#potentially the last time Andrew will be seen here for a while | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mcgnagallsarmy · 1 year

Text

Spuffy style Reading Challenge - #21: Dancing with Fantasy and Sci-Fi Reading Challenge

Fantasy - Classic Fantasy

World Enough, and Time by toooldforthis [R]

“You came back wrong,” he told her, all those years ago. He was right, but it took them a very long time to realise exactly what that meant. It meant a hundred more apocalypses, a thousand battles. It meant a journey, a prophecy, a war. They’d lose one other, and find their way back, and choose, again and again. And all the while, the earth was failing. There are a lot more people than you think who are here for the long haul – like, the really long haul. This is a story about two of them.

Fantasy - Zombies

You, Me, and The Zombies by sweetprincipale [Adult Only]

When Buffy hears a drunken and desperate Spike say he’s got a meeting with zombies, it’s her duty as the Slayer to investigate the situation. Not to mention that ever since they started to explore pre-wedded bliss under a spell, Buffy can’t stop fantasizing about how Spike, especially since she’s saddled with a sweet but passionless new beau. When Buffy sneaks into Spike’s crypt to save the day, he’s definitely glad she showed up- and he can’t wait to show Buffy that she’s been on his mind, too.

Fantasy - Dragons

The Fairytale by Dusty [NC-17]

Once upon a time, a hero slayed the dragon. A kiss saved the day.

Fantasy - Fairytale Retelling

Sleeping Beauty by Autumn2005 [PG-13]

When Buffy suffers from a wasting illness, Spike is the only one who can cure her. Post-Chosen.

Fantasy - Ghosts

Wine-Colored by OffYourBird [NC-17]

There are so many shades of red, but Buffy sticks to the one she knows best.

Fantasy - Uncommon Fantasy Creatures

All Bottled Up by honeygirl51885 [NC-17]

If you bottle things up, sooner or later they’re gonna explode.

Fantasy - Shapeshifters

Cuddling With the Darkness by slaymesoftly [R]

What if Dracula cursed Spike and turned him into a bat (at night); what if he asked Buffy to help him? What if Spike, the little, blue-eyed, black bat was adorable?

Fantasy - Gods

Favored of the Gods by Soulburnt [NC-17]

Enraged by Buffy's treatment of Spike in mid-season six, the goddess of love swoops in to offer succor to a vampire who has always loved too much and a lesson to a Slayer who scorned that love.

Fantasy - Animal Companion

When Love Follows You Home by tbd [PG]

This a a fluffy domestic Spuffy story. There isn't much more to it than that. Spike & Buffy get a dog - sorry/not sorry!

Fantasy - Maternal Heritage

Like Daughter Like Mother by violettathepiratequeen [PG]

Spike thought he'd seen the last of the Buffybot, but turns out it has a bizarre feature that not even he was aware of...

Fantasy - Set in Our World

A Matter Of Taste by Twinkles [Adult Only]

A potentially horrifying story of lust, blood and hunger when the world turns inside out. Set shortly before Buffy vs Dracula; Riley left town at the end of S4.

Fantasy - Witches

The Longest Night by tempestt [PG-13]

On the longest night of the year, Buffy learns the importance of forgiveness.

Fantasy - Thief

A Night Without Day by HappyWhenItRains [NC-17]

The girl in question is Buffy, of course. But what would have happened if Spike had blown off Angel's search for the Goran head and gone after Buffy instead? What if their reunion uncovered a corrupted Angel's evil agenda? Upon breaking out of a dungeon, incompetent thief Andrew Wells helps Spike and Buffy, recently reunited and cursed by Angel. Angel's curse prevents the pair from ever being in each other's presence except at twilight, so they enlist Andrew in a dangerous plot to return to LA, overthrow Angel and break his evil enchantment.

Fantasy - Pirates

Something Worth Dying For by violettathepiratequeen [PG-13]

In a swashbucking tale of body-swaps, mermaids, and shark attacks, Spike and Buffy trade their stakes and fangs for pistols and cutlasses, while the rest of the Scoobies discover what really happened to Buffy when she jumped off Glory's tower...

Fantasy - Portal Fantasy

The Truth Will Set You Free by Enigmaticblue [PG-13]

Set in S4, after Something Blue. Giles does that truth spell on Spike after all, but what happens when it gets stuck? The truth is sometimes a very uncomfortable thing.

Fantasy - Warrior

From Here to Eternity by honeygirl51885 [NC-17]

They had lived alone for so long, neither could remember what it was to feel a connection with another person. Maybe they could discover it again with each other.

Sci-Fi - Space Ship

Dysfunctional by violettathepiratequeen [G]

Spike owned a part of her heart, and when he flew away in his stupid bug ship, she felt as if that part of her was going with him.

Sci-Fi - Artificial Intelligence Point of View

Of Bots and Men by bewildered [NC-17]

The Buffybot wasn’t that difficult to fix; Willow had the short rewired that very night, then tucked the Bot away, just in case she was useful. Meanwhile, the Buffybot herself has had to concede that Spike belongs to Buffy—she just wishes she could make Buffy and Spike happy. Buffybot is ready to provide an intervention of her own.

Sci-Fi - Alien

Spacecation by MaggieLaFey [NC-17]

It’s just before s9 and Buffy is feeling as directionless as ever. So when she finally has a day off from her sad job, of course she asks her maybe-ex-probably-friend vampire to take her on a tour of the universe on his spaceship. Going star-sightseeing should be just what she needs to relax, right? Surely nothing big is gonna happen if she takes a day off. And if Spike’s space bugs keep insisting she and him belong together, well. They’re giant bugs, what the hell do they know?

Sci-Fi - Time Travel

A Different Kind of Hell by OffYourBird [NC-17]

Jumping through Glory's tower portal, Buffy and Spike find themselves in a hell dimension they never expected. One that looks suspiciously like 1880's London. Will they find a way back home? Will the truth behind William the Bloody at last make itself known? Will Buffy ever stop butchering the Queen's English? Join them and find out. Starts off at the end of "The Gift."

Sci-Fi - Steampunk

Something Old is New Again by yellowb [R]

Steampunk! Get your steampunk here! Mystery Challenge fic remains a mystery, even to me — but there shall be balloons, top hats, pirates, and mechanical monsters!

Sci-Fi - Super Powers

Chest Wounds by storm [NC-17]

When Buffy learns that Spike is somehow alive, she is elated… And hurt, and confused. Why didn’t he find her? Why didn’t anyone tell her? Does he still love her? And who is the blue woman?

Sci-Fi - Science/Heavy sci-fi

Dreamer by Gort [NC-17]

Buffy might dream of a normal college life but she got stuck with an annoying vampire instead. Spike’s found the Gem of Amara, but he won’t kill her and has taken to lurking around campus. Things go from bad to worse when they’re both captured by The Initiative and Maggie Walsh takes a special interest. Is Buffy crazy for relying on a vampire to help her put a stop to the professor’s genetic experiments, or is she discovering that normal might be overrated? Begins at Harsh Light of Day before going AU.

Sci-Fi - Replicate/Replica

A Better Man by Sunalso [NC-17]

More than a year post NFA, Buffy is in self-imposed exile. Her only solace is a robot that looks like the vampire who sacrificed himself in a cave under Sunnydale. Spike is unable to stay away, only he's fighting his own inner battles he doesn't want to burden her with. Impersonating a robot for a few days should be easy, right?

Sci-Fi - Space Creatures/Beasts

What Happens in Space by Dusty [NC-17]

Buffy, Spike, and the stars! What could go wrong? What could go right?

Sci-Fi - Teleportation

Christmas Eve by Dusty [NC-17]

Fluffy, sexy fun times on the most magical night of the year!

General - Satire

Pardon My French by Girlytek [R]

In retrospect, it was probably a bad idea to let Buffy perform a spell in French.

General - Novella/Short story

A Better Way to Go by kats_meow [NC-17]

It's Buffy's twenty-first birthday - you know, the one she was supposed to be conveniently dead for - and some smartass has left a crumpled up poem on her porch. Is it trash, a wish, or a chance for something better?

General - Finish a Series

Bitten by Holly [NC-17]

He’d told her that she would beg for it.

General - Mental Health

Almost Paradise by Holly [NC-17]

When presented with the opportunity to magically alter the world she lives in, Buffy knows there are a lot of very good reasons why she shouldn't seize it, but figures things can't get worse. She's wrong.

General - Disability

Room Service by Sunalso [NC-17]

S2 AU. Buffy needs Spike's help, Spike needs Buffy's help. My take on the much used trope of Buffy having to get it on with a vampire to save her life. Fluffy, smutty, and it ends up in a happy place. Set sometime before 'I Only Have Eyes For You'.

General - Set in Africa

The Road to Return by Eurydice [R]

Post-Chosen, Xander chooses to go to Africa for a very specific reason...

General - Library

The Space Between by untouchable [PG-13]

Instead of taking Psych 101 with Willow, Buffy decides to take a poetry class.

General - One Word Title

Called by Dusty [PG-13]

A slayer, a vampire and how they called through the years.

General - Under 500 Pages

Melting Fire by Freecat [R]

Set right after Dead Things. The night after, all he wants is talk. The night after, there’s nothing she wants less than talking. And suddenly they find themselves in another dimension; one that Buffy can’t leave. There’s only one way to get her out. A way with consequences.

General - Over 800 Pages

The Darkling by OffYourBird [NC-17]

When Buffy’s quest to get Spike returned to her is fulfilled in an unexpected way, she finds herself in a complicated relationship with an intrigued master vampire who isn’t the man she loves, but who might be someday… if she can convince him to step out of the dark.

General - Set before 1990

Liebestod by Iamblichus [NC-17]

They really should have known the First Evil wasn't done with them after Sunnydale... Enter: Time-travel, mysterious prophesies, and lots of poetry. BtVS Post-Season 7; Angel AU Season 5. All's well that ends well.

#Buffy The Vampire Slayer #btvs #spuffy #ficrec #reading challenges #thesunsetsandsheappears #dustyfics #robotgort #sunalsolove

25 notes · View notes

juneviews · 10 months

Note

Hello! Idk how to approach this bc it's a sensitive issue. But I have a question. If you dont want to answer I understand. warning upsetting and sensitive subject ig.

Was there ever a follow up on the ''drake is a potential transphobe'' issue? Bc i learned it from your blog, and the last thing i know abt is that he made a sorry a$$ excuse of an 'apology'. I just got rmded abt it when you rbed your 'my tee' gifset (damn that show was a rollercoaster of ‘wtfs’ lol).

And since the actor ''O**.Pa***'', I want to be cautious about these issues (bc it came out of nowhere and slapped me in the face and I’ve been disgusted with him(O.Pa) ever since).

I am asking you bc I dont know Thai ppl on here, and I learnt it(the drake situation) with you. I also know there is something culturally that could potentially also apply. That in country n1 (here Thailand) smthng happens is different from country n2 or 3 or 4. (like I rmbr abt the thing with cis actors who talked abt trans actors and everything). I agree abt the fact that we, I, come from NOT the same culture and we, I, have to take it into account.

But in this case I'm REALLY not sure it’s about a ‘’different culture’’ situation. Bc you know, it was very transphobic and also yah andr** tat*... So ig I want to be sure abt the media/ppl I'm involving myself with.

If you answer this thank you, and even if not.

hi! I've addressed the drake issue when a follower sent me his apology, which I personally thought was good bc he took accountibility & did say he respects everyone. the one thing missing was an explanation though, which is annoying bc it's what misses from most thai actors controversies. but personally, I did think he was being genuine & not a transphobe, though I am definitely biased since drake is one of my favorite thai actors. I've talked multiple times about the cultural differences between "ladyboys" (katoey) & trans people: though now most "ladyboys" now identify as trans women bc they've learned about the western term for it, they were historically considered as a sort of third gender in thailand. that means it is more globally accepted to say things about them in thailand that would be seen as insensitive in the west, and thai trans women themselves have grown accustomed to mocking their own transness to be successful in the thai entertainment industry. this means that the "____ is transphobic" controversies only ever regard international fans, while thai fans don't even bat an eye. it's not my place to say what's wrong or right in those situations, but that's why I feel hesitant to condemn ANY thai person as transphobic when the cultures are so different & sensitivities so opposed. trans rights are under attack everywhere in the west, meanwhile "ladyboys" have existed openly (somewhat safely, I'm sure there's attacks & discrimination on them, but I couldn't find any data about it) for literal centuries in thailand.

NOW THOUGH, I find it quite staggering that you can kind of put most of these thai actors in the same box. drake laedeke for liking (or reposting? I forgot sorry) an anti-trans video, for which he apologized, joss wayar for following andrew tate, who he unfollowed once the backlash against tate peaked, ohm pawat for being a homophobic bully (which some have argued that it's been disproven in my comments but I don't really believe it, it's giving delusional ride or die fan), and lastly foei patchara who reblogged anti-lgbtq far right content & (to my knowledge) never apologized or backed down. all four of these men present themselves as very straight, they all work out & have stereotypically very masculine & attractive bodies, and all of them are successful. I'm not surprised that men who watch fitness content would end up on hustle culture videos, leading to alpha male videos & eventually far right content which is currently obsessing about lgbtq+ people. and I'm not saying this to justify them or whatever, but I think it says a lot about masculinity & the echochambers created around this hypermasculine content which led to these actors clearly doing something wrong.

in the end, I'll say what I always say: everyone can choose to remain fans of actors that have done something wrong, or unfollow them, ignore them, hate them, etc. I do think things need to be taken with nuance, and for me I look at repeated behavior & lack of accountability to try to guess an actor's true nature. I say GUESS because none of us will ever truly know them. maybe there's an actor that has never publicly done anything remotely problematic, yet thinks the most awful things in his head. so yeah, it's up to each individual's judgment to decide what to do with those actors & what they've done wrong, but I do think we have to take cultural differences into account bc the world does not revolve around the west.

xxx

#answers

8 notes · View notes

theaggresivepacifist · 2 years

Text

detective taba appreciation post (utboh spoilers)

I’ve barely slept in three days and definitely shouldn’t be up now, but I made the decision to watch Under the Banner of Heaven E6 as soon as it came out and here is my conclusion (spoilers below the cut):

The real hero in this narrative is not Jeb Pyre. It’s Detective Taba.

