#{like yeah they were playing on that billie personal life but EXTREMELY LOOSELY}

[thebadtimewolf]

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[slasherhaven]

What about billy, michael and Brahms (and whoever else you’d like to do) with an s/o that’s also a killer?

The Slashers with a S/O who is also a killer

Thomas Hewitt

Judging would be hypocritical but...really...you? Thomas can’t judge you for what you do, he done things just as bad. He just couldn’t believe that you had done these things but you have...he doesn’t know how to feel. But in the end, he loves you more than anything. If you can love him despite the things his family do, he can definitely love you even with this new information. You’re still you.

More willing to let you help. Now that he knows about all of this, he doesn’t feel the need to shelter you from the morbidity of the family as much (he is still very protective of you, though). If you want to help out with that side of the ‘chores’, then he is more likely to allow it. That doesn’t stop him from worrying though.

Michael Myers

Okay. Why does he not react to anything?! Okay, there is a chance he already knew. This man can be quite the stalker when he wants to be, so he might have already found out. Either way, he’s not going to judge you for this, I mean...look at him. However, the first time he found out, he was actually surprised, he’s just good at not showing it. But he is also curious.

He likes to work alone...but he can make an exception. Michael likes working alone, he doesn’t want to have somebody tag along. However, he is curious as to how you would behave, how the two of you would work together, he wanted to watch and have some of that curiosity satisfied. So, maybe the two of you team up for a night or two before going back to your individual work.

Jason Voorhees 

You? There’s no way. Jason doesn’t even believe it at first. You’re so sweet and gentle and kind, there’s no way you’re a killer...right? He just sees you as his sweet S/O, the only person who has shown him any love or kindness. So, you can understand why it’s difficult for him to picture.

Worries about you. Not in a hypocritical way, it’s just dangerous work. Jason worries about you enough even before this information so now that he knows you put yourself in dangerous situations purposely, he frets even more. If you start working with him on dealing with intruders at the camp, he will worry about you no matter how capable you prove yourself to be.

Brahms Heelshire 

Hypocritical little bastard. As if he has any room to judge you for what you do. You know his history, about the nannies that came before you and how he had to deal with them when they didn’t accept him. You knew all of that, he had opened up to you about it, that’s why you told him the truth as well. He just needs some time to process this and remember that you’re still you.

As long as you’re still caring for him. He decides that as long as nothing between you both changes, he’s fine with it. As along as you continue to love him and care for him, he doesn’t care about all of that.

Bo Sinclair 

Doesn’t believe you. Straight up laughs in your face, shaking his head at you. Yeah, that was a good joke. No matter what you say, he thinks you’re just messing with him. He doesn’t think you could do it, he’s underestimating you.

Well, fucking hell, okay then. That’s pretty much his response when you prove it to him. Either showing him evidence of past kills or just straight up killing somebody in front of him. You weren’t joking, he gets it...and is almost impressed. Well, looks like you’re going to be doing a lot more to pull your weight around here.

Vincent Sinclair

He...doesn’t like the idea. The thought of you killing somebody doesn’t sit right with him but he’s also aware that he has no room to judge. He doesn’t like the idea of you hurting somebody or of you accidently getting hurt in the process. He’s more worried about it all than anything else.

He comes around to it. He just needs some time to process and accept it. In the mean time, just remind him that it doesn’t change anything between the two of you. Continue to show him love and prove that you’re still who he thought you were, he’ll eventually relax about the whole thing. Just please don’t get hurt.

Lester Sinclair

Honestly, it makes him a little nervous. He knows that you’re not going to hurt him, it’s not that, he actually trusts you with his life. It’s a natural reaction to finding out your S/O is a killer, but he won’t judge. I mean, how can he. While he doesn’t usually play a direct part in the killings, both of his brothers are killers. So, he can’t be too put off by you being one too.

At least you’ll fit in here, eh? This newfound information actually makes him think that you’re less likely to leave Ambrose (and, in addition, him) because the things that happen in this town aren’t too difficult for you to accept and get used too. He worries less about you seeing the dark side of the town. He can see how this could be a positive thing in a strange way.

Bubba Sawyer

Confusion and disbelief. He just can’t believe the person he loves so much and who shows him so much tender affection could be a killer. But you tell him that you feel the same about him. He’s so sweet and kind but he’s killed people before. Well, maybe it’s not so bad then!

Well, he can’t judge! Killing is pretty normal to him and, while he doesn’t you to get hurt or put yourself in harms way, he can’t judge. This just means that you are like the rest of the family, so that’s fine! And now you can help them deal with intruders if you’d like, he’ll just be watching so that you don’t get hurt. He worries too much about you sometimes.

Billy Lenz

Is actually very torn about it. I mean, how are you supposed to react when you find out your S/O is a killer, especially when you’re one too. He’s not judgemental because he’s in the same boat as you, but he just struggles to process that you have done stuff like that when you’ve only ever been kind and accepting of him.

As long as you’re nice to him, he doesn’t care. If this changes nothing between you both, he accepts you for who you are because you’ve done the same for him. He also gets this feeling of relief because you must understand him. You wouldn’t judge him, you’d understand and still be there for him. And that’s all he wants from you.

Asa Emory (The Collector)

Does his research. As soon as he finds out, he wants to know everything. Whether you simply tell him everything, from your first kill to where you are today, or he has to do some extra research on your kills. He wants to know how you do it and why you do it. What can he say? It’s an interesting subject. Plus, it helps him better understand you and learn more about you.

Mutual curiosity. Just as he’s curious about your kills, you’re interested with his. If he hasn’t already taken you to the hotel, he will. Maybe you could learn a thing or two from each other, maybe even help each other out. Either way, this is certainly interesting to him.

