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[witchrealms]

(x)

[mag1cspells]

[thornsofthefuture]

discussing the jupiter keyes, shan isabell & alice glass situation: theories, misinformation, facts, fakes. discussing the past, present and future.

⚠︎ this post contains mentions of SA, abuse, ED, and more.

note. this article is intended solely for journalistic discussion. the article does not encourage harassment of any mentioned individual, and all readers are urged to fact-check claims and form their own conclusions. this article was written objectively, away from personal bias, with evidence provided to prove what has been said in the article. any person that was mentioned in the article and wishes for the article to be unpublished can contact us through tumblr.

on june 14th, 2024, shan isabell, a 27-year-old woman from australia, released a statement (click highlighted text to open link) on imgur talking about her experience with the 47-year-old producer jupiter w. keyes a/k/a jupiter io (formerly of HEALTH). in the statement, she accused keyes of sexual and emotional abuse, love bombing, coercing her into using a baby voice as part of his infantilization kink, drugging her with both illegal substances and prescription medication intended for his ex-wife, controlling her, and contributing to her relapse (shan was struggling with an eating disorder). the list goes on.

the allegations also caused the crystal castles-related allegations (click highlighted text to open link) to resurge, since alice glass (real name: margaret d. osborn) is the previously mentioned ex-wife of jupiter's. many are thinking that jupiter keyes was the one who wrote the allegations, or that alice glass actually didn't write the allegations about ethan, her crystal castles ex-bandmate, but about jupiter, since a lot said about jupiter in shan's statement resembles what's been said about ethan in alice's statement.

in this post, on the anniversary of the allegations being posted, i would like to discuss some theories, misinformation and facts about the allegations. i'll just give ten examples, however if you have any more, please share them in the comments.

true - [T] / possibly true [PosT] false - [F] / possibly false [PF] theory - [TH] misinformation - [MIS] unverifiable - [UVF]

1: "jupiter forced both shan and alice to use a baby voice" → a) [PosT]; b) [PosT, but TH]

a) as said in shan's statement, keyes coaxed shan into speaking in a baby voice. she even recalls having a phone call with keyes, during which her friend advised her to get off the call, because her voice was "disturbing".

and when it comes to alice, there is clearly a difference between her voice during the crystal castles era and the post-crystal castles era. here is a comparison. don't mind the background noise, as the background music was removed using vocalremover ai.

b) also some fans have noticed that in the 2021 dorian electra instagram live stream, you can notice that at the beginning of the live stream, alice is speaking in her natural voice (c. 0:19), but as she turns around (this is when you can also see a person behind her, believed to be keyes), she changes her voice to the baby voice.

2: "jupiter was worried about alice 'ethaning' (cancelling?) him" → [T]

the following audio is self-explanatory.

3: "jupiter is an pedophile / ephebophile" → [UVF]

while shan's statement provides us with the information that jupiter forced her to use a baby voice, often called her 'little one', and infantilized her, there is no clear evidence that jupiter is a pedophile / ephebophile, such as legal documents or statements of underage victims. however, the fact that jupiter reached out to shan when he thought she was 14 - 16 years old is more than disturbing.

4: "alice glass has never publically supported jupiter keyes" → [F]

the following comment under keyes' response to the allegations states the contrary.

5: "shan has confirmed that nothing wrong has ever happened with jupiter" → [F + MIS]

in his response post, jupiter attached a screenshot of shan saying that they're in love, that they get along and that there wasn't anything wrong. however...

shan later added that jupiter forced her to send him the pre-written messages written by himself as mitigating evidence in case she would cancel him. according to shan's statement, jupiter knew that she was on cocaine at the time, and said that it was giving her dopamine to "think clearly".

6: "alice's sister said that alice overexaggerated the crystal castles allegations" → [T]

paige osborn, alice's sister has stated during a conversation with a user known as vivian.cancer that alice was never abused but only manipulated, and that "the reality was there was controlling, manipulative behaviour by ethan (claude) that could be perceived as emotional abuse, but that would be the extent of it. there was never physical or verbal abuse. the narrative that jupiter and her want to tell is mostly lies with one or two highly exaggerated truths." paige has since retracted her statement under jupiter's response post to the allegations:

7: "alice glass is being gutted, she does not receive a lot from crystal castles' profit." → [F]

the following screenshot is self-explanatory.

8: "paige was forced to write that comment (ref: 6.) under the threat that her contact with alice will be restricted by jupiter" → [TH]

while the change of mind is quite baffling and suspicious, there is no clear evidence that paige was blackmailed or threatened by jupiter.

9: "jupiter is regularly harassing edith frances" → [T / PosT]

jupiter keyes often posts instagram stories related to food, music production and... guns. no, not like gym kind of guns, actual guns. why guns, then? edith frances, the vocalist of crystal castles, edith frances, has a trauma which was caused by... you guessed it, guns. by posting this content, jupiter makes threats against her, and possibly causes traumatic flashbacks. alice and jupiter seem to hate edith frances. during alice's live show in belfast, alice reacted badly to a fan cheering her name, thinking it was a person heckling her. quote: "get a fucking job bitch. i would never pay 10 quid (...) to shout at me, for a fucking pedophile." in a tiktok video, you can even hear a person saying "oh, wow", with evident disappointment in their voice. not so long after this, she started to shout what you can hear in this audio recording:

10. "alice glass is not innocent herself. she texted inappropriately with minors." → [F]

in april of 2024, a post was made on twitter, saying that alice glass had texted inappropriately with a minor. you can find screenshots regarding this situation on lolcow.farm. however, these allegations were proven to be false by the same person that made the allegations. the screenshots were photoshopped, and the whole story was made up. for privacy and safety reasons, the person's username and avatar was censored.

we advise you to do your research about these situations. you can find more information on the prey_was_predator instagram, the @untitled-profile and @boysgotojupitertogetmorestupider tumblrs, and the alice_glass_archives tiktok account. misinformation is a huge problem on the internet currently, so check if what you've seen is actually true.

peace.

source: imgur, instagram, tumblr & others

[dumbasslesbi2]

Let Me Read To You ~ Chapter 8 (Agatha x Rio Bookstore AU)

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7

Summary:

Agatha and Rio finally get married!

Notes:

HI I'M NOT DEAD! Sorry for the wait y'all but school has been kicking my ass, hope y'all enjoy!

Rio was going through the mail just a couple days before her wedding and found a letter addressed to Agatha that seemed suspicious. “Honey? There's a letter here for you” Rio exclaimed as she entered the living room. “I wasn't expecting any mail, how weird” Agatha said as she got up from the couch to take the envelope from her. As Agatha looked at it, she recognized the writing immediately, it was Wanda. “Rio I can't open this, you open it. It's Wanda” Agatha said with irritation, tired of dealing with her ex wife. Rio opened it immediately, eager to see what she had sent. “She said good luck with the wedding, that's it?!” Rio semi yelled out, looking and flipping the letter to see if there was anything else. “God she loves making my life a living fucking hell” Agatha groaned, pacing around the living room. “She's fucking lying, she's making us anxious on purpose. There's no way she would show up, especially not after I kicked her ass” Rio told Agatha, holding her shoulders to stop her from pacing.  “But what if she shows up Rio?” Agatha said, holding on to Rio's wrists. “How will she know what day we're getting married. She won't know. And if she shows up, I'll kick her ass again “ Rio told her, grabbing Agatha's chin to force her to look at her. “True, I just don't want to deal with her,” Agatha said, sighing. “Just get a restraining order, I know it won't happen till after the wedding but still. I hate how annoyed she gets you” Rio told her as she caressed her cheek. “You're right, I don't know why I didn't do it before” Agatha said, sighing once again. “Now come on, let's go back to picking out flowers” Rio said, dragging Agatha to her office.

