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adventuringblind · 1 year

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Daddy Issues Finale

Max Verstappen x reader

Genre: Angst and hurt/comfort

Request: no but they are open for Max, Charles, Lando, Oscar, and possibly Danny Ric if y’all have any ideas

Summary: Finally needing both fathers to leave you and Max alone, you start making steps towards going no contact to protect yourselves. Suddenly, the reader finds herself in an unlikely situation and once again finds herself dealing with their fathers.

Warnings: Read the title… it literally says daddy issues. Most forms of abuse are mentioned in this fic, so please proceed with caution. Sort of kidnapping. Reader is drugged. Also, this isn’t proofread because proofreading is hard, and I am lazy.

Notes: we’re back in third person! Also, the reader gets so fed up and becomes a slight menace. I totally was not expecting it to get this dark but here ya go!

Masterlist // Part one // Part two

Max was well aware he needed to do something about this situation. He just didn't know what yet.

It had been a few days since he found her on the floor. Eye's puffy and cheeks tear stained. He felt every bit of restraint he had snapped in him. He knew that logical thing to do was try to go no contact woth both fathers. But that didn't stop him from wanting to punch both for what they did to her.

He'd convinced her to get away for a while. So you headed out with Kika for some 'girl time' as she called it.

Max, on the other hand, was sat on the couch with Pierre, Lando, and Charles. Trying his best to give an explanation of what happened without getting to detailed.

They were nosey, though. So Max was bound to spill eventually.

"He hit her- twice."

The three other men stared at him in shock. Their mouths agape at what he'd just confessed.

"That explains her behavior when I picked her up from the airport." Lando sighed.

"What are you going to do about it, Mate?" Piqued Charles. His hand rubbing against his head to try and process what he'd just heard.

"I don't know yet if I'm being honest."

They all were aware of the bags under Max’s eyes. How his voice sounded so broken. He’d seemed so happy just last week. Thinking his father was finally going to let him breathe. Jos technically did, but he turned that frustration to you instead.

Yesterday Max was given her phone. She had set it in his lap and said everything he’d need to know was in your texts. One rule neither had ever broken was going through each others phones without permission. Both sides had parents that loved to invade privacy. So the two had come to the conclusion that they would communicate what they felt needed to be at that moment.

Y/N had struggled to talk about what happened the last few months. So she just gave Max her phone and let him read what had been texted to her. It was a little easier this way. He could get find what he’d needed to know and maybe get some questions answered and she didn’t have to struggle to get the words out.

“The things they’ve said to both of us are awful, but this a new extent of that.” His voice wavered. His friends doing their best to comfort him. They all knew it was bad. It was obvious after he started joking about it like it was normal. “We both have their numbers blocked. So hopefully that will keep them away for now.”

“Well your dad showed up at your door. Do you think he might do it again?” Pierre’s voice, albeit gentle, had an urgency about it.

Max groaned and flopped backwards further into the couch. The thought hitting him like a train. His dad could show up unannounced, again. “We’ll have to move.”

“There’s an open apartment in my building.” Lando quickly suggested. “We could have sleepovers!”

It didn’t take long for the two to get the apartment. Even less time for getting everything moved in. It wasn’t too far away from where they had been living, and everyone wanted to help get them out of there as quick as possible.

Everyone had agreed not give any ideas that they had moved. Privacy becoming important for the two lovers. Both stopped their online presence aside from Max’s professional one. He doesn’t even run that account, his PR manager does. He’d had a conversation with her talking about how he’d been having some safety issues.

The two were relieved when they made it to the next race with no parents in sight. Y/N however, was still on edge about sitting in the Redbull garage. Max was understanding about it and said he could see if Christian would let her sit by him to watch or maybe in the Alpine garage with Kika.

She went for the second option. Waiting until the very last second to give Max a kiss before the race. Then she made her way through the paddock to locate Kika.

She was so close to the safety of the Alpine garage. Close to being able to enjoy the race and watch Max do what he loves. Until a familiar face had her doubling back to the safety of Redbull. Or maybe nowhere was safe.

People were closing in on her. Her breath becoming increasingly restricted in her lungs. She needed to get back within eye shot of Christian. He knew some of what happened. Enough to know that if he saw Jos around the Redbull garage, to have him escorted away. He’d probably be busy though, and she didn’t want to distract anyone.

She did feel a little better after seeing Max in first on the screen. Her eyes leaving the path in front of her for a measly ten seconds. Only to find herself falling to the ground.

She gathered her bearings and made a move to get back on her feet. Until she felt a hand in her shoulder.

“It’s been awhile,” Came the voice of Jos Verstappen.

Max had an amazing race. He was excited to win, but he was also excited to find his lover. He didn’t see her during the podium celebration. Most likely due to the crowds. He’d try to locate her in the Alpine garage when he was don’t.

As he was walking around doing his media duties, he locked eyes with Pierre. Pierre who was holding hands with Kika. Kika who was supposed to be with you.

Max excused himself from the reporter and jogged up to his friend. “Kika, do you know where Y/N is?”

“No, sorry, I haven’t seen her all day. I thought she was with you since she hasn’t answered my texts.” She explained.

All three passed looks of confusion before they all became determined to find you.

Max was texting and calling you repeatedly. Praying that neither of your fathers had actually shown up. He finally ran into Christian who was trying to congratulate him on another win. Max, however, only hear the sound of you crying from his memories. Concern flooded through Christian as he watched Max delve further into the panic.

“Max? Are you alright? Can you tell me what’s going on?” He voice calm but urgent enough to get Max to come back to his senses. Now clinging to the sound. Using it to ground himself.

“She’s missing.” He breathed

“Who? Y/N.”

Max frantically began nodding his head. The desperation to find her clearly evident.

“I’ll ask around the garage if anyone has seen her. Why don’t you check your driver room and take a minute to breath.”

He didn’t want to take time to himself. He should be looking for his love. Christian made a point though, he wouldn’t be able to think rationally if he didn’t calm down.

Now he sits alone. Letting the tears escape. Still attempting to call her only to be greeted by the cheery voicemail recording.

When he’d calmed himself down and it didn’t feel like his head was spinning, he began his search one more. Retracing the possible path you might have taken to the Alpine garage.

It seemed everyone was searching high and low for her now.

There were only so many places you could be.

Max was startled by the sudden sound of his phone ringing in his pocket. Disregarding the caller ID, he simply answered “hello” without any hesitation.

“Is this Mr. Verstappen?” Asked an unfamiliar feminine voice.

“Yes, who am I speaking with?”

“This is a nurse from the general hospital.”

Everything after that was a blur. He hardly focused on the details. Only running back to his drivers room to find his rental car keys and his wallet.

He ran into Lando on the way. Making his best attempt at explaining while rushing around to grab his things. He hadn’t even bothered changing back into regular clothes yet.

“How about I drive and you change in the backseat.” Lando shot Max a wink and despite everything going on, Max managed a smile. At least he knows where she is now.

Everything happened in a whirlwind. One minute she was on her way to see Kika and the next she was gripped by the arm and told not to make a scene.

Her survival instincts kicked in. Knowing she should listen to the man who is determined to make her and Max’s lives miserable. He really needs a new hobby.

She wanted to scream as they passed by Redbull again, but something in her stopped her lungs from doing so. ‘Why is defending someone you love easier than defending yourself?’ She thinks to herself as the two exit the paddock entirely.

It doesn't take long until Jos is shoving her into the back seat. She complies, knowing he's unpredictable.

When she finally is in the car, she notices the figure on the drivers side starting the car.

Her father had come along too.

"Isn't this considered kidnapping?" She asks sarcastically. The car pulling put and starting the journey to an unknow destination.

Neither of them speak. It's unsettling and eerie.

She wanted Max. She needed Max. She knew if she wasn't back before race end that he would be frantic.

They'd tried so hard to be safe and private at the same time. Maybe they should have just made a public statement. Now, everyone was going to find out in the most dramatic way possible.

"Are you going to murder me?"

"No, now shut up, or I will." Spits Jos.

"I would if just told me where we're going." She shrugs. Knowing she's making them aggravated.

If Jos hadn't taken her phone, this would be a very different situation. She curses whoever made women's pockets so small.

"Fine, if you need to know so bad, im taking you home. Far away from Max. Back where you belong." Her Father shouts. Knuckles are turning white from gripping the steering while so hard. "You two are bad influences on each other. You tell each other lies about your families! I've done some research, and I think maybe you're hallucinating. I'm taking you home where you can get help." He explains.

This time, she didn't say anything. The tears weren't stopping. You knew your father had said things like this before about your mom. Going as far as to try and get her diagnosed with any kind of mental disorder that fit.

It never worked because she never had symptoms of anything he was suggesting. How was he expecting to make it work this time?

The answer came sooner than expected. A moment she slipped into the back of her head to escape left her open and vulnerable.

A needle was jammed into her leg by Jos. A cold feeling spreading through her body. She had no idea what it was. Only that it wasn't good and she needed to get out of this car.

The adrenaline from her flight instincts kicked in, and her breathing picked up. They were on a slower street. One lined with small shops and pedestrians. If she was going to jump, now was her chance.

Without thinking, she opens the door and launches herself towards the sidewalk. The people around either running away or running to help her.

She vaguely remembers someone asking what happened and if they should call somone.

"Max" was the only thing she could get out before tumbling into the darkness.

Max rushs inside the emergency room. Lando dropped him right outside the door before trying to hunt down a parking spot.

"How can I help you?" Asks the nurse. A little startled by his sudden appearance.

'I'm looking for someone."

It didn't take long before he was being led back to where they had been keeping her.

Relief flooding through his veins when he layed eyes on her. Trying and struggling to sip water through a straw.

Her eyes went wide when she saw him. Flinging the blanket off and swinging her legs over the side like she would just walk to him.

He rushed over to her and gently laid her back down. Her pupils are blown, and her body is swaying side to side. Confusion takes hold of Max. "What happened to her?" He asks the nurse.

"She has a minor fracture in her wrist and a gash on her knee from the impact of the sidewalk. We're still running tests to see the specific drugs in her system, but we do know for sure she was drugged." The nurse explains.

Max feels his stomach lurch. "I don't understand. What happened to her?"

"My apologies, I thought the authorities had spoken to you already. I'll send them in to explain."

Max's head is reeling. The love of his life was drugged, and who knows what else. It doesn't matter what any reporter says. He's getting extra security.

Tears slip from his eyes as he holds you. "I'm sorry, love."

"Why are you sorry, Maxy? You're here." She slurs. A smile graced her lips despite the situation.

The sound of heavy boots makes Max look up. The girl on the bed is now entertaining himself with his fingers.

"Are you family?" The officer asks.

"Yeah."

"We should step outside."

Max got up from his place beside her on the bed. She looked at him, tears welling in her eyes. Struggling to comprehend what was happening.

"I'll be right back." He soothed her. Placing a kiss on the top of her head.

Max followed the officer outside and closed the door behind him.

"We have reason to believe she was kidnapped. Witnesses told us she jumped out of a moving car and then almost immediately passed out."

Max's mind went in so many directions at once. How could this have happened? How did nobody notice?

The officer opened a manilla envelope and slid out two pictures. "These are the suspects who we caught trying to get her back in the cat. Do you recognize them?"

Max's hand flew to his face. He couldn't get words out. He was about to sink to his knees before Lando came around the corner. Seeing him about to buckle and reflexivley running up to him. Lando pratically catchs the Dutchman and helps him get steady on his feet again.

Lando tries to get his bearings. He was about to ask Max what happened when he notices the officer and, more importantly, the pictures.

"Isn't that your dad, Max?" Max just shakes his head yes. Releived Lando is there to say what he's trying to.

Lando leans in closer, the officer surprised at the action and almost pulling away. He stops, however, at Lando's next words. "And isn't that Y/N's father?"

It didn't take them long to have the young woman discharged from the hospital. Lando driving the two home and helping check the apartment for any potential threats.

The two males could tell she was feeling awful. The doctors flushed her system with water and put a cast on the fracture. The two were exhausted.

Lando said his goodbyes and told Max to call if they needed anything. including someone to stand guard.

Max had texted everyone on the ride home that she was back safe.

A new question on his mind: What happens now? Both your fathers had been taken into custody. Mainly on the charge of kidnapping. But the officer said they could testify and get them put away for longer.

Could the two of you manage that? The side of him that wanted to make his father happy said he should go bail him out. On the other hand, the two would finally he safe. No more anxieties about awful parental figures doing unwarranted things.

Both could start to finally get the healing they deserve.

It took some time, but both came to the conclusion to prosecute. The day of the trail came far to quickly for you to prepare.

There was supposed to be a race this weekend, but it had been postponed until later in the evening due to many of the racers wanting to testify.

When both were found guilty, the couple started crying. The thought of being free from the awful cloud looming over them finally set in.

Nether of them could believe is was this good.

When Max won the race later, it was the most emotional either had ever been. Max let himself be proud of his achievements.

Months later, the two had begun to heal. A slow process. Both are patient and understanding with each other. Trying to communicate as much as possible. Finding outside help to help guide them.

Security at the paddock had gotten better. She never felt vulnerable. Mainly because someone was always with her, and Christian let her sit next to him during races. He'd joked, saying that you already look like you belong there, so he might as well just give you a job.

And as the two lovers lie in bed together, they reminisce. How their daddy issues brought them together.

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hit-song-showdown · 8 months

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My favorite songs of 2023

I am putting together my favorite songs released in 2023. I started off doing a project where I listened to as many new albums as I could (and recording my findings in a spreadsheet), but that project tapered off around June when my move + school year started. But even though I wasn't able to listen to every album that came out, I still came out of 2023 with some of my favorite musical projects of all time. Also as another disclaimer: I am not a professional music writer.

