#I think I even might love part of the end of vincent and the doctor if I hadn't been rolling my fucking eyes so hard

[michanvalentine]

Things about Vincent Valentine that I read around and piss me off. Vol.2

"Vincent was too shy and passive. He is an idiot."

Usually in reference to his attitude towards Lucrecia after the breakup. As if he could somehow save his relationship with her (and thus prevent everything else). I say yes, perhaps he could have sought further clarification, but for me the situation has never been so simple and linear.

Ok, let's start from the beginning. First of all, Vincent is a sensitive and intelligent person, with an above-average education. A person who thinks a lot, even too much. So calling him an idiot, especially in such a context, is really having a superficial reading of the character. Honestly, this statement bothers me a lot even when it is extended to the other part: Lucrecia. But that's another story... Secondly, let's remember that the two had a real relationship. In DoC Vincent was never a sort of stalker fixated on Lucrecia despite the unrequited love, as he might have appeared in the OG (unless the remake wants to tell yet another story.) Even Hojo was aware of their love story, in fact when Lucrecia pronounces the fateful "Yes, doctor" he says: "So you've come to your senses and chosen me." And I don't think Hojo was exactly the type to care about gossip.

That said, I would add my interpretation on Vincent's "passivity". A while ago I read a comment, something like: Lucrecia went with Hojo to gauge how much Vincent cared about her, since she thought he hated her due to the Grimoire's death. So she was waiting for Vincent to react and take her away from Hojo, but Vincent was just too shy and passive to do something so outrageous. I couldn't help but respond to this comment like this: This would be a really sick way of demanding attention. In this case Lucrecia would be truly mentally ill and Vincent would simply be a sane person who behaves properly. I believe there are several biases in this regard. First and foremost, the old-fashioned concept of Prince Charming rescuing the damsel in distress. Which I hate. Secondly I don't think Lucrecia left Vincent because she thought he despised her for the Grimoire incident. Otherwise she wouldn't have needed to push him away, because in that case Vincent himself would have been the one to leave her. No, the reasons are different:

Feelings of guilt led her to think she couldn't be by his side. As if Vincent didn't deserve someone as bad as her in his life.

Every time she looked at Vincent, given the extreme similarity, she saw Grimoire again and remembered the event that had traumatized her.

Obviously Lucrecia didn't put Vincent to the test, she was determined to put as much distance as possible between her and Vincent because she felt it was right for him and too painful for her to continue. Stop. The relationship with Hojo is an addition, but also desired for other reasons. She neither expected nor wanted to be saved. Not to mention that Vincent is not Lucrecia's father and had neither the responsibility nor the duty to do so. She is an adult. Certainly, by breaking off their relationship, Lucrecia has also made a decision for Vincent. He didn't object, he passively accepted and stepped aside. But are we sure he could have done otherwise? Are we sure he could change Lucrecia's mind? How exactly? Young Vincent was naive and introverted, but Vincent's passivity in this case was also determined by other factors. Maybe he could have made his feelings about Grimoire's death and about Lucrecia more clear. But at the same time I think it wasn't necessary, because they were obvious. It's Lucrecia who no longer knows what her true feelings are. And she will only be able to clarify them for herself later, in fact at the end of DoC she will confess to Vincent: "I finally realized my true feelings. Even if you may never understand them".

But let's analyze the facts and see how they unfolded. Given the above, at first Lucrecia was so focused on herself due to guilt that she was numb to everything else. Even to Vincent. In DoC, when Vincent discovers the file on Grimoire, Lucrecia yells at him to "stop it". She doesn't want to listen and at the same time she doesn't give him a chance to express himself. Likewise, after apologizing to him, she ran away without giving him a chance to reply. And let's remember that out of the blue he was left by the love of his life for no valid reason, at least from his point of view. Not to mention that Grimoire's death must have been painful for him too. Reacting is not easy when you are confused, grieving and heartbroken. From that moment on, Vincent Valentine was completely cut out of Lucrecia's life. Lucrecia keeps him at a distance, due to points 1 and 2 above, and as a final barrier she puts Hojo in the middle (of course, the scientist is there too for other reasons). In the scene around the table, when Vincent asks her "if she's sure", Hojo really seems like a wall between the two that still prevents direct confrontation. And Lucrecia appears clearly angry that he has come forward with objections. At the Shinra Mansion Vincent Valentine seems to have no say in anything. Lucrecia doesn't give him the chance to argue, Hojo first rudely silences him because he's just a Turk and then definitively closes his mouth with a bullet. But even if silenced, Vincent's feelings and intentions remain evident. Even Hojo knew them, in fact when he discovers that Lucrecia is experimenting on Vincent's body he says: "How happy this fellow must be. Helping his beloved even after he's begun rotting away." Lucrecia herself, through her data, at a certain point in DoC will say: "I pushed you away, but… now I realize, I never wanted to lose you." And again later: "I made so many mistakes. And I hurt you so, so much. Why did I do what I did?" Deep down Lucrecia knew she had pushed him away for her own personal reasons, and not because he despised her or anything. She knew she had made a mistake, of having been blinded by fear and guilt, that she had mortified his feelings and that she had made him suffer for it, especially because the breakup had been practically forced on him. So I repeat: should he continue to chase Lucrecia, proclaiming his love like a crazy in the hope of changing her mind? Let's pretend he had the opportunity (always excluding kidnappings or ambushes). He could have to, yes, but in addition to reiterating the obvious and saying things already known even to the person concerned (after all, if there is something imperishable, capable of overcoming pain, time and even death, it is the love that Vincent Valentine feels for Lucrecia), she probably wouldn't have listened to him anyway. Because, as Vincent would say, "she was always like that, only believing what she wanted to."

[darkspellmaster]

As kuroshitsuji gets a hiatus to make way for Yana to prepare for the climax, what are your current thoughts or predictions to how the next events will unfold? How long do you think we still have before the loose end of the story gets tied together?

Also.. do you think Lizzie will still have a chance to return to Our!Ciel, or will it be too late for her/them? I have a horrible thought that she might end getting injured or killed (I really hope she won't though 😭) but I still hope there will still be time for them to explore and acknowledge their feelings for each other, no matter the nature of it.

And what about Soma? I really hope he finds out the truth soon that it wasn't his best friend who killed Agni :< he can't drop out of the series not knowing anything sksksks

I absolutely love these two characters so I hope we get to see them return to the earl's side eventually

Thoughts for Yana going on break. GOOD! Girl needs it, she hasn't had a break ever, and avoided it even when her mother passed in 2011. So yeah I'm all for her going on a trip.

Few things are crossing my mind. First, the stranger, Barnabus, who showed up to greet Sebastian and O!Ciel, I have a feeling he's going to be someone like Blavat. He knows things. Honestly I feel like the young Earl is going to have to come face to face with some aspects of himself, and possibly the fact that Sebastian liked to trick him into the contract.

My guess, at least a few months after the break, and probably a year or more for it to conclude. I'm of the opinion that Lizzie is going to be like Gerda from the Snow Queen and be the one that saves O!Ciel from Sebastian in the end. I think the kids from FOL are going to play a part, (what I'm worried about with Theo is that HE's going to be the one that gets with Lizzie since HE fits Ciel to a T and Finny even implies that he's the most like his young master) in dealing with R!Ciel and Undertaker. I honestly think UT isn't clued in about how R!Ciel may have helped in the deaths of Vincent and Rachel. I honestly think there will be for the two of them. I'm wondering if Yana will end up doing what Kaori Yuki did and split the series into two. In that case we had Godchild and Count Cain. In this case I wonder if we'll have Black Butler and something else. So that would allow more exploration with Ciel and Lizzy. God I'm going all over the place with this because so many theories in my head right now. Soma I think will come back and protect Ciel, he's going to be his Agni going forward and keep Ciel safe from things. I think he knows that O!Ciel and R!Ciel are two different people and realized that it wasn't O!Ciel that killed Agni. If I was a betting person, given what Yana has said in tweets: Druitt is the final big bad and not the Queen as she stated that he is always there when important things happen.

(We've seen it with each arc where something happens. Jack the Ripper (Madam Red dies and we get the Reapers), the curry arc he's a judge, Circus I think he's mentioned only, Ship arc he's trying to take over the world, Public school he connects Redmond to Stoker, He's seen as the Red house leader in the Green witch, He probably will show up in Brighten. Also the guy is based on Alister Crowley, the famed Occultist, so Yeah...I'm banking on him being behind the whole thing.

Already has a connection to Vincent via the past.

Noble and a doctor

Has the goal and desire to be a king

Dude was willing to sell Ciel as a girl to the highest bidder.

There's more there, but maybe I should do it as a theory.

O!Ciel and Lizzie are going to be the Kai and Gerda of this story and in order to stop Sebastian, Lizzy is going to have to cry out the seal in some way and remove it with tears.

Soma is going to be the one that protects Ciel from R!Ciel and helps beat him.

I feel like by the end, Sebastian just isn't going to want to eat Ciel since it would be no longer fun for him. Or he can't because of Ciel's connection to Undertaker.

I hope so too. Soma will be coming into my story though.

[blametheeditor]

just found you and I LOVE your work, but I wanna see what happens after ‘Terms of Agreement’ the cliffhanger is INSANE! IM GOIN NUTS RAAAAH

Welcome, Anon! I'm glad you've enjoyed your time so far, but you're so right I did leave you hanging!!

Forewarning, this is a rewrite! However, I have a whole plan I promise I will be following...and shouldn't take too long. But I hope you enjoy it, and that this is a good cliff-hanger-not-cliff-hanger-cross-my-heart-it'll-continue-soon!

Terms Of Agreement 2.0 | Chapter 1

Next

Run Down: The monster under your bed, the one in the closet, and your sleep paralysis demon fight for custody.

Content Warnings: Mentions of sleep paralysis, hallucinations, and sleep deprivation. Mentions of death, murder, and accidental deaths. Mentions of treating others as lesser than, addressing someone as 'it'

Vincent deserved a bigger entrance

_______________________________

Fritz should’ve known better than to think tonight would be the one night he didn’t fall asleep or wake up to terror. 

“Wakey, wakey! You’ve got a big day ahead of you.” 

The all too familiar voice seems to make the very ground shake. Something that shouldn’t be possible, and he knows this is all in his mind. But it feels all too real. His eyes forced to open even as he desperately tries to keep them shut. 

His dark room greets him, with seemingly nothing out of place. Until his pupils expand, and his blanket becomes fingers longer than he is tall wrapped around his bed. One’s that squeeze, feeling like he’s going to get crushed. Unable to breathe properly. 

One night. I just wanted one night.

“You know what they say, Fritz,” the voice taunts. Laughs when all the trapped teenager can do is allow terrified tears to fall. Unable to move or speak. “Greif can make the mind all the more susceptible to such troubling things.” 

Fritz tries to get away. Close his eyes. Brace himself, anything. But the worst part about sleep paralysis is the fact it’s in control. 

An arm materializes within the darkness of his room. Shadows bending to form the rest of the giant who’s fingers are steadily increasing pressure until it seems like he might be forced into sleep once more. A smile longer than he is tall is stretched into a wicked grin that hovers too close for comfort, eyes larger than his head void of pupils yet it’s easy to tell he’s the center of attention. 

It’s terrifying. No matter how many times he’s greeted by this particular hallucination, Fritz fights tooth and nail to try to get away even though it isn’t real. His instincts only demand that he needs to get away by any means necessary, but he can’t run from his mind. And even if he could at the very least scream, there’d be no one who could come running. 

