#Wesley home on the range

[fancyhats-and-fennelsbuds]

Ok.

*gender bents your dazzlings 2004's villains*

Movie's screenshot redraw cause life's too short for second thoughts

How fem! Weasley can be more charming as a disaster butch rather than the original rat-of-a-man self.

For Alameda's mane, i gently took inspo by this Queen in the left side of the video

[lyxchee-art]

Idk if I did this accurately

[tvguts]

unsure how to explain my thought process here but i think Steve Buscemi is Peter Lorre for millenials

[blapis-blazuli]

Phil: Why does Uncle Slim call you "babygirl"? Wesley: How about we stop talking?

[scoffingatgravity]

While it’s more likely Morris Rubinstein is inspired by Nucky, I can’t help but note similarities with a different character from Steve Buscemi’s filmography...

[icallhimjoey]

MORE INEVITABLE SPARKS!!! please!! it’s so good!!

(i like how there's a few anons who know i need these asks to post the next part to) Writing this has been a rollercoaster, because not for one second did I feel 100% comfortable, but @mybffjoe planted a seed that grew and I needed it out of my fingers fast, so THANKS for that (ily) (also this is the last part!) (enjoy, my babies) Wordcount: 4.4K

Inevitable Sparks

part one - part two - part three - part four - part five

Wesley’s anger didn’t falter for a second. It was just as strong leaving your flat as it was when he rang the buzzer of Joe’s. It was the type of rage that would make you bite down onto your lips too hard, squeeze fingernails into the skin of your palm with too much force, and Wesley found himself holding down Joe's buzzer uninterruptedly to inflict maximum annoyance on his friend.

Unbeknownst to Wesley, you'd given Joe a little heads up of the murder spree Wesley had set out on. You could be that person because you didn’t do it for Joe. You sent that text because you thought it would ultimately help Wesley out in the long run.

"showed Wes your text, thought I’d warn you"

When Joe opened his door, he was ready for Wesley, holding up his phone that read your text, immediately deflating Wesley’s puffed out chest a little upon seeing it.

You were too kind for this world, Wesley noted. Too pure-hearted. It made him feel bad for slamming your door, and it unexpectedly released more adrenaline into his veins, a new wave of overwhelming energy, because you really were too kind for this world and now it was even worse that Joe had hurt you.

Besides making Wesley feel even more protective, your text also revealed more to Joe than just its words did. There was lots for him to read between the lines and the fact that you decided to not send it in the group chat Wesley'd made for you, but in a separate text thread, also spoke volumes.

"We should stay friends?" Wesley fired at him as he pushed Joe aside to step into the flat. Joe saw the wine-stained teeth and filled in the blanks.

"Yea," Joe’s head bopped, not really a nod, not really a shake. "We should." he concluded, eyebrows raised high up on his forehead, and Wesley couldn’t fucking believe it.

"If my memory serves me right," Wesley threw his coat onto Joe’s sofa, signaling to Joe that he was going to be over for a little while and turned back to face him. "I told you not to fuck this one up. Did I not tell you not to fuck it up?"

"I didn’t. We’re friends." Joe knew he was lying through his teeth, but it was the only bit of defense he had. Your latest text could be used as proof of it now.

"Are you?"

"Sure," Joe shrugged, having never sounded more unsure in his life. He tried to play it off so casually, to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal at all, eager to defuse the situation because the last thing he wanted was to fight with Wesley.

"Friends don't say, let's be friends, and then don't text or call for nearly a week, do they?"

Joe could only listen.

"Friends apologise for the shit things they do and tell each other about the shi– when were you going to tell me about this?! I would've never sent her that stupid video, I would've– you made me be a bad friend to her! Your idiotic behaviour– you being a bad friend has made me be a bad friend. What the fuck, Joe?! Are you happy?"

Joe knew the question wasn't meant to be answered by him. Wesley just needed to get his drunken anger out, pace around Joe's living room and yell at him for a minute. So, Joe let him.

"And for what?!" Wesley snapped. "For what reason?!"

"I had to! For you!" Joe suddenly defended. "She was eating up my time and it came between us, didn't it?"

Wesley gave him a look of utter disbelief before letting out a loud laugh, and it was bitter, almost more like a sob.

"She didn't come between us – you did!"

Joe didn't pushback, because the second Wesley said it, Joe knew he was right and he'd fucked up in more ways than one. The only people who could wreck a home were the people within it. Wesley shook his head; small, quick shakes that probably hurt his eyes, and then thought a second, unintentionally giving Joe the opportunity to speak.

"You should've seen your face, man. You've not looked at me like that since we were 15 and I fucked off with Emma that and left you alone in that park with all those people we didn't know,"

Wesley scoffed. They hadn't spoken for three months after that night, his teenage trust damaged, bros before hoes the only saying young naive Wesley really stood by then. But that was then. This was now.

"Um, did I not give you wine and tell you to enjoy it?"

The comment was so passive aggressive, it made Joe squint at his friend. It was then that Joe realised Wesley had drank too much alcohol for him to have a reasonable chat about this. And Joe wanted to be a good friend, the very best friend, so he let it go, because he knew there wasn't anyone else to blame for his behaviour anyway. Inviting Wesley on his trip with him and texting you to just stay friends had only temporarily made Joe feel like he'd apologised to 15-year-old Wesley who hadn't ever really gotten an apology from him. After three months of not speaking, a drunken night at a random house party had made them fall back into their friendship like nothing had ever happened and they'd never spoken of it since. But temporary fixes weren't really fixes, were they? Joe'd fucked up, entirely on his own. No matter how drunk Wesley was right now, that he was right about.

"Ugh, I just, I can't." Wesley waved both arms at Joe. "Friends. Friends? She cried for two days and now you just think you can be friends with her?" Wesley held Joe's gaze peremptory, no longer hostile or aggressive, leaving room for Joe to reply, but still stern enough to let him know that he thought none of what had transpired was okay to him.

"She cried?" It was the first bit of true emotion for you Joe dared to show his friend.

"If you claim you're going to be a friend, be a friend." Wesley grabbed his coat. "Fix it. Apologise."

"I'm sorry." Joe said, halting Wesley on his way out.

"Not to me, you fucking idiot. To her. So she can move on."

And with that, Wesley disappeared, and left Joe alone with the worst realisation he immediately wanted to reject with all of his might. Move on. You were going to move on from him. Yes, Joe was going to apologise. He agreed he needed to. But not so you could move on from him. He was going to apologise because he wanted to get you back. Back to that place where you'd been before, where things felt fuzzy and warm and flirty.

Joe reached for his phone and opened your group chat, only to be confronted with the last message he'd sent. It had sat there for days, and he winced at the fact that you'd just been able to read that for so long. You had had far too much time to stare at those words, and he wished he'd never sent them, but there they were, looking at him like they had also looked at you. Abruptly, he didn't want to see them anymore. It was a futile move, but Joe pressed a thumb over his words, selected delete, then pressed the little trashcan and chose "Delete for Everyone".

The next day, late at night, Joe called Wesley and to Joe's surprise, Wesley answered pretty quickly.

"Hey,"

"Hi,"

"What's up?"

For a second, it was just chipper voices, like there wasn't a problem that still lingered in the air because Joe hadn't spoken to you yet. Oh, he had wanted to. Just wasn't sure how, exactly.

"Nothing much, just checking in to see what you were doing," Joe said casually, and Wesley fell silent on the other end of the line.

"Right," Wesley then said, stretching the word, and Joe could hear something he didn't like in his voice. "So, you're calling me... at twenty past eleven at night, just to see what I am up to?"

It was more than just plain judgement in Wesley's voice. It was like Wesley knew something else, something more.

"Yea, what you up to?" Joe tried to keep up his light and airy facade.

"And this doesn't possibly have anything to do with, oh... I don't know... the fact that you used to call someone else every night just before bed?"

Joe sputtered a bunch of vowels down the line, mind running at a million miles, but unable to come up with any sort of clever reply quick enough.

"I just got of the phone with her." Wesley revealed before Joe could get any proper words out. "Listen, I'm not going to be your replacement late-night-phonecall. Not for either of you. Figure it out." Wesley snapped.

"I..." Joe started, but he had no idea what he wanted to say.

"You're both so dumb," Joe caught Wesley's voice, sounding much further away, like he'd removed the phone from his face to look at the screen before he hung up. And it might have been just Joe, but he swore he detected the sound of his friend's smile as he'd said it.

Should he just call you?

Could he do that?

Mmhm.

Maybe not.

Joe put his phone down and stepped away from it, afraid of what he might do if he kept it too close. He needed to think of a way to apologise to you, find a way to show you how he really meant it. How truly awful he felt and how stupid he'd been. It had to be good enough for him to forgive himself for letting you cry over him, although he imagined maybe he would never be able to forgive himself at all for that. But he did need to let you feel that he didn't want to just be friends. He needed to do something that would convince you not to move on, and he had to be quick too, because he knew the longer he waited, the worse it got.

After sleeping on it, Joe thought he had an idea. One that might just work. He just needed Wesley's help, and then he'd be golden.

"need you to invite her over for dinner tonight, your place, but don't tell her it's come from me"

"why" Wesley didn't trust it one bit.

"neutral space. im fixing it"

"what are we having"

"no you're not invited sorry" And with that, Joe was off to the supermarket to fetch everything he needed for your surprise.

You were greeted by the thick, heavy smell of garlic well before you'd made it to Wesley's front door. The whole corridor smelled of dinner, and it smelled good, but for neighbours not a fan of the smell this had to have been a nightmare.

"My God, Wes. The whole fucking building smells of..." you pushed the door open that Wesley had left ajar when he'd buzzed you in downstairs, but when you opened it, you were surprised to see Wesley there, putting on his coat. "What are you doing?"

"This wasn't my idea," Wesley looked over his shoulder into his flat before turning back to you, hands straightening out his scarf. "I'll be back in an hour or two," and just like that, you swapped places; you inside, and Wesley out in the corridor. "Please, let him talk?" and because you weren't moving, Wesley leant in to reach for the door handle and then softly shut it in front of you.

You stood there for a second, staring at the closed front door, until you heard noises coming from inside and turned to take careful steps towards the living room. From the doorway, you could see Joe place a large pan onto a table that'd been set for you. There were two more pans on the table, steaming, and they were all filled to the brim with shrimp.

What the fuck.

Joe turned to looked at you, and for a moment, you just scanned each other. They'd tricked you. These fools had tricked you - and for no reason! Because had Joe asked to meet with you, you would've probably said yes. Even if it was to accidentally step onto a wallabee to leave it a dirty footprint. And you would've arrived late too, but you still would've come over. If not for yourself, then still for Wesley. You could see Joe was about to say something, so you quickly beat him to it.

"Hey, friend,"

Joe grimaced and it was almost as if you had thrown him off script for a second, because he quickly tried to recompose before he spoke.

"I erm... I've got a huge problem," Joe said as if he was reading it from a teleprompter, face displaying panic in a joking matter as he looked at the table full of food before turning back to look at you. He seemed entirely unsure of what he was doing, but it felt like he had rehearsed this, and he was sticking to his plans.

You just stared at him blankly, not reacting.

"Shrimp overload," Joe's voice grew tinier with every passing second. It was as if Joe only then realised what a bad punchline it was and he looked embarrassed as he gave the saddest jazz hands you'd ever seen before scratching the back of his neck and averting his eyes.

"I've got to explain some things," he stepped closer, and you had your eyes on table still, calculating how many fucking bags of shrimp Joe had cooked up. Surely, there were at least five of them.

"I never meant it," Joe started, stepping closer and blocking your view from the table, forcing you to look at him. "I don't think it's best if we stayed friends. I was trying to, sort of, guard, or... shelter my friendship with Wes and-"

"Wesley's explained it," you cut Joe off. "I get it." You still thought it was stupid, but Wesley had defended Joe so well in the chat you guys had had over the phone the night before, you truly did understand.

"No, but, let me–" Joe reached for one of your hands that he folded into both of his.

"He told me, it's okay." you interrupted him again, wanting to step away from the awkwardness that laid in wait within the conversation Joe was trying to have with you.

Joe huffed an annoyed breath through his nose. "Please, let me? I want to– need to get this out. Wesley made me promise it too..."

You remembered Wesley's words, let him talk, and were tickled by how well you realised Wesley had gotten to know you in a short period of time. And so, you let Joe explain. And apologise. He apologised a lot. For so many things. You just listened as you stood there, one palm still pressed between two of his and Joe was impossible because he was all one hundred per cent unwavering eye contact. Just, relentless eye contact. His eyes didn't drift from yours for a second, and it almost made you lose focus, instead concentrating more on how pretty Joe was. Because, fuck, he really was, wasn't he?

"So, I'm sorry," Joe concluded, apologising once more. "I kind of want to start over, if that's okay..." you gave him questioning eyes as he then let go of your hand, stepped back, turned around and then, took a second before he spun back to face you again.

"I've got a huge problem," Joe used his teleprompter voice again, but more alive this time.

And you couldn't believe it, but you laughed. You laughed from the pit of your stomach, and Joe did too. It was the kind that made your ribs hurt and your eyes water. You bent into your laughter, backwards and forwards, and Joe stepped close to you so you could use his body to hold yourself upright. Even then, you saw Joe's eyes look for yours, and you caught his stupid grin because, oh my God, he couldn't believe that worked.

"Joe," you started, bringing a hand up to your eye to wipe at it without trying to disturb your mascara. "I've eaten shrimp three days in a row because of you. I'm kind of good on shrimp for the rest of the year, I think." your laughing picked up again, and Joe laughed too, but he frowned in a wave of more self-hatred and let out a guttural groan.

"I'm sorry."

You both stood and looked at the huge amount of shrimp for a moment, and you wiped both eyes once more. You wondered if you could forget the past week this easily. You'd seen how Joe had removed his message in your group chat, but you had the screenshot of it in your gallery still. Would it be too easy to just step over this hump and leave it behind you? You gave your fingers a quick glance to check, but there was no black residue. Maybe you shouldn't let Joe off the hook so easy, but you also didn't want to hold on to grudges. And Joe was funny. And he looked really good.

"Wanna check if Wesley's got any leftovers?" you suggested, raising a shoulder and realising then that you were still in your coat.

"I mean, if we're counting all of this, Wesley's got a lot of leftovers," Joe joked as you shrugged your coat off, already on your way to the kitchen.

For the next thirty minutes you stood in Wesley's kitchen together, heating up some of his leftovers, pulling open drawers and cabinets to find more food and make it a full meal. You didn't know where everything in Wesley's kitchen was, so Joe would point things out as he stirred a wooden spoon into a pot behind the stove and let you dance around him as you gathered everything you needed. He took advantage and said a bowl he needed was up on a high shelf in a cabinet and he made you reach for it, giving him the perfect view of your bum as he snuck looks at the sliver of skin it exposed above your jeans.

"There's no bowl?"

"Oh, my mistake."

And you shoved him when you saw the glint in his eyes, but you grinned, just like Joe did.

You sat, and you ate, and you talked and you giggled. You filled plastic tubs with shrimp, filled up Wesley's freezer, did dishes and tried to find your normalcy again. You were full of messages you hadn't sent Joe, and Joe encouraged you to get all of it out. "Come on, lay it on me," he'd said, beckoning you with his fingers. But it was hard, because the last time you'd seen or had even spoken to Joe, you'd been mere millimeters and fractions of seconds removed from kissing him and as soon as you remembered it, the thought wouldn't leave the forefront of your mind.

After dinner, you were still in the kitchen, wiping down counters as your last task, leaving the place cleaner than you'd found it, because you and Joe had decided that you were good friends to Wesley. You felt your phone vibrate in your pocket and saw that Wesley had texted you.

"Has Wesley texted you as well?" Joe called from near Wesley's seating area, turning the TV on as he checked his phone too.

"It just says '30 minutes',"

"Mine too,"

You turned the kitchen lights off, and heard adverts play on TV as Joe sat down. You hovered by the dining table a second and replied to Wesley's text with a thumbs up emoji.

"I sent a thumbs up emoji," Joe then said, leaning forward and placing his phone face down on the coffee table, and you didn't even dare look at Joe as you tried to hide the shock in your smile, keeping the reason for it to yourself as you scrolled and swiped to see if there was more that needed checking on. There wasn't. When you slid your phone back into your pocket, you looked up and caught Joe watching you with a degree of affection that made you feel all shy. Joe smiled slowly and couldn't let himself manufacture any awkwardness from his corner of the room.

"Come here," Joe said, holding out an arm, all smiles and warm eyes.

You walked over and reached for it, but before you could, his arm dodged yours and instead went for your waist, pulling you forward swiftly. It wasn't a quick move; Joe gave you plenty of space to halt him, to move backwards if you wanted to, but you didn't and instead let him guide you as he pulled you closer and eventually, on top of him.

Your hands found the tops of his shoulders the perfect place to rest them, but Joe reached and moved one of your hands to cover one of his cheeks and leant slightly into it. The way he looked up at you made him look extra dreamy, and without Joe's help, your other hand did the same to his other cheek. You brushed some of his scruff down with your thumbs and took a moment to study his features as Joe's hands rubbed the outside of your thighs slowly. Joe watched how your eyes wandered, and had you not been so focused studying the lines of his face, you would've seen Joe was doing the same to you. You took your time to map his face, so you could maybe remind it later from the top of your head. And Joe let you, using the moment to gaze up at you freely. You used your index finger to trail over freckles near his hairline, and then over the scar on his forehead, making your brows twitch sympathetically. Joe copied it subconsciously and it pulled you out of your trance a little, making you smile.

"I don't think I've ever seen a prettier face," Joe spoke softly, and with the movement of his lips, your let a thumb run across them as you noticed he pulled in a bit closer to you. Joe had beautiful lips. So soft. You felt how Joe took hold of your chin and pushed it down ever so slightly until your noses found each other. You let them nudge and poke until Joe could feel your heartbeat, strong and beating fast against his own and he let his lips catch yours in an open-mouthed kiss.

Joe kissed you slow. Breathy. Took his time to really savour every second that he got with you perched on his lap. Let his head move in tune with yours and breathed you in. It was all you wanted from a kiss. Soft. Tender. Romantic.

But then you felt Joe's hands on your bum, making you push your hips forward, grinding into him and Joe's throat made a noise that he quickly cut off himself.

"Need I remind you that we're on Wesley's sofa?" What Joe meant was, slow down, woman.

"Mmh, fuck Wesley," you quipped before crashing your lips with Joe's once more and pulling him closer to you, if that was even possible, wanting deeply to let all of it grow more passionate. More fiery.

"We could always ask," Joe joked back, and it made you giggle enough to break your kiss completely now. Joe smiled back at you as you sat up and placed two hands on his chest before sighing deeply.

"No," you spoke on an exhale. "We're good friends, now," you said it like you hated every word, and it made Joe chuckle before leaning in for a last, quick kiss.

"Come on, we'll find something good on Netflix," Joe said, using both his hands to lift you and sit you down right next to him. You didn't like it, but it was all right. You got to snuggle into him a little, and once you'd settled on a film, each of you let both your hands rest on each other's bodies. Touching. Feeling. Softly stroking fingers, drawing shapes, scratching and tickling. It only lasted a few minutes, because when you heard a key open the front door, both you and Joe halted all movement and waited for Wesley to walk in.

For a second you imagine the sight of you Wesley was going to get upon entering. Would it be kinder if you sat up and kept your hands to yourself? Would you be better friends to Wesley if you moved inches away from each other?

"Ooh," you heard Wesley take off his shoes. "What are we watching?" and without any other comments, without poking fun and without making it weird, Wesley stepped over your legs that rested on his coffee table and let himself fall onto the sofa next to you.

You turned your head, the rest of you still entirely leant into Joe and you smiled at Wesley until he looked back at you. He gave your shoulder a rough nudge and saw how Wesley looked over you and smiled at Joe.

"Did you eat all the shrimp?" Wesley then said as he saw his empty table at the other side of the room.

"Yep," "All of it,"

You and Joe answered at the same time, both your eyes trained at the TV, no hints of jokes or smiles from either of you and Wesley gave you both a look before shaking his head. All was well, and all seemed fine. The way your heart felt full in that moment, sat between Joe and Wesley on that sofa, only made you realise how empty it had felt all week, and you knew that you were going to need to let yourself have a little cry over it later. This felt right. This felt warm, and fuzzy, and happy, almost like sunshine, and you thought a lot of things, but said precisely none of them.

You weren't sure when exactly you'd fallen asleep, or how long you'd been asleep for, but the harsh sound effect of a camera shutter coming from Wesley's phone woke you up slightly, and you felt movement from something heavy that rested against the top of your head.

"Shh," Wesley cooed softly, but slightly panicked, and you weren't sure if he was talking to you, or to his phone. With your eyes closed you knew exactly what was happening in Wesley's living room, and it made you groan softly as you curled into Joe more. You felt exhaustion tug at your bones and wanted to go back to sleep. "Don't move, it'll be blurry again." Wesley whispered, followed by a silence. "I'm getting your good sides."

"Wesley's an idiot," you heard Joe croak above you, and you realised that you'd both fallen asleep on Wesley's sofa. Next thing you knew, you felt a throw blanket being placed over you, and you cracked an eye open, only to make direct eye contact with Wesley. He looked tired himself too, and you wondered if maybe he'd been asleep for a bit as well.

"Hard agree," you smiled at him and felt Joe's arms hug you into him tighter as you closed your eyes and let yourself drift off again.

-----

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[joeyquinndrabz]

Unloved - Joseph Quinn x Reader

TW: VERY angsty but finishes with fluff, insecurities mentioned

22:45. Eyes growing tired and your back aching from leaning against the bar, you were ready to go home. Joseph on the other hand, he was in his element. Surrounded by fellow actors and actresses, cackling at any joke thrown into the circle. In a way you’d been abandoned but his drunken self was far too absorbed in their conversations to realise.

You were eternally grateful that Joseph also brought Wesley along because you didn’t know anyone and no one seemed eager to get to know you in the slightest. Joes lack of company hadn’t gone unnoticed by him either, he felt too bad to leave you on your own but he had to head home due to an important meeting with his manager he had early in the morning. You’d reassured him you’d be fine and that you’d be more upset if he stayed because you didn’t want him to risk not getting up in time. So off Wes went, saying goodbye to Joe and yourself before calling a taxi to take him back to his home. You on the other hand, you were left to receive patronising stares from everyone who passed and you couldn’t fight your emotions for much longer.

It was evident to you that there was one girl in particular who had taken a liking to Joe and she was sending you daggers and had been all night. Joseph was so deep into his conversations that he hadn’t noticed but something inside of you wanted him to see, to say something, anything.

She was giggling too hard for your liking and kept staring at him with hunger in her eyes. It didn’t help that she was obviously some sort of model, her slender figure and picture perfect face gave it away. You on the other hand, worked a 9-5 and didn’t see your beauty like Joseph did. Your physical appearance had been an issue for you since your teenage years and it was something Joe was aware of. That’s why watching her so close to him and obviously trying to flirt with him was breaking your heart, bit by bit.

You couldn’t go over there, they didn’t want you in that circle and it hurt that Joe still chose to hang out with these people even though they’d completely disregarded your existence. There wasn’t much more you could handle, you were well and truly at breaking point. Finishing your drink and thanking the bartender for her company, you tried to signal to Joe you were going. To your surprise, you’d caught his attention but not in the way you were hoping for. He discreetly tilted his head at you as to say ‘can’t you see I’m busy’ and continued conversing with those ignorant fools.

The ache in your heart was overwhelming and you left the bar with your lips pierced together and tears forming with every step. For the first time that night you weren’t receiving any dirty looks, instead the strangers in the street looked at you with worried expressions and empathy. Your navigation of London wasn’t as good as Joes so being put in this situation was terrifying and made the emotions you were feeling 10x worse. There wasn’t any chance he was going to pick up his phone, he was too busy. You wanted to call Wes but feared you’d wake him up and ruin his meeting in the morning. Therefore, with 10% on your phone, you had to hope and pray for your safety and hope that you’d make it home.

You did eventually make it home, the 4% on your phone was clinging on for dear life and you were ready to get into bed and cry yourself to sleep. However, you hadn’t realised when leaving the bar that your coat was still there and the keys to your flat were also at the bar. You didn’t live with Joe either, so you were well and truly screwed. You didn’t have any other option but to try and call Joe with the 4% you had remaining.

It rang. It rang again. Then again. Until you were greeted with his automated voicemail. So you tried again, and again, until suddenly when you tried to ring for the 4th time…it had gone straight to voicemail. He’d turned off his phone. He’d turned off his phone whilst you were stuck in the freezing cold with no coat and now your phone had died on the last attempt to call him. To make matters worse, the drizzle you’d felt turned into an extreme storm and your flat was not inside a building you could reside in whilst you waited. The world had fucked you over and you finally broke down. Sliding down your flat door you sobbed and sobbed whilst holding your body in your arms in an attempt to keep some warmth.

You had no idea how long it’d been, it felt like days. Your teeth were chattering and the feeling in your feet had gone, there was still no sign of Joe.

That was until you heard someone shouting your name who sounded awfully like the man himself. You didn’t have the energy to be angry, you had none at all. You just wanted to get inside, you were so disappointed with him, he’d watched you leave without your jacket and still decided to stay. No concern for you or your wellbeing.

“Y/n? Oh my Jesus- Baby I’m so-“ Joe was quick to burst out in apology when he saw the state you were in. You were soaked, from head to toe, shivering with water dripping from your nose. “Save it.” You muttered through gritted teeth and used all your strength to reach for your jacket from his grasp. “I called you and you didn’t respond, I thought you’d gone back with Wes and when I got to his I-.” You were dragging yourself up from the wall and your shaking hand turned the key to your flat door. “I called you too. I called you quite a bit actually. You watched me leave on my own, I don’t need the lies Joe.” He’d followed you into your flat and watched as you walked straight past him into the bedroom, ready to strip yourself of your drenched clothes. “Sweetheart I’m not lying, I was so far into my conversation with Ava that the time span between you and Wes leaning felt identical. I genuinely thought you were with him.” Joe had tears in his eyes but there was no sympathy from you. You’d checked the time and it was 1:43am. You’d been outside for 2 hours, 2 whole hours. “I called you Joe, I really needed you and you were too busy with the same woman who’d been sending me death glares all night and the same woman who I heard call me a ‘scum from under her shoe’ to a group of women in the toilets. You left your girlfriend alone in London, to walk the streets with 10% and i spent the remainder of that charge trying to get in contact with my boyfriend! I could’ve been fucking dead and you wouldn’t of had a clue.” You were wailing and Joe wanted nothing more than to hold you in his arms but you stepped away from him anytime he came near. “Baby i didn’t know about any of this, if i did I would’ve been there in a heartbeat. I left to go to the toilet and when I came back my phone had been turned off completely. Ava, who i now know is a massive prick, decided to turn it off because it kept ringing from what she said was a ‘private number’. I told them I was leaving and then I headed to Wesley’s but when he answered he said he had no idea where you were. We both tried ringing you and texting you but I didn’t hear anything.” Joe had to stop to compose himself, he’d expected the worse. You never ignored his calls or texts so he knew something was really wrong. At this point you’d gotten changed into his oversized tracksuit that he wore around the flat when he was round. Although he’d completely and utterly fucked up, the smell of him was still a massive comfort to you and there was no helping it. “Wes obviously lives on the other side of London so I ran from his to the tube and he went looking where we’d just been to see if you’d gone back. The tube i was on broke down so I ran here as quick as I could. I’ve been a dick and there’s nothing I can do about what’s happened and if I could then I’d do anything. The fact I put you in that position i can’t I just-“ He began to sob, he sat on your bed with his head in his hands.

You knew deep down Joe would never want you to be in that situation, you knew he loved you but tonight you’d never felt so unloved and unwanted . He’d let you down and for that you had every right to feel upset with him. Maybe not intentionally, but he’d still done it.

“You left me on my own all night Joe. It’s like you want to get rid of me but this is taking the fucking piss. Tonight is the first night in our whole 4 years of being together that I’ve felt completely and utterly unloved by you. If you don’t want me around then fucking do something about it, don’t make me watch as you converse in conversations at the bar all night whilst I’m left to pitifully watch from the sidelines.” The part about you feeling unloved broke Joe like never before, he was sure he genuinely felt his heart shatter. “You think I don’t love you?.” Joe questioned mid sob, lifting his head from his hands to see if you were being sarcastic at all. “What part of tonight has showed that you love me Joe?” You looked straight at him with a tear stained face and new ones glazing your eyeballs. “I love you now, then and always. And I’m completely and utterly sorry for tonight’s events, I’ve hurt you and I can’t imagine how you’re feeling right now. I understand if you don’t want me around right now, but please know that my heart does and will always belong to you. I will spend everyday of my life showing you how much I love you because I never and I mean never want you to think I don’t love you. And as for Ava and anyone at that table, they are dicks and there’s no excusing their behaviour. But as your boyfriend I’m in a position to protect you from that shit and I didn’t, I failed you. I can’t believe I’ve done this to you.” Joe was now stood significantly closer to you, tears still falling whilst he took in your broken appearance. “Do you wish I was more like them?” You asked, feeling as though you were no longer good enough for him. The Joe you’d met wasn’t a star of sorts, he’d done his fair share of acting but it was mostly theatre and you were his biggest fan. His life then seemed so far from what you knew, but now, it felt like you were in a movie yourself. Everyone around you became famous and well-known and you were, you. Maybe Joe felt you were dragging him down? Or he’s been introduced to so many new women he no longer sees the light in your eyes when you meet his?

“Oh my sweet girl.” Joe broke the gap between you both, wiping your tears with his thumbs and holding your head so you could meet his eyes. You both looked awful, crying messes to put it frankly. “I want you, and only you. Not a different version of you, just my beautiful Y/N who’d rather drink a milkshake over a cocktail. My Y/N who says yes to anything and who’s never afraid to speak her mind. My Y/n who gags at the thought of oysters.” You let out a slight laugh amongst the tears. “I want you angel. You’re so precious to me and again, I’m so sorry you’ve been put in a position of hurt caused by me who saying all this. I know my actions tonight don’t match my words, but you my darling are the love of my life and the reason I do what I do. Please don’t for a second doubt that I don’t love you. Because I do, a dangerous amount.” Joe finished his speech with a long kiss to your forehead and he held you closer than he’d ever done before. The closeness between you both made him aware of how cold you were and how you were still slightly shivering.

“Promise this won’t happen again?” You questioned into his chest. “Never ever again. My time off is dedicated to you now, we’ll go on so many adventures and see so many different places. I’m here now, forever.” He mumbled into your hair, squeezing your body like he’d never done before.

“And Wes.” You muttered, looking up at him. “And Wes.” He chuckled softly before leaning down to kiss you.

“I’m sorry angel.”

“I know you are, I forgive you.”

[excludedmiddle]

One genuinely weird chess statistical anomaly I have no explanation for - the current group of players who've dominated the chess world were born in the late 80s to early 90s, the youngest (Anish Giri and Wesley So) being born in 1994.

Then chess greatness essentially skips 9 years, to Alireza Firouzja in 2003.

There are 33 players currently above 2700, but only 6 of them are born between 1995-2002, of the ages 21-28, despite this being (in theory) your prime years as a chess player. Only 1 is in the top 10, Richard Rapport, at rank 10. The next best is at rank 20.

There are already 4 younger players up there, as well, including the aforementioned Firouzja at rank 6 (and he was rank 2 not all that long ago).

Conversely, in 2015, 18/44 of the players above 2700 were in that range (21-28). The difference is even more stark when you get to the top 10 - ranks 1, 4, 5, 6, and 8 were all in their mid 20s.

Only one player above 2700 was younger than 21.

Among other things, this hammers home how incredibly strong Magnus Carlsen is - he was born smack in the middle of the greatest generation in chess history in the midst of the engine revolution, and he's dominated the field to a frankly ridiculous degree.

[wafflesinthe504]

The Rookie 5x12 Thoughts

Spoilers for The Rookie 5x12 below. If you've watched the episode or don't care about spoilers, please enjoy!

Before I really get started can I just give a shout out of appreciation to all the The Rookie gif makers out there. Y'all really snapped tonight. Honestly, I think this is the quickest work you guys have done! Chef's kiss to all the gifs out there.

The cold open of tonight's episode was great. Seeing everyone just pile in all dirty and bruised up due to whatever happened beforehand and a flustered Kelly Clarkson was cool to see. Nyla and Angela being the only ones not covered in dirt because they're detectives was the best part. Their little fist bump was so cute.

But honestly I would really like to know what happened that led to almost everyone being covered in dirt and leaving the scene with cuts and scrapes. Like did something explode, were they in a derelict warehouse and had to fight some bad guys, like what happened?

Anyways, onto the rest of the episode.

I was so happy to see Tamara again. Her just chilling out doing yoga with Lucy trying to play off the fact that she got home late. It doesn't matter how good of a liar Lucy is anybody with eyes can see that her and Tim are dating. The relief that Lucy expressed when Tamara told Lucy that she knew she was dating Tim. Lucy was just happy for someone else to finally know and be able to talk about her relationship with Tim. Our girl was ready to talk about the amazing relationship she has with Tim. Also, Tamara being the reason that Lucy decided that today was the day. Honestly, I want to see Tamara and Aaron meet at this point. Its only right that the captains of the ship get to hang out for a bit.

The return of Oscar Hutchinson is always a delight. Look I know that man has committed plenty of atrocities (mainly stabbing Wesley), but I find him pretty funny. I really like how he's the one antagonist that has really been shown to actively get under John's skin. Any time Oscar is even mentioned is basically becomes the worst day of John's life. Even though Oscar has proven to be a dangerous criminal I just find it funny that his main character trait is to be as annoying as humanly possible. I also really like the fact that even though could have just been born this way every time we meet him its made clear that he just chooses to be this way. As great as sympathetic villains and antagonists are I really enjoy seeing a someone who is just clearly irredeemable and doesn't want to be redeemed either. Oscar just exists to be chaotic and I love it.

As much as I like Celina's character I really do wish that the writers would sort of abandon the idea of Celina having some sort supernatural ability. I feel like the other times were a little bit more believable since there was at least evidence that something was off, but Celina just instantly knowing that Oscar was somehow in danger really threw me off. I mean unless Celina was just messing with him I don't understand why it was necessary to put that in there. At the time there really wasn't any way she would have really known that Oscar was in danger.

I think a better idea would been to just let her notice how off the doctor seemed when she was being threatened.

Bonus: I just love how Nolan is absolutely in love with Bailey and loving the fact that she can totally beat him in fight.

I know I probably say this every week but I just can't get enough of Angela and Nyla. Honestly if wasn't so invested in Chenford they would easily be my favorite duo on the show. They're just so many great layers to them. Both of them are amazing detectives who are also moms and wives with beautiful families. They're both the protectors of their respective families, but they still get to show a full range emotion and complexity and I just really appreciate that.

A lot of the time spent this episode with Angela and Nyla are while they're on a stakeout of a criminal who turns out to be none other than Elijah Stone. When Nyla first found out that Angela lied to her about who they were following I was worried for a little bit that it would be dragged out for dramatic reasons but I'm really glad that they didn't let it fester and had Angela apologize at the end with Nyla accepting the apology. I also really liked seeing Angela be honest about how terrified she is of the current situation and how much pressure she feels on herself right now to be the protector of her family which is something that we know Nyla can relate to with her having to protect James from a robbery in a recent episode.

I just love how much these two have each other's backs. Its great representation of a great friendship that extends beyond the workplace and can healthily work through rough times in their friendship.

Bonus: Angela is pregnant again and Jack is going to be a big brother. The scene at the end with Angela telling Wesley was really cute.

Today was an official end of an era and a beautiful beginning to a new one. Tim and Lucy rode together for possibly the final time (for the best possible reason). Oh, how the tables have turned. We have gone from Tim Tests to Lucy Lessons and it was amazing. Seeing Tim be the one in denial about how objective he can be about Lucy was amusing to watch. That man hasn't been objective about Lucy since season 2. The only one he was kidding was himself with that one.

Lucy doing things just slightly off but knowing that they were things that Tim would usually nitpick about just to prove a point and swiping the earrings just to prove to Tim that he wasn't able to be objective any more when it came to her was an absolute genius play.

I really enjoyed seeing them working together at the house where the doctor's family was being held hostage. Even before I really started shipping them I always liked how well they worked together due to how well their able to balance each other out. Its most definitely something I'll miss, but hopefully we'll still get a few scenes of them together working together later on.

I will say that I am really excited to see what's next for both of them in their careers. For so much of the series their careers have been tied to each other in some way, shape, or form and I wonder what its going to be like seeing them pursuing their careers separate from each other.

I hope that we actually get to see Tim in his new desk job for at least a little bit. For the whole time we've known him he's always been a very physical character and I think it would be interesting to see how he acts be in a much less physical job. As a court liason I could see Tim interacting with pretty much every lawyer we know including the red hair one defending Elijah which could be an interesting dynamic.

Lastly, but absolutely not least the end scene Tim and Lucy succeed in getting 'naked time' with each other. Everything about the last scene with them was just perfect. Lucy cooking them dinner, Tim telling Lucy about his job change, the gentle kiss turning passionate. I loved everything about it.

I can't wait to see more domestic Chenford. Here's hoping the next time we see them they'll be at Tim's place and we can see Kojo again.

Bonus: Tim and Lucy in the parking lot literally could not be any more obvious short of them making out right then and there. Them trying (unsuccessfully) to play it cool in front of Wade.

______________________________________________________________

Hope you enjoyed. If you want come chat with me in the comments about anything The Rookie related.

Until next time have a good day or night.

[offender42085]

Post 1104

Before and After.....

Wesley L Faircloth, Florida inmate P82018, born 2003, incarceration intake July 2023 at age 20, scheduled for release December 2042

Possession of Photograph--Child performing sexual act

Wesley Faircloth was arrested on January 27, 2023 by Volusia County Sheriff’s Office deputies on 30 counts of possession of sexual performance by a child.

According to police, a search warrant was issued for Faircloth’s home at 1420 McGregor Road in DeLand after a tip was received by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which alerts local law enforcement agencies to reports of exploitation and child pornographic material shared online. 

At his home, detectives seized cell phones for forensic examination and found numerous photos or videos of sexual exploitation of girls estimated to range in age from 2 to 13 years old.

Police say that messages recovered from Faircloth’s phone indicated that he was trading files with other people.

3d

[aintahero]

/ main verses. under the cut is my timeline for stuff surrounding his main hunting life, while this is not completely detailed as I will edit it by episode and write up my alternate universes eventually. I have a preference to write dean in tentatively season 8-10 + season 14/15 post-michael, but I will write him in any point [ season ] on his timeline. triggers mentioned but not limited to (not graphic but mentioned only I promise [ BE SAFE MY GRASSHOPPERS !]) : child abuse/child neglect, implied sexual assault, implied self harm, suicide/suicide ideations, death, mental illness.

pre-series, age birth-twenty-one. birth to four years of age. I don't typically write in this age range, it's just a big stepping stone and to provide context. dean was conceived on a night that could only be described as tumultuous, mostly on mary's and deans biological fathers part, kip wesley. he was nearly a kid, fresh in medical school--- a nice, sweet normal boy, not anything like john. mary and john were not yet married and they had been in the middle of a big fight. mary doesn't and never would speak of that night in the impala with kip nor would she ever see or speak to him again, however, she outlines everything in a letter addressed to dean for when he turns eighteen to read. despite the ups and downs, fights and make-ups between john and mary, dean's childhood until he was four wasn't anything different. he did do a lot of reassuring with his mom because of the rocky relationship with john. with the addition of sam, that relationship didn't improve by much.

age four to eighteen years of age. after witnessing the death of his mother burning to death on the ceiling, it took him two years to finally speak again and even then it was only short clipped phrases. and another two years after that before it was full conversations. to this day, he still has trouble in certain stressful situations to actually articulate his words and emotions. from then on, john raised them and refused long-term help in raising them, but sometimes he'd leave them places [ mostly he'd leave only dean behind and come back for him ]. his treatment of dean was immensely worse than how john treated sam, not to say that john didn't treat sam badly as well--- dean usually kept a lot of it to himself, he was the ' big brother ' after all. when dean was sixteen, he got in trouble stealing food from a grocery store to feed sam because john hadn't left enough money and basically left dean at a boys home until john thought he was sufficiently taught a lesson; this was one of the worst instances that dean will say of being left behind or shunned by john. not only because he was left there, but because he had to give up the chance at a normal life because of the responsibility he felt towards protecting sam. up until dean was eighteen, dean was tasked by john to protect sam and even onward. when he was eighteen, john had dean take on his own hunting cases. and dean was relatively glad to be away from john and the responsibility he felt.

eighteen to twenty years of age. dean was intermittently taking on his own cases, doing his best to form a life away from john and sam. but he never strayed too far and only stayed away for a week or two weeks at a time, or however long a particular case took. did whatever he could to get money. this is around the time deans sex addiction took a proper setting with his sex work.

twenty-one to twenty-five years of age. when dean turned twenty-one, is close to the day that sam left for college [ stanford ]. at first dean was upset and they very nearly got into a fight because of it. but in the end, dean drove him to the bus stop, gave him some money, told him he was proud of sam and saw him off. john was pissed when got home, needless to say dean was in a lot of pain the next day. shortly after that, dean only sees johns face occasionally, with those every once in a while phone calls until the calls and the visits stop. dean is grateful for this but feels guilty about that feeling + he still feels hella abandoned, because sam also stops answering his calls.

side-bar: if we're including abraham march, twenty-four is the age dean meets him in a bar, or should I say their souls reunite. depending on dynamic, he will be included in all of it, but this cliff-notes is as if he doesn't exist. this is more of a note for me and potential platonic things. if we are shipping or plan to ship this doesn't apply.

in deans book, those were some of the worst years of his life, so much so that he does end his life, in a motel bathroom. but by some forces in the universe [ hint hint archangel michael ], he is brought back without being aware he actually died. he continues on until he can't take it anymore, doing it alone and he doesn't think he should have to. [ start of season one ] he stops by stanford in some attempt to get sam to come with him. they work the woman in white case ---- and sam tells him he won't come with him for good, until jessica dies burning to death on the ceiling just like mary. sam decides to come with him not out of love but for revenge.

season one. age twenty-five to twenty six. this is the least traumatized dean. for the next year, sam and dean work cases together under the guise of going after the demon [ azazel ] that killed mary + jessica and getting john back, but dean was secretly glad to be spending time with his brother again. they get super close over that time, with a few bumps in the road with fights about their dynamics with john and mary. in the end they are reunited with john. they find azazel, but the demon gets the drop on them, possesses john and nearly kills dean--- the impala gets trashed and dean winds up in a coma.

season two. age twenty-six to twenty-seven. the year opens up with dean in a coma for a few weeks. a reaper named tessa comes for dean, he resists it at first, but eventually he's going to let her take him. it's thwarted when john sells his soul in order to save dean's life. john is only given a few moments to say his goodbyes and opts for one last discouraging thing thrown in deans face that if sam gets out of control dean would have to kill him. [ he'd learn later on what john meant ]. for the next few months, at bobby singer [ a ex-hunter friend (loosely) of johns] 's place, dean threw himself into fixing the impala, it was all he could do to process john's death and the combination of grief and RELIEF he felt with his death. in john's possessions he finds the letter mary wrote him that john kept from him, which only sought to complicate things. while dean didn't agree with having to kill sam, he didn't ignore what his father said, in fact it rang in his head every damn day--- they recruited the help from the owners of harvelle roadhouse, ellen harvelle, joanna harvelle and ash williams to help look into the legend of azazels promised children. until they learned more sam and dean continued to hunt and deal with the death of john. the information about the children of azazel comes too late when sam disappears, for a battle royale of sorts to see who would take the mantle as azazels second. dean manages to get there in time, but not before the other last child stabs sam in the back effectively killing him. it takes dean only a few hours before he decides to sell his soul for sams life. he is only granted one year before the hellhounds will come for him.

season three. age twenty-seven to twenty-eight. with the start of the year, it was hard to keep deans deal a secret from sam, so he tells him and is met with disbelief, anger, probably some resentment and a deep sorrow. not long sam started to come up with ways to get dean out of the deal, though dean was fully prepared to go when it was his time. he spent that whole year, hunting + indulging in things he never got to do as well as teaching sam a little about cars and to reassure him he'd be fine without him--- he was at stanford and he'll be alright now. his deal finally comes due, and the hellhounds drag his soul to hell.

HELL, interlude. twenty-eight to twenty-nine years of age. dean spends ONE ENTIRE YEAR IN HELL topside equating to 1200 hell years, it is there where his soul is tortured in hell for that entire year by the best torturer in the known world alistair. he finally breaks on hell year 1199. which sets in motion a chain reaction of broken seals in order for the demons to unleash and release the fallen one, lucifer onto the world. when he breaks, he's taken away from the torture and his soul begins it's corruption. he's on the tail-end of becoming a high-tier demon torturing his victims when castiel laid seige to hell to rescue his soul for none other than the archangel michael.

side-bar: I have a verse where castiel gets to dean too late and he's already finished transforming into a demon, but castiel resurrects him anyway.

season four. twenty-nine to thirty years of age. when dean gets back he has full memory of his entire time in hell, sam has been in bed with a demon teaching him about his abilities under the influence of demon blood, he finds out angels are real and they have an agenda with him. of course dean also begins to struggle with his own moral dilemmas when angel blood gets put at the table; directly opposing to sam. it took dean a bit longer to ' warm up ' to the idea. he does his best though and does maintain control, however sam isn't quite as successful as his soul was created by lucifer.

season five. thirty to thirty one years of age. the threat of apocalypse is looming in the air, and can be felt all around the world. towards the beginning of the year, sam quits hunting leaving dean on his own. ENDVERSE OCCURS. which is a period of time when current dean gets tossed into an alternate reality where, lucifer is let out, sam becomes formally his vessel and the end of the world happens. when he gets back its the exact opposite affect that plagues dean--- instead of being scared and back into a corner into saying yes to the archangel michael: he reunites with sam in an effort to stop the apocalypse together. and embark on a quest to kill the four horse-man to gain rings to stop the opening of lucifers cage.

side-bar: I do have a verse where dean says yes in season five.

because they are simply humans caught up in a war that's been waging for centuries; they hash out a plan that ends up failing. sam's plan to say yes to lucifer but drink enough demon blood so that he can hopefully gain some control over lucifer enough for them to stop the fallen archangel. the entire show-down ends when sam gaining control over lucifer jumps back into the cage sealing it back up.

INTERLUDE. thirty-one to thirty-two years of age. side-bar: there are two paths dean can take during this interlude---- he continues to hunt without sam, or he joins any relevant party that i'm shipping with and attempts to live a normal life with them ( including going to live with lisa and ben ). we're also skipping season six and season seven, as a general rule on this blog, both of those seasons make me enormously uncomfortable, so basically. thirty-two to thirty-four years of age. sam gets resurrected, pulled out of the cage and he doesn't approach dean right away because he doesn't want to interrupt what dean has going on. UNLESS, dean turned to hunting in which case they reunite. for the next two years, they hunt together and things seem pretty calm. but nothing stays that way within the lives of the two grace imbrued winchesters. two big bads emerge, one abaddon who is seemingly unkillable, a knight of hell and leviathans creatures born in the woods of purgatory. since leviathans are killable, they decide to tackle that problem first. however, when they kill the leader of the leviathans it opens up a portal and sucks dean and castiel into purgatory.

PURGATORY, interlude. thirty-four to thirty-five years of age. dean as a human gets sucked into the land where monsters go when they die. naturally most of them there have a beef with him, plus he's a shining example of power just like castiel for them to get their hands on. castiel soon leaves dean behind in some effort to keep some of the heat off of him. he soon meets a vampire by the name of benny, who ultimately wants to use dean to get out of purgatory, in the end they become the best of friends and probably a little more if you know what i mean. anyways, eventually they catch up to castiel and head towards the portal that opens up every once in a while to let a monster that's killed in. castiel ends up left behind, but when dean steps back out, another year has passed.

season eight, thirty-five to thirty-six years of age. dean finds sam almost instantly, however, like sam doesn't reveal himself right away and shys away from how happy sam looks living the normal life he was living. however, that happiness for sam is short-lived when he gets a call from a frantic kevin tran, a prophet who they'd met prior to dean being sucked into purgatory. dean and sam find the bunker but use is sparingly but the house with the bunker as its basement serves as their home. I need them to have windows, I will literally go insane if i have to use the bunker. side-bar: this is where dean would get ghost, if we take the route of wanting to include deans german shepherd in threads, otherwise there's no dog.

with the tensions between sam and dean rising, with the new information on a series of trials that could close the gates of hell forever and who was going to do them. they came to a decision that they both could do them together, especially with the threat of abaddon getting worse by the day. never a dull moment. however, it came down to only one of them being able to do it, as the last trial would kill the person. DEAN ENDS UP THE ONE DOING THE TRIALS, and when deans about to finish sam interrupts be it his guilt for not being able to save dean from hell and purgatory but he could save him from this. but it's too late and dean slips into a coma.

season nine, thirty-six to thirty seven. while sam and dean are having their issues. the issues of heaven have increased, metatron one of god's and michaels right hands decides to betray heaven and cast a spell that causes all angels to fall, or rather their wings clipped and powers short-ed out for a brief time. sam is praying then to any angel, to come help his brother. none other than the archangel michael answers ---- after escaping the cage with his own loophole, BUT its not actually michael answering this time but another angel pretending to be michael. eventually, the angel won't let go of dean the perfect vessel, so they have to force the angel out. dean ashamed of most of all of it, failing to finish the trials, and again putting his loved ones indirectly in harms way. he goes his separate way. in a last ditch effort to make things right, he puts his focus into stopping abaddon. but another mistake is made when he takes on the mark of cain, the only known thing to actually kill a knight of hell coupled with the first blade --- that will eventually corrupt the user. at the end of it, he kills abaddon, and then goes after heavens problem, metatron but ultimately dies. and he becomes cain's replacement.

DEMON DEAN, interlude. thirty-seven to thirty-eight. crowley, the self proclaimed king of hell ( i forgot to mention him earlier but its fine ), resurrects dean as a demon using the first blade coupled with the mark burned into deans arm. for the following year, dean basically goes on what I like to call a fun rampage, he does whatever the fuck he wants whenever the fuck he wants and doesn't have really a super care in the world. eventually that year of fun comes to a halt when sam finally catches up to him and cures him.

season ten. thirty-eight to thirty-nine. with a cured dean, but the effects of the mark are still there, and if they don't find a way to get the mark off the same thing would inevitably happen again when he'd die he'd become a demon. so naturally he went to cain, who had become a problem killing people ever since the night dean came to him to share the mark. cain tells dean theres no stopping it, there's no getting rid of it unless you pass it to someone else just have to live with it. which dean really is after that fully prepared to do having being sam and castiel the only push to attempt to remove it no matter the cost. dean refuses to give it to someone else and damning them so he would just bear it. eventually sam goes behind his back and does a spell that releases the mark from existence which also release what the mark was encasing, an entity known as amara the darkness, residual energy from the creation of the angels in an attempt for the balance ( she is not god's sister in my lore, i spit at canon ). she was imprisoned by god, centuries ago when she tried to overtake michael and use him to corrupt heaven. because of his connection with michael and not necessarily the mark, amara sets her sights on dean.

season eleven. thirty-nine to forty years of age. the mark is gone from his arm, but the problems surrounding it are far from other. a primordial dark corrupting creature is loose and her sights are still on dean, to corrupt him. crowley wants his hands on her to harness her power to take over the world. so in their search for some way to stop her, they end up confronting archangel michael and with his help and rowena's help (a witch who is the mother of crowley and someone they met along the way), they turned dean into a soul bomb. but he didn't need to use the bomb to stop her, simply explaining the world to her and having her explore the world she decided with deans prompting not to corrupt the world but to enjoy it. while they were dealing with this, lucifer ended up broken out of his cage, amara also decides to give them what they really want and brings mary back from the dead.

season twelve. forty to forty-one years of age. they deal with things in stages, but they fix one problem another one rears its head. this time they first have to get their mom adjusted, then they can go after lucifer, who eludes their grasp and continues to onward until next season. mary stays with them, until she's taken by a new group the british men of letters and falls privy to their ways. dean breaks her out of the spell and keeps the organization from taking over. they also have the obligatory german enemy episode, and dean kills a resurrected hitler, ANYWAYS MOVING ON.

season thirteen. forty-one to forty-two years of age. lucifer is still out there scheming for his next move, but yet another threat to tackle emerges, unbeknownst for a while an angel from another dimension sent in scout to report back for a take-over + destruction to the other dimensions archangel michael. eventually the angel is figured out perhaps i'm thinking by castiel and lucifer shows up for added annoyance. I haven't figured out the complete details but sam ends up in that world, and dean needs to go back in and save sam and potentially help stop the threat of destruction of their own dimension. they manage to get the humans out of that dimension and instead of eliminating that threat completely take out the means to get to the other world. the other world michael slips through. then sam is once again in danger because lucifer wants him again now that he has a game plan. dean in a last ditch effort says yes to the other world michael. he shows up with michael and kills lucifer but michael takes over and begins torturing dean within his mind.

TRAPPED, interlude. forty-two to forty-three years of age. for a year, dean is trapped within his mind + body, only there sometimes to see what michael is doing when michael allows it. this goes into season fourteen. one day michael just leaves deans body, sensing the close-ness of their worlds michael. but the other world michael leaves the door open for him to reenter dean whenever he pleases.

season fourteen. forty-three to fotry-four. dean is not okay when he gets back seeing as the bunker and somewhat of the house was over-run by the other world hunters and people, all looking at him like he's the time-bomb despite more or less invading their home, and his bedroom. dean goes down a rabbit hole of never leaving his room for a while to dive into movies and research now on how to get another weapon that is powerful enough to stop other world michael. their world michael eventually comes to him and enlightens him about a spear. getting the spear was no easy feat but he did and they were on their way to stopping other world michael. that back-door though has other world michael within deans body once again. sam and castiel try themselves to eject other world michael from dean by entering his mind. dean manages to trap other world michael inside his mind while they find a way to get rid of him. during that time, dean creates a coffin as a last ditch effort cause eventually he knows that other world michael is going to break out. the idea is scrapped when sam refuses to let dean climb into a coffin for the rest of eternity.

side-bar: I have a verse where dean does get in that coffin and takes that plunge to the bottom of the ocean and stays under for two years.

season fifteen. forty four to forty-five years of age. the year begins with dean still struggling with michael inside his head, until the saving grace of their world michael comes to him yet again. with no options left, dean allows their world michael into his head as well. the three of them duke it out, all while dean is continuing to go on hunts. eventually their world michael is victorious, and he actually follows through on his word and leaves dean's head.

OKAY THIS IS WHERE IT KINDA ENDS, so my multiple endings are as follows with some of them not actually having a definitive end.

on a routine hunt, dean slips up with the combination of being exhausted from the war waged in his head untold to sam. within a barn, shoved against a rusty piece of rebar. the first one is not actually an ending but a beginning— his physical body does but his spiritual body travels dimensions so a rusty piece of rebar can’t keep this boy down the second one he survives that rebar puncture but he has such a long road of recovery, so the first two sort of align with the source material.

the third is that specific scene never happens and he keeps on hunting until he drops dead of a heart attack in his 60's cause this man is stubborn as a mule. side-bar: he can open a school for hunting cause i have a lot of feelings regarding this, and a verse where he does exactly this.

the fourth one is the most special to me, he retires from hunting but not before he is a conduit for a spell that eliminates most if not all demons from earth and essentially closes the gates of hell permanently then he does the retirement thing occasionally providing support for some hunters.

I definitely have others depending on plot and the dynamic being written.

[outshinethestars]

History, Narative, The Lies we Make of Ourselves (Daredevil fic)

When she wakes up on the floor in the dark, her mind is drugged-hazy, and she doesn’t remember how she got there.  She doesn’t know how she got there and she doesn’t remember what she was doing, and for a second all she can think is no, no, no, no, this can’t be happening, she’s been clean for years, she can’t have, she wouldn’t.  And then she sees the knife in her hand, she sees the blood, and she sees Daniel lying there, dead.  And she remembers it all, Union Allied, the shady books, getting a drink with Daniel and talking.  She has all the files, they were going to expose them, take them down.  And this must go even deeper than she thought, because someone just set her up, someone murdered Daniel in her apartment and fucking drugged her and left the knife in her hand.  She hears sirens.  She’s shaking and there’s blood on her hands, and she’s about to be literally caught red-handed.  She’s covered in Daniel’s blood, and she’s about to be taken to prison, almost certainly going to be charged with murder and Daniel is dead, and she’s almost as scared as she’s furious. But at the same time a part of her is so fucking relieved that she didn’t take whatever-it-was herself.

Matt and Foggy have big city boys’ idealistic notions about the countryside.  Romantic ideas about innocence and clean air, good hard working Americana.  Rural America isn’t like that.  It’s shabby and ugly and falling to pieces, it’s a long slow story of decline, everyone getting older and poorer year by year.  There’s no hope in the sort of small towns where Karen’s from, the whole place is dying and everyone knows it.  Nobody lives there, is the thing.  A place like New York City is somewhere people dream of getting to, and people dream of getting out of, but no one dreams in small town America, everyone just leaves, and the few who don’t die trying, or they die trying not to.  There’s no life, and all that’s left behind are crumbling farms and businesses that can’t even break even, and bitter, disappointed people, and drugs.  Lots and lots and lots of drugs.

Karen killed herself trying not to leave, trying to keep the diner going, trying to still the slow inevitable pull of entropy, trying to kill herself a little faster than the town could.  She ended up killing her brother instead, so she left.

She wakes up, and the world is hazy, her head pounds, and there’s a man, Wesley, talking to her.  He’s so fucking smug.  He holds a gun, points it towards her, casual, like she’s no threat.  He threatens the people she cares about, lays it all out, and she knows there’s no way out of this.  He puts the gun down right there on the table.  He thinks she’s just this girl, a good girl from a small town, not dangerous.  That’s his mistake.

She picks up the gun.

She says: “Do you think this is the first time I’ve shot someone?”

Her head’s a little fuzzy still, she’s scared.  But she isn’t high, she isn’t drunk, her hands don’t shake, and she shoots him at point blank range.  She shoots until she’s out of bullets, just to be sure.  He dies.

She wipes her fingerprints from the table.  She takes the gun.  She leaves.

She drops the gun in the river and she goes home and drinks until she passes out.

Karen’s never been an alcoholic.  She consistently drank a lot more than anyone would call wise starting in high school, but when she got on a greyhound headed to New York and quit everything cold turkey, she hadn’t gone into alcohol withdrawal along with everything else. She’d sort of hoped to, she’d heard somewhere that you could die from it, and she’d thought that would be fair, that’d be a fitting way to go.  But Karen wasn’t an alcoholic, so she just spent a couple weeks absolutely miserable in a hotel room, and then the next years of her life still miserable but learning how to live with it.

Lying’s always come easy to Karen, ever since she was a kid.  It’s cute how terrible Foggy and Matt are at it.  (Foggy lies about trivial things, and Matt and Karen graciously pretend they can’t see right through him.  Matt lies about things that she’s sure aren’t trivial at all, but she doesn’t call him out on it, there’s far too many skeletons in her own closet for that.)

Karen’s good at lying, and she knows that the best lies are truths that no one believes, passed off as jokes, exaggerations.

“I’m thinking about giving it up, moving on to the hard stuff,” she tells Foggy, and he just laughs, says something about smoking a doobie once or twice.  She can imagine that, Foggy being a pothead in college, Matt must have hated it.

She told her brother, that last day when it all went to hell, “Okay, you caught me.  Fine. I do drugs, all right? I’m a big druggie.  I’m just two lines from giving blow jobs for heroin on the street.” said it like a joke, like an exaggeration, like it wasn’t next door to the truth.  Kevin knew her better than Foggy does, he saw right through her.

It started in high school.  Or really, it started in eighth grade, when her mom’s cancer got really bad.  That’s when Karen started taking care of things, looking after her dad, looking after Kevin.  Dad needed looking after.  When mom was really sick, all he could think about was her, nothing left for Karen and Kevin, nothing left for the diner.  When Mom died he finished falling apart.  Kevin was grieving, properly, the way kids are supposed to, processing shit.  Karen cooked, cleaned, got herself and Kevin to school in the mornings, tried to keep the diner semi-profitable, gave Kevin a shoulder to cry on.  She didn’t give herself time to grieve anything, made the part of herself broken wide open hard and small and buried it somewhere deep inside where no one could see.  Because it wasn’t useful, and her mom was dead so Karen was the only one left to be useful.  Because she was half certain that it’d swallow her whole like her dad if she let it.  People wondered about it.  Admired her for being so mature, for bouncing back, some of them.  Some of them wondered if she ever loved her mother at all.

The drinking, the drugs, the late nights partying, that all started junior year of high school.

The gun makes a splash-plop sound as it hits the water.  She stands there for a couple seconds, and it feels like it should be significant but it’s not.  The water is just water.  She’s a little cold.

She’s shot someone for the second time, and she’s killed someone for the second time, and she doesn’t know what to feel about it.  She’s trembling a little, and it’s not from the cold, but she doesn’t think you could tell that by looking at her.

The walk home is long and she doesn’t remember any of it.

[daydreamerdrew]

Comics read this past week:

DC Comics:

the Sandman stories in Adventure Comics (1938) #43-44

With these two Sandman stories I just went from September 1939 to October 1939. The first story was six pages and was written and drawn by Bert Christman. The second story was ten pages and was written by Gardner Fox and drawn by Creig Flessel with Fred Guardineer assisting on inking the backgrounds.

The premise of the first story was that Wesley Dodds was on a vacation and flying his plane in the South Seas where he chanced upon a criminal plot on one of the islands. The second story began with a man breaking into Wesley Dodds’ house but immediately derailed that intended robbery when Wes recognized the man as his childhood friend. The two catch up and the childhood friend shares with Wesley that he intends to go straight as soon as he catches and gets revenge on the man known as the Mask for getting his sister killed. This is interrupted by a police officer supposedly entering the home due to a call that someone was seen breaking into it, but was really the Mask in disguise who killed the childhood friend and injured Wesley enough that he was hospitalized for days. The rest of the story was Wesley investigating in order to track down the Mask and ultimately killing him.

Fawcett Comics:

the Captain Marvel stories in Whiz Comics (1940) #61-62 and in Captain Marvel Adventures (1941) #42-43

In this batch of Captain Marvel stories I went from November 1945 to December 1945. There is one Captain Marvel story per issue of Whiz Comics and four per issue of Captain Marvel Adventures for a total of ten Captain Marvel stories read in this batch. These stories ranged from seven to twelve pages.

The story "Captain Marvel and the World of If" (written by Otto Binder; artist unknown) in Captain Marvel Adventures #42 explored through a ‘world of if’ machine a possible alternate timeline in which Captain Marvel joined the Nazis. This happened through a Nazi tricking Captain Marvel into signing a contract agreeing to “denounce America and help Hitler” which Captain Marvel then treated as binding and, after a brief moment of sadness, completely followed. But when Captain Marvel transforms back into Billy to go to sleep that night, Billy is devastated and sobs before determinedly sneaking around Hitler’s compound to try to find and rip up that contract. This all is presented as something that was entirely possible to happen, but that even in a world where Captain Marvel joined the Nazis he would eventually turn on them and defeat them. And so Billy states at the end of the story in his concluding broadcast that, “There are many possible branches of if worlds! But in all of them, no matter which one fate chooses to follow, there is always Captain Marvel! And as long as there is Captain Marvel around, things just can’t go wrong!”

The story "Captain Marvel and the Plot Against Christmas" (writer unknown; possibly drawn by Pete Constanza) in Captain Marvel Adventures #42 was very much like Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol with Captain Marvel taking a crotchety old man who was resisting donating toys to orphans for Christmas around to different places to try to teach him the Christmas spirit. I particularly appreciated the beginning of the story where Billy was working alone at Station Whiz on Christmas Eve and looks at the pile of Christmas cards from his friends on his desk and says to himself, “Sometimes I wish I had someone closer to me than just friends! It’s times like Christmas when it’s tough to be an orphan!”

[wanna-be-bold]

Rules: Post the first lines of your last 10 fics posted to ao3. if you have less than 10 fics posted, post the first lines of all your fics.

Tagged by @chicgeekgirl89

1. Having so Much to Say (What Hurts the Most)

"I love you." The words still rang in Lucy's head despite them being said last night in the hospital room.

2. Ready or Not

"So, you and Lucy are talking about kids now?" Tim jumped at the sound of Angela's voice.

3. The one with Chris's Accusations & 4. The One Where Chris Finds Out

These 2 have the same beginning but different endings

When he heard about Tim and Lucy dating he should have been surprised. He had been walking by Wesley's office when he overheard him talking to, presumably, Angela about how, now that Tim and Lucy's relationship was out in the open, they could finally have a double date.

5. The One with the Worst Double Date Ever

"So, you have a date huh?" Lucy smiled at Genny, teasing her boyfriend's sister a little.

6. Not Just a Kiss

Lucy smiled as they arrived at her apartment door. Their first date, while a little awkward at first, had been amazing.

7. Under the Influence

Tim Bradford had asked her out on a date while looking at her with so much heat in his eyes she thought her panties would combust. It took every ounce of willpower (and a lot of reminding that they were in Grey’s office) for her not to grab his shoulders and pull him into a kiss so instead she had kept her hands clasped in front of her.

8. Take me Home for Christmas

"So, you're coming over for Christmas right? The boys would love to see their uncle Tim for the holidays." "Of course. Now that you guys live in LA you're not gonna get rid of me for the holidays." He heard Genny's laugh of relief.

9. What a Girl Wants

"Lucy? Lucy." Shaking her head she looked up to see Chris on the other side of the table staring at her. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?" Chris let out a deep sigh and she cringed internally as he laid his fork down. "Have you heard a word I've said all night?"

10. The One Where Genny Knows

Genny tapped her foot impatiently, suddenly wondering if she should have taken the stairs instead of the elevator. She had gotten the call that Tim was paralyzed just over 12 hours ago and her heart had been pounding in her chest ever since. 

Tagging @bluenet13 @sgtbradfords

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Wednesday, December 28 – Thursday, December 29

BUFFY: We need to find out who's making my mom sick and how. WILLOW: Then what? BUFFY: Then I hunt them... find them... and kill them.

~~No Place Like Home~~

The Sunnydale Herald is looking for at least one new editor. Contributing to the Herald is a great way to get your Buffy on! Find out more here.

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

A Welcome Sight by badly_knitted (Giles, Buffy, Xander, others, PG)

A Forever Christmas by slaymesoftly (Buffy/Spike, strong R)

The Silver Answer Rang by kerk_hiraeth (Faith/Tara, Buffy/Angel, R)

A Blessed Mother by NAOA (Darla, T)

Something Borrowed by disco_tea (Buffy/Spike, T)

Elsewhere by EllieRose101 (Buffy/Spike, M)

Eucharist by HollyDB (Buffy/Spike, M)

Vroom Vroom by TheClowniestLivInExistence (Wesley/Fred, E)

[Podfic] Robin by ChokolatteJedi read by LittleRedRobinHood (Dawn, T)

Elsewhere by EllieRose101 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

The Law Can Be So Confusing by JayeMaru (Buffy/Spike, PG)

Nothing to Fear by Soulburnt (Buffy/Spike, R)

Of Bots and Men by bewildered (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

A Forever Christmas by slaymesoftly (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

The Massager by scratchmeout (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

A Kitty Fantastico Christmas by sweetprincipale (Buffy/Spike, R)

Sunshine by Dynamite (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

The Massager by scratchmeout (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

[Chaptered Fiction]

A Road So Rough, Ch. 7 by cawthraven (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Learning To Be Love's Bitch, Ch. 24 by Desicat (Buffy/Spike, R)

Hold My Hand Even Though I’m a Sinner! Ch. 13 by CheekyKitten (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

The Thing About Being on the Road, Ch. 18 by scratchmeout (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Ashes to Ashes, Ch. 3-4 by HappyWhenItRains (Buffy/Spike, R)

Vacation with a vampire (Sequel to The Sphere) - Part 2, Ch. 21 by Coraline (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Not Back to the Future Rules, Ch. 8 by Lady Emma (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

What Lies Within, Ch. 25 by cawthraven (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Ending & Beginning, Ch. 5 by bramcrackers (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

A Champion to Save the Day, Ch. 1 by Sithicus (multiple crossovers, Xander, FR18)

Scoobies in a galaxy far, far away, Ch. 7 by DoctorSkywalker (Star Wars crossover, Willow, FR18)

The Thing About Being on the Road, Ch. 18 by scratchmeout (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Ashes to Ashes, Ch. 3 by HappyWhenItRains (Buffy/Spike, R)

Not Back to the Future Rules, Ch. 8 by Lady Emma (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

The Paper Incursion, Ch. 6 – myrabeth (Buffy/Spike, T)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Drawing: Buffy and Spike by vampywillz (worksafe)

Gifs: Bangel in End of Days & Chosen by bangelgifs (worksafe)

Drawing: regency Calendiles by wewerefighting (Giles/Jenny, worksafe)

Collage: spike and giles peace and love on planet earth by gooberjam (worksafe unless your boss is homophobic)

A doodle of Spike by vampywillz (worksafe)

🕯 BtVS 421. Primeval 🕯 by tmcarlee (Buffy, Scoobies, worksafe)

🥀Love isn't brains...🥀 The Sims 4 by PopCultureSlMS (Buffy/Spike/Angel, probably NSFW - lingerie)

Lego Buffy - You’re Gonna Get Heartburn by tmcarlee (worksafe)

[Reviews & Recaps]

ReWatch: Buffy the Vampire Slayer - S5, E 6 - 7 (Family and Fool for Love) by kimannebb

ReWatch: Buffy the Vampire Slayer - S5, E8 - 9 (Shadow and Listening to Fear) by kimannebb

The comics.. (how nonsensical are they?) asked by Shouldibeawriter

Worst One Liners of BTVS! hosted by flutterbyexo

"The vampire slayer" Boom comics hosted by PhilosopherGeneral94

Pop Culture Role Call: Zeroes and Ones - Angel S03E20 - A New World

[Recs & In Search Of]

Re: does Buffy do any exercise [and Buffy-inspired workout recs] for Charlie678812

[Fandom Discussions]

Willow turning the Moulin Rouge dvd off by hero-adjacent

dawn memory/existence ret-con [headcanons] by clockwards

selective spike amnesia is SO funny by disco-tea

wesley recognizing that the fred that he was with for those few short days was NOT his fred by badrecognition

Dawn and Spike my favorite besties by disco-tea

Re: What do you think Faith and Buffy got each other for Christmas in Amends? by faith-thee-slayer

Unpopular Opinions by Holden Norgorov and others

Guns in the Buffyverse by American Aurora

Whose sarcasm and wit did you appreciate the most? hosted by Opening_Knowledge868

How I think The First in Season 7 could have been improved by k1ttyfantastic0

Why doesn’t any vampire sire a slayer?? hosted by cwilcomue

In which Season is Spike best? hosted by Troyaferd

[What's a bit of Buffy lore that once you learn about you are officially in too deep?] hosted by Small_Sundae_4245

Confessions that can get your "Angel" card revoked hosted by spuffy4life

Is Spike delusional [in Crush]? by DwnStairsIsQuitePosh

Confessions that can get your Buffy card revoked hosted by spuffy4life

Which one is your favorite duo [in AtS]? hosted by buffyangel468

is there a difference between a higher being and a (hell)god? by illvria

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

New David Boreanaz interview

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

[westerberg]

Bob Dylan albums for different parts of Minnesota

Freewheelin’- iron range

Bringin it all back home- Luverne

Highway 61- the stretch of I35 from Minneapolis to Duluth. 🧐

Blonde on Blonde- could be any part just in the dead of winter in the middle of the night

John Wesley Harding- north shore from Two Harbors on

New Morning- southwest Great Plains area from ~Mankato-Luverne

Blood on the Tracks- twin cities

Accepting notes suggestions and additions. These are all objective none are influenced by my hyper specific experiences with them 👍