The next couple days were a whirlwind but finally the day of the wedding came. Rio actually did stay at the house and had slept in the upstairs apartment of the bookstore. They wanted their looks and everything to be a surprise so they agreed to not see each other the whole day. That doesn't mean they didn't text each other though. Honestly being away from Agatha and Nicholas made Rio’s anxiety go sky high. Alice was in charge of helping Rio get ready and wasn't prepared for what she would walk in on when she went upstairs. “Rio?” Alice yelled out as she entered the apartment, noticing 3 empty wine bottles and a couple broken glasses in the sink. “Rio! Where the fuck are you!” Alice yelled as she looked around. Finally, when she got near the bathroom, she heard sobs and understood what was happening. Slowly Alice opened the door, seeing Rio in the bathtub, tears streaming down her face. “Hey” Alice said quietly as she stood at the door. “Hey” Rio said, putting her head against the wall. “Alice, I'm scared,” Rio said, holding her knees to her chest. “Scared of what?* Alice asked as she kneeled next to the bathtub. “What if I fuck this up, what if I mess everything up like I always do Alice? I can't put Agatha through that” Rio whispered, practically whimpering. “Rio, in all this time you never left Agatha. You never ran from her or Nicholas.In all the years I've known you, I've never seen you as happy as you are with them. You won't fuck or mess it up because you haven't and you won't. Agatha loves you and you love her, deeply. Trust me, we all heard you two at the beach house” Alice told Rio, giggling at the end. Rio couldn't help but chuckle and groan as well. “Ugh you're right. Also I can't help it that me and Agatha have a healthy sex life” she said as she wiped her tears. “Now come on, we gotta get you ready for the wedding,” Alice said, getting up and closing the bathroom door to give her some privacy. 

As the two spent their time getting Rio ready, Agatha on the other hand was at her house with Jen helping her. “Oh my God Jen, this is really happening!” Agatha exclaimed as finished putting on her suit. “I know, I'm so happy for you two!” Jen told her as she helped Agatha smooth out any wrinkles. “I'm just happy we're finally making it official, I just love her so much” Agatha said as she turned to hug Jen. Jen was a bit shocked by the hug but she came around and hugged Agatha back. “Thanks for everything Jen. You and Alice are the best” she told her barely above a whisper. “Of course, what are friends for?” Jen told her. After they got Agatha all dressed and ready they helped get Nicholas ready. Normally to get him in a suit would be a pain but once they told him he would get to see Rio once he was dressed he finally cooperated. Once the two were set Jen drove them both over to the book store where Lilia and William were already there, finishing the decorations and everything. Once Agatha and Nicholas got there with Jen they set them at their places. Jen made sure she had the rings and put them on the holder they gave Nicholas to hold. William brought out his violin and began to play once Lilia told him to. Upstairs Alice heard the music and told Rio it was time. Slowly Alice opened the door and helped Rio walk downstairs. The moment Rio saw Agatha, she couldn't help but gasp at how beautiful she was. The feeling was mutual since Agatha had almost instantly had tears streaming down her face the minute she saw Rio. Nicholas couldn't help himself and ran to Rio, luckily not dropping the rings. Rio gave him a small hug before holding his hand so they could walk to Agatha. As the two stood face to face Lilia gave the wedding officiant speech but honestly, both Rio and Agatha were waiting for when they could speak. “I, Rio Vidal, want nothing more than to be your wife Agatha. I want to be there for you everyday and come home to raise our beautiful son. I wanna be a mother to Nicky and watch him grow up. I wanna get old with you and deal with Nicky as he becomes an annoying teen. I wanna be there when the going gets tough and when you need a shoulder to lie on. I love you Agatha, I want nothing more than to be your wife” Rio told Agatha as she held her hands. “Rio, I love you. I love you and I know Nicky loves you too. I would love to be your wife and a mother to our son. I know I don't have the best track record when it comes to relationships but I know that you're my forever. I want us to be a family and for us to be together.” Agatha told her, trying not to start crying again. The two didn't even wait for Lilia to tell them to kiss and instantly kissed after each other's speeches. “Well I guess I promise you two wife and wife” Lilia told them with her hand on her hip. “Sorry, couldn't help myself” Agatha told her as he separated from Rio. “Yeah, yeah ,yeah” Lilia said walking away. The group all cheered and laughed as Nicholas ran up to his two mothers. Agatha made sure to pick him up and put him in-between the two of them, kissing him on his cheeks. Jen made sure to grab a photo before the moment was gone. 

As the reception went on Agatha was a bit on edge, she felt at any moment Wanda could show up and ruin everything. Rio had noticed but didn't say anything to not let the group know. “Agatha, you ok?” Rio asked as the two were finally alone. “Just nervous, I feel at any moment Wanda can barge in” Agatha told her, taking a sip of her wine. “Baby, if she wanted to ruin this, she would have been here already. She wanted to make you on edge and too nervous to enjoy our wedding” Rio told her, taking her hand in her’s. “I guess you’re right. She always used to do this too. Make me think she would show me things but leave me out high and dry.” Agatha said, caressing Rio’s hand with her thumb. “Now come on, I wanna dance with my wife” Rio said, dragging Agatha out to dance. The two danced for a while until Nicholas wanted to join the two in which they immediately picked him up and swayed him. Rio couldn’t think of the last time she was this happy or felt so loved. She had everyone around her that mattered to her and for once in her life she felt at peace. Agatha on the other hand was thinking the exact same thing, she never thought she would find love after Wanda. She felt traumatized after dealing with her divorce but everything came so easy and nicely with Rio. She never had to ask for anything, Rio just somehow always knew. Agatha never thought she would find someone who loved Nicky as much as she did but she had no doubt in her mind that Rio loved him as much as she did. For once in her life she felt relaxed but more importantly, she felt loved. The two danced the night away with their beloved son as their friends joined in and celebrated the most important thing to all of them, love.

[romancingdaffodils]

Love Kills

City Rockers

part two of Love Kills

bassist/rockstar!Remus Lupin x Reader

warnings: swearing and description of blood

The tension between the two of you only seems to build as Remus faces a rather nasty injury. Naturally, you help him out. He gives his thanks in a rather mind boggling way.

haiii did you miss me AGAIN xoxo

thank you so much alex for alll your help on this one means a lot :3

Often it’s said that punks are the nicest people you’ll ever meet. Terrifying on the outside, but lovely on the inside. Clearly, when put into a venue, this philosophy completely disappears. The gig goers habits of unplugging amps and launching glass bottles didn’t seem too lovely at all. In fact, you were quite against the whole idea or at least you were after the incident. However, it could make nights a whole lot interesting. It was what also led to the instruction of don’t get hit. Which then allowed, Remus to completely disobey this command. As a result of this, blood poured down his face. Surged, gushed, streamed. A bottle had collided directly with his head and had clearly left him with with an injury directly above his eye. The crowd went silent before erupting into even louder cheers. Freezing in shock, the soon-to-be-blood soaked man stared directly into the crowd. Immediately, James stopped singing and whipped his head around to the noise. Which, in turn, caused both Sirius and Pete to turn and look over at Remus. Another bang signified the speakers blowing and as the boys started up playing again to try to kill the time, it suddenly dawned on everyone. Amps had been unplugged too; fans had taken the band’s distraction with Remus as an opportunity. Worst first show ever. Praying to whatever gods to give him strength, Remus picked up playing again as Frank rushed around plugging the amps back in.