The monster sneers when he can’t so much as blink. “It’s adorable how terrified you are. Always entertaining. Always fascinating how much you fight.” 

The fingers finally loosen their grip, allowing Fritz to finally get a full breath of air. He feels his body wanting to choke on it, but his fear overrides the spasms, completely paralyzed and at the will of his own mind. The one that wants to rub it in his face no one, not even himself is on his side. 

Just get it over with...

“I thought we talked about this before, Fritz,” the giant tuts. “You’re the one who has to make the final decision.” 

At first the teenager feels genuinely confused. Despite the numerous doctor visits and consultations, he’s never be able to control his sleep paralysis. Too many variables that even if he stays on a strict sleep schedule, or sleeps in every position but his back, it seems like it will never go away. Nor can he influence how long he’s trapped in this awful limbo. It might be one minute, or five, or thirty. Not that it ever matters due to always feeling like it will never end. 

“Heavens you’re hopeless,” is said in a way that feels like it was meant to be fond, but he knows better. Remembers his worst mistake in trusting the hallucination didn’t mean to be malicious, right up until it kept him trapped in a nightmare as he begged to be freed. 

The giant suddenly gives him a pitiful look. “Do you remember what I said? That I could make all of this go away?” 

Fritz feels like he’s being squeezed again, but the fingers originally pinning him down have now completely left. No, this time it’s because he’s faced with the terrifying choice all over again but now with the main reason, arguably the only one for why he didn’t agree before gone. 

He tries to close his eyes and hide away. From the hallucination, from the world, wishing the darkness would swallow him whole so he doesn’t have to face the day that will be coming any minute now. His ‘big day’. 

Of course Fritz can’t close his eyes or turn his head. Only watch as the giant suddenly looks sympathetic. 

...what would happen if he agrees? Nothing really should happen, this entire interaction is due to his sleep paralysis. Even if it does feel like something else entirely is pulling the strings, this really is just his mind taking full advantage of his terror and stress. More than happy to add his grief into the mix. 

One that makes his throat close up at the thought of facing the hallucination before him all alone. Because footsteps won’t be racing to his room when he manages to get a scream out. Nor will warm arms appear to wrap around him when he sobs after it ends. No promise she’ll do everything in her power to make it all go away. He’s convinced his mom knows magic, never failing to make him forget about all of it before he’s going to school. 

...did. Did know magic. 

Fritz’s jaw sets when he realizes she also would’ve been upset he’d think about making a deal with his sleep paralysis. Would be genuinely disappointed he’d want to fraternize with the enemy. He shouldn’t trust something that has done nothing but terrorize him for most of his life. 

Maybe another time.

A twisted smile appears on the giant’s face. “I would say I admire you. But I’m afraid you’re going to genuinely regret declining my offer. Though it’s going to be quite entertaining seeing your reaction.” 

Fritz feels his heart beat wildly against his chest at what sounds like a promise. What did it mean by seeing his reaction? Why does he have a really bad feeling? 

Before he can try and think of an explanation, his room explodes with light, the redheaded teenager quickly shielding his eyes as he looks around his room. Sinks into his pillow with a song sigh at the hallucination not attempting to pull any tricks. Has to clench his jaw firmly shut to keep from yelling for his mom. 

Finally he glances toward his alarm clock declaring it’s 8am. A friend of his mom is supposed to come to the house to help him out with a few things at around 1pm. He had been excused from school today and was told to sleep in, but things had other plans. Certain giant hallucinations made out of shadows things to be exact. 

Fritz groans as he drags himself out of bed, wincing when he realizes he’s drenched in sweat, his hair stuck to his forehead in a proclamation it’s somehow even more of a mess than usual. He’s also pretty sure the bags under his eyes have become more and more noticeable over the past week. And considering the fact he didn’t go to sleep last night until 1am can give a good picture of how terrified he was sleeping the first night that he- 

Deep breath. One step at a time.

Shower. He should shower, and then go from there. 

Clean clothes are snatched out of his dresser with a narrowed look sent toward his closet before opening his bedroom door to walk down the hall to the bathroom. 

Except the moment he opened the door, a twisted familiar smile that’s as long as he is tall sits only a few feet away. 

“Well you certainly don’t mind keeping us waiting.” 

Fritz slams the door shut, pressing his back against it as his entire body trembles. It’s only a few seconds before he joins his clothes on the floor, his knees shaking so badly he can’t stay standing. 

He didn’t notice he wasn’t breathing until his chest constricts, choking as he forces himself to breathe just breathe this is a dream it has to be a dream this isn’t real. 

It feels real. So real Fritz can only wrap his arms around his knees as he curls into a ball, not bothering to wipe away the tears that fall. Tries to take deep breaths but continuously failing as his lungs refuse to take in more than short little gasps. 

What happened? Is it getting worse? He is hallucinating outside of his sleep paralysis? If it is, is he supposed to continue seeing the same giant who torments him consistently? Is he even awake right now? 

...is he awake? 

Fritz’s head snaps up to stare at his room. With sunlight streaming through his blinds. No obvious indication of the hazy feeling he gets when dreaming. And he’s not paralyzed. 

“You’re not dreaming, Fritz,” the voice that haunts him almost every night taunts through the door. Makes the air shake. “Come on out, we won’t bite.” 

We. There’s more giants? 

He doesn’t want to open the door and find out. But if he doesn’t, when will he be able to leave his room? When someone comes to rescue him? Is it possible to just wait it out? The knocking on his door says he can’t. Not when he could feel the wood bending from the sheer amount of force used. 

Fritz slowly stands back up, grabbing the handle to steady himself before tensing as he cracks his door opens. Stares at the colossal being watching him with amusement, head propped on a fist. 

That’s when he notices the fact the giant is lying on their side. Inside a hallway he’s memorized by heart. Yet the walls stretch so high above he can’t see through the sliver he opened. 

This can’t be real. 

“Cool trick, huh?” the giant rumbles with a smirk. Fritz can’t help but feel like he’s being watched like a new play thing. “We can manipulate the house to accommodate our natural forms while your bedroom remains untouched. And as soon as the front doors open, everything goes back to normal like nothing ever happened. Every human none the wiser unless they stay inside when the door closes again.” 

He latches onto a few things. The fact the possible hallucination is content to just talk to him for now. Prideful his legs are only mildly shaking. Fearful at the idea his home will tower over him without a way for he himself to reverse it. Terrified it’s constantly mentioned there’s other giants. 

When the giant doesn’t speak again, Fritz carefully opens his door a little more. Watches with held breath if a hand is going to lash out to grab him. Takes a moment to decide the amused smile is a good thing before slowly peering out into the hallway, his blood draining when it continues to stretch. Knowing the kitchen is only a few doors down, but he can’t even see the end before it becomes blurry. 

“Wh-Who are you?” 

This is the first time he’s ever been able to actually speak to the hallucination. Actually, it’s the first time he’s really been able to see it clearly. The white voids of eyes and uncanny smile are things he can identify without fail. But he hadn’t realized the recurring giant was actually a deep purple instead of just darkness itself. With long hair tied back into a ponytail. Wears a short sleeve button up that’s the same color purple as it is. 

“Vincent,” the hallucination responds. “Nice to properly meet you. Though I’m sure the same can’t be said for you.” 

No, it can’t be, but Fritz doesn’t say it out loud. “So this, this is real? You- there's o-others?” 

Vincent chuckles, a sound that sends a chill down his spine. “I have done quite the number on you, haven’t I?” 

He doesn’t know what that means, but he’s too scared to ask. He also can’t help ducking further into his room when the being sits up, causing an earthquake by the simple motion. Shaking his head at Vincent watching him with interest tens of feet above him. Feeling absolutely miniscule, inconsequential, wanting to run back into his bed and hide under the covers and never come back out. 

“You’re adorable,” the giant coos. “How about I introduce you to the others, and then we’ll let you have an existential crisis.” 

Fritz didn’t have enough time to realize what that meant before a hand is reaching toward him, one with fingers that have time and time again squeezed him without remorse. It’s enough to let his instincts take over, turning toward his bedroom as his hands grab for the door, intending to close it and never open it again. 

But he doesn’t make it. He feels suffocating heat at the same time something trips him. He can’t even scream as he falls against leathery skin, only tries to grab the handle just within reach when he’s lifted up, up, up, the ground falling away so quickly his stomach lurches and his head spins. Curls into a ball as he tries desperately to breathe and not panic as the fingers push him further into a palm five other people could join him on to effortlessly trap him inside a fist. 

Please don’t drop me! 

It’s the only coherent thought he can manage as he hugs himself. Flinching when he feels a jolt that rattles his very bones. Confused, and terrified, and gasping when his dark cage shakes rhythmically. Feeling like he was plunged into cold water at the realization those are Vincent’s footsteps. 

“Don’t go too overboard. He’s not taking it as well as I hoped.” 

Fritz isn’t able to ask what the giant holding him means, not when the fingers suddenly open. He’s blinded momentarily for the second time that day, blinking rapidly to try and figure out where he was taken, who was near him. 

He swears his heart stops at the sight of two other giants. Each staring at him with a mix of indifference and annoyance. As if one wasn’t enough. As if he deserved to be surrounded by beings who seem like they’d prefer him to be dead above all else. 

He doesn’t trust Vincent, not in the slightest. But Fritz couldn’t help grabbing the nearest finger as the hand tilts with the intent to slide him onto the counter. The very same counter he helped his mom prepare food for cooking on for numerous occasions, and yet is now bigger than a football field. Not wanting to face the fact this is real, and not wanting to be completely vulnerable in case the other two decide to just smash him like an unwanted pest. 

The thumb he clings to flexes in the attempt to dislodge him. He only closes his eyes as he holds on tighter, earning another chuckle from Vincent as a sigh comes from somewhere behind him. 

“Fritz, we are not allowed to harm you intentionally,” a voice he’s never heard before rumbles like thunder in the same way Vincent’s does. That and the wording used doesn’t do anything to quell the redhead’s fear. “We have an important matter to discuss, so we would appreciate it if you cooperated.” 

It sounds so...he wouldn’t call it reassuring, but it makes Fritz feel less like he’s about to be killed being addressed in such a way. He’s not safe, and he still has a really bad feeling, and tone makes it clear he isn’t thought of someone worthy to speak to. It lies more on the respectful side than taunting, though. 

He looks up to see Vincent give a look to say he’s waiting. Glances over his shoulder to see all three are still watching him. It’s enough to make his nerves get the best of him, his arms finally shaking so much he looses his grip. Yells as he slides onto the counter he jerks away from with how cold it is on his hands and feet. 

“It’s still dressed for sleeping,” a new voice pipes up. Fritz is hoping it’s the last one. 

“I wasn’t exactly able to warn him what kind of company to expect,” Vincent hums. “Not to mention I grabbed him right in the middle of his morning routine.” 

“Considering the circumstances, we can discuss what is expected of him moving forward and allow this to be forgiven.” 

Fritz stares up at the other two, finding himself actually looking at them now that he’s been promised a form of safety. He didn’t know what he expected after meeting Vincent, but these giants look much more human. The one who speaks with an air of superiority wears a full piece suit fitted with a blue tie, and even has pupils rather than a blank void for eyes. And the one who addressed him as ‘it’ wears a polo shirt, though with pitch black eyes. Both with normal complexions, short black and brown hair respectively. 

What are these three? 

