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mulders-too-large-shirt · 5 months ago

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s6 episode 12 "one son" thoughts

so. we must return to see what is going to happen to cassandra and mulder and scully!!! and also spender and diana and CSM!! but they’re of less importance to me!!! because mulder and scully are my best friends!!

i am anticipating: some angst, a spender death or exile, a bizarre plot point with krycek that will never again be addressed, and mulder trusting diana despite all signs saying he should absolutely not. and me yelling at my screen while that goes down. AND maybe some more scully diving into her trauma from the abduction. and CSM somehow making it out unscathed. or only mildly scathed.

post-episode thoughts: this episode pissed me off and gave me a headache.

also, re: my predictions- i got a bingo.

let’s go!!!

omg, my laptop thinks i’m on s7 because i somehow let a bunch of episodes play all night... LMAOOO!!! it wants me to watch 7x03- GIRL!!! we are not there yet!!! do not rush me!!!

we open with mulder narrating- a key feature of these mytharc episodes- over a photo of his father and CSM. and again, i still cannot tell which is supposed to be which, because they do not look at all like any of the versions of the characters we have been previously introduced to. unless i wasn’t paying attention when he showed that picture from his scrapbook, and these are the same actors that featured in that brief shot. in which case: i apologize.

is he burning the photo??? or is that just a fun fire overlay to indicate the dramatic nature of the subject matter? he’s talking about the generation of his father being hardened by war.

bro just used the term “hurly-burly” seriously in a sentence. i think i need him.

omg!!! i see younger CSM now!! from the 70’s!!! and his buddies from the syndicate!!! did they put modern CSM's actor in a bunch of makeup to achieve this look? or did they have another guy about 20 years younger with a similar face shape on standby? fascinating questions are being raised here…

younger CSM is presenting an american flag to the aliens. and they are just little guys. they don’t look scary at all. must be those are what they look like in their raw form. that is, when they’re not shapeshifting. hmm…

just little dudes. intent on colonization. but they look so... cartoonish.

much to ponder. is victory the absence of defeat, as mulder claims the syndicate mistakenly believed?

YAY FOX MULDER FBI BADGE :D yay blurry sequence of them opening the door holding guns! intro time!!!

there hasn’t been a change in the display text in a while. usually we only get that for mytharc stuff, so i was lowkey expecting it today. i guess one must expect the unexpected. and not expect the expected. amen.

back to cassandra begging to be shot in mulder’s apartment!!! while scully is yelling!!

but the door is broken down before he can make a choice on if he should shoot or not!! there are people in hazmat suits entering his place!! are they spraying our agents?? is cassandra somehow a contamination threat?? or is this simply an excuse to take her?

these people are from the CDC!! and the agents and cassandra are going to be taken into custody over a contagion of unknown origin!! is that diana in the hazmat suit telling them this?!? or just some random person? because why would diana be with the CDC?

mulder sadly showers in a sad quarantine facility. and so does scully. but they don’t seem to be looking at each other.

OH! he just looked down at her. THEY’RE LOWKEY INSPECTING EACH OTHER, LMAO. now. i imagine that they’re trying to see if there is any sort of contagion on each other. but it would be funny to imagine otherwise. gaze upon the sad showering naked body of your partner. let that eye contact do the talking.

(still thinking about this the next day as i edit my notes. i will need to ponder this moment for a few decades. guys, you don't have time to be flirting right now. put a pin in it. circle back.

also, i can imagine nothing less romantic. they've seen each other naked a bunch of times now, and it's always been for decidedly un-sensual reasons. in clinical-adjacent settings. how strange it must be to see your crush half or barely dressed with regularity, but never in a romantic light. is it ethical to steal glances at each other while the government takes you hostage? so much to ponder)

and then they are buzzed with some weird machines. scully wants to know who will tell them what this is about!! and her wet hair is SO CUTE. OH MY GOD. i need to emphasize how CUTE it is. i’m sorry she is in distress; i genuinely apologize. but. i’m. gonna embarrass myself over here.

mulder asks where they are, and scully says probably fort marlene. which is so cool of her. she can guess which secret quarantine facility they were transported to based on their travel time. shoutout to scully. with wet hair. locked in this sad little cell with mulder.

and it *is* diana who comes in!!!! she says that she is very sorry, but cassandra might have contracted an organism that makes her blowup. which scully clearly thinks is the stupidest thing she has ever heard, LMAO.

diana, you're literally not even in the hazmat suit anymore. clearly you don't even believe this nonsense. nor have you made an attempt to indicate you do. i'm crying. "okay, you guys might have a super secret alien blowing up disease, so we'll need to take you far away from others for their protection, but let me come on in and join ya" ijbol

diana says that she just HAD to take cassandra, and scully is calling her nonsense out- she was in a hospital for days!! no one was sick!! but mulder is trying to interrupt. SIT DOWN, MAN.

OH, DO NOT SNAP AT HER, MULDER!!! diana is gonna piss me tf off. what does scully being suspended from her position at the FBI have to do with her being a medical doctor and knowing that you’re full of absolute nonsense?!?!?

diana just HAD to get that dig in there.

SCULLY GETS UP AND WALKS AWAY, LMAOOOO. do NOT fuck with her.

she was so mad she had to leave AND they have no clothes. truly a terrible situation to find yourself in.

“mulder, this stinks. and not just because i think that woman is a… (she looks at him shuffling around) well, i think you know what i think that woman is” <- LMAOOOOOO

“no, actually, you hide your feelings very well”

giggling. a little bit. and not a lot bit. because i’m still angry at him for snapping at her.

there is something very funny about scully being unable to conceal her disdain. poised and polished scully can't hold her tongue. i find it endearing.

apparently, skinner heard spender make the phone call to the CDC. scully thinks it’s nonsense- it’s a fancy kidnapping, and it’s remarkable that cassandra was well. mulder points out she did come to his apartment and asked to be killed. but she said that was because people were after her, and if they got her the world would end, not because she had spontaneous combustion disease. which i feel is an important distinction.

scully says cassandra wanted to be killed because she wanted the testing to stop- the same testing that happened to her :( and mulder says she’s "the one"

krycek is in new york city, talking about medical records with CSM. hmm. what is he doing there?

no one can decide how to pronounce cassandra’s name, lmao. cah-sahn-dra or cah-SAND-dra. the syndicate says that when the aliens learn of her, colonization will begin, and so regardless of how you say her name, they have to kill her now.

but CSM says no! he says let cassandra be turned over!!! save ourselves!!

“bill mulder was against this” well. y’all had him killed. so. what do you care what he thinks?

“bill mulder sacrificed his only daughter because he knew this day would arrive”

i had kind of thought that the whole “bill mulder sacrificing samantha” thing was a coverup for a totally random and tragic accident, but this confirms, i suppose, that my assumption was incorrect. i guess they also mentioned that in FTF. hmm. not sure which interpretation is more poignant. i do kinda like the idea that she was the favorite, though, and that is why our mulder stayed behind. he wanted to save her. and left him to pick up the pieces. it's an angsty thought to dwell on.

CSM asks what choice they have “if we want to see those we sacrificed return to us” <- did they ALL sacrifice people?? as an agreement to not snitch?? so bill mulder wasn’t the only one who had to do so?? there are many implications here….

back at fort marlene, mulder is in some very ill-fitting clothes, yelling around for shoes that fit him. he sees someone in the distance and runs after. is he being lured into a trap?

peeeek into that door, strange, tall man. this woman says she can’t be seen with him. IT’S MARITA??? OH MY GOSH!!!

i was wondering if we would ever see her again!!!!

she looks so sick. so, so, horribly sick. she says they have done terrible tests on her. new tests, with the alien virus and the vaccine. to try and buy time against the colonists. and they couldn’t buy enough time, because cassandra spender happened.

she says if the aliens learn of cassandra, there will be no stopping of the plans. and she leaves.

woah… an unexpected cameo on her behalf. i feel very bad for her. may she make a full recovery and return to doing whatever it is she does, exactly. sneak about.

spender rushes into a room with diana to find his mother!! she’s hooked up to a million wires. she wants to know why they’re keeping her here. and spender says they’re keeping her safe from dad!!! and there won’t be anymore tests!!!

she says he doesn’t understand, but he insists he does. and she says he has to let her go, he has to let them hurt her, or everyone dies. she begs and begs, but he leaves.

knock at the gunmen’s door!! who goes there? has frohike always had a ponytail? IT’S MULDER!! but is it really him?? did he really break out?? or is it an alien?

scully called him here!!! she has information on diana!!! and he doesn’t want to hear it!!

she says he’s being manipulated by her, and that he knew her in the past, but he doesn’t anymore. if he won’t listen to her, may he please listen to his only friends.

oh. this isn’t going to go well.

there are no records of her in europe for 7 years. and she took WEEKLY TRIPS TO AND FROM TUNISIA?? is she with the bee people?? she was visiting every european chapter of the UFO network (MUFON) and collecting data on the abductees!!!

he says she’s reaching…. omfg… BRO. you believed in the CHUPACABRA.

yes. guilt him with the story of your abduction, scully. remind him how he couldn't protect you. rub it in. make him realize.

if cassandra is the critical test subject, there had to be others!!! and why has diana, of all people, been assigned to her?! and why is there no information on any of the things she has been doing for the last 7 years? and why is she suddenly back in his life??

OH SHIT!! he still won’t believe her. the gunmen look around awkwardly…

“well, then i can’t help you anymore” <- GET HIS ASS!!

“scully, you’re making this personal” YOU TRUST YOUR EX OVER HER?? YOUR PARTNER OF HOW MANY YEARS NOW?!? YEAH, I WOULD BE MAKING IT PERSONAL TOO!!!!

“because it IS personal, mulder. because without the FBI, personal interest is all i have. and if you take that away, then there is no reason for me to continue” <- YES!!! YOU TELL HIM!!!!! WALK AWAY!!!

augh. this is so frustrating. why can’t he open his EYEBALLS?! and SEE!! and i don’t believe for a second that scully will just leave him to it. she will want to save cassandra. and get herself in so much more trouble in the process. and try to save the world, of course. while he sits there and drags his stupid feet in their stupid too small shoes. so yes. leave his ass. do it by yourself if you have to.

mulder is going to watergate. well. why do that? is he gonna meet diana? oh god. yes. he is. he knocks at her door.

he takes out a lock pick when she doesn’t answer and just. goes in there. i guess now he’s serious about getting results. she seems to have a nice place. he finds cigarettes. and some bras.

but the door opens!!! and in walks CSM!!!!

mulder has his gun pointed at him!!!

this has to be all the proof he needs!!!! if CSM is here, clearly they are working together for nefarious purposes!!! LOOK!!! USE CONTEXT CLUES, MOTHERFUCKER!!!

CSM caught mulder going through the drawers, and says he has a lingerie fetish which is crazy. damn. low blow from the guy who made his career on low blows.

OHHHH... mulder pulls him up to a sofa, has the gun right at his forehead, and says he has nothing to lose.

“i remember looking over a gun barrel at you once before, agent mulder” <- YES SO DO I!!! and it was amazing. love when he would burn the world down to avenge scully. even if he chose to find peace and say goodbye to her instead of resorting to violence. remember how loyal he was?!

“you couldn’t pull the trigger then. what makes you think you can now?” (he cocks the gun) LMAOOOO. fuck around and find out.

but CSM says he came here looking for his son. because he has betrayed him, and joined mulder's side. “that presumes my cause is wrong” “oh, it is, agent mulder, it is”

CSM is laughing as mulder says he’s not the one using innocent lab rats. he says his father was against it, too. the lone dissenter. but he came to his senses and gave up samantha.

mulder says you FORCED him to do that, he didn't want to! but CSM laughs again, saying he’s wrong. and we jump back to 1973. “that was your father’s objection: that we would ally ourselves with the alien colonists”

so he bought them some time, i guess? so they could try and come up with a way to defeat them?

“you put those lives on hold so that you alone could survive”

“no, agent mulder, so YOU could. that’s exactly what your father failed to realize. he railed at us, and our plans, even as the process has begun” hmm…. hmmmmm….

and then we see the syndicate from 1973, and a ton of children walk in!! CSM says they agreed to painful sacrifices. including cassandra!!! he gave the aliens his wife!!! so they all had to give someone up as insurance they wouldn't rebel, i suppose.

mulder is furious they sent them away like things, but CSM says it was the right thing to do, so they would come back to them. and the kids are shown crying as the aliens come to fetch them. including samantha.

mulder calls him a liar. he points out that she was taken in front of him, not in some hangar. but CSM says that was because bill didn’t realize that he also had to give up a child, as the aliens demanded. it was the only way they could get THE ALIEN FETUS??

WHERE DID THE FETUS COME FROM???!

they needed the fetus to get the alien genome to make the hybrid- the new race who would survive the holocaust. so he could survive. and live to see his sister.

mulder is furious. he sits down. and asks if CSM has succeeded. he says they did in spite of themselves, as the plan was only to buy time; they never thought they would actually come up with a solution. and when mulder asks about the vaccine, CSM says it was his father’s idea. but it’s too late, and the colonization is going to begin.

a state of emergency will be declared. due to the bee disease. yes, we have been over this.

i am only halfway through the episode and i have taken SO many notes. i feel this is a good place to check in and gather my thoughts.

how do i feel about this world building? well, i don’t know whether or not to believe it, to start. but it feels…. idk. too neatly put together. also, again, i ask: where did the fetus come from? did i miss something? am i silly?

hmm. idk. maybe it’s just that i don’t watch this show for the whole alien colonization subplot, so it doesn’t feel super interesting. i guess it is kind of neat to learn about why all the choices that have been made have been made, and to feel those mysterious undercurrents bubbling beneath the surface, but getting the answers directly feels kinda cheap. and i don’t buy for a second that CSM was doing all of these terrible things for the right reasons. don’t try and make me feel bad for him. not gonna work, buddy. it all fits together too neatly.

i guess now we should go back to the plot at hand, which, shall i remind us all, is going on IN diana’s apartment.

CSM says he must hand over cassandra and the colonization will begin. and mulder cannot stop it now, or else he will never see his sister again.

“it’s what your father realized. it’s what you’ll realize as your father’s son. or die in vain with the rest of the world”

okay. i feel like i’m not getting something, because why would mulder live if everyone else dies?? did his father somehow agree to spare him when he gave them samantha? and by “spare” him, we of course just mean he will survive to get turned into the alien slave race, right? because the vaccine isn’t ready yet. or at least not available to the masses. so the aliens will kill everyone but spare the syndicate and their families and make them slaves?? and why not just make everyone slaves then?? it sounds like they'd get more done that way. what do they even want to do with earth??

girl. who knows?