Anxiously, you bit down on the inside of your cheek as the band pushed through everything going wrong at once. Thankfully, Alice had managed to fix up the speakers relatively fast and was now stood beside you with a similar distressed look on her face. Unfortunately, the man’s determination to continue playing didn’t stop the bleeding. It was everywhere.

Red poppies turned into bloody rivers as the white vest he was wearing became soaked. He had discarded his outer layer of a jumper at some point during the first song, leaving his perfect arms on display. Now hardly seemed like the right time to be thinking about that though. But, your brain didn’t really seem to listen.

Some of the red liquid had caught in the hair that drifted down towards his eyebrows. Drying up in the sandy tuffs, the blood would be difficult to get out; part of you wanted to drag him off stage and patch him up there and then. Push a small kiss to his forehead, and rinse the blood out of his hair. The rest of the substance had meandered at what felt like the speed of light all the way down to his bass. After staining his white clothes it moved onto the white pick-guard on the body of the long instrument. Somehow, Remus seemed to have picked the worst colours for this to happen. Or, you might argue - if he wasn’t a friend in pain - the best colours because he looked practically edible. On a bad day, he looked positively gorgeous. There, he looked like everything you’d ever wanted and more. You’d never felt more guilty for having a crush on someone before then.

Droplets dribbled down from the bass onto the floor and your eyes finally moved to Remus’s face. You’d been able to look at the area of the wound as you found yourself quite fearful it would be serious. Half of his face was doused in blood and one eye was screwed shut, leaving him in a permanent wink. Thankfully, your gushing over Remus had made the show move a lot faster and the end of the encore ripped through everyone: crowd, band and roadies.

Remus was the first off stage.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Remus.” you exclaimed, grabbing hold of his wrist to get him to stop moving. The gushing blood was forcing him into a permanent wink and you winced just looking at the gash. “Sit down, I’ll go get the first aid kit. Fucking hell.” you said, pushing him down onto the couch. Surprisingly, he didn’t fight back. Now, it was your time to scramble. You ran down the corridor and yanked the first aid kit from the cupboard before immediately running back. Crouching down in front of him, you gave your best relaxed smile. He tried his best to return it. Your mind seemed to be a swirling mess of thoughts of how gorgeous Remus actually was and thoughts of how on earth you were going to clean this cut up.

“How bad are we thinking?” he asked, wincing as he spoke. He already had a rather impressive collection of scars dotted around his body; you figured this was nothing new to him.

“Dunno yet, you alright if I clean it up?” you asked, blue paper towels ready and waiting. He nodded his head and you stood up. Slotting yourself between his legs, you used the damp towel to wipe away the blood that had dripped down his face. It was an odd texture, like partially dried nail varnish.

You stared at the cut, checking for any shards of the glass bottle. None were there from what you could see, thank god. They must’ve fallen out during the performance. “So they just, throw bottles? At you? On stage?” you asked, trying to keep him talking as you applied a small amount of pressure. Thankfully, most of the bleeding had stopped by now; it was just a game of preventing the gash from getting infected.

“And unplug amps, and don’t make us famous enough for a better venue. Fuckin’ shit hole.” he replied, staring up at you through his eyelashes. With all the blood cleaned away from his face, he looked up at you with both eyes wide open. You shook your head, giggling quietly. Armed with an antiseptic soaked cotton wool ball, you began cleaning the actual cut

“Sorry, know it stings. Talk to me about something, anything.” his comfort was your top priority. He smiled up at you, shaking his head.

“Know what you’re trying to do, love, don’t need to. You’re not stupid, you can tell I’ve been through this before.” he said, smirking up at you. Resisting the urge to wipe the smug look from his face, you instead give a large frown.

“Just trying to be nice, let me be nice.” you complained, biting down on your lip as you continued to clean the wound.

“You’re being nice enough already.” he stated, plainly.

“You’re so lovely Remus!” you shouted over the bar’s blaring music. A hiccup ricocheted through your body as you giggled up at him.

“Yeah, you want me to get you some water?” he asked, batting his eyelashes at you. Sirius really did always keep his best friends hidden from everywhere else. Remus was entirely certain that the fact he hadn’t met you before that night should be a crime, so much so that he’d never forgive Sirius for it.

“No! You’re being nice enough already.” you stated, staring up at him blankly. He shook his head, but didn’t disobey your command. He thought he might die on the spot if he left you any sooner than needed.

Your face flushed at the sound of your own words being repeated back at you and the fact Remus remembered word for word what you had said to him. He grinned. You frowned.

“Butterfly strips now, aren’t they cute? They’re like stitches but not stitches, dead new too. I thought Sirius would get in a bar fight or something, that’s why I brought them with me, not that you’d be scrapping with glass bottles.” you rambled as you dug around in the tote bag beside you. Some gut instinct had told you to pack them and it must’ve be whatever gut instinct had you swooning over Remus.

“Yeah? They are pretty impressive.” he replied. His eyes held a hint of honesty he’d never admit as he admired your rambling. Remus Lupin could listen to you talk for hours. Remus Lupin, who preferred to spend his pre-show routine alone in silence; who adored the quiet of libraries and the very slight hum of a small cafe; who often had to put himself at the back of the tour bus just to get some peace would happily listen to you babble on about whatever nonsense.

“I know, right? ‘s so cool how they come up with these things. Right, this bit will genuinely hurt so, I’m really sorry in advance.” you said, giving him a sheepish grin. If the antiseptic was the foot soldiers, think of the butterfly strips as being the artillery. Carefully, you slotted yourself back in between his legs. Your hand pushed the two edges of the cut together whilst the other stuck the strips over the stop, a way of holding the wound together. Instinctively, Remus’s hand shot up and grabbed your wrist, eyes closing at the pain.

“All done.” you whispered, but his hand didn’t move from your wrist. Your eyes drifted down to his own as you smiled at him.

“Thank you.” he whispered back to you. His eyes mapped out a triangle on your face, subconsciously. He truly could not get enough; his hand still didn’t move. The silence in the room was unbearable and you were silently begging Remus to do something. Anything. He must’ve heard your pleas somehow because he stood up.

If you weren’t close enough to him before you almost certainly were now. The only thing separating the two of you was his looming height and even then that wasn’t doing much as his head was tilted down. You couldn’t read Remus. The now three very dramatic times you’d met, you’d never been able to read him.

“Happy birthday Sirius!” you shouted as you waltzed into the Potter household. It was your first time there, ever and my god was the place gorgeous. It was easy to forget how privileged one half of the band were. Sirius had grown up rich with a shitty family and in many ways James had won the game of life. Good family with lots and lots of money, which explained the oversized house that sat in the middle of nowhere.

“Awww, thank you. Look how lovely they are.” Sirius said, taking the gift from your hands and immediately running off to open it. ‘Child’ you thought to yourself as you smiled.