Jesse Cromeans (Chromeskull) 

Probably how you met. It’s likely that he caught wind of your kills and became interested. Of course, he had to investigate and learn more about this mysterious killer, only to find you. You’re just lucky that he developed an interest in you rather than wanting to eliminate any competition.

Partnering up. He just thought teaming up with you for a kill or two could be interesting, just a little bit of fun but the two of you enjoyed it more than either of you expected, so it became a regular thing. Eventually, it became official. You are quite the team...

Otis Driftwood

Tell him everything. He wants to know everything, every little detail. Just tell him everything. No details are too gory for him. In fact, he wants to know the gory details. He just wants to know it all and he will listen intently the whole time.

Otis likes having a partner more than he thought he would. When he found out that you’re a killer, the first thing he wanted to do was kill somebody with you. And he enjoys it even more than he thought it would. He likes terrorising people, whether it be on his own or with somebody else, but none of it compares to doing it with you. This is definitely going to become a regular thing. Side note: it shouldn’t be surprising that this all gets him going.

Baby Firefly

What a power couple! As soon as she finds out, all she wants to do is cause chaos with you and kill somebody with you. She truly believes that the two of you are unstoppable. And even if you’re not, the two of you are about to have a lot of fun together!

Just fucked up people doing fucked up shit. The two of you are definitely bad influences on each other. The fact that you kill anyone at all only encourages her to do it more because of how fun she finds doing it with you. And she just makes you all the more chaotic.

Yautja (Predator)

Not quick to judge at all. Killing is a perfectly normal thing in their culture, well maybe not just killing each other but hunting is normal and encouraged. So he’s accepting of it.

Teaches you their honour code. Honour is extremely important to the Yautja. If you’re killing innocent humans, that’s a problem. They aren’t worthy kills, they’re easy. Preferably you would aim higher, killing an opponent who is a challenge is worthy. Or you would kill people who ‘deserve’ it, that doesn’t exactly bring you honour if they were an easy target but you wouldn’t loose any either. He’ll pretty much train you if you’re okay with that.

[sinceileftyoublog]

New Bums Interview: Married Couple Vibe

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Unlike the mathematical approach of Six Organs of Admittance or the wound jangly pop of Skygreen Leopards, Ben Chasny and Donovan Quinn’s New Bums is like its name: contemporary slacker vibes, loose playing, easy, gorgeous tunes. The band’s first record, Voices in a Rented Room, came out in 2014, and almost immediately afterwards, they started recording its follow-up. It wouldn’t be released until this March, as the more layered but just as lackadaisical Last Time I Saw Grace (Drag City). Both Chasny and Quinn write songs, and each plays off the other one’s style as much as presenting their own. For instance, on the energetic “Oblieration Time”, which juxtaposes soloing and acoustic strumming, Chasny attempted to write lyrics like Quinn. As for Quinn’s lyrics, more generally, Chasny’s instrumentation shifts them. “One of the great things about songwriting [is] the way the lyrics come across versus what they actually mean,” Quinn said on a Zoom call earlier this year with me and Chasny. “The same words can be funny, sad, [or] ironic depending on the instrumentation behind [them]. It’s really fun to see what Ben does.” Chasny agrees that instrumentation matters, not citing a general philosophy but rather a YouTube video with almost 10 million views that overlays a scene of Darth Vader visiting the Death Star with a snippet of Spandau Ballet’s “True”.

Indeed, the buddy quality of New Bums shines through when they’re in the same room--even a virtual one. They laugh and play with each other and finish each other’s sentences, having been friends for a long time. But such a laid-back feeling wouldn’t be possible without each member’s distinct personalities. Chasny, knowing I was set to interview Chris Corsano later that day about his and Bill Orcutt’s excellent Made Out Of Sound, had me communicate an inside joke to Corsano, with whom he shares a band, Rangda. (The joke? Telling Corsano that he should make a pack of beats called “Chris Corsano’s Breakbeats,” to which Corsano cackled and replied, “You’ve been talking to Chasny.”) Chasny’s also self-deprecating: “I’m not a very good violin player, but the last song has me on the violin,” he shrugs about Last Time’s “Follow Them Up the Slope”. And he forgets the titles of the songs, facetiously chalking it up to the album’s lyrical themes of decay. Quinn, simply, is humble and go-with-the-flow.

Underneath it all are some serious aesthetic and instrumental chops from the both of them, a mix of guitars, harmonium (the circular “So Long, Kus”), violin, and keyboards. Opener “Billy, God Damn” is twangy and layered. “Onward to Devastation” features tasty riffing following the lilting folk of “Marlene Left California”. “Wild Dogs” shimmers, while “Hermitage Song” stuns with deep string textures. All in all, Chasny and Quinn talk about these songs with the same exuberance they do their other projects, or music by Corsano and Orcutt, or even legendary records by 90′s German drone artists. Music fans make music makers, and music bums never fade.

Read my conversation with them below, edited for length and clarity.

Since I Left You: What’s unique about Last Time I Saw Grace as compared to Voices in a Rented Room?

Donovan Quinn: I think both of the records come from the same place. A buddy record is the way I would put it, where it grew out of me and Ben in a room, playing two guitars, talking about ideas and records we admired. This one, we built the songs up a little bit more, added some layers to the songs with overdubs, and really added some depth to a lot of the compositions with vocal and guitar work and different synths, whereas the first one we tried to keep it as barebones as possible.

Ben Chasny: Yeah. I would say the first one was more slopdog, like a mutt running wild, and this one isn’t showdog level, but trimming up the dog a little bit, teaching it a couple tricks.

SILY: Maybe album 3 will be showdog. 

BC: Yeah. I think it’ll probably take a poop right in front of everybody, but it will still be up there.

SILY: Those layers are what I noticed from the get-go, on [opener] “Billy. God Damn”. Is that why you decided to have it first on the record and release it ahead of time?

BC: We ran through a number of sequences on the record. It just felt like a good one to start out with. There are definitely more vocal layers on this than the other record we did for sure.

DQ: Yeah, I don’t have a clear memory of recording a lot of these songs because we did it over a long period of time, and “Billy God Damn” is one of those songs. I think we put it first because it set a good tone for the rest of the record.

SILY: The sequencing definitely struck me. It goes back and forth between more up-tempo tracks like “Obliteration Time Two” and more lilting tracks like “Marlene Left California”. Is that something you had in mind when ultimately deciding on the order of the tracks?

BC: I think so, yeah, trying to balance it out without having one of the sides of the records being too much one direction.

SILY: I love records like this where the palate is mostly vocals and guitars but you throw in a wildcard like the harmonium, or the cello on “Street of Spies”. It makes those songs stand out.

DQ: “Street of Spies” has our buddy Jason Quever on cello who has a band called Papercuts. I work a lot with Jason and he was kind enough to put some cello on that one.

BC: He did the drums and some of the strings on the first record, too.

SILY: You could say the whole album has a loose quality, but on that song especially, you kept the false start and the countdown from the live recording.

DQ: We do like that kind of sketchbook vibe with our records.

BC: [laughs] I have a feeling I know what you’re gonna say, Donovan.

DQ: I’m not gonna say what you think I’m gonna say...Me and Ben have known each other for so long, it’s a married couple vibe where we know what the other person is gonna say or is thinking...With the way you can record records now, it’s pretty easy to really get things lined up and cleaned up. We thought with New Bums, it would be kind of a nice contrast to not do that, to keep things a little bit frayed.

SILY: It goes with the aesthetic suggested by the band name, too.

DQ: Yeah, exactly.

SILY: Did anything inspire the lyrics specifically?

DQ: Not anything specifically, but over time, both me and Ben writing, we kind of developed a sense of a type of record lyrically, and it seemed to be a lot of songs about decay and certain kinds of desperation. We built from that, not totally consciously, but everything seemed to gravitate towards it.

BC: I will say, when I wrote some of the lyrics to the song “Obliteration Time”, I was actually trying to write songs like Donovan’s band Skygreen Leopards, and I was hoping he would pick up on it. I was like, “Did you pick up on it?” He was like, “No, I didn’t at all.” That was what I was trying to do.

SILY: In some ways, you still have a ways to go in your marriage, then.

BC: Yeah, a lot of ways.

SILY: What were you going for on the first line of “Street of Spies”, “Who gives a fuck about clemency?”

DQ: You know, I don’t remember. And when we were listening back to different vocal takes, there was one that was so unusually angry for me that Ben was saying I sounded like Rage Against the Machine or something, so we changed it. I don’t know. It’s just meant to have the language contrast the mellow vibe of the song. I like that style when if you have a mellow song with lyrics that contradict that feel.

SILY: What’s the inspiration behind the album title?

BC: It’s a line [on the album]. When you listen to [the] song, you realize it’s the name of a woman, Grace, but in context on the front of the record, it has a different meaning, which we thought would be kind of fun. You listen to the record, and you realize, “Ah, I see what they’re talking about.” 

DQ: That was kind of a last-minute title. I think we got lucky with it. It fits really well with the kind of themes developed in the record: decay, desperation, etc.

SILY: Is Grace a real person or just a character?

Both: Just a character.

SILY: What’s the inspiration behind the cover art?

BC: Donovan had the concept behind the art.

DQ: We were gonna see if anyone noticed this, but if you look at the first cover and the second cover, it’s basically the same elements, but we took things away. The first one has the two triangles, and it’s pictures of me and Ben, and this one doesn’t have any pictures. The idea is for every album to have the same basic design that takes elements away to eventually have nothing at all.

SILY: What are you gonna lose on the next one? One of the triangles?

BC: Possibly. That’s when I get kicked out of the band.

SILY: Or it’s self-titled, and you can use New Bums as the band and the title.

DQ: The other day, something cool happened that reminded me of the cover and the two triangles. It doesn’t totally work, but I did this video that heavily references ZZ Top. For the video, we bought a couple of ZZ Top magical keychains, and I was trying to open a box with it, but the fucking thing broke! But the two extreme points of the keys broke off, and what’s left looks a lot like the two triangles.

BC: The original record cover from the first record was based on one of my favorite records, pretty much a tribute to it, a band called The Black Vial. He did a record called Frozen Morning in maybe the mid-90s. He did 300 of them, this German guy, Liebried Loch. They were wrapped in black electric tape, and that’s what held the photograph on. This really gorgeous looking record, one of the most dark, depressing records I’ve ever heard in my life. It’s just droning on electric guitar on a practice amp, really distorted, singing songs like, “Black crows, flying no more!” We based the original artwork off that record and then modified it.

SILY: Have you thought about doing a live stream or socially distant show?

BC: We should try to figure out how to do it together. We still have to figure out Zoom. We may not do Zoom a lot. We’re more Google. We know technology.

SILY: You’re not Luddites?

BC: We have most of our meetings on Google Hangouts. 

DQ: New Bums has a lot of meetings, and we spend a lot of time together, so it’s surprising it’s taken us 5 years to do two albums and two tours. 

BC: We do have some great video footage from that tour a couple years back filmed at a bookstore in San Francisco called Adobe Books, and I think we’re gonna put that out for people to check out.

SILY: Were some of the songs from this record performed there?

BC: Yeah, we [did] “Cover Band”.

SILY: Anything you’ve been listening to, watching, or reading lately that’s caught your attention?

