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set-phasers-to-whump · 3 years

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broken bones are better with a friend

prompt: broken

whumpee: malcolm bright

fandom: prodigal son

heyo! hope you enjoy this fic :) it’s pre-brightwell and i found it very fun and surprisingly easy to write considering i don’t do a lot of ship adjacent stuff with them! but ughhh i love them sm....i miss them :’(

“Bright!” Malcolm hears Dani yell from somewhere quite far behind him. “Hold on! Backup’s almost here!”

Since when have I waited for backup? Malcolm wonders, pushing himself to run even faster after their escaping suspect. In front of him, the man rapidly changes directions and goes racing down an alleyway. Malcolm follows, his footsteps echoing off the walls.

“Hello?” he calls out, slowing to a walk, looking up and down the alley. He doesn’t see the suspect, but he’s certain that he’d come this way. “I know you’re in here. You might as well come out.”

He steps past a rusted dumpster, looks behind it to see nothing of interest, and is suddenly slammed backwards into the unforgiving brick surface of the wall behind him.

The suspect pins Malcolm’s arms to the wall with ease, despite Malcolm’s frantic attempts to shake him off. Up close, there’s a glint in his eyes and a smile on his mouth that makes Malcolm absolutely sure that this is their killer. Which does not exactly bode well for him.

“I didn’t do anything.” The man’s voice is grating and low and dangerous. Malcolm kicks at his legs and receives a knee to the stomach for his trouble. He bends over instinctively, but doesn’t make it very far, seeing as how both of his arms are being pressed into the wall.

“Sure you didn’t. You just happened to be running from the police, then?”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“You already said that,” Malcolm says, praying that Dani and that backup she’d promised are close behind him.

“Don’t care. It’s true.”

“We both know you killed those girls -”

Malcolm is cut off by a kick to his ankle. He feels something crack and yelps in pain.

“Shut up,” the suspect growls. “You just shut up right now.”

Malcolm nods. For a second there is silence.

“You thought you were helping them. By killing them.”

“What?”

“The girls. You thought killing them would save them.”

Suddenly the suspect is even closer. He shifts his arms rapidly, one arm now barring Malcolm across the chest and preventing him from escaping, while the other one slaps him hard across the face.

“I told you to shut up.”

“I’m not very good at listening to instructions.”

“Enough!” the suspect snaps, and Malcolm has a feeling that whatever comes next is not going to be good. But Dani is bound to be close by now, and if he can just hold this man off for a few moments more…

Whatever thought he was about to have next is interrupted by an extremely unpleasant twisting sensation in his arm. Malcolm is pulled around, away from the wall, and suddenly quite a bit of weight is being put onto his ankle, which starts hurting about ten times worse. He bites back a cry of pain this time, but not five seconds later he is screaming when the suspect suddenly grabs his arm, holds it out, and slams his own arm right into the center of Malcolm’s forearm. It hurts worse than Malcolm thinks anything has ever hurt before and for a second he can’t focus on anything except the pain, and then the suspect is grabbing his face and forcing Malcolm to pay attention to him.

“Leave. Me. Alone,” he whispers, and then he’s letting go of Malcolm’s face and running away and Malcolm tries to follow him but the world starts spinning and his ankle buckles beneath him and then he’s falling, falling, falling, and then he hits the ground and his broken arm makes contact and he thinks maybe he screams again, and then everything goes bright white.

“Bright! Malcolm. Open your eyes.”

Very slowly, Malcolm blinks his eyes open. He’s lying on his back, staring up at the walls of the two buildings and above them, the sky. His left arm feels like it’s on fire and he turns his head to make sure it’s not. His right ankle also hurts, though much less in comparison. He doesn’t even have to check to be certain that it’s not burning. It still hurts, though. A lot. He groans and the voice speaks again.

“Bright, say something” It’s Dani! But if she’s here -

“He got away,” Malcolm says urgently, using his good arm to push himself up. His head spins, but he stubbornly rides out the dizziness, closing his eyes until it passes.

When he opens them again, Dani is crouched in front of him, looking worried. “You good?”

“Yeah,” he says. “But the suspect -”

“We have him in custody. Of course, we could have gotten him into custody without you breaking any bones if you hadn’t gone after him on your own.”

“Or he might have gotten away for good.”

Dani sighs, the long-suffering, put-upon sigh of one dealing with the self-sacrificial tendencies of Malcolm Bright. “He might’ve,” she acknowledges. “I’d ask you not to do anything like that again….” She trails off, since both of them know how that sentence ends.

A few seconds of strained silence pass, and then Malcolm decides that sitting on the ground is not the best thing that he could be doing at the moment. He very carefully pushes himself up onto his feet and then nearly collapses when the weight of his body hits his hurt ankle.

Immediately, Dani is there, slipping an arm around his back and taking the weight off of his ankle. “What in the hell made you think that was a good idea?” she asks, and he gives her a one-shouldered shrug. “A bus should be here in maybe two minutes,” she continues. “Wanna sit back down?”

Malcolm relents with a nod, and together they gently sink back to the ground, leaning against the wall. Dani removes her arm from around Malcolm’s back but keeps a hand on his shoulder. “How much does it hurt?”

“A lot,” Malcolm answers honestly. “I’ve never broken a bone before.” And he certainly has no desire to repeat the experience. The pain is constant and burning and it’s not all-consuming but it’s impossible to ignore and it hurts and he just wants it to stop -

Dani’s hand presses into his chest. “Hey, calm down,” she says, voice gentler than he’s ever heard it. “I know it hurts, but panicking is only going to make it worse.”

He nods jerkily, forces himself to breathe calmly, and blinks the tears from his eyes. He can do this, broken bones are common and really, he could’ve had it so much worse. He is going to be fine.

Malcolm mentally repeats this over and over to himself: I can do this, I’m going to be fine, until at last the ambulance arrives. Dani helps him stand and guides him to the paramedics; and as they start checking him over and saying things like, “we’ll need to take you to the hospital to get these set,” and “are you sure you don’t want any painkillers,” his only thought is that he really doesn’t want to do this alone. But Gil is bound to have his hands full with their recently-caught murderer, and his mother is busy with some kind of social event that he’d been very relieved to get out of, and Ainsley’s on an assignment, and -

And Dani’s in the ambulance and they’re closing the doors and she smiles at him, sitting down next to him on the gurney. Her arm comes back to rest on his shoulder and he turns to look at her and he supposes he must look a little confused, because she says, “what? I’m not allowed to come with my friend to the hospital after he broke his arm and his ankle chasing after a serial killer?”

“No, I’m - I’m glad you’re here,” Malcolm replies, trying for a smile that probably doesn’t go so well with his grimace of pain as one of the paramedics pulls off his shoe to get a better look at his ankle. “It’s always better to break a bone with a friend.”

Dani laughs and turns to look at him at the same instant that he turns to look at her. She’s smiling but underneath it she looks worried, and her hand is steady and warm on Malcolm’s shoulder, and maybe it’s the pain and the adrenaline or maybe it’s not, but he thinks I want to kiss you, and then he thinks that maybe that’s not his best move, sitting in the back of an ambulance with an arm and an ankle that hurt like all hell, or maybe it’s a good idea and -

“Malcolm? You good?”

When he smiles at her this time, it’s genuine and happy and not at all underlined with pain. “Yeah. Apart from the broken bones and all. I’m...I’m good.”

thanks sm for reading this!!! i hope u liked it :)

#summerofwhump #summerofwhump5 #broken #prodigal son #malcolm bright #broken bones #my writing #i say things #anyway 2day i finally played prodigal sim! it is so fun and cute and well done and i think i will be playing it quite a bit more #over the summer...highly recommend.

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fandompitfalls · 3 years

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Prodigal Son and why Living Shouldn't Be Controversial

Originally posted 1/27/2021

After my last post I wasn’t sure what I would write about. Several of my upcoming posts are research intensive and potentially controversial so as far as I’ve gotten on them was to put them in my book for blog post ideas and that’s about it.

And then Season Two of Prodigal Son aired. So what am I doing? A research (not so intensive) and potentially controversial post. At least I’m on brand.

For those who don’t really know the show: In its second season Prodigal Son is the story of ex-FBI profiler Malcolm Bright who was fired for his risk-taking habits and came back to the NYPD at the request of Captain Gil Arroyo. Malcolm Bright is also Malcolm Whitly, the son of the influential and extremely wealthy Whitley family. The Patriarch of the Whitly family, Dr. Martin Whitly, a convicted serial killer known as “the Surgeon”, is currently in a secure psychiatric facility. His son Malcolm put him there. Malcolm now works for the NYPD under Gil’s team that includes Detectives JT Tarmel, and Detective Dani Powell and Medical Examiner Edrisa Tanaka. While not solving crimes, Malcom must deal with his tenacious television reporter sister Ainsley Whitly and their wealthy, hovering mother Jessica Whitly. As well as his father who is trying to make his way back into his family’s life via Malcolm by assisting via telephone with certain cases.

Except for the Whitly’s (who while wealthy are probably not very good role models), the entire main cast is made up of people of color: Filipino, Black, Asian. While the first season was introductions to everyone and dealing with Malcolm’s lost memories regarding his father, the father/ son dynamic, cultivating a loyal fanbase and potentially starting some ships both purposefully and accidentally (I’m looking at you Brightwell and Maldrisa shippers), this second season started off with a bang. Something that might have been relegated to a side plot, I feel, had become larger than this season’s overarching plot and will end up and absolutely deserved to be in equal standing.

In the first season, we are introduced to JT, the by the book detective who doesn’t like Bright in the beginning but by the end of the first season, they’re…okay. We also meet JT frankly adorable wife Tally and discover that he’s going to be a dad.

In season two, months have passed, and JT is acting Captain while Gil is out on medical leave. He brings Bright in on a case involving a justice killer. At the end while back up is being sent to Bright’s apartment for the final conflict, Dani rushes up while backup is on its way and JT is right behind her. He arrives moments before the back up and when they arrive, he directs them up to the apartment. What happens instead is something we’ve all seen on the news this past summer. The first cop that arrives tackles JT and presses him against the wall, baton at his throat telling him to stop resisting. The terror in JT’s eyes is startling as he realized that these officers, the one holding him and the other five who have their guns trained on him are not going to let him explain that he’s a cop. It isn’t until Dani runs out holding her badge and Malcom following close behind, both of them yelling to stand down, that he’s a cop does the office let go of JT and step back. Back at the station, Gil is furious and wants to take it to I.A., but JT insists it won’t do any good and he needs to think about it. He has a family now and he doesn’t want the retaliation. The scene ends with Gil, Dani and Bright supporting his decision and telling him they have his back. JT is emotional and for good reason. The people who are supposed to be working with him just tried to kill him.

Episode two didn’t let up; in the middle of a chase, Gil tells JT to call for back up and what happens is enraging. As JT calls on his police issued walkie for backup, the person manning the other end tells him that the line if for police use only and uses the term “boy” before disconnecting. Later, it shows JT and Dani standing outside the office watching Gil yell at the dispatch for not sending officers for a potential hostile situation. JT decides to not file a report mentioning that he has a family to worry about and he must work with these people. It is harassment and emotional terrorism at its worst.

In the first episode this season, Dani and Bright are talking and Dani mentions the institutionalized racism she’s been dealing with. With this show being categorized as a police procedural, showing this sort of dangerous institutional racism within the police force is both tricky and important. While police shows have mentioned an episode or two of racism within the force, it’s usually an episode and the one bad cop is taken to task by the white Captain and the entire thing is brushed over. The good thing about this show is so far, all the people in power we’ve seen on the force have been people of color. It also makes it harder to pull the “white savior” role as Bright, while on the team, has no real standing with the NYPD and could be kicked off cases in a heartbeat. Jessica, with all of her wealth and ties (or not, make up your mind Jess) to Gil, can’t really do anything expect throw money at the issue. The brunt of the conflict will lie between Gil and his team facing the police force including these cops who “are just doing their job” and the veil of secrecy that lies within the Thin Blue Line. It’s not something that can be erased in a five-episode arc and I really hope it’s not. The racism within the department has been established, it can’t be erased with the firing of the cop who attacked JT and it can’t be addressed with the Commissioner coming in to make everyone go to training to make it all magically go away.

The showrunners spent the entire first season introducing us and making us love these characters and given the current climate of the world, this was a bold and correct decision, one that needed to be addressed. I know there is talk on message board stating that this season is too “political”. Black Lives Matter, is not political, institutionalized racism within the police force is not political. Men and women of color that are on police forces are risking their lives to do good and make streets safer and do not deserve to wonder if they’re going to take “friendly” fire from one of their own. This year we’ve heard too many stories of officers who were threatened out of uniform and officers who spoke up only to be removed from duty. This isn’t a new thing. Nobody should be murdered for living their lives, for sleeping, for complying with proper police requests.

Personally, as a white person, watching these scenes hurt. Watching JT’s reactions hurt. Hearing someone who was supposed to have his back use a term that has racist undertones when said as it was, made me furious. Which is what it’s supposed to do. But this is also a dangerous road the showrunners are taking. There is no clean and easy way out of this, to have it discussed and “fixed” isn’t reasonable nor believable anymore, to ignore it after three episodes isn’t doing it justice. I don’t know how this will turn out, but it absolutely needs to be addressed this season. To the extent of having it a plot equal to Malcom’s covering up a murder and hiding the body without getting caught.

If you want more information or want to get involved, please look at the websites linked. It shouldn’t take a television show to spread awareness, but if it does, so much the better. People are starting to get involved with activism because media and it’s good (sometimes). Television should start a conversation, that’s when it’s working best.

#FPBlog #Prodigal Son #racial tension #televison #blog

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jess-rewatches-prodigalson · 3 years

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Exit Strategy (S2, E10)

My time-stamped thoughts for this episode are below. As always I reference Malcolm’s mental health. A lot. So if that’s going to be a trigger for you, don’t keep reading.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

0:40 - Oh it’s Capshaw’s dream. Well. That’s upsetting.

1:10 - .....she was performing surgery on herself?!!? WTF?

1:37 - The fact that Jessica broke into her adult child’s home to steal Martin memorabilia is hilarious to me. Also deeply upsetting. Because - dysfunctional.

1:40 - “In my loft? Where I live?” hahahahahahaha sassy!Malcolm for the win! Also - there is something so so cute about the way Tom delivers this line. <3 It’s precious.

1:46 - “I don’t always wake up screaming.” ....so historically we know this is true. Malcolm didn’t wake up screaming at the beginning of 1x15 when Eve was in his loft....but still... Malcolm’s mental health has been in tatters. I find it highly unlikely that he wouldn’t be waking up screaming. Especially since he was hallucinating last episode!!!!

1:55 - The Never. Ever. Room?!?!?! I’m shook. I’m amused. I’m horrified. I can’t believe that Jessica would let Malcolm keep that stuff in his loft. Why isn’t it locked up in a storage container or something? Jessica let Malcolm - the boy that Martin traumatized - sleep in the same building as all of Martin’s belongings?!?! Nah. Jessica is so overbearing .... I just don’t buy it.

2:21 - “I am ignoring the Surgeon altogether.” Awww look at how proud Malcolm is to tell Jessica about his serial killer cleanse. He’s like, “I finally have news that will make Mom happy!!” <3 <3 Precious.

2:36 - “He’s been calling. Non-stop.” annnnnnnd there’s are sad profiler. He’s putting on a good act for Jessica but he’s still clearly in a lot of emotional pain.

3:15 - Really? The writers have Jessica riding the Brightwell train now? For real? I’m here for it but it feels kind of fast? Forced? Out of left field? I mean Jessica’s totally the type of mom who meddles in her kid’s love life (remember Eve?) but in the middle of the whole Ainsley-Endicott fiasco? Jessica should be more concerned about Malcolm’s mental state and less concerned with his relationship status.

3:17 - Did Malcolm really just admit (sort of abstractly, but still) that he’s interested in Dani romantically? Doesn’t he realize that Jessica will try to interfere?!? He’s basically given her his blessing!!!

3:25 - awwwww....the pic of baby!Malcolm and baby!Ainsley is so cute. <3

3:40 - UGH. I want to know more about that key and what it unlocks so badly!!!

3:46 - “Oh great. Detective Mom.” <3 I love it when he calls Jessica “Mom” instead of “Mother”. <3

4:36 - ......Mr.David and Martin have such an interesting dynamic. Martin listens to Mr. David without showing any signs of anger, resentment, or his usual psychopathic manipulation. Mr. David controls Martin much the way a parent controls their well-behaved child. I just find it so fascinating that Martin treats Mr. David with respect. That’s not Martin’s usual reaction when things don’t go his way.