“Hello you.” Remus waved as you walked over to the kitchen counter, where everyone else stood. You didn’t notice it, but Lily raised her eyebrow and whispered something to James. The two stared at you and Remus for the rest of the night. He didn’t speak to anyone, but you.

“Hi. Don’t look at me like that.” you said, scowling up at him. He laughed and put his hands up beside his head with a false offended look.

“Look at you like what?” Remus fought back, though his smirk and small gave away what he was thinking. Or, at least you thought it did. He was referencing your drunkenness on the first night you met with that look, Right? You racked your brains, staring up at him with your mouth agape.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking.” you admitted, still looking up at him. He shook his head and gave another smirk.

“Do you need to?” he replied.

He still had a hold on your wrist and something in your stomach twisted. Your mind was blank and everything just felt fuzzy.

“Thank you, really.” he mumbled as his head moved in even closer. His thumb drew small circles on the inside of your wrist.

“Yeah, no- no problem. Honestly, like it’s nothing, I’d happily do it any time.” you rambled, giving him a small grin and your stomach twinged from embarrassment this time. He grinned and let out a small chuckle. You felt his breath fan against your jaw. You bit down on your lip

“Oh, hey guys.” James announced from the doorway. Your head whipped round immediately as you took a step backwards. Wide eyed and horrified, you gulped. Remus seemed, perpetually, unbothered.

“Hi, Prongs.” he returned, pointing to the cut on his head. “All fixed up now, wasn’t too bad.” he added, tilting his head slightly.

“Yeah, all fixed up. Can see that. We’re going down to the pub to go have a celebratory drink tomorrow, we’ve got a day here to kill. Think you’ll be up for it?” James asked, looking at both of you. You nodded, sheepishly once again. You knew he knew. He knew you knew. It was an awful trap to be stuck in.

“Sounds good.” Remus said, nodding his head and grabbing his bag from beside the couch. “ ‘m gonna go get changed, see you later, yeah?” he added, looking at you. Only you. And then, he walked off. It felt like you’d been left dangling off of the edge of a cliff.

“Please can I tell Si-“

“Fuck off, James.”

“What about Lily??”

“Maybe.”

[ghostcaterwaul-doesnt-write]

Tarot Prompt #7! I used another prompt from Tarot for Writers by Corrine Kenner.

The draft was written in about 7 minutes, stream of consciousness, then edited and revised over the course of a week.

Picks up where the last one left off.

I’m thinking of doing a taglist for these, by the way, if anyone’s interested! Should I do that? I’m probably going to make a masterpost of them as well.

Constructive feedback or words of encouragement are always welcome!

This snippet contains mentions of alcohol as it takes place in a bar.

Deck used: Joseph Vargo's The Gothic Tarot

Card: 10 of Swords

Prompt from Tarot For Writers by Corrine Kenner: Gossip

Alice sipped on her absinthe, savoring the sweet, herbal, licorice flavor of the chartreuse liquid. She looked around the tavern as Gareth talked to the other patrons. The Tavern was a circle, with a circular bar in the middle made of a pitch black wood with a rainbow opalescence. Booths with purple velvet upholstery lined the gray brick walls. The floor was marble tile designed to take the shape of a purple goblet with an olive green jewel. All the windows were blocked out with stained glass designs depicting various goblets except for the front window, which was clear with the exception of stained glass script spelling out The Ghastly Goblet. Crystal sconces adorned  the wall, radiating teal, violet, and magenta light and there were matching centerpieces on the tables and every 3 seats at the bar. A silver chandelier that’s arms only held incense hung from the ceiling. The tavern had a warm, sweet, earthy smell with hints of spice and vanilla and a smoky resinous scent. 

Alice gazed around in awe, eyes wide and mouth agape,, her heart pounding with excitement. She almost forgot about her drink until she saw Gareth take a sip of his Bourbon Manhattan. She sipped her drink and looked around once more, her eyes landing on an unnaturally large black-purple vulture with piercing fluorescent green eyes that had flown into the front window’s view and perched on a planter hanging from a street pole. The planter held a plant with cascading stems of blue and purple bell-shaped, bioluminescent flowers with gently flared petals.

Suddenly, whispers filled the tavern.

“There’s that old crone’s bird again.”

“Why does it come all the way out here?”

“Probably looking for Astrid’s next victim.”

“Do you really think she killed her husband?”

“Oh, now all of you shut up.” Gareth’s voice boomed throughout the tavern and reverberated off the walls, shocking the rest of the patrons into silence and causing Alice to jump a bit. He continued, “We all know Astrid did no such thing. And you all go to her for spells and potions anyways. How dare you take advantage of her skills only to talk behind her back!”

There was a hum of murmurs for a moment before regular conversations began to pick up again.

Alice was still partially transfixed on the vulture outside as she gazed into the carrion’s mesmerizing eyes. “Who’s Astrid?” She asked, her curiosity getting the best of her. Alice couldn’t help but be intrigued by this mysterious witch.

“An old witch that lives out in the swamp.” Gareth said. “That bird is her familiar, Edgar.” 

“A familiar? That’s a really special animal to a witch, right?”

“To put it simply.”

Alice went quiet for a moment as she still admired Edgar until he eventually took flight.

She turned to Gareth. “Can I meet her?”

“Astrid? Yeah. Sure, kid, I’ll take you out there later.”

[clytemnaestraes]

Alicent + the woman in the window: Analysing the trope

“You desire not to be free, but to make a window in the wall of your prison”

— Rhaenys to Alicent, Hotd 1x09

There's a lot going on between Alicent and windows in House of the Dragon:

Alicent is a hightower, a woman trapped in a tower looking out the window. Her daughter and granddaughter die by jumping out the window.

For the purpose of this post, I'm limiting myself to analysing the "woman in the window" trope as seen in art.

The woman in the window has has been featured in Mediterranean pottery from the fourth century BCE through Botticelli, Raphael and Rembrandt, Sickert and Picasso.

A window is a border between the inside and the outside, the private and the public, the light and the dark. It provides commentary on cages, frames, prisons, and the limit of the subject's freedoms and horizons.

When a woman is framed in light streaming through a window, we are are seeing her as she was seen by the artist.

Tracy Chevalier noted the presence of a "relentless male gaze" when she visited Reframed: The Woman in the Window, an exhibition at Dulwich Picture gallery.

Between those two poles there are various depictions and judgments of women. Sometimes they’re prostitutes; other times they are the Virgin Mary.

In fact, among the earliest depictions of "a woman in the window" is a Mediterranean vessel depicting a courtesan.

1. Courtesan in a window, 18th century

2. The caption of "Woman at the Window" by Degas reveals that the featured woman is a courtesan he paid to model for him.

3. The Virgin and the Child, seen by a window

Are women in windows protected by being inside and shutting out the world, or are they being confined against their will?

In one of Picasso's portraits, his partner Francoise Gilot looks out the window, her hands pressed against the glass. Tracy notes that

knowing what we know about Picasso and his partners, it is clear Gilot is trapped inside the male gaze (though she does eventually escape the relationship), her hands semaphoring anxiety.

Windows and Waiting

Windows are also linked to waiting, and this is especially true of women in medieval times, waiting at the window for men to return from war, waiting at the window to learn their own fate.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

When updating the animated movie schedule that I have on hand, I noticed something...

