest dream ever.”

“Oh yeah? What happened in this strange dream?”

“I’ll just tell you later.” You didn’t want to share the details just yet, if at all. You wanted that to be just for you, as you tried to grasp exactly what happened and why it felt so real.

“Well hurry up, we’re all in the entrance waiting for you.” The call ended, and you frowned down at your phone.

A quick glance in the mirror left you satisfied that your hair and makeup still looked all right. The only evidence that you’d been asleep at all was the line on your cheek from resting it on your car door.

You opened the car and got out, feeling like this all happened once before with Bucky Barnes.

It had felt so real. You couldn’t shake the feeling of dream Bucky’s arms around you...the sight of his blue eyes twinkling as he smiled at you...the sound of his voice as he sang in your ear...

Natasha was standing closest to the door, and she opened it for you with a curious look on her face. “Hey, Y/N.”

“Natasha,” you replied, giving her a nod. Sam was right beside her and greeted you a big hug, then Sharon, and finally Steve. Tonight was for him, you reminded yourself.

“Congratulations, Steve! I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks,” he replied, beaming at you. “I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to help even more people across the world.”

“Such a hero,” Sharon commented warmly, taking his arm to gently lead him away from the door. “Y/N, Bucky and his date are running late, so he told us to go ahead and get seated.”

You tried not to react. “Sounds good.”

Dread washed over you, and you couldn’t quite shake it. You didn’t want to see Bucky with someone else. You didn’t want to see him smile at this other woman, not after the romantic night you had just shared, even if it was all in your mind.

The dream had renewed your hope, though you’d never admit it aloud. No, they would just think you were nuts.

After the others sat down, you situated yourself on the end so that Bucky might sit near you.

You had nearly downed an entire flute of champagne by the time you caught sight of Bucky glancing around the room near the greeter.

Steve noticed him too, and lifted a hand to wave him over.

You quickly averted your eyes, wishing you had stayed in your car and driven away. How could you ever look at him the same way now?

“Where’s Maya?” you heard Natasha ask bluntly.

Your hopeful eyes glanced up to see that Bucky was definitely alone. Maybe luck was on your side, after all.

“I, uh…didn’t actually ask her out,” Bucky supplied, pulling out the chair across from you and sitting down. His eyes met yours over the centerpiece, and he gave you a small smile.

Ugh, it was just like your dream.

That damn look on his face was doing things to you, and you didn’t know how to read it. What was reality and what was all in your head? Though you specialized in overthinking, it was only working against you tonight.

“Hi, Y/N. How are you?”

Oh shit…now he was talking directly to you.

Calm down…this is what you wanted…right?

“I’m fine. You?”

Very original.

What if the two of you really don’t have anything to talk about because you have nothing in common?

What if your dream has totally warped your brain and you embarrass yourself in front of him?

What if, what if, what if?

But when Bucky’s smile widened, and he leaned over to tell you about his day, you found yourself eager to hear every word. The two of you chatted like it was natural, like it was something you did every day. Appetizers and salad arrived, but that didn’t slow your conversation down. It felt easy, and that had nothing to do with the dream.

There’s no way these feelings were manufactured by your subconscious.

No, apparently you still had a thing for your friend Bucky.

He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry about things with Owen.”

You looked up from your salad bowl, trying to keep your expression neutral. “I’m not. It wasn’t working out.”

“Oh.” Bucky nodded, pushing a cherry tomato around his salad bowl. “I guess sometimes you just know.”

I know how it feels to be held by you. I know what your voice sounds like when you sing in my ear. I know...

You silently told your brain to stuff it.

“Sorry things didn’t work out with you and - I’m sorry, I forget her name already.”

“Maya,” he replied, setting his fork down. “And I knew that wasn’t going to work out, either. It was over before it started.”

“Good old instinct.” You could practically feel your face heat up as you looked away. It took everything in you not to excuse yourself and hide in the restroom for a while. Who says that? Could you be more awkward and obvious? Ugh, you just –

“I’m going to get some air,” you announced, standing up so suddenly you nearly knocked your salad bowl over. You felt like you were going to crawl out of your skin. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

“I think I’ll join you,” Bucky said, standing up and making a move to follow you.

Great. Now you had to be alone with him when you were trying to escape.

Why did you have to dream about him?

Out of nowhere, this stupid thing your brain imagined became the only thing your heart wanted, and you resented everything. Why were you always like this? You had such an obsessive personality sometimes...

On top of all that, it felt like the events of the dream had all happened last night, and you were the only one left to remember.

What a curse.

The chilly night air caused goosebumps on your skin almost immediately after you opened the glass door and stepped onto the sidewalk. Bucky must have noticed, because he pulled his sport jacket off and offered it to you right away.

“Thanks,” you told him as he gently placed the jacket over your shoulders.

“You’re welcome.”

The two of you stood in silence for a moment, moving further to the side when a large group of people piled out of a van to make their way inside. You turned and saw a little bench a few feet away, then looked back at Bucky. “Wanna sit?”

“Sure.”

He followed you to the bench, which was conveniently placed in between two small trees decorated in fairy lights. You sighed, remembering the brilliantly lit dance floor from your dream.

“You okay?”

“You don’t remember last night at all, do you?” You glanced over at Bucky, your eyes searching his for any kind of recognition even though you knew it was stupid.

Nothing happened last night. It wasn’t real.

He hadn’t shared your dream.

“Last night?” He scratched his chin, his brows furrowing in confusion.

You chuckled, shaking your head as you looked away. Who knew that an impromptu pre-dinner nap in your car could cause such a change of heart?

“Never mind. Don’t mind me. I’ve just had some champagne, it’s been a long, emotional day…you know how it is…”

“That guy – Owen.” Bucky practically spat your ex-boyfriend’s name. “He didn’t deserve you, doll. He never did.”

“I know.” The corner of your mouth lifting a little. “He was a cheating asshole.”

“Total piece of shit.”

You let out another laugh, looking down at your hands on your lap. Another stretch of silence filled the space between you, but this one didn’t feel as awkward.

“Do you want to go out sometime?” Bucky blurted out, turning his entire body toward you on the bench. “With me, I mean. Do you want to go out with me?”

Your eyes snapped to his in shock.

Had you heard him right?

His blue eyes sparkled under the fairy lights, just like in your dream, and you found yourself feeling a little dizzy.

Were you still dreaming? Were you in a goddamn coma?

He took your silence and expression to mean something else, though. “I’m sorry, I know it’s out of nowhere, and you just got out of a relationship, and it ended badly, and I’m rambling, but I- I just…”

You kept your eyes locked on his, silently waiting for him to go on.

“I’ve been kicking myself since that night at the theatre,” Bucky admitted quietly, glancing around as if to make sure no one else was in listening distance. His gaze met yours again. “I’ve been reliving it in my head lately, wishing I could have a do-over.”

This was certainly news to you. “What happened that night, Bucky? Why did you clam up?”

“I got nervous,” he admitted, shaking his head as if he couldn’t believe it himself. “I fucked it all up, and then you met that douchebag, and…” His voice trailed off.

You leaned back, trying to hide your movements as you pinched your arm.

Nope, definitely not dreaming this time.