(ANDREW GARFIELD STANS DON’T COME FOR ME, I love him and Pyre is also a fantastic character in his own right, but hear me out.)

If the extreme happens and Taba dies or gets hurt in episode 7, with the narrative purpose of either saving Pyre’s Mormonism (deathbed-convincing Pyre to cling to his faith - an unexpected and touching appeal from a supposed “zealot in the Church of Caffeine” who has actually respected, protected, and advocated for Pyre’s faith and religious practice all season) or severing Pyre’s connection to it entirely, it will suck majorly in terms of the fridging/suffering of a Native character to serve a white character’s development. That being said: it would also fit a pattern, because despite their friendship, and a few touching moments (e.g. Pyre rescuing Taba at the cabin), Pyre has in many ways treated Taba as being disposable this entire time.

The hard truth is that Pyre has been consistently willing to ignore or tolerate racism against Taba, even when it occurs directly in front of them both. The violence and bigotry Taba is subjected to became visible as soon as we met him and has been escalating rapidly over the course of the season, going from the forest ranger’s microaggressions, to Sam’s wife’s blatant racism talking about his skin color, to Bishop Low and his wife treating Taba (a detective) like some kind of dangerous invader in their home, to now, in this last episode, Mrs. Lafferty 1.0 all but calling him racial slurs to his face and a fundamentalist whackjob accusing him of being subhuman - of being used to abominations like the murder of a mother and a fifteen month old baby. The warning signs, the signs of escalation, the signs that Taba is in increasing danger, were there this whole time (as well as all the tropes: all the times Pyre let Taba go alone into a dangerous situation even though he comments on it being dangerous; Taba talking about and showing pictures of his [estranged?] kids, which never bodes well), right under Pyre’s nose.

Pyre has never defended Taba from this, even if he values and cares for Taba as a partner, friend, and confidante. None of Pyre’s crisis of faith seems to involve reflection on the racism in his religious community and their doctrine, and the ways he’s seen it enacted against his partner and friend, even and especially in this single investigation alone. Instead, what Pyre has done is censure Taba in the few instances when he’s reacted against the hypocrisy of the faithful (not even against the racism directly), asking Taba to moderate his tone, to cool off, to step back, to stay silent. If the series culminates in this – if Taba dies or is harmed – Pyre will be complicit, whether or not he realizes it.

And yet meanwhile, in the background, Taba has been working tirelessly to bring the murderers to justice, and has done nothing but try to make the Mormons around him feel comfortable and safe and understood, despite the fact that they do little or nothing to reciprocate.

He is constantly thinking of Pyre’s family, of potential threats to Pyre’s family, and trying to protect them. He knows about everyday aspects of Mormon life such as blessings and family home evening, and, unprompted, tells Jeb to go home to his family for it. He gives the girls the skates they wanted but didn’t get for Christmas. He works through the night while Pyre goes home.

With rare exceptions, he changes his language and habits around Pyre and the other Mormons. He seems to chew gum instead of smoking or indulging in other “vices” (and yet gets accused of drinking anyway, by those nasty detectives in E1).

He’s willing to humble himself to the extreme in front of the stake president of a religion he doesn’t belong to, take insults on the chin, absorb the nastiness and the undercutting of his superior experience without commenting on it. Even though he also makes some efforts, out of compassion and humor, to help Pyre step out of his bubble – with the French fries, with insisting on telling him that he’s “goddamn proud,” instead of just “proud” - he also respects Pyre’s boundaries, and doesn’t start debates or push him farther than he wants to go.

And so when Taba (GOD, WHY) steps out of the car at the end of E6, making the decision to follow Onias, alone and unarmed, into the dark - bravely, foolishly making the decision to potentially take on all of the brothers himself, to finally take this fundamentalist cult down for himself as well as for the victims, now that Pyre’s not here in harm’s way and Pyre isn’t here to stop him...part of me is terrified for him, and the other part recognizes: this is the hero going for it, ready to save the day, no longer waiting for permission or approval from anyone else, no longer putting up with anyone else’s vitriol and stupidity, and honestly, hell yeah.

#under the banner of heaven #utboh #jeb pyre #bill taba #detective taba #meta #under the banner of heaven spoilers #utboh spoilers #with apologies to my stranger/sf followers who must be deeply confused right now #also i'm ignoring completely all of the uh...pyre/taba...flirting?? i don't know what else to call it #choices were made with The Location From Whence Jeb Ate Those French Fries and there have been other moments too #the way Taba watches Pyre; the way he unconsciously mimics his gestures #ANYWAY #my brain is trapped in 1980s utah

95 notes · View notes

eyes-of-mischief · 2 years

Text

weekly fic recs | 8

prompt: harry potter au/crossover

fandoms: aftg, bnha, dc, merlin, orv, tw, yoi

aftg

Minyards' Magical Mischief by moonix

(mature)

“No,” Aaron said. “Andrew, no.”

They locked eyes, and for a moment it was like they were eleven again, catching sight of each other for the first time across a crowded train platform.

“I confess,” Andrew said tonelessly, “to the murder of Drake Spear.”

(Or: an Auror and a murderer walk into an ice-cream parlour.)

bnha

Bend Before You Break by orkestrations

When Izuku set out for his morning run, the last thing he was expecting was to be plucked from his own world by magic and thrown into another universe entirely.

Removed from his own conflict and with no way back, he sets himself to figuring out this world and its own incipient war while searching for a way to possibly reverse the spell that brought him here.

It's just his luck that the year he arrives is the same year the government decides it's a great idea to bring back the potentially-deadly tournament.

Scientific Method by vogon_poet

It’s not like he’s surprised a magic school exists— that’s probably only a seven on the scale of “crazy things Tim Drake has seen”. No, Tim’s just surprised he’s enrolled.

Point That Wand at Me and See What Happens by widdlewed

During Harry Potter's fourth year, Hogwarts gained two new additions to its hallways that no one will soon forget. Damian Wayne is feared to be the next Dark Lord rising while Dick Grayson gains a fanbase larger than Professor Lockhart. Between dealing with dreams of Voldemort and the Tri-Wizard Tournament, Harry doesn't have time to deal with alter-ego heroes and the drama they bring with them.

Also, what the fuck is up with the rumors of Professor Grayson's ass?

merlin

In Which There's a Teacher at Hogwarts That Doesn't Enable Casual Racism by stellaisnotamermaid

Merlin had been having dreams for a while—nightmares that surrounded his unconscious. He knew they were somehow connected to a prophecy he'd found about the Dark Lord and the Chosen One. He'd wanted to join in to help fight in the war, but the Old Religion held him at bay, forcing him to wait. Then, on July 31st, 1980, everything went silent. It took eleven months, but he was finally able to join in.

(Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone but with Merlin)

Emrys Ascending by tricksterity

In the depths of the Crystal of Neahtid, Merlin sees the resurrection of Lord Voldemort, an event that will tip the balance of the world so far out that only he has the power to intervene and set it right, or stop it from ever happening. For that, he'll have to pose as a student and attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The only problem is, he's been chosen instead of Cedric Diggory as a Triwizard Champion, and there's a recently reborn Arthur Pendragon in Gryffindor House.

orv

"the only good thing about you is your owl," says kim dokja, the owl, after complimenting literally everything about him. by RenderedReversed

The thing about being the Chosen One’s owl is that everyone is after your damn mail.

Or, in which Kim Dokja is Yoo Joonghyuk's post owl, and this ironically does not make their ability to communicate any better.

Untamed by rosepetals42

Of course, the transfer kid gets mentioned because transfers are rare, but the news isn’t that exciting. In fact, according to Laura, no one even seems to know his first name. The only thing anyone has really figured out about him is that he’s American. And that’s not exactly hard because he obviously has an accent.

The only thing Derek really knows is that, despite other reports, he seems quiet enough, prefers to work alone, and has the most amazing shade of amber eyes that Derek has ever seen.

Not that he’s looking. Obviously.

OR: A Harry Potter AU where Stiles is a Slytherin transfer student and Derek is the grumpy Gryffindor who falls in love with him.

There are also potions, elves, and falcons involved. Oh, and illegal use of magic. Obviously.

yoi

Entwining Fates by rinsled05

Imagine if Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, after the demise of you-know-who, started accepting foreign students in an effort for greater unity among wizarding communities around the world. Imagine that, in this changing climate of diversity and social acceptance, Hogwarts also decided to host an exchange programme with select students from Durmstrang Institute and Beauxbatons Academy of Magic for a semester.

Imagine, then, if a young Japanese wizard by the name of Yuuri Katsuki had transferred to Hogwarts to escape his past, just in time to meet a Russian Quidditch player who would blow open the very doors he was trying so desperately to close.

A story of love, magic, and teenagers trying to find themselves.

#weekly fic recs #prompt #harry potter au/crossover #aftg fic recs #bnha fic recs #dc fic recs #merlin fic recs #hp fic recs #tw fic recs #yoi fic recs #orv fic recs #believe it or not the reason why i first got into ao3 was cause all the pjo/hp crossovers were cross-posted here #also these are all pretty popular except for a few i’m sorry-#i try to avoid the hp fandom so i’m really not that deep in

20 notes · View notes

denimbex1986 · 2 months

Text

'The BAFTAs are this Sunday and in so many categories it feels like a fight between Poor Things and Oppenheimer, at least in the ones where Christopher Nolan’s near billion dollar blockbuster isn’t already the runaway frontrunner.

Whether it’s Best Film, Adapted Screenplay or Original Score, the two films seem in lockstep with each other. Were it not for the director snub of PT‘s Yorgos Lanthimos it might be even more competitive between the two films. But where Oppenheimer has a clear path in several below the categories (like Editing, Sound, Cinematography, Score), Poor Things not only has it to contend with but Barbie in categories like Production Design and Costume Design and unless we’re in for an unprecedented sweep for Oppy (not impossible), those are close races, especially the former, which has seen all three win at least one precursor so far.

Unsurprisingly, Oppenheimer and Poor Things also factor in three of the four acting races with the top two a real fight, just not with each other. Leading Actor is between Oppenheimer’s Cillian Murphy (who has the Golden Globe for Drama) and The Holdovers‘ Paul Giamatti (who has the Golden Globe for Comedy and Critics Choice). BAFTA, even with its voting structure merry-go-round, has seen fit to award the eventual Best Actor Oscar winner 15 times out of the last 20 years, only two of those time in the last 10 years. Of course, that includes just last year when Austin Butler (Elvis) bested Brendan Fraser (The Whale) and is really the only 1:1 comparison we have in the modern era with Fraser going on to win the Oscar. Both Murphy and Giamatti have hit everywhere and are the critics’ leaders with Murphy having the edge there in overall wins. But will Murphy ride the wave of his film’s potential awards blowout or is Giamatti poised to take full control of the race?...

One category Poor Things and Oppenheimer aren’t competing in, very surprisingly, is Best Casting. Only in its fifth year, there are no real trends or patterns to go off from, especially with the two top films left off the list completely. This category has seen Joker beat Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Rocks beating Best Film nominee Promising Young Woman and Elvis winning last year over All Quiet on the Western Front, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Triangle of Sadness and Aftersun. This year, three of the five nominees are also Best Film nominees: Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers and Killers of the Flower Moon. Then we have All of Us Strangers, which has six nominations including two acting nods and Best Director, and How to Have Sex, which is also nominated for Outstanding British Debut and Outstanding British Film (where AOUS is as well). Twice in those four years the winner was not nominated for Best Film but in the case of 2021’s West Side Story that film also had a Supporting Actress win with Ariana DeBose. Cast size doesn’t seem to be an overriding factor here either and four of the five nominees this year having small casts of just four or fives primary performers. While Anatomy and Holdovers seem like the safest bets here if voters want to vote for Strangers this is definitely its best shot at a win...

Here are my ranked winner predictions for the 2024 EE BAFTA Film Awards.

Best Film

Oppenheimer Poor Things Anatomy of a Fall The Holdovers Killers of the Flower Moon

Best Director

Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer Justine Triet, Anatomy of a Fall Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest Alexander Payne, The Holdovers Bradley Cooper, Maestro Andrew Haigh, All of Us Strangers

Leading Actor

Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers Bradley Cooper, Maestro Colman Domingo, Rustin Barry Keoghan, Saltburn Teo Yoo, Past Lives

Supporting Actor

Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer Ryan Gosling, Barbie Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon Paul Mescal, All of Us Strangers Dominic Sessa, The Holdovers Jacob Elordi, Saltburn

Supporting Actress

Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer Sandra Hüller, The Zone of Interest Claire Foy, All of Us Strangers Rosamund Pike, Saltburn Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple

Casting

The Holdovers (Susan Shopmaker) All of Us Strangers (Kahleen Crawford) Anatomy of a Fall (Cynthia Arra) Killers of the Flower Moon (Ellen Lewis and Rene Haynes) How to Have Sex (Isabella Odoffin)

Adapted Screenplay

Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer Tony McNamara, Poor Things Andrew Haigh, All of Us Strangers Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest Cord Jefferson, American Fiction

Outstanding British Film

Poor Things The Zone of Interest All of Us Strangers Napoleon How to Have Sex Saltburn Wonka Rye Lane Scrapper The Old Oak

Cinematography

Oppenheimer (Hoyte van Hoytema) Poor Things (Robbie Ryan) The Zone of Interest (Łukasz Żal) Maestro (Matthew Libatique) Killers of the Flower Moon (Rodrigo Prieto)

Editing

Oppenheimer (Jennifer Lame) Anatomy of a Fall (Laurent Sénéchal) Poor Things (Yorgos Mavropsaridis) The Zone of Interest (Paul Watts) Killers of the Flower Moon (Thelma Schoonmaker)

Production Design

Poor Things (Shona Heath, James Price, & Zsuzsa Mihalek) Barbie (Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer) Oppenheimer (Ruth De Jong and Claire Kaufman) Killers of the Flower Moon (Jack Fisk and Adam Willis) The Zone of Interest (Chris Oddy, Joanna Maria Kuś, & Katarzyna Sikora)

Costume Design

Poor Things (Holly Waddington) Barbie (Jacqueline Durran) Napoleon (Dave Crossman and Janty Yates) Killers of the Flower Moon (Jacqueline West) Oppenheimer (Ellen Mirojnick)

Make Up & Hair

Maestro (Sian Grigg, Kay Georgiou, Kazu Hiro, Lori McCoy-Bell Poor Things (Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier, Josh Weston) Oppenheimer (Luisa Abel, Jaime Leigh McIntosh, Jason Hamer, Ahou Mofid) Napoleon (Jana Carboni, Francesco Pegoretti, Satinder Chumber, Julia Vernon) Killers of the Flower Moon (Kay Georgiou, Thomas Nellen)

Original Score

Oppenheimer (Ludwig Göransson) Poor Things (Jerskin Fendrix) Killers of the Flower Moon (Robbie Robertson) Saltburn (Anthony Willis) Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Daniel Pemberton)

Sound

Oppenheimer (Willie Burton, Richard King, Kevin O’Connell, Gary A. Rizzo) The Zone of Interest (Johnnie Burn, Tarn Willers) Maestro (Richard King, Steve Morrow, Tom Ozanich, Jason Ruder, Dean Zupancic) Ferrari (Angelo Bonanni, Tony Lamberti, Andy Nelson, Lee Orloff, Bernard Weiser) Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (Chris Burdon, James H. Mather, Chris Munro, Mark Taylor)...'