We have some mixed-media games of chicken coming. Family movie battles that may or may not happen, on the heels of the recent release date switch-ups for TRANSFORMERS ONE and THE WILD ROBOT:

The first one... Possibly... MOANA 2 vs. WICKED PART ONE - November 27, 2024. Disney and Universal head to head with musicals, one all-animated, one live-action with lots of animation in it. I say possibly, as I'm not sure what audience WICKED PART ONE is aiming for. Is this gonna be a PG-rated family film? Or an edgier PG-13 affair? I know next to nothing about the musical (apparently it's recommended as an 8+ sorta deal?), but these are both very similar in a few regards: Musical, fantasy, and because the latter is associated with the family classic THE WIZARD OF OZ - WIZARD OF OZ wouldn't have happened if not for the influence and success of Walt Disney's SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS. I still think it's worth including. I can see both doing very, very well because of how beloved the original MOANA is, and because WICKED is a big deal and OZ is always a classic. MOANA 2 came out of nowhere as a former Disney+ series-turned-movie, so that makes the face-off all the more interesting to me.

Then there's MUFASA: THE LION KING vs. SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3. December 20th of this year. Disney vs. Paramount. An all-animated movie that looks very real vs. a live-action movie with animated characters in it. MUFASA has a trailer out, which makes sense given that it was originally supposed to come out in July, so it was probably finished or close to being done a while ago. SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 entered production after that, and will still make its date apparently, with no trailer out.

MUFASA is a prequel/sequel to a 5-year-old LION KING remake that grossed $1.6 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing animated film of all-time. That being said, whenever Disney does a follow-up to one of their modern remakes... It usually doesn't do anywhere *near* as well as the first... See ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS and MALEFICENT 2 as evidence of that. Both SONIC movies combined didn't make half of what LION KING '19 made, but still did very very well for what they are. SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 made $405m, so I can imagine the third movie making significantly more than that. Especially since they're bringing in even more characters that fans know and love. Perhaps the family movie event of the holidays outside of MOANA 2. I don't really know who's exactly all that thrilled for MUFASA, but maybe I'll be wrong on that one. Maybe that'll be the movie to go to if the other two are sold out.

Another family movie battle is set to commence next summer. On June 13, 2025...

Pixar's delayed animated sci-fi adventure ELIO vs. Universal's live-action adaptation of HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON.

Both of these movies were delayed from their first-nabbed release dates, ELIO seeing the biggest delay. When it was eyeballing March 1st of this year, ELIO had a trailer and a poster out. Then during the writer and actors' strikes last summer/autumn, Disney delayed the Pixar picture by a year and a half. As rumors indicate, this picture needed to be extensively retooled... Can't do that when the writers and actors voicing the characters are out there fighting for what's right, so it had to wait.

Live-action DRAGON first nabbed March 14, 2025, and then moved to ELIO's date after ELIO took it. It is currently filming in Ireland.

Out of these two movies, I think DRAGON is a guaranteed success. As much as some of us don't like 'em, live-action adaptations of things largely associated with animation tend to do pretty good. Whether it's streaming shows or feature films. Once in a while Disney doesn't score, but when they do... They do. Often to the tune of a billion dollars, or at least half as much as that. Last summer's LITTLE MERMAID may not have made back its budget, but $560m+ is still nothing to scoff at. It's a *flop* in the same way MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - DEAD RECKONING was. Made lots of money and was quite popular, still wasn't enough. Then you wonder why there are strikes, eh? The HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON animated trilogy that was made at DreamWorks is pretty beloved, all of its installments grossing above $490m+ worldwide each. And Dean DeBlois, who directed on each film, directs the live-action movie too. John Powell returns to score, Gerard Butler is back to play Stoick the Vast. The familiarity will help it, but if it's different enough to stand out, that could also really help it. The first movie will also be 15 years old by then, definitely some nostalgia there. I think it'll at least make $150m domestically, if not $200m. From the outside, it looks like a "live-action remake of a DreamWorks animated movie".

Whereas ELIO? I've repeated this ad naseum, but animated movies that aren't sequels or easily-recognizable IP (read: Mario) tend to open low in this day and age. ELEMENTAL, Pixar's first not-sequel picture to open theatrically since ONWARD, collected the lowest opening ever for one of their movies. Luckily, it had legs and audiences overseas really dug it, getting it nearly past the 2.5x-its-budget threshold. I'm sure Disney wants a bona fide return to Pixar blockbusters, original and sequel. Thus they would probably want ELIO to remain a summer launch. Pixar barely ever deviates from a late May/mid June release, with the exceptions of some March and November releases. Typically, they like that June space.

I also noticed... There's a sizable gap in early 2025. There's an animated feature set for late January (DOG MAN), another for February (THE SMURF MOVIE)... And then, nothing till ELIO. March and April, completely blank. No doubt caused by the strikes, maybe more if/when an animation strike erupts this coming summer.

I do wonder if ELIO, since the delay gave it *plenty* of time to be fixed up (I hear it isn't a GOOD DINOSAUR situation where they completely started over, just re-configuring whole parts of it), will be completed ahead of schedule. Disney has an untitled project set for early March, likely a placeholder for something. Could just be a Searchlight or 20th Century movie, maybe ELIO could move there. Live-action SNOW WHITE opens later that month... But that didn't stop Disney from planning on releasing ELIO and SNOW WHITE together this past March. Disney often tends to put things close to each other. For example, MOANA - a Thanksgiving 2016 release - opened between early November release DOCTOR STRANGE and mid-December biggie ROGUE ONE. One example off the top of my head.

But it will all happen when it has to... I do doubt, however, that ELIO will go head to head with HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON '25 though. In addition to that, I still find it kinda weird that Disney Animation will have three sequels in a row when there was at least one original being developed there. Things often change close to release date, too, so... We shall see...

And lastly, I covered it before... This time an all-animated face-off... Warner Animation's CAT IN THE HAT movie vs. an untitled Pixar movie, both set for March 6, 2026. Until we know what the Pixar movie is, likely an original movie, I can't really say. I would reckon the Pixar movie moves, considering that Pixar hasn't landed a March hit yet. Circumstances... ONWARD was released right before the pandemic became a national issue here in the states, TURNING RED went straight to streaming, ELIO could've been this year's March picture but moved to next summer. Maybe March 2026 is when Pixar succeeds with a springtime release. That is, if CAT IN THE HAT ends up moving.

[qnewsau]

Jonathan Bailey probably joining Heartstopper as pics leak

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/jonathan-bailey-probably-on-heartstopper-after-photo-leak/

Jonathan Bailey probably joining Heartstopper as pics leak

Photos have hit social media revealing Jonathan Bailey is probably joining Netflix’s queer teen drama Heartstopper, and people are very excited.

The show’s third season started production last year and Heartstopper author Alice Oseman confirmed filming wrapped before Christmas.

Now, it appears that out actor Jonathan Bailey – from the brilliant gay drama Fellow Travelers and the upcoming Wicked movie – is joining the show.

Jonathan could be playing a version of a character from the graphic novels on which the series is based.

Photos have surfaced, purportedly from an Instagram account under the name Jack Maddox, that show the actor dressed very much like a character with a similar name from the Heartstopper-verse.