5:00 - I’m so happy we keep getting more screen time with Hector. <3 This dude’s great.

6:05 - soooo the fact that Jessica stabbed Daryl in the neck is probably going to inhibit Daryl’s ability to speak right? Making Daryl a useless source of information regarding the breakout?

6:24 - I love everything about this scene with Gil’s new car. I love that Malcolm’s “wow, the Coronet’s looking good.” is said with this little smile. As though Malcolm doesn’t really care about the car, but he knows mentioning it will make Gil happy. I love Gil’s rant about “No more Whitly’s around my car.” and Gil’s glare when JT asks about Tarmel’s around the car. I love Dani’s “boys and toys” line. UGh. It was just the little dose of found family that I craved. <3 BUT I do have one small complaint/concern. Gil. He said, “No more Whitly’s around my car.” Whitly’s. Why did he refer to Malcolm as a Whitly?

6:54 - “Some major Japan-y vibes.”.....I’m sorry the word you’re looking for is “Japanese”?!?! Anyone else get super distracted by this line?!?

7:56 - “Old people” HA. OMG. I love this so much. <3 <3

9:11 - As someone with severe social and general anxiety that has at times bordered on a form agoraphobia - Dani’s dismissive tone when she says “he’s afraid to leave the house.” hurts. Especially since it feels really out of character for Dani. She doesn’t usually dismiss people so quickly. Maybe there’s a story there? She had an agoraphobic family member?

10:14 - “NYPD. Adjacent.” Why isn’t Malcolm a member of the NYPD yet? He trained with the FBI. He’s clearly capable of being employed as a detective for the NYPD. Is it because he doesn’t want to carry a gun? Is it because Gil doesn’t want Malcolm to carry a gun? Is it bureaucracy (probably)?

10:44 - Malcolm explaining why the antique pistol won’t fire is adorable.

10:57 - This dude hasn’t left the house since March of 1997. Martin was arrested in 1998. Is this supposed to have some sort of double meaning? Like maybe Malcolm discovered that Martin was killing people in 1997 but the chloroform confused him for a while and he didn’t call the cops until 98′? Is this supposed to be a metaphor for the fact that Malcolm hasn’t been truly alive since 1997? He’s just been in survival mode - he hasn’t been living.

11:22 - “I’m not too good around people.” This dude is Malcolm. Malcolm lives in a state of constant fear and anxiety. Malcolm isn’t so good with relationships or casual human interactions.

11:30 - It makes perfect sense to me that Dani is the detective that Malcolm brings in to talk to Gerald. Forget the Brightwell agenda. Gerald is a scared old man. JT and Gil are authoritative men (they’re teddy bears but they can also be scary). Dani is a woman. Women are typically seen as less of a threat. Though Dani could totally kick just about anyone’s ass. But it makes sense to me that a scared witness would feel more comfortable around the smaller female detective than the large male ones.

12:03 - Ugh. I feel so bad for Gerald. The dude is clearly experiencing some sensory overload on top of his anxiety. :(

12:15 - hahahaha the absolute best part of this little Brightwell moment is Gerald’s reaction. This old man just connected the dots and you can see it ALL over his face. ....but also, it’s a really cute moment. <3

12:38 - “Too late if you ask me.” Is it just me or does Gerald seem protective of Rosalie here? Almost paternal?

13:03 - “You still think like a grand master” Is this supposed to be an illusion to the way that Malcolm thinks about cases? He thinks like the killer in order to solve the case?

13:13 - WHY DOES MALCOLM KNOW SO MUCH ABOUT A CHESS LEGEND FROM THE 70s and 80s?!? Did baby!Malcolm have a chess phase? I want details.

13:22 - I love Gerald. He’s such a cute little old man. He’s scared but you can tell that he has a good heart and that he’s extremely smart. Look at how impressed he is with Malcolm. <3 He’s a lot like Malcolm.

13:27 -”Memory was always my gift.” Memory is Gerald’s gift but it’s been Malcolm’s curse.

15:04 - Malcolm is so close to snapping. Look at this poor boy. He’s at the end of his rope. :(

15:14 - “Looks like you got some sleep.” Awwww proud!Gil <3

15:40 - “Agoraphobia often comes from trauma.” Yep. Malcolm identifies with Gerald. I wonder if Malcolm ever went through a period of agoraphobia? Maybe as a teen?

15:48 - .....is this foreshadowing? When the truth about Endicott comes out is Malcolm going to be deemed an ‘unreliable witness’? Or maybe that’s how Ainsley is going to try and pin the murder on Malcolm?

15:58 - annnnnd we finally got a good shot of concerned!Gil. There’s no way that Gil isn’t reading between the lines here. He knows Malcolm identifies with Gerald and he knows Malcolm is having issues with his mental health, identity, and self-worth. SOMEONE CONFRONT HIM. WHERE IS THE MALCOLM INTERVENTION?!!?

16:20 - “Are you alright? Don’t answer that.”.....because Martin doesn’t actually care about Malcolm’s mental or physical health. Martin is a narcissist who has a story to tell.

16:27 - “No. Me first.” I’m. So. Proud. Of. Malcolm. <3 <3

16:56 - “That felt good.” :) Awwww... <3 I’m proud of Malcolm for this but Martin is totally going to hold it against him in later episodes. It’s going to fuel some sort of anger. Just wait for it.

17:05 - Again. Mr. David acts like Martin’s dad. If Martin were 8 years old.

17:40 - Chrisitan Brole is a treasure. His acting is incredible. Friar Pete is creepy, likeable, funny, and terrifying. Honestly. Give him an Emmy.

20:00 - “*sigh* kid.” This breaks my heart. You can see Gil’s doubt and concern all over his face. He’s doubting Malcolm’s ability to make an accurate profile of Gerald because he knows how much Malcolm identifies and sympathizes with Gerald. He’s concerned about Malcolm because....I mean have you seen him lately? The boy is spiralling and it hurts to watch. But Gil is scared for Malcolm right now. Gil is now worried that the cases aren’t enough to distract Malcolm. That Malcolm can’t work on cases anymore. That Malcolm’s mental health has compromised his ability to work effectively.

20:50 - “We’re friends. Partners” Listen to the longing in Malcolm’s voice when he says “partners”. He wants to be romantic partners with Dani - not just work partners. It’s obvious. This boy is an open book when it comes to how he feels about Dani.

21:08 - “And she never will.” there is something about the way Tom delivers this line. How he sort of trips over the words. I can’t tell if it’s intentional or not but it works. It somehow makes it more raw and emotional. Malcolm wants so so badly to tell Dani how he feels but he’s convinced that he’s a monster. That she deserves someone more stable than him. Someone with less trauma. Malcolm is convinced that he’s not safe for anyone to love. Malcolm is convinced he’s going to snap and become Martin.

21:17 - “Sounds lonely.” I love the way Malcolm immediately dismisses this as ‘tactical empathy’. Malcolm has accepted that he will be alone forever. He’s convinced himself he deserves it. I’m willing to bet that Malcolm rarely (if ever) actually feels lonely. Between coping mechanisms, hallucinations, and trauma - I doubt his mind is ever quiet enough for him to notice loneliness.

21:27 - “You’ve spent your life mastering a game. I’ve spent mine mastering how people think.” .....ok but chess is basically about predicting your opponents moves and then Gerald graduated to people watching soooooo they’re really not that different.

22:06 - I love this. I love how Malcolm turns on Gerald only for Gerald to emphatically explain how he lives through that window. Because - isn’t Malcolm the same? How many people have accused Malcolm of being a murderer when really he’s just a man who only feels alive when he’s solving murders and putting away killers?

22:50 - Rosalie helped Gerald much like Dani helps Malcolm. But Gerald couldn’t help Rosalie because he was trapped in his trauma. .....sooooo what’s going to happen to Dani? Or is this just supposed to be a reference to the fact that Dani can’t trust Malcolm because he’s keeping Endicott a secret and she knows something is up?

22:51 - ummmmm 60bpm??!?!? That’s a borderline athletic resting heart rate for a man in his 50s. There’s no way Martin’s in that great of shape. He’s trapped in his cell most of the day.

24:28 - oooookkkkkayyyy so maybe Capshaw isn’t as smart as I thought she was. Martin is playing her like a fiddle. Although that dream sequence from the intro did make it seem like she was only interested in Martin because she craved medical power and respect.

25:22 - Martin didn’t call Jessica his wife to screw with Capshaw. He genuinely still thinks of Jessica as his wife.....this is not good for the future. This tracks with the dreams Martin’s had throughout this season of going back home to his family.

25:44 - Oh yeah. Jessica knows that woman is into Martin.

26:41 - “Isn’t it obvious? It’s the key to my heart.” LMAO holy shit.

26:56 - “I can tell when you’re lying.” “Not historically.”......Martin has a point.

28:27 - This counts as my “someone confronts Malcolm about his mental health” bingo square for the episode right?

28:35 - Look at Gil. He knows Malcolm is lying through his teeth and he’s so so tired of it. He looks so sad and annoyed. Gil loves Malcolm so much and he’s clearly concerned about Malcolm but I honestly think Gil just feels helpless right now. Malcolm is spiralling and Gil can’t help because Malcolm won’t open up.

29:15 - “When she didn’t give up Clayton he killed her. Brave girl.”.....does this mean there’s going to be an attempt on someone’s life this season? Maybe Martin tries to kill Ainsley because she’s going to pin Endicott’s murder on Malcolm? Or Malcolm tries to kill Ainsley because she doesn’t give up Martin’s location? Or Ainsley/Martin try to kill Malcolm because he tries to come clean about everything?

29:26 - “If anyone can get through to this guy it’s you.” THANK YOU. Malcolm really needed that assurance. This dude is so full of negative emotions, self doubt, and pain. Every moment he feels supported, believed in, or loved is immensely treasured.

30:26 - Oh Capshaw. You dumb dumb dumb woman. Look at Martin’s face. Capshaw has freed a monster. That’s Martin’s “I’m a raging serial killer” expression.

30:29 - Holy shit. Look at how quickly Martin put the “I’m a harmless doctor” mask. In the span of about 1 second he went from killer to angel. Michael Sheen is incredible.

31:04 - “You don’t have to be trapped in here.” It breaks my heart to hear Malcolm encourage Gerald to break free from his trauma when Malcolm is still a prisoner to his own.

31:10 - “This is your next move” “No. It’s not”. THIS. This sums up anxiety disorders. Everyone tells you to ‘move on’ or ‘take a deep breath’. They all tell you that ‘everything will be fine’. They ask you ‘what’s the worst thing that could happen.” The problem: most people with anxiety disorders know the majority of their fears (or at least the severity of them) is irrational. Most people with anxiety disorders have tried therapy, drugs, coping mechanisms, breathing techniques, ect. Anxiety doesn’t go away because you want it to. Telling someone to move on - just makes it worse. Especially someone who has lived with severe anxiety so long that it feels like a crucial part of their personality. I’ve had a severe anxiety disorder for as long as I can remember - I don’t want to heal. I don’t know who I’d be without severe anxiety. I’m scared to find out.

32:10 - “Family comes first”........soooo is Martin escaping to groom Ainsley for the family business (murder)? For Malcolm (to save him from Ainsley)? To protect Malcolm from a new Surgeon related skeleton (akin to Endicott)? WHY?

32:33 - ahhhh Papa!Gil. I’ve missed you.

33:25 - I have this headcannon that baby!Malcolm had pet rats at some point (he’d had snakes so I feel like rats would be in his wheelhouse). One day while Malcolm was at school the rats escaped from their cage and scared the crap out of Jessica. Jessica demands that the rats be removed from the home. That’s it. That’s the scene that plays in my head.

33:39 -.....Jessica is wearing a ring on her left ring finger. Why?

34:03 - “Jess it’s good to hear from you but -” They’re dating again now. Right? <3

34:06 - “What?!” Fear and confusion. That’s the look on Gil’s face. We love to see it.

34:25 - “Martin is escaping.” Look at Gil’s face. He’s terrified. He’s staying calm and acting like he’s in control but this dude is terrified that the people he loves most in the world (Jessica and Malcolm) are in serious and immediate danger.

34:50 - .....last I checked Malcolm was claustrophobic with specific closet-related trauma......

35:40 - “There’s only one play for a pawn.”.....does this mean Malcolm considers himself a pawn in Martin’s game? Disposable. Limited options. Replaceable. Of little worth? :(

35:57 - “What would you know about it Judas.” Huh. Pete is pissed at Martin. Is it because Pete views Martin’s nasty relationship with Capshaw as a betrayal akin to Judas’ betrayal of Jesus?

36:36 - Jessica using her heels as a weapon is honestly such a mood. hahaha

36:54 - Poor Jessica. The moment she realizes that she’s trapped with a killer who not only hates Martin but also has an hallucinatory friend is haunting. This woman goes from terrified to petrified. But look at her poker face. She’s brave. She tries to talk her way out of it. She tries to think her way out of it. She’s like Malcolm.

37:42 - Jessica firmly telling Daryl not to take another step right before she stabs him in the neck with a high heel is everything. Listen to her terrified screaming. She can’t believe she just stabbed the man (even if it was self-defence). This woman did the impossible while scared to death. She is a badass. She’s my hero. I love her.

38:12 - “All she had to do was tell me where my brother was. Except they were in love”.....does this mean Ainsley or Martin is going to try and kill Dani?

39:32 - “Don’t you think that’s what Rosalie would’ve wanted for you? This time make the right choice.” Wow. Malcolm is really metaphorically berating himself. What I heard was “Don’t you think Dani would want you to live without fear and guilt? This time - tell her your secret. Come clean. You’ll feel better.”

40:12 - ....so did Dani steal Gil’s keys or did he give them to her? Can we see how mad Gil is about this? Please? .....also the not-so-subtle “Dani is going to be a part of the Whitly family because she hurt Gil’s car” is not lost on me. I’m just more interested in Gil’s reaction to Dani hurting his baby.

40:21 - “I see why you like her.” hahaha Gerald is all of us. Whether or not you ship Brightwell, you can’t deny that Dani is a badass and a good friend to Malcolm. That’s reason enough for Malcolm to like her - not necessarily in a romantic way.

40:30 - Where the hell did Daryl go? If Jessica was trapped where did the man with a high heel in his neck go?!!?!

40:33 - “It’s okay. It’s okay. You’re okay.” <3 <3 The whump whore in me is in love. Forget Gillica. I’ll listen to Gil comforting a traumatized member of the team or Jessica any time, any day. <3

40:50 - I have so many questions about this escape. Are the guys sticking together? If not - do they know where the other guys plan to go/do? Where will they be getting the post-escape change of clothes (you know the ones that aren’t property of Claremont)?

40:55 - I’ll be honest, I’m shocked. They’ve been teasing Martin’s escape all season but I really thought he wasn’t going to escape until the finale. Now I’m so excited for the finale. If it’s not a Martin-Ainsley-Malcolm showdown or a Gil-Martin showdown I’m going to be sad.

41:13. - Martin and Gerald both just took their first breath of fresh air as ‘free’ men after 23-24 years. The symmetry of this episode’s two main plot lines is more obvious than usual.

41:44 - Look at Gerald being Malcolm’s wingman. hahaha it’s so cute. He’s self-appointed himself as Malcolm’s grandpa and I’m here for it.

41:51 - REALLY MALCOLM?!!? YOU CHOOSE TO LISTEN TO A VOICEMAIL FROM THE SURGEON NOW?!?! #MORON

42:29 - Martin’s entire message for Malcolm is haunting. Even now, he’s trying to manipulate Malcolm. “I’m not the man I used to be”. I’ll promise you right now - Martin will be killing at least one person in the next 3 episodes. He’s addicted to killing. End of story.

“I’m doing this for you” ....Is Martin going after Ainsley? I’m genuinely concerned that Martin thinks Ainsley is going to try and kill Malcolm or pin the Endicott murder on Malcolm. I think Martin caught wind of it and is planning on ‘taking care of the problem’ (Ainsley).

42:35 - Look at Dani. She’s terrified. For Malcolm. For Gil. For New York. For herself. She knows how bad this is and she’s scared.

42:44 - “You fath-. The Surgeon.” THIS. Dani realized that Malcolm doesn’t need to be reminded that his father is a serial killer. Dani realized that family is more than blood. The Surgeon escaped. Malcolm is in danger. But Malcolm’s father didn’t escape. Malcolm’s father has been dead since 1997/1998 when Malcolm found out he was a serial killer.

42:55 - Malcolm. :( Look at our baby. :( He’s done. Absolute horror and terror. He looks like he’s going into shock. I honestly thought (*cough* hoped *cough*) he was going to pass out. THIS is what’s going to remove Malcolm as a suspect for ‘aiding/knowing that Martin was planning on escaping’. Same with Jessica. Ainsley doesn’t have a terror driven alibi though. At least - not that we’ve seen.

AHHHHHHHH this was such an intense episode. I can’t wait for Tuesday. <3

If Malcolm doesn’t have a full on mental breakdown soon I’m going to have a stress-induced breakdown for him. Seriously.

Thanks for hanging out.

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leggomylino · 4 years

Text

Starry-Eyed | Han Jisung

Genre: silly, nostalgia, college au, theater au

Pairing: Han Jisung x fem!reader

Word count: ~1.1k

A/n: Masterlist in bio, yeehaw! 🤠 | For Hunter 🧡 (@hanniiesuckle17)

~⤞★⤝~

Han Jisung was a boy with stars in his eyes. He was a boy you’d come to admire for quite some time; even if he did have a tendency of occasionally running into glass doors and barely maintaining a 2.0 grade point average. He was still your first waking thought at sunrise, and your last coherent one at dusk.

And now...here, in this moment...

“...Is that it? Is that all I am to you? Just...an empty vessel? Someone to dump your emotions into when you don’t know where to turn? Heh,” you scoffed. “Well what about me, Jisung, what about my emotions?! What about MY feelings?!?”

The boy you thought you once knew turned away, a barren wasteland of his former self. The late afternoon sun accentuating the hidden highlights in naturally brown hair. “...What about them, Y/n? What about them? Since you like repeating words so much, I’ll ask you again...”

His eyes shifted onto yours like the changing tide.

“What about them?”

You were lost for words. You didn’t know what to say, what to think...and all because...all because...

...There was a boom mic blocking your vision.

“C U U U T!!!” An angry Director Lee Know roared. His voice was a growling sonorous from his cat-stickered megaphone. “Dang it, Hyunjin, I told you guys to knock it off!! What could be so funny this time?!”

Hyunjin and Felix, both stagehands and sound support, were (once again) kneeled over in hissing laughter from something or another they’d found amusing, causing the boom mic in Hyun’s grip to slip-n-slide...right into your face. You backed away from it, relaxing your posture as the set lights faded and the little red recording light gave out.

“I’m sorry,” Hyun wheezed, wiping tears from his eyes. “Seungmin keeps making faces, it’s not our fault!”

All eyes turned to Camera Man Minnie as an accusatory finger went his way, including the snapping of Director Lee's head, who whirled around faster than anyone, but...the boy merely raised his brows in innocent curiosity.

“Who, me?” he blinked. “I didn’t do anything. I’ve been paying attention to the camera this whole time.”

“Liar!!” Hyun and Felix called in unison, to which Minho reeled his head back to let out a groan of annoyance.

“Uuuuuugh, okay, whatever. Everyone take ten…I need a drink...”

As the set slowly dissipated, with Hyun and Felix chasing down Seungmin, the boy genius leaping over low-sitting equipment while managing to take poor Assistant Jeongin hostage, and Minho venturing off to the green room (tent) for that much-needed drink, you stretched out your arms and came to sit on one of the park benches not far off from the makeshift filming set. It was a lovely day in Brightwell Park, but sort of a shame; such a beautiful day to be filming such a heart wrenching scene between the crumbling relationship of your character and Han’s (whose names ironically were the same to each; courtesy of one meddling Bang Chan and Seo Changbin, who knew of your little crush and convinced Minho to alternate the names).

A short film for your theater final...who’s bright idea was this again? What happened to just taking an exam and putting on something Shakespeare...?!

“Hey,” said Han. Right in your ear.

Startled, you nearly fell backwards into the bushes, gripping the fabric of your sweater over your heart. How did he sneak up on you like that?!? You hadn’t even heard him sitting down...

The bench was barely big enough for Han Jisung and his spread out manner of sitting, and conservative old you, curled up on the edge. But Han didn’t seem to mind, and honestly, neither did you.

“Here, catch,” he said, and quickly you fumbled to keep a bottle of water from exploding onto the pavement. Han Jisung swung his down, the way he always did during Minho’s ten-minute anger-management breaks where he disappeared to collectively admire pictures of his cats over a bottle of something strong. He sighed afterward. “...You’re doing great out there, as usual. But one thing I noticed...”

Oh? “Yeah?”

“...” He smiled. “There it is again. That goofy gleam in your eyes.” He flicked a fallen cherry blossom petal from your hair. “You looked like you stepped out of an anime, but we’re filming a drama here.” He took another swing of agua, then connected his elbows to his knees. “So what’s the good news? Did you finally get that apartment? Or maybe a magical fairy came and zapped all your debt away? Did your letter from Hogwarts arrive?”

Something hot laced your cheeks, the reflection of a pink glow shimmering in the water bottle’s surface. A gentle breeze whistled by, carrying with it spring cherry blossoms and something sweeter, something warmer and brighter and more fuzzy-like.

It was the shifting of a new foundation; all week, you had been trying to muster up the courage to tell Han Jisung how you really felt, how you’d always felt, ever since that fateful day in August when he approached you on stage as both the best and worst Romeo Montague you’d ever seen. You swallowed your pride, the rapid pounding of your heart telling you the time was now, before that accursed Christopher and Changbin ruined everything by blabbing it themselves through their meddling antics.

“I—“

That was all you managed to get out. Rip. “Okay, everyone back to your stations!” Minho announced. “We’ve got twenty minutes ‘til the pizza gets here and five ‘til I lose my patience with anymore distractions.”

“Aw, relax!” Han called, waving him off as he sprang to his feet and hoisted you up too. He gave you that reassuring smile, the small soft one he reserved only for you, before nerve-wracking exams and over the fire’s hearth of marshmallow s’mores and late-night cram sessions. “C’mon, Miss Showstopper,” he winked. “Let’s finish this scene so we can eat, but try to look more heartbroken this time. You looked like my aunt when she found out her husband was gonna be gone on a business trip for a few weeks.”

Though he chuckled as he wandered off, back into the limelight of rolling cameras and goofy stagehands that did more playing than producing, you couldn’t help but smile— you just...couldn’t help it. For you may have lost one moment, but it would be one you could always come back to later, adding it to pages of unwritten script where your story and Han’s collided. There would be many more chances of impromptu, of moments to advance to the climax and savor the journey downhill, towards the final act.

You wanted to tell him, but there would be other days to come. As long as the camera kept rolling, the show would go on.

~⤞★⤝~

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hoffkk · 4 years

Text

Going All In

A Brightwell Fanfic

Story By: @hoffkk

Prompt: Gimme a question, and I’ll give you a brightwell fic that ends with a kiss

Questions given: 1. What the hell?! from @luna-colorata

2. Are you dating him? from Anon

Summary: When JT opened the door to the file storage room, the last thing he expected to find was Powell and Bright sucking face...

Note: This is definitely my favorite in the Questions and Kisses series so far. I hope everyone enjoys reading it as much as I did writing it! :)

**********

"What the hell?!" JT wailed in surprise, causing his friends to jump apart. When he opened the door to the file storage room, the last thing he expected to find was Powell and Bright sucking face. Completely confounded, he looked to Dani and, pointing at Malcolm, asked bluntly, "Are you dating him?"

The blushing pair who now had a good two feet of space between them shared a glance, then, as Malcolm swiped some lipstick off of his lip, Dani spoke up, "Sort of." She paused to push some curly locks out of her face then added, "It's a long story."

JT crossed his arms stoically and retorted, "How long?"

Malcolm chimed, answering, "I first kissed her three weeks ago, and things evolved from there."

"We decided it was best to keep it quiet though until we figured out exactly what this was." Dani went on to explain.

"So, you've been lying to me?" JT asked, looking between the two. "All this time?"

"Yeah." They replied in unison, both sounding sheepish.

"I can't believe you guys. We're supposed to friends, we're supposed to be teammates." JT scolded. "How can I trust either of you after this?"

"Look, JT, we are really sorry." Dani apologized, hating that she hurt her friend. "We just--

"Wait a minute." Malcolm interrupted, taking a step forward and looking at JT with a meticulous glance. After a brief moment of reading his body language, he sighed, "He's messing with us."

"What?" Dani tossed back exasperatedly.

"He already knew about us." Malcolm clarified, shaking his head. He couldn't believe he fell for his act.

"You knew?" Dani repeated, shifting her gaze to JT. "For how long?"

JT cracked a smile as he answered, "About three weeks."

"Seriously? You knew the entire time?" Dani queried, feeling both surprised and annoyed.

Malcolm wondered aloud next, "What gave it away?"

"Let's just say that subtlety has never been your strong suit, Bright." JT told him as he leaned a shoulder against the doorway and crossed his arms.

"So, you're not really mad?" Dani question for clarification. "You're okay with this?" She probed, moving closer to Malcolm and waving her index finger between them.

"Of course, I mean, I was a little weirded out at first, but the more I watched you together, the more sense it made." JT admitted. "Now, I can honestly say that I think you two really are good for each other."

The couple shared a shy smile, then Malcolm asked, "Does that mean we have your blessing?" It wasn't that he needed it, but he knew how close JT was with Dani and that JT wasn't always his biggest fan. So, if he did approve, it would really mean a lot.

"Totally." JT nodded, then after standing up straight once more, he added pointedly to Malcolm, "That being said, Dani isn't just my friend or partner, she's like a little sister to me. So, you would do well to remember that if you hurt her, I hurt you."

Malcolm stifled a smirk as he retorted, "Noted."

"Uh, hello?" Dani interjected. "You guys do know that I am standing right here, and that I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself?"

"Yeah, you are." JT agreed. "But you know that I always got your back." He winked.

Dani rolled her eyes then relented, "Thanks, JT." before giving him an appreciative nod. Sometimes he was too much, but his heart was always in the right place.

He grinned back briefly then cleared his throat and said, "All right, enough of this mushy gushy crap. We better get back before Gil starts to wonder where we are."

"Does he know too?" Malcolm blurted, suddenly worried.

"Nah, I don't think so. After all, you two are like the son and daughter he never had, and parents don't really picture their kids making out." JT teased. "In all seriousness though, if this thing is real between you two, then you need to let him know sooner rather than later."

"Yeah, we know." Dani asserted, starting to feel guilty about their little secret.

"And we will." Malcolm noted, putting a comforting arm around her.

"All right, come on, love birds." JT tossed out, eager to leave before witnessing any more kissing. "Let's get back to work." With that, he turned and made his way out of the file room.

Dani followed with Malcolm a few steps behind. However, instead of exiting the room like JT had, she closed the door and turned to face her secret boyfriend.

Furrowing his brow, Malcolm inquired, "What are you doing?"

Dani bit her lip then moved closer as she responded, "I'm not quite done with you yet." Stopping in front of him to wrap her arms around his neck, she looked at Malcolm affectionately and told him, "That was sweet of you to ask for JT's blessing. Don't get me wrong, the feminist in me was annoyed, but the romantic in me was very impressed. No one I've dated has ever done anything like that before."

Malcolm's hands that had rested automatically on her waist wound further around Dani, pulling her in closer as he replied with flushed cheeks, "Yeah, well, the thing is... I know we agreed to keep our relationship on the down-low until we figured out exactly what it is, but I know what it is now. It's amazing and incredible and probably--no-- definitely the greatest thing that's ever happened to me, and I want more. I want to take the next step. Most importantly, I want to do it right. I want to make us public and get approval from our friends and family and do whatever else couples do in normal relationships. I want you, totally and completely, in the most real way possible..." He trailed off, finally letting himself take a breath before finishing, "I love you, Dani." Her eyes widened and hands slid down to his chest as she found herself speechless, which was a hard feat that not many were able to accomplish. However, it seemed this guy had quite the knack for it. Malcolm took the silence as his cue to continue and found himself rambling on, "I know that's a lot to take in right now, especially since we've only been dating a few weeks, but it's how I feel, and I want you to know. You don't have to say it back. I don't expect--

He was quickly cut off from his rant when Dani reached up to grab his face with both hands and pulled his head downward, crashing his lips into hers. She kissed him long and hard. Then, after a long moment, she pulled back just enough to look into his steel blue eyes with her twinkling auburn ones and say, "I love you too, Malcolm."

Malcolm felt a wave of tension release from his body as he confessed, "Good... because I don't want to pretend anymore. I'm done pretending and hiding and having one foot out the door. I'm. All. In."

Catching her breath from his kiss and his words, she beamed, "Me too. Let's do this. For real."

Returning her smile, Malcolm eagerly sealed the deal with another kiss. This one longer and even more passionate than the last. Their kissing continued for a few more minutes until Dani pushed him away by the shoulders and said unenthusiastically, "Okay, we really need to go now. I have paperwork to finish, and you have the most difficult task of all."

Malcolm sighed and spoke reluctantly, "Telling Gil about us?"

"Telling your mother." She retorted cheekily.

"Come again?" Malcolm blurted.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of Gil." She stated matter-of-factly. "Then we'll meet up later."

"But--" Malcolm began to argue. However, Dani interrupted with a swift peck on the lips.

Pulling back, she gave him two quick pats on his left shoulder and said, "Good luck." then hastily scooted from the room.

"Dani, wait... let's talk about this." He called after her as he followed from behind. "I'll trade you! Please? Dani?!"

Dani Powell always did have a way of keeping him on his toes. That was for sure. So was the way he felt about her. Malcolm loved her, truly and deeply. So, at the end of the day, it didn't really matter whose approval they did or didn't get. If the worst happened, and Gil fired him, or his mother disowned him, Malcolm would deal with it and accept it. He meant what he told Dani. He was all in, and he was all hers. No matter the consequences.

#prodigal son fanfic #prodigal son #brightwell #brightwell fanfic #going all in #malcolm bright #dani powell #jt tarmel #secret relationship #brother sister banter #telling the truth #first i love you

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prodigalsonfanblog · 4 years

Text

We’re Going to Be Okay

A Brightwell fic requested by @musicluvvver where Dani gets badly hurt and has to have surgery, and the team find out about their relationship when Malcolm reacts to her critical condition. I went slightly over the suggested 3000 word count by making it a case fic, but oh well.

Also posted on AO3

Content warnings: Graphic description of someone bleeding out from a gunshot wound (but no character death, I promise!)

Words: 5149

For simplicity’s sake, Malcolm and Eve never got together in this fic so I guess you could consider it AU. Takes place after 1x16 “The Job” but before 1x19 “The Professionals.” If you notice any mistakes in the timeline of this fic or any typos, please let me know and I'll fix it! Also, I am in no way a medical expert, any medical information in this fic is the result of a quick Google search in the wee hours of the morning. Any sentences in italics are Malcolm's thoughts.

-------------------------

NOW

It was supposed to be a normal day. Malcolm put his head in his hands, covering his eyes and blocking out the harsh light of the hospital waiting room. He’d been there for several hours, Gil and JT having arrived a couple of hours after him. They were slouched in the adjacent chairs, shoulders tense and grim expressions on their faces. Edrisa walked in with coffees for the three of them, looking overwrought and worried, but Malcolm ignored her.

It’s my fault, thought Malcolm. He hunched over more, right hand shaking uncontrollably. For once, he made no effort to hide his anxiety. Oh my god, it’s all my fault.

Suddenly, Malcolm felt like a hand was squeezing his throat, stealing his breath from him. He tried to breathe but it didn’t make the choking sensation go away. His chest hurt, and for a terrible moment, he worried that he was having a heart attack.

“Kid?” Gil’s voice came from his right, sounding concerned. Malcolm was hiding his head in his hands and hyperventilating. “Hey, kid!”

Malcolm gasped, feeling lightheaded and cold. Gil reached out and grasped the back of his neck, putting enough pressure to eventually drag him back to his surroundings.

“Gil,” Malcolm muttered. He didn’t trust his voice to go any louder than that. The shock was just hitting him now. Gil rubbed his back while JT stared at him. Malcolm shook his head no to an offer of coffee from Edrisa, afraid that it would make his anxiety worse. His heart was still pounding, an echo from several hours earlier.

Dani could die because of me.

-------------------------

ONE WEEK AGO

The building, long abandoned, stank and Malcolm studiously avoided stepping in the puddles of god-knows-what with his expensive shoes. JT noticed his careful steps and smirked at him, gesturing at his more practical footwear. “Bright, man, why don’t you wear shoes that can be easily cleaned?”

“Because I don’t own shoes like that,” Malcolm grumbled, his eyes on the floor as he picked his way to the crime scene. He thought he heard JT mutter something about “rich people and their tendency towards impracticable things” but he ignored it in favour of the sight which caught his eye.

A man lay face down on the floor, his arms by his sides. A puddle of blood surrounded him, already congealed. But that wasn’t what drew Malcolm’s attention. Gil had drawn up the man’s shirt to show crudely-made cuts depicting several Satanist symbols, including pentagrams and an upside-down cross. To the right of the man’s head were five candles, burned out and melted, arranged to form the shape of a star.

Malcolm tilted his head to the side and frowned, trying to think from the killer’s perspective. Why did they go to the trouble of cutting different symbols into the victim’s back, and then lighting the candles? Was it a ritual of some sort?

“Name’s Richard Wilson, he was an accountant at a company called Maxi Pharmaceuticals. According to his boss, he just got fired a couple of days ago, but they won’t say why over the phone. Wallet’s here but his phone is missing,” Dani informed him. He shared a glance with her, both smiling before pointedly looking away and trying to act casual.

“Cause of death?” Malcolm asked, stepping around the body to look at it from another angle.

Edrisa spoke up. “Gunshot wound to the neck. He was killed here, going by the amount of blood. He bled out pretty fast, so at least there’s that.” She chuckled awkwardly, and then continued, “Incisions on his back were made postmortem, though.”

“Any idea of the time of death?” Gil asked, stepping closer.

“Rigor mortis has set in but there was a sudden drop in temperature last night, so I’ll have to get back to you on that,” Edrisa answered, standing up as a crime scene photographer took a picture of the cuts on Wilson’s back.

Malcolm eyed the candles, but they provided no clues. They were generic, tall white candles that you could buy at any home store. He crouched down next to the body. “These cuts look like they’ve been made in a hurry, and they’re uneven. Deep in some places and shallow in others. It’s almost like the killer’s hand was shaking while they made them.” He stood up and looked around. “I’d say they were afraid of being caught, but look at this place.” He gestured at the building, with its boarded-up windows and air of abandoned misery. “This seems pretty out of the way. Who found the body?”

“A homeless man looking for a place to sleep. We questioned him but he didn’t have much information, so we let him go,” JT replied.

“The killer must have kidnapped the victim to get him to this location, so we should check for CCTV around his house and his route home from work before he was fired, see if anyone was stalking him or if we can catch the killer on camera,” Malcolm said, back to staring at the cuts.

“Already on it,” Dani answered.

They visited the victim’s boss, Matthew Davidson, at a brightly-lit, minimalist but expensive-looking office building in Midtown. He was very polite and cooperative. “Ah yes, you see, we had to fire Richard for some remarks he made about our bookkeeping here. He was concerned that someone was embezzling money from the company for their personal use. That’s not true, of course.”

“You fired him for accusing someone of embezzlement? Who did he accuse?” Dani asked incredulously.

“We didn’t fire him for the accusations, we fired him for the threats he made about releasing our financial information if we didn’t stop denying his embezzlement claims. He was violating the non-disclosure agreement that he signed when we hired him,” Davison replied, looking at his hands before clasping them together tightly. Malcolm glanced down, but didn’t notice anything unusual. “He was so angry about it, he had to be escorted from the building by security. He didn’t know who he thought was embezzling money, but he seemed determined to find out.”

Malcolm and Dani shared a glance. Silencing a whistleblower was a strong motive. Unfortunately, they had no end of suspects. There were dozens of executives working in this department alone, never mind in the other departments whose accounts Wilson had had access to.

They questioned Wilson’s family and friends, but it was a dead end. None of them had known about the accusations and an audit of Maxi Pharmaceutical’s records showed no evidence of embezzlement. Nothing suspicious showed up on the CCTV around Wilson’s home either, and the ballistics didn’t turn up a match. After a few days with no leads, the team were forced to admit defeat and pass the case to a different set of detectives. Their help, specifically Malcolm’s, was urgently needed on a hostage negotiation within a bank heist.

-------------------------

TWO DAYS AGO

Not long after, the second body was found.

It was a woman this time, also lying face down with her arms by her side on the floor of an abandoned building, blood pooling around a gunshot wound to her neck. The cuts and the candles were present, but Malcolm noticed that the cuts were not in the same place as last time. Again, the cuts were unevenly made and shaky. Gil looked grim, and Malcolm could tell they were thinking the same thing. Two deaths, seemingly unrelated, both with the same MO… it didn’t bode well.

“The press hasn’t been informed of these deaths, right?” Malcolm asked.

“No, and let’s keep it that way. No need to cause a panic,” Gil replied.

JT walked up to them. “Vic’s name is Victoria Randing. She worked as a barista at a hipster cafe several blocks from here. No connection to Richard Wilson found yet.”

“Bright, you and Dani go to the café, see if she was working yesterday. JT, you and I will go over the CCTV footage around her home and her workplace, see if we find anything,” Gil ordered. They split up, Malcolm and Dani heading to Dani’s car while JT and Gil headed for Gil’s new car (replaced after Malcolm landed on it during that Count of Monte Cristo case).

On their way to the café, Dani stopped at a red light at a busy intersection. She tapped the steering wheel impatiently, frowning. Malcolm reached out and placed his hand over hers tenderly, smiling. She smiled back, taking her hand off the steering wheel to hold his more firmly.

“You know, I really enjoyed last night,” Malcolm grinned.

“Which part? When I thoroughly beat you at that video game, or what came after?” Dani smirked, keeping her eyes on the intersection.

“Definitely after.” He paused, then rolled his eyes. “Okay, maybe I enjoyed the video game too.”

Dani chuckled and kept driving when the light turned green.

-------------------------

Visiting the cafe turned up no new leads except that one of the baristas recognized Wilson’s photograph. “Yeah, he’d come in here sometimes for his morning coffee. Always a medium americano, black. He talked to Victoria sometimes, but lately, he’d come by on her breaks and they’d talk at one of the tables.”

The barista didn’t know what they talked about, but it was clear there was a connection between the two victims. The timing of their discussions strongly suggested it was about the embezzlement that Wilson was investigating, but what would a barista working minimum wage have to do with a corporate embezzlement case?

JT and Gil found nothing on CCTV and Victoria’s phone had been missing too, so they were forced to ask for the victim’s phone numbers from their families and try to get their phone records from the telecom companies. They found texts between the two, confirming dates and times to meet, but never more than that. Their discussions must have all been in person.

Back at the station, the team listened to Malcolm give his profile. “While there are several classifications related to ritualistic killings, I don’t believe that’s what’s going on here. If this was a serial killer acting under some kind of… Satanic impulse, they’d be meticulous about those marks on the victim’s backs. Plus, the victims have a connection. I’m not yet sure how, but Victoria was involved in that embezzlement investigation, I’m sure of it. The killer we’re looking for is of above-average intelligence – they take the victim to a remote area, they use the Satanism as a red herring, they’ve somehow gotten rid of any evidence of embezzlement in the company books. But something is causing them to make those cuts unevenly – a hand tremor, or an anxiety disorder, maybe.”

Gil leaned back in his chair and stood up. “Okay. We’ll take a closer look at the company’s executives, starting with Wilson’s department. It’ll take a while, so we’d better get started now.”

Wilson didn’t seem to have had any previous interpersonal conflicts with any of his superiors or colleagues at his department, so without any overt suspicion falling on any one person, they went alphabetically by last name, questioning them on their relationship with Wilson and requesting a look at their finances. It was going to be a long week.

-------------------------

16 HOURS AGO

The third body was found in an abandoned building in a completely different neighbourhood, with the same MO as the other two murders and the same ballistics.

“This is starting to get old,” Malcolm grimaced as he looked down at the body of Amelia Turner, shirt ridden up to reveal sloppily-made cuts of Satanic symbols. “Looks like she didn’t die right away,” he pointed out the drag marks in the dirt where she’d tried to get up.

“Looks like it, unfortunately,” Edrisa sighed, donning a pair of medical gloves.

Malcolm looked around, seeing the utterly deserted state of the building and the alley outside. He was getting frustrated now. While there had been cases that he hadn’t solved right away (and a few that he hadn’t solved at all), he wasn’t used to this frustration, this lack of evidence or evidence that led nowhere. He sighed, pacing and clenching his fist before flexing his hand.

“Found something!” Dani called.

They rushed over to her, where she knelt next to the body. She was holding a white business card that read, “Amelia Turner, Journalist, American Direct News.”

“Huh. A journalist.” Malcolm glanced at Gil. “Sounds like somebody a whistleblower would want to talk to if their accusations were being denied at work.”

Gil nodded. “She worked at the same news company as your sister, see if she knows her.”

When Malcolm went to visit Ainsley at the studio, she groaned and asked, “Did Mom send you? I’ve been ignoring her calls lately, she keeps asking me if I’m okay after that whole serial killer going after our father debacle but it’s getting annoying.”

“Debacle?” Malcolm whispered, frowning. “Whatever. No, our mother didn’t send me. Ains, I was wondering if you knew this journalist, she worked here at ADN. Her name’s Amelia Turner.” He showed her a picture of the victim on his phone.

“Oh, yeah! Yeah, I worked with her a couple of times on a story. She’s really nice, she mostly covers stories on financial fraud.” Ainsley saw her brother’s expression. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“She was murdered last night, and we think it has to do with a suspected embezzlement case at Maxi Pharmaceuticals.”

“Oh my god, that’s terrible. Can I help with anything?”

“Well, her phone was missing from the crime scene. It looks like the killer took it. By chance, did she leave any electronics at her office here, a laptop, a tablet…?” Malcolm asked.

“Actually, she usually left her tablet here in her desk, something about ‘not bringing work home’ and all that. Here, let me show you.” Ainsley led him to Amelia’s desk and opened a drawer, revealing a tablet and a few office supplies.

Malcolm picked it up, glad he’d decided to wear his gloves, and turned it on. “Any chance you know the passcode?”

“Yeah, it’s 9401.” He entered the passcode and looked at different messaging apps. In one of them, he found correspondence with the barista, Victoria Randing. It seemed that they were friends and that Victoria had asked her to investigate the executives of Maxi Pharmaceuticals for her new friend, Richard Wilson. Malcolm could already guess how well that investigation had gone.

“Thanks for your help, Ains, this is a big break in the case. Don't tell anyone about this. I have to go.” Malcolm put the tablet under his arm and walked away, already texting Gil.

“No problem, bro. Also, please don’t forget to get Mom off my back!” she called after him.

-------------------------

A further search of the tablet led to several financial documents that Victoria must have sent to Amelia after receiving them from Richard. It looked like Richard had been paranoid about being tracked before he could finish his investigation, but apparently not paranoid enough. Whoever was guilty of the embezzlement, or was somehow threatened by the investigation, had somehow found the link between Richard and the two women and killed all three of them.

“What I don’t get is why didn’t Richard go to the police with this? He could’ve had protection arranged if he was scared for his life.” Malcolm asked himself.

“Could’ve been for any number of reasons. Maybe he didn’t think he had enough evidence and that the police wouldn’t believe him, maybe he had a bad experience with a cop. Whatever the reason, we know now, and we’ll find the killer,” Dani answered.

Malcolm turned away from the whiteboard to face her completely. They were alone in the room. He walked up to her and brushed a strand of hair from her face, glancing from her warm brown eyes to her lips. “I love that look you get when you’re determined.”

She smiled back. “Not here,” she said, looking around to see if anyone was watching. “No one knows about… us yet and I don’t want anyone to think we’re not being professional.”

“Oh no. Are we being unprofessional right now?” Malcolm asked, faking confusion and entering her personal space a bit with a shit-eating grin on his face.

Dani pushed him away, trying and failing not to smile. Malcolm beamed at her as she walked out of the room to find Gil and JT. He loved to make her smile.

Dani came back thirty seconds later. “We got a hit on five different suspects in the financial records that were saved on that tablet. Matthew Davidson was one of them, so you and I are supposed to visit him at his office to ask him to come to the station for questioning.”

“Finally. Let’s go,” Malcolm said, already grabbing his coat.

-------------------------

They didn’t find Matthew Davidson at his office, but when they told his secretary that the man was a suspect in three homicides, she gave them his home address.

Luckily, Davidson was at home, a large house in a wealthy suburb. He answered the door, looking agitated. “Can I help you?”

“Yes, Mr. Davidson. We’d like you to come in for questioning about the murders of Richard Wilson, Victoria Randing and Amelia Turner. You’re not being charged with anything, we just want to ask you a few questions,” Dani said.

Malcolm studied the man’s hands. They were starting to shake, more than his own right hand did when he was anxious.

“Uh, please, come in. Let me make you some coffee, or tea, if you’d prefer.” Davidson opened the door wider and gestured for them to come in.

Dani and Malcolm shared a glance before going inside. The house was spacious and tastefully decorated, a chandelier hanging above the main entrance next to a spiral staircase.

“This way.” Davidson led them to the kitchen, starting to prepare two cups of coffee.

“Mr. Davidson, we’d really prefer that you come to the station for questioning,” Malcolm said. He glanced around, spotting a few pill bottles on the counter and a few packs of playing cards on the table. The playing cards got his attention and he stared at them, trying to figure out what his subconscious had picked up.

“Oh, I don’t think I’ll be doing that.”

Malcolm turned, startled, and saw that Davidson had retrieved a gun from somewhere and had it pointed straight at Dani’s chest. Dani’s hand automatically went to her holster, but Davidson cocked the gun and told her to put her hands up.

Malcolm did the same, breathing quickening subtly as he tried to defuse the situation. “Matthew, you don’t need to do this. Killing us won’t solve your problems. Do you know how much trouble you could get in for killing a cop?” His voice wavered on the last word, glancing at Dani. She swallowed, not looking at him and keeping eye contact with Davidson.

“No, don’t you see? I’m screwed anyway! Wilson found the money I’d been taking to pay for my medication, and he told that girl, and her friend the reporter. They were going to expose me and I would never get that promotion they’ve been eyeing me for at work,” Davidson replied, hands still shaking but both still firmly on the gun. Malcolm eyed his hands. He probably wouldn’t shoot on target but he could still hurt Dani badly.

“Medication?” he asked, trying to distract Davidson.

“For my MS. Wilson found out and he was going to tell everyone about what I was doing.”

Malcolm thought back to the pill bottles and the shaking hands. “You have postural tremors,” he realized. “Your hands shake uncontrollably when sitting or standing in an upright position. But why did you need to take money from the company, Matthew? Look at this place.” Malcolm gestured to the mansion-like home. “Surely your salary is enough to cover the cost of your medication.”

Davidson breathed out shakily. “I’ve been gambling, and I’ve lost all of my savings to paying off my debts. I didn’t have a choice.”

“You always have a choice. You can choose right now to walk away. You don’t have to do this. No one is making you do this,” Malcolm said, getting closer to pleading now.

“You don’t understand. Of course you don’t, you could never understand. I need that medication to function!”

“I understand that,” Malcolm said, his hand out towards Davidson. “Just put down the gun and let’s talk about it.”

“No. No. I’m done talking,” Davidson said decisively. He cocked the gun and fired it at Dani.

“NO!” Malcolm cried, turning and pushing Dani to the ground. But he was too late. Blood was gushing out of a gunshot wound on her neck and he held his hands there tightly, desperate to keep her alive. “Dani, I’m right here,” he promised, all thoughts of Davidson out the window.

Davidson, seeing an opportunity, left and drove away, taking the gun with him. Malcolm ignored the sound of the engine fading away, his thoughts only on Dani’s warm blood spilling out beneath his hands. Oh god, there’s so much blood.

Dani was rapidly going pale, but she kept steady eye contact with Malcolm, gasping for breath. Malcolm quickly took one hand off the wound to get his phone and call 911, making sure to keep a tight grip on her neck with his other hand. After giving the operator the necessary information, he told Dani, “Don’t worry, help is coming. I’m not going to let you die.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead, trying not to cry.

They stayed like that for two minutes while they waited for the ambulance, Malcolm glancing up desperately every now and then to the door, which was still unlocked. Finally, the EMTs arrived and swiftly lifted Dani onto a stretcher.

“Are you family?” one of them asked.

“No, I’m her boyfriend,” Malcolm replied, shaken and watching them load Dani’s stretcher into the back of the ambulance.

“Then I’m afraid you’ll have to wait for her in the waiting room. We’re taking her to Westview Memorial Hospital.”

Malcolm nodded distractedly, his eyes only for Dani. He could feel her gaze on him from the ambulance, and it made him feel horribly guilty.

