#spann deserves the world.... and a loving wife

[slash-em-up]

Marry Your Monsters Pt. 8

We start to head back into movie-territory, which is not great for anyone.

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Miranda lay languid and boneless against the thin mattress of the hospital cot. Draped in nothing but scratchy sheets, she felt blissful as she watched Jesse idly caress her leg. Her husband looked at ease for the first time that night- but she supposed a few orgasms would do that to anyone. 

Jesse lay stretched across the opposite end of the cot, Miranda’s limbs tangled with his own as he ran his hands over her exposed skin.

“I think we just made another baby…” she joked quietly.

Jesse huffed and pinched her big toe in reprimand, causing her to giggle. Sliding his hand up, Jesse began to massage Miranda’s calf.  

Her eyes closed with a groan.

“Fuck you have no idea how good that feels…”

The kneading fingers tightened and flexed until the tense knots under her skin released.

Miranda lurched forward in her best attempt at a sultry wriggle while weighed down by her stomach and yanked at Jesse’s shoulder until the tall man was pulled up to lay next to her, moaning silently as Miranda sucked and kissed at the skin of his neck and shoulder.

“Mmm… I wish… you could kiss me…”

Her hand rose to touch the underside of the plastic mask covering his raw skin.

Jesse stiffened against her.

She knew immediately that she’d said the wrong thing as Jesse gently but firmly pulled himself from her embrace.

She sighed.

“I’m sorry…”

Jesse swung his legs so he was sitting on the side of the bed, facing away from her.

“Can – do you… want to talk about it?”

Broad shoulders visibly tightened.

“Jesse it’s going to be okay… we’ll get through this… no matter what happened, it’s not your fault it’s…”

She didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence before Jesse was up and moving.  

The small metal side table was the first thing to go – flung across the room, smashing into the cement wall with a loud CRASH.

Miranda yelped and jerked as Jesse continued to destroy what little furniture was in the small suite. Chairs and medical equipment were tossed around like they weighed nothing.  

A tray of metal tools crashed against the floor next to the cot, shocking Miranda out of her stasis and prompting her to yell loudly at her husband.

“JESSE STOP!!”

The tall man flew at her like a tower of rage.

His single brown eye blazed as he grasped her shoulders in a nearly crushing grip. His shoulders heaved and he shivered with unspent momentum; and for a moment Miranda was afraid that he didn’t see her – just a new outlet for his destructive energy.  

But he did nothing more than stare at her. Gaze hard, angry, and so different from the man who she’d made love to less than an hour ago.

This was a stranger.  

“… Jesse…”

Nothing.

“Jesse you’re hurting me…”

Strong hands slowly released her bare skin, showing pale, bloodless marks that would definitely turn to bruises later.

The flaming anger in Jesse’s brown eye slowly banked until it was no more, swallowed up by a growing mixture of horror and disgust as he stared down at his naked wife, looking at him like he was dangerous.

He was.

He was dangerous.

More than most knew. 

But he’d never been dangerous to her. 

Never to her.

But now…  

Now his exterior matched the core of him and the monster was finally, fully released.  

He couldn’t stay here.

Without a single glance at Miranda, Jesse grasped his sweats from the pile of clothes on the floor, yanking them aggressively up his hips before marching out of the room.  

He slammed the door, not bothering to lock it behind him as he strode quickly down the hallway.

Where the fuck was everyone, he needed to kill something.

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Anyone who knew Spann would tell you that she was tough to rattle. 

She’d pulled herself up from a life of absolute anonymity to become a key player in The Organization. 

Was this where she wanted to be?  

No, not necessarily.

She had her sights set a bit higher.

ChromeSkull’s right-hand fixer was playing a side-game that she didn’t approve of. If the resolution to that happened to leave his position open? Well, she wouldn’t mind stepping into his shoes.  

She already did most of Prestons job anyway.

Her lips pursed slightly as she shot off a text to her wife, Lisa. The footage from the Miami whores death was taking longer to process than she’d anticipated.  

Another late night at the office.

She sneered at the sound of Prestons heavy breathing on the other side of the video. Fucking amateur probably came in his pants. Or vomited. She couldn’t say which one was more likely, or more satisfying to her right now.

Her phone dinged.