A character named Henry Maddox appeared in a graphic novel story featuring Nick and Charlie. In that story, Charlie develops a crush on the uni lecturer and TV presenter.

The new Instagram photos show Jonathan dressed in a similar cardigan, shirt and glasses.

In one photo, the actor is showing off a book by Jack Maddox and in another he’s holding a “Trans rights are human rights” sign.

jonathan bailey is playing jack maddox, the scholar that charlie and nick are infatuated with, in heartstopper season 3 pic.twitter.com/gXzLdiXSlI

— daily joe locke (@dailyjlocke) March 13, 2024

Heartstopper fans react to Jonathan Bailey news

That Instagram account is now private and the photos are no longer visible. However, Heartstopper fans have been excitedly circulating them online.

Netflix was asked about all of this but the streaming service declined to comment.

Nonetheless, fans are very excited at the thought of JB appearing on the show.

“Whoever cast Jonathan Bailey in Heartstopper deserves a raise and a fruit basket and has my eternal gratitude,” one person wrote.

“Jonathan Bailey has loved Heartstopper and always been so supportive of the cast and now he’s part of it,” another said.

A release date for Heartstopper’s third season is still to come. The first two seasons of Heartstopper are streaming now on Netflix.

More on Jonathan Bailey:

Jonathan Bailey kept Matt Bomer awake rehearsing for Wicked

Heartstopper season 3 photo addresses that big cliffhanger

Jonathan Bailey confirms he’s in a relationship

Jonathan Bailey shows off racy Fellow Travelers prosthetics

For the latest LGBTIQA+ Sister Girl and Brother Boy news, entertainment, community stories in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

[dawnlotus1]

I literally love my VTM campaign sm <3 yall if this was streamed I guarantee you would love them too.

The campaign is run by @viv-weylin , and me, @elmflowers and @woodenfawn are the players!

It’s called New Orleans by Night (like others of its kind) (set in you guessed it. New Orleans).

I play a character by the name of Alice Adalhaidus. She’s a Toreador, 130 years old and quick to judge others. She owns a cabaret called “The Looking Glass” which serves humans by day/late evening and goes by the name “Wonderland” at night for Kindred. She hosts Elysiums often. She is a little obsessed with climbing the vampire social ladder and it has made her the worst version of herself. I plan on sending her through a character arc to become a better person. She is very caring towards her employees and those she considers actual friends rather than just political connections. She gives her employees over pay and vacation time almost to a suspicious degree. She would never drink her human employees blood but she has used her powers on them to keep them unaware of the vampire world. They all think of her as their extremely eccentric boss. She is predator type Bagger and she buys all her blood as she believes she is above attacking people. She’s always drinking blood out of wine bottles/chalices. She does not know how to use smartphones/modern technology. She sends carrier pigeons. I’ll get back to talking about her because I’m obsessed with my own OC yes but first I wanna introduce my fellow players.

Flowchi plays Bartholomew Buonarroti who is a Nosfaratu whose primary job is Vtuber. He’s over 500 years old, bald as hell, and currently 6’4” but getting taller whenever flowchi decides. He lives in the sewers and eats rats. Predator type farmer. He would 100% be the fan favorite if this was a show. He immediately adopts and plays the mentor for Hannah. He is mamas favorite boy and he has a bunch of annoying siblings. His VTuber sona is AlysterBytes.

Woodenfawn (aroc) plays Hannah, an extremely new vampire. Clan Tremere and predator type Pursuer. She was a 30 year old woman who had/has an almost chunnibyou like obsession with the supernatural. She was stalking a vampire by the name of Sirius, believing him to be a fellow LARP-er. When surprise! he wasn’t- she asked to be turned instead of killed. Now she’s been a vampire barely 3 days and we have dragged her into some crazy shit. She extremely space-y and often gets treated like a child due to her newness to the kindred world.

There are so many NPCs I love who I could introduce but aaaa I’ll save them for another post. Plus if Mey or the others show up to correct their character descriptions or add on that too.

However I think I gotta talk a little bit about Yvonne, she’s a vampire hunter who’s tracking down a specific vampire who has turned and enthralled her sister. This same vampire is the one who turned Alice 100 years ago and HE SUCKS WE HATE HIM. His name is Calix Cardon and I could rant about how he sucks for a while but all you need to know is that we both want to kill him. Thus despite being Vampire and Hunter, Alice and Yvonne are working together. And have. Maybe. Developed feelings for each other. Eheheh.

Yvonne is 45 yrs old and badass as hell. She’s also cringefail and cannot roll well to save her life despite having good stats. Alice is relentlessly teased by Bart and Hannah over her obvious crush on her. What if you were a vampire hunter and blue themed and I was a vampire and red themed.. and we were both girls..

Sirius is here too he’s Hannah’s sire , Tremere and also from the 1920’s tho Goth. He’s having a mental breakdown right now. Only some of that is Hannah’s fault but honestly I’ll probably make another post breaking down some of the key plot because I’ve already been rambling so long but anyway. He’s not having a good time. He kinda shoved Hannah onto Alice who is terribly far from matronly and ended up in Barts care.

Party composition feels like The Responsible uncle/stepdad and his sister The Wine Aunt whom bicker constantly take care of New to this world but Excited to be here Hannah while running from/investigating the massive forces that have seemed to hone in on their personal problems.

Some important events I could talk about :3

Alice’s beloved Cabaret nearly gets burns to the ground.

Bart gets Doxxed.

Hannah’s first frenzy may have caused problems.

Sirius was kidnapped.

We’ve made contact with some pretty powerful vampires in this city who have it out for us. Though we may be able to convince some to our side.

Gosh gosh yeah hmmm I’ll make more lore posts later methinks..

Oh also! I run a in character roleplay blog for Alice at Alice-adalhaidus tho it’s NOT UP TO DATE. We are 5 sessions ahead of what lore I’ve managed to transcribe. Oof. I’ll get back to it soon.

You've mentioned a vampire vtm campaign you're playing a few times I'm curious about it

Anon I’ve been waiting for an ask like this all my life. Anon I’m going to reblog this ask with a long ass post rambling about me and my friend’s beloved campaign. Wait right here :]]

[mag1cspells]

[iamjaayg]

Ok here goes. First time using tumblr for more then a lock screen archive. Pretty much I'm looking to commission some pieces for my social media streaming “identity”. 

 *From twitch/kick/discord/obs overlays, emotes, twitter backgrounds, to YouTube banners, fonts, and pfp pictures. Animated or still*

Centered around the above picture obviously tweaked to fit what I actually look like and would want overall, just some examples:

1. A darker skin tone on “Finn” 

2. Glasses (Red ones)  

3. More emphasis on the afro.

3. A black cat instead of “Jake the Dog”

4. BMO, LSP removed entirely. 

5. Def. adding something weed/marijuana related like “Jake” blowing smoke from his nose lmao. not tacky like a shirt that says dope, a chain or a blunt in a mouth. Blended in there. 

6. Incorporating my favorite color (Red) while keeping the Adventure Time skim or aesthetic, trippy clashes of purple, green maybe even orange, and yellow. Meets Alice in Wonderland ya know?   

Again these are just ideas I have for this picture alone. I have thoughts on emotes, gifs, etc., so I wont leave it up to you only to come up with ideas. 

I have a vision and I’m looking for an artist! to help put it out there. 

