#The Fifth Doctor Adventures: Forty | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

esonetwork · 3 months

Text

Timestamp: Series Thirteen and Thirteenth Doctor Summary

New Post has been published on https://esonetwork.com/timestamp-series-thirteen-and-thirteenth-doctor-summary/

Timestamp: Series Thirteen and Thirteenth Doctor Summary

Doctor Who Series Thirteen and Thirteenth Doctor Summary

Jodie Whittaker’s final series was consistent but frustrating.

This batch of episodes encapsulated much of this era of Doctor Who, which struck me as more of a classic era tone with enhanced special effects. The budgets were lower relative to the rest of the revival era, and the stories tended to be more self-contained and pulpy. In Flux, a serialized event akin to the classic years, we even saw some classic-style monsters that looked more like latex and plaster than we’re used to.

Unfortunately, the budget constraints also led to convoluted writing. The Flux serial was announced in early 2021 with eight episodes, but we ended up with six parts instead. The other two became specials accompanying the feature-length finale. This reduction was attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s also no secret that Doctor Who was in danger of being cancelled again. Viewership didn’t stick around during the writing troubles and the obvious shift in production values. In short, the Doctor was in trouble.

Flux started well enough, but with convoluted plot threads and jumpy stories in the back half, it fell flat. This should have been a home run for Jodie Whittaker’s farewell tour, but it was bogged down by its weight. The three specials picked up some of the slack with clearer plots, back-to-basics characterization, and exciting adventures, but Flux was frustrating and confusing when all was said and done.

Overall, Series Thirteen comes in with a solid 4.0 score, buoyed by the specials and Village of the Angels. That ties with the classic Twelfth Season and Series Ten, and places this set in a tie for sixteenth among the forty-one seasons (so far) in the scope of the Timestamps Project. Despite my frustrations, that’s still good company. It’s also right in the middle between the other two series in the Whittaker era, which speaks to consistency of quality.

For what it’s worth, I did enjoy the rewatch, though this is not a set that I’d sit down and mainline if I had a day off.

Flux – Chapter One: The Halloween Apocalypse – 4 Flux – Chapter Two: War of the Sontarans – 5 Flux – Chapter Three: Once, Upon Time – 4 Flux – Chapter Four: Village of the Angels – 4 Flux – Chapter Five: Survivors of the Flux – 4 Flux – Chapter Six: The Vanquishers – 3 Eve of the Daleks – 2 Legend of the Sea Devils – 4 The Power of the Doctor – 4

Series Ten Average Rating: 4.0/5

Following tradition…

The First Doctor was a wise grandfather, the Second a sly jester, the Third a secret agent scientist, the Fourth an inquisitive idealist, the Fifth an honorable humanitarian, the Sixth a squandered cynic, the Seventh a curious schemer, the Eighth a classical romantic, the Ninth a hopeful healing veteran, the Tenth a bargaining humanitarian, the Eleventh an irascible runner, the Twelfth a principled warrior…

…and the Thirteenth Doctor is an excitable explorer.

She was the embodiment of acceptance of the post-Time War traumas in the early days, but she ended up falling into similar dour moods after the Timeless Child revelation. That comes coupled with the destruction of Gallifrey by the Master, literally dismantling everything her predecessors accomplished as the essence of her people was poured into one of their greatest enemies.

The trauma derailed her recovery.

This Doctor was intentionally distant and emotionally aloof, preferring fun and excitement over being cuddly. There were a lot of adventures taking place off-screen but alluded to by the companions. She was also considerate of the pain of leaving her companions behind, a character trait that prevented her from getting too close to Yaz. She cared in her own way.

I like the Thirteenth Doctor a lot, but I unlike previous incarnations, I feel that her score places her appropriately in the ranks. I loved her spirit and her embodiment of what it means to be the Doctor, and I will miss her. I just wish that her time had been better treated. She had so much more potential and so many more stories to tell.

Series Scores Series 8 – 3.9 Series 9 – 4.1 Series 10 – 4.0

Thirteenth Doctor’s Weighted Average Rating: 4.00

Ranking (by score) 1 – Eighth (4.50) 2 – Tenth (4.34) 3 – Ninth (4.30) 4 – Eleventh (4.17) 5 – Third (4.00) 6 – Thirteenth (4.00) 7 – Twelfth (3.87) 8 – Second (3.67) 9 – Fourth (3.67) 10 – Seventh (3.54) 11 – First (3.41) 12 – Fifth (3.20) 13 – Sixth (2.73) N/A – War (No score) N/A – Fugitive (No score)

Ranking (by character) 1 – Tenth Doctor 2 – Second Doctor 3 – Ninth Doctor 4 – Eighth Doctor 5 – Third Doctor 6 – Fourth Doctor 7 – Thirteenth Doctor 8 – Fugitive Doctor 9 – Twelfth Doctor 10 – War Doctor 11 – Eleventh Doctor 12 – Seventh Doctor 13 – First Doctor 14 – Fifth Doctor 15 – Sixth Doctor

As I’ve mentioned before (and before, and before, and…), the top ten spaces on the character ranking are really, really, really close. I’m always tempted to simply rank them all as a first-place tie, but I find the real challenge to be actually thinking it through and placing them.

So, here we are: The Timestamps Project has effectively caught up with the continuing story of Doctor Who. To keep the spirit of this project alive, I’m taking a short break. First, this will allow the Sixtieth Anniversary and Series Fourteen (Season One) stories some time to breathe. Second, it will allow me some time to focus on other things.

No doubt, the Timestamps Project will return. After all, we have the return of David Tennant and the debut of Ncuti Gatwa to talk about, and my initial impression of those stories was that they were fun.

UP NEXT – Doctor Who: The Star Beast

The Timestamps Project is an adventure through the televised universe of Doctor Who, story by story, from the beginning of the franchise. For more reviews like this one, please visit the project’s page at Creative Criticality.

#Chris Chibnall #Doctor Who #Timestamps Project

0 notes

itswildwinters · 4 years

Text

Hello lovelies and welcome to my October 2020 fic recs. These are the fics that I read these last few months. The main pairing is Louis Tomlinson/Harry Styles.

This is also an appreciation post to all writers out there. Thank you for contributing so much to the fandom, for making all these incredible pieces of work for us all to read!

I’m wishing you all a happy Halloween in advance!

If you check out any of those incredible fics below, don’t forget to leave kudos and comments to show your appreciation!

Enjoy!

From What I’ve Tasted of Desire by @evilovesyou

When Louis moves to the small Scottish town of Fortrose to spend some time with his father, he thinks he's come to terms with the fact that the next two years of his life will be rainy and dull. That changes when he meets the ever-elusive Harry Styles in his Biology class and he makes it his goal to find out the big secret surrounding him and his family. Louis unexpectedly finds himself in the eye of a storm of secrecy, age-old myths, friendship and romance.

Twilight AU / Vampires / Werewolves / Slow Burn / Highschool & College AU

eyes off you by @soldouthaz

“Just promise me you’ll do whatever it takes to keep us all safe while we’re in there,” Liam says.

Through the crack in the door, Louis can just barely make out the broad curve of Harry’s back, the slope of his curls as they tumble down all sleep-soft and lazy, and the sharp twist of his arm - all leading down to where he’s got his pointer and middle finger crossed over each other behind his back.

“I promise,” he tells Liam firmly, “I promise.”

or; a charlie’s angels inspired fic where louis is the brains, harry is the charm, liam is the muscle, and niall drives the getaway car - and zayn is there, too. sometimes.

Action / Pining / Assassins (kill bad people)

Walls by Travis_Crux

Following his line of sight, he frowned and shook his head, "What's wrong?"

"Wasn't your timer on your ring finger?" Liam asked, at that the Alpha immediately swapped the tumbler and looked down at his finger which sported a string of tiny blue flowers on the underside of his ring finger.

The two of them looked at one another.

"You could've touched nearly fifty people by the time you grew delirious," Liam advocated, always the voice of reason. "Comrades, nurses, doctors."

Sighing, he turned away and continued drinking the water. Literally, the only fucking thing remaining in the middle of a fucking war.

Harry has his soulmate timer stuck at zero from the beginning of time but suddenly the fates show mercy and a lovely forget-me-not takes the place of his timer. In between finding his soulmate in a war camp and solving the puzzle of the charismatic doctor who is treating him, all he can hope for is to live.

ABO / World War I / Soulmates / Angst / Hurt-Comfort

works like a charm by @falsegoodnight

Ever since Louis joined the team in fifth year, a few facts have become set in stone.

One: Louis is the best chaser in Hogwarts.

Two: Harry is the best beater in Hogwarts.

Three: They do not get along.

So it’s really unfair of Liam to think that forcing them to spend time together as Louis recovers from his injury will make them the best of friends. The last thing Louis would do is get along with that git.

Harry Potter Setting / Porn With Plot / Enemies to Lovers

(quiet like a fight) fingers laced together by @letthemkissyou

It’s a thin hope, frail and as thin as the silver strands of a spider web, desperate in the way Louis keeps clinging onto it even when he’s already expecting and preparing for the worst. Maybe one day, he’ll have a home, a place where he can feel safe and sound, tucked away safely from the world that has the tendency to treat him horribly and then even worse, that maybe there will be someone in his life who cares for him, even if in the smallest of ways, and does not just use him for whatever they tend to need at the moment.

Or, the one where Harry is gifted a hybrid and it's a whole new world for the both of them.

Hybrid Louis / Past Abuse / Fluff / Angst

We’ll Cast Some Light (You’ll Be Alright) by fondleeds

There’s tense silence, the whole room completely hushed. The other teams on surrounding tables look between each other. Then, Louis pushes himself away from the table noisily, chair scraping. His face is angered and crumpled, red at the ears. The door slams behind him as he rushes out. The surrounding teams look at Harry simultaneously.

“God, Simon is going to kill us if we don’t die on this mission first,” Niall moans into his hands.

There’s a standard procedure for this. Scan, track, kill. But with a solar eclipse and a Greater Demon with unfinished business looming, the path to keeping England safe from harm becomes complicated and shadowed by mystery and secrets. For Harry and his team, times have never been harder, especially when a few old friends turned foes show up. Harry is left with just over forty days to overcome the hurdle of tension between them and reconcile their past, and figure out just what Louis is hiding from him before it’s too late.

Demons / Enemies to Lovers / Violence / Angst / Fluff / Demon Hunters / Smut

Three Days in February by @mercurial-madhouse

“We have to get out of here, outside,” Harry whispered, turning his hand in Louis’s grip to hold on and pull them both to their feet. “And how do we fucking do that?” Louis hissed, carefully rising and pulling Harry to his feet before Harry could do it. His gaze darted to the front then back of the arena. “None of the doors are where they’re supposed to be.” “What?” Harry looked around again too, couldn’t see any doors, only knew that they must be there, somewhere. “How do you know?” Confusion slid over Louis's features. “Because we’ve been here before, Haz. It’s the O2.” The show. It must be the first night of their tour. They were too late; they were out of time.

Louis is cursed after a night out with the lads and the five have just three days to figure out what happened and how to break it before Harry and Louis both lose their sanity and maybe something more. Louis can hear everything Harry thinks and Harry isn’t sure he can keep his feelings for Louis a secret from his own mind.

Ridiculous amounts of banter and angst, a lot of Harry and Louis alone together, a healthy dose of OT5 friendship, and one very magical weekend.

Friends to Lovers / Fluff / Angst / Action / Adventure / Magical Realism / Hurt-Comfort / Slow Burn

Soaked In The Blood Of Angels by @crazyupsetter

The boy looks drugged, caught between a man who’s almost twice his size and a girl who looks like she wouldn’t even break a sweat snapping him in half despite her small stature, eyes closed and mouth open as he pants, arching up between them almost as if he’s trying to escape.

Normally, Harry would ignore it and continue on his search for someone to drink from, someone who wouldn’t mind his sharp teeth and rough hands. He’s seen plenty of boys like this one, ones who picked the wrong playmates, and if he stopped to rescue every single one of them he would have died from thirst a long time ago.

This one, though. There’s something about this one, the sheen of his bright blue eyes as he blinks slowly, looks around as though he doesn’t know where he is, the weakness of his hands as he tries to push the girl off of him and make his escape.

Explicit Sexual Content / Vampires / Incubus / Dubious Consent / Blood / Violence

The Compulsion to Find Love by Toomanytears

The most prestigious English third-level institution, Candling University, accepts omega students for the first time and Louis Tomlinson applies with bright eyes and brighter ambitions. There he encounters personal obstacles, traditional mindsets and a beautiful boy who inverts every prejudice Louis has ever known.

ABO / Omega Louis / Alpha Harry / Worldbuilding / Slow Burn / Fluff / Angst

Just a bit of work by missyoutoosweetscheeks

It was quite painfully pathetic, really. Twenty five, stable job, stable flat, stable mind (well, quite), a painfully non-existent love life with an even more painfully intact virginity.

Marcel didn't think his life was going to get better with his painfully aparent sociopathic tendencies to block anyone who showed interest in him.

Until, of course, he became Louis Tomlinson's next prey.

In which Marcel is a virgin, and becomes his office's amorous co-worker's next big conquest.

Top Harry / Bottom Louis / Office Sex / Dubious Consent / Porn Without Plot

Fuck U Betta by @jacaranda-bloom

There’s something about having Louis like this, exposed and desperate, that makes a primal urge bubble up from deep inside Harry’s chest. Desire mixed with something else, something unquantifiable. It’s the thing that makes them want this, need this. Nothing else will satisfy them or quench their thirst.

OR the one where Harry likes the thrill of the chase, Louis likes to be chased, and everyone gets what they need… in the end.

Porn Without Plot / Light BDSM / Top Harry / Bottom Louis

push you out, pull you back in by @behisoneandonly

Harry grips his head in his hands helplessly, yanking the base of his dark curls and squeezing his eyes shut.

“Fucking hell,” he whispers, knuckles turning white from how hard he’s gripping the strands of his hair.

“Hey, hey,” says the petite stranger in front of him, quickly standing up. “Stop, you’re hurting yourself.”

–

Or Harry hates feeling vulnerable. Louis is set on breaking through his tough facade.

College/University AU / medical student Harry / Fashion student Louis / Strangers to Lovers / Pining / fluff / slight angst / Hut-Comfort / Anger Management

might we be stardust stories by ryanreynolds

"It was easier being at war."

In which werewolves and vampires have been fighting each other for a century, and Harry and Louis' marriage is what's gonna bring peace to the realm. Hopefully.

Werewolves / Vampires / Arranged Marriage / Slow Burn / Falling in Love / Pining / Fantasy

Like Candy In My Veins by littlelouishiccups

“Um…” Harry said slowly after a moment. “Okay. That’s… this is… Let me get this straight.” He lifted up a hand and swallowed. “You told your family that you have a boyfriend… and my name was the first one you thought of?” “Harry Potter was on TV, alright? It wasn’t that much of a stretch.” Louis pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn’t believe he was explaining himself to Harry fucking Styles. He couldn’t believe he was stooping this low. “Forget it. I’m sorry I even thought about bringing you into this.”

Harry snorted. “What? Did you want me to pretend to be your boyfriend or something?”

(Basically the A/B/O, enemies to lovers, fake relationship, Christmas AU that nobody asked for.)

ABO / Fake-Pretend Relationship

until this blood runs cold by @soldouthaz

In a town as small as Louis’, everybody knows everybody and gossip spreads faster than the wildfires that rage on just outside their backdoors in the sweltering heat of summer. When something happens here everyone knows about it within seconds. Neighbors call neighbors and notes are left on doorsteps, old telephone lines ringing until there isn’t a single person who is left in the unknown.

So it’s definitely hot gossip when a vampire moves in across the street from him, the very same one who’s just become Louis’ boss.

Vampire Harry / Frottage / Blood Drinking

call you mine by @falsegoodnight

“I have a request.”

That’s what Louis Tomlinson says to Harry when he opens the front door a bit too aggressively. The latter feels justified after a round of annoyingly incessant knocking that was much too loud in the drowsy sludge of early Saturday morning.

“Zayn’s asleep,” is Harry’s tired, hoarse reply, irritation prickling at his skin. Less than a minute ago he was in bed, feeling perfectly content sprawled out on the mattress with the chilled air from the fan cool against his bare skin. And now he’s leaning up against the wooden door frame in nothing but his briefs because Zayn’s best mate decided that showing up unannounced at seven in the fucking morning was a brilliant idea.

“I’m not here for him,” says Louis curtly.

Or, Louis’ curious about how it feels to be bitten. Harry’s going to need more than just one bite.

Plot What Porn / Vampire Harry / Bottom Louis

your biggest fan by @soldouthaz

Just like everyone else, Louis has a few habits that he can’t seem to break. Guilty pleasures, rather. His nails are perpetually short because he can’t quit biting them, the bottom of his shoes scuffed from tapping his foot constantly. Sometimes his leg gets a cramp from bouncing it so often underneath his desk. That isn't too bad, he reckons, just some average teenage coping mechanisms.

And also, occasionally, minor instances of theft.

Top Harry / Bottom Louis / Porn What Plot / Nerd Louis / Jock Harry

give me love by @falsegoodnight & @soldouthaz

Despite being an omega, Louis’ always had a blatant dislike of alphas.

Or, Louis doesn't feel like a good omega, Harry doesn't remember how to be an alpha, and they figure it out together.

ABO / Alpha Harry / Omega Louis / Bottom Louis / Past Relationship Trauma / Slow Burn / Angst / Fluff

The Stars Look Very Different Today by @kingsofeverything

For Harry Styles, child genius turned glorified spaceship mechanic, rescuing lost or broken down ships is a fairly common occurrence.

There’s nothing common about his latest mission, the ship, or that ship’s captain.

The last thing he expects to find in a distant galaxy is the one thing he’s been missing on Earth.

Space / Time-Travel / Science Fiction & Fantasy / Enemies to Lovers

The cat is out of the bag by 28sunflowers

Harry somehow gets himself stuck as a black cat on Halloween and needs help from Louis to change back into his human form.

The problem is: Louis doesn’t even know witches exist, much less that Harry is one. And there’s also the fact he thinks Harry is ghosting him after they had sex for the first time.

So the situations isn’t ideal. But it’s okay. Harry will figure something out.

Light angst / Witch Harry / Potions Accident / Fluff and Humour

#fic recs #october 2020 #larry stylinson

70 notes · View notes

mchalowitz · 4 years

Text

the woman is the king, part two

summary: a throughline of the matriarchal scullys; be they ethereal, sharp-witted, and ill-omened.

thank you to everyone who enjoyed the first part of this story! writing again has been so great and i’m excited for everyone to read where it goes from here!

part 1: melissa

part 2: dana

———

The exam room is harshly lit, brutally overclean. When the doctor gives the diagnosis, it knocks the breath out of her, and she has the audacity to declare her gratitude. How could she.

The fragility of her age comes to mind on the drive home; her eyes prickle watching her copy of her oncology referral slide across the dashboard.

Dana is only thirty-three. Melissa was only thirty-three. She ponders her mother, Maggie, at thirty-three. Her destiny already decided; along for the military ride. She was carrying the fifth Scully child that year. Their matrarical line is cursed by the thirty-third year.

She simmers with the news for a few days; plotting methods of delivering impending doom. Mulder, the usual harbinger of bad news, is the one she tells first, and she believes using a clinician’s touch might soothe her.

The pronoun that binds them, the “we” travels from his vocal cords to their air between them. When he pauses, she can fill in the blanks of how he wants the sentence to end. We can do something about this or we can fix this. The problem is, there isn’t anything to be done.

Inside her head is a glass and cancer is the water from a faucet turned all the way on. They are merely waiting for the overflow.

Tara is pregnant; she is having a boy. Her brother’s wife is thirty-three. It must be so nice, to be dubbed a Scully, and yet remain so blessed at this foredoomed age.

An appointment to be pumped with poison and Tara’s baby shower fall in the same week. What a scheduling nightmare, she jokes, when she declines the invitation with warm regards. Bill does not laugh and he buys their mother a plane ticket.

The total lack of skeletal structure takes her over, has her melted into the couch. Scully finds the initial nausea passes quickly this time. It is the wave of self-consciousness from Mulder bearing witness to this betrayal of her body that lingers.

“It must be kind of exciting,” Mulder comments. She is watching him wipe down the counter and she doesn’t remember a single time she has seen him willingly clean anything. He is not half-assing any of the responsibilities bestowed upon him by the Mrs. Scully.

“It might be more exciting if it were someone else,” Scully responds, forgoing her usual diplomatic response on the subject.

Mulder pauses, focuses in on her eyes, and in unsaid words, he nods in agreement. He throws the wet rag into the sink with a stomach-churning squelch and falls beside her on the couch.

“You know,” she adds, “Melissa always said she wasn’t going to have kids until she was forty.”

Melissa would goad her into increasingly ridiculous futures; nothing is more ridiculous than futures that will never exist. Neither of them could have predicted such an outcome.

When they were young, one Scully sister was rarely found without the other. It was only the intricacies of adult life that would split them apart. Melissa yearned for adventure; to shed ideals and expectations from their youth in far off places. Their parents envisioned a certain fate for their children, and Dana followed it, until she didn’t.

As she conjures up those conversations about where their lives would go, she realizes she cannot even remember her voice. It rolls over her like a wave, the awareness of fading memories, and it cracks her guise held barely together.

Her glassy eyes brim and she finally crumbles, feeling wholly pathetic. She lacks her usual resiliency that he is accustomed to seeing from her as she weeps, “My sister is gone and I have cancer, Mulder.”

“I know,” he says.

“I’ll miss everything,” she whimpers. The weight of mortality hits her; the decades worth of wasted holidays and the lost memory of her nephew’s birth. Scully will never stand in resolution with her partner after their tireless work for the truth. The loss of an uncomplicated life feels enormous.

She laments what she was never sure of even desiring; the two-story in the suburbs, the babies of her own, the one true love...

“Let’s get married.”

His offer hangs in the air. Scully cries a bout of nausea and bolts for the bathroom. When she emerges, Mulder is there to tuck her into bed.

The sun sets and it rises again on a new day. She comes out of the bedroom apprehensively. Finding Mulder on one knee in her hallway isn’t an idea she can rule out completely. It wouldn’t even come close to the craziest thing she has seen him do.

Sitting at the kitchen table, Mulder rubs circles into his forehead with his cell phone pressed to his ear. She gets close enough to vaguely hear the caller on the other end, listen to the outrage behind, “I couldn’t even put the kettle on without her standing right behind me. In my own home, Fox,” and making it seem as though this is the only issue in the world that matters. And Scully kind of wishes that was true.

“That’s her job, Mom,” he replies. The tone of his voice almost makes her laugh. A polite but clear get me out of here she knows well that comes out during conversations with authority figures, midwestern cops, and not unsurprisingly, mothers.

Their eyes meet, he looks at her as though she is his unsurpassable savior. He begs off the phone, making the usual adult child promises, and sets his cell phone down on the table.

Scully commends Mulder for trying to be more involved with his family since his mother’s stroke. But what a fate he has, caring for the medically and emotionally broken women in his life. He gives her a tight lipped smile and she asks, “Is everything alright?”

“Jury’s still out,” he declares with a shrug. He stands and starts walking toward the kitchen. “Can I get you anything? Water, toast, a ring?”

A certainly interesting turn of events for them, a question that could develop into an actual conversation about the night before.

“Mulder.”

“We could get married, Scully.”

“This is so like you, Mulder. This is your stream of consciousness decision making,” she counters. Scully flattens her hands on the table, takes a breath, and attempts to change her tone to sound a little more kind. “I know the idea that I’m dying is bleak. But there are implications to getting married. I couldn’t do that to you.”

Scanning Mulder’s eyes, Scully can see he understands what she means by implications. “Don’t think about that,” he tells her finally, “If you really believe this is the end, what do you still want to experience?”

Scully’s eyes flash away, toward the door. Four years ago, she stood in that spot, and assured her sister unequivocally of her absolute disinterest in dating her new partner. Even if he were just a guy.

Selfishness has often forced a wedge between them; a precursor to many experiences they would have as partners. His brilliance and humanity drew her in then, not unlike the way it does now. When the question was posed--just any guy--their debates were thrilling, a little flirtatious even, and now they can absolutely infuriate her, but she respects his ideals, and she knows that sentiment is reciprocated.

On occasion, Scully is even a little selfish, and allows herself to appreciate just a guy with a little flop of hair that falls onto his forehead, and with the most charming smile.

Whether it be guilt or admiration, Mulder wants her to experience everything before it gets taken away. She can admire the altruism.

Mulder doesn’t ask again, he only suggests. And she accepts.

The commencement of their marriage is without fanfare in a government building on a Friday afternoon with grocery store flowers and a safe kiss on the cheek to clinch the deal. There are no rings but he holds her left hand as they bound down the courthouse steps. During their late lunch at a local diner, the waitress notices their attire, and offers them a free slice of pie, any flavor they want, because it is a special occasion.

A few paces ahead of her on the way to the car, Mulder opens her door. “Your getaway car, my bride,” he teases. The smile on her lips quickly fades. His jovial face morphs to confusion.

But it’s the drip. Blood splatters on the clean, clear plastic protecting their chocolate cream. She tries to maneuver for her purse but he quickly procures tissues from the inside pocket of his jacket.

He squats next to the passenger side of the car and holds tissues to the nose of his bride.

Something is weirdly, intangibly incorrect.

It starts with weekend plans. Mulder is already well aware of her singular escape, her monograph for the Penology Review, with its looming deadline coming up.

He normally makes comments about her unwavering professionalism. It is a mutual agreement to keep their marriage to themselves. The federal government has no investment in the inner workings of their lives; they are legally married and they both know that could easily mean reassignment for both of them. It doesn’t stop him from sneaking in a few witticisms for his own amusement.

Mulder knocks. That’s weird.

The wine is truly suspicious. Except for the occasional beer, Mulder was never much for alcohol to begin with, but what is especially bizarre is the sudden lack of concern over her doctor’s recommended meal plan. He had been following it down to the last letter, and while a glass of wine is not exactly forbidden, it is not the first item on their shopping list.

“We never really talk much, do we?”

Admittedly, the shared looks and delicate touches of silent communication is where they excel, but the question is still somewhat puzzling. Since beginning a routine of casual marital cohabitation, she believes they talk quite a bit. The minutiae of everyday life is often a topic of conversation in ways it never has been.

Scully still plays along by agreeing that, no, they don’t talk. She sips wine and tells him true-ish stories of Marcus, the prom date of a Scully, but not herself, and the infamous pumper truck scandal involving her brother Charlie.

Romantic intimacy has not exactly been a component of their marriage and she has found that cancer does not make one feel like the most desirable of specimens. He has never expressed anything to make her believe he feels anything for her beyond friendship, despite the deep affection they share.

He leans in now; his eyes closed and head cocked. Kissing him isn’t a repulsive idea, but it just seems off, because Mulder is acting so strangely out of character.

Scully scrambles off the couch to get away from the man that is so clearly not her partner. Absolutely horrified, she stares at Mulder, and has no reservations when he steps forward to cuff the pathetic and vile man that invades her living room.

Many lines have still not been crossed and she doesn’t think they ever will be. The cancer is still aggressively present with the treatments doing very little.

Scully prepares herself for the eventuality of hospitalization, potentially for good, and it is very tempting to keep that from Mulder, to allow them to remain in their bubble, but she knows that isn’t fair.

Her car idles on the street outside Harold Spuller’s care home and three soft raps sound on her driver’s side window. She sucks in air deeply and wipes the tears from her cheeks before rolling down the window.

“I didn’t mean for things to get so heated back there.”

“Me neither,” she agrees. When her eyes flash up to his, so guilty and fond, her words fall out in a tumble, unable to prolong this evasion of the truth any longer. “I don’t know why I lied to you. I’m not fine. My treatments aren’t working and my doctors don’t think another round will change that.”

“I’m in this with you, Scully.”

“I know you are,” she affirms. She ducks her head down toward the steering wheel, like a little girl caught eating dessert before dinner. “I’m tired, Mulder.”

“I’ll follow you.”

His headlights shine in her rearview mirror, trailing behind all the way back to where they began this night in Georgetown. Arriving in the apartment, she shuts the door behind them, and informs him, “I’m going to take a shower,” and he nods, reaching forward to squeeze her shoulder. He loosens his tie and starts meandering toward the bedroom.

The phantom ghost of his touch remains on her shoulder and it reminds her of his romantic soul that she is only now been introduced to. Mulder is more emotionally open and affection than she is. He treats her like a wife. They are married, after all.

Their marital bliss is of their own design; enjoyably innocent with its lack of certain intimate elements left largely undiscussed. However, there is delight to be found in mere shared company. With a no-work policy now enacted in her home, the opportunity to see funnier, more relaxed, and domestic sides of each other often makes it feel as though their marriage could be real.

An unspoken agreement to live this arrangement without rules creates something representative of authentic matrimony. Ignoring the initial awkwardness when sharing a bed leads to the normalization of pressing into his warm side each night; falling asleep faster and deeper. Leisurely playing with his hair while reading on the couch one evening introduced a few form of relaxation they both enjoy. He even calls her “honey” occasionally, and she must admit, it makes her feel pleasantly warm to hear it.

It wasn’t right to keep him out of the loop.

Sitting on the tile shower floor, Scully washes the last six hours from her skin. In an attempt to prove to herself, to everyone, that she can still do this, she pushes herself too far. The best decision for the case was to take down the nurse. For her fragile body, not as much.

A small box sits on top of her towel. She picks it up, weighing it gently in her palm.

Mulder already lies innocently under the covers and appears deeply enthralled in his nighttime reading. He looks very youthful and sweet in his wire-framed glasses and his large feet poking out at the end of the bed. She presents the box in question and inquires, “Mulder, what’s this?”

“Hmm?” he murmurs. He glances up briefly, taking off his glasses. “Oh. Wedding present.”

Eyebrows drawn together in confusion, she sits down on top of the comforter, and cautiously opens the box. Her eyes fall on a gorgeously dainty bracelet with a small diamond affixed to a silver chain.

“I don’t know what to say,” Scully finally admits. Mulder smiles, wordlessly leaning forward to close the distance between them. His kiss finally comes with soft lips and firm resolve.

A keen ear kept on the exchange occurring in the hallway, Scully hears the malice in “let her die with dignity,” the intense intent to guilt. Since childhood, Bill has been masterful at identifying a scapegoat.

Appearing at her bedside, Scully takes her brother’s hand. It has been quite some time since they were together in person and she is aware she should focus on the grand gesture of his presence. But they have always sparred on injustice and she just witnessed him as the purveyor.

“I don’t want you to talk to him like that,” she tells him.

It takes almost nothing to generate a quarrel between the two of them. “You keep defending him, Dana, and I don’t see what there is about him to protect,” Bill argues. “You wouldn’t even be in this situation if...”

“Fox has been very helpful,” Maggie interrupts. Their mother is well versed in deescalating the disputes of Dana and Bill; the oil and water of the Scully children. “Bill, sit down and be civil.”

Where Mulder pushes, Bill pulls, and Dana is left somewhere in the middle. Something akin to a jealous feud brews between the two men in her life; each vying for the role of ultimate fixer. It is only when Mulder orchestrates the impossible that her brother cannot deny the miracle.

Most conversations were plans for a comfortable end or perhaps a prolonged, managed experience. The concept of remission, a life without the dark cloud of cancer, was a possibility never even considered.

The day of her discharge finally arrives after a final weeklong observation of her progress, and Mulder, as a now regular fixture of the post-critical care ward, shows up to her room early as usual. He drops a bag on her empty hospital bed. “I brought you some clothes from your apartment,” Mulder informs her. “Unfortunately I couldn’t find anything as uniquely versatile as the hospital gown.”

“I appreciate the effort,” she smiles, ripping open the plastic bag.

Scully can feel an awkwardness emanating from him with three feet between them. She is taking stock of the items he provided when he finally speaks, “Listen, I can be out--”

With a week to discuss the topic, neither of them were brave enough to allow it. The last thing Scully wants Mulder to believe is she married him to take advantage of a kindness he extended to her. It was done with such a different outcome in mind; a selfless act with an outcome to be bathed in heartache.

Now, there is no plan on how to approach where things will go from here. Scully didn’t ever think she would be in a position to have to consider it.

At the very least, they deserve time to enjoy a lack of this particular impending doom.

“Should we get dinner tonight?”

If there is anything they deserve more of, it is time.

It is health.

It is stability.

#x files #xf fic #dana scully #fox mulder #msr

67 notes · View notes

goodtobegeeking · 3 years

Text

Doctor Who: The Fifth Doctor Adventures Forty. Volume 1 by Matt Fitton and Sarah Grochala (CD review)

Hard to believe but ‘Doctor Who: The Fifth Doctor Adventures Forty: Volume 1’ has been brought out to celebrate that it’s 40 years since the Fifth Doctor made his debut in the TV Series. Way to feel old thank you very much. A fresh-faced boy then, Peter Davison proved to be a marked contrast to the Fourth and he had his work cut out to get people to move on from Tom Baker. That sounds familiar.…

View On WordPress

0 notes

seowebdeveloper · 3 years

Link

Celebrate 40 years of the Fifth Doctor with a series of brand new audio adventures from Big Finish! Doctor Who: The Fifth Doctor Adventures: Forty 1 is released January 2022, the story is written by Matt Fitton and Sarah Grochala, starring Peter Davison and Sarah Sutton.

0 notes

tvsotherworlds · 3 years

Text

0 notes

phsolomon · 3 years

Text

Forty years of the 5th Doctor

Peter Davison’s first season as the Doctor aired in 1982, and Big Finish are marking the 40th anniversary with special releases. Comprising two anniversary box sets released in April and September 2022 respectively, Doctor Who: The Fifth Doctor Adventures – Forty celebrates four decades since the Fifth Doctor made his first regular appearance in Doctor Who. The dynamic dramas are […]Forty years…

View On WordPress

#reblogs

0 notes

pers-books · 1 year

Text

🌟 SALE 🌟 Celebrate Regenerations with UP TO 50% OFF on oodles of downloads! Offer ends expires 23:59 (UK time) on 25th September 2023.

Regenerations 2023

A selection of downloads featuring the guests at this year's Regeneration convention.

Download Bundles are available here:

Doctor Who: The Classic Doctors 2022 Bundle - 10 releases

Doctor Who: The Classic Doctors 2022 Bundle - 14 releases

Doctor Who: The First and Second Doctor 2022 Bundle

Doctor Who: The Third Doctor 2022 Bundle

Doctor Who: The Fifth Doctor 2022 Bundle - Forty 1-2

Doctor Who: The Sixth Doctor 2022 Bundle

Doctor Who: The Seventh Doctor 2022 Bundle

Doctor Who - The Companion Chronicles: The First Doctor Volume 1-3

Doctor Who - The Companion Chronicles: Jo Grant

Doctor Who - The Early Adventures: Series 06

Doctor Who - The Lost Stories: Series 07

#Big Finish #Sale #Regenerations 2023 #Doctor Who #Audio Drama

3 notes · View notes

thedoctorwhocompanion · 3 years

Text

Big Finish Announces Classic Doctor Who Boxsets in 2022 (Including Season 6B?!)

.@bigfinish Announces Classic #DoctorWho Boxsets in 2022 (Including Season 6B?!)

Big Finish has revealed plans for its Doctor Who titles in 2022 — including Beyond the War Games, seemingly venturing into Season 6b, i.e. stories set before the Time Lords forced the Second Doctor’s regeneration. There will be a host of Doctor Who adventures from each of the classic series Doctors released from January to December. From anniversary celebrations to brand-new friends and foes,…

View On WordPress

27 notes · View notes

thestudentwriteups · 4 years

Text

White walls & Alcohol

Clutching the sheets of the hospital bed, I knew everything would go south, the once optimistic girl that found joy in the simplest times, the simplest days, and the wonderous crave for adventure, simply vanished, as I stayed in the white room, looking out into the city, watching as the days go by, forgetting how to speak, how to write, and how to hold onto anything. Everything I was supposed to know how to do, simply was forgotten, no longer able to remember a single thing that my motor skills were supposed to know. The day usually started out being bright, painless, and filled with smiles, and doctors coming in and out of my room, checking in on my progress as they tried to cure me, and make sure I was recovering. But I ate so little before I was admitted to the hospital, so little that my figure looked nothing like bones. my cheeks sucked in, my eyes popping, I looked sick, as I walked around and everyone stared, but I didn’t know, I could never had guessed what was happening as my condition was getting worse.

“You are not beautiful” Margarette said, her thin lips, and dark curls waving as she turned to face me, she had anger in her eyes, one where you would shrink, and slowly cave to the wall, hoping, praying that you’d be sucked in, and be hidden away from the world of judgement. Continuing her statement, she smiled, her nails digging deeper into my skin as she spat vile words that could make a sailor blush, “Who do you think you are to score higher than me on that test?” Margarette asked, she was angry, and annoyed. Her father was a teacher to fifth graders, at the time, and she smiled and took advantage of her fathers position as a fifth-grade teacher. She knew power, she knew the people that would kneel, and beg for her to leave them alone. Pushing me to the wall, she rolled her eyes, and left me to go into the classroom just for next period. It was English, and I tried my best to hide the scratch marks on my arms before anyone could find out, mostly my parents. I barely ate the lunch my parents would pack for me, I wasn’t hungry, my appetite was gone, as I watched held onto the scratch marks on my arms. They were deep, and painful, as if I were scratched by a cat. I sat on my chair doing the homework for the day instead, I barely understood

the things happening, but I knew I excelled in my studies when I was alone. Doing my homework, I highlighted, wrote, and tried to understand my homework. The bell finally rang, and I was still alone in the classroom, fiddling with my pencils, and trying to answer and mostly understand my homework. In a class of forty students, I was so used to being a background character all because I was never talked to, or even noticed by anyone. Coming home from school, I fall asleep in the school bus trying to block out the sounds of noisy high schoolers and middle schoolers. Finally blocking out the noise, I sit at home and try to rest alone with my sister. Finally, home I can rarely get a bite of my food, as I watch my family eat properly, and eat happily with their food. Taking in a bite after another, feeling full, and sick, right after the third bite, I close up my spoon and fork and place it in the sink. I rarely ate properly, I hated eating, I hated the feeling of wanting to throw up, and let go of the food I ate.

Days pass, and my appetite has yet to change, the bullying never stopped, and my figure was now stick thin. “Why aren’t you eating?” my mother asked, her face filled with worry, as I sat on the dining table watching my food, hoping it would disappear without me touching it. “I don’t feel hungry.” I said, as I started drinking my water. And those days turned to months, as my appetite did not change. My condition was getting worse, my words were rambled, and twisted. My train of thought was slow, and I couldn’t think straight anymore. My brain was swelling up and started rubbing on my skull. No one knew what was happening to me yet, no one even knew what was wrong. But as the days progressed, and I was going to school, I kept staring into nothingness, I can hardly hear anything as I started hanging and staring into space. I forget what was happening, I forget the lessons, and I started forgetting what to do right after school. I was always tired, and always begging to stay home. My condition finally became worse, I felt sick, I wanted to throw up right after eating food, my stomach hurt, and I rarely get a good nights sleep. Finally, went I would end up going down the stairs of the house, I would end up leaning on the wall as support to not fall down the stairs, not being able to contain, or control my emotions, having sudden emotional outbursts and always wanting attention from my mother, my father, and those that love me. I believe my

parents realized I had to be admitted to the hospital the moment, my body started being unproportioned to my body. Everything right after them bringing me to the hospital became a blur, and I hardly remember everything that happened to me. As if I was in a coma the whole time, I was sick. The doctors taking care of me smiled, but I knew it was filled with worry. My mother stayed with me the entire time, sleeping on the couch, praying, and hoping I would get better. Deep in the back of my mind, I hoped, and wished I would stop fighting for my life, hoping I would just be taken by death, and just enter the light. I remember watching television in my room, the sound of Disney channel around my room, as I watched the man switch bodies with a dog and talking about his horrible life as a lawyer. Fifteen minutes into the movie, I started hanging, everything went black, and I forgot the things that have happened in the movie. My mothers concern grew, as I did not blink for an hour on my bed and did not hear a single thing, she told me.

The doctors brought me to an operating room, to inject me, on my spine. My mind going insane as I saw all the people in the room with their masks and gowns, unable to distinguish anyone from the room, I started kicking and screaming. Finally, I was able to calm down, settle on the bed, and put to sleep by the doctors to inject something in my spine. Everything after that was darkness. It wasn’t long until I was visited by the nuns from my school, holding a bag filled with “get well soon” letters from my classmates. Some are from people I rarely know, and people I don’t know at all. To some degree, I tried to read the letters, but I can’t. I gave up, and the moment someone read them to me, I started falling asleep, or not listening at all. Through all the brain scans, blood tests, and heart monitors. From all the things you can hear and take, you mostly recall the strong scent of bleach and alcohol filling the air as you lie on the bed, and stay there, forgetting what you are, who you are, what to do, how to speak, and what time of the day it is. With ADEM (Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis) came the problems, problems that render you speechless, tired, and useless. You cannot write; your signature and penmanship go down, as you try to remember how to do, you’re ABC’s, count with your fingers, hold a pencil, count from one through ten, or

even speak. Your words, and letters start twisting, changing, you cannot write as your muscles are not used to holding a pen and applying pressure onto any surface or paper seemed like a taxing thing to do. But you move on, you are brought out of the hospital, prescribed some medicine, to keep you from going back and to help you recover, and you start going through different therapy treatments. Finally, brought out of the hospital, I was welcomed by my family from my fathers and mothers side, simply put, my entire family came to see me. How I was, what had happened to me and what was wrong. I wasn’t capable of walking, I had a difficult time, I came into the house in a wheelchair, and having to move around the house, my sister had to carry me everywhere until I was ready to finally stand on my own two legs.

I came back to school, the mean girls that bullied me, pulled on my hair, were nice and trying to get on my good side as I came back weeks after from the hospital, of course my drained and tired brain could barely handle the schoolwork, nor the time I had to stay in school and handle hours of listening to the teacher discuss the lesson. I remember my teacher calling me as I watched the outside world, spacing out, and going having a difficult time focusing on my studies because of it. My mother she thought the time was difficult for me, and it was. She transferred me to the school right in front of Ateneo De Manila, called “Kostka” the layout of the whole school looked as if it was a prison camp, rather than a school, where the students were inside grilled classrooms, and the office was divided by a gate to keep students out. It was quite a dark atmosphere, as there was minimal light for me to see around majority of the time. But then, I had to live with people who could, and I had to adjust to the dark hallways, and classrooms every time I walked around the school. Truly, Assumption had it’s perks of making young girls act so much like ladies, making them grow up to be graceful, and careful about the words that they say around people. But as I walked around Kostka, I have no idea what the appeal was, the boys were rude, and disturbingly loud, the girls were mean, and completely lacked poise and tact as they simply talked about little things such as people and why people shouldn’t be friends with them as they talked about the negative perks of that certain person. I have made friends, though fake friends, they were enough to keep me company. I have

dealt with my own problems during my time in Kostka, I had to be part of the group or I’d be ostracized and left out by the people there. It was a matter of finding my clique and making connections. Racism was big in that school, mostly in third grade, as we had a Korean classmate, I feel bad for talking about her behind her back, and right in front of her, as she was nothing but a sweet girl, that did her responsibilities as quietly as she could. She was a quiet girl, and I was influenced by people to talk terribly about her.

Kostka gave me issues, and have given me traumatic experiences with teachers, as they would fail you for no reason entirely, unless we their students gave them gifts would they then start giving us lines of eights and nines. I had an entirely different perspective in my time in Kostka, it was all wrong where you buy your way to get to the top of the class. As I was in Kostka, I noticed how majority of the teachers in the classroom were biased, and filled with aggression as my teachers taught, and spoke about their problems. I remember talking to one of my science teachers, asking me about transferring to a different school in third grade. her reply however was “Mabuti, nandito tito mo eh.” (“Good, your uncle is here”) as she placed her hand on my shoulders. The reference being her anger and aggression towards my uncle that I had no idea, or even a single thing to do with their little dispute. Because of that teacher, I wanted to leave, I left the school a year after, went off to Berea, and decided to forget all about Kostka, as I transferred. Kostka was not a fun environment, nor was it a good influence for young children to grow up in. Though the school did their duties of teaching the students, the teachers often put-up fake smiles, and looked at their students up and down as if they were below them or had more money than anyone. The students talk about each other, spread rumors about people we don’t even know fully, and try to change people just so they could be accepted by everyone else, in a sense, it was to shape everyone, and form them into the same mold. It was a scary place, mostly for students, and children, as they were growing up in an environment that did not care for the people, but for the money being brought in by the students to pass. The school was always dark, oddly scary for me to even be there as events happen once in a while, where the canteen area would be filled with stalls, and students chattering in the middle of the hall. I remember how you could buy your

way out of being bullied by the people in class, as you treat everyone you know and want you to plead on your knees so they would stop getting mad and screaming at you over anything you did.

Moving to Berea, was probably the best thing my mother and I have decided to do. As I moved to the school, my ideas, and opinions changed. I started being open minded to different things and wanted to improve on things on my own. I started wanting to be different, and I wanted to be a new person because is there any way people will like the old me? I wanted to be one of the people that gets placed on the honor roll, be a good student as I progress to the next level. Of course, we can’t have it all. I entered high school hoping I would find it easier on myself and everyone I know. But it wasn’t enough to hope, as grade seven was a difficult time to adjust to the new high school system. Math was much more difficult, and Science was something that became a weak point for me. Though no one was bullying me, I started being insecure, and scared of asking for help from my classmates or I might be ridiculed for not knowing. Of course, as you grow more and more in the school, you start realizing that you are not alone. You want to know more, because you are not the only one who wants or needs help. I enjoyed the consultations given by the teachers, where when you seek for help, they will gladly give it to you and help you. Berea is a wonderful place to grow and learn. Though it challenges you, gives you difficulty, and makes you want to cry as you fail repeatedly on your subjects, you end up growing with all the failures given to you and you start accepting failure, and learning from them. Math was never my strong suite. I’ve always had a difficult time at it, but of course, out of the things you can learn from a school, is how to be unique, and different from the people around you. You all may think alike, talk alike, and even do things the same way, but you start realizing things on your own as you progress, and grow up. As I am graduating this year, I am quite happy that I have made it, I have gone through school with so many hardships, and put myself in difficult places and positions as I grew. But I am quite sad to let go of the nest where my character approved and grew. I will never forget Berea as a place of knowledge, and Intellectual Growth. Though it leaves scars on the Emotional aspect of an individual, I do not regret that I went through the hardships of math and science,

because I wouldn’t want things given to me on a silver platter, and gold coatings. I think, the hardships given to me were a blessing I was too young to see and notice on my own.

#memoir #CW #Requirement

0 notes

aion-rsa · 4 years

Text

Riverdale Season 5 Episode 1 Review – Chapter 77: Climax

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This RIVERDALE review contains spoilers.

Riverdale Season 5 Episode 1

“Clearly our last two weeks of high school are going to be fraught…”

Friends, on this day we find this country starting a new chapter, one that is full of hope and excitement for the future.

I am of course referring to the airing of Riverdale‘s season premiere, a somewhat wheel-spinning, melodramatic affair that feels more like the closing pages of a book than the start of another story.

And that’s because it is precisely that. This episode was a leftover from last year, filmed but not completed production until the pandemic lockdown was over. As such it thrusts us into the start of the endgame of last season’s storylines — namely the fallout of the Betty and Archie kiss, Mr. Lodge’s illness and how he is using vigilantism to cope with it, the mysterious (and suitably anachronistic videotapes) arriving at the doorsteps of Riverdale residents, and the gang prepping for their imminent post-high school lives.

There’s a lot to be told here until the show finishes telling this specific story. Writers Ace Hasan and Greg Murray handle this arguably thankless task with aplomb, squeezing out the necessary exposition needed to push the plot points towards their approaching conclusion while shoehorning in a (now unfortunate) Katy Keene tie-in. To be fair, it’s a solid episode. Just one that, through no fault of its own, doesn’t really work as a season premiere.

That minor gripe aside, there’s a lot to enjoy here. First and foremost are Archie’s struggles. It was wise for the showrunners to make the character realize that he is a bit of a rudderless dolt. Addressing this most obvious of character flaws makes our oft-shirtless protagonist that much more of a likable guy. He’s discovered that while he has some options — running the gym is his best bet — he also needs to clear his head, and getting out of Riverdale would help with that greatly.

Now that the Navy isn’t an option, and he’s questioning his whole life. This results in his destroying his relationship with Veronica by telling her about his illicit kiss with Betty. One, it should be mentioned, that made Betty feel super uncomfortable…although that could’ve just been the terrible song Archie wrote for her.

The deception is enough to blow apart the pair’s “endgame” status…at least until after the upcoming time jump and their old flame is inevitably rekindled. (Even though we know that Veronica will be married to the jerky Chad Gekko, another Katy Keene character climbing aboard the Riverdale express). Much drama will ensue, but in the show’s now, they are done. What’s the over/under until we see Veronica performing “Bittersweet Symphony” at La Bonne Nuit?

Elsewhere, the Choni ship (I am in my forties and just wrote those words!) is threaten by the ghost of the greatest thing to ever happen on Riverdale: The Blossom family’s Maple Syrup Blood Feud. It’s not that Toni’s Nana has an issue with her granddaughter’s sexuality — although she kinda does — but more that Toni is dating a sworn enemy of the Lopez family. As much as I love me some Shakespeareian motifs, these characters regularly deal with serial killers and cult members. So the family drama here isn’t really very compelling, you know?

The most interesting thing happening on Riverdale right now is also its most frustrating, the saga of The Auteur. Betty didn’t tell Jughead about Archie’s shitty song or the kiss because in her mind, it wasn’t that big of a deal. Just a sort of awkward thing that happened in the moment that isn’t worth blowing up her life over. Adult decision making at its finest! Whether or not this choice impacts her relationship with Jughead, and I bet it does, will be revealed soon. Right now though they are doing what they love the most, investigating a mystery. One that really needs to ramp up the excitement and fast.

David seems to be too obvious of a choice to be the identity of the Auteur. It also goes against the show’s habit of making the protagonist someone we already know. Episodes from last season have shown us Charles and Chip plotting together for a yet to be revealed reason. To a lesser degree, Evelyn Evernever is a possibility too. But this episode raises the most intriguing potential suspect yet.

Jellybean Jones.

Think about it. She is a cipher of a character, one who would have had access to Jughead’s stories and knows about almost every aspect of his life. Perhaps she is making these videos because she is scared about him going away to school. Maybe they are some sort of bizarre revenge plot cooked up by Jellybean and Gladys Jones against Jughead and FP? By making Jellybean the auteur this creates more drama for the ever-complicated Jughead and gives him a personal tragedy that mirrors what Betty experienced with her father. I truly feel that Jellybean being at David’s film fest/rave by herself (we never see her friends she is supposedly with) is much more than a red herring. Time will tell. But we need to see some clarity on what the motives behind these tapes are, ASAP.

And so Riverdale is back. While we are watching the blending of the programs fourth and fifth seasons unfold due to real-life production concerns, it remains the most welcome of escapes.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Riverdale Rundown

• This episode was filmed before production on the series was shut down due to Covid-19. As such, the next few installments will cover the gang’s final weeks at Riverdale High before jumping ahead seven years — which will occur in what was originally intended to be last year’s season finale. And you thought Doctor Who was timey wimey.

• The above explanation also explains why a character from a cancelled CW series — K.O. Kelly from Katy Keene — plays such a crucial role in tonight’s proceedings.

• Speaking of Katy Keene, that show took place during the time period that Riverdale is about to jump ahead to — one in which Hiram Lodge has completely recovered from his mystery disease.

• Did anyone else find Archie’s constant referring to K.O. as bro endearing? And OF COURSE these two characters were given a shirtless workout montage/steam room scene. Besides, what’s an episode of Riverdale without plenty of gratuitous objectification?

• Archie really did himself no favors by neglecting to mention to Veronica how Betty shut him down after his attempt to woo her. Communication is the key to a solid, healthy relationship, fam!

• Ashleigh Murray’s Josie McCoy was a main character on Katy Keene, yet as of this writing it is unclear if she will return to Riverdale or not this season. (And for the record, Archieverse showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa hasn’t permanently shut the door on some sort of Katy Keene revival either).

• The cancelled fifth season of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina would have been a major crossover with Riverdale. Although we were denied that magic, if the above official key art is to be believed, it does seem that we will be getting some major supernatural happenings is season. Afterlife with Archie anyone?

• Archie’s scars from his bear attack really come and go, don’t they?

• Kett Turton returns tonight as David, the owner of the Blue Velvet video store. His perfect recreation of David Lynch’s cadence and mannerisms combined with the costume department seemingly raiding the Twin Peaks mastermind’s wardrobe is a perfect illustration of how Riverdale commits to its goofiness 100%.

• I’m not sure, but I think the Black Hood movie being shown in room 317 is a very subtle reference to the Miss Saigon song that also takes place in that location.

• In a nice callback, some of the tickling videos like the ones Kevin and Fangs made are being shown at the film party/rave. (Along with snippets of exploitation/art flicks clearly inspired by the works of Kenneth Anger and Herschell Gordon Lewis).

• “You had me at snuff film.” Here’s hoping Kevin Keller never changes.

• Cheryl is at her most Cheryl tonight, melodramatically spewing lines like “perhaps your camera will capture the sublime tragedy of my life” with an effortlessness that would make Bette Davis proud.

• Putting Fizzle Rocks in the punchbowl, classic Reggie Mantle.

• Further evidence of how this show is, to quote The Tragically Hip, chronologically fucked up, the songs played at the prom were Sixpence None the Richer’s “Kiss Me,” BoDeans’ “Closer to Free” (itself the theme song to another popular teen show, Party of Five), Collective Soul’s “The World I Know,” Mazzy Star’s timeless “Fade Into You,” and Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer.” Would any of these songs actually be played at a prom taking place in whatever year in the 2010’s this series is set in? Your guess is as good as mine.

Subscribe to Den of Geek magazine for FREE right here!

(function() { var qs,js,q,s,d=document, gi=d.getElementById, ce=d.createElement, gt=d.getElementsByTagName, id="typef_orm", b="https://embed.typeform.com/"; if(!gi.call(d,id)) { js=ce.call(d,"script"); js.id=id; js.src=b+"embed.js"; q=gt.call(d,"script")[0]; q.parentNode.insertBefore(js,q) } })()

The post Riverdale Season 5 Episode 1 Review – Chapter 77: Climax appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3p2dews

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

1 note · View note

1wellorganizedmind · 7 years

Text

Jake Peralta: Stepdad!AU

So this was going to be an actual fic, but, alas, any sort of narrative wouldn't come, so instead allow me to offer a series of (not at all canon-timeline compliant) headcanons about Amy Santiago's tiny daughter taking Jake in as part of the family:

When Amy starts at the Nine-Nine, she is Very Adamant that Jake will never meet Maya, largely because a) He's the worst, and b) Maya doesn't need to see her mother curse out a fellow employee, but mostly c) He's The Worst.

Except she only lasts twelve days, at which point Captain McGinley calls her in on her day off because he's finally realized that his new detective has started and he wants to meet her, even though they have met four (4) times and he's assigned two cases to her and Jake

It's supposed to be a short meeting and she promises a very teary-eyed Maya that she'll be real quick, but she needs to go in without Maya because McGinley looks like he might yell for some reason, Amy can just tell, and Sarge isn't here and Amy barely knows anyone else and Jake offers, basically

Maya is just v. v. teary when Amy blows her a quick kiss before entering McGinley's office

The meeting lasts exactly forty-seven minutes

Amy expects A Disaster when she gets out, or at the very least a very stressed-out Jake trying to pass her daughter off on someone else

But instead Maya is sitting in Jake's lap with two of his superhero figurines gripped between her sweaty little hands, patiently telling a story while Jake writes on a piece of paper next to her

"And then there's a dragon," Maya says breathlessly, and Jake nods along patiently

"Fire-breathing or bearded?" he offers, and Maya really considers it for a moment before deciding on bearded. "Got it, I've jotted that down."

"I thought no one was allowed to touch your dolls?" Amy asks when she gets to them, and she's a little stressed out about this whole situation because Jake is suddenly, like, a kind person? Who's been watching her daughter for forty-seven minutes and counting?

"Uh, obviously this is Red Metal Man and Mr. Star, okay."

It's not. It's Iron Man and Captain America, and Amy can tell because she's not totally out of the loop of the cultural zeitgeit, okay, and she sometimes pays attention to movie posters and has very definitely seen at least two of the superhero movies

"Plus I believe I said no Santiagos, and that was back before I knew there was a cool Santiago in the clan."

Maya, meanwhile, has grabbed a pen off of Jake's desk and is now leaning precariously over said desk and drawing on some of the large blank spaces Jake had left on the paper

And Amy realizes that Jake was writing down Maya's story but made sure there was room so she could draw

Jake grins at her sheepishly, braces Maya with one hand on her back to make sure she doesn't slip, and says, "It's her vision, and she's, like, a really good storyteller."

Amy swoons, but in a low-key, subtle way. Probably.

Anyway, but Jake is also The Worst, so it doesn't matter

After The Incident In Which Amy Santiago Most Definitely Did Not Swoon, they definitely become partners for realsies

Jake doesn't see Maya again until a few months later, when Amy's in a pinch and needs someone to watch her for, like, a half-hour while she runs over to her doctor, but it really gets the ball rolling and all of a sudden Maya only wants Jake to babysit her

And Jake is, like, hella into it. He's still mostly dating around and trying to run off on his own and be a badass, but he's really into this tiny four-year-old with a heavy lisp and too-big glasses who tries to tell him stories about dragons and butterflies and Mr. Star, who all of a sudden plays the lead in every one of her adventures

Also it's a great distraction from buying turntables and he has an excuse to go see kid's movies, on Amy's dime no less

So for years, whenever Amy has a date, she lets Jake know an appropriate number of days (fourteen) in advance, and Jake says yes 100% of the time, and never tells anyone that he very carefully rearranges any conflicts in his schedule so he can hang out with Tiny Santiago

Tiny Santiago likes this nickname approximately 37% of the time, but she really likes it when Jake starts calling her Killer Santiago after one incident in which she's running too fast and knocks him over onto his butt and he almost dies he's laughing so hard

Amy doesn't care for it

And literally every time Amy comes home pre-bedtime, Maya is sitting on the couch with Jake laughing so hard that her face is bright red and flushed, and her shy little stressed-out kiddo just has the best time that Amy doesn't have the heart to try to give Jake a break the next time she has a date

And then post-bedtime, Jake is always sitting on the couch alone, looking exhausted and happy and he always grins sleepily and drags his butt off the couch and makes a million sex tape jokes about her date and refuses to let Amy pay him

And at the precinct, as the years go by, Jake and Amy get more and more comfortable with each other, and Amy tells him about Maya's dad, who's never been in the picture, and she tells him about her plans to be the youngest Captain, "but it's hard, you know, 'cause I can't put in the overtime the rest of you guys can, and I can only keep working on cases after Maya goes to bed, and maybe not everything will work out 100% according to plan and that's fine because it's so worth it, but--"

Jake shuts her up and very specifically tells her that she's the second-best detective in the precinct, "and you'll obviously be Captain before I will, because I'm going to go out as a detective, chained to my desk, and also, like, Captains have so much paperwork."

Anyway so when Jake goes undercover, he can't stop to say goodbye to anyone, and he's had this crazy crush on Amy that's just started to become a thing, and he specifically asks her to tell Maya that he loves her and he's hella excited to show her Die Hard when he gets back and oh, also, he thinks Teddy is great but he likes Amy too, romantic-stylez, okaythanksbye

Amy manages a "You will not show my daughter Die Hard, Jake, she's SEVEN," but it's faint and she's pretty sure Jake didn't hear and there's that swooning thing again

Except he comes back, and it's not like Amy could exactly explain "oh, Jake just went undercover with the mob, I wouldn't worry about it" to her seven-year-old, so she just keeps saying that he's on a work thing and can't call or swing by

Terrible Mistake

When Jake comes back Maya is, like, level three-thousand excited to see him, and screams out loud in the apartment, which, okay, Maya Santiago would never, but here she is, screaming

But she's shy again when she calms down, and she mumbles a lot and basically doesn't laugh at all, even when Jake teases her by calling her Tiny Santiago again

"Killer Santiago?" he tries, and one corner of Maya's mouth twitches up against her will

So after Much Freaking Out by Jake ("She thinks I abandoned her, Amy! I abandoned her to the wolves!" "In this context, am I 'the wolves?'" "Yes, obviously!") he finally settles down and sits Maya down for a Very Serious Talk

The Serious Talk portion of it lasts approximately three minutes, but Jake very clearly states that he was, like Mulan, on an undercover mission and he couldn't call or swing by without revealing that he was Not Who He Said He was, and also that he quite likes her new glasses and would like for her to keep reading him Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and he remembers that they were on chapter twelve, right, and could she please help him finish?

He is Forgiven, grudgingly, but is v. careful to show up 100% of the time thereafter, including every french horn recital and spelling bee

which are, incidentally, unequivocably the worst, but Maya Santiago is so earnest and excited that it's hard not to be excited too, and proud!Amy is too much for Jake's weak little heart to bear

Because of the whole romantic-stylez thing, Amy tries very hard not to ask Jake to babysit when she's got a date with Teddy, for reasons of trying to be a humane person, but Jake starts begging her to let him babysit on any given night, for reasons of Trying to Make It Up to Maya, and eventually Amy gives in and things go back to normal

Until The Undercover Lovers Operation (title (c) Charles), after which things get both Complicated and also Fun

For their first date, obviously Jake can't babysit Maya so Amy ropes Rosa into doing it (rip both Rosa and Maya), and at least Maya gets to watch Frozen, even though they sit in complete silence for the duration of the movie

Most subsequent dates Maya comes with

After The Marriage (here we are, finally, at the stepdad part of this stepdad!AU), Jake finally moves in with them, and Maya is almost ten years old and going into the fifth grade and Obsessed with dragons

Jake and Amy specifically tag-team helping her with the following projects:

A presentation on the constellation Draco, which was chosen for Harry Potter reasons but also for dragon reasons;

A to-scale model of the coolest volcano Jake knows by name, which is Vesuvius, and which is also probably not to scale;

A book report on Anne of Green Gables;

A movie review of the action-thriller Catch That Kid;

A creative story about Captain America, yes I know it's not Mr. Star, Jake, I'm now almost a preteen, okay?

And multiplication tables, which Maya excels at and Jake largely nods along

Obviously Amy fact-checks the projects before submission, she knows what's up

They build blanket forts once a month, spanning the entire apartment, and camp out inside of it if it's just the three of them, but Jake and Amy also round Maya up to make one on the days she has friends coming over for a sleepover, and Maya Santiago's sleepovers are forever the best sleepovers to be at

Even though Maya's stepdad tries to tell embarrassing jokes every time

At least Amy laughs

A year or so into their marriage, Jake starts learning Spanish in earnest, because Amy's taught Maya her whole life and she's getting nervous that Maya will forget it as she gets older if she doesn't practice

He is Terrible, but he gets individual words at a time and commits to them so whole-heartedly that he eventually manages most of a conversation, so long as he only uses nouns and simple verbs and never, ever pronouns

Amy is not too proud to say she doesn't swoon over that a little, too

But also refuses to try to hold a conversation with him in Spanish, because every part of it, from pronunciation to execution to grammar, is terrible and it physically hurts her being

Jake is suddenly privvy to all sorts of stuff he wasn't before, like the Morning Ritual, wherein Amy packs Maya's lunch, kisses the top of her head, and asks Maya what she's going to do at school

"Be respectful!"

Sometimes this conversation is preceded with a thorough quizzing on Maya's multiplication tables, while Jake still nods along

A year or so after Amy makes Captain she has to miss one recital and is Devastated and implements Code Three, which means that Jake has to pull out her Code Binder so he can figure out that Code Three means "Emergency Shit-Hit-the-Fan Level of Planning: Come On, You Can Do This, Amy," and basically Amy's been preparing for this her whole life, but she just can't make it work

Jake, who, again, has willingly endured these recitals for years now with all of the required embarrassing enthusiasm, pleads with the school until they lend him a video camera from the A/V Club and he gets the whole thing on tape

Amy Santiago loves her phone, but she loves long-lasting, backed-up, physical copies of videos, okay?

Plus this means that Jake can set up a sheet in the living room with a projector he borrowed from the precinct so Amy can see the whole thing like she's there

And Maya cringes in embarrassment the whole time, partially because listening to yourself play is the worst

But mostly because of the loud whooping that drowns out the clapping when she's done

Jake's not the least bit embarrassed

And he washes the sheet the minute they're done

And either because of the washing-the-sheet thing or the video thing (there's no way for him to know), he gets to enthuasiasically make out with his wife on the couch when Maya disappears into her bedroom and it is The Best

Anyway mostly just Maya Santiago is a happy, independent, smart kid, and it's all Amy's doing and Jake gets to witness the whole thing

And then he gets to become a part of it

And he gets make both Santiagos laugh until they cry and make them pancakes on Saturday morning and calm them down when they get anxious and force them to watch Die Hard with him the exact day Maya turns eighteen, he's been so patient, okay

And Maya goes on to write about dragons forever, although she doesn't get to draw a picture on every page anymore

And Jake Peralta and Amy Santiago 100% cry when her first book gets published and Amy proofread the book between captain duties even before it went to the editor and was Very Pleased that there were no typos, and Jake read it with tears in his eyes and his entire review was "Noice. Smort." before he wrapped Maya in a hug

Maya is hella embarrassed by her nerdy parents, basically

In summary, I have a lot of feelings about the Jake we meet in S1 learning to be an Adult and finding a family by hanging with a miniature, dragon-loving Santiago kiddo.

#peraltiago #jake x amy #b99 #jake peralta #amy santiago #i have a whole second set of headcanons about single-mother!amy #but this got hella long already #also im new here #but im a long time b99 lurker #first time b99 poster

1K notes · View notes

honestgrins · 8 years

Text

A Familiar Face

Klaroline Infinity Day 7 - Ideal Endgame Scene

A year, a century, what was time to an immortal? For Caroline, forty years meant love, laughter, fear and grief. With her daughters grown, she's ready to stop playing it safe and to go looking for the adventures the world once promised.

She had forgotten how lonely it could be, the fate of a vampire. At home, the girls knew exactly who she was and what that meant - but they couldn't possibly understand the weight of outliving such a phase in her life. Humans went through a handful of these complete shifts, but Caroline was realizing she would have to do this over and over again until she met the wrong end of a pointy stick.

Having buried both Stefan and Alaric years before and signed the Bennett School over to Josie and Lizzie, Caroline decided to take a well deserved retirement trip around the world for her sixty-fifth birthday. She had left a week earlier, kissing the girls at the airport. "I love you, call me every day."

"Every week," Josie promised sternly, onlookers probably confused to see a young woman asking her mother to call every day.

Because Caroline didn't look her nearly sixty-five years; she didn't look a day over seventeen, and she never would. It was a realization that came in waves, one that hit her again as she flew over the Atlantic to South Africa. The list of postcards and souvenirs she had planned to buy was much too short for someone of her age, but everyone had died or moved on with their very human lives.

The girls, obviously, would receive the brunt of her gifts. Matt never cared for her messages, and Elena didn't even know who Caroline was anymore. Some of the school's students kept in touch, but it wasn't the same.

She was always missing the people she loved, and she wanted someone to miss her.

Shaking her head, Caroline glanced around the plane to distract herself from the morose thoughts. Brass curls caught her attention, but she turned to her book before she could let herself wonder why.

His lips were so pink.

Caroline wasn't drunk enough to get lost in such an observation; still, she couldn't help staring at the guy trying to talk her up. It was probably her fault for grabbing a drink in the hotel bar, where most people were just trying to get laid. She wasn't looking for companionship, though, merely some human interaction to mask her loneliness.

The guy was cute enough, just not to Caroline's taste. But those lips. She found herself frowning as she tried to figure out why she felt so strangely attracted to a man's mouth and nothing else.

"Anyway," he said in his Australian accent, shoving his hands into his pockets as he gauged her reaction. "Want to get out of here?"

That finally jerked Caroline back to awareness, unable to hide the mean laugh that bubbled out of her mouth. "No," she answered more politely. "I'm good here, thanks."

Grumbling, he left her alone at the bar once more.

Caroline swiped her tongue across her lips, wondering just what she wanted to get from this trip. While she would have never given the slick smooth-talker a chance, was she even looking for that kind of adventure? So focused on the school and Josie's kids, she'd hardly given consideration to the fact she had a long eternity to go. Picking up a guy in the hotel bar didn't scream 'spend the rest of your life with me,' but it didn't have to be forever.

It had been so long since she had even thought about dating. Stefan wanted her to be happy, and Lizzie had tried to get her on a dating website. Though Caroline had automatically disregarded the idea, she knew better than to shut off the possibility of meeting someone new.

Taking another shot of tequila, she only had one thing to say about that. "Not tonight," she muttered to herself.

The plan for South Africa was a conservation excursion with local scientists, and Caroline was armed with her fancy camera to take excellent photos of the animals for her grandkids. Josie was the green thumb of the family, so she also wanted to get plenty of information on the vegetation and how it was cultivated - education had become a vital part of the Forbes-Saltzman vacation experience.

Her excursion guide had an unfortunately dull voice, but Caroline was too enthralled with the scenery to care much. She snapped photos left and right the whole time; it wasn't until the guide accidentally crossed her camera's path that she paused to check the display. Whatever the good doctor had been laughing at, Caroline didn't know, but she grinned so widely that dimples cut deep into her cheeks.

For some reason, Caroline was struck by the sight.

The moment passed quickly as a dazzle of zebras galloped past their Humvee. Gasping at their powerful leaps, she brought her camera up to document the moment.

"Would you like to come to a party with us?" The older couple had been kind to her throughout the week's excursions, their cultured personalities something like a fascination for Caroline to soak up. They'd taken a shine to her genuine enthusiasm and witty observations, and she loved how much they made her laugh. This was that she had pictured on a world tour, picking up fashionable friends and making pleasant relationships with interesting people. The wife, Sita, watched her excitedly as she considered the invitation.

Rolling her eyes, Caroline smiled. "What party?"

"I have a business associate in the area," Abram explained, his hand affectionately toying with Sita's ponytail. "He's hosting a small fundraiser for his daughter's school. I assure you, Sita already wrote a check three times larger than necessary, so you wouldn't have to give a thing."

"Don't mind him, he's just angry my stock portfolio had better returns this month," Sita teased. "But really, you must come."

Caroline fidgeted under their earnest gazes. "I don't want to be a burden," she admitted, "but I organized a number of school fundraisers in my day and would love to donate."

Laughing, Sita nudged her playfully. "In your day… You're making us old folk feel even older, Caroline."

As Caroline's smile fell at the unsubtle dig at her apparent age, she knew Sita didn't mean anything by it. She had no idea that Caroline was much older than she looked. It was harmless fun.

Harmless, though she found herself brushing away a tear when Abram distracted his wife with another information packet he seemed to enjoy collecting. Friends were important, even if they would never know the real her; Caroline would just have to enjoy the time she had with them.

She hoped one day she could hope for something more lasting.

The gorgeous villa was larger than Caroline had expected, and she just stared in awe as their cab drew closer. "What kind of business is this associate in? Because they must be loaded to afford all this."

Abram chuckled. "He's a bit of a mystery, I'm afraid, though I know he has diverse interests all over the world," he explained, opening the door to let himself out and the women followed suit. "South Africa was a new venture for him, but he seems to have set himself up nicely in the last year or so."

"And he's handsome," Sita added with a suggestive arch of her eyebrows. "A catch for any single girl."

"Oh, I'm m-" Once again, Caroline felt the aching realization that she was a single girl. And despite her promise to remain open to opportunities, she wasn't prepared for one to come so soon. "I'm not really in the market right now."

"Talking real estate already, Abram?" A new and maddeningly familiar voice joined them in the driveway, and Caroline turned to find Klaus Mikaelson striding toward them. "And I see you've brought a guest."

Smirking, Klaus slid to a stop before her and reached for her hand. He brought it to his lips with that infuriating glint of triumph in his eyes. "Hello, Caroline."

Struck silent by the shock of his presence, Caroline was jostled by Sita's enthusiastic greeting. "What a small world, Klaus. How do you know our Caroline?"

With a too charming smile, Klaus held Sita and Abram's shoulders still so he could maintain intense eye contact. "Go inside and join the party, Caroline will find you if she pleases," he compelled.

As the couple obediently entered the villa, Caroline crossed her arms in irritation and very nearly stomped her foot. "What the hell, Klaus?"

"Yes, sweetheart, it's lovely to see you, too." His smirk melted into that bashful smile she hadn't seen in decades. "Are you enjoying your visit?"

Something in his tone hit Caroline's ear oddly; he seemed too prepared to see her. Lizzie was the one to suggest South Africa, and Josie organized the excursion as an early birthday present, but surely… "What," she hissed, "did you do?"

"Come in," he said, unconcerned. "I'll pour some champagne, only the best for your birthday party."

"Klaus-"

"Please." Klaus held out his arm, eyes much too innocent for the man himself. "I just...missed you. I thought it was about time to meet again."

Sighing, Caroline could actually feel her resolve crumbling. She reluctantly placed her hand in the crook of his arm, allowing him to lead in her inside. Damn, if his soft spot for birthdays wasn't adorable.

"So, did you trick my daughters into getting me here, or were they complicit in this little setup?"

Klaus just shrugged as they walked toward the refreshment bar, couples dancing and chatting in the next room. "Josie and Lizzie were none the wiser, they just wanted to give their mother a good birthday present," he promised. "Hope, however, was indeed complicit in sharing the details of said gift and your itinerary."

"I knew I shouldn't have hired a Mikaelson, even if she is the only normal one in the bunch," Caroline muttered.

Staffing a magic school required delicate inquiries, and it was her own fault that she reached out to Klaus for witchy contacts she and Alaric didn't have when they first reopened the Armory as the Bennett School. Though Hope was never a student, she joined their teaching roster as soon as she could. Caroline tried not to bond with her, really, but it was just impossible.

The only condition was that she couldn't bring her father's grudges to the school; children were not collateral damage. For twenty years, Hope had easily complied.

It seemed that Caroline's luck had run out.

Klaus popped a fancy bottle of champagne, smiling when she automatically reached for her glass. "Hope is exceptional," he corrected, "but I digress. Presumptuous as I know you're dying to call me, I didn't want you to spend the day alone."

"It's not my birthday," she burst out, incredulous that this was really happening. Her shout drew a few glances, so she sipped mulishly at her drink. "Not until Saturday."

Chuckling to himself, Klaus looked down to his toes. "I couldn't wait," he admitted.

Her challenging glare lessened as Caroline noted the familiar curls of his brass hair, the pink of his lips, and the deep dimples daring her to be angry. "You are presumptuous," she pointed out, though she also grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the dancers. "What happened to waiting, 'however long it takes?'"

They were swept up into the grand waltz playing, and Caroline felt lighter than air. She wasn't sure if it was the bubbles or the hybrid, but she didn't hate it.

Even better, the warm presence of his hand reminded her that she didn't have to feel it alone. This friend, or whatever he was, this one she could keep.

Forever.

#klarolineinfinity #klaroline drabbles #klaroline #my writing #round and round

79 notes · View notes