-------------------------

NOW

“It’s my fault, Gil.” Malcolm sniffed, trying to keep the tears at bay. He didn’t want to be crying for all the world to see (well, those that were in a hospital waiting room at midnight, anyway).

“What? No, it’s not, Bright,” Gil replied, putting an arm around him. JT, having looked away out of respect, glanced back in interest. Edrisa, sitting across from them, put the coffee on the floor and leaned closer to hear their conversation.

“Yes, it is,” Malcolm insisted, his voice thick. “There were so many signs I didn’t see. How the victims were shot in the neck instead of a more fatal place, like the chest, because the killer couldn’t aim right due a hand tremor. How Davidson was trying to hide his hands shaking from his multiple sclerosis when we first interviewed him at his office. The pill bottles, the playing cards, his anxious behaviour… I should’ve seen it, Gil. And I wasn’t fast enough at getting her out of the way of that bullet, and now she’s in the OR because of me.”

“Malcolm, you’re not the one that shot her. It’s not your fault,” Gil said compassionately.

Malcolm sighed, not convinced. He clasped his hands together, trying to get his breathing under control again. He glanced at JT, who was quick to look away, and at Edrisa, who reminded him gently, “Malcolm, you can’t control everything. It’s okay to make mistakes sometimes.”

“Yeah, well not when they nearly result in the death of my-“ Malcolm replied loudly before cutting himself off.

“Your what?” JT asked after a beat and Malcolm didn’t continue.

“Oh, you’re right, I’m sorry, I said the wrong thing. I’m sorry, I get talkative when I’m nervous,” Edrisa said, sounding embarrassed.

However, Malcolm ignored both of them in favour of the doctor who had just walked up to them. “Here for Dani Powell?” she asked.

“Yes,” Malcolm replied before anyone else could, already standing up. “How is she?”

“She made it through the surgery just fine, but she lost a lot of blood. The bullet was still in her neck, so we had to remove it and stitch up any broken blood vessels and then give her a blood transfusion. She’s lucky. She’s asleep and in the recovery wing now if you want to go see her, but only two at a time, please.”

“What room?” Malcolm asked breathlessly. He felt like all the tension had melted from his body at once and it left him feeling exhausted and so, so relieved at the same time. Dani’s going to be okay.

“Room 206.” Malcolm was off before any of the others could follow. Gil excused himself and fast-walked after Malcolm, leaving JT and Edrisa to ask about Dani’s recovery time.

Malcolm opened the door to room 206 carefully, peering inside. Dani was the only one in the room, still unconscious from the surgery. She had a large white bandage on her neck and she still looked pale, but she seemed otherwise okay to Malcolm’s attentive eyes.

He sat on a chair at her bedside, holding her hand and listening to her heart monitor beep steadily to reassure himself that she was really, truly going to be okay. He didn’t think he’d be able to handle it if she wasn’t, and especially when it was his fault.

Malcolm sighed again, more relaxed this time, and rubbed his thumb over her hand, wondering how long it would take until she was back at work again, being the badass cop that he loved.

He stopped his movements, surprised at his thoughts. Did he love Dani? It was a bit early in their relationship for the L-word, but like Dr. Le Deux reminded him every now and then, he couldn’t deny his feelings. He glanced at Dani’s face, peaceful even in unconsciousness, and kissed her hand that he still held. He’d just have to have that conversation with Dani when she woke up. Because she would be waking up, and she was going to be okay.

Gil leaned against the doorframe behind him, silently watching the two. “I don’t know why it took something like this for me to find out you two were together, but you could’ve told me, kid.”

Malcolm jumped, letting go of Dani’s hand, and turned, feeling unreasonably guilty. “What?” He saw JT and Edrisa poking their heads in the doorway behind Gil. “I thought the doctor said only two visitors at a time,” he said fake accusingly.

Gil turned and saw the two eavesdroppers shift from foot to foot. “Yeah, that’s what I thought too,” he said, a smile in his voice.

“We wanted to make sure she was okay,” JT answered.

“Oh my goodness, I’m so happy for you both!” Edrisa grinned, now carrying water bottles for the three of them. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me! When did you start dating?”

Malcolm chuckled. “It’s only been a few weeks, and we didn’t want to tell anyone at work about it because we didn’t want anyone to think it was interfering with our professionalism.”

“Don’t worry about it, Bright,” Gil said, taking a water bottle from Edrisa and walking to the other chair before sitting down. “I think your secret’s safe with us.”

“Absolutely!” Edrisa said brightly.

JT put a hand over his mouth to cover a yawn and stretched. “Well, while I’m glad to know that Dani and Bright finally got past the flirting stage of their relationship, now that Dani’s out of surgery, I’m going to head home.”

Malcolm sputtered. “When were we flirting?”

“Like, every time you saw each other.”

Gil laughed while Malcolm smiled wryly and took a water bottle from Edrisa. He was glad to know that Dani would be okay, but he was still going to stay here, overnight if he had to, until she woke up.

JT and Edrisa left soon afterwards while Gil and Malcolm stayed at Dani’s bedside. Gil dozed off sometime around 2 AM but Malcolm stayed awake all night, not wanting to have a night terror in the middle of a hospital without his restraints and not wanting to accidentally hurt Dani or Gil in the process. Around 8 AM that morning, Gil left to get some coffee from the cafe in the hospital, leaving Malcolm holding Dani’s hand again.

His eyes were just starting to slip shut when he heard the beeping on Dani’s heart monitor pick up in speed. His eyes flew open and he sat up straighter, squeezing Dani’s hand. “Dani? Are you waking up?”

Slowly, Dani opened her eyes. She groaned, her other hand going to her neck. “No, don’t touch that.” Malcolm blocked her other hand and brought it gently back to the bed. “You’re in the hospital. You were unconscious and they had to do surgery to get the bullet out, but you’re going to be okay.”

Malcolm opened a water bottle and gave it to her to drink, which she did. When she was finished, she gave it back and cleared her throat. “Malcolm, did we catch Davidson?”

Malcolm let his breath out in a choked-off laugh. “Really? You nearly die from a bullet wound and the first thing you ask when you wake up is if we caught the bad guy?”

Dani gave him a look. “Yes,” she replied. “So did we?”

He sighed, exasperated but fond. “Yes, Gil and JT tracked him down based on his license plate before he could leave the city. Caught him red-handed with the gun, too.”

“Good.” Dani let her head fall back on the pillow.

“Dani,” Malcolm started.

She turned to look at him. “Yeah?”

“I’m so sorry about all this. I should’ve seen it coming, I should’ve been faster, I-“ The words came out in a rush.

“Malcolm, stop.” He stopped talking abruptly, looking into her eyes. “I don’t blame you for any of that, you know why?” He shook his head. “Because it’s not your fault.”

“Dani, you could’ve died.”

“And I didn’t! You helped save me. You tried to stop the bleeding and you called 911.” Malcolm looked down, remembering all that blood on his hands. “Malcolm, this is part of my job. I put myself in dangerous situations in every case. I was doing that before you joined the team, you know.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m just glad you’re okay.” Malcolm squeezed her hand, and she squeezed back, grip firm.

They could figure it all out later. For now, they were okay, and together, and that was all that mattered.

LATER

“Oh, and the team know that we’re together, by the way.”

“What?!”

#prodigal son #prodigal son fox #prodigal son fanfiction #prodigal son fanfic #prodigal son fic #fic requests #malcolm bright #dani powell #brightwell #gil arroyo #jt tarmel #edrisa tanaka #ainsley whitly #case fic #gunshot wound tw #gunshot wound #5K

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creative-cha0s · 4 years

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Jess’ Masterlist of Prodigal Son (Mostly Brightwell) Inspo with Songs & Lyrics

HI tend to think of almost everything in connection to songs and lyrics and recently Ive got a bunch of lyrics rolling around in my head that are perfect for inspiration for Prodigal Son fics, fan art, gif sets, ect - but mostly fics (and mosty Brightwell).

Ill do my best to categorize by relationship/ character and possibly plot - and hopefully to keep this updated.

Like my music? want to listen to it too? All of these songs are in my playlist that I leave on repeat: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3pvktqRQXSUivcXpOWZGCX

Brightwell

Piece of Your Heart - Mayday Parade

This song is perfect for the both of them no matter who it’s coming from, but I always see the 1st verse (1st bullet) coming from Dani

Give me your misery All of it give it to me I can hold onto it for you It's not a problem I just want your energy A piece of that fractured mountain I'll take whatever comes with it as long as it's yours

All I know is that I want it more than yesterday If I was waiting, I was waiting for just one little spark You are the brightest I've seen You are the best side of me And just for when we're apart I've got a piece of your heart

But I want the whole damn thing

Where You Are - Mayday Parade

The song as a whole is not fitting, its about someone dying. But there are a few lines that can be used.

You to me, are encased in nothing But beauty and gracious love You'll always be my one good reason To keep on moving 'til I'm in your arms

My favorite place is wherever you are

Sleeping In - All Time Low

This song is PERFECT for well establish Brightwell - fluffy, lazy days, just ignoring the world and staying in together. Just go listen to the whole song.

Never wanna leave this bed Tell me that you got nowhere to be Can we stay all day? (All day) Lay low in our lazy luxury Sex in a rosé daze (daze) All day, it's a real good thing

Just like that There you go, making it hard to stay on track Got shit to do, you got work But we fall right back Into bed, like it's all just a game And we can't help that, no we can't help that

Favorite Place - All Time Low

Another one that’s perfect for Brightwell, mostly coming from Bright (bolded parts), this song is currently always stuck in my head. Go listen to it!

So can we close the space between us now It's the distance we don't need (hey) Yeah, you're everything I love about The things I hate in me (hey) So come on, come on, come over now and Fix me with your grace 'Cause I'm not too far and you're my favorite place

And I know you don't belong (know you don't belong) Know you don't belong to anyone No you can't be tamed love Maybe I was wrong (maybe I was wrong) Maybe I was wrong for this But you feel like the perfect escape now

Kids Again - Artist Vs Poet

Can be any phase of Brightwell I think - mostly focusing on the verses, ignoring the ‘just like we were kids’ reference in the chorus, because they didn’t grow up together. Another one to go listen to the whole song.

I know a girl who likes to drink her coffee black Cause sugar, no, she don't got time for that Leaves her desires at the welcome mat when she walks in

Yeah, I know a boy who likes to keep his burner on He's always running with no one to keep warm It's like he's flirting with the smoke alarm, his fire's fading

But still we laugh, we cry, we fall, we get high

And when I, I'm feeling small you get me through it all

I know a girl who's never tried to settle down She wears her loneliness like a crown But when she smiles all the kings will bow down, down, down

And I know a boy who's broken every vow he's made Who's spoken every capped phrase But he can listen like a rainy day and drown it out

Clumsy - All Time Low

Perfect for when Bright acts like Bright, especially in reference to him backing away from Dani and ending up with Eve. And anything else he does that breaks Danis trust and makes her say things like ‘you promised to do better’ and ‘you told me i was the one you liked talking to’ LISTEN TO THIS ONE ITS SO GOOD

I was bound to make a mess of things Mixin' fireworks and gasoline Never meant to make you fall with me

I let you down I've been clumsy with your heart again I guess you figured me out Now here's a taste of my own medicine

And for all this pain, that I can't explain There's a black flag wavin' tonight You know I let you down (let you down) I've been clumsy with your heart again

Satellite - Mayday Parade

Cant really explain how this fits other than angsty Bright who thinks hes going to mess up everything (I swear everything I touch it breaks). Most of the lines could easily come from either of them to the other. Gets at the emotion of following each other and doing life together (will you follow?)

What if I told you, everything we built will slowly fade away? And if I hold you, I swear everything I touch it breaks But it you close your eyes and take my hand We could learn from our mistakes

If you jump, I'll follow If you jump, I'll follow

What if I told you, everything that's gold is sure to fade If I hold you, what if I hold you 'til we're old and grey? But if you close your eyes and take my hand We could learn from our mistakes

If you jump, I'll follow If I jump, will you follow?

Never Let Me Go - We Came As Romans

See below under Malcolm & Gil - really good for canon friendship/ partnership with Dani & Bright

Hush Hush - The Band CAMINO

This one is absolutely perfect for building tension between the two of them either for pre-brightwell or established Brightwell – Especially if they’re hiding it from the rest of the team. It’s perfect for something hot yet playful, or just completely angsty. It’s… well, you’ll see. Give it a listen!

I caught your eye across the room No one can feel the tension between me and you There's no need to mention all the things I wanna do You wanna do 'em too We both know we'd be over if they knew Yeah, we both know we'd be over if they knew

Hush, hush Don't give it away We'll both be better off if no one knows Hush, hush Got nothin' to say Just keep it to yourself 'til we get home Don't touch they're looking your way If anybody asks, we left alone Hush, hush Don't give it away Hush, hush Don't give it away

Honest - The Band CAMINO

This one right here – the ENTIRE song is 100% for those storylines that has the two of them attempting ‘no strings attached’ and casual without all the emotions that we KNOW are there. Perfect for leading into a change from casual to serious :) Here’s just a portion

Are we something to each other Or are we just blowing smoke? Are we caught between the covers Or is there something more going on in between us, or not? Is it just on the surface, or what?

We should be honest 'Cause sometimes I can't tell Do we really want this Or are we lying to ourselves? Is it the burning hearts alone in the dark That make the midnight call? Now we're caught between the real thing And nothing at all So we should be honest

Do you feel it when you kiss me? 'Cause I know you do somehow I don't know when we go where we got But we're both here somehow And I thought it was nothing until now

What I Want - The Band CAMINO

Some feels for break up/ fight Brightwell and perfect for Dani’s POV when he moves onto Eve shortly after saying he’d try to do better at them and that she’s the one he likes talking to.

You told me to love, but I won't It doesn't seem right, no and I'll never get what I want if I can't on my own I took a chance on a feeling But here I am feeling alone

If Im James Dean, Then You’re Audrey Hepburn - Sleeping With Sirens

For when Malcolm is serious about them and really needs Dani to stay – most important line in this is ‘Cant promise that things wont be broken’ For serious, and fluff:)

They say that love is forever Your forever is all that I need Please stay as long as you need Can't promise that things won't be broken But I swear that I will never leave Please stay forever with me

The way that we are It's the reason I stay As long as you're here with me I know we'll be okay The way that we are Is the reason I stay As long as you're here with me I know I'll be okay

Another Nightmare - Sleeping With Sirens

It’s not hard for Bright to be a MESS - whether you're sticking with canon storylines or adding your own, he probably thinks he's an absolute nightmare to everyone around him, especially Dani.

Nobody's perfect, there's no excuse I've been such a fucking nightmare to you But I promise if you let me in (let me in, let me in) I will never ever hurt you again

Malcolm & Martin (as portrayed on the show - not going near that NOTP)

Monsters - All Time Low (Explicit language)

This song perfectly - 99% - describes the relationship between Malcolm and Martin (aside from the ‘in the sheets’ reference STAY THE FRICK AWAY NOTP). What I like the most about this matching their relationship is the fact that it acknowledges that Malcolm keep letting himself go back to Martin and let him hurt him (although I know a good deal of that is Martins manipulation controlling Malcolm). Go listen to the whole thing - its new music and its beautiful.

Another day, 'nother headache in this hangover hotel Gettin' used to the rhythm, yeah, I know this beat too well Tunnel visions got me feeling, like you're the only one I see But I know what's missing, where I'm swimmin' In my lonely luxury

Why am I a sucker for all your lies? Strung out like laundry on every line Why do I come back to you, like I don't mind if you fuck up my life?

I'm addicted to the way you hurt, the way you contradict me I swear everything look worse at night, I think I'm overthinking I don't care who I might hurt along the way, I'm fuckin' sinking Into every word, I don't care if you lyin' when I'm drinking So, tell me pretty lies, look me in my face Tell me that you love me, even if it's fake

A Trophy Father’s Trophy Son - Sleeping With Sirens

The actual context of the song doesn’t fit to this situation, since Martin was taken away rather than leaving his family on his own but the emotion behind the words as if they were coming from Malcolm is exactly the same: losing a father. Perfect for young Malcolm as well as current day.

Father, father, tell me where have you been? Its been hell not having you here I've been missing you so bad And you don't seem to care When I go to sleep at night, you're not there When I go to sleep at night, do you care?

I need to know, I need to know Why are you walking away? Was it something I did? Did I make a mistake cause I'm trying to deal with the pain I don't understand this, is this how it ends? I will try to understand

Blood Lines - Sleeping with Sirens

Doesn’t need any more explanation than the statement Martin made that haunts him ‘We are the same’

No matter what I do, you will never ever be like me And I will never be like you (like you)

Malcolm

Who Will Pray? - We Came As Romans

Not in a religious context at all. Definitely a song on the more glum/ angsty side to describe Malcolm and how he feels about himself in relation to everyone around him.

We share our days Together now the sun is gone am I Another left here on my own alone And I'm slowly sinking

Scared to say What I'm feeling is the truth I need to face reality I choose to use to trick myself again into thinking

Short of breath and pulse erratic The weight of my chest, I'm slightly panicked

If I start to fade, gone without a trace Who will pray for me tomorrow? If I fall too far, disappear in the dark Who will pray for me tomorrow?

Blood Lines - Sleeping With Sirens

Just some lyrics I found that accurately describe Malcolm – ‘Why do I try to save everyone I meet?’ evidenced by his talking down of their killer in every episode, and his ‘someone breaks us’ in the pilot as he tried to talk that killer down.

Why do I try to save everyone I meet? Is it because they are just like me? (Just like me) Same tracks, wrong side of the street Not typical in the way that we speak When you always expect to lose You don't give a fuck what they think of you It's written in our DNA Are we just born this way?

Malcolm & Gil (AS THEYRE PORTRAYED ON THE SHOW, PEOPLE, still not going near that NOTP)

Never Let Me Go - We Came As Romans

This one actually fits any caring relationship with Bright, especially with Gil, and his canon friendship/ partnership with Dani.

The POV in the chorus changes halfway through, as an answer to the person saying ‘dont let me go’ so I see that as being them telling Malcolm they wont let him go.

My body shivers at the thought of getting up My heart is starting to accept that I am giving up No strength left Is it over yet? Am I thinking with my heart or with my head? Through distance, you remind me that

Don't let me, don't let me, don't let me go

So hold me close and never let me, never let me go At my lowest of lows, when I need you the most So let's reverse, could you look for me, could you look for me first? I will hold you close, I will never let you go I will never let you go I will never let you go

My hands welcome yours as you begin to see me My heart is starting to accept your rescue completely This new life that you placed in my heart I hope that I will make it through to you And in my steps you will follow behind, Oh Don't let me go!

Malcolm & JT (Once again - as they’re portrayed on the show)

Agree to Disagree - Sleeping With Sirens

Doesn't entirely fit them where they are at now, but it’s perfect for how JT viewed him pretty early on

You think you're better than me? You don't like what you see? I think it's best we agree to disagree I'm doing fine by myself I never asked for your help I think it's best we agree to disagree

Songs that I’m getting paring/ character vibes from but I have no explanation why:

For a While - The Band CAMINO (Brightwell)

See Through - The Band CAMINO (Brightwell)

#songfic #prodigal son #prodigal son fic inspiration #song lyrics #brightwell #brightwell inspo #updated list #all time low #Artist Vs Poet #Mayday Parade #We Came As Romans #The Band CAMINO #Sleeping With Sirens

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prodigal-sons · 5 years

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Hey, so if anons could stop coming for me for saying in a recent post that I ship Malcolm and Eve, that'd be great!

For real though in my post about my multi shipping experience, I have had several people sending anon hate on why I shouldn't ship them, why they hate Eve and I should too...

Let's please stop that!

And it kinda blows my mind that I said I shipped Brightwell, Maldrisa, Tright, Maljay and him and Eve...so who's side do you think I'm going to switch to if I don't ship him and Eve? Because I am already shipping the alternatives..

I really just don't know. I'm under fire for liking Eve and enjoying her canon relationship with Malcolm.

Which,,,as of right now, (episode 16), all we know that's bad about Eve is she is related somehow to the girl in the box? And there's a possibility that she was only getting close to Malcolm just for information? But so far all of that is speculation, so why are people unable to just let me live? People's opinion's can change over time, at this moment I really like Eve and her potential, but that could definitely change depending on the direction they take her character. Who knows? Maybe next week things will change and I won't like her! Who knows?

This really sucks. It doesn't feel good to come to a place on here that I enjoy, and be bombarded with hate on my own blog. There's so much depressing stuff going around the world right now I really don't need it on here...

And an FYI, I will not be answering any of the asks giving them any time of day, so please stop sending them.

#prodigal son #eve blanchard #malcolm x eve #mati speaks #i am so exausted and come on here for a good time. not to get anon hate #well yikes #sorry yall #long post #personal

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prodigalsonheadcanons · 5 years

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Hi, I couldn't choose between these four... I leave them in your capable hands :3 15. “You know, it took me a long time to decide on food poisoning.” 16. “She’s going into shock-” 29. “Because I couldn’t live with myself if you got hurt!” 39. “This is a matter of life and death, make the wrong move, the wrong choice, and she's dead. You hear me?” P.S. If it's not too much trouble, I wouldn't mind some Brightwell :3

So I chose to do #16; other prompts I’ve gotten have requested some of the others, and 16 held the most angst potential that I knew you’d love. So here you go! ♡

16. “She’s going into shock-”

The sounds went off one after the other, in perfect order.

The first gunshot. Followed by the second. Followed by Malcolm’s scream of horror.

JT had been the one to fire. After the first. Which meant he’d fired too late.

Harrison Ross had been the one to shoot first, and his bullet had found its home the millisecond after JT’s found its home in him. He dropped to the floor, falling completely still. But there was no triumph in the fact that they’d taken out their killer. Not when Dani had been shot first. Not when Harrison’s bullet had buried into her abdomen— not when she had fallen first. It was only a millisecond, between the shots. But that millisecond was all it took.

“Dani!” Malcolm rushed to her and dropped to his knees. His eyes were stretched wide with horror, yet they were nowhere near as big as hers were. Laying on her back, staring up at the ceiling, her expression was a twist of pure agony and pure terror. Her hands had instinctively gone to her stomach, to the injury that was there. Malcolm already felt sick when he saw that they were already covered in red. But he fought to keep himself collected. He fought to keep his head clear, to take a couple deep breaths and force himself not to follow her into panic.

You can’t panic, you can’t panic, don’t panic, don’t panic don’t panic don’t panic don’t—

“Dani, move your hands,” he breathed. He grabbed her wrists. She immediately choked out a horrible noise halfway between a choke and a scream. The sound was awful— he couldn’t keep himself from flinching away from it. But he stayed resolute. “I’m sorry— Dani, you have to move your hands.” He pulled again and this time he managed to stay firm despite the fact she screamed again, louder this time. His stomach dropped when he saw the injury. When he saw the blood gushing out of the wound just above her hip. Already, it was everywhere. Now that the initial fear had passed, Dani was starting to breathe faster, choking on every third breath in. She couldn’t keep back her cries of pain. Tears were running down her cheeks. She was starting to breathe faster and faster.

“Call an ambulance!” he snapped at JT, but he was already doing it. He whirled back around to Dani, and forced a smile on his face. “Hey— hey, it’s gonna be okay. Everything’s going to be fine, okay?” He shrugged his coat off, and folded the sleeve in on itself, trying to ignore how much his hands were shaking. “I’m going to apply pressure on the wound. I’m gonna try and stop the bleeding as much as I can, but the ambulance is on its way, okay?”

The second he pressed his coat against the injury she screamed again. Her hands flew to his wrist; blinded by pain and fear, she pushed against him, struggling to get him off of her. He flinched, but just pressed down harder. “I’m sorry— Dani, I’m sorry I’ve got to try and control the bleeding I know it hurts.” She cringed and cried out again. Her fingers were digging into him so hard, her nails were beginning to bite into his skin. He paid no mind to it.

He couldn’t move her. The best option for him was to apply direct pressure and wait for the ambulance, but how long was that going to take? Already, it was taking a monumental effort to keep from hyperventilating like Dani, to keep from falling apart. This was his friend— someone that had accepted him faster than most had, that he trusted, that he worked with, and now she was bleeding out on the floor of some warehouse.

No. No. She wasn’t going to bleed out. He wasn’t going to let that happen. Not to Dani.

He spared fifteen seconds, forcing himself to clear his mind enough to watch her breathing. It was fast and much too shallow. Her respirations were already at 26 per minute. His heart started to fall, but he very quickly righted himself, tearing his mind away. “Dani. Dani, look at me.” She did. She gasped and cried. There was nothing but desperation on her face when their eyes locked. Again, it threatened to chip at his foundation and send him over the edge. But again, he caught himself before he could crumble.

He shook his head at her and smiled. “Hey, you’re going to be fine, alright?” She said nothing, still staring at him and choking. He could feel his hand already getting wet from the blood that was seeping through the fabric of the coat. He shifted to hold a fresh part against the wound, applying more pressure, which made her scream all over again. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he rushes, guilty but knowing he had no choice at the same time. JT was rushing over to them, now. His expression was stricken with horror when he saw how much blood there was. That worried Malcolm. JT never lost his cool.

But he couldn’t focus on him. “Dani, look at me,” he repeated again, knowing that if she saw JT’s worry, it would just make her worse. Her eyes locked on him. He smiled. Her nails were still gouging into his skin, but he moved so he could put one hand over hers. Feeling whether or not she was going cold. But also struggling to provide her a sense of comfort. “Just keep your eyes on me— you’re going to be fine. Everything’s fine. I promise.”

She continued to gasp for a couple seconds. It was turning Malcolm’s stomach to hear the sobs that broke nearly every one. But despite her crying, he was surprised when she shot him a tiny smile. It was short-lived, but it was snarky and so very her. “’s this— as ‘fine’ as…your snake bite?” she choked out. The moment she got through this, her smile was vanishing and she was flinching again. Her nails dug harder. At first, he was confused. But then he realized.

The smile he returned to her was worn. But he still laughed. “Yes, it is,” he agreed, and the edges of her lip twitched upwards briefly. “Hey, I lived, didn’t I?” he demanded, and her gasp was fragmented into something that was almost a laugh. Her grip was getting looser. “You helped me, then— you made sure I would be okay. So I’m going to make sure you’re going to be okay. Right?”

She opened her eyes again, and their eyes met once more. There was something different, in this look they shared. There was something heavier, something that was difficult to pin down. Her lips were beginning to shake. She cringed as another wave of pain gripped her. She tried to keep her scream back, but it was getting harder and harder for her to do so. This time she couldn’t do it at all. Her breathing started to pick up even more.

Malcolm cursed under his breath. He shoved his coat at JT and barked another command. “Hold that to the wound.” Usually, he’d be a little concerned about bossing JT around, but he wasn’t in the headspace at the moment to worry about what would be the best social thing to do. He turned back to Dani and grabbed both her hands in his. They were cold. But this was a different kind of cold. It was a kind of cold that nearly wrenched his breath away. His panic was trying to grab onto him again, struggling to drag him down underneath its depths.

He was fighting tooth and nail not to let it. He took in a deep breath that shook on his way down. “Dani— Dani, eyes here. Eyes here, Dani.” He gives her hands a long, tight squeeze. “Squeeze my hands back. Just like I did, squeeze my hands.” She cringes and cries out again, but to Malcolm’s relief, she does. It isn’t as hard as he had, but her fingers curl around him tighter, for a brief second. He forces a smile. “Good! Good, that’s good, Dani…do it again.” He squeezes her hands twice. Much weaker, she returns the two. He squeezes her hands three times. His heart tears when her three are barely there.

“Y—” He perks, when he realizes she’s trying to speak. He can’t help but let his expression fall just the tiniest bit when he sees how much she’s struggling now. Her lips were shaking and her teeth are chattering, but she still tries to smile at him. “You…said m’…hands were…cold…” His stomach plummets. She’s trying to joke. She’s trying to tease him.

It hurts him physically, to smile at her, and it hurts him even more to laugh. “Yeah…” He looks at their hands. They’re both squeezing now, holding tight. Like Dani was dangling on the edge of a steep cliff, and Malcolm was the only thing that was keeping her from plummeting. “Yeah, I did.” There’s a strangled noise in the back of her throat, almost like she was trying to laugh again. But the attempt broke off, and she ended up coughing instead. The hack was weak, but it wracked her body and caused absolute agony to crease over her face.

Malcolm waited tensely for her to recover afterward, like she had up until this point. But this time, she didn’t. This time, when the agony passed, it was replaced with a bone-chilling numbness. Malcolm froze when he saw her eyes roll back into her head. Her shallow, too-fast breathing hitched and choked. It began to stutter. “Dani?” She said nothing. His panic, which he’d barely been able to keep a cap on in the first place, immediately began to unravel and burn into an inferno. “Dani!” He squeezed her hands, but hers remained limp. “Dani!” he screeched. Still nothing.

JT’s eyes widened even more. “She’s going into shock—!”

“Elevate her legs!” Malcolm screamed, before he could even finish all the way. He lashed out to grab his coat from JT and take over the job of applying pressure. JT rushed to follow directions; Malcolm leaned over Dani more as he briefly took one of his hands away from his blood-soaked coat, so he could put his hand against her cheek, in the hopes of getting her eyes open again. His hands were covered in her blood. The moment he touched her, he was leaving behind a handprint. “Dani, Dani— look at me, look at me Dani!” There was nothing. His desperation was mounting. “Dani! Open your eyes, the ambulance is almost here, you have to stay awake, you have to breathe slower, Dani!

“Dani stay with me! Don’t…me, don’t you dare leave…fine, it’s all gonna be…Dani!”

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

The first thing she was aware of was how much she hurt. Before she could pry her eyes open, her forehead was creasing in bleary confusion and pain. Her consciousness leaked back to her in tiny increments. She heard a strange, annoying kind of beeping in her ear. It took effort to figure out how to open her eyes, but eventually, she did. She found herself staring up at a ceiling she didn’t recognize. Her mind was sluggish, but every slow blink of hers was helping get her vision clearer. Every blink, and her thoughts cleared a little more.

She looked down at herself and saw that she was in a bed, a blanket tucked around her. She saw a TV mounted on the wall. There was a whiteboard hanging across the room, with names and numbers written on them. It pleasantly informed her ‘Your nurse is Sandra.’ She was so out of it, it took her an embarrassingly long amount of time to realize she was in the hospital. With that piece of information, she remembered what had happened. She remembered being shot, she remembered all the pain. She remembered Malcolm. She remembered him yelling at her, how he’d held her hands tightly in his own.

She became aware of another noise. Soft, slow breathing. Her eyes followed it. She turned her head and stopped short. Her eyes widened, with shock and with confusion. Malcolm was at her bedside. He was curled up awkwardly in the recliner, his head on the hard armrest and his legs tucked up to his chest. His hair was a mess and his eyes were lined with bags that were much darker than normal. He looked awful. He was sleeping, but it looked like it was the first time he’d slept in days. She stared at him for a long moment, remaining confused. How long had she been asleep? He hadn’t been here the entire time…had he?

Her voice was dry and underused. It cracked weakly when she asked: “Malcolm?”

It was quiet, but it snapped Malcolm awake at once. He jerked, his eyes flying wide as he shoved himself up to sit. He was wild-eyed for a second, looking alarmed and scattered. But when he saw her, and he realized she was awake, she could see all the emotions rush in to crowd his face. She saw his relief, his disbelief, his lingering fear, smack him all at once. He scrambled so fast to sit up, he almost fell off the chair entirely. “Dani! You’re— …you’re awake.” Relief shook his words.

“How long was I out?” she asks.

His shoulders slowly relax, as he lets out a heavy breath. “Uh…about— two days…I think…”

She looks at the chair, her eyebrows knitting more together when she sees the pillow and blanket that was bunched up in its corner. “How long have you been here?”

He follows her gaze, blanching. Almost like he was as surprised to see it as she was. His reply comes reluctantly, yet it’s exactly the same. Just slower. “Uh…about— …two days…I think…”

Something in her chest tightens. It takes her a second to be able to speak. “You…you didn’t…have to stay, like that…”

“I know.” He looks back at her, much more unsure. “I just…wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Their eyes met and at first, neither of them seemed all that sure of what to do. Or say.

It took her a moment, to realize the feeling in her chest wasn’t a bad one. That it made the pain in her abdomen subside, just because it was so warm. A smile started to raise the edges of her lips, and once Malcolm realized, he was following her lead and grinning as well. The last time she’d seen him, he was panicked. He’d been holding her hands tight in his, struggling to get her to respond to her, and keep her there. Trying to laugh along with her, to try and pretend that the situation they were in wasn’t as dangerous as it actually was. That was the last thing she remembered, anyway.

Now, he looked disheveled and exhausted. Strained, after days of sitting at her bedside and getting nothing.

But he looked happy, too. Now that she was up and talking to him, he looked so happy.

Her smile grew stronger, as did the warmth in her chest. “Thank you. Malcolm,” she murmured, meaning much more than just the fact he’d sat with her.

He softened. Relief and subtle affection layering his reply. “Of course.”

#I hope it’s good!!! i hope it makes your day better too 😘💕#Prodigal Son #Malcolm Bright #Dani Powell #Brightwell #Prompt #Tiny fic #Made before S1E05 #Girl you dont

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rosalind-of-arden · 4 years

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Sword and Pen Reread, chapter 9

It’s Dario time!

It’s really rather fun to watch the ex-Archivist’s habits of double-dealing and manipulation come back to haunt him in the ephemera. Here’s Callum Brightwell telling the bastard to go fuck himself. You know you’ve sunk low when Callum fucking Brightwell holds even the slightest bit of moral high ground over you.

How badly do I want to see @thegreatlibraryfangirl dissect all this Dario stuff? So. Fucking. Much.

Dario has a “favorite shop for little cakes.” Someone please write Dario buying little cakes for Khalila between Ink and Bone and Paper and Fire. It would be the cutest, fluffiest, sweetest thing ever.

Santi has soldiers following Dario. Lord Commander Santi is hedging his bets in case Dario isn’t so loyal after all. Dad Santi is worried about his baby.

“Even the normally predictable Niccolo Santi” is hard for Dario to predict right now. I think this is Dario’s less than 100% honest way of acknowledging to himself that he can’t actually fully understand Santi. Jess flat out admits to himself that he misunderstood Wolfe at first; Dario’s reaching similar conclusions about the adults, but thinking of it differently.

“But generations of Spanish diplomats had used his particular code, and as far as Dario knew it had never been cracked.” I’ll leave the Dario backstory analysis to Maz here. What I’m going to note is that we see later in the chapter that he shared this code with Santi. It was created by an anti-Library rebel. It’s been a Spanish secret for generations. And Dario gave it to Nic. That’s how loyal he is to the Library now. Or that’s how much he trusts Santi. Or that’s how weak his emotional ties are to Spain. Or some combination thereof.

“The only thing that had protected the ancient city was the legend, the glittering facade that covered rotten timbers.” This sounds so much like what Santi says to Wolfe in Stormcrow. Parallels between Santi and Dario. I’m really starting to want canon gap fic exploring how that relationship develops. Must consider ideas.

“Whatever others might think of him in the end.” “Boody, terrible, cruel work.” “Someone had to do it.” “Cowardly to avoid one’s duty.” Dario’s self image is very interesting to consider. He thinks of what he’s doing as necessary but terrible, and he expects others to hate him for it.

Dario is also very honest about his vices. Yes, he’s vain. No, he’s not sorry. But he does expect to be looked down on for it.

Timeline, ugh. “family blade he’d damaged this morning.” It is not actually possible for it to be the same day. I will take this as evidence that Dario is stressed and losing track of time.

Also, when did Dario get this spare Codex? Either this is the one he got back in Ink and Bone when his went missing, or he got it somewhere between Ink and Bone and the middle of Paper and fire when they left for Rome, or this is what he was doing during any of the windows of time when he’s unaccounted for in this book. Regardless, what was his original reason for having it? Paranoia? Family expectation that he be available as a spy?

He’s using a Codex the High Garda can’t track. Is he just worried about the Elites being able to track him? Traitors within Santi’s ranks (just how paranoid are he and Santi about that)? Wants to avoid giving away more than he has to about Spain’s spy operations even though he’s using them for the Library?

More Santi-Dario parallels: both express a desire to grab their partner and drag them off to somewhere safe and peaceful. And they both know Wolfe and Khalila would never agree with that.

Dario read Santi’s journal. And other journals. While he was a student. So... logistics. Did he break into Santi’s house? Seems unlikely - Wolfe and Santi would be too paranoid for that, and we know Dario isn’t that sneaky. I’m going to guess Santi kept a journal in his office in the High Garda compound. It’s plausible that Dario could get himself in there after hours. Also plausible that Santi would keep a journal there.

Other option? A bit more out there, but not impossible. Codex hacking. If Dario found out Morgan’s secret, Dario could ask Morgan to help him hack into journals. If Dario’s snooping, Dario could find out Morgan’s secret, maybe even before Jess did.

“He’d found a great deal more than he’d expected.” And what he found made him feel ashamed of what he did, and he never used the information. So, yeah, he found out about Wolfe’s trauma there. Dario might just know more about what Wolfe went through than Jess, but he’s kept quiet about it.

Spanish spies are all male. Here we have more villains prone to sexist hiring practices. Maybe evidence the rest of the world isn’t as progressive as Alexandria?

Russians make good weapons.

Eskander made an untraceable Codex for Santi. Some parents get wine or theater tickets for their kids’ partners. Eskander gets his kid’s partner spy tools.

Nic’s messy handwriting! He can read the code, but his handwriting isn’t good enough to write it.

Assuming Eskander’s helping out with the automata here, too? So he also gifts his son’s partner with murdered enemies. Clearly, Eskander is trying to make up for lost parenting time here.

Dario is bluffing when he tells the angry spies to write to the king, but he thinks there’s some chance, at least, that the king might side with him. Interesting.

Dario remembers the Black Archives when carrying books in a place that smells like Greek fire. Very interesting. At the end of one betrayal, he thinks of the end of another.

Santi will let the Spanish spies off the hook even though they were plotting against the Library. There’s a certain pragmatism there. He’ll be watching them, I’m sure, but he’ll call it a fair trade to use them and let them go.

This whole thing does look like some good strategy on Santi’s part. He’s good at his job.

Dario thinks he can drink away the trauma of seeing so much violence. But not the trauma of Santi seeing him as a deceiver. For all that Dario takes pride in his ability to do what needs to be done, he’s conflicted. He doesn’t like what he is, and he really doesn’t like others knowing what he is. There’s a lot of room to explore this in post-canon fics, I think.

This will be useful for my post-canon Wolfe&Dario fic, I think. His reaction to Santi knowing his capacity for deception may be similar to his reaction to Wolfe seeing his capacity for violence.

#the great library #sword and pen reread #long post

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ohallows · 7 years

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why you should read the great library series, a rec by me

okay so i’ve told myself to make this post a thousand times but like.... im actually doing it (mainly bc the third book just came out and im so fucking emotional i almost cried in barnes and noble today okay)

So. Do you like dystopian fantasy novels? Do you like stories about healthy found families? Do you like books with LGBTQ+ characters? Do you like books that genuinely make you feel emotions? Do you love books with amazing quotes like “books and men left the same traces when they burned,” “you’ve got ink in your blood... it’s in your bones, your skeleton’s black with it,” and other amazingly gorgeous lines? do you like a protagonist who genuinely cares about the people around him and constantly talks about how wonderful and amazing they are? did you enjoy the concept of fahrenheit 451 but think it was a little sloppy? ARE YOU MAD THAT THE LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA BURNED DOWN???

because look no further, this book series has ALL OF THAT and guess what! the library of alexandria DIDN’T BURN DOWN [some mild MILD spoilers like they wont affect your reading]

Okay listen this book is SO CLOSE TO MY HEART OKAY like it genuinely means so much to me so bear with me while i ramble on for paragraphs okay?

The summary for book one (Ink and Bone) is this: “In an exhilarating new series, New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine rewrites history, creating a dangerous world where the Great Library of Alexandria has survived the test of time.…Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly—but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden.”

Basically it’s a universe in which books = power and the Library has created a fun fantasy form of ebooks (called ‘blanks’) that allow the citizens to read books whenever they want, unlimited copies of it, but they will never be able to hold the actual book in their hands. Through this, the Library is able to control knowledge, power, imagination, etc. bc they only allow the public to ‘read’ certain books.

It’s extremely compelling because no one really acknowledges how powerful books can be irl and this series is all about how books can literally change the world.

Anyway

There are going to be (last i checked) five (5) books in the series (it was originally supposed to be a trilogy but im not complaining)

Book 1: Ink and Bone Book 2: Paper and Fire Book 3: Ash and Quill (which literally came out today!!!!!!!!!!)

(those are some bombass names am i right and the cover art is literally gorgeous trust me google it its beautiful)

Okay I’ll keep going

The Library’s power is broken up into 3(ish) factions - The High Garda (the guards/military power), the Scholars (who control the different libraries around the world and the books within), and the Obscurists (who create the alchemy to power blanks and other aspects of the Library’s rule)

Fighting back against the Library’s power are the Burners, who think that books should be available to the masses and that the Library needs to abdicate its power and return it to the people (sound familiar?)

Anyway, the central conflict in this book series is between Burners and The Library, and then the main group of characters who want to fix the Library but don’t agree with the Burner’s messages and actions (they burn books and themselves in a fanatic sort of defiance its insane - i mean look @ the name)

SO!!! The main cast (also as a note, the Library recruits new members every once in a while and the main people are this year’s new recruit class so - they either fail out, go to the Garda, go to a Library, or go into the Obscurist tower)

Jess Brightwell - my freaking KID!!! okay so he’s the main dude, he was raised in a family of book smugglers and loves books like he keeps not giving books to people just so he can keep them for himself and read and i genuinely love him so much okay. he’s the guy who constantly talks about how amazing and smart and wonderful his friends are and it’s iconic. his family sneaks him into the Scholars recruitment class so that he can get them more books and smuggle them out that way and he just kinda shrugs and goes ‘eh we’ll see’ and goes bc he wants to read more books. hes adorable

Thomas Schreiber - a large German boy who loves Jess a lot and is the most pure person I’ve ever read about damn like this boy is the definition of ‘gentle giant’. he’s also an engineering genius and builds little clockwork animals in his free time that he gives to his friends

Khalila Seif - MY FREAKIN DAUGHTER OKAY Khalila is from a wealthy Arab family and she is very strongly Muslim and shes like. canonically the most beautiful and intelligent character in the series. iirc she got a perfect score on the exam you need to take in order to get into the recruit class and she’s the only one to ever do it? she’s amazing she’s always at the head of the class and she cares so much for people around her and she lets herself be vulnerable as well

Dario Santiago - so he’s Jess’ rival in a way similar to Harry and Draco but less evil, they hate each other, and Dario is a smug little dick who thinks he’s better than everyone else and it’s SO satisfying to watch him get knocked down a peg but he genuinely cares for his family and friends

Glain Wathen - my other daughter who is a freakin warrior like she’s strong and big and refuses to take anyone’s shit and she has an extremely dry sense of humor and can destroy a mans ego in a few words i love her. she’s also incredibly intelligent but there’s no ‘will-they-won’t-they’ relationship crap between her and the other guys and her and jess have such a great friendship okay i love it

Morgan Hault - eh shes okay. she’s Jess’ love interest and she gets pretty annoying but she’s also incredibly smart/powerful + will be integral to the takedown of the library. it’s nice that she doesn’t take Jess’ shit at all either

Christopher Wolfe - he’s the scholar running the recruitment class and he’s my dad i would die for him okay!!! you will hate him in book 1 at least in the beginning. he drives the kids hard, he is extremely angry and bitter, but he would die for any of them in a heartbeat and once he starts to settle into his position it’s very obvious that he’s just a freakin’ rebel and wants the Library to be fixed. he’s just a lotta bit in love with Nic

Niccolo Santi: captain of the high garda and my other dad. deals with wolfe’s shit. lotta in love with wolfe too. he’s super tactical and very intelligent and has basically been tasked with keeping wolfe from dying because wolfe keeps flipping off the library (you know that meme that’s like. “person a: no person b: yes person a: *sighs* person a: me also yes” thats literally wolfe and nic’s entire relationship nic is person a it’s amazing i love them. and while there is drama in their relationship it’s from outside forces, they’re devoted to each other and always will be i live for it okay

There are also the bad guys: The Archivist Magister (an old dude), the Artifex Magnus (an older woman), and some other people I won’t name but yeah they basically hold all of the power and restrict what the public can read.

The interesting bit of this book is that you basically get two incredibly diametrically opposed forces butting heads with a group caught in the middle who just want to mass-produce books to give to the masses and to fix the flaws that the Library has, and there are a lot. There isn’t this whole “they’re right and we’re going to fight with them”, it’s very clear that both forces are wrong, inherently, and even Jess’ little group might not be doing the right thing - there is a lot of self-doubt and questioning which makes it more real to me

It’s genuinely such a good found-family story and it’s a dystopian story done right.

(guys when i say this is my second favorite book series, second only to harry potter, im not kidding alright? this book series is so good and integral to my life)

i could genuinely talk about this book for three days straight because its so good, and none of characters are thought to be lesser than others because of their race or gender, it’s all based on their accomplishments which is a nice refresher

also? the romance side-stories are pretty limited (usually) but they’re well done, which i appreciate. you get to see these quiet moments between the characters and when it’s relevant to the plot you SEE it as it is, relevant to the plot, but its not overpowering.

plus the author is genuinely hilarious she’s so talented i love rachel caine

anyway thats it i love this series and i uhhhh i would die for all of them except morgan and dario but thats another story please read this book series i need more people to talk to about it and i really love it, like seriously this book is getting slept on and i’m going to scream

#ink and bone #paper and fire #ash and quill #the great library #im ride or die for this series im literally sitting at work reading it lmoa #*lmao

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bookaholicdenise-blog · 5 years

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Ash and Quill By Rachel Caine - Review

Genre: Fantasy, Dystopian

Stars from Goodreads: 4.11/5

Stars from me: 4.5/5

What is the book about: Ash and Quill is the book of The Great Library series. In Ink and Bone, the first book, we were introduced to a world in which The Great Library controls all the books of the world and ownership of physical books is expressly forbidden. In Ash and Quill, the story continues forth with Jess and his friends having fled London, to Philadelphia where people rebel against The Great Library by burning books. The following summary can found in Goodreads:

“Hoarding all the knowledge of the world, the Great Library jealously guards its secrets. But now a group of rebels poses a dangerous threat to its tyranny… Jess Brightwell and his band of exiles have fled London, only to find themselves imprisoned in Philadelphia, a city led by those who would rather burn books than submit. But Jess and his friends have a bargaining chip: the knowledge to build a machine that will break the Library’s rule. Their time is running out. To survive, they’ll have to choose to live or die as one, to take the fight to their enemies—and to save the very soul of the Great Library…”

What I liked about the book: Ash and Quill pretty much begins where Paper and Fire left off. Jess and his friends find themselves in Philadelphia, a city that is run by Burners. They may have escaped from the Archivist but now they have to worry about the Burners that want them dead. Jess and the gang soon realize that they have no other option but to fight against the Archivist. This leads to sacrifices made by everyone.

I have liked the characters since Ink and Bone and Ash and Quill made me like them even more. Jess has stayed smart, clever, and selfless. Throughout the books, he was always been an incredible strategist and has worked hard along his friends. Morgan is the definition of selfless for me. She worked hard without having any regards for her own safety. Thomas is a genius and innocent. Glain is smart and tough. Dario is charming and cares more then he admits. Wolfe is commanding, as always. Santi is the protective, always ready to fight captain. Khalila was always tough, courageous and not afraid of voicing her opinion. Rachel Caine does characterization, character development, and world-building so well! She created a unique and intense world for this series. I could picture the scenery, the characters, the action, the emotions the characters felt.

Like Ink and Bone and Paper and Fire, Ash and Quill was exciting and nerve-wracking. There was so many action in this book. Jess and the gang went through so much both physically and mentally. I could not stop turning the pages once I began to read. I was always at the edge of my seat, wanting to know what happens next. This book left not space for me to lose interest or get bored.

I have appreciated the romance that there is this series. There are a few couples in the book. There is Jess and Morgan, a sweet pair that I wish had more love scenes than they got (but that’s understandable. They are either on the run or on the verge of death). There’s also Wolfe and Santi! I loved that this series was LGBTQ inclusive. Lastly, there was Dario and Khalila. Even though they were not together, it was obvious throughout the books that they had feelings for one another. The focus of the books where obviously not romance but I enjoyed the little it had.

What I liked less: There wasn’t anything major, really. After two books (three now), I wish I could read the book from the perspective of others. The books are pretty much written in third person limited to Jess’ point of view. Nonetheless, this book was great!

Final thoughts: Ash and Quill did not disappoint me, like the previous two. This series has been one of my favorites. I mean, it’s a book about books. What’s not to love, right? I would definitely recommend this book, this series.

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torentialtribute · 5 years

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Fans turned off by ‘FARCE’: Afternoon of anger and confusion as VAR technology makes debut

Fans disabled by & # 39; FARCE & # 39 ;: afternoon of anger and confusion as VAR technology debuts in Manchester City's victory over West Ham

VAR was hot topic after the dust settled from the Man City victory in West Ham

Fans were left with technology after three controversial decisions

Former Premier League referee Chris Foy thought it got every decision correct

There are concerns that supporters may become disillusioned because of VAR

Against Stephen Davies for the mail on Sunday

Published: 22:34 BST, August 10, 2019 | Updated: 22:34 BST, August 10, 2019

Any suggestion that the arrival of VAR would end any debate about questionable Arbitral decisions are clearly not the court case in Saturday's controversies in West Ham .

Although there was no doubt about the excellence of Manchester City in his 5-0 win, it was the impact of VAR rather than the class of champions that was the most popular topic ever dust had settled in the London Stadium.

A former Premier League star thinks fans are & # 39; disillusioned & # 39; will feel, while Pep Guardiola believes that VAR is the dynamics of games.

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Cries of & # 39; VAR is f **** ** s **** & # 39; tinkling around the stadium and adding fuel to the fire that will convince fans a lot that the system will work. City had ruled out a goal, another on excessive offside calls and a penalty that was retracted for infringement – all three incidents were referred to the VAR with the associated delays.

Fans across the country descended on social media to air a mixture of indignation, disbelief, indignation and incidental support from high-tech histrionics.

And it wasn't just fans who were stunned. & # 39; I just didn't enjoy what's going on & # 39 ;, said former Manchester United defender Paul Parker for the BBC. & # 39; It's disillusioning fans. & # 39;

His opinion is that the excessive margins with the two goals – one scored by Gabriel Jesus, the other given by Raheem Sterling – were so good that there is no guarantee that the technology can be so accurate. & # 39; The two finishes were similar, & # 39; he said. & # 39; We are talking about fractions. & # 39;

Pep Guardiola, the boss of Manchester City thinks VAR is the dynamic will change games

DANNY MURPHY ANALYSIS: WE MUST HAVE & # 39; TIME DAYLIGHT & # 39; USING

Those who are a little skeptical about both VAR are good for our game. feel sad at two points because of what happened in West Ham.

Some people will say that the offside decision against Raheem Sterling in the run-up to Gabriel Jesus' goal was technically correct with a fraction of a shoulder. But I don't think a system is infallible if it is that close and you take into account the movement of different players and the ball.

I prefer to see a & # 39; daylight line & # 39; has been introduced so that the decision of a referee can only be ignored if there is an opening that indicates offside, instead of a body part being millimeters away.

My biggest concern, however, is not technical, it is how these hairline decisions affect the spirit of the game.

Later in the game, Sterling scored and his celebration was somewhat muffled. There is now a subconscious feeling where you have to wait until technology approves a goal before you can show joy and that kills what makes football great.

You can say that waiting for the VAR decision has its own excitement, but I am not excited about celebrating a goal without a doubt.

I have no intention of complaining about VAR every week; it's there now, the players will learn to be patient and I have to accept that it will be used.

But I think introducing a daylight rule, so we don't have to cancel targets for fractional decisions that can still be debated, would be an improvement.

The beautiful hat of Raheem Sterling was deceived by the controversial VAR decisions

Gary Lineker tweeted: & I am by the way for VAR. It has always been that way, but it is offside or it is not. & # 39; The argument is good if we have the technology to prove it – and it will come. I think it needs some kind of in-ball technology to determine the exact moment of contact. & # 39;

Contest officials and VAR supporters are convinced that the technology used in deciding on offside calls will soon be considered reliable as target line technology.

Former referee Peter Walton said: & # 39; We accept goal line technology when a ball is a millimeter across the line and by the end of this season, people accept that a player is a millimeter offside. & # 39;

What is undeniable is that Saturday's references on the field caused confusion. Fans were stunned when referee Mike Dean said City should retake a penalty after Lukasz Fabianski saved Sergio Aguero's first attempt, VAR decided that Declan Rice was guilty of offense rather than officials detecting false moves by the keeper.

]

And Guardiola the The stop-start character of VAR calls can change the course of competitions. City would have risen 3-0 if the goal of Jesus had stood. Moments later, only Ederson & # 39; s double-save stopped being 2-1. & # 39; You must be mentally strong if VAR goes against you & # 39 ;, Guardiola said. & # 39; At 0-3 the game is almost over. Then it is 0-2 and Ederson had to make an incredible save to keep it 1-2. You have to be calm, strong. It will change the dynamics. & # 39;

Rio Ferdinand, who works for BT Sport, said: & # 39; The danger is going to separate the game from the normal fan. The great thing about football is that it's simple. But they will get more decisions right than wrong and that must be right. & # 39;

And that view was reflected by Jamie Carragher, who tweeted: & # 39; VAR will sometimes have problems but criticize it as

However, not everyone was so convinced, with former City player David Brightwell who undoubtedly reflected the thoughts of thousands of fans when he tweeted: & # 39; It becomes a looooonnnngggg season this farce. & # 39;

KLOPP & # 39; S LOOPHOLE TO WALL RULE

Jurgen Klopp devised an innovative way to bypass the new rules for building his own rules.

Opposition players are not allowed within a meter of a defensive wall, removing the spades that can stop the game. Klopp's solution against Norwich was to build a wall a meter before Norwich (left), obscuring the view of keeper Tim Krul.

& # 39; It is within the letter of the law & # 39 ;, said former referee Chris Foy.

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jesscreason · 7 years

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Ash and Quill (The Great Library #3) by Rachel Caine

Words can kill.

Hoarding all the knowledge of the world, the Great Library jealously guards its secrets. But now, a group of rebels poses a dangerous threat to its tyranny...

Jess Brightwell and his band of exiles have fled London, only to find themselves imprisoned in Philadelphia, a city led by those who would rather burn books than submit. But Jess and his friends have a bargaining chip: the knowledge to build a machine that will break the Library's rule.

Their time is running out. To survive, they'll have to choose to live or die as one, to take the fight to their enemies - and to save the very soul of the Great Library...

Review

As expected, just like Ink and Bone, Paper and Fire left off in a totally expected way. Needless to say, I was super excited to jump into the third book in the series! Thank goodness I was able to download an ARC from NetGalley, shortly before it was released!

I don't want to give away any spoilers, but my reaction after finishing this book:

OMG! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!

This book was non-stop action, like the first two books, but I expected this book to bring some feelings of closure. However, I think this book ended with an even bigger cliffhanger than either of the first two in the series!

I was seriously upset after finishing this book. I arranged to read the first three books back to back, and at that time, I thought The Great Library was a trilogy. After finishing this book, I discovered that there will be two more books in the series.

Again, this book brought about so many twists and turns in the plot that there would be no way to guess what would happen next. I definitely did not expect it to end the way it did. Of course, I hoped that this book might wrap some things up, not because I don't want to read more books in this series; on the contrary, I just want to be able to read them now and see what happens next!

I never ever would have expected the ending. I don't want to put any spoilers here, but it was almost like the author had put so many crazy plot twists in, with situations that no one would ever guess the characters would get in to, that she decided at the end to throw in something that might be an obvious in any other book. Yet, I NEVER would have guessed it, since the rest of the book has much more complex methods of problem solving.

If these books sound even remotely interesting to you, READ THEM! I guarantee you will enjoy them, and I hope you love them as much as I did!

Here are a couple of my favorite quotes from this book:

No one with a book is ever along, even in the darkest moments.

When all the world is a clock, bow, you don't make a key. You become a key.

After getting over my initial shock, I did a little research and it looks like there are going to be (at least) two more books in the series. However, they do not have titles or cover art yet. Considering that this book was just released on July 11th, the next two books may not even be written yet. :(

On one hand, I am super excited to be able to keep reading and see what happens nect in the story, especially since I was not sure exactly how I felt about the way this book ended. Again, I don't want to give away any spoilers, so I won't reveal any more.

On the other hand, I'm going to have to wait SOOOO LOOONG to see what happens next, which sucks hard! It makes it even worse that I have no idea how long yet. I know I will be scouring the internet to try to get ARCs, though!

Putting my feelings about waiting to see what happens next aside: I ABSOLUTELY ♥ ♥ ♥ed this book! Finishing it has just left me with such mixed emotions! Finishing it, I feel sad and super anxious about waiting to see what happens next. Reading the book made me feel a whole different range of emotions, though!

However, I am kind of glad that I didn't do this research before reading this book. I think I would have gone into it with a different perspective, if I knew that there will be two more books.

Also, I will say that I definitely understand why there will be (at least) two more books in The Great Library series. Each book has been so jam packed with action. I don't see how the author could have ended the story with this book, without either doubling it in length or taking out some major aspects of the story.

Again, I ♥ed this book, and I know that the next two will be great! I am just sad that they are not in my hands right now! I will be waiting super impatiently for the next two books to be released!

I received a copy of this book from the publishers, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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rosalind-of-arden · 5 years

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Ash and Quill Reread chapter 7

Time for more overthinking of details about Morgan, Wolfe, and Santi. Also Zara. Fuck Zara.

Injured Santi can still knock Beck down the stairs. No motivation quite like knowing Beck wanted to burn Wolfe alive, I’m sure.

Wolfe is good at knife-throwing. Very good at it. I’m sure there is fun fic potential in this.

Also, Wolfe could slip away from the guard holding him and grab the guard’s knife. This is something he had to have practiced. A lot. Is this a skill picked up pre-Rome as a routine part of working with the High Garda? Or something he learned to do after Rome to make sure he could defend himself if he was captured again?

Just notice how impressed Jess is by Wolfe’s escape artistry and knife throwing. Competency kink, anyone?

Also interesting: this is not the only time Wolfe has been held by guards so far in the series. It is the first time he’s made an escape. This is a tactical decision.

A look at the difference between Wolfe’s and Santi’s attitudes toward violence. Once the Burners are down, Santi goes right for Wolfe. But Wolfe goes to Indira. Jess doesn’t hear what they say, but that hand on her forehead seems comforting, and pulling the knife out hastens her death. He cares enough about an honorable enemy to do what he can to ease her pain as she dies. Wolfe can kill, and he can make cold calculations of who to save and who to sacrifice, but he's clearly uncomfortable with violence. A bit of foreshadowing of his later discomfort with the Ray of Apollo, perhaps? Santi, on the other hand, is a soldier. The idea of comforting a dying enemy doesn’t even occur to him. Indira might not have been as bad as Beck, but to Santi, an enemy soldier is an enemy soldier.

Morgan is weak enough from power overuse that Jess has to carry her.

Jess not listening to Wolfe here seems like a bad idea. We don’t get exact words to know what his “protests” were, but it seems rather likely that he might have some idea of where the others are. He was the one issuing secret orders, after all.

Santi makes sure Wolfe is the first one out. Of course. There are reasons for Wolfe to go along with this, though. They have no idea what will be waiting for them outside the walls. Wolfe will take the risk of being the first one to find out. I suspect this is also why Santi goes right after Wolfe: if the High Garda is out there, he’s the one with the best chances of talking whatever soldiers are waiting for them into helping.

Wolfe is the one to help Thomas get away from the hole.

Santi’s company symbol is “a cobra coiled around a book.” So, a couple things. First, Santi totally has a tattoo of this. Maybe on his other arm, so library lion on one, company symbol on the other? Second, it was a cobra in the training exercise murder attempt in Paper and Fire, wasn’t it? Right, so no fucking way that snake was there by chance. The Artifex put that thing there to kill Wolfe with the symbol of Santi’s company.

Here again we see Santi’s ethical principles contrasted with the Library’s. He describes the refugees as “innocents” who “didn’t deserve this,” while Zara is quick to label them as Burners who deserved to die. He differentiates between soldiers and civilians. The Library doesn’t.

Up until now, the Brightwell-Library conspiracy has been mere speculation. But now, with the destruction of Philadephia, Brendan confirms it: he worked with the Library to arrange that bombing. Consider the level of trust there would need to be between the two sides for this to happen. This cannot be the first collaboration between the two factions.

Unspecified time gap. We do not know how long Jess is unconscious here. Probably hours?

Caretaker Wolfe! Now he’s turning his cranky caregiving on Jess, holding the bucket for him while glaring about it. Sure, Wolfe, pretend you don’t want to be there. We are totally fooled.

Notice how every time he gets out of an unpleasant situation, Wolfe gets himself cleaned up and into a new Scholar’s robe as soon as he can? Finickiness or trauma response? As usual, I vote both.

Jess is having a trauma response, and Wolfe offers him a drink and an honest answer to his question about safety. A couple things here. First, I suspect that Wolfe appreciates that level of honesty when dealing with his own trauma. Second, he’s distracting Jess from the flashback by giving him a problem to work on solving. Again, I suspect this is something Wolfe would appreciate himself.

“I have never met a more unruly, unteachable lot, and I thank the gods for forcing you all into my life,” Wolfe says, while smiling and looking fondly at Jess. And of course he cannot sustain that level of emotional honesty. Next minute he’s heading out the door and telling Jess “I’m not your nursemaid.”

Wolfe still doesn’t trust Jess with information about Morgan. Again, unintentionally reinforcing that lesson on keeping secrets.

Wolfe is working with the doctor and the Medica to take care of Morgan. Interesting. What is he contributing there?

There have been conversations between Wolfe and Brendan, and I really am sad we don’t get to see that. I can only imagine the awkwardness.

More remarkably fast burn healing. Jess suspects Morgan was healing him. Is he right? Is there some new Medica treatment that was used on him? It kind of would make sense for the Library to be constantly developing new burn treatments, really. Or, considering who was with him when he woke up, did Wolfe do something? Conscious or unconscious use of his small amount of power?

Again Jess thinks it’s Wolfe’s job to control Morgan’s choices when it comes to risky behavior.

Santi’s network of allies: two of three High Garda captains will cover for him. His company will feign loyalty to the Library while waiting for an opportunity to help him. His soldiers are more loyal to him than Zara.

A High Garda uniform includes: underwear, trousers, shirt, jacket, boots. No further detail given here, sadly.

Here we have the beginning of the Jess-Dario plan. Jess realizes his dad plans to backstab him, finds out about Dario’s connections, and starts working out how to turn all that to his advantage. All while his feelings of being kept in the dark by Wolfe are still fresh.

Dario got a gold band somehow. How did Dario get a gold band?

So we don’t get enough description of the three soldiers with Troll to be sure, but Phoena is a feminine name according to Google. I will take this as conformation that the High Garda do not have separate changing/shower facilities for men and women. Interestingly, Jess is not shy about changing in front of the group.

Wolfe, affirming the kids’ feelings of grief and despair. He understands trauma. “We all deal with things in our own way.”

Wolfe does not like Zara, to the extent that even Jess can see it. Jess thinks it’s “not quite jealousy” but Wolfe seems “uncomfortable with the closeness between Santi and his lieutenant.” But he does respect her, especially her clever scheming. There seems to be a good amount of cooperation between Wolfe, Santi, and Zara in plotting their deception of the Archivist.

Zara must not tell the Archivist all of this: we’d hear more about investigations or purges of traitors within the High Garda if she’d told how many companies were siding with Santi.

“What would you give to see that another city never dies like that again?” More signs of Wolfe’s discomfort with violence, especially on a large scale. He’s being a lot more honest here than he was after Oxford, where he was still (awkwardly) trying to teach the kids the Library party line about the necessity of its atrocities.

Santi wasn’t expecting Dario to be willing to fight. Small hints that Dario hasn’t fully regained everyone’s trust.

“I need to know - we need to know” This little correction from Santi is interesting. He’s used to being the sole commander when making tactical decisions. Now he’s deliberately acknowledging that Wolfe and the others share power with him in this rebellion. Another hint Jess misses when he concludes that Santi would stop the plan later in the book.

So, the ephemera here: we have a captain expressing his anger with the Archivist and we have Zara’s report of that captain’s suicide. First, note “Acting Captain Zara Cole.” She does not have an official promotion. That must be a process that takes time?

Now, we have a few ways to read these letters. This could be exactly what it looks like: this captain was so devastated that he wrote an angry letter to the Archivist and killed himself. Zara just happens to be the one who reported it. A more interesting possibility, though, is that this captain is the one who wouldn’t stand with Santi, and Zara just eliminated him and planted evidence to make it look like a suicide. Making him look like he was angry with the Archivist is a nice touch: it redirects suspicion away from the captains loyal to Santi. Another interesting option: this is one of the captains loyal to Santi, and Zara eliminated him on the Archivist’s orders.

#the great library #ash and quill reread

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