I am also limiting this list to 1 song per album/project.

1. Scaring the Hoes by JPEGMafia and Danny Brown. I wish I could go back and experience again what happened to my brain when I first heard this track so I could properly convey it with text. When I first saw this project was announced, I knew it would take over my life. When I heard this track before the album was released, I knew I would have to form some kind of religion around it. The reason why I'm limiting this list to one track per album is because Scaring the Hoes has 14 tracks so I wouldn't be able to fit them all (other songs I would have given the number 1 spot include Burfict!, Shut Yo Bitch Ass Up/Muddy Waters, God Loves You, and Kingdom Hearts Key). But the title track is the perfect introduction. It's less of a single and more of a thesis statement for the entire project. The production throughout this album is incredible, but STH hits different. The rhythmic, almost menacing handclaps (fun fact: those aren't handclaps--that's the sound my asscheeks make when this song comes on) and the horn sample which I can only describe as Blood Money era Tom Waitsian, it is by far my favorite beat of 2023. Combined with Danny and JPEG's charisma and the way they bounce back and forth, this song is a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart. Also I saw them live and that experience elevated a 10/10 to a 20/10 for me.

2. Prof. Aronnax' Descent into the Vast Oceans by Ahab. I started seriously listening to German nautical funeral doom metal band, Ahab around early 2022 so this was the first new release I got to experience. Even though I loved what I heard previously, nothing could have prepared me for this. The opening track is everything I want from a doom metal song. It starts out with a frantic onslaught of screaming and inhuman growls before mellowing out into a serene instrumental before the mournful vocals kick in. It really feels like the initial shock of your body slamming into the water, then having to slowly drift among the waves as your muscles give out and you're taken deeper into the depths. That's what I like about doom metal: it's music to decay to. This track (and by extension this album) hooked me from a story-telling perspective right away, which shouldn't be a surprise as it was based on Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. The story presented in this album intrigued me so much that I had to read the book for myself. Then I read it again. Then I read two different translations. Now I'm working on a visual novel adaptation. I know metrics for album rankings are subjective, so I'm willing to give an album an extra bump if it gets me to read a 19th century novel at least five times in less than two months and learn Python coding. (Other tracks I would have included: the album is at its strongest as a single listening experience, but I especially enjoyed Mobilis in Mobili and Ægri Somnia).

3. What A Man by Debby Friday. This is a track off of Nigerian-Canadian electronic musician Debby Friday's first album Good Luck and holy shit, what a debut. This is such a well-formed project I can't believe it. I was already enjoying the album throughout the first few tracks. It brought me back to listening to 2000s club music and thinking "wow I wish I got invited to parties." But then I got to What A Man and the world screeched to a halt. I think I was posting on my main blog at the time, so anyone unfortunate enough to follow me had a chance to see my incoherent screeching in real time. This track is incredible. Debby's warm and sultry voice, the spacey production, THE ELECTRIC GUITAR? The first time the guitar kicks in, that's just a teaser for what ended up being one of my favorite music moments of the year. The electric guitar feels like an oncoming storm and Debby is standing strong before it, taking on the wind and rain as her voice becomes louder and almost yearning. Then the song builds with Debby yelling to the high heavens as the guitars wail around her before fading back down into the low bass and rhythmic breathing motif found throughout the album. This track is an experience, and the music video is gorgeous too (the picture I chose for the banner is from the video itself) and the fact that it has less than 20K views hurts me. (Other tracks I would have included: I Got It, So Hard To Tell, Let U Down)

4. Bite Back by Algiers (ft. billy woods and Backxwash). Speaking of songs that build... This is the sixth track off of Algiers' album, Shook and by this point I was already feeling pretty good about the release. I was already prepared to put the opening track, Everybody Shatter on my top 20, but when Bite Back kicked in, something changed. Here's a recreation of my initial reaction: "this sounds pretty good, I like the way this intro...is that billy woods??") Just to be transparent: billy woods' involvement would have been enough to give this an automatic top slot for me, but it helps that his verse is fantastic. His flow is slower than the introductory verse, but that only makes his lyrics stand out more. From the opening lines "One hand wash the other, they both wash the face / Centrifugal force and inertia keep everything in its place / Slowly, spinning in space, speeding, lead foot on the brakes" I knew I was in for something special. One thing I really appreciate about this track is the production. billy woods has a very steady flow with an almost menacing quality to it depending on the subject matter of the lyrics, and the beat shifts during his verse to reflect that. It sounds like it could be a billy woods beat, but it doesn't sound like one of his beats was carelessly shoved into an Algiers song. It's like the beat ebbs and flows with the artists involved. The production gets gradually more intense as billy picks up more ferocity in his delivery. A detail I really like is when billy says "claws rattling, delicate as roaches' wings," the percussion on the backing track picks up an almost rattling quality, but it doesn't sound corny or too obvious. Then billy continues, the backing track picking up even more intensity until it feels like each noise is blasting at full power...and then the tension releases and settles down with Algiers frontman, Franklin James Fisher, delivering the second verse. His delivery contrasts wonderfully with billy woods' too, with his faster, almost whispered vocals allowing the track to pick up momentum again after the previous release of tension. This track knows when to breathe and it's fantastic. But it also knows when to take the air from your lungs as Fisher goes all out with the vocals in the hook and third verse, reinstating what an absolute powerhouse vocalist he is. And just when the track is at its peak ferocity, in comes Backxwash with the steel chair! If billy and Fisher were allowing the beat to gradually shift under their performances, Backxwash grabs the song by the throat and makes it do whatever she wants. Her verse then trades off into Fisher delivering the outro, operating at full power in his delivery. This song is so well-crafted and none of the artists feel out of place. (Other tracks I would have included: Everybody Shatter, A Good Man, Irreversible Damage)

5. Billions by Caroline Polachek. As of writing this, I haven't been keeping up with other people's year end lists, but I know this album is going to make everyone else's. So I feel a bit intimidated to talk about it, but I will try. The production on this album is so good my brain can't even comprehend how it was crafted. I've seen it described as "maximalist," but that doesn't fully capture how well this album knows when to pull back and let the tracks breathe. Billions is one of the more sparse tracks compared to some of the others, but that only makes each production decision stand out more. The second time Caroline says "give me the closure," you hear a little musical sting in the background (probably some kind of synth, but at first listen I thought it was an electric guitar) which didn't show up after the first time that lyric was sung. It's that attention to detail and letting the production build on itself that makes this project incredible. And it goes without saying that Caroline is an outstanding vocalist. She sounds like a siren. It's ridiculous. (Other tracks I would have included: Welcome to My Island, I Believe, Hopedrunk Everasking)

6. The Black Seminole by Lil Yachty. Opening track off of Lil Yachty's psychedelic rock album, Let's Start Here, and what an opening track on a fantastic project. It should be clear by this point that I love songs that build, and holy shit does this song build. I first listened to this album while I was on a plane, and this track synced up with my takeoff. So while the plane was lifting off the ground and I was being pressed against my seat, Lil Yachty gave the final line before the electric guitars and the female vocalist kicked in, both wailing with equal ferocity. Top 10 music experiences of the year, but even going back to listen to that same track when I'm not on an airplane delivered the same euphoric experience. (Other tracks I would have included: Drive Me Crazy, Should I B, We Saw the Sun)

7. Xena by Skrillex and Nai Barghouti. I debated whether to put this song or Hydrate on the list, but Xena was the first track that made me fall in love with this album. With vocals by Palestinian singer, Nai Barghouti, Skrillex delivers an absolutely outstanding dubstep track. Like Billions, it's the kind of music production that makes me have to step back and fully appreciate the craft. The song is incredible at building intensity, but he also knows when to pull back to let the tension build again. And Barghouti isn't just a feature--she is the heartbeat of this song. Her voice melds with the production so well, but in a way that sounds like she's commanding it. My absolute favorite part of the song is when she starts singing in her lower register as the production turns to more naturalistic instruments. Sometimes I see electronic producers robbing their singers of their voices for the sake of cohesive production, but that isn't the case here. Nai Barghouti's voice is crisp, unique, and perfect. It's a fantastic melding of producer and vocalist that makes way more sense than it should. (Other tracks I would have included: Hydrate, Rumble, Ratata)

8. Babylon by Bus by billy woods and Kenny Segal. I already talked about billy woods, but he was a feature so this still counts. Everything I already said about billy woods' skills applies here as well, especially now that he has full control over the track. billy's flow sounds both effortless, and that he knows the perfect word to use for each line. And he uses interesting words. "Glistening waterbug on clean counter / Plague mask, gave the place a cursory glower / He ran away, I gave chase but gave up and sat on his gate for hours" I love this series of bars. He is a storyteller. And then, the beat pauses after billy's first verse, with low menacing notes, a clattering of naturalistic metallic percussion, and then the switch up??? Seriously the way the beat ramps up for SkrapKnel's verses takes the song to another level. The way the Curly Castro and PremRock pass the mic back and forth to each other is outstanding. This doesn't feel like a guest verse; this is a fully realized project. The shamelessness is even more apparent when billy takes the mic again for the final verse, but now with more ferocity in his delivery as if he's building off of the energy created by SkrapKnel. This song is masterful. "I take care of these words, Munchausen by proxy / Somehow beat the tox screen / God save the queen, but that train doesn't stop here anymore" (Other tracks I would have included: FaceTime, Year Zero, Soft Landing)

9. Drain You Empty by Cannibal Corpse. I listened to this album right around midterms and I needed it. But this was the song I kept coming back to. For one, it's fun. Obviously: it's Cannibal Corpse. But I love the way the song opens with a full minute of just blasting you before the drums, riffs, and screams really kick in. Good god the drumming on this album is so good. I absolutely love Corpsegrinder's delivery on this track. The way he shifts from bellowing growls to shrieks, the way he speeds up his delivery to match the pace of the drums, it's so good. I'm sorry I don't have a better analysis. It's fun. (Other tracks I would have included: Chaos Horrific, Overlords of Violence, Blood Blind)

10. Crossing Guard by Model/Actriz. This is a song that made me wish I went to gay clubs more. Yes, it's a killer dance song, but what draws me in is how chaotic the production is. It starts out slow and quiet, then bam! The production starts screeching at you in a glorious onslaught of noise, held together with a fantastic bassline. I love the vocalist too. He can be monotone and subtle, but he also knows how to raise his voice to match the ferocity of the production. I listened to this song countless times last year (often while crossing the street and trying not to get hit by cars), and the line "Like Germanotta, Stefani / Pull the weight from under me" will be stuck in my head forever. (Other tracks I would have included: Donkey Show, Amaranth)

#music #2023 music #jpegmafia #danny brown #ahab #ahab band #debby friday #algiers band #caroline polachek #lil yachty #skrillex #nai barghouti #billy woods #backxwash #kenny segal #cannibal corpse #model/actriz

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underforeversgrace · 10 months

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bent but not yet broken - 2

title: bent but not yet broken

words: 2,641

Story Summary:

How short a time had Danny even been here? He’d already lost track of the days. Had he been here a week? A month? It was amazing what a void time became when every second was an all-consuming pain.

Danny Phantom has been captured by the GIW. The students of Casper High are protesting. Sam and Tucker have been notably absent, working with the Fentons to get Danny back.

What happens when the GIW bring back the hero, muzzled and beaten, on display for all of Casper High to see?

Chapter 2 of 7: We Reach for Each Other

AO3

Tumblr Chapter One / Tumblr Chapter Three

~~~~~~

Lancer glared at the memo in his hands, fighting off the urge to rip it into shreds as he trembled with rage.

He shared a glance with Ishiyama, who just nodded at him with a frown.

Important notice to all Casper High Staff:

The Guys in White will be active on campus later today to capture the remaining ghosts haunting the school. Do not interfere with GIW personnel, equipment, or ghostly lures brought on campus. Do not notify the students, as we understand that there are ghost sympathizers among them who may incite violence.

-Agent O

Lancer had never hated someone. He was a teacher - patience was a virtue he had developed (even if he had also developed less desirable traits, like favoritism) - and he had never felt this much disdain for anyone in his life. Now, however, he finally understood all the times his stories had characters who had such anger and hatred that they saw red.

He was seeing fiery crimson as he crumpled the note in his fist, trying to subtly do calming breathing exercises. None of the others understood - none of them could understand.

After all, it wasn’t any of their faults that Danny Phantom had been captured two weeks ago. None of them had been too slow in evacuating, none of them had been in the way when the Guys in White fired at an Unidentified Ghostly Assailant that they hadn’t seen behind them. No, only Lancer had been there to watch the ‘menacing’ Phantom jump in front of a shot that would have injured human and ghost alike.

Similarly, none of them had heard an agent bragging a little too loudly about a trap that had worked perfectly as they snapped a collar around the unconscious Phantom’s neck.

Lancer was many things - dumb was not one of them. Federal agents had intentionally shot at him - an unarmed civilian - so they could capture a ghost who’d barely ever done anything wrong. A familiar guilt curled in his stomach. He blamed himself for being bait. More than that, however, he wondered how he had forgotten a student. Phantom had saved him more often than any other member of Casper staff - he was clearly familiar with the teacher in a way that spoke of knowing each other.

Who was this child, when he’d been alive? How could Lancer not know which happy, joyous, wise-cracking child this had been?

Fine, Lancer thought as he slipped away from the teacher’s meeting, noting and ignoring Ishiyama’s worried look - she probably knew something was amiss by the look on his face.

Lancer hurried, passing through the empty auditorium where he knew over half the school would be once school hours started. It was what the student body had taken to doing since Phantom’s ‘arrest’: protesting with some sort of byline that would make even Samantha Manson proud, though she had been noticeably absent from the sit-in, along with Tucker Foley and Daniel Fenton. It confirmed a long held suspicion Lancer had - that the trio were somehow involved with Phantom. Ms. Manson and Mr. Foley were seen far too often around the specter, and Phantom had access to too much Fenton tech to not have an ally within the ghost hunter’s household.

Lancer hesitated for only a moment before pulling up the student files once he made it to his office. These kids were somehow involved, and - as much as he hated to involve them further - he had no doubt that they’d been spending the past two weeks planning to break Phantom out of the GIW facility he was in. And what better time to stage a breakout than when a platoon of GIW agents would be at the school? They were still a small organization - the building they occupied within Amity Park was a quarter the size of Casper High itself.

Steeling himself in his decision, he found the application Mr. Foley had submitted when he’d requested Casper to make a computer club.

“There you are,” he muttered, pulling Foley’s personal email address from the form. He tried to push aside the mental gymnastics he was doing - first the worry of knowing these agents had already shot at unarmed civilians before, and then the absolute belief that these three would storm the facility eventually regardless. “It’s safer if they do it today…”

Quickly, he smoothed and scanned the memo, emailing it to Foley from the burner email Lancer used for online video games.

The computer gave a ding as the email successfully sent, and Lancer finally gave up his losing battle with convincing himself this was a good idea. It was done. Whatever happened, happened. And Lancer would accept all the blame that came with it.

~~~~~~

Jack paced back and forth, angry tears falling from his eyes as he looked at the official, generic response crumpled in his hands.

Dr. and Mrs. Fenton, he read again, though the words were seared into his brain. It still irked him the way the Guys in White had addressed it, when they were both Dr. Fenton.

In response to your recent inquiry to be able to work with the recently acquired specimen VNM-262 (colloquially referred to as ‘Danny Phantom’), we are denying access at this time.

VNM-262 is a volatile, unusual presentation of spectral energy. It is being kept in a closely monitored environment with only strictly necessary personnel interacting with it, until such time as we can be sure its powers have been successfully nullified and/or removed.

We will reach out to you when this state has been attained and/or when the subject has been destabilized to a point of being a non-threat.

Regards,

Agent A

Administrations Assistant

Two weeks. They’d had his son for two fucking weeks already, doing God knows what to him. Well, only God may know exactly what, but Jack and Maddie could guess.

They’d been planning what they’d do in the same situation for two years, after all.

Jack’s tears burned as they ran down his face.

“What now?” Sam asked, looking as tired as Jack felt.

Jack glanced to the couch, studying the two exhausted teenagers sitting there, his equally drained wife on the chair beside them. Dark circles lined Sam’s eyes; Maddie’s jumpsuit was wrinkled and stained with ink; even Tucker’s beret seemed to be sagging under the weight of it all.

As usual, a mix of emotions welled up inside Jack as he studied his son’s friends. Anger that they’d known his secret and allowed Danny to keep it from them. Guilt that they had genuinely feared what Jack and Maddie would do to him if they found out. Relief that Danny hadn’t gone through the last two years alone. Grateful sadness at how hard they were working to try to help them save Danny.

Dozens of papers sat on the table in front of them, proof of their efforts. Requests under the Freedom of Information Act demanding information on Danny Phantom, law books and studies relating to illegal incarceration, cases setting various precedents on America’s mishandling of undocumented immigrants - anything and everything they could think of that might help them get Danny out.

Even Vlad’s lawyers - dead and alive - had offered their advice, but they didn’t have much. The Anti-Ecto Control Act was broad reaching and vague enough that the GIW could do whatever they wanted while court proceedings happened - which could take years.

“What do we do now?” Tucker asked, repeating Sam’s sentiment when neither of the adults in the room answered.

“I don’t know,” Maddie said, her voice betraying how close to tears she was.

“Maybe we should try Clockwork again,” Sam said desperately.

“So he can tell us the same ‘all is as it should be’ bullshit? No, thanks - I’m not up to throwing hands with a god of time. Again.” Tucker answered.

Jack remained silent, rereading the rejection notice from the GIW as he tried to push down the anger that spiked whenever the two spoke. It had taken them four days to tell the Fentons the truth of who Danny was after he’d been caught, after spending that entire time running the parents in circles whenever they tried to reach their son. They’d single-handedly thrown both parents' lives upside down and then directly into crisis.

The ensuing silence was like molasses down Jack’s throat, choking him, overwhelming him. “Fuck!” He yelled, turning and punching the wall behind him, going straight through the drywall in his desperation to break the oppressive quiet. “Fuck!”

All three of them had jumped at his outburst. They were used to Jack Fenton being loud - they weren’t used to him screaming or punching things (that weren’t ghosts). Jack couldn’t bring himself to face them again, instead leaning his head against the wall.

“How do I get my son back?” He asked no one in particular, the ever present tears flowing harder. “I just want my son back. Please.” Jack didn’t know who he was pleading to. The universe, God, Clockwork, the people around him perhaps. Anyone, anything that would listen to him. “Please.”

Mercifully, Sam didn’t give the retort she’d given so often whenever Jack or Maddie had expressed similar sentiment in the past ten days. “Even if he’s half ghost?”

Jack continued to beg to whoever would listen to give him Danny back as he lowered himself to the floor, his legs unable to hold him up any longer as he leaned against the wall, his pleas swallowed by his sobs.

At least Jazz wasn’t here to see this. She’d gone to school overseas, and then on an expedition to study the psychology of areas that were less technologically developed. Or, at least, somewhere that her cell phone didn’t have service.

What would they say when Jazz finally did get in touch? She’d see the news of Danny’s capture. His arrest hadn't made international headlines - hell, it didn't even make national ones - but it was the only thing Amity's press was discussing. Would they have Danny back safely by the time Jazz inevitably saw an article?

A ding rang through the room like a gunshot as a voice cheerily announced “You have mail!”

Tucker stared at the PDA in his hand - the source of the noise. “Who…?” he started, trailing off as he read the message, his frown deepening and eyes darkening as he did so. “Those fuckers!”

“What?” Sam asked, grabbing the PDA from him before he had the chance to answer. There was a short pause as she read the email. “Haven’t they done enough damage?”

“What is it?” Maddie interjected.

“An email - I don’t know from who,” Tucker answered, grabbing the PDA back, “but it’s a memo to the staff at Casper High. The Guys in White will be visiting today.”

“Does it say anything about Danny?” Jack asked.

“No,” Tucker sighed. “Just that they’ll be there and not to interfere with them, their equipment, or their ‘ghostly lures.’”

“Sounds like it’s time to storm a government base to me,” Sam said, her face far too serious and tired for someone who was barely sixteen.

“Can I take a look?” Maddie asked, holding out her hand. Tucker shrugged and handed the PDA over. She read it aloud, likely for Jack’s benefit, but he was struggling to not drown in his grief. He’d never been good at insurmountable problems. He’d let it consume him - and then he would come out the other side swinging, full of determination and the bedrocks of a plan.

He’d never had anything this high stakes to get through before, though. It felt like every brain cell he had was dying, replaced by a void of grief.

Jack couldn’t say it aloud, but he didn’t know if there was a way to save his son, to bring him back home. To rectify the mistakes they’d made, to show him that Jack loved him with his entire heart no matter what, to beg Danny’s forgiveness that they’d given him enough reason to doubt.

While the GIW facility looked like nothing more than an office building, it was armed and defended to the teeth. Jack and Maddie had helped them set up the weaponry, a fact that burned like acid in his mind.

Conversation around him pulled Jack from the tempest of pain his mind had become.

“Something is bugging me with this,” Maddie said, her lips pursed the way they did when she was deep in thought. “The note not to tell the students due to the possibility of a riot, and this ghostly lure they referenced.”

“It’s a scientific government facility that hurts innocents. Everything they say should bug you,” Sam said, an edge to her voice that made Maddie flinch.

“I think we should go to the school,” Maddie continued.

“What? If one of the teams is gone, we can go to the facility directly and have a better chance of busting Danny out!” Sam shouted, immediately shooting to her feet.

“They catch their number one target and leave him under-protected barely two weeks later? The GIW don’t have that many employees,” Maddie pointed out.

Jack glanced over at his wife, a frown forming as he realized she was right. “We wouldn’t have, after all. Not this soon.”

The two Fenton parents shared grimaces as guilt burned Jack alive.

Sam opened her mouth to say something, but Tucker placed a gentle hand on hers and she pursed her lips in aggravation instead.

“So we go to the school, and then what?” Tucker asked, glancing between the ghost hunters. “How the hell do we get Danny away from them?”

“Ecto-weapons can be dangerous to humans, too,” Maddie said, standing and rolling her shoulders, a look of grim determination on her face.

“You’re going to open fire on federal agents in a high school? Are you sure that’s smart?” Sam questioned.

“No, it’s dumb as hell,” Jack answered, heading towards the lab for more weapons. “But we’re getting Danny out of there, consequences be damned.”

When Jack returned, he handed off several ecto-weapons to Maddie, nodding wordlessly. He also handed her a Fenton Thermos, tossing two more to Sam and Tucker, one already clipped to his own belt. “Maddie and I will distract them. Get Danny in a Thermos and get him out of the school.”

“Maybe only one of you should distract them,” Tucker said, rolling the Thermos around in his hands. “Then we can pretend that one was overshadowed or something. Otherwise, we’ll be getting Danny out of there, just to be forced into foster care or something. He needs the portal and its ambient ectoenergy - he can’t lose both of you.”

Maddie was grabbing the ecto-gun out of Jack’s hands before he could react. “Tucker’s right, and I’m the better shot.”

Jack frowned. “If they don’t buy the overshadowed theory, you’ll go to jail for attempted murder.”

Maddie hummed slightly, ejecting the cartridge and studying the sleek, see-through container where green glowed with its own ethereal light. She popped the cartridge back in, cocking the weapon with practiced ease. “You and I both know it won’t be attempted murder, dear.”

The protest almost bubbled past Jack’s lips before he bit his tongue. As much as he hated it, she was right. This might be their only shot to save Danny, and Jack’s desire to save his son easily trod over his pride at pretending he wasn’t a bad shot. So, with more restraint than Jack Fenton remembered ever using before, he kept his mouth shut, and allowed his wife to make the self-sacrifice play. “Danny comes home today,” he promised.

Even if you don’t, were the words they left unspoken as Maddie met his gaze, a brief moment of sadness in her eyes before they hardened to determined steel.

“Let’s bring him home,” Tucker mumbled, standing from his seat with Sam following. “No matter what.”

#grace writes #danny phantom #ectoimplosion2023

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twoidiotwriters1 · 1 year

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Daughter of Olympus (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: The titles are long af bc I find that very funny -Danny Words: 3,948 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter / Next Chapter Listen to: 'Runaway' -by Aurora

V. Memory Lane Has Too Many Stops and I Keep Getting Carsick

Ara has barely stopped crying when Leo Valdez shows up flying the bronze dragon. Everyone stands ready, except Ara. She pushes through the crowd, eyes brimming with tears once again.

"People of Earth, I come in peace!" Leo is the most insane-looking boy she's ever seen. He's dirty from head to toe and looks like he spent the whole night awake. "Festus is just saying hello!"

"That thing is dangerous! Kill it now!"

"Stand down!" Jason shouts anxiously, Annabeth and Nyssa stand next to him. "Leo, what have you done?"

"Found a ride!" He says cheerfully. "You said I could go on the quest if I got you a ride. Well, I got you a class-A metallic flying bad boy! Festus can take us anywhere!"

"Festus..?" Ara echoes hoarsely.

"It—has wings," Nyssa stammers.

"Yeah! I found them and reattached them."

"But it never had wings! Where did you find them?"

"In... the woods," he's hiding something, but Ara couldn't care less about it at the moment. "Repaired his circuits, too, mostly, so no more problems with him going haywire."

"Mostly?"

The dragon tilts his head and oil falls on top of Leo. He's completely unbothered by it. "Just a few kinks to work out."

Ara's mind catches up with her body and she runs to Festus in tears. Leo jumps out of the way in alarm, but everyone else is delighted. She looks less menacing this way. "You fixed it! You fixed my dragon!"

Leo frowns. "Say what?"

"But how did you survive?" Nyssa asks in shock. "I mean, the fire breath..."

"I'm quick," he turns to his sister. "And lucky. Now, am I on this quest, or what?"

"You named him Festus?" Jason adds. "You know that in Latin, 'Festus' means 'happy'? You want us to ride off to save the world on Happy the Dragon?"

"It's perfect!" Ara laughs, the first genuine laughter that comes out of her in days, and gods, it feels so good.

"Okay, so she's as crazy as me," Leo doesn't sound troubled by it. Festus purrs at Ara's touch, she's holding onto his snout. "That's a yes! Now, um, I'd really suggest we get going, guys. I already picked up some supplies in the—um, in the woods. And all these people with weapons are making Festus nervous."

"But we haven't planned anything yet. We can't just—"

"Go," Annabeth stares at them with fondness. "You have Ara, you'll be okay. You've only got three days until the solstice now, and you should never keep a nervous dragon waiting. This is certainly a good omen. Go!"

Jason looks at Piper. "You ready, partner?"

"You bet." The girl's beaming at the dragon.

"Everyone, give our General a proper send-off!" Lily speaks next to her, which causes Ara to jump. She hates it when Lily does that.

The campers lift their shields and swords. Lily places a Tyrian purple cloak on Ara's shoulders and hands her a worn T-rex backpack. "Come back alive," she raises her left hand, and a thin scar can be seen on the side of her wrist. "Deal?"

Ara lifts her right wrist and lightly presses it against Lily's. "You got it." She turns to look at the campers. "I'll bring you good news this time, I promise," Ara faces Leo, the insane boy, and her eyes fill with gratitude. "I owe you a big one."

"Cash only, sunshine. Or a kiss, if you're feeling generous," Leo jokes, trying to stop her from looking at him like that.

Ara smiles, which is not the reaction he wanted. He's hoping she'll go back to being grumpy soon, but unfortunately, nothing's going to make her forget his great deed. "I'll think about it."

She climbs on top of the dragon, and Leo does an okay job at keeping it together. Ara feels this is where she's meant to be, this will bring back her brother. She's always had a good instinct when it comes to Percy.

I'm weaving baskets when this weird thought crosses my mind:

Look for Percy!

I saw him fifteen minutes ago, but I tell the naiads and nymphs that are with me: "Go get help." They notice how serious I am—which is unlike me—and follow my plea. I make my way to the forest, something is guiding me.

When Percy fought Ares, I gave him Aphrodite's protection. I told him "Love will keep you safe", and at the time he thought that I was saying it to not be the only one that hadn't given him something, but I knew it would work. I didn't know that it would bind me to him, but I'm not complaining.

When I find him, Percy sounds scared. "You're being used, Luke. You and Ares both. Don't listen to Kronos."

"I've been used? Look at yourself. What has your dad ever done for you? Kronos will rise. You've only delayed his plans. He will cast the Olympians into Tartarus and drive humanity back to their caves. All except the strongest—the ones who serve him."

I throw my basket at the back of Luke's head, trying to give Percy time so he can grab his sword. Luke turns and holds his weapon tighter. He has a new sword. "I've had enough!"

I stumble and cut my palm on a rock, I grab it and hear Percy's panicky voice. "Don't!" I don't know who he's talking to, but neither of us listens. The rock hits Luke's arm and I roll to avoid his blade but it grazes my skin. I grab a fistful of dirt and throw it at his face.

Percy swats whatever creature is on his leg and draws out his sword, Luke notices and decides I'm not worth the trouble, he makes an arch-motion with his weapon and disappears through a portal. I'm scared shitless and I can feel my back pulsing, I wanna run and hide behind someone again.

"I'm sorry!" I cry, even though I'm not the one who almost killed Percy.

He stumbles toward me in some sort of pain, and I'll be damned if I don't help him out of this one. I put his left arm around my shoulders, and he places most of his weight on me, but I carry on.

"Cool, right?" Leo's smell is starting to get a little too hard to ignore, Ara tries to keep his oil-covered self away.

"What if we get spotted?" Piper asks.

"The Mist," Jason responds before Ara can. "It keeps mortals from seeing magic things. If they spot us, they'll probably mistake us for a small plane or something."

"You sure about that?"

"No."

"I am," Ara replies. "Don't worry, Piper, the crazier it gets, the harder it is for mortals to notice. If not, I know how to fix it."

"Is it thanks to the cool thing you are?" Leo asks.

"Yeah, Chiron had to readjust my training, not everyone can control the mist, but Thalia Grace is really good at it and she and Chiron taught me, she's the other child of Zeus."

"We're making good time," Jason comments like he's trying to change the subject. "Probably get there by tonight."

"Where are we heading?" Piper questions.

"To find the god of the North Wind and chase some storm spirits."

"Piece of cake," Ara nods. "I've gone to many quests, follow your instincts and we'll be okay."

"Which reminds me!" Leo adds. "You didn't finish your story! You promised you would explain!"

Ara frowns. "Where was I?"

"That Luke dude went nuts."

She pauses, trying to piece her memories together. "Well, the nymphs took us back to camp..."

Percy's really weak after Luke's attack. Annabeth left half an hour ago, and I'm standing on the porch clinging to my friend's arm. "You're going too, aren't you?"

The basket I was weaving when I found him is at my feet, I made it for Grover. Percy says he might not come back at all. Grover, Annabeth, and Percy are the closest friends I've had and they're leaving. I want Percy to stay.

"I want to be with my mom, Ara."

"I wish I had a family," I make a face.

Percy pats my hand, I would rather have him glaring, but Annabeth says he's got a soft spot for me. "I thought you were excited to work on the forges?"

I sigh, Percy's words are not enough to distract me. "If I had a family, I'd choose them over camp too," I hold his hand and squeeze it. "Have a good year, Nemo."

He shakes my hand. "Have a fun year, Birdy. Maybe you can come and spend Christmas with me and my mom?"

"You're giving me permission to annoy you outside camp?"

Percy grabs his glass of nectar and drinks from it. "Let's see who gets tired first."

Leo isn't as obnoxious as he pretends to be. He tells them about his connection to Hera, and the girl connects the dots. She doesn't want to use her empath touch on him, but she doesn't need to, Leo gets really quiet after telling his story and keeps his eyes ahead, no longer in the mood for jokes.

Ara process all the information she's gathered, to her it's obvious who the big bad is, but she does not dare to say it out loud, it would mean her future as the daughter of Olympus is bound to that stupid prophecy...

"You know something, don't you?" Piper asks as if reading Ara's thoughts.

Leo has fallen asleep in front of them so she speaks quietly, though she doesn't need to, the wind is loud enough to hide her voice. "Nothing that could make things better."

"Okay... I just want to say, you know... thank you," Piper squeezes her shoulder. "You must be dead worried about your brother..."

Ara senses dread in Piper, the girl isn't as calm as she appears to be. "He would've wanted me to come. Others are looking for him, so..." She isn't needed. At least here, she feels important. She's a protector, and she likes that these demigods respect her. "And Lily's looking after camp, so I'm not worried."

"Annabeth's sister?" Piper muses. "Is she another daughter of Olympus?"

"Something better," Ara smiles. "She's my best friend."

Lily Saggio is the newest and weirdest camper in this place. She's got pitch-black hair and big gray eyes. Since I came back from Percy's home, I've seen campers give her weary looks when she walks past, they say she's just like Thalia.

"Hi! I'm Ara!"

The girl regards me with distrust, then she glances at the table I was in. I feel like she ran a background check in less than five seconds. "Lily Saggio."

I'll have to carry the conversation. That's okay. "You're lucky you got here during winter and not summer! Where are you from?"

Lily stares at me pondering whether to talk or ignore me. "You're a year-rounder?"

"Yeah!"

"Why weren't you here last week?" I notice she's trying to hide an accent, but I do my best to act like I don't.

"I was invited to my friend's house. Look, he gave me this!" I show her my backpack, which is a teddy bear. I keep priceless things in it: my snacks and the legos Sally gave me as a Christmas/late birthday present.

"You can leave this place?" Lily's expression shifts.

"Not all the time," I pull Bear and rummage through him. "I promised I wouldn't leave Percy's apartment—and it was Christmas!"

Lily stands up straighter, looking defiant. "I can look after myself, I've fought monsters before," She pulls out a black dagger and shows it to me.

I gasp. "Where did you get that?"

"It showed up on my nightstand after my Nonna..." She pauses and shakes her head. "It's a gift from my patron, so I don't—"

"You don't like it here?" I pull out my box of Legos and Lily's eyes brighten at the sight. "Don't you wanna know who your parent is?"

She frowns. "I know who my dad is."

"Oh! You're an Ares kid? You don't look like Apollo but you'd make an interesting child of Hermes or Dionys—"

"I didn't mean that."

"You know your dad?" I ask, not following the conversation.

"Yes, my mortal parent," she rolls her eyes. "I don't care about the god. They didn't care about me."

To think that way will get her a step closer to joining Luke. I don't want that. "Do I look like I'm Aphrodite's child?"

"What?"

"Do I look it?" I insist.

"You're okay."

This is the first time anyone calls me okay. My brain goes: Well... duh!

"It hardly matters who your godly parent is, you'll grow to love it here," I lock arms with her and place my Legos on her hands. "I'm going to the forges, come and see."

"I don't need a chaperone—"

"You are sooo grumpy," I sigh. "No one would trust me to look after another camper. So!"

Lily waits for me to finish my sentence. "So?"

"They'll leave you alone if I'm with you, I'm not very popular either."

On our way to the forges, I hear a couple of Ares kids shout rude things at Lily, I step in to shut them up and they laugh so hard they forget about her.

"Go away," Lily scowls at me.

I pout a little. "I just wanted to help."

"I don't need you."

"I didn't do that thinking you—"

"I don't care," she clenches her fists. "Never do that again."

When they reach Boreas's palace, two of his children stop them. Zethes stares at the purple cloak covering her shoulders and his smile evaporates. "Ara Jackson."

She gives a start. "Hi. You know my name?"

"You killed Cacus!"

"Who?" Leo asks with amusement.

"It wasn't only me," Ara dismisses the comment. "Can we go in, then?"

Zethes doesn't look pleased. "You'll kill us if we don't let you?"

Ara shrugs. "Sure."

Leo leans closer as they fly down. "So if I get into a nasty fight, could you just smite my opponent? It'd be super helpful if I knew that beforehand..."

"Shut up," Ara scowls, but she's hiding a smile.

When they land, the Boreads get a little nervous about having Festus there. "No, no, no," Zethes points at it. "The dragon must be deactivated. We can't have fire in here. The heat ruins my hair."

Ara steps forward. "Stay away from the dragon, then."

"'S'okay, boy," Leo eases the automaton, giving her a reassuring nod. "The dragon's a little touchy about the whole deactivation concept. But I've got a better solution."

"Destroy?" Cal suggested.

"No, man. You gotta stop with the destroy talk. Just wait."

"Leo," Piper intervenes, "what are you—"

"Watch and learn, beauty queen. When I was repairing Festus last night, I found all kinds of buttons. Some, you do not want to know what they do. But others... Ah, here we go."

Leo sneaks his hand inside Festus's left paw and Ara hears a click, the dragon folds until it's a block of bronze. "Um... yeah. Hold on. I think—aha!" A handle pops up along with four wheels at the bottom. "Ta-da! The world's heaviest carry-on bag!"

"Cool!" Ara gets closer to examine it. Every time Leo gets that reaction out of her, he looks ready to throw himself off a rooftop.

"That's impossible," Jason exclaims. "Something that big couldn't—"

"Stop!" Zethes and his brother suddenly point their swords at Leo.

"Hey!" Ara makes her own weapon appear. "What's your problem?"

Leo raises his hands. "Okay... what'd I do? Stay calm, guys. If it bothers you that much, I don't have to take the dragon as carry-on—"

"Who are you? A child of the South Wind, spying on us?"

"What? No! Son of Hephaestus. Friendly blacksmith, no harm to anyone!"

"Smell fire," Cal gets closer. "Fire is bad."

"Oh. Yeah, well... my clothes are kind of singed, and I've been working with oil, and—"

"No!" Zethes tries to touch Leo but Ara keeps him away with her sword. "We can smell fire, demigod. We assumed it was from the creaky dragon, but now the dragon is a suitcase. And I still smell fire... on you."

Ara glances at Leo. He is hiding something. "Hey... look... I don't know—Guys, a little help?"

"Look, there's been a mistake. Leo isn't a fire guy. Tell them, Leo. Tell them you're not a fire guy," Jason says, which is not great.

"Um..." Leo's indecision makes Ara uneasy.

"Piper," she could do this, but it's better for her sister to get comfortable with her powers. "Talk some sense into these boys, please?"

The girl understands right away. "Zethes? We're all friends here. Put down your swords and let's talk."

"The girl is pretty," he hums, "and of course she cannot help being attracted to my amazingness; but sadly, I cannot romance her at this time."

"Destroy him now?"

"Sadly, I think—"

"No," Jason insists. "Leo's just a son of Hephaestus. He's no threat. Piper here is a daughter of Aphrodite. I'm the son of Zeus. We're on a peaceful..."

"What did you say?" Zethes snaps. "You are the son of Zeus?"

"Um... yeah," he pauses. "That's a good thing, right? My name is Jason."

"Can't be Jason," Cal says stupidly. "Doesn't look the same."

"No, he is not our Jason. Our Jason was more stylish. Not as much as me—but stylish. Besides, our Jason died millennia ago."

"Wait," the boy continues. "Your Jason... you mean the original Jason? The Golden Fleece guy?"

"Of course! We were his crewmates aboard his ship, the Argo, in the old times, when we were mortal demigods. Then we accepted immortality to serve our father, so I could look this good for all time, and my silly brother could enjoy pizza and hockey."

So many demigods gave up their mortality, and most of them had done it for such stupid reasons! Ara can't believe Percy's the exception to the rule, she's seen him push a pull door way too many times.

"Hockey!" Cal says happily.

"But Jason—our Jason—he died a mortal death. You can't be him."

"I'm not."

"So, destroy?"

"No," Zethes pouts. "If he is a son of Zeus, he could be the one we've been watching for. He's with Jackson, after all."

"Watching for?" Leo repeats. "You mean like in a good way: you'll shower him with fabulous prizes? Or watching for like in a bad way: he's in trouble?"

"That depends on my father's will," a girl's voice announces.

A brief flash of light comes out of Leo as soon as he sees the girl, but it's so short-lived Ara doesn't even distinguish its color. She scowls at him. Really? Right now? But she doesn't say anything out loud, she's the only one who can see those things anyway.

The goddess is asking Jason to join her father, apparently, he's got some judgment to make, but Leo is not allowed to come. Jason and Piper don't want to leave him, and Ara doesn't want to either, she doesn't trust Leo will stay put.