“With that now out of the way, allow us to introduce ourselves.” The suited giant locks eyes with Fritz, making the hair on his neck stand on end. “We have been fighting over the rights to your soul from your tenth birthday up until now. The methods in which we were able to entice or forcibly take it depended on our respective abilites.” 

“Every competition over a soul has three competitors,” Vincent continues. “A sleep paralysis demon, a monster under your bed, and a monster in your closet.” 

The last giant gestures toward Vincent, Fritz tensing as it briefly casts a shadow over him, afraid it’ll turn into a grabbing hand. “The rules normally followed have strict guidelines. Due to the death of Marilyn Smith, the last attempt under the previous terms was conducted this morning. It failed, and now another agreement has been made.” 

Fritz is unable to find his voice as he looks between the three, unable and not wanting to accept what’s being said. Because they’re talking about children stories. Ones he once believed in when he was a lot younger before realizing that sleep paralysis was the real culprit. 

But they’re claiming his hallucination from sleep paralysis, Vincent, was an actual being. A demon who terrorized him every night rather than something his mind did on its own. And, if that’s the case... 

Fritz looks over at the twisted smile as he trembles. “I was so close too. But, you didn’t agree for letting me have your soul. So we’re now here, fighting over custody the civilized way.” 

The only being with pupils rolls them. “The term ‘custody’ is utilized by humans when two or more parties are wanting possession over something or someone. Considering it’s the most suitable way to describe this situation in terms you can understand, yes, we are fighting for custody.” 

“Unfortunately, you are 16,” is said in a monotone voice, and yet there’s a distinct feeling of anger that makes the teenager want to move farther away. “And that gives you the right to choose who gets your soul.” 

“Wh-What?” Fritz asks before he can stop himself. He almost lifts his arms up to defend against grabs from anger, but none of them are upset he might’ve interrupted their speech. They almost look just as surprised as he is. “What do you mean? I, I choose?” 

Vincent shrugs. “It’s only fair. We’ve been at each other’s throats for 6 years, yet no one has been able to kill the other. You’ve also consistently declined each of our offers, and that’s something to respect.” 

“Speak for yourself. I could have earned 2 souls in the time it’s taken us to get this far,” the suited giant growls, giving a look that makes it clear Fritz is nothing more than an annoyance. “I view this as a failure on our parts.” 

“Don’t mind David,” Vincent sneers. “He’s just upset he’s still stuck at 99 souls.” 

Fritz doesn’t know what that's supposed to mean. He doesn’t want to know. He wants to wake up and realize this was his worst vivid nightmare to ever have. He slept in, and his sleep paralysis took full advantage, and- 

“It’s hyperventilating.” 

“Him, James. How many times do we have to tell you?” 

“As many time as I have to say it’s still a soul no matter what form it takes.” 

“Oh you poor thing.” 

The last sentence is said in a way that doesn’t make him feel cared for but rather he’s an unwanted pet. But he can’t fight the hand that scoops him up. Not when he can’t take a full breath no matter how hard he tries, tears blurring his vision, afraid because he doesn’t know what they’re going to do to him. 

He then becomes absolutely confused when the grasp doesn’t confine him, but instead he’s just...held. It only gets worse when a finger carefully rubs his back and his first instinct is to lean into it. When he isn’t pinned, he tries to wipe his tears away, jerking back as a fingerprint as big as his head appears to brush his hair back. 

The redhead can’t help feeling suspicious from the gentle motions, but he doesn’t question Vincent’s smirk hovering a few feet away. “There you go. Can’t have you dying on us.” 

“Are you coddling him?” the voice he thinks is David’s demands. “There’s still more to discuss.” 

“I take it this is your first custody battle.” The hand lowers to Vincent’s chest, letting Fritz turn to see no one has moved from their spot, glares all turned to the demon holding him. “Humans are a bit fragile. They tend to die from the most random of things.” 

“I was under the impression it’s at an age where it can take care of itself.” 

“A full grown adult wouldn’t be able to handle this well. Give the kid some credit, I’ve had my share of humans who didn’t survive meeting one of us, none the less three.” 

David looks down at Fritz with a wide eye stare. “You’re saying we have to be careful with him?” 

Suddenly he doesn’t want to be put down again. Not when the two looking as if they just realized they’re catastrophic beings to him that could kill him with a single finger would be in arms length. Who could pick him up and accidentally squeeze too tightly...and that would be it. 

“You have got to be kidding me,” Vincent grumbles. “We’ll talk about ensuring he isn’t sent to the angels later.” 

Fritz’s heart leaps into his throat as he’s lowered toward the counter again, this time the giant quick to move his thumb out of the way so it can’t be grabbed, leaving the redhead sliding off the warm hand without issues. Just like before, the cold counter has him folding into himself to keep himself from freezing, too distracted to try and ask about angels. 

Vincent then leans in to earn full attention. “This is how things are going to go down, Fritz. We are going to reside here with you until one of us is chosen to have claim over your soul. You’ll continue going to school, work, hanging out with friends. Just a normal human living a normal human life. However, whenever you are here, we will be offering deals and utilizing every tactic allowed to make you choose one of us. We can’t trick or coerce you, but we can certainly make your life absolutely miserable.” 

Fritz trembles as the demon’s smile grows wider and wider as he talks. Making it clear without a doubt he’ll be enjoying every second of this. 

“We will also have a schedule in which certain nights will be dedicated for one of us to use as we please without any limits on time except for the sun’s setting and rising,” David adds, looking smug at the horrified look, pleased at how absolutely terrified Fritz is at the thought of Vincent being able to put him under sleep paralysis for an entire night. 

“There should also be an expectation the entrance door will always remain closed,” the last demon, monster, James finishes. Fixes Fritz with a stare that feels like it’s pulling on his soul. “We are to be treated with respect. Any attempt to undermine us or the rules set in place will be met with significant consequences.” 

“Any questions?” 

Can I accept your offer from this morning?

Fritz’s entire body trembles. He wants to ask a question, say something, but his mouth refuses to cooperate. He can’t even nod or shake his head, only look down as he lifts his hands up. Stares at them shaking so much he wouldn’t be able to properly hold anything. He has a strong feeling his legs are just as bad. 

“Is that a bad sign?” 

“It really is fragile.” 

“Come on, let’s get you back to your room.” 

There’s warmth as purple fingers curl around him. He manages to look up at Vincent’s twisted smile, but the demon doesn’t coo at him or trap him inside a fist. He’s only carried out of the kitchen he grew up filled with utensils he and his mom picked out that are now twice his size. Back through the hallway that would have taken him several minutes to walk down instead of the 17 steps it’s taken only just last night. Unable to fully comprehend his door is exactly as it should be as well as the rest of his room. 

“We’ll talk more when you’re ready,” sounds like a threat. But Fritz can only stumble into his room before weekly shutting his door, crumbling to the ground as footsteps walking away cause it to tremble. 

He wants to do nothing more than to crawl into bed. Even if he could, though, he’d be too afraid to sleep. 

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6

[litcityblues]

Doctor Whoquest Part Three: Smith, Season 1

The debut season of Matt Smith (Season 5 of Nu-Who) also marked the beginning of a new era for Nu-Who with Russell T. Davies handing over the reins to Steven Moffat. Overall, I think the Moffat era might be my favorite of the three-- though I would like to finish watching the rest of Whittaker's seasons before I lock that into place. I think his story-telling and writing are top notches and he did a lot of interesting things with the show that didn't always come back to the inevitable return of the Daleks and/or Cybermen (though, both do show up now and again throughout his tenure.)

In terms of a double-debut then, I'm going to put down a marker: 'The Eleventh Hour' is the best debut episode for any Doctor in Nu-Who- maybe any Doctor ever. It just crackles with tension, introduces the new companions (though we don't know that about Rory yet) and teases the underlying mystery for the season (the crack in the wall), and does so with a time limit of twenty minutes or so. Plus: Olivia Coleman at the very end! This moment is one of my favorite moments in all of Nu-Who and is the perfect encapsulation of what Matt Smith ends up doing with the role. He just nails it. He's quirky, he's powerful, he's fun, he's stern all in the same sequence. Absolutely steps into the role and just owns it. (Bonus: this scene as well.)

I think the biggest surprise of the season- other than the brief appearance of the colorful shiny new Daleks, was the welcome return of the Sontarans in the two-parter 'The Hungry Earth'/'Cold Blood'-- I'm not a Classic Who Fan, so maybe the Sontarans don't feel like refreshing- but at the very least, they were a deep cut and made a nice change from, you know, the inevitability of the Daleks and/or Cybermen doing something.

This was a hell of a debut season. Sontarans! Space whales! Vincent Van Gogh! A wedding! The Weeping Angels! River Song! There was a little bit of everything and while yes, there were Cybermen and Daleks they were either working with other villains against the Doctor (a new angle on their usual usage) and weren't the main focus of the Season with the sole exception of 'Victory of the Daleks.'

I think Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi might have to duke it out for the title of my favorite Doctor. We'll see how I feel at the end of the Whoquest.

Three Episodes I Liked:

'The Time of Angels'/'Flesh and Stone': We first meet River Song in 'The Silence In The Library' which is a David Tennant episode, but here, she instantly becomes the most interesting character in Doctor Who and starts an arc that spans the Moffat era and ties back perfectly to her debut in 'The Silence In The Library.' It's excellent. Love it.

'Vincent and The Doctor': Meeting historical figures is a Doctor Who specialty, for obvious reasons, but Vincent Van Gogh was a treat. I loved the way they incorporated references to his art throughout the episode and I especially loved that they took him to the future to show him that it wasn't hopeless and that he would be revered as an artist-- sadly, it doesn't help, but that was such a wild choice, I loved it. (My idea would be to have the Doctor take Dr. James Naismith to like an NBA game. No idea why, but that's always rattled around my head after watching this episode.) It's just beautiful. poignant episode.

'The Pandorica Opens'/'The Big Bang': The two-parter to end the season is perfect. It was hinted at. It ties it all back together. The Doctor is brought back in such a cool way. It's perfect. Leaves you wanting and begging for more and it's the perfect platform to jump into the next season.

Two Episodes I Didn't Like:

'Victory Of The Daleks': Okay, 'dislike' is a strong word... it's not a bad episode, but again, I have Dalek fatigue. Even though there's a decent attempt to do something a little different with them with the introduction of the Cult of Skarro, I remember when this episode first dropped, people thought the new Daleks looked like Nissan Micras, which is an apt comparison. There's a tinge of 'new colorful car' about them that doesn't exactly scream 'genocidal alien race that can now do stairs'. While the Doctor taking them on with the jammy dodger is a nice bit of Matt Smith's quirkiness at work- I didn't mind that at all. Playing Winston Churchill is always a tall order, but Ian McNeice does all right. Going back to the Blitz feels like familiar territory when there are so many new places this season ends up going.

'The Vampires of Venice': I wrestled with this one so much, but while 'The Lodger' didn't exactly knock my socks off, the conceit of The Doctor having to be somebody's roommate was just too charming, and while vampires and Venice were a nice mix and the ending where the truth is revealed and the reason they came to Venice comes out (they were on the run from the mysterious 'Silence') it just lands as broadly 'okay.'

One Episode To Consider:

'Amy's Choice': This was a really interesting one as the Doctor, Amy, and Rory flip back and forth between two realities thanks to the Dream Lord (Toby Jones). In one, Amy and Rory are married. She's pregnant and they're being chased by old people possessed by aliens. In the other, they're trapped in a powerless TARDIS heading toward a cold star that will freeze them all to death. Ultimately, Amy choices the TARDIS reality after Rory is killed in the Future Reality because she doesn't want to be in a reality without him-- which would be a pretty decent Doctor Who episode in and of itself, but the twist at the end is one you don't see coming and it speaks to the layers of the Doctor's personality that we don't see.

Overall: This season might be the strongest debut of any of the modern Doctors. Matt Smith slips into the role effortlessly and makes it his own. Moffat takes the reins and quickly puts his stamp on the show and it's excellent. I really do think, as I said above, when it's all said and done, I'm going to be debating Capaldi vs Smith in my head, but wow does Smith just leap into this with both feet. Moffat brings back different villains. Works in Cybermen and the Daleks in an interesting, creative way that you don't see coming from a mile and a half away. Just an amazing debut season from top to bottom.

My Grade: 9/10

[docholligay]

There is a quote from Doctor Who that I thought you'd like: "Goodness is not goodness that seeks advantage. Good is good in the final hour, in the deepest pit without hope, without witness, without reward. Virtue is only virtue in extremis." Then I considered the show as a whole and thought that on its own probably wouldn't be enough for you.

I think there are a lot of moments and quotes from Doctor Who I could get behind. I think, based on a handful of quotes I know, it probably very much has beautiful 15-30 second moments.

Like this I agree with, mostly. We are who we are in the dark. When your back is against the wall, you find out who you are. When there is no hope of someone paying you back, of helping you, of even knowing you did anything at all, are you still good? Are you good when the back of the world is turned? Are you good when it COSTS you? Good is not the absence of bad behavior. It is a choice. It is an act.

I would niggle a little bit, I guess, because I am very much of the thought that one good act in a desperate moment does not make one a good person--I think the books balance more than that, and we are who we are consistently--but not enough to be like, "no this isn't right" For starters because I don't think the quote is saying one good act is enough, I can just see how it can be taken that way.

Anyway, yeah, unfortunately I think my favorite was of experiencing Doctor Who is through the quotes I find that are actually pretty good! But the show as a whole doesn't appeal to me. I get who it appeals to, and that is totally fine! But I do find it odd when people who know me are like, "You should try Doctor Who!" Like, even in a kind way, I have no idea how you could look at me, look at, at least the four episodes I've seen, and be like, "yeah Holligay would totally love this"

[early20sfailingplenty]

Hello

Im pretty new to tumblr. So this is my first request but could you mabey possibly do vincent / brahms witha s/o with asthma. Only if your comfortable with it.

Please and thank you😊

Hi! I don't suffer with asthma and I don't know anyone else who does (one of my siblings did when we were younger but she grew out of it so my memory is super hazy of it) so I did some research about it before I wrote this. As such, please be aware that there may be inaccuracies or inconsistencies about the reality of having asthma, though I've done my best to be respectful and accurate. Here is where I did my research. Also, I've had a few people ask for Brahms, but I only write for the Sinclair brothers!

GENDER NEUTRAL READER, NO CODED LANGUAGE, "YOU" AND Y/N USED.

Vincent Sinclair with an S/O who has asthma

Vincent is the doctor in Ambrose.

Tooth ache, stomach ache, an arrow in the chest, heartburn, gunshot wounds, food poisoning, concussion... Vincent knows the best first aid for it all.

The most useful thing daddy ever did for Vincent was leaving his old medical tomes in his office for Vincent to peruse at his leisure.

Vincent takes better care of himself and his brothers than their parents ever fucking did.

You got two options when your asthma flares up; if you wanna be mother hen'd and fussed over, go to Bo. If you want or need actual medical attention, then go to Vincent. He'll hold your life in his hands and nurture it gently 'til he can safely hand it back to you.

Don't go to Lester if you're having an active asthma attack; he'll just panic, run to the nearest brother, and make shit worse for you. Your inhaler is in his driver's side storage, but he's too panicked to remember it even if this is the tenth attack he's witnessed so I hope you're coherent enough to get it out yourself.

Vincent always keeps inhalers in every room of the house. He has spares, he has spares of spares. Daddy's office has an oxygen tank, too, and Vincent would somehow make that work for you if you needed it.

For all the textbooks, though, Vincent relies on you the most for information and within days of witnessing the first asthma attack you had in front of him, he's figured out any triggers you have, any symptoms which show that one is coming or that you're coming down from one, he's worked out what you need, whether you prefer touch or non-verbal communication or both... Vincent's got you down so well that the t's are crossed and the i's are dotted.

If there are gaps in his knowledge, he'll ask you so many questions that it starts to feel like an interrogation. Don't even try to reel him in, Y/N, this is serious and he wants to know the ins and outs of what happen to you. Spare no details. Let him see, if you can't explain. Even if you can explain, let him see anyway. He might notice something you don't, because we can't see to the end of our noses.

You might think that being familiar means he won't panic, but you're wrong. He panics every time but he channels that into helping you. You're his muse and he wants to see you thrive.

In a weird way, this is like bonding for Vincent; learning what an asthma attack is like for you just like how you got to learn the grooves and contours of his face. It's not nearly the same thing, he knows, but he wants to know the deepest parts of you and this is one of them.

The bottom line is that Vincent will help you and protect you. He wants to be your first call for anything and everything. You can take care of yourself, you know it, Bo and Lester know it, Vincent knows it, but he wants to be the first one you think of for any situation. Why? Because it keeps you with him, lowers the chances of you running and telling on him and his brothers. Co-dependency will be deliberately fostered and even if you can see all the red flags, you won't be able to do anything about it because he already has you right where he wants you.

He does love you, he does, but it's a twisted thing, and it burns like a knife deep inside.

[sherl-grey]

Shirley G what's your favourite Eleventh Doctor episode rewrite with Rose? Can be an existing fic, or just an idea of an episode you would have loved Rose to be in from Eleven's run! ☺️

hello loup!! this is so tough oh my... once again i'm lamenting my lack of organization, haha. i need to find a better way to save fics... apologies in advance, this will probably be long!

so, i might just be blanking, but i'm not even sure how many single episode rewrites i can think of with Eleven--a lot of them are either full series rewrites OR original plot + a "Day of the Doctor" rewrite at the end (yeah... here's one called "Time Rewritten" that's also Eight/Rose where Rose wakes up in Eleven's TARDIS with no memory and then gets stuck in the Time War, and here's one called "Three Doctors and a Baby" from the fantastic Tentoo/Rose and Eleven/Rose series Consequences, and another Time War one called "Battle in the Sky" that's mostly EightRose but ends with Day of the Doctor and Time of the Doctor... it's a good trope!)

that being said! the rewrite I go to most often for pure joy is "Until The End" by mltrefry, which is part of the "Run with You" multi-series rewrite. Specifically for Eleven's chunk of the series, I love "Vincent and the Doctor" (chapters 9 and 10) as well as.... I honestly think this is either original or maybe an EU takeaway, but there's an Eight/Rose and Eleven/Rose episode called "Before the Worst" (chapters 11 and 12) that I ADORE. This series also has Eleven show up in Blink in a previous fic which is incredibly sweet.

honorable mentions that came to mind:

there is a single episode pairing rewrite of the astronaut duo by no_nutcracker that i just read! ("if i believe in One thing")

there’s also one “i’m at odds and ends but that’s me” by CupofSonic if you like OT3 (tentoo is still here)

i absolutely refuse to read this one ever again because i am emotionally traumatized but here's the god complex ("in blackwater woods")

"when the wolf runs" is fantastic angst-with-a-happy-ending that isn't necessarily a rewrite but certain episodes are addressed and redone? essentially, Rose is woven in to Eleven's overarching plot really well and it's a great fix-it for River as well

i know this fic from the series "Tyler Family Adventures" has an Eleventh Hour rewrite at the very least; it's Tentoo/Rose at first and they actually semi-raise Amy growing up, but it shifts to Eleven/Rose when... well, you can probably guess.

"Out of Order" by lastincurableromantic also pops in on some canon adventures without doing full rewrites! we get a tiny glimpse of Venice and post-The Big Bang at the Pond wedding at the very least

I'm sure I'm still missing some good ones; I know there a couple Doctor's Wife rewrites (Sonic and I and someone else? maybe multiple someone elses?) in existence and that episode is always a pleasure since Rose and the TARDIS obviously adore each other, and I really want to read a reunion that takes place during or after "Hide." The line about "it's not a ghost story, it's a love story" and yearning across time and space... that's it. That's ElevenRose. I think one might exist but I keep losing the link.... Sorry for the novel-length answer but there are just so many good fics!

[gh0stwriting]

Can you do the slashers (manly thomas) with a reader that has Congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP), also known as congenital analgesia. If not I understand

(until i saw this ask i truly didnt know this existed, but i’ll try my best.)

(A/N Jasons is lowkey sad but i tried to make it as accurate to CIP as i could through 5-6 bullet points and mediocre writing skills)

THOMAS HEWITT

(i always start these with “well you first met by/during _____”

well he first noticed it when you had been brought to the farm with cuts littering your body, courtesy of Nubbins

but the strange part was despite how hard you kicked and screamed you didn’t show any signs of pain, and that intrigued him

when Luda Mae told him to take you to the basement he did, but he was surprisingly gentle. he found you to be a very fascinating creature, he could poke and prod at you as much as he wanted with no reaction

in the end he refused to unalive you because not only had he grown to like your presence but he didn’t see the fun in harming you if you didn’t feel it, to which his family agreed

Also Nubbins is a nuisance and has poked you with very hot/sharp things to see if you’re faking not feeling pain, even though it usually takes you feeling blood dripping to notice it in the first place smh nubbins

idk who else the slashers may entail uhhhhh

BO SINCLAIR

in a way he’s incredibly similar to the Hewitts, he doesn’t see the fun in killing if the person doesn’t react so when he landed an expertly placed slash on you and you jumped a little but didn’t scream he was disappointed

“aw cmon dollface, not even a little squeak? i know you’ve got it in you”

he keeps going, laying slash after slash over your torso and legs, but to no avail, he’s never seen someone this iron-willed, everyones usually begging for mercy by now, but not you

like Thomas he finds you interesting, but less in the test subject way and more in the “they can help bring people to Ambrose” way, seeing as you can take quite a beating before going down

you become the brothers’ right hand man, helping Vincent with his sculptures (he’s still worried you’re going to burn yourself on it one day) and helping Bo with the people-watching

BRAHMS HEELSHIRE

no matter how long you’ve been dating this man he’ll still worry about you, no matter how many times you tell him you can’t feel when you stub a toe or slam a finger in a door

every time without fail he’ll get you a bandaid and a kiss, whether its bleeding or not (theyre probably hello kitty or smth) and baby you for the rest of the day bc in his eyes you’re incredibly injured

the worst of it was when he was vibing in the walls while you made dinner and accidentally cut your hand, not noticing until the countertop was sufficiently stained and the food was mostly ruined

Brahms panicked and did his best to patch you up, thanking whatever god might be watching over you that you didn’t need severe medical attention and refused to let you near knives for a week, adding it to your personal “ouchie list” of things that have hurt you

he’s also ridiculously gentle with you seeing as half the time he doesn’t know his own strength and you can’t feel when he’s being too rough so he doesn’t accidentally want to break any of your bones, he’s a good doctor but he isn’t that good

JASON VOORHEES

big baby towards you, one time you came back from a hike around the campground with your legs torn up from the underbrush and he freaked out, thinking a counsellor had harmed you

after a while he gets semi used to it, like if you’re in the woods together and you scratch yourself on a tree, but he still tries his best to protect you, after all you are his, he won’t let any living thing harm you intentionally

when your health started to decline he was quick to notice, you couldn’t go for hikes as much and you had apparently injured your foot sometime in the near past as it had turned nasty shades of blue and purple

he knew you couldn’t make it to a doctor in your condition and he couldn’t take you himself so he hoped you’d be alright, though your condition only seemed to get worse

eventually you going out was rarer than you not going, as your body felt uncomfortably tense when you tried to move, but Jason didn’t show his worry as to keep you calm, instead cooking to the best of his abilities and making sure you’re as comfortable as possible, after all he does still love you

[godnerfedmetoohard]

So I watched House of Wax 2005 for the first time last night and I have Thoughts

(Spoilers follow)

First of all, the premise is pretty obviously heavily ableist—even with the twist of “oh the ‘deformed’ one isn’t actually the evil one,” it still pretty heavily leans into the “evil from birth” trope, and still used Vincent’s appearance, autistic-coded behavior, and mutism for shock/horror value. But, this movie for me is like with queer coded villains: yes, it’s intended in a way that would be offensive, but I identify enough with the characters that I like it anyway, even if I wasn’t *meant* to identify with or like them.

Alright, so with that disclaimer out of the way:

What is the actual backstory of the Sinclair brothers? I’ve read a fair bit of meta this morning and much of it is discussing the disconnect between Bo’s story and the actual funeral setup, as well as pointing out that Bo is *probably* lying at least a bit, just because I really don’t think he’s the type of character who would tell the full truth about anything. And he doesn’t even mention Lester, which also points to him misrepresenting the real story.

The way I see it, I think there are a few elements of truth in his story. Doc Sinclair was an actual medical doctor, who did perform the surgery on Bo and Vincent. Doc Sinclair did die from a gunshot wound. Trudy was an actual semi-famous wax sculptor. I think she likely was indeed chained to her bed at some point, and is definitely now dead.

We see that Trudy and Doc were physically abusive towards Bo. I mean, Jesus. Poor kid is having a meltdown and you force him into and strap him to a chair and hit him? I don’t have a lot of sympathy for Trudy, whatever happened later.

I think Bo did become physically violent as a kid, and I think he ended up killing Doc when he was a teenager. Which might well have been in self-defense, and so have been justified. But Trudy, who always saw him as a monster, would have sent him to an asylum for it, and so he drugged her heavily using some of Doc’s supplies and chained her to a bed in her room, like how she had chained him so many times.

He told Vincent that she had developed a brain cyst and that their father had killed himself upon finding out. Since Trudy was drugged and unable to speak coherently, it was easy for Vincent to believe Bo that she did have a degenerative brain cyst and needed to be kept chained for her own safety. They kept her like that for many years, as the twins grew into adults and Trudy grew old, eventually dying. Vincent at first cared for her quite tenderly, feeding her and providing palliative care. Bo would be much crueler to her when Vincent wasn’t around, and I think that’s part of what led him further down the path of violence-for-fun—-you have this woman who was abusive to you your whole life, now a prone victim. Of course he took out his frustration on her. And learned that he enjoyed doing that.

Meanwhile, poor Lester was only a couple of years old when this first happened, and so he grew up very neglected and spent a lot of time wandering through the woods. The Sinclair twins took care of him as best they could, which frankly wasn’t very well. He always was a nice enough kid (well, relatively speaking), and he identified a lot more with animals than with people, since Bo and Vincent were the only living people he knew for very long growing up.

All three of them have trauma out the wazoo, with Vincent growing up believing that being quiet and perfectly compliant are the only ways to be loved (after all, look what happened to his brother who wasn’t quiet and well-behaved), Bo growing up believing that he was a monster and would always be hated no matter what he did so he might as well act out and give people a reason to hate him, at least that way he’d have *some* control over it, and Lester growing up with some truly terrible role models and probably believing that if he ever got sick or became a nuisance to his brothers he would be chained up just like his mom was.

As for whether Trudy started killing people before she herself was chained up and eventually died—I don’t think so, no. But she did have plans for a “town of wax” tourist attraction—which is actually why Ambrose is so deserted now, she bought the entire dang town to turn into a wax theme park of sorts and everyone who had lived there had to move away (rich people, yikes). Bo figured the best way to keep Vincent loyal to him was to convince Vincent that by helping Bo kill people, he was actually helping his mother create her dream of a town of wax. Vincent wasn’t the one who first started killing people—at first he just helped Bo to cover them with wax and pose them around town. I actually think the first person they did this to was Doc Sinclair, after Bo had shot him and framed it as a suicide, and Bo framed this as a way to honor his memory. As time went on, Vincent began to care more and more about his art and “finishing his mother’s dream” until he was every bit an equal participant in the murders with Bo, and even enjoyed them, in an artistic/scientific way. I don’t think he’s quite the sweet innocent victim that fandom sometimes sees him as—that takes away his agency and infantilizes him a bit, and he is an adult who is capable of making his own choices. I think he chooses to keep killing, because it satisfies him, and making the sculptures from their bodies provides him with a purpose in life. He’s not as culpable as Bo, but he’s hardly innocent. Of course, I think Trudy is the real villain in all of this, but I’m sure she had her own reasons for acting like a shitbag, too. The question of blame is muddy in this movie, like in most good horror movies (and in real life, honestly). But regardless, there’s one thing we can all agree on:

Sinclair twins hot 😳

[screechthemighty]

Day Five of Vincent Valentine week as hosted by @vinvalenzine! I decided to try something different than the obvious for this one...especially since tomorrow’s is going to be, uhhhh, interesting. But anyways!

Disclaimer: I am still very new to this fandom, so my writing voice for EVERYONE is a bit rusty (but y’know, practice makes perfect, that’s why I’m here). Any non-canon details are probably part of the AU, but it might just be a gap in my knowledge. I hope you enjoy these fics regardless! They’re also up on AO3 under the same username as here.

Vincent Valentine Week, Day Five: Theaceae Camellia

[Old Love - My Heart is Still Yours. Timeline: The Bloody Valentines (Vincent is Sephiroth’s Bio-Dad).]

One of these days, Sephiroth was going to snatch that letter out of his hands and set it on fire.

Or, at least, that was the impression Vincent got from how Sephiroth looked at it. Vincent hadn’t read it again, not in over a decade, but sometimes he held onto it. He wasn’t even sure why. It was too painful to be a true comfort object. But...

Some days, he couldn’t make himself put it away. As if holding onto it was somehow keeping Lucrecia alive.

It visibly bothered Sephiroth—he knew what was on the paper, and while he hadn’t explicitly said how he felt about his mother, it was becoming increasingly clear that his emotions were...more complex than even Vincent’s. That was going to come to a head some day.

But it wasn’t that day, not quite. Because when Sephiroth opened his mouth...

“Did you ever date anyone else? Before Doctor Crescent?”

The question caught him off-guard. For a moment, Vincent forgot his entirely life before Lucrecia, and anyone else who may have caught his attention in those days. “...what brought this on?” Vincent asked.

“Just curious,” Sephiroth said. He pulled his legs up onto the ratty motel sofa, crossed his legs, rested his elbows on his knees. “You’ve never really told me about before.”

“Before your mother?”

“Before Shinra, even. All you told me is Grandfather was a scientist.”

That was true. It wasn’t like Vincent was avoiding anything. It just wasn’t especially interesting. But Sephiroth had that look in his eyes, the one that said he’d need some kind of answer if Vincent wanted any peace.

Fortunately, he did have an answer. Unfortunately...

“Not so much when I was a Turk,” Vincent said. “I didn’t have time. It was demanding work. Before that...”

The memories that floated to the surface used to make him nauseous. Now, after everything, they seemed so insignificant that he could only shake his head in amusement. “I was a second year, last part of school...two years older than you.” Sephiroth perked up slightly. “Her name was Annalisa. Red hair...unapproachable kind of beautiful. But that just made everyone like her more, me included. I didn’t...directly pursue her...”

“How much of her homework did you do?”

“Hey, now,” Vincent scolded, though without any real bite. Sephiroth just beamed, a regular cat that caught the mouse smile. “I didn’t do anything for her. I helped, but I wasn’t that desperate.” Grimoire would’ve never let him see the light of day again if he’d risked expulsion, anyway. “Point being. I thought I’d made my true intentions clear enough, because she asked me to...one of the school dances, I can’t remember which. ” Vincent winced at the delayed spike of old embarrassment. “She..stood me up for some friends of hers. The whole thing was a prank.”

Sephiroth’s smile gave way to a confused, then horrified look. “People do that?!”

“Oh, they do.” Vincent shook his head again. “It gets worse.”

“How?!”

“Well, you’ll be glad to know I had enough self-respect to avoid her after that. And someone from my history class spent the evening with me. Mira. She was a sweet girl, but...well, first I was heartbroken, then I was convinced I was only liked for my tutoring skills, then we graduated. Nothing happened. I didn’t think I’d ever see her again. But, well...Shinra is a big employer. She ended up as a secretary in Midgar while I was a Turk. And she was doing well, fiancé, good at her job...” This embarrassment was much fresher, enough that Vincent had to stop and rub his eyes. “...and then one day we were talking about school memories and she...casually mentions she had a crush on me at the end of school...”

“...You didn’t know?”

“I did not.”

“You both liked each other and...?”

“Yes.”

Sephiroth mulled over this. “You have terrible luck,” he said finally.

That finally set Vincent off. He chucked weakly as he rested his forehead on the table, Lucrecia’s letter still grasped in one hand. “I do. I really do. Ah, well.” Vincent lifted his head, a slightly embarrassed but genuine smile on his face. “Well, for what it’s worth, I think it worked out in the end.”

“It did?”

“Of course. I’ve got you now, haven’t I?”

He meant that. He really did. Even with all the pain he’d been through, everything they were still going through. He wouldn’t give up that part for anything.

Sephiroth pulled his knees up to his chest, a brief shy smile flashing across his face at the words. “Still,” he added, “maybe you should...be single for a little bit?”

“Agreed.” Not that he had time to see anyone these days. They rarely lived anywhere long enough for that kind of thing. “Just promise you’ll learn from my mistakes, okay?”

“Okay. I promise.”

Vincent put the letter away after that conversation. He didn’t take it back out for a long time.