L: I’ll be waiting up, I want to hear about the wife

Spann smiled lightly. She didn’t keep secrets from Lisa. That was the one stipulation she had when becoming involved with someone – she needed to trust them implicitly. Lisa had wriggled her way close enough to pull Spann to the alter. Fuck, she loved her.

And they were both intensely interested in the new player Preston had introduced into the game.

Mrs. Cromeans was not supposed to be here. Jesse had made it clear from the moment he put on the mask that his then-lover, now wife, would have nothing to do with the violent side of their work. As far as Miranda was concerned everything that Jesse did was on the up-and-up.  

That made her arrival… complicated.

They weren’t exactly subtle with the hardware set around the abandoned factory. They had no need to be. And now Preston was cock-blocking her attempts to corral the situation.  

What was his end game? What would he gain from having Jesse’s wife discover the truth about her husband’s ‘business’?  

Not knowing was driving Spann insane.

She was pulled from her contemplation by the sound of heavy footsteps coming down the hall.

Prestons office door across from hers was filled with towering tattooed skin as Mr. Cromeans appeared and wrenched the door open.  

Watching silently, Spann observed the shirtless man huff in anger at the empty space his second was supposed to inhabit. Stomping inside she could hear him rifling through the desk, looking for god knows what.

He stepped back into the dimly lit hall moments later, looking agitated.

Spann decided to shoot her shot.  

“Sir…”

Jesse’s head snapped in her direction; brown eye zeroing in on her in a way she could only describe as predatory.

She licked her lips, determined to keep any intimidation she might feel off her face.

Jesse crossed the small hallway in two strides, not leaning into Spanns space but definitely letting her get a feel for how much height and raw strength he had on her. As if she didn’t know after hours upon hours of watching him butcher and hunt and torture from the safety of the other side of the camera.

‘Find me a fish, Spann. I need a challenge.’

Spann blinked.  

The nomenclature the Organization had adopted to refer to their quarry was quaint.

Piggies were whores – drug addicts – drains on society. Jesse’s particular brand were all beautiful women he lured in with money and good looks.

Fishies were different – they had status, families, some kind of connection; but one of those connections had placed them in the Organizations eye-line – and not in a good way.

Fishies were rarely permanently ‘hooked’. More of a catch and release until whatever connection they had could be handled to satisfaction.  

To have ChromeSkull go after a fishy was… rare.

But rarity was something Spann was adept at overcoming.

She smiled up at her boss.

“I think I have just the thing to cheer you up.”

[vanimeldes]

your top 10 ASOIAF characters and why?

Mmmok, anon, because I like talking about my favourite characters. I will list the POV ones, but below cut, for safety

1. DAENERYS TARGARYEN - needless to say, the image of G0T/AS0IAF. I fell in love with her innocence and inner resilience and willingness to learn as much as she could since her first chapter. Her arc (so far) is - or was meant to be, whatever - so inspiring, and in a series focused on elements of low fantasy, her character encapsulates almost everything I love in a high fantasy: epicness, mysterious magic, legends, dragons, prophecies, but also her own character, her heroic arc, caused by an utterly selfless goal. I might sound totally generic, but I want her to live happily ever after and be in a position of power, because she understands the grief of lowborn and has a huge potential of learning from her past mistakes and improve their lives. After a life full of loss, abuse, and fears, she managed to become a revolutionary figure and a ruler whose reputation spanns across half a continent, she struggles to find a way between dealing with bad people who really deserve the worst punishments and being compassionate and merciful - because she is compassionate and merciful. My queen, and the reason why this series is popular, sorry not sorry. 

2. TYRION LANNISTER - misogynisic to a fault and horrible in many places, but GRRM called him a good villain and I have always regarded him as such or as morally questionable at best. GRRM has his issues, but he KNOWS how to write complex characters. It`s impossible (at least for me) not to be fascinated by his twisted perspective on the world around him and his traumas and his tiny attempts to be good and nice. His constant conflict between what he stands for, what he wants to represent as a Lannister and what he actually wants is stellar.

3. JAIME LANNISTER - similarly to Tyrion, he actually starts off as more antagonistic, but once you get into his head, it`s impossible (at least for me) not to root for him and understand some of the reasons behind his deeds. He is a tragic character in many ways: he is not honourable enough (although he wants to be) and yet he`s neither Lannister enough (although he wants that too). I still loved him since page one, I loved how Brienne changed him and how he changed him because of her. Whether he dies killing Cersei/embracing Cersei or gets to live with Brienne forever (aaah pls GRRM make it happen), I will be satisfied.