CSM hands him a paper, saying to save her, and save himself. and then he leaves. mulder is perplexed. but so am i. so i guess we’re matching.

spender comes to the syndicate place in new york!! looking for his father!!! and who does he find but krycek!!! who says he’s gone. and they aren’t coming back. they went to west virgina, where they will begin medical preparations to receive the hybrid genes.

okay. that clears up part of my confusion. i guess i didn’t realize that genes were transferable. but also, they did transfer them into cassandra. but i thought that was only focused on women? or was the reason they only chose women so they could get a two-for-one by experimenting on them to make full alien hybrid adults and also make the alien hybrid children?

sigh. does anyone know what’s going on?

also, why isn’t krycek there in west virginia with them? what is he planning?

he says CSM went to get cassandra, and that his doctors are already looking at her. spender thinks he has her locked away, but. alas. krycek says she’s probably being prepped as they speak.

cassandra is being swarmed by doctors. and she is screaming and screaming as they drug her. i find myself genuinely terrified. and CSM walks in, saying he needs a few minutes. she calls him the biggest bastard of all. she’s crying, saying the others never question his authority, even though he’s a coward.

he wants to talk about the future, not the past. he says they’re here now because of what he’s done. but for so many years, she didn’t understand it was all him. he says he ordered the tests, but he didn’t want to harm her- he wanted to save her and their son.

so what i'm hearing here is "i am very sorry i spent all that time torturing you, but i did it to save the elite few. and i'm not really that sorry" which is... a choice?

she says you can never save spender, because he knows what CSM has done to her…

wow. normally i like to add my own thoughts to these recounts of events, but it’s going too fast for me to even gather them. the minute i have formulated a thought, another thing has happened and takes its place.

there is only one way to save spender, she says. but CSM says he can’t kill her. and he runs away.

diana comes back to her apartment and finds mulder. he says he came here looking for evidence. she swears that she is loyal to him and the x files. lying through her TEETH.

mulder says he found no evidence of her being a traitor, but he says fate found him. he found CSM. and he says that he knows he must give up so the ones he loves can survive.

don’t touch him queen. she takes the paper from his hand. “that’s where we need to be if we want to survive it” <- HE WANTS TO BRING HER?!? this has to be a trap, right?

(after pondering this, i think him bringing her with him to the end of the world site makes sense. mulder always wants someone to save. so yes, he would bring the woman whose apartment he broke into with him when the end of the world arrived. but still. the optics of it, man. bringing her. trusting CSM's story. after everything he has done.

let's say yes, the end of the world is soon. and you won't go try and bring your mom with you? okay, maybe she's too far away, and that is very sad, because you have to go now. what about your best friends who live right nearby? you don't want to bring them? you want to bring this woman who clearly despises you, sabotages your work, torments you and your partner, and is working with your mortal enemy, who you have previously described as the devil?

i guess that is his thing. he needs to feel like he can save someone, because he couldn't save his sister. and maybe learning that the world is about to end provokes in you a sense of despair. but to hear him say he needs to give up... that is just. so deeply unlike him. what is he thinking? why doesn't he want to go down swinging?

the whole thing just... man. made me frustrated. like, do i know this mulder? or did he get swapped with some other dude?)

no, don’t kiss him, diana. i don’t want to see that. okay. whatever. you can’t hear me, i guess.

spender is going back to fort marlene, where he does not find his mother. but he does find marita!!! she asks for his help!!! he says he doesn’t know her,,, but she knows where they’re taking his mother. and how.

and she knows his name…. she says he has to trust him. huh. CSM must have spoken about him before. i wonder what he had to say.

ew, they're getting the alien fetus of mysterious origins out. man. i didn’t want to see, like, any of this. put the fetus in the pressure cooker looking thing, why don't you? can you just… thaw him out??

but the woman who wouldn’t get mulder shoes walks in while the thawing takes place. OHHHH!!! the eyeballs!!! scraped off the face!!! she’s one of the rebels!!!!

do we cheer? has crisis been averted?

mulder calls scully, and she says she was just calling him. oh... :( she still wanted to talk to him after the earlier outburst

he says he’s with diana, and they’re going to come get her. but she wants to go find cassandra!!! mulder says it’s no use, but she’s going there whether he comes or not. and “there” is the potomac yards, because spender called her and told her that's where she is being held.

lmao. don’t let him get you down, queen. you must save the day. alone if you must. this is not fair, but it is the scully curse.

god. again, the optics. mulder was really going to try and ascend to the alien apocalypse with his ex AND the woman he recently declared his love for by his side. and let everyone else on the planet die. mulder. use your brain. this does not make you look like a great guy.

mulder says he’ll be there, and sends diana ahead to west virginia. good on him for choosing hope?? i guess? a little late, but better than never.

well, they’re now chasing a train. and scully is FLOORING IT. ooo, i didn't know she could drive crazy like that! she angles the car across the train tracks!!!!

mulder gets out and they shoot the train together!!! the train brakes…. and they run!!!

NOOO!! scully’s CAR!!! it got ran over by a TRAIN!!!

i hope she has good insurance 💔

the syndicate and their family members are going to the hanger to get beamed up, i suppose. when someone approaches our agents. IT’S SKINNER!!!! he wants to know what the hell is going on.

oh, skinner, i didn’t realize how badly i wanted to see you, but now that there is a big smile on my face, i know it to be so.

yeah. get in the backseat, mulder. let scully take shotgun. atone for your crimes.

who is arriving at the hangar….? the syndicate goes to investigate. it’s cassandra on the stretcher. with CSM.

he wants to know where krycek is!! and i do, too!! he’s at fort marlene, stalking about. is he looking for marita?! will they be reunited?! are they still together?

krycek cannot find the alien fetus!!! he is furious!!! where did it go?!

spender calls out to him. he can’t get past security- they won’t let him remove a patient. and look! it’s marita that spender has with him!!! oh, this is an uncomfortable reunion between krycek and marita, who we last saw kissing passionately. his jaw drops.

krycek calls spender a sorry son of a bitch, saying the rebels are going to win. they took it. marita is shocked at this news, but spender just wants to know what “it” is. and can you blame the guy? he just got thrown into all of this.

diana pulls up at the hangar, and sees CSM. why is there music swelling between them? what is their relationship?

oh. the hangar is opening. but the syndicate didn’t send a message to the aliens!! so who goes there?

diana and CSM start to escape. and it seems that normal people are emerging from the hangar??? diana and CSM drive away!!!

but they aren’t normal people!!! they’re the faceless rebels!!! surrounding the syndicate!!! with their fire sticks!!!

(fire roars and people scream)

is.... that the end of the syndicate?

kersh is looking at photos of the burnt bodies that skinner handed him. he says the loss of life is beyond words. and spender is there, too. kersh says he cannot imagine how it must be, losing his mother.

oh, now i feel bad for him. he even got kersh to use a kind tone.

spender says he is responsible for those deaths!!! also mulder is here! and scully, too!

he says the agents might have prevented the terrible attacks!!! kersh's kind tone doesn't last long.

HE INTERRUPTED KERSH??? OMFG???

spender says it’s his fault the agents were suspended, and kersh ought to do everything he can to get them back on the x files. far worse can and will happen.

spender gets up and leaves, saying he will pack up his things.

“you have answers now? why didn’t i hear about those answers before?”, kersh asks mulder

“i’ve had answers for years”

“then why didn’t we hear about them?”

“no one ever listened” <- WELL!!! get his ass.

he says the people burned themselves, from choices made by men long ago who thought they could sleep with the enemy.

kersh doesn't know wtf this means, and scully says. well. he's probably right. so just go along with it.

spender tells CSM to get out of his old office. he’s holding the photo of him and bill mulder!!! he says he was a good man and a friend who betrayed him.

he said he came here hoping his mother wasn’t right. he hoped his son might live to honor me. like bill mulder’s son.

AND THEN HE PULLS OUT A GUN AND SHOOTS HIM!!???

the end?!?!

hey man. entirely too much just happened in one episode.

okay. um.

well. i didn’t like this one.

there was too much going on!!! my brain wasn’t handling it!! why would mulder choose diana over scully?? is he stupid??

is the syndicate over now?? but now they have to deal with the alien rebels?? was krycek working for the rebels the whole time?? is that a good thing? but it's krycek; he can't be good. is spender dead?? just when i started to like him?

will mulder and scully go back on the x files?? will it be under skinner? how will they just go back to work after all of that?

“hey scully. i'm sorry i didn’t believe you when you said my ex was manipulating me even though you found incredibly detailed receipts with my best friends in the whole world. and i'm sorry for how i wanted to give up and let everyone in the world die, because the man who is responsible for torturing you and thousands of other women told me there was nothing i could do. and i'm sorry i agreed with him despite having no reason to trust him whatsoever, and only changed my mind at the last minute.

do you want to go hunt some werewolves now? and not acknowledge how i blew off all of your trauma in favor of trusting someone i haven’t seen in years and a guy i previously called the devil? i know you’ve saved me more times than can be counted, but it was an honest mistake!”

grrr. i’m growling. hissing, even. how can he be so stupid?!

beyond mulder’s dumb choices, it was just far too much at one time. which always happens with these episodes, but this might even be a record for most stuff packed into one episode. and it just made me frustrated. and therefore, i didn’t enjoy it.

we got the marita reveal; tons of 1973 lore; attempts at humanizing CSM- and then him immediately being evil again; foolish mulder choices; scully being taken advantage of; krycek doing… whatever it is he does, really; the end of the syndicate; spender redemption arc and possibly death; and the rise of the rebels as the new big bad? so… are the other aliens who are made of the purity stuff just not a threat anymore? or will they be competing for dominance in colonization?? and where did the fetus come from and where did it go?

hmm. i need to go ponder. but i’m not very pleased.

a day later, i am still not very pleased. the smashing of too many things together is a simple writing flaw. it comes with the territory. i'm used to it by now, if still mildly perturbed. but man, mulder trusting diana and CSM over scully. whew. sometimes, it's like the writers have this character, and spend so much time crafting him as this devoted, if deeply flawed and egotistical guy who would do anything to save the people he loves, and then... they just... make him not care about anyone or anything. and pretend like it's the same guy. as if i was not the victim of a bait and switch here. and it's happened often enough where you'd think i'd see some sort of pattern or in-character justification for his sudden change of heart, but we never get it. never.

so, CSM claimed he could see his sister if everyone else in the world died and they became alien slaves. how many times has he dangled his sister over mulder's head before? why is this something he would still even consider? why does he take CSM's word about his father at face value? he doesn't even LIKE his father, and now CSM says oh, he wanted to save everyone, and mulder just. eats it up. with no evidence to support thing. i just don't get it. and then he gives up. sits in diana's apartment, ready to let everyone die. it's only scully's call that wakes him up, makes him take his characteristic action.

idk. is there something i'm missing here? does this make sense to anyone else? have you all come to see some sort of internal logic to his actions after spending years with these episodes and arcs, and i just have to put the pieces together and come to the conclusions that you reached decades ago? will there be some reveal that makes this all make sense eventually? am i even being coherent?

hmm. this is another of those episodes that makes me want to throw my laptop in the river. i will ponder other, better episodes in the meantime.

#sort of felt bad typing up “make him for guilty for not saving you from your abduction” but. well. i still typed them. and kept them in.#what is he doing? i just don't understand. what sort of blackmail does diana have on him? did she tell him she can find his sister?#what does it matter if he finds his sister if everyone else alive is dead? what happened to knowing the syndicate is made of monsters?#girl. i just. don't know. scully deserves better.#i hope that this will someday make sense and the vague comments people have left on my posts imply that maybe someday it will #but we aren't there yet. so i am allowed to be annoyed.#spender. you pissed me off so badly in our brief time together. but in the end you did the right thing. which is commendable.#skinner. you were the getaway driver. and we all know nothing good starts in a getaway car.#well. where do we go from here?#am i alone in my fury? or were you too pissed? please let me know #also did you find this way too fucking confusing? please share that as well.#juni's x files liveblog #6x12 #the x files #txf

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fatuismooches · 1 year ago

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what if dottore had to create a new segment for a very specific experimental project (dunno what it is but for the sake of this ask just hear me out xddd) and its the female version of prime ! fragile reader has always been nosey as to what dottore's new project is ab and would even snoop around eventhough prime or the segments would eventually rant ab it sooner or later . so when reader found out that theres been a newcomer at the lab their curiousity peaked yet the lab is very restricted whenever its being operated and can only hear their voice which is somewhat familiar w their figure of speech so reader is left quite frustrated . ladyttore has all the memories of prime so whenever reader's presence can be sensed outside of the lab she just smiles to herself and felt giddy at reader's antics for being curious yet clueless ab her . after the project has been completed she just ... kind of almost nothing to do since prime and all of the segments had already been assigned onto a new project w all the roles taken and shes left to standby if there happens to be any emergency . she met reader for the first time when she strolls along the halls to study the area then suddenly reader appeared in different direction as they were ab to go to their room . reader immediately froze as their mind went , " WHO IS THIS PRETTY LADY AND WHY DOES SHE LOOK LIKE DOTTORE ?!?!?!? " . ladyttore just simply chuckles at this then holds one of their hand on hers to bring it to her lips and said , " its a pleasure to finally meet you " and u just burst into million shades . i have a feeling ladyttore is more suave than most segments so when prime and the other segments were left busy both of u went along quite well and when they got back they lowkey feels jealous LOL . zandi is prob quite fond of ladyttore since shes very attentive and he likes adults that are somewhat similar to reader .

had this idea bc i want dottore yuri 🥺🩷

YESSS WBDWQKDWQD FEMTTORE WOULD BE... SO SUAVE AND CHARMING AND TALL AND PRETTY,, Dottore, as someone who is constantly seeking new perspectives, well it wouldn't be too surprising for him to make a female segment!! (We know he's done much crazier things anyway.) Although you've been told many many times to stop wandering around certain off-limits areas of the lab... you can't help it. You're still a scholar, after all! (Interpret "scholar" that how one would like.) Though many times, you end up being caught before you can get any of the juicy details... which happens yet again, and all you can hear is a familiar yet unfamiliar voice at the same time...

Although Femttore thinks you are the cutest little thing that she would love to gobble up, she doesn't force the meeting, rather, she wants it to happen naturally. Oh, of course she'd love to wrap her hands around your shoulders and purr into your ear, have you lay on her lap as you glance nervously at her but, she's not impatient. Yes, seeing all the other segments hog your attention is rather annoying but her chance will come. And it is worth every second of waiting.

You have to do a double take when you see such a lovely, well-dressed lady with... a familiar mask and... long, blue hair?? You nearly trip over your feet as you try to understand when she just strolls up and kisses your hand so romantically,, And her voice? It's like Dottore's but it has a distinct tone to it, like not other. It makes your cheeks warm, definitely.

Omega and Femttore are definitely the ones silently fighting with each other through sharp smiles and passive-aggressive statements. They are the two latest versions of Prime after all... They are both selfish in many matters, that applies to you as well of course. The other segments don't like her because she always manages to steal you away... why are you so enamored with her, it's not fair! The younger ones especially, they mumble and grumble all the time when they see her touch you so casually as you fawn over her,,

She always makes sure you have all the products you need (hygiene, skincare, lotion, etc) because she knows her creator knows only the basics of the basics,, </3 of course she also has very pointy teeth and likes to mark you but the other segments get mad of course,, it's always a competition

#smooches talks #fragile reader <3 #dottore love notes <3 #PUTS THIS IN MY MOUTH IT TASTES DELICIOUSSSS #one of my fav dottore artist drew art of female dottore segment and i just... <333

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edutainer2022 · 1 year ago

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There's a bit of headcanon backstory of Scott's disastrous trainwreck of a lovelife I always kinda mean to write out (shout out to @janetm74 and @liseylou!). So it features here. Gordon watches celebrity news. Fischler's brother (of all people!) gets married. Nothing goes as planned. Scott is NOT having a good time. Nor has he been for a while. Bereznik gets mentioned. An OC that might be relevant later gets mentioned. The GDF units I think may have IR on the radar get mentioned. Scott has great brothers and good friends. He's still not having a good time.