[jonismitchell]

fixing season five of doctor who

or: rectifying issues i have with the way my favourite character, amy pond, was treated, and correcting some weird writing decisions while i’m at it

the eleventh hour: i actually love this one, and i would leave most of it as it stands, but i’d cut the weird travelling-up-her-legs shot from our introduction to adult amy pond. might also kill the kissogram element: have amy be in a halloween costume (commit to the bit) and establish her as flitting between jobs. 

the beast below: i also love this episode. it gets undue flack. (series five is my favourite, what can i say?) i’d cut the ‘basically i rule’ line because it sounds stilted, and i’d let amy respond angrily to the doctor shouting at her near the end. make it a proper argument that ends with the ‘very old and very kind and the very very last’ line! commit to building this relationship from the ground up!

victory of the daleks: pace it faster, add women, do something interesting with the daleks. this isn’t an awful episode it’s just not as good as it has the potential to be. i might cut churchill entirely and have the doctor respond to a child’s cry for help. keep amy’s speech about love to the dalek technology (i am obsessed with this plot beat). have the doctor give her the tardis key at the end rather than demanding it back.

the time of angels / flesh and stone: moffat has a weird habit of sidelining the main companion to deal with a woman he finds more interesting (arguably nancy, definitely true of reinette, sally, and river). so i’d minimize river’s involvement in these episodes and emphasize amy’s. instead of the doctor telling her to shut up, let them work out the problem together. let the doctor reassure her when she says she’s scared. definitely keep the scene where she says ‘doctor, i don’t need you to die for me, do i look that clingy?’ i love that scene. do not let the weeping angels move on screen, ever, it reduces their fear factor. and at the end, have amy be shaken and confused and ask to be taken to rory. don’t have her come onto the doctor, that was stupid and got handled in a very weird way. just... agency for amy is the new name of the show. doctor who?

the vampires of venice: kill the moments where the doctor and rory treat amy like an object, establish rory as someone willing to tell the doctor to fuck off, and have the doctor save the species instead of dooming them. have rory be discomfited by how easily amy has attached herself to the doctor (give rory williams a properly explored inferiority complex 2021). i want him to be so apprehensive of what might happen to amy (she better almost die at least twice) that he stays with the doctor and amy. 

amy’s choice: the only part of this i really dislike is amy being pregnant in the dream world so cut that and replace the humour with the doctor being stunned that ‘amy pond, wild thing/free spirit, would choose to settle down.’ have this be part of the proof for amy’s decision that the leadworth life is not the real world. maybe a line about ‘you chose the best of both worlds: rory and the tardis.’ like... treat that choice as a big moment for her and also a sort of avoidance. (i want to say i actually do like the episode as it stands, i just have some notes.)

the hungry earth / cold blood: i dislike these episodes. here’s how i would fix it: 1) stronger environmental messaging, 2) have madame vastra be the humans’ captive and form a relationship with the doctor, 3) have the doctor be the silurians’ captive and amy/rory have to figure out how to save him, 4) midnight-esque scenarios (by this i mean explore morality) on both sides about whether to kill their prisoner or not, and 5) properly show the conversation about the silurians’ return. but keep the ending for cold blood, i thought that was brilliant. 

vincent and the doctor: this is a perfect doctor who episode. i think that throughout the season i would want to make amy’s struggle with mental illness more evident so this hits even harder, but this is my favourite doctor who episode and i wouldn’t really change anything. 

the lodger: anyone but james corden plays craig. uh that aside i would want the tardis to dematerialize on its own and amy accompanies the doctor on his adventure of trying to be human. it’s cute anyway!

the pandorica opens / the big bang: instead of rory saying that amy is crying because she’s happy (the ‘happy happy mrs rory’ line haunts me) have him ask what’s wrong and acknowledge her concerns. it’s suuuuuch a fucking simple thing to do but it would help a lot. don’t have amy ask the doctor to kiss her at her own wedding. have it be explicit that amy remembered rory back into existence like she remembered the doctor. i don’t hate river here! 

things i wanted to add that i couldn’t figure out where to put: i'd want to flesh out amy and rory’s relationship a bit more. make rory’s inferiority complex in general a big thread in the season alongside amy’s mental illness (which is evident to me but i’d want it to be explicit). have amy cope with her abandonment / commitment issues—the doctor is coming to get her, rory will wait for her; and before either of them can show up? amy pond has got it covered.

establish amy’s interest in history from the get-go (remembering details surrounding world war two that save them, rambling to rory about venice), have her interest in art be a running thread throughout the season (she could look for future paintings in the beast below, bond with sophie over a shared interest in the lodger... literally endless possibility). have it be canon that the reason amy wants to escape so badly is because her aunt is abusive, which also lends power to getting her parents back.

also, because this is my universe and i can do what i want: amy pond is canonically autistic now.

things to pick up for next season: amy’s relationship with her newly remembered family, how waiting for two thousand years affected rory. 

tl;dr: if amy pond is angry and untrusting, then her best moments will come when she is kind. when she has empathy for the star whale, when she convinces a piece of dalek technology that he is human, when she believes in the doctor and rory enough to resurrect them. 

then again: her flaws make her character real! they make this arc interesting to watch! when she goes from waiting all night in her garden for the doctor to being the reason he exists again. it’s all about the power of amy pond’s will.

[ohmywhump]

Day 12: I think I’ve broken something (Jonah & Vincent)

previous / masterlist / next / whumptober masterlist

‘We’re going to have a guest today,’ Vincent explained while he got ready for work.

Jonah, still sitting quietly on the edge of the bed, watched him in silence; for the first time in weeks his hands weren’t bound in front of his body, the long sleeves of his pale blue shirt hiding the marks the cuffs had left. Vincent had made it very clear that this was a test – if Jonah succeeded, he might be granted additional liberties, but if he failed… well, Vincent hadn’t told him in detail what the consequences would be, but he was sure they would be horrible. Slowly he followed him into the living room just as the doorbell rang. Vincent hurried to invite the ominous guest inside while Jonah anxiously approached the two men.

‘Jonah, this is Domenic – he’ll show you a thing or two while I’m off for the meeting. Don’t embarrass me, darling,’ he grinned, pressed a kiss onto Jonah’s forehead and shoved him towards the sofa where the other man was already sitting in front of the laptop Vincent had made him use ever so often. Domenic was quite lanky and casually dressed, with skinny jeans and a blue polo neck jumper, his silvery-white dyed hair resembled Jonah’s own in its messiness. He seemed to be Vincent’s age, but the way he dressed made him look younger at first sight; or maybe it was just the way he smiled at him, so warm and welcoming.

'Oh, hey, nice to meet you! So you are the reason Vincent is smiling so much lately,’ he grinned, offering a hand to Jonah which he grasped carefully, always aware not to let his sleeve slide up so the other man wouldn’t see the scars on his wrists. 

'Nice to meet you too,’ he replied, forcing a smile and sitting down beside him while looking warily at Vincent who was just about to fetch his coat.

'See you in a few hours!’ he called cheerfully, waved goodbye and left.

'Okay Jonah, to be honest… I really don’t know what I’m supposed to show you… Vincent gave me some of the texts you edited and I think you’re already pretty good at what you’re doing. If it was for me to decide, I’d hire you right away. Did he already take you to work with him?’

'No, not yet..,’ Jonah mumbled, 'I think he… wanted a second opinion first because he might be… erm… a bit biased, if you know what I mean…’

Domenic started to laugh.

'Yeah mate, I know exactly what you mean. Getting your boyfriend a job in your company might seem a bit like favouritism… ‘ He shrugged. ‘If your boyfriend’s that good at what he’s doing, though…’’

He gave him a wink and patted his shoulder.

'So – we have to do something to pass the time, don’t we?’

'Yeah, probably…’

'Hm… I don’t want to be impolite or something, but I’m very curious how the two of you met – Vincent never told me, so I thought I might as well ask you. If you don’t mind, that is…’

'No, it’s alright… We… I used to work in a coffee shop and he… came around every noon to get his espresso… and one day, he just asked me out for a date.’

Jonah shrugged, trying to force a smile.

‘You used to work in a coffee shop? So you quit?’

Shit. That’s it. He failed. If Domenic asked him what he did now instead of working there, what was he supposed to say? Oh, I’m just hanging around the house. Sometimes even literally. Vincent would kill him if Domenic got suspicious…

'Well, right now… erm… I don’t really have a job…’

'Then why did you quit?’

He already gave him a strange look, making him tense up.

'I… uhm… I had an accident when I was younger, smashed my legs… and standing all day made the pain grow worse again…’

Which wasn’t even a lie - apart from the quitting part.

‘Oh, I’m sorry about that… But hey, don’t worry - I’m sure you’ll have a new job soon.’

Again he winked, a broad grin on his face.

Somehow Jonah didn’t feel comfortable with the other man around; he didn’t know him and he didn’t know what he was up to. Even if he seemed to be so nice, he was still a friend of Vincent, so he couldn’t trust him - or could he? What would he do if he flat-out told him what Vincent had done to him? Would he believe him? Would he even help him get away? Maybe this was his only chance to leave this hell he’d been living in for so many weeks now… Weeks - or months? He didn’t know anymore… But he had to make a decision now, Domenic was already looking at him in this strange way again…

‘Erm, do you want something to drink? I could make some coffee if you like…’

‘Yeah, that would be nice.’

Standing in the kitchen, he kept on thinking about a possible escape. Maybe he should just make use of this opportunity and run away right now? The security system wouldn’t be armed as long as there was a visitor in the house, right? This might be his last chance. Now or never.

'Jonah, what’s that?’

He jumped as he realised that Domenic was standing in the doorway, pointing at his arm. 

'Hm?’ he asked, completely puzzled; he didn’t know how to react and only stared down at his rolled up sleeves; he had forgotten to pull them down again after he had rinsed the kettle.

'On your wrist. Can I take a look?’

He already reached for Jonah’s hand, but the younger one was quick enough to pull his arm away before Domenic was able to get hold of him.

'It’s alright, it’s… nothing, really.’

'It doesn’t seem like nothing. More like…’

He tried to take a second look, but Jonah pulled his sleeves down so they almost covered his hands.

'Okay, if you don’t want to tell me, I’m just going to tell you what I think this is and if you don’t come up with another explanation I’ll assume I’m right. I don’t know if Vincent told you, but I’ve been working for an organisation that takes care of people who’ve been exposed to torture. And those marks look exactly like what I saw on people whose hands had been bound for an extended period of time.’

Suppressing a sob, Jonah looked away, not commenting on what Domenic had said, this being pretty much the answer the other man had expected.

'Jonah..,’ he whispered, putting an arm around his shoulders, ‘Who did this to you?’

The younger man tensed up, his lips pressed together. He had failed. It had been a test and he had failed, Vincent would punish him, he would…

'I’m going to get you out of here, okay?’ Domenic interrupted his thoughts, ‘I’ll take you to a hospital, have a doctor examine you and then we’ll go to the police. Trust me, everything’s going to be alright.’

These words were enough for Jonah to break down completely. He sank down to the floor, hiding his face in his hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

‘I just want to go home!’ he whimpered.

‘Come on, Jonah, get up, will you?’ 

Holding his arm, he helped him get back to his feet and led him out of the kitchen.

‘Is there anything you want to take with you? Clothes, personal belongings?’

Still in tears, Jonah shook his head.

‘He threw my stuff away.’

‘It’s alright, nothing that can’t be replaced once you’re home again, hm? Is there someone you want me to call? A friend, relatives…?’

Uttering another sob, he shook his head again.

‘My parents are dead, I’m the only one left.’

‘I’m so sorry,’ Domenic said gently, pulling him into a tight hug, ‘Hardly surprising that you fell for Vincent right away, he can be very charming, right?’

Jonah didn’t want to admit it, but he knew that the other man was right. He had been so naive… but he only wanted someone who cared for him, someone who even loved him, despite his past… with the result that he had ended up in captivity, hurt and broken.

‘Come with me, I’ll help you, let’s just get you out of here first, okay?’

They walked through the front door and out into the driveway; for the first time in what felt like an eternity Jonah felt fresh air in his lungs and sunlight on his pale skin. It felt so incredibly good, he almost started to cry again. He was finally free!

He hesitated a second, but then he climbed into Domenic’s car, waiting for him to start the engine. 

‘Let’s have someone take a look at you first, okay?’ the other man asked.

Jonah only nodded, even if he wasn’t sure if he’d have the strength to talk to the police or even a doctor right now. He just wanted to lie down and sleep. Sleep and forget what happened to him.