4. CERSEI LANNISTER - bruh, she`s just fascinating. She`s tragic too because she really embodies everything that is fucked up in the Westerosi patriarchal society. She internalized the misogny of the society and, as a consequence, when she wants to keep her power, she lacks the proper imagination to come up with other options than sex and murder. Her thoughts regarding women and womanhood are horrifying, but so is the abuse and trauma she suffered for most of her life. I hate the statement that she is stupid. Yes, she lacks patience. Yes, she is not as political savy as she thinks she is, she is very rash in her decisions, but she is cunning and ambitious. And whether you like her or not, you all must admit she is brave, proud and a real fighter, like that lion of her House`s banners. Lannisters (& Targaryens) are the reason why I can`t hate this series. 

5. DAVOS SEAWORTH - I never expect to fall in love with him, but he is such an unique character. He starts off as illiterate, but tough and strong. Per GRRM, he was created to provide insight into Stannis` storyline, but I just love how he got a personality of his own. His loyalty, his inner intelligence, his sincerity, his resilience make it impossible for him not to root for and pray for him. 

6. EDDARD STARK - lol, he`s Ned. He WASN`T stupid, nor a POOR HONOURABLE FOOL. I think that even if honour was ultimately his doom, he still managed to keep his humanity and goodness. His POV chapters only showed me a really intelligent and observant man, tormented by what he thought it was a betrayal: rather the conflict between keeping his sister`s secret and raising her son and what was seen as a betrayal through his beloved wife`s eyes. He might have failed in some ways because he hadn`t prepared his children for the tough world they were living in BUT he loved his children and wife more than anything, as much as he loved his sister, he never held grudge against all the Targaryens, even though his father and brother died horribly in Aerys` hands. He genuinely wanted to be a good man, despite all the hardships that would have pushed another over the edge. I can`t not appreciate that. 

7. BRAN STARK - the other character that, IMO, encapsulates the classic high fantasy. Of course, GRRM put a twist when he had Bran falling over the window and breaking his legs, as well as because he wrote him as not yet prepared to used his magic skills properly. But his storyline is full of magic and mystery, but told through the eyes of an innocent 7 yr old child, who suffered enough loss and fear and grief for a whole life. Again, it`s impossible not to root for him. I really want him to end up as King in the North, rather than the next tree-man, because he actually has ruling experience and is also kind and receptive. 

8. ARYA STARK - reading Arya`s AGOT chapters felt like reading a book about me when I was of her age. I have to admit, in the later books, some of her chapters are too long, and too boring, but I totally get their point: through her eyes, we see the horrors of war, the poverty, the trauma of a child who suddenly found herself alone in a very dangerous world. And she survives on her own, even though she has to kill those who threat her security and life, but we know that she never enjoys killing people, we know that she kill them out of necessity. She is also smart (when she names Jaquen the third kill), observant, resourceful, tough and brave (I meaaan, serving as Roose Bolton`s cupbearer?). How she survives in the House of Black and White? How quick she is to learn a foreign language? And, most important, how she gives no shits if the people she meets are noble or lowborn and how she befriends everyone? Her relationship with her father and her respect towards feminity, even though she is a gender non-conforming girl? You rock, girl!

9. BRIENNE TARTH - I accused GRRM of misogyny many times, but I reckon that Brienne is a response to the very misogynistic society he created, the society where „there`s no creature as unfortunate as an ugly woman”, by giving her a storyline, a character that is utterly honourable, kind, gentle. While she suffered because she couldn`t fit the gender role she was supposed to fulfill, she never held grudge against the values of feminity - on the contrary, she holds them in great regard! And, why not, as „ugly” and „manlike” she is, she got to make „Westeors` most desirable knight” admire and respect her, which, IMO, is a win!

10. ARIANNE MARTELL - such a pleasant surprise. My smart, hot-tempered, sexually adventurous, but brave and capable Princess. If GRRM kills her, I will erase him from my memory. I just love how she defies all the stereotypes inflicted upon most of the women in these books, I just love her ambition and hot temper, but also her relationship with her cousins and friends. I like that, while she uses sex to get Ser Arys do her bidding, we still see that she is very clever and resourceful. 

