#my man you had over a year before the episode aired and the book published

[tarisilmarwen]

Palpatine be like "Thrawn my homeboy I know I said that you'd get funding for your fighters. But I need to shift funds into the Death Star to get it finished up before that dumbass Krennic decides it needs a chocolate refinery or some other bs. Don't worry you'll get the funds next quarter, it's not like the Rebels can actually do anything to the factories now."

There was so much comedic potential that Treason skipped out on.

So much.

[legends-of-time]

Thorn Bush (Doctor Who Story)

Chapter 20: Legend of the Sea Devils

Masterlist

A/N: When I published this chapter, Jodie's last episode had just aired so this dedicated to the Thirteenth Doctor though I had largely written it before her departure.

——

King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland and his guards charge through the building. The restored Monarch pushes a servant to the side.

"Out of my way!" He cries. He reaches another set of doors leading to the rooms of Painter Matilda and the woman he currently has his eyes on. He pulls on them only to find them locked and he begins banging on them. "Doctor!"

Inside the room, Eleven's clothing is cast over a stool.

"Doctor!"

We pan over to see paints and a palette. 

"Doctor!"

A large unfinished painting comes into view showing a naked Eleventh Doctor as Neptune about to be crowned by a cherub. He sits in the clouds and holds a trident in his right hand and his left is on his hip. A red swath of cloth is all that protects his modesty.

"Doctor!" The irate king bursts in, sword drawn, and confronts the lady artist, Matilda, though it is revealed to be Katherine - otherwise known as Kathy - Davis. She stares at him in alarm.

"Your Majesty!" Kathy squeaks out.

Charles usually would have taken time to appreciate Miss Matilda's appearance but he has more important things in his mind. "Where's the Doctor?"

Kathy chuckles nervously. "Doctor who?"

There is a muffled sneeze and the king sees Miss Matilda tense and knows he's caught them. He uses the tip of his sword to lift the hem of her dress. A naked Doctor peers out and smiles cheerfully.

"You know, this isn't nearly as bad as it looks." The Doctor had hoped to get Kathy to help him paint the picture as a present but they had been interrupted. 

"For once he's right." Kathy, or "Matilda", remarks.

The Doctor looks more closely at the king before pulling a displeased look. He glances up at Kathy, who looks at him unamused but he can see some humour there and expresses his displeasure. "This is the man who keeps on trying to get you to be his mistress? I get why you keep turning him down."

The monarch stares at him in outrage. "How dare you?!" Not only does this man disrespect him like this but also for fornicating with a woman that is clearly his though little does he know that the Doctor and Kathy would never ever "fornicate" nor is or will the latter ever be his. 

According to history books, at the personal intervention of the King, the unnamed Doctor was incarcerated without trial in the Tower of London. According to contemporary accounts, two nights later, a magical sphere some twenty feet across, was seen floating away from the tower, bearing the mysterious Doctor aloft. A lone figure had waved him off before disappearing into the night.

——

Kathy makes the point to be around Carlyle and Ashildr more, though there are times when the Doctor appears and it's the wrong point in the timeline.

These family events turned out to be things like the American and French Revolutions as well as battling with Napoleon.

Soon Kathy gets captured by pirates. How Kathy got caught up in this mess is not entirely her fault. It is 1807 and she had been on a bit of a boat trip with Ashildr and Carlyle as part of the celebrations of Ashildr reaching 1,000 when Ching Shih (also known as Zheng Shih or Zheng Yi Sao) came across them and attacked along with her crew. Kathy ended up getting taken hostage by them. Shih and her crew had celebrated their plundering but it didn't last long as Guo Podai and his Black Flag Fleet took hostage of Shih's crew, amongst them are her 6 and 3 years old children. 

While Kathy had been annoyed initially at being kidnapped, she recognises a desperate mother in dispute when looking at Shih and offers her help but only if Shih helps Kathy back to her own crew. Shih and they go searching for the lost treasure of the Flor de la Mar.

The Flor de la Mar was a ship which sunk off the coast of Sumatra in the early 15th century. It was carrying a hoard of valuable treasure. This treasure included a plutonic crystal known as the Keystone. Many years after the sinking, a ship captained by Ji-Hun retrieved the treasure but his ship had also disappeared, but Shih knows the location so that is where they head to.

Ching Shih storms off on her own into the village and leaves Kathy in the care of her ship. She soon returns with a piece of stone in her hands looking worse for wear. 

"What happened?" Kathy questions.

"Does not matter. We need to get moving." Shih dismisses.

Kathy wants to ask but knows the worry Shih has for her sons.

Shih is lashing the wheel while Kathy navigates with the instruments they have nearby. However, Kathy soon hears talking and sees what appears to be figures hiding behind some barrels. She alerts Shih and they both quietly make their way over so as not to alert the enemy.

"There's two of us. You must be pretty good at fighting if you've survived to be..." A young male voice is saying before trailing off.

"What?" Another – older – male asks. Kathy is startled at the strong Liverpudlian accent she hears. Why is this person in the Chinese region for?

"Seventy?" The first male voice suggests before correcting himself, "Sixty?"

"Forty... two." The second voice stumbles, indicating that while the first male was wrong, he himself may be lying about his age.

Shih's sword is across the second man's throat. "Stowaways!" She declares. Kathy stands behind her, slightly out of sight of the two intruders but she can see them.

Now that Kathy can see the two males clearly, she knows she doesn't know the first one that appears to be Chinese and maybe in his early 20s or younger in period and region appropriate dress but she feels as if the second male, a white man looking as if possibly in his 50s and wearing clothing that doesn't fit with his setting, she could possibly know but she can't put her finger on it.

"Let me do the talking here." The older man murmurs, but, despite his attempts, the two males find themselves bound and hanging upside down from a spar.

"So, my stupid little stowaways," Shih remarks as she circles them. Kathy stands to the side, watching and can't help but notice the older male trying to look at her. "...you think you can bring bad luck to my ship? Tell me why I shouldn't kill you both now."

The older male doesn't answer her and instead yells, "Kathy, you need to help us!"

Kathy gapes at him in utter bewilderment. How does this man know her? Is he from her future? It is possible but Kathy usually knows them even if she doesn't know what kind of relationship they have.

Shih looks at her sharply. "You know these vagabonds? Have you been working behind my back?"

"No! I have never met these two in my life!" Kathy defends. "I know we got off on a rocky start but I made vow to you!"

Shih looks suspicious but nods and turns back to the intruders.

"You might as well kill us, otherwise we're going to kill you." The youngest male declares confidently with the usual arrogance men of his age usually possess. 

Shih laughs at the boy's remark while Kathy continues to stare at the other male, trying to work at who he could be.

"For a boy hanging upside down you still have some spirit, but that won't keep you alive for long." Shih threatens.

Kathy goes to hopefully try and save these two males' lives but the older one interrupts, "You've got no crew except Kathy. Somehow, you've managed to sail this thing here with just the two of you. Now, I'm no expert, and I don't know how many crew you should have on here, but surely four's better than two?"

Shih whips around and places her sword at his neck. "You think you're so clever?" She hisses. 

"I'm not clever." He replies.

"I got what I came for. But I need to get to the wreck of the lost ship fast. If I let you live, you work the ship, do as I say. And if you're lucky you might make it back home alive." Shih tells them.

"So where are we going to exactly?" The older male asks.

"The shipwreck which holds the lost treasure of Ji-Hun." Kathy says.

——

The stowaways are freed and put to work. Kathy is curious about how the older male knows her so she joins him as works the sails.

"Thanks Kathy." He says as she helps him.

"How do you know me? Who are you?" Kathy questions.

"Dan." Dan tells her. "We've met before."

Kathy lets out a snort. "Uh, no we haven't. I'd remember someone dressed like this." She gestures to his pantomime pirate outfit complete with an eye patch and hook.

Dan grumbles fondly. "That's Yaz's fault. She said it would look good on me."

Kathy looks up from what she was doing. "Yaz?! Yazmin Khan?" 

"That's her."

"You know her?" He must be a companion or something.

"The Doctor too and you. Though, you did say you wouldn't know me. Something about not having watched this far."

Kathy relaxes a bit. While it's nerve wracking to think of all these new companions that she won't know, at least this one already knows her and understands she won't know the future exactly. 

"Yeah, kind of ended up in this world before you joined the TARDIS team..." She tells him then a memory comes to her. "Hold on! I know were introduced were introduce at the end of the credits of Revolution of the Daleks!" New Year's Day 2021. She had travelled to this world in May.

"Yeah, met those."

"Great." Kathy mutter. wonder what happened there. "Come on, put your back into it." She turns to him with her hand out. "By the way, Katherine Davis but call me Kathy. Nice to meet you."

Dan grins and grips her hand briefly. "Dan Lewis, nice to re-meet you."

——

It takes a lot of work with only a four person crew, though much easier than when it was just her and Shih, so Kathy is able to take a break and turn back to questioning Dan as she realises she needs more information on this specific adventure.

"How did you get here anyway?" She asks him.

"We've been aiming for a beach but turned up four centuries off the Doctor says." Dan explains. "Geomagnetic disturbance or something pulled the TARDIS off course. Skimmed some stones which veered off to the right for some reason."

"Kinetic hyper curve?" Kathy questions.

Dan nods. "That's what the Doctor said. Heard screams and found a Sea Devil the Doctor called it? Looked somewhat like a humanoid turtle thing. Beak-like mouth and two fins on its head. Webbed hands and feet. Heard of them?"

Kathy has a faint recollection of similar creatures from one of the classic episodes that she had watched. "A bit. They were here before humans. They regard Earth as their own planet. Don't think much of humanity."

"I can tell! It murdered a whole village!" Dan exclaims. "Your friend over there had released it. And it killed that boy's father." He gestures to the young boy who'd joined him when sneaking onto the ship. 

Kathy narrows her eyes at Shih as she mans the wheel. "Well, she hadn't mentioned that!"

"Bet she hasn't! Then the Sea Devil flew onto a floating ship in the sky!"

"Why aren't you with Yaz and the Doctor? Didn't they tell you about the golden rule of not wondering off?" Kathy finds it funny how without fail, the Doctor always has companions who don't listen to them.

"It's not my fault! He ran off." Dan defends.

"Oi!" The boy exclaims causing the both of them to turn and look at him. Kathy takes in his indignant look and tries not to smile at how funny it looks. "He has a name. It's Ying Ki. And I'm not a boy, I'm a man."

"Get back to work!" Shih orders. Ki bows his head and continues though looks displeased. Dan and Kathy share an amused look.

——

Kathy is back at her navigation station when she sees that Ching Shih's compass is going crazy.

She shows Shih, who asks, "How can it be broken?" 

"What's the problem?" Dan asks. Shih and Kathy walk down to where Dan is at the mast and Kathy shows him the compass. 

"None of our equipment works. We have to go by celestial navigation." Kathy explains. They all move to the side of the ship and stare at the sky. 

"Ursa Minor. Polaris." Shih observes.

"I always thought that I'd learn the constellations, but then I just downloaded an app on me phone. But I haven't got me phone with me." Dan remarks. Kathy gives a warning look, trying to tell him to keep his 21st century talk to himself. Though as a man he'll probably be fine. 

"I don't understand half the words you say." Shih tells him.

"You're not the first to say that."

"Well, I know the constellations." Kathy interrupts. "Menkar's there, which would mean..." Then the stars swirl.

"Did you see? The stars just moved." Ki observes.

"Yeah." Dan murmurs.

"The world is being disrupted." Kathy observes in shock. She really doesn't like not knowing the whys and hows.

Ki turns accusingly to Shih. "Because of you! Because of what you unleashed."

Shih ignores him. "We have to get to this place. Nothing is more important than getting our hands on that treasure." She walks away from them. Kathy can see Dan and Ki are confused.

"Why is it so important to you?" Dan questions as they all follow her. 

Shih holds out an ear in a box. Dan and Ki go to look and recoil in shock. Kathy doesn't look as she has already seen it and would rather not see it again.

"Is that yours?" Ki asks then takes in Kathy and Dan's incredulous expressions. "What?"

"She's got both." Dan points out.

"You want to know why I'm on this ship with just Kathy?" Shih asks Dan and Ki with her back to them. "My crew were taken. They're being held hostage by Guo Podai and the Black Flag Fleet. There's a ransom to pay or they all die." She turns to look at Ki. "You lost your father." She turns away again and Kathy knows she's likely holding back tears. "I could lose my sons."

Dan and Ki are quiet and looking sorrowful.

"How old are the boys?" Dan asks softly.

"Three and six." Shih replies. She turns back to them. "I promised I'd return with the treasure as release payment. The longer I take, the less likely I am to see them again."

Suddenly there's a crash accompanied by a roar and waves rising and crashing around them causing the boat to rock violently. Kathy yelps in surprise. She really wishes she knew that was coming.

"What was that?" Dan whispers quietly just before there's another roar and another crash, causing them all to almost lose their footing.

"It's the sound of Hua-Shen." Ki realises. More roaring and crashing of waves.

"Hua-Shen doesn't exist. It's a myth!" Shih argues almost being cut off by more roaring.

"If it doesn't exist, what's that?" Ki questions. In the distance, large fins are seen coming out of the water as it gets closer to them.

"Man the cannons." Shih orders.

They prepare the canons and the four of them stand at one each, facing the Hua-Shen with flames in their hands ready to light them. The giant sail fins on the sea serpent's back dip back below the waves.

"It's coming straight for us." Kathy observes.

"Now!" Shih cries.

Fuses lit, and four cannon balls fly off and into the water. There is silence and the four of them look at each other as they wait in silence. Suddenly there's a roar.

"What was that?" Dan asks.

Before any of them can answer him, the cannon balls fly up out of the sea.

"Down!" Shih yells. They all suck, waiting for impact but instead, the cannon balls impact in the air with an explosion. Neat trick for four lumps of metal.

They recover from that when Kathy feels the ship shaking again and a great spurt of water rises next to them. 

"What's going on?" Dan asks.

"Something just came out of the water!" Ki realises.

What then comes through the water and the clouds, gliding through the air is what Kathy can only describe as the flying Dutchman, the Chinese version. The bottom of the ship is littered with machinery lit up in green. Kathy realises that must be how it floats.

"What?" Kathy blurts out.

"That's impossible." Shih murmurs.

Kathy hears two very familiar voices yell, "Geronimo!" as the ship comes right alongside Shih's ship. Kathy watches with a smile as the Doctor and Yaz swing onto the deck. The Doctor is wearing location-appropriate clothing apart from the boots. Yaz is in similar dress.

"Doctor! Yaz!" She cries happily. The two women turn to her with beaming smiles.

"Is that your ship?" Ki asks in amazement.

"No," the Doctor replies, "but this is our friend." 

An unknown man wearing clothing that does not fit in the time period, but is better than Dan (anything is), lands on the deck with calm ease.

"Nice entrance." Yaz compliments.

"Thank you." He speaks.

"Ji-Hun." The Doctor introduces. "Rumours of his death have been greatly exaggerated."

"What?" Shih utters. Kathy gapes at him in shock. 

"You call this a ship? Where's the crew?" Ji-Hun demands to know.

"Well, that'll be us," Dan says cheerfully as he and Ki come to stand more in line with Kathy and Shih. Kathy winces in embarrassment at Ji-Hun's unimpressed expression.

"We don't stand a chance." Ji-Hun tells the Doctor. Kathy pouts at his remark. No need to say it with such certainty!

The Doctor looks affronted at his declaration and comes to stand by Kathy and Dan. "Oi, that's Dan and Kathy. Don't diss Dan and Kathy. They're my mates."

"Yeah." Dan adds. Kathy raises an eyebrow at Ji-Hun.

Shih ignores them and circles Ji-Hun in disbelief. "You can't be alive. That's not possible."

"I agree." Ji-Hun says.

"Focus now." The Doctor interrupts and storms over to Shih. "Where do you keep your treasure? Because that statue creature you released is looking for a keystone that was in the treasure of the Flor de la Mar, and their pet sea monster seems to reckon it's on this ship."

"What does it look like?" Kathy questions. She wishes she knew this information.

"Tiny orange jewel. Can glow unexpectedly." Ji-Hun explains. Kathy frowns. She hadn't seen any jewel like that.

"Any ideas?" The Doctor asks.

"I have." A Sea Devil emerges from a green mist next to Ki. He grabs him and puts his glowing sword to his throat. Kathy, Ji-Hun and Shih draw their weapons. Dan, Yaz and the Doctor spin around and back up.

"Take off the keystone." It orders. Kathy notices something glowing orange beneath Ki's shirt.

"It's nothing." Ki begs. "It belonged to my mother. She got it from her grandfather. It goes all the way back to the great Lei Bao."

"Lei Bao?" Ji-Hun murmurs. "He made it to land, and you're his descendant."

"Your family's oath across the centuries. It wasn't just a statue. It was hiding the keystone!" Shih concludes. Ki lifts up the keystone that sits on a chain around his neck.

"That's why the Sea Devil was a statue." Kathy realises. "It had been imprisoned in its quest to get the keystone."

"You had followed Lei Bao after imprisoning Ji-Hun." The Doctor says to the Sea Devil. How had the Sea Devils keep him alive for over 200 years though?

"I was tricked." The Sea Devil says.

"You were defeated." Ji-Hun retorts. "The legend of the keystone told it could be used to entomb aggressors."

"No wonder that gem's so valuable." The Doctor continues. "Oh. But wait, if that's plutonic crystal, and your systems below the ocean are fluo-geomagnetic..."

"Your world is now doomed." It grabs the keystone. "The keystone is mine!" It disappears with it in a puff of green smoke.

"If that ship goes back down without us on it, we don't stand a chance." The Doctor tells them. "With me." 

They all follow, swinging onto Ji-Hun's ship which still floats next to Shih's.

——

Kathy and the Doctor go below deck and find the Sea Devil fiddling with machinery.

"We know what you're doing." The Doctor says, drawing its attention to them. "You're trying to flip the Earth's geomagnetic poles south to north, north to south, longitude to latitude."

"That's why even the stars feel like they're moving." Kathy adds confidently, pleased she now knows what's going on. "You want to create chaos - melt the ice, shift the current, change the pressure - until the whole Earth is flooded."

"We're reclaiming what was ours." The Sea Devil says. "It is our right and it is our time. It's done, Doctor and Land Crawler." 

Kathy frowns. The confidence she was feeling is gone. "What do you mean, it's done?" The machinery is beeping.

"The plutonic crystal has been sent down." The Sea Devil explains. "The sequence will begin. Our Earth will be gloriously aqua once more."

"No, no, no, no!" The Doctor exclaims as the two of them dart over to the machinery to see that it is right.

"And my kin are ascending to reclaim this ship."

Kathy looks at it in alarm. "Well, not on our watch!"

——

She and the Doctor run on deck as Sea Devils climb up rope netting on the side of the vessel.

"It's coming after us. Be ready." The Doctor warns the others on the deck. She turns to run up some steps and comes face to face with the Chief Sea Devil from below.

"You can't get away from me, Doctor and Land Crawler." It growls.

"Again, not on our watch!" Kathy retorts.

"Say hello to our crew." The Doctor adds. She turns to Shih, Ji-Hun, Ki, Dan and Yaz looking up at them with varying expressions. "Go."

The Doctor draws a sword and begins battling with the Chief while Kathy turned around and engaged with another Sea Devil with her own sword. She can see Yaz, Ji-Hun and Shih engage with other Sea Devils. The Sea Devils fight back with their own glowing blue swords.

Kathy sees the Doctor get knocked down by the Chief and quickly shoves to give the Doctor a chance to recover before turning back to the Sea Devil she had been fighting.

"Don't let the swords touch your skin!" The Doctor yells.

"Really?!" Kathy retorts sarcastically. "Thanks for the tip!"

"No need to be rude." The Doctor fires back.

Kathy glances over after defeating a couple of Sea Devils to see Dan take out Sea Devil with a block and then a tackle. Kathy can't help but feel mildly impressed.

"Argh!" Ki cries. Kathy spins round to see a Sea Devil coming for him, but, thankfully, Shih sticks out her sword in time. 

All of them have mostly disarmed the Sea Devils and turn their attention to the Doctor, who is being backed into the corner by the Chief. However, she disarms the Chief Sea Devil with her sonic and slides away. She tries to grab the sword, which had landed elsewhere on deck but a Sea Devil grabs her leg and drags her away from it. Kathy quickly kicks it to her and the Doctor grabs it, now free of the Sea Devil, who lies on the floor.

"I'm lowering the ship. Hold him there!" The Doctor tells them, she turns away from them and before any of them can say a word, Ji-Hun kills the Chief Sea Devil by driving his sword through it. The Doctor stops and stares at him in disbelief.

"You didn't have to kill him!" Kathy yells at him. She now notices she can't see Dan or Yaz and wonders where they have disappeared to.

"It took my ship, my crew and my life. No mercy." Ji-Hun harshly retorts. She quietens as she knows she shouldn't judge as she doesn't really know what he's been through.

There's aurora in the skies. "It's starting." The Doctor murmurs.

Kathy runs down below deck to the machinery with the Doctor and sees Dan and Yaz.

"Ah, there you guys are!" She says cheerfully as the Doctor charges forward, pushing her two companions out of the way. Kathy's smile dims a bit when she sees how serious Dan and Yaz are. She wishes that she has the knowledge to work out what's going on.

"Hold tight." The Doctor warns them and the ship shakes as it returns to the depths and arrives with a thud causing the four in the room to fall to the floor.

"I think that'll have alerted all our friend's Sea Devil acolytes." The Doctor comments. "Dan, I need you to supervise Ji-Hun and Ching Shih. I need you to keep those Sea Devils at bay." She gets up and hands him a Sea Devil sword. "Only to be used in emergencies."

"What, like the imminent flooding of the entire planet?" Dan remarks.

"Yeah, like that." Kathy says with a slight smile as she pulls herself up. She likes that he has some humour in these situations.

"Yaz, Kathy, with me." The Doctor orders. Kathy takes notice of how the Doctor holds out her hand to Yaz, who takes it and it feels much more than the usual hand grabbing between the Doctor and their companions. Is there something between them? Kathy knows that everyone in her world had been speculating and all that and, to be honest, she herself was amongst them.

The Doctor pulls Yaz up and the three of them leave the room but not before Kathy catches a significant shared look between Dan and Yaz.

——

They run through the Sea Devil base. Kathy is following the other two women as she's never been in this place before.

"Control core's this way." The Doctor calls to them.

 They reach them that's shaking with lots of sparks flying.

"This is going to be tricky." Kathy observes. They get to work.

"Defractor rod. Two minutes and counting." Yaz tells them as she secured said rid.

"Great, love when we have barely anytime." Kathy retorts sarcastically as she and the Doctor dart about.

The Doctor grins as she turns to Kathy before turning serious. "We need to short-circuit the power and internalise the charge. If we localise the power this base becomes the densest place on Earth."

"But that means not only will the Sea Devils not be able to leave but everyone else too." Kathy warns her.

"We'll be able to get out first though, right?" Yaz asks.

"Yeah. Hopefully. Probably. Definitely." The Doctor replies quickly. Kathy looks at her suspiciously, knowing this will probably be another self-sacrifice moment. A Doctor speciality. Yaz doesn't particularly look reassured herself. 

Kathy shakes it off and gets back to work. "One of those. Just need to get this done." 

"You know what I said earlier about not being a bad date?" The Doctor suddenly asks. Kathy's head whips around and sees the Doctor casting awkward glances at Yaz. Oh. Yeah, there definitely is something going on and Kathy definitely is third wheeling.

"Well, dates are not something I really do, you know." The Doctor continues. Kathy tries to act like she's not listening but she can only do so much. "I mean, I used to. Have done. And if I was going to, believe me, it'd be with you." The Doctor pauses in her faffing about and looks directly at Yaz. "I think you're one of the greatest people I've ever known. Including my wife."

This surprises Kathy as she had known this Doctor as one who didn't talk about themselves, that lived in the present and not the past.

"Your what?" Yaz questions in disbelief as the Doctor darts past her. She looks to Kathy for answers but Kathy looks away. How do you talk about the Doctor's past relationships with their current interest?

"Ah. Wasn't going to mention that. It was a long time ago. I was a different man back then." The Doctor replies.

"Literally." Kathy mutters.

"But the point is, if it was going to be anyone, it'd be you. But I can't." The Doctor explains. 

"Why not?" Yaz asks tearfully.

"Because at some point time always runs out." Kathy frowns. She knows that the companions in the Doctor's life are fleeting and they can never take the chance otherwise they'd be hurt but Kathy can't help but feel that the Doctor is talking about something neither she nor Yaz knows about.

Kathy sees the Doctor leaning forward to pull a switch where Kathy had been working. "Wait Doc—"

The Doctor does it and sparks fly. "Argh! Whoops! I just lessened the time. Fifty seconds!"

"Brilliant!" Kathy mutters. 

"What?!" Yaz exclaims.

The Doctor puts two thick wires together that Kathy knows won't stay together unless someone stays down here. 

"We need to get back to the TARDIS, but this cable needs to hold." The Doctor realises. "Kathy, Yaz, you have to go. Get the others out. I'll keep this in place."

Kathy looks at her in alarm. "Uh, no! I won't let you!"

"Kathy—"

Suddenly the wires are also being gripped by someone else and they turn to see Ji-Hun. "No, you go. I'll hold." He tells them.

"I can't ask you to do that." The Doctor says. This is what Kathy hates about the Doctor's self-sacrifice moments, someone else taking their place and dying to save everyone else.

"The world out there isn't mine, but if I can help preserve it for others, all those centuries will not have been for nothing." Ji-Hun argues.

"You truly are a legend, Ji-Hun." Kathy says to him softly.

"And you need to run."

Kathy nods and she, the Doctor and Yaz run from the room, not looking back. She sags in relief at the sight of the TARDIS as well as Shih and Ki stepping inside with a heavy chest, must be the Flor de la Mar treasure. Thank God.

"You got it back the right way up! Nice work." The Doctor greets them and Dan, leaping over the chest as it's put down. "Out of the way! If we don't get us out now..."

"Three seconds." Yaz says.

"...the magnetism will drag the TARDIS down." 

The Doctor and Kathy immediately get to work.

"Two seconds."

The TARDIS dematerialises just in time as Kathy feels the forces begin to drag them down.

——

They land on Ching Shih's ship. Kathy steps out just in time to see the ripple effects of the force of what they had done by watching the waves react.

Everyone gathers on the deck and Shih begins checking her booty in the chest.

"Enough to get your crew back?" Kathy asks curiously looking at the extensive pile. She feels like her first adventure going in blind worked out quite well.

"Enough." Shih replies. "I solved the mystery of Ji-Hun and found the lost treasure of the Flor de la Mar. What do I even tell my crew?" 

"That you vanquished mythical creatures to bring them home." The Doctor answers.

"No one will ever believe me."

"That's what makes a good legend." The Doctor assures her. She turns to Ki. "We should get you back to your village."

"Yeah." His tone suggests he's not looking forward to it.

"No. He's my responsibility." Shih argues, standing. "I'm sorry for what happened to your father, but you could find a home here as part of my crew."

"Really?" Ki asks happily and he hugs her. Kathy stands amusedly as Shih stays as stiff as a post.

"Don't ever do that again." Shih hisses at him.

Ki shifts awkwardly and embarrassedly. "Yes. No. Sorry."

"Who are you?" Shih asks the TARDIS crew. "Where do you even come from?"

The Doctor shrugs. "We're just a crew from a ship looking for adventure. And often finding it. Right?"

"Aye aye, Captain." Dan utters.

"Where will you go now?" Kathy asks with a smile.

"Good question." The Doctor murmurs.

"You do keep promising us a beach." Yaz says. Kathy watches the soft smile shared between them and smiles herself.

"Kathy? Do you want to come?" Dan asks, drawing her attention.

Kathy shakes her head. "Sorry, I think I'll stay here. I made a promise to Ching Shih that I'd help her get her crew back. Plus, I've got to get back to Carlyle and Ashildr."

"You are welcome to stay on afterwards." Shih assures her. 

Kathy grins happily. "Alright." Why not stay with some pirates a bit longer?

"Well, you're sorted then." The Doctor says.

"Seems so. Till the next time Doctor." Kathy says with a smile.

"Till the next time."

Kathy shares hugs with the TARDIS crew before they step inside and fly off to their next adventure. She wishes she had an idea of what that could be.

——

A/N: I was really unsure of how to introduce Kathy into this episode as it's such a new episode that I'm not as familiar with it as I am with the others and it's the first episode I've written where Kathy doesn't know what's going on, but it feels like I've worked it out. I wanted to put her with Dan as he is the first companion that Kathy doesn't know as she already knows Thirteen and Yaz, who I felt deserved the alone time that they got in the actual episode.

I know a lot of people weren't happy with this episode but looking back at it, I feel like it was still a good episode but may have worked better in the middle of a 10 to 13 episode long season and not a stand alone special but it seems Covid kind of messed up the 13th season a lot

Please leave comments on how you're enjoying this story and what you think.

Edit: I've had a lovely review condemning my whole story because they didn't like my writing about this Doctor. I hope people don't do that and give these chapters a chance.

[miralstuff]

Overlord novel series

OVERLORD NOVEL SERIES UPDATE

OVERLORD NOVEL SERIES SERIES

OVERLORD NOVEL SERIES DOWNLOAD

Having no parents, friends, or place in society, this ordinary young man Momonga then strives to take over the new world the game has become. Momonga is then transformed into the image of a skeleton as "the most powerful wizard." The world continues to change, with non-player characters (NPCs) beginning to feel emotion. However, the protagonist Momonga decides to not log out. Yggdrasil, a popular online game, is quietly shut down one day. The franchise's story takes place in the year 2138 when virtual reality gaming is booming. Maruyama is the author behind the Overlord novel series. For twelve years, the virtual world of Yggdrasil has served as the playground and battlefield for the skeletal lord Momonga and his guild of fellow monsters.

OVERLORD NOVEL SERIES DOWNLOAD

Crunchyroll streamed the anime as it aired, and Funimation again streamed an English dub. 4 (light novel) by Kugane Maruyama, 9780316397599, available at Book Depository. Overlord Volume 07 (Web Novel) - Alternate endingpagenumbers.json download 49.3K Overlord Volume 07 - The Invaders of the Large Tomb (v2.2)pagenumbers.

OVERLORD NOVEL SERIES SERIES

The third anime series premiered in July 2018. Crunchyroll streamed the second series as it aired, and Funimation streamed an English dub. The second anime series premiered in January 2018 and ended in April 2018. Funimation streamed the anime series as it aired in Japan, and the company released the series with an English dub on Blu-ray Disc and DVD in November 2016. The first 13-episode Overlord television anime series premiered in Japan in July 2015. The company is also releasing Hugin Miyama and Satoshi Ōshio's manga adaptation. Yen Press is releasing the novel series in North America. Maruyama began the original light novel series online in 2010, and Kadokawa's Enterbrain imprint began publishing the series in print with illustrations by so-bin in 2012. The 13th compiled book volume shipped two years ago, in April 2018. According to KSM, the German distributor of the Overlord anime, Maruyama stated at the AnimagiC 2019 convention in Germany last August that the novels would end with volume 17. Login to add items to your list, keep track of your progress, and rate series Description. Sixteen volumes have been published since July 2012. It began serialization online in 2010, before being acquired by Enterbrain. Maruyama had teased on Twitter last May that he was aiming for the series to end in the 17th volume. 117 minutes (Part 1) 3 108 minutes (Part 2) 4 Overlord ( Japanese:, Hepburn: brdo) is a Japanese light novel series written by Kugane Maruyama and illustrated by so-bin. Satoshi Shio began the manga adaption of the light novel, with art by Hugin Miyama, and started serializing in Kadokawa Shoten’s manga magazine, Comp Ace, on Nov 26, 2014.Kugane Maruyama confirmed in the 14th compiled book volume of his Overlord novel series on March 12 that the series will end with the 17th volume. Kugane Maruyama began the original Overlord light novel series online in 2010, and Kadokawa’s Enterbrain imprint began publishing the series in print with illustrations by so-bin on July 30, 2012. So, the tenth anniversary! Thank you to everyone who has followed me this far! I will continue to do my best to deliver even better things in the future!” Ten years ago today was the first day I went to check out a bookstore in Akihabara on my way home from work, and it all seems to have happened so fast. Unfortunately, I have not been able to visit Akihabara yet due to the Corona disaster. Kugane Maruyama (Author) Kugane Maruyama is the author behind the Overlord novel series. “I’m Maruyama, who is always checking in Akihabara to see if anyone is really buying on the release day. 1 (light novel) by Kugane Maruyama at Mighty Ape NZ. He thanked fans who had followed the series so far and said that he will continue to deliver better things in the future. The author also posted a special message on the anime’s official twitter account, the celebrate the 10th year anniversary of Overlord publishing its first light novel volume.

OVERLORD NOVEL SERIES UPDATE

However, according to an update posted by the author earlier this year, the draft of the ongoing arc of Overlord spanned out to 700 pages, forcing him to split it into two volumes, 15 and 16. Maruyama had previously planned to end the story of Ainz Ooal Gown and Nazarick in volume 17 of the light novel. The 16th volume of Overlord light novel released in Japan on July 29, 2022. The afterword in the second part of author Kagune Maruya and artist so-bin’s Overlord light novel volume 16 revealed that the series will come to an end in two volume, i.e., volume 18 of the light novel.

[megadavestewart]

WFS 359 - John Gierach REPLAY from 2018 - AK Best, Ed Engle, Thomas McGuane

Show Notes: https://wetflyswing.com/359

Presented By: Zoe Angling Group, Jackson Hole Fly Company, Togens Fly Shop

Sponsors: https://wetflyswing.com/sponsors

John Gierach breaks out an amazing episode in this one as he talks about how he came to become one of the greatest fly fishing writers in the world. We talk about some of his books including the famous, Trout Bum and we also chat about his favorite writers.

We also dig into the hippie movement in the 60s, weed, and death in Colorado Fly Fishing. I'm excited to share a little perspective into the life, times, struggles and stories of the great John Gierach.

Show Notes with John Gierach

12:45 - John Shewey was on in episode 16 and talked about the process of writing and battling resistance.

15:20 - Thomas McGuane said as a writer, your only currency is your readership. My currency is my guests as noted by John in this episode.

17:00 - Tim Rawlins was on the show in episode 27 to talk about Spey Casting.

19:20 - Trout Bum was one of John's first books published. He talks about how he has always just told stories.

21:55 - Roger Angell wrote for the New Yorker and wrote the essay This Old Man - John noted how amazing Roger described the hand pistol in the essay.

27:10 - April Volkey was on the podcast in episode 30

34:00 - Ed Engle and John McPhee are two big mentors for John.

34:20 - Draft No. 4 is a great book that John says everyone should read if you are interested in writing.

33:20 - AK Best was a big mentor who helped John really get started early on. Ak's Fly Box was one of Ak's biggest books.

36:30 - A Fly Rod of Your Own is John's most recent book. John describes a little about his writing style in the podcast.

39:25 - In episode 5 Jim Teeny noted the article on throwing rocks on fish to move steelhead into place. I noted the idea of throwing spoons out to get steelhead into range for the fly fisherman to catch it. John didn't recall what I was talking about but shared another great story.

56:30 - John tells the story of when he thought he was going to die in a plane crash

1:05:30 - A cougar killed a hiker in Oregon and it's the first time ever that happened in Oregon history

1:15:00 - The Joe Rogan Podcast where the CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, smoked weed on live air. I ask John if he would smoke in our episode today.

1:16:15 - The Beatles came out with the White Album partly due to a change in drug use. I ask John the same question about his writing and whether there were changes before and after.

1:18:05 - The Parachute Hare's Ear and a hares ear soft hackle behind it are his goto flies.

1:18:30 - Mary Alice Monroe tells a great story and a writer he follows along with Jim Harrison and Peter Mathison.

Conclusion with John Gierach

I hope you enjoyed that episode with John Gierach as much as I did. Did you catch the few times that I was completely surprised by John? We went down a few rabbit holes unrelated to fly fishing including weed and the 1960s.

John also covered a bunch of topics related to the 20 great fly fishing books he has written over the years. I could have gone for hours with John on this one but had to respect his time.

Show Notes: https://wetflyswing.com/359

Check out this episode!

[fromthefilesofredshirtgal]

In July of 1966, a Toronto Star photographer by the name of Reg Innell  happened to be in Los Angeles on one of his many vacations there. His usual favorite past time while there involved visiting bookstores that dealt in vintage books. However, this time, he received a phone call from his employer  asking him to take some photographs on the sets of various television programs whose stars were fellow Canadians.  They had plans for a story centered around a little enclave of Canadian actors who lived within several blocks of each other.  One of the sets he visited was that of “The Man Trap,” an episode for a new series named Star Trek. And of course, that meant he took photographs of fellow Canadians, William Shatner and James Doohan and several others of the episode as it was being filmed. Three of those are above. *side note: During the time Innell was in L.A. for this working vacation, he stayed with fellow Canadians Jim Beggs and his actress wife Anna Hagen. Star Trek fans may know him better as Hagen Beggs, who played Lt. Hansen in “Court Martial,” “The Menagerie, Part 1,” and “The Menagerie, Part 2.” 

Reg Innell was one of the most famous newspaper photographers of his time. He was born in England and after World War II worked as a freelance photographer with a brief stint in the British Army. During the 60s he left England for Canada and continued selling his photographs to whichever paper paid him the most. Eventually, Innell joined the Toronto Star as a photojournalist. Reg Innell’s career with the Star lasted for over thirty years. His usual subjects were kings and queens, world leaders, famous performers and writers and others of international note. Innell’s personal interests turned toward the world of opera and ballet along with classic cinema. A new science fiction television series, even one with Canadian actors in the cast, would not have interested him in the least. Ironically, all the photographs he took were never used by the Star. In fact, none of them saw the light of day until after his death in 2018. They were donated by his life partner, Margaret Serrao to the Toronto Star and were unearthed by an employee looking for material to post on the Star’s social media accounts. 

But following are more of the photos he took while on this assignment. At least the ones I found in an article by the Toronto Star and other online sources- I believe there are actually a lot more that still haven’t been published. Many are like the ones above, likely taken during filming at a different angle from what we saw on screen. 

Others are like these two, taken behind the scenes. Notice you can plainly see the cameraman and several other production people preparing for the scene where Francine Pyle/Nancy III strolls seductively into Crewman Darnell’s life. 

But these next several photos taken by Reg Innell bear a closer look. At first glance, you would think he was taking photographs of the actual filming of Captain Kirk and the landing party’s first encounter with Dr. Crater. But if you watch the episode, you will see something different.  The screen shows Kirk’s first encounter with Dr. Crater and Dr. Crater’s examination by McCoy just as the first photo depicts but Crater’s arm is not in a sling. 

And of course, one other thing always interests me in photos like these. Check out those overhead lights used for filming. They help delineate where the top of the set walls end and the studio ceiling begins. I’m such a geek. lol 

This scene occurs after Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy, Crewman Green and Crewman Sturgeon teleport down to confront Dr. Crater over the death of Darnell and the whereabouts of Crater’s wife. Notice again, Dr. Crater’s arm is in a sling. But in nearly the same scene of the episode we watched, it was not. 

One more thing. Innell took his photo from the opposite side of where the camera was aimed and we see a vial of yellow liquid on the table to the left. 

Kirk even picks it up to examine more closely.

 Yet, in the actual episode, there’s no sign of the gold liquid on the table. Instead of picking up said vial in this filmed version of the scene, Kirk holds what is in his hands above (possibly a fossil). We actually see that object also on the table in the last two photos. So what is going on? We have at least a partial answer.  According to the Okudas’ Star Trek Encyclopedia, Alfred Ryder had suffered a severe injury to his arm just before filming this episode. But professional that he was, he still played his part without a single complaint. So, that explains Innell’s photos showing Ryder’s arm in a sling. But when were these photos taken then? It could not have been during the actual filming because there is no mention anywhere of deleted scenes from this episode. Were they taken during a rehearsal or walk through? Maybe someone reading this knows and can fill us in. 

No matter, though. Reg Innell has provided us with a window into the production of “The Man Trap” that hasn’t been seen before. Just think - there are hundreds more photos taken during those days that have yet to be published. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if more from “The Man Trap” came to light? 

*note from Redshirtgal: Most of the photos and much of the information at the beginning  is a recap of an article published by the Toronto Star. However, I did do my own research on his biography and the observations on the photos are my own. Here is the original article - check out the video from the young lady who discovered the photographs.   https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/television/2019/01/11/the-man-trap-was-the-first-star-trek-episode-to-air-but-the-star-was-there-first.html

[mymelodyheart]

All I Want For Christmas Is You Chapter 9 ~The Christmas Spirits~

Previously in Christmas Eve Rush

Her hand flew to her chest, and her eyes almost popped out at the realisation. "Good Lord. You're in love with her, aren't ye? It's all over your face. Oh my God!"

"Please? We dinnae have a lot of time," he whispered, almost close to tears. "Ye're the only one who can get through to Claire."

A few heartbeats passed as he held his breath. 

"Fine! Let's do this!" Suddenly spurred by excitement into action, she quickly grabbed a piece of paper and pen and handed it to him. "Write down your number, and I'll update you after I've called Claire."

"Ye will?"

"Yes, yes ..." she muttered. "Come on, chop-chop!" She clapped her hands at him.

Elated with the turn of event, he didn't waste any more time and rapidly scribbled his number and pushed the piece of paper back to her. "Thank ye. I owe ye big time." When an afterthought came to him, he shoved his hand into his pocket, took out a spare key to his cottage and placed it on the table. It was meant to be for Claire. "Another favour, I have a dog and kitten in the house and ..."

"I got it." She grinned and made a shooing motion. "Now go!"

If you wish to read this on AO3, here is the link.

If you wish to read this from the beginning:

AO3 link

Tumblr link

Claire sat at the airport's cafe, every sound of someone's laughter and the sight of happy couples holding hands, driving a knife into her chest. She still had a few hours to go before its time to go through security. With a heavy heart, she miserably flipped the pages of a glossy magazine, unseeing its pages' articles and pictures. It had taken every iota of her resolve and will power to leave Broch Mordha, and now Annalise had made her book a later flight because her friend was on the way and wanted to talk. Damn her for making this more difficult! In truth, she wanted to know what Jamie had told her friend and wondered what he would have said if she'd confronted him instead of running away. Now that she was finally out of his life was he even thinking about her? Staying in Broch Mordha would have most probably increased the likelihood of her believing his excuses and running back into his arms. She just couldn't handle the emotional fallout.

"I beg your pardon, is this seat taken?" a soft feminine voice asked.

Claire briefly glanced up, offered a weak smile and motioned for the woman to sit. She wasn't in the state nor mood for small talks so she put her head down and pretended to read, hoping the woman would take a hint.

Restless, she glanced again at her phone to check the time. Annalise should be here soon. Is she planning to fly with me? I hope not! She noticed the cafe was beginning to get busy with people waiting for love ones to arrive or the check-in counter to open. Tomorrow at this time, she'd be home. The thought of spending Christmas in London in the cramped apartment made her doubly miserable. She loved the open spaces of the Highlands and quaint villages. Although the weather could be quite grim, the landscape's natural beauty and loads of fresh air more than made up for it. With its tranquil settings, it was an ideal place to start her writing career. She'd put it on hold for far too long, working for a publishing company that gave her very little satisfaction and yesterday she'd even fantasised of moving to Broch Mordha and making it a reality to be closer to Jamie. How could I have been so stupid?

"Highlands in December is romantic, isn't it?" The woman sharing her table smiled pleasantly. "I love this place. There's something magical about it, don't you agree?"

Ah, another English woman to fall for the Highland charm! She was about to give some generic answer about the Highlands' ancient history lending the romance a hint of mysticism when the harsh truth chose that moment to free itself. "Kind of deceiving though, isn't it? I got caught up in that so-called magic, but some wanker decided to exploit it and use my heart to make fertiliser. I've only known him for a couple of days, but I can't stand being in this place anymore without thinking about him and his stupid, stupid handsome face. And the way he looked at me." She blew a breath and blinked back the tears. "I guess I was just plain naive and a bloody dimwit for thinking smooth talkers only existed in big cities like London. I tell you what, they're rife everywhere and you can never be too careful."

If the woman had been surprised by Claire's outburst, it didn't show. "Now, now, I'm quite sure there is a perfect explanation. Lovely and sweet as you look, I see the wisdom that belies your age in your eyes. You don't seem like a person to be taken by someone's smooth line at all."

She let out an almost deranged laugh. "Well, obviously, I am. I took one look at a beautiful face, and all logic went south. So there," Claire huffed.

The other woman looked away and sipped her tea. She was much older than Claire thought - in her forties maybe or could be fifties, but it was hard to tell. She had a dark, sleek modern bob hairstyle that contradicted the mumsy grey slacks, woollen jumper and lack of makeup and accessories. Her face was kind though, and there was a serenity in her demeanour she found comforting and familiar.

Claire regretted her oversharing and decided to shut her mouth and continued reading.

"I met my husband many years ago here. Not far from where we are now. A place called Broch Mordha."

Claire's head shot up. "Oh! Is your husband Scottish?"

"No, he's English. We met one summer while watching a Highland game. He lived in Broch Mordha while doing some research for work, and I was on holiday. We fell in love and eventually married. And every year from thereon we celebrated our anniversary here. It's a very special place for us."

"That's very sweet," Claire remarked, trying not to think of Jamie and what could have been for them if he hadn't been a knobhead.

The woman let out a soft laugh and daintily wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Sweet isn't the description I would have used to describe the circumstance of how we met; nevertheless, it turned out my darling husband is my soul mate and marrying him had been the best decision I've ever made in my life."

"Good for you ..." Claire whispered, subtly glancing once more at the time on her phone. She hoped Annalise would be here soon because the last thing she needed right now was to hear someone else's happily forever after. But in the end, curiosity got the better of her. "So what made you change your mind about him?"

The woman sighed and took out her book. "My husband was an insensitive clod, and when he eventually saw the error of his ways and asked for forgiveness, I gave him a second chance. Forgiving him didn't change the past, and I realised in the end, if I hadn't forgiven him, my actions would have robbed me of the best years of my life. And of course, a beautiful daughter who turned out to be everything I've ever hoped for and much more." She smiled and then turned her attention to reading. Obviously, oversharing was now over.

"I see ..." Claire muttered. Well, what had she expected? A magical solution? She almost laughed out loud. No such thing!

It was too late for her and Jamie anyway. She was on her way to London, and he'd probably moved on now that she was gone. It was definitely better this way. Out of sight, out of mind.

**********

He switched off the ignition of his car and texted Annalise to inform her he'd arrived at his destination. She'd messaged him earlier letting him know Claire would be at D'Lish cafe. Scanning his vicinity, Jamie drew in a lungful of air. He'd only been in Inverness Airport's parking lot a few minutes, and already his nerves were on tenterhooks. From the congested traffic and beeping cars to stressed people madly rushing about, Jamie realised how far from his world he'd strayed, and the distance was only under an hour's drive. 

He hadn't even stepped out of his car, and already he was counting the minutes till he was back within the peaceful haven of Broch Mordha. But he'd made up his mind. He wasn't going back without Claire and had taken his passport with him just in case he would have to follow her all the way to London. How he was going to manage that with his unpredictable episodes, he had no idea. He hoped he would be able to keep his panic attacks at bay long enough until he found her and convinced her to come back home.

"I'll walk in with you," Harry said quietly out of the blue as if he'd sense his trepidation. "My flight isn't till later, and my wife is probably enjoying her cuppa tea somewhere."

The tightness in his body relaxed, and Jamie nodded gratefully. Harry seemed to always understand his situation, popping out of the blue at the strangest times. Jamie had never questioned it and put it down to simply Harry being unusually perceptive and a good friend.

They quietly walked side by side towards the airport and when they entered the building, moving bodies and a sea of faces swarmed his vision. The racket and clamour of people going about their business surrounded him, and Christmas crowds trying to make it home before Christmas jostled too close, their cacophony of voices chattering excitedly. 

Jamie swallowed the mounting panic and fixed his thoughts on Claire, breathing deeply in through his nose and with a heaving chest, letting it all out with a whoosh. His eyes darted and saw people smiling and nodding animatedly, laughter and children's squeals infiltrating his consciousness, their sound accompanied by an air of anticipation that told him it was a season of joy. 

Jamie managed to put a grim smile on his face and concentrated on getting one foot in front of the other, apologising now and again whenever he accidentally bumped into someone, almost stumbling like an intoxicated man. Although aware of Harry's presence, perspiration coated his skin, and he could feel a bead of sweat running down his temple. The usually comfortable soft fabric of his sweatshirt chaffed and squeezed him like a clamp almost suffocating him. The chaotic din typical of an airport during the holiday season came in a huge rush of waves, at first faint, then building to a deafening sound that roared in his ears, shattering his foundation and foothold. 

Oh, God, please, not now. Jamie knew it was happening. Attempting not to panic, he began to employ a technique that more often than not worked. He tried listening to his mother's singing in his head, the one that stuck most in his mind and brought him comfort when he'd been amidst a conflict in a war zone, a song that sang him to sleep when he was a wee bairn.

He stopped a few metres away from the cafe where Claire was supposed to be waiting and took a moment to draw in oxygen, clinging to his mother's singing in his head. Goodnight, you moonlight ladies. Rockabye, sweet baby, James. Deep greens and blues are the colours I choose. Won't you let me go down in my dreams? And rockabye, sweet baby, James. 

He dimly recognised where he was, busy eateries, cafes and shops lined a wide area, a focal point for those waiting for love ones to arrive or passengers before heading to security that led to the departure area. Someone's child screamed nearby, and the sound of suitcases dragging on its wheels seemed to rumble and reverberate on the ground. Christmas light decorations that normally shimmered unobtrusively and gave a soft glow suddenly seemed to flash all around him, and the Christmas songs playing in the background became disembodied sounds. Jamie froze, gripped in the throes of a colossal panic attack that forced him to sink halfway to his knees.

Everything seemed to fade in and out, but it was Harry's voice he eventually clung to, his mother's singing hushing into the recesses of his head. The Englishman repeated his name and grabbed hold of his elbow, preventing him from collapsing to the floor and leading him firmly away from the moving crowd. Jamie pitched himself against the giant column and fought the crippling dread chipping away at his sanity. 

He glanced around frantically, but Harry's hand grabbed his face and forced him to look straight into amber eyes. 

"Breathe, Jamie. Everything is going to be alright. Just keep breathing." 

"H-Harry ...I n-need to ..."

"It's alright. I know. I'm not going anywhere. Just breath."

Jamie unzipped his jacket and fought for air, sucking in a lungful. And then, again and again, gasping and coughing as he doubled over, bracing his hands on his knees. Harry's strong hand massaged his back in a circular motion, the older man's presence calm and controlled, breathing with him, encouraging to gradually take in more air. 

It took a while to normalise his breathing, his heart to calm down and the cold sweat to evaporate. As he regained more control, though wobbly at first, he straightened up. Gathering his bearings, he ignored the odd looks from passersby, by now already used to it.

Harry gave him a reassuring smile. "Feeling much better?" 

Jamie managed a nod as the initial feeling of shame and embarrassment took over the panic attack. Why am I even here? Claire deserved so much better than this and all his fucking issues. On top of it all, he'd managed to make her feel cheap when he was nothing but just half a man. There was no way she'd go back to Broch Mordha with him.

"Oh no, you don't. I know that look in your eyes. You've made it this far, old sport," Harry whispered fiercely, straightening his jacket. "Don't you even think of going back home without trying!" 

Jamie blinked, confused. What the fuck? What does Harry know? But there was no time to ask questions, as he caught a glimpse of Claire past Harry's shoulder. She was in the cafe in the motion of getting up, her head bowed down while speaking on the phone. 

Last night, he'd held Claire in his arms and now, the reality of the moment hit him hard as he saw her hand gripped the suitcase next to her, reminding him she's waiting to board a plane. He could hardly think over the furious pounding in his chest as a combination of relief at seeing her and fear of rejection surged through him. He barely registered himself, moving towards the cafe when Harry put a hand on his arm. He turned to meet his friend's eyes. "You're on your own now. For now. Remember to breathe."

Jamie swallowed hard and nodded.

"Now go and hurry."

**********

Claire panicked, her eyes darting around the cafe. Annalise had just called and confessed Jamie was on his way to talk to her. Her friend had insisted on giving Jamie a chance to explain and that he'd made a mistake. 

But Claire couldn't do this. She didn't have this sort of experience nor the emotional strength to handle this kind of situation. All she knew and was aware of was how much Jamie had hurt her with his words. 

She quickly stood up, said goodbye to the woman sat on her table, grabbed her bags and made her way out of the cafe. She kept her head down and tried not to look around in case Jamie spotted her. She began to walk faster, weaving through crowds of travellers as she wheeled her suitcase, images of Jamie encroaching her thoughts. A new voice was trying to make itself heard, telling her maybe she ought to listen to what Jamie had to say. But what was there to say? She'd seen what he wrote with her own eyes, and there was no explaining himself out of it.

She was just getting into the queue for the security check when a shout cut through the hubbub surrounding her. 

"Sassenach!"

She stiffened, and her hand went slack around the suitcase's handle, sending its bulk toppling to the floor. It took a few heartbeats for her to turn around and face Jamie, afraid her resolve would collapse if she looked at him. When she finally saw him, he stood a few yards away, suspended in a sea of bustling chaos. Perspiration beaded his forehead, his face pale and eyes a little wild as they searched hers, snagging on the way she snatched her suitcase to an upright position and pulled it closer to her side. As always, ever since she first laid eyes on him, his unusual male beauty made her chest ache. A head taller than most, he looked out of place in the busy surroundings, his blue eyes penetrating through everything in their wake to reanimate her heart.

She waited for something to happen, but he just continued to stare at her, his body swaying a little. He looked like he was about to faint. Worry, combined with fear prickled her skin when she recalled his accounts of his PTSD condition. She'd made it this far, and now she was torn between going over to him and making her way to the security.

"What are you doing here?" she said a little harshly.

"Dinnae go in that plane.”

"It's too late for that."

Anguish fogged his handsome features. "I need ye to hear me out, Sassenach. Please."

Claire shook her head. "What is there to say, Jamie? That text you wrote, told me everything already."

"Please let me explain ..."

"I already know what you're going to say, Jamie. You're going to say you didn't mean to write that text. It's classic and cliche at the same time and utter bullshit." Claire's shoulders sagged, and she swallowed hard. "No, I'm sorry, I can't ..." 

She started to step into the queue, but stopped, her heart caught in her throat when a passerby in a rush accidentally bumped into him, and he almost vaulted over. She saw how much it took out of him just to remain upright. She made a move to come to his aide, but he stopped her with a motion of his hand, telling her he would say his piece without any help. Squeezing his eyes shut, he took several deep breaths, discomfort, and distress in this busy environment evident on his face. 

"You don't look well, Jamie. You should go home," she said, glancing around, aware of people looking at him.

"Damn it, Sassenach," he wheezed. "I'm gonnae make ye listen even if it kills me."

A stabbing pain went through her heart. "I can't do this, Jamie. I'm going."

"No!" He took another unsteady step forward. When Claire stayed put, relief washed over his face. "What I wrote to my sister about you was wrong ..."

Rage replaced the hurt she was feeling. "You made it sound I was just a notch on the bedpost," she snapped, angrily.

Jamie winced as a woman nearby gasped and glared at him, but they both ignored her. "No, Sassenach. You were never that ..."

"Your words winter fling said it all. What else could it mean?"

"Sometimes, what I think and what I feel doesn't translate into words ..."

"Or you don't think at all," she interrupted, tipping her head back to keep the tears from falling.

His head dropped. "No, I didnae think. What I said was inexcusable, and no explanation or apologies would take any of the hurt I caused ye back."

"It was a horrid thing to say about someone!"

His face flickered with regret and self-loathing. "It was, and I'm an arsehole for it."

"They why? Why Jamie? Is that how you talk about your conquests?"

His face paled even more. "No! You're not that at all. What we had was special, and I've never felt like this about someone before."

"You could have fooled me ..."

He took a careful step forward as if afraid she would bolt. "Sassenach, I said what I said not because that was what I thought about you and that's the truth. Partly, I text those words to get my sister off my case. She was badgering me for getting involved with ye because she was worried about me falling for someone from the city due to my condition. Another part of the reason I wrote that had to do with my fear of getting emotionally attached. I thought by labelling what we had as temporary, it would be easier to let ye go when the time comes. It was wrong ...so wrong. I wish I hadnae said it."

Claire could barely see him through the blur of tears. The awful pain she'd had in her heart all morning waned a little. She forced her feet to move, but the emotion in his voice kept her rooted in place. 

"Christ, everything happened so fast between us. And I was rushing ahead before I could comprehend what was happening. When ye told me ye live in London, I was convinced that nothing could come out of this ...us ...whatever this is we have ....because I wouldnae ken how to live in yer world and it wouldnae be right to ask ye to give up yers. When I asked ye to extend yer stay, my intention was to make as many memories with ye because I needed to face the truth of my limitations. I was determined not to be that someone who held ye back and made ye regret what ye could've done. I said to mysel' whatever time ye could give me, I'd be grateful. Yet, here I am, begging ye not to get on that plane."

She wanted to go to him, take him in her arms and forget what had happened, but she needed more. She needed to know that this thing between them was more than just a handy itinerary with chemistry tossed into the mix. For her, it had always been more, but he's a man, and maybe it's just all about sex for him.

"Sorry, Jamie." Bracing her shoulders, she pulled her suitcase behind her and joined the line for security check-up.

"Wait!"

She and every person within hearing distance in the queue turned around to look at him.

This time, Jamie didn't flinch and looked at her straight in the eyes with unwavering intensity. "I cannae let ye go without giving it my best shot. I've used my condition as an excuse for far too long, yet not once did ye ever look at me as someone damaged. I dinnae want my condition to stop me anymore from going after what I want. I swear to God, ye havenae seen persistence yet, Sassenach. Ye have nae idea what it looks like until ye've seen it on me. I've fought for my life in a war zone before, and I'm doing it again now. If ye get on that bloody plane, be rest assured I will be on the next flight behind yours. I will show up in every God damned place ye go to until ye give me the time of day. And I willnae stop until I get it through yer pretty head how much ye mean to me. And if ye come back to me, I promise ye, I'm gonnae work my arse off to prove to ye every day how special ye are. Even if it means moving to London to be closer to ye. All I'm asking for is a second chance."

Looking at him, she knew he meant every word, and there was an intensity about him, that told her he would go through with his threat of following her to London. A lump stuck in Claire's throat, so huge she could barely speak. Her face crumpled, and she let the unshed tears she'd held all morning flow. Unable to stand a moment longer without feeling his arms around her, she let go of her grip on her suitcase and began to make a move towards him. Jamie fell back a few steps, both hands flying to rest on top of his head, relief and disbelief visible in every line of his body. She covered the distance separating them in three steps and flung herself into strong arms that circled around her without hesitation. Applause, cheers and whistles from passengers who had witnessed the scene erupted around them, making them both laugh through tears. 

"Jesus Christ, Jamie," she stammered with a hiccup. "You really know how to cause a scene and really make it count." 

A hand tunnelled through her hair, gripping her neck so he could angle her head and kiss her. "I'm so sorry, Sassenach. Oh, God, I'm so sorry," he muttered against her lips. "I was an idiot. I thought I wasnae gonnae make it." 

A shudder passed through her. "I almost got on a plane and spent Christmas on my own." 

Jamie fell back into the nearest seat, taking Claire with him. Obviously spent from all the emotions. "Dinnae remind me ...ever again, please. But just so ye know, I have my passport with me. I was ready to come after ye. Today." 

Claire clung to him tighter. "It's Christmas, and we're together. Let's just focus on that." 

"Christ, I thought I knew fear." His breath shook and fanned her skin. "That was the scariest situation I've been in." 

She let out a sigh, inhaling his scent from the crook of his neck. How had she thought for one second that running away would have been a better option? She thought of the woman she spoke to earlier in the cafe and smiled. 

Jamie shook her a little. "Ye're going to think this is mad, but I dinnae want to take another second for granted, so I'm just going to say it, so ye ken once and for all." 

"Say what?" she whispered. Jamie tilted her face up for a slow, deep kiss, then stood, lifting her in his arms. 

"I'm in love with ye, Sassenach. I ken it's too soon, but I want it out there just in case something happens and I dinnae get another chance to say it, or I do something stupid like making ye cry. Life's too short for over-analysing things and keeping something like that to myself." 

She smiled through fresh tears. "I'm in love with you too, Jamie. And next time you say something stupid, I'm just going to get into a fight with you about it, instead of running away."

Jamie's laughter rumbled in his chest before his face turned serious. "Merry Christmas, Sassenach. May it be our first of many more to come."

Claire reached out and clasped his face with her hands and laid a soft kiss on his lips. Her heart broke open, and for the first time, all the pieces clicked together in a perfect puzzle, and everything made perfect sense. Because she'd learned early on you needed to take the bad with the good and embrace it all. Despite Jamie's condition and fear of uncertainty, she'd taken a gamble and trusted her guts, and by giving him a second chance, they'd ended up with the best thing of all. 

Love at Christmas. 

She knew it wasn't going to be smooth sailing forever. There were going to be long talks of how they ought to proceed with their relationship, compromises to be made, and probably many teething problems during their phase of getting to know each other. But as long they both keep their hearts open, they should have a fighting chance.

"Merry Christmas to you too," she whispered, her voice raspy with emotion. 

"Shall we go home?" he murmured, smiling.

"Yes, let's go home."

Hand in hand they left the airport and headed back to Broch Mordha to celebrate Christmas.

 Dear Readers,

Firstly, thank you for your best wishes and feedback from the previous chapter. This latest update was supposed to be published on Christmas day. Unfortunately, because I was so overly ambitious about the storyline, I was unable to deliver. I didn't want to rush it after having gone through the story in my head many times.  Rushing it probably would have made me miss many of the elements I wanted to put in this story.

Anyway, I had a lovely quiet Christmas. With everything that's happening globally, it was more of a time for reflection for us instead of celebration. I am just grateful that my love ones are safe and healthy and hope you're own dearests are as well. As for this story's direction, I don't know how many chapters there are to go, but I can safely say there is another one after this. I will try to publish before New Year, and if I am unable to do so, I wish you all a New Year full of exciting possibilities, good health and lots of love. Keep the good vibes rolling and take care. X

[quoteablebooks]

Genre: Nonfiction, True Crime 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Summary:

A masterful true crime account of the Golden State Killer—the elusive serial rapist turned murderer who terrorized California for over a decade—from Michelle McNamara, the gifted journalist who died tragically while investigating the case. "You’ll be silent forever, and I’ll be gone in the dark." For more than ten years, a mysterious and violent predator committed fifty sexual assaults in Northern California before moving south, where he perpetrated ten sadistic murders. Then he disappeared, eluding capture by multiple police forces and some of the best detectives in the area. Three decades later, Michelle McNamara, a true crime journalist who created the popular website TrueCrimeDiary.com, was determined to find the violent psychopath she called "the Golden State Killer." McNamara pored over police reports, interviewed victims, and embedded herself in the online communities that were as obsessed with the case as she was. At the time of the crimes, the Golden State Killer was between the ages of eighteen and thirty, Caucasian, and athletic—capable of vaulting tall fences. He always wore a mask. After choosing a victim—he favored suburban couples—he often entered their home when no one was there, studying family pictures, mastering the layout. He attacked while they slept, using a flashlight to awaken and blind them. Though they could not recognize him, his victims recalled his voice: a guttural whisper through clenched teeth, abrupt and threatening. I’ll Be Gone in the Dark—the masterpiece McNamara was writing at the time of her sudden death—offers an atmospheric snapshot of a moment in American history and a chilling account of a criminal mastermind and the wreckage he left behind. It is also a portrait of a woman’s obsession and her unflagging pursuit of the truth. Framed by an introduction by Gillian Flynn and an afterword by her husband, Patton Oswalt, the book was completed by McNamara's lead researcher and a close colleague. Utterly original and compelling, it is destined to become a true crime classic—and may at last unmask the Golden State Killer.

*Opinions*

As always with all nonfiction books, it is difficult for me to rate them due to the fact that I am not an expert on the material being presented. That being said, as I have become more and more interested in true crime, I’ve heard a number of podcast episodes about the Golden State Killer and gotten familiar with the general nightmare-inducing facts of the case. However, as most of those podcasts are either drawn from the same information or from Michelle McNamara’s work itself, it is impossible to tease it all apart. All that, on top of the fact that McNamara didn’t even get to finish the novel and therefore there are a number of different voices that are mingling with hers as well as unpolished text from McNamara herself, makes it impossibly to really be able to rate this novel in any critical sense. I feel torn because if McNamara had finished the novel it would be a 5-star read without even a thought and I don’t want to judge it harshly because of unfortunate circumstances, but this is far from a perfect book.   While I enjoy true-crime podcasts, reading about true crime is a bit of hit or miss for me. If the author does not provide the information as a story but just a list of facts then I find it very boring. I am also finding that I am more connected, interested, and invested in a story when there is a focus on the victims and the people surrounding the crimes and not just whatever killer the book is about. There has been a conversation in a long time about how those covering crimes that they need to stop glorifying the killer as there have been criminals who state that they do these horrendous things just to get their names in the news and to live in infamy instead of focusing on the victims and their families. Yet as someone who has multiple mental health-related degrees, why serial killers become serial killers is interesting to me and most people want to find some common trait or thread to protect them from becoming a victim themselves McNamara walks the line between telling the victims stories without being voyeuristic to their trauma and speculating about who the Golden State Killer is without glorifying him. Never is he called a genius because that is the only way he could outsmart the police, but instead points out the lack of technology and the stubbornness to cooperate along with possibly a job that provided him skills and access to his victims that made it so the Golden State Killer hadn’t been caught at the time of writing the book. You care about the people who were terrorized and lost their lives because McNamara focuses on who they are as people, not because of the way they were attacked and killed. You can tell that McNamara wasn’t just obsessed with who the Golden State Killer is, but also cared about these people she had read about in police reports or spoke with find some closure. Reading this knowing that McNamara passed away not only before her book was published, but also before the Golden State Killer was caught gave an air of sadness to this novel. I know this was probably just my knowledge of the event surrounding the novel and events, but I almost felt that McNamara was slightly sad as well when compiling all these cases and all the destruction that had been left in one individual’s wake. She was also aware that she was missing parts of her personal life due to this obsession, which makes it all the sadder knowing how little time she had left while talking about forgetting anniversaries and hating movie premieres. That being said, the overall mood is frustration and determination that someone, somewhere would get this guy and she was right. When I read the notes compiled by others who finished the book I felt a little well when some of her notes were going down the ancestry DNA route, knowing that ultimately that is what helped them find him. I know that the individuals who wrote the last sections of the novel, Billy Jensen and Paul Haynes knew that they couldn’t write like McNamara, they said so themselves, still that last section was so disjointed that I found myself losing a lot of interest in the last 40 pages. That’s possible because I knew how the story ended, even though they didn’t while compiling the last part of McNamara’s research so it was just sad seeing all these things that she never got to finish than wondering if one of these pieces of information would have lead to catching a killer. Overall, this is a compelling and chilling story about one man making an entire state fear the dark for a decade. McNamara’s writing is real and emotional and likes having a conversation with a friend of coffee as she tells you about this thing she’s obsessed with. While I did not find the end of the book interesting, I think it is a 4.5 star read, which I will round up to five. It’s sad to think how many other people McNamara could have researched in an attempt to bring them into the light if she hadn’t passed away.

[alipeeps]

New tag game: Post pictures of your first ever (fictional/celeb) crush to the latest one and tag five others to continue the game

Thanks to @minmoyu for tagging me and ooof, are you sure you’re ready for this?!! :D I have been around/in fandom for a loooooong time and at first I thought, okay, no way I can list all my crushes, there have been SO many and we’ll be here all day but then as I started compiling a list I found I was having fun reminiscing and decided, what the heck, yeah, let’s do em all... or at least all I can remember! :D

There have absolutely for sure been other more minor crushes and passing fancies along the way, but these are the big ones that I remember (and that, in more recent years, I can track by going through my posted fanfics on AO3 and even *shudder* FFNET and seeing which shows I was into enough to want to write fic about the characters).

[Quick note: with rare exceptions, for actors I am listing them by the character they played rather than just the actor. Whilst there are actors that I like in multiple roles (and conversely, characters who on paper I would normally be into but are played by actors who do nothing for me, and hence the character generally does nothing for me either), for the most part it is the character I really have the crush on.]

I’m going to put this under a readmore cos it has gotten ridiculously long:

So... without further ado:

1. MORTEN HARKET from a-ha - OKay so, dating myself badly here but... I had the *biggest* crush on Morten Harket when I was a teenager. Pretty much the entirety of my side of the bedroom I shared with my sister was covered in posters of a-ha, and Morten in particular. I even had a heart-shaped Morten Harket pillow! :D I loved a-ha’s music (still do!) and I wanted to go see them in concert when I was 14 but my parents wouldn’t let me (*sob*). I did finally get to see them in concert in the early 2000s and they were BRILLIANT live (and Morten was still very very pretty)! 

2. RICHARD DEAN ANDERSON as MACGYVER - MacGyver is the first tv character I remember being really into and having a crush on, to the extent that I would record episodes of the show off the tv (onto VHS tape - yes, I am *that* old!) so that I could rewatch them (especially the ones where he got hurt - yeah, I was a whumper even then! :D)

3. KEIFER SUTHERLAND - One of my rare exceptions. I think I first saw him in Lost Boys (and loved him in that film) but it was his role as Doc Scurlock in Young Guns that really made me fall for both the character and him. I definitely remember seeking out any and all films he was in and buying any magazine he was interviewed in (and knowing far more facts about him than was probably healthy! :D) and even drawing a fanart portrait of him. :)

4. KYLE MACLACHLAN as SPECIAL AGENT DALE COOPER - I remember hearing about Twin Peaks before it started airing in the UK and it sounded so different and interesting... I watched it from the very first episode and very quickly developed a crush on Coop.  

5. BRENT SPINER as DATA - I think ST: TNG had been airing for a while before I stumbled across it but I quickly became hooked and Data was my favourite character right from the start. I definitely remember at one point buying an (unofficial) episode guide book so that I could look up which episodes were good Data-focused ones (especially ones where he got hurt! :D) so I could go out and buy the videos that had those episodes on (at the time the show was available to buy on VHS-tape with 2 episodes on each tape).

6. DAVID DUCHOVNY as FOX MULDER - Another show that I heard the buzz about and started watching right from the start and, like so many others, I immediately developed a crush on the snarky, enigmatic, troubled FBI agent with the weird name. The X-Files was the first show I ever tried writing (one, never-finished) fanfic for.

7. PAUL GROSS as BENTON FRASER - Man, Due South was such a good show! It was so quirky and clever and funny and Benton Fraser, with his huge heart and his serious demeanour and his gorgeous blue eyes, was just so darn attractive! He also got whumped a fair bit too! :D Due South was also the show that introduced me to the music of Sarah McLachlan (I was enough of a fan that I bought the show soundtrack on CD).

8. HUGH LAURIE as DR GREGORY HOUSE - This was a bit of an odd one for me because I had grown up knowing Hugh Laurie solely as a comedian/comic actor, known mostly for playing buffoons and genial idiots. And suddenly here he was with stubble, an American accent, and a limp, and he was hawt AF! :D It caused quite the feedback loop in my brain for a while which pretty much went “Wow, House is hot.... but it’s Hugh Laurie... but he’s hot... but it’s HUGH LAURIE!!1!”

I *loved* House (the first few seasons, at least) and oof a character with persistent pain (and a self-destructive streak a mile wide!) was a whumper’s dream. House was the first show for which I wrote - and published online - completed fanfics.

8. JOE FLANIGAN as JOHN SHEPPARD - Stargate Atlantis was my first proper online fandom, the first show I prolifically and repeatedly wrote fanfic for, and the first time I ever met in person an actor I was a big fan of (and while the show was still airing, to boot!). It was also my first introduction to the online community of whumpers! A bunch of us from the Shep Whump thread on Gateworld heard that Joe was going to be at a convention in London and we decided to book hotel rooms and meet up and go to the convention together and it was AWESOME! I can still remember seeing Joe *in person* for the first time and just,,,, struggling to believe he was actually here, in person, in front of me! He was super super lovely and humble too and took time to chat to everyone at the signing table and I clearly remember my brain just pretty much fritzing out during the photo session and being intensely aware of the sensation of Joe’s hand on my shoulder....

It was also super lovely to meet fellow fans, and online friends, in person for the first time and we had so much fun, and it kickstarted me going to lots of other conventions, including specific Stargate/SGA ones where I got to know lots of other lovely fans and online friends. I’ve met Joe about 4 or 5 times in total now and he’s been lovely every time.

9. PAUL BLACKTHORNE as HARRY DRESDEN - Gosh I loved the shortlived tv adaptation of The Dresden Files. I loved the fantasy aspect, the stories, the humour, and I especially loved Harry Dresden and how often he got whumped! :D 

10. DAVID TENNANT as THE 10TH DOCTOR - I had watched the Christopher Ecclestone revival of Doctor Who and enjoyed it well enough but I can clearly remember watching David Tennant’s first episode as The Doctor - on Christmas Day, at my brother-in-law’s house - and being aware, as I watched it that... ooookay, yes, I’m in trouble here... I like him... I like him a lot... :D I mean, I’m sure the fact that he got whumped so thoroughly in his very first episode had nothing to do with how quickly I fell for him... right? :)

11. ALEX O’LAUGHLIN as MICK ST JOHN - Another show that ended far too soon and just as it was getting *seriously* good. But also a prime example of my point about having a crush on the character not the actor. I looooooved Alex as Mick St John... and yet in Hawaii 5.0 he pretty much does nothing for me (the character is too stoic and the whump often too unrealistically glossed over). Anyway, in Moonlight he was my favourite kind of character - angsty, brooding, dangerous AF when he needed to be... and essentially immortal so you could whump the heck out of him and he’d recover so you could whump him again! :D

12. SIMON BAKER as PATRICK JANE - There is so much to love about Patrick Jane... his smarts, his sass, his angst... and Simon is a rare “against type” blonde crush for me (you may have noticed by now that most of my crushes follow a similar physical aesthetic - tall, slim/wiry, and dark-haired) and again here I think my crush is almost all to do with the character rather than the actor.

12. BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH as SHERLOCK HOLMES - I’m almost ashamed to admit it, given the clusterfuck that both the show and its fandom became, but in the earlier seasons I had quite the crush on Benedict’s Sherlock (and okay, a little bit on Benedict himself - I did definitely enjoy some of his other roles too). It helps that I was already a huge fan of the Sherlock Holmes character (I’ve read all the stories and novels multiple times and was a big fan of the Granada adaptation starring Jeremy Brett - whose Holmes would definitely count as one of my more minor/passing crushes) already. Benedict is another crush that I have met in person, at a (actually, the first!) Sherlock convention and he was lovely in person - very genuine, very articulate and thoughtful.

13. TOM MISON as ICHABOD CRANE - I was excited for Sleepy Hollow as soon as I heard about it and I was SUCH a fan for the first couple of seasons (before TPTB completely destroyed it and it inevitably got cancelled (I didn’t even watch the last season and a half)) and Tom’s Ichabod (and his amazing chemistry with Nicole’s Abbie) was a large part of why. I also quickly became a big fan of Tom himself as he came across as so witty and self-deprecating and *fun* in all the behind the scenes/convention clips etc. I was lucky enough to also meet Tom at a convention and he genuinely is that witty and charming and lovely.

14. TOM WISDOM as ARCHANGEL MICHAEL - I think Dominion was possibly the first show that I got sucked into by seeing whumpy gifsets on tumblr! :D It was such a great show and also to date the most immersive, welcoming, cast-and-crew-interactive fandom I have ever been in. The cast and crew regularly live-tweeted the episodes, and interacted with fans on Twitter, and it was SO much fun. And Tom’s Michael was my favourite character right from the start - seemingly aloof but so much going on under the surface... and some really nice whump, especially in season 2! I was heartbroken when it was cancelled after only 2 seasons (and just as the plot was getting *really* interesting).

15. OLIVER JACKSON-COHEN as LUCAS - I was hooked on Emerald City right from the first episode. It was visually stunning, so atmospheric, and really intruiging. I love love loved Adria Arjona’s Dorothy (ngl, I had a bit of a crush on her too) and she and Lucas together were just... *chef’s kiss*. I mean... what an introduction to a character... she finds him crucified, bleeding, his wrists tied with barbed wire, and amnesiac.... and the whump only gets better and better from there on in! Like the entire first two episodes are just... Lucas whump! :D And his devotion to her... Emerald City was honestly the first show where I really got into a ship. I was *invested* in Dorcas, dammit! Aaaand sadly another excellent show that never made it past its first season.

16. JASON RALPH as QUENTIN COLDWATER - Another show that I watched right from the start, was heavily invested in.... and that the writers absolutely tanked and destroyed in later seasons. *cries* Quentin was such a brilliant viewpoint character for the show and I loved his awkwardness, and his angst, and his enthusiasm, and his adorable floppy hair... and how often he got whumped! 

17. COLIN MORGAN - I fell for Colin in Merlin (which I stumbled upon late, long after it had finished airing, and hence was able to binge-watch the entire 5 seasons!) and liked him enough to seek out his other works, such as The Fall, and Humans, and The Living and the Dead, and he was brilliant (and very pretty) in all of them... and his characters also seem to get whumped quite a lot! :D 

18. MATT LANTER as WYATT LOGAN - Wyatt was another of my favourite archetypes... absolutely badass and competent... but also tortured and angsty and capable of intense devotion. Another show that I watched because of whumpy gifs on tumblr and the second ever show where I actually got invested in a ship - Lyatt all the way, baby!! :D - aaaaaand yet another show cancelled before its time.

19. NOCTIS LUCIS CAELUM from FINAL FANTASY XV - my very first video game crush! I was recommended to play FFXV by fellow whumpers on the whumpshire discord because it was whumpy... and they were not wrong and I loved the game and I absolutely adored Noctis. FFXV is one of very very VERY few video games that I have actually played right through to the end. And possibly the only video game that has ever affected me to such an extent... I became so invested in the characters and their world and I actually found the last couple of chapters really hard to play because it was actually upsetting me emotionally. I had to take a break for a couple of weeks before I could go back and finish it!

20. CONNOR from DETROIT BECOME HUMAN - and from there I jumped straight into another video game crush! DBH was another game recommended to me for its whump potential and I, and many others, immediately fell in love with the quirky, sassy, self-sacrificing (if you play the game right!) “android sent by Cyberlife”. The game itself is really good too... although, I have tried to play through all the different endings to the story but have never yet managed to make myself play the machine Connor storyline.... I want to complete all the story branches... but I also just want Hank and Connor to be friends and to be happy! :D

21. ZHU YILONG - Ahhh... the beginning of the asian drama arc of my fandom life! I first came across Zhu Yilong after getting sucked into watching Guardian because of pretty (and whumpy) gifs on tumblr... and I’ve never looked back. He is one of the rare entries where I am pretty much guaranteed to like him in pretty much anything he does and my crush extends beyond Shen Wei, or his other characters, and into reblogging his fashion shoot photos, and keeping up with news of his work in general. He’s just... so darn pretty! And also so... blur! :D And the behind the scenes stuff and interviews of him with Bai Yu, during the Guardian era, just made me fall for him all the more. He’s also ridiculously talented - not only a fantastic actor, but a really good singer (I love his singing voice), he plays guitar and piano, and he can paint too!!

He’s also pretty much what made me start learning Chinese... because after Guardian I went seeking his other dramas to watch... only to find that many of them are only partially, or not at all, subbed. So I thought... why not try learning Chinese and then I’ll be able to watch his other shows? :D

21. JI CHANG WOOK - My first kdrama crush, and what a good one to start with! Healer was the first drama I ever watched and can you blame me for falling for JCW... especially when I followed up Healer with The K2?! I’ve liked him in pretty much everything I’ve watched him in. Although I do wish he would go back to doing more action-based shows as he is sooo good at them... but he seems to prefer the romcom genre these days, which is something I am nottt always a fan of tbh.