“You deserve better, Y/N. And I think I could be the person who…well, I know it sounds strange, but I just keep thinking if I do it right this time, we could have something special.” Bucky shook his head, looking a little mortified at his own honesty. “Never mind. It’s way too soon. I’m sorry, I-“

“I’d love to go out with you,” you interrupted before he could say something self-deprecating and walk away from you again. “How does tomorrow night sound? Maybe we could check out the bistro down by the waterfront.”

You didn’t even know if that place really existed, but he didn’t question it.

The grin that real-life Bucky gave you rivaled that of his dream counterpart. “Really? That sounds perfect.”

“Great. It’s a date,” you said happily, sagging against the bench in relief. It was almost as if deep down, you knew something amazing would happen tonight. Way to go, brain.

Just for good measure, you pinched your arm again.

Bucky stood after a minute, and just like in your dream, he offered you his hand. “We better get back inside. They’re gonna wonder where we are.”

“Probably,” you agreed, accepting his hand. He gently pulled you to your feet, and you handed his jacket back. “But that’s all right. This was worth any future interrogations.”

“I was convinced you’d say no,” Bucky commented, holding the door open for you. “I’ve never been happier to be wrong in my life.”

The two of you made your way back to the table, and Bucky’s fingers brushed yours ever-so-slightly before you moved back to your seat.

“Hey, Y/N,” Natasha said, leaning over Sam to speak to you. “Are you ever going to tell me about that dream you had earlier?”

“Nah,” you replied, sharing a look with Bucky. “Real life is far more interesting.”

Special thanks to Yvy and Bella and Noelia. <3

PERMA TAGS: (Closed) - if your URL couldn’t be tagged I removed it. @sprinkleofhappinessuniverse @blackcoffeeandgreenteaforme @alurea-actually @cassandras-musings @marvel-fanfiction @bluebrrn @simplyme8308 @cleanslates @ailynalonso15 @imnoaingeal @miss-jessi29 @kittthekat @indominusregina @wonder-carolina @littlenerdgirl16 @amrita31199 @sgtbxckybxrnes @melissalovesmusicyay @kcsavege4134 @lilasiannerd @hardcorehippos @buckyswinterchildren @hello-sweetie-get-the-salt @cosmic-avenger @mirkwood---princess @neverbeforgotten @minervaem @givemethatgold @assbutt-son-of-a-bitch @decemberftw @widowvinter @nolaimagines @notsoprettykitty @dracsgirl @hollycornish @feelmyroarrrr @ancchor @kithlin @heytherepartner @polkadottedpillowcase @johnmurphys-sass @aeillo @winterboobaer @kaaatniss @whyisbuckyso @super-daryl-dixon @wishingtobelost @capdanrogers @gallifreyansass @rockintensse @minaphobia @vaisabu @rchlnwtn @imamoose @ria132love @sofiadiaz04 @actual-bucky-barnes-trash @dolthiac @mytrueself @brooklyn-to-battlefields @dressedbutwellstressed @onceuponahiddleston @lady-thor-foster @netflixa @punk-rock-princess-626 @srgtjamesbarnes107 @multifandomizer

#manuswritingchallenge #bucky barnes x reader #bucky x reader #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes drabble #bucky barnes au

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cartoonmouse · 7 years

Photo

ANON SAID: 6 for merry and owen maybe?? Totally fine if you don't want to do it, I just think they'd be an interesting pairing

hey anon this is probably not what you were expecting but i have a habit of writing the dumbest plots for these prompts. also according to familyecho, glenmores and whitehills are distantly related, but at this point everyone in the AU is related in some way, so i don’t really give a shit *sunglasses emoji* ALSO i tried to keep owen in character, but i’m unable to do this and he might be OOC so ;-;...

Here they come.

Merry Whitehill peeked over her laptop screen, eyes narrowing as she spotted the group of rowdy boys entering the coffee shop. They pushed and shoved at each other, trading barbs and insults back and forth. Loud, invasive, cocky boys.

Merry huffed and returned to her work. Graphic design was kicking her ass this semester. The professor graded too hard, found her work twee and therefore mediocre. Her latest assignment was returned with a harsh, red “C”-- the plus only serving to taunt her. Merry had never gotten a C on anything let alone an art assignment. Art was her thing. The one thing she had that set her apart from her other towheaded siblings.

“Rowing team,” Boremund Moss said, looking over his shoulder at the boys. They leaned against the cafe counter, some of the them to flirt with the red-faced barista clumsily taking their orders. “They love to walk around like they own the whole place, don’t they?”

“You sound jealous,” Tabby Lake teased. She was bent over a notebook full of scribbles--poetry, she called it. “Didn’t you try out for the team earlier this year?”

“No,” Mund replied, sharply. “I wouldn’t join up with those idiots if you paid me.”

Merry rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. You’d kill to be one of those dick-swinging jackasses.”

“They throw all the best parties.” Tabby thoughtfully tapped her pen against her lips. “Get all the best girls.”

“Grades are shit,” Merry said. She tilted her head in the direction of one of the taller boys. His hair was a deep russet color, grin bright and troublesome. The sort of grin you stayed far away from if you knew any better. “That one’s in my geology class. Even dumber than the rocks.”

Tabby snorted into her tea. Mund reclined in his chair, hands behind his head, amused.

“Merry, you’re something else.”

“Good to know.”

Her voice dripped with sarcasm--residual annoyance from the C+. She felt it burning a hole in her backpack. Elyse and Karl wouldn’t have gotten a C+, she thought as she ripped up her napkin into jagged strips. Tabby gave her a concerned look which she ignored. Usually being around good friends and good coffee (with doughnuts) would cheer her up. The smell of hot chocolate, cinnamon, and vanilla wafting through the air only stung her nose and gave her a massive headache. Or maybe it was the douche canoes causing a ruckus only a few feet away. This was her space dammit. A pack of wild bros weren’t allowed to invade her space.

“I’m going to kill every last one of them,” she growled. “Put holes in the bottoms of their boats so they all sink to the bottom.”

“They’re not being too bad today.” Sometimes Tabby reminded her of her mother with the sweet, placating tone of her voice, the way she tried in vain to give everyone a fair shot. Merry, meanwhile, carried the Whitehill temper like a curse, and no one was safe.

“I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. For you.”

The words had not left her mouth before the entire rowing team decided to take over the table right behind Merry and her friends. Her shoulders hunched, wincing at the increase in noise levels. The boys yammered and guffawed at each other’s stupid jokes. One directly behind Merry “whispered” to the boy in her geology class, loud enough for the entire cafe to hear him.

“Nice ass on that one, right?” He was talking about the barista, Merry assumed. She gritted her teeth. She recalled nights out with Tabby where men had attempted to grope them and get their numbers afterwards. She would’ve kicked their asses if her friend hadn’t talked her off the ledge.

“Eh,” Dumber Than Rocks said. He took a long sip of his drink. “I’ve seen better.”

“Who?”

“Your sister’s.”

The table erupted as if Dumber Than Rocks had said the funniest thing they’d ever heard. One of them was due to keel over and die from laughter at any moment.

Across from Merry, Mund made a face, but kept doodling in the margins of his psych textbook. Tabby played with the string of her tea bag. She looked nervous. Like she knew…

“Hey--excuse me.” Merry had turned and tapped Dumber Than Rocks on the shoulder. She wore a sweet, artless expression--a look she had perfected over the years thanks to watching Karl and Roslin always get their ways with it. Thanks to Merry’s doe-eyed Bole features this came almost too easily.

Dumber Than Rocks eyed her with interest, his attention fully captured like a fish on a hook. Time to reel his ass in.

“You’re being a bit loud,” Merry said. ‘My friends and I are trying to study.”

“There’s a library on campus,” one of the row bros said, smugly. “You could maybe go there?”

Merry smiled thinly. “Wow… did you come up with that idea all on your own? I didn’t know a guy like you could think.”

The row bros let out a chorus of low oohs and jostled their friend. He soured and went to reply, but Dumber Than Rocks put a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, she’s just playin around,” he said. He directed his smile at her like a floodlight. “Right?”

“I’m actually being really serious.” Merry’s smile didn’t waver. She felt Tabby beside her take a deep breath and hold it. “And if you shits don’t keep your voices down I’m going to use this…” She held up the plastic knife she’d been given with her bagel. “To castrate each and every one of you.”

The row bros blinked, all taken aback by her threat. It was an empty threat, of course--she wouldn’t touch any of them with a ten foot pole--but saying it still felt satisfying. And the looks on their faces… you couldn’t buy that kind of gratification.

The only row bro who didn’t look put off was Dumber Than Rocks. He put a hand to his mouth, stifling a laugh, until he couldn’t hold it back any longer. When he laughed he showed all his teeth. Merry blushed and hated herself for it.

“You look like someone I know,” he said as his friends turned away to talk amongst themselves--quieter this time, Merry noted. “Do I know you?”

“Geology with Professor Skinner,” Merry said. “You sit all the way in the back and come in late every day.”

“So you’ve been paying attention to me.” He seemed pleased by this.

“Only because you’re a disruption.” Merry didn’t like where this conversation was going. She shifted awkwardly in her chair. Confidence only took her so far. She didn’t have Elyse’s breeziness when it came to dealing with others. She could deliver a verbal kick to the groin, but had trouble following it up after her temper had cooled. “Maybe think about coming to lecture on time for once.”

“Maybe we can sit together,” he said, hopefully. He smiled again, making her think of a puppy.

Not a puppy. A wolf.

“Maybe.”

“My name’s Owen.” He held out his hand, and she stared at it. Did he expect her to shake it? What was this? A business meeting?

“Meredyth.” She let most people use her nickname--most friends. Owen wasn’t a friend. He was more of a nuisance and therefore didn’t get the privilege.

Behind her, Mund made a show out of closing his textbook and rustling his papers. Even Tabby fidgeted a bit too noisily with her backpack (why did she need so many keychains anyway?). Merry turned to glance at her friends and they both gestured to the door of the cafe with their eyes, desperate to leave.

“We have an exam next Friday, right?” Owen asked. If he noticed Mund and Tabby getting up to leave then he showed no sign of it. He kept his eyes trained on her, following the movement of her hands as she unzipped her own backpack.

“Thursday,” she replied. “This Thursday. Tomorrow.”

Owen face dropped. “Ah, shit.”

Merry couldn’t help but feel bad for him. A little bad. She’d done her share of forgetting exam dates in the past. Mother would advise her to be kind, to offer sympathy to those who were in need of it. Maybe just this once she could.

“If you need help I have the notes,” Merry said. “You can borrow them, but you have to promise to give them back. Or…”

“Or the castration, yeah.”

Merry flushed and began rifling through her bag for her geology notebook.

“I have a better idea. Why don’t you and I meet up later and you can tutor me?”

“That doesn’t sound like a better idea. That just sounds like you taking advantage of my good will.”

The corners of Owen’s mouth twitched. He found her funny. “Look, you’re probably way smarter at this stuff than I am. I mean, who cares about… rocks?”

“The exam isn’t on rocks,” Merry said. “It’s on minerals.”

“Those are rocks.”

“Rocks are made of minerals.”

Owen waved a hand at her. “See you’re proving my point. I can’t wrap my head around it. I’d be way better off if you taught me.”

“Merry…” Tabby said. She shifted her weight from one leg to the other, impatient.

“Wait for me outside. I’ll be right there.”

Tabby sighed and followed Mund out the door. Merry turned to shut off her laptop. Before she could, she heard the sound of a chair scraping against the cafe floor. Owen had positioned his seat next to hers.

“Did you make that?” He was staring at her laptop screen. The Photoshop window with her graphic design homework was still up. Merry quickly went to close the screen, but he shooed her hands out of the way. “It’s cool. The bugs.”

“It’s not done yet,” Merry said, her face beat red. “I don’t even like it. It’s not good.”

“Did you draw them?”

“Yes.”

“They look realistic.”

Merry stewed in her own embarrassment as Owen continued to study her drawings. She’d sketched them a while ago on a family vacation down south. She’d sat for hours in the field around their summer house waiting for dragonflies. They were messy, sketched fast since the dragonflies wouldn’t stick around too long. She had to copy the details out of books.

“You can draw me sometime, if you want.” Owen said. She couldn’t tell if he was joking.

“I don’t draw people.”

Merry snapped her laptop closed and started collecting the rest of her things. Owen watched her, grinning to himself.

“So what about the tutoring?” he asked. ‘It’d really suck if I failed.”

Merry considered him a moment. His messy hair, his teeth, the sturdy muscles of his arms. She looked away, hoping he couldn’t see her red face. Just as bad as the barista. Maybe worse.

“If you show up at the library tonight--8 o’clock--I might be there.”

Owen grinned. “It’s a date.”

“Not a date.” Merry picked up her backpack and slung it over one shoulder. “It’s charity.”

And with that she walked out of the cafe, leaving Owen and the row bros behind, wondering what the hell she was getting herself into.

#my writing #agokaf #ship meme #thanks to my boss for telling me what they call the rowing team at the college i work at #this served as inspiration

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unt2017 · 5 years

Text

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

Genre: Biography/Autobiography

Image

Evaluation/Response

Sometimes I read a book and it stays in my mind a while I go through the process of trying to figure out how I feel about it. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous was one of those books. The topic was a tough one, but that wasn’t what got me most. Drugs are a horrible demon that can ruin lives and families. What I saw in looking back at my notes while reading is that a lot of what the narrator said did not make a lot of sense because the more she got into her drug use the faster her brain and thus her writing became which I found interesting, but it also made her more unrelatable. According to our textbook Tunnell, Jacobs, Young & Bryan (2016) “Point of view is the position taken by the narrator.” (Tunnell et al., p. 19), and in this case the narrator has a first-person point of view because she uses I to describe herself, but I also sense that she would be considered an unreliable narrator because of the way her writing flows. An example of this would be the following:

Besides, after what I’ve been through, I think I’d believe anything. Isn’t that sad, to be in a spot where everything is so unbelievable you’d believe anything? I think it’s sad, dear friend I really and truly and desperately do (Anonymous, 1971, p. 135).

While this quote seems to be written in a fashion that allows the reader to see the point of view of the narrator, I also see it as a piece of a puzzle that shows the narrator to be unreliable. On that note, this quote also gives the reader a look into pacing of the book as well.

This book seemed to be in disarray. It is written in journal entries. I mean it was written relatively well as far as there being no errors in spelling. Grammar is another matter, but I would expect as much from this type of narrator. I believe the grammar and punctuation changes were part of the pacing problem. According to Tunnell, Jacobs, Young & Bryan (2016) “Pacing is how quickly or slowly a story moves” (18). Without the standard editing, it made the pacing seem fast in certain places and regular in others. Although, the following quote doesn’t really show the pacing in the traditional sense, I believe it does in another way. It shows the pacing of the character and their state of mind. The narrator states “I don’t want to get old. I have this very silly fear, dear friend that one day I’ll be old, without ever having really been young” (Anonymous, 1971, p. 153). While I can understand this statement as someone who has been a teenager and who is ultimately still growing and learning as a young adult, part of me read this statement with the character being an addict who tries to find justification for her mistakes instead of owning up to them. I feel this is one of the times where the pacing makes sense because her mind was in the process of changing.

The last point that stood out to me was the tension. According to Tunnell et. al (2016) “Tension makes the reader want to read on to see how the conflict is resolved and what happens to the people involved in the problem” (19). There are several different instances where the tension is noticeable, but I’m unsure if it has to do with the story or with the subject in which this book is tackling: drugs and the journey an addict goes on as they try to navigate their life after drugs have entered and hopefully, after they have conquered and kicked their addiction. There is an entry that shows me as the reader that the tension is rising and made me realize that the main character was in a situation that wasn’t conventional. This particular entry didn’t give much background, but it gives insight to how the main character might still be struggling. The following passage is written as follows (1971):

…I guess they were just being careful and checking to see that you weren’t full of drugs of one sort or another. I don’t even feel real. I must be somebody else. … The nurses and doctors keep telling me I will feel better, but I still can’t get straight. I can’t close my eyes because the worms are still crawling on me. They are eating me. They are crawling through my nose and gnawing in my mouth and oh God…I must get you back in your case because the maggots are crawling off my bleeding writhing hands onto your pages. I will lock you in. You will be safe Anonymous, 1971, p. 122).

I feel like she started out her entry clear headed, but somewhere along the line her mind started slipping. This isn’t the first entry I read like this and it definitely wasn’t the last. These words just made the tension of the storyline string a little tighter, but I still want to believe she would win her fight.

I’ll be honest when I got to the end I was crushed. She sounded so hopeful at the end. She had decided to not start another journal stating the following (1971): “…I think when a person gets older she should be able to discuss her problems and thoughts with other people, instead of just with another part of herself as you have been to me” (Anonymous, 1971, p. 158). I was hoping things really had changed for her, but drugs are a difficult demon to fight. It pains me to think how many people lose their lives to drugs when it’s almost clear they are willing to beat it and wanting to so badly. She was still a teenager with so much more ahead of her.

I had to take a day after finishing this book to compose myself and my thoughts because I knew that I was going to look at this book differently due to the assignment. If I had just been reading it for enjoyment, I would have let my mind just process what I read without dissecting the parts that I would use for this blog post. For this reason, although finding answers about the major parts of a story such as point of view, pacing, and tension revealed themselves rather easily, but trying to answer the questions that are in the Reader Response article by Owen Williamson might be a more challenging task for this book due to the nature of the topic.

The first question I want to look into answering is the following: How well does it address things that you care about and consider important to the world?” (Williamson, n.d). Go Ask Alice by Anonymous was surrounded by the subject of drugs. I have never had to face a situation like this myself, but reading this book made me think of the numerous stories I have read where people have passed away from drug related issues. I find it an important topic to make visible and let others know that there are resources out there to help those affected and their families when they realize they need it. So, while I have never had to feel the pain that a drug addiction can cause, I do sympathize when I read the stories or a book like this because I always hope and pray for a good outcome and sometimes, like in Go Ask Alice, there isn’t one.

The next question I am interested in answering is “How well did you enjoy the text as entertainment or work of art?” (Williamson, n.d.). I liked the story because I’ve always enjoyed stories that have a realistic feel to it. Although Go Ask Alice was a tough book to read it had a story everyone needs to read because it shows what can happen to those who suffer from an addiction. Part of me wishes I could have read more about how it affected the family as a whole, but I understand that might be difficult with the limited first-person point of view. As an autobiographical/biographical story, the author pulled on my heart and made me care about what happened to the main character. An example of this is the following quote (1971):

For the first time I feel absolutely certain that even if I were locked in a room full of acid, Speed, and every other upper in the world I would only be disgusted, for I see what it does to kids who used to be my friends (Anonymous, 1971, p. 112).

From this quote, I wanted to believe that the main character would get better. That she was determined to kick her addiction and continue on to become who she wanted to be and not who her addiction made her. Optimistic view point? Yes, it is, but I couldn’t help it because it is quotes like the one above that make me rethink the main character. I realize that the author wrote her like they did because they wanted to show all sides of the addiction and in my opinion it worked. It showed me that beyond the addiction is a human being that cares and feels. The author tried too hard in some places, but I also saw that as them wanting to make their character as real as they could.

Conclusion

The main character is a teenage girl who is tricked into falling into a world she couldn’t find her way out . It pains me that this is the story of so many—teenagers, men, women. It doesn’t matter how their lives were before the addiction began. All people see from the time the addiction starts is the addiction itself. Somehow, the person they were before no longer exists. I’m not sure how many times I had that thought and honestly, it makes me mad at myself because I felt like I fell into a trap too. I fell into a trap of hope and it was ripped out from under me. I enjoyed Go Ask Alice and I would recommend it. However, I would caution that it may leave you with the feeling of your world spinning and your sense of equilibrium unbalanced and while I see that as a good thing, it also left me with a lot of unanswered questions such as “What can we do to make sure this stops happening?” Yes, this story is fictional, but there are many out there who have lived a real version of it.

References:

Anonymous (1971). Go Ask Alice. New York: Simon & Shuster.

“Go Ask Alice” [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Go-Ask-Alice/Anonymous/9780671664589

Tunnell M.O., Jacobs, J.S., Young T.A. & Bryan, G. (2016). What is a good book? in Children’s Literature Briefly, (pp. 15-23.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Williamson, O.M. (2006). “Reader Response”. Retrieved from http://utminers.utep.edu/omwilliamson/engl0310link/readerresponse.htm

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myotishia · 5 years

Text

Doctors orders

Fandom: Torchwood. Trigger warnings: None as far as I know but feel free to suggest. Characters: Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato, Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Gwen Cooper, Elise Carter (oc), The Doctor Rating: Teen and up

Blurb: A normal day in the hub until a familiar visitor arrives.

It was another month before Tosh was satisfied with her progress on the vortex manipulator. She wanted to make sure it would be one hundred percent safe for Elise to wear. It was then a matter of finding her, or calling her. Elise had thrown herself into studying as much as she possibly could when she wasn’t jump training or actively out so she had started to spend a lot of time in the archives. The cutest part of the whole thing was that Tosh and Owen had convinced her that the vortex manipulator project had to be abandoned weeks ago so it would be a surprise. Tosh sent an instant message telling Elise to meet her at her desk asap. It wasn’t long before a rather cheery looking Elise appeared. She borrowed Owens chair as he was away and sat backwards on it.

“How can I help you?”

“I have a present for you.” Tosh beamed.

“Oh? Aaand what might it be?”

Toshiko pulled the device from a box and held it out.

Elise gasped. “I thought you said it didn’t work.”

“We may have fibbed a little bit. Try it on.”

Elise wrapped it around her right wrist where it sat surprisingly comfortably.

“I managed to get it to register you as its owner. Still no time travel ability but it does mean you can change the settings and such. Plus I programmed it with your sleep alarm so you can swap your old watch for it”

“You’re an angel.”

Tosh smiled. “Oh stop it… By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask, why do you always wear your watch on your right wrist? I mean you’re right handed, isn’t it uncomfortable?”

“I just don’t like anything around my left wrist for too long. I got it trapped in a plastic pipe when I was little. I was sat there for about six hours until a fireman cut the thing off. I was a stupid child.”

“Six hours?”

“Yea. The first three I just sat there and tried to pull it out myself while next doors cat sat on my lap. I had to give up and call my dad after that.”

“How old were you?”

Elise blushed. “Ten. It was a drainage pipe in our back garden and it was the middle of the summer holidays.”

The women fell into a fit of giggles before collecting themselves.

“Do you want to come with and see if it works?”

Tosh nodded and followed Elise to go and fetch Owen. He was standing with a white rat in one hand and an ultrasound scanner in the other.

“Um… Do you need a hand?” Asked Tosh, looking very confused.

Owen sighed and held out the wriggling rodent. “Can you hold Brenda? She’s being a bitch.”

Tosh walked down and took the white rat who calmed down a little. “Brenda?”

“I needed to test the implants so I’ve got three females with them. This is Brenda. Alice is in that tank there and Cecelia is over there. Their weights have been the same but this ones weight has increased so I need to know if she’s pregnant or just fat. Of course she won’t keep still long enough to find out.”

Elise smiled and looked over at the other two very happy looking rats. Owen had a huge habitat for his testing rats to keep them as happy and healthy as possible. He never understood how labs kept their rats as an ill or unhappy rat messed up the results. His rats also lived a lot longer than most lab rats did, keeping costs low. He didn’t admit it often but he liked the rats and could sometimes be found just watching them. People like to forget how intelligent rats are and how interesting their social structures could be.

Owen was pleased to see that Brenda wasn’t pregnant. “Thanks for scaring me you fat cow.” He said, poking the rat on the nose. “I was thinking we could use them on the weevils we catch. At least then we’ll only have to deal with the ones that fall through the rift.”

“That’s not a bad idea.” Tosh said, cuddling the big white rat who was trying to climb down her shirt unsuccessfully.

Elise leant on the railing. “Want to come with us to test my new prezzy?”

“I missed the big reveal?” He pouted, taking Brenda and putting her back in her tank.

“Sorry, we couldn’t wait. So are you joining us or not?”

“Yea. Let me clean up and get these three back in their home and I’ll be with you.”

Gwen had been curious why Jack had been so insistent about staying close to the hub but realised very quickly why when a blue phone box seemed to materialise on the slab that hid a lift down to the hub.

“Is that what I think it is?” She asked.

Jack grinned. “It is.”

“So what are we doing here?”

“We’re going to go and say hello but we have to wait until he gets out otherwise he probably won’t answer the door.”

“This isn’t a good idea.”

“Are any of my ideas good?” He teased, looking like an excited child.

“Jack. I’ll follow but if he runs off I’m not chasing him.”

“Deal.”

The door to the police box opened and a lone man stepped out onto the unusually quiet street.

“Is that…?” Asked Gwen quietly.

“Yes he is. Come on.” Jack swept forward without waiting, making sure he had enough time to put himself between the TARDIS and the Doctor. “Doctor! It’s been a while.” He announced.

The Doctor looked round in surprise. “Jack?! It has.” He was cut off by a bone crushing hug.

“What are you doing here?”

“Just refueling. How did you..?”

“Would you believe coincidence?”

“Not even for a second. Gweneth?” The Doctor tilted his head in confusion.

“It’s just Gwen. Hello.” She smiled politely.

“That’s… Wow hello. Sorry. You reminded me of someone. There was someone I met last time I was here, said he was from the future. Gave me a hand.”

“Umm.”

“I mean a literal hand, in a tank. It was strange.”

“Err.”

“I think it was mine.”

“That would have been a future version of our medic, Owen. The future version… Isn’t around anymore.” Jack interjected, trying to end that conversation before it started.

“Medic?”

“How much did he tell you?”

“He said he didn’t have much time and that before I took off I needed to recheck every setting I had so I didn’t end up outside of the TARDIS’ chronological reach.”

“So you really don’t know.”

The Doctor side eyed Jack. “Know what?”

“Torchwood.”

“What about them? I thought that stopped after what happened in London.”

“Torchwood one closed but… Just come inside and meet everyone.”

“Jack, what have you done?”

“I changed things. A lot of things… For you.”

Gwen looked between the two, not sure of how to react.

“Jack..”

“Let me show you. Just while you’re refuelling. It’s not the same institute you knew, trust me.”

“I don’t have forever to meet everyone Jack.”

“You can’t meet four more people?”

“Four?”

“Just four.”

Elise bounced, landing her first space jump from a standing start. “No dizziness. I think that proves it works. Now we just need to test a time jump.”

Owen and Tosh gave a disapproving look.

“Let me just try once. Just by a minute. That way even if it doesn’t work it won’t do too much harm, yea?”

Owen crossed his arms. “I thought you said you didn’t know how to.”

“I don’t but I can try, please.”

“Fine. One jump. One minute.”

“Right.” She took a few steps away from them and let her mind drift, a tingling in her right hand spreading up her arm. She felt a slight jolt and looked around to see if it had worked. Owen was looking relieved and Tosh immediately wrapped her arms around Elise.

“That was three minutes. You ok?” Owen asked, looking her over.

“I’m fine. No headache, no nausea.” She touched her nose. “No bleeding. What happened from your side?”

“You just disappeared then reappeared.” Tosh said into her shoulder.

“Then it worked.” She smiled brightly. Once Tosh stepped back she looked at the vortex manipulator that was glowing lightly. She opened the cover and saw a bright blue hologram swirling above it, hundreds of symbols moving around each other before settling into neat lines. They turned slowly before converging into the centre, morphing into the familiar time symbol. The hologram faded and the small screen showed two words. “Calibration complete.”

Ianto looked up from his book as the door to the tourist information centre opened, relaxing as Jack entered.

“Ianto, this is the Doctor. Doctor, this is Ianto Jones. He keeps everything running.”

The Doctor was looking around skeptical before pausing. “Have we met? You look familiar.”

“I don’t think so, no.”

Jack opened the hidden door. “Are the others still here?”

“As far as I know yes. What’s going on?”

“The Doctor is visiting and I want to introduce everybody.”

“Are you sure? I mean… After the meeting... “

“It’ll be fine. Elise was just emotional.”

“If you’re sure.” Ianto watched them leave before turning to Gwen. “Has he lost his mind?”

“Apparently.” Shrugged Gwen in reply.

“We should keep an eye on them.”

“You just want to see her slap him.”

“I neither agree nor disagree, but we should follow if we don’t want to miss anything.”

Owen had to admit he was a little relieved that Elise had some kind of protection if she needed to time jump but the whole thing still put him on edge. She seemed happy at least. He sat down at his desk and leant back in his chair, hitting the space-bar on his keyboard to wake his computer back up.

“And this…” Jacks voice announced from the doorway. “Is Dr Owen Harper.”

Owen looked up, not expecting anyone to be visiting. If he was he would have kept his lab coat on. “You remembered the doctor part for once.”

“Owen, this is the Doctor.”

Owen sat up straight at the name, silent in disbelief.

“You look better than the last, first, other, time we met.” The Doctor smiled, trying to work out his mixed timeline. “But I suppose that hasn’t happened yet for you.”

Jack smiled as if this was all completely normal. “How are the rats?”

“Fat and not pregnant. I sent a message to the breeder and he said that one was always greedy so it isn’t a side effect.” Owen said, still looking between Jack and the Doctor.

“How long until the implants are ready for general use on the weevils at least.”

“For the weevils they’re ready now, for human use I’d still leave it a few weeks to be sure. All in lab tests say they’re 100% safe but human bodies are the bane of lab tests.”

“Good to hear. Where’s Tosh?”

“She’ll be here in a sec. The vortex manipulator test was a success.”

The Doctor immediately shot a worried look to Jack who rolled his eyes. “Relax, it’s not for actually time travelling, just for protection from the radiation of the time vortex.”

“Why would you need that?” The Doctor asked, still very unsure.

“You’ll see. Just relax before both of your hearts give out.”

“Jack-”

“Tosh.” Jack called over, spotting the tech expert. “Doctor, this is Toshiko Sato. Our technology expert.”

“Wait, I’ve definitely met you before. With the space pig.” The Doctor smiled, his worries outwardly forgotten.

“O-oh yes. I remember that. Owen was originally meant to be there but… Well…” She paused, not able to remember if Owen had told Jack why he’d been uncontactable that day.

“You’re looking well.”

“Thanks. Um…”

Jack seemed happy with the interaction, relaxing his shoulders a little. “Owen said the vortex manipulator project was successful.”

“Yes. We just tested it and it worked perfectly. Elise didn’t even get dizzy.”

“Speaking of… Where is she?”

“She was just grabbing a book so she could study it here. She shouldn’t be long but… Are you sure? You know how she feels about… Um…”

“It’ll be fine. She has some self control.”

“Yes, but she’s not going to be happy.”

“She’ll live.”

Tosh and Owen shared a worried look as she sat at her desk.

The Doctor looked around the large room as he heard a screech. Myfanwy landed in the centre, sticking her beak under one of the chairs to grab a paper ball that had rolled underneath it. Ianto rushed over. “No! Drop it.” He ordered, holding his hand out as if he was talking to a dog. The pteranodon tilted her head with the paper ball clamped in the end of her beak making a small caw like noise.

“Myfanwy, drop, now. You always choke on paper. Paper is not food. Does it smell like BBQ sauce?”

The dinosaur dropped the paper ball into his hand and huffed before flying back up to her nest in a strop.

“Myfanwy?” Asked the Doctor, smiling as the creature flew up.

“She’s an unofficial hub pet. Her nest is up there, what do you think?” Jack asked softly.

“You tamed a pteranodon.”

“Semi tamed. She still brings back sheep sometimes.”

“She’s brilliant.”

“I told you I’d changed this place.”

“I’m still not fully convinced but it’s better. A lot better.”

Elise held the old journal to her chest as she walked back towards her desk. In the corner of her eye she saw something move in the shadows, at least she thought she did. She couldn’t be sure as the archives were the kind of place that seemed to change day by day. She didn’t know how Ianto managed to keep track of everything. The shadows could wait, she had studying to do. The journal had belonged to one of the men responsible for building many of the heavy mechanical parts of the hub and had started the process of integrating alien technology into it. It contained full diagrams and illustrations for each part. It was fascinating.

She was pleased with how her day was going and her mind wandered to what she was going to make for dinner before a new voice pulled her thoughts into sharp contrast. The speech sounded friendly but definitely unfamiliar. She tried to stay unseen as she made her way over to her desk and placed down the journal carefully.

“Elise.” Jack said, making her jump.

She turned. “Yea? Is there something I can do?”

“Elise, this is the Doctor. Doctor, this is Elise Carter. Our time traveller.”

Elise looked at the unassuming looking man and felt a mix of nerves and rage. “Jack, can I have a quick word.”

“Go ahead.”

“In private.”

The Doctor was still staring at her as if he saw something no one else did.

“Back in a sec.” Jack smiled and headed up to his office, Elise close behind.

She waiting until the door was fully closed and rubbed her temples.

Jack leant on his desk. “Is there a problem? How do you like your new accessory?”

“It’s great, I can jump without getting sick, it’s comfortable, looks badass. In other news, what the hell? After everything you bring him in here?”

“Yes. I did. I own the place I can invite whoever I wish.”

“Jack, I’m not arguing that. Why are you trying to impress someone who just abandoned you?”

“I don’t expect you to be friends, or even understand, just be civil.”

“You’re right, I don’t understand. And just telling him about my time travel thing?”

“I trust him.”

“That’s your biggest problem. How do you think Ianto’s feeling right now? Bringing the guy you’d move heaven and earth for here.”

“I’m not comparing them.”

“No, but it hurts to see you pining over the guy. I know you don’t see that sort of thing but it doesn’t stop it being true. Please don’t do this.”

“He’ll be gone before the end of the day, just play nice until then. And if anyone understands what’s going on with this time jumping thing it’s him. Just talk, that’s all I ask.”

Elise sighed and rubbed her hands over her face. “Ok. Ok. Just, take Ianto on a date or something after, please?”

“I will. Go on, you first.”

Tosh had been talking about their computer system enthusiastically to the doctor as she heard Jack’s office door open. She smiled and waved Elise over.

A very uncomfortable looking Elise walked over and took Tosh’s hand in hers for comfort, offering the other to the Doctor to shake.

“I’m Elise. Nice to meet you.” She said, trying her best to be as civil as possible.

He shook her hand. “So, time traveller?”

“Yes, sort of. Around twenty four hours either way, max.”

“How?”

“I’m not completely sure but it has a lot to do with this.” She let go of Toshiko’s hand and held out her left hand to show the scar. “There’s thousands of microscopic symbols under the skin and it all comes from that I think. I’m learning to control it.”

“No no no, I mean what kind of technology is it attached to?”

“It isn’t.”

He stared into her eyes and whispered to himself. “That’s not possible. You shouldn’t even be functioning. When Rose absorbed the time vortex it started killing her in minutes, this isn’t right… You’re not even part of time anymore.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re not possible. You shouldn’t exist. You’re a walking paradox.”

“Can you elaborate a little?”

The Doctor ran his hand through his hair, trying desperately to think of a way to explain. “You’re like schrodinger's cat. You’re both part of this time and not at the same time. You’re always in the time vortex but you’re not. It’s like you’re out of alignment with reality, everywhere and nowhere.”

“Like the fairies?”

“Fairies?”

“Inter-dimensional beings that don’t follow linear time.”

“Yes and no. Theoretically you’re existing as if you’re constantly in the rift but in a controlled spot. You have access to everything but that means it also has access to you but only if you’re close enough. A human shouldn’t be able to do that. No being should be able to do that. But you’re here and you’re human and most importantly you’re not dead. You are a part of the rift and the rift is part of you.” He took her scarred hand and looked at the vortex manipulator then turned to Tosh. “You modified this?”

She nodded, trying to keep up.

“You did a good job.” He turned back to Elise. “Elise, never take this off. This is stabilising your place in reality. Don’t even try to go beyond that twenty four hour limit and never try and travel through the rift. You could lose yourself and I don’t even know what that could do. I can’t stop you travelling, really wish I could, just try to keep it to a minimum. And Jack, you have to protect her. If she got into the wrong hands not even I would be able to fix the damage. I’m guessing the only reason reality hasn’t torn itself apart is that rift manipulator you have keeping everything stable. If Torchwood had been like it was then…” The horror dawned on his face. “I believe you. Jack, I’m going to need to be able to trust you with this because there’s nothing I can do at this point.”

Jack smiled softly. “Admitting you have no idea?”

“Yes. I am. I can’t go back and change this because there’s nowhere to go back to. There’s no start point.”

Elise paused and thought to herself. “Can we talk about Jack’s immortality now?”

The Doctor’s eyes widened.

Ianto offered his bag of popcorn to Gwen who gladly took some. No one took their eyes off of Jack.

“What?” Said Elise, confused about the reaction.

Jack sighed. “He didn’t know.”

“I’m cleaning out the cells for the foreseeable future aren’t I?”

“I’m not that petty… Maybe.”

The Doctor shook his head. “What do you mean immortality?”

“I can’t die… Or more I can’t stay dead.”

“What happened?”

“Can we not talk about this out here?”

Elise took Toshiko’s left hand and Owens right. “We’re going to go and grab lunch. Right Gwen? Ianto?”

Internally Ianto was disappointed but he understood and nodded. Gwen was happy to be out of there as it had gotten very uncomfortable. As soon as the rest of the team were out of sight Jack began.

“When Rose brought me back from the dead the first time. It stuck. I’ve been here for a long time. I don’t age anymore, rarely get sick and every time I’ve died I get dragged back… It’s like she overdid it. I don’t blame her for it. It wasn’t like she was fully in control but it’s been so long now.”

The Doctor leant back against a desk in shock. “I’m so sorry… I didn’t know.”

“How would you?”

“I can see why you wanted to talk, but I don’t have an answer for you.”

“I didn’t expect you to. The rift spiked when the TARDIS locked on to this time and place so I thought you might be able to help Elise. She thinks she has to be angry on my behalf.” He looked off into space with a slight smile.

“I don’t blame her.”

“She reminds me a little of Rose. All heart and temper. It’s how she ended up the way she is.”

“You should come with me, just for a little while.”

Jack laughed softly. “If you’d asked me six months ago I would have left without question but I’m needed here for now. Anyway, I don’t plan on going anywhere. Give it fifty years and maybe I’ll say yes.”

Elise stared down into her drink.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure Jack isn’t angry.” Gwen soothed, leaning on the table. “Well, not that angry.”

Elise sunk lower in her chair. “Why can’t I just keep my mouth shut.”

“You can’t help it if he didn’t tell you.” Said Ianto trying not to be jealous but failing miserably.

“I should have guessed. I mean it’s Jack, he never tells anyone anything important unless he has to.”

“Cheer up. We’ve got houses to look at later.” Tosh smiled.

Gwen turned. “Houses? You’re moving?”

“Since the break in I can’t sleep there.”

“I started out like that but it settled after a while. Maybe you just need to give it some time.”

“I don’t think I’d survive that long without sleep. Plus with Elise staying permanently we really need a larger place.”

“Look at you officially moving in together.”

“It’s not as if we haven’t been already.”

“Still. Now it’s a place you both get to choose… There’s a thought.”

“Hmm?”

“Is Owen going too?”

Owen looked up from his sandwich at the sound of his name. “I like to have my own space, even if I don’t sleep there.”

“Makes sense. I don’t know how you three handle a relationship like you do.”

“Why?”

“How do you get past the whole jealousy and paranoia?”

“By actually talking to each other?”

Elise swirled her drink lazily. “Not everyone can. Some people are just wired to only be part of a pair. Others aren’t. It’s all about compatibility. It’s not as if those thoughts and feelings go away, believe me, but they’re easier to deal with when you find the right person or people.”

Jack waved as the Doctor closed the TARDIS door behind himself. It felt good to say goodbye on his own terms for once.

“Did we miss him leaving.” Asked Ianto, handing Jack a bag containing his lunch.

“He’ll be back. He always comes back eventually.”

#Torchwood #doctor who #the doctor #jack harkness #gwen cooper #ianto jones #owen harper #toshiko sato

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bloodbaptisedarchive-blog · 7 years

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REALLY LONG CHARACTER SURVEY. RULES. repost , don’t reblog ! tag 10 ! good luck ! TAGGED. @judgmentcast, holy SHIT. TAGGING. literally ANYONE who’s up for a bit of a challenge.

BASICS. FULL NAME : Harmon Mallory James. NICKNAME : James, Mr. James, Senior Advisor Harmon James. AGE : Forty-two. BIRTHDAY : October 17th, 1998. ETHNIC GROUP : Caucasian. NATIONALITY : American. LANGUAGE / S : English. SEXUAL ORIENTATION : Homosexual. ROMANTIC ORIENTATION : Homoromantic. RELATIONSHIP STATUS : In a secret, long-term relationship with Minister Edwidge Owens. CLASS : Upper class. HOME TOWN / AREA : He was born in Boston, Massachusetts. CURRENT HOME : Washington, DC. PROFESSION : Senior Advisor to the Leader of the New Founding Fathers.

PHYSICAL. HAIR : Red. Much lighter when he was younger. Wavy. EYES : Bright blue, sunken. NOSE : Long with a slight downward hook. FACE : Defined smile lines, and other various lines and freckles. LIPS : Thin, small, and chapped. COMPLEXION : Pale, sickly, with light freckles peppered along his face. BLEMISHES : Nothing noticeable. SCARS : A few on his face, a couple from various other incidents. Burn scars on his hands. TATTOOS : None. HEIGHT : 6'6". WEIGHT : 185 lbs. BUILD : Slender, defined muscles in his arms, chest and legs. Sharp shoulders. FEATURES : Wide, sunken eyes. Large, gentle hands, folded at his chest. Painted fingernails. Intimidating stature. ALLERGIES : N/A. USUAL HAIR STYLE : Straightens his waves and slicks the whole thing back, parting it to the left. USUAL FACE LOOK : Expressionless. Ivory makeup still shows the freckles on his face. Though expressionless, he always tends to look alert, on his guard. USUAL CLOTHING : A suit, including a vest, ironed to crispness the day before. Suitable colours are grey, black, or beige. Ties, usually blue or red. A silver cross around his neck. Edwidge's promise ring on his middle left finger. Nails painted usually nude shades. Black or brown shoes shined until you can see your face in them.

PSYCHOLOGY.

FEAR / S : Fear of imperfection. A slight fear of disappointment. Fear of being outed. ASPIRATION / S : To purge and purify: to rid the country of those that depend on them, them being the NFFA, the government, the healthcare system, housing, welfare. To make his superiors see that he can one day be as good as any of them. To lead the New Founding Fathers of America. POSITIVE TRAITS : Loyal, peaceful, spiritual, efficent, disciplined, aware, calm, intelligent, self-confident. NEGATIVE TRAITS : Hypocritical, overzealous, judgemental, blindly obidient, sadistic, insensitive, remorseless, blunt, withdrawn. MBTI : ISTJ, the Logistician. ZODIAC : Libra. TEMPERAMENT : Melancholic. SOUL TYPE / S : Thinker. ANIMALS : A wide-eyed owl, constantly observing. VICE HABIT / S : Vanity, a bit more concern about his appearance than most men his age. Overly critical of those in a lower position than him, even though he was once one of them. FAITH : What the NFFA deems to be Christian. GHOSTS ? : Yes. AFTERLIFE ? : Absolutely. He needs to go home sometime. REINCARNATION ? : Possibly. ALIENS ? : No. POLITICAL ALIGNMENT : Right-wing. ECONOMIC PREFERENCE : He has more than he knows what to do with. SOCIOPOLITICAL POSITION : One of the 1%. EDUCATION LEVEL : University.

FAMILY. FATHER : Richard Allen James, the chief communications officer of ARCON and the first press secretary of the New Founding Fathers. Deceased. MOTHER : Caroline Ann James, a talented pianist and violinist, with dreams of playing with a famous orchestra. Still living. SIBLINGS : Seven. Sarah, Mary, Caleb, Lucas, Joanna, Michael & Hannah. Harmon is sixth. EXTENDED FAMILY : Aunts, uncles, several cousins, and a total of twenty-seven nieces & nephews. NAME MEANING / S : Harmon, "man of the army." Mallory, "ill fated." HISTORICAL CONNECTION ? : Unknown. There is a place named Harmon mentioned in the Bible, but this place name is debatable. It's been thought of that Harmon James is a pun on "harming James," James being a leader of the early Church.

FAVOURITES. BOOK : Other than the Bible, specifically the Old Testament, he enjoys a good true crime novel now and again. Also, political biographies. MOVIE : Dramas, documentaries and psychological thrillers. 5 SONGS : (these remind me of him, not his own favourites.) The Sisters of Mercy - Driven Like The Snow. Frank Tovey - New Jerusalem. Cloudeater - Hollow. Fad Gadget - Under The Flag II. Nathan Whitehead - The Sacrifice. DEITY : A God who encourages a yearly slaughter of His creation. HOLIDAY : That blessed night, the one night the country does their bidding. MONTH : March. SEASON : Winter. PLACE : His home, Our Lady of Sorrows, or the NFFA's headquarters. WEATHER : Cloudy, foggy; a brisk morning that beckons snowfall. SOUND : The echo of footsteps walking across a marble floor. A choir of unintelligeble words. Wind whistling through telephone wires. Silence. The scream of a man, strapped down, a knife plunging into his heart. A siren. SCENT / S : The smoke from an extinguished flame. Stale. Eau de cologne. Hair gel. TASTE / S : Blood. Luxurious foods. Tea. Ice. FEEL / S : A shiver running down your spine. The touch of a hand when no one's around. The feeling someone's watching you when you're alone. Blood on your lips. A cold wind. Emptiness. ANIMAL / S : An owl seems to be the only thing I think of. Maybe an eagle. Harmon seems like a bird. NUMBER : Six. He's the sixth in his family, he stands at six feet and six inches tall... COLOUR : Blue, to show his loyalty to the NFFA. Red, the colour staining his hands. White, for the supposed purity of his soul.

EXTRA. TALENTS : His intelligence. His written communication skills. Most of his oral communication skills, his stutter stands in his way. Good with weapons. His knowledge of the human anatomy. He's fairly good at ice skating. Singing. BAD AT : Having a social life. Drawing. Being an enjoyable person. Smiling. TURN ONS : Men in positions of power. Voices that draw you in. Strong hands. Blood. Twisting a knife inside of a martyr. TURN OFFS : Anyone lower than his class. HOBBIES : Choir. Anything that involves assisting the NFFA. TROPES : Badass Long Robe. Dissonant Serenity. Giggling Villain. AESTHETIC TAGS : Blurry images. Graveyards. Blood covering hands, covering the Cross. Knives. Pale, trembling hands. Waves of blue. GPOY QUOTES : "You are never here. You are always almost there."

FC INFO. MAIN FC / S : Christopher James Baker. ALT FC / S : Mark Strickson (possibly.) OLDER FC / S : Not sure, but Robert Redford currently is a possibility. YOUNGER FC / S : Freddie Fox. VOICE CLAIM / S : CJB in "True Detective." GENDERBENT FC / S : Lisa Pelikan.

MUN QUESTIONS. Q1 : if you could write your character your way in their ��own movie , what would it be called , what style would it be filmed in , and what would it be about ? A1 : He has a movie, but he's not the focal point. He has his big moments though! I'd like to see more of Harmon in The Purge 4, since that will be more focused around the NFFA. The story of how a man becomes the way he is today, desensitised to death, wanting destruction, yearning for violence. What made him be this way? What would it be called? No idea. Q2 : what would their soundtrack / score sound like ? A2 : Ambient. Echoes where none of the words can be understood. A soft organ playing in the background. Suddenly, the music becomes a bit more intense... Q3 : why did you start writing this character ? A3 : I watched The Purge: Election Year, and immediately fell in love with him. I knew I had to do something, and this is what I chose to do. Q4 : what first attracted you to this character ? A4: June 30th, 2016. Around 9:00pm. I'm sitting front and centre watching the newest Purge film, a sequel in a franchise I've loved for three years. Charlie Roan is delivered to Our Lady of Sorrows. All of a sudden, this tall, thin, creepy fucker in a long blue robe makes his debut. Just the kind of character I love. I walked home that night, wrote "Harmon James can own my ass, what the fuck" into my phone, and knew this was the beginning of something beautiful. Q5 : describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse. A5 : He's everything I hate in a person. He dislikes everyone who isn't like him. He's almost every -phobic or -ist in the damn book. Q6 : what do you have in common with your muse ? A6 : We have blue eyes, and we laugh similarly. That's it. Q7 : how does your muse feel about you ? A7 : Harmon James would want me sacrificed. Q8 : what characters does your muse have interesting interactions with ? A8 : Edwidge Owens. Thomas Roseland. Caleb Warrens. Harlan Coy. Claude Frollo. Richard Miller. Curtis Stafford. Leo Barnes. Charlie Roan. Ambrosia Reynolds. If I could ever actually get to plotting with other people, them as well. Q9 : what gives you inspiration to write your muse ? A9 : Watching Harmon's scenes! Listening to songs that remind me of him, like the Election Year soundtrack. Scrolling through the archive on his aesthetic blog. Being outside in the cold. Q10 : how long did this take you to complete ? A10 : I forgot about this for a good month. So a long time. Thanks, Ocelot. xo

#( holy FUCK this took me SO LONG )#( but here it is )#( I AM NOT MERCIFUL. AND I AM NOT KIND. )

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