I've been looking for the original creator of the image above to no end, because to me the style is unique but no luck so I'm trying here. So help me out if you know a person, recommend them, if you are HIMMOTHY send me some previous edits or commissions you’ve done. I’m looking for the real deal ya know.  

TLDR: I’m looking to have some art/ media commissioned based on picture above (Animated or Still). Send me prices, a sketch, previous works. PLEASE ONLY SERIOUS INQUIRES 

My information :D

Discord : jonnybricktop#6029

Twitter :  @nn0J_2

Don’t send things through this post. HMU in DMs. No to big on Vtuber but wont hurt. 

[kittycatlukey]

FarCry 5 Preference: The Type of Music You Two Listen To Together

Joseph Seed: Religious, Classical

Some song examples—

1. He's Our Father (Cult song) (pretty much all of them but this one is your favorite)

2. Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven

3. How Great is Our God by Chris Tomlin

4. River Flows in You by Yiruma

John Seed: Religious, Rap

Some song examples—

1. Oh John (Cult song)

2. Let the Water Wash Away Your Sins (Cult song)

3. Stan by Eminem

4. Knife Talk by Drake, 21 Savage, and Project Pat

5. Smack That by Akon and Eminem

6. Baby Got Back by Sir Mix Alot

7. Stir Fry by Migos

8. Millions by Skeme

9. Bassheads by Gangrene

10. R. Cali by A$AP Rocky

11. Praise God by Kanye West

12. Closed on Sunday by Kanye West

13. Illuminate by Ab Soul and Kendrick Lamar

14. We'll Meet Again by Vera Lynn

Jacob Seed: Classical, Jazz, Metal, Rock, and old country

Some song examples—

1. Only You by The Platters

2. The Great Pretender by The Platters

3. Pulse of the Maggots by Slipknot

4. Whiskey River by Willie Nelson

5. It Must Be Love by Don Williams

6. Mr. Weatherman by Hank Williams Jr.

7. I'm No Stranger to the Rain by Keith Whitley

8. Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR)

9. I Can't Help Falling In Love With You by Elvis Presley

10. Fly Me to the Moon by Frank Sinatra

11. Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix

12. The Chain by Fleetwood Mac

13. Dragula by Rob Zombie

14. Strutter by Kiss

15. Stray Cat Blues by The Rolling Stones

16. Stranglehold by Ted Nugent

17. Ordinary Man by Ozzy Osborne and Elton John

18. Tiny Dancer by Elton John

19. Imagine by John Lennon

20. Hurt by Johnny Cash

21. Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd

22. Break Stuff by Limp Bizkit

23. Symphony of Destruction by Megadeth

24. One by Metallica

25. Rooster by Alice In Chains

26. Losing My Religion by R.E.M.

27. Islands in the Stream by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton

28. Greedy Fly by Bush

29. Glycerine by Bush

30. Machinehead by Bush

31. Summer of '69 by Bryan Adams

32. Hell or High Water by Billy Raffoul

33. Soldier's Eyes by Jack Savoretti

34. You Don't Mess Around With Jim by Jim Croce

35. Operator by Jim Croce

36. Just My Imagination by The Temptations

37. Dinosaur by Hank Williams Jr.

38. Higher Love by Steve Winwood

Faith Seed: Religious, Pop, a little rap, some alternative

Some song examples—

1. Oh the Bliss (Cult song)

2. Help Me Faith (Cult song)

3. Fascination Street by The Cure

4. Maneater by Nelly Furtado

5. Wannabe by Spice Girls

6. Bossy by Kelis

7. Work It by Missy Elliot

8. Slow Hands by Niall Horan

9. Little Things by One Direction

10. Amnesia by 5 Seconds of Summer

11. Happier than Ever by Billie Eilish

12. I Love You by Billie Eilish

13. Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish

14. Arms Tonite by Mother Mother

15. Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles

16. Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars

17. Rolling in the Deep by Adele

18. Sign of the Times by Harry Styles

19. Under the Bridge by Red Hot Chili Peppers

20. Car Radio by Twenty One Pilots

21. Basket Case by Green Day

22. Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac

23. Don't Come Close by Yeasayer

24. Serotonin by girl in red

25. Dreams by Fleetwood Mac

26. Slumber Party by Ashnikko

27. She by Harry Styles

28. Woman by Harry Styles

29. drivers license by Olivia Rodrigo

30. Through Glass by Stone Sour

31. Gypsy by Fleetwood Mac

32. Plastic Hearts by Miley Cyrus

33. Prisoner by Miley Cyrus

34. Sweater Weather by The Neighbourhood

Joey Hudson: Rock and a little country

Some song examples—

1. Wonderwall by Oasis

2. Black Rain by Soundgarden

3. Jolene by Dolly Parton

4. Play It Again by Luke Bryan

5. Forever After All by Luke Combs

6. Tennessee Whiskey by Chris Stapleton

7. I Hope by Gabby Barrett

8. You Should Probably Leave by Chris Stapleton

9. Rumor by Lee Brice

10. Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns N' Roses

11. Let Me Be Myself by 3 Doors Down

12. Seven Wonders by Fleetwood Mac

13. Hair of the Dog by Nazareth

14. Future Days by Pearl Jam

15. Ain't No Rest for the Wicked by Cage the Elephant

16. Angel Eyes by New Years Day

17. Supermassive Black Hole by Muse

18. The Scientist by Coldplay

19. Cigarette Daydreams by Cage the Elephant

20. Way Down We Go by Kaleo

21. Paparazzi by Kim Dracula

22. Far Away by Nickelback

Staci Pratt: 99.5% rap and .5% metal

Some song examples—

1. A.D.H.D. by Kendrick Lamar

2. Humble by Kendrick Lamar

3. Loyalty by Kendrick Lamar

4. DNA by Kendrick Lamar

5. Sex Metal Barbie by In This Moment

6. Hold Up by Marion Band$ and Nipsey Hustle

7. Life of a Mack by 100s

8. Mo Bamba by Sheck Wes

9. I'm a Real 1 by YG

10. The Next Episode by Dr. Dre

11. Gin & Juice by Snoop Dogg

12. Colt 45 by Afroman

13. Plain Jane remix by Ferg and Nicki Minaj

14. Freak on a Leash by Korn

15. A.D.I.D.A.S. by Korn

16. Cash Shit by Megan Thee Stallion and DaBaby

17. Smokin' and Ridin' by BJ THE CHICAGO KID and Freddie Gibbs and Problem

18. Hood Gone Love It by JayRock and Kendrick Lamar

19. Warm It Up by Kris Kross

20. Insane in the Membrane by Cypress Hill

21. Drop It Like It's Hot by Snoop Dogg

[out-of-control]

WINDOWS

words: 1863

warnings: suicide attempt, hospitals, self harm implied (past), alchoholism

summary: Jax, 3 years after it all.

He turns the object over in his hand, the one that never healed right, feeling numbed. He tries to steel himself for it, tell himself that clichè line, that they'll all be better off, et cetera, et cetera, et fucking cetera, but the thing is, he knows it isn't true. This is definitely going to make some people really miserable for a long time. And it is going to ruin Alice's life.

This is the most selfish thing he will ever do.

He almost wants to laugh. Here he is, finally letting himself get what he wants. And he still feels guilty. There is no calm. There is no peace. It's just that old familiar self-hatred. If this isn't proof that he'll never be rid of it, he doesn't know what is. He's so tired. That's all there is to it. He's tired, and he's sick of it all.