He smiles and obediently sits on top of Festus. "It's fine, guys. No sense causing trouble if we don't have to. You go ahead."

Again, Ara's intrigued. Half the time he's hyper and impatient and now he's just... half a smile that does not reach his eyes. She's never met anyone like him, someone made out of halves.

"Listen to your friend," the young goddess tells them. "Leo Valdez will be perfectly safe. I wish I could say the same for you. Now come, King Boreas is waiting."

Ara wants to sit and have a full-fledged conversation with Leo about his feelings and how he perceives the world, but she's lost practice. Before it was easy to pay attention to others, but Ara's obligations positioned her above many things, including day-to-day interaction with campers.

Lily's impression of me changes after Capture the Flag."This is your first time playing so don't worry, they won't notice you," I undo the clasp of her armor vest before she can stop me and fix it for her.

"What do you mean?" She frowns.

"You're new, they won't ask you to do anything."

She's deeply upset about this. "They should take advantage of all their assets!"

"We're not tools," I tilt my head with amusement. Lily's lived on the streets for far too long. "If you're so sure you can handle it, though... there's something I've always wanted to try."

She wavers. "What is it?"

"I think I can reach the flag faster than our leader. No one ever pays attention to me and it'd be really funny if we get there first instead of our Captain. What do you say?"

Lily makes a face. "That's not a plan."

"Are you a chicken, Saggio?" I don't know why I tease her, but she looks funny when she's angry.

"No!"

"A drachma says I can get to the flag before you can!" I sprint out of sight.

I hear her trying to catch up and that makes me giggle. I move as quickly as possible, but then, just when I'm reaching the limits, Lily comes out of nowhere and tackles me to the ground. We're both lifted in the air and end up hanging upside down from a tree.

"Why did you do that?" I complain. "We could've won!"

"I wasn't letting you get there first, you turned it into a competition!" She says. "What is this?"

"Rope. Beckendorf did it, so we're stuck here until someone finds us. Or so he says..."

"What do you mean?"

"These are designed for heavier demigods," I look up—down, actually—and follow the rope to see where it ends."I'll take your knife, the rope's tied in my direction."

"Turn us around!"

"Are any of your arms free?"

She groans, trying to release herself. "It's my knife!"

"You're bossy," I sigh. "Sit tight while I free us, boss."

I squirm for five whole minutes, but the rope's only getting tighter. Lily tries to stop me, but I'm not giving up. Finally, after a long struggle... Lily's dagger falls out of her belt.

She lets her head hang in defeat. "I'll scream."

"No!"

"Why not?" She presses. "There's nothing we can do!"

I was telling the truth when I said this was something I'd been planning to do for quite a while, but this is not how I wanted it to go. "We can't be seen like this, your rep will be ruined!"

Two arrows fly through the gap between us, one of them scratches us but we're released in less than a second. Lily lands sideways and I land on my back.

"Well, well..." a small boy walks up to us smirking. "Out of all the campers, I never thought they'd send you."

I smile sweetly. "Hey, bud, if you can find it in your heart to let us go..."

He seizes two new arrows from his quiver and points them at us. "Get up."

Lily sits up, immensely disappointed... so I start talking.

"Michael," I charmspeak him. "Hand me your bow." His shoulders relax and the arrows fall at his feet, then he gives me his bow.

"Che cosa..!" Lily whispers in shock.

"The quiver too," Michael hands it to me. I look at it, then at him. "Forget this happened and go to sleep." He drops to the ground, snoring loudly. "So..." I hand Lily the bow. "He caught me, you knocked him out and took his weapons before he could take me. Fair play."

The more agitated she gets, the more it stands out that accent she has. "Have you always been able to do that?"

"You were going to lose, and now you're going back with a prisoner. They'll give you a bigger role next time thanks to that."

"But I didn't do this!"

"So what?" I shrug. "Next time you'll do something better, that'll be enough to compensate for the lie. There is no honor in going down by charmspeak, Lily. You're tough and Michael's got a bad temper, it'll make both of you look good."

"But I'm..." I can't tell if she's angry or flustered. "I was stubborn, I don't deserve a win."

"I was pushing your buttons," I admit. "Please, Michael will prefer this over the truth."

Lily's not convinced. "And you?"

"Teach me to be quiet and we'll be even," I pick up her dagger.

"I wouldn't want you as my enemy," she seizes her weapon and places it on her belt. The gash Michael made on our wrists is bleeding, hers is on the left wrist and mine's on the right. "It's a deal."

Next Chapter ->

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @ash-the-hoarder @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen

#twoidiots writing #pjo fanfic #pjo hoo toa #pjo fandom #percy jackson #percy jackson and the olympians #leo valdez x oc #leo valdez fanfic #doo #heroes of olympus

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firetrucks-fastcars · 9 months

Note

What do you think danny would do/say about max being a menace in the twitch chat? 👀🤭

Not gonna lie, this one got away from me. I set this in the quartet verse because that's where I talk about this dynamic the most so apologies if that doesn't fit your vibe

Feel free to send me more of these little blurb prompts, I really enjoy them

Cross posted on ao3 here (just in case reading long posts on tumblr annoys you)

______________________________________________________________

When Daniel returned home from running errands, the door to Max’s office was shut. That wasn’t an unusual sight, he usually liked to clock out the noise of the cats while he was sim racing or keep the other three boys out of sight when he was streaming with Redline. Daniel was almost positive he didn’t have a stream scheduled today, but he still knocked lightly, the secret code they’d established upon all of them transitioning to living together in Max and Daniel’s apartment.

There was a moment of silence from the other side of the door before Daniel heard Max call, “Come in.”

Max was sitting at his sim setup, the title screen for one of his racing games pulled up on the monitor in front of him but no game running. Instead he was on his phone, grinning at what looked like a twitch stream.

“Hey Maxy,” Daniel stood behind him, squeezing his shoulders lightly and dropping a kiss to his head. “Whatcha doing?”

“I just wanted to drop into the boys stream for a minute,” Max explained, closing the app and locking his phone, placing it face down on the desk to turn in his chair and give Daniel his attention.

“Didn’t feel like streaming with them?”

“Not today. Lando and Charles will be home tomorrow, so I wanted to spend some time with just us tonight.”

“That sounds perfect baby,” Daniel pressed another kiss to his head and ran his fingers through his hair, ruffling where his headset had pushed it flat against his head. “I’m gonna go get started on dinner.”

“Okay. I’ll be out in a minute.”

Daniel padded into the kitchen and started pulling out the pre-portioned ingredients for their meal. He wasn’t much of a chef but he could follow the instructions written on the lid of the container. Max made his way into the main room while Daniel was sauteeing the vegetables and took a seat at the island. He immediately started up his stream of consciousness chatter, filling Daniel in on all that he had missed from Max’s day while he was out. Daniel always found it amusing that Max was usually so reserved but almost never shut up when it was just the two of them. He wasn’t even this talkative with Charles and Lando, though Daniel thought that had a bit to do with Lando having no filter and barely even shutting his mouth when he was asleep (Daniel loved him more than anything but he wondered how his jaw didn’t constantly hurt from moving so much).

Max was half-way through a story about Jimmy terrorizing Sassy, which was almost a daily occurrence, when his phone pinged with a message. When he saw that it was from Lando, he turned down the heat on the stove top and picked his phone up, still half listening to Max.

Muppet: look at what Max has been up to today (link)

Danny: realnamegucci?

Daniel furrowed his brows in confusion as he scrolled through the twitter (yes he refused to accept the rebrand) post Lando had sent him. It was a series of screenshots of increasingly unhinged comments in the chat of today’s Redline stream.

Muppet: crane accidentally on purpose exposed Max’s burner account

Danny: oh shit

Muppet: i think Maxy needs a spanking

Danny: is it your place to decide what Max needs

Muppet: no sir

Danny: good boy. now go to sleep it’s way too fucking late where you are

Muppet: yes danny

Muppet: but if you spank him at least video it for us

Danny: lando

Muppet: sorry

“Everything okay?”

Daniel looked up to see Max staring at him with his head tilted to the side like a confused puppy. He realized that he’d become completely absorbed in his conversation with Lando and stopped listening to what Max was saying to him.

“Sorry baby I got distracted. Just Lando being a menace.”

“So a normal Tuesday then?”

“Pretty much.”

“Anything important?”

“Nah, just a link to some twitter post he wanted me to see.”

“You know it is “X” now don’t you Daniel?”

“Fuck you, you know I don’t accept that shit.”

Max chuckled, then yelped as Daniel threw a wadded up paper towel at him, nearly falling off his stool in his attempt to dodge it.

Daniel plated their meals and sat Max’s in front of him, then joined him at the bar. MAx waited until Daniel had taken the first bite before digging into his own food.

“Good boy,” Daniel praised, reaching over to squeeze Max’s knee gently.

He hadn’t asked Max to be submissive tonight, but he loved the way his boy fell back into their old dynamic when it was just the two of them. He loved Charles and Lando and their relationship wouldn’t be complete without the two of them, but he missed Max’s submissive side sometimes and found it to be a crime that they didn’t have nearly enough time during the season for Max to sub like he used to.

They ate in comfortable silence, Max occasionally leaning in to bump his shoulder against Daniel’s. There was no pressure, since they hadn’t planned a scene, but he could tell Max was slipping slightly and seeking the contact for comfort. When their plates were cleared, Max stood up without being asked, taking both of their dishes and loading them into the dishwasher. He started the cycle, then pulled the cleaning spray from under the sink and gave the counters a quick wipe-down. He also filled both of their water bottles with fresh ice and water before standing in front of Daniel, waiting for further instructions.

“You’re being a good boy for me tonight Max. Is there something you want to talk to me about?”

At some point, Daniel had caught on to what Max was doing. He was owning up to the comments in the twitch chat without even knowing if Daniel knew about them.

“I may have done something today,” Max said quietly. “Something I probably shouldn’t have.”

“Alright,” Daniel kept his voice even. “Let’s go sit on the couch and talk about it then.”

Max nodded and Daniel took his hand gently, leading him to the living room. Daniel sat on the end of the chaise part of their sectional sofa and dropped a decorative pillow to the floor at his feet. Max didn’t need to be instructed to kneel, he did so of his own accord. He flipped open the straw to his water bottle and pressed it gently to Max’s lips.

“Drink.”

Max took a few small sips then pulled away. Daniel sat the bottle by their feet and looked down at Max.

“Tell me what you need to tell me, Maxy. The floor is yours, I’m here to listen.”

“While you were gone I was watching the Redline stream. But I watched it on my other account because I didn’t want anyone to know I was there and then start overwhelming the chat trying to talk to me. And Crane and the guys were making jokes so I joined in. Then Crane sort of told everyone it was me. I’m sorry Danny.”

“What did you make jokes about Max?”

“Kinks and stuff,” Max mumbled, dropping his chin.

Daniel didn’t allow it, pressed his fingers under Max’s jaw to make him raise his head.

“Why tell me Max? I didn’t watch the stream, I never would have known.”

“Because those things are private. They’re for us and I know that everyone is taking it as a joke because that’s all it was really. But I don’t want you to think that I think this is a joke.”

He couldn’t help but smile at Max’s earnesty.

“I know you don’t think this is a joke Max. Thank you for being honest with me, I’m very proud of you. Now I’m going to be honest with you. Lando sent me a post that showed all of your comments. I’m not angry, I thought it was funny, just like everyone else. But I’ll ask you this since you felt the need to come clean. Do you think you deserve a punishment?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” “Because I disobeyed a rule. Technically, one of the rules is to be careful what I say so that none of us gets caught and no one gets suspicious.”

“That is true. So what do you think I should do about it?”

“Spanking?”

“You know, that was also Lando’s suggestion.”

That made Max smile a little bit.

“Tell me your words baby, then I’ll talk you through my plan.”

“Green is everything is good, yellow is slow down and talk it through, red is stop immediately.”

“Very good boy. Now, I’m thinking twenty spanks with my hand. Standard and easy.”

“Green,” Max said dutifully when Daniel took a pause.

“I also want to video it. Lando asked and I think it would be fun to use a recording of you being spanked on him when he’s being a brat.”

“Green.”

“Very good boy. Wait here.”

Daniel stood from the couch and maneuvered to set his phone up on the tv stand to record the scene. Once he’d artfully fashioned one of their lamps into a tripod, he pressed record and made his way to sit back down in front of Max. He brushed the younger’s shoulder once as a single that the scene had started, then made himself comfortable.

“Over my lap Max.”

Max positioned himself so that his hips were over Daniel’s thighs and his chest was propped on the sofa. Daniel tugged his sweats and underwear down just enough that his ass and the tops of his thighs were exposed.

“Twenty spanks. Count them for me.”

Max counted right on cue as Daniel littered his skin with sharp hits. It wasn’t the intensity that he would have chosen for a harsher punishment, he didn’t feel that a few dumb jokes on a livestream were deserving of something too painful, but it was definitely enough to sting and he could feel Max’s pale skin growing warm under his palm. When twenty hits were up, he gave Max a moment to breathe before righting his pants and pulling him to sit.

“Let me go turn off the camera baby,” he said, tucking Max into the corner of the couch with his water bottle and a soft blanket draped over his lap.

The punishment wasn’t intense enough that he felt Max was in danger of sub-drop, but aftercare was still an important part of their routine. When he returned, Max had drained half of his water and was sitting comfortably waiting for him.

“Feel better now,” Daniel asked, joining him under the blanket and pulling his head to rest on his shoulder.

“Yes. Though now I’m angry at Lando for ratting me out. I should spank him when he gets home tomorrow.”

“Unfortunately it’s not a punishment when they enjoy it.”

“Fair enough.”

“Come on, let’s go lay down. It’s our last night with as much room as we want.”

“As much as I like being able to breathe without getting hair in my nose, I really do miss Charles and Lando.”

“Yeah, me too.”

*****

“Honey, I’m home!”

Lando announced his presence upon arrival to the apartment.

“Bedroom!” Max called back, sushing Charles quietly when he stirred at the noise. As soon as he’d gotten home, Charles had dragged them to bed, not pausing to hear any protests. He’d sworn he was going to stay awake to wait for Lando, but that had gone out the window about five minutes after his head hit the pillow. So Max and Daniel had spent the better part of the morning snuggling Charles and waiting for their fourth partner to join them.

Lando had already stripped himself of his outer layers by the time he reached them and stopped only to shimmy out of his sweats before joining them in only his underwear and a t-shirt. He wedged himself between Daniel and Max, laying mostly on top of the latter so he could prop his chin on his chest.

“Hi,” he smiled, flashing the gap between his teeth.

“Hello to you too,” Max greeted, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

Lando turned to kiss Daniel, then manipulated his body into the strangest shape Max had ever seen to kiss the top of Charles’s head before settling again.

“So,” he grinned up at Max mischievously. “How was your spanking?”

“Lando,” Daniel, swatted his ass playfully. “Leave him alone.”

“Did you film it at least? We never get to see Max get put in his place,” he pouted. “You always pick on us.”

“That’s because you’re a brat,” Max said, pinching him lightly.

“Hey!”

“Both of you hush,” Daniel said. “You’re going to wake Charles.”

That put both of them to rest, knowing there would be hell to pay if Charles was woken before he was ready. It was silent for a few moments when Max leaned in to whisper in Lando’s ear.

“Don’t worry baby boy, Daniel recorded it. We’re just saving it for something special.”

Daniel groaned and tugged Lando back into his chest to put some separation between the two of them.

“Menaces, all of you.”

#formula 1 #formula 1 rpf #my works #max verstappen #daniel ricciardo #maxiel #quartet verse

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conquerthenight · 1 year

Text

This concept won’t leave my brain so here’s my full list of songs and scenes in Rebecca that I’d put Lydia in if she were canon. I’m going to refer to these songs with the titles and lyrics from my fan translation.

Last Night I Dreamt of Manderley

This song has virtually no changes. Lydia will be part of the shadow ensemble and cross the stage from the opposite wing as Mrs. Danvers when Ich sings “I could feel her ghost…rose to do what’s right”. While Danny gives Ich a menacing glare on Ich’s right side, Lydia will end up on Ich’s left and look up at her as if she’s pleading. The rest of the shadows will circle in on Ich with Lydia and Danny off the side at the edge of the huddle, but on opposite sides as if they’re leading the charge. Lydia, Danny, and the shadows will disperse as Ich sings “I was only 21…in Monte Carlo”

The Second Mrs. de Winter

This would be where Lydia makes her first true entrance into the plot. I purposefully left her out of Monte Carlo to emphasize the distance between her and Maxim, but Maxim will mention her briefly after Ich tells him her parents are dead by inserting a line (“I have a sister, a daughter, and an ancient grandmother, but none of them make for companionship”) that’s mostly taken directly from the novel. She would enter with Danny by following her down the stairs. Danny’s big entrance bit will be split with Lydia. Lydia would sing a few lines after Danny sings “For me no one will e’re replace the only Mrs. de Winter”about her nerves about what Ich will be like and/or her hope that Maxim finding love again will make him less distant to her (“My mother’s lying in the crypt. Another comes to Manderley. But will he come back finally changed ever?”). She’ll then stand against the bottom of the stairs because she doesn’t want to get in everyone’s way. The rest of the song would proceed as written with Frank and Danny, the newlyweds entrance, etc. with the exception of a quick introduction by Maxim between Lydia and Ich. Lydia would follow Ich, Danny, and Clarice up the stairs, but she would stop at the middle flight and sing the last verse with the staff (“What a surprise, she’s quite shy…how she fares as the second Mrs. de Winter”) and exit as the ensemble sings “We’ll have to take her as she is…second Mrs. de Winter”

She’s Still Here With Me

I explained the bare concept of this one in the post I linked above, but here is how I would stage it. As stated in the aforementioned post, this will be a duet between Danny and Lydia. The stage would be split between the morning room on stage right, and another seperate room on stage left. One of Lydia’s hobbies is playing the piano, so I would incorporate that into the song. She would play the beginning intro. The keys would face away from the audience so the hypothetical child actor wouldn’t need to actually know how to play and could just fake it, similarly to how the Phantom fake plays the Don Juan melody before “I Remember/Stranger Than You Dreamt It”. She would then step away into a spotlight to sing her verse because she’s distracted and frustrated by her inability to concentrate. While Danny sings the bridge, she would slump against the piano as the spotlight fades away. During the bridge, the set will change to the full on morning room with the lights fully on Danny, giving Lydia time to quickly exit and then reenter through the door to the morning room. Lydia and Danny will come together during the final chorus, standing on either side of the orchid pot and looking away from each other. After the final line, they’ll look at each other, Danny will sigh like Pia did in the Stuttgart production.

The Morning Room

Lydia prepares to exit, but as she does so, Ich enters as normal. Both are startled by the unexpected sight of the other. Danny notices this and tells Lydia to stay solely because she thinks Ich will be uncomfortable with Lydia being there while she makes a show of showing off all Rebecca’s things. Ich shoots Lydia a few confused looks as Danny predicted, and Lydia, believing Danny is just showing Ich the ropes, tells her to “go along with it” and that “Danny is just sentimental”. Remember to keep in mind we aren’t aware of Rebecca’s true nature until much later, so Lydia will constantly be tiptoeing around any mention or hint of past abuse and how she feels about everyone else’s opinions about Rebecca until after Maxim’s confession. Anyways, Danny says the line about how Ich “would like to write your correspondence now” and tells Lydia to follow. Lydia does this, but she pauses for a moment to glance back at Ich as if to wish her luck. She sees the cupid get broken and runs offstage to greet Beatrice and Giles. This exchange still happens offstage and is mostly the same as written, except when Bea asks where her new sister in law is, Lydia is the one to tell her aunt and uncle that she’s in the morning room.

Do You Love Me/I’m So Sorry

Ich and Maxim will be playing chess in the library. Off the side Lydia will be reading a book. When Maxim says “Blast, I underestimated you”, Lydia will look over at them and make a joking comment about how “someone finally beat him”, making Ich laugh and tease Maxim by asking “What do I get for winning?” Lydia doesn’t actually sing during the song, but just sits there listening intently to the conversation between her father and stepmother. Ich brings up the costume ball and that she thinks it would be a good idea to host it. Lydia chimes in agreeing with Ich and says she hopes Maxim will actually dress up this year. Again, we’ll insert a line from the novel but with a slight change (“You know I never dress up, it’s the one perk I insist on”). Danny enters and they talk about the cupid. Ich and Lydia share a knowing look, with Ich making some sort of gesture to imply she doesn’t want Lydia to say anything. Ich confesses to breaking the cupid and Lydia insists it was an accident because she doesn’t want Danny to be mad. Maxim is annoyed by this and tells Lydia to leave because “the adults are talking”. “I’m So Sorry” is the same as written.

Help Me Face The Night

As with “She’s Still Here With Me” the concept and additional lyrics were explained in the post I linked. Instead of Ich being in her bedroom, she’ll be on the staircase during this song and sing her verse. Maxim won’t leave the stage at all and will remain in the library pacing while the set slowly changes around him. The lights will dim on his part of the stage and when they come up on him again he’ll be leaning against the chair Lydia was sitting in in the previous scene. During his verse he’ll sit down and remain sitting for the rest of the song. Lydia will be in her bedroom, replacing Ich’s original blocking. The key will change to add an additional verse for her. The three of them will all sing the final chorus together. Ich and Maxim sing mostly in unison until the last line (with an opt up for Maxim on “Can you find me a future?”, specifically on the word future because my friend did that in our version and it’s chef’s kiss). Lydia will harmonize with them to show how she feels separated, but will sometimes end up on the same note as either Ich or Maxim because at her core she wants the same thing as they do, but in a familial sense instead of a romantic one. If anyone wants to hear how Lydia’s harmony would sound, click on this link.

Rebecca’s Room (before Rebecca I)

Lydia and Ich will enter Rebecca’s room together because they both heard Favell and Danny arguing during “She Was Attractive”. Lydia enters first on the grounds that she knows who’s in the room with Danny and Ich is nervous. Favell doesn’t notice Ich at first. He looks at Lydia, chuckles, and says “Oh, it’s just you” and right after that, he notices Ich. Danny introduces Ich and Favell. He asks Ich and Lydia not to tell Maxim he was at Manderley. Lydia offers to lead him out because she doesn’t want to be in her dead mother’s room any longer than necessary. Thus, she does not hear Danny’s suggestion that Ich dress up as Caroline de Winter.

She’s Gone

The first part of the song is the same, Ben is alone on stage. There’s some offstage dialogue between Lydia and Ich (Ich: “Where does that lead to?” Lydia: “The beach, but we shouldn’t go there” Ich: “Why not?”) and she goes down the boathouse stairs before Lydia can answer. Lydia hesitantly follows behind her. Ben sees them, he knows Lydia and they are friendly with each other. He asks Lydia who “the strange woman” is. Lydia introduces Ich as her stepmother and deliberately pauses before going to tell Ben Ich’s first name, but Ich cuts in during the pause with her “Hello, I’m Mrs. de Winter” line which will create a nice little fake out for the audience. Haha, you thought you’d get a name reveal 😈. The dialogue is mostly the same as written, with Lydia inserting a line here and there (ex. Ich asks if Ben lives in the boathouse and Ben tells Ich that no one’s allowed in there. Ich says it looks nice to which Lydia reiterates that no one’s allowed in there). Every time Ben mentions Rebecca, Lydia looks visibly upset. Ich assumes that this is just because Lydia feels bad that Ben’s afraid of being put into an asylum and that she misses Rebecca and doesn’t want to be reminded of how she died. The song ends and Maxim calls out from offstage.

“You’re Scaring Me” (before Please, My God)

Ich stays where she is but Lydia immediately runs up the stairs so Maxim doesn’t see that she was near the boathouse. She makes it about halfway but stops because Maxim appears right in front of her. He asks what they were doing at the beach. Lydia tries to explain but can’t get the words out because she knows her father is pissed. Ich takes the hint and says that Lydia was just showing her around. Maxim asks if they went into the boathouse. Ich and Lydia both insist they didn’t. Maxim glares at Lydia and yells at her (“You know I hate that damned boathouse. Why did you bring her here? Go back to the house!”). Maxim allows Lydia to pass him and she hurries up the stairs. Maxim goes up to Ich as she asks about the buoy. He then yells at her and gets in her face. “Please, My God” is completely the same as written.

Before Rebecca (Act 1 Finale)

Lydia sneaks into the ballroom unnoticed by the guests during the play out of “I’m an American Woman”. Frith announces Ich’s entrance. Ich comes down the stairs in the Caroline de Winter costume. Lydia is the first to see Ich’s costume and screams. This alerts Maxim and he looks over at Lydia. Lydia gestures to Ich and Maxim looks up at his wife. He drops his champagne glass and it shatters as he sees the costume. Beatrice, Giles, Mrs. Van Hopper, and all the other guests then notice what’s wrong. Beatrice whispers inaudibly to Giles. Giles ushers a traumatized Lydia offstage as it’s revealed that Rebecca wore the same costume last year.

She’s Gone (Reprise I)

Prior to this scene, Lydia was woken up by the rockets during “Just One Step”. She sings this song in unison with Ben from offstage, her vocals will either have been prerecorded or she’ll just be standing in the wings with her microphone on. She will not be present during “You Still Love Her” or “Why Do I Still See That Smile” as I want to keep it so that Ich is the only one who knows Maxim killed Rebecca.

Why Do I See That Smile

As mentioned above, Lydia isn’t present in this song. However she will be mentioned in it. During the part where Maxim recalls Rebecca’s “pregnancy” reveal, he’ll quote Rebecca, but instead of “Who would know it wasn’t yours? It would be mine of course and when you’re gone, Manderley will be his” she’ll have said “I’ll give you a true heir…will be his”. The line about how Maxim “will always be a fool” will include Lydia (“You’ll both stay as you are. The perfect little fools”). The rest of the song is the same as written. The dialogue after with Maxim and Ich will include additional lines (“I already failed Lydia. I couldn’t watch her put another one through all that. It’s over, Rebecca has won”).

Free Now

I know that this song was only added in for London, but I felt it would make sense for it to be here with Lydia as a character. The scene would be set back in the house. Before the song, Ich and Lydia will have a brief conversation where Ich tells Lydia that she knows what Rebecca was really like, but she will not mention that Maxim killed her. The song will start with Ich singing the first verse and chorus as written. Lydia will sing the next verse with only one change (instead of “He did not love Rebecca. He never loved Rebecca” she’ll sing “She knows now of Rebecca! I won’t hide from Rebecca!”). Ich sings “I will fight for him, making all things right for him”. Instead of what’s written, Lydia sings “I won’t let the shadows silence me. Reach out and speak again. It’s time they see.” Ich sings “Because I’m free now. Free to be with him” Lydia sings “No more me now. It will be us, it will be we”. They both sing the last line (“We’re together, we’re free”) and embrace.

They Left At Eight

Unchanged apart from Lydia is listening on the stairs with the staff and sings with the ensemble.

The Revelation (This Was All Just A Game)

Lydia enters the library while Maxim is talking to Ich on the phone. Frank asks what Dr. Baker said. Maxim asks Lydia to come over to them because he wants her to know what’s up too. The song is the same as written. Maxim reveals Rebecca was dying from cancer, and instead of Frank saying that this explains her suicide, Lydia asks if that means her mother killed herself. Maxim says “Yes, she wanted to end her life” aloud, but mutters “…and destroy mine” under his breath.

I Hear Your Voice (Rebecca Final Reprise)

Lydia passes Danny on the stairs. This is another duet between them. Lydia sings “I hear your voice…words you said”. Danny sings “Our lives were one…betrayed me”. Lydia goes up the stairs while singing the word “Rebecca” with the ensemble. She is offstage for the rest of the song and thus doesn’t know Danny plans to commit arson.

Conquer The Night

I was heavily debating whether to put Lydia in this song because it’s the love duet between Ich and Maxim, but ultimately I decided to do throw her in because I didn’t want her at Manderley during the fire. She enters with Maxim and they wait for Ich at the train station. She and Maxim are awkward with each other because they haven’t been alone post confession and don’t know how to interact now that everything’s out in the open. Lydia sees Ich and calls out to her. The three of them hug. Maxim looks at Ich and tells her she was so strong. Instead of Ich saying “It’s finally over”, Lydia says that line. Maxim doesn’t say that Rebecca “wanted to make me a murder and almost succeeded” because Lydia doesn’t know that a murder even happened. Instead he affirms that it’s over but he can’t get Rebecca’s smile out of his head. Ich says “She can’t harm us anymore” and the song begins. The format of the song is in the linked post. Since they’re unified now, Lydia won’t have a separate harmony with the exception of in the final line (“You’ve shown me what love can do”) because I like the chord it makes.

Manderley’s On Fire

The ensemble part at the beginning is the same as written. Lydia runs on stage with Ich and Maxim. Frank sings his part. Lydia sings the ensemble part that underscores Frank. Frank and Ich run off and one of them motions for Lydia to go with them. Lydia does, but stops as soon as Maxim starts singing (“The house I loved…burning lost for good”). Lydia sings “But with the house…haunts me, haunts me”. She and Maxim meet in the middle of the stage to sing the last part (“Oh my god…there’s no escape”). Just for some added angst, they stay for just a second longer than as written. The debris starts to fall and Maxim pushes Lydia offstage and out of the way before running off himself.

Last Night I Dreamt Of Manderley (Reprise)

Unchanged until the very end of the song. Instead of just Maxim being revealed after the ensemble disperses, Lydia is there too, but she’s older now because the epilogue will be set 5-8 years into the future. The actress playing Clarice will double as the older Lydia. Lydia places Ich’s hand in Maxim’s similarly to the scene in Disney’s Hunchback where Quasimodo does the same thing with Esmeralda and Phoebus. It’s her way of reaffirming that she accepts their relationship and more importantly has moved past Rebecca’s shadow. Ich and Maxim kiss as usual, then the three de Winters take hands and face away from the audience. They take a few steps upstage because “walking to the future cliché” is cute and the curtain closes.

Bonus: During the curtain call, Lydia will bow after Favell and before Danny

#no one asked #but i don’t care #i’m doing it anyway #rebecca das musical #rebecca the musical #but lydia exists #rebecca oc #lydia de winter #ich #maxim de winter #mrs danvers #jack favell #beatrice lacy #giles lacy #frank crawley #edit: added lydia’s lyrics in ‘second mrs de winter’

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al-n-cartoons · 1 year

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I did not, in fact, do school work.

“Hey, Al, what’re the relationships in A Story Told?”

Excellent question!

Ben’s in an open relationship with Ed. Ben is either pan or bi (undecided) whereas Ed is demiromantic and asexual.

Ben is quietly omnigender but prefers he/him pronouns. He will use any pronoun or gendered title he can fit into a pun or joke. He started leaning hard on his masc attributes after someone implied to him that he was too obviously Not Cis-Hetero (this is pre-gay-marriage America).

Ed is proudly agender and uses kit/kits pronouns. Kit is alright with people using they/them on kit and is willing to join Ben in the closet when around Ben’s family and coworkers.

Ed comes from somewhere wherein gay rights are a given and kit thinks the political sphere Ben comes from is philosophically archaic.

Ben and Rex are two buds with massive competitive streaks and spend a lot of their time together bantering. Sometimes they fight or bicker but at the end of the day, they have each other's backs. They try dating for a short stint but Rex realizes he’s heteroromantic so the two omit romance from the picture.

Rex and Ed don’t click. At all. They respect one another and care about a lot of the same people, but their friendship is heavily reliant on the two not interacting too much.

Danny and Ben are on friendly terms and find allyship in each other. However, both identify the obvious conflict of interest in being around one another too often (as it’s a risk for Danny’s identity being discovered). They come to play a fake game of cat and mouse where Ben, someone seen by the public as a clear hero, presents as a faux nemesis to Phantom, whom the populace view to be a menace. In actuality, this is an act of cunning as it allows for Danny to more easily escape and hide in plain sight. Ben also gives Danny (et co.) advice on avoiding attention and preventing discovery.

These two sometimes spar together for the heck of it.

Side note: Danny is genderfluid. Her predominant pronouns are “he” and “it” but they use different ones all the time.

Ed and Tucker are buds. Tucker helps Ed figure out modern technology, Ed explains alchemy, the two are a menace to all things creative.

Ed and Sam are also buds. These two spend most of their time together grieving the recklessness of their boyfriends (save for Tucker, who doesn’t spend his time being shot at).

Sam, Tucker, and Danny are obviously a wholesome, mutually supportive polycule. I dare you to defy me.

Ben and Sam can get on one another’s nerves but generally get along.

Rex and Danny don’t know one another too well but eventually become long distance friends.

Tucker and tech are a match made in heaven, obviously. With Ben’s funds and Rex’s resources, Tucker begins making more gadgets and is slowly catching up on the Fentons.

Tucker goes on to use the loophole of Anything on Ed Remains to create a group chat across their bundle of realities. Ed hates having to unearth the secret of Using a Touch Screen but enjoys having infinite access to Google Maps.

Ben and Rook start out on iffy terms but eventually become amicable…? Their relationship can best be described as an uneasy truce; Ben isn’t the all powerful, extremely professional partner whom Rook was promised and a partner and full time internship isn’t something Ben had been told he was getting until maintaining them was suddenly expected of him.

Rook begrudgingly realizes that he’s been tasked with babysitting what turned out to be the human equivalent of an adolescent, superpowered though Ben may be.

Ben tries to establish boundaries with Rook or otherwise just refuse the partnership outright but (1) is unable to work alone and (2) feels bad for ditching Rook.

Max and Ben: Max assigned Rook to Ben because he doesn’t want Ben to be left alone in Gwen and Kevin’s absence. He’s worried about Ben’s emotional wellbeing and social development and his best solution is to give Ben someone who can watch his back when on the field (and generally keep up with him).

Max is disappointed when Ben initially rejects Rook and tells Ben that he needs to be more responsible.

Ben and Lucy are somewhat estranged and generally don’t interact too much. When they do, they have fun, but there’s an underlying awkwardness the two can’t shake.

Ben and Gwen are estranged and in denial about that fact.

Ben and Sunny were never close but start to find themselves venting to one another about their woes. Sunny is considered a bad influence and she does bring out aspects in Ben that his family find undesirable, but it’s the most honest relationship Ben has in his family (or from his reality) so the two continue chatting together on-and-of.

After Ben eventually leaves (dude runs away), Sunny is the only person he keeps in touch with.

Ben and Verdona: Ben doesn’t have “the spark” and thus Verdona is uninterested in this grandchild. He makes some good jokes, that’s nice.

Carl and Ben: After Verdonna left the family because her children didn’t have “The Spark”, Carl set out to have his own ordinary family of perfectly ordinary people. Carl’s desire for normalcy bleeds out in his expectations for Ben’s extracurriculars, academic performance, social life, self expression, etcetera. When Ben turns out not to be normal in terms of a learning disability (severe ADHD), Carl is rather understanding. At first. He decides that, if his son isn’t academically talented, sports should be the way to go. Ben is okay at them and rather enjoys soccer but, for some reason, he just can’t seem to last as long as his peers. He runs out of breath faster and never seems to catch it. His chest often hurts from the heavy humid air but maybe he can be a good goalie?

Carl instills the ableistic mentality that disability is inherently shameful and that they are something that must not be discussed openly. It is okay to have a disability and to need medicine so as to be normal, but one cannot let others onto the fact that he isn’t normal.

Ben comes to develop early onset bipolar, Carl helps Ben figure out a good treatment regimen (medically supervised). Then Ben comes to be the bearer of some intergalactic megaweapon that turns him into aliens??? And Carl can’t get the thing off??? Then Ben says he’s anemic??? What- No, those are a few steps too far, stop it.

Ben does not magically stop being a public figure. Also, his blood doesn’t care about keeping up appearances (much to Carl’s chagrin).

The two progressively drift apart over the years.

Sandra and Ben have a somewhat similar relationship as that between Carl and Ben, emphasis on the somewhat. Like Carl, Sandra believes it is important that her son be normal. Unlike Carl, she believes that her son is a perfectly healthy, perfectly happy person because why wouldn’t her son be? He doesn’t need pills or doctors, those are just wastes of money that change her son from what he truly is.

When young, newly-diagnosed-with-ADHD-Ben doesn’t have the reaction to Adderall that Carl hoped for, Sandra cemented her belief that the pharmaceutical industry is a scam (and an accusation that she’s failed as a parent).

Sandra leans hard on alternative treatments; sports, yoga, herbs, herbal supplements (not from pharmacies ‘cause big pharma).

Sandra takes Ben off of his mood stabilizers (and then Ultimate Alien happened).

Did I end on a bummer note? I think I ended on a bummer note. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh… Drew Saturday basically adopts Ben? Ben starts seeing Dr. Holiday and gets back into a good regimen for maintaining his health? Ed punches abelists in the face with his metal fist? Enter funny tidbit here?

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black-rose-writings · 1 year

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Season 2 - Episode 7

Official title: The Fenton Menace

AKA:The fentons are having a normal one

Villain of the week: Danny's creeping sanity loss (Just kidding, it's ghost pirates)

Road trip time, I guess.

Also, I do believe this is the first time either of the parents are out of the jumpsuits... I think I need context.

I am getting the feeling that this is "bad life choices, the show".

Ah, yes, nothing like repeating your semi-murderous plans in front of your clearly uncomfortable child.

Like, completely ignoring Danny's ghost stuff, I'm pretty sure the general consencus is, if something is bothering your child, either find out why or try not to do it or both.

I am kinda curious if there are invisible ghosts or if Danny is really just going a little nuts.

Nevermind, it's ghost pirates.

Hell yeah. Be a kid for once.

Also, did they not already hash out that she knows he's a ghost(ish)?

"I'd rather not say" oh no.

#danny phantom #rose watches danny phantom

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redgoldblue · 2 years

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hozier & lake street dive titled ones please heehee 🍓

love won't you be as you've always been (Good Omens)

I refuse to acknowledge that this one may well never come to completion/publication because i love it too much. it's set a couple weeks post-canon (book canon, ignoring anything that may happen in show s2) when Crowley and Aziraphale decide to go on their first proper date only none of their ideas for Proper Date Activities People Do On Dates work out until they finally go 'fuck it let's go watch the ducks'. it has footnotes.

“This is fine. Thisss is fine. Right?”

When there was no reply, Crowley directed a menacing stare and an equally menacing mister at the plant he was talking to. “Right?”

It wobbled slightly in response.

“Ssss.”

Crowley was definitely not nervous, because demons didn’t get nervous, especially not Anthony J. Crowley.[1] And especially not about spending time with someone he had been spending time with for approximately 6000 years. However, he had been hovering in the greenhouse for the last 20 minutes, before which he had been hovering in front of his closet. And the plants were all rather unsettled by the way in which he’d been talking to them, namely, with very little authority and a lot of questions. Most of which he then answered himself, but nevertheless. These were trying times for plants which couldn’t communicate beyond the occasional leaf shudder.

[1] This was a lie. Anthony J. Crowley got nervous every time he jaywalked.

you're in a state of disrepair, you're an answer to my prayers (H50)

heh. well. i've been talking about this one in tags and dms (to people who care about h50) for. a while now. it's currently almost 16k and i'm predicting will probably be 25-30k when it's done which will not be until mid-2023 at the earliest so i will continue seizing any opportunity to ramble about it until then bc it is like a spouse or a neurological infection to me at this point. I've given the basic premise on here before but essentially it's... an unspecified amount of time but probably something like a couple of months post-canon, Steve's still on his Mental Health Trip with Cath when he passes out and gets hospitalised while they try to figure out which of his myriad medical issues caused it. Danny, obviously, flies out bc to quote Steve in it, "When have I ever gone home without you coming to get me?” (although, also to quote Steve later in the same conversation, “I would’ve come home to you anyway.”). They spend basically the entire thing pretending to be a couple in front of the medical staff and pretending not to be a couple in front of friends and family. the latter is much more of a pretense and they're much worse at it. as shown in the two snippets below:

(1)

[...] Danny turns to the nurse, and tells her, “Sorry.” He’s not sure specifically what it’s for, but he’s pretty certain she deserves some sort of apology for having to witness all that.

She smiles and shakes her head. “It’s fine. It seemed to keep his BP steady and lowering, actually.”

“Really?” He doesn’t wait for an answer, just turns back to Steve. “You’re fucked in the head, boy.”

Steve laughs, easy and loose, and pulls Danny closer by the front of his t-shirt. Danny moves with it, because it’s easier than the alternative and also maybe because he wants to be closer, and ends up sitting on the bed next to him. “Yeah,” Steve says, “I’m sure hearing that your partner loves you inevitably raises most people’s blood pressure.”

“That’s not-” Danny says, then gives up before he can even start trying to explain what he meant. Steve knows, anyway, he’s just being difficult. And anything that helps get him through medical crisis number two thousand and three can only be a good thing. “Yeah, okay. If I keep saying it, do you think it will keep bringing it down?”

“Can’t hurt.”

Danny rests his left hand on the back of Steve’s neck, holding him steady, and says, “I love you,” before kissing the top of his head. “I love you,” he repeats, and kisses him again. “I love you.”

(2)

“What’s wrong with your shoulder?”

“Landed on it when I fell,” Steve explains, and wipes the wince from his face like that’ll get Danny to forget about it. “It’s fine, just bruised.”

“Let me see.” He’s already reaching over, so Steve’s faint, “The doctors already looked at it,” falls on, if not deaf, at least uncaring ears. It’s not like he makes any move to stop Danny from pushing the stylish little number that is his hospital gown off the shoulder in question. Everyone here’s seen it all already.

He wasn’t kidding about the bruise. It’s spread across the peak of his shoulder, stopping just above his tattoo, and it’s starting to come up purple. Even apart from how painful it looks by itself, it suddenly drives home the fact that Steve had fallen. This wasn’t a staggering collapse kind of a bruise, it was passing out, all the way into unconsciousness.

“They gave me painkillers,” Steve says, and Danny realises he’s skimming his fingers across the edges of it. He pulls his hand back, an apology on his lips, but Steve reaches up and takes hold of his hand before it’s halfway across his chest. “It’s okay,” he tells Danny.

Danny accepts that Steve had heard what he hadn’t actually said yet, and clarifies, “I wasn’t gonna say sorry for wanting to see it. I just thought touching it might have hurt. That’s a motherfucker, Steve.”

“Yeah, I think that was what the doctor put in the file. ‘During bout of syncope, patient sustained a motherfucker.’”

Danny laughs, and Steve smiles at him, muted and warm and satisfied, and lets go of his hand.

When Danny looks away from Steve’s smile, Cath is watching them with an odd expression.

“What?” Danny asks.

She shakes her head. “Nothing. I heard you’ve been living in Steve’s house.”

send me a wip name and i'll tell you things about it/present a snippet! show and tell!

#Hawaii Five 0 #Good Omens #Ineffable Husbands #McDanno #state of disrepair #my writing #babe should i make your tag a strawberry emoji i feel like i should make your tag a strawberry emoji #🍓#mine

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world-cinema-research · 1 year

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"THE SHINING" Stanley Kubrick, 1980

Nicole Daniels

Re-watching "The Shining," produced by Stanley Kubrick and initially written by Steven King left me as chilled to the bone as Jack Torrance in the final scene. The beginning of the film shows Jack, played by Jack Nicholson on his way to his interview to be the winter keeper of The Overlook hotel. One thing I didn't pick up on before is the menacing music in the opening scene, setting the tone for the film. There are films today that are similar to The Shining, but it paved the way for the horror and frightening idea of a parent or place being able to take control of someone enough to hurt their family. It reminded me of the newer show "American Horror Story, Hotel". The Washington post mentions that the film may not be Kubrick's "best," but that it Kubrick had the intention of appealing to a larger demographic. Stating "The Shining" is not Kubrick's greatest film or his greatest gamble, but it is his most ambitious attempt to connect with a mass audience (Washington Post, 1980). This quote was written before the movie was released however. With big names, such as Jack Nicholson it would be considered a conventional film, but the interesting way that Kubrick segments the movie into days of the weeks, or one scene, for instance, being titled, "the interview" did give it an unconventional feel as well, as well as the mystic and lack of resolution. Below is the Washington Post article.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/06/01/the-shining/2f44872d-260b-4ec9-8384-74b7bae90303/

The Shining was not the largest hit that year in terms of box office but as stated by Yardbarker "... it was enough of a success to be a hit. Kubrick made the film for $19 million, and its worldwide box office was $47 million". Which seemed to be the intention behind the film from Kubrick's perspective. This Yardbarker quote is in the link below, as well as an interesting list of facts about "The Shining".

Below is a clip of Jacks initial interview with Mr. Ullman. In this scene Jack is told of the caretaker of The Overlook before him, a man by the name of Mr. Charles Grady. Mr. Grady lost his mind, (for unknown reasons,) possibly isolation Ullman states. He candidly tells Jack that Mr. Grady ended up murdering his wife and two girls and then taking his own life. Jack seems unfazed and certain that will not happen to him. The candor and calm of Ullman and Jack struck me, almost as if there is something that we don't know as the viewer.

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Another thing that stood out to me that I missed when I saw the film in the past was that Danny spoke to his finger, or as he called him "Tony" from the beginning of the film, before entering the hotel. There is a scene in which Danny's therapist asks his mother about Tony. Wendy, Jacks wife and Danny's mom, (played by Shelley Duvall,) says that Tony is an imaginary friend. Wendy does however tell a story of Jack dislocating Danny's arm while he was drunk, also stating that it lead to Jack to become sober. Although Danny merely refers to Tony as the "boy that lives in [his] mouth." This can be foreshadowing into Jack's demons that he may possess and Danny's trauma and potential mental instability as well. The photo below is of Danny talking to Tony in their home while Jack is in the interview. Danny from the beginning seems hesitant and afraid of the hotel, even having a vision of blood and gore before they get there.

Once they are at the hotel, they are shown around by a man named Mr. Hallorann, played by Scatman" Crothers. While in the pantry the camera zooms in on a can of baking powder adorned with a picture of a Native American in a headdress. I found this interesting because upon the Torrance's arrival they are told that the hotel was built on Indian land and that battles actually ensued during its construction, possibly alluding to a haunting for this reason. While taking a tour of the hotel Mr. Hallorann has a talk with just Danny, telling Danny that he has a gift which his own grandmother called "the shine". Holloran also claims to have this gift and it changes the dynamic of the film for me. The ability to see these things may be something that Jack himself possessed, but his own demons may have created a dark embracing of the visions rather than the fear that Danny had in the film. One 1980 critic perfectly described the feel and questions that I have surrounding the mystic or reasons for this hotels power. Stating that, "The Shining, the now-iconic horror film about isolation, domestic violence, and the bad places in the world that call to broken people."

In one scene Jack falls off the wagon, begging to drink again, this seems to be the point where his real unraveling begins. He begins drinking with a bartender in the hotel named Lloyd, although He, Wendy and Danny are the only ones in the hotel. At another point Jack is in a room filled with people drinking and partying in the gold room, all in period pieces. Their clothing looks to date at around the time the hotel was built, around 1907 give or take. In another scene Jack spills a drink on himself and what seems like a butler or bathroom attendant, helps to clean him up. We find that this butler is the "apparition" of Mr. Grady, the man who killed his wife and daughters. Grady eerily tells Jack that in order to control his family that they may "perhaps need a good talking to...perhaps a bit more". This seems to be the moment that Jack feels validated, or influenced to hurting his family. below is a clip of this haunting scene.

After many visions, ranging form Danny and the infamous twins in the hallway scene, to Jack embracing a nude woman in a bathtub who frighteningly turns into an old woman who looks like she has burns on her skin the film comes to a disturbing head. Danny is taken over by "Tony" and Jack is on a mission to kill Wendy and Danny, chasing them throughout the hotel then through the hotels maze. Wendy and Danny finally escape in the snow tracker, leaving Jack mumbling in a non-verbal rant to freeze. Once Danny leaves the hotel he is no longer in the "Tony trance". The end of the film zooms in on an old photo of the hotel dated 1921, but illogical to time and dates it leaves you wondering does this hotel trap people in time? It even poses the question, was Jack really ever there, or could he have even been a figment of Wendy and Danny's imagination?

#Youtube

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jules-has-notes · 9 months

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collaboration spotlight — Disney Sessions — Aladdin

After their joyful collaboration with the touring cast of Newsies in the spring, VoicePlay were invited to create some more arrangements as part of the Disney On Broadway 20th anniversary celebration. This time they teamed up with the stage cast of Aladdin.

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Join the boys for a behind the scenes sneak peek into their writing process and a marathon filming day in New York's theater district, then watch the resulting videos below.

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Some of the best villains are deceptive, even seductive, and more than a few lull their victims into complacency with song. Although Jafar's villain song was mostly an inversion of the hero song, the actor who played him for thirty years can certainly bring the perfectly tuned menace with the best of them.

Details:

title: Villains medley

performer: Jonathan Freeman

original songs / performers: [0:10] "Prince Ali (Reprise)" by Jonathan Freeman as Jafar in Aladdin; [0:44] "Poor Unfortunate Souls" by Pat Carroll as Ursula in The Little Mermaid; [1:18] "Cruella de Vil" by Bill Lee as Roger Radcliffe in 101 Dalmatians; [1:34] "Oogie Boogie's Song" by Ken Page as Oogie Boogie in The Nightmare Before Christmas; [2:12] "Prince Ali (Reprise)" coda

written by: "Prince Ali (Reprise)" by Alan Menken & Tim Rice; "Poor Unfortunate Souls" by Howard Ashman & Alan Menken; "Cruella De Vil" by George Bruns & Mel Leven; "Oogie Boogie’s Song" by Danny Elfman

arranged by: Layne Stein & Geoff Castellucci

release date: 22 October 2015

My favorite bits:

Jonathan sounding just as fabulous and sinister as he did when I was a kid

the gentle call-and-response interjections from the backup singers "Suprise!" "Oh no!"

the singers getting offended at the trombone taking the melody for one bar

"Buh-bye."

Trivia:

Jonathan Freeman was the voice of Jafar in the original 1992 animated movie, and the only member of the voice cast to return for the Aladdin stage adaptation. He stayed with the show from its 2011 off-Broadway workshop in Seattle through its 2014 Broadway debut, and stayed until his retirement in January 2022.

VoicePlay had done their own full version of "Cruella de Vil" at the beginning of the year as part of the promotion for the Blu-ray release of 101 Dalmatians.

The guys included most of these songs in their own "Aca Top 10 — Disney Villains" medley a few years later.

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After playing a pair of strangers who meet and fall in love every night, these two talented folks got a chance to sing in the voices of an established couple looking further into the future.

Details:

title: Thinking Out Loud

performers: Courtney Reed & Adam Jacobs

original performer: Ed Sheeran

written by: Ed Sheeran & Amy Wadge

arranged by: Layne Stein & Geoff Castellucci

release date: 5 November 2015

My favorite bits:

turning the song into a balanced duet so that both people involved have a voice in the narration

the relaxed jazzy tempo giving the lyrics a less urgent, more comfortable feel

Courtney booping Adam's nose

the harmonized riffing on ♫ "baby no-o-o-ow" ♫ in the bridge

Trivia:

Adam and Courtney originated their roles of Aladdin and Jasmine in the stage adaptation, begining with the off-Broadway workshop in Seattle and continuing to Broadway.

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Some performances can never be replicated, but a talented actor can make any role their own. James Monroe Iglehart didn't try to emulate Robin Williams. He took a fresh approach to the stage version of Genie while maintaining the character's core exuberence. This arrangement celebrates the best of both.

Details:

title: Genie's "Friend Like Me" remix

performer: James Monroe Iglehart

original performer: Robin Williams as the Genie in Aladdin (1992)

written by: Howard Ashman & Alan Menken

arranged by: Layne Stein & Geoff Castellucci; original rap by James Monroe Iglehart

release date: 12 November 2015

My favorite bits:

the added syncopation on ♫ "brand of magic that never fails" ♫

James spitting bars

the conversational tone between James and the backup singers

going from a sustained high note to a low descending riff

Trivia:

James Monroe Iglehart originated the role of Genie in the off-Broadway workshop and Broadway production of Aladdin, and won a 2014 Tony Award for best featured actor in a musical. He left the show in 2017 to take over the role of Lafayette/Jefferson in Hamilton.

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During filming, Layne didn't get to hear the direct audio feed, so he missed James's rap verse. When they got backstage, he took a chance to lay down a beat, and it paid off in the form of a private performance. It makes perfect sense that James is a member of Freestyle Love Supreme, along with several of his Hamilton costars.

A version of "Friend Like Me" was one of the earliest videos VoicePlay made for their own YouTube channel.

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You can't go wrong with a Sinatra tune for a jazzy cabaret setting. The thematic parallel between this classic invitation to adventure and "A Whole New World" was too good to reisist.

Details:

title: Come Fly With Me

performer: Adam Jacobs

original performer: Frank Sinatra

written by: composed by Jimmy Van Heusen, lyrics by Sammy Cahn

arranged by: Layne Stein & Geoff Castellucci

release date: 19 November 2015

My favorite bits:

Adam's silky smooth timbre

♫ "he'll toot…" ♫ 🎺 ::toot:: 🎺 ♫ "…his flute for you" ♫

the lovely dance break with Courtney

his shoulder shake on ♫ "the angels cheer" ♫

Trivia:

After they left the New York production of Aladdin, Adam and Courtney both reprised their roles in the touring company. They later reunited again on the Broadway Princess Party tour.

Geoff was pretty excited about this particular song.

#music video #Disney music #Broadway musicals #Disney On Broadway #live recording #music #video #series: Disney Sessions #long post

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