PAGE SIX

Ever since Kat Kavanaugh buried a hatchet and wasn't chasing conspiracy theories about them on Global Holovision anymore, watching the news live was a once in a blue moon activity in Casa Tracy. They followed the major world events through John and Eos (maybe a bit of social media on a relatively quiet morning), and they were likely to be part of those in some capacity at least a third of the times. Sometimes a half. But it was one of those days. A relative lull in rescues compiled with the exhaustion of the previous fortnight streak of disasters bred mildly numb boredom. Batteries too low to pursue their usual hobbies, they gravitated to the lounge.

Scott was ever at the desk with holo screens full of quarterly budget reports, because their biggest brother did stock market numbers for LEISURE, apparently. Virgil was playing, as usual, but the music was slowly fading to a halt. Alan was gaming, or pretending to be while napping, his VR goggles on. Kayo was going through some specs, half leaning on the couch cushions. Even John was in a quiet lull up in orbit, his hologram just bobbing at the comms unit, hanging out with everybody, but not really a part of any conversation. That left Gordon scrolling lazily through newsreels. The sudden yelp sent Alan tumbling on the floor and Scott at least half an inch closer to a cardiac arrest under thirty. A keen observer would have noticed Kayo reaching for a knife in the ankle holster. The piano music keened on an abrupt note and stopped. Several pairs of VERY unamused eyes stared Gordon down.

The Fish was on his feet already, bursting with excitement, sending the news holo to the center of the lounge.

"Did you guys know Fischler has a brother?!?!"

The assorted grumps and groans across the lounge indicated that they not only didn't know, but weren't in the least thrilled by that information. Only John and Kayo shared a quiet look, because OF COURSE they would know.

Gordon surveyed the lounge in triumph, setting the stage for a punchline.

"He has a brother and he's getting married!"

"Who, Fischler?"

Alan was still scrambling up from his hardwood landing and making a show of rubbing an ouchie. Scott at least looked ready to switch gears to the full "hurt brother!" mode. Gordon was not deterred.

"No, dummy, not Fischer! His brother is getting married!"

"And that's any of our business how?"

Alan was still not ready to relinquish attention from his boo-boo. Not with so many big brothers in attendance. But John, Kayo and Virgil were already sharing concerned LOOKS. Any widely publicized event with cameras rolling and hundreds in attendance, involving Fischler, could potentially turn into a showcase of his latest "invention", or ten. Which would mean potential casualties and work for IR. They would need to be on the look-out and on standby. Scott waved at the comm to get the volume up.

The holo displayed a close pic of a younger and significantly more polished version of Langstrom Fischler, hair sleecked back, but a weaselly smile just a tad on the manic side. The celebrity news anchor was gushing about a "dashing fresh face on the World Senate, a philanthropist and patron of innovation, a devoted brother and a consummate athlete, setting off to be a force of a positive change in the world" and "his drop dead gorgeous fiancée, a once Miss Brazil runner-up, who dedicated herself to the selfless life of service, decorated for honor and courage". The picture on the screen changed for an official GDF snapshot of a tall young brunette in dress blues. The insignia on the collar indicated the rank of Captain and breastplanks - several high ranking awards for valor. The picture changed to a series of candid paparazzi snaps of the "happy couple". The show host droned on with one corny cliche after another about the "match made of dreams" and a " high profile dream wedding" scheduled to take place on a cozy remote island.

Gordon interrupted the stream of saccharine platitudes:

"Huh? How come we're not invited? Scott, you know like everyone in the World Senate!"

But his voice was drowned out by the deafening snap of the metal stylus, broken in Scott's fingers. The sound of the desk chair hitting the floor, as Scott stood up and all but ran from the lounge, was even louder.

"Huh?!"

Gordon, yet again, surmised the bewilderment of everyone present. Virgil was half out to follow Scott, when a ping came through on Gordon's comm. The sign flashed pink.

"Yay! Looks like I'm going after all! Penny needs a plus one! John, can I borrow your tux?!"

John half waved his brother off, brows furrowed and hands already flying over invisible files, when another pink ping came through. It was Kayo's turn for a "Huh?" moment.

"Looks like Penny needs a plus two, as well. I'm invited".

That deflated Gordon's initial excitement enough to notice Virgil leaving in the general direction of Dad's office, where Scott had locked himself. Before he reached the door to try and reason with big brother to talk about... whatever that was, John sent two files to his comm. One - a picture they all saw a hundred times on Dad's desk back in Kansas, but it didn't compute out of context. Scott's Airgroup Wing after a training flight. All hugging and laughing, still in flightsuits. Scott and the girl from the news today - Fischler Jr.'s fiancée - at the center. The other Virgil never saw before. It would figure since it was a screenshot from, what he recognized with some dread, was Dad's old phone. There was a picture sent to a private chat with Dad of the same girl, in a sundress, and Scott in a polo shirt, apparently both on leave. An almost ten years younger Scott was smiling like he could power up a sun. The message to Dad read "SHE SAID YES!!!". The date of the message indicated about a month and a half before Scott's mission to Bereznik. Virgil sank to the floor, leaning on the wall, never going through with the knock on the locked office door.

***

It was such an unbelievable cliché it felt surreal. The thunderstorm, the lightning, the lash of downpour across his face. Then again, it was fitting, as his world was going crashing down around him. Yet again. There was nothing surreal about the hard edges of Mom's ring she just gave him back. For about six weeks he was the happiest man alive. Dad's IR project was well underway, and he was to share that dream not only with Dad and brothers, but with the love of his life. He should have known better... The words were real too - hard and ruthless. About Dad yanking his leash, and expecting nothing but dutifully following in his footsteps and his vision, concealed by his looming shadow, and giving up what they both dreamed about and worked so hard for - test flights, command ranks, career in service. The echo came back to him often, in one dark hour or another, after his world shattered to pieces yet another time. Dad voiced his reservations clearly, but did agree to give him Mom's ring. "When you know, you know". Wasn't it how he and Mom got married? It WAS too soon, they WERE too young, and frateenization within a unit WAS an issue, but with IR lifting off that wasn't to be a problem, once he told her the full scale of the classified project. He should have known better...

He last remembered the ring yanked off his neck with the dogtags chain by a smirking Berezniki guard. He put up a hell of a fight for that and was beaten within an inch of his life. The first time. Next time he found it, inexplicably, in Dad's safe on the island, after the search for Zero-X was called off. He meant to ask Kyrano, as he wasn't conscious or coherent enough for the extraction op, or for months after, but the man never returned his calls anymore, sending in a resignation after half a year of following leads on the Hood. There wasn't much room in his mind or hours in his days to give it more thought for years after. Or more pieces for his heart to break into. He should have known better. And now she was getting married. To someone bright and promising, changing the world for the better, who wasn't him. He should have known better as well. The sound of glass shattering against the wall and a visceral scream finally sent Virgil in, wild-eyed, breaking past the lock.

***

John lifted an eyebrow in a perfect quizzical arch, putting the tablet down, as the "wedding party" poured, or rather, limped into the lounge. Gordon's tuxedo sleeve was torn clear off, his bowtie, undone, served as a makeshift tourniquet. Parker sported cuts, bruises and a glorious shiner. Penelope's elaborate updo was in disarray, one heel of a golden pump broken. Kayo's slip dress hem was torn, exposing a garter holster. As John hurried to the kitchen for the first aid kit, he heard her hiss something to the effect of "You should have seen the other guys".

The villa was quiet. Grandma had Alan on the mainland for the weekend. Virgil chased Scott up the volcano. There was a good chance biggest brother and his stormy mood was best quarantined at the Round House for the rest of the day. John was waiting in the lounge for the fallout, one way or another. He wasn't quite prepared to the sight on display, handing out ice packs.

Gordon hissed too and bit off a curse, as John set about cleaning the bullet graze on his arm.

"Pen, do all your friends whip out a standard issue gun at the altar and read the groom Miranda rights instead of vows?"

Lady Penelope was busy trying to look poised while breaking the second heel off a designer pump, to make them even.

"It was a deep undercover mission to round up a drug and slave trafficking ring. A destination wedding was a most fortunate venue for the occasion."

Kayo looked up from the kitchen isle at that, not pausing to stop extracting a considerable arsenal of throw-knives from her bodice.

"Looks like the Fischler brothers were bankrolled by mafia. The crazy inventions AND the World Senate election. In exchange for some... perks."

Kayo snorted and went back to her inventory of weapons.

Gordon perked up as the anesthetic cream kicked in and forgot to NOT wave the injured hand around to assist his narrative.

"It was actually kinda cool! The bride barked out "Hands up!" instead of "I do"! The bridesmaids all dropped their bouquets and brandished guns. The bridal party were all Organized Crime and Counterterrorism. Well, and us... A little heads up wouldn't have hurt, Penny. Then all hell broke loose. Rose petals and confetti everywhere. You should have seen Fischler's face!"

Gordon was nearly flailing with excitement, so John's hands pushed him mildly back into the seat. Turquoise eyes found Penelope's line of sight:

"So... no wedding?"

"No wedding indeed."

Up on the Tracy Volcano Virgil's comm vibrated, switched to silent mode hours ago. John's message read "No wedding."

Virgil exhaled a sigh, but didn't yet know how to break the subject with a brother, seated next to him on the sun-warmed boulder, overlooking the ocean. Blue eyes were fixed on a point far away in the distance, or maybe far away in the past, Scott still wouldn't talk about.

#thunderbirds are go #scott tracy #scott tracy needs a hug #gordon tracy #virgil tracy #virgil tracy didn’t subscribe to this #john tracy #john tracy didn't sign up for this #kayo kyrano #is a badass #penelope is a good friend #gdf are competent #on occasion #my fic #methinks i have astronomy #thunderbirds 2015 #thunder oc #past relationships #bereznik headcanons

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samoankpoper21 · 2 years ago

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Giving Birth to Humanity's Strongests' Kid

A/N I may or may not do a modern! au version of Levi finding out you're pregnant to how he is leading up to you giving birth. Y/D/N is your dad's name. I was going to use Y/F/N but I didn't want to confuse readers with it being your first name versus it being your father's name XD Enjoy this headcanon^^

Word count: 1272

To say that Hange creeped you out was an understatement. You didn't dislike Hange but as the time grew near, she kept poking and prodding your tummy as if you were one of the few titans she kept hidden on standby for "research purposes". "Hange," you say through gritted teeth. "That hurts." She looked up with large shining eyes, blushing, exclaiming, "But how can I NOT be amazed?!?!?! You're about to give birth to humanity's strongest kid!!" You shuddered as you watched her wipe a trail of saliva and continued her gently prodding. You reluctantly gave in and asked, "Shouldn't you be with my husband trying to warm up the new recruits or something?"

"Yeah I should but-oh!" You sucked in a breath, scared of what she may have discovered. "What is it Hange?!" she continued to gently press down on your belly and say, "How odd. I feel 2 bodies in here."

"Eh?!?!?!"

"Hange get away from her." You both looked up to see Levi enter the room. To you it was as if he was moving in slow motion. He could casually be walking and you would describe it as fluid. "Levi!" Hange excitedly exclaim. "I was just telling your wife that I think-"

"Hange, as much as I would love to hear what you have to say, I would like a few short moments with my wife before we leave for our expedition."

"But-"

"Please Hange." Defeated she reluctantly agreed and dragged herself out of the room. As the door clicked shut, Levi sighed and plopped his head down onto your shoulder. He inhaled, both of you reveling in the quietness. "I don't want to go."

"You know the corps can't do this without you. The recruits rely on you as much as they rely on Erwin."

"But what if you give birth while I'm away. I don't want you to experience that alone." Levi whispered. You shushed him by cradling his head, running your fingers through his hair. 2 curt knocks shattered the moment. Levi groaned upon hearing, "Captain! We're ready to head out." Levi pressed his forehead against yours, eyes shut, once more inhaling the scent of you. "Come back to me safely Levi." you whispered. He kissed your forehead and before heading out, he turned around and said, "Oi. I love you you know." You chuckled. "I love you too."

Levi's POV

This expedition was taking longer than he wanted. Levi wanted nothing more than to be at home with his wife, rubbing her belly feeling his baby kick whenever he got near her and to be able to drink black tea. He understood that the whole purpose of this expedition was to prepare that brat Eren to help uncover more secrets of how titans came into fruition but these past 5 days were making him go feral. Every time they would take 2 steps forward, something unexpected happened that caused the corps to take 3 steps back. "Commander Erwin," Miche, the tall blonde with an accute sense of smell approached. "It's about to rain soon. We should head back. The rain will hinder, if any, progress we've made thus far." Erwin sighed in defeat. He knew Miche was right but wanted to press on in pursuit of his own personal agenda. Before Erwin could ask Levi for his opinion a scout came running towards them shouting, "Leeeeeeviiiiiiiiii! Captain Leeeeeeeeviiiiiiiii!" The 3 men stiffened, Levi clutching at his blades. "State your business." Erwin demanded of the younger man doubled over trying to catch his breath. One look at his uniform and they knew he was with the military police. "Captain Levi, your wife...your wife is in labor now." Levi felt as if time had stopped, the world paused. He was brought back with a firm hand on his shoulder. Looking up into Erwin's steely blue eyes Erwin nodded. "We'll be right behind you." Levi ran, jumped on his horse and told the MP member, "Let's go!"

He cautiously approached the tent that the MP had led him to. It took everything in him to try and stabilize himself. He heard a soft coo and, with shaky hands, he pulled the curtain back only to find you laying there with not one, but 2 babies in tow. You looked up smiling. "Levi." He gently approached the bed looking down at the black tufts of hair that were sticking out; an Ackerman trait. "Wha-"

"Come here! Don't be shy." He gently grabbed one of the babies and awkwardly cradled her. "Is this, am I doing this right?" You giggled and motioned him to come closer where you gently laid your son down and helped reposition his arms. He sat in the chair next to the bed rocking your daughter. "Hange was right." Levi looked up confused. "What do you mean?"

"Before you guys left for the expedition she felt my belly and said she felt 2 babies instead of one." Levi chuckled as you continued. "I'm not going to lie, she creeped me out when she kept poking and prodding but now I think I'm almost grateful." You reveled in the moment of Levi holding your daughter,his soft gaze peering down, the way his arms rocked her. You wished time would freeze so you could cherish this moment forever. "What are their names?"

