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marymary-diva17 · 10 months

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I read some of mo'at story's and it had me thinking of something i had in mind. So i don't know if you wanna make it into a mini series or not, it's still ok with me. My request is yn is jack sully sister but when they met Neytiri she could of sworn his sister remind her of her older sister. When it came to mo'at she heard but knew that eywa gave her a sign that her older daughter have return to her and can protect her that she couldn't long ago. But knew she will be in danger if they take her from mo'at, but as who she is she must help her people first. Only eywa know when she can see her again.

The navi believed that everyone had been born twice in their lives, once when they came into this world and the second time when they reach adulthood. So what happens when they think soon has been born a third time, someone that they have love that no longer about of this world has come back to them. Well that all seem to come true when dream walker had come to the forest once again, and one of them bring memoirs of the past for those who had been through alot of tragedy in their lives.

y/n " wow this place is beautiful" you are walking around the forest of pandora, you had come here to work on grace avatar team but you didn't come alone. You had come with your older brother Jake who was place on grace team, now the team was out doing some research.

Jake " you seem to be liking this place"

y/n " can't you see Jake this place is magical" Jake soon scoff and shake his head at you as you were looking at all the flowers.

grace " it seems like one of you has some intelligents in them"

Jake " haha very funny I forgot how to laugh" you laugh an shake your head at grace and Jake little fight going on, you soon started looking at the creatures roaming the forest.

y/n " .........."

grace " you okay there y/n"

y/n " yes I'm fine I have always wanted to come see pandora and now that, I'm here I wish not to leave" you had soon looked at grace giving her a smile, that made her stop dead in track.

y/n " umm grace are you okay"

grace " yes I'm good ... yes this place is amazing anyone can fall in love with this place" you soon nodded your head at grace and smiled brightly, when grace looked at you she was remind of someone from the past. You were soon with Jake watching him act like a child and finally warming up to pandora like you had done already. Everything was going well until it wasn't and soon enough trouble came in sign of Thanator. The sully siblings had ran away from the Thanator together.

Jake " are you okay"

y/n " yes I'm good what about you"

Jake " good as I can be come on we should get back to the others or base" Jake soon help you back onto your feet and once you two had finally collect your thoughts the sibling duo, soon head off together to find their way home. It seems like luck was no one their side as they ended up lost and finding trouble in pack of viper wolves. That soon lead them to meet neytiri.

y/n " we are sorry for the trouble that has come along with death, but thank you for helping my brother" neytiri soon looked at you as you had spoke navi well.

neytiri " y...you are welcome my your friend is a fool"

y/n " yes he is but he was just doing his best to keep us alive. but that didn't go to plan" neytiri was looking at you and gave you a soft smile.

Jake " so what do you do now"

neytiri " you two need to leave it not safe here and you two are not allowed here" neytiri had taken off after pointing the way home, but Jake being Jake didn't listen. He soon ran after her and you had ran after him. The tiro were running as you were watching your brother baldy flirt with neytiri and get hit and yelled at by her.

Jake " look I wish to thank you for saving us that all"

neytiri " you are a baby but she is smart" Jake sighed as the sibling soon followed after neytiri, which lead them to finding the clans scouts. it seems like they were looking at you like they saw a ghost, which made you feel confused. There was no time for questions when sully siblings had been dragged to home tree, and got to meet the rest pf the clan.

mo'at " what are your names"

Jake " I'm Jake sully a warrior from the jarhead clan" you look at your brother giving him the look, if he did something else dumb you were going to fight him.

mo'at " what of you ...." mo'at soon had looked at you and stopped speaking.

Y/n " I'm y/n ...." mo'at soon stood closer to you and was now examining you more then she had done your brother.

mo'at " she looks like her in her eyes"

neytiri " that what I thought mother she just like her but different"

eyuthan " that can't be true it has been so long this dreamwlaker cant be her and one of us"

y/n " with all respect but who are you all talking about and have I done something, to insult you all"

eyuthan " she speak our tongue so well"

neytiri " yes she does and I think she a healer like grace by her clothing, and how she cares herself"

Jake " what going on here"

mo'at " it seems like the great mother has send us a sign with these two, you say you saw the wood spirts land on this man and follow her"

neytiri " yes mother"

Jake " so what are they saying"

y/n " they are debating on lets us stay or send us away brother"

Jake " oh"

eyuthan " we will allow these dreamwalker to stay with us and learn from us, and maybe we can learn from them as well the warrior and healer" the people seem to agree with their olo'eythan statement, so it seems lie you and Jake had been given permission to stay. You had been assigned to work with mo'at while your brother was with neytiri and the other warriors.

weeks later

mo'at " you are doing well y/n"

y/n " thank you"

mo'at " your brother seems to be doing good as well"

y/n " thank you so much for allowed us to stay here"

mo'at " you are welcome ...."

y/n " mo'at if I may ask why do the people and even you look at me like you are all seeing a ghost" mo'at soon sighed she knew there keep me on more dodgy this question, as the people and her family were looking at you weird.

mo'at " you remind us of my elders daughter slywainn for some reason you just remind us of here .... we lost her at such a young age it seems like you and here are the same"

y/n " I'm sorry for you family lost and your clan lost ... I know how it feels like to grieve for a family member.... I and Jake lost our brother right before we came here and nothing has been the same"

mo'at " it seems like there is something we can bond over the grief of losing someone you love"

y/n " yes"

mo'at " I know you are not my daughter but you so much remind me of her I'm sorry for the ways I been looking at you"

y/n " you have nothing to be sorry about mo'at you are a mother who lost a child you have nothing to apologize for"

mo'at " thank you y/n sully but I hope I get to know you for yourself while you are here and maybe you and your brother can teach us something"

y/n " I will love to and I hope I can learn something from you all as well" It seems like everything was going well now as there was no tension, yes there was still going to be pain and grief for all the lives that had been lost and remembering the old memories. Now it was time to see what life had to offer everyone with making new memories, and see what else pandora had to offer everyone.

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wen-kexing-apologist · 6 months

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Bengiyo Queer Cinema Syllabus

Not to sound repetitive but, I had a busy couple weeks, but finally had a second to return to @bengiyo’s queer cinema syllabus. I am currently working my way through Unit 4: Heartbreak Alley, the totally light-hearted, definitely not agonizing section of the syllabus where I get to watch countless acts of violence be committed against queer people. Thank fuck I have Lesbians waiting for me at the end of this unit. The films in Unit 4 are: Bent (1997), Strange Fruit (2004), Boys Don’t Cry (1999), Brokeback Mountain (2005), Parting Glances (1986), Philadelphia (1993), The Living End (1992), Holding the Man (2015), Jeffery (1995), and Boys on the Side (1995).

Today I will be talking about

Parting Glances (1986) dir. Bill Sherwood

[Run Time: 1:30, Available: tubi and fubo, Language: English]

Summary: As Michael and Robert, a gay couple in New York, prepare for Robert's departure for a two-year work assignment in Africa, Michael must face Robert's true motives for leaving while dealing with their circle of eccentric friends, including Nick, who is living with AIDS.

Cast:

John Bolger as Robert

Richard Ganoung as Michael

Steve Buscemi as Nick

Well, I have to say this was very much not what I was expecting for the first AIDS related movie of the syllabus. After some pretty hefty violent deaths of queer characters in the first half of Unit 4, I was very much anticipating the heart wrenching tragedies to continue immediately once I hit the AIDS epidemic portion. But Parting Glances very much subverted my expectations of what I was walking in to, because honestly…so much of it was lovely.

It’s not that tragedy is not a part of this movie, it is, it’s just hidden under the layer of friendship, community, and love that feels like the core theme of the film. I am thinking about the party at Joan’s and how much happiness and celebration was happening there, with community abound, and yet how Michael kept telling people they should call Nick because he would appreciate it, showing just how much Nick has lost of his own community since his HIV/AIDS diagnosis.

I really loved how real these relationships to one another felt, the way that Michael and Robert were playful with each other, the way that Nick sat on Michael’s lap so casually for a few minutes when Michael cooked him dinner, I loved the conversation Robert had with his ex-girlfriend, the young and hopeful queer boy who wished to live forever. I just loved watching the queer community be a queer community.

Even in the moments that get a little dour, where Michael gets especially weepy with Nick, those scenes did not make me sad, did not destroy me the way other films in this syllabus have, because that is just grief. Grief is a mighty and terrible thing, but I find beauty in it as well. I find beauty and loveliness in the fact that those tears came from Michael finally admitting to Nick that he loved him, that Nick got to hear himself that he was loved, especially when so many people seemed to have fallen away from him after his diagnosis. I find comfort in the conversations about death that Michael and Joan have together, because those are conversations I’ve had, they feel familiar, they feel like a natural part of life, perhaps they should not have to feel those points so soon, but Nick himself is right, living forever is the only thing none of us can do.

I really loved that we saw Nick when he was at a stage in his illness where he was simply being careful, but was still full of life, energetic, that he was able to be a support system for Michael and was not only being tended to. We know what is coming, but we are not made to see it. I was really in to what the film did with it’s use of ominous backing track, that Nick could hear it, that it felt like the progression of his illness, that it felt like a sense of impending doom, a cloud that hangs over Nick.

Throughout a lot of this film I found myself thinking about The Inheritance Part One & Part Two, a play written in 2016 based off of the book Howard’s End by EM Forster. I saw this play a few years back and was lulled in to a false sense of security that this would not be a play about AIDS because it was set in the relatively modern day with a focus on younger queer characters, but ohhhhhhh how wrong I was. Towards the end of the first part, we hear a story from a character named Walter, an older gay man that lived in the same building as the main characters, and he recounts the story of his life, how his husband, Henry, built a farm outside of New York city for the two of them to live in…right around the time that AIDS started decimating the area. How that distance still was not good enough for Henry so he would leave on business trips, because his fear of catching AIDS was so strong.

Walter tells the story of when he went back in to the city for the first time, and ran in to a friend he used to know, who had acquired AIDS and was on the brink of death. He talks about how when Henry was away, he brought that kid to the farm Henry had built to hide from AIDS, and Walter cared for that boy until he died. Walter talks about doing that again and again and again and again, dozens of times, he would go in to the city, bring a friend back home, and care for them until they passed.

^[sidebar: I very much do not like Robert]

Part of the play ends with Walter being asked what it was like at that time, Walter asks the main characters to name someone they know, they give a name, he says “they’re dead. Give me another name, he’s dead”. For what felt like minutes, name after name after name is called and name after name after name is dead. When I saw that scene I broke down in the theater, I cried for the entirety of the walk back to the train station, I was brought to the brink of tears at the thought of that scene for a month after I saw the show.

I mention this because it was all that I could think about while watching Robert and Michael interact with one another, while seeing this plot unfold. Robert fleeing New York while Michael stayed to care for his dying friend. Knowing that Walter and Henry stayed together after all was said and done, after Henry had stopped running from reality, and the death rates had slowed; then seeing Robert decide not to go to Africa, and how Michael did not show any signs of planning to break up with Robert knowing, despite knowing how Robert felt too settled, how Robert had chosen to go, despite knowing that Robert was running from loss, and running from being a support for Michael when the love of his life finally dies.

So despite the fact that Parting Glances didn’t evoke the same feelings, though I felt like overall it was a relatively upbeat, uptempo, gentle film, the current underneath it all, the dying underneath it all, the tragedy is right there but it is just out of reach.

Favorite Scene

I think my favorite scene is when Joan and Michael are laying in bed together, holding stuffed animals at Robert’s going away party while they just casually talk about death and dying. It just felt very much like a conversation I have had with my best friend on multiple occasions, especially lately because we've had a number of deaths happen in our lives recently. And yes, my friend and I both match the type of conversation part this scene, and also the beating each other up with stuffed animals part of this scene.

Obviously we do not spend enough time with the other characters at the party to know exactly what is going on in their lives, and there is not doubt many if not all of them have lost loved ones to AIDS, but we know that Joan and Michael are really the only two people who go and visit Nick, and it feels so symbolic of the weight that they are shouldering caring for their dying friend to have the only two people who have not cut themselves off from Nick be sitting together, in another room away from all the other gay attendees, discussing, speculating, joking about death.

Favorite Quote

We all know the real right answer is: “Straight men are jerks. Gay men are jerks. Straight women are jerks. That leaves lesbians and they are off in their ivory towers laughing their heads off at the rest of us. I should’ve been a dyke”

But I am going to go for the more serious:

“...look at the others, waiting, wondering if some innocent moment of pleasure long past can set them up with the ultimate form of [German word my subtitles did not state]... I’d like to stage a piece in which all of the performers are people who are terminally ill, can you imagine the intensity, the concentration, the purpose”

This is said off-handedly in a conversation between Joan and a heterosexual male artist who was attending the party. I put it here for two reasons: a) the first half is a very succinct commentary on the state of the queer community (at least who were at the party) and feels like general commentary about the movie’s premise as a whole. Especially because Nick talks about how he didn’t realize how long the gestation period of HIV was, and by the time he started taking protective measures it was already too late. b) because the second half is just the most pretentious, absolutely mindless, careless, and shitty thing to say to someone who is actively losing a friend to a terminal illness. This fucking hetero artist came in to a room full of queer people and decided that dying people would be great to put in to his next project for ~The Vibes~ and I love that comment so much because first, it shows how much he Does Not Get It, and second because of how much disgust is baked in to Joan’s “Excuse me” as she leaves before he can finish his thought.

Because to say that to someone who is watching loved one after loved one after loved one die before their eyes is an absolutely disgusting thing to do (in my opinion).

Final Score

8/10

Up next, Philadelphia (1993)

#bengiyo queer cinema syllabus #queer cinema syllabus #parting glances #parting glances the movie #parting glances (1986)#unit 4: heartbreak alley

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tojikai · 1 year

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ok so in part 2 we got to see more of gojo x reader past “relationship”

i wonder if gojo knows about his mom thoughts about reader (her being a one night stand and nothing more) and why do i have a feeling Naomi wasn’t just lucky to be in the right place and right time…

she’s gojo’s dad assistant AND his mom approved her immediately 🤔🤔 even though Naomi comes from a completely different social circle…

i don’t think Naomi is a saint as gojo think, not saying she’s evil either BUT she might get a little help from the outside (gojo’s mom) to act the way she does. bc how come she goes from acting shy and apologetic when reader found them in the couch, to give reader tips how to be a better parent and allowing yui to call her mom 🤥🤔 make it make sense

like who in the right mind would take a toddler on a trip without both parents permission?? in many countries that could be considered kidnapping even if one parent is with the baby and they dont cross the border! - when i was six i went abroad with my mom and in order for me to travel, my dad had to sign a written permission otherwise i couldn’t exit the country and my parents were married…

gojo pissing me off when he was trying to defend naomi for the mama episode by saying he will propose to her…like that doesn’t change anything reader IS the mother and eventually naomi will be the STEPMOTHER she would still have NO say in how Yui will be educated bc she has/will have NO legal rights. she can give her opinion/suggestions to gojo BUT NEVER to reader.

Gojo has to open his eyes bc if he’s truly happy with Naomi - i don’t really think so - good for him but he has to stop making reader’s feel like shit just bc his gf goes crying to him when reader doesn’t share the same opinion as her. i also noticed as soon as gojo doesn’t share the same opinion about something, naomi becomes sad and gojo tries to either reassure her or slightly changes his own opinion 🤥🤔👁️ my mom would call that manipulation 👁️

Honestly speaking Naomi is the easy route, what were the chances they got together if reader never got pregnant? bet gojo would still be having one night stands and wouldn’t spare naomi a glance.

The reason why gojo x reader didn’t work was because they were two strangers having a kid and didn’t communicate with each other. gojo was the first to give up even tho he promised reader to give it a try. bc how come soon after he got with naomi and she was oh so perfect 🥴 how can you possibly compare the two relationships when one has a kid involved…

so the mysterious man could be sukuna (bc of the tattoos).

it’s been weeks since the last argument, reader was clearly suffering (her mom’s words to gojo)…

that’s why i don’t think in that specific moment (a stranger man opening - shirtless- readers door to gojo) the man could be a possible love interest, maybe more like a friend bc she was still in love with gojo and a few weeks can’t possibly erase her feelings for him and make her move on easily, some people can do it tho (i.e gojo with his new gf 🙄)

also from the last sentence why do i have a feeling gojo has already met this “stranger” before?

the scratches in the stranger’s back scream sex but the bruises on his face? it’s a bit sus

last but not least contrary to popular opinion i still wish for gojo to be endgame, for that to happen he really has to have a gigantic redemption arc for all tje pain he caused to reader, specially when he said he wished they never met and had yui together, thanks good yui is still a toddler and was sleeping otherwise 💔 rip gojo’s relationship with his daughter

cant wait for more

this a great take, nonnie !! i like how you analyzed the few words of yn's mom and deducted abt yn's conditions, bc she really wasn't in a great condition during those weeks. she even had to steer clear of satoru as much as possible, bc seeing him hurts her. although, I can't say which of these is true or not, i can definitely see where you're coming from ~ thank u so much for this, and im happy that you're enjoying the fic <33

#🍭—kaitalks #f: sundered

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hypermascbishounen · 6 months

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Interesting that you point out how babied Lenore was in S4, because

yes, she was. She was written like such an immature brat, making stupid jokes and constantly whining that she was so boooored and no one needed her anymore and oh no she's so scawed of mean cawmiwwa 🥺 and it feels disingenuous, no I'm sorry I get that the context is different but the Lenore who cries that Carmilla lied to her is not the Lenore who was able to gaslight Hector into believing that actually he was lucky that he was beaten and imprisoned.

this is yet another way her character got disrespected, if you care about her. Remember, the other council vampires clearly had a poor opinion of Lenore. Carmilla made fun of her for her tendency to take care of animals, Striga implied that she saw her as a hopeless romantic, Morana talked about her like a silly little girl living in her fantasies. And the most charitable explanation as to why Lenore snapped and beat Hector to an inch of his life when he threatened her is precisely that he, too, saw her as a young defenseless girl: to be fair, would he have thought to attack any of the other three? Probably not. And Lenore clearly resents this situation so much, which is why he beat him way past self defense, which is why she had fun dominating him, which is why she was eager to humiliating him in front of her sisters, who both admired her for her genius and were disgusted by her sexual comments (a way to keep the control of the conversation)

I like this idea. Both Hector and Lenore are the "weak link" of their group, looked down on for their apparent "softness", but while Hector apparently didn't know, didn't realize or didn't care (if the writing was good, I could say that it's because he lived a life of abuse so he doesn't realize his own worth), Lenore very much did, and she rebounded too far in the opposite direction. Her kindness can almost be seen as a subtle way to feel powerful, more subtle than simply beating people into submission: sure, taking care of someone is a nice act... but also, they depend on you, and they're more malleable to your wishes.

So yeah, from this perspective, her constant 🥺 face in S4 is infantilizing an abuser. Lenore did nothing wrong. She always wanted to protect Hector, really. He was having fun when she manipulated him into sex, so what's the big deal. They are such good friends who understand each other. Of course Hector would love her and protect her with barely a second thought. Who wouldn't? An evil person? But they're so cute together 🥺

(btw, I'm interested to know who is the other Beatrice you mentioned lol! As for the Sugarman one, she is such a fascinating character who is so, so pitiable for what happened to her, but still not woobiefied for the horrible way she took her misery on her innocent son)

(also sorry for the ask lol, I didn't want to make a long post longer than it already is)

(no worries, feel free to send asks or messages! I always have more to say than I know what yo do with lol)

The other Beatrice is from Umineko, a series of murder mystery visual novels in the wider When They Cry series. She's hard to describe without spoilers tbh, but relevant atm: she can be a real smug sadist while still containing genuine tragedy, and her relationships get to actually mean something. Here she is expressing true opinions about nfcv:

I feel like a Lenore whose loss of humanity was allowed to be explored as a legit Dracula parrelel, could have almost been interesting. Oh well.

The biggest issue imo, is that she can't really exist as a character without Hector, but the story itself feels threatened by Hector being a character compared to her. This means that no matter how much they try to build her up by contrast, she gets dragged down anyways. So now all they have is two ruined characters for the price of one.

Personally, I think maybe the catharsis granted from a character who does bad things, is only as good as the work lets you engage with them on that premise. If you keep dragging it back to how they're basically in the right anyways, it can lose the emotional opportunity for the audience to explore dark feelings. This doesn't mean you can't write them to be sympathetic ever, but it does mean they risk falling into a weakened power fantasy or cheap fanservice, if you effectively just preach to the audience about how cool they are, esp at the expense of other characters.

#anti netflixvania #Idk how well im articulating that last point #I may be tired lol

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conquerthenight · 4 months

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Ranking the Rebecca ships because I’m bored as hell. This is just my personal opinion, so feel free to agree or disagree as you please :)

1. Beatrich - My absolute beloved. Two sapphics in straight passing marriages and one is the sister of the other’s husband? Older woman/Younger woman? Bea canonically kissing “I” on the cheek in greeting? The pining potential? Chef’s kiss I tell you. Bea acting as I’s confidante is one of my favorite headcanons and it would be so cute if they were together. I wish there were more fics of them.

2. Franxim - This ship only flew into my radar when I read a review of Rebecca where the reviewer joked that Frank simped for Maxim and I regret nothing. I used to only acknowledge it as a crackship, but then I read a fic or two where they were unironically shipped and never looked back. They’re childhood friends in my headcanon which is another favorite trope of mine. Try to tell me they didn’t have something going on when they were younger and wanted to rekindle things after Rebecca died 😂.

3. de Winters (I/Maxim) - Say what you want about these two, but I love them. They need to learn to communicate, he has to control his anger issues, she needs to stop getting into her own head, and they’re a fucked up ship, but they’re my fucked up ship. I think they do genuinely love each other, but have to work through their issues in order to get to that point of being able to show it. Plus they’re the reason I like the age gap trope so that’s gotta count for something.

4. I/Frank - It’s a pretty conventional pairing all things considered, basically what could’ve happened if “I” ended up with someone closer to her in social standing like Mrs. Van Hopper insisted she should’ve, but I love it anyway. They’d be so soft together, and as much of a de Winter shipper as I am, Frank would be an objectively better husband. If you don’t like the de Winters together but still want an Older man/Younger woman pairing, or if you just want Rebecca to be less angsty, you’d probably like this one.

5. Danbecca - The only reason I didn’t put them above the other two is because I’m not a fan of this ship being written as soft or requited as most of us Rebecca fans are. I like it to be as toxic as possible. Danny being treated as whatever the romantic equivalent of the golden child is and pining for, worshipping, someone who doesn’t really love her back my beloved. Basically I love this ship because it’s what makes Danny as a character so interesting. Again, another fucked up ship, but my fucked up ship.

6. de Winters (Rebecca/Maxim) - I honestly had no idea whether to put this above or below Danbecca, but ended up putting it here. Obviously we all know they hate each other, we all know they should’ve gotten over themselves and divorced, but I love me some toxic ships, especially ships that delve into how an abuser can impact the abused person’s psyche, and these two definitely deliver.

7. Clarich - I don’t have much to say about this one only because there’s little to no content for them as a ship. I think it’s a really cute premise and I adore the idea, but it would be higher if there was more to go off of.

8. Danvich - I tried. I really did. I want to like this ship. I wrote YCYSC specifically to try and understand what the hype is about, and people have written so many incredible fics that have also made me understand the hype, but it’s just not my cup of tea, at least not romantically. I think it works better as a platonic pairing. Danny’s true love is Rebecca after all 😂.

9. Beavers/Danbea - This is a ship I don’t understand and probably never will. See number 8, but also imo their personalities clash way too much for them to work as a romantic pairing. Bea would be annoyed with Danny’s meticulousness and strict personality while Bea’s bluntness and lack of tact would get on Danny’s nerves. Like with Danvich, it works better for me platonically, but in this instance they’d be the pair of friends who are always fighting but if someone else messes with them they’re ready to go to bat for the other.

10. Rebecca/Beatrice - Another ship I just don’t really get. I’ve read a few fics of them, but I personally prefer the dynamic of them disliking/hating each other. I don’t really have much more to say about these two.

11. Rebecca/Jack Favell - Ew. No. Just no. They’re cousins. I will say that the one good thing about the 2020 film is that it gave Jack some depth in terms of his love for Rebecca though.

———————

Now for the poly ships. I made this a separate category because I’d lose track of my ranking if I included them in the other list.

1. I/Maxim/Frank - It’s no secret that this one is my favorite. Frank has the brain cell between the three of them and probably forces the other two to communicate 99% of the time. They’re all bi disasters and I love them for it. I like to think Maxim and Frank were together first and brought “I” into the fold because they were both like “Aww she’s so cute can we keep her 🥰?”

2. Rebecca/Maxim/I - This obviously would only work if Rebecca wasn’t a downright awful person, but I read this great fic called “The Devil Does Not Ride Us Anymore” that had this exact premise in mind and have been hooked ever since. Again, Maxim and Rebecca probably met “I” and went “That one, I want”. Plus if you’re like me and can’t decide which you prefer, you get the best of both worlds: Older woman/Younger woman and Older man/Younger woman.

3. Rebecca/Danny/Beatrice - Another ship I don’t really have much to say about. I don’t love it, I don’t hate it. Maybe someday there will be a fic that changes my mind, but unfortunately today is not that day.

———————

Honorable mention to Frank/Jack aka the funniest crackship to ever come out of this fandom, and Clarice/Alice aka Danvich lite. Thank you @alicesbread for putting them on my radar.

#ship ranking #rebecca das musical #daphne du maurier

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leonawriter · 6 months

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I'm sure I've said this before some time in the past, but- there's certain ships that since they have no foundation in canon and one or more of the two are already canonically attracted in a monogamous way to someone else... I tend not to feel any sense of attachment to the fandom portrayal of them, because usually (not always! just often enough that it sticks in my head) the impression I get is that fanon erases the pre-existing attraction one or either of them has, in order to make things more... simple. Or something. So I see that, and I lose interest.

But the thing is, if the fanworks I see accept and address the fact that one or more of the people in the ship used to be attracted to/in love with someone else? I'd be WAY more likely to get on board the ship!

It does several things for me.

One: It doesn't disregard canon in a way that makes me feel like certain things are being retconned purely for the fan-preferred/author's ship. Often I'm a fan of how things actually go in the canon, or I just use it as a base point of reference, so if something's been thrown out and it feels arbitrary... that's off-putting.

Two: it keeps their core personality traits intact. This might sound weird, but it's a fact that who we are changes depending on who we're most interested in at any given time. If a character has been seen crushing on someone so badly that they base parts of their own personality on matching someone else, that's not something you can or should easily ignore, given how big of an effect that is. And when it comes to relationships, you'll notice that the vibes they give off shift how the characters act and are written/portrayed. Some pairings with one character have them be soft, while others have them sharper.

Three: I enjoy seeing characters go "I used to like [x], those feelings were real, but [I moved on]/[they don't like me back, so I had to move on] and now I've started to like someone else." I like to see that sense of progression. Especially if the canon has them all as teens, it's more realistic to have not all of them create their livelong commitments in the course of one year when they're 16! Some, sure, it's fun - but not all. Let them make mistakes, break up, move on, find someone else.

Four: It... honestly adds nuance and depth to the characters - both in a pairing - if they're shown moving on, and/or attracted to someone who either still has feelings for another person, or who's moved on. Give them a bit of time. A bit more maturity. As said above, not everyone finds true love at 16 or so. Having that happen is simple, it's cute, and it's kind of like a fairy tale - but there are other ways to have it work out without making it love at first sight.

But really. How do they feel about this? How does the first person feel about how long they've had someone feel that way about them? Is there a dance of "the last time we knew each other you were still tagging after [other person], are you available now?" or is it more "I want to attempt asking them out, but I'm too nervous in case it's not wanted" when at this point, it'd be welcomed?

Have Character A be there for Character B when they've realised they'll never be with C!

Maybe they even just see each other as "just friends" for the longest time, until someone goes "doesn't your idea of a perfect partner sound like [A]?" and it's the first time they've thought of that.

And in the case of both of them having previously been attracted to the same person (no matter how much or how little), there's the evergreen "oh fun, we can roast [C] together now!"

So like... so many of those ships aren't even bad. I just wish I could see them having gone through a progression from "where they're at in canon" to "where they're at crushing on someone other than their canonical crush/love interest" more, y'know? Even if it's just handwaved as having happened in the past!

#Leona says a thing #writing stuff #fandom stuff #there are specific pairings I have in mind here but I'm not naming names or characters

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badass-queer-couples-battle · 1 year

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Propaganda for Bun Bunnakit and Tan Wiraphong (Manner of death)

The whole plot revolves around Dr Bun and his not so secret investigation on the murder of his childhood friend. He's a forensics expert and he has proof that his friend was murdered, but the local police is trying to cover this and other murders up as suicide. Bun can't let it go and suspects his friend's colleague Tan is the culprit, but Tan denies any involvement and instead offers to help Bun. They team up and start following a thread of murders and disappearances and corruption to try and figure out who is to blame for the tragedies that keep happening in the town. Well they get involved with mafia, corrupt cops and politicians while also trying to work out their uhm. rocky relationship. Because before teaming up they had already met at a bar and Bun had drunkenly kissed Tan, and from that moment Tan has been flirting with him, but Bun is obviously suspicious and takes a long time to start trusting him, all the while resolutely ignoring their super intense sexual tension. But then they end up living in a safe house together, cooking for each other, stealing legal evidence and documents from the cops together and you know….one thing leads to another…… The fact is dr Bun is like insanely hot like he's an incredible flirt and his morals make him even hotter, and Tan is down so so so bad it's almost embarrassing, and their first kiss and first time both feel so genuine and honest, their relationship is well acted and well thought out because the series takes the time to establish both their physical and emotional connection and once they're finally kissing and being disgustingly adorable you just wish they could enjoy it. But they're also two very stubborn men who really want to get to the bottom of the mystery, except that now they both have something to lose and both are constantly worried about each other and god they're amazing. Also after all is settled and they've finally won, Tan disappears and Bun goes to look for him and finds him running away from some people with masks who want a box that Tan has. Bun is (understandably) freaking out, they're surrounded and in the whole chaos Bun opens the box. And inside there's a letter from Tan to him about how much he loves him and how he wants to spend the rest of his life with him. The people surrounding them take off their masks and it's actually some of their friends (two of them are two gay teens that Tan and Bun kind of adopt and they are adorable). Tan faked a whole kidnapping and chase and shit just to propose to Bun and instead of freaking out about it Bun tears up and says yes and THEN THEY GET MARRIED. THE FREAKS. I love them so much they're so insane. In conclusion not only are they badass and brave detectives, their relationship feels so genuine and real that this is one of my favourite series despite the romance not being the focus, because as a gay man they feel like true representation to me. ((Also shout out to the super hot cop who ends up helping them because he clearly has a crush on Bun. they could've been the polycule of the century))

Walks up to random gay couple Who's the forensic pathologist who hates police and corruption and decides to solve a murder case on his own despite the fact that literally every person in power is trying to stop him and who's the lowkey mafia/criminal guy whose main job is a teacher and is so over the moon for the doctor that he'll do anything to protect him as the doctor goes on to endanger his life in order to solve the case? Their first time having sex is after they go steal important evidence from a cop by breaking his car windows with a brick. Their first time saying I love you happened when they were faking their own deaths to get the mafia off their back. They literally bring down an entire ring of corruption in the city with only the help of some teenagers, the doctor's coworkers, and a cop who only joins them at the end when he realizes how fucked everything has gotten. They're also insane. Like literally you cannot find me a more unhinged couple in media. Bun (the doctor) thinks that Tan (the criminal) is the murderer at the beginning but still agrees to move in with him and then at one point installs a tracker onto Tan's phone and tells Tan what he did, to which Tan goes "that's great!!!! I really feel like we're growing closer!!!!"

They are a couple made of a forensic coroner and a teacher that is actually the bastard son of the legal mafia, and they try to take down a human trafficking ordeal that is infesting the whole village they live in, they fight and fall in love in the mountains of Thailand, they are both also very hot!

#coupleganda masterposts #manner of death #tanbun

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protege-not-protagonist · 9 months

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Criminal Minds: The Protégé Chapter 4

Ch 4: My Brother's Keeper Pt. 1

Blurb: After meeting with Dr. Reid, Grace is called away on a case with the team to a double Homicide of children with excessive overkill. It doesn't take long to establish that This Unsub will kill again if not caught soon. But as Grace works the case, certain aspects of it stir up a past she would rather forget. Meanwhile Spencer can't help but start working on the victimology of this new possible serial killer back home.

Masterlist

Previous Chapter

Audience: mature audience for depictions of violence and sexual references

Author's Note: if you see a trigger warning that concerns you, you can scroll to end and I'll have a brief description what happens. I think that system should work well cause then those who don't want spoilers don't have to read the trigger warnings at the start and get spoiled. Also my apologies to Groton South Dakota. I'm sorry I'm sure your a lovely town, I just threw a dart on the map and looked for a small town in that area. No offense.

TW: Ableism, child death, violence, gore, crime scene depiction, kidnapping.

Quantico, FBI Runway Tarmac Thursday July 2023 1:32 pm

‘Sorry,’ Grace apologised as she entered the jet, ‘It’s worth the wait trust me.’ She turned behind her and gestured to the two people who followed her up the stairs, ‘This is my friend Agent Stiller, from Forensics…’

A neatly dressed young man with dark skin and round glasses smiled widely and offered his hand to the rest of the team, ‘You can just call me Avery, nice to meet you guys, I’ve heard a lot about the lofty sixth floor. Didn't know you guys had a jet.’ That earnt a few laughs from her team.

Grace turned to the older redheaded woman who still stood at her side. ‘And this is our associate, Dr Boland, she's an expert Forensic Anthropologist with the Smithsonian. She taught me everything I know.’

'Well, I don't think that's quite true, Grace,' Dr Boland chuckled slightly and turned to the team offering a small wave, ‘Nice to meet you all, although I wish it were under better circumstances.’

‘Thank you for joining us on short notice, we appreciate having you both on board,’ Prentiss welcomed them, ‘Take a seat where you can find one, budget won’t allow for a bigger jet so we might have to get a little cosy, I’m Section Chief and Acting Unit Chief SSA Prentiss, this is SSA’s Rossi, Alvez, Simmons, Jareau and Dr Lewis, you both know Special Agent Matthews. As soon as we’ve taken off, we’ll start running through what we've got so far.’

The jet started taxiing along the runway. Without too much surprise, Avery and Dr Boland took the couch seat together. Grace smiled and shot them an encouraging smile up before sitting down next to Rossi.

‘Where did you wander off to today, huh? That's the first time you’ve taken a lunch break longer than 10 minutes. I’m proud of you,’ Rossi nudged her.

Across the table from her, Dr. Lewis and JJ listened in curiously.

‘I was still on site, as I’m sure you will all hear from Alvez in his report-’ she heard Luke snort from the seat behind her. ‘-I went to see Dr Reid.’

Everyone sat up in their chairs, suddenly very focused on what she had to say. She even heard the rest of the team's seats creak behind her.

‘What?’ she asked. It felt like she was unaware of some joke that they had with each other. Had they been taking bets again?

‘Nothing.’ Rossi shrugged, ‘We all miss him. Guess we just wanna know how he's doing, How’d it go?’

The jet shuddered as it sped full speed down the runway. They all paused their conversation as the cabin began to rattle. Rossi gripped the armrest tightly and Grace closed her eyes and enjoyed the stomach flipping sensation. They lifted off the ground and there was the pleasant buzz in her body of adrenalin. She loved take offs. She opened her eyes and there were a few pairs staring back at her, waiting. Oh yeah, they had asked her a question.

‘Fine, it was really good actually. He’s nice, gave me some advice, and he's funny too… It was very… I don’t know.’

‘You two just… gelled well? It would be nice having someone on your level to talk to,’ Dr. Lewis suggested.

Grace let out a nervous chuckle, ‘Oh no, he is way above my level, but… he’s not like other people I've met who are like that.’

Rossi gave her a knowing look, ‘He is the smartest guy in the room but he doesn't lord it over anyone. He doesn’t have a drop of arrogance or conceitedness in him.’

‘Yeah, that’s it,’ she smiled. Rossi was right, probably because he knew who some of the ‘other people’ she was referring to.

‘Well, if you think he is funny, you must be closer to his level than us, cause his jokes often go over our heads,’ JJ remarked and there were a few nods of agreement.

The monitor chimed, and Garcia’s bright personality shone through the screen.

'Hello my crime fighters and special guests! I've got an update, not a good one but still an update.'

'What have you got, Garcia?' Prentiss asked. They all got up and gathered around the second table in the jet that currently had all the files scattered across it.

‘Well, I have nothing folks, I looked for two related persons with Brittle Bone Disease in Groton and surrounding areas, and there are none. I trolled through medical records, but knowing they can be tricky and locked up tight, I went with ER admissions for repeated broken bones, then tried health insurance, then wheelchair and braces purchases, then school enrollments with special needs, nada… whoever these babies are, they aren't local and I can't find them and it's making me so sad.'

‘That's okay, keep working on that list, extend it to nationwide; families with two or more individuals with Brittle Bone who are under 25,’ Prentiss instructed.

‘Oooh, that is a big list,’ Garcia winced.

‘It’s okay, we have Dr Boland and Agent Stiller here, they will help give us more identifying features and we can narrow down the list further as we go along.’ Prentiss assured her. 'But are there any missing persons with Brittle Bone reported?'

Garcia shook her head, 'None reported in the entire country.'

Grace felt her chest ache a bit at the thought of a pair of parents out there unaware their kids were missing, or worse, not caring that they were. She held to that thought.

‘Brittle Bone is debilitating for kids. Most breakages occur before puberty, they would require a high level of care. These are kids you couldn't leave them home alone for long periods of time. They wouldn't be able to walk long distances or play on a playground unsupervised. Even if these victims are in their early teens, and they aren't as vulnerable, they're still someone you would notice missing. If they have not been reported missing, it’s likely that their guardian is also missing,' she suggested.

'Or the unsub themselves,' Alvez countered.

Why hadn’t she considered that? It was more likely.

She winced at the thought, 'I hope not. But yeah that's what statistics would point to, most murders are committed by someone closely related to a victim, even more so with children.'

'Well, if that is not the case…' Simmons pointed to a map of Groton they had on the table, 'Two major routes intersect here the 37 and the 12, there isn’t much in the town, it’s basically a rest stop, we could be dealing with a mobile killer. If our unsub knew the town had little in the way of law enforcement, they could dump the bodies, shock a small town, overwhelm law enforcement and continue driving. They’d be long gone before the cops even figured out what to do, it’s a forensic countermeasure. Have we looked at the Highway Serial Crimes database? Any similar scenes in other states?'

Garcia shook her head, ‘I checked that, and I'm keeping tabs, but I’ve found nothing this severe, or with kids, sorry. Ah… and I see you’re getting ready to look at those photos and I’ll take that as my cue, I’m out. Talk to you later.’

The screen went dark as Simmons laid out some of the photos on the table.

Prentiss turned their guests. ‘Can you tell anything from the photos that will help narrow anything down?’

‘Ah, no, I agree with everything Grace has concluded. An MNI of two. Both victims are definitely under 21. Most likely related, both have OI. Most likely Caucasian; their teeth have no shovelling. I would say these victims are more likely have Type One, but we will have to reconstruct and get stature estimates and bone samples to know that for certain. Unfortunately, I can’t rule out one of our individuals being pre-pubescent either, like Grace observed, their 31 hasn’t erupted. And if the victims do have Type One, it is the only type not known to cause unusual dentition. I believe it is a worse case scenario, one of those victims is around 12 years old.’ Dr Boland reported.

Grace already had known that, but somehow having someone else confirm it, made the cabin's recycled air feel heavy.

Avery sighed, ‘I have nothing to add, except I want to let you guys know, we are pretty good, but we are not miracle workers. I just want to prepare you for the possibility that we may not ID these victims if no relative comes forward with DNA or reports them missing. Soft tissue is obliterated, so we’re going to work with what we can and move to bones. Now, with younger victims, it is harder to determine sex with only skeletal remains, and given the condition they are in, the fragmentation will also make it difficult to determine facial features or distinguishable characteristics. Dr Boland will do what she can and I will assist where I can.’

‘Wait assist? So you’re not a bone and body guy?’ Alvez asked.

The rest of the team looked confused. Grace realised she hadn’t really told them much about who Avery was, or much about her old team, really.

‘I dabble but no, on the second floor, I’m the living people expert,’ he explained.

JJ nodded along with a grin, ‘You’re the team liaison.’

He nodded proudly, ‘I specialise in CSI coordination, organisation, and education for local police. Grace called me because I’ve worked cases like this before. It is possible we are walking into a contaminated crime scene, regional PD’s will be trying to work with one another, there will be press vultures, and we will most likely be doing the reconstruction in a country clinic or even a vet clinic. Agent Prentiss, I know you will be head of this investigation, but if you allow it, I will gladly organise and coach Local PD though evidence collection. I will do my best to make sure all evidence is collected and processed so it is admissible in court, if that's what you want me to do.’

‘That would be a big help, a profile is going to be hard enough with not much victimology to go off, we don’t need to be juggling crime scene management as well,’ Prentiss agreed.

Avery pulled out a business card and passed it around, ‘That’s my number, I'll grab all yours as well. I know how important a profile is in a case like this, I need to know any updates on your profiles immediately. In a small town like this, we will definitely work with volunteers. I’ve been warned that having Feds brought in might excite and Unsub, it’s possible I will be working along side our unsub at some point, so I think it’s good if we stay in touch.’

Rossi nodded with an impressed look on his face, ‘Where do you find these people, kid?’

‘Around. I keep good company,’ she smiled.

‘Okay when we land, we have a 20 minute drive to Groton from the regional airport, JJ, Matthews, Stiller and Dr Boland, I want you to go to the crime scene, make sure they get everything under control. Rossi, Alvez, I want you to question the staff at the golf course where the bodies were found. Simmons, Lewis you're with me, we will go to the station and get a lay of the land. We'll meet at the Gold Stallion Inn by seven. That's where we're being put up. I hope none of you snore, because there are only six rooms some of us are gonna have to share.’

‘Shot not sharing with Rossi,’ Dr Lewis remarked.

‘Hey, I do not snore. And I’ve had three wives who can attest to that,’ Rossi defended.

-------

Somewhere along Route 37, South Dakota, Thursday July 2023 3:30 pm

He looked out the window as the radio played country music. It had been a long time since he had been on a road trip, he’d forgotten what it felt like. The crink in his knees hardly bothered him though. This was too exciting. Fields passed him and he smiled as a herd of cows lazily grazed, watching their minivan drive by.

‘Cows!’ he exclaimed with delight.

No one else in the car shared his enthusiasm. That was okay, his mom and dad had been driving for a long time, they were tired.

But then the woman next to him sobbed.

‘Please, where are you taking us? Where are my boys!’ his mother cried.

His smile retreated. She was ruining it.

‘SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP RIGHT NOW!’ he pressed the gun to her head again.

‘Lilly, it’s okay baby, we’ll be okay!’ Dad called from the driver’s seat. ‘Please don’t hurt her, she just wants to know when we are going to stop.’

The man turned back to look at him and the woman with pleading eyes. It was good that Mom and Dad loved each other. If only they would love him as much. This was supposed to be a family road trip. They were supposed to be a happy family now. Why didn’t they love him?

‘We stop when I say we can, and you’ll see your boys again, soon enough,' he promised, and he wasn’t lying this time.

This Mom and Dad weren't right, his brothers weren’t right. He’d find the right ones one day. But he supposed he had to value what little time left he had with this family, it was supposed to be fun wasn’t it? He lowered the gun as the road sign loomed up ahead and he smiled. They were nearly there.

‘Ooh, let’s play a game… I spy, with my little eye, something, beginning with… M.’

--------

Groton SD, Golf Course, Thursday July 2023 3:58 pm

'Deputy Mitchell?' JJ asked as the four of them climbed off the golf cart and approached a middle-aged man guarding a large tarp spread over the ground.

'You the feds?'

‘Agents Jareau, Matthews, and Stiller, and our forensic expert Dr Boland.' JJ introduced, pointing out each one.

'Well, thought you'd be all suited up with earpieces, but I'm glad you're here. Body is under here.' He lifted the tarp partially and they all braced themselves. 'Groundsman found it here this morning, Jesus,' the deputy winced and turned away.

'When did the call come in?' JJ asked.

‘That was about six this morning... Look, other than putting the tarp on and doing a search of the grounds, we haven't done anything else. This is way over our heads. We are a small community. People come here cause it’s quiet and nothing happens, we don’t have resources, certainly not for this. Heck, I’m not even sure how we are going to move the body. We asked the regional centre, Aberdeen, for help. They took one look and told us to contact you guys, but they’re sending us their CSI team. They just radioed that they are a few minutes away.'

Avery began to talk about how they were logistically going to go about this. JJ asked questions about what time people usually played golf, and the opening times of the course. She zoned out and peeled the tarp back fully, and Dr Boland jumped to help.

Immediately it was clear the victims were killed right here. This wasn't a dump sight. Blood spatter was caked all over the grass.

Dr Boland opened her field kit and began taking the ambient temperature, following procedure. Grace however became focused on the thing she hadn't been able to tell from the photos; how was this done.

She fixed her glasses on the nose and knelt down next to the bodies.

'Hello, I'm Agent Grace Matthews, I'm just going to examine you to see what happened, okay? Then we will get you both somewhere safe and put you together so we can bury you okay?'

She always spoke to the bodies. She knew the others on the team thought it was weird. She even felt weird talking to them this time, it was hard to even recognise them as human in the state they were in. But that’s why she had to do it, especially at a scene like this.

It was a habit she started at her first job after she left school and she kept it up when she went into forensics. The practice was quite normal in some fields. It was a humanising technique that gave dignity to a body while acting as a coping strategy for the living person. They taught it at the academy, but few practiced it.

'And I'm Dr Boland, I’m Grace’s friend. I will be putting you together and running tests. I will work as fast as I can.' Dr Boland introduced herself, not missing a beat. Grace looked to her in surprise. The doctor only smiled warmly back at her as if to say, “it's not weird at all.” And kept setting up the scene for the investigation.

Grace turned her attention back to the gore and clasped her hands together and hugged them under her chin; it was time to focus. This is what she was here for, this is what got her into the FBI.

Her eyes darted across the mess and searched for repeated patterns or familiar shapes. Amongst the clumps of flesh, splinters of bone and bloody strips of cloth that would have been clothes, she looked for large pieces that were still relatively intact. A long bone, or perhaps the outline of where the clothes would have sat, hopefully. She moved around, searching from every angle for something recognizable. Eventually, the two bodies began to appear. She could identify different sections of a body and her mind filled in the blanks or rearranged into the form it was supposed to take. The two had died next to each other; one face down, one face up.

Two fragmented bones stuck out to her. A snapped the ulna and radius. Attached to it she found a bit of skin that was bruised and dented in a rough crescent shape.

The scene flashed in her mind;

A young voice cried out as they were hit in the back of the head with the bludgeon, their skull shattered immediately, they fell face first into the grass and their jaw dislocated, which allowed the mandible to remain relatively while the overkill was exerted. This was the younger one. When they hit the ground, the other older one turned to the assailant, who was already swinging the weapon at him now. They raised their arm in defence to block the first blow of a rounded heavy object swinging at them. Their forearm shattered immediately. They fell to the ground, and the blows kept coming in a frenzied rage from the man standing above them. They died relatively quickly. But the unsub wanted to humiliate and disfigure them further, he beat them for what must have been hours.

She shook the scene from her mind and focused now on the weapon.

It was flexible and heavy yet did not leave a uniformed mark. It was malleable and, given the frenzied blitz attack; improvised.

She racked her brain, an improvised weapon on a golf course. It would have to be a club right? But it couldn't be; a golf club wasn't the right… anything. Shape, size, weight distance from the attacker; it was all wrong. This damage was more like a mediaeval mace, something heavy that could be swung but didn’t have much reach- yet, not solid? She stood up and wandered around, deaf to the world as she searched for an object that would fit the disruption.

'Hey Agent Matthews… Matthews… Grace. Grace!’ Dr Boland called to her.

‘Yes?’ she turned around

‘If you're heading over there to the bunker can you get a sample of the sand please?' Dr Boland asked.

She nodded and pulled out a test tube from her forensics field kit. She knelt down and scooped up some sand from the bunker. It was really fine sand, not like the natural sand that was about the town. This stuff would get everywhere if I fell over right now, she thought to herself. Then she had a little giggle to herself, it would get everywhere, but it wasn’t rough, or course, it was powdery and fine. Like Anakin Skywalker, she disliked sand, which was unfortunate, having grown up on a tropical island. She also hated golf courses. In her opinion, and her father’s, they were a waste of space. Swathes of nature manicured into useless fields to chase a ball in. The amount of habitat destruction, water wastage and land metamorphosis places like this went through was… she halted.

The sand wasn't from here.

It was brought here, and you buy sand in bags and sand bags are heavy and malleable. And she knew firsthand, you can scale a sandbag down and make the tried-and-true homemade truncheon with little effort.

She ran back over the body and pulled out her magnifying glass, inspecting a depression that would have been caused by a blow. Sure enough, she could make out a few fibres and sandy particulates in the wound. She pulled out a swab taking a sample.

‘Dr Boland, there are fibres and particulates in these wounds, make sure to get some samples before you clean the bones, have you established a baseline yet?’

‘Yeah, it's that flag there,’ she pointed to the peg in the ground and continued laying out measuring guides getting ready to take scaled photos. Grace stood next to the baseline, took out her tablet, snapped a photo and drew an outline with her stylus.

'I got a rough indication of where the victims are lying. I'll do a diagram, that way you can have a rough starting point for the reconstructions.’ She drew outlines of the victims over the photos and labelled them One and Two and hit send.

Dr Boland glance at her tablet smiled, 'This is great. I've never seen you work out side the lab before.'

'Well I do this quite often, I think it would be more accurate to say I've never seen you work out side a lab before,' Grace grinned.

'True, the field is not usually my scene, especially when the site is this recent. But I just wanted to say, the field, it suits you. You seem... more free.' The doctor remarked.

Another golf cart approached carrying a uniformed officer and a few people in CSI jackets; the team from Aberdeen.

‘Looks like the Cavalry's arrived.’

‘Go, catch this guy, we’ve got this,’ Dr Boland nodded, holding out her hand.

Grace frowned at her and reached to shake it.

Dr Boland laughed and shook her hand back, ‘As much as I appreciate that you are comfortable enough to shake my hand, I actually was after the samples you collected, I need to catalogue them.’

‘Oh. right,’ Grace nodded and handed them over. ‘What do you recon? If we catch this guy by Saturday, will you be up for Sunday Study Brunch?’

Dr Boland smiled at her, ‘Well with your diagram here, it should make it easier to reconstruct. I’ll say, we’re on at this point. I’ve got a new stack of possible US soldiers from Bataan, circa 1940s, that I could use help cataloguing, unless you want to work more on your thesis?’

Grace sighed, ‘Not yet, I’m still stuck. Cataloguing Soldiers it is then. I’ll see you and Avery tonight, I’ll keep you in the loop, but I have to brief JJ, and the team. I’ve got a weapon and a few details.’

--------

Leaving one car with Avery and Dr Boland at the scene, JJ and her met up with Rossi and Alvez after they finished the staff interviews.

‘Anyone stick out?’ JJ asked.

‘Nope,’ Rossi shook his head. ‘All of them have alibis.’

‘Grounds man was a bit too into lawn, but none of them seemed off at all.‘ Alvez added. ‘What if this guy is a worse case scenario; just a random guy with victims of opportunity who motored out of here like Simmons said?’

JJ sighed, ‘Well, apparently opening hours are seven to seven, and people would only interact with staff and leave a record if they paid for entry, or hired equipment or a cart. Most locals have an annual pass, so they don’t need to pay for entry. Not that it’s really barred at all, there is no fence, no security or CCTV. Anyone could walk onto the course at any time. What could you tell from the bodies?’

They all looked to her.

‘It was a blitz attack followed by post mortem overkill. After the initial attack the unsub continued to beat them to humiliate and dehumanise them. There was no attempt to conceal the bodies; there is no remorse. The Unsub, is a man, given the strength, and probably under 30, immature and emotionally stunted. The attack was disorganised and full of rage. It seems personal, if the unsub didn’t know these kids, he must be using them as surrogates,’ she reported.

‘Now that kinda rage at two random defenceless disabled kids makes me think we could be looking at a hate crime; like extreme ableism,’ Alvez surmised darkly.

‘Ugh, can this guy get any worse,’ JJ murmured.

Grace gave her a sympathetic look. JJ hid it well but Grace could tell, she was very shaken by this case. She had said very little the entire time. Anything with kids was hard, especially on JJ, but this level of brutality was something else entirely.

‘You said the attack was disorganised, are you implying that he is organised in another aspect?’ Rossi turned to her.

‘Yes well, I may have some good-ish news in that department,’ Grace nodded, ‘The weapon was an improvised truncheon. Now improvised weapons usually indicate a disorganised individual, but on this occasion the weapon actually shows the opposite. He used something that requires criminal sophistication. This guy used a sock filled with sand. It’s a simple but effective weapon. It's not one that comes to mind unless you’ve been in a situation where you’ve had to learn to make a weapon out of nothing before,’ she smiled proudly. They continued to look at her, confused, so she elaborated; ‘I think this guy’s been to prison. Which means he’s in the system, we can find him.’

Rossi’s phone rang and he answered after a quick glance at the Caller ID. ‘Yes? Yeah everyone’s here, yeah I’ll put you on speaker hang on-’ Rossi held his phone out, and they gathered around it, ‘-Go ahead Emily.’

‘I have bad news and worse news. The bad news is there are only five rooms at the inn, so more of us are going to have to share. The worse news is that there are only five rooms because room one’s key was left in the drop box this morning before the office opened and the guests’ car was gone. Now the manager assumed they had checked out, but when the cleaner arrived this afternoon, the Giles family’s belongings were still inside the room.’

‘Well, that’s not good,’ Rossi voiced what they were all thinking.

Grace's mind raced, it made sense why they weren’t reported missing; this family was on vacation, they weren’t expected to be anywhere. The Unsub still had the parents, they couldn’t report the kids missing, they might not even know their kids are dead.

Prentiss continued, ‘Hotel manager says the Giles family were a family of four staying one night. Mom, dad and two boys, one around 15, one around 12 with crutches. Garcia got the 411 on them, the Giles are originally from Minneapolis, she can confirm the boys and the father have type one Brittle Bone Disease. Garcia is searching for their car as we speak. We also have moved our base of operations to the inn and called in State troopers to meet us and the sheriff there. We need to give the profile as soon as possible; we’re dealing with a family annihilator.’

-------

Next Chapter

Note: Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this and that you like Avery and Dr Boland, we'll be seeing them and a few other OCs a fair bit in this story. If you love it, or even just like it, please leave a comment and/or like, it is much appreciated and it really motivates me.

TWs:

Ablesim: this is the big one. Unsub is targeting physically disabled people and it is suggested that these murders could be hate crimes. It is not explored why the unsub has this view point in this chapter but it doesn't really matter. It's never justifiable at all to hate like that. unsub is horrible and delusional. Be warned for ick factor.

Child death: sadly the victims are kids.

Violence, gore, crime scene depiction: these all go together, I don't think I'm too graphic, but Agent Matthews goes to the crimes scene and she replays the events in her head. it's a brief depiction of how the children were murdered.

Kidnapping: there is a scene with our unsub who is currently with the kids' parents, who have been kidnapped. He threatens them and is just generally creepy.

#oc #OC Grace Matthews #BAU #criminal minds #mentor spencer #big brother spencer #spencer gets a happy ending #the protege #the protege chapter 4 #fanfic #my fic #criminal minds case #spencer reid

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algolagniaa · 8 months

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I am bored bored bored bored bored and I don’t want to write about the things actually on my mind or happening in my life so I’m just going to critique this chart reading someone did for me a couple days ago

according to this person I AM going to get married just late…. like I shouldn’t stress for about 4 more years. and tbh a part of me is like “nooooo I want to be a young and beautiful bride” but if I shut that part up that sounds p ideal.

also told me to avoid dating anyone with Gemini placements…… girl everyone I’ve ever so much as had a crush on has Gemini placements. with the exception of my ex fiancé. I vibe with Gemini moons almost exclusively. the girl I have a crush on rn has a Gemini moon and I think it was the same day I got this reading that she told me she wants to kill me over and over. literally HOW am I supposed to turn that down. I’m only human faerie after all

mentioned that I need to be careful who I let close to me because a lot of people over the course of my life are very jealous/envious of me, particularly those with strong Sagittarius placements (which I’ve def found to be true). this is literally WILD to me like ik I’m pretty great but what do I have (other than looks and brains and intrigue and force of personality, okay maybe I get it) that you actually want. actually being me isn’t that great most of the time.

spouse will be sociable and emotionally intelligent and intelligent in general and religious/spiritual and “quaint” and love travel. pretty standard 9th house themes. also said she will have an “underlying intensity” which, yeah I hope so otherwise what are we doing together.

apparently my Uranus/Neptune conjunction in 1st makes me come off as unreliable and my Pluto placement makes me seem controlling/manipulative and too intense for many people. and those two things combined are why people decide to write me off as a bad person. which I guess makes sense bc what happens is they like all of a sudden see something about me they don’t like and then act scared of me??? even when there is genuinely no reason to be????? anyway apparently one of the big things I’m supposed to learn that will help mitigate this is to treat friendships more causally and not expect everything to be a super deep connection. but I feel like I already DO THAT with a lot of people + also when I do that I end up playing with them like dolls or chess pieces. and it’s fun but not satisfying. well whatever I have astrological license to treat my friends worse I guess

ages 24-25 were supposedly years of great personal growth and healing for me but all I did in those years was get abused and lose all my friends and have everyone tell me that actually I was abusive and a narcissist with 17 personality disorders including one that is straight up not in the DSM. and go to a bunch of therapy that didn’t work. and get addicted to weed and gain 30lbs and have everyone in my life collaborate on a giant gaslighting effort to convince me I was dangerously obese and they were worried for my health. and obsessively read r/amitheasshole trying to figure out the rules for Correct behavior. and cut myself to win arguments. and get kicked out of thanksgiving drunk in the middle of the night. and move to Spokane and have my first great love vow to hate me forever. and continue to get abused in Spokane, and meet some friends, and lose those friends bc I pissed off a serial killer dude, oh also I pissed off someone in the mafia I forgot that part, and get abused more and have a dead bedroom in my relationship and lock my entire personality up in a box and put it in a deep dark corner of my mind and give up on ever being happy. also I cried on my birthday both years. where’s the growth and healing…. I guess I hiked a lot in that time? and went to the gym but my heart was NOT in it

apparently I am v talented at communicating, networking, and making connections and can use my gifts to acquire money and power if I so choose. girl I so wish that were true

was also told what themes I will focus on during the next couple years of my life and apparently this year my focuses are: relationships, marriage, contracts, business partners, equality, sharing, interpersonal style. and I can see a couple of these but for the most part….. can’t relate.

#you guys don’t get to know the overarching themes anymore now sorry #all you get to know is I burnt off the ends of my hair. again

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twst-hottest-takes · 29 days

Note

I'm sorry in advance for distracting you from making a part 2 to your leech twin post (congrats on that post having over 200 notes btw ^^). However in my opinion in book 5, I just can't get over how weirdly Neige is written.

Don't get me wrong, I love how nice and friendly his character is. BUT it's weird to me that him and Vil are besties, but there's a one sided hatred in their friendship. Like whenever Vil sees Neige he's like "Omg not this guy >:(...I mean omg hi :D!" And I feel like Neige should have matched that vibe. It's weird to have Neige be so friendly to Vil, when not even Snow White was that nice to the Evil Queen.

I do understand in book 6 Vil was like "I was just being unreasonable, Neige deserves everything." However in book 7 in the jp server Vil's dream was like "Neige is my servant, and literally deserves nothing." Like huh???

It's also weird to me how long this has gone on, and NOBODY noticed??? I mean I assume Vil and Neige have been friends for a while, since Neige has given him a nickname, but please correct me if I'm wrong.

Neige is probably just being overly familiar and naive.

The nature of Vil and Neige's relationship seems to be mostly professional. I don't remember anything really stating that they're true friends so much as they just work closely pretty often. So I think Neige just feels a sense of kinship while Vil sees a rivalry.

What we do know from the story (at least as far as I can find in the EN version) is that Neige and Vil debuted together, and have been casted alongside eachother since they were kids. I think that they see each other more often than most celebrities do. Between work and events such as the SDC, Neige just tends to think that they're friends because they have spent a lot of time together--relatively speaking--and Vil has never told him otherwise. I also think that Neige is written to be overly optimistic and he tends to read the best into people's actions and intentions (kind of like Kalim). Vil is very image conscious. He probably doesn't want to start celebrity drama or look petty. So Vil won't explicitly say they are friends, and he'll at least act cordial in front of Neige and the cameras. In any case the game hasn't made it clear what the public perception of Vil and Neige's relationship is, so at the moment I would say that their dynamic is like two coworkers who are in the same department but don't see each other outside of work.

One of them thinks they are friends because they work so well together, and the other hates him just for existing. I bet Neige DOES wish he and Vil could hang out more casually as friends, but Vil makes excuses as to why that can't ever happen and the former just takes his word for it as opposed to reading the subtext. Vil describes Neige as "oblivious" here, and I honestly think that might be the case. We'll throw a bone to Vil as well though: he is an actor and I can see a majority of people not seeing past his professional appearance regarding his peer/costar.

I find it really funny actually. The only thing that would make it funnier is if they had the dwarves telling Neige, "You know that guy hates you, right?" And Neige just not willing to believe it because Vil always acts so nice around him.

We can only hope to get a deeper look into Neige's character later. (Which I would very much enjoy, because at face value I do like him.)

Thank you for the ask!

Don't worry, we'll get back to the eel discussion soon.~

#twisted wonderland #twst #twst hot takes #hot take #twst hot take #ask response #twst vil #twst neige #neige leblanche #vil schoenheit #rook WISHES they were besties no doubt #as for vil's character shift between books 6 and 7 #that's just vil #both versions are probably true because the game can't keep him in one lane #oh my gosh #Niege and Vil are Spongebob and Squidward

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pochiperpe90 · 2 years

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DISUNITI - Interview to Alessandro Borghi by Gianmaria Tammaro (part about Luca)

What kind of relationship connects you with Luca Marinelli?

<< The opposite of acting, in some ways, is life. Because acting means lying, it means pretending. When for some astral conjunction these two dimensions, acting and life, manage to coincide, something happens that is impossible to tell. It's an idea that moves me >>.

Why?

<< Because it's something that amazes you, even while you're on stage. It's something that moves, that goes beyond lines and characters; that slips into the ties that hold this work together. When there is, a "state of grace" is reached - I love that expression you journalists use. When they tell you, you get embarrassed. But when you use it to describe a particular moment, it's fine, it's perfect. >>

When did you first feel like this, "in a state of grace"?

<< On the set of Non EssereCattivo, in a scene with Roberta Mattei, who plays Linda: my character woke up and found her taking drugs. Well, that scene was incredible. I did seven, eight takes. And I couldn't stop crying. Because I was amazed and overwhelmed by this energy. And in every take, something else happened. In the evening, when I got home, I was devastated. I finally understood.">>

And with Luca is this what happens?

<< It happens with him, yes. And it happened with Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch, with Claudio Caligari and Stefano Sollima. When this happens, you feel invested by a great fortune: a fortune that you must try to transform into an energy useful for interpretation. And it's an extraordinary moment, I repeat it >>.

What?

<< That there is no more beautiful job than this; and when I find myself on the set with Luca, believe me, I often think about it >>.

The friendship that unites you seems deep. Beyond working and sharing the set.

<< I love Luca in a quite unique way. We are two very distant people, and we are truly different. And it's amazing, because we've been able to accept all our differences. This is, if you like, true friendship. And it's something I wish for everyone: when you can be happy immediately if you know that the other is happy. It happened to me with Luca, whom I seem to have known all my life, and it happened to me with my closest circle of friends, who have been the same for twenty years >>.

Like usual, sorry for my English

#luca marinelli #tog cast #the old guard cast #alessandro borghi #non essere cattivo #le otto montagne #the eight mountains #interview #eng translation #mine #english translation #magazine

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burnwater13 · 3 months

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Concept art by Anton Grandert, depicting multiple Sand People standing on top of a transport speeder. Image from The Book of Boba Fett, Season 1, Episode 2, The Tribes of Tatooine. Calendar by DateWorks.

'Grogu could feel the sands of Tatooine stinging his face, as the harsh winds drove them down the canyon. He wished, for the thousandth time, that he had a beskar helmet like his mentor, but, as a Jedi Knight, he was compelled to face the harsh environment with only the Force to shield him. He wished, also for the thousandth time, that the Force would do a better job.’

Grogu paused what he was doing just long enough to get a drink from his canteen. He smiled grimly and continued his work.

‘The Sand People had made a special request that he and his mentor travel to their current location, somewhere in the Dune Sea, and assist them with a problem they could not solve themselves. Grogu found it hard to believe that this tribe couldn’t solve a problem. They had very effectively ended the reign of Jabba the Hutt as soon as the old worm began introducing the spice trade to their beloved planet.

He recalled the Daimyo telling him the story of how his friends had taken down a speeder transport train of illicit goods with just their know how and a couple of blaster rifles. It had been an amazing and heroic act that didn’t just preserve the life and culture of Tatooine’s most famous nomads, but also protected the farmers, ranchers, and simple folk who eked a living alongside them.

If Grogu hadn’t known them so well, learned from them, sat at their fire and traded stories with them, he might have found the Daimyo’s account of the event somewhat hyperbolic. But he did know them. They had been just the partners he and his mentor needed when the town of Mos Pelgo was attacked by two monster krayt dragons. They had been able to lure the wily critters into the same canyon, an almost impossible fete, where Grogu and The Mandalorian had met them, one Jedi Knight and one Mand’alor, working together to protect the guests and the tribes of Tatooine. It had been crushingly hard work and Grogu hoped to never face such a set of beasts again, but with the steadfast resolve that only a Jedi Knight developed through years of training and quick thinking of Mandalore’s greatest warrior, they had bested those noble creatures and provided food, shelter, and riches to the tribes and people for years to come. It had been in balance with the Force.’

Grogu opened his canteen and poured the last drops of its life preserving liquid into his mouth only to spit it out again. Dank Farrik! Sand got everywhere!

‘The trip would have been faster if The Mandalorian had been keen on using a speeder bike, or even a land speeder, but being a true friend of Tatooine they sat on the broad back of a bantha that had been gifted to them when they rescued several children of the tribe from the tentacled grasp of sarlacc. Grogu loved critters like bantha and eopie and was glad to have it as a companion during the cold nights in the middle of the vast desert. But on a trip of this magnitude he’d hoped The Mandalorian would relent and let him use his new flight pack. But no such luck. Mentors taught you lessons you needed to learn, even when you didn’t want to learn them. That was their Way.

A Jedi was taught that patience was a virtue and Grogu knew it was one of the virtues that he’d rarely met. That is why the Mand’alor was his mentor. They had been friends and then allies for many years. Grogu had seen the simple wisdom employed by the beskar encased warrior many times. It had saved them from dangers undreamt of by the Jedi. Grogu knew that he should learn more from the aging Mand’alor and requested that Din Djarin become his mentor, cementing the relationship between the New Jedi Order and the Peaceful States of Mandalore for years to come.’

Grogu searched his equipment, supplies, and materials for another canteen. He was parched because that’s what happened when he did this sort of work and he knew that to complete it he would have to find more life sustaining liquid. He called to his friend and mentor. Perhaps they had something left in their own canteen.

“Grogu? What in the seven hinges of the Helsparian are you doing? And why is their broth all over this table?”

Grogu looked up at his dad and shrugged. He thought it was the best way to keep the Mandalorian at bay.

“Are you still writing that story about the Sand People? I’ve told you a thousand times, write the story, don’t live it on the table. We need to eat dinner in a few minutes and it’s a mess.”

Grogu nodded with grim resolve. He would help his mentor clean up and then, after dinner, return to writing his historically accurate report of spending time with the Daimyo: ‘My life on Tatooine, An Adventure, Barely Survived, but Blessed by Friendship’.

#calendar prompt a day #the book of boba fett #grogu #the mandalorian #boba fett #din djarin

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saintsir4n · 1 year

Text

WARNINGS: MENTIONS OF VIOLENCE AND BLOOD

1914

THE suffragette arson attack on Britannia Pier made news everywhere. The horror, the paper's headlines screamed which made Eden wish she was there to witness it all, except she was at work, discussing the women's movement in Great Yarmouth and what this meant for women everywhere.

She remembered hearing Tommy say a while ago, big fucks little and in her eyes, many women were bigger than men, more powerful in ways that didn't involve abrupt acts of violence or shouting and yelling to prove a point.

So when she finished her shift, she waved goodbye to the other nurses, exited the building and let out a deep sigh.

"Fuck," another long, tiresome shift, caring for people who couldn't give a damn about her in the slightest, who treated her like shit until they caved and allowed her to operate on their burns and bruises.

Eden Dawkins needed a break.

"Come on Edie," she turned around to see Dorris waiting for her, "You're late."

"It's six in the afternoon."

Looping arms with her dear friend, Dorris shrugged, "And? Let's get going."

And so they did, despite Eden's aching feet and drooping eyes, they walked towards their favourite place in the city.

The sun had almost faded, fortunately, the weather was heating up, Spring had its grasp on Birmingham and Eden and Dorris were grateful for it.

"You're still with 'im then?" asked Dorris.

Eden felt the disappointment in the air, "Not really."

"Don't lie to me, you've forgiven 'im right, Shelby's been forgiven?

Eden sighed, "Not completely."

"Fuck sakes Eden," Dorris didn't get it and she doubted she ever would.

"I know, it's fucked up," Eden already felt a great amount of shame for allowing Tommy back in.

"More than that," Dorris muttered bitterly, looking away from her friend, "You love 'im that much don't ya?"

"I can't help it," Eden whispered as they drifted closer to the green.

"You can leave," Dorris suggested.

"I've tried."

"Not hard enough."

"I know."

Dorris bit down on her lip, debating on what to say next, "He asked about you y'know? Enzo."

Eden's face lit up just as quickly as it dimmed.

"But he doesn't respond to my letters," she muttered, earning a scoff.

"Can you blame 'im? He was bedridden for two weeks, he could barely speak. Every time I went over, Angel and Mrs Changretta would curse you out," Eden bowed her head shame, "and Enzo would defend you, battered and bruised, he wouldn't let 'em say a word 'bout you – me as well, which is why I got kicked out a few times."

Angel was angry at Dorris for defending Eden, especially when he believed she was the reason his brother was all bandaged up. She didn't think Angel would talk to her after this and for once she wasn't fussed.

Truthfully she didn't love him as much as she thought she did and had her suspicions he didn't love her.

"Does he look better?" Eden suddenly asked, when they started their long walk up the hill.

"Better than before," Dorris answered, coyly smiling at the thought.

Eden tried to smile back, but it came out as a grimace.

"Good."

"And what does your mum think 'bout all of this?" Dorris wondered how the Dawkins' even allowed her to continue to date a man like Tommy Shelby.

Dorris knew her mother would kick her out if she was dating a gangster... well, a more infamous one.

"She's on the fence," Eden said.

Dorris raised a knowing brow, "And ya dad?"

"Still hate's 'im,"

Cecil was never fond of Tommy, she speculated it was because he was mindful that he was a white man, from a not-very-respected family, which he would never confirm or deny.

Dorris snorted, "Good."

Eden rolled her eyes and they continued on their way.

"Did you really pull a knife on Shelby?" Dorris asked, seemingly excited by the whole thing.

Eden hummed, "Yeah."

Dorris started to laugh, startling her friend.

"What?" Eden asked in confusion.

"Maybe you two, do belong together."

Eden groaned, "Fuck off."

"What, it's true," Dorris kept laughing, "Wish I saw it."

"I wish it never happened."

Dorris pursed her lips at her regret, "Can't turn back time, no matter how much you want to, just 'ave to move forward."

A soft scoff escaped Eden's lips, "Oh yeah?"

"You don't wanna get out of this shitty town?"

"I've thought about it."

"I can't see you being a nurse for long," Dorris remarked, growing tired of walking despite getting closer.

"Why?"

"You love to read Edie," Dorris recalled all the times she'd seen her friend's face stuck in a book.

She and Enzo used to have to drag her away from the pages she got pulled into.

Eden slowly nodded, "And write."

She even began to write in the notebook Tommy gifted her, not that she told him, but she was certain he knew. It was only small stories about the lives around her, fortunately, there was a tale on every corner of small heath so she didn't have to go far for inspiration.

"And write, y'see I've never heard any writer come from Birmingham 'ave you?"

A frown settled on Eden's face, "I dunno, but I could be the first."

Dorris agreed, "You could, but under what name?"

"E. Dawkins," Eden blurted out, aware her name alone would get any traction, being a woman, a black woman, she knew she wouldn't be recognised let alone published.

Plenty of female writers had pseudonyms.

"You've thought about it, good, got any more?" Dorris pressed on.

Eden huffed out a chuckle at the next name, "Adam Garden."

Dorris made a face, "The fuck?"

"What man was the first to step into the garden of Eden?"

"Adam. I get it now, big brain," Dorris ignored the eye roll she received, "Clever."

"Fuckin' idiot."

"Shut up. All I'm sayin' is, this town is a cloud of smoke, you gotta get out," Dorris insisted as they neared closer to their favourite spot.

"Like you, I know you wanna go to London, there's smoke over there," Eden teased.

"And lights, you can at least see through the smoke," Dorris said, "don't you feel like you're gettin' left behind, stayin' here?"

Eden didn't what dawned on her, "It's all I know."

Bobbing her nose, Dorris smiled, "Keep writin' your stories and see if that's how you want to do."

Eden had talked to Enzo before about how dull England was for her, but she didn't think she had the courage to ever leave.

Slowly approaching the huge tree stump that was blossoming with flowers, Dorris smiled, then nudged the distant woman, who snapped her head up from the ground.

She let out a shaky breath upon seeing Enzo, who slowly walked out from behind the tree. Yellow bruises still scared his face and stitches decorated his eyes.

"Enzo," she didn't hesitate to break out into a run and jump into his arms.

Hearing his grunt, she pulled back, worried about the bruises underneath his grey jumper, but he tugged her back to his chest. A month had gone by without contact from him and she couldn't stand it, but she knew he needed space from her even if it killed her. It was the longest she'd gone without hearing from him, despite the copious arguments they had over the years, they would always find their way back to each other, well that's what he always said to her.

"Hello Edie, like the scars?" he asked jokily after drawing back and pressing a kiss to Dorris' forehead.

Eden's hand met her mouth, "My god..."

Tommy did this to him, and she hated him for it, but she hated himself more for still being in love with him.

"It's alright," he took her hand a placed it on his face, "they don't hurt anymore, I kinda like 'em."

"Looks like a movie star," Dorris complimented, shooting him a wink that he returned.

"You do," Eden sniffled, wondering how he could find the light in all of this.

Dorris smiled, "Told you she would agree w'me,"

"You were right Dotty," Enzo chuckled, gently nudging her.

"Always am."

Eden retracted her hands, "I'm so sorry."

Enzo playfully rolled his eyes, "For these? Not your fault, at least I got to see you protectin' me."

"I shouldn't 'ave had to."

"You're right, you shouldn't 'ave had to," he agreed rather bluntly, his tone had Dorris gently shaking her head, sending him a knowing look that he acknowledged.

Enzo shook off his animosity for a moment and took Eden and Dorris' hands, leading him over to the blanket he set up that had a small basket sitting over it.

It made Eden feel like it was just like old times, but something was off like there was a secret she wasn't aware of, making her feel very unnerved.

"I brought sandwiches, last ones for a while I'm afraid," Enzo couldn't help but joke as they sat down, "Sardolive for you," he gave to Eden, after opening up the basket, "tomato soup for you Dot."

"Thank you," Eden beamed at him.

"Been missin' 'em," Dorris quickly dug in as he brought a bottle of pop.

"Neither of you allowed in my house anymore, so I don't doubt that," he teased again, making them crack a small.

Tucking into the food, Eden couldn't help but cast glances at Enzo, the bruises on his face worried her. Yes, they were healing, but everything between them still felt as broken as ever.

"Guess what I found," Settling her sandwich down, Dorris brought out old fragile and brittle flower crowns, forcing the other two to stop eating.

They gasped, noticing the petals had fallen and died years ago, it was a miracle the stems still hung onto each other.

"We made them before we finished school," she informed, settling them in their hands.

"Merde, you kept these?" Enzo chuckled.

"'Course."

"It was Edie's idea to make 'em," Enzo remembered, turning to the girl who was taken back by the flower crowns.

"I remember," Eden murmured, with a smile.

Dorris accepted them when they passed them back and placed them down on the picnic blanket.

Clearing her throat, Eden spoke up, "Since we're bringin' out old shit, Mum found this a few days ago," she took a picture out of her cardigan pocket.

Dorris gasped, "Oh shit."

They stared at their younger selves in a picture Eden presented them with.

Enzo was standing between the two girls, smiling widely, the Dawkins girls made funny faces whilst Dorris glared at the camera.

"What a sight," Enzo stared in awe, taking the picture to get a closer look.

Eden fondly nodded to the photograph, "Mum says she's got another one of those somewhere, so I wanted you to 'ave it."

"What 'bout Dotty?" he asked, turning to the Martin woman.

"I told her to give it to you," Doris responded.

He turned back to Eden, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Eden smiled.

Carefully placing the picture into his pocket, he started thinking about all the times he'd lay in his bed, hearing all the curses his parents shouted all over the house about Eden Dawkins, the truce and the Shelbys. Wanting to tune them out he couldn't, because Angel would jump in, and even sometimes Stevie would whenever he checked in under the guise of being a friend and despite needing time away from the girl, Enzo couldn't let her or Dorris' name be slandered like that.

March was hell for Enzo.

"'Bout your letters," he spoke up after a moment, facing Eden whose eye widened, "I got all of 'em, sorry I couldn't write back."

"Why is that?" she dared to ask, then noted the frustration swimming in his eyes.

"Didn't have the energy."

She nodded rapidly, "Right, sorry."

"It's alright," Enzo caught the strained look on her face, "you alright?"

"I'm just happy we're friends again... what?" she sensed the change in their demeanours.

She saw the many times Dorris sent Enzo odd looks, which she tried to ignore, until now at least.

Nervously scratching the back of his head, Enzo gulped, "Need to tell you something."

Suddenly Eden's mouth went dry, "Tell me what?"

"Edie, just listen alright?" Dorris said, softly.

Wordlessly Eden turned back to the injured man, who stared out onto the green.

"I remember when I met you, you walked into class with a big bow in your hair, a big red bow remember that?" Eden smiled at the memory, "but some Segaiolo tried to rip it out 'cause they thought I didn't suit you. You pushed her over and got a detention on the first day," the girls laughed as he continued recalling the story, "and that was when I knew you were gonna be my best friend. You were so sure of yourself, that's what I loved, and I still do. Even when you dated my brother, it confused me and disgusted me a little, but when he proposed the idea of marriage had you ending it and you didn't turn back and I applauded you, the little shit deserved it. And I thought, maybe your taste in men ain't that bad," Eden's laughter died down, as did Dotty's, "but I was wrong."

"Enzo –"

"-- I was realy fuckin' wrong. You started datin' this gangster, and I thought why? Why would you give into this whores charms, didn't make sense to me, not in the slightest, but you looked happy, really happy, well most of the time, so I kept my mouth shut, even Dorris was shocked about that. And when you started comin' to me upset I thought I'll hold my tongue because it's an argument right, he wouldn't hurt you, well that's what you told me. And then he made you cry, my best friend, cryin', 'cause of that putina, but it's not the first time right?" Dorris turned to see the sullen expression on Eden's face, yet Enzo didn't stop, "he hurts you and you love him. And I can't keep seein' you get hurt by someone like that, I won't Edie... not anymore, I mean look me – look at you. One day I hope you push him like the Segaiolo he is," he gathered her hands in his, "but I won't be around to see it."

Eden went numb, every fibre of her body... she just couldn't feel anything.

All the words he spoke echoed in her mind, humming, then blaring almost deafening her, she had no choice but to let everything in. But I won't be around to see it, it was so final, why was it so final?

Dorris looked down, knowing this was going to happen, feeling guilty for leading Eden to this, the end of their trio.

"You won't be around for it?" Eden quietly muttered, more to herself than him, but from the corner of her eye, she could see him shakily nod.

Slipping her hand out from his, she heard Enzo choke back a sob whilst she came to terms with everything. They would always find their way back to each other... but not anymore.

Her heart begged him for another chance, but in his teary eyes, she knew it was over, for good.

Enzo knew he would never experience her kicks, pinches or long speeches full of random quotes from books she read, that he couldn't understand. The smell of cedar wood was his favourite, but it was a sacrifice he'd have to make, all of it was. He loved her with everything in him, but he didn't think he could deal with it anymore.

It almost cost him his life.

Eden forced herself not to cry, believing it was her fault he had to make the decision and no amount of begging would make him take it back.

So she nodded and let out a deep sigh.

"Fuck, I need a cig," she muttered, voice thick with sadness.

Dorris and Enzo chuckled at her, the former couldn't stop his tears from flowing.

"You're ending things and you're crying," Eden accused, with a small smile.

He nudged her, "Fuck off."

Wiping away a stray tear, Dorris mustered up a smile, "Hey, I didn't bring these for nothin'," she gestured to the flower crowns, "Put the fuckers on."

They laughed as they put on the flower crowns, each looked very ridiculous, but they didn't care, Instead, they basked in the memories they had because new ones wouldn't be made after that. Which was a sad truth that drove their laughter to die down and look out at the horizon.

Enzo reached for their hands, not wanting the moment to leave just yet.

A train going past caught their attention, it went at such high speed and along with it went a friendship.

Eden and Enzo's.

And what a friendship it was.

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a/n:

i didn't realise how many famous authors there were from birmingham, jrr tolkien (the hobbit/ lord of the rings), benjamin zepheniah (poet and plays jeremiah in the show) and steven knight (the peaky blinders writer). i've shed some light on eden's fascination with books, and her aspiration to become an author one day, but as a woman, a black woman, she fears that her work wouldn't be recognised let alone published. most woman used an alias for their work, so that's why eden is considering it.

some people might also think that enzo is being too rash in his decision to break up his and eden's friendship, but to be honest, he isn't wrong. he let her down gently and it hurt him to do so. he loves her, but can't watch her be with tommy -- and before anyone says anything, tommy may have been decent before he went off to war, but we saw what he became. plus he literally beat enzo to a pulp just because of speculation... so enzo leaving eden alone is for the best. also if you're in a relationship or something adjacent with a man like tommy, making sacrifices are bound to happen, unfortunately.

and if anyone is confused on the timeline, the suffragette arson attack on britannia pier, great yarmouth 17th of april.

#wattpad #black girl #black reader #eden dawkins #tommy and eden #edendawkins #tommy shelby x oc #tommy shelby fanfic #tommyshelbyxedendawkins #1914 #until we meet again fanfic #birmingham #tommy shelby x black reader

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