22. JAKE HSU as MENG SHAO FEI - Yet another show that I got sucked into by tumblr - and also one with a great, fun fandom through which I met lots of lovely people who I still follow/am mutuals with to this day. I just *adored* Jake’s character in History and I also loved the ship - Tang Fan and Meng Shaofei were awesome and adorable together and I was totally invested in both the ship and the gangster/cop/what happened years ago story happening alongside the ship. And Jake is just all kinds of cute.

23. XIAO ZHAN - Aaaand we are pretty much up to current day now... where The Untamed took over my life in the summer of 2019 and has yet to let me go. Xiao Zhan is another disgustingly talented human being - a fantastic singer and a really good actor, and also an artist - and he also just comes across as a genuinely sweet and charming person, and a very thoughful and earnest one too. And lbr he is ridiculously pretty, and his smile is just pure sunshine. 

24. LEE DONG WOOK as LEE YEON - The most recent entry to the charts.... a Korean actor I was aware of but whose work I hadn’t watched and whose looks didn’t particularly seem to grab me... until I watched Tale of the Nine Tailed and fell head over heels for Lee Yeon (and daaayum does red hair suit LDW!!) and very quickly began to find LDW’s looks very appealing (and oh my, does Lee Yeon whump well!!). And yes, I have now started watching Goblin. :D

Phew! Aaaand we are done! I’ll admit, I did think of a few more as I was compiling this list but I decided to categorise them as more “minor” crushes and not include them... otherwise we really could be here all day!!

I’m going to tag: @sarah-yyy​, @arlothia​, @howdydowdy​, @thepromiseweheldforlife​ and @the-wandering-whumper​!

[jackie-talks-about-starkid]

Me and My Dick (Rewatch #2, 9/15/2020)

YouTube publish date: November 12, 2000

Number of views on date of rewatch: 2,129,928

Original Performance Run: October 29-31st, 2009

Ticket price: ?

Director: Matt Lang

Music and Lyrics: Darren Criss, AJ Holmes, and Carlos Valdes

Book: Brian Holden, Eric Kahn Gale, Matt Lang, and Nick Lang

Cast album price and availability: $9.99, iTunes

Album release date: January 6, 2010

Parody or original: an original (I suspect that the plot may have been influenced by King Missile’s “Detachable Penis” but that’s just a hunch)

Main cast and characters

Joey Richter - Joey Richter

Dick - Joe Walker

Sally - Jamie Lyn Beatty

Miss Cooter - Devin Lytle

Vanessa - Ali Gordon

Tiffany - Alle-Faye Monka

The Old Snatch - Nicholas Joseph Strauss-Matathia

Flopsy - Brian Holden

Joey’s Heart - AJ Holmes

Musical numbers

Act I

“Me and My Dick” by AJ Holmes and Carlos Valdes

     Characters: Joey and Dick

“Ready To Go” by Darren Criss

     Characters: Company

“I’ve Seen You Around Here Before” by AJ Holmes and Carlos Valdes

     Characters: Dick and Miss Cooter

“Nothin’ Like A Dick” by AJ Holmes and Carlos Valdes

     Characters: Old Snatch and Miss Cooter

“Listen To Your Heart” by AJ Holmes and Carlos Valdes

     Characters: Joey’s Heart and Joey

Act II

“Land of the Dicks” by AJ Holmes and Carlos Valdes

     Characters: Weenie, Big T, and the Lost Dicks

“Even Though” by Darren Criss

     Characters: Joey and Sally

“Gotta Find His Dick” by AJ Holmes and Carlos Valdes

     Characters: Joey’s Heart and Company

“The Council of the Pussies" by AJ Holmes and Carlos Valdes

     Characters: The Old Snatch, High Council Pussy, and The Council of the    Pussies

“Flight of the Pussies” by AJ Holmes and Carlos Valdes

"Big T's Temptation" by  AJ Holmes and Carlos Valdes

     Characters: Big T and the Lost Dicks

"Finale" by Darren Criss

     Characters: Company

Notable Notes:

The cast album became the first ever student musical album to chart on Billboard’s Top Cast Albums the week it was released (x)

The album debuted at #11. It was a place above the original cast album for Rock of Ages.

Cultural Context: 2009

Me and My Dick was performed the same year that StarKid did A Very Potter Musical

Barack Obama gets sworn in as president of the US

Glee airs its first episode (Darren auditions for Finn and doesn’t get the part)

Michael Jackson dies on June 25th

Kanye West interrupts Taylor Swift’s “Video of the Year” speech at the Video Music Awards

Avatar (the one with the blue people, not Avatar: The Last Airbender) becomes the highest grossing movie of all time

The “Miracle on the Hudson” happened on January 15th

Personal Thoughts:

When one first hears of a comedic musical about pubescent high schoolers and their singing penises and vaginas, one does not think, “Wow, what a sophisticated concept that dissects the relationship between gender roles and sexual identity in modern day society,” but that’s what StarKid Productions’ Me and My Dick is truly about. At first, having the main character’s genitalia being completely separate but complementary entities to the teenagers at the center of the storyline seems jarring and like it was only done for comedic purposes, but the longer and more complicated the plot gets, the more obvious it seems to be. The main character, Joey Richter and his relationship with his Dick is a very compelling one. Throughout the musical, Joey struggles with coming to terms with his sexuality as a teenage boy. At the beginning, Joey himself reflects the average stereotype of the sex-obsessed male teenager whose primary interest is getting laid rather than achieving emotional fulfillment. Later, when his Dick becomes interested in his neighbor Sally’s Miss Cooter, Joey and his Dick have a fight about what that attraction means for their relationship and eventually separate, before eventually coming back together once Joey develops a relationship with his Heart. Joey himself is his own entity, with his own thoughts, feelings, and goals, and his struggles with his Dick and his Heart represent very real internal struggles that many teenagers, and especially teenage boys, have with themselves, their sexuality, and their personal emotions. 

Joey’s Dick, as well as the other character’s sexual organs, represent the subconscious sexual identities of each character. For Joey, his sexual identity cannot be fully realized or appreciated by himself because he has not fully matured as a sexual being. Unlike Sally, Joey does not realize that in order to achieve sexual fulfillment, he needs to not only be physically attracted to someone, but also experience an emotional connection with someone, which is something that Dick AKA his sexual subconscious realizes before Joey and even his Heart do. This journey is the perfect example of the dangers of a sex-oriented society, and how that kind of society damages the well-being of maturing men and women. In Western society, the ideal sexually mature man is defined by his sexual prowess and dominance. If he can have sex with a bunch of hot women and not worry about how emotionally in-tune he is with himself and his personal relationships, then he is the ideal man. Society teaches men (and women) from a very young age that a man’s defining trait is his sexual attitude towards others. 

The ideal sexually mature woman, on the other hand, is represented by the character Tiffany, who is arguably the most sympathetic character in the musical. Through the perspective of her vagina, lovingly referred to as The Old Snatch (aptly named as Tiffany’s sexuality represents the general mistreatment of women’s sexual selves in society), we see that Tiffany is the unfortunate byproduct of such a male dominant sexually oriented culture. The only time Tiffany has ever experienced true sexual fulfillment was during her first time having sex with an unnamed male character she was in love with. However, it was later revealed that this character used Tiffany only for his own sexual enjoyment and did not truly love her, intensely hurting Tiffany’s feelings and resulting in her being used to getting treated as a sexual object whose existence is only beneficial for men’s pleasure rather than her own emotional and sexual fulfillment. 

Another, more subtle, detail that emphasizes this theme is Sally’s opening section in “Ready to Go.” While singing, Sally already knows that she has a crush on Joey, but her low self-esteem and worries about her own attractiveness lead her to become sexually repressed, to the point where her vagina, Miss Cooter, has to ‘fall in love’ with Joey’s Dick in order to Sally to realize that she not only experiences, but truly desires having sex with Joey. 

What I love about the representation of the character’s and their respective sexual organs is that they are tethered to one another through some kind of leash-type object that allows for the penis or vagina character to be connected to their person but freely move around and act as their own character without them. While this is beneficial for the actors and entertaining for the audience to see these beings take on a life of their own, it also compliments the theme of sexual identity and maturity very well. By choosing to have penises and vaginas tethered to, but not completely physically attached to their teenage counterparts, it communicates to the audience that the sexual identity the genitalia represents in of course a very important factor of the person’s life and individuality, but ultimately not the be-all, end-all of who a person truly is. While Dick, Miss Cooter, Old Snatch, and other characters go through their own journey, the most important development is the ones that their human attachments experience. The sexuality of the character is an integral part of who the character is and how they navigate their life, but in the end, the most important thing is that the human characters go through their own development in which their sexuality compliments, but never dick-tates (sorry, I had to). 

The ultimate take away from Me and My Dick is that in order to be a fully realized individual, one has to recognize and accept all parts of themselves, instead of just focusing on their physical sexual selves and ignoring their personal feelings, or overemphasizing their emotional feelings while ignoring their physical, sexual needs. 

“[Dick] is a part of you like I am, Joey. You need him and Sally needs him” - Joey’s Heart <3

“We gotta start thinking of love and sex as a team effort. We can’t just pine over a girl we can’t get or be in a constant pursuit of sex. We need to listen to each other because that’s the only way it can work out” -Joey Richter

[thiswasinevitableid]

16 for indruck or 33 for sternclay? Please and thank you love

I did 16 first, SFW. I’ll be doing 33 soon!

#16: we’re on the longest flight ever and I’m a bad flier to begin with but you’ve fallen asleep on my shoulder and are snoring SO LOUD

Indrid grips his armrest tighter, tries to focus on the game on his phone.  Maybe if he arranges his yard just right, he can get that rare, rainbow bird to come. 

The plane jolts again and he hisses, wishes the flight would be over, that his feet were on the ground, that if nothing else they would stop hitting so much turbulence so he could forget he’s stuck in a metal tube hurtling through the sky in the dark above the unfeeling earth. 

If only he could relax, maybe even sleep, something his seatmate is having no trouble with. The man greeted him politely when he slipped in next to him (at least they’re only two to a row, in case he has to get up), drawl pronounced and smile genuine. He fell asleep shortly after take off, and has stayed so for the last three hours of this fifteen hour journey. Indrid would be less inclined to hold this against him were he not snoring loudly every five seconds. It jars Indrid from whatever he’s concentrating on and then he’s right back to the whole sky->metal tube->surely going to die mindset.

More turbulence and he gasps, his nerves not helped by his seatmate tipping to the side and resting his head on his shoulder. While he’s certainly daydreamed about a cute bear falling asleep on him (is there a name for a short bear? Teddy bear? Oh god why is the plane making that noise?)

The next bump is bad and he jumps with a squeak. The man wakes up, jostled by his sudden movement. 

“Guhwha? Or, sorry man, didn’t mean to zonk out on you.” Up close and soft, the drawl is painfully charming. Indrid wishes he was calm enough to enjoy it. 

“It’s, it’s alright, I, I didn’t mean to Nahnnn!” Another bump and he grips his arm rests.

“Not a fan of flyin?’”

“Obviously” he manages through grit teeth.

The man shakes his head, blinking fully awake, “I, uh, got some more of those little melatonin things in my bag. You want one?”

“No, thank you.”

“You sure? Flight might be a lot more bearable if you were asleep for most of it.”

“I, I can’t. You will think I’m a lunatic if I tell you why.”

“Hey, I fell asleep on a random dude’s shoulder, everyone gets a little weird on planes.”

“I worry that if I fall asleep, I will not be ready to respond if something disastrous happens.”

The man stares at him a moment and he wishes he could hide under his meager blanket. 

“Yeah, I get that. Whoah, easy now.” He rests his hand on Indrid’s shoulder as a series of large bumps makes him shudder and curl in on himself, breathing rapidly. 

“I hate flaying. Hate it, hate it hate it.”

The man is rubbing his arm soothingly, “my sister ain’t a fan of it either. Somethin’ that helped her is thinkin about a plane in the air like a boat on the sea. Turbulence is just like goin’ over a wave; going’ over a wave don’t sink a boat.”

“But a wave going over a boat can. What if there are tidal waves in the sky? Or, not wave waves, but, but you know what I mean.”

“Strike me as about as likely as a great white shark in the sky.”

Indrid laughs, a tad hysterical, “goodness, imagine looking out that window and seeing a shark.”

“Feel like it’d be more confused than us. Ain’t no seals in the sky. That’d be kind cute though, seein’ ‘em sittin in trees like birds.”

Indrid’s knuckles are no longer white, and he can finally move his hands with enough control to pull his fidget cube from his pocket. 

“Is Brazil your last stop?” The man is no longer touching him, but he stays turned towards him, green eyes filled with polite curiosity. 

“Yes. I, ah, I am a photographer, I’m going down to document the reforestation efforts.”

“No shit! I’m goin’ down to help with them.” A crooked, excited grin, “I’m with the forest service, and we’re doin’ a kind of good neighbor program where some of our folks go down to do what we can to help with the recovery from the fires.”

“That is very impressive.” The cube combined with the conversation is soothing him. 

“Thanks. Know it’s silly, thinkin one fella can make a difference, but I wanna do what I can.”

“I do not think it’s silly. Do you specialize in anything?”

“Trees, mainly, other plants too. Spent the last three months crammin’ from books like this” he taps the botany book in his seatback pocket, “to make sure I don’t make too much of a fool of myself in a new ecosystem. You do much nature photography?”

“Yes. I specialize in nature and fashion, hence my being sent on this assignment. I, ah, do you follow National Geographic at all?”

“‘Course.”

“I won their photography award last year.”

“Shit, was that the hawk one?”

“Yes.” 

“Damn man, that photo was heavy stuff. I heard it helped convince a few places to introduce more protections for raptors.”

“I heard so as well. That made hiding in the blind and nearly getting shot by a disgruntled hunter worthwhile. That is why I love photography; I suppose it’s cliche, but a picture can indeed be worth a thousand words.”

“Guess that’s true….wait, fuck, did you say someone almost shot you?” 

Indrid summarizes his encounter with the hunter who insisted it was right to hunt, and how he had not argued that point, and that he was merely documenting what was happening in the forest that morning.

“Yeah, had a few run ins with hunters. Poachers too.”

“That sounds dangerous.”

“I had better days, that’s for damn sure. You ever come up against a bear when you’re out?”

“I was on assignment in Denali once and documented a mother Grizzly and her cubs. From the river, in a little boat. That let me keep my distance. You?”

“Few times, not super close. They get into campsites sometimes, usually when folks ain’t followin directions on storin food. Once had a family come back to find all their food had been eaten by a bear. Except the jar of honey.”

Indrid laughs, “clearly he wished to avoid playing to stereotype.”

A massive bump and Indrid whimpers in surprise. 

“C’mon, you got this, pretend you’re facin’ down the hunter.”

“I can reason with a hunter, I cannot reason with a plane.”

“Here” the man rifles through his bag, “I got some good BBC nature stuff downloaded. You wanna watch with me ? Might distract you.”

“Alright. Ah, thank you…?”

“Duck. It’s a nickname.”

They make it through two episodes before a bad bit of turbulence has his hand shooting out to grab onto something. That something happens to be Duck’s hand. He’s about to pull away, apologize, when Duck simply twines their fingers together, occasionally brushing his thumb along Indrid’s hand whenever he squeezes down in fear.  

By the time the rest of the plane is waking for breakfast, Duck’s head is once again on Indrid’s shoulder as he shows him some photos from previous assignments that have yet to be published. They talk over their breakfast and well into lunch about their homes, about what they’re each looking forward to and dreading about being out in the field, and learn they’ll actually be working from the same base camp. When they practice their Portuguese on each other, Duck mispronounces something so egregious they both end up doubled over in their cramped seats with laughter. 

Sometime past hour twelve, Duck asks, “You got anyone back home who’s missin you?”

“No. I travel often for work, so do not have much time to devote to swimming about the dating pool. Yourself?”

“Got outta a relationship a few months ago, not really sure when I’ll get into another one.” 

By hour thirteen, Indrid’s eyelids are heavy, his head continually listing to one side as he nearly falls asleep. Duck lifts up the armrest between them, and Indrid nestles against his shoulder, too tired to marvel at how safe he feels in the arms of such a new acquaintance. 

When his eyes open again, he’s in Brazil. 

Duck deplanes with him, and they stumble through the airport, land legs not quite back online. Indrid waits for their bags while Duck retrieves coffee, teasingly calling Indrid “hummingbird” when he explains just how much sweetener needs to be in his.  They stay side by side near the baggage carousel for as long as they can, planning out their respective routes. The magazine has given him the choice to stay in Sao Paulo for a night before moving on to the rain forest, and for a moment he contemplates it. Duck, meanwhile, has returned from the bathroom where he changed into his outdoor wear. 

“I got a half hour before my ride gets here, then some more travelin until we hit camp. You stayin here tonight?”

It would be restful, a break from travel, a last evening in an urban area before leaving for the wild. And it’s not like he won’t see Duck again, they’ll have plenty of chances to talk while he’s on his assignment. 

“If it’s quite alright, I’d like to come with you.”

Duck gives him that smile again and Indrid feels like he could travel for another two days solid. And when their transport arrives, they step onto it hand in hand. 

[moonice20408]

The Curious Disappearance of C. Cullen

Word Count: 3818

Read on Ao3 Read on FF.net

“This week on Buzzfeed Unsolved we’re investigating the disappearance of C. Cullen, as part of our new investigation!”

“New investigation?”

“Are vampires real?”

Shane groaned. “Oh no. No no no. Absolutely not. Nope.”

Ryan let out a laugh. “What, you don’t believe in vampires?”

“No Ryan, I do not.” Shane shook his head. “And you know what, I think I might believe in them even less than ghosts!”

“Oh wow.” Ryan laughed again. “Why are vampires so much more unbelievable than ghosts?”

“Because Ryan. They’re stupid! That’s why!” He slammed his hand onto the desk with some force. “If vampires were real, we’d know about it.”

“Well what if it’s like in the movies and they’re all just living in secret?”

“Oh, c’mon. There are cameras everywhere nowadays. You don’t think we’d have caught some guy just munching on another guys neck till he drops dead at some point? Then turn into a bat and fly away.”

“Well you’d just say it was fake if we did.”

Shane paused for a second then shrugged. “Yeah, that’s probably true.”

Ryan shook his head, then faced the camera. “So, this episode of Supernatural is a going to be a little different.”

“How so Ryan?”

“Well… we’re not going anywhere. There’s no location footage this week guys.”

“Yeah, this week we just thought, ‘you know what, not feeling it.’” Shane relaxed back in his chair. “We’re gonna sit back and take it easy.”

Ryan ignored him. “The reason being, well two reasons actually. One being that, at least I figure, if they were real, vampires aren’t, err… trapped, shall we say, to one place. Therefore, if they were real, they’d still be free to leave a place. So, we’d get there-”

“And we’d be talking to no one.” Shane interrupted.

“Exactly.”

“Imagine that.” Shane continued. “Going to a supernatural hotspot, just talking to the air…”

“Would you-”

“Wouldn’t want that! Would we?” He threw his hands up in the air. Ryan just stared forward, looking into the camera with an unimpressed look. “Wouldn’t we just look dumb! Just yelling into an empty room, expecting a response.”

“Erm, excuse me, we’ve gotten plenty of responses!” Ryan defended.

“Pffft.” Shane waved his hand.

“You know what, I’m just going to continue.” Ryan said matter-of-factly.

“Please.”

“The other reason we’re staying here, is that this case is from England. And we just couldn’t find time that worked for us, as well as crew members to do a quick trip to another country.” Shane nodded with Ryan. “I did look around the location, y’know on Google, and err, it’s just a bunch of offices now, so…”

“Not as exciting as our last trip there.” Both of them shook their heads.

“Now,” Ryan straightened out the file in front of him, before looking to the camera. “I am going to admit, right off the bat…” He quickly peered to Shane. “See what I did there?”

Shane nodded.

“Vampire… Bat…”

“No, I got it Ryan. That was a good one.”

“Thank you.” Ryan smiled while Shane rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I have to admit, I, err… I’m already prepared for some… criticism, shall we say.”

“What, because vampires aren’t real?” Shane said sarcastically.

“No. Well, I guess that’s part of the debate isn’t it?”

Shane sighed and shook his head, looking straight to the camera.

Ryan continued. “What I mean is, that this is case we’re investigating, is one of the oldest cases we will have covered so far on the show.”

“Oh really? Interesting.” Shane said, genuinely intrigued. “What’s the oldest so far? Witch trials right, gotta be.”

“Err, well that’s the oldest full episode, I think. But there’s some of the ancient alien stuff we looked at-”

“Oh right, yeah.”

“But the Salem witch trials were 1690s. But the case today dates back, roughly, to the 1640s.”

“Wow. That’s pretty old Ryan.”

“Yeah, which is part of the problem. Because it’s as old as it is, the erm, documentation of it is… It’s not great.”

Shane let out a small laugh. “So, what you’re saying is, you’ve got shit.”

“No! No… It’s just we, meaning our tremendous research team, we’re usually able to get multiple accounts on stuff, and can cross reference information, you know, so we can put together a more valid case.”

“So, you’re telling me, that before the videos even started, this case has no credibility and is crumbling through your fingers as we speak?”

Ryan sighed. “Look, I feel that what we have is defiantly something. I just want to make it clear; it’s just not as backed up as our usual content. You know we try to keep it as honest as we can here. So, I figured, I’d be upfront about this, before people start yelling at me through the comments. Obviously, I’m not going to put together an episode if there’s absolutely nothing, cause that’s… that’s just telling a made-up story off the internet isn’t it?”

“Hmm,” Shane nodded. “Okay. Alright. I will reserve my judgement for the end.”

Ryan laughed. “I doubt that, but anyway, let’s get into it.

- - -

“Legends of vampires can be dated back millennia, and stories told of them are found globally. Many ancient cultures had tales centred around the nocturnal undead, reanimated corpses spreading disease to the living, or blood drinking spirits all that hold similar characteristics to the modern idea of what a vampire is.

The idea of blood drinking became very ingrained into the lore of vampires. It was once believed that the blood of a living person, contained that person’s life force, and to drink it would allow another creature to absorb that life force. Some even thought that by drinking a person’s blood, that the drinker would also gain the characteristics of that person, allowing the vampire to better disguise themselves amongst the rest of society.

The word ‘vampire’ itself only came into use in the mid-18th century, from fast spreading tales told in Transylvania, and was later further popularised due to Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, which was published in 1897. It’s Stoker who is credited for defining the modern vampire, after combining multiple myths together for his book.

In most folklores, vampires were believed to be the revenants of evil beings, or an unrested deceased person who had committed unforgivable sins in their life, but it became a common belief that a living person themselves could become a vampire by being bitten. The belief in some parts of the world became to extensive that it led to mass hysteria, which resulted in many people being sentenced to death, usually by burning.”

- - -

“What’s interesting to me,” Shane started.

“Yeah?”

“Is just how wholeheartedly people, back in the day, believed in this stuff!”

“Yeah. I did come across something, and can I just say, the historical research in this case was very interesting… Like, go look up vampire history guys.” Ryan pointed at the camera. “But anyway, in, err, Greece I think it was, was that after three years, they would dig up dead bodies and they’d be examined.”

“To see if they’d become vampires?”

“Basically.” Ryan nodded. “And if they hadn’t decayed to standard, or whatever, then they’d be ‘dealt with accordingly’” He said, adding air quotations.

“Who decides,” Shane snickered. “Who decides what a suitable decomposition is?” They both laughed. “Were they just like, ‘hmm, no, too much meat left on ‘im’”

“‘toss him in the fire!’” Ryan added.

“‘Into the pit’,” Shane mimicked throwing something over his shoulder. “‘Bring in the next decayed body!’”

“It’s like a line at the doctor’s office.” They both chuckled.

- - -

“Now, back to the case at hand. In early the 1950s, construction workers in London were working to fix up a number of buildings that were destroyed by bombs during World War Two. In one particular location, the damage caused actually led to the discovery of a basement-like room, that had been previously built over, remaining hidden for centuries. Upon further investigation, it was determined that this room was originally part of an Anglican church that was destroyed during the Great Fire in 1666, and was never rebuild.

Inside this room, many historical artefacts were found, but some of the most interesting, at least to me, were a journal and a stack of documents, that belonged to a previous pastor of the church. It is worth noting that the year 1640 is written on the first page of this journal, but it is up for debate for how long this journal was kept. The documents that were recovered, have been since entitled the ‘Crusades of Evil’.

Unfortunately, over time a lot of the writing on these pages has become too faded to accurately read. But enough can be made out to get a good sense of what they’re about. In short, the pastor of the church would lead hunts for all manner of unholy creatures. Almost all of them resulting in the execution of people who were thought to be these creatures. These documents contain the information about the accused, which was essentially just a name and location, if that, as well as what they were accused of doing/being, and the method of execution. Most of the documents found were signed a S.C. Cullen. But, thanks to the journal that was found with these papers, we know that the man in question was named Samuel Cullen.”

- - -

 “No middle name?” Shane asked.

“Err, no this guy didn’t write his whole name. Unfortunately.”

“And am I correct in assuming that the unknown ‘C’ initial is perhaps the same as our missing person’s?”

“It is certainly believed that the initials do come from the same name, yes.”

“Interesting…” Shane paused for a moment. “You know… just to switch subjects here,” He huffed a laugh, “And I want this on record, this guy already seems like an asshole… I’m very against the whole idea of burning innocent people to death…”

“Oh good, I’m glad.” Ryan said sarcastically.

“But, I gotta say… Crusades Against Evil! Sounds like a badass movie!”

Ryan chuckled. “To be honest, when I first read that… I did think it sounded like some kind of shooter video game.”

“Oh! Like Doom! You ever play that?” He mimed holding up a gun, and pointing it around the room. “Vampires just popping up, like bangbangbangbangbang!” He ‘aimed’ at Ryan. “Kaboom.”

Ryan just raised his eye brow. “You done?”

“Yeah.” Shane sighed, smiling to himself.

- - -

“Not much is known about Samuel Cullen, other than the fact he was the church pastor during the 1630s and early 1640s at the very least, according to the papers found. And the journal that was found, was unfortunately in an even worse condition than the documents. That being said, one legible section did make reference to a son, and if you were paying attention, you’d have noticed I said most of the documents were signed by Samuel. Some however, were signed C. Cullen. Which has led many conclude that this C. Cullen was the pastor’s son. But when efforts were made to find out more about this man, researchers came up empty handed, and found almost nothing. Not even a first name.”

- - -

“Not even a name?” Shane said loudly.

“I know.”

“So I take it that it was Samuel naming his son after himself?”

“Err, yeah. At least that’s what most people think. Which, honestly, I think is a fair conclusion to make.”

Shane nodded in agreement. “That’s kind of sad, that we’ll never know this guy’s name.” Ryan hummed in agreement, and there was a brief moment of silence. “I bet it was Clive.”

Ryan laughed. “Clive?”

“I dunno man, first name I thought of.” Shane shrugged.

“You thought of Clive before, like, Christopher? A much more common name.”

“Aaa, this is an uncommon guy though, Ryan.”

Ryan shook his head, not commenting.

- - -

“As I said, Samuel seemed to be very enthusiastic about the hunts he led, given the number of documents signed by him. His son however, only seemed to have taken charge in two of these crusades. And if it is to be assumed that the documents were kept in any sort of order, then that would mean, these two accounts from the son were much further apart in time, than that of Samuel’s. It’s also worth mentioning, that C. Cullen’s papers were noticeably longer in length, even if too faded to fully read. But this does suggest the man was, perhaps, more detailed in his telling of what happened, or even maybe had more compelling evidence of what he believed to be a supernatural creature. Researches involved believe the most likely scenario is that Samuel put his son in charge of the church and of the hunts, when he was old enough, as the son’s involvement doesn’t seem to be much later. But that his son was much more hesitant at doing the job at hand. Therefore, leading Samuel to decide to take over once again, possibly to save his own or his family’s reputation.

One document in particular sparked interest, when upon further inspection, it appeared to be written by both Samuel and his son. When comparing the handwriting, it was concluded that it was mostly written by the son. Starting with what seemed to be a description on a group of people living underground. This most likely meaning the sewage system at the time. Bible verses can also be found, such as Leviticus 17:10-14, which quotes ‘And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people.’. But the account of the raid itself, as well as what is assumed to be the execution details, was written, and signed by Samuel. And no evidence of C. Cullen can be found after this point in time.

Which begs the question, what happened during this crusade that meant C. Cullen was unable to complete his own documentation? Was it a conscious decision to leave for good? And, what became of him?

- - -

“See,” Shane started, “I know where you’re going with that that question…”

“Yeah?”

“And I don’t like it…” He sighed.

- - -

“One theory as to why he vanished, is that it during this aforementioned raid, someone fought back against him, and he was killed in self-defence. As mentioned, this attack was written to be on a group of people. Consequently, it seems pretty likely that this group would fight back, given the chance. So perhaps C. Cullen met his match, and ultimate end in this way. Similarly, could it be that he was killed accidentally? Many historians agree that these types of hunts for supernatural beings, would have involved a large number of people. Could it be, that in amidst the chaos and disorder of the crowds, undoubtedly fuelled by fear, that C. Cullen was killed. Perhaps being trampled, or being mistaken for someone else.”

- - -

“Personally,” Ryan started, “I’m not sure I think that’s likely.”

“Of course you don’t, it’s a logical assumption.”

“Oh what, you don’t think, if we were in some crazed mob, I wouldn’t recognise you?” Ryan raised an eyebrow. “And I’d just accidentally kill you cause I was so caught up in the madness?”

“Okay one, you couldn’t kill me no matter how hard you tried.” Ryan made a sound to interrupt, but Shane continued before he could. “And two, hysteria does things to people man. You’re not thinking straight.”

“I just think that the leader of this raid, would be the most recognisable person out of everyone there. I imagine they’d have had him up on a little stage while they all crowded round for instructions before they set off. They’d all of had a pretty good look at the guy, and I’m sure he’d have just been a well-known guy at the time. The trampling, or self-defence I could kinda understand, but I can’t see how someone could’ve just like, grabbed him, and I don’t know, beat him to death or whatever.”

Shane just shrugged.

“Plus, again, he’s probably the most relevant person there.” Ryan added. “So, you’d like to think someone would have noticed his death and there’d be evidence of that.”

“It’s the 1600s, Ryan! What kind of evidence do you want? It’s not like they were running round taking photos or anything.”

“Well, there could be some sort of documentation of it. Newspaper article perhaps?” Ryan suggested.

“I don’t think many newspapers would’ve survived that long… Were newspapers even a thing at this point?”

“You know, honestly I don’t know.”

“And this is the 1600s, how many people were reading?”

“Hmm…” Ryan sighed. “Okay, you got me with that one.”

- - -

“The most commonly accepted theory is that C. Cullen simply ran away. As I said, it is widely believed that he was more hesitant about conducting these crusades in the first place, so is it possible that he used the attack as a cover to escape? Many believe so. Perhaps being in charge of the crusade in question granted him more protection in the event, and perhaps he wasn’t involved in the attack at all. He was simply waiting for news on whether it was successful or not. Is it possible that he hung back, and made his escape while the crowds fought without him? And that no one realised he was gone until afterwards. That being said, some have their doubts about this. Afterall, if C. Cullen was indeed so much more humane than his father, would he really cause an attack on other people, just for his own benefit? And would he be one to watch from the side-lines, while others risked their own life?”

- - -

“Okay…” Shane said.

“What?”

“I mean, obviously, I don’t believe for a second that there were actually vampires involved in any of this… But back in the day, people did quite truly believe that they were real. So, I can’t imagine it would have been difficult to get a crowd all riled up, and then send them off. Especially if the leader of it all also truly believed in the… in the cause, I guess. And I think, that if this guy did use the attack as a cover, and if he was as good of a person as everyone thinks, then he at least thought they were really vampires.”

“That’s fair.” Ryan agreed. “And if you think about it, bible verses were only found in his accounts. So that leads me to think that he at least had like, I dunno, God in mind or whatever.”

“It’s kinda strange to, like, imagine yourself living like that. If you’re taking the bible that seriously, and know it well enough to quote like that, it’s gonna be hard, cause it has a lot of contrasting points. I mean, I can’t say I’ve read the bible, but just from what I’ve seen online. It seems like it’s a bit all over the place!”

“Oh yeah, I agree. I mean, this quote again,” Ryan shuffled through his papers, “I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people’. I can understand that perhaps that could be interpreted to mean killing vampires is okay… But then in the same book you have ‘thou shall not kill’.”

“You know Ryan, I like it when we argee on this stuff.”

Ryan laughed. “Well, we’ll see what you’re saying after this last theory.”

Shane let out a loud sign.

- - -

“I’m sure you all can guess what this final theory is. But some people actually entertain the idea that C. Cullen was correct in his quest. And that he truly found a coven of vampires living underground in London. He was attacked, and transformed into a vampire himself, and he is still out there today.”

- - -

Shane let out a long and loud groan. Leaning back on his chair, and covering his eyes with his hands.

Ryan giggled. “What, you don’t like this one?”

“No.” Shane replied in pained voice.

“Well you’ll be glad to know, neither do I.”

“Oh really. I’d of thought this one was right up your street.”

“What? You seriously think I’d believe in vampires?”

Shane shook his head. “You are so genuinely terrified of ghosts, it’s really not so outlandish to think you’d believe in anything like this.”

“No, no. I’m gonna put vampires in the same category as I put witches. I think a lot of innocent people were unnecessarily killed. And in all honestly, I think Samuel Cullen here, knew what he was doing. I think it was a case of him wanting to maintain a reputation, and as with the second theory, his son just took off and left to live an honest life somewhere.” Ryan nodded.

“I dunno…”

Ryan exaggerated a gasp. “Do you think it was vampires?” He laughed.

Shane chuckled. “Absolutely not. But I mean, I’ll put the whole vampire thing down to mass hysteria, you know, like those people in France!”

Ryan rolled his eyes. “I was so desperately trying to avoid you bringing that up.” He muttered.

“They danced till they died Ryan!” He looked to the camera. “Look it up! Anyway… Mass hysteria, plus, like I think I said this about the witches, but, general boredom can cause a lot of crazy behaviour. But with this C. Cullen guy… he probably just died. It’s not like they were medically advanced. People would get some sort of disease and the local doctor would give them cocaine or some shit. And it’s just a case of crappy documentation.”

Ryan laughed. “You don’t think he managed to get away and just move somewhere else? Probably chance his name?”

“I mean, that’s a possibility.”

“I just… I think there’s something just not sitting well with me, that this guys own father, never seems to mention a death. And that he just seemed to vanish and no one noticed.”

“Well maybe he did mention it, it’s just part of the journal that was unreadable.”

“Maybe…” Ryan said, unsatisfied.

“I guess we’ll never know…”

Ryan sighed. “I hate it when you say that.”

“I know…” Shane nodded, chuckling slightly. “I’m not gonna lose any sleep over it. It was four hundred years ago, he’s defiantly dead now anyway.”

Ryan nodded and hummed. “Well on that note!” The two laughed. “Hey, do you think if a vampire died, that it could still become a ghost?”

“Okay…” Shane stood up and walked off camera.

“Where are you going?”

“Away from you!”

“It was just a question.”

Thanks for reading, and hope you enjoyed it. Please let me know what you think!

[agentofship]

One last game of Tag? Agents of Shield #PartingShot

With this tag game, I want to know the answers to these five (5) questions and then tag 5 or more mutuals. Wasn’t tagged but want to join? Join in ! Everyone is an essential part of this fandom! Name from @ agent.of.shield_ on Instagram ( @agents-of-fangirling ) who had a great idea to post a picture of yourself with a drink (or just a drink) and tag it #partingshot as a finale goodbye to the show (which I also am going to post tomorrow on IG).

I was tagged by the wonderful @ofitzsimmons and @2minutes2midnight <3 Thank you for thinking of :) And of course I’ve waited for the last minute to do it! :D

Where were you in life when you first started to watching AoS?

My life wasn’t that much different from what it is now but it’s still nice to think that I’m still in a slightly better place now. I started almost from the beginning. My friend who’s a big Marvel movies fan started watching from the beginning and pestered me for months, knowing I love the movies too. So I think I started around the mid-season break of season and quickly caught up. I came for Coulson and Ming-Na that I knew from other shows and I really liked the show from episode one but it’s FZZT who stole my heart and made me go “Oh, so this is going to be my new obsession, isn’t it?” I’ve always been a fangirl but I hadn’t been this in love with the show since X-Files from 14 to my early twenties. Back then, I was struggling a bit to make a living out of being a freelance graphic designer and illustrator and living in a tiny apartment I still have nightmares where I have to go live there again! So it was nice to dive into AoS and have a little escape from reality. To the point where it made me want to write my first fanfic ever, back around the end of season three, which was also my first step into the fandom. I really started interacting with fandom after the end of season five thanks to the wonderful @libbyweasley who was the first person who came to talk to me because I was way too shy to go and talk to people myself <3 And I couldn’t thank her enough for it.

Where are you now?

For a few years now, I’m finally able to make enough money as a graphic designer/illustrator and I even make a tiny bit of it thanks to my writing. And I think part of what has encouraged me to write more of my children’s book stories (in French) and send them to publishers is the fantastic reactions I’ve been getting for my fanfics :) I’ve also moved from my tiny apartment to a much nicer one about a year and a half ago and that has made a big difference in my life. I’ve also been able to travel a lot more and finally see the Northern Lights which has been one of the most magical experiences of my entire life. Now, traveling is what I miss the most even though I’ve been lucky to go Norway in January before this whole mess that is 2020 happened. But once again, AoS got me through the worse of lockdown and my anxiety issues. Writing and reading fanfics all with the promise that at least, we’d have new episodes in May, made things a little better. And chatting with my fandom friends on a daily basis had been a real breath of fresh air when I was locked at home for two months with only my boyfriend :D  And now here I am, totally unable to focus on anything not AoS and having knots in stomach about the finale :D The last time I was this stressed out was for the season five finale. Now I have no doubt I’ll be crying my eyes out just as much but let’s hope it’s not for the same reasons :D

What character development arc (or storyline in general) did you love the most?

It’s too hard to choose so I won’t :D Fitz and Simmons. Because their storyline is so often entwined but not only. They’re typically the kind of characters I get attached to, awkward tiny geniuses who are too adorable for words and both their stories have been incredible. And I was attached from the beginning but boy, if I had any idea how they would evolve during the show.  Jemma was this sweet, incredibly smart and awkward SHIELD Hermione who was always confident despite an hilarious incapability to lie or flirt. And we saw her go undercover, survive on an alien planet and become this badass boss lady and field agent. But I also loved how she went from being scared of her feelings and wanting things to be neat and compartmentalized to embracing it all. I loved seeing her ruthless in her search for Fitz because she so often pushed her feelings and needs to the side and for once, she decided to go after what she wanted and refused to be told otherwise. Fitz was the cute, comic relief of season one and ended up being probably the most dramatic character on the show. From his brain trauma to becoming a badass man on a mission to find Simmons. And then adding more layers to the character as we finally learned his backstory and got to discover the dark side of him. Of course, the writing for this character is fantastic but it wouldn’t be the same without Iain and his beautiful, subtle and always incredibly consistent way of interpreting him. I am very attached to both these characters and I’ve been wanting to give them a hug since the end of season one. Hopefully, they end up in a place where they get to enjoy each other’s hugs all the time but just because they can, not because they need it. 

What will you miss the most?

Everything! Looking forward to new episodes, watching new episodes and being too excited too sleep on the night before a new one. Crying my eyes out over a very emotional scene.  And also all the fandom stuff like going crazy about a tiny bit on a blurry picture and overanalyzing every interview. Coming up with ridiculous theories just for the fun of it (Hello evil LMD Jemma :D) or more realistic theories and seeing them being true.  And in general, I regret not joining the fandom sooner cause it has been so much fun these past few years <3 But I know the fandom won’t die and I also look forward to many more years of fanfics and fanart and I’m looking forward to meeting some of you next year <3

Favourite quote?

I will have to go with Jemma’s quote about the first law of thermodynamics in the pod scene in 1x22. It’s a beautiful scene in a beautiful setting and the way Jemma says it in such a soft, almost peaceful voice is as heartbreaking as it is heartwarming. And it’s also very representative of my personal views on life and death and it’s really kind of reassuring. I like to think about the first law of thermodynamics, that no energy in the universe is created and... none is destroyed. That means that every bit of energy inside us, every particle will go on to be a part of something else. Maybe live as a dragonfish, a microbe, maybe burn in a supernova ten billion years from now. And every part of us now was once a part of some other thing - a moon, a storm cloud, a mammoth. A monkey. Thousands and thousands of other beautiful things that were just as terrified to die as we are. We gave them new life. Good one, I hope.

Lots of people have been tagged already but I’m gonna tag: @libbyweasley @sunalsolove @blancasplayground @accio-the-force @valentinaonthemoon @clementinewhy @springmagpies and all my mutuals who want to do it and haven’t been tagged yet, I’d love to read it :)

[aion-rsa]

How The Long Song Spotlights Ignored Black Caribbean History

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This article contains spoilers for The Long Song.

The Long Song is the first miniseries featured in PBS Masterpiece’s 50th Anniversary season, and it’s U.S. arrival nearly three years after airing on BBC One is highlighting themes that some viewers may not be ready to process but that remain incredibly important.

The show is an adaptation of Andrea Levy’s 2010 novel recounting the story of how Jamaican slaves gained their freedom in the 1830’s. Levy worked with white screenwriter Sarah Williams on the script for The Long Song before her death in 2019. Although some may want to criticize Williams’ involvement for removing the Own Voices status from the series, it is important to note she successfully worked with Levy to adapt Small Island into a TV miniseries which aired on Masterpiece in 2009. Critics and the Black British community alike praised the miniseries for featuring the Windrush Generation. Overall, the script of The Long Song maintains Levy’s vision without any evidence of the white gaze or other forms of editorial interference. 

Each of the three episodes follows July (Tamara Lawrance), born into slavery, and how she later gains her freedom. She was taken from her mother Kitty (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) who worked cutting sugarcane to serve as the ladies’ maid for Caroline Mortimer (Hayley Atwell from Agent Carter). The Christmas Rebellion in 1831 followed by the subsequent Parliament bill banning slavery in Jamaica two years later and the changes to society that came as a result are told from her point of view. The story is told with a frame tale, as Older July (Doña Croll) narrates the events of her life in order to publish a book.  

It is highly likely that, when the series first aired in the UK, decision-makers did not believe a story wholly focused on slavery in the Caribbean would be relevant to US audiences. Vice President Kamala Harris’ family background brings Jamaican history to the forefront. It is entirely feasible to imagine someone like July somewhere in her father’s ancestral line. Black History can’t be confined to just what happened in America when we’re discussing Black immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean. Although I haven’t been able to trace my own family tree from the nearby former British colony of Trinidad and Tobago, I am reasonably sure my own ancestors have a similar story. 

Masterpiece executive producer Susanne Simpson said in an interview that she is working with the UK and international production companies to address concerns that PBS series do not feature enough racial diversity. Some may see The Long Song as a step backward in that regard because it is a slavery-driven story, but this misses two important factors. First of all, The Long Song was not originally intended as a co-production with U.S. networks or streaming services. The primary target was U.K. readers of Levy’s book and Anglophone Caribbean audiences. Secondly, this is the first time a PBS scripted drama has centered slavery as the main plot point. Thirdly, new racially diverse scripted series that avoid and/or address those concerns are still at least a year or two from distribution. 

Atwell’s Caroline, along with her relatives and guests, abuse July physically and emotionally. She is threatened with the lash for extremely minor offenses. Caroline calls her “Marguerite” most of the time because she refuses to see her as fully human. There are scenes where slaves are whipped and families separated. As July is the ladies’ maid, she has some power over fellow slaves such as Hannah (Jo Martin from Doctor Who). These aspects are not what makes The Long Song unique in comparison to recent TV series, such as the 2016 Roots miniseries as well as the 1970’s miniseries, The Book of Negroes and Underground. How the series highlights both Jamaican culture and how British colonialism affected society is what sets the show apart.

Since this show is set in the 1830’s, there is strong evidence of Black culture that is separate from the norms imposed by slaveholders. Although the language is at times dated (“pickaninny” also shortened as “pickney” is now an offensive term, for example), you still hear the accent unique to Jamaicans today. Lenny Henry’s voice as Godfrey is not entirely realistic for a slave who never left Jamaica, but this does take some prior knowledge of what a typical accent from the area should sound like. The soundtrack incorporates the musical styles unique to the island and the separate Christmas party the slaves held also brings this culture to life. 

The racial caste system in Jamaica plays a huge role in the life of July and those around her. Her father, Tam Dewer (Gordon Brown), was the Scottish overseer of the plantation which gave her a higher status than many of her fellow slaves, despite her darker skin tone. Her friend and first romantic interest Nimrod (Jordan Bulger) is a free man but he ends up losing his status because white people decide he is guilty of a crime. Miss Clara (Madeline Mantock) is described as a quadroon (one-quarter African ancestry) and uses that background to secure a marriage that guarantees a higher status in society. Marriage as a form of social mobility would have been impossible in American slave societies because consensual interracial marriages or relationships were outlawed. July’s decision-making in Episodes 2 and 3 regarding the new head of the plantation, Robert Goodwin (Jack Lowden), is entirely influenced not only by her own desires and past trauma but also by the society around her.

Some may regard these plot developments as enforcing trauma-bonding stereotypes or problematic ideas about love under systems of oppression. July’s narration is tinged with romantic ideals that do not undergo serious scrutiny until later in the story. However, it is important to note that marriage was the only way a woman during this time period could secure financial stability that didn’t depend on agricultural labor. The color-based caste and class system did prevent some individuals from moving up in society, but intermarriages between whites, Africans, various immigrant laborers, and indigenous groups created an entire segment of society whose heritage was mixed. July’s relationship should be seen as an element of historical truth, likely from Levy’s ancestors. The conclusion of that part of the story drives home that many of these relationships between Black women and white male planters (plantation owners) were inherently unequal and exploitative. Any children from these relationships were also the property of the white men. 

The last two episodes of the show discuss the fallout from the official end of slavery in Jamaica, a semi-equivalent to the Reconstruction Era after the Civil War. Abolition did not mean the end of the white-dominated rule in Jamaica, as the British Empire ruled the island until 1962. Although Black plantation workers were paid wages to cut the sugarcane, they owed rent to the plantation owners. This was used to force workers to work longer hours for reduced compensation. July’s loyalties are divided between Goodwin and the field workers who she knows are being treated unfairly. Goodwin’s efforts to increase production failed as the workers went on strike. After the strikes, many former plantation workers moved inland to cultivate unclaimed territory, but independent farming led to poverty and illness. July may have had dreams of rising above the sugarcane workers, but economic racism dashed this dream.

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For many viewers, July’s journey is going to be incredibly triggering and emotionally draining but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The ending which reunites her with a piece of her long-forgotten past is incredibly satisfying. Levy’s novels have inspired many Black British writers and it is very possible post-pandemic that there will be more Black screenwriters telling their own stories and forgotten histories on screen. 

The post How The Long Song Spotlights Ignored Black Caribbean History appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[mycosmicvoid]

The Real Kentucky Goblin Case, “Hellier,” and Interdimensional Beings

“Remember, something really did happen that night! Enjoy + Believe!” writes Geraldine Sutton Stith on the inside cover of my copy of her book, “Alien Legacy.”[1] Geraldine is the daughter of Elmer “Lucky” Sutton, and “Alien Legacy” is an account of, as she autographed, what “really did happen” on the night of August 21st, 1955, better known as “the Kelly Hopkinsville UFO case,” “the invasion of the Kelly Green Men” or simply: “the Hopkinsville goblin case.” Through reading her family’s story after I thought I knew it well enough, I felt my own compulsion to vindicate them, just as she does. In the prologue, she asks the reader to “see if you can feel and possibly understand what this family went through. And with that being said, this is my story, this was what was left for me. This is my legacy.”[1]

As the reader you can’t help but feel a bit of guilt thinking about the constant fetishization of real stories existing in real family lineage, UFO-related or not. However, sentimentality aside, I was determined to know the real story. First, the set-up of events in the book were slightly confusing, as I previously was not aware of exactly who everyone was. Geraldine is the daughter of Lucky and Glorine (who was not present, although his current wife at the time, Vera, was). Lucky and his friend Billy Ray were the two to battle the creatures that invaded the property that night after Billy Ray witnessed something “round and metallic”[1] fly across the sky followed by a streak of rainbow light. Lucky’s mom was called Miss Glennie, June is Billy Ray Taylor’s wife, JC is Lucky’s brother, Alene is his wife, O.P. is Alene’s brother, and Lonnie, Charlton and Mary are Glennie’s children and Lucky’s little siblings from her second marriage, who were all present that night.

The first I heard of this case was in the first episode of “Hellier”[2]- After all, it was the very case that influenced the crew to follow their email lead, which happens to be a plea from a man named “David Christie” (in quotations as it is now understood to be an alias), asking for help from Greg Newkirk and his paranormal hunting group, as little creatures have allegedly been harassing his family. Greg acknowledges the similarities and differences between the descriptions of creatures in David and the Suttons’ story: David’s were “the size and stature of a small child, devoid of any facial features save for large, oily eyes and lipless mouths. They frighten my children by peering through their bedroom windows, chirping at one another. They actively attempt to enter my home… I assure you [they] are not ‘wild animals.’”[2] He claims his daughter witnessed them playing together in the yard, and called them “‘bald like grandpa and weren’t wearing any clothes.’”[2] When he finally “witnessed” them for himself, David describes a “chirping” sound, “much like a skunk, if more guttural,”[2] and a “small, humanoid figure, with sickly pale skin, completely hairless...”[2] In the last correspondence with Greg before disappearing and deleting his email account, David sends pictures of a three-toed footprint[2] allegedly found on his property and claims he is fleeing.

The “Hellier” crew never claimed that the creatures from the two stories were the same - just too similar to ignore. Geraldine doesn’t go as far into detail with physical description, however I have not read her other works. The one I did read describes the creatures as “a figure standing about three feet tall.”[1] “It glowed, and as it got closer, they could see that it had its arms in the air as if to surrender.”[1] It looked as if it had “two huge eyes that glowed yellow”[1] and “its legs weren’t moving; it seemed to float on top of the ground!”[1] The men would shoot at them, and “it sounded like a metal bucket being hit…” They explained to the police that the “little men” were “one color all over except for the glowing eyes”[1] and they had “a luminous glow, but when a light hit them, it changed to a dull metallic.”[1] The glow “got brighter when they were shot at or yelled at,”[1] and Lucky thought this may be their way of responding. Unless I had let the detail slip by, Geraldine makes no mention of the creatures chirping, or any sound. Moreover, these creatures made no effort to enter the house despite the windows and doors being open, and made no effort to physically hurt the family - they seemed to be toying with them, by returning unaffected after being shot at, touching Billy Ray’s hair, scratching the roof, and peering twice into the living room window. As terrified as the family was, Miss Glennie felt no need for Lucky to be shooting at them: “I don’t think they’re here to hurt us. Didn’t you all see how they were holding their arms up in the air? I think they are as much afraid of us as we are of them.”[1] In David’s case, the creatures went so far as to allegedly take his dog and break into his home.

Greg mentions the term “goblin” as a label witnesses used due to having no other way to identify the creatures.[2] Lucky thought they “look like some kind of little goblin or demon!”[1] and in Billy Ray’s response to Glennie wanting to see what the two men saw, he exclaims, “I hope that God-awful thing went back to whatever deep dark depths it came from!”[1] Despite Greg mentioning that the family thought they were from outer space[1], all Geraldine mentions (in this account, at least) is that the family knew for sure the creatures were “not of this Earth,”[1] but also clarifies that since they were deemed goblins or demons, “I guess at first it was easier to think that they were something from hell than from another planet.”[1] Another factor regarding the description of the “goblins” was that they were silver/metallic, not green. Early writing describing them as “little green men” stuck, and this infuriated Lucky; he wanted every detail to be told as it happened. In fact, early police drawings of the goblins display very large, pointy ears,[2] however this is another detail not mentioned in “Alien Legacy.” The morning after the attack, the family decided to try and carry on as normal. Billy Ray went hunting nearby with a friend while Lucky, JC and O.P. went to Evansville, and because Billy Ray was the first to return home, he was the first to hit the interviewers’ notepads. As everyone seemed frustrated with repeating themselves and not being taken seriously, he seemed to be enjoying the attention. Lucky came home to Billy giving a description that was slightly different, and he was being “a little more colorful than the rest.”[1] Billy’s descriptions were starting to be “a little more than what they seemed,”[1] much to Glennie and Lucky’s disapproval. This part of the story, to me, feels like an important detail often looked over, and because I hadn’t seen or read much of the story apart from what was described in “Hellier” until now, I assumed the large protruding ears were part of Billy Ray’s fabrication. Upon searching the drawings with captions included from Bud Ledwith (announcer from Hopkinsville radio station WHOP) who interviewed the family, Lucky, JC and O.P.’s goblin[3] did have “ears,” however much smaller and less pointed than Billy Ray’s.[4] In a correspondence between Greg and Geraldine, described in a 2015 article by Greg, Greg actually proposes, “...What if the creatures’ ears aren’t actually ears at all? What if they were part of a helmet? In fact, what if the creatures were in some kind of a suit? It would make sense of the glowing eyes and the tin-can sound when Lucky and Billy Ray shot at them.”[5] This was slightly strange to me, as the article does not mention Geraldine’s reply regarding the ears and suit, or it is possible she didn’t have one. However, it is explicitly quoted in “Alien Legacy” (published in 2007) that when Lucky was describing the goblins to police, he explained that “their body surface looked like skin, not a suit.”[1] If they also had the luminous glow that got brighter when shot at, their “suit” would be a little more visible in the moments they were hit. Nevertheless, Greg had an incredibly interesting theory: that the Kelly goblins had goggles and a helmet, but had evolved enough not to need them by the time they reached David’s house 60 years later, which is assumed to be directly connected to the 1955 location by the underground Mammoth Cave System.

Super-specific story details, while important, were not the main point of Geraldine’s retelling. She focuses largely on the aftermath of psychological and social torture the family endured after the incident. Like many cases, and despite its popularity now, it was swept under the rug, given the label of a hoax, and/or brushed off with multiple “reasonable” explanations. When hearing the many different versions of the story, it is assumed that when the family sought help from the Hopkinsville police, only the Chief and a few officers were called to investigate. Chief Russell Greenwell was the current Chief, and he contacted the Madisonville headquarters of Kentucky State Police, all state troopers available, and Fort Campbell Army Base, from which four military police were dispatched. Christian County Sheriff’s office also sent a deputy sheriff, and plenty of others showed up at the scene, including a hoard of residents from the surrounding area. Chief Greenwell apparently had mentioned that Air Force intelligence from Fort Campbell were present, but according to “Alien Legacy,” 1975 Blue Book documents state that the incident was never officially reported to the Air Force. Geraldine wonders, “There was no official investigation ever made… But if there was no investigation made, how was it possible to get copies of the investigation?!”[1] The government’s general response was that there was an issue of credibility. Glennie was described as a God-fearing woman who never wanted to do wrong in the eyes of God - she didn’t even want the two young men shooting at the creatures. “Glennie Lankford would not lie… And she certainly wouldn’t have raised her children to tell false stories.”[1] “Was it a lack of credibility because Billy Ray and Lucky worked for the carnival?... It was said they made up the tale from something they had heard before… Was it because the carnival traveled and they probably heard all kinds of tales?... They didn’t want any kind of publicity, and they definitely didn’t make any kind of profit from this story.”[1] Geraldine wonders if they were treated this way because they were poor and not well educated. “How does being poor and uneducated make you less honest? How many rich ‘honest’ people do you know?”[1] The Sutton property was littered with people from the moment the family returned from seeking help. It is often told that the morning after the incident was chaotic and crowded, but it lasted far longer than this - the commotion did not slow down for weeks after that night. Often mentioned in articles is the fact that the family began charging admission, but according to Geraldine, this was their method of keeping people away as not many had money to spare at the time. “[The Suttons] never collected one penny. This made people think that it was all a big hoax after all, and it just made things worse for the family.”[1] People ignored their wishes and privacy, continuing to camp overnight at the property, walking into the home, and even taking things.

To add to this, I personally do not understand why the story is deemed “the Hopkinsville goblin case,” as the family property was in Kelly, Kentucky. The family drove about 8 miles to the Hopkinsville police station to ask for help, and drove back with police (except for June, who was terrified and refused to ride back until later), where the goblins had apparently fled before the family returned. A version of the story that I’ve come across explains the “battle” as something more urgent, where police were called and arrived to join a shootout with goblins. The police found nothing and didn’t return until the next day, however the goblins did return, peered at Glennie through the window at 3:30am, and the battle continued until 5:15am, when they disappeared with the darkness of night. The Kelly goblin case was actually featured in season 2, episode 4 of History Channel’s “Project Blue Book,” but to my disappointment, it adhered to the narrative that maybe the witnesses had too much to drink on a hot night and hallucinated the creatures. When the police checked the Sutton house the night of the invasion, “it was suggested that they check for alcohol. None was found; nothing was found to suggest that there had been anything wrong going on there that night. The family was asked all kinds of questions, and they all stuck to the same story.”[1] “Miss Glennie didn’t believe in drinking or smoking or any of the bad things you could do to your body.”[1] 

The way “Hellier” describes the Sutton story was just their general way of conveying the similarities to David’s email, and in no way am I attempting to pick apart their details or “prove” them differently. I think they did a wonderful job making the connections, and I can say with good confidence that the series changed my life. However, I would like to point out that a large part of the stories mentioned in the series was the downright terrifying detail of the goblins terrorizing the children. While explaining Geraldine’s story, Greg reports that the goblins were “were looking in the windows, especially at the children,”[2] and compares it to David’s claims of the children being targeted and frightened of the creatures. It is often mentioned that the Sutton story is peculiar because all eleven family members had witnessed the goblins. According to “Alien Legacy,” “The children didn’t really see much, because they were hidden away in the back bedroom most of the night. All they really remembered was hearing the shouts and the gunshots.”[1] It is a possibility that the David email was a “creepypasta”-esque retelling of the Kelly case, in which he either overlooked the actual details, or made his story just different enough to pass as original, if it were meant to be a hoax after all.