You hesitated before answering, "The boy's name is Furlan, and our daughter, the one that you're holding, her name is Isabel." You bit your lip waiting for Levi's reaction, noting how he had stopped rocking her, his head bent down. The minutes of silence was too much to bear. Does he like it? Does he not like it? What is he thinking? Is he offended? "I didn't officially get to write the names down but, if you want, we can change it-"

"Thank you," Levi whispered. "Thank you for allowing them and their memories to live on." He finally met your gaze, his eyes wet, and you reached out to gently wipe the tears away. "I love you." you whispered. Levi closed his eyes and let his head rest in your hand. "What are their full names?"

"Furlan Y/D/N Ackerman, Isabel Kuchel Ackerman." Another round of uncomfortable silence passed before you ask, "Do you like it?"

"I love it. Thank you," he kissed your hand and stood up to stand beside you. "Thank you for being strong. I know it must have been tough doing this alone but you did great and I am proud of you." he planted a kiss on your forehead. "For being my wife," a kiss on your nose. "And finally for being the mother of my children." He captured your lips while professionally maintaining his hold on Isabel. When he pulled away you were crying tears of joy. "You big baby." he chided. You lightly smacked his arm and watched as Isabel stirred in her sleep. Levi's tongue ticked and noted, "She's rowdy like her name sake." He bent down to kiss you again when the moment was ruined by a loud, "LEEEEEEEEVVVVVIIIIIIIIII!" the curtains swung open and there stood Hange panting and beaming. "Oh ho ho yes! I was right!" she began to wriggle her fingers when Erwin stopped her. "Hange let's let the new parents have their moment."

"Awwww but I want to see how humanity's strongest kids look like."

"You can do that on another date." Hange pouted and reluctantly agreed following Erwin out. Erwin turned to you and Levi and asked, "What are their names?"

"Furlan and Isabel." Erwin offered a sad smile. "Congratulations Levi. I know you'll be a great father."

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cosmi-trashbin · 4 years ago

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So, I have this fun Mob Psycho 100 and Gegege no Kitaro crossover AU.

All I have so far is the idea that Rat Man/Nezumi Otoko and Reigen have a past. They met when Reigen was around Mob's age. Originally, Nezumi thought of Reigen as an easy mark, but ended up growing fond of him because he sees him as a younger version of himself as well as a kindred spirit. At 14, Reigen was still trying to figure things out and he was already running his mouth, practicing magic tricks, and trying to start rookie business ventures (like selling sandwiches his sister made for him, reading tarot cards, and playing matchmaker for classmates). Nezumi successfully appealed to and sold Reigen on the idea that he was a decent business man willing to "teach him the ropes."

So, he became Reigen's mentor and later, business partner. He taught Reigen most of what he knows about cons, scams, and other nefarious dealings. But Nezumi betrayed and backstabbed Reigen quite a few different times, too. Reigen's smart, but Nezumi's years of experience, manipulative skills, and knowledge of Reigen's background (Reigen confided in him for quite awhile) were enough to keep pulling him back. This screwed with Reigen and, at least in this AU, is part of why he's reluctant to be honest and vulnerable with other people. It's also why he actively studies people and learns how to read their faces, body language, and emotions. While Reigen outright refuses to work with or make any further contracts with Nezumi, he keeps in contact because of Nezumi's wealth of knowledge and unique connections. (Reigen also feels sympathetic for Nezumi, knowing he'll never change, but still holding naive hope that he's wrong. He's Reigen's 'weird uncle'.)

Nezumi still considers Reigen a close friend in a similar, weird, and complicated way that he does Kitaro. He contacts Reigen at least once every two weeks, sometimes just to check in, but more often hoping to get help with some scheme or plan. The feeling isn't mutual, though. Reigen would help Nezumi in a life or death situation, but he'll refuse if it's a smaller, petty manner. He doesn't respond to most of Nezumi's texts either and is low-key pissed at how many new numbers are Nezumi's latest burner phone rather than a prospective new client.

When Reigen was first involved with Nezumi's scheming, Kitaro tried multiple times to warn and dissuade him from working with Nezumi. But Reigen was so stubborn and charmed by Nezumi the warnings fell on deaf ears. Years later, Reigen apologized and sometimes refers clients to Kitaro when he realizes they're talking about a yokai and not a rat in the attic or a minor spirit Mob could exorcise. Sometimes, Kitaro recruits Reigen to rescue someone from the worse consequences of Nezumi's schemes or Nezumi himself.

Mob has met Kitaro once. Otherwise, they haven't really collaborated or talked further with each other. And Reigen has tried his damndest to keep his protege from meeting Nezumi. But they've met and Mob knows how to deter and actively avoid Nezumi better than Reigen can. Nezumi wants a friendship, but Mob is only bare-bones polite and absolutely blunt around him.

Other Details:

Reigen never understood Nezumi's tendency to immediately blow his earnings on frivolous items or dates. He's always been reluctant to mark up prices as much as Nezumi does, too.

Nezumi would gladly let a gorgeous female client flirt her way to a discount or even spend his entire pay check on a list of cute girls he had on standby. He's tried to give Reigen tips on how an 'average, ugly guy' can score. Reigen isn't interested half the time and rolls his eyes. When he's older, some female clients try to make moves on him before Nezumi, but he usually shuts them down. (Reigen will flirt every once in awhile to sweeten a deal for his benefit).

Nezumi has tried to set Reigen up a few times. Reigen refuses every time, telling him that he's perfectly capable of finding a relationship or date when/if he ever wants one.

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ironwoman359 · 5 years ago

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Love Song for a Siren

Summary: Life aboard the pirate ship The Sea Serpent is as perfect as Roman, Patton, and Logan could hope for, but a startling discovery turns their lives...and their hearts...upside down.

Ships: Established Moralogince, eventual LAMP, side Dukeceit

Content Warnings: Mentions of whaling, piracy (the swashbuckling kind), sympathetic deceit, sympathetic remus, general fear/anxiety, being trapped/captured.

Word Count: 5,407

Read on AO3 here

My Fic Masterlist Commission Info Ko-fi

A/N: @vintage-squid, surprise! I’m your secret santa! I’m so glad you enjoyed the story, I had a blast writing it! Thank you to @theinvisiblespoon for beta reading this fic, you’re the absolute best! I have at least two more fics for this AU planned, a prequel that tells the story of Roman and Remus coming to be crew members aboard the Sea Serpent (cuz boy howdy is that a tale), and a sequel that pits our now established LAMP boys against an external threat. Both elements were ideas that I had for this story/universe that just didn’t make it into the final version due to time/length, so let me know if you’d like to be tagged in those future stories, or if you’d like to be on my general writing taglist. As always, comments/reblogs are greatly appreciated. Love you guys! -Taylor <3

--- --- ---

“All hands on deck!”

Roman grinned and scampered down from his perch in the crow’s nest, his boots hitting the deck with a satisfying *thud.* The sky above him was clear and bright, and a cool ocean breeze rustled through his hair, granting him a reprieve from the heat of the sun. The gentle sway of the ship, once so strange and foreign to him, was now a familiar, soothing motion, and Roman’s chest swelled with confidence. He pulled his rapier from his belt and swiped it through the air with a flourish, winking at the ship’s navigator who was standing nearby.

“Just once, I’d like to see you answer Patton’s call without all your typical fanfare,” the man said, raising an eyebrow at Roman.

“What? My brother, pass up a chance to be dramatic?” a cheerful squawk called out, and then Remus was beside them, throwing one arm around Roman and jostling him playfully. “That’ll be the day.”

“Indeed, the one that we all long for,” the navigator agreed, and Roman pouted before letting his features slide into a smirk.

“Oh, come on Logan, you know you love me,” Roman crooned, and his smile widened as Logan’s cheeks became dusted with pink.

“Unfortunately, yes,” he said as Roman wriggled out from Remus’s grip to peck him on the lips. “However did I let that happen?”

“Okay you two, cut it out!” Patton chided as he walked over. “You’re both too adorable and it’s not fair, ‘cause I very much want to kiss you both, but we don’t have time right now!”

“Later, my love,” Roman promised, blowing the ship’s quartermaster a kiss of his own. Patton pretended to catch it out of the air and held it close to his heart, winking before he turned and addressed the larger crowd of sailors that had gathered on deck.

“We’ve adjusted course to intercept a ship, prepare for boarding!” Patton called. “And standby for the captain’s orders!”

As if on cue, the captain stepped out onto the deck, surveying his crew at work for a moment before turning to Patton.

“What’s the target?”

“It looks like a whaling ship,” Patton said with a grimace, and the captain snarled.

“Right. The captain should be worth a half decent ransom then, plus there should be plenty of valuable cargo on board. We’ll disable the ship when we’re finished then leave the rest of the crew to their own devices, if they aren’t idiots they should be able to survive long enough to make whaling seem like a very unattractive occupation to their buddies back home.”

Patton nodded, then turned back to the crew.

“Ready about!” he called to them, then nodded to Roman. “Ro, take point on the first raiding crew.”

“Oooh, Dee, your mask!” Remus suddenly cried, before dashing into the captain’s quarters without another word. He emerged a moment later, handing over the mask before planting a kiss on the captain’s cheek.

“Oh, so you have time for kisses, but I don’t,” Roman teased, and Remus stuck his tongue out at him.

“Captain’s privileges,” Dee said with a smirk before sliding the mask down over the left side of his face, carved features and painted green scales covering the burn that marred his skin.

“Ro, come on!” Patton called again, and Roman turned his attention to the whaler that was still approaching them, not yet realizing that the innocuous looking Sea Serpent was actually a pirate vessel.

“Heave to!” Patton shouted, and Logan pulled on the ship’s wheel until the Sea Serpent was directly in the path of the approaching whaler.

“Ready canons!” Dee called, and Patton relayed the order to the gunmen below deck. “On my command! Ready?”

Roman gripped his sword hilt, a smile growing on his face despite himself. Right here, standing on the deck of his ship with a sword in his hand and his two loves by his side, was exactly where Roman wanted to be.

“Fire!”

--- --- ---

It didn’t take long for the crew of the whaler, called The Carlotta, to surrender, and before long, Patton was leading a small party through the ship to look for anything worth looting. As soon as he stepped below decks, however, he had to stop. He waved the other crew members on ahead of him and leaned against a nearby support beam, taking in several deep gulps of air through his mouth. Unfortunately, that didn’t do much to alleviate the stench.

The cargo hold was full of dozens upon dozens of barrels, and a foul, fishy scent clung to the air around them like mold. The smell was bad enough, but that combined with the thought of what was actually in the barrels was enough to make Patton gag on the spot. He, like Dee, was not fond of the practice of whaling, but while Dee would still bring the whale blubber onboard the Sea Serpent so they could sell it themselves and turn a profit, Patton would just as soon dump the whole batch back into the ocean so he didn’t have to think about it for too long. He was just grateful that they hadn’t come upon The Carlotta when she’d taken a fresh kill; money or no, message or no, Patton was not about to deal with looting a ship floating beside a dead whale carcass.

“Quartermaster!”

Patton looked up to see one of the younger crew members coming towards him, their eyes as round as saucers.

“What is it, kiddo? And I’ve told you, just Patton is fine.”

“Right, yessir–I mean, Patton. But, um, you need you see this!”

“What is it?” Patton asked again, following the young sailor deeper into the hold.

“I...I don’t know, sir, you’re just...going to have to see for yourself.”

Thoroughly intrigued now, Patton let himself be led into the back corner of the cargo hold where he was met with a peculiar sight. What appeared to be a large iron kettle, which Patton recognized as part of the tryworks that whalers would use to boil the whale blubber down into oil, was sitting in the middle of the open space. The kettle itself wasn’t what struck Patton as odd though, it was its placement below decks. The ship had clearly recently brought in a new whale, and Patton remembered seeing the other kettle in its proper place on top of the furnace up on deck. What on earth was this doing down here?

The other thing that was confusing was the large slat of crisscrossed iron bars that had been laid haphazardly over the top of the kettle. If Patton had to guess, he’d say that the whalers had taken the door off the ship brig and used it as a sort of cap, and for extra measure, a few canon balls had been placed on top to provide additional weight. Three other crew members were standing around the kettle, looking inside with something akin to awe on their faces.

“What’s going on?” Patton asked as he approached, and the crewmen just pointed, stepping back so Patton could peer into the kettle himself.

He didn’t know whether to be amazed or horrified.

“Get the captain,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “He needs to see this.”

The sailors nodded and hurried off to find Dee, leaving Patton alone to stare at what they’d found in growing disbelief.

Lying tangled in a net at the bottom of the kettle in about a half-foot of water was...some sort of creature. At first glance, Patton had thought the long, slippery tail belonged to a strange fish or eel, but as his eyes traveled upward, that thought was quickly dismissed from his mind. Halfway up the creature’s body, the scales gave way to smooth purple skin and a surprisingly human shaped torso, despite the fins on the creature’s sides and elbows. A set of gills was visible on the side of its neck, and a shock of dark hair fell around the creature’s ears, or at least, the wide, fan-shaped fins that protruded from where the ears would be on a human. It’s chest was rising in short, quick bursts, and Patton didn’t need to be a medical expert to tell that it was having trouble breathing.

Despite growing up in a port town and being around seamen for most of his life, Patton had never really put much stock into superstition, or the wild tales of sea monsters and magic that sailors brought back from their ventures out onto the open ocean. Sailors in his hometown tended to drink as much as they talked, and while their stories made for good entertainment, he’d never really believed any of them. And yet, staring down at the creature in the kettle, he knew now that some of the tales had to be true.

“What is it?”

Patton turned at the sound of Dee’s voice, and he found that there was only one thing he could say.

“Dee...they have a mermaid.”

As if on cue, the mermaid stirred, twisting in the kettle and letting out a muffled hiss as it strained against the net that had its arms pinned against its sides. Dee and Patton looked down, and Patton bit his tongue to keep himself from whimpering.

The eyes that met their gaze were wide with fear, but they narrowed in an instant as the mermaid hissed again, flaring out its fins in warning. Patton was sure that if it were able, the creature would be baring its teeth at them, but somehow the net had gotten tangled in such a way that it was wrapped around its face and digging into its mouth. If Patton had to guess, the mermaid had tried to bite its way out of the net and only succeeded in trapping itself further.

Patton looked up at Dee, who still hadn’t said anything and was staring into the kettle with a blank expression, which Patton knew meant he didn’t want to give away what he was thinking.

“Dee, we can’t just leave him here,” Patton said quietly.

“What other choices do we have?” Dee asked, raising an eyebrow. “Cut it loose and throw it back into the ocean?”

Patton glanced down at the creature again, his eyes traveling over the places where the net was digging into its skin. One of the sections was wrapped so tightly around its tail that it was cutting into the flesh, and Patton shook his head.

“He’s hurt...if we just threw him back into the ocean as is who knows what could happen to him? He needs time to recover.”

“So what do you propose? We can’t haul the tryworks onto the Sea Serpent while on the open ocean. And even if we could, if healing is the main goal, I don’t think curled up tight in a pot would be the best place to keep it.”

Patton chewed on his bottom lip, thinking.

“They haven’t finished fixing that damaged dinghy belowdecks yet,” he offered. “But she should hold water.”

Dee blinked.

“Are you suggesting that we fill the dinghy up with water like it’s some rich landlubber’s bathtub and...what, just keep a pet mermaid in it?”

“Not pet,” Patton insisted. “More like...patient.”

“You’re deflecting the rest of the question, Quartermaster,” Dee said, raising an eyebrow, and Patton raised one right back.

“And you’re avoiding giving me an order, Captain.”

Dee chuckled, then his eyes flicked back and forth between the kettle and Patton before he sighed.

“Alright, have it your way then. But Patton...if this creature turns out to be dangerous...if he ends up hurting one of the crew? That’ll be your responsibility, you understand?”

Patton nodded firmly.

“I do.” Then he grinned, and threw his arms around Dee in a quick but tight hug. “Thanks Dee!”

He let go and hurried above deck, hearing Dee mutter something about “reputation” as he went, and stopped when he ran into Remus sticking his head to look inside the (thankfully) unlit furnace the whalers kept on deck.

“Remus! I need you to do something for me,” he called, and Remus grinned.

“Anything you say, Mr. Quartermaster sir!”

“Can you get a couple of the crew to fill the dinghy belowdecks with buckets of seawater?”

“How many buckets?” Remus asked cheerfully, and Patton shrugged.

“As many as will fit. Oh, and Remus. I want the water dumped out into the dinghy. I’m not asking for a boat filled with buckets, I want a boat filled with water, okay?”

“Aww, now you’ve spoiled my fun,” Remus said in a mock pout, but then he winked and practically pranced back towards the Sea Serpent, nearly knocking over Roman as he skipped past.

“What’s he so happy about?” Roman asked, frowning as he watched Remus leave the deck of the The Carlotta.

“I gave him a weird order,” Patton said, sliding up next to Roman and sighing happily when Roman snaked an arm around his waist and planted a kiss on top of his head.

“Anything interesting in the cargo hold?” Roman asked, and Patton froze. “What?” Roman asked, pulling back and frowning down at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Patton said quickly, pressing a kiss to Roman’s cheek. “It’s just…” he glanced back towards the cargo hold, chewing on his bottom lip. “You’re going to want to see this.”

--- --- ---

“You found a what?” Logan asked, staring at his boyfriends in growing disbelief.

“A mermaid, Specs,” Roman said, and Logan resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

“We’re serious, Lo!” Patton insisted. “Why would we make something like that up?”

Logan raised an eyebrow.

“I saw Remus looking entirely to happy to be carrying buckets of water back and forth from the cargo hold, and you expect me not to be at least a little bit suspicious.”

“Okay, maybe I should have had someone else supervise setting up the dinghy, but to be fair, I knew that Remus wouldn’t waste a lot of time asking me why I wanted him to do that,” Patton said with a shrug.

“Listen, while ordinarily your suspicion might be slightly warranted–”

“Slightly?” Logan asked, and smirked when Roman spluttered indignantly.

“Really, Logan,” Patton said, his voice quiet and earnest. “We found a mermaid, and he needs our help. Come and see, okay?”

Logan frowned at Patton’s sudden shift in tone before he nodded slowly. Patton flashed him a grateful smile, then turned and led the way into the cargo hold. Logan had to admit, he wasn’t sure quite what he was expecting to see as he followed Patton down the stairs, but the Sea Serpent’s beat up dinghy filled with water hadn’t been high on the list. He opened his mouth, but as they approached the side of the boat, the question died in his throat. His eyes traveled over the purple skin, gills and fins, and wide eyes with slit pupils.

“Oh.”

“You can say that again,” Roman said, raising an eyebrow.

Logan elected not to speak again, noting the way the creature shrunk back at Roman’s loud voice, choosing instead to take a step closer and get down on one knee beside the dinghy so he was eye level with the creature. It thrashed and hissed as he approached, though whether the hiss was a sign of aggression or an expression of pain as the net dug deeper into its flesh, Logan couldn’t be sure. Either way, the first move clearly had to be removing the net.

Logan pulled his knife from his belt and the creature thrashed again at the sight of the blade, and it bumped the side of the dinghy, sloshing some of the water over the side.

“Be still,” Logan said in as soothing a voice as he could manage. “We need to get that net off you, and if you struggle you could become injured.”

Logan had been speaking more with tone in mind than with words, but to his surprise, the creature cocked its head at the words before hissing again, more deliberately this time. Logan froze, staring into the creature’s eyes.

“Can...can you understand me?” he asked, and the creature moved its head up and down.

“Did he just nod?” Patton breathed, and the creature tried to nod again, hissing in pain as the net around its face dug deeper into its jaw.

“Don’t try to move,” Logan said, holding up his empty hand in what he hoped was a placating gesture. “You’ll only hurt yourself further. Could you blink your eyes once for yes, twice for no? If you can really understand us?”

There was a beat of silence as they all held their breaths, and then the creature slowly blinked once.

“Was that a yes?” Logan asked to confirm, and the creature blinked once again. “Wonderful. I’m going to cut this net off of you, is that alright?”

The creature didn’t respond at first, eyeing Logan warily, and Logan frowned.

“Do you wish to remain tangled in the net?”

Two blinks.

“Are you currently in pain?”

One blink.

“If you let me remove the net, we can see about tending to your wounds. But if you continue to thrash about, I may accidentally hurt you...and I do not want that to happen.”

The creature eyed his knife again, and Logan tried to imagine things from its perspective. It had been captured by humans and transported from ship to ship like so much cargo, and now a human was crouching next to it brandishing a knife...all things considered, Logan supposed he would react similarly if he were in such a situation.

“Are you worried that I will hurt you?” he asked.

One blink, and Patton made a quiet, distressed noise behind them. Logan ignored the urge to soothe his boyfriend, knowing that Roman was there to provide comfort if needed. Right now, getting this creature to trust him was the top priority.

“We have had ample opportunity to do so already,” Logan pointed out bluntly.

“Lo…” Roman’s voice was uneasy, hesitant, but Logan pressed onward. He could only hope that this creature was capable of logical reasoning.

“Whether it was on the ship you initially were held captive on, or in transporting you here, my comrades and I have had the opportunity to cause you pain intentionally. Have we taken it?”

Two blinks.

“Would it not make more sense, if hurting you was my intention, to simply move forward in an attack rather than wait for your permission.”

One blink. Logan smiled.

“So logically, we must not want harm to come to you. Quite the opposite. But if you don’t hold yourself still, more harm may occur. Now, may I approach?”

Time stretched out between them, and Logan waited patiently as the creature’s eyes flicked back and forth between Logan, the knife, and Roman and Patton standing behind him. Eventually, he blinked once, and Logan smiled again.

“Alright. Keep very still now…”

The mermaid (or merman, if the top half of his anatomy was comparable to that of a human) squeezed its eyes shut, long webbed fingers curling into fists as Logan began to cut away at the net. He’d scarcely been working a minute before a soft, pleasant sound filled the cargo hold, and the merman’s eyes snapped open.

Roman was humming, a quiet, soothing tune that Logan recognized as one of the lullabies that Roman would sometimes sing to either of his boyfriends if they were having trouble sleeping. The merman’s face changed from one of shock, to curiosity, to something bordering on contentment, and by the time Logan had managed to cut away the last bit of rope, the tension had drained from the merman’s shoulders almost completely.

“There, finished,” Logan said with a small smile, standing up slowly and taking a step back.

The merman took a moment to stretch his limbs out, opening and shutting his jaw (which, Logan noted, had rows of sharp, needle-like teeth) and swishing his tail.

Patton made a cooing sound, and Logan knew that the shorter of his partners was completely enamored by the creature.

“Better?” Logan asked, and the merman looked up at him. For a moment, Logan was expecting another blink, but then the creature opened his mouth.

“Yes. Thank you.”

His voice was low, slightly raspy rumble from the back of his throat, and Logan told himself that the flash of excitement that ran through him was because of the discovery that such a creature could talk and nothing more.

“Are you hurt very badly?”

A quick glance at Patton revealed that Logan was not the only one who had suddenly been struck with a reminder of just how gay he was, but to Patton’s credit, he seemed to recover quickly.

“I…don’t know.” The merman ran his hands over the gash in his tail, wincing, and Logan hummed in sympathy.

“I think it would be best for you to remain here for the time being, at least until you have healed sufficiently.”

“What?” the merman’s head snapped up, his eyes growing wide. “No, you can’t just keep me here, I–”

“It would not be permanent,” Logan assured quickly. “Only until we are sure that you’re well enough to return to the ocean. If you were to return now, in your weakened state, your chances of fully recovering would be slim.”

“Yes, we wouldn’t dream of imprisoning you here like some sort of animal,” Roman chimed in. “Not like those dreadful whalers did.”

“If you really don’t want to stay, kiddo, we won’t force you,” Patton added. “You can make your own choices, after all...we just want to make sure you’re okay.”

The merman looked between the three of them warily, before glancing down at the cuts on his body and nodding slowly.

“Alright then.”

“Oh, yay!” Patton squealed happily, causing the merman to jump slightly. “My name’s Patton, and these are my partners Roman and Logan, do you have a name?”

For a moment, Logan thought the merman wasn’t going to speak, but after a long moment of silence, he opened his mouth again.

“Virgil.”

Logan gave him a small smile.

“Well Virgil, welcome aboard the Sea Serpent.”

--- --- ---

Virgil was very confused. When he’d initially been caught by the human whalers, he’d been sure he was going to die. He saw what they were doing to that whale corpse, and when the humans had hauled him onto their ship and thrown him into a cramped metal pot, he was certain that he would be the next to be chopped into pieces. For three days, he’d tried to untangle himself to no avail, and by the time that Patton had found him, he’d all but given up hope on making it out alive.

But instead of hurting, these three, strange humans were helping him. He’d been on this ship for what was close to a month now, and not once had any one of the crew been hostile towards him. The boat, while not the most spacious of homes, gave him enough room to get himself in virtually any position he wanted to, and he found himself now floating on his back and absently sucked on a fish bone, (the last remnant of the food that Patton had brought him that day) reflecting on the three humans he tended to see the most.

Patton had been the first to visit him frequently. Virgil had honestly been so hungry directly after Logan had gotten the net off of him that he would have accepted anything offered to him, but Patton had asked him what he ate, and when he simply said “fish” brought him three different kinds to choose from, even apologizing for not having more choices. Patton was like a sunbeam incarnate, warm and bright and full of the promise of life, and despite how terrified Virgil had been when they’d first locked eyes, he found himself looking forward to all the times Patton would drop by to see him, not just the ones where he was bringing food.

More confusing was Logan, who should be far more intimidating, with his blunt way of speaking and his detached approach to the world. And yet, Virgil found his words calming, an anchoring grip in the middle of a current, and Virgil began to miss Logan’s soothing, steady voice when he wasn’t around. Even the numerous questions about everything from what Virgil ate to how he learned to talk to whether there were other mermaids besides himself and what their societies were like, were somehow endearing instead of unsettling when they came from Logan. Virgil knew Logan didn’t want to hunt his kind down or dissect them, he was just...curious. Brightly, passionately curious, and that curiosity was infectious.

Virgil found himself asking Logan questions about humans, which Logan was all too happy to answer.

And then there was Roman, loud, boisterous, impossible Roman. If Virgil were honest, the first few times he’d dropped by, Virgil had been annoyed. Roman talked too loud, too fast, and Virgil shouldn’t enjoy his company, he really shouldn’t...except Roman sang nearly everywhere he went, and Virgil couldn’t help but be drawn to the sound. His own song was bottled up inside of him, itching to be released into the world, but Virgil didn’t want to know what might happen to the crew of the Sea Serpent if they suddenly heard siren song coming from inside their own ship. But one day, Roman was packing something up at the other end of the cargo hold, singing a soft and familiar tune as he worked, and Virgil couldn’t help himself.

He sang softly so that none of the crew would hear him, closing his eyes and losing himself in the harmony, ducking and weaving around Roman’s voice as it steadily grew louder–

Virgil’s eyes flew open and Roman was only a few feet away, his work forgotten in the corner.

“Roman, snap out of it!” Virgil cried, and Roman blinked at him in confusion.

“Snap out of what, Vee?”

“I...I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to,” Virgil said hurriedly. “I didn’t think you would hear me, I didn’t mean to lure you, I promise–”

“Lure me?”

“My song,” Virgil explained. “You heard me singing.”

“Yes I did,” Roman said with a smile. “It was lovely.”

“Yeah, well, if a human hears my song they get sort of...bewitched? You’ll see your heart’s desire, and have no choice but to follow it. So I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Hurt me?” Roman asked with a laugh. “Newsflash Virgil, I was only coming over because I wanted to hear you sing more. I didn’t see my heart’s desire or anything, I just saw you in your boat, like always.”

Virgil’s heart just about stopped beating right then and there, but he forced his face to remain blank.

“Oh...alright then, I’m uh. I’m glad you’re okay.”

Roman smiled his big, boisterous smile at him, but it suddenly turned shy, and Virgil frowned.

“Do you think you could...do it again?” Roman asked, and Virgil raised an eyebrow.

“Sing with you?”

Roman nodded, and slowly a smile spread across Virgil’s face.

“I’d love to.”

--- --- ---

It had been just over a month, and Virgil’s wounds finally seemed to be completely healed. Logan had looked them over and declared them sufficiently healed, and Virgil swore up and down that the cuts no longer pained him, though there were thin lines of scar tissue up and down his pale purple skin that would forever serve as a reminder to the terrifying ordeal he’d been through. Roman had half a mind to find the crew of The Carlotta again and exact vengeance on behalf of his beloved siren.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Roman’s face turned bright red, and he tried to push it back down into whatever crevice in his heart it had crawled out of, but it was too late. The thought was released into his mind, and now that it was free it was determined to be as loud and noticeable as possible.

Beloved, beloved, beloved.

It was the day Virgil was going to back to the ocean, and Roman didn’t want him to go.

One look at the expressions on his love’s faces as they all gathered on the deck to say goodbye was all he needed to know that they felt the same as him. They had been together long enough to easily tell what the others were feeling, and they all three were painfully aware of how much they would miss Virgil when he was gone. A tiny selfish part of Roman said that he should stay here on the Sea Serpent forever, but unlike his first unbidden thought of the day, this one passed like a wave across the sea before he even had time to process it. For as much as he might want Virgil to stay, he wanted him to be happy much more. And Virgil could never be happy living confined on a ship like this. He deserved his freedom, and Roman’s heart would count itself privileged to have known Virgil while it could.

“Are you ready?”

Logan’s tone was careful and even, but Roman knew his boyfriend well. His voice was too clipped, too measured. He may not be as obvious as Patton trying to hold back tears, but he was just as upset that Virgil was leaving as Roman himself was.

“I think so,” Virgil said. He spoke with so much more confidence now than he had the day they had met, and Roman let himself feel proud that they’d been able to break through Virgil’s rough exterior in the time they’d had to know him.

“Thank you. For everything,” Virgil added, and Roman nodded.

“We’ll miss you, Virgil,” Patton said tearfully, and Virgil smiled softly at him.

“I’ll miss you too, Pat.”

Patton knelt down to hug him, then stepped back so Logan could grasp his hand.

“Thank you for teaching me so much, Virgil. I must admit, I will miss our talks.”

“Me too, Lo,” Virgil said, and then he looked at Roman.

Roman stooped and pressed a kiss to Virgil’s cheek before he could stop himself.

“So long, Dark and Gloomy.”

Virgil looked stunned, but he managed a smile back.

“So long, Princey.”

Virgil looked at the three of them one last time before he turned and pulled himself up over the railing of the ship and disappeared with a splash into the ocean below.

“Oh gee, I’m gonna miss him so much,” Patton sighed, leaning onto Logan’s chest.

“As am I, Patton,” Logan agreed quietly.

Roman did not speak, but he knew he didn’t need to. He turned instead to go help his brother haul the water out of the cargo hold, hoping that the distraction would keep his mind off his feelings.

But before he made it very far, there was a great *splash* behind him, and he turned just in time to see Virgil land back on the deck with a rather comical flopping sound.

“Virgil!” Patton cried, and Virgil took a deep breath.

“Ifitsallthesametoyouguysidliketostayhere,” he rushed out, and Roman’s heart leaped with hope.

“I...I’m sorry, did you say…?” Logan looked confused, but a teensy bit hopeful as well, and Patton was outright beaming.

“Did you say you wanna stay here, kiddo?” he asked, and Virgil nodded, his cheeks flushing a dark purple.

“It...it doesn’t have to be in the dinghy all the time,” he said. “I can swim in the ocean sometimes, catch my own food, that kinda thing. But um...yeah. I’d like to stay with the Sea Serpent. With...with you guys, if that’s okay with–”

“Nothing would make us happier,” Roman said firmly, and Virgil looked up, a shy smile spreading across his face.

“Really?”

“Really,” Roman said, just as Patton squealed and dropped to the deck to wrap Virgil in another hug.

“Get down here, you two,” he ordered, and Roman smiled as he and Logan knelt beside them and allowed themselves to be pulled into the hug.

It was a little bit crowded, and Roman’s shirt was getting wet from where he was pressed against Virgil’s back, but he didn’t care. Right here, sitting on the deck of his ship with the sun overhead and his three loves in his arms, was exactly where Roman wanted to be.

--- --- ---

Sanders Sides Taglist (pt.1): @lizethemotherlycat, @coffeestudylive, @logically-asexual, @migraine-marathon, @princeyssash, @idontevenfreakingknow22, @tree4life25, @spacevirgil, @virgiltheanxious, @thebaagelboy, @msu82, @ultimate-queen-of-fandoms2, , @thesleepyraziel, @bobolovesoze, @littlemiracle05, @pattson, @nerd-in-space, @thesides, @stay-in--place, @ravenclawunicorn1, @at-least-seven-pretty-potatoes, @michealawithana, @anotherfandomtrasher , @fandomsofrandom, @a-deliciouslyfadingcollection, @nightmarejasmine, @xxfoxit, @quoth-the-sparrow, @katatles-the-fish, @misty-the-mysterious, @alyssadashrub, @punkassplonker, @noctisvalex, @i-sold-my-soul-to-thefandom, @funsizedgremlin, @vigilantvirgil, @nonamefightergirl, @thomasbemyfriend, @starsinger , @milomeepit, @justabookworm39, @shortandfantastic, @thesilentbluesparrow, @royallyanxious, @mirror2thespirit, @coffee-stains-paper-and-ink, @silverrhayn, @mooksie01, @backatthebein, @nye275, @anastasialestina, @callboxkat, @a-lexicon-of-words, @emeraldfoxface, @peachie-keeen, @llamaly, @witch19, @heythereprincey, @bring-it-on-perra, @nienna14, @bubblycricket, @thomasfandersunite, @slightlyobssesive, @logicallyanxious, @apologetically-anxious, @keys117, @digitally-analog, @ocotopushugs, @warping-reality, @grey-lysander, @your-username-is-unavailable, @hikariyukino, @theresneverenoughfandoms, @virgil-sanderssss, @violetmcl, @thatfandomfollower, @nothingelsemattersme, @cdragontogacotar, @narniasfinestavengingsociopath, @absentmindedproff, @fantasyandfairfolk, @virgilsblogofanxietys, @your-average-outcast, @sanderstalker, @galaxy-warping, @queen-of-all-things-snuggly @a-little-bit-of-ace, @faithfreedom-art @therealhmmlingle @xxladystarlightxx, @morgan-the-art-girl, @stormcrawler75 @wowitsmyblog, @romanssippycup, @lunalikesgamesandstuff, @lamp-calm-sanders, @musikasworld @cyberpunkjinx, @mauvelavender @samathekittycat @black-out-wonder @i-read-by-lamp @ravenclawicecream @nashiraneko @lucifer-in-my-head @ladyartemisia28 @awesome-and-unique-username @zoalis @entpscarleharrrr @raygelkitty @zeldahadasword @gubbalupagus @musicphanpie-b @virgilssweaterpaws, @faacethefacts @a-simple-fryingpan @pinkeasteregg @punknerdmusings @imantisocialgetoverit @anuninspiredpoet @awkward-avocado-of-death, @poison-lyra @modcarbz, @thisrandomperson102, @skydiamcnds @just-another-starfish, @thepoolofthedead,

#sanders sides #sanders sides fanfiction #ts fanfic #lamp #ts lamp #dukeceit #roman sanders #logan sanders #virgil sanders #patton sanders #deceit sanders #remus sanders #sympathetic deceit #sympathetic remus #ts pirate au #love song for a siren #my writing

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anhed-nia · 5 years ago

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BLOGTOBER 10/28/2020: HOCUS POCUS (sigh)

I knew that I would not like this movie. I didn't see it as a kid, because we didn't have cable, but it's hard for me to imagine that it would have struck me positively. It's not that I was so sophisticated, but I liked my children's entertainment with a dash of darkness, or at least something challenging--especially if it was supposed to be somehow horror-adjacent. For me, things had to be at least on the level of LABYRINTH, with its various ambivalent creatures and monster sexuality in the person of David Bowie, or LEGEND, with its various ambivalent creatures and actually-monstrous sexuality in the person of Tim Curry, or...whatever other children's fare there is, that expects a little extra substance from its child audience, that's a little sexy and a little scary, and basically, at least kind of cool. And I'm not being a snob; you can say these same things about a lot of classic Disney movies. But in spite of its dual status as both a Disney- and cult classic, HOCUS POCUS is not at all cool. Just because it's such a Halloween thing for people, I figured I would watch it for Blogtober this year, and I have to say...I still don't get it.

I do not often feel my age, as my continued presence on Tumblr attests. There are just a few things that starkly separate me from my near-peers. One of them is Pokemon; when someone who seems like they're more or less my contemporary starts speaking in a personal way about Pokemon, I know that they're on the exact other side of some invisible dividing line in time. Another sign is enthusiasm for a certain stripe of Nickelodeon production, that mainly seems to feature a lot of shrill screaming and strobing lights and baby talk, in shows I didn't grow up with so I'll never understand what's good about them. It appears to me that HOCUS POCUS is part of the trend here: folks slightly younger than me, who saw it every October on the Disney Channel, seem to really get whatever the appeal of this is.

It is somehow telling that nearly every screencap I could find from this movie is just of these three standing in a row and filling the screen. Like it’s basically the entire visual character of the movie.

What "this" is, is a movie about a kid from LA (Omri Katz) who moves to Salem, Mass, just in time to unwittingly light a ceremonial candle on a Halloween full moon (which we are about to have BTW!), which brings the evil Sanderson Sisters back from the dead. These villains (not victims, VILLAINS) of Salem's witch hunt era can't understand really basic shit like whether plastic tubes are "snakes" or whether asphalt is black water or various other things that should be pretty visually obvious even if you're from the 1600s, but the truth is that it doesn't really matter what they think or feel, because they're just here to shriek and mug and jiggle around and do unwelcome musical numbers. At this point, I really have to apologize; I usually harness myself to the task of thoughtfully describing whatever movie I've assigned myself, no matter what I expect from it, but this was just really difficult.

Ew.

I've read that this movie was originally conceived as more of a kid-friendly horror movie, but it eventually morphed into something more satisfying to the Mouse. Various themes emerge and evaporate, expressing nothing. The "cool" LA native is actually a virgin, which is why his lighting the candle resurrects the witches, but instead of this triggering a coming of age narrative, it just becomes a reason to awkwardly repeat the word "virgin" over and over. Nothing in particular is contributed to our understanding of this character, and I had to wonder if some christian parents' group threatened to picket Disney's witch movie unless it harped on a random virtue like virginity. That would actually follow, given that HOCUS POCUS is a movie that casually sides with witch hunters whose religious mania and misogyny caused the deaths of at least 25 people during the era in which the hilariously kooky Sanderson Sisters are meant to have terrorized the town. Meanwhile, in modern times, their goal is to "steal the lives" of children to create an immortality potion. I don't know why they have to keep saying "steal their lives". It makes no sense to me. I get that maybe they can't say that the Sandersons KILL children--I know this isn't WARLOCK. But it's not even THE WITCHES, in either the Roeg or Zemeckis version; you have little idea what they do to the children. You'd think they could say "steal their souls", or something else that we vaguely understand from watching a lot of movies, but no. HOCUS POCUS just asks a lot from me, in terms of my ability to find it interesting that witches are running around and they must be stopped.

The witches’ grimoire, the best part of the movie, doesn’t have nearly enough to do.

The witches, Kathy Najimy, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Bette Midler, really just run around screaming for most of the movie. I would agree that this must be stopped, and I only regret that it took like 96 minutes for this to happen. I don't even blame the ladies for this movie's lack of charisma; it's pretty clear that they're just doing what a movie this loud and tacky requires. And at my most open-minded, I can acknowledge that it's good for little kids to see female characters who are wacky and confident, and not at all sexy or romantic. But I don't find any of this at all fun, personally. I don't care about the LA virgin who is dressed as a "rap singer" for Halloween, even though he looks more like a white separatist in his fatigue green bomber jacket and dad jeans. I don't care about the talking cat, voiced by Disney standby Jason Marsden who is not really up to the task of doing a british accent. I don't care about bland hot chick Vinessa Shaw, or the cool kid's spunky kid sister, even if she is played by Thora Birch. Doug Jones makes an appearance as a friendly zombie, which could have been fun, but...I shouldn't be surprised that it isn't.

Actually, the only thing I found at all provocative about HOCUS POCUS was the bullies. At first, I did not understand that they were supposed to be bullies. Wannabe rapper "Ice" and his buddy Jay, who by all appearances should be looking around for a church to burn, are unlikely friends and even unlikelier neighborhood threats. When I first saw them, I thought maybe they were going to be the hero's new pals--misfits like himself who have nothing in common but their misfit-ness. But then they shake the kid down for money, and ruin Halloween for little trick-or-treaters, and it's like...oh, these are "bad guys"? Why? Who would ever put up with them? I was alive in a small town during the time that this movie is supposed to take place, and I was very aware of scary teenagers then. The guys in this movie would never have been taken seriously, regardless of physical ability, and worse than that, they do not serve any purpose in this purposeless narrative. Anyway, it's pretty obvious that I don't have much to say about HOCUS POCUS, and watching it was basically a mistake. However, I do have one nutritious morsel to leave you with, courtesy iMDB's trivia page. You can all take heart in the fact that even a really dumb, useless movie can sometimes reveal something about life that you never imagined:

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ivyonna10 · 4 years ago

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Rami Malek

Rami Malek is an American performer broadly known for his unprecedented acting and he's in like manner a producer. He have played in boundless hit movies and TV game plan. he's also thought to be considering the way that the 100 most convincing people inside the world beginning at 2019.

EARLY LIFE

Rami Malek's finished name is Rami Said Malek. He was brought into the world on twelfth May 1981 inside the city of Torrance, California inside the U.S. Regardless of the way that he's imagined inside the U.S, his people father Nelly Abdel-Malek and mother Said Malek are Greek and from Egypt. He also has one more settled sister named Yashmine. Since his father filled in as a trained professional and guide , they moved to the U.S. besides, got settled San Fernando Valley, consistent with Rami Malek. Malek also incorporates a twin kin, Sami who seems like him and was only four minutes more energetic than him.

Rami Malek was referred to getting some answers concerning his Greek culture and he was told about the centrality of their Greek roots by his people. because of his social differentiations inside the U.S, he felt that it was difficult to adjust and blend to the in vogue social orders in his immaturity. As a young kid , his parent's suspicions for him was to transform into a lawyer so he joined the conversation competition anyway he wasn't set up to impart the concentrates energetically. Notwithstanding, his teacher was amazed by the technique for his passionate interpretation.

Hence, rather than that, his teacher prescribed him to share and perform inside the play Zooman and as needs be the Sign. His play inside the resistance and his parent's positive reaction towards his show encouraged him to move into an acting calling. In 1999, Rami Malek proceeded onward from highschool and visited the University of Evansville to find more about theater and acting.

Business AND AWARDS

Rami Malek moved to ny , to go to the varsity for theater. He and his buddies met various creators and bosses and together they structure the Slant Theater Project. He and his mates who were from an indistinguishable field would make and play out the play of their own. Later on, he moved back to his people and he got related with projecting boss, Mali Finn. He was encouraged to show up for occupations in Hollywood so he worked at passing on pizzas and inverse side situations in diner making falafel and shawarma sandwiches.

During these events, he in like manner send his resume to varied creation houses anyway wasn't set up to get fill in as a performer. Rami Malek was debilitate and lost the vainglory to support add the film adventures so he decided to drop the acting calling yet following a year he was called by the projecting boss Mara Casey. Consequently, Malek got his initial segment inside the situational spoof sensation called Gilmore Girls which was circled in 2004. from that point the subsequent year, after scarcely any venue films, Malek played because the Pharaoh inside the Night of the Museum continuations which was conveyed on 2006, 2009 and 2014 independently. By then Rami Malek again went onto transforming into a theater performer.

Since the year 2010, Rami Malek's positions inside the TV as a supporting performer begins. inside the American action show TV called 24, Malek played as a supporting performer as a dread based oppressor , Marcos AI-Zacar. Malek was praised by Hanks who is besides notable American performer and pioneer producer, for his acting inside the film The Pacific. in view of his incredible introduction inside the film, he obtained various other supporting positions inside the hit movies much equivalent to the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn-Part 2, Short Term 12, Oldboy, Da Sweet Blood of Jesus. He moreover expected minor positions in movies like Battleship and other Oscar-assigned movies much equivalent to the Master, Ain't Them Bodies Saints. He moreover voiced inside the repulsiveness game called Until Dawn.

In the year 2015, Rami Malek landed his first lead position inside the performance game plan called Mr. Robot. After the show was communicated on 24th June, 2015, it transformed into Malek's best ever breakout execution. Rami Malek was quickly acclaimed by the savants like USA Today, Entertainment Weekly and Backstage. For his show inside the Tv plan, he was assigned for four distinctions specifically, Satellite Award, Golden Globe Award and Dorian Award independently. After the most elevated purpose of the TV game plan, Rami Malek was moreover assigned for Best Actor during a Television Series-Drama. That year he won two distinctions specifically, Critic's Choices Television Award for Best Actor during a Drama Series, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor during a Drama Series.

Starting now and into the foreseeable future, Malek went onto playing different hit motion pictures and his next best ever a progression film was conveyed inside the year 2018. His film Bohemian Rhapsody got in excess of 900 million dollars inside the motion pictures far and wide. For his amazing acting inside the film, Rami Malek achieved four distinctions explicitly Academy Award for Best Actor, Golden Globe for Best Actor during a film , BAFTA Award for Best Actor during a Leading Role, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor during a Leading Role Screen Actors Guild Award. Nowadays, Malek has been working in a couple of errands and besides making film with Sam Esmail who is that the producer of Mr. Robot.

Singular LIFE

Rami Malek is somewhat reluctant to correct his private life transparently and avoid interviews the best total as could be normal considering the present situation. Malek opened about his relationship alongside his co-star from the film Bohemian Rhapsody, Lucy Boyton. In a gathering, Rami Malek in like manner said that he's crazy with the London city and having the occasion to buy a home there. Notwithstanding the way that he keeps his concealed life secret from the general populace , he seizes the opportunity to meet and check out the records of outcasts. He venerates different encounters with different social orders.

Ensuing to playing inside the film Bohemian Rhapsody, he was moved by Freddie Mercury so he started filling in as a specialist with the HIV/AIDS care affiliation called RED. He has moreover performed distinctive philanthropic works like advancing and supporting different affiliations like Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). He moreover to Africa to find more about the HIV/AIDS condition and he have helped with social illicit relationship store for the removal of the disease.

He has the Official record on Instagram with only 4 posts as of recently .

Absolute resources

Melek's all out resources beginning at 2020 is 8 million dollars generally.

Barry Keoghan Ivyonna10 January 8, 2021 modify comment

Barry Keoghan, who is best known for enjoying roles in films like "Dunkirk" and"The Killing of a Sacred Deer," is an Irish actor who has been active within the industry since 2011. He made it to the 27th position within the list of "Ireland's greatest film actors" curated by Irish Times in 2020. he's to seem as Druig within the upcoming MCU film titled "The Eternals." Early Life Barry Keoghan was born on October 18, 1992, in Summerhill, which is in Dublin. At the age of 12, his mother gave up the ghost thanks to a heroin overdose. His childhood was precarious, and he was in care for about seven years together with his brother. His older brother is known as Eric Keoghan. He lived in 13 foster homes. Later on, his grandmother took him in, and he lived together with her and his aunt. He visited O'Connell lyceum . Career Barry Keoghan started his career as an actor in 2011. In 2011, he acted during a short film titled "Stand Up," during which he played the role of "Stand up Bully." an equivalent year, he played Aido in "Between the Canals." He acted as Dave Donoghue in 3 episodes of "Fair City." He portrayed the role of Wayne for 6 episodes of "Love/Hate" in 2013. In 2016, he played the character named Cormac McDevitt in 4 episodes of "Rebellion." within the critically acclaimed miniseries called "Chernobyl," he acted as Pavel in 2 episodes. In 2019, he made an appearance in "Living With Lucy." In 2012, he acted within the psychological thriller film called "Stalker," where he worked as Tommy. an equivalent year, he acted sort of a younger version of Dublin Lad in "King of the Travellers." the subsequent year, appeared as a pizza guy in "Life's a Breeze." an equivalent year, he played Sean Meehan in "Stay" and acted as Ben during a short film titled "Wasted." In 2014, he appeared within the role of Sean Bannon in "'71". an equivalent year, he acted as Crusty in "Standby" and Aaron within the short film called "North." He acted within the role of Sean within the short film titled "The Break" in 2015. an equivalent year, he played the role of Ken in "Traders." He was seen as Joe within the drama film titled "Mammal" in 2016. In 2016, he acted as Windows in "Trespass Against Us" and as Shane within the short film titled "Candy Floss." the subsequent year, she worked as Pavel in "Light then ," as Martin Lang in "The Killing of a Sacred Deer" and as George Mills in "Dunkirk." In 2018, he appeared in two films: "American Animals" and "Black '47". In 2019, he acted as Dympha in "Calm With Horses." he's to seem as Scavenger in "The Green Knight" in 2020. The film is under post-production. In 201, he appears within the role of Druig in "Eternals" and as Stanley Merkel in "The Batman." Awards In 2017, Barry Keoghan won the "Breakthrough Artist of the Year" Award at the Dublin Film Critics' Circle for his "The Killing of a Sacred Deer." In 2018, for "The Killing of a Sacred Deer," he won the simplest Supporting Actor in "Chlotrudis Awards" and "Irish Film and Televisions Awards." Personal Life Barry Keoghan is dating Shona Guerin. In 2018, after several years of being during a relationship, they started cohabitation . Barry is additionally curious about boxing and is an amateur boxer. Shona may be a makeup artist and works in Sean Taaffe Hair & Beauty. Height, Weight, and Age Barry Keoghan stands 1.7 meters tall and weighs approximately 72 kg. as of September of 2020; he's 27 years old. Social Media Barry Keoghan is active on social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram. He has 100k followers on Instagram and 36.8k followers on Twitter as of September of 2020. Net Worth As of September of 2020, Barry Keoghan has an estimated net worth of US$ 1 million. it's stated that he makes US$ 124k yearly, from being the ambassador of Dior.

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bananaofswifts · 5 years ago

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At the outset of the first screening of the documentary “Miss Americana” Thursday night at the Sundance Film Festival, it was clear at the outset that it was not necessarily Taylor Swift’s core audience filling the Eccles Theater for the premiere. The opening scene has Swift trying to write a song at the piano while one of her cats walks across the keys. When that occurs as the film hits theaters next Friday, it’ll draw appreciative screams from the Olivia Benson- and Meredith Grey-loving faithful. Here? Not so much, except for a few younger fans who got into the balcony’s back rows via the standby line. But when the doc starts the take a more political turn about two-thirds of the way through, documenting Swift finding her voice as an outspoken advocate and activist, that’s when the Sundance audience started to sound a little more like her core demo, at least in short, loud bursts of appreciative whoops and hollers. The most critical scene in the film has Swift trying to convince the men in her camp that it’s important that she step up and make an endorsement for the Democrats in Tennessee’s gubernatorial and senatorial elections. When one of them warns that the president could come after her, and she emotionally declares that she’s fine with that, it was if she’d just launched into a surprise version of “All Too Well” in concert. (Donald Trump does eventually respond by saying he likes Swift’s music 25% less since she laid into the White House for working against passage of the Equality Act.) Afterward, Swift and director Lana Wilson came out for a 15-minute Q&A, discussing how they first met through Netflix — which will release the film for streaming day-and-date with its theatrical run Jan. 31 — and how their rapport developed. “We started the process not really knowing if we were going to end up with a documentary — it was just sort of like: Let’s film, let’s see what you see,” Swift said. “And this was completely in her hands. And I really appreciate all the hours we talked. Those interviews — there were a lot of hours that she had to hear me talk about my feelings.” Added the singer, “I think one of the things about you is that for so much of my life in the public eye, when I get sad or upset or humiliated or angry or go through a really horrible time, I feel people lean in with like this hunger. And you never did that to me. And that was what made me feel okay about feeling sadness, anger, humiliation around you, because I felt like when I got sad, you did too. And so it made all of that all right. It didn’t make me feel like, ‘Oh, she feels like she’s got a good part for a movie now.’ And I really want to thank you for that.” Wilson extolled the scene in which Swift explains her imminent political coming-out to her worried family and members of her team. Said the filmmaker, “The scene where you discussed with your team and family that political endorsement, it’s so powerful because of the politics, but also because it’s watching you with the people who love you the most in the world, saying, ‘You know, I love you. You’re looking out for my best interests, but I have to disagree and do things my own way.’ That’s a moment that’s so many of us have experienced in our lives at one point or another, and I thought it was so powerful as this coming of age event, and the profound ending of this multilayered process you went through to lead you into that decision.” Swift explained the dynamics that went into that tense and emotional meeting. “My dad has always just been so terrified about my safety since I was a kid,” she said. “The fact that my job entails standing on a stage and, you know, there’s so many threats we get on a daily basis, but nobody ever knows about. And we try to keep that stuff under wraps as much as possible, but my dad is the one who has to see it. And so for him it was all about, ‘What could happen to you if you say this? Is my daughter in danger? And is this the moment when I should have stopped it from happening?’ “I had been speaking to my mom so much about it, and she went through the trial with me in Denver, which was a really horrible experience to have.” [Swift prevailed in a lawsuit in which she alleged sexual assault, having been groped by a radio DJ at a meet-and-greet.] And I had all the privilege in the world and financial support and the ability to pay for a brilliant lawyer. And I won that trial, but without all that, I don’t know what would have happened. So it taught me so much and, and it was the women in my life who were there every single day going into court. You know,, our political opinions are defined by what happens to us in our life. So that was one of the things that happened to me in my life, and seeing what’s happening in my home state, and then it all culminating and having to have a conversation with people who have been so wonderfully supportive of me through my entire career, feeling so afraid for my safety. And it’s a really real moment for me to watch that back.” Things got lighter with the last question, as the moderator asked: “I want to know where Meredith, Olivia, and Benjamin are at this very moment while the world premiere of your film has been happening.” “Well, they’re right in the back row. Just right up there,” she said, looking to the balcony as the crowd turned its collective necks. This was deadpan. “No, they’re not here. I wish they were, but unfortunately they don’t care about anything that I do. But I love them so much. Detective Olivia Benson and Dr Meredith Gray and Benjamin Button — the loves of my life. Thank you for asking about them. I will tell them. They will not care, but I do.”

#Taylor swift #sundance

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caitlynlynch · 5 years ago

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Though this is a part of the multi-author Sons of Sigurd series, I don’t think you have to have read the rest to enjoy this (I haven’t, and I had no trouble following what was going on). Although there’s an overarching plot as the five sons of a Viking chieftain follow clues to solve his suspicious death, this book is focussed on Danr and his romance with Sissa, a reclusive healer who lives alone in the forest on the Isle of Skye, accompanied by her two pet wolves. Sissa finds Danr seriously injured and nurses him back to health before leaving him to fend for himself, but he follows her home, much to her horror. While she would prefer to turn him out, to do so would mean his death until he is fully healed from his injury, so she allows him to stay, and of course (this is a romance!) they start to fall in love.

It’s a Viking-era version of the old standby trope Trapped In A Cabin With Only One Bed, and it’s done with the fantastic twist that Danr has taken a vow of celibacy until his father’s death is avenged. It forces the author to explore a different kind of intimacy growing between the two, to explore what makes them a good match for each other with a slow reveal of their backstories and personalities. It’s beautifully done, against a richly detailed backdrop of the Isle of Skye in the 9th century.

The only question I had, and it was a fairly minor niggle, was that Sissa was either younger than I’m entirely comfortable with reading in a romance or something was off with the timelines, because she was too naive. By her account, it was five years since her village was razed and her family killed, yet she had no idea that a man seeing her naked might provoke an adult sort of reaction? If she was eighteen at the time of the story (about as young as I’d feel comfortable with even in a historical romance) then she was thirteen when her mother was killed, and I don’t think a thirteen-year-old girl in this era - frankly any era! - would be that ignorant of men and their lusts. Extending the timeline out doesn’t work since her pet wolf, who she already had at the time of the raid, would be too old - though the wolf and her mate should already have previously had pups, so that timeline is a bit off anyway, so maybe it would be better to have Sissa find the wolf pup later. It’s a minor niggle which bugs me because I’m picky, but didn’t really detract from the overall romance or story arc. I’m still happy to give this excellent story five stars.

Redeeming Her Viking Warrior is available now.

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this title via the author.

#5 star review #historical romance #viking romance #there was only one bed #trapped in a cabin

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nextgentaimanins · 5 years ago

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“Hey, hey! Global Action Taimanin is coming soon! Make sure you had pre-register! Also, when picking between Me, Asagi-sensei and Sakura-sensei. Make sure you pick me. You won’t regret it! After all, becoming a Taimanin will help you make many friends!”

“...Hold on.” Tatsurou with a straight face look at his girlfriend with a very blunt tone “Did you just say “Becoming a Taimanin will help you make many friends?” You. . .Ms. Amazing who doesn’t really talk to people at the academy? You who only have a few friends in your friend circle which is me and Rinko-ane.”

“Tatsurou! I’m trying to get people to play our game...-oh... oooooooooooooh! I know what’s up? Tatsurou is jealous he’s not in the game! Tatsurou is like “I’m only in Yukikaze’s and Rinko-senpai’s bio! I’m not a playable character so I must ruin it for everyone else!” I’m glad Fuuma is a better commander than you could be. Idiot Tatsurou!”

“You wanna fight?! I’m not going to standby and let you fake being the super social type!“

“OH? Like Gloomy Tatsurou has any standings to that? I beat you in our fights when we were younger and I will beat you now! Wind Ninpou ain’t got shit on me!”

“The two of you can have your lovers quarrel some other time. Tatsurou, you must understand that you have a. . .Certain place, as much I would love to fight side-to-side with my younger brother-...”

“...Wait, if we fought together one day. That would mean we would be an excellent team as you are now. The Ittou-ryou style siblings. All of those demons falling before our blades. Why can’t you be allowed to join us?”

“You three do know the game actually has been released now... right~?”

“WHAT?!”

“What?!”

“Don’t worry, you three won’t remember anything after this post~”

“ . . .” Moments later, Shizuru was alone.

“ . . .Why am I not in the game yet? They got Mizuki-san, Akiyama-san, Mizuki-san’s mother... All of the Taimanin of Yukikaze and here I am no where to be seen. Instead we got this Emily girl who works with the UFS as the newest character on the JP version. How frustrating. . .”

#Action Taimanin is out!#funny because it wasn't when I started writing this #muse: yukikaze mizuki #muse: tatsurou akiyama #muse: rinko akiyama #muse: shizuru kosaka

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archadianskies · 5 years ago

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Numbness

Detroit: Become Family event ( @dbh-found-family ) Week three: Numbness Feeling/Joy (Week one: Home; Week two: Safety)

→ on Ao3

Androids don’t feel pain: a universally acknowledged fact, stated by CyberLife itself since the early days of manufacturing. Androids don’t feel pain, but deviants do; the addendum created during the last quarter of 2038 when deviancy cases spiked and he was activated. Connor RK800, the android sent by CyberLife; a machine designed to accomplish a task.

When he himself deviated, it was like a dam breaking and flooding his entire system with emotions, with pain in many forms. He learned of guilt, of shame, of regret, of an intense aching desire to be accepted and forgiven while battling the rising self-loathing that told him he didn’t deserve such a blessing. All those feelings pale in comparison to the lead in his chest, to the weight, the gravity that’s filling him and sinking him down, swallowing him up and swaddling him like viscous tar he can’t claw his way out of, can’t wash away.

He wants to go back to feeling nothing, he wants to be numb to this pain, he wants to be a machine again because anything would be better than being banished to pacing this hallway- (twenty-eight steps back and forth, twenty-eight steps is its length; he counted, he’s counting again, one, two, three-)

Androids have perfect memory; the RK800 model has enhanced optics, an upgraded version of the PJ500 eyes used for recording broadcast quality material for students. Connor can watch what happened, he can replay the events that led him here to Detroit Metro Hospital, he can see all the ways he failed, all the things that went wrong, all the reasons why he’s pacing this hallway (twenty-eight steps; twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-) and it’s because he wasn’t good enough, wasn’t fast enough and just like he was a terrible deviant hunter, a constant disappointment to CyberLife, he is now a terrible son.

Androids are resilient; the human body can only withstand so much. The RK series was built to be more resilient than most, built to withstand violence moreso than the domestic series. He can survive many situations humans cannot. Humans are soft, humans are fleshly and full of organs and blood and tissue and sinew and muscle wrapped over bones. Humans are fragile machines, as stated slyly by Carl Manfred, and they break down so quickly; as they grow older, their bodies weaken. There is no regular maintenance a human can receive that will return them to prime condition unlike androids.

Connor should’ve been on the receiving end of that gunfire, he would’ve survived it easily, he could’ve been taken in for repairs, perhaps put in standby for a few hours while he received supplementary thirium and a quick reboot and then he would’ve returned to his duties. Instead he wasn’t fast enough and Hank took the bullets, one, two, three, four, and Connor watched him fall and Connor cradled him as blood seeped everywhere, so much red, too much red and he screamed for help, screamed over and over and Hank told him it was okay, it’s all going to be okay son-

Twenty-eight steps and he’s reached the end of the hallway. He wants to feel numb, he wants to switch off his emotions. Hank used alcohol for such things, though he’d given that up ever since he made a place for Connor in his life, in his home, in his family. There isn’t an android equivalent; consuming thirium to excess would only result in a system purge and leave his emotions unaffected. He wants to feel numb and he can’t, all he can do is pivot and walk the other way (one, two, three, four- four bullets in Hank Anderson-)

It’s been three hours and he feels sick. He feels like he’s consumed thirium to excess and needs to purge his system but his thirium levels are fine because he hasn’t consumed any extra thirium, he has the right amount of thirium and none of it bled out of him on that warehouse floor though it should’ve, it should’ve been him, the blood should’ve been blue and not red and-

“Connor.” The tone is calm and neutral, intended to placate but all it does is cause his stress levels to spike because he knows his entire being hinges on whatever words follow his name. “He made it.”

A strangled sound escapes his mouth and then he’s running to close the distance between them, throwing his arms around his brother. The blood of their father stains them both.

“Thank you.” He sobs, and Ronan tightens his embrace as Connor buries his face in his shoulder. The soft blue glow of the medic crosses on his uniform are a balm for the stark white lights that have been glaring down on him for the past few hours. “Thank you.” He says again, and there’s still too much, too many feelings stacked on top of each other, teetering dangerously and so close to toppling over.

“He’ll be taken to the ward to recover and he won’t surface for a few hours yet.” Ronan pulls away just far enough so their eyes meet. “Go home and take care of Sumo, then come back here.”

He’s the older brother by technicality alone but the RK900 is the one in control right now, this is Ronan’s area of expertise, he is a doctor, he is a MedTech and Connor can only nod obediently and he walks twenty-eight steps and keeps walking until he’s leaving the hospital and climbing into a cab and going back to 115 Michigan Drive.

The stack of emotions teeters and topples when he steps over the threshold into their home because Hank is everywhere here, there’s his coat on the rack, there’s a basket of fresh laundry by the couch, there’s his coffee cup from this morning on the kitchen benchtop. There’s Sumo curiously sniffing behind him, waiting for Hank to follow Connor into the house only he’s not here he’s back at Detroit Metro Hospital under the care of his younger son. The son who didn’t let him become riddled with bullets.

The snow continues to fall and it’s cold enough Connor thinks he’s starting to become numb. It’s sharp and icy when he inhales, and the chill seems to cling to his biocomponents like a layer of frost. Sumo walks on ahead, scarf and coat on because it’s too cold even for a Saint Bernard to be out without protective clothing. He walks Sumo dutifully and he keeps breathing even though he doesn’t need to so he can fill his insides with ice and feel something close enough to numbness.

Connor makes sure Sumo eats and lets him out into the backyard for an evening toilet before he tucks the dog in for the night. He stays until Sumo falls asleep because it isn’t right to leave him alone. He promises silently that Hank will come back soon, just not tonight, just not yet. But soon.

When he returns to the hospital his brother is no longer covered in their father’s blood, though Connor still is because he hadn’t thought to get changed, it hadn’t been on the objective list.

“He’s due to surface from sedation but he may not be coherent for a little while.” Ronan leads him to the ward, to the hospital bed where Hank looks so very weak, so very mortal, so very much his fifty-five years. “I need to go, but I’ll be around.”

“Thank you.” He says again because it’s not enough, it won’t ever be enough and so he’ll keep saying it. Ronan is quiet as he looks him over, before he cups Connor’s nape and gently brings him in to bump foreheads. He’d rather be numb than helpless, but helpless is all he’s allowed right now and so Connor closes his eyes and grips his brother’s arms and anchors himself to him and he will weather this storm for his sake, and for Hank.

*~*~*

Hank feels like shit. Well, it’s not like he should expect to feel anything other than shit; four bullets through and through will do that to anyone, let alone an unfit fifty-five year old recovering alcoholic. He feels like shit, probably looks like shit, but somehow Connor looks shittier. The android who is usually well-groomed sits across from him with disheveled hair, clothing rumpled and stained with grime, with blood- his blood. His eyes are closed, LED bright red like freshly spilled blood, as red as his blood would’ve been initially when Connor was cradling him, crying and begging him to hold on. Poor kid.

Arm feeling like lead, Hank reaches out and manages to swat at his knee, completely missing the intended gentle, reassuring touch. Connor snaps awake, immediately lunging to hold his hand.

“Hank! Hank you’re- I’ll get the nurse! I’ll- I’ll get Ronan, he-” the boy stammers, eyes darting here and there, brain going a million miles.

“C’mere son.” He rasps, throat like sandpaper as he reaches up and hooks a hand around his nape. Guiding him down, Hank manages a clumsy hug. “I’ve got you kid, I’m not goin’ anywhere.”

“Dad-” Connor’s voice wobbles and god it just pulls Hank’s heartstrings because he sounds so young. “I’m so sorry! I should’ve-”

“S’ok, s’ok I got you. I got you, son.”

He used to drink to feel nothing, he used to drown himself to drown his grief and he won’t ever numb himself like that ever again; a life isn’t really lived if he refuses its spectrum of emotions that comes with the good and the bad.

Besides, there’s too much at stake now, there’s two sons to stay alive for, to stay alert and aware and open for. He can do this much, he owes them this much; he can stand the pain, he can forgo the numbness for their sake.

#detroit: become family event #hank anderson #dbh connor #connor rk800 #Detroit: Become Human #annie writes: dbh

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edutainer2022 · 1 year ago

Text

UNREQUITED Ch 7

Co-written with @janetm74

Ch 6

AO3 (1-7)

This installment found a place in the tapestry of a vaster story, thanks to the amazing insight of @janetm74, making the implications so much more exciting to ponder and to explore further!

(Page Six)

But it was one of those days. A relative lull in rescues compiled with the exhaustion of the previous fortnight streak of disasters bred mildly numb boredom. Batteries too low to pursue their usual hobbies, they gravitated to the lounge.

That left Gordon scralling lazily through newsreels. The sudden yelp sent Alan tumbling on the floor and Scott at least half an inch closer to a cardiac arrest under thirty. A keen observer would have noticed Kayo reaching for a knife in the ankle holster. The piano music keened on an abrupt note and stopped. Several pairs of VERY unamused eyes stared Gordon down.

The Fish was on his feet already, bursting with excitement, sending the news holo to the center of the lounge.

"Did you guys know Fischler has a brother?!?!"

The assorted grumps and groans across the lounge indicated that they not only didn't know, but weren't in the least thrilled by that information.

Only John and Kayo shared a quiet look, because OF COURSE they would know.

Gordon surveyed the lounge in triumph, setting the stage for a punchline.

"He has a brother and he's getting married!"

"Who, Fischler?"

Alan was still scrambling up from his hardwood landing and making a show of rubbing an ouchie. Scott at least looked ready to switch gears to the full "hurt brother!" mode. Gordon was not deterred.

"No, dummy, not Fischer! His brother is getting married!"

"And that's any of our business how?"

Alan was still not ready to relinquish attention from his boo-boo. Not with so many big brothers in attendance. But John, Kayo and Virgil were already sharing concerned LOOKS.

Any widely publicized event with cameras rolling and hundreds in attendance, involving Fischler, could potentially turn into a showcase of his latest "invention", or ten. Which would mean potential casualties and work for IR. They would need to be on the look-out and on standby. Scott waved at the comm to get the volume up.

The holo displayed a close pic of a younger and significantly more polished version of Langstrom Fischler, hair sleecked back, but a weaselly smile just a tad on the manic side.

The celebrity news anchor was gushing about a "dashing fresh face on the World Senate, a philanthropist and patron of innovation, a devoted brother and a consummate athlete, setting off to be a force of a positive change in the world" and "his drop dead gorgeous fiancée, a once Miss Brazil runner-up, who dedicated herself to the selfless life of service, decorated for honor and courage".

The picture on the screen changed to an official GDF snapshot of a tall young brunette in dress blues. The insignia on the collar indicated the rank of Captain and breastplanks - several high ranking awards for valor. The picture switched to a series of candid paparazzi snaps of the "happy couple".

The show host droned on with one corny cliche after another about the "match made of dreams" and a " high profile dream wedding" scheduled to take place on a cozy remote island.

Gordon interrupted the stream of saccharine platitudes:

"Huh? How come we're not invited? Scott, you know like everyone in the World Senate!"

His voice was drowned out by the deafening snap of the metal stylus, broken in Scott's fingers. The sound of the desk chair hitting the floor, as Scott stood up and all but ran from the lounge, was even louder.

"Huh?!"

Gordon, yet again, surmised the bewilderment of everyone present.

Jade eyes squinted a fraction as Kayo watched Scott's outburst and hasty retreat.

Virgil was half out to follow Scott, when a ping came through on Gordon's comm. The sign flashed pink.

"Yay! Looks like I'm going after all! Penny needs a plus one! John, can I borrow your tax?!"

John half waved his brother off, brows furrowed and hands already flying over invisible files, when another pink ping came through. It was Kayo's turn for a "Huh?" moment.

"Looks like Penny needs a plus two, as well. I'm invited".

That deflated Gordon's initial excitement enough to notice Virgil leaving in the general direction of Dad's office, where Scott had locked himself.

Before Virgil reached the door to try and reason with big brother to talk about... whatever that was, John sent two files to his comm.

One - a picture they all saw a hundred times on Dad's desk back in Kansas, but it didn't compute out of context. Scott's Airgroup Wing after a training flight. All hugging and laughing, still in flightsuits. Scott and the girl from the news today - Fischler Jr.'s fiancée - at the center.

The other Virgil never saw before. It would figure since it was a screenshot from, what he recognized with some dread, was Dad's old phone. There was a picture sent to a private chat with Dad of the same girl, in a sundress, and Scott in a polo shirt, apparently both on leave. An almost ten years younger Scott was smiling like he could power up a sun. The message to Dad read "SHE SAID YES!!!".

The date of the message indicated about a month and a half before Scott's mission to Bereznik.

Virgil sank to the floor, leaning on the wall, never going through with the knock on the locked office door.

***

There was nothing surreal about the hard edges of Mom's ring she just gave him back.

For about six weeks he was the happiest man alive. Dad's IR project was well underway, and he was to share that dream not only with Dad and brothers, but with the love of his life. He should have known better...

The words were real too - hard and ruthless. About Dad yanking his leash, and expecting nothing but dutiful following in his footsteps and his vision, concealed by his looming shadow, and giving up what they both dreamed about and worked so hard for - test flights, command ranks, career in service.

The echo came back to him often, in one dark hour or another, after his world shattered to pieces yet another time.

Dad voiced his reservations clearly, but did agree to give him Mom's ring. "When you know, you know". Wasn't it how he and Mom got married?

It WAS too soon, they WERE too young, and frateenization within a unit WAS an issue, but with IR lifting off that wasn't to be a problem, once he told her the full scale of the classified project. He should have known better...

He last remembered the ring yanked off his neck with the dogtags chain by a smirking Berezniki guard.

He put up a hell of a fight for that and was beaten within an inch of his life. The first time.

Next time he found it, inexplicably, in Dad's safe on the island, after the search for Zero-X was called off. He meant to ask Kyrano, as he wasn't conscious or coherent enough for the extraction op, or for months after, but the man never returned his calls anymore, sending in a resignation after half a year of following leads on the Hood.

There wasn't much room in his mind or hours in his days to give it more thought for years after. Or more pieces for his heart to break into. He should have known better.

And now she was getting married. To someone bright and promising, changing the world for the better, who wasn't him. The story of his life!

He should have known better as well.

The sound of glass shattering against the wall and a visceral scream finally sent Virgil in, wild-eyed, breaking past the lock.

***

John lifted an eyebrow in a perfect quizzical arch, putting the tablet down, as the "wedding party" poured, or rather, limped into the lounge.

Gordon's tuxedo sleeve was torn clear off, his bowtie, undone, served as a makeshift tourniquet. Parker sported cuts, bruises and a glorious shiner. Penelope's elaborate updo was in disarray, one heel of a golden pump broken. Kayo's slip dress hem was torn, exposing a garter holster.

As John hurried to the kitchen for the first aid kit, he heard her hiss something to the effect of "You should have seen the other guys".

John was waiting in the lounge for the fallout, one way or another. He wasn't quite prepared for the sight on display, handing out ice packs.

Gordon hissed too and bit off a curse, as John set about cleaning the bullet graze on his arm.

"Pen, do all your friends whip out a standard issue gun at the altar and read the groom Miranda rights instead of vows?"

Lady Penelope was busy trying to look poised while breaking the second heel off a designer pump, to make them even.

"It was a deep undercover mission to round up a drug and slave trafficking ring. A destination wedding was a most fortunate venue for the occasion."

Kayo looked up from the kitchen isle at that, not pausing to stop extracting a considerable arsenal of throw-knives from her bodice.

"Looks like the Fischler brothers were bankrolled by mafia. The crazy inventions AND the World Senate election. In exchange for some... perks."

Kayo snorted and went back to her inventory of weapons.

Gordon perked up as the anesthetic cream kicked in and forgot to NOT wave the injured hand around to assist his narrative.

Gordon was nearly flailing with excitement, so John's hands pushed him mildly back into the seat. Turquoise eyes found Penelope's line of sight, studiously avoiding Kayo:

"So... no wedding?"

"No wedding indeed."

Up on the Tracy Volcano Virgil's comm vibrated, switched to silent mode hours ago. John's message read "No wedding."

#thunderbirds are go #pairing: scott/kayo #scott tracy #virgil tracy #gordon tracy #kayo kyrano #scott tracy/original character #that didn't work #scott tracy needs a hug #thunderbirds 2015 #janetm74 #john tracy didn't sign up for this #my fic #methinks i have astronomy

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