#Oppenheimer #Cillian Murphy #Robert Downey Jr.#Emily Blunt #Christopher Nolan #Ludwig Goransson #Jennifer Lame #Ruth de Jong #Ellen Mirojnick #Poor Things #Killers of the Flower Moon #The Holdovers #Claire Foy #Andrew Haigh #All of Us Strangers #Paul Mescal #BAFTAs #Hoyte van Hoytema #Kahleen Crawford

0 notes

tiapandayblogs · 1 year

Text

The Past, Present and Future of Crowdfunding in India

The wealth of a person becomes meaningless if it is not distributed and utilised.

– RIG VEDA

Almost everyone has experienced the joy of giving at some stage or another. Giving money, giving help in other ways or giving of themselves to a person in need, listening to him or her, or helping them with their problems. The word Philanthropy means the practice of giving money and time to help make life better for other people has Greek origins. It springs from the word fil-anthra-pi–the love of ‘fellowmen’. Surprisingly, wealth did not correlate with the initial definition of the word, but over some time, people began to realise that when love, empathy, kindness and humanity prevail, wealth assumes a nobler purpose.

Some countries have the concept of philanthropy embedded in them like India, where it is evident in the rich diversity. It is ever-present in every religion practised here. The Hindus have a principle of dann, which constitutes the feeding of the priests, charity to orphans, etc. In Muslims, zakat–giving a portion of one’s income to charity is widely practised throughout the social spectrum. On a similar note, Christians have the concept of the tithe–giving away one-tenth of what one earns to charity. The Sikhs have a tradition of a direct service by one’s own hands for a charitable cause. The langar in every Gurdwara is an excellent example of such service.

Philanthropy has evolved a lot over the ages, especially during the latter half of the nineteenth century. The latter half of the nineteenth century saw the rise of philanthropic trusts, foundations set up mainly by business tycoons like Andrew Carnegie, Jamsetji Tata, etc. These trusts and foundations provided the right conduit for the effective social spending of the vast wealth generated by modern industries. Such trusts and foundations mainly focused on tackling major challenges that less well-endowed institutions would not even be able to attempt.

Healthcare financing for patients has always been a challenge in a developing nation like India. Crowdfunding is a novel but long-lasting solution to this challenge. Whereas crowdfunding is still seen as a developed-world phenomenon, its potential to create new jobs and stimulate innovation in the developing world has not gone unnoticed. Crowdfunding, while still in its nascent stage, has grown by leaps and bounds in the past decade. It is popularly predicted that the total transaction value of crowdfunding is projected to reach $90.4m by 2025 in India. While equity crowdfunding is still banned in India, other forms of crowdfunding like donation-based, reward-based, debt-based and peer-to-peer-based are gaining steady steam. Crowdfunding backed by digital marketing can bring wonderful results. It has emerged as a great tool to fund social causes.

The future of philanthropy lies in crowdfunding. India with its wide population and robust economy is the perfect market for crowdfunding startups. With the current introduction of cryptocurrency into India’s economy, crowdfunding will be seeing another boost in popularity.

Crowdfunding is one of the best avenues to build a long-lasting sustainable healthcare financing health system for patients.

Source - https://filaantro.org/blog/the-past-present-and-future-of-crowdfunding-in-india/

#crowdsourcing #crowdfunding #fundraising #fundraiser

0 notes

filaantrocrowdfunding · 1 year

Text

The Past, Present and Future of Crowdfunding in India

The wealth of a person becomes meaningless if it is not distributed and utilized.

– RIG VEDA

Almost everyone has experienced the joy of giving at some stage or another. Giving money, giving help in other ways or giving of themselves to a person in need, listening to him or her, or helping them with their problems. The word Philanthropy means the practice of giving money and time to help make life better for other people has Greek origins. It springs from the word fil-anthra-pi–the love of ‘fellowmen’. Surprisingly, wealth did not correlate with the initial definition of the word, but over some time, people began to realize that when love, empathy, kindness and humanity prevail, wealth assumes a nobler purpose.

Some countries have the concept of philanthropy embedded in them like India, where it is evident in the rich diversity. It is ever-present in every religion practiced here. The Hindus have a principle of dann, which constitutes the feeding of the priests, charity to orphans, etc. In Muslims, zakat–giving a portion of one’s income to charity is widely practiced throughout the social spectrum. On a similar note, Christians have the concept of the tithe–giving away one-tenth of what one earns to charity. The Sikhs have a tradition of a direct service by one’s own hands for a charitable cause. The langar in every Gurdwara is an excellent example of such service.

Crowdfunding is one of the best avenues to build a long-lasting sustainable healthcare financing health system for patients.

#filaantro #future of crowdfunding #past of crowdfunding #present of crowdfunding #crowdfunding #fundraising

0 notes

crazybigredlove · 1 year

Text

14th September 2013

Dear Pete,

Day something-or-other of Big Red-free world and another day of leave from work. Though I knew I wouldn't hear from him, it's a sad blow to the ego to learn that everything Christopher said was true. It really was just sex. Is it ridiculous to expect that someone who said they cared would at the very least send a message asking if I'm okay? Realise he has to protect his relationship, as that is obviously so important to him, but given that was our most volatile interaction wouldn't he want to know that I have pulled through it okay like the little trooper I am?

I feel lost and I am the first to admit that I don't understand why. Each time I feel like this I almost need to believe that we fell hopelessly in love over that weekend, because otherwise feeling this sad doesn't make sense. People are looking at me and asking why it is that he gets to me so much and I am asking myself the same question. But I don't know the answer. All I can conclude is that maybe this has nothing to do with Big Red, maybe it's just breaking point on what has been a largely traumatic dating history.

Lost and confused as I am, more therapy might be a good idea.

I'm not okay with you abandoning me, but maybe I understand it better these days. There have been times lately - actually most of them in the last twenty-four hours - where the idea of jumping on a plane and disappearing into the clouds definitely holds some appeal. Being broke is such a pain and pretty much the only reason I'm still here. That and I adopted a German Shepherd. It would just be irresponsible of me to abandon my furkid when we're so bonded now.

Keeping Jamie completely out of the loop with the recent developments in the Big Red situation so she couldn't go into overdrive with her self-appointed big sister role. Of course the downside of that was that she decided tonight was perfect for hosting a dinner party with two of her bachelor friends out on her deck. She still hosts these diner parties monthly, but I'm telling you I haven't seen other singles at her house in the longest time. Except of course Andrew and Christopher, who are both very much single by choice.

To be fair, the guest list wasn't as tragic and painful as it could've been so am not going to disown her just yet. There is no need to go into details about the potential suitors because they weren't any more attracted to me than I was to them. It was a little awkward for Christopher as I think they thought he was there as my date and it created a little confusion for everyone. Look at me, I'm starring in my own production of Blind Date. It was actually the walk over that was the more entertaining portion of the evening.

"What're you doing?" Snatching my hand up in his own, I tried unsuccessfully to slip out of his steel grip whilst wondering which of the handmade quilts in the shop window he was so inexplicably drawn to that he felt compelled to drag me towards them.

"Sh!" He whispered through clenched teeth. "Trust me." My eyes narrowed at him. "Christopher?!"

Then I saw the reason for the abrupt halt to our momentum: across the street, a tall male and a much smaller female, him three or so paces in front of her. Hurrying along behind him, her hands brushed constantly at the sides of her head, protecting her cotton-candy bob from the whipping wind. Phone to his ear, he seemed to be ignoring her. The vibrant red of his hair clashed violently against the soft pink of hers and I shuddered a little thinking of how aggressive he now seemed with her delicately trailing behind.

Eventually, I remembered how to speak. "Huh. So that's what love looks like? Funny, if he hadn't told me I wouldn't have recognised it." Chris placed an arm around my shoulders. "Are you okay?" The concern in his voice made me cringe.

"It's not like I haven't known for a while that he has a girlfriend." "Liv, come on, it's been less than two days since you-" "No need to remind me," I said, cutting him off. "I am very aware of each and every mistake I've ever made. I like to file them alphabetically in my brain for any time when my confidence might be looking like it's on the rise."

It only took a minute from the time I first saw them till they had rounded the corner and disappeared from view. The whole time he talked on his phone while she scurried along behind. A searing pain started in my rib cage - almost like Christopher had thrust a knife in deep in between my ribs while I wasn't looking - and spread deeper down my abdomen.

Taking my hand in his Christopher pulled me back onto the path. We walked silently the rest of the way there, except for a single question that I posed as we reached Jamie's door.

"What does it mean that I haven't heard from him?" "It means he hasn't contacted you. That's it. That's all it means. Just because someone doesn't behave the way you would doesn't mean you can apply our own value system to interpret their actions. He knows what all this means, you and I would only be speculating."

The response was clinical. Sterile. Devoid of any emotion. Exactly how I should have been at seeing that man with his girlfriend.

Everyone has told me that it's been nearly a month so I have to let go seeing as only knew him for a few weeks. Everyone can bite me as far as I'm concerned. For the record, Romeo and Juliet took place over only a couple of days and people loved that crap. At least in this story the tryst lasted longer and there were no suicides or bloody battles to the death. This is practically Sleepless In Seattle compared to that.

If you're wondering, the lighting change in my room worked. Shadows are awesome for creating the illusion of muscle and giving me a hint of self-confidence when I feel like I have none left.

Liv x

0 notes

tonyangflwr · 2 years

Text

2022 CFL Odds, Season Preview and Gray Cup Predictions

In the United States, football season doesn't move around until the pre-fall/late-summer. Football is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the most famous game in the country.

Throughout the long term, we've seen a lot of lesser expert associations spring up trying to exploit the NFL's extended offseason. The UFSL, which appears to be bound for disappointment, is right now in the center of its most memorable season. Are easygoing football fans mindful of the USFL's presence? Likely not.

In the not so distant future, Canada's expert football association will start off its own 2022 mission. Dissimilar to the different American new companies that have traveled every which way, the Canadian Football League is one of the longest-running ace football circuits in the world. The 2022 season will be the CFL's 64th. 안전 토토사이트 추천

While by far most of the CFL's fanbase is naturally situated in Canada, there is a developing army of fans somewhere else all over the planet. These days, all of the highest level football wagering locales have CFL chances that anyone could hope to find for your examination.

Whether you're new to the CFL or a long-term fan, here's beginning and end you want to be familiar with the competitors during the current year's Gray Cup.

When Does the 2022 CFL Season Start? The CFL lobby will formally start on Thursday, June ninth. Similar as Major League Baseball, the past offseason was damaged by work conflict.

On May fifteenth, the CFL Player's Association really picketed after they neglected to settle on another aggregate haggling concurrence with the association. It was the principal CFL player strike beginning around 1974, yet the different sides struck terms on a conditional new understanding only three days after the fact.

The beyond couple of seasons have been shortened by the Covid-19 pandemic, however the CFL will get back to its commonplace 18-game timetable in 2022, traversing 21 weeks altogether. Regina will play host to the 109th yearly Gray Cup on November twentieth.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are amidst a dynastic run. The establishment brought home its twelfth Gray Cup championship with a 33-25 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats a year ago. It was the Blue Bombers' second sequential title, and they'll hope to turn into the primary group since the Edmonton Eskimos (1978-1982) to win three straight this season.

The Blue Bombers' +250 CFL chances and status as opening title top picks ought to amaze no one that follows this association. The Bombers began 11-1 last season prior to resting starters in the last two or three rounds of the mission.

Safeguard is the key for this group. Winnipeg yielded simply 13.4 focuses per game last season, which was one of the stingiest imprints in CFL history. The Bombers lost driving rusher Andrew Harris to the Argonauts in free organization this offseason, we yet realize individual running backs will generally be somewhat misrepresented in the cutting edge game.

The Blue Bombers' +250 CFL chances actually have a lot of potential gain. This group has just prevailed upon the beyond couple of years, and I see no great explanation to accept they'll stop any time soon.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats (+500) The Tiger-Cats completed second in the East Division behind the Argonauts last season with a 8-6 record across 14 games. They safeguarded home field well (5-2), yet battled a piece out and about (3-4).

Hamilton made an unexpected race to the Gray Cup after areas of strength for a 1 completion over their last five normal season games. The Ti-Cats got a simple 23-12 success over Montreal at home in the East Semi-Final before a steamed 27-19 win at Toronto in the East Final.

Hamilton is seeking win the Gray Cup interestingly starting around 1999, yet it will not be simple. CFL wagering locales might be misrepresenting this group a piece after its unforeseen rushed to the last, and they're really one-point dark horses at Saskatchewan in the main round of the time.

The Ti-Cats' +500 CFL wagering potentials for success don't actually have out according to a worth viewpoint. 스보벳

Saskatchewan Roughriders (+550) Saskatchewan completed second in the West Division at 9-5 last season, two games south of the primary spot Blue Bombers. The Roughriders got off to a promising 3-0 beginning, just to lose four of their next six.

A four-game series of wins followed, nonetheless, before their 24-3 victory misfortune at Hamilton in the season finale. The Roughriders required extra time to move beyond the Calgary Stampeders in the West Semi-Final at home before a tight 21-17 difficulty to the Blue Bombers in Winnipeg in the West Final.