Notable mentions of POV characters: ASHA!!!! MELISANDRE!!! and Jon

My favourite non-POV characters:  THE LANN DAD, TYWIN MOTHERFUCKING Lannister; Margaery Tyrell, Brynden Blackfish Tully; Edmure Tully, Val the Wildling; Loras Tyrell; Garlan Tyrell; Olenna Tyrell

[slash-em-up]

Marry Your Monsters Pt. 10

In which life is not at all like a box of chocolates; but it’s true you never know what you’re going to get...

Again, TW: for self-harm and suicide attempt

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What was she doing, what was she doing, oh GOD what was she doing?!

Red was all Miranda could see for a moment as a trickle of blood slid past the hideously sharp knife and down her wrist – droplets peacefully gliding down to splatter on the floor, unaware of their origin.

Eyes wide, her brain warred within her.

‘Pull the knife, make it end..’

‘Stop!! Stop and fight!!’

Peripherally, Miranda was aware that she was hardly in a fit state of mind to be making any decisions at the moment; but the deciding factor came as her stomach heaved with a small but mighty kick – as if her daughter could sense her mother’s distress.

With a strangled cry, Miranda withdrew the knife from her arm and tossed it as hard as she could across the dark room.

She collapsed back, heaving with emotion, and frantically began attempting to staunch the bleeding.

The thin linen of her dress wasn’t ideal; but the pain that came from her tight wrapping grounded her, and gave some momentary clarity.

Only to be interrupted by the office door being pushed open.

“Jesus, FUCK!”

Spann looked like a woman who was rarely surprised and quite frankly the expression didn’t suit her.

Miranda was sure she looked like a fucking mess, from her sweaty, tousled hair to her hiked up dress and blood-stained skin.

Delightful.

Before she could do more than open her mouth Spann was by her side, eyes taking in the lay of the room – specifically the empty video tape cases.

Another muttered “fuck” and Spann had whipped out her phone and sent off a text to parties unknown.

“Don’t… please, Spann..”

Spann jerked her sharp gaze up to meet Miranda’s.

“Don’t what?”

“…don’t call Jesse…”

The snort that followed her comment was unexpected.

“No, I like my spleen right where it is, thanks. I’m getting you some help, I can’t stop this bleeding alone.”

Miranda hissed in pain as Spann’s hands joined hers in putting pressure on her wrist.

Without looking up Spann spoke.

“What were you thinking, Miranda?”

A fresh wave of tears dripped down Miranda’s face.

“He… he killed those women… he tried to kill that other girl… oh God, his face… and I would have done the same thing! He’s a murderer - you’re ALL murderers!”

Spann raised a brow, finally looking Miranda straight in the eye.

“Yes, he is. I don’t expect you to understand why we do what we do; but the Organization has been around long before you or I, and it’ll be here long after.”

Shaking her head, Miranda tried to make sense of what Spann was saying.

“The Organization? So this is some kind of organized crime thing?”

A shrug.

“I suppose that’s one way of putting it… we, and especially your husband, are tasked by some very powerful people to… remove certain individuals from general society.”

“Jesse hired a fucking whore and then tried to kill her…”

“I suppose from an outside perspective it’s a bit hard to understand…”

Miranda gasped out a harsh laugh.

“It’s fucking psychotic is what it is!”

Spann sighed.

“That’s between you, Mr. Cromeans, and hopefully your marriage counselor.”

The curl of Miranda lip at that comment was completely involuntary.

“If I see Jesse right now, he won’t live long enough to make it to therapy.”

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Preston whistled a jaunty tune as he strode down the halls of the chrome-plating factory.

God, what a dump.

And he knew it wasn’t for lack of funds. The Organization and by extension the Cromeans family had been keeping his life-style firmly in the ‘more than comfortable’ category for years. If they’d wanted they could all be floating in a giant chrome blimp for Christs sake. But no, gotta keep things under-wraps in anticipation of the next big screw-up.

Like this fucking nightmare. Preston didn’t know how; but it was beginning to seem like Jesse was aware of Preston’s… corporate climbing.

He’d gone completely off the rails and taken Jessica Cannon - who was supposed to be 100% off limits.

‘I catch my own fish… mother fucker.’