‘Hi, it’s Domenic, would you mind coming over? I need to make you aware of something.’

He barely noticed Domenic making a call while driving back towards the heart of the city, but  when he recognised the voice on the speakerphone he almost started to scream.

‘Oh, I knew he’d fuck up. I’ll meet you at your house.’

***

Taglist: @faewhump @whumpinbloom @legallylibra @lonesome–hunter @castielamigos-whump-side-blog @whumpasaurus101 @whumptober2020

[woulddieforperrytheplatypus]

Dan Povenmire, co-creator of Phineas and Ferb and the voice of Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, just did a zoom call for fans, and this is a link to it on Google Drive and a link to it on YouTube.

Here’s a brief overlay brought to you by my incessant live blogging, and because I was speed typing on my phone, I can guarantee not everything made the cut. If you’re interested in hearing Dan talk about growing up an artist and becoming an animator and trying to pitch Phineas and Ferb and working on the show and movies, I would definitely suggest checking out the full 75 minute video. The highlights from the call are below the cut.

They added Doof and Perry because they liked chase scenes. They realized fairly quickly that more than not, the pair led to good comedy, and found it much more interesting to see how their relationship developed. He also says that they are "the most important person to each other” and “they’re really good friends.”

They wrote the Perry theme song in an hour between meetings with Disney

They decided during the pilot that they weren't going to try to get comedy from the characters saying mean things to each other. Even Doofenshmirtz wasn't motivated by evil, he just wanted to get the attention he didn't get at home.

Doof’s backstories were not Dan and Swampy's idea. They were from Jon Barry and Chris Hendrick, who [itched the lawn gnome backstory. It was long and compliated and Dan and Swampy couldn’t stop laughing. They also provided the "it all started on the day of my birth” one the next day.

making the 2D movie while making the movie was the busiest Dan says he has ever been, and that's not even counting the PnF Take Two and Doof's web show and all the interviews. Basically, 2010ish was a very busy time in the Dwampyverse.

They decided to give each pair of writers their own section of an outline to work on, and each pair got to make up the dialogue and jokes based on it. it works well for the show, but writers kept going on their own tangents and the movie ended up like 6 hours long. Dan and Kyle Menke had to redraw 80% of the show because they had to cut gags out and rewrite it so it was still funny. Note: in the new movie, they did the opposite — they wrote a script and told the board artists that they could put brief gags in but nothing too long

He thinks the show became one of the most beloved shows bc it was innocent and the adult humor wasn't dirty so the whole family could watch it together. He also said the songs at the closest thing you get to immortality in a show. Those combined made the show as big of a hit as it was, and hopefully those things will get older people to watch the movie.

His advice if you want to follow in his footsteps are to draw (and suggest you check out Cartoon Animation by Preston Blaire and How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way by Stan Lee) and to know that these jobs are out there

One of his favorite gags in PnF are the silent moments where something big happens and no one reacts (like something big fell in an early episode and crashed next to Phineas and co and at first they were all shocked but Dan changed it to them just kinda looking at it for a moment with no emotion)

Q: Did you ever want to quit what you were going?

A: "I don't really... do... anything else..."

He finished his new pilot today (July 2nd, 2020) and the movie is due tomorrow.

He would love to do more PnF and there's been talks of another PnF movie

He would love to do more Milo Murphy's Law, but it never got huge ratings and Disney's not too big on it but if people start watching it on Disney+ they might get to keep doing it. They did that with Family Guy, and it could happen to MML too.

The movie feels like old Phineas and Ferb and there are a lot of great songs! 

And now, the Q&A (in which he draws random characters are he talks)

How was the process of kicking the voices?

It was sometime easy but sometimes very difficult. For Phineas, they listened to maybe a thousand people. they actually recorded someone but they put it to animation and it didn't really work. He knew as soon as he heard Vincent that he loved him. They literally recasted the lead (Vincent) the day before they had to deliver the pilot.

He knew immediately that he liked Alison Stoner. She was the second Isabella he heard, and he listened to maybe 50 others afterwards, but he knew he wanted Alison Stoner

They decided on a different Candace and they sent it to the head of the channel and the guy asked if he heard Ashley Tisdale. He told Dan to have her come in and give her direction and Dan was hesitant bc he had one that he liked but he was lowkey forced to bring her in. It was his only audition that day, and after his big block of text Dan gave her like 20 notes and she wrote the notes on the big block of text and she did it again and it was perfect and obviously Candace (but he feels bad for the actress that was almost Candace bc she'll never know how close she was)

What was the most impactful episode you worked on?

Either the last (hard to watch w/o crying) or three moments that made himcey while doing them: the end of Summer Belongs To You when Phineas gives up trying to get off the island and decides to watch the sunset with Isabella which was what she always wanted and she exploded and talked him back up onto being the person he is even tho it's a sacrifice on her behalf. He later says he started crying while pitching to his wife the AYA scene of Phinabella getting together.

Do you regret any episodes?

There are some he likes more and some he likes less but he doesn't regret any of them. He was a little disappointed in an early episode without a sing but he watched it alter and decided it was actually pretty decent. None of them make him cringe or wonder why they did that.

How has social media impacted PnF?

He recently got on TikTok and found out that's where all the PnF fans are. He was thrilled to see the response everything was getting and it made him feel good about everything he accomplished. The fact that this generation knows what an aglet is is his biggest accomplishment in pop culture.

Favorite part of working on the show/movie

He likes editing, but writing the songs is the most fun bc it feels the least like work

Who is Ferb's mom?

Never established or really thought about Ferb's mom or Phineas's dad AND IT'S NOT DOOFENSHMIRTZ THEY MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR THAT TO BE TRUE STOP ASKING and Phineas and Candace are full brother and sister. The bio parents aren't interesting to them bc the family already has a mom and dad and the other ones are just out of the picture and not important.

Will there be a new character in the movie?

Super Super Big Doctor (and Disney keeps telling him what he can and can't talk about)

Are there any secrets or theories that he can tell them?

The freaking creepy pasta about schitzophrenic Candace IS NOT TRUE Phineas and Ferb do exist and are alive. There's also a theory that Candace is not based on the diary of a teen girl in Russia who killed herself, and that's not true either. He genuinely thinks they are really freaking stupid theories and they make no sense at all.

Who is your favorite guest star?

Writing a song with Slash from Guns n Roses was really cool. He also liked working with Ben Stiller, Christian Slater the delivery guy (he called and said he'd do any part in MML so they wrote him a role), Jack McBrayer (Irving/Fix It Felix), Wayne Brady (co-wrote In The Empire)

What is the motivation of Candace to bust the boys?

He's not trying to hurt them. She doesn't dislike them. She gets irritated but she's really just looking for fairness. If she built a rollercoaster in the backyard, she'd get in trouble, so they should get in trouble, too.

How did you think about hot to end the show?

Disney was starting to cool off on PnF. The merch wave had plateaued. Dan and Swampy had the next two years in the show already made, but Disney wouldn't pick up another season until they finished airing that season. They'd have to restaff for a new season and they didn't like that idea, so they turned one of their hour long specials into the finale. He wanted to be able to say goodbye and thank the fans.

[phantomofthepairofdice]

Double Features 2: Splatter, Splicer, Slander, Slasher

Considering the fact that we’re locked down and most folks aren’t going out much, why not settle in on a weekend with double feature. As part of a series of articles, I’ve decided to suggest some titles that would make for an interesting pair. It’s a time commitment like binging a few episodes of a TV show, and hopefully these double features are linked in interesting enough ways that it has a similar sense of cohesion. They also can be watched on separate occasions, but the lesser the distance between them, the more the similarities show. Do it however you want, really. I’m merely a guy on the internet, and that qualifies me for absolutely nothing! Enjoy at your own risk.

This template is back! I wanted to suggest a few more double features, but this time keep them in a specific genre: horror. I love horror movies, and I realized that I hadn’t really given them their due on this here blog, so I wanted to remedy that by showing a lot of love across a lot of different movies. I’ve put together some international movies, some classics, some that are silly, some that are serious, and even a bonus suggestion hidden in one of these blurbs. So without any more ramble in the preamble, here are four new suggested double features.

Note: The pairs are listed in the order I think best serves them being seen.

Hausu & Evil Dead II:

Hausu aka House (not to be confused with 1985 American horror film of the same name) has sort of transcended cult movie status to become a staple of off-center horror-comedy. Directed by recently deceased Nobuhiko Obayashi, the film shows his roots in advertisements with every shot designed for maximum effect, a (still) cutting edge approach in the edit, and a joyous, playful approach to special effects. It’s a gauzy and dreamy romp about a group of schoolgirls who head to the countryside on vacation. While staying at one of their aunts’ house, the supernatural hauntings begin, and heads start to roll (as well as bite people on the butt). It’s the type of movie where the main cast of characters are named Gorgeous, Kung Fu, Melody, Prof, Mac, Sweet, and Fantasy and they each have corresponding character traits. I was lucky enough to catch this at a rep screening at the Museum of Fine Arts a few years ago (further proof that this has gone beyond the cult curio status), and this is absolutely a movie that benefits from having a crowd cheer and laugh along - but it’s fairly easy to find and still has lots of pleasures to be enjoyed on solo watch. I’m pretty much willing to guarantee that if you enjoy it on first watch, you’ll want to share it with others. Now, where does one start when talking about Evil Dead II? Sam Raimi is rightfully as well known for his start in the hair-brained splatter genre fare as he is for his genre-defining Spider-man films. The influence of the Evil Dead movies is nearly unquantifiable, apparent in the work of directors like Edgar Wright, Peter Jackson, Quentin Tarantino, and the Korean New Wave filmmakers like Bong Joon-ho and Park Chan-wook. There’s a reason that the second film of his Evil Dead odyssey is the one that people hold in highest esteem, though. There is an overwhelming gleeful creativity, anything goes, Looney Tunes approach to it that makes the blood geysers, laughing moose heads, and chainsaw hands extend beyond gore and shock into pleasure. It’s been noted over and over by critics and Raimi himself that the Three Stooges are probably the biggest influence on the film, and by golly, it shows. Evil Dead II and Hausu are pure in a way that few other movies can be. Both of these movies are an absolute delight of knowing camp, innovative special effects, and a general attitude of excitement from the filmmakers permeating through every frame. They’re a total blast and, in my mind, stand as the standard-bearers for horror-comedy and haunted house movies.