Regardless of a strong success misfortune record, the Roughriders completed only seventh out of the CFL's nine groups in focuses per game at 20.3 a season back. Saskatchewan will expect further developed play from 29-year-old QB Cody Fajardo, who got done with a 16:15 score to-capture proportion in 2021.

Toronto Argonauts (+600) On the off chance that you need a decent worth, the Argonauts' +600 CFL chances look pretty engaging. Toronto went 9-5 a season back to complete a game in front of Hamilton in the East Division standings. They shut the season with six successes over their last eight games, including a significant 31-12 win over Hamilton in the penultimate normal season challenge.

The Args had a first-round bye because of completing on the division, however they at last fell, 27-19, at home to Hamilton in the East Final.

McLeod Bethel-Thompson re-endorsed with the Argonauts this past offseason, and the forthcoming effort will be his fifth with the establishment. He ignored for only 2,300 yards with 12 scores to 11 INTs a season back, however he was held out of the end zone in the season finisher misfortune to the Ti-Cats.

Regardless of completing in the lead position in the East, the Argonauts have quite recently the fourth-best CFL chances of any group to win the Gray Cup in 2022.

Calgary Stampeders (+600) The Stampeders completed 8-6 a season back, which was great for third in the West behind Winnipeg and Saskatchewan. Notwithstanding, Calgary's 2021 was actually a story of two seasons.

Things got off to an unquestionably ominous 2-5 beginning that included misfortunes to the humble BC Lions and Edmonton Elks. Notwithstanding, they made something happen incredibly after their Week 8 bye.

Following the off week, the Stampeders shut the season with wins in six of their last seven games. They were surely supported by a matchup against a Blue Bombers side playing a large portion of its reinforcements in Week 16, however you can play the games on your timetable.

The Stampeders looked amazing in their two preseason games, but against more vulnerable adversaries. Calgary got a 41-6 win over British Columbia toward the finish of May before a 37-7 destroying of Edmonton last Friday. We can't gather a lot from preseason results, yet the Stampeders' +600 CFL wagering chances are enticing given the way that well they played to end the '21 season.

Montreal Alouettes (+900) The Alouettes went only 7-7 a year prior, yet that was sufficient to punch a season finisher ticket in the East Division. Tragically, Montreal would proceed to lose to Hamilton, 23-12, in the East Semi-Final.

Montreal didn't enter the postseason in that frame of mind of structure subsequent to dropping three of their last four normal season challenges. That was still adequate to qualify in the more vulnerable East, in any case.

On June seventh, lead trainer Khari Jones named Vernon Adams as his beginning QB for the Alouettes' Week 1 conflict with the Stampeders. Neither Adams nor reinforcement Trevor Harris played all that well in Montreal's new preseason prevail upon the Redblacks, yet Adams is possible the protected decision. GET MORE INFO

He'll hope to return after a shoulder injury sidelined him until the end of last season back in October. Before the injury, Adams tossed for more than 1,900 yards with 14 scores to nine INTs.

Ottawa Redblacks (+1200) The Redblacks are one of the CFL's most up to date groups. The 2022 mission will be Ottawa's eighth in the association, and they'll be hoping to get once more into the end of the season games following a two-year dry spell.

Ottawa began the season with a strong 16-12 success over Edmonton, yet everything went easy from now on. The Redblacks lost every one of their next five after that before one more success over the humble Elks in Week 7. Six additional losses followed before a 19-18 win over Edmonton in the season finale.

That obvious the subsequent straight season where the Redblacks marshaled only three successes, however this group delighted in a lot of progress before that. Ottawa progressed to three Gray Cups in four years and won it interestingly back in 2016.

Previous Oregon champion Jeremiah Masoli will assume control in Ottawa interestingly in the wake of expenditure the last eight seasons with Hamilton. Masoli finished 20 of his 25 passes for 185 yards and two scores as a physical issue substitution for Dane Evans in the Gray Cup misfortune to Winnipeg.

With a more proficient QB under focus, maybe the Redblacks can at long last return to their triumphant ways.

English Columbia Lions (+1600) The BC Lions completed only 5-9 a season back, which would've been the most terrible imprint in the East Division notwithstanding the deplorable 3-11 Edmonton Elks.

BC really got off to a really great 4-2 beginning prior to winning only once in the last eight games. That solitary triumph came against, you got it, Edmonton, in the season finale.

Lions lead trainer Rick Campbell named Nathan Rourke as his group's starter for the impending season. Rourke filled in as Michael Reilly's reinforcement as a newbie last season, yet Reilly chose to resign.

Rourke's naiveté makes the Lions an undeniably challenging bet to trust at their +1600 Gray Cup chances. He tossed a bigger number of scores than captures in his two games as the starter a season prior.

메이저놀이터 목록 sportstoto7.com

Edmonton Elks (+1600) The Edmonton Elks are one of the CFL's most established establishments, however the 2022 season will be only their second with that moniker. The group resigned its old moniker, the Eskimos, following t

#오피가이드 오피사이트 오피정보 오피후기 오피리뷰 op사이트 늑대훈련소 밤의전쟁 아이러브밤 오피톡 오피쓰 오피나라 오피주소 강남오피

0 notes

orionsangel86 · 3 years

Text

SPN Conspiracies - Applying Logic to Chaos

Its been over 2 months now since the Supernatural finale aired. I am still so angry, hurt, and confused by it and I don’t think I will ever get closure unless someone like Andrew Dabb, or Jensen Ackles, actually opens up and gives us an explanation that makes sense.

What annoys me most right now is people trying to gaslight fans into believing that we should accept the narrative we have been given at face value: That the finale was always planned to be that way, that Destiel was never on the cards, that there was no Network interference, that the only changes made were due to covid and were minor at best.

This harmful gaslighting is FALSE.

NO ONE KNOWS THE TRUTH OF WHAT HAPPENED.

Look, I don’t agree with some of the crazier conspiracy theories. I don’t believe that there was some huge campaign among the CW Network execs to remove anything remotely gay out of homophobia. I don’t believe that the finale was changed because of some desire to make it into a Walker promo. I don’t believe that the finale was really bad on purpose in protest by Dabb for not getting to do an ending he truly wanted. I don’t believe that Dabb left us smart fans a bunch of secret messages in the finale to hint that he was on our side all along and that everything was fake.

I do, however, believe that all of these conspiracy theories have some elements in them that are plausible. At least, more plausible than the bullshit narrative mentioned above that some people are pushing in some desperate attempt to defend the Network (which imo is really strange behaviour anyway - why would anyone care about a TV network with a history of terrible behaviour?!?)

We have facts, based on information provided before the covid lockdown, which for some reason, people like Misha have since backpeddled on. So let me try to outline some of the information that makes no sense.

Below the cut I go on a deep dive into the conspiracies and statements I have heard about the SPN finale and try to make some sense of this whole fucked up situation. It gets long.

1. “Cas was never gonna be in the finale”.

False: We have many fan accounts of Misha confirming that he was filming the finale. We have video evidence of Misha confirming he was going back to film the finale after the lockdown. We have confirmation from fans in Misha M&Gs from March that he had about 5 days of filming left.

We also had fan accounts of discussions with Alex Calvert (I think) where he confirmed the final shot of the final episode was all four of them though I would LOVE if someone can find a source for this.

2. Okay, Misha was gonna be in the finale, but only as Jimmy Novak

False: I heavily side eyed Misha when he said this. But I think I can come up with a plausible explanation for it. Per above, Misha was supposed to film for 5 days. This does not align with the half a day he described of filming as Jimmy Novak. My own belief is that after Cas was cut from the finale (for whatever reason we don’t know) someone (probably Jensen Ackles) put up a fight and complained that Misha should be there for the final episode. The writers probably tried to come up with a way to bring Misha back without having to deal with Cas, and pitched the idea of Jimmy Novak being in Heaven. Misha, obviously annoyed about this, turned this stupid pitch down.

3. Destiel was never a thing, never planned, never part of Dabb’s ending. Bobo and Misha pushing the confession was the part of the season that was Wrong.

False: We have a SPN writer on record saying that Castiel’s confession was the first thing written for Season 15 when the writers returned to the writers room. If it wasn’t planned, why was it the first thing written, why does it align so well with the rest of season 15? Look I know some people either a. hate destiel and refuse to see it even if it slaps them in the face, or b. have major heteronormative goggles on, or c. are just homophobes in denial, but 15x18 fits in perfectly with the narrative of season 15. Everything Cas says, everything that happened in that scene was so in character it just works. It fit. If you just rewatch the season whilst applying some critical thinking skills and pay attention to the narrative and character arcs, trust me, the confession fits in with pretty much every other plot point, and character story in the season.

Also: We have known for a while that the network did market research into Destiel, wanting to know if it would go down well or not. They were well aware of its popularity and considering it. Where would this have come from if not pitched by the showrunner? Dabb must have at least been considering it. If you take all of Dabb era into consideration, starting with mid season 11, all the way through the season 12 build up, season 13 grief arc, and then Bobo’s Destiel break up arc in late season 14, early season 15, it is clear that there was some toing and froing on the issue of Destiel, but ultimately, I still believe that Dabb was on board. He wrote 13x01 for christs sake. No way he wasn’t taking it seriously.

4. It’s always been about the brothers. The finale just stays true to what Supernatural is all about.

*rubs temples* Fundamentally FALSE: The show has time and again reasserted the message of “Family don’t end with blood”, as well as the messages of AKF and YANA. Sam and Dean may be at the heart of the show, but a heart can’t exist without a body to support it. Without bones, and lungs, and blood, and muscles, and a BRAIN. The finale abandons the shows core messages. It forces the characters back into their season 1 characterisations and the whole thing becomes hollow and souless. But I’m not here to complain, I’m here to lay down the facts. Dean’s heaven was supposed to be surrounded by loved ones right? We know OG Charlie Bradbury was gonna be in his Heaven, we also know CAS was gonna be in there. So this idea that the finale as it currently stands was how it was meant to be is wrong. Dean was supposed to die and reunite with his found family and loved ones. This alone would have been a far better ending than the one given. Do I think this was solely a covid issue? Fuck no.

The randoms that WERE in the finale are proof alone that they could have got people in and quarantined. We also have several actors on record saying that they WOULD have quarantined for the finale had they been asked to return but they WEREN’T.

Lies have been told. Samantha Ferris and Chad Limberg have confirmed that we have been lied to about the original plans for the finale.

This alone is proof enough that there is more plausibility in some of the conspiracy theories than any bullshit narrative some people are pushing in defence of the barbaric mess of a finale we were given.

So lets address some of the conspiracy theories now:

Conspiracy No.1: The CW Network reviewed Supernatural during the covid break, and due to homophobia, refused any Destiel arc that wasn’t already filmed, shut down any potential reciprocation from Dean, and forced Dabb to change his finale.

I don’t think this is entirely what happened. But I do think it is very strange how there is a such a huge disconnect particularly in Dean’s characterisations between what had come before the lockdown, and what came after. The one fact we have here, and please someone provide a source if you can find it because I know there is one, the finale script was still going through changes up to only 2 weeks before it was filmed. We know that there was some weird editing in 15x18 (which was still in post and uncompleted before lockdown) and we know from Jensen’s own mouth that there was more to the confession scene on Dean’s side that was cut. We also know that this isn’t the first time that Destiel heavy moments have been changed in post - the prayer scene is another big scene that went through a lot of changes and Bobo fought to have his script play out the way he wanted it.

There are certain things that in my own opinions, are basically true of SPN which I have put together from years of keeping one eye on the writers room, the network, and all the various comments made. My opinion is this:

The writers room has always been split on Destiel. Some writers heavily supported making it canon, others did not care, or were against it.

The Network considered it over the course of several years, did market research, green lit it, then changed their minds, possibly several times over the course of Dabb’s era. Destiel was pitched to the Network early in Dabb era.

The crew on set were also split. Some people heavily supported it, and worked to assist the reading, whereas others did not care/did not support it. The same can be said for the editing room.

Bob Singer supported the subtextual homoeroticism, but never supported bringing it into text (this is an opinion, but I think it aligns with everything we know about him.) IMO Bob Singer also supported subtextual homoeroticism between Sam and Dean - the guy is gross is what I’m saying. He isn’t exactly a progressive person.

Fun fact - a while back our old enemy Sera Gamble went on a Twitter rant about writers rooms and the ways a script goes through changes. I don’t think this was in relation to the SPN finale wank but she basically inadvertantly confirmed that the Network can step in and make sweeping changes to a script if they want to and if they decide they don’t like the direction of a story. Sera Gamble confirmed this as a fact.

Now. I’m not saying that this is what the CW did with Destiel. I just think its very strange how pre lockdown, the last thing filmed is a heartfelt homosexual declaration of love between Dean and Cas, and we have a finale script that Misha had not seen, but knew that he was meant to film as Castiel for 5 days (5 days on set is over half of an episode as far as I know). Then all of a sudden, Covid happens, and Cas is cut from the finale completely, a desperate attempt to bring Misha back only as Jimmy Novak takes place, which Misha rightly refuses, leading to a finale which makes zero sense narratively and appears in every way completely and utterly butchered.

The only explanation provided by anyone involved is that Covid meant changes had to happen - but that covid didn’t change the actual story at all.

But this makes no sense because we know that Cas was cut from the finale. This is FACT. Do not let anyone gaslight you into thinking otherwise. Misha was preparing to quaranting to return to set as Cas post Covid, so whatever happened to cut Cas from the finale, it wasn’t Covid.

I’m gonna have to Occum’s Razor this and say that the most logical explanation here is the one that is most likely true. Someone got cold feet with the Destiel story, and to prevent any possible interpretation that included Dean reciprocating, any hints of Destiel were removed from the finale script, including Castiel’s whole appearance.

Now, this isn’t me saying I think that Dabb’s original finale was full of Destiel love confessions and a homosexual kiss or whatever, but I am asking you all to really think about it and ask yourselves WHY Cas would have been totally cut from an episode he was supposed to be in at LEAST half of?

We will probably never know the real reason Cas was cut, but he WAS cut. I’m not saying it was all homophobia, but some fuckery went down.

Conspiracy No. 2: The CW Network changed the finale to make it into a Walker promo because they only cared about raising up Jared and not Jensen and Misha as they were losing them anyway.

I don’t agree with this in terms of the finale being butchered solely to make it into a Walker promo. There are however moments in the finale that are clearly supposed to be Walker Easter Eggs and added to excite fans of Jared/Sam in particular such as Sam’s gratuitous and unnecessary topless scene, as well as the call on the “case in Austin”.

I will take this moment to say something pretty damn controversial though.

*Deep breath*

The fact is, Dean Winchester has been the “lead” character of Supernatural’s narrative for years now, with Sam often being sidelined and not given great storylines himself. Even in Season 15, right up until the finale, I myself felt bad for Sam sometimes because so much of this show has become all about Dean. Jensen Ackles is clearly the better actor when it comes to emotional story arcs, so the emotional heart of the story has most often leant on him.

So you can understand my confusion, when this is turned on its head in the final episode, to make Sam carry all the emotional weight, and have the most lines/screentime, and story resolution (even if his story resolution was just as crappy as Dean’s).

If we pretend that Destiel is not a thing, and ignore Cas’s confession, the story change in the finale from Dean focus to Sam focus is still rather suspicious. Again, I’m not saying I completely approve of or agree to the conspiracy theory that Walker influenced the butchering of the script, but I can believe that perhaps a note went down from the CW to someone like Bob Singer, to emphasise Sam/Jared more than they perhaps would normally, because the CW wanted to shine the spotlight on Jared to raise excitement for Walker.

I can also believe this note might have said something like “we wanna cater to fans of Sam/Jared the most - don’t do anything to piss them off.” but now I am getting into my own conspiracy theories so by all means dismiss this as me being bitter.

Conspiracy No.3: Dabb purposely made it bad, as a secret message to Destiel fans that he had been silenced, by layering meta clues into the episode that he knew fans would notice.

I doubt this one is true. Though some of the theories are quite compelling. The old vampire silent movie theory for instance starts off quite well, but loses me the moment it brings up Urban Dictionary slang.

Sometimes I have just had to accept that Supernatural is a bad show that is sometimes accidentally a masterpiece. However, some writers really did go That Deep with their stories - anything by Ben Edlund or Steve Yockey for instance, their episodes are meta masterpieces with a hundred different layers of beautiful subtextual storytelling and are a joy to analyse. Bobo Berens has certainly done some A+++ work especially now we KNOW that he was working hard all this time to bring Destiel to canon text (so any analysis of Destiel in the subtext in his episodes is very accurate). There have been many other key elements analysed over the years which have been confirmed true. Cas’s death in Season 12, Dean’s time as a demon in season 10, Season 11 ending in unity of dark and light, these were all plot points predicted by meta writers just by analysing the narrative. Sometimes the writers really have been very smart and they do add things to the show to aid us in our meta.

Richard Speight Jr for instance, confirmed that SPN has a visual library that the production team use to give clues and hints in the narrative. Pizza, for example, always means a lie has been told. Whenever Pizza is being eaten or even just mentioned on screen, there is dishonesty in that particular moment.

The beers also have a very specific message and the one thing I can’t let go about the finale, was that Dean was drinking El Sol beer. The beer his dad gave him, that was terrible.

El Sol has been used in the show to indicate something being wrong, a fake reality, or another lie, for the longest time. It is the beer of deception.

The fact that in the final episode of this entire show, Dean is in Heaven, supposedly at peace, and then he gets handed an El Sol beer to drink? Thats a HUGE red flag for any meta writer watching who can read SPNs visual library.

If they had given him the Margiekugel beer of family then it would make sense. Dean is in Heaven, with Bobby, his family, at peace. Margiekugel should have been the beer of choice. But nope. El Sol. Something is wrong.

I don’t know if it was Dabb, or Singer, or some disgruntled ADs and crew members who added these elements into the finale, but their very presence confirms some message of Wrongness.

I could go into a huge rant about Vampire Mimes not making sense and the very glaringly obvious symbolism of cutting out peoples tongues too, but that is high school level film analysis. It’s obvious. It means to silence someone. There is validity in interpreting this as Dabb saying he was silenced. I don’t know how true it is, but i can’t 100% dismiss it, because as I said, this is high school analysis levels of obvious subtextual storytelling.

So in summary, whilst I don’t think that Dabb intentionally went out of his way to sabotage his own script, and leave a breadtrail of secret messages for savvy fans to put together to confirm that he was silenced by an evil network into not getting what he wanted... I do think that there is validity in questioning these odd choices for the finale. Cutting out tongues? Vampire Mimes? El Sol beer?

The evidence is somewhat compelling is all I’m saying. I don’t believe the full conspiracy theories, but as I have said many times before, some fuckery went down.

So What Do I Believe?

That some fuckery went down and whatever company line they are pushing is bullshit.

I believe that the original script included Cas (since thats fact). I believe that the original script probably always had Dean dying on a vampire hunt (due to Jensen’s issues with it and in particular, his sarcastic comments about vampires in the past year or so which in hindsight are hilarious and prove he never really came to terms with Dean’s idiotic death). I believe Dabb’s original script was some less crappy version of what we got, which potentially included showing Jack rescuing Cas from the Empty and resolving the outstanding Empty plot points (potentially this was actually a 15x19 plot since Mark P commented that his final scenes were supposed to be with Jack and Cas), had Cas reunite with Dean in Heaven and had them have a discussion about Cas’s confession. I believe that there was probably a lot of back and forth over how to handle that with some people wanting Dean to obviously reciprocate and others believing they should keep it ambiguous. I believe that Dean and Cas would have reunited with Charlie Bradbury, and Bobby Singer, and possibly others (though if this was the case it must have been very early on since no one ever looped in Sam Ferris, Chad Linberg or any other Roadhouse people).

I believe that Sam’s ending probably didn’t change much, but I do feel that initially they were planning on him ending up with Eileen, because it is the only thing that narratively makes sense. Cutting Eileen and giving him a blurry wife is something I won’t ever understand and Jared’s bullshit explanations are quite clearly pulled out of his ass to appease bronly types. I believe the reunion on the bridge would have included Cas and Jack, with a final shot of all four of them together, at peace (as this aligns with Alex’s comments from around a year or so ago that the final shot was all four of them). (I also am not sure it was always supposed to be on a bridge since the foreshadowing in an earlier episode showed Dean, Cas and Sam all in the Roadhouse together).

I believe that script went through countless changes and redrafts, and not even production people or the types that some fandom people claim as their “sources” would even have seen those early scripts, since even Misha never saw it. I believe that these rumours of Dabb never having Cas in his finale and ignoring all Destiel elements likely come from people who only saw later versions, weren’t party to network discussions and felt bitter about the final scripts they did see (being the crappy butchered one that was ultimately filmed). Those “sources” are now spreading rumours to discredit Dabb.

I obviously believe Dabb is a weak ass pushover who either didn’t care enough to fight back, or gave up since he’s been stuck with fucking Bob Singer on his back for years, but I will NEVER believe he didn’t care about the DeanCas love story, because he has been one of the few writers who has championed for it for years. You can’t look back at Dabb’s episodes in earlier seasons and claim he didn’t care. Dabb was a writer whose creative ideas were beaten out of him by an unforgiving Network only concerned about where their future money was coming from. Do I think he gave up too easily? Yes. But I also have one other huge reason for not believing the bullshit about Dabb being this anti-Destiel villain.

Bobo. Because if Bobo truly believed Dabb was gonna fuck that up at the end, I don’t think he would have given us Cas’s love confession to begin with. If he had known it was gonna end like that, I think he would have reconsidered, because had Cas not confessed his love, I don’t think he would have been cut from the finale. Bobo - a gay man, would not have wanted such a horrible message for queer fans being put across in the show he worked so hard on. He started writing that confession scene the day they returned to the writers room. Dabb would have been there, would have seen what he was writing, probably discussed it with him, after all, other episodes were written with the confession in mind. No way was Dabb planning to fuck up the ending knowing what Bobo was giving us. Nope.

Something went very wrong over lockdown. Someone, somewhere up the chain of power caught wind of the confession scene in 15x18, realised that it demanded a resolution which would make Dean Winchester, their protagonist, queer, and pulled the plug. I believe this did not come from a place of homophobia, but of bad business sense.

The CW is constantly trying to win the approval and attention of the one demo group that they seem to fail at getting the most: young straight men. Supernatural was one of their only remaining shows that appeals to young straight men, and Dean Winchester is more often than not the fave character of those young straight men who project onto him. Making Dean Winchester, established Han Solo of Supernatural, queer and in love with his best friend in the finale would have come across as a betrayal to those young straight men. The CW probably feared they would lose that demo group for good, and with a show like Walker starting soon with Jared at the helm, they couldn’t take the risk.

Hence there was probably a whole bunch of back and forth script redrafts with the Network, with Dabb and Singer fighting to make a finale that would appeal to everyone. There was most likely no way that they could bring Cas back without addressing what had already been filmed, because any resolution of that plot would either a. make Dean queer, or b. address it awkwardly by having Dean reject Cas (this storyline would probably have been slammed by critics worse than the finale because it meant addressing it. It might have got the attention of LGBTQ activist groups and caused a bigger shitstorm than what we got). The best option was therefore C. Bury it and Cas, pretend it never happened. Never address it again and distract Dean with other things. Hope that Destiel fans will accept no answer from Dean as ambiguous enough to imagine a future reunion rather than shutting it down with a rejection, and still keep hold of the blissfully ignorant heteronormative straight boys so they can carry over to Walker when it starts.

I also believe (controversially probably) that there was concern that any resolution of Dean and Cas would have overshadowed network darling Jared Padalecki. If Dean and Cas had come together in the finale, with a very clearly textual homosexual reunion, then that would have been all anyone talked about. The reviewers, the critics, the audience, everyone. It would have been nothing but Dean and Cas (and look, if they did think this, they were right, Destiel trending over the US ELECTION.)

So what is the network to do, when they are losing the two stars who would get the most attention from this storyline? The one star they were holding on to and getting his own show, relegated to third place in the finale of the show where he was first on the call sheet? Nope. That’s pretty unacceptable. Even without Walker I can imagine people at all levels side eyeing the Destiel thing over the years. This IS a show about two brothers, and their relationship should be the core relationship, we can’t have one brother pushed aside in the finale to make way for a queer relationship that will get all the attention instead. It was never gonna get approved for this reason ALONE.

At the end of the day, if I look at it from a business perspective, it makes far more sense that the CW shut down Destiel, rather than “oh Dabb never cared and ruined it because he’s an idiot.” The writers cared, and had built on that story over years. But their mistake was leaving any Destiel resolution to the finale. If they had instead gone and got Dean and Cas together in early season 15, then they could have ended it in a way that satisfied everyone. Destiel wouldn’t have threatened pulling focus away from Sam and Dean, and the show could have gone out on a high.

When I lay out all the conspiracy theories, and line them up next to the cold hard facts, the conspiracy theories in some way or another, make more sense. To believe the company line, the narrative we have been fed, is to ignore your own eyes, ears, and memories pre March 2020.

All I’m asking people to do is take a look at the show, the narrative presented in the show, and the information presented above. I’m not telling you to believe what I’ve written here, half of which is just my own opinion. I’m asking you to ask yourselves if it makes sense to you. Because it sure as hell doesn’t make sense to me. I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied.

2K notes · View notes

leossmoonn · 3 years

Text

Unexpected Love [Kai Parker] || Part Two

masterlist | part one

pairing - kai parker x fem, human!reader

type - fluff, angst

note - read the first part, this cannot be read as a standalone! if you have read the first part then welcome back, thank you for reading the second part. so this part will be more focused on kai and the readers relationship and definitely all fiction lol (aka no actual scenes from the show) :) and part 3 is at the end!

summary - you and kai fall in love over a period of time after spending time with each other in the prison world

warnings / includes - language, alcohol, crying, fighting, mention/thinking of suicide, family trauma, lot of flirting in this one, suggestive, f/f = favorite flavour (of ice cream) lol

————

*gif isn't mine* (ugh hes so fine im dying)

I sat up straight and gasped, my eyes flying right open. I looked around frantically, sharp pain shooting right through my chest.

“Ow,” I whined, pressing my hand gently to my side.

“Oh, yeah. The first time you die here, it’ll hurt. I bet it’s not any different from what that ring does for you, though,” Kai’s voice ringed next to me.

My head snapped to him, memories of what he did to me flooding back.

“Get away from me!” I shouted, getting up out of the bed I was in.

“I did you a favour, Y/n. You should thank me!” He exclaimed.

“What favour! You robbed me of my only chance of getting home. Now we have no magic and the ascendent is broken!”

“Stop shouting. Ugh, you’re giving me a headache,” he whined.

I gave him a death glare. “You’re the one with the headache. You’re the one- I just… I’m going for a walk.”

I stomped out of the room, running down the stairs. I heard Kai’s footsteps from behind me. I walked as fast as I could without feeling any pain. Kai seemed to be full on sprinting, though, because he grabbed my wrist.

“Let me go!” I exclaimed. “Please, Y/n. I’m sorry,” Kai pleaded.

I jerked my body away from him. “Shove it, Malachai. If you want me to forgive you, then you better leave me alone right now.”

He looked at me with wide, fearful eyes. I didn’t wait for him to say anything. I turned on my heel and made my way out of the house and back to the woods. I stomped the whole way there, my hands balled in tight fists. My fingernails dug into my skin as tears stained my cheeks. I just could not believe Kai. I knew he was a sociopath and a dick, but I didn’t think he would try to rob me of my chance at happiness. It was stupid how I thought he would even think about someone else and not himself. Sometimes he made it seem like he did care, though. It also seemed as my attraction to him from the first time we met was still there. I needed to get rid of it. I needed to find a way to get out here. Without Kai.

I stopped walking as I realised I was deep in the woods. The cool breeze flew around me, calming me down. I closed my eyes and breathed out the air that I had been holding in. I opened my eyes to stare at the sky. It was a cloudless afternoon with bright sunshine. It was always like this. For the past few months this was all I had seen. I was more than sick of it. I wanted rain. Snow. Hail. Anything else but the sunshine for once.