In his opinion, Jesse should have had the common decency to put a gun in his mouth the moment he came back to consciousness.

If his face had been turned into dog food by some no-name whore… Well, he was too smart to let that happen anyway.

Preston smirked in remembrance of the look of shock on that Tommy kids roommates face as he’d plunged his knife into her chest. He was getting turned on just thinking about it, and Prestons hands itched for the flunkies in the armory to finish up his own knife.

Maybe he’d break it in on Jesse or his cunt of a wife.

He’d admit that plan had gone mildly off course… where was the bitch anyway?

This train of thought was interrupted as his phone buzzed in his coat pocket.

His new toy was ready. How exciting.

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The blood flowing from Miranda’s wrist had slowed, as had the conversation.

Both women now sat at the desk, awkwardly looking anywhere but at each other - neither in the mood for a deep conversation on the ethics of The Organizations serial-killing/assassinating/black-mailing business.

Miranda was beginning to regret asking Jesse out for a drink all those years ago. She could have just stayed in her lane and married a nice boring lawyer who’d cheat on her with some barely legal co-ed and then she’s make bank on the divorce settlement.

Fuck, that was sounding pretty appealing right now.

The sound of a steady knock on the door brought both women out of their thoughts.

Spann rose, giving Miranda a reassuring look, and walked to the door - opening it to meet a tired-looking woman dressed in pajamas and a pea-coat.

“Hey.”

The woman smiled.

“Hi.”

“Thanks for coming.”

Leaning in, the woman placed an affectionate kiss on Spanns lips and walked through into the office, pulling her coat from her shoulders and dropping a leather back-pack onto the floor.

“You must be Miranda? I’m Doctor Lisa Bhasin. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Miranda gave a shallow nod.

“I hope all good things; but since you know Spann and probably my husband I’m guessing not…”

Lisa looked at her sympathetically as she unzipped her pack, pulling a trauma kit and some quick-clot gauze from its depths.

“Yeah, it takes some getting used to being ‘the spouse of’… but I promise it does get easier. And if it doesn’t, after the baby is out I can prescribe some Xanax.”

Spann let out a short giggle as Miranda gaped up at Lisa.

“…You’re joking.”

Lisa laughed and met Miranda’s startled look with a kind, understanding one of her own as she began examining the cut on Miranda’s arm.

“Maybe a little…”

While Lisa carried on with her exam, Spann moved behind her to boot up the computer on the desk - quickly cycling through a series of cameras until she stopped with a loud curse.

“Fuck, that son of a bitch!”

The other women startled at her tone, looking over her shoulder to see the screen.

Lisa gasped.

“Oh shit…”

Miranda felt her heart plummet. The shining chrome-skull mask was now an all-too familiar sight, and the man wearing it was striding towards a clearly-wounded woman, some kind of spinning blade held casually in his hand.

“Wait…” Miranda narrowed her gaze, pulling herself closer to the screen. “That’s not Jesse…”

“No.” Spann agreed, sounding angrier than Miranda had ever heard her.

“That’s Preston.”

Both Lisa and Miranda spoke at the same time.

“Preston?!”

“What?!”

Spann sat back in the chair, clearly deep in thought.

“He’s been trying to weasel his way into Mr. Cromeans positon in The Organization for a while. Looks like he’s finally making his move.”

Miranda sneered.

“Fine, he can have it.”

Lisa and Spann looked at each other briefly before Spann wet her lips and responded.

“I don’t think you understand, Miranda. This isn’t just a case of Preston getting an inflated ego… You don’t just leave this job... He’s going to try and kill Mr. Cromeans, and you too if I had to guess. Frankly, I’m surprised you’re still alive”

Miranda raised her bandaged wrist, waggling it in front of Spann.

“Well…?”

Spann rubbed her face tiredly.

“Jesus, all you Cromeans are the same…”

She raised a serious gaze to Miranda

“Look. I get you’re not happy with what you’d found out about your husband, I do. But right now, protecting his position in The Organization is the only way you and the baby are going to stay alive. It sucks; but that’s just how it is.”

Miranda sat back in the chair, looking from Spann to Lisa to the bloody horror occurring on the screen.

Unthinkingly, her hand rose to settle atop her distended stomach.

“Fuck. Fine. What do we do to help Jesse?”

Spann smirked.

“I’m glad you asked…”