Aside from all the misconceptions that undoubtedly come with stories like the Suttons’, the heartbreaking reality is that the family was forever haunted by not only the terror they experienced that night, but the everlasting public scrutiny and harassment. When Lucky and friends had to leave Glennie’s to go back to traveling for work, Glennie became worried that JC and O.P. wouldn’t be able to handle the situation like Lucky and Billy Ray could. She and her younger children moved to a Hopkinsville apartment, and she and JC sold the house to her niece and nephew. JC and Alene found a place to stay, but JC struggled with holding a job, the incident continuing to haunt him. Lucky refused to talk about it for years, but would occasionally tell his kids his story, realizing he “wouldn’t be with us forever.”[1] “The night changed his life, and the days after that made him bitter.”[1] Lucky passed in 1995, and Geraldine reveals to Greg that there are two other living relatives, but they refuse to talk because they were made fun of so much in the media.[2] “This family wasn’t only invaded by something possibly from another world, but by our own kind.”[1]

When the “Hellier” crew decided to do some “goblin hunting” in a sizzle reel for a separate production company, they went to Cave City, Kentucky, near the middle of the Mammoth Cave System. In a strange off-camera moment, a little girl approaches them and mentions excitedly that they’re monster hunters, and she replies that her parents, friends, and herself see “monsters” all the time. Jokingly, Greg asks if they’re under her bed. She replies, “No! They come out of the caves!”[2] She is asked to draw them, and first, strangely, she starts with feet that have three rounded toes,[6] incredibly similar to David’s footprint pictures, and to throw my hat in the ring: my sister’s drawing. The feet my sister drew[7] have four toes rather than three like these other two examples, but none of them show an existence of heels, and it’s uncanny. The child they met in Kentucky draws a head, with bulging round eyes and large ears.[8] My sister’s drawing also has these features[7], and so do the interview drawings from the Kelly goblin case.[3][4]

The second episode of “Hellier”[9] brings the crew to Hellier, Kentucky to investigate David’s claims and learn more about what these “goblins” really are. Documentaries like “The UFO Deception”[10] and “The UFO Conspiracy”[11] explain a bit about Jacques Vallee’s Interdimensional Hypothesis (IDH): Vallee speculated that beings that mask as aliens may be interdimensional rather than extraterrestrial, and that their appearance throughout history is planned to fit with cultural and religious perceptions of specific time periods (in 50’s religious Kentucky, a being with a description of “goblin” or “demon” fits perfectly into culture). Researchers that support IDH believe that beings that mask as aliens are not technically specifically from another planet, they are from other dimensions or realities that coexist alongside our own. With this hypothesis, Vallee compared UFOs to phenomena created by mythological creatures such as gnomes or faeries (that are also known to abduct). “Hellier” episode 2 documents the investigators asking the residents about local folklore and if they know of any stories or have seen anything strange themselves. Among the stories is the strange and all too common detail of hearing a baby’s cry coming from caves, where strange creatures are sighted most often. Greg’s wife and fellow crew member Dana begins making connections. Hearing crying babies “is a common thing that often happens around elementals or nature spirits.”[9] Greg interjects, “It feels very fairie-ish!”[9] and they mention that it “sounds like there’s a level of trickery there… Trying to trick you to go into a certain place, knowing how to play on human emotions to lead you to certain areas that you probably shouldn’t be in.”[9] Going back to Vallee, John Keel mentions Vallee’s term “metalogic” in his famed “The Mothman Prophecies,” explaining it as a concept suggesting that entities have a logic system different than ours, so when they try to explain something to humans, it ends up being absurd. However, either way, they have a need for deceit and urge to manipulate us through our beliefs or acceptances.[12] In short, they may create crying sounds to lure humans intentionally, knowing most humans would not ignore it. Keel is mentioned in “Hellier” as well, noting his concept of “audio hallucination” and his claim that the two most common sounds heard during times of high strangeness are a baby crying and car door slamming. Keel writes himself that since ultraterrestrials live outside of our space-time continuum, they fail to adjust, slowing speech and noises down or speeding them up too much.[12] They make all sorts of similar mistakes due to confusion of the time period, similar ideas to Vallee’s IDH. These theories point to possibilities that the “cries” could be malicious and intentional, but if not, they may be due to distorted attempts at communication or mimicking noises familiar to humans. The “Hellier” team decides to stay in Kentucky in a secluded cabin, and figure it makes the most sense to do some searching in their own backyard. Dana makes a general offering to earth elementals as she isn’t quite sure specifically what kind of entity they’re dealing with. Connor, another crew member, begins an experiment he and his ghost hunting partner Karl invented, the Estes Method.[13] It’s an incredible session for the group, but there was one part that stood out to me after reading “Alien Legacy.” Connor asks the entity in contact, “Who’s in the caves? Who’s in the mines?”[14] and it replies, “Talking rooster.” There is a second of confusion, then “it” follows up with, “No it’s not.” Everyone laughs, however this reminded me of the theories and explanations in response to the Sutton story. They all sounded ridiculous to Geraldine, except for one at first: the theory that the “little men” were actually eagle owls.[1] Could this entity be telling them that the creatures coming from the caves, and the ones seen in Kelly in 1955 are absolutely not owls? As mentioned above, it is believed that interdimensionals would have trouble communicating. Surely they would not be able to name every (if not any) specific animal by name with much ease. Later in the series, Dana performs a session with a device called a God Helmet[15], and senses that “they” communicate in what feels like colors or emotions, and only refer to a small database of English words.[16]

Regarding the type of creature goblins really are, I want to point out that they are not the only ones of their kind; they appear in folklore, UFO lore, cryptozoology and the practice of invoking elementals. Often when discussing goblins, I have noticed that John Keel and garudas are mentioned. Garudas are bird/human-like creatures popular in Hindu mythology, and he uses them to describe the bird-like creatures that plagued West Virginia from 1966-1967, which we have come to known as mothman sightings.[12] However, Keel does describe ikals: tiny black men endowed with the power of flight who live in caves and kidnap humans.[12] After Dana makes an offering to earth elementals in the cabin’s woods, they begin hearing wooden knocks. Greg decides to whistle to see if he would get a response, and he hears one back. Connor didn’t hear it as a whistle, but more like a “guttural croak” mimic,[14] immediately reminding me that David used “guttural” to describe the sounds his creatures made.[2] Later on, during Connor’s Estes Method session, Dana hears something peculiar: “It sounds like they’re throwing rocks the size of baseballs.”[14] This made me think of rock babies, popular folklore creatures in the Great Basin area that are faerie-like creatures with the ability to pass through rock. Apparently they are heard from caves, have the ability to steal human babies and replace them with non-human look-alikes, and will reward you with new skills (primarily musical) if you successfully enter their caves. At one point in their journey, the “Hellier” group enters a cave, and through the Estes Method, an entity instructs them to perform what they call “the tones,” a three-note melody, and “it” replies with “Very good,” when they sing it correctly.[17] This brings me to another connection: “faeliens,” a concept author Joshua Cutchin spoke on in an online lecture[18] to explain the ever-present connection between faerie and alien lore: for one, stature doesn’t have to be of a certain size. Light phenomenon is present in UFO, ghost, witch, and faerie lore (“faerie lights”). A sort of weapon/prop, or more commonly, “wands” are found in both alien and faerie lore. They are used to paralyze, which Joshua defines as being “faerie struck.” Both creatures worship the stars and are often seen as negative for not being directly connected to a certain religion, and they can fly, levitate other creatures or objects, and/or teleport. Faery rings and crop circles are not the same things, but both are very similar happenings. Faeries and aliens are both known to exist in underground habitats: “faerie land” is often considered to be underground or in caves, and the idea of underground bases has been a staple of alien lore or conspiracy. They are both popularly connected to animal mutilations and an obsession with children and reproduction. Changelings are a type of fae that are known to take children and replace them with sickly faerie babies (it has been a popular thought in culture that sickly children were deemed the evil work of changelings). This all connects to folklore creatures like rock babies, or the supposed alien obsession with human reproduction and creating alien/human hybrids. Along with many other similarities, alien and faerie lore share the common ability to create “missing time” for humans, and draw them to places (reflected in Dana’s concern with the crying sounds), an experience Joshua explains as being “pixy-led.” In “Hellier,” when discussing different terms that have been used for these specific “goblins” in question, Greg mentions tommyknockers.[2] Author Alexandra Chauran offers a kind of encyclopedia of elementals, and I found some interesting similarities in the descriptions. Knockers, black dwarves, coblynaus, gommes, paras, or wichlein, are earth elementals that dwell underground, popularly in European mines. They are short, seemingly appear out of thin air, enjoy making funny faces at people, and are named because they make knocking noises to communicate with miners. They “can be a friend or enemy”[19] depending on how they are treated, and if befriended, they will knock to warn miners of danger. They appreciate offerings, and dislike swearing or whistling (which would make sense of the croak in response to Greg’s whistle). Goblins do not necessarily match Alexandra’s description of gnomes, but I found two details especially interesting. Gnomes are earth elementals that “seek to understand the nature of earth’s molecules and with it, perform magic and alchemy,”[19] which is seemingly what the goblins in Kelly were doing when showing so much interest in the humans, floating, and deflecting bullets, almost like magic. They “experience time and space differently,”[19] which gives them the time to focus on “monitoring earth’s processes,”[19] but in her description, unlike the goblins, gnomes are not exclusively interested in humans. However, the concept of gnomes differing in time and space connects directly to Keel and Vallee’s breakdown of interdimensionals. Alexandra makes a point to mention that elementals can be dangerous, and one reason for this is the fact that they will often choose to stick to one person or place for a lifetime, (giving reason as to why the goblins stuck around the Mammoth Caves for so long) which can be detrimental as they have the ability to cause “negative real life events.”[19] This is a broad statement, but the series of events after the Kelly situation seemed to have tormented the Suttons forever, and belief in David’s story or not, he supposedly was traumatized enough to pack up and leave town.

As you can see, there are endless connections that can be made when discussing fringe topics, and maybe that’s why people have such a hard time accepting and understanding them. For example, Keel uses the term ultraterrestrial, and it can apply to a myriad of creatures, things, and phenomena. Joshua Cutchin, even when discussing “faeliens,” does not keep the discussion exclusively to faeries or aliens, and often even connects them to bigfoot lore. Everything makes more sense when you understand that it all, essentially, is interconnected. When the “Hellier” investigators venture to the woods surrounding their cabin, they have a moment of contemplation about what they’re really there looking for. Connor confidently tells Greg that it doesn’t matter - he received the email for a reason. “Maybe that’s this trip. Maybe that’s to find out what’s going on in this place.” Greg, seemingly more calm now, agrees: “Maybe it’s more than goblins. Maybe the goblins were just the key to getting people here… Maybe there is something stranger than goblins here. Or more important than goblins here.”[14] They soon realize that this rings true, but there is an overarching point here. It’s never really about the goblins. As the great Allen “F******” Greenfield says, you cannot chase one entity or phenomenon without researching and/or connecting everything, so: “Stop mistaking one phenomenon as the whole deal.”[20]

[1] Geraldine Sutton Stith, “Alien Legacy”

[2] “Hellier Season 1: Episode 1 | The Midnight Children”

“Goblin” print photo sent from “David Christie” to Greg Newkirk, as shown in Episode 1:

[3] “Little Men” as described by Elmer “Lucky” Sutton, JC Sutton, and O.P. Baker:

[4] “Little Men” as described by Billy Ray Taylor:

[5] “Return of the Kentucky Goblins: New Leads in a Case of Strange Creatures, Crashed UFOs, and the Men in Black” - Week in Weird

[6] Child’s “goblin” foot drawing:

[7] My little sister’s “goblin” drawing:

[8] Child’s “goblin” head drawing:

[9] “Hellier Season 1: Episode 2 | Ink and Black”

[10] “The UFO Deception” (2018)

[11] “The UFO Conspiracy” (2004)

[12] John A. Keel, “The Mothman Prophecies”

[13] The Estes Method

[14] “Hellier Season 1: Episode 3 | Trapped in a Maze”

[15] The God Helmet

[16] “Hellier Season 2: Episode 3 | Borderlands”

[17] “Hellier Season 2: Episode 6 | The Altar”

[18] This lecture is no longer publicly available, but you can find Joshua Cutchin here

[19] Alexandra Chauran, “Faeries & Elementals for Beginners: Learn About & Communicate with Nature Spirits”

[20] This lecture is no longer available, but you can find Allen Greenfield here

Elmer Sutton, John Sutton, and O.P. Baker

Kentucky Goblin, Greg Newkirk, Geraldine Sutton Stith, and Dana Newkirk (photo shown in “Hellier Season 1: Episode 1 | The Midnight Children”)

Handmade goblin by Geraldine alongside her book, “Alien Legacy”

Ufologist Ivan Sanderson with a scale model of a goblin

You can find the Alien Legacy website here

You can read the famed Kentucky New Era August 22, 1955 article here

[amarauder]

Chapter Three - Percy Jackson x Reader

| percy’s adventure to the top of the world 

- 

a/n; sorry about this chapter being so late! The entire book is basically published on my wattpad account if you want to check that out. Thank you so much for the feedback though! I am pleasantly suprised! 

- 

It just hits noon on Sunday when Percy gets the text.

It's still the same exact name that she entered in sophomore year, still a plaintive "Y/N L/N" with the tiny description under it that's originally used for company names written as Chemistry Class. Percy narrows his eyes and checks the number in his contacts just to make sure Luke hasn't changed his name to mess with him, and eventually accepts the fact that Y/N's texted him, for whatever reason.

" Hi," it says. That's it.

Percy pushes his phone aside and keeps up his attempts at finishing his essay. English 4 is supposed to be easy, he complains mentally. At this rate, he won't graduate.

Despite his extremely studious research (in which he was both reading Wikipedia articles and playing Solitaire, that is), he still has no clue why Mark Twain was so important as far as literature goes. He does, however, come to the conclusion that he'll never be good at Solitaire.

Percy selects a sentence from the Wikipedia article and pastes it directly into his essay. He modifies it, putting the end of the sentence at the beginning, and exchanges the words "light and humorous" to say "light-hearted." A true genius, he is.

Before he can decide where to go from there, Percy glances over to his phone, biting down on his bottom lip. It's not that he doesn't want to talk to Y/N—since Friday, he's kind of wanted to talk to her non-stop—but he didn't expect her to text first. It admittedly throws him off.

What would Mark Twain do? Percy thinks idly, staring at the guy's name where it sits, bolded, at the top of his paper. For one, Mark Twain wasn't ever introduced to cellphones, so he probably wouldn't even know how to reply to the text, even if he wanted to. And, for two, Mark Twain doesn't really seem like the kind of man who would talk to the girl he likes over text. Percy gets the vibe that he's a really old-fashioned, straightforward type of guy.

Leaning back in his desk chair to stretch, Percy groans. Thinking about Mark Twain probably won't get him through this one.

He replies with a "Hey there," momentarily panicking at how flirtatious it sounds. He tries to cover it up with a "Y/N, right?"

It apparently works, since she sends back a "Yeah, it is. I didn't know if you had my number anymore."

"Wouldn't have deleted it," Percy types immediately. He's hovering over the blue button, considering going with something else—less heartfelt, maybe—to respond with, but instead he accidentally hits send. Wonderful. Out of curiosity, he scrolls up past the texts they're exchanging now and reads through the ones they sent before. He hardly remembers the near two-year old conversations, mostly homework questions or him wondering if there's a test the next day, but there's a few that are just... nice, for lack of a better word. Caring little how are yous from him and some remember to bring your book to classes from her. Percy wishes he could remember why he didn't try to get in touch with her that summer, and now he feels sorry that he didn't—after all, he could have been someone to talk to when she was going through a mess with her parents.

He wants to apologize for it, suddenly, but he figures Y/N would either shrug it off or tell him ten times over that it isn't his fault. He doesn't bother.

"That's comforting." Percy blinks at Y/N's reply, but she doesn't give him a chance to reply before another text comes through. "Are you busy?"

He smiles a little at his phone. Sure, he totally has this essay due tomorrow that'll take him a few hours at the very least, but Y/N's far more interesting and appealing than Mark Twain's influence on literature. not at all, he sends.

"I could use a little help with economics, if you're up for it..."

Economics is by far Percy's easiest class this year, but he doubts he's better at it than Y/N. He doesn't mention that.

"Sure," he replies. "but you're gonna have to tell me everything you know about Mark Twain."

She sends two question marks back, but tacks on a Deal a second later.

"where at?" Percy asks, holding his phone about an inch away from his face. It's likely that he's one of the more pathetic people in this world.

"Yours? I can't say that my house is the most welcoming of places for guests," Y/N says, and Percy frowns a little at that. He doesn't waste any time before sending her his address and telling her to come over whenever she feels like it. He doesn't really say it, but it's an invitation for any day—not just a Sunday where they both have homework to get done.

She gives him an estimated arrival time anyways, so Percy spends his remaining moments wisely by hopping in the shower and letting his mom know that he's having a friend over. She's cooped up in her small little cranny of an office, feet tucked beneath her as she types away on her laptop, glasses perched on the tip of her nose and a cooled cup of tea at her elbow. "Of course, that's fine Percy. You can have Luke over whenever, you know. No need to keep asking."

"It's—" Percy hesitates, leaning his temple on the door frame he's leaning against. "Um, not Luke this time."

That gets his mother's attention. She turns to him with a pleased smile. "Oh, what a surprise! I haven't seen Nico in ages, I should put some cookies in."

Percy chuckles, pushing his still-damp hair out of his eyes. "Not Nico, either. It's Y/N—remember, my chem partner? Came over once for our research paper?"

Sally gives him a maternal grin, lifting her eyebrows. "Oh, I always liked her." She redirects her gaze to her computer. "I had a feeling I wasn't the only one, either."

"Mom," Percy warns.

She holds her hands up, a clear white flag. "I'm not suggesting anything. Just your dear old Mom over here, typing up a novel."

"It'll be the best one yet," Percy says, since he knows Mom thrives under encouragement. "I have a feeling. It'll be the one."

"You think?" Sally asks, and she sounds excited, like she agrees. Percy nods with a grin. "Oh, that would be so great, I—" The doorbell dings throughout their home, and his mom's mouth snaps shut. "That would be for you, I'm guessing. Let me know if you need anything, sweetie."

"Thanks, Mom," Percy says, but he makes sure to shut her office door, partially to preserve his privacy, but mostly because he knows his mom needs isolation when she's in writing mode. He gets the door.

Y/N's dressed casually, which is something Percy hadn't even considered; he tossed on track pants out of habit. "Hey," he greets, after a sure but still moment of silence. "Come on in."

"Hi. Thanks."

Percy shrugs mutely, closing the door behind her. He can definitely, one hundred per cent, handle Y/N's presence for a few hours, especially after a good night of sleep and a day spent lazing around. "Thirsty?"

"Water would be great," she answers, and it's a little awkward for a few seconds while Percy leads them into the kitchen, rummaging through the cabinets for a cup. He usually drinks out of the old, stained plastic ones, but he thinks Y/N probably deserves better as a guest. Eventually, he spots a light blue glass from a dining set they had two houses ago. He pulls it down. "How's your weekend been? Well, since the fair, anyways."

Percy clears his throat, like it'll clear the weird tension in the air, too. "'S been nice. Wish the fair was here for longer, to be honest."

"There's always next year," she says optimistically. He passes off the glass of water, and as she takes it from him, Percy realizes that he didn't bother to ask if she wanted ice. He almost feels rude for a second, but Y/N takes a grateful sip and sends him a little smile, so he guesses that he did alright. "Anyways, economics."

"Right, economics." Percy shakes himself. He should focus on the actual intention of Y/N's visit, not whether or not she'll get huffy about a few ice cubes. "What chapter are you guys on?"

"We have the same teacher, I'm pretty sure—Mr. Manassa?" Percy nods. "My class just started the chapter on supply."

Percy mentally sighs in relief. Supply is something he understands, so he won't look like an idiot. He uses his right thumb to rub at the palm of his left hand, grimacing when he realizes his hands are clammy. "Yeah, same. We can—in the living room, if you want?"

"Fine by me," Y/N replies, and Percy swallows past the weird, sudden dryness in his throat. It's like he's never seen an attractive human before. Christ. "I started reading the chapter, but it just sounds like gibberish. I hate the way the book's written."

"Really?" Percy's actually read a bit of the chapters, since he didn't think the writing was too excruciating, but to each their own. "I don't know, I kind of like it."

"Good, then. Hopefully you can help me make sense of it." She sits on the couch beside him—not really close, but not really far either, and Percy feels himself settling in more, the jitters wearing off. He knows Y/N, is the thing, and it's not even the first time she's sat on his couch while they do school work together. She puts her backpack on the floor and digs out her green economics book, the same one Percy has stuffed underneath his bed. "Have you done the chapter work?"

"What?"

"The chapter work," Y/N repeats, and if Percy didn't know her, he probably wouldn't have noticed how amused she was at his lack of attention. "The work that's due tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah, that," Percy mumbles. Truth be told, he hasn't been doing much at all besides binge-watching old H2O (I had too) episodes on Netflix and playing games on his phone—well, that and a bit of Mark Twain research this morning. "I started it."

"I'm sure," she says, and her tone's some brand of teasing. She peers around, like she's looking for something in particular. "You can go get your backpack, you know."

"I know," Percy replies quickly, sounding a lot more annoyed than he really is. "I was getting there."

Y/N laughs. Percy stands up before he makes the mistake of staring.

He returns with his laptop tucked under his arm, Mark Twain paper still up and sharing the screen with his game of Solitaire. Y/N looks like she might have a laugh at his expense when she sees it, but instead she says, "Explain the difference between supply and quantity supplied to me, please."

And, honestly, Percy's never been in the business of rejecting polite people. He explains to her heart's content.

- 

tags; @ohmygoditsanthonyedwardstark​ and @25-and-a-half-bards

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