I released my hands from their fists, reaching my right hand up to my side where Bonnie’s jacket still was. I let out a strangled, but happy sound. I unwrapped it from my body, seeing that it had a huge red blood spot that was mine. I ignored it and held it up to my face, hugging it closely to my chest.

“I’m getting out of here. I’m going home,” I promised to myself.

I stayed in the woods until the sun started to set. I spent my time walking around some more, making up a plan. I knew how the ascendent looked before it was broken, and I was sure that Bonnie’s grimoire, that was thankfully still here, had a diagram of some sort, too. I could just build it back up. I took a shop class in high school and used to build cars with my dad, so I was quite the mechanic. Getting it to work without magic was the hard part, though. I needed a Bennett witch to access the spell. I knew Kai still had some of Bonnie’s magic in him, but I couldn’t risk telling him the plan and having it work, only for him to leave me here again. Plus, it’s not like having him use Bonnie’s magic would actually work. He wasn't actually a Bennett. He just happened to have her magic in him.

I opened the door and stepped into the Salvatore house, looking around for Kai. I smiled, relieved that I couldn’t spot him anywhere. I shut the door behind me, kicking off my shoes and going to the liquor cabinet, popping off the top of a bottle of whiskey. I didn’t bother with a cup, I just downed it straight. The liquor burned my throat as I strutted to the kitchen, going over to the CD player and putting on Toni Braxton’s ‘Another Sad Love Song’.

I danced around and got out the ingredients for a strawberry cake. As Toni’s song came to an end, I heard the front door open. I groaned loudly, my mood dropping immediately. I left the kitchen to see what Kai was up to. I laughed incredulously as I saw him carrying multiple duffle bags and a backpack.

“Are you seriously moving in?” I asked.

“Yep,” he nodded. “What part of ‘leave me alone’ do you not understand? Do I need to spell it out for you so it can get through your thick skull?” I snapped, taking ahold of his arm and dragging him back to the front door.

“I understand!” He exclaimed. “Good. Then you’ll get out,” I sneered, pushing him out the door. I went to shut it, but his arm held the door open.

“I will smash your hand in this door,” I threatened.

“Yeah, I know, but hear me out. I can help you get back,” Kai said.

I scoffed, “I don’t want nor need your help. Get out.” I pushed the door further in his face. He dropped his bags and used both hands to keep it open.

“I know you don’t trust me and you have no reason to, but please. I still have Bonnie’s magic in me and I can fix the ascendent with her magic,” he begged. He pouted and put on his puppy dog face.

“No,” I said without any hesitation. “You get out of my life, okay? If I ever see you, hear you, or even smell you, you’re dead, okay?”

His eyes then filled with anger and frustration. “Fine!” He exclaimed. “You know, I only even wanted to help you because I want to get out of here. We both know that I would have only left you here alone.”

“Glad we’re on the same page, then,” I smiled sourly. “See you never.” And with that, I slammed the door in his face.

I sighed deeply, smiling in satisfaction. I went back to the kitchen and resumed my cake making.

A few hours later and I was finishing the last pieces of cake, and watching Forrest Gump.

“Life is like a box of chocolates, huh,” I muttered. “First I’m a regular girl with human friends and a family. And now I’m a girl who who has no family, vampires, werewolves, and witches for friends, and who is stuck in a never-ending prison world!”

I rolled my head around the couch ledge, my eyes looking out the window. It was pitch black now. The stars were shining brightly, many of them twinkling.

“Mom, Dad, Jenny, Andrew. Bonnie and Damon. If you’re out there, please help me. Send someone or something. I-I can’t do this alone, and I definitely don’t want Kai’s help. Please help me,” I cried out. I hugged a couch pillow and Bonnie’s jacket.

I hope someone could hear me up there. Otherwise I was screwed.

————

3 months later and I was still stuck in this hell-hole. Well, at least I think it had been 3 months. Ever since Kai kept me here, I had been counting the days. It had been approximately 90 days, give or take. I was beginning to think this was actually my own personal instead of Kai’s.

Speaking of Kai, he actually had been pretty good of avoiding me. In these 90 days, I have only ran into him twice. Once was while I was going for a morning jog and the other was when I was venturing into town, walking to the Mystic Grill and all the shops. During my stay, I have also been documenting my days with an old video camera I found. I knew that I would get out, but just in case, I would be able to have all those memories saved and if I died somehow and never came back and someone else got trapped here, they could see the glamorous life of Y/n L/n. Or what was left of it at least.

Today was going to be different, though. For the past few months, I had been sitting in my bedroom for most of the week, crying, talking to myself, screaming at the world. I had even considered killing myself once or twice, but I knew that I would only wake up in more pain and sadness. Every day I prayed and hoped for someone to come and find me. For my friends to find out a way to get to me, even though they didn’t have the ascendent or anything. It seems as more days past, the less and less hopeful I got, though. So, I decided that the only way I was getting out of here was to do it myself, regardless if I wasn’t a magical being.

And so right now, I was trying to build the ascendent. I was almost there, actually. It was just these little parts that were so frustrating to put back together.

“Go together, dammit!” I exclaimed out of frustration.

I put the device down, running my hands over my face, thinking of a solution. Maybe I should ask Kai for help.

No. That would only end up with me screaming at him the whole time and potentially killing him.

But he probably still had some go Bonnie’s magic left. He could help me get out. And plus, I could just push him away last minute when we go through the portal.

I groaned out of annoyance. I didn’t know what the right answer was. I thought I did. I thought I could do this by myself. But it turns out I can’t. It’s a lot harder than I thought and the fact that I’m a human doesn’t help either. I bit my lip in thought, racking my brain for an answer.

“You have to ask him to help, Y/n. It’s the only way,” I sighed to myself.

I got up from my seat and put on my shoes and jacket. I went out of the house and got into Damon’s Chevy, driving it to Kai’s house. I clenched the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white as I parked in his driveway. Just the thought of seeing him made my stomach churn. Thing was, I didn’t quite know if it churned in a good way or bad.

I stepped out of the car, putting the keys in my jacket pocket. I walked up to the door and gave it a good 3 knocks. A waited a few minutes, but no answer. I knocked a few more times and waited another few minutes. Still no answer.

“Seriously?!” I whined, raising my hand to pound on the door, but Kai’s voice stopped me.

“What are you doing here?”

I turned around and saw him carrying grocery bags.

“Oh. Good, you’re here,” I said, stepping down from his porch.

“You never answered my question. What are you doing here?” He asked.

“I need your help,” I confessed.

His lips upturned into a smile. He let out a laugh. “Wow. Princess Y/n has gotten over her pride, huh?”

“And sociopathic Parker still harasses me with nicknames, huh?”

Kai frowned and walked up to the porch, passing by me and unlocking his house.

“Sorry,” I sighed, following him into his house. “Will you please help me?”

“Hm, let me think about it,” he said, setting the grocery bags down. “No.”

I rolled my eyes. “C’mon! You barely thought about it. Why not?”

“Because I hate you,” he shrugged. “Why? What have I done to you?” I scoffed.

“Well, first of all you slammed a door in my face. Second, whenever we run into each other, you act like I murdered your whole family. And third, you denied my help before, but now you want it? I think not,” he explained.

“Look, I’m sorry. I really, really am, but I know for a fact that you want to get out. I want to, too! But I’ve learned that we can’t get out without each other. I’m sorry I let my pride take over me. So please help me,” I begged and apologised.

Kai grinned at me. “I love this.” “Love what?” I asked.

“I love seeing you beg,” he said, his voice dropping low. He started to walk towards me slowly. Stalking me like I was his prey.

I backed away from him, my eyes trained on him. I let out a huff as my back hit a wall. My eyes widened and stared into his menacing eyes.

“I love seeing you beg for me. Begging for my help like the helpless little human you are,” he muttered.

He arms went around your sides, trapping in-between him and the wall. I breathed out heavily and shakily, averting my eyes.

“I’m not helpless,” I protested. He smirked down at him, his eyes lighting up. “You sure about that, princess?”

The way he stressed my pet name set my fire to my heart, and set my stomach flipping. He head hung low. So low that I could fell his breath on my lips. I felt his knee nudge my thigh and that’s when I stopped breathing. I could fell myself slowly melting into a puddle right in front of him.

“You gonna answer me, sweetheart, or are you just gonna stand there gawking at me?” He chuckled.

I swallowed hard. “N-No.”

“Then answer me,” he teased me. “Y-Yeah… I’m sure about that,” I whispered.

He hummed in reply. I let my eyes roam his face and set on his lips.

“Offer is still there,” he said. “What offer?” I asked.

“The offer to kiss me. Remember when I offered when we first met?”

“O-Oh, yeah,” I stuttered, beginning to catch my breath

“The offer’s still there if you wanna take it.” My eyes flickered back up to his. I shook my head furiously. “I-I don’t want to take it.”

“Oh, I think you do,” he grinned.

I then snapped out of my daze, putting my hand on shoulders and pushing back. “I said no.”

“Alright, alright,” he held his hand up in defense, backing further away from me.

“Now you’ve had your fun, will you help me?” I asked, running my fingers through my hair.

“I guess so,” he shrugged. My eyes lit up, “Really? Oh, my God! Yes!”

I jumped up and went to hug him, wrapping my arms around him. I engulfed him tightly, entangling my fingers in his hair. It was surprisingly soft.

“This feels nice,” Kai sighed.

I groaned, “Okay. Moment ruined.” I pulled away, stepping back a good few feet.

“You hugged me first,” he shrugged. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Alright, so when do you want to get started?” I asked.

“After dinner,” he answered. “But it’s 2 pm,” I said.

“I know. But how about you and me have dinner together,” Kai explained.

“I thought you hated me?” I asked. “Oh, I do. I definitely do. That’s why I want to have dinner with you. I know just how to push your buttons. You’re so cute when mad,” he grinned.

I growled at him. “And you are so annoying.” “See! So cute,” Kai scrunched his nose.

“I bet it’ll be cute when I give you a black eye,” I muttered.

“It'd like to see you try. Anyways, if you want my help, then you’ll come to dinner with me,” Kai shrugged.

I sighed, “Fine. What time? What do I need to cook?”

“7 PM. And nope, I’ll cook.”

“O-Oh, really? You cook?”

“Yep,” he grinned proudly.

“Hm… Well, good to know. Anyways, I’ll be here at 7,” I said, making my way towards the door.

“Make sure to dress up! This is gonna be fancy!” Kai called out.

“Noted!” I exclaimed, stepping out of the house. I shut the door behind me, exhaling heavily. “Now you got a date with the town’s psycho, Y/n. Good going.”

I strutted over to the car, getting in and driving back to my place. I read a few books to pass the time until I had to get ready. I got done with Twilight: Eclipse, as I actually had already started that the other day, and I went ahead and started to read more into Bonnie’s grams’s grimoire.

It was all so fascinating, really. I was so amazed by just the spells themselves, I didn’t even consider the history of all of them. While reading the grimoire, I started to feel a little jealous of the fact that Bonnie’s a witch, and the fact that I’m a human with a ring that keeps me alive whenever I got killed. I almost started to feel jealous of Damon and Tyler, but I knew that I never would want to be a monster. Being a witch would seem nice, though. Not like Kai, though.

After a little heavy reading, I checked the clock. It was 5:49, which meant that I had to start getting ready. I put a bookmark in place in the grimoire and got up off the couch, heading up the stairs. I turned on the shower and got undressed.

I took off my sweatpants and socks, followed by my shirt. As I reached for my shirt overhead, the front of it brushed my nose. An unfamiliar, but calming scent filled my nose. I slipped the rest of the shirt off, turning it back right side out and held it up to my nose. I closed my eyes and breathed the scent in. It smelled like mint, paper of old books, and a little like grape jam. As soon as the grape jam smell came to me, I immediately knew who this scent belonged to.

“Ew!” I shrieked and threw the shirt across the room. It landed in the laundry basket, luckily enough. I let out a gagging noise, taking off my underwear and getting in the shower quickly.

I took my time washing up. Taking a shower seemed to be the only place I could really let go and bask in the quiet and loneliness that was in this house. It was strange because it was always quiet and lonely in this house. This was my only time to truly relax since I was doing everything to keep my busy during the day, so I wouldn’t start crying and throwing a fit about still being here.

I lathered my body with shampoo, giving myself a little massage on my shoulders. I closed my eyes and started to imagine what life would be like if I wasn’t stuck in 1994.

I would be with my friends, obviously. We would be at Whitmore, trying to live a normal life. Caroline, Elena, Bonnie and I would be having a picnic on campus. Sipping iced teas and eating sometime of desert. Damon would probably be with us, considering that Elena can’t be without Damon for more than 10 minutes without dying - literally. Stefan would most definitely be there. He’s my best friend, so of course he would be there. He would be talking to Caroline, though, her hogging all of his attention because she likes him (though she always denied it). And maybe Jeremy would be there, too, for Bonnie. Holding her hand and cuddling up next to her like the cute couple they are. And me? Well, I didn’t really have anybody special in my life. I actually had a thing with Kol Mikaelson before he died. I liked Tyler briefly in high school, but I’m 100% sure he’s into the girl that works at the coffee shop at Whitmore. Matt wasn’t my type at all. Neither was Enzo. Maybe I had a cute boy a Whitmore on my arm. A classmate that I had invited to the picnic. Someone cute, smart, funny… a little crazy. Maybe… Maybe Kai.

My eyes snapped open as I became aware that Kai was now in my fantasy. I couldn’t help but shudder, even with the hot water running on my skin. I washed the rest of my body, focusing on anything else but Kai. I turned off the water, wrapping a towel around me. I dried my skin off as I walked to the sink, putting on lotion and re-brushing my teeth. I stepped back into my bedroom and put on a nude-coloured underwear set. It was simple and very, very comfortable. I then went over to my closet, looking for an outfit to wear. I shuffled through all my shirts, not being able to find one that I liked. I sighed in slight frustration, stepping back to try and see if anything stuck out to me.

A little, annoying voice - that sounded much like my mother’s - sounded in the back of my head.

Maybe you can’t decide on an outfit because you like him and want to look nice for him.

I scoffed loudly, shaking my head. “No. I definitely do not care. That’s why I’m just gong to wear this.” I reached into my closet and pulled out a simple dark-turquoise dress. It was spaghetti-strapped and plunged a little bit at the neckline. It reached down just above my knees. Perfect for dinner with an… associate.

I slipped it on and back to the bathroom and did my hair, putting it in one of my favourite hairstyles. I then got out some makeup products. I put on a light coat of foundation and concealer, curling my eyelashes and brushing them up with mascara. I then shaped my eyebrows and filled in the sparce parts, dusting on some blush and putting on chapstick. I looked in the mirror, stepping back to look at my appearance. I cringed as it looked like I was going on a date. I shook those thoughts out of my head. I wasn’t dressing up for him, I was dressing up for myself. There’s no shame in wanting to look nice for yourself.

I went back into the bedroom and found a pair of black heels. I slipped them on, going over to the dresser and putting on a few gold bracelets and a pair of earrings. I re-adjusted my necklace that I was already wearing. I looked at my reflection and smiled. For once, I felt and looked good. I grabbed a black jacket and walked out of my room, checking the time once again. I had 10 minutes to get his house, which was perfect.

I went out of the house and to the Chevy, driving to Kai’s house. I parked in the driveway, my heart beginning to race. I let out a few deep breaths and go out of the car. As soon as I was about to knock, the door swung wide open.

The door revealed Kai who was wearing a white button-up shirt and dark-blue slacks. He actually looked… nice, for once. My eyes traveled around his chest. I couldn’t help but notice the way his biceps strained against his shirt. I could literally see his abs through the shirt, too. It did not help butterflies that were starting to flutter in my stomach.

“Like what you see?” He smirked.

My eyes flew up to his face, taking a deep breath to calm myself down from all the excitement I was feeling.

“No,” I said flatly, going into the house and brushing past Kai.

“Well, you look nice,” he said as I walked into his kitchen.

“Thanks. You do, too,” I complimented genuinely.

“I’ve never seen you in a dress before. You should wear them more often.”

“I don’t like dresses.”

“But you like me. That’s why you wore one to our date?”

I balled my hands in fists, turning around to face him. “One, this is not a date. And two, girls can wear dresses for themselves, not for men like you.”

Kai grinned widely at me. I realised I had fallen into his trap. He was trying to push my buttons and so far, he's been successful. I couldn't let him win, though. I had to calm down and get through this night. Otherwise I would probably never be getting out.

“Your temper is almost as bad as Damon’s,” Kai remarked.

I sighed, “Well you’re not making it easy to stay calm.”

“I know,” he chuckled, walking past me and to the dinner table. “I hope you like ravioli and mushrooms.”

“Did you make these or buy them?” I asked, walking towards the kitchen table.

“Made them. The Salvatores have lots of cook books. I might have stole them before you came,” he explained.

"Well, it smells great,” I admitted, beginning to take off my jacket.

“Glad you think so. Here, let me get this for you,” he slid over to me and took the jacket off my shoulders. He folded it and put it on the ledge of his couch.

“Thanks,” I said. He then pulled my chair out for me. I sat down, thanking him this time with a smile.

“Wine?” He asked, bringing a bottle over. “Yeah, sure,” I nodded.

He poured two glasses and placed one in front of me. He sat down and took a knife and fork.

“Dig in,” he offered. “This isn’t filled with like, cyanide, right?” I asked half-jokingly.

“Ha-ha. No. I worked really hard on these,” he said.

“Hm,” I hummed. I cut one of the raviolis in half and popped on in my mouth. My eyes widened as it tasted a lot better than I expected.

“Good, right?” Kai smiled.

“Very,” I nodded once I swallowed.

We ate in silence for a few moments. I was itching to talk to him about getting home. I took a long sip of wine before beginning to take.

“So um…. I’ve started to re-build the ascendent. It’s a lot harder than it looks, but I’m really close. I just have-”

“No,” Kai said suddenly. I furrowed my brows, “What?” “No, we aren’t going to talk about that just yet. I want to get to know you,” he explained.

I rolled my eyes. “Why? All you need to know is my name and that I hate living here.”

He chuckled, “Not true. I have trust issues. So before I get involved with you, I need to know I can trust you. See, I didn’t trust Damon or Bonnie. I knew that they hated me from the second they met me. I knew that no matter what I would do, they would never give in to trusting me. You, however, you are so trusting. Didn’t you find it creepy that I, a strange man whom you met in a parking lot, offered you a ride?”

“Oh. I-I mean, I guess? But I needed a ride, anyways,” I said.

He shook his head with a smile. “No. Not a good enough reason. Any reasonable woman would have run away from me. You, though… You saw something good in me, didn’t you? You thought I was nice and cute. Maybe a little too forthcoming, but still you put some trust in me. And if you can trust me, maybe I can learn to trust you.”

“Is that why you didn’t let me go with them?” I asked, suddenly connecting the dots.

“Part of the reason. I knew that I had no chance of getting home with Damon and Bonnie. But with you, I knew that I had a chance. Even though you are just a human.” “I am more than that,” I argued.

“And I’m sure you are! But you see, I don’t know that for sure because I don’t know anything about you. See what I’m getting at here?” “Yeah, I see,” I grumbled. “Great! So let’s start with the first question. Why do you always wear that necklace?” He pointed to my neck.

“It was a gift,” I explained shortly, hoping he would notice the edge in my voice.

“From who?” He asked, the corners of his lips upturning in a smirk.

Of course he noticed. He just wasn’t going to stop.

“Family member.” “C’mon, you gotta give me more. I can’t help you if I don't trust you.” I slammed my fork down on the table. “So? There’s a lot of people in the world that you don’t trust fully, but sometimes you just have to help them! Like in school, you may not trust one of your classmates personally, but if they ask you for help on a math problem, you would help them, right? And plus, I don’t trust you. I never did, for the record. I just really want to get out of this place, which now I am believing is my personal hell, not your’s, but I can’t do that without you!”

Kai took a bite of his ravioli, taking his sweet time to chew and swallow. I clenched my knife, tempted to throw it into his carotid.

“Watch your temper, princess. If you keep yelling at me, then I definitely won’t help you.” I closed my eyes and breathed in slowly, trying to calm myself down. “Fine. Sorry. I just don’t want to answer the questions about my necklace.”

“Oh, I know. That’s why I’m asking,” he grinned.

I rolled my eyes, settling back in my seat. “Please, don’t. It’s really personal.”

“You know, I killed my family. It can’t get any worse than that,” he shrugged.

“Yeah, well, this is worse to me,” I muttered. “What? Did you kill your whole family, too? Man, I didn’t know we were so similar,” he chuckled.

“No. They got murdered right in front of me,” I whispered out. Tears prickled the corners of my eyes. I lowered my gaze to my almost-empty plate. Thick, uncomfortable silence filled the room. I tried to fight the tears that threatened to fall, but as memories came back, I could no longer hold them off.

“I-I’m gonna go. Thanks for dinner, Kai.” My voice was hoarse as I spoke. I swallowed hardly, trying to clear my throat, but it felt like shards of glass were rubbing the sides of it.

I went to grab my jacket and wrapped it around me, reaching out for the doorknob, but Kai pulled me back. He wrapped his fingers around my wrist gently, but firmly. He tugged me back slightly, enough for me to turn around and look him in the eyes. The expression on his face was something that I had never seen on him before. He looked regretful, guilty; full of remorse. For once I didn’t feel annoyed or scared of him.

“I’m sorry that happened to you,” he spoke softly, his blue eyes boring into my e/c eyes.

“I-It’s alright. It’s not your fault,” I sniffled. “No… I-I should have known this was too personal for you to want to share,” he admitted.

“Yeah, well, I know how much you like to push my buttons,” I chuckled.

“I do. I admit that. But I really do want to get to know you.” I narrowed eyes at him, crossing my arms around my chest and leaning back in my chair. “Why?”

“Because I… I think you’re interesting. When I was watching you and your friends, I was able to discover things. Things about Bonnie and Damon. But you… I couldn’t figure out a thing about you. You talk a lot to Damon, and I know you’re really close with Bonnie, but you’re still so private. I’m such an open person, so it was weird for me to see you be so closed-off, but outgoing at the same time,” he explained, his cheeks glowing pink as soon as he finished.

I couldn’t believe what I had heard him say. He was finally saying nice things about me in a sincere tone. I couldn’t help but smile and softened up. “Really?”

“Yeah,” He shrugged sheepishly. “Hm,” I buzzed.

“So, will you stay and we can get to know each other? I promise I won’t ask you about your family anymore,” he said.

I stared at him intensely. As much as I wanted to say no, every fiber in my body was screaming yes.

“Alright, sure. I’ll stay,” I nodded. I knew that if I said no, he probably wouldn't help me get back home, but I was actually looking forward to staying. It seemed as though my feelings for him were developing a lot quicker and stronger than I thought they ever would.

A bright smile lit up his face immediately. “Great! Do you want to continue eating? I have some ice cream, too, if you want.”

“Ice cream sounds good,” I answered. He nodded and let go of my wrist, walking to his freezer.

I felt alone and cold all of the sudden. I felt myself start to miss his hand on me, holding my arm. His skin was so warm and surprisingly soft. I wanted him to touch me all over.

“Take a seat on the couch.” His voice broke me out of my dirty thoughts.

I shrugged away the thoughts and made my way to the sofa, taking a seat and making myself comfortable.

“Do you want a blanket of anything?” He asked, setting down two bowls.

“I’m good for now, thanks,” I said, reaching her to grab a bowl. “F/f?” I asked.

“Yeah. This one of the few things I found out about you,” he smiled sheepishly, taking his bowl and sitting down next to you.

“Indeed I do. I assume you do, too?” I guessed. “Yep,” he nodded. “Hm. So, what do you want to know about me?” I asked.

“What’s your favourite colour?”

“F/c.” “Do you have any pets back at home?” He asked.

“I had a cat a few years ago. She died, though.” “Oh, I’m sorry,” he frowned. “It's alright. She was 20, so she was bound to die soon,” I shrugged.

He nodded. “What’s life like back at home?”

I took a bite of ice cream, thinking for a few moments. “Fun. Busy, but really happy and colourful.”

“Are you in college?” He asked. “Yeah. Second year,” I answered. “What’re you studying?”

“I’m majoring in human studies and minoring in art and design.” “Sounds fun.”

“It is. And a little stressful,” I chuckled. He laughed with me, looking away from me for a moment and then looking back.

“Do you have a boyfriend, or girlfriend, back at home?” He asked.

“Nope. I’ve been single for a good couple years,” I said.

“You? Single? I find that hard to believe,” he snorted. “Why?” I asked, my heart fluttering just thinking about his answer.

Kai smiled softly at me. “Well, for starters, you’re beautiful. You’re strong and confident. You know what you want and have no issue in fighting for it. You’re a little hot-headed, but I find it attractive. You’re very smart; I see you reading almost everyday. You’re determined and dream big. I can tell you really care about your friends and family, despite how much you and Damon bickered. You’re like a girl in a novel or movie that other girls want to be.”

My whole face went warm at his explanation. My lips were upturned into the most cheek-aching smile, too.

“And you said it was hard to find things out about me,” I giggled, nudging his foot with mine.

“Well, I couldn’t find out personal things about you. That's all just from observation,” he shrugged, not seeming to be embarrassed.

I nodded, “Well, now you know a few personal things about me.”

“That I do.” “I…. I thought you liked Bonnie, too,” I spoke my thoughts out loud.

“She’s beautiful, too. She’s also incredibly smart and intuitive. She’s very strong and nice. But you’re the one that really caught my eye.”

“Oh,” I smiled impossibly wider. “Well, good to know.” “Yep,” he popped the ‘p’. I couldn't help but notice how his gaze dropped down to my upper chest, where my necklace sat.

“They died one and a half years ago,” I started.

His eyes flew up to mine. “You don’t have to-”

“No, no. It’s alright. Um… so it was at night. Everyone else was at the house, but I had snuck out to go to a party hosted by Caroline. At this time, I was involved with a vampire named Kol. He convinced me to go out. I knew it was wrong and I was going to get in trouble. I was what some would call a goody-two shoes. Anyways, I stayed out until like, 2 in the morning. I was getting tipsy and tired. So, Stefan, Damon’s brother, drove me home. When I first arrived at my house, it looked completely normal. It was quiet and peaceful. It wasn’t until I walked into my house when I knew something was wrong. There were lights on upstairs. It felt so tense, too. I could literally feel how tense and thick the air was.” I stared down at my ice cream for multiple minutes, blinking rapidly as tears fell.

“I went upstairs and that’s when I saw him. He was tall and wearing a ski-mask, like he was trying to rob us. I guess he had other things he wanted to do, too. He didn’t see me at first, though. It wasn’t until he shot my dad when I started to cry and that’s when he noticed me. I ran away though and into my sibling’s room. I saw that they were still were asleep and safe. So I did the first thing I thought was sensible. I called Stefan. I explained to him that someone had murdered my dad. And as I called him, I heard my mom scream,” I shuddered as her scream ringed in my ears.

“That’s when I heard the door being kicked open downstairs and I knew that Stefan was there. He had brought Caroline and Damon, too, with Bonnie. They were all here to help and I was so appreciative of them. I thought they were going to kill the guy, which was honestly what I wanted. But apparently, the murderer was a vampire. An old one, too, which meant he was stronger than everyone. My friends put up a good fight and I tried to get Andrew and Jenny out of the house, but as soon as we were going down the stairs, the murderer sped up to us and snapped both of their necks. I-It all happened so fast. I….I just couldn't register what was happening. They both just fell limp in my arms. I didn’t know what to do but cry. I was practically screaming while crying, cursing at the murderer. I tried to fight him, but I was so tired and weak, he almost ended up killing me, but luckily Stefan got to him the fastest and ripped his heart out. He fell right on top of me, too. I will never forgetting the weight I was feeling just then. Metaphorical and physical. I pushed him off of me and collapsed into Stefan’s arms. He held me for what seemed like forever until I stopped crying.”

I felt Kai move closer to me, putting a comforting hand on my hand. I smiled softly at him, letting out a deep breath as I was about to finish the story.

“I didn’t come to school for four months after that. I didn’t even come out of my room during that time. My friends took turns everyday taking care of me. Stefan was on cooking duty, Caroline, Elena, and Bonnie switched roles of helping me bathe, getting me to eat, trying to get me to take a step out of bed. Damon and Jeremy provided the jokes and funny stories to try and get me to feel better. Alaric, who was acting like Elena and Jeremy’s parent, adopted me into their family. He said it was Elena and Jeremy’s idea and he agreed fully. After my grieving period, I moved in with the Gilberts. Elena and Jeremy called me their sister and I fell into that role. It was nice to have a family again. It was nice to have siblings again. To have a parent again. I knew it wasn’t real, though. Jeremy and Elena acted like it was real, though. They were so welcoming of having me as a sister, it was just so good. Once I went to college, though, I tried to get a little more independent. Bonnie was gone, actually, so all I had was Caroline and Elena. But we made it work. I’m so thankful for all of them. They really helped me and never gave up on me. Even when I threw fits about getting out of bed,” I smiled at the memories of them helping me.

“Anyways,” I shifted on the couch. “The summer before college, I ended up cremating my family and spreading them across the Pacific Ocean, thanks to Damon who gladly took me on a trip.”

“Wow,” Kai breathed out. “I know,” I chuckled.

“You have really great friends. I’m sorry that all happened to you,” he said. “I-I can’t imagine what you went through. And what you’re still going through.” “Yeah, well, I’m the survivor here. You’re an actual murderer,” I smirked.

He laughed, “True. You know, if you know that I’m a murderer, then why do you agree to spend time with me?”

I sighed and set the empty bowl of ice cream on the table. “Well, you’re right. I am trusting. I see the good in people and I see the good in you. When I was about to walk out the door, I saw the good in you. I see the good in you now. You can be good, Kai. I know it’s hard considering what you have been through, but you are just as much as a survivor as I am.” I intertwined our fingers and put my other hand on his forearm.

“You were abused as a child. You were punished for being different. And although that doesn’t excuse you killing your siblings, you still deserve love. I don’t know how being in a coven works, but I do know how being in a family works. You’re supposed to love each other and your father didn’t give you that love. Sure, you’re a little… eccentric at times, but you still have feelings like everyone else. I know Damon and Bonnie called you a sociopath, and I know I did, too, but now that I’ve seen this side of you, I know you’re different. You should be able to resent your father for being blamed for being a siphoner. Which, by the way, I think it really cool, honestly. I-I’m sorry for yelling at you and getting really mad all those times,” I apologised, looking at him in the eyes to know I was sincere.

He shrugged with a smile, “Well I didn’t make it easy on you.”

I laughed, “No, you did not. Anyways… You are a survivor Kai. A survivor of your family and this world. You deserve a lot more than you think.”

“Thank you. I guess that’s true,” he said.

I smiled and leaned into him, “I know it’s true.”

He smiled at me, his hand tightening around mine. My eyes trailed down to his lips, ogling them for a good few moments.

“Does the necklace has pictures of them?” Kai asked.

I leaned away immediately, my hand slipping out of his. “Yeah, do you want to see them?”

He nodded, moving closer to me so our thighs were touching. I took off the necklace, opening it up and showing him the left side where my parent’s picture sat.

“That’s my dad, Owen, and that’s my mom, Louisa,” I pointed.

“You look just like your mom,” Kai muttered.

I looked to my right, seeing that he was staring right at me. I blushed a little, looking down shyly. “Yeah. We got our genes from our mom.”

“Are they Andrew and Jenny?” He pointed to the right side of the locket.

“Yep. Andrew is 10 and Jenny is 13,” I said.

“They look like good kids,” he commented. “They were. I often wish that it was me who died instead of them,” I murmured.

“Why?”

“Because I was the one who snuck out that night. Plus, my mom and I were having some relationship issues. She was always so irritated with me and criticizing everything I did. The last thing I said to her that night was “I hate you. I wish I had a different mom.”,” My lips were pulled down in a deep frown.

“Well, you didn’t mean that, right?” Kai guessed.

“I didn’t,” I shook my head. “Well, that’s all that matters,” he said.

I nodded and looked up at him.

“You have a little… Here,” he said and lifted up his hand. He cupped my cheek, his thumb running across my cheekbone, wiping a few tears away.

My breath hitched as I felt myself leaning towards him. There was like this magnetic pull that I was feeling. I knew I couldn’t fight it if I tried. His eyes met mine, staring intensely at me. My eyes flickered down to his lips. They looked so soft. So pink. So unbelievably kissable. I was about to close the space in-between us when Kai stopped me.

He put his hand on my shoulder, pushing me back.

“What? Did I read the situation wrong? I’m so sorry,” I rushed out, getting up from the couch.

Kai’s hand grabbed my forearm roughly, pulling me back down on the couch.

“No, it’s not that. You read the situation totally right it's just that… I’ve never kissed anyone before,” he admitted, looking down shyly.

I smiled softly, reaching my hand out for his. “It’s alright. We don’t have to do anything. It’s late, anyways. I should get going.” I looked at the clock, noticing that it was 9:30.

“Or you can stay and we can watch a movie?” He suggested. “Sure,” I nodded with a smile. “Can I take my shoes off?” “Yeah, of course. Actually um, do you want a change of clothes?” He asked.

“Yeah, if you don’t mind,” I nodded.

“Sweatpants and t-shirt work for you?” He asked.

“It definitely does,” I said. “Great. I’ll be right back, go ahead and make yourself comfortable,” he said, getting up from the couch.

I smiled and nodded, taking my shoes and jacket off. I leaned back on the couch, sighing. I could not believe I was making nice with someone who tried to kill me. Damon was right. My type is crazy.

————

Like and Reblog!

Part Three is right here!

taglist form

@123cxcv @mrsobrien888 @happinessisabutterflyx @mrs-parker-1972

#kai parker #kai parker x reader #kai parker imagines #kai parker fluff #kai parker smut #kai parker x reader fluff #kai parker angst #kai parker x reader angst #kai parker x reader smut #chris wood #chris wood imagines

276 notes · View notes

wilmakins · 2 years

Text

The One MCU Rumour That Bothers Me - And Why

Self indulgent and introspective rant about *that* MoM casting rumour under the cut - be aware of potential 'spoilers' and unnecessary length.

So, those of you that follow me probably know that I’m pretty laid back.

Okay, granted, I can still get angry over CACW 5 years on (it’s my hyper fixation, what can I tell you?) but even my rants on that topic are, I think, pretty balanced – and certainly free from any ‘I hate Marvel/this is a crime against cinema/they’re never getting any of my money again’ hyperbole.

I don’t comment casting rumours. I don’t have a defined way that I want to see the MCU play out, I don’t get involved in fandom drama or comment on other peoples’ HCs, I don’t go on angry twitter rants about every choice I disagree with – I even kept my mouth shut about Steve’s ending, FFS.

I have always felt that being a fan of the MCU should be a light-hearted thing, an enjoyable thing, and – although it’s meant a lot to me, and helped me make some long lasting and genuine friendships – to be honest, I’ve never thought of it as being that deep…

And yet, the rumour that Tom Cruise is going to be playing a Tony Stark Variant in MoM has… bugged me. Like, actually nagged at me – to the point that I’ve actually left comments on some of the news stories about it. Which I never do…

And, of course, the response to these comments has been predictable. Amongst the many people who share my anxiety, there are also plenty of people to tell me ‘It’s not recasting Tony Stark, it’s just a variant’, that ‘It’s not all about RDJ, and you fangirls need to be less obsessive’, that ‘Iconic roles are recast all the time – look at the Joker and Batman’.

And, you know, I might feel better if any of that was the source of my discomfort… But it really isn’t.

For one, I’m not actually a Robert Downey Jr Fangirl. I’m a Tony Stark fangirl. And although I fell in love with RDJs portrayal of him, to me, he’s just an avatar for the fictional creation I love. I couldn’t tell you the first thing about RDJ. I don’t know his kids names. I couldn’t name more than 2 other movies he’s been in (only one of which I’ve actually seen). I couldn’t tell you anything about his past, beyond the vague ‘comeback of the century’ story that everyone knows… I’ve never felt any ‘protective’ instinct towards the actor before – to be honest, if I ever see a news story about him personally, I’m as uninvested as I would be in a story about any Hollywood A Lister.

Secondly, I know this isn’t Marvel ‘Recasting Tony Stark’, any more than Richard E Grant was them ‘recasting Loki’ or Tobey and Andrew were them ‘Recasting Spiderman’. I understand the concepts of variants.

…I mean, I’ll be honest, I was never enamoured with the concepts of variants, or the multiverse. For a while, I wondered if that was the issue here – the fact that I’m somewhat sceptical of an ever sprawling multiverse, and the way it potentially destroys the all important internal logic of the MCU, and possibly reduces the stakes… But that didn’t quite feel right, as an explanation. After all, NWH and the Loki Series proved that this concept could be done in an engaging, internally consistent way – my distrust of the Multiverse concept didn’t affect my excitement about or enjoyment of either of those projects. And I didn’t have the same reaction to rumours that Patrick Stewart might be appearing as Professor X, or that Hugh Jackman may show up as Wolverine. I may not much like those rumours either, but none of them made me think I was ‘done with Marvel’

It wasn’t even a reaction against Tom Cruise per se – although I’ll admit, I’m not a fan, and I don’t think he’d be a good fit for Tony Stark. But, like I say, I’ve always been able to separate the actor from the character playing them, and it’s not like I’m a huge fan of all the other actors in the MCU…

But still, this one rumour that just kept bugging me… Even leading me to fear that I could be turned off of the movie franchise I loved so much…

And then, tonight, it hit me – whilst watching The Simpsons.

It was one of those low-quality, mid-noughties episodes from long after the show’s heyday. And, like the cliché millennial I am, I made a trite comment about the show having gone past it’s prime long ago…

Because it moved away from the relatable storylines that made it so popular in the first place…

Because they kept breaking the ‘reality’ of the show and contradicting past storylines for the sake of a cheap joke or a shock…

Because they kept cashing in on celebrity voice overs that didn’t fit the show or mean anything…

Because they became naval gazing, and self-referential, breaking the fourth wall once an episode to smugly elbow the viewer in the ribs…

Ah. This was it then.

The Tom Cruise Rumour had made me anxious that this was Marvels ‘Simpsons Season 10’ moment.

When that clicked, I realised what made the ‘Tom Cruise’ rumour different to previous cameos, or the other ‘spoilers’ on reddit.

Because, for one, it so clearly seemed like ‘cashing in’ for its own sake. That’s why the ‘calm down, he’s only going to be in it for like ten minutes’ comments did not actually calm me down – because that was kind of the problem.

Andrew and Tobey weren’t in NWH for a single scene gag – they were written in as a fundamental part of the story, making the cameo more than just a marketing gimmick or a cheap attempt at ‘fan service’. Richard E. Grant was chosen because he fit a role that was already being written as part of the Loki series arc – they didn’t bung that reference in simply because they wanted to include that actor. If Patrick Stewarts Professor X turns up, he will at least be building on a multi-movie legacy, and bringing an already well loved character into the universe…

But a ten-minute cameo from Tom Cruise is nothing more than an in-joke with the fans – and a pretty cynical one at that. Which means a ten-minute cameo from him will be nothing more than a smug reminder that we’re all watching a movie, and a way to make us feel like part of the clique.

Maybe other people will like that sort of meta humour that makes them feel smart and special… But I personally liked watching and immersing myself in these stories, without constantly being reminded that they aren’t real.

And, to be honest, it felt like cynically ‘cashing in’ on the character of Tony Stark – and, before you say that I only think this because I’m a Tony Stark fan-

Really, this Tony Stark fan would rather you just left him dead. At least for a couple of years.

And I say that not to protect Tony’s legacy – but to protect the future of the MCU.

Richard E Grant didn’t feel like a cheap attempt to appeal to Loki fans – because Loki was standing right there. Andrew and Tobey weren’t in NWH to bring in the Spiderman fans – it was a Spiderman movie. I could at least believe that Professor X or Wolverine might be used in a way that added something to the story – at the very least, they both have established characters and histories to do something with…

But referencing Tony Stark yet again (through a brand-new iteration, only known because of an IRL casting drama that has become urban legend with the fans) when his death was used as the emotional end point of the whole first phase just a few years ago, feels very much like an attempt to… keep milking the golden goose? Okay, you can’t milk a goose, but you know what I mean – it feels like the studio is already slipping into cheap appeals to previously popular characters rather than taking the time to develop new ones. Almost like they’re scared of the risk they’re taking – like they want the safe, familiar crowd pleasers in there…

All in all, this one rumour renews all my previous worries about the multiverse concept – that it isn’t going to be used as an internally consistent mechanism to explore new stories (as always seemed a very big ask) but rather a magic wand to be used whenever they want a hashtaggable moment in there.

And it makes me worry that, in a bid to hold onto their momentum, Marvel are going to move away from the carefully developed, character driven stories that built that momentum in the first place. As so many popular properties have done when they ‘jumped the shark’.

It makes me worry that they’re going to keep writing ‘safe’ characters into the movies that could be used to introduce new ones – or, worse still, that they’re going to start cramming those references into places that they don’t fit.

It makes me worry that they’re going to write scripts based on whichever masturbatory fancasts are popular on twitter, rather than building a long term, interwoven story.

It makes me worry that they’re going to turn the MCU into a parody of itself, where the jokes are always between the fanboys and the director, at the expense of the characters themselves.

It makes me worry that the producers are going to go for the cheapest shots, building bigger and bigger ramps over larger and larger sharks, until the whole thing becomes meaningless

It makes me worry that I’m going to see a Marvel Movie in a few years time, and make the same comments we all make about the Simpsons now – and that makes me sad.

And, okay, I know I haven’t seen the movie yet – so, maybe Tom Cruise will surprise me. Maybe he’ll be a revelation in the role, bringing something so important and meaningful to the story that it’ll become clear why they didn’t give an up and coming actor a chance, or explore the idea of a female Tony Stark variant, or frame Tony as a person of colour, or any of the other ideas that might, on the face of it, have seemed more interesting…

But, in any case, I at least feel better that I’ve worked it out – and I feel better now that I’ve sat here and written it out. So. That’s something, I guess?

#Multiverse of Madness spoilers #Multiverse of Madness Rumours #Wilma Rants

21 notes · View notes