Total Runtime: 88 minutes + 84 minutes = 172 minutes aka 2 hours and 52 minutes

The Thing (1982) & The Fly (1986):

Feel free to roll your eyes as I explain the plots of two very famous movies. The Thing is John Carpenter’s body horror reimagining of Howard Hawks’ The Thing from Another World and the story that was adapted from, “Who Goes There?” by John W. Campbell Jr. The film is centered around a group of men in an arctic outpost who welcome in a cosmic force of shape-shifting annihilation. What ensues is a terrifically scary, nihilistic, paranoid attempt to find who isn’t who they say they are before everyone is replaced with the alien’s version of them. The film is a masterpiece of tone in no small part due to Dean Cundey’s photography and Ennio Morricone’s uncharacteristically restrained score. The real showstopper here, though, is the creature effects designed by Rob Bottin with an assist from Stan Winston – two titans of their industry. There may not be a more mind-blowing practical effects sequence in all of movies than Norris’ defibrillation – which I won’t dare spoil for anyone who hasn’t seen it. The story is so much about human nature and behaviors, that it’s good news that the cast is all top-notch – anchored by Kurt Russell, Keith David, and Wilford Brimley. While The Thing is shocking and certainly not for anyone opposed to viscera, David Cronenberg’s The Fly is the best example of a movie not to watch while eating. Quite frankly, it’s got some of the most disgusting things I’ve ever seen on film. Chris Walas and Stephen Dupuis’ makeup effects are shocking, but the terror is amplified because this builds such a strong foundation of romance in its opening stretch between Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis in what might be their career-best work. The story is simple: a scientist creates a teleportation device that he tries out himself, but unknowingly does so with a fly in the chamber with him. When he reatomizes on the other end, his DNA has been integrated with the fly. Slowly his body begins to deteriorate, and he transforms into a human-fly hybrid. While this is first and foremost a science-fiction horror film, it’s truly one of the most potent love stories at its center. The tragedy is that the love, like the flesh, is mutated and disintegrated by the hubris of Goldblum’s Seth Brundle. Here are two remakes that – clutch your pearls – outdo the original. They both serve as great examples of what a great artist can bring by reinterpreting the source material to tell their version of that story. The critical respect for Carpenter and Cronenberg is undeniable now, but both of these movies make the case that there are real artists working with allegory and stunning craft in less respected genre fare. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to transpose the thematic weight of the then-new AIDS crisis onto both films, but they both have a hefty anti-authority streak running through them in a time where American Exceptionalism was at an all-time high. If you want to get a real roll going, fire up the ’78 Invasion of the Body Snatchers first to get a triple dose of auteur remakes that reflect the social anxieties of the time and chart from generalized anxiety to individualistic dread to romantic fatalism.

Total Runtime: 109 minutes + 96 minutes = 205 minutes aka 3 hours and 25 minutes

Theatre of Blood & The Abominable Dr. Phibes

That old Klingon proverb that Khan tells Kirk about revenge being a dish best served cold is challenged by these two Vincent Price tales of the macabre. They posit that revenge is best served in extremely convoluted and thematically appropriate predecessors to the Saw franchise. Where Saw trades in shock and extremity, though, these classic horror tales offer an air of panache and self-satisfied literacy. In Theatre of Blood, Price plays a disgraced and thought-dead stage actor who gets revenge on the critics who gave him negative reviews with Shakespeare-themed murder. There’s good fun in seeing how inventive the vengeful killings are (and in some cases how far the writers bend over backwards to explain and make sense of them). It’s a little rumpled and ragged in moments, but Price is, of course, a tremendous pleasure to see in action as he chews through the Shakespeare monologues. Imagine the Queen’s corgis with a chainsaw and you’re on track. Phibes came first and, frankly, is the better of the two. The story is about a musician who seeks to kill the doctors who he believes were responsible for his wife’s death during a botched surgery. The elaborate angle he takes here is to inflict the ten plagues from the Old Testament. I hesitate to use a word that will probably make me come across as an over-eager schmuck, but it really feels best described as phantasmagorical. It’s got this bright, art deco, pop art sensibility to it that’s intoxicating. It also has a terrifically dark sense of drollery - it knows that you can see the strings on the bat as it flies toward the camera. Aesthetically, it feels adjacent to the ’66 Batman show. The music is great and the indelible image of his tinker toy robot band, The Clockwork Wizards, is a personal obsession of mine. Both Theatre of Blood and The Abominable Dr. Phibes feature great supporting turns from Diana Rigg and Joseph Cotton, respectively. Settle in for a devilishly good time and enjoy one of cinema’s greatest vicarious pleasures: getting back at those of criticized or hurt you.

Total Runtime: 104 minutes + 94 minutes = 198 minutes aka 3 hours and 18 minutes

Blood and Black Lace  & The Bird with the Crystal Plumage

The final pairing comes from beyond American borders and, to some, beyond the borders of good taste. Mario Bava and Dario Argento are likely the two biggest names in Italian horror, and that’s for very good reason. Bava, who started as a cinematographer, has made loads of movies (even the film which gave Ozzy Osbourne and crew the name their band name) that have tremendous visuals and terrific sense of mood. Argento, probably most famous now for Suspiria, emerged onto the Italian film scene a handful of years later and picked up that baton from Bava to crystallize the dreamy logic puzzles cloaked in hyper-saturated colors. These two films are regarded as quintessential in the giallo genre – named for the yellow covers of the pulp crime fictions that inspired them. As someone who loves the flair that can be applied to make a slasher film stand out amongst their formulaic brethren, I found that the giallo made for a smooth transition into international horror. Blood and Black Lace is a murder mystery that’s as tawdry and titillating as its title suggests. Set in an insular world of a fashion house in Rome, models are being murdered. The plot feels like a necessity in order to create a delivery system for the stunning set pieces that revolve around a secret diary. Bava puts sex right next to violence and cranks up the saturation to create something thrillingly lurid. Six years later, Argento made his first film which has often been credited for popularizing the giallo genre and already is playing around with some of his pet themes like voyeurism and reinterpretation. Built around an early set piece (that stacks up as one of the best in thrillers) in which a man is trapped but witnesses a murder, the film sees said man trying to find the piece of evidence that will make the traumatic killing make sense. Like Bava, it blends sex and violence with tons of flair, including a score by the aforementioned Ennio Morricone. The film is absolutely on a continuum between Hitchcock and De Palma. If you’re looking for a pair of exciting horror/thrillers, or even an entry point to foreign genre cinema, this is an accessible and enjoyable place to start.

88 minutes + 96 minutes = 184 minutes aka 3 hours and 4 minutes

Well, there you have it. Eight movies, and hours of entertainment curated by some guy with no real qualifications. If you’re interested in some more suggestions (in horror and other genres), stay tuned for the next entry in this Double Features series. And if you’re looking for a way to watch these movies, I highly recommend the app/website JustWatch where you can search a title and see where it’s available for streaming or rental. Happy viewing.

Thanks for reading.

[docholligay]

@madegeeky it was pretty much what I associate with the show. It was mostly cheesy and shallow and had no concept of worry about ‘fucking with time and history’ and I rolled my eyes so much when they took Vincent to the museum that, btw, Starry Night is not in. I might have to go rewatch the ending because I think separate from everything including the show itself I might like the end part about life being joys and sorrows but I missed a lot of it because I was ranting and then the cheeseball-o-rama of “for Amy” on the fucking sunflowers, LORD. 

LOVED the line about winning not always being fun, though. 

@iscahwynn​ The whole stupid episode is about fucking Rory!! Where is Amy getting angry and saying “I’m sorry your life was stolen from you, but you can’t fucking steal mine” or showing compassion to old amy, while telling her the kindest thing for them both is to let her go? Or fighting against Doctor Bowtie to save her old self? Fucking anything but ~think of the boy~ jesus fucking christ let this woman feel her shit for her own sake. And maybe this episode is more compelling if you care about these three characters but let me tell you as someone coming straight into the show here I am not sure why we care that much about an okayish to bland looking man who doesn’t really DO anything. And I’m supposed to FEEL something about Bowtie lying to her, but since I watched this right after the Vincent ep, I was like, “oh NOW time matters??? Interesting.” God and even at the fucking end, being like, “did I ever tell you about the boy I met there?” vomit. Jesus fuck. What a waste of a beautiful concept. 

[sherl-grey]

I posted 1,813 times in 2021

228 posts created (13%)

1585 posts reblogged (87%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 7.0 posts.

I added 1,937 tags in 2021

#doctor who - 785 posts

#ninerose - 204 posts

#tenrose - 204 posts

#writing - 149 posts

#queued - 123 posts

#dw fan art - 121 posts

#text - 95 posts

#asked and answered - 90 posts

#tenth doctor - 86 posts

#rose tyler - 80 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#but obviously instead of a romance she’s just there to tell spaceman he’s a fucking dumbo and alarm the hell out of the current companion

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

literally every night i get stressed about choosing between watching dw, reading dw fic or writing dw fic 😅 it’s possible i have a problem

30 notes • Posted 2021-11-29 05:45:56 GMT

#4

look i’m so tired i’m practically hallucinating but: alec hardy is nine in ten’s body

31 notes • Posted 2021-10-15 09:21:35 GMT

#3

me: haha this song is gonna hurt clicks “add to playlist”

me, listening to playlist and crying: okay so what the fuck did i do that for

32 notes • Posted 2021-10-06 06:33:46 GMT

#2

if you all could pick one episode (or set of episodes) and change the incarnation of the Doctor in it (companion optional too) without consequence to series overarching plot or anything, which episode and Doctor would you pick?

33 notes • Posted 2021-10-15 03:38:17 GMT

#1

Shirley G what's your favourite Eleventh Doctor episode rewrite with Rose? Can be an existing fic, or just an idea of an episode you would have loved Rose to be in from Eleven's run! ☺️

hello loup!! this is so tough oh my... once again i'm lamenting my lack of organization, haha. i need to find a better way to save fics... apologies in advance, this will probably be long!

so, i might just be blanking, but i'm not even sure how many single episode rewrites i can think of with Eleven--a lot of them are either full series rewrites OR original plot + a "Day of the Doctor" rewrite at the end (yeah... here's one called "Time Rewritten" that's also Eight/Rose where Rose wakes up in Eleven's TARDIS with no memory and then gets stuck in the Time War, and here's one called "Three Doctors and a Baby" from the fantastic Tentoo/Rose and Eleven/Rose series Consequences, and another Time War one called "Battle in the Sky" that's mostly EightRose but ends with Day of the Doctor and Time of the Doctor... it's a good trope!)

that being said! the rewrite I go to most often for pure joy is "Until The End" by mltrefry, which is part of the "Run with You" multi-series rewrite. Specifically for Eleven's chunk of the series, I love "Vincent and the Doctor" (chapters 9 and 10) as well as.... I honestly think this is either original or maybe an EU takeaway, but there's an Eight/Rose and Eleven/Rose episode called "Before the Worst" (chapters 11 and 12) that I ADORE. This series also has Eleven show up in Blink in a previous fic which is incredibly sweet.

honorable mentions that came to mind:

there is a single episode pairing rewrite of the astronaut duo by no_nutcracker that i just read! ("if i believe in One thing")

there’s also one “i’m at odds and ends but that’s me” by CupofSonic if you like OT3 (tentoo is still here)

i absolutely refuse to read this one ever again because i am emotionally traumatized but here's the god complex ("in blackwater woods")

"when the wolf runs" is fantastic angst-with-a-happy-ending that isn't necessarily a rewrite but certain episodes are addressed and redone? essentially, Rose is woven in to Eleven's overarching plot really well and it's a great fix-it for River as well

i know this fic from the series "Tyler Family Adventures" has an Eleventh Hour rewrite at the very least; it's Tentoo/Rose at first and they actually semi-raise Amy growing up, but it shifts to Eleven/Rose when... well, you can probably guess.

"Out of Order" by lastincurableromantic also pops in on some canon adventures without doing full rewrites! we get a tiny glimpse of Venice and post-The Big Bang at the Pond wedding at the very least

I'm sure I'm still missing some good ones; I know there a couple Doctor's Wife rewrites (Sonic and I and someone else? maybe multiple someone elses?) in existence and that episode is always a pleasure since Rose and the TARDIS obviously adore each other, and I really want to read a reunion that takes place during or after "Hide." The line about "it's not a ghost story, it's a love story" and yearning across time and space... that's it. That's ElevenRose. I think one might exist but I keep losing the link.... Sorry for the novel-length answer but there are just so many good fics!

38 notes • Posted 2021-11-13 23:37:08 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →