#Rapture Stefan

[supercap2319]

"So, how's this work again?" Y/N asked as he looked at the green eyed man from across the table. He looked up from his stack of pancakes and shrugged his shoulders. "How should I know? You're the hybrid vampire-witch. You should know all about this magical shit." He took a bite of his pancakes and moaned softly. "So, good..."

"Do you want me to leave you two alone?" Y/N asked. "You know you're a lot more of a smartass in this body, Stefan."

Stefan smirks. "It's Eddie Longo. Terrible name by the way."

"Yeah, well your name could be Paul Wesley, and we still wouldn't understand how this worked." Y/N sighed. "As far as I can tell, Tom Avery wasn't the last of Silas' shadow clones. This... Eddie Longo is." He paused. "Question is, is this like a modified version of the Passengers' spell? And how long will you have control over this body?"

"Don't know but we better leave home soon. Eddie Longo's not a very nice person. He's a bartender at Rapture Night Club and a long-time drug addict, who was in debt with a local drug dealer. He also murdered a man too." Stefan/Eddie said in between sips of coffee and bites of pancakes.

"Wow, your doppelganger is really winning at life isn't he?" He said sarcastically.

[deanstudies101]

4x20, The Rapture

Critical theory: Fathers. Sacrifice. Faith. 

Discussion: 

Cas doesn’t seem to understand what it means to want something. Manipulating someone into becoming your vessel isn’t “he prayed for this.” How devout is Jimmy? There’s debate over this. 

Iga, if I was going to find a devout man, I would find someone who had already devoted their life to God. Like the pope. [So, I will say. Cas says it’s in Jimmy’s blood. More on this later, we’ll discuss. But in this mythology—at least at this point in the story—being a vessel rarer than you think.] Kai, but we’ve seen a fair few angels. It’s… like 5. That’s not that many. And Anna doesn’t count, because she was born. [So like. That’s rare. Maybe he’s the most devout of the limited options there are. And. I won’t say too much. But we will be exploring angel consent. And I think that’s all I’ll say.] That helps see it in a different light. But also, he can’t revoke consent, which he should be able to do. [He should, yes.]

[To dwell on angels a second longer. I love the comparison here. We’ve seen angels as emotionless before. But this is something else. Watching Jimmy crying on the floor -> Cas just walking away.] Love Cas seeing the world for the first time, seeing as a human. The hand flex may be overdone but the head tilt is delightful. [The hand thing is recurring. And. Hands. We’ll talk later.] 

Sumner, “Sam’s a nasty lil rat man.” [This episode really frames the blood drinking in a certain light. We’ve commented on it. Keep commenting.} It’s giving Stefan vampire diaries, except Stefan needs the blood to survive and never learnt to control the urge. But Sam didn’t ask to be born like this. [He is choosing to drink the blood though.] It fits better with drug addiction than Stefan’s case. Sam crouched over that woman’s body is the least sexy blood drinking we’ve ever seen. And let's revisit consent. Ruby consented, and is possessing the body of a woman who was already kind of dead. This woman did not consent. And then he killed her anyway. 

Actually, where is Ruby? Is she okay? It’s not like she has a job, she should be fucking orbiting around them. What’s she doing, sidequests? 

Their empathy for the vessels the demons are possessing has plummeted. Now they just kill them. 

Don’t like that Sam, “the empathetic one”, is just looking past all this. Killing demon vessels, drinking blood, he was a dick to Jimmy. If Dean had spoken to someone like that, Sam would call him a dick, really call him out. But for Sam it’s fine. 

Okay we’re shitting on Sam a bit, he’s clearly going through something and this isn’t who he is as a person, but he made his choices. He chose to drink demon blood. And Lilith is still out there. It’s all been for nothing so far. 

The conversation between Sam and Dean in the car was really good. Sam wanted Dean to be mad so that he could defend himself. But Dean was over it. He’s given up. Okay, it was kinda a play to get Sam to Bobby’s… but was it? He is done. 

Iga, “I think we should talk about Jimmy.” It’s a really good performance. The voice is different, the physicality is different. Like that Jimmy sacrificed himself for his family. In a show where there’s not that many good biological fathers, he’s pretty decent. Possibly the best in the show so far. Actually, let's go back to the rarity. When Jimmy was out of the picture, the next option was his daughter. Was there no one else? 

Iga, if it’s so rare, angels should just possess someone, and then fuck someone. Create new vessels. They could just go around creating the vessels if they need them so bad. But you also want them to be Christian, so I guess you need to make sure they are by either [these were the options they came up with] 1) making Christianity the world religion, 2) starting a cult. There’s a generational issue, they’ll need to keep doing this. Or do you do it a bunch and then just release those people into the wild [this was their exact phrasing] and then. There will be further generations. 

Iga, something like; Jimmy is a good dad, and Dean watched him being a good dad, and that would’ve made him more attracted to Cas, because Cas is possessing a good dad, and that’s what Dean needs in his life.

This has helped Dean see who Cas is. [I had something to add here but I simply couldn’t get a word in edgeways.]* 

Want to know what happened to Cas up in heaven. Sounds a lot like hell. Being called up is so bad and awful. Like, we’re judging Cas for possessing Claire, but if the family is Christian then does this not fit into the idea of ‘the father using the children as tools.’ [I'm not entirely sure what this means]

Excited to see what indoctrinated Cas is gonna do. He’s gonna be so cold to Dean and Dean is going to be upset by it but kinda turned on. 

*[So who is Cas?] Kai, Cas is the mirror of Dean, or at least their stories parallel nicely. Authoritarian fathers who they are different to intrinsically, who for most of their lives they have been loyal to, but they are realising that they are flawed, that they are different, and they’re starting to find themselves. Iga, Cas is a soldier. He is cold. Not at the root of him, but he’s been conditioned to be cold, unfeeling, inhuman. Cas isn’t human. This episode made that quite clear. Kai, he is similar to the monsters they fight. He can possess people, he can burn out people’s eyes. He’s quite frightening. But he’s also clearly scared. Something happened when he went upstairs and he came back colder. He was clearly punished for considering disobedience, maybe his feelings for Dean. Was this what he was like before, before spending time on earth with humans, making connections? Kai, they were both raised separate, not as people, but they are people, and they want to be part of humanity, and they love saving people. 

Notes: Visiting student Sumner. 

[crucifiedlovers]

I’m absolutely enamored with all the quotes you post. A few months ago, after a ravaging twenty years of solid dogged longing I have found my eternal beloved. I’ve been craving poetry or books that I can read that elaborate on love, something ecstatic, perhaps summery luminous and lush, or perhaps just so utterly captivating. Could you recommend me some ? I would be forever grateful, since I think your taste in poetry and literature has to be sublime. Merci 💌

sorry for the late reply but thank you for the lovely message🌷and it's wonderful to hear that you've found the perfect person for you!!

as for recommendations, i'm so glad you asked! i haven't been able to read for leisure as much these days but here's a few texts about love & desire—mostly 'captivating' ones but there's a few 'summery' reads too—i've loved in the past, as well as some that i haven't gotten up to yet...

poetry:

let us believe in the beginning of the cold season by forugh farrokhzad

rapture by carol ann duffy

crush by richard siken

destruction or love by vicente aleixandre

literature:

belle de seigneur by albert cohen

a room with a view by e. m. forster

rien ne va plus by margarita karapanou

spring snow by yukio mishima

the lover by marguerite duras

letter from an unknown woman by stefan zweig

first love by ivan turgenev

white nights by fyodor dostoevsky

persuasion by jane austen

victoria by knut hamsun

theory / essays / misc:

the agony of eros by han byung-chul

eros the bittersweet by anne carson

a lover's discourse by roland barthes

the love letters of abelard and heloïse by pierre abélard & héloïse d'argenteuil

the double flame: love and eroticism by octavio paz

the one and only by anne boyer

desire/love by lauren berlant

anything by eva illouz (making my way through consuming the romantic utopia: love and the cultural contradictions of capitalism atm)

enjoy! 🕊️

[epitome-the-burnkid-viii]

#alternative #media #broadcasting #lightworker #starseed #currentaffairs #youtube #esoteric #knowledge #space #cosmos #ascension #enlightenment #5dearth #crystalline #energy #spirituality #humanity #solarflare #solarflash #solarstorm #Rapture #lightwarrior #lightguardian #music #arts #philosophy #history #anthropology #Apocalypse #endtimes #NewAge #ageofaquarius #youtuberecommendedchronicles 🔮

[freefallingup13]

Single, Triple Threat 2

Part 1

So Selena is having a bad time

CW: Lady whump, public beating (in an alley), beating, hit with a baseball bat, head trauma, murder mention, cannibalism mention

~~~

Of course, unfortunately, she was. 

“Come on,” she huffed. “You punch like a bitch.”

The next hit was harder than the last, and she bit back a grunt of pain. “Fuck you,” the man holding her collar said.

Selena only snorted. “Fuck you.”

She was unceremoniously dropped to the ground. She took a moment to close her eyes and breathe through her pain before trying to sit back up.

“Not so tough now, are you?” growled one of the men standing around her. “Why don’t you use your powers? You gonna bite me?”

With a sigh, Selena propped herself up on her elbows, letting her head loll backwards. “Nah,” she chuckled out. “No point. Yer a civilian.”

“So was my brother!” A hard, unrestrained kick to her stomach sent her flying out from the circle. She couldn’t bite back the cry as she hit the brick wall, crumpling to the ground to catch her breath.

“... He-” Selena coughed as she got to her hands and knees, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “Neal was a piece of shit-”

“He’s dead because of you!”

“He fucking deserved it,” Selena hissed as she put a hand onto the wall, standing up as best she could. She had to lean against the bricks, but that was okay. “He ruined lives.”

The man clenched his fists, his skin audibly straining against wood. “He was a kid!”

“He was a menace!”

The baseball bat in the man’s hands was finally put to use, cracking mercilessly down on Selena’s leg. She couldn’t keep it up anymore- she fell to the ground on one knee, not even seeing the next swing before it hit her head.

“Whoa. Dude.” One of the men behind him leaned in, hands on his knees so he could see how dazed Selena was on the ground. “You really aren’t holding back, huh?”

“Why the fuck would I!?” he shouted, turning around to face his friends. He pointed his bat towards Selena, only getting louder as he went on. “Do you know what she did? She didn’t just kill him, she fucking ripped him up! She fucking ate him!”

Another of his friends shushed him, putting a finger to his lips. “Quiet down, man! Someone’s gonna call the cops!”

The man with the bat scoffed, tapping his bat to the ground. “Bullshit,” he said. “Like anybody’s gonna call the cops to save Selena Mavis.”

His gaze turned to Selena, who was barely able to register what was going on anymore. She had only rolled onto her side, the pain in her head making it impossible to move further. Her eyes swam as she looked up, able to see the blurry form of him leaning over her.

“Nobody’s going to try and save Vice,” he spat out before raising his bat again.

This was going to be a long night.

[sweet-raptured-light]

New mashup! Imperfect Memories - an Evanescence and Within Temptation mashup

Who doesn't love a bit of Within Temptation with their Evanescence? 3 weeks until the Worlds Collide tour kicks off and I am insanely excited! So here's a quick one, and watch this space for a Worlds Collide megamix

Songs used:

Imperfection - Evanescence

Memories - Within Temptation

Follow me on YouTube at sweet raptured light

Follow me on Instagram at _sweet_raptured_light

[panlight]

how didn't the people of volterra get suspicious about the constant disappearance of people when they were eaten by the volturi??

 In the guide it’s incredibly convoluted. 

Basically Heidi is in charge of finding people from all over the world and getting them to Volterra under false pretenses. It’s said that she will tell people they’ve won a contest, or have an an interview for an exciting job offer.  She arranges travel and never uses the word ‘Volterra,’ the people probably don’t even know they’re going to Italy, and then they land at this little airstrip outside of the city and are taken in through an underground passage in an old church.  That’s . . a lot, isn’t it? It’s a lot. I kind of want to see a workplace drama or comedy about Heidi and what has to be a staff of tech-savvy scammers coming up with ways to trick people into getting on a private plane. 

But this only works in the modern era. At least only since air travel was a thing.  What did they do before?

My guess is that they intercepted pilgrims--the ‘tourists’ of their day, touring Italy to visit say, Rome, the Vatican, and churches throughout Italy with holy relics. They probably have a church of St. Marcus with a “perfectly preserved” relic of the saint (I don’t know whose hand or arm or whatever it is, but it’s definitely not Marcus’. Maybe one of the Romanians’ or Egyptians’, just to further twist the knife into Vladimir and Stefan or Amun). People swear they’ve seen the . . . hand or arm or foot or whatever twitch and move, which just proves how holy it is. There were stories that if you were particularly pious and pure of heart, St. Marcus would intercede on your behalf and you’d be raptured instantly and taken directly to heaven--that’s why a certain number of pilgrims to the St. Marcus church (the one outside of town, I guess??) never return home (but also travel throughout most of history was risky anyway--someone not coming back from a long journey in like the 1400s was not going to raise any eyebrows).  When you get into later era, the sons (and sometimes daughters) of the rich and powerful would go on a tour ‘would tour,’ which could be a source of blood. Rich folks going on a honeymoon. Volturi agents might be set up in large Italian cities to offer private tours of a quaint hill town and without cell phones or the internet to look it up or tell their family where they were going, it might work. 

In the modern era the church and the mythology of the relics of St. Marcus have fallen off the radar, but there are websites on the internet like “Spooky abandoned locations” or whatever that mention it that lure the occasional adventurer. The guide says there is no cell service there. Most don’t find the tunnel to Volterra without Heidi there to lead them, so people just talk about it as a spooky church.  If one does find the tunnel and ends up in the Volturi’s lair they’d have to kill them anyway, right? 

But it’s all pretty convoluted and a lot of work and I feel like it’s only a matter of time before their current method is exposed somehow and they’ll have to come up with something else. 

[bcwallin]

One Nostalgia Later

Zero barely talks about his great lost love. As the “aged proprietor” of an “enchanted old ruin” known as the Grand Budapest Hotel, he tells his life story by skipping around her presence, touching on the existence of his “darling Agatha,” but avoiding falling into the pit of despair. Beautiful things don’t get to be completed in his world, where poems are always cut off, nice sentiments are interrupted, and the dark specter of war and disease cuts short any hope of living long, living with love. The man who “struck one as being, deeply and truly, lonely” knows what it is to lose.

For a brief time, Zero and Agatha shared a love. They were outcasts, ignored, working in service jobs that required self-abnegation—he as a hotel lobby boy; she, the pastry girl at a bakery. We see them in their bedrooms; it’s not much. “We did not have 50 Klubecks between the two of us,” recalls the older Zero. They worked long, demanding hours and had few moments to spare. Zero’s meals were held with the rest of the hotel staff. Agatha suffered the overbearing, watchful eye of her boss at the bakery, Herr Mendl. Being together was difficult, but the few moments they shared were rapturous. Their courtship felt like young love feels: furtive, secretive, and bursting with flushed emotion.

That young love never gets to mature. Agatha dies too early. “An absurd little disease,” the older Zero says parenthetically of the cause of death. So, every moment is preserved in amber, but never lingered on for too long. “She is a nearly absent presence in the story, by Zero’s choice: a narrative door marked ‘Do Not Enter,’” writes Matt Zoller Seitz, in his book about the movie. “He won’t speak of her. It’s too painful, and he’s too private.” But the aged Zero can’t tell his story without including her, try as he might. And we get glimpses.

On one good day, Zero and Agatha go to a carousel. They’re accompanied by Herr Mendl, but they barely notice. Zero gives his love a gift. He’s so anxious for her to like it, he can’t even wait for her to open the wrapping before he bursts out with what it is. He can’t contain his love in the inscription, either: “For my dearest, darling, treasured, cherished Agatha, whom I worship. With respect, adoration, admiration, kisses, gratitude, best wishes, and love.”

Throughout their courtship, the world around Zero and Agatha bursts at the seams with the portents of war, as newspapers tease, armies gather, and the brightly colored, idyllic world of the fictional state of Zubrowka teeters on the brink. The start of the war, after all, sees the appearance of black-clad death squads, and eventually, the draining of color from the film itself. Darkness and death loom quietly, but no matter what’s going on in the world, a first love is a first love. And it’s all encapsulated in a single image.

Agatha’s face takes up the center of the boxy frame—her gaze is transfixing. She stares lovingly, straight through the camera. We’re Zero, locking eyes with her. The colors shift over her face as carousel lights turn behind and around her. She is radiant, then shadowed, then red. She has the slightest hint of a smile, her head tilted, just so. Agatha stares with her deep blue eyes and it’s near-impossible to look away. But who would want to?

In this single moment, the music fades as if it’s playing somewhere else, the lights haze, as the focus can only be directed toward Agatha. Time is frozen, if only for a moment, as we experience the ecstasy of loving and knowing you are loved. Of early love, with its rushed heartbeats, tingling limbs, empty stomachs, stuttering lips, and sweaty brows. We hold onto this eternally familiar moment. As Italo Calvino once wrote, describing a different, frozen moment in time: “The suspicion that has gripped me is precisely this: that I have come to find myself in a space not new to me, that I have returned to a point where we had already passed by.”

* * *

The Grand Budapest Hotel continues a literary tradition that’s stretched from Dante to Moulin Rouge!: women die tragically and their lovers memorialize them in their writings. Agatha is an ideal, an image. Like Madeleine to Scotty in Vertigo (but less creepy), like the woman of an aged Mr. Bernstein’s tale in Citizen Kane (but more meaningful), Agatha exists as a memory or a reference.

With its frames within frames of shifting perspectives and aspect ratios, The Grand Budapest Hotel is distinctly literary. Its opening monologue is lifted nearly verbatim from Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig, an author whose work is credited with inspiring the film, whose mustache seems to appear on more than one character’s face, and whose disappearing world is fictionalized as the setting. Zweig’s non-fiction is a great example of the longing for a lost place; his fiction for lost people. In his novella Journey into the Past, Zweig chronicles the long-awaited reunion of a man and a woman who had once been deeply in love, years ago. “How much time, how much lost time, and yet in the space of a second a single thought took him back to the very beginning.”

Zweig’s stories are often framed as recollections told over, as stories shared with strangers because of their absolute meaningfulness—much like the memorializing by grieving lovers of literary tradition—because these memories needed to be stories, to be remembered by somebody else. Zweig’s framing characters look to create the literature of their own lived stories. Journey into the Past sees two characters, Ludwig and an unnamed woman,  returning to their own story, with one seeking to consummate his unrequited love of nine years’ distance. They had had an emotional affair, tucked into passionate glances and tacit communication, years earlier, while her husband was alive. They kissed where they could, but they had to hide from the servants who always seemed to be around at the least opportune time. Ludwig’s desires were never fully satisfied and he was called away on business so he could build his fortune. And he and his love made a promise to be together once he’d return.

But the trouble with remembering love is that its amber glow sets up dangerous expectations. After being away far longer than he’d have liked to be, Ludwig is greeted fondly by the woman’s staff. He joins his love to the literary tradition and wonders to himself, as Zweig writes, “Odysseus…the household dogs recognize you, will the mistress of the house know you again too?” He’s been away for nine years. He’s gotten married, but he still returns for a rendezvous with the woman he loved and lost, to fulfill a promise she had made him, but which she realizes she cannot keep. Ludwig recalls a couplet from a French poem by Paul Verlaine: “In the old park, in ice and snow caught fast / Two specters walk, still searching for the past.” The poem, which cuts off there in Zweig’s story, imagines a dialogue between lost lovers:

—Does your heart still surge at my very name?

Do you still see my soul when you dream?—No.

—Ah, the beautiful days of inexpressible bliss

When our lips met!—It may have been so.

—How blue the sky, how hopes ran high!

—Hope has fled, vanquished, to the black sky.

Like Jay Gatsby or Mr. Bernstein or Lemony Snicket, wondering what might have been, Ludwig and Verlaine’s narrator and an old Zero romanticize their visions of love as time goes by.

“Any adequate view of nostalgia will acknowledge that it involves a felt difference between past and present: the very irretrievability of the past is salient in the experience,” wrote philosophy professor Scott Alexander Howard. We may seek to stay in the past through memory, Howard tells us, because the present seems worse, because we didn’t realize how good life was, or because we’re spontaneously overtaken by nostalgia. Nostalgia may mean that we see the past as a time that was better, and while that doesn’t necessarily mean that our vision of the past is false, it does mean that things get amplified to a whole other level:

The nostalgist knows the past in question was unpleasant at the time, but in memory it is altered by certain effects: for example, the memory has acquired a gold patina, or it seems to be an uncanny distillation of a whole time period. Neither effect strikes the self-aware nostalgist as true to the quality of one’s experiences at the time when those memories were encoded. Yet they are part of what is targeted by nostalgia. The emotion seems to be directed precisely at the “fictional” features of the memory image—things which one recognizes to be not inside the scene on the other side of the window, but drawn onto the glass.

That amber glow or gold patina grows as we distance ourselves from a disappeared world. Zero’s story, his world, his love are by definition irretrievable.

The carousel (in reality, a wood frame built around a camera setup) is irretrievable. The lights (in reality, constructed to be evocative more than representative) are irretrievable. The shared moment—stolen between long shifts of service as Herr Mendl looks on—is gone, and its memory is a fictionalized, amberized construction of nostalgia and longing.

As the elder Zero looks back, the once garishly pink and red hotel now looks like a holdover from Soviet-era architecture, its colors a drab collection of beiges and oranges. The grand ballroom holds few diners and the place, in general, is empty. Guests push their own elevator buttons, serve themselves from vending machines, and, at times, even retrieve their own keys.

And Agatha. Zero holds onto her memory, but reveals very little of it. She has 15 lines in the film’s screenplay. The first time we hear of Agatha, the older Zero avoids saying much, and talks of her only when he has to. It’s all gone and irretrievable. Sort of.

* * *

One cold November night at Penn Station, the poet Alandra Markman, then going by the pseudonym Allan Andre, wrote a poem for me and a friend (we missed our train, but the delay was worth it). “One nostalgia later” gave a compelling portrait of family meals, “as winter nights dissolve into warm / recollection and company we’re still keeping.” The way the poem goes, we create our nostalgia as we live through moments, readying our stories to be told and remembered some time later on. “Let every glow, mechanical or felt, be one / with the shadows we’re still casting, / and guide our bodies into greater light.”

The story of Zero and Agatha’s love was created on the carousel. In that moment, we see their love blossoming, deepening, exploding with the soft-focus lights of ecstasy. The elder Zero tells us he’s exercising restraint, avoiding talking about Agatha as much as he can, but if he were truly offering a utilitarian telling, there’d be no need to include this gaze frozen in time. In that moment, we never see Zero head-on, never see the reverse shot of adoration. It’s only Agatha and light. And us.

The elder Zero tells the story to a writer, the writer remembers it long enough to write it as an older man, the older man’s book becomes important enough for him to become a beloved national author, and through the eyes of a devotee, we read this book. When Stefan Zweig incorporates listeners into the story, it’s not just for the purpose of framing. The value of a memory is in how it feels to the rememberer, but the value of a story is in how it feels to the one who hears it. It is the storyteller himself who seeks out the opportunity to tell his story—the older Zero needles the writer into admitting his curiosity and offers, of his own volition, to tell it  in full. The telling is not for the benefit of Zero himself; he is giving something to the author, creating an experience for his audience. With its multiple framings, The Grand Budapest Hotel tells us that we are the viewers, the listeners, the readers. We are part of the experience, and we create our nostalgia as we experience it, so we can tell the story later of a place with bright reds, dark blacks, and swirling lights.

I remember The Grand Budapest Hotel, and I remember those swirling lights and the clutched breath and the deep longing. I think about that one frame of Agatha, frozen in time, holding her lover’s gaze—holding our gaze—as the darkness briefly clouds her face. Every time Zero and the writer and Wes Anderson tell me the story, I see that darkness and I face the irretrievability. I don’t feel nostalgia; I feel regret. For Zubrowka and everything it represents. For the grandness of the Grand Budapest. For Agatha.

* * *

When Calvino wrote about his frozen moment, it was in the story “t zero,” in which the narrator, a hunter, faces a lion L, the arrow A just fired from the hunter’s bow at the time tx. The hunter considers the possibility that A will collide with L at point X and he will be saved, or that A will miss the target L, which would then sink its very sharp claws into his chest in the less preferable of situations. It feels familiar, the narrator tells us, though not because of a comparable lion he’s fought or some feeling of ancestral memory lodged in his DNA. “If I say this moment I am living through is not being lived for the first time by me, it’s because the sensation I have of it is one of a slight doubling of images, as if at the same time I were seeing not one lion or one arrow but two or more lions and two or more arrows superimposed with a barely perceptible overlapping, so the sinuous outlines of the lion’s form and the segment of the arrow seem underlined or rather haloed by finer lines and a more delicate color.” He is experiencing a sense of timelessness, as if he’s lived through this moment in time and space, again and again. “What, after all, is the use of continuing if sooner or later we will only find ourselves in this situation again?”

While the elder Zero withholds a lot, rewatching The Grand Budapest Hotel can feel like a slight glimpse into the heart of an old man, thinking about his lost love and the potential of bright colors and bursting emotion that could have continued for the rest of his life (the internet loves a revisionist theory about a movie—what if the Grand Budapest Hotel of the past only looks that way because of how Zero remembers it?). Calvino’s hunter is doubtful. Zero seems assured. He memorializes his beloved with the hotel that stands for their love. With the story he tells of her. And he lets us see a little.

And we see the near-imperceptible smile, the tilt of a head, the unblinking eyes, the brightness and the dark. We see the warm glow of memory that says how great this was and the hint of sorrow asking how great this could have been.

Originally published on Bright Wall/Dark Room

[margoshansons]

Anyway The CW writers can’t write a decent finale. I mean I wanna have hope for the legends writers but even they are on thin ice

Honestly? I lost hope for Legends after Ray left. And now since Maisie’s gone, there really is no moral compass for the team BUT HEY MICK HAS A KID HAHA FUNNY RIGHT??

*sighs* 

{rant incoming}

{Spoilers for SPN, TVD, The Originals, Arrow, and the 100 below}

I just....I don’t even know what to say except.....sorry?? But also like what else did we expect from the CW of all networks? Like I feel like since TVD they’ve been rehashing the same finales over and over again.

Some big bad shows up, threatens a person the main character/characters love and so they have to do some great sacrifice that kills them off. It’s dumb and for pure shock value at this point, except no, it isn’t because they’re reusing the same fucking trope over and over again. 

TVD: Stefan Died

The Originals: Klaus and Elijah Died

The 100: LITERALLY EVERYBODY EXCEPT FOR CLARKE DIED/GOT RAPTURED INTO SOME WEIRDASS HEAVEN

Arrow: Oliver fucking Queen Died.

And now they did this shit. It’s just boring at this point. Like from an objective narrative standpoint, there is no reason to kill off your main character unless you are trying to say something about the Themes of the book or the character themselves.

George RR Martin didn’t write Ned’s Death or The Red Wedding because *shock value* he wrote it to show the flaws of the characters and how stupid their decisions were. Ned Stark was a man who valued honor and believed that everyone followed his code. THAT’s what got him killed not Shock Value. 

Robb Stark (in the TV show at least) followed his heart, a stereotypical hero move yes, but instead of being rewarded for it, he is punished because he broke a promise. The logical decision was for his allies to betray him. 