"You're stalling," he whispers to himself. Then he takes a deep breath.

–

He wakes up in hospital white, and the first thing he does is look for a window.

Yanking tubes from his body and throwing away those tissue-thin sheets, he makes his way over to the glass.

He can't figure out how to open it.

He goes back to the bed.

–

They tell him he called 911 on himself. He doesn't remember doing that. It doesn't sound like him.

–

When they let Alice in, she looks worse than he's ever seen her; with her face puffed up, her eyes hollow, she's like a drowning victim. The first thing she does is slap him, and he thinks, Fair.

Then she grasps his hand, and he hisses through his teeth at the pain of moving his arm, but doesn’t take it away. From the bedside, she lays her forehead down on his shoulder and says nothing. He's grateful for that. He turns his face into her hair, breathing in her perfume: something fresh, green.

After a solid twenty minutes of total silence, a nurse pads her way into the room and says, "Mr. Donovan, your father is here."

"I don't want him," he says, feeling his heart rate spike. "Alice, please."

Alice hesitates, and he squeezes her hand tighter, pleading.

Alice and the nurse exchange a look, and then the nurse squares her shoulders, knowing the information she's about to relay is going to be incredibly poorly received.

He turns his face aside and looks out the window, as Alice breathes on his shoulder, in and out.

"You know they've got me in this dress that lets my ass hang out?" he says.

She makes a noise. He can't tell if it's a laugh or a sob.

–

They don't send him to the psych ward, but it's a near thing.

–

"You called 911 yourself," Alice shouts, tears streaming down her face, "You didn't want to, you changed your mind."

"So I failed," he screams at her. "I failed. That's all it is."

"You didn't fail," she says, and gathers him into her arms. Despite himself, despite his rage, his despair, he curls his spine, buries his face in her frizzy hair. "You survived. You fucking bastard, it's not failure," she weeps, "Can't you see it like that?"

He can't, he thinks. He doesn't know how, he thinks. "I want to," he whispers, and begins to cry.

–

The shrink gives him a handbook.

One of the pages asks: What do I need and want?

Not to return to the hospital

Relief from depression

Relief from distressing voices

A life without alcohol or other drug problems

Financial help

A place to live

A trusted friend

Better relationships

Hope for the future

Other:

He checks off six boxes. Under Other, he writes, NEW TATTOO, just to be an ass. 

Beneath the list reads: Know that you can have these things.

–

With the black guitar sold long ago, he buys a new one to practice on. Well, a new old one. Pre-loved. A real Strat, not a knockoff. Red body, black pickguard. He’s a little in love with it if he’s honest. Nerve damage makes it hard to hold a chord, but he tries.  

He considers taking up bass instead, putting his handful of informal lessons from years ago to the test, but he just can’t quite bring himself to do it. When it comes down to it, he’s just not a bassist. 

–

His first foray into sobriety doesn’t even last a month. His hands shake a little as he’s paying in the liquor store; the sound of glass clinking together in the bag is deafening to him. When he gets home, he stands the bottle of bottom-shelf whiskey on his counter and just stares at it for a few minutes, pacing from one wall to the other. Then he reaches an arm out, and there’s seventeen days down the drain.

–

They tried to get him to go to AA, but the God stuff was too big a turnoff. So he and the shrink are trying to come up with something else that works for him.

Funnily, he finds that praying the Rosary calms him down.

–

He calls Anna up. They haven't spoken in a while, not since he got fired. Not since he got so drunk he shattered her glass coffee table and flaked on paying for it. Not since she cut him off one night and he started screaming at her in the packed bar. Not since Martine had to throw him out of the Pross. 

It's stilted, intensely awkward, but his shrink has told him he needs to try and make amends, to connect with people again. She agrees to meet for lunch. He finds he's missed her so much it hurts.

–

The first time he goes to a show afterwards is terrifying. Xs on his hands, he spends the entire set lurking with his back pressed to the wall. But he makes it through the night.

–

The first time he has sex afterwards is even more terrifying. She's cool, nice, has more tattoos than he does. He lets her take his jacket off and tries not to tremble, praying she'll ignore his left wrist. Instead, she gives him a quick glance, before pushing him down on the bed. She peels out of her jeans and straddles him, shows him the lines across her thighs. Then she takes his hands and puts them on her skin, right over the marks. He has to blink hard. 

She kisses him very sweetly for a one-night stand, and in the morning he makes them both eggs. They don't see each other again.

–

He waits in line for two hours for a shitty little Friday the 13th flash piece. While he’s getting it inked into a gap on his tricep, the artist casually mentions that they happen to be doing touch ups for cheap this weekend. He glances down at the silvery pink line on his forearm, slicing carelessly through the black ink. Then he says thanks, but he doesn’t have anything he needs touched up. 

–

He has a bad week and relapses again, hard. It was bound to happen, he thinks pessimistically, but it doesn’t erase the shame. He doesn’t tell his shrink for weeks, because he’s irrationally terrified the guy will yell at him. When he finally does admit it, like wrenching shrapnel from his chest, the shrink just says, “We’ll make a plan.” And they do.

–

He plays a song all the way through for the first time. He doesn't cry, but it's a near thing. 

–

Leaning against a headstone, he says, out loud, “I don’t know, man. It’s so hard sometimes. Duh. It’s hard for everyone. But it’s still hard.” He picks at the grass. “I wish you were here a lot,” he says, more quietly. “I think we’d get on like a house on fire.”

Then he fishes in his pocket for a lighter. “I’m pretty sure I remember you smoking a couple times, so I hope you don’t mind.” Stretching out a leg, cigarette smoking away between his lips, he continues, “Anyway, I got a job. Which is great. Some hole-in-the-wall computer repair place. It’s not much, but. I dunno. It’s nice to be putting things back together.” 

–

“So I had this girlfriend,” he says one day in therapy, “when I was younger. And I think she maybe fucked me up pretty bad.”

–

“Should you even be smoking?” Martine says suspiciously, ashing her cigarette. 

He grins, and takes a drag. “The doctors said I got to pick one vice to keep.” “Smoking beat out sex?” she says, skeptical. 

Now he makes a face and sighs. “Well, no. But I’m basically giving celibacy a whirl anyway, so.”

She gestures at the rosary wound around his left wrist. “Really leaning into the Catholic thing, huh.”

“Yeah,” he says, blowing smoke at her. “You know I’ve got mommy issues. I’m thinking of getting an immaculate heart on my ass.”

It’s Martine’s turn to make a face. 

–

He tries to make pad thai on his stovetop. He burns the bottom, which is, of course, fucking typical. But the rest tastes fine. He saves the recipe.

–

To the headstone, he says, “So I found one of your old coworkers– colleagues, whatever– on Facebook, and we actually chatted for, like, hours. About you, of course. And I gotta say, I really– you had girlfriends? I can’t believe I didn’t know that. I mean, I can, because there’s no way Miles was gonna tell me. If he even knew, I guess. Not like I’m gonna ask. But holy shit, dude. I mean, holy shit. This whole time, I thought I was– Man. So is it genetic?”

The headstone doesn’t reply, but a robin sings somewhere.

–

He lands a new job, actually officially doing sound for a venue he loