#but I did read in interviews that this Death doesn't just kill with kisses he kills on touch

[adridoesstuff]

Elisabeth das musical Czech production appreciation pt. 14

Die Shatten werden länger with Pavel Režný as Smrt/Death and Pavel Klimenda as Rudolf

[ur-fav-inactive-writer]

𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 ____'𝐬 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞...

(A/N: Does not include Five)

𝑵𝒐. 1 , 𝑳𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 , 𝑺𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒃𝒐𝒚

girl next door trope

knew you ever since childhood

loves you to death

so soft with you

he's such a gentlemen

pulls out chairs for you and holds doors for you

butttttt you have to deal with his daddy issues

he always comes to you crying whenever something happens

a sweetheart with you though

he's very awkward at comforting you

he likes to cook for you

he's such a good chef ngl

he loves cuddling

he literally is always cuddling you

likes to be big spoon, don't get me wrong he needs comfort

but

the idea of being able to protect you by being big spoon is so validating to him

he's too big to be little spoon anyway

that is literally his one purpose

if he found you during the 60s or something and he had to leave you he'd never stop talking about you

"I miss (Y/N)..."

"(Y/N) would've liked this.."

"Luther, they're gone."

fml sobbing why did I write that

anyway his one purpose is to love and protect you

𝑵𝒐. 2 , 𝑫𝒊𝒆𝒈𝒐 , 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑲𝒓𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏

very jealous

if he sees you with some guy who is flirting with you he will literally glare daggers into him

he will then proceed to walk over to you, sling an arm around your waist and pull you in for a kiss

he doesn't give a shit if anyone's watching

he talks shit about him siblings to you

"Luther thinks he's so much better than all of us-"

"Diego chill out."

oh my god when Viktor wrote that book

he

was

SEETHING

(no hate to viktor , viktor is baby)

the shit talk increased so much

he would not shut up about it

help diego would be such a simp for you

like I'm not joking

pure simp

in his eyes you are sweet innocent summer child who can do absolutely no wrong

stabbed someone?

pfft it was probably just an accident

he brings you to visit grace

omg it would be so cute

grace absolutely adores you

she always makes sly comments about how you and diego should get married

he goes redder than the colour red

he wouldn't tell anyone but he secretly loves the idea

he loves kissing your forehead

it's literally his favourite place

you and klaus are besties

he has to deal with you when klaus gets you drunk

"oh. my. god. im upside down."

"(Y/N), you're standing upright. we need to go home.

"... no"

he never gets drunk

fun squasher

he says his body's a temple

boring

youre his nurse

he always comes home injured and gets you to patch him up

he finds it hot

yes, he's bleeding out. yes, he finds you playing nurse to him hot.

priorities ig

he's so soft with you

would kill for you

he probably has

𝑵𝒐. 3 , 𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏 , 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒓

(refuse to make her evil so s3 allison will not be mentioned)

definitely gets you an acting job in one of her films

she buys you the fanciest stuff

literally you two have the best closet

and you have your own personal stylist

bc why not

you do interviews with her all the time

fans absolutely adore you

there's so many paparazzi pictures of you two together and they eat it up

especially if they include you being doting to claire even though she's not biologically your kid

omg her fans would absolutely love that

so would allison though

if she saw you reading claire a story or smth

her heart would just melt

she might cry ngl

her two favourite ppl in the world just being adorable

you're the cool parent to claire

both of you go to fancy parties and are the hottest couple

"Allison! (Y/N)! How does it feel knowing you're America's favourite couple!"

you're so flattered

allisons just like: yeah ik lmao

she kisses you a lot in public

she knows damn well people are gonna get pictures of it but she loves it

you watch her films with her a lot

if its a particularly old one, you make fun of it with her

"oh my god allison. why do you look like that."

"IT WAS THE STYLE."

she then proceeds to also make fun of it

you, her and claire go on lots of fancy days out

you may as well considering you're RICH

luther gets a bit jealous sometimes

you help her with her therapy

you comforted her when she custody of claire

you also fought alongside her to get her back

as soon as you do you're happier than ever

you are literally just the cutest family ahdhahfhaj

but then she loses you again when she goes to the 60's

she made it her life's purpose to get back to 2019 with the love of her life and claire

as soon as she accepts that it could take years upon years to reunite with you and claire she finds ray

she knew you'd be happy

but she also knew

she'd never truly move on

omg help I'm gonna start sobbing why do I do this to myself

𝑵𝒐. 4 , 𝑲𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒔 , 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒆́𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆

you help get him off of drugs

ben adores you

he likes that you're there to help klaus

and that you don't ever drop to his level and just do drugs with him

he also likes how you never shit talk him when klaus starts ranting about how annoying he is

klaus is a huge fan of PDA

he is obsessed with the idea of holding your hands

he is constantly touching you in one way or the other

whether it be holding your hand

or simply having a hand on your leg

it matters to him

and that's why you love it

sweet baby boi has so much love to give

he likes being little spoon

he just loves being in your arms

it helps with his nightmares

diego also approves of you

you've saved him from having to go out and look for klaus in the middle of the night in fear he's high or smth

klaus rants to you every so often

quite often you have to help him through panic attacks

he loves you sm

like he is so lovesick

if anyone were to ever ask about you

oh boy

he gets this lovesick look in his eyes

and then starts rambling about how enamored he is with you and how great you are

it's adorable

he's very clingy but in the best way possible

he matches outfits with you

never a dull moment with you two

often it's you trying to solve whatever problem klaus has somehow managed to conjure up

and klaus just being a devious little shit

but it doesn't matter cause you love him

sometimes he questions why you love him

it makes you cry whenever he asks

"(Y/N/N)..."

you hum in response

"why do you love me...?"

sobbing and you start listing all the reasons

and then he's sobbing

and then you're both sobbing

but anyway

he loves dancing with you

he doesn't care what song

it could be some crappy pop song that's somehow in the top hits

or some classical music that's centuries old

he really doesn't care

he likes spinning you around

he loves seeing how happy it makes you

klaus asks you the most random stuff at 3am

"... (Y/N"

"yeah"

"lawyers hope you get sued, doctors hope you get sick, cops hope you're criminal, mechanics hope you have car trouble, but only a thief wishes prosperity for you."

"... go to bed"

"never"

you poor thing

you never get any sleep because of how chatty he is at night

he hates being away from you

if he isn't near you he will start whining to ben

𝑵𝒐. 6 , 𝑩𝒆𝒏 , 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓

omg it took him ages to admit his crush on you

he's been crushing on you since you were like 12

when did he admit it?

when he was 18.

he likes reading to you

he loves seeing you get all relaxed at the sound of his voice

it makes him fall even more in love with you

he likes PDA but not that much

just a simple touch is enough for him

this boy blushes so easily

you'll brush his hand and he'll turn so pink

sometimes you'll just be sitting there doing nothing of note

and he'll be staring at you in adoration

he's in absolute awe of you

thinks you're the most adorable thing ever

much like diego

thinks you can do no wrong

you're his sweet, precious girl

he knows everything about you off by heart

from your favourite colour

to your mums favourite song

you thinks it's endearing

he loves holding your hand

playing with your hair is one of his favourite things to do

don't get me wrong he likes when you do it to him

but he much prefers when he does it to you

he finds it really relaxing

he's usually pretty closed off about his childhood but he trusts you

sometimes when something that triggers a bad memory happens he goes to you to rant

he doesn't know what he'd do without you

you're literally his life

omg

when you kiss his nose

he just melts

it's the most adorable thing

he's so good at cheering you up

no matter if its something minor or major

he's always amazing at getting you back to your usual self

he loves taking you on cute little dates

he reads you poetry he wrote

omg he deffo writes a piece of poetry about how much he loves you

omg help this is so cute

overall he's a simp

and it suits him

𝑵𝒐. 7 , 𝑽𝒊𝒌𝒕𝒐𝒓 , 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑽𝒊𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒏

viktors a sweetheart

he gives you private violin shows

he also rehearses in front of you to see what you think

he tries to get you to critique him

if you don't play violin, you probably just say its all perfect

if you do, you probably give him little tips on areas to work on

you go on little dates to watch the sunset

he has to be little spoon

he just needs some comfort

just needs to be wrapped in your arms and feel safe

poor guy has been through so much

sometimes he gets mad memories of the incident with allison and you have to calm him down

he wouldn't get jealous

he'd just get rlly insecure :(

if he saw someone flirting with you he'd just get a bit sad

he would think the worst and think that you would want to leave him for them :(((

poor bby

opens up to you about how bad his childhood was

sometimes he regrets writing the book

you have to reassure him that it's okay and they don't hate him for it

sure, they did, but not anymore

klaus thinks you two are adorable together

you've got quite a few polaroids of the two of you together

he has them on those little string lights above your bed

he keeps at least one in his pocket at all times

he does that thing where you check if you still have something valuable and it's so cute for some reason

and when he checks and its still there it puts this small little smile on his face

omg it's just shfjsjfjsjf

you take care of him when he's sick

he hates it bc he feels bad that you have to take care of him

but deep down he loves it and will treasure those memories forever

but he'd do the exact same thing if you were sick

whenever you buy him something he always feels bad if he didn't get you something

"Vik it's okay! you didn't have to get me anything,"

"NO ITS NOT I NEED TO GO GET YOU SOMETHING RIGHT NOW."

it's absolutely adorable

Taglist: @book-place

[separatist-apologist]

oh God I'm sorry if I triggered PTSD by my ask - to clarify I am very new to that ship and I never talked to any fans about it, but I asked because my husband is a fan but he straight up hates the new trilogy (he hates a lot of things, don't mind him) so I was wondering what other fans are like

TOPIC CHANGE I asked you a very important question some days ago (ok I lie it was a reblog and a tag) about RANCH and I'm still waiting for your answer

when do people start kissing on the mouth on Tumblr I need to follow the proper etiquette

I don't love the new trilogy either, but the problem is like, people assume if you say you don't like it, its because you hate the representation presented. Which isn't true- I hate how the writing is shitty and there is no heart in them. I hate how a loud, vocal minority was prioritized in the story telling to sideline characters like Finn and Rose, and I especially hate how you can't say you don't like Rey x he-who-i-refuse-to-name without being called a misogynist. Maybe I just hate a dude who killed three trillion people? Maybe I think death IS the redemption arc because the other alternative is a prison cell on Coruscant? Like in what world is he allowed to just wander freely, he literally was responsible for the deaths of three TRILLION people and the destruction of a WHOLE system.

And like, like what you like i don't care- I get why people ship it, it's just not interesting to me and the final movie was bad because the storytelling was AWFUL, not because one character didn't get absolved for his many, MANY crimes so he could kiss a girl he didn't deserve.

I'd love to hear why your husband doesn't like them? I have such beef with the sequel trilogy. There are good pieces, good bones, but like...did you know Finn is screaming REY all through ROS because he's force sensitive? You'd only know that if you read the comics OR watched the interviews. That's BAD storytelling. Your movies should answer questions without needing 80 other pieces of media to flesh it out (Though the Chuck Wendig books about the rise of the First Order are very good and I recommend them).

I don't have anothe ranch based ask from you :(

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

Have you watched the Utena movie? If so, how do you think it ties into the anime? And your thoughts on the character relationships (Anthy and Utena, Touga&Utena and Shiori and Touga)?

I have!

And the answer is it does, but it doesn't?

The Thing About Utena

So, there are far more learned people about Utena than me. I haven't read the manga, I haven't read many of the interviews/documentaries. There's so much I don't know about the production and how it came into being.

What I do know about the manga and the anime, is that they were made around the same time and that because the artist had only an initial script/concept to go off of they went wildly different places than the anime did.

The film was made as a follow on to the anime but...

Jury's out on if it's a sequel of not.

Where Utena Left Off

Where we leave off, Utena has been expelled from Ohtori and presumably no longer remembers it or is able to find it. Anthy has left Ohtori for the real world, seemingly leaving the magical world of Ohtori to collapse or else manifest as the real world without Anthy's magical abilities holding it together.

Everyone else is still there, not having escaped the throes of adolescence yet, including the disillusioned Nanami, the humbled and defeated Touga, as well as Miki and Juri who have learned things about their relationships and Shiori who has lost everything.

We're left with the presumption that somewhere, somehow, Anthy will find Utena and that together they'll make it as ordinary people in the world of adults.

The Movie

Utena arrives at Ohtori, designed very differently, with a different backstory/reasoning for arriving. Here, she knew Touga beforehand and has been actively looking for him/is certain he's the prince.

Both Utena and Touga seem to have had personality transplants compared to the anime. Touga's much more generous/we see very little of his manipulation compared to the anime, and we learn he in fact died a very long time ago in a heroic manner that has traumatized Utena ever since (and was also abused by his adoptive father). Utena, on the other hand, is far more wary and standoffish and hostile to Anthy compared to her initial "lol whut who are you" reaction in the anime. Wakaba, too, is not introduced as Utena's friend or someone who even knows her or ever becomes all that close to her.

Akio is more hapless and hedonistic than malicious, as after sleeping with his sister in a drunken daze he kills himself. He's barely a part of the film at all.

Nanami is a cameo of a rampaging cow that is not explained at all nor given any relation to Touga.

Shiori is now very bitter, malicious, and narcissistic as opposed to riddled by insecurities and self-doubt as she is in the original anime series.

And Anthy doesn't act like the 'witch' at all, not in any way shape or form, and is a far more sympathetic character.

The rose bride metaphor is no longer a metaphor, if you win the bride, she will sleep with you, almost immediately, as Utena finds out to her utter initial disgust at first.

And we finally see them actually escape Ohtori in victory. Utena becomes a car and she and Anthy escape into the... oh no, is adulthood the apocolypse? Is the real world just Mad Max? Oh well, they finally get to kiss on screen.

The Movie: A Direct Sequel

Could be argued that the movie is a direct sequel to the anime.

Ohtori looks different because it collapsed completely upon Anthy's departure. This, too, explains why characters look different than how they were designed in the original series, the egg fucking collapsed with everyone inside it.

Perhaps the reason we have this new Ohtori is that Anthy came back for whatever reason but whatever that reason was--her brother didn't survive it, which is why Akio has his unglamorous and terrible death and ceases to become a major character.

Nanami's stuck as a fucking cow in a TV set, because on trying to leave this bullshit she accidentally left this bullshit and gets to be a cow.

Touga's a broken ghost who is now dead in this world, and we learn part of why he was the way he was in the original series (as the father bit was a scrapped plotline from the anime that it just didn't have time for).

Utena is standoffish and guarded because she ended the anime with a billion swords stabbed through her, even though she doesn't remember what happened or Ohtori and was lured in for different reasons, she still has fundamentally changed as a person while still being a 'prince' if a lot less... earnest about it.

Wakaba has forgotten Utena, as she did at the beginning of the previous film.

Shiori has become embroiled in bitterness and hatred after her humiliation and devestation, completely divorcing herself from Juri and now consumed with ruining the happiness and hope of others.

Anthy has been softened, now desperately wants to escape and to do so with Utena. The metaphors, too, are gone and the nature of the Rose Bride, the sexuality of it, is made blatantly and horribly clear.

Everyone else is still trapped there, trapped in adolescence and a lack of character development that saw them unable to progress in the series.

There's also only a few duels, not that many, as if we've already done this before and we just did that first one with Saionji to parallel that first one with Saionji in the original series.

And of course, we finally see Utena and Anthy get out, the shadow girls cheer them on, we see the cast of Utena helping them escape in a way that implies a long history (even if everyone's forgotten it), and of course Utena and Anthy do kiss as if they've been through some shit.

There's a strong argument to be made that it's a direct sequel.

Why Not?

Because we repeat so many events from the anime and reexplain things/recontextualize characters like Touga, Utena, Anthy, Akio, etc.

The film feels like a separate reality, another incarnation of Ohtori that might have happened, and a different rose bride system as well. It really doesn't feel like a direct sequel, the sense that if you want it to be a sequel you kind of have to squint at it and go "... I think this works"

It also doesn't take place in the middle of the series or before the series as it's all about Utena being in Ohtori/arriving and beginning to engage in the duels. There's also enough repeated events, with very different reasoning, that it doesn't feel as much like a "we're doing this because this has all happened before and will all happen again" but more that it's... a different interpretation of the events that are set in motion.

So, there's a strong argument that it's not tied into the anime at all but exists in its own little bubble.

Character Relationships

... all of those? And in the movie or the anime? I've written on some of those but each of those is... a very long post.

[thefloatingwriter]

hi!! i hope you don't mind me dropping in but i read your marvel headcanons and then read your fic with marvel's sister (and loved it!!!) and i was wondering if you had any thoughts on his sister/the rest of his family after he died and during the rebellion?

thank you so much for this ask omg??? i love talking about the sanfords so much you have no idea. also i’m so glad you enjoyed reading my thoughts on marvel. he’s such a blank slate of a character that i feel like people just skip over him even though you could really do anything with him. also also thank you so much for reading the fic about marvel and marvel’s sister (here for anyone who hasn’t read it!) i’m so glad you enjoyed it!!

okay now into the actual hcs lol.

(little note: this includes all of members of the sanford family alive during the rebellion, not the 75th. amethyst lives through the 75th, but does not live to see the rebellion. just a btw so no one gets confused!)

brilliant sanford —

brill and marvel were not close. he always agreed with what his mother said about training and marvel never felt safe talking to him.

that said, he was affected when he died. after all, marvel was his son. he had raised him.

but brill had never second guessed the system he grew up within (“kiss the capitol’s ass or die” basically). he didn't magically start thinking the games were immoral. his brother had died in the games and he still didn’t think the games were horrible and unjust. his son being killed did not make him have a sudden change in perspective.

brill basically had a whole “there will be no talk of treason under my roof” talk with his wife and daughter and pearl was like “your roof? this is my house”. so yeah, lots of fighting and arguments over meals in the Sanford’s home during the period after the 74th games ending to the victory tour.

he doesn't side with the rebels during the rebellion. he doesn’t side with the capitol loyalists either, though, which is bigger than him just siding with the rebels honestly. the sanfords were big capitol supporters during the Dark Days. brill had grown up learning about it. he knew what was expected of him. he just didn’t do it.

he never publicly sided with either side, but brill gave his life to save his wife and daughter from a capitol bomb. in a way, that was him choosing his side. and it wasn’t the capitol.

bonus hc for brilliant: he used to watch his brother’s games. not the actual games, but the interviews and the clips of the reapings. he can’t bring himself to watch the actual games. he never has. amethyst convinced the capitol officials wanting brill’s opinions on his brother that brill was deathly ill. in truth, it wasn’t all that far off; he refused to go out anywhere and was bedridden for weeks. maybe he did have some rebellious thoughts during that time. he never admitted to them.

pearl nelson —

pearl nelson has been pissed for years. her son’s death is really just the final straw for her.

she doesn’t speak to amethyst for months after it. if she has to, she tells brill to tell amethyst for her. brill finds it ridiculous but pearl looks about one ill timed comment away from killing someone, so he does it anyway.

important member in the rebellion in One, especially relating to the civilian aspect of it. she has been smuggling information and rebel plans since the late 40s, when she was still a teenager.

she’s less active in the public speaking and publishing aspect of panem’s history restoration but she does occasionally speak out, usually anytime anyone even tries to say something bad about her dad.

she never expected to live to see a free panem. she had hoped, but hoping and experiencing it are two very different things. there’s quite a lot more healing and therapy than she had expected too.

she starts a tiny garden off of her house after the war, since her first one had been bombed. the tiny garden quickly grows much, much larger as more people move and relocate and add plants and flowers and trees to the garden as they go. after pearl passes away, the garden is renamed to “Nelson Park” and each bench in the park has a plaque honoring a war hero during the rebellion. the fountain in the middle of the park is surrounded by twelve plaques for each victor from One.

bonus hc for pearl: she’s the only one of the sanford extended family to never go to the Academy. argent refused to send her, and pearl never showed any interest in winning the hunger games either.

paris sanford —

she had to go on the run after the 75th for obvious reasons (she had known about the rebel plan and had been involved in it as one of One’s mentors).

she also had to smuggle herself on a train out of the capitol by hiding in a fruit crate to Six and running into the freezing cold forest directly off of the district. everyone’s convinced she’s dead. she’s not.

she knows peacekeepers are on her trail and has to hide her footsteps and never stay in the same place for more than a few hours at most. she sometimes ventures back into Six and hides in bars on the edge of the border just to throw them off. it’s also a good way of figuring out what’s going on with the rebellion. it’s how she figures out who is in Thirteen and who is in capitol custody.

it’s also how she meets delta lincoln, the mother of james lincoln, Six’s first victor. she’s in her seventies now, but she helps the rebellion in anyway she can. through her, paris is able to continue helping the rebellion from afar.

she’s one of my favorites and i always like to imagine she’s one of the few Coin didn’t calculate in the victor’s purge (or deliberately left out) and she did survive. but that’s just my opinion lol.

bonus hc for paris: she was never supposed to go into the games. paris was amazing in all subjects at the Academy except for any kind of combat. she excelled in educational classes; sword fighting… not so much. because of this, she was supposed to be drawn out after she turned fifteen. it didn’t work out, as paris was reaped, by “coincidence”, and One’s designated volunteer that year got the memo that she wasn’t supposed to volunteer for paris. no one expected her to come back, and yet.

harrison sanford —

harrison never agreed with sending marvel to the Academy early. he genuinely fought amethyst on it, but amy is about as movable as mount everest when she sets her mind on something. unfortunately for both of them, harrison would rather die than back down from anyone. they have a lot of arguments.

harrison sides with the rebels. he’s executed by peacekeepers in One’s square. his last words were as follows: “i know what side by grandson would have been on. it’s not the capitol’s.”

bonus hc for harrison: his wife’s name was arabela alderidge. she passed away during the 60s (lot of victors from One were dying in the 60s ngl lol).

sapphire sanford —

after pearl, sapphire is probably the closest to punching someone in the face if they say one more thing about her brother.

she refuses to go to the Academy after his death. paris starts homeschooling her (since a sanford going to public school would probably cause deaths in One).

sapphire and marvel were close. like really close. their large age differences just made sapphire think that her brother was the coolest person to ever exist when she was younger and that admiration never really went away, especially because she never went through the bitchy teenager phase with him.

paris had to go on the run after the 75th, so pearl and sapphire held the rebellion in One strong with the miners and various rebellious nobles.

she survives the rebellion along with her mother. she never stops talking about marvel during the rebuilding process and after that. she makes sure that no one in the entire country of panem will ever forget the name of the boy they killed. she talks about what he was like on talk shows and writes books and articles about what growing up being taught how honorable going into the hunger games was and how that affected her in the long run.

bonus hc for sapphire: she’s the only biological sanford born during the hunger games era who didn’t complete the test at the Academy at twelve since she wasn’t attending classes at the time.

reasons for lack of some characters:

alister sanford dies during the 46th hunger games (won by emmelyn “lyme” gray of D2). amethyst is devastated, especially because it’s the same year hermes died, but she’s one of those people that just ignores all of their pain and puts all of their energy into something else to help keep their mind off of it to the point that it’s unhealthy. in this case, it was the Academy.

bonus hc for alister: he’s one of the few career victors who has never worked or trained anyone at the academy. it isn’t his thing. never was.

amethyst hansen dies right after katniss blows up the 75th hunger games. like, literally right after. harrison went to her house to talk to her about katniss literally blowing up the arena and she’s just dead. and he’s like “damn now i need someone else to talk to.”

bonus hc for amethyst: she doesn’t mentor tributes. ever. she doesn’t have the patience needed for it. she’s much better at training them because at least than she can yell at them.

sylvia sanford dies during the fall of the 72nd (won by cassandra mcpearson of D2).

bonus hc for sylvia: zircon was her only successful tribute, and he sees her as a sort of mother figure to him. she sees him as a son after her adopted daughter died in the 50th.

again thank you so much for this ask omg??? i love absolutely any excuse to talk about the sanfords.

[arealphrooblem]

A Favor for a Favor Part 5

Part one here

CW for the fic overall: kissing/fade to black off screen sex, mentions of non-consensual drugging, non-graphic wound care, off screen murder mention

Synopsis:

When Roxanne -- Agent name Rocket -- is back-stabbed by a friend and given a serum that drains her of her powers and leaves her helpless, she has no choice but to turn to the one person she can't trust: Her nemesis -- a politician and king of the underworld. With her powerless and in the palm of his hand, what he decides to do with her is greatly influenced by their chance meeting as teenagers that neither of them have been able to forget.

John had stayed home with her today and while he may have been happy to putter around the house, washing dishes (which was weird as hell, watching him be domestic), it was killing her to sit and do nothing while Erik got to prance around scott free.

He offered her chess, which she rejected by laughing in his face.

“Like I’m going to play with a known cheater,” she said. 

“You don’t think I can win on my own merit?” he asked, sounding almost offended.

“Oh probably. But you won’t. You can’t seem to stay out of my head.”

That fact should bother her more than it did. But part of her felt weirdly flattered that he considered her mind so fascinating. She had no dark past or juicy secrets or scandalous hobbies. Super speed was the only interesting thing about her and now she didn’t even have that anymore. 

That evening after dinner she watched him grab his coat and keys. A spark of excitement flared to life. 

“Where are we going?” she asked. “Did you find something out? You should let me borrow a jacket.”

He paused at the door, eyebrows raised. “We? We are not going anywhere.”

“Well you’re certainly going somewhere.”

“Yes. Without you.”

“What?”

He gave her a sharp look.“Let me make something very clear to you: there is no we.  I am handling this. You are staying here and you are not to leave until I get this sorted out.”

Her mouth fell open. “You can’t just -- hold me hostage like you kidnapped me!” she sputtered

“I did kidnap you. If the armed guards, rope, and empty warehouse didn’t clue you into that, I’m not sure what else could.”

“I -- that’s not -- what?”

“There is only one elevator that goes to the top floor,” he continued, ignoring her, “and it is heavily guarded by people who know your face and reputation.”

“I’m more than just fast you know,” she scoffed. “I could find a way out of here that doesn't use the elevator.”

“I’m sure you’d be reckless and stupid enough to try. Which is why great harm will come to those guards and their loved ones if you go missing from this apartment for any length of time. And their pain will rest on your shoulders.”

“That’s fucked up.”

“And also effective.” He flipped the collar up on his coat. “Be a good girl and stay here and nothing bad should happen.”

“I’ve never been a good girl a day in my life,” she spat, trying to regain some of her dignity.

He smirked. “You were the biggest teacher’s pet of your grade, Roxanne. Nice try.”

“What am I supposed to do while you’re gone?”

“Read a book,” he said with a shrug and opened the door. 

Oh she read a book all right. The book of his underwear drawer. And the storage totes under his bed. And the collection of worn old t-shirts in a forgotten zip up bag in the closet.  And every framed photo and painting in the house, one of which contained a picture of him and the crew at her work the first time he was interviewed. 

She remembered how insistent he was about getting it, glad-handing the caterers and gaffers and camera crew while she floundered between staring at him in awe of finally seeing him again after all these years, and sending him death glares just to let him know that she knew he was full of shit. 

He made sure she stood next to him in the photo but otherwise did not recognize her. Or at least he pretended not to. She still wasn’t sure of that first time, even after all these years. 

 Interesting that he kept the photo framed in his bedroom. There were no pictures of family or friends. He looked so warm and friendly in that photo and yet had no evidence that he actually had anyone to be warm and friendly to outside of politics. 

The library contained an immaculately carved stone chess set along with shelves of books. John mostly curated biographies, self help books (of the learn how to manipulate people variety), historical fiction, classics. Books meant to impress people. Only a small lower shelf by the couch contained well thumbed pulp sci-fi paperbacks, like the kind her dad collected. 

She picked one up and read until she fell asleep on the couch. 

John did not come back that night.

By the time he reappeared, over 24 hours later, Roxanne was moments away from going full crazy town banana pants. Nothing distracted her from her racing thoughts, not the books, not the TV with every streaming service known to man, not the heated outdoor pool on the rooftop terrace or second deliciously long hot bath in his tub. 

“Fucking finally!” she cried as he stepped through the door and toed his shoes off. “What the hell took so long!”

“I would tell you but that might make you an accessory to murder,” he said. 

She froze, stomach plummeting. “That’s a joke, right?”

“Have you eaten yet?” he asked instead.  

“Don’t change the subject! Where the hell were you? What did you do?”

“I’ll tell you one thing I didn’t do and that was eat.” 

He made his way to the kitchen and she marched after him, an annoying and persistent little gnat. 

“Did you find anything out?”

He opened the freezer and pulled out a frozen lasagna.

“Preheat the oven to four fifty,” he said. 

“You’re doing this on purpose,” she said, viciously punching the number into his ridiculous touch screen oven. 

“I’m trying to gage how much more you will hate me after I tell you.”

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t hate you. I might want to strangle you a lot and see you in an orange jumpsuit for a little while, but I don’t hate you.”

He looked at her, cautious and solemn, reminding her powerfully of when she first met him. “You might start.”

A knot twisted in her gut. “You killed Erik, didn’t you?”

“Oh yes. With great pleasure.”

It almost didn’t sink in. Her mind tried desperately to deny it, crying liar at him, because he lied all the time, why not about this? But he didn’t even try to hide it.

“Why?”

“He stole from me and he used it to hurt you. Both were unforgivable.”

The admission that someone hurting her felt unforgivable to him sent her brain into overdrive trying to figure out the implications. It took her a moment to catch on to the the first part of what he said. 

“What do you mean stole? What did he steal?”

He leaned across the counter, arms crossed, face impassive. Ready for a fight. 

“The serum he used to take your powers -- I had it created some years ago. He took it from my labs to use against you.”

She felt dizzy, suddenly. Her pulse roared in her ears. “You made it?” she asked faintly.

He just looked at her.

 “ . . .You. It came from you.”

God damn it, she really was as stupid and naive as he thought. She took shelter with him, thinking she knew the risks, because he was the one person not associated with the Agency or potentially in their pocket. He didn’t need them to have his own power. And yeah, he would definitely take advantage of her vulnerability for his own gain; she expected that. 

She didn’t think he would be the cause of it.

How much of this was an elaborate mind game?  Did he pay Erik to do this to take her out of commission? Did he kill Erik to keep his anonymity? Did he hedge his bets that she would seek him out for help rather than go on  the run on her own?

How long did he intend to hold her hostage here? Was he going to kill her the moment she had her guard fully down, the moment after everyone reported her missing and assumed dead?

“Roxanne,” he said, taking  a slow cautious step towards her. “That serum was not made for you. It was never intended for you. I did not set this up as a scheme to kill you.”

“It sounds exactly like something you would do,” she hissed, throat tight with unshed tears.

“I can’t deny that. But I had this serum for five years. Why would I wait until now to use it? Why would I embed myself in the Agency to do it when any of your fellow camera crew could have done the job? Think, Roxanne. I am a bastard, but I’m not stupid. This was a stupid, reckless plan.”

He made sense. He spoke logic. But that didn’t make it true. He had gotten his power through knowing exactly what to say to people to get what he wanted. 

She wanted, very badly, for it to be true. 

He took another step closer and the kitchen felt suddenly claustrophobic. 

“Don’t,” she said, voice strangled. “Stay away! I just -- I need some air.”

She turned and ran.

In mid January the rooftop terrace was frigid. She had no coat. The cold air felt bracing, though, and it calmed her feverish thoughts. It brought clarity. 

She could not hide from the fact that she might not love John, but she wanted to. She could, if she let herself. That she felt tied to him, responsible for him, all this time. That she understood why he clawed his way into a sense of power and safety through any means necessary even if she didn’t approve of them. She could not cast the first stone because she would probably not be any different in his shoes. 

The thought that he had betrayed her like this felt unbearable. It literally made her sick, like her entire body rejected the idea. She forced herself to confront the possibility anyway. Because as much as she did care for John, she really couldn’t trust him to do anything that conflicted with his best interests.

 And it was in his best interest to keep her powerless. 

Of course, the real problem was that if he did betray her, there was fuck all she could do about it. He could be bluffing about hurting his own guards and their families, but she would never risk it. He lived on the top story of the building, so she couldn’t sneak her way down. If he had the money and ability to bribe Erik, who else in the Agency did he have in his pocket? She had no one else with resources to help her and she didn’t know who she could trust. 

She had to give him the benefit of the doubt. 

She had no other choice. 

Part 6 here

[cannotfly]

🔥Stephen sondheim

s.end in the c.lowns is by far not the best song from musical theater

oh, i kid! i know what you came here for ( but i stand by that point, sitc is a fine enough song but i just can't get behind people saying it's "the best in musical theater" ). sondheim has a huge female character problem. you put the general issue into words much better than me so i'm here to focus on the female characters of s.weeney t.odd. in just about every interview i find of his talking about this musical, the focus is on the music and the male characters. this doesn't seem too strange at first since this is a very male-heavy show. which isn't necessarily a bad thing. it is based off the bond play so sondheim wasn't the one orchestrating that choice. what gets weird is when you realize that when he does have something to say about lucy and johanna, it's not very nice.

the biggest indicator of this for me came while reading an interview he did in the early 2000s ( they were in talks of a movie with b.urton directing so i know it was before then ) where he states that he wanted to make johanna less of a heroine and more ditzy and crazy. now, let's examine the two other female characters in this show. lovett is an obsessive and possessive butcher who encourages todd to kill and was the one who proposed the pie idea. not a very good person. lucy/the beggar woman is mentally deranged. already, we have two "crazy" women in this show. it doesn't have a very good look if you view all three of the female characters in your show as crazy and little more than that. yes, most of the characters in this show are not exactly mentally well, however, male-character-wise there's still anthony and even bamford. both of which are still deemed "sane." it's an interesting aspect.

but this also shows that it seems like sondheim just didn't have a lot of respect for his female characters. johanna shoots fogg because he is threatening her and anthony. in the script that this musical is based off of, fogg is literally about to slit anthony's throat before johanna shoots him. johanna is the heroine. she's the final girl who survives the serial killer at the end. somehow sondheim didn't notice this? he accidentally wrote himself a strong, female character. he tried changing lyrics and songs to make her look more stupid yet the final product still shows her strength, her anxiety and her courage. he just refused to also show her brilliance.

he does, however, adore lovett. he has nothing bad to say about her. he criticized johanna's actions, but lovett's out-right cannibalism? nothing bad about that. i wouldn't be surprised if this is due to his bias with a.ngela l.ansbury, though. but it's still a problem.

this goes further when making the movie. he and burton wanted to reduce johanna and lucy's time on screen as much as possible. he also wanted to remove wait until h.bc talked him out of it. he cut a good chunk of greenfinch, cut kiss me, cut practically all of the beggar woman's moments aside from the quartet and her death, and most importantly, he cut johanna getting shooting fogg. this was a decision between him and burton, but he had absolutely no qualms about diminishing their roles at all. he even turned on his most beloved lovett in the end.

much of her personality is lost in the musical from the bond play. in the play, she sasses turpin right to his face. she gets to cry after shooting fogg because killing someone is traumatic even in self-defense. her strength is subtle, but very much there. sondheim's whole goal seemed to be ripping that away from her. from lyrical changes to calling her the typical blonde girl in a horror movie to gleefully cutting her role out of the 2007 movie as much as possible, he was trying his hardest to make her seem stupid and get everyone else to turn on her.

what's concerning is that it seems to have worked. several portrayals of johanna seem to be influenced by his words and portrayals of actresses before them. the community throws lucy and johanna out the window constantly. they have been called stupid and victim-blamed. fortunately, the extremities of this fandom have died out, but it is still very obvious that they are trying to kick them out of the narrative. i'm not saying this has to do partly with sondheim's perceptions of them, however, i wouldn't be surprised if it was involved.

in a show where there's only three female characters, it's brow-rising at best when you try to stomp them out; by taking away their scenes or making them look stupid.

[the-bau-quinjet]

Secret's Out

Summary: Request! Reid and Y/N are secretly dating, but their business doesn't stay their business for long.

Warnings: Criminal Minds level violence

Word Count: 2974

a/n: Thank you for the request! I hope you like it :)

Sorry this took forever! It took me a while to think of case details that I liked and then I kept rewriting parts. I think I'm finally happy with it though!

Masterlist

"Spencer!" You pushed him away. "The doors could open at any moment! How are we supposed to keep this a secret if Morgan walks in on us kissing in the elevator?" You raised a brow at him.

"On average, elevators travel at a speed of 200 ft/min or about 4 seconds per floor. Being on the fifth floor means we have about 20 seconds to ourselves." He smiled triumphantly.

"Yeah, until someone surprises us on floor 3." You rolled your eyes, stepping out of the doors once they opened.

"I can't help it. I'm just... really happy with you." He whispered softly.

"I'm really happy too." You smiled at him. You were about to lean in when the elevator doors opened once again to reveal JJ and Emily.

"Hey guys, ready for another case?" Emily glanced between you suspiciously, but thankfully didn't ask any prying questions.

"Yep, let's go!" You turned quickly, walking into the round table room without so much as a glance back at the three agents by the elevator.

"What's with her?" JJ questioned.

"Said she didn't sleep well last night. Must be all the caffeine." He held his own cup off coffee up in solidarity before also walking to the round table room.

"Alright, we've got 3 dead in Billings, Montana. All three were law enforcement, and all three were found this morning around the city." You listened as Penelope introduced the details of the case.

"Could be someone who feels the police didn't do a good enough job protecting a loved one?" You threw out a theory.

"Or someone who feels wronged by the criminal justice system as a whole." Rossi added on.

"Either way, they likely won't stop until we catch them. Wheels up in 20." Hotch rose from his seat as he spoke, wasting no time in preparing for take off.

You all dispersed briefly to grab your go bags, meeting back at the SUVs to head to the jet.

Once boarded, it didn't take long for the conversation to start up again.

"When we land, L/N go to the morgue. Dave, Prentiss take the first and second crime scenes, they're only a mile apart. Morgan and Reid, check out the third scene. I'll head to the precinct with JJ."

With Hotch's instructions set, you took what little time you had left on the flight to go over the causes of death.

-

"Anything stand out to you on the bodies?" You asked the ME after going over the blunt force trauma and bullet wounds.

"There's tape residue and bruising on the wrists and ankles. Based on the state of bruising, they were likely held for about 3 days before they were killed."

"Thank you for your help." You shook hands, pulling out your phone to call Hotch.

"Hotchner."

"Hotch, they were held for days before they were killed. How did nobody notice they were missing?" There was nothing in the reports that indicated the victims were reported missing prior to being found.

"We just found the same pattern. They all used vacation days for various reasons in the days leading up to their deaths. Meet us back at the precinct and Reid can explain the whole pattern."

"Okay, I'm leaving now." You hung up just as you reached the SUV. Throughout the drive, you couldn't stop thinking that something wasn't adding up.

The victims were taken in the same day. It didn't make sense for the unsub not to escalate. So, why aren't any officers unaccounted for?

Suddenly, a truck crashed into your SUV, sending you flying off the road. A figure dressed in black opened the door and dragged you from the car.

"Agent L/N, it's so good to see you again." A male voice spoke, but you couldn't place it.

He hit you over the head with a handgun before dragging you to his own vehicle.

-

"Where's L/N?" Emily questioned when her and Rossi returned from the second dumpsite.

"On her way back from the ME." Hotch answered. "Did you find anything useful?"

"They truly are dumpsites. Both bodies were found by dumpsters, sending a pretty clear message." Dave replied.

"Same for the third site." Derek added on.

"All three victims were single and took time off leading up to their death. Nobody would've notice that they were missing until it was too late." Reid supplied the final bit of information gathered.

Hotch's phone rang before anyone else could comment. The frantic sound of Garcia's nails clicking against her keyboard echoed through the phone. She was talking before anyone could greet her.

"You need to see this, check your tablets."

Confused glances were exchanged as everyone, barring Reid, opened their tablets. Reid glanced over Morgan's shoulder to observe as well.

A seemingly live video that Garcia received a link to was streaming to the tablets.

A single woman sitting in a chair could be seen in the frame. Her wrists and ankles were bound to the chair with thick, gray tape and a bag was over her head.

"Garcia, what is this?" Hotch asked almost immediately.

"I was emailed the link just now. It's not streaming anywhere else online." Her reply came quickly, the sound of typing still filling in the silence.

"Can you trace it?" Rossi questioned.

"I'm trying, but it's being routed through multiple proxy servers."

"Did the email say anything?" Emily chimed in.

"No, it was just the link- Wait. I just got another email." She paused as the new email loaded. "It's addressed to Reid."

Every set of eyes in the room turned to Reid.

"What does it say?" He felt the nerves beginning to grow waiting for Garcia to read the words aloud.

"Dr. Reid,

I hope you remember me. What am I saying, of course you do. I've got something of yours that you might want back. You see Dr. Reid, you and your team ruined me. My family, my career, all of it, just gone. I thought I'd return the favor. A person's phone can be so informative. Tell me, does your team know about your girlfriend? I've so enjoyed getting reacquainted with her.

Happy hunting."

Spencer's face went white as he looked at Morgan's tablet again. His thoughts were racing. How did he not recognize you before? Even with the bag over your head, he should've known it was you.

"It's her." His words were barely a whisper.

"This is your girlfriend?" Morgan gestured to the screen again. Spencer could only nod in reply, his mind unable to focus on anything except you.

"Reid, listen to me. You've got to tell us everything you know about her. We'll have to split up. You can go back to Quantico with Emily and Morgan, the rest of us will stay here to work on our current case." Hotch was already devising a strategy to work both cases.

"There's no need." His words made sense to him, but sounded cryptic to the rest of the team.

"Kid, of course there is. We'll help you get her back." Morgan placed a hand on his shoulder, effectively shocking him back to the present situation.

"There's no need to split up because she's here. She's in Montana." Before he could continue, everyone was asking questions.

"Give me a phone number and I'll get you a location." Garcia was already typing away again.

"Are you sure she's here?" JJ's brows furrowed. She did her best to hide the hurt of her best friend hiding his girlfriend from her, again.

"Why would she be here?" Rossi added.

"How did she get here? Maybe we can track the transportation and figure out means of abduction." Emily was the only one thinking about the case.

Like ripping off a bandaid, Spencer blurted out the truth.

"It's Y/N."

He was met with silence in the room as everyone absorbed the information.

Garcia caught up first, a sudden gasp sounding through the phone.

"So, then that's Y/N... in the video..." Her voice wavered.

As if a switch was flipped, the team was back on the case.

"Garcia, get me a list of anyone who would have a grievance with the team." Hotch ordered.

"Go through anyone who was falsely accused. Start with cases in or around Montana. He would want to keep this close to home." Rossi specified.

"We've only had one case in Montana since Y/N joined the team." Reid supplied the knowledge as it came to him. "A name, I need a name." He muttered to himself, pulling his hair as he roughly ran his hands through it and over his face. "Garcia, look into Jameson Braddock."

"Got it." She immediately began a background check, searching through case files and news articles for additional information. "i'll get back to you with locations." With that, she hung up.

"Fill us in, kid. Who is Jameson Braddock." Morgan lead Reid to a chair, gently easing him into it.

"Our last case in Montana, Emily and I went to interview a witness." Emily nodded, the memories slowly coming back to her.

"He wasn't very forthcoming, and then he tried to run." She added on.

"Exactly, except he didn't make it very fair. We arrested him, but it turned out he was only guilty of selling alcohol to minors. When word of his arrest got out, the whole town thought it was for the serial rapes and murders we were investigating even though it was never confirmed."

"By the time we corrected the media, it was too late." JJ supplied, also remembering the man.

"So, he killed three officers just to draw us out back out here?" Morgan refocused the conversation on the current case.

"It looks that way now. The media knew we were coming, so he must have as well." Emily theororized. "If he followed us from the airport, he would've seen Y/N leave by herself."

"He likely didn't know about your relationship until he abducted her and went through her phone." Hotch paced the room.

"He's flaunting his power over us." Rossi chimed in just as Hotch's phone rang again.

"Garcia, what've you got?"

"Three addresses in Billings, Montana. Jameson Braddock has been on a downward spiral since your last trip there. His entire life fell apart, like he said. Divorced, his wife moved to Nebraska with their two kids. He lost his job at the high school, and was evicted from his house when he could no longer pay the bills." She listed the information quickly.

"He has ties to three addresses. Nobody has moved into his previous house, so it's vacant. He's got a small apartment in the northern part of the city which he pays for through working odd hours at Taco Bell. Finally, he briefly worked security at a now abandoned warehouse."

"An apartment wouldn't be enough space to hold her without the chance of someone hearing. She's not there." Rossi eliminated the location as an option.

"We'll split up to cover the warehouse and the house-" Hotch began, but Reid cut him off.

"No, we shouldn't split up. She's got to be at the house. The warehouse has no connection to his previous life. He wants revenge for our perceived wrongdoing, he wouldn't make his last stand at a new location." Reid was already putting on a bullet proof vest. Despite how his mind was racing, he refused to show how afraid he was.

"You're sure?" Morgan asked, on the fence about committing to one location.

"Absolutely." With that, Reid was out the door heading for the SUVs.

-

"Rossi, Emily head around back. I'll take the front with Reid. JJ and Morgan, the side door." Hotch instructed the team to split up upon arrival at the house.

Reid wasted no time in approaching the house. He was confident you were inside, but he didn't know what was happening to you.

The main floor was cleared quickly. Again, the team split up to cover the upper level and the basement.

Knowing you were likely downstairs, Reid immediately started that direction, JJ and Hotch following him.

It wasn't hard for him to find you. You were still tied to the chair in the middle of the room, bag over your head.

Before anyone could stop him, Reid lowered his gun and ran to you. He gently maneuvered the bag off your head, stopping his movements only when he felt something press into his back.

"Dr. Reid. So kind of you to join us." Braddock spoke maniacally, pressing the gun against Reid's head.

"Drop your weapon." Hotch commanded, but the man only cackled in response.

'Y/N... Y/N." Reid gently shook you in an attempt to wake you up.

"She can't hear you." Braddock singsonged.

"What did you do?" Reid tried to turn to him only to feel the gun press further into his head.

"Like I said in my email, you people ruined my life. They took everything from me, so I thought I'd try to return the favor." During his short speech, Braddock shifted just enough for JJ to get a clean shot.

He fell to the ground, gun clattering across the floor.

Reid moved quickly to remove the tape binding you to the chair while Hotch called for a medic in the basement.

The entire team watched as you were wheeled into the ambulance, still unconscious, none more scared than Spencer.

-

"She's going to be fine, Spence." JJ tried to reassure him, nonetheless his pacing continued.

"You don't know that. We don't even know what he did to her." He had one hand anxiously running through his hair, the other pinching the bridge of his nose in distress.

Just then, a doctor emerged from behind closed doors.

"F/N L/N." She called into the waiting room, slightly taken aback when the group of agents rushed to her.

"It was touch and go for a while, but she got here just in time." It was visible to even the least qualified profiler how relieved the team felt. Their previously tense shoulders relaxed, frowns turned to small smiles, wide eyes and raised brows pinched together with joy.

"What happened?" Emily posed the question everyone was thinking.

"In short, she was drugged. It's not clear what exactly was used, but it was likely a mix of drugs that attempted to stop her heart."

"Can we see her?" Morgan spoke next, cautiously eyeing Reid.

"You may, follow me." The doctor lead them through a series of hallways to your room. "She should be waking up soon."

With that the doctor left, allowing the team to file into the room. You looked strangely peaceful for someone who almost died.

"So..." JJ glanced between you and Spencer. "Girlfriend, huh?"

His eyes went wide. Instinctively, he turned to you for help, but you were still asleep. He opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out.

"Relax, kid." Morgan grinned. "We're happy as long as you two are happy."

Spencer smiled gratefully, looking at you with an adoring gaze. "We are happy."

"How long?' Emily gestured to your joined hands. Just before Spencer could answer, you groaned.

"I want to hear your guesses first." Your voice was raspy, but there was a clear smile on your face. "Also, what happened?"

The quickly explained the email Garcia received and the events that followed.

"Now that that's cleared up, do tell us how long you think we've been together. I know you've got a bet going." You narrowed your eyes, playfully glaring at each team member.

"4 months." Hotch begrudgingly admitted. JJ followed with 3 months, Derek and Rossi both betting 10 weeks, and Emily going with 6 weeks.

"Ha, you're all wrong." You smiled triumphantly, leaning closer to Spencer.

"Wait, we haven't heard from Garcia." Derek smirked as he rung her on speaker phone.

"Oh, my beautiful crime fighters. Y/N, are you okay?" Your smile widened at the concern in her voice.

"I am indeed, but I have a very important question for you." You glanced as Spencer briefly before continuing. "How long do you think Spence and I have been together?"

"Oh, I know this one!" Her excitement caught everyone but you off guard. "7 months, 2 weeks, and 3 days."

Spencer's jaw dropped as he stuttered out, "that's exactly right..."

"How'd you figure it out?" The group of profilers wore matching expressions of surprise as Penelope explained.

"Well, we had just finished testifying in the Bigelow trial. The whole team went out for drinks, and I could just see it in Y/N's eyes the next day that something wonderful happened. At first I just thought that she got some, but then I saw her and the good doctor in the kitchen getting coffee and I knew." Penelope's voice held a mixture of smugness and pure excitement.

"Babygirl, you didn't tell me?" Derek sounded genuinely offended.

"Y/N asked me not to." Even though you couldn't see her, you knew she punctuated the statement with a shrug.

"You knew, she knew?" Spencer turned to you in shock.

You nodded. "I could see it on her face the second I walked out of the kitchen. But she promised not to tell, so I didn't either."

"The two of you, thick as thieves." Rossi lamented.

"I love you so much." Spencer whispered into your ear as he pulled you in for a hug.

"I love you too." You whispered right back.

"Honestly, I'm glad the secret's out." You smiled at Spencer before looking at the rest of the team. "Although, I wish I didn't have to be kidnapped to tell you."

You spent a few more hours in the hospital before being cleared to go back to the hotel.

The next morning, you smiled to yourself as you were finally able to cuddle with Spencer during the flight home.

Permanent taglist:

@averyhotchner

@jesuswasnotawhiteman

@strawberryspence

@sebastnstn

Criminal Minds taglist:

@mac99martin

@goldeng1rl8

@measure-in-pain

[sparklekitteh]

A Jeanpiku Playlist

For Jeanpiku Week 2022

There's no particular order to this playlist because I like to just set it to shuffle, but each of these songs reminds me of Jeanpiku in some way. Here's a little commentary (after the cut) of each of the tracks. :) Happy JP week!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ZRbv1AwfkkH3N5nfGi0up?si=cbc6b23927ee4247

1. Maps by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs: I read an interview once with Karen O where she was explaining this song was about her then boyfriend who was also a musician. He was going on tour and planning the route with maps laid out, and she was already missing him, feeling like his adoring fans would never love him as much as she did. I can totally see Pieck saying this to Jean as he's preparing to leave for a diplomatic meeting back to Paradis -- as much as he may be considered a hero there (or not), they'll never love him like she does.

2. Fever by Dua Lipa, Angèle: If this isn't the best song about getting flustered, hot and bothered, IDK what is. Bonus points for French cause you know I love me some French Jeanboy.

3. Talk Too Much by COIN: This song is pure Jean, both never able to shut up and horny AF

"You know I talk too much/ Honey, come and put your lips on mine and shut me up/ We can blame it all on human nature/ Stay cool, it's just a kiss, so why you gotta be so talkative?/ I talk too much/ We talk too much"

4. I Will Follow You Into the Dark by Death Cab for Cutie:

What a tearjerker, but such a sweet song about pure devotion. Jean strikes me as the kind of man who would probably pass away shortly after his beloved because it would break his heart. Of course he'd follow Pieck into death and beyond.

5. Dog Days Are Over by Florence + the Machine: I love the idea that Pieck didn't expect to love Jean. This fits so well for an enemies to lovers arc where feelings hit her out of the blue.

"Happiness hit her like a train on a track/ Coming towards her, stuck still, no turning back/ She hid around corners and she hid under beds/ She killed it with kisses and from it she fled"

We're not gonna talk about the line "The horses are coming, so you better run" XD

6. Soul Meets Body by Death Cab for Cutie: There is so much to this song ... uncertainty, living in the moment of love and sensuality, trying to push reason to the back of your mind so you can enjoy the moment instead of overthinking. I can see Jean and Pieck trying to enjoy each other while also struggling to come to terms with what their relationship means as diplomats for Marley and Paradis.

7. O Valencia! by The Decemberists: Ah, the story of Romeo and Juliet. But doesn't that kind of fit Jean and Pieck? They belong to warring factions who should absolutely hate each other and yet they still fall in love. Maybe this time instead of a string of misunderstandings and tragedy these two diplomats can make it work.

8. Have I Always Loved You? by Copeland: This feels like a Jean song to me. Even though they start as enemies, he'd convince himself that he's always loved Pieck. Sometimes I wonder how each other's respective nations would view their marriage but I know neither one of them would care what others think.

9. Honeymoon (Forever) by Hellogoodbye: Obvious song is obvious. :)

10. As Long as I have You I'm Home by Imaginary Future: Consider for a moment that no matter where Jean and Pieck end up, one of them is going to be far from home. Maybe they decide to move completely away from Marley and Paradis someday, but no matter where they go, home is each other.

11. La Vie En Rose by Emily Watts: Another obvious choice for our French Jean :)

12. Classy Girls by The Lumineers: Ok but this makes an adorable AU -- Jean meets Pieck at a bar and is instantly smitten. He keeps trying to flirt with her, leans in for a kiss and she turns him down because "classy girls don't kiss in bars, you fool." But by the end of it she's telling him maybe she doesn't kiss in bars but they could go somewhere else ... sly grin.

13. Come Away With Me by Nora Jones: Ahhhhh I love this song as kind of the follow up to the previous, but also just as a general "let's get away from it all and just enjoy each other." Fun fact, this was the first song my husband and I danced to at our wedding reception.

14. The Very Thought of You by Natalie Cole: Love this as Pieck and Jean daydreaming about each other... just the idea of each other has them floating in the clouds.

15. Isn't It a Lovely Night? by The Decemberists: Such a sweet song about getting frisky in the forest ;) Camping AU! (Also there's a line that references that Margaret, the female character in this song/album, is pregnant)

16. Surrender by Natalie Taylor: Ok so Pieck and Jean are both fire signs (Leo and Aries respectively). You know their fights would be spectacular; Pieck is smart as hell, perceptive, and cunning. Jean is also an intelligent man despite his goofiness with friends, he's calculating, strategic... both of them can be incredibly stubborn. This is their song for after they've clashed and neither one can stay mad at the other because they miss each other too much. I think Jean would almost always be first to apologize even if he's right because he can't stand the idea of Pieck being mad at him. XD

17. Cosmic Lottery by Evergreen: How wild is it that we find our significant others amongst the billions of other people? That the people who are dearest to us weren't born in a place and time that would make them unknown to us? For Jeanpiku, they were on opposite sides of a war, across the sea from each other. They were enemies, actively engaged in battles against each other. Both of them have killed the other's comrades. Getting together is a miracle for them.

18. IDK You Yet by Alexander 23: All those times Jean has been fantasizing about the love of his life without knowing who she is, drawing pictures of a lover he hasn't met -- this is his song. (Further angst if you consider the lyric "But I only got half a heart to give to you" to be a reference to Marco) (Crying inconsolably)

19. I'm So in Love With You by Jill Andrews, Seth Avett: Oooh the pining is so good in this song! It's all about wishing your love was there with you and knowing they can't be... yet.

20. Dream of Me by Dream Theatre: Another powerful pining song :)

21. One Last Dance by Us the Duo: OH GOD THIS SONG MAKES ME CRY ANGST ANGST ANGST ... It follows the story of a couple getting together by dancing, then dancing at their wedding, then pretending to dance one last time as she's sick in the hospital. Finally, he contemplates memories of dancing as he follows her in death just 35 hours later. You know Jean would do this because he can't bear to be away from her any longer. (WEEPS RIVERS OF TEARS)

22. Two by Sleeping at Last: I can see Jean saying all of these lyrics to Pieck, and vice versa. Some excerpts--

"You know I'll take my heart clean apart if it helps yours beat"

"Let me take your coat and this weight off of your shoulders"

"It's okay if you can't catch your breath/You can take the oxygen straight out of my own chest"

"I will love you without a single string attached"

There's also the aspect of loving someone while learning to heal from your own hurts:

"I just want to build you up, build you up/ Til you're good as new/ And maybe one day I will get around to fixing myself too"

"I just want to love you, to love you, to love you well/ I just want to learn how, somehow, to be loved myself"

23. Home by Reese Lansangan: This reminds me of "Cosmic Lottery" in the same way that it's such an improbable thing for these two to get together. It also calls back to "As Long As I Have You I'm Home" and the sense that they can face anything as long as they're together.

24. Make Out by Julia Nunes: Ah, pure fun. This song has the vibes of Pieck still stubbornly insisting she's not into Jean but also she finds him irresistable. Maybe after finding herself asking him to stay (again) she can come to terms with her feelings for him.

25. Two is Better Than One by Boys Like Girls, Taylor Swift: I mean, no playlist full of love songs is complete without Taylor Swift somewhere. I don't make the rules.

26. Run Away With Me by Carly Rae Jepsen: Imagine ambassadors Jeanpiku dreaming of slipping away in the night to just be together. No more heated, delicate meetings between nations; no more balancing appearances between Jaegerists and loyalists. Just running away with each other and enjoying each other without the pressures of reality.

<3 Thanks for reading! Jeanpiku 4eva :)

[kenzie-ann27]

There's a lot to unpack from this Time interview, but the words "Richie is gay" will never cease to make me insanely happy. I've read the book, watched the movies, the miniseries, and this always feels like a huge win to me.

But anyway, my main point of interest of this quote is that last sentence. Why is Eddie being included here? Andy said that Eddie is not a gay character, and I respect his interpretation, but why bring him up in this context?

This diversion might be confusing right now, but I promise it'll make sense. Beverly's biggest fear is growing up. Stanley's biggest fear is dying. Richie's biggest fear is his sexuality. All of these characters get caught in the deadlights, and those things are what is shown to them. Beverly sees the Losers as adults, they're grown up. Stanley sees his death. But when Richie gets caught, when he wakes up, he doesn't look afraid, but rather confused. Richie didn't see something terrible with his sexuality, he'd be freaking out. So what did he see?

He saw what never happened.

It knew that it was going to kill Eddie, and I have a much deeper analysis on this if anyone is interested, but the fact is that It wanted to hurt Richie the most. So, like what Richie said: it's flipped, it's fucking with him. Richie in the real world already lives in fear, he's already living a nightmare. So it flips things, makes his vision in the deadlights the best possible thing. It's giving Richie what he wanted more than anything: so Richie sees whatever would've happened between him and Eddie if that incident at the arcade never happened, if Henry didn't come in. Richie and Connor would have been able to explore those feelings; Connor being mostly just a crush, nothing major probably would have happened. But Richie would have been able to be more open with his feelings for Eddie.

He sees the teasing that would've turned into flirting. The hugs that would've turned into kisses. The separation that wouldn't have happened because they were together. Small moments of a life that never existed. Cuddling on a couch while watching a movie. Making a mess of the flour while baking cookies, a small dog barking playfully below them. Laying in bed, inches away from each other, admiring each other's smiles, scars, freckles, dimples, wrinkles, stray hairs. Staring at a ring on his finger, feeling that smoothness. That perfect thing, that perfect life.

But then he wakes up.

He has Eddie on top of him, smiling, laughing. Is this still a dream? Is this real? So, Richie goes in for the kiss. He needs to know if this is real. But then the worst possible thing happens, the thing that shows him that this is real; Eddie gets killed.

That's why his death is so painful. Richie in the deadlights lived a perfect life with Eddie. He remembers those moments. But what's the most painful is that he knows they weren't real.

To be honest, it would be genius for this movie to show audiences the life that they could have had if that one homophobic event never happened. Richie would be happy. Instead, he is miserable. That sequence would tell audiences that words do matter. Henry never hit Richie, never laid a hand on him. No one ever did after that. But those words changed everything. They made Richie believe he had to hide who he is. So that life never happened. No lazy Sunday mornings, no late Friday nights. No cute anniversary dinners, no early Christmas breakfasts. That was their future and it was taken away from them, something that is just so frustrating because they deserved that future.

But at the same time, I love the story that was told. It has so much meaning. So much truth behind it. A raw realness that just makes sense. Because those things are real, those things happen.

[ryvxn]

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⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀── ‟ 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗠𝗘

⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀entry 13 ! for #InsidiousBingo

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⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ‣. radio 90.7 fm: tell me your story. ft. josée jo

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𝘿𝙄𝙎𝘾𝙇𝘼𝙄𝙈𝙀𝙍: The following content had been answered as out of character. However, to support a storyline, it is a fact that Josée would answer any kind of interview questions only for a media channel.

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I. What is their favourite time of day and why?

Josée doesn't really have a particular taste when it comes to her favourite time of the day. As she works in an office for long hours, it becomes hard to distinguish the time.

II. Do they have a degree? What subject is it in and why did they choose to study that?

Yes, she does have one from law school and another in philosophy. The understatement of justice had always been her interest and she grabbed the chance when it was given to study them.

III. If they were a demon, what would their primary sin be?

She would be a pride demon.

IV. Do they have any daily rituals?

She meditates every morning for ten minutes as soon as she wakes up. It helps her to clear her mind and focus on her daily plans.

V. Have they ever gone to a Halloween party before? What was their favourite costume?

Yes, she has been in one before and was dressed as the corpse bride. It was quite entertaining for her to scare people only with her costume.

VI. What is their favourite article of clothing or jewellery? Why?

Her favourite is pair of wrist pin as she wore them during the first court she won. They have a special and sentimental meaning to her.

VII. Have they ever been in love? What was it like for them?

Yes, she had been a couple of times, especially with her ex-husband. At first, it felt like the first rays of warm sunshine felt on bare skin after a snowy winter: enlivening, emboldening, enlightening. Almost like she just drank from the fountain of youth. Then it became selfish.

VIII. What is something they are very passionate about but didn’t pursue a career in?

If she is passionate about something, there is no way for her to abandoned it. so, there is none.

IX. What is their favourite place that they have lived?

Gray Mansion, she still lives there.

X. If they were in ATLA, what element would they bend?

Earth. She expresses the aspect of neutral jing, which involves listening and waiting. Also decisiveness; when the time comes to strike, she does it without hesitation or uncertainty.

XI. What do they like to do for fun?

She visits art galleries or reads articles about her industry.

XII. Who is someone that they admire?

Demian Gray. He is the one that shaped her current persona and continues to influence her attitude.

XIII. What is their favourite holiday?

Halloween.

XIV. If they were in Harry Potter, what house would they be?

She would be part of Slytherin house.

XV. If they could be reincarnated, what would they wish for in their next life?

A siren or a witch who would be eternally young.

XVI. Where was their first kiss?

At the classroom of Juliet Institute of the Arcane.

XVII. What is their favourite scent or smell?

Earth after rain.

XVIII. What do they like to do for their birthday?

Nothing special. She does not even remember it's her birthday until someone reminds her.

XIX. What’s a memory they feel really embarrassed about?

The conversation she had with the family friend, which changed her approach to life and youth.

XX. Have they killed anyone? If so, who was the first person they ever killed and why?

She did not. She woke up many death vessels, however.

[letitbx]

Nashville & greys 💕 (let's hope this doesn't attack your inbox again)

Send me a show/fandom and ill answer -

Nashville

Top 5 favourite characters: Literally in this order. 1) Rayna Jaymes, 2) Deacon Claybourne, 3) Daphne Conrad, 4) Juliette Barnes, 5) Bucky Dawes Other characters you like: Emily, Glenn, Liam, Luke Wheeler until he became an asshole, Sadie StoneLeast favourite characters: Scarlett O’ Connor, Maddie Conrad, Cash Gray (does she count?), LAYLA GRANTOtps: Deacon Claybourne and Rayna JaymesNotps: Everyone else tbh. Favourite friendships: Rayna/Sadie, Deacon/Avery, Rayna/Juliette, Deacon/Juliette, Scarlett/Maddie, Scarlett/Daphne, Rayna/BuckyFavourite family: The Claybourne/Conrad/Jaymes clanFavourite episodes: Holy hell too many to list. I’ll do my favorite Deyna ones: 1.01, 1.12, 1.18, 1.19, 1.20, 1.21, 2.12, 2.20, 2.21, 3.01, 3.16, 3.19, 3.21, 4.08, 4.09, 4.10, 4.11, 4.20, 4.21, 5.01, 5.02, 5.07, 5.08 (that’s where the season stops what a beautiful eight episode series finale)Favourite season/book/movie: Probably one. Favourite quotes: Every word ever written in the script for Rayna Jaymes. “What am I supposed to do, hand him a balloon every time I see him I like him fine.” “There’s thinking about doing something, and then there’s just doing it.” “That felt like yesterday.” “That’s the thing about being an artist, we feel, very deeply, all of the time. And it’s a blessing, but it’s also a curse.”Best musical moment: Rayna and Deacon singing “No One Will Ever Love You” in 1.02 and trying with every fiber of their being to NOT kiss on stage. Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: The elevator kiss in 1.12. THEIR FIRST KISS IN THIRTEEN YEARS. When it really disappointed you: When they killed Rayna Jaymes off. Saddest moment: See above answerMost well done character death: As much as I hate to even type this…Rayna Jaymes. CONSIDERING. SHE’S THE ONLY. CHARACTER DEATH. Favourite guest star: Laura BenantiFavourite cast member: Oh my god are y’all playing. I’m not even answering I THINK YOU KNOW. Character you wish was still alive: …Rayna Jaymes…One thing you hope really happens: Rayna pops up in the series finale and is liKE SURPRISE BITCHES I’M NOT DEAD I WAS JUST SLEEPIN’ I’VE BEEN IN LA THIS WHOLE TIMEMost shocking twist: When Rayna’s little bitch ass chose Luke instead of Deacon. Or when Juliette found out she was pregnant. When did you start watching/reading?: Summer of 2015, when season three had just ended. Best animal/creature: Fuckin’ SueFavourite location: OH MY GOD. Either the Opry or the BluebirdTrope you wish they would stop using: I don’t know…?One thing this show/book/film does better than others: Showcases the city of Nashville as well as the music business. Funniest moments: Deacon’s sass. Also Daphne’s face in 5.06 (???) when Maddie was telling Rayna off about Clay. Couple you would like to see: Deacon and Rayna backActor/Actress you want to join the cast: None they already don’t know what to do with the actress they have. Favourite outfit: Anything Rayna has worn. With a side ponytail added. Favourite item: Deacon’s “Deacon” guitar strap. Or the Rayna Jaymes guitar picks. Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?: A shirt from when I saw some of the cast live. Does that count?What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: …The Claybourne/Conrad/Jaymes fam……..duhMost boring plotline: This Scarlett/Gunnar mess. Also anything with Maddie. Most laughably bad moment: THE ENTIRE 48 MINUTES OF 4.18. Best flashback/flashfoward if any: All of the Deyna ones tbh, but probably the ones in 2.01 or in 5.11 during the interview Deacon was watching. Most layered character: Deacon Claybourne. He has so many demons and he’s just so relatable. Most one dimensional character: Scarlett O’ ConnorScariest moment: THE CAR ACCIDENT. You can decide which one -_-Grossest moment: Luke/RaynaBest looking male: Charles EstenBest looking female: Constance Elaine (Connie) Britton (nee Womack)Who you’re crushing on (if any): Connie Britton. Rayna Jaymes. Favourite cast moment: Nashville for Africa shows or the On the Record specials. Favourite transportation:Cars as long as Rayna Jaymes isn't in themMost beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): The wedding scene, the cabin scene in that episode, Deacon/Rayna writing/recording Hurricane, the makeout scene behind the bowling alley, so many really.Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: Every continuity issue ever. Don’t even get me started. Best promo: The wedding ones. Still shook watching those. At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: In 1.02 when Deacon and Rayna sang together at the Bluebird