The problem is, instead of seeing that and putting the pieces together and creating a nuanced ending, all they took away from it was SHOCK VALUE + DEATH = High ratings and talking points. 

So instead of focusing on an ending that makes sense both narratively and character-wise, they focus more on talking points and ‘being controversial’ which doesn’t help anyone in the long run and just pisses off people further. 

I know some people who genuinely enjoyed the ending so I’m not gonna say anything further about Supernatural, but from what I know and from what I’ve seen, it seemed to follow a narrative ending but not a character one. The boys lived together and they went out together. 

Narratively and thematically, it makes sense. Character-wise, I’m not sure because I don’t know too much about it except what I’ve seen on Tumblr.

Idk what this is supposed to be I’m just tired of white men writing and being in charge of TV shows. Like, hire some brown and black women please I’m begging you. 

[drabblesofrapture]

Vicey’s Characters

Mod Vicey here! Here are the summaries (and profiles, when available) of the characters I’ll be using in these little drabbles! Remember, these are their CANON versions, so that context can be known for the AUs! [Readers be forewarned, this is a pretty long post. Feel free to just read the names and see the pictures! All of the artist credits can be found in the character galleries on their Toyhouse profiles, listed at the end of each summary.]

Selena Mavis

This little imbecile is pretty much the main character! She’s the Devil’s most recent daughter, born to a human woman. She traveled to Rapture to meet her father and join the demon mafia. She has the ability to manipulate shadows, using them to create weapons, wraiths, or nigh-indestructible beings hellbent on destruction of all things living! (The last one is, honestly, not intended...) She’s also a dingus.

TH Profile

Derek Alvar

This is my vampire boy, one of my oldest OCs! In canon, he is a nervous little wreck that put up with a lifetime of high expectations from his father. He did end up becoming the Sire of the Alvar vampire coven, but less because his father retired and more because his entire coven died. Now he’s balancing between holding his claim on his coven’s territory and assets, and being dragged along by his best friend Selena to save the world every once in a while. TH Profile

Jeff Callahan

Jeff  is the supplier. Jeff will supply is the head of global business operations for the demon mafia! He has a warehouse in the middle of Rapture. He’s on friendly terms with the highest demons, the Patrons, and is the warden of Selena Mavis. He likes to bake, especially when he is stressed. Also, he is British. TH Profile

Melissa du Claire

Melissa is a bitch, basically. She is rather nomadic, constantly traveling the world as the Beast Tamer, a world-renowned expert in trapping, taming, and killing supernatural creatures. She keeps a few of them as pets. She likes pissing Jeff off. They dated once. She has a whip. TH Profile

Stefan du Claire

Melissa’s nephew! She died in the 20′s, he died in the 60′s-70′s. Rather unfortunate, really, that they ended up the only two in their family to become demons. Stefan’s main job is being the only thing holding together the shambles that is his friend Devon’s drug operation. Right now, he’s taking a break and decided to take a vacation to Rapture. He has now gotten sucked into the current efforts to save the world. TH Profile

Lucy Beaureguard (AKA Lucinogen)

Lucy has become somewhat stranded in Rapture. After a long childhood of being passed around distant relatives, she found herself traveling with the owner of a carnival, Alan Winter. A series of unfortunate events later, Winter and his carnival were... retired. Lucy now lives with the city’s resident Reaper, Undertaker, and runs a small business where she assists people with sleep issues. Dream magic! TH Profile

Jaffa

Jaffa is a baku! After an incident where he put the entire city to sleep to feast upon all their dreams at once, he was (inexplicably) allowed to stay as Selena’s pet! He now walks around Jeff’s warehouse, sniffing out dreams of entirely-suspecting sleeping workers. TH Profile

William Alvar

Derek’s older brother that he just found about like... two weeks ago. Their father originally intended that William become the heir to the coven, but William wasn’t about that life and decided to run away. (This unknowingly contributed to the harshness of Derek’s training.) He’s spent the past few decades partying around Europe, but came back to Rapture after his account was mysteriously emptied. That’s how he found out he had a younger brother! TH Profile - needs to be updated

Darius

A Grim Reaper that has been recently assigned to Rapture to assist with the large amount of deaths in the city! (Best not to ask.) Seems to be pretty chill, really doesn’t care about anything. Doesn’t understand why mortals make a big deal about death. It’s a normal thing, ain’t it? Also likes to go around without a shirt or shoes on. Will wear a coat when it gets cold, though. TH Profile

The Outsider

The Outsider is a minor trickster god that lies outside of the belief system. We don’t know a lot about him besides the fact that he is inherently unstable, can shapeshift others, and can summon objects at will. TH Profile - TBD

Red

Unhappily bound to the Outsider, Red has been recently been freed from decades of being forced to require a host. After so many years living in her monstrous Guardian form, she has become devoid of many emotions; the exclusions are anger and sadness, emotions she has plenty of experience with now, thanks to the Outsider. TH Profile

Adonis

Adonis is the younger (older?) brother of the Outsider. Purple and yellow eyes (He and the Outsider traded). He is currently trapped in a dimension that is, itself, trapped inside a marble. The Outsider has carried this marble around for centuries - it was the Outsider’s fault that Adonis was in there, anyways. TH Profile - TBD, picrew 522865

[na-klar]

druck ep 31 translation

Amira: Guys, do we want to go to the buffet?

Girls: Yes!

Sam: I'll be there in a moment.

Abdi: Wow. So beautiful.

Sam: What?

Abdi: ....The location.

Sam: Yeah, it's nice.

Abdi: Sam? Why didn't you want my lollipop?

Sam: You know... there are so many lollipops in the world...

Abdi: Sam, I want to have sexual intercourse with you. Well... or make out with you again. I mean, that'd be perfectly fine for me, if it's ok for you.

Sam: Hm.

Abdi: I have a super long tongue. Longer than normal, well not to the point that it's gross, you know what I mean? It isn't that long actually. Hi.

Alex: Hi.

Abdi: But it's longer than normal.

Sam: Okay.

Abdi: Okay, what?

-

Girl and Boy: Later!

Jonas: Later.

Alex: The badger is in the tree. We'll see each other later.

Jonas: Yeah, totally, totally.

Ah, right. I'd like a beer. Felsen preferably.

Stefan: Hey! You must be the infamous Jonas, then. Yeah, Hanna is totally rapturous about you.

Jonas: Nice, yeah.

Stefan: I think it's great how you're friends with each other. I never talked to my first girlfriend again after the break up. I couldn't have done it when I was your age.

Jonas: Yeah and you're working, right?

Stefan: Yes, sometimes. No, it's a bit stressful, you kinda want the Abi back then.

Jonas: Yeah... and what are you exactly doing?

Stefan: Greenpeace. But not on the rubber boats, really boring project management. And what are your plans?

Jonas: Uhm... yeah, I think...

Matteo: Na, this is a really great party, right?

Stefan: Yeah. Hi, I'm Stefan.

Matteo: Ah.

Stefan: Hanna's boyfriend.

David: Matteo's boyfriend.

Stefan: We're talking about plans for the future.

Matteo: Mhhh. Yeah, I'm doing a gap year.

Stefan: I see, okay. Where?

Matteo: Yeah, in Moabit.

Stefan: Ah.

Matteo: Do we want to go, see who's inside?

Jonas: Mhm.

Matteo: Cool. Well...

Stefan: Yeah, boys, have fun!

Matteo: Yeah bye.

-

Amira [on the phone]: ....this is my Abiball! I just don't want you to come. Essam, please. It's just...

Hey.

Matteo: Good?

Amira: All good?

Leonie: Hello, can I ask for your attention please? Wow, 12 years are a really long time. We went through highs and lows, fought with the teachers...

Boy: Sorry!

Leonie: ...fought with each other and still we're all standing here and we did it. And that's why we're coming now to the awards ceremony and your host of course is... Kiki Machwitz.

Girls: Kikerikiiii!!!

Kiki: I'm not really a fan of competitions, but now we're coming to the moment you all waited for... the Abiball couple 2019. Oohh. So. The Abiball couple 2019 is... Matteo Florenzi and David Schreibner!

Matteo: No. No, nuh-uh. No. No!!! No, fuck you...!

(sirens)

Alex: Abi Chaker Clan won't forget you!

Outside with all of you, go! Out!

-

Hanna: Girls... I'm going to miss you so much.

Kiki: Oh Hanna...

Amira: Okay, before anyone of you starts crying, group hug.

Kiki: I love you so much, girls.

Hanna: Okay, we'll make a promise. We promise each other to still spend a lot of time with each other after school.

Amira: Even if we're not together. Every day.

Sam: Definitely.

Hanna: Okay, cheers. To our girls crew.

Sam: So, now we're going to dance.

Hanna: Yes!!

Amira: I'll join you in a minute, yeah?

Hey.

Matteo: Yeah! Da queen. Looks much better on you than on me.

David: Are you coming?

Matteo: Yes.

-

Essam: Na..?

Amira: I told you not to come.

Essam: We wanted to surprise you!

Omar: Congratulations on your Abitur, little sister!

Amira: Thanks.

Kiki: Come, please come! Please Carlos, it would be so nice if you were here.

Amira: Essam? Stay here. Don't embarrass me. No, no no!

Essam: See you later guys!!!

Kiki: I understand. Yes. I'll call you later! Ciao!

Essam: Wanna dance?

Kiki: Yeah?

Mohammed [ger!yousef]: Hi.

Amira: Hi.

[nooowestayandgetcaught]

I have my 2016 version and my 2017 version and my 2018 version!

Tagging @ everybody who sees this post and wants to do this! <3

AO3 Stats!

(How to find your stats: go to your Dashboard, click on “Statistics,” then click on the year you’re answering for!)

Total 2019 Word Count: 474461 Total 2019 Hits: 476491 Total Kudos: 33356 Total Bookmarks: 4892 Total Comment (threads): 2719 User Subscriptions: 558

Links and Titles to 2019 Works:

JANUARY

Never Let This Go (T, Wolfgang Bogdanow/Kala Dandekar/Rajan Rasal, 1004 words)

The Kissing Booth (T, Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji, 1951 words)

Take Care (M, Riza Hawkeye/Roy Mustang, 1199 words)

We’re Gonna Be Alright (No Rating, Keith/Shiro, 1340 words)

Come Home (T,  Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji, 1431 words)

Meant To Be (No Rating, Allura/Lotor, 100 words)

Palpitations (T, Keith/Hunk, 1730 words)

For All To Witness (No Rating, Ash Lynx/Okumyra Eiji, 1017 words)

Out Of Rhythm (G, Lance/Pidge, 1459 words)

Cozy Up (E, Keith/Lance, 870 words)

Better Than You (M, Shorter Wong/Lee Yut-Lung, 431 words)

The Truth Of It (T, Cheryl Blossom/Toni Topaz, 880 words)

Staying, Not Vanishing (T, Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji, 732 words)

Devotion (T, Callum/Soren, Claudia & Soren, Callum & Ezran, 1402 words)

Free To Be You And Me (E, Lance/Shiro, 635 words)

So Stay Awake And I’ll Stay (G, Narumiya Minato/Takigawa Masaki, 775 words)

Stay Here Forever (M, Nanase Haruka/Tachibana Makoto, 537 words)

FEBRUARY

comes and goes in waves (M, Starfire/Raven, 298 words)

never need a reason (E, Thirteenth Doctor/Yasmin Khan, 483 words)

all wrapped up in you (No Rating, Clarke Griffin/Lexa, Clarke Griffin & Madi, 563 words)

brown-eyed girl (G, Kara Danvers/Nia Nal, 525 words)

with your hand in mine (T, Claudia/Rayla, 904 words)

like a sky full of darkness (T, Karolina Dean/Nico Minoru, 398 words)

bedlam and broken things (M, Cheryl Blossom/Toni Topaz, 298 words)

hold our breath forever (G, Michelle Jones/Shuri, 749 words)

that needful kind of burn (E, Kawakami Tomie/Chie, 300 words)

upon a threshold’s whim (M, Maddie Bishop/Ryn, Ben Pownall/Ryn/Maddie Bishop, 695 words)

no more longing than right here (T, Tabitha Galavan/Barbara Kean, 652 words)

feel good, feel great (T, Kali Prasad/Nancy Wheeler, 100 words)

every day beautiful (G, Matsuoka Gou/Mikoshiba Isuzu, 340 words)

Wisps of a Bright, Sweet Dream (M, Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji, 1842 words)

perfectly you for me (M, Mila Babicheva/Sara Crispino, 719 words)

clear a crowded mind (T, Fujioka Haruhi/Kasugazaki Kanako, 571 words)

tension and thrill (No Rating, Earth-2 Laurel Lance/Caitlin Snow, 475 words)

that in which we trust (G, Queen Annika/Queen Neha, 464 words)

Love Never Fails Us (T, Allura/Romelle, Allura/Pidge | Katie Holt, Allura/Pidge | Katie Holt/Romelle, 2288 words)

pulled away from shore (T, Freya/Sophia, 120 words)

words cannot express (M, Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji, 14-year-old Ash Lynx's Female Crush/Ash Lynx, 502 words)

to let yourself be seen, even deeply known (No Rating, Myrcella Baratheon/Arya Stark, 336 words)

vigilant heart in the dark (G, Sakura | Tsubasa/Princess Tomoyo | Tsubasa, 100 words)

promises unbroken (M, Pamela Isley/Harleen Quinzel, 413 words)

Let Your Guard Down (T, Jeremiah Valeska/Bruce Wayne, 511 words)

a million charming words (T, "Hyde" Evil Queen/"Jekyll" Regina Mills, 200 words)

the complexity of our love (No Rating, Princess Bubblegum/Marceline, 484 words)

i see you when i reach (E, Misty Day/Cordelia Foxx | Cordelia Goode, 369 words)

weaving like a thread within each other, faithfully (T, Korra/Asami Sato, 863 words)

contagiously bright (G, Cho Chang/Luna Lovegood, 567 words)

we rise and fall (M, Aurora/Belle, 610 words)

MARCH

It's Better When Equal (No Rating, Ben Pownall/Ryn/Maddie Bishop, 754 words)

Catastrophe (No Rating, Jeremiah Valeska/Bruce Wayne, 1238 words)

Anew (T, Ben Hargreeves/Klaus Hargreeves, 200 words)

Life (G, Aaravos, 100 words)

Against All Odds (No Rating, Clarke Griffin/Lexa, 757 words)

Colourful (E, Timothée Chalamet/Armie Hammer, 300 words)

Invigorating (G, Fred Andrews & Jughead Jones, Archie Andrews/Jughead Jones, Fred Andrews/FP Jones II, 200 words)

Shower (G, Luka & Romelle, Luka & Romelle & Allura, 100 words)

Floral (T, Ecco/Ivy Pepper, 200 words)

Hatching (G, Peggy Carter/Angie Martinelli, 200 words)

Pastel (M, Burt Chund/Stu Maxsome, 300 words)

Wouldn't You Love To Love Her (T, Allison Hargreeves/Vanya Hargreeves, 959 words)

Lamb (G, Eleanor "Nell" Crain & Luke Crain, 100 words)

Blossoming (T, Mike Hanlon/Eddie Kaspbrak, 300 words)

Not So Terrible (No Rating, Ben Hargreeves/Klaus Hargreeves, 1501 words)

Teeming (G, Jaime Lannister & Bran Stark, 300 words)

Sunlit (No Rating, Captain Flint, 100 words)

The Room (E, Hunk/Lance/Pidge | Katie Holt, Keith/Shiro, 2410 words)

Sleep It Off, Darling (M, Klaus Hargreeves & Everyone, 1454 words)

Rejuvenation (M, Shadow Moon/Mr. Wednesday, 200 words)

Nest (T, Lucy Westenra, Lucy Westenra's Mother, Arthur Holmwood, 100 words)

Remember To Forget (No Rating, Klaus Hargreeves/Original Male Character(s), Klaus Hargreeves & Everyone, Reginald Hargreeves & The Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves & Reginald Hargreeves, 1536 words)

Sparkling (T, Carol Danvers/Maria Rambeau, 300 words)

Chirping (G, Baelfire | Neal Cassidy/Captain Hook | Killian Jones, 100 words)

On Your Lips (T, Number Five | The Boy/Vanya Hargreeves, 1107 words)

Energetic (M, Hernando Fuentes/Lito Rodriguez/Daniela Velasquez, 200 words)

Sunshine (No Rating, The Crossroads Pretty Boy/Ryuusuke, 100 words)

Closer To The Edge (E, Ben Hargreeves/Klaus Hargreeves, 863 words)

Budding (T, Sara Crispino/Muramoto Satsuki, 300 words)

Vibrant (T, John Winchester/Mary Winchester, 200 words)

Alive In This Moment (No Rating, Diego Hargreeves & Grace Hargreeves, 793 words)

Growth (G, Padmé Amidala & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, 100 words)

Verdant (G, Marnie/Sasaki Anna, 200 words)

Meet You There (M, Allison Hargreeves/Vanya Hargreeves/Diego Hargreeves, 829 words)

Crisp (G, Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair, 100 words)

With Eyes Wide Open (T, Number Five | The Boy & Klaus Hargreeves, 521 words)

Inspire (E, Will Graham/Margot Verger, Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter, Alana Bloom/Margot Verger, 300 words)

Prosperity (T, Barbara Gordon, 100 words)

Birds (G, Jack Sparrow/Elizabeth Swann/Will Turner, 200 words)

Deep Down Inside (T, Vanya Hargreeves & Everyone, Number Five | The Boy/Allison/Ben/Diego/Klaus/Luther/Vanya, 2043 words)

Sprouting (M, Connor MacManus/Murphy MacManus, 100 words)

Do Not Disturb (T, Number Five | The Boy/Vanya Hargreeves/Dolores, Dolores/Number Five | The Boy, Number Five | The Boy/Vanya Hargreeves, Vanya Hargreeves/Dolores, 899 words)

Warmth (G, Billy Cranston/Kimberly Hart/Tommy Oliver/Jason Lee Scott/Zack Taylor/Trini, 200 words)

Unpredictable (T, Jane Lane/Daria Morgendorffer, 100 words)

Every Time You Come Around (E, Ben Hargreeves/Klaus Hargreeves, 1285 words)

Nature (No Rating, Stefan Butler/Colin Ritman, 200 words)

APRIL

Prom Night (G, Allison Hargreeves/Vanya Hargreeves, 100 words)

Enchanted (No Rating, A Yoga Ball that is One of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in Disguise, 100 words)

Sympathy (T, Number Five | The Boy & Allison Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy & Klaus Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy & Everyone, 772 words)

By The Skin Of Your Teeth (M, Klaus Hargreeves/Other(s), 1089 words)

Can't Sleep (E, Number Five | The Boy/Allison/Ben/Diego/Klaus/Luther/Vanya, Diego Hargreeves/Klaus Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves/Vanya Hargreeves, 1141 words)

Let My Demons Take The Wheel (E, Allison Hargreeves/Luther Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves/Klaus Hargreeves, 892 words)

Easing The Frustration (E, Number Five | The Boy/Klaus Hargreeves, 966 words)

Sweeter Than Sugar (T, Allison Hargreeves/Vanya Hargreeves, 912 words)

Lonely With You (No Rating, Jojen Reed/Bran Stark, 356 words)

It's Gonna Be A Good Life (G, Luther Hargreeves & Everyone, Number Five | The Boy & Allison & Ben & Diego & Klaus & Luther & Vanya, 359 words)

it's been a while (T, Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, 200 words)

never say never (G, Tormund Giantsbane/Brienne of Tarth, 200 words)

Erotic Distraction (E, Klaus Hargreeves/Original Female Character(s), 546 words)

rapture (T, Jon Snow/Sansa Stark, 100 words)

hold your head up high (No Rating, Jon Snow & Arya Stark, 300 words)

cold as the unforgiving sea (M, Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, 500 words)

Nothing Of The Heart Remains (T, Ben Hargreeves/Klaus Hargreeves, 1025 words)

their coats of white all turned to red (T, Sansa Stark/Daenerys Targaryen, 200 words)

training hours (No Rating, Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, 500 words)

suddenly (E, Jon Snow/Sansa Stark, 100 words)

no pretty flowers for me (E, Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, 300 words)

entertainment (M, Tormund Giantsbane/Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth, 500 words)

never let us go (T, Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, 500 words)

look after you (T, Arya Stark & Sansa Stark, Podrick Payne/Sansa Stark, 300 words)

hanging on (T, Jojen Reed/Bran Stark, Jon Snow & Bran Stark, Bran Stark & Daenerys Targaryen, 400 words)

the mother's mercy (M, Ashara Dayne/Original Female Character(s), 500 words)

never ever again (G, Meera Reed/Bran Stark, 100 words)

nightslayer (No Rating, Arya Stark & Bran Stark, 200 words)

fire in our hearts (T, Melisandre of Asshai/Daenerys Targaryen, 300 words)

all we have together (T, Tyrion Lannister/Sansa Stark, 400 words)

MAY

alive and well (No Rating, Jon Snow & Sansa Stark & Daenerys Targaryen & Arya Stark & Bran Stark, 400 words)

such a pretty thing (M, Yara Greyjoy/Daenerys Targaryen, 500 words)

the place where we began (G, Talisa Maegyr/Robb Stark, Bran Stark & Arya Stark & Jon Snow & Sansa Stark, 400 words)

unexpectedly (No Rating, Sandor Clegane/Sansa Stark, Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, 400 words)

mended heart (No Rating, Jon Snow & Sansa Stark & Theon Greyjoy, Theon Greyjoy & Sansa Stark, Theon Greyjoy/Sansa Stark, 200 words)

congratulations (M, Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, Arya Stark & Bran Stark, Sansa Stark & Gendry Waters, 1700 words)

fire and blood (No Rating, Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, 500 words)

well met (T, Theon Greyjoy/Robb Stark, Theon Greyjoy & Robb Stark, 300 words)

redemption (T, Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, Nymeria (ASoIaF) & Arya Stark, Nymeria (ASoIaF) & Gendry Waters, 500 words)

without a thought (E, Tormund Giantsbane/Jon Snow, 500 words)

don't leave (T, Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, 300 words)

easy as possible (G, Grey Worm/Missandei, 200 words)

everglow (E, Jorah Mormont/Jon Snow/Daenerys Targaryen, 300 words)

we belong together (G, Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, 200 words)

this too shall last (No Rating, Jon Snow & Lyanna Stark, Lyanna Stark & Ned Stark, Jon Snow & Ned Stark, 200 words)

yesterdays to forget (M, Podrick Payne/Gendry Waters, 500 words)

listen to your instincts (M, Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, 500 words)

never stopped loving you (No Rating, Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth, 200 words)

black irises & wine (T, Arya Stark & Daenerys Targaryen, 400 words)

one day (M, Jon Snow/Sansa Stark, 100 words)

unmade (G, Yara Greyjoy/Daenerys Targaryen, 200 words)

every step i ran to you (M, Theon Greyjoy/Sansa Stark, 100 words)

heaven sent (G, Gilly (ASoIaF)/Samwell Tarly, 300 words)

strong enough to hold (No Rating, Podrick Payne/Sansa Stark, 500 words)

and i am still breathing (T, Tormund Giantsbane/Jon Snow, Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, Jon Snow & Arya Stark, 300 words)

holy ground (E, Sandor Clegane/Sansa Stark, 200 words)

connected (T, Jon Snow & Bran Stark, 300 words)

our hearts buried deep (T, Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, 500 words)

appreciate every moment (No Rating, Tormund Giantsbane/Jon Snow, 400 words)

the old ways (No Rating, Daenerys Targaryen & Drogon (ASoIaF) & People of Asshai (ASoIaF), 300 words)

a lifetime ago (G, Podrick Payne/Sansa Stark, 200 words)

one, two, three (G, Jon Snow & Arya Stark & Bran Stark & Rickon Stark & Robb Stark & Sansa Stark, 500 words)

mesmerizing, hypnotizing (M, Quentyn Martell/Robin Arryn, 500 words)

in between (T, Jon Snow & Bran Stark, 400 words)

softly it goes (G, Jorah Mormont/Daenerys Targaryen, Drogon & Daenerys Targaryen, Drogon & Jorah Mormont, 100 words)

right where you want me (M, Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, 400 words)

midnight, somewhere (No Rating, Tyrion Lannister & Bran Stark, Jojen Reed/Bran Stark, 500 words)

small matters (M, Yara Greyjoy/Daenerys Targaryen, 300 words)

that's my girl (T, Sandor Clegane & Arya Stark, 300 words)

wistful (T, Ros/Shae, 300 words)

dwaal (No Rating, Davos Seaworth & Lyanna Mormont, 100 words)

our beginning (G, Missandei/Daenerys Targaryen, 200 words)

carry yourself forward (E, Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, Arya Stark/Other(s), 500 words)

fortune be (M, Jaime Lannister/Sansa Stark, 300 words)

be as steady as she needs (G, Meera Reed/Bran Stark, 100 words)

time heals all (G, Catelyn Stark/Ned Stark, 400 words)

arrival (T, Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, 500 words)

it will be better soon (No Rating, Tyrion Lannister & Sansa Stark, 200 words)

JUNE

all that is left of us (G, Lyanna Mormont & Maege Mormont & House Mormont Character(s) & Northerner(s), 200 words)

Cusp (E, Captain Flint | James McGraw/Thomas Hamilton, 411 words)

dissonance and innocent surrender (M, Podrick Payne/Sansa Stark, 500 words)

Everyone Should (M, Anne Lister/Ann Walker, 367 words)

be brave (T, Rhaegal & Jon Snow, 300 words)

only with careful hands (E, Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, 500 words)

Summer's Bounty (No Rating, Korra/Asami Sato, 557 words)

never to be, never to grow (E, Theon Greyjoy/Yara Greyjoy, 400 words)

Unveil (M, Bill Denbrough/Beverly Marsh, Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, 354 words)

let me down slowly (T, Jon Snow & Arya Stark, Jon Snow & Daenerys Targaryen, 500 words)

Escaping This (M, Capheus/Kala/Lito/Nomi/Riley/Sun/Will/Wolfgang, 294 words)

The Good Dirt (No Rating, Aziraphale/Crowley, 747 words)

laid bare in euphoria (T, Podrick Payne/Gendry Waters, 400 words)

Powerless (No Rating, Archie Andrews/Betty Cooper/Veronica Lodge/Jughead Jones, 656 words)

where it may lead (M, Joanna Lannister/Rhaella Targaryen, 300 words)

Soul Full (E, Castiel/Dean Winchester/Sam Winchester, 853 words)

healing hands (G, Jon Snow & Catelyn Stark, Catelyn Stark & Robb Stark, Jon Snow & Robb Stark, 200 words)

Sweet Breezes (E, Katsuki Yuuri/Lee Seung Gil/Sara Crispino, 853 words)

goes on and on (M, Cersei Lannister/Jaime Lannister, 300 words)

Dappled Light (No Rating, Eddie Brock/Venom Symbiote, 548 words)

time needed (T, Myrcella Baratheon/Margaery Tyrell, 500 words)

Collect (M, Maddie Bishop/Ben Pownall/Ryn, 620 words)

Tight-Knit (E, Keith/Shiro, 630 words)

Seven (No Rating, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, 751 words)

A List (M, Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, 1000 words)

Relations (E, Teddy Lupin/James Sirius Potter, 874 words)

Fortitude (No Rating, Mulan/Shang, 550 words)

Past | Present (M, Fujioka Haruhi/Houshakuji Renge, Fujioka Haruhi & Suoh Tamaki, Fujioka Haruhi & The Ouran High School Host Club, Fujioka Haruhi & Fujioka Ryouji | Ranka, 652 words)

Twisted (E, Sebastian/Ciel, 908 words)

Bright (E, C.C./Suzaku/Lelouch, 420 words)

Do What You Want (M, Thirteenth Doctor/Yasmin Khan, 992 words)

Essence of Summer (No Rating, Elizabeth/Darcy, 373 words)

Reflect (M, Jessica Jones/Patricia Walker, 974 words)

Clarity (E, Kaiou Michiru/Tenoh Haruka, Tenoh Haruka/Undisclosed, 231 words)

Know Joy (Clarke/Lexa, Clarke/Bellamy, No Rating, 680 words)

Come Together (M, Klaus Hargreeves/Dave, 100 words)

Cleanse (No Rating, Jonathan Byers/Steve Harrington/Kali Prasad/Nancy Wheeler, 600 words)

On The Line (E, Matsuoka Rin/Yamazaki Sousuke, 462 words)

Old School (No Rating, Rue Bennett/Jules Vaughn, 399 words)

Hope for Adventure (E, Pamela Isley/Other(s), 557 words)

JULY

My Cup... (M, Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, 402 words)

bright, so bright for you (G, Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, 351 words)

slowdown (T, Will Byers & Eleven | Jane Hopper, Joyce Byers & Eleven | Jane Hopper, Jonathan Byers & Joyce Byers & Will Byers, Eleven | Jane Hopper & Jim "Chief" Hopper, 511 words)

homesick (G, Eleven | Jane Hopper/Maxine "Max" Mayfield, 417 words)

maxed out (No Rating, Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair, 462 words)

late night thoughts (M, Steve Harrington & RobinJonathan Byers/Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler, 535 words)

patience (G, Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, 483 words)

hold on (No Rating, Will Byers & Eleven | Jane Hopper, Joyce Byers & Will Byers, 562 words)

days belonging to us (T, Will Byers/Mike Wheeler, 479 words)

wild eyes (G, Steve Harrington & Robin, Kali Prasad/Robin, 519 words)

back to the start (No Rating, Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, 497 words)

i'm here (T, Will Byers/Mike Wheeler, 446 words)

little big things (G, Joyce Byers & Eleven | Jane Hopper, 415 words)

hallowed path (No Rating, Eleven | Jane Hopper & Kali Prasad, 538 words)

vibin' out (T, Dustin Henderson & Steve Harrington & Robin Buckley, Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley & Dustin Henderson, Jonathan Byers/Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler, Robin Buckley/Kali Prasad, 586 words)

elsewhere (T, Will Byers & Eleven | Jane Hopper & Maxine "Max" Mayfield, 578 words)

weekend dreaming (G, Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair, 259 words)

moments (T, Kali Prasad & Kali Prasad's Family, Martin Brenner & Kali Prasad, 205 words)

sleepless lights (M, Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler, 478 words)

ambrosia (No Rating, Robin Buckley/Kali Prasad, 444 words)

no goodbyes (T, Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, 547 words)

nowhere else beside you (E, Jonathan Byers/Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler, 522 words)

Blue and Black (E, Spider Dominatrix/Temptingly Tasty Client, Original Female Character/Original Male Character, Original Female Character/Original Female Character, 750 words)

distant (T, Will Byers & Eleven | Jane Hopper, 597 words)

till there was you (G, Eleven | Jane Hopper/Maxine "Max" Mayfield, 368 words)

stay here with me (No Rating, Will Byers/Mike Wheeler, 599 words)

the steps only club (G, Robin Buckley & Will Byers, 567 words)

Abyssinia (E, 1930s Male Pansy Club Performer/Male Mobster Who Protects the Joint, Original Male Character/Original Male Character, 743 words)

[lalainajanes]

I just read poisonously pretty and it was the cutest thing and of course Caroline would incapacitate anyone who could stop her on her quest and then threaten klaus with the consequences lol all for the sake of fighting a dragon. Is there any chance for a part 2?

Writer’s Month Day Four - Trope Prompt: Road Trip. A follow up to Poisonously Pretty in which Caroline is a rebellious princess and Klaus is her conflicted guard and there’s a quest.

Poisonously Pretty - Two

“What are you wearing?”

Carolinetosses a scornful look over her shoulder and returns to securing hersaddlebags. She does not offer a response to Klaus’ asinine question. He hadeyes, and a lifetime of putting on his own breeches, surely he could deduce thename of the garment Rebekah had sewn for her in preparation for her journey.

She’d hadKlaus’ horse brought from the stables because, as soon as she’d learned he’d beguarding her door she’d known her chances of giving him the slip were nil.Caroline had adjusted her plan accordingly. When he makes no further movement,no attempt to begin checking his saddle or loading his own belongings, shepauses and turns to him.

He’sstaring at her, expectantly, with a fair measure of disbelief. It makes herwant to fidget, or adjust her loose fitting tunic. Caroline refuses to giveinto the urge. “I can hardly travel incognito in my gowns, can I?”

“You have adozen split skirts meant for riding.”

Again, he’spointing out the obvious and, with her plan coming together so nicely, Carolinehas little patience for it.

“Ten,actually. All in fine fabrics, embroidered in expensive thread and intricatepatterns. Do you want us to be setupon by highwaymen?”

“You can’tmean to pass for a man.” His tone rankles, the incredulousness he’s displayingmaking Caroline think that he’s convinced that she’s an imbecile. It hurts abit. They might not be friends, as they were as children, but she’d thoughtKlaus at least respected her.

She givesthe bag a final tug, ensuring it won’t be jostled loose. She lifts her chin,crosses her arms as she turns to face Klaus. “A man, no. Bonnie offered apotion that would grow whiskers on my face but I declined. I see no reason why,from a distance, it would not be assumed I’m a youth of fourteen or so if Idress the part.”

Klaus isn’tconvinced, his eyes dipping towards her chest. If it were any other man she’dbe offended but Klaus’ gaze isn’t lecherous and, if Caroline’s being entirelyhonest – something she always tries to be with herself – she’s been wishingKlaus would recognize that she’s a woman now. That he’d perhaps find herdesirable. Touchable.

“They’rebound,” she informs him briskly.

He appearshorrified, “I beg your pardon?”

Carolinethrows up her hands in frustration, “Oh please, don’t act like you’re ablushing maid. I’m speaking of my breasts, Klaus. I’ve overheard both Genevieveand Aurora whispering rather flattering things about your prowess as a lover soI assume you’re familiar with the weight and shape of the average pair.”

His mouthopens. Closes. Caroline’s never seen him so discomfited, without a ready quip,and it’s immensely satisfying. “Perhaps you shouldn’t pick your bed partnersfrom among my ladies in waiting if you’re so concerned with discretion.”

Caroline’salways chosen the most gossipy courtiers for her inner circle. It’s onlyprudent, keeps her well appraised of the goings on in her kingdom. Her father’sadvisors aren’t keen on Caroline’s interest in politics. They tend to hide informationthey think her too delicate to know. Caroline’s ensured she has other sources.

“Besides,between the tunic and the cloak I’ll wear, my breasts will be entirelyunnoticeable.”

She’dchecked of course. Had modeled her new clothing for her closest friends andgotten their assurances. Well, Bonnie andElena had assured, Katerina had teased Caroline about how the tightlyfitted leather of her breeches clung to areas of her body that were usuallywell covered. Kat had pronounced the pants alluring, had commissioned Rebekahto make her a pair of her own.

Unfortunately,Klaus doesn’t seem allured. He’s irritated, even further away from her than heusually is, regarding her like he’s not sure she’s in her right mind.

She’d liketo tell him that she’s more herself than she has been in years. Free andexcited about her quest and in control of her own life. She feels exactly howshe’s longed to.

It doesn’t look as though Klaus is going torecover himself anytime soon so Caroline sighs, fits her foot into her stirrup.That jolts him into awareness and he takes several jerky steps, instinctively reachingfor her waist to assist her.

Caroline’sfaster, has ridden astride her whole life – slightly scandalous but her motherhad always refused to be tucked away in a carriage or trail behind the men at asedate pace and Caroline has happily followed her lead  - and she’s sitting comfortably in the saddleby the time Klaus is close enough to reach her.

“Besthurry,” she tells him sweetly, tipping her head in the direction of his horse.

He guessesher intent immediately, “Princess,” he says, voice low and thick with a censure.

OneCaroline doesn’t heed, digging in the heels of her boots so her horse takesoff. She laughs when she hers Klaus curse, the sound ringing through the emptystable yard.

Who knewquests could be such fun?

* * * * *

If anyonehad told Caroline that silence was a form of torture, she never would havebelieved them. She and Klaus had departed The Salvatore castle a few hoursbefore dawn and he hadn’t spoken a word to her since he’d thundered up the roadbehind her. It’s now passed midday and he’s only glowered. Her early attemptsat conversation had been answered with nothing but the barest grunts. Carolinehad been forced to give up. She’s tempted to sing but that would give her awayshould another traveler happen to hear.

She’s alsostarving, her back and thighs beginning to ache because if Klaus refused to converseshe’d decided to refuse to suggest a rest or a meal. It’s childish, she knowsbut if he’s intent on making her suffer in silence she’ll ensure he’s asuncomfortable as she can make him.

She sneaksa peek at him, finds him just as stone faced as he’d been the last time she’dchecked on him. Caroline huffs out an annoyed breath, only realizing hermistake when Klaus’ head turns towards her. “Tired, Princess?” he drawls.

“Caroline,”she corrects. Klaus opens his mouth, surely to refuse, but Caroline talks overhim. “What if someone should hear you addressing me so formally? Why, the newsthat I was travelling these lands with such meagre guard would spread likewildfire and we’d be forced to fend of bandits left and right.”

“Meagreguard?” Klaus repeats, highly offended.

She turnsaway, reaching for her flask of water to hide her smile. Perhaps she’s juststumbled onto a solution for her problem. She doesn’t necessarily want Klaus tobe angry with her but if she pokes at his temper, his healthy ego, he’sunlikely to be able to maintain his silence.

A burningdesire to be right, a willingness to fight to prove it, had been the source ofmany of their childhood clashes.

She shrugs,“I rarely see you in the practice yards anymore. It stands to reason that you’reno longer as skilled as you once were.”

“Justbecause you don’t see me, doesn’t mean I’m not there.”

Caroline groans,her head rolling back on her shoulders until she’s staring at the sky, “Mustyou only speak in meaningless nonsense?”

She can seehim in her peripheral vision, just barely, and he’s smirking, the lout. “You’re there every morning. Making aspectacle with Katerina. Surely your skill with your blades can save us shouldwe be ambushed?”

He’sobviously mocking her but Caroline’s stuck on his first words. They hadn’t beena question. “How do you know I practice every morning?”

“I am thecaptain of your personal guard.”

“Oh yes,how could I forget? So nice to know that I only matter because I am your job.” She winces at the nakedbitterness, the hurt that had spilled out with her snide words, urging herhorse to trot a little faster so he won’t be able to see the sheen of tearsthat has clouded her vision.

He allowsher the distance, a modicum of privacy. Somehow, that hurts even more.

* * * * *

They find avillage, a few hours after sunset. Klaus looks around, studying the buildings,the few people who remain outside. Caroline does the same, knows theassessments that he’s making. The street is swept, dotted with buildings ingood repair. The villagers are clean and seemingly pleasant, no drunkards orbeggars in sight.

Klaus mustfind the place pleasing enough, calls to a passerby, asking if there’s an inn.The man approaches and Caroline tips her head down, hoping the dimness and theshadow of her hat will hide her features. Luckily, he pays her no notice,converses briefly with Klaus.

There’s noinn, Klaus is informed and Caroline despairs for a moment. She’d been hopingfor a blanket, a bed, even one less plush than the feather stuffed mattressesshe’s accustomed too. There is a farmer, with a wife and several young sons, who’llprovide travelers a safe campsite, a hot dinner and a place to wash, for asmall price just a short ways down a lane.

Caroline’sstomach rumbles at the mention of hot food. She’d stocked her saddlebags withdry fruit and jerky, has been grazing all day, a home cooked meal sounds rapturous. Klaus thanks the villager forhis assistance, steers his horse in the indicated direction and Caroline isquick to follow.

“Have youthought of a name to go with your disguise,” Klaus murmurs, once they’re aloneagain.

Carolinecannot believe that she hadn’t. She’s been planning this for ages. “Stefan,”she decides. “After the young prince.”

Klaus isn’tpleased with her answer, “You’d name yourself after a boy so easilymanipulated?”

She laughs,more loudly than she should because the trill of it would easily mark her sex, “Whynot? Had he been shrewder I’d never have managed to steal away. I owe theprince a favor.”

“You mostcertainly do not,” Klaus clips out.

Hisexpression has turned thunderous, his jaw tight and brows drawn. If Carolinewere more familiar with caution she’d seek to soothe.

Instead,she inflames.

She’s got adragon to face. She might as well practice with another ornery beast.

Carolinebrings a fingertip to her chin, tapping as if she muses aloud, “Whatever sortof favor would he like, do you think? Katerina’s not a fan of kisses but I’dlike to investigate the matter myself. I can do at least that without risking ruination.”  

Klaus makes a noise, low and sharp andinfuriated.

Carolineignores the warning in the sound. “Perhaps a little more, hmm? I’ve been toldthat there are a number of pleasant things a woman can do with a partnerwithout surrendering her virginity. And Stefan is quite nice to look at.”

Klausthrows her a lethal glare, reaches over to slap her horse sharply on the rumpbefore urging his own into a gallop. Caroline’s mare gives chase and she has tolean down, grip tightly with her knees, in order to avoid being thrown.

Well. Seemsshe’d hit a nerve.

Carolinecouldn’t be more pleased.

[filmstruck]

Roberto Rossellini’s Outliers by Stuart Collier

Among cinephiles, Roberto Rossellini carries a reputation not unlike Jean Renoir’s. He is said to have been one of the supreme humanists of cinema, an artist who rarely sought technical perfection but often achieved indelible insights into the human spirit and its soulful struggle against the postwar zeitgeist. Many other contemporary Italian filmmakers drew from the same thematic palette—class, Catholicism, postwar anhedonia—but Rossellini’s films were unique for their lack of linearity and didacticism, instead seeking out dialectical ruptures and open-ended mysteries. And unlike many auteurs, he cycled through aesthetic phases at an alarming rate, never seeming to resist the pull of perpetual reinvention.

And yet, Rossellini himself is almost as indecipherable and contradictory as his films. Lacking the gentle and generous temperament that cemented Renoir’s persona as a warm-hearted humanitarian, Rossellini was something of a playboy with a penchant for fast cars, adulterous affairs and immature fits. His biography never seems to coherently thread pieces together: how could the man who struck so righteously at fascism in ROME, OPEN CITY (’45) have contributed propaganda films to Mussolini’s wartime government?

In addition to the canonical titles of Rossellini that are familiar to Criterion Collection enthusiasts, FilmStruck offers quite a few strange and delectable rarities that highlight Rossellini’s perhaps unmatched flexibility as a filmmaker.

L’AMORE (’48)

An anthology film consisting of only two vignettes, L’AMORE is especially puzzling in that these vignettes lack the connective thread that binds them together—with the exception of its star, Anna Magnani. The first vignette is an adaptation of Jean Cocteau’s play The Human Voice, with Magnani as a woman agonizing over her crumbling relationship with a lover who remains off-screen: she talks to him over the phone, and whatever his thoughts or feelings or wrongs or rights, it is Magnani’s character who remains the focus. The effect is one of agonized and uncomfortable intimacy, and it diverges markedly from Rossellini’s usual earthiness and expansiveness of vision. These qualities come to bear on the second story, “The Miracle,” wherein Magnani plays a deluded religious fanatic who—impregnated by an idling wanderer (Federico Fellini, who co-wrote this and other Rossellini films)— believes that her pregnancy is a miracle from God. Catholic reactionaries were not happy about the story’s perceived sacrilege, but in hindsight, it is difficult to miss the compassion and the sense of climactic, enigmatic rapture that seems, time and again, to mark Rossellini’s treatment of religious themes.

THE MACHINE THAT KILLS BAD PEOPLE (’52)

I have always suspected that THE MACHINE THAT KILLS BAD PEOPLE (originally titled La macchina ammazzacattivi) is overlooked not only because it is a comedy, but also because of the crudeness of the title’s English translation. And yet the film itself is inspired. Rossellini aims for a morbid farce of fantastical dimension, in which the devil—in the guise of Saint Andrew—goads a devout Catholic named Celestino into literally exterminate the “bad people” of his community with a hexed camera. It is far-fetched to be sure, but also well within the parameters of a comically enlivened Catholicism and grounded within the social realities of the coastal village of the film’s setting. The life of the village becomes Rossellini’s satirical playground, wherein he depicts the stratification of local politics according to histrionic self-interest. The incessant bickering over the allocation of great sums of money (much of which is conferred by the estates of those whom Celestino has killed) is both a wellspring of hilarity and a serious moral failure all at once.

FEAR (’54)

The films that Rossellini made with Ingrid Bergman are often positioned as a trilogy—STROMBOLI (’50), EUROPA ’51 (’52) and JOURNEY TO ITALY (’54) —despite the fact that he and his then-wife made a total of five features together. Based on the Stefan Zweig novel of the same name, FEAR (’54) may not boast the richness of the aforementioned three films (each of which places Bergman and her residual Hollywood glamor in direct contact with the roughhewn nature of her peasant life in Italy) but this inconspicuous drama is fascinating precisely because it sees Rossellini tackling a more conventional subject matter. Films about forbidden love and emotional blackmail were not uncommon in postwar Italy, but FEAR is unique in that, like GERMANY YEAR ZERO (’48), it channels its themes through the context of postwar reconstruction in Germany. Bergman, playing the wife of an eminent scientist (Mathias Wieman) who attempts to conceal from him that she has fallen for another man (Kurt Kreuger), no longer carries the ideological implications of her stardom—she simply acts the part and does it superbly.

[freefallingup13]

Single, Triple Threat 1

HI I finally started writing a bit and got a page of some OT3 fluff that will not be staying fluff here u go

CW: mention of gun violence

~~~

The apartment was quiet, save for Stefan’s soft snoring. He was just sitting on the couch, arm over his face to block the sunlight. He’d been out for a while when the door swung open. 

“I’m home!” Ryan called out, fumbling to get his key out of the lock. “I brought groceries!”

Blinking awake, Stefan wearily lowered his arm. “... Groceries?” he muttered. “We were out of things?”

Ryan snorted as he kicked the door closed behind him. “Yeah? There was no fresh food. No veggies.”

Stefan rolled his eyes as he stood up, meandering over to the table to help Ryan put the food away. “There’s dried vegetables in ramen. It counts.”

“Fresh veggies,” Ryan insisted as he opened the fridge. He looked back over his shoulder. “Selena! C’mere!”

Sighing, Stefan shoved a bunch of bananas next to the carrots in the fridge. “Look at us, being all domestic,” he cooed somewhat mockingly. “Did you ever think we’d end up like this after high school?”

“Actually?” Ryan paused for a second. “... Yeah, no. All I can think of is how many times you tried to shoot me.”

After some laughter and a few minutes of silence, Ryan looked up. “Hey, is she home?” he asked. “I don’t hear her.”

Stefan frowned, leaning back to look into the hallway. “Selena!”

“Do you think she’s out?” Ryan asked. “Again?”

Pressing his lips together, Stefan shook his head. “She’s got to be, if she’s not coming for food.”

Ryan slapped the paper bags off of the table towards the recycling, walking quickly to the door. “We gotta go find her-”

“Slow down, slow down,” Stefan called out, starting to jog to the bedroom. “At least let me get my things, don’t run off without me.”

Nodding, Ryan waited anxiously at the door, hand on the doorknob and bouncing on his feet. Who knew how long she’d been gone, or where she was? What if she was hurt?

~~~

Part 2

[sweet-raptured-light]

🚨🚨NEW MASHUP🚨🚨

As promised, here's my Worlds Collide Megamix! All the songs you hear you voted as your favourite songs! Hope you enjoy :)

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