DQ: I’ve been watching a lot of movies more than anything else. I have the Criterion Channel service, so I’ve been finding a lot of inspiration in that. I was just recommending the movie Close-up to Ben, if you want to feel that doing any kind of artistic endeavor might have some meaning, it’s worth it.

BC: I’ve been watching a lot of Poirot. That guy’s great. His relationship with Hastings is quite similar to Donovan and me, though I won’t say who is Poirot and who’s Hastings.

Last Time I Saw Grace by New Bums

[delos-mio]

Death of a Bachelor - Part 15

A/N: hi guess what I have a new chapter for you!!!!!! did a little mapping today and it looks like there will likely be 2-3 more parts and an epilogue, subject to change. tags at the end, lemme know if you’d like to be added c:

The last of your things were boxed up and waiting for the moving truck to come any moment. It took you the better part of a month to sort through all the shit you’d accumulated over the years, pack up everything you planned on taking to Logan’s, and list your condo for sale. Logan had been there every step of the way to make sure you never had to lift a finger if you didn’t want to. Which, you were extremely grateful for all the help. You still had an office to attend to; business didn’t stop just because you were moving into a house with more space than you knew what to do with.

On the final Sunday afternoon, Logan had roped John Collins into helping with the final load of your things. True to his promise some month or so before, John had been around more and more frequently now that you were fully in the loop. He was a good man and so similar to Logan and completely the opposite in just as many ways. Where Logan was impulsive, John was calculated. Logan spoke with passion and conviction, whereas John was the silent enforcer. But both men were equally as excited to finally own Delos, perhaps for different reasons, but anxious to get their hands on it all the same. John was picking up the last box when he turned around to look at you and Logan.

“Think that’s it! Unless you’re hiding something else around here,” John grinned.

“Nah, that’s the last of it,” you sighed with a small smile. You were so happy to be living with Logan properly, of course you were. But there was that small corner of your heart that broke every time you remembered you were giving up this condo you loved so much. John had stepped out and you distantly heard his footsteps descend the stairs just outside your door. You wrapped your arms loosely around your middle and slowly paced around the now empty living room. The same room you’d given birth to your company, where you cried countless times to Emily about how you were ready to give up, where you and Charles got drunk after successfully landing clients, where Logan brought you sushi from your favorite restaurant to apologize for being a complete dickhead. The memory made you let out a small, sad chuckle.

“What’s the matter, princess?” Logan was reaching out and gently thumbing away a tear you didn’t realize had spilled from your eyes. You’d been so lost in your reverie that you failed to notice both Logan holding you cautiously and that you were crying. You shook your head a bit and forced a tight-lipped smile before looking up and meeting Logan’s soft and dark gaze.

“I guess,” you started, allowing yourself a deep breath and quickly wiped the remaining moisture from your cheeks. “This is one of only two places I’ve lived while I’ve been in LA. When I first came out here, I was in some shitty little studio like every other idiot who comes out here with enough arrogance to think they’re going to make it. But once I had real business and clients and money, I wanted to get the fuck out of that apartment.” You paused again and rubbed under your eyes once more. “This was the first place I looked at and I signed for it that same day. It was like it was here just waiting for me, you know? That probably sounds stupid. It’s just a condo. But this was the first thing I really bought for myself after I got my feet under me.”

“That’s not stupid at all,” Logan said sincerely, smoothing his hand over your hair. “I know you love this place. I don’t want you to feel like you need to give it up for me, ok? If you don’t want to…” he started, but you cut him off by quickly pressing your lips to his.

“You’re sweet, Lo. And I appreciate it. But I want to be with you and live in your hou—”

“Our,” he corrected with a small smile. The distinction made your heart swell and burst. Any lingering sadness you felt at saying goodbye to your space was quickly being pushed aside for the overwhelming joy you felt when you thought about being with Logan.

“Yes, our,” you laughed. “Ours,” you repeated before he was leaning down to kiss you again, slowly this time.

“Ours,” he mumbled against your lips, never moving away from them. One more languid kiss and you pulled apart, taking Logan’s hand in yours.

You scanned the place one more time as you stood in the doorway with Logan. After closing your eyes and taking in a long breath, you turned to him and nodded, a small smile tugging at the corner of your lips. The silver key twisted in the knob and locked your old condo for the last time.

-----

A week or so later, Juliet was at the house firming up plans for Jim’s retirement party that was set to happen in a month. He was doing his best to keep this meeting as short as possible; he had something planned for this evening and Jules simply was not invited. Logan had already taken care of hiring catering, entertainment, and valets, but Juliet offered to help with décor of some kind since she tended to have a better eye for those sort of details. Truthfully, Logan didn’t give a shit what it looked like or what people ate or if they even had a good time. In fact, he’d prefer it be the shittiest party imaginable for the most miserable bastard he knew. But he couldn’t very well get away with that, not if he wanted to pull off the charade like he wanted and not with Juliet watching so closely. Why she wanted to give Jim a nice send off, he’d never understand.

“I was thinking of having these around the sitting room and out on the terrace,” Juliet said, showing Logan something on her computer. He didn’t know what it was because he couldn’t be bothered to look up from his phone.

“Uh huh, sure,” he agreed dismissively. Juliet angrily snapped her laptop shut, drawing Logan’s attention back to her.

“What the fuck is up with you? Do you not care about this?” she asked, a small fire starting in her eyes.

“Not at all, actually,” he shrugged.

“Then why the fuck are you throwing Dad this party, huh? You guys haven’t even spoken in months.” She was right. And it had been the best, most peaceful eight months of his life. “Listen, I know it’s been hard for you. And I know I haven’t been the best sister or friend even during all…this. But if there’s something you need to tell me, please.” She always had been able to read Logan better than anyone.

“Nope, just trying to send off dad the way he deserves,” Logan said cryptically, smiling a bit too wide. Juliet wasn’t buying it, but she conceded and decided maybe it was best to let it drop and stop talking about Jim for a bit.

“So, how’s it been living together? She’s not ready to rip your head off yet?” she teased, leaning back into the couch.

“It’s been amazing, actually,” he laughed silently, a fond smile playing on his lips as he thought about how excited he was for you to come home. “I was a little scared to live with someone else, you know? I’ve lived on my own for so long and she has too. But we’d been having so many sleepovers, it didn’t really feel like we had to learn how to live together. We just kind of got it. I just have less room in the closet now.”

“Which I’m sure is just unbearable for you,” Juliet said with a roll of her eyes.

“If that’s my biggest adjustment, I’m not complaining,” he remarked, bringing his bottle of beer to his lips, dumping the last of it down his throat.

“So, things must be…pretty serious then?” she asked with caution. Logan knew what she was trying to ask without the words actually leaving her mouth. For as well as Juliet could read him, he was just as well versed at catching her meaning without her coming out with it.

“We live together, Jules. I suppose so, yes.”

“Yeah, ok. But this is, like, easily the longest you’ve ever been with one person, let alone had a title on a relationship.” She was right. Logan didn’t exactly have a lengthy history of longevity in his relationships. Now that he was thinking about it, he was pretty sure you were the only proper partner he’d ever had. The thought was both jarring and comforting to him.

“Just ask me what you want to, stop with all this bullshit,” he said, waving his hand dismissively in her direction.

“Have you guys talked about, you know, getting married? Kids?”

“Jesus, Jules. No,” he answered a little too quickly. “We’re not there. Don’t know if we will be.”

“I’m just saying,” she started softly, “it’s something you might want to talk about if you plan on keeping her around. I mean, how are you going to feel if you’re on two completely different pages? How is she going to feel? What if she’s ready for you to put a ring on it and start popping out babies?”

Logan laughed violently at the thought. Fuck anyone who thought he’d ever even entertain being a father. And he couldn’t imagine you having thoughts like what Juliet just described. But…maybe she had a point. Exaggerated, but a point none the less. Logan still didn’t know how he felt about marriage as an institution. But, if he were going to consider spending his life with anyone, it was most certainly you.

“I’m almost positive she doesn’t feel that way,” he said as his laughter began to subside.

“Almost positive is not certain, though, now is it?” she countered with a raised eyebrow. “I’m just trying to get you to think a little bit since I know you like to gloss over that part.” Logan rolled his eyes. “I like her a lot, and I know you do too. I just don’t want to see either one of you end up hurt because you were too busy assuming you know everything like you always do.”

“I appreciate the concern, sis. I’ll make sure we’re both vehemently anti-baby,” he joked with a sly smile. The two fell into a comfortable silence before Logan decided it was time to open his mouth again. “Billy still a worthless piece of shit?” Logan asked nonchalantly.

“I wish you wouldn’t do that,” she huffed angrily, starting to put her things back in her bag.

“Do what?”

“Ruin an otherwise good time by being a shit head!” she spat back angrily. “Jesus, Logan. Wake up. He’s going to be your brother-in-law whether you like it or not.”

“I don’t like it,” he countered easily.

“I KNOW. I know, ok? And you know what? I don’t fucking care.” She was on her feet now, making her way to the front door with her bag slung over her shoulder.

“Jules…” Logan said with a sigh, only regretting bringing up William a little bit.

“I’ll talk to you later, ok?” With that, she was forcefully closing the door behind her, leaving Logan alone with an empty bottle and his thoughts.

He glanced at the clock and figured he had a couple hours until you’d be getting home. Perfect, he thought, and pulled himself off the couch to start getting ready for the evening he had planned for the two of you.

-----

You stepped into the foyer after getting home and immediately noticed all the lights were off inside the house. The only source of illumination was the soft glow of the fairy lights hung around the deck. You had no choice but to follow the pull of the warm yellows and oranges they emitted. When you got to the sliding glass door, you saw Logan standing in a clean but casual suit, a small bouquet in his hands.

“What is all this?” you asked, a little dreamy, as you stepped outside to join him and further observed a nice dinner set out for each of you, a few candles lit on the table between the plates. It was clear Logan had taken his time setting everything up, taking into consideration all the things you liked. No matter how beautiful of a scene he had set, he somehow managed to look even more perfect.

“You know what today is?” Logan asked, wrapping his unoccupied hand around your waist. You swallowed a large lump that had formed in your throat. Shit, did you forget about something huge? You were going to feel like such a dick if you did. Logan looked so happy and so handsome, you couldn’t stomach the idea of upsetting him.

“No…” you said in an impossibly small voice, your eyes worried as you looked up at Logan. But he just laughed a little and managed to smile wider.

“Well, I suppose I’m not surprised by that. Since this day definitely left a bigger impression on me than it did on you,” he said, confusing you even more. Logan just handed you the flowers and moved in to kiss you. His kiss was firm and full of the passion he couldn’t convey with words. His lips were perfectly soft as he moved against you, making you whimper quietly from the back of your throat. As he broke away just enough to speak again, you were left breathless thinking about the kiss he just gave you. “One year ago today, you yelled at me for being a little bitch to the barista at the coffee shop in my building.”

He knew. He remembered the day you met. Back then, you assumed he had been another pretty boy trying to get into your pants by any means necessary, but you now knew he’d been so persistent because he really wanted you and everything you were. The thought made you want to burst into tears on the spot. He really did have a gooey center under all those layers of armor he managed to put on every day. You reached up and cupped his cheek, grinning like an idiot.

“Logan Delos, are we celebrating our anniver—”

“Shh,” he cooed, kissing you again before motioning towards your seat and pulling your chair out for you. You just giggled and took your place across from Logan.

“This looks great. Thank you, Lo. It’s beautiful out here,” you praised with a genuine smile.

“Not nearly as beautiful as the company,” he said smoothly, sending you a wink that made a warmth spread across your chest. It was wild how he could still turn you into a schoolgirl with the smallest gesture.

You enjoyed your meal and a bottle of wine, just catching up on each other’s days, a little flirting where you could both fit it in. He told you about Juliet coming over and new party developments, well, the ones he cared to remember. You filled him in on work and the new client Charles had brought in. The whole evening, you were just itching to be closer, closer, closer to Logan. You wanted his skin on yours, your fingers in his hair, his lips to wander wherever they so desired. It was almost impossible to keep your train of thought at times; you hadn’t been this completely blinded by lust in quite some time. But just as you were getting lost in another fantasy about all the things Logan’s long fingers could do, he caught you off-guard with a question you had not at all been expecting.

“Do you want kids?” He asked it so casually, you almost didn’t catch it. But you did, and it made you choke momentarily on your wine.

“Excuse me?” you laughed lightly, trying to stifle a cough.

“Do you want kids?” he asked, more seriously this time.

“I…no. No, I really don’t. Never have,” you said honestly. “Sorry if that’s…”

“Good, me either,” he agreed quickly with a bright smile.

“Baby, where did that come from?” you asked with a tilt of your head. Logan let out a little sigh and ran his fingers absentmindedly through his hair.

“When Jules was over today. I don’t know, I guess she got into my head a little bit,” he said smiling again, shaking his head. “She asked me if we wanted to get married and have kids and…”

“Was moving in together not enough for her?” You raised an eyebrow and smirked.

“This,” he said, reaching his hand out and taking yours, tugging you gently until you got the idea to stand up and plopped yourself back down on his lap. Logan had really taken to having you in his lap lately, not that you were complaining. “This is why I love you,” he said gently, tucking your hair back behind your ear. “She was saying shit about how we could not be on the same page and how shitty that would be. But,” he paused to run a palm up your thigh, “I knew we were. We don’t even have to say it.”

“I’m happy with you, Lo. With us,” you said with a smile before kissing his temple. “I don’t feel the need to anything on anyone else’s timeline but our own, ok? And if we decide we don’t want to do anything, that’s our own goddamn business.” You leaned down to kiss him again, this time on his wine stained lips. Logan was quick to grip your hip a little tighter, swipe his tongue a little harder as he eagerly deepened the kiss.

“Can I show you part two now?” he asked, his voice now deep and rough, laced with his want for you.

“There’s a part two?” you giggled. Logan just nodded and swatted at your ass to get up. As soon as you did, he was quick to lift you in his arms again, carrying you bridal style through your house. He toed the door to the bedroom open where he had strung up similar lights to those outside around the bed. You could tell he had changed all the linens to be fresh for tonight. Logan gently dropped you on the plush bedding and quickly moved to lay over you.

“You’re so goddamn perfect,” he sighed against the delicate skin of your neck. “Let me show you how perfect you are.”

TAGGED: @marvelcapsicle @something-tofightfor @its-my-little-dumpster-fire @gollyderek @dylanobrusso @abroadcastofthemind @songtoyou

[villa-kulla]

I was hoping you might find time for the commentary! I expect this may be a common request, but would you do the scene at the end of Chisolm's 7, from '6 months later' to 'gradually remembered how to be himself'?

I had a feeling you’d choose that one haha and I’m so glad you did! It was exTREMEly satisfying to write. Thanks for the ask!

(***copy-paste disclaimer that this is NOT under a readmore because my blog’s black background makes reading long things a chore, so SCROLL FAST IF YOU’RE NOT INTERESTED!***)

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Before this section even starts, for the 6 months later heading I intentionally left such ridiculously huge paragraph gaps before and after, just because I knew people would be scrolling and I wanted to convey distance for the time jump. If this had been a book I’d have wanted an almost blank page that says ‘6 months later’, so I guess wide gaps in between scrolling is the online version of that haha)

Goodnight stretched back on the lounge chair contentedly, baking underneath the hot sun. Billy would give him hell for having taken off his thin linen shirt in the middle of the day, but Billy was out swimming as it happened, and what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

Goody and I are one where the sun is concerned, in that we KNOW we burn easily but the allure of sunbathing properly is too much to resist haha, much to the despair of the ones who are trying to save us from ourselves/UV rays. This is absoLUTEly a source of much bickering for them haha

He reached for his drink, moving the colourful umbrella to the side as he took a pull from the straw. He licked his lips, the sweet juice mingling with the salty taste from when he’d gone swimming earlier.

They did that every day. Swimming, that is. Swimming, sailing, and making their way around the islands, no plans for the day other than if they should up the sails and find a new port to explore, or stay anchored, bobbing in crystal blue and green waters next to white beaches, alternating between swimming or laying back on the deck while they enjoyed each other’s company. Whether that was by playing cards, reading, tanning, keeping the large yacht in ship-shape, or having frankly ridiculous amounts of sex, the bliss of living with Billy Rocks still hadn’t worn off. And at this rate, Goodnight didn’t think it ever would.

living the high liiiiife. Back in chapter 1, Sam asks Goody what his plans with the bank money are, and Goody says ‘I see a yacht in my future’, and then BOOM, just like that I had the ending for this fic completely in place haha. Like the second I typed him saying that it was like “oh okay, so this fic ends with Goody and Billy on a yacht together, k cool”, and the whole way through I couldn’t wait to actually write it. And as we talked about before, this Dorothy L. Sayers quote was in my head the entire time writing it: “Lord Peter’s large income… cost me nothing and at the time I was particularly hard up and it gave me pleasure to spend his fortune for him. When I was dissatisfied with my single unfurnished room I took a luxurious flat for him in Piccadilly. When my cheap rug got a hole in it, I ordered him an Aubusson carpet.” Spending fictional money is extremely satisfying haha, so yeah, I was very much looking forward to spoiling these two

Goodnight nudged down his sunglasses, keeping an eye on Billy out in the water, smiling when he saw his dark head bobbing out in the water like a seal’s. They were anchored by a coral reef and Billy was out snorkeling again. Never content to just float on the water though, Goodnight often saw his head dip under to go chase a fish or pick up a shell on the sandy bottom.

I had to include the seal comparison, because as always, Billy is such a water creature to me. I blame River Grit lol, but the seal bit is my little shoutout to my own damn obsession with him as a water spirit. Also protective!Goody nudging down his glasses

Goodnight smiled and took another sip of his drink, making a mental note to ask Billy if he wanted to have dinner on shore or fix something on the boat. They were anchored off one of the many islands in the area, and this one had an appealing night market they’d explored the night before before, walking through the bright lights with cold beers in their hands, listening to the sounds of drums from the street bands, the smell of fish, pineapples, and coconuts thick on the air.

I like the domesticity in the phrasing of ‘fix something’, and how it suggests the kind of dinner routines they might have built up at this point in their little floating home. Can’t you just picture them in the kitchen, hips bumping while they both make supper, and holding things out for each other to taste? My heart

They’d seen what felt like half of the Pacific islands this way: sailing to different areas and exploring the local cities, enjoying the colour of each one. But as fun as their travels had been, Goodnight also enjoyed the time he spent with Billy just staying in on the boat: days spent lounging on the deck while they soaked up the sun, the ocean rippling clear around them; warm evenings of throwing something together in the yacht’s kitchen and eating dinner out on the deck with their feet dangling in the water as they watched the sun set; rainy evenings curled up in the lounge watching old movies on their flat screen while the rain drummed on the roof overhead and made the ocean outside as rippled and dented as a golfball. And then there were the nights spent with the windows thrown open, the hot breeze coming in while they moved together on the sheets, feeling and tasting every inch of each other, the movement of their bodies as steady and uplifting as the roll of waves.

I’ve often felt like this big chunky paragraph could have been more elegantly done, but I wasn’t sure how. But either way it was very satisfying to imagine and write these little scenarios for them. Personally I like the image of them eating on the side of the boat with their feet dangling in the water while the sun goes down best, but I also like the image of a rainy ocean being like a ‘golfball’. I was very keen to get the golfball comparison in there, but again, I feel like I could have done it more elegantly but just didn’t know how lol but ah well

Goodnight and Billy had each chipped in from their shares of the casino job so that they could buy the yacht. It was the closest thing either had had to a steady home in a long time, it had been worth every penny.

so they each made off with about 25 million if I remember correctly? I looked at a lot of yachts for sale while writing this (which was both fun and envy-inducing haha), and honestly a reeeeeally swanky mid-sized yacht could EASILY go for at least 50 million. But also I didn’t want them to spend their WHOLE cut of the take on a yacht, because they need to have millions left over to play around with! So idk, let’s say their yacht is certainly high end but not ostentatiously so, and they afforded it just fine with plenty left over for caviar. And btw, in all my yacht research, this one was probably closest to what I imagined for the exterior, although not exactly: https://www.burgessyachts.com/en/sale-purchase-category/yachts-for-sale/sailing-yachts/khaleesi-00006286.html (I couldn’t find an exACT match for what I had in my head but that one’s close-ish)

And speaking of a million dollar view…

coming up is my version of ‘Ursula Andress ascending from the sea in a white bikini in Dr. No’, only it’s Billy haha

Billy was climbing up the ladder, and god, this was just the best part of Goody’s day. He pulled himself up onto the deck, dripping wet, muscles glistening beneath the hot sun, black swimsuit clinging to his hips. He reached up to take off his snorkelling mask, the plastic strap tangling briefly in his hair which he then squeezed out. It was past his shoulders these days, either by preference or simply not being bothered enough to cut it.

would that not be a sight and a half……writing this paragraph was shameless voyeurism I tell you haha. Oh and also the ‘this was just the best part of Goody’s day’ was a reference to Matt Damon’s line in the movie when we see Julia Roberts coming down the stairs looking lovely and he says ‘This is just the best part of my day.’ Like it says in the fic notes, the plot itself is only LOOSELY based on Ocean’s 11 (in that it’s a team and they rob a casino haha), but there are a number of homages, lines, and references to the movie sprinkled throughout, because I love it so much

Billy bent down to take off his flippers, and Goodnight took the opportunity to quickly throw on his white shirt again, not bothering to button it. Billy would say he was burning up, although truthfully Goodnight had never been more brown in his life. He ran his fingers through his salty hair, mussing it up, knowing Billy found it fetching when his hair, sun-streaked with blonde these days, fell across his eyes.

while I do love canon-Goody’s gross, slicked-down hair as an endearing character trait, this was my chance to actually give him some nice, free hair, and I took it haha.

Billy straightened up and walked towards Goodnight on the lounge chair, clearly finding Goodnight as appealing a picture right now as Goodnight found him.

it’s fair to assume they don’t get a lot done, what with how much they just check each other out all the time

“Nice swim, cher?” Goodnight asked with a smile.

“Saw a lionfish,” Billy said with satisfaction as he picked up Goodnight’s drink and took a sip of it.

went back and forth for aaaages between ‘Billy said with satisfaction’ and ‘Billy said happily’. I really liked the ‘happily’ but felt it was coming off as too childish, especially for Billy’s first lines in this scene. I wasn’t trying to infantilize him with pure unfiltered pleasure at a lion fish, but that’s just how the ‘happily’ seemed to be coming off

“Bravo, darling. What’s that, only two thousand species left to go?” Goodnight asked, referring to the list Billy had taped to the fridge of all the different fish he wanted to see in the wild.

he WOULD have that though. oh I do love you, fishboy

“Something like that,” Billy agreed, handing Goodnight back his glass where he’d been batting at it. “Saw a leopard shark too.”

that ‘batting at it’ was completely meant to suggest lazy cat behaviour in Goody. ‘cause. I don’t know, man. They just make nice cats haha

Goodnight narrowed his eyes. “How big are those ones again?”

Billy warns Goody against messing with the sun, and Goody warns Billy against messing with sharks, it evens out in the end;) Protective bbs

Billy smiled. “They’re harmless, Goody.”

“Well maybe so, but you just remember what I said about chasing off after anything with bigger teeth than you,” Goodnight said warningly.

“You’ll be cross,” Billy said, smile still tugging at his lips.

“I’ll be cross,” Goodnight agreed.

“And you’ll scold me,” Billy murmured, bending down, his lips tickling Goodnight’s.

okay but writing Goody scolding people is just SO FUN FOR SOME REASON? I can see him getting all puffed up and ranting at people, and those who know him well know it’s best to just let him talk himself out. The scene earlier in this chapter of him floridly telling off Sam was extremely delightful to write lol. Goodnight definitely has a well developed sense of righteous indignation. Although any shark-related warnings Billy may have received would certainly have been given with love, they’d be given with fervour too, ‘cause I mean Goody didn’t go to all this trouble just to have Billy eaten by a SHARK

“Darn right,” Goodnight said with finality, leaning in to catch Billy’s lips, salty and cool against his own, and delicious every time.

He felt Billy’s lip turn up against his own, and suddenly Billy was pulling back and wiping a thick glob of cream against Goodnight’s nose.

“You were burning,” Billy said.

don’t know if anyone would have remembered the scene from chapter 6 at this point, but Billy was also warning Goody that he was getting a sunburn, and this is my little echo to that. Trapped or free, Billy is head of the ‘make Goody wear sunblock’ squad

Goodnight made a sound of protest but laughed and rubbed the sunscreen in. Billy kissed the tip of his nose when he was finished, and then hopped back onto the deck to go towel off.

I feel like Goody makes a lot of ‘sounds of protest’ in my fics lol, but sometimes it’s hard not to overuse the same mannerisms for characters. But on an unrelated note, BILLY. KISSING. GOODY’S. NOSE. I still can’t decide if that’s a very unBilly-like thing to do, or a VERY Billy-like thing to do, but either way, the image pleased me so in it stayed

Goodnight felt his heart swell to watch Billy move about the deck, limbs loose, posture relaxed, a world removed from the Billy Rocks he’d met in Vegas. That Billy had watched everything with wary eyes, posture tense, too skinny and his skin pale from so much time inside, suspicious of everyone and everything around him.

Goodnight had still found him the most beautiful man alive back then. But the Billy that had emerged these past six months was nothing short of a wonder. He was tanned and golden, muscles strong and healthy from hours spent swimming and doing work on the boat every day. His quietness from before had made him seem pent-up, almost like it was a defense. But any stretches of silence these days seemed borne of confidence instead, telling Goodnight what he thought of something with an eloquent lift of his eyebrows or a mere quirk to his lips. He was relaxed, cocky, so dry-as-dust funny he made Goodnight’s sides hurt, and so vibrantly self-possessed Goodnight felt he was seeing the real Billy Rocks come out more and more every day, leaving behind the buttoned-up Billy he’d met in Vegas as Billy gradually remembered how to be himself.

Hardest DVD commentary paragraph for last, but Billy was often a challenge to write in this one. I kept trying to write him as the Billy Rocks I’m used to - the one described in this paragraph - but he kept coming out as so wary, wound tight, and extremely vulnerable. But then again, why wouldn’t he be?? If you think about it, his situation is HORRIBLE. I think it’s realistic that he would feel extremely vulnerable and defensive, so that’s the Billy I ended up writing for much of the fic. And I told myself that the Billy we see on the yacht is when we finally see the REAL Billy Rocks….long hair and all:) Although if I can briefly mention the next paragraph, (‘Sometimes Billy would withdraw, and Goodnight knew he was retreating to years of repression and tension and wondering what he could have done differently to have changed his situation, or wondering if there was nothing he could have done at all. Sometimes it was hard to know which was worse.’) I felt it was really important to include that to show he’s not going to get over it just like that, or just because he has a nice house now. Billy would realistically have some ptsd for a long time after spending 10 years trapped and under extreme mental pressure. So it’ll definitely take Billy a while to cope with, but he has a much better footing to do it now, and I imagine given time, he’ll be even more like the Billy Rocks we’re all used to. And I like the last words of “Billy gradually remembered how to be himself”, because I’ve found in my own experience when it comes to getting over a traumatic period, those little flashes where you feel completely normal and like yourself again do feel like ‘remembering’ in a strange way. Like your whole body is remembering or something. So while it will still be a struggle sometimes, the more he remembers, the more like himself he’ll stay.

(P.S. Still not entirely sure if I’d do a sequel or if it’s just an idea to amuse myself with sometimes haha, but I’m sure the Billy Rocks in any ‘Chisolm’s 8′ would be more what we’re used to haha.  And my image of the team meeting up again for the first time would contain a lot of whistles and ‘damn Billy’ and Billy’s just like ‘what??!’ and all alarmed by the attention, much like how he met them for the first time, and Sam’s just amused like “Nothing. You look good, Billy,” and Goody trails in after with him a dreamy smile all like “Doesn’t he though?”. Smitten, styling, criminals ‘till the last haha. And yes, Billy absolutely keeps the hair haha)

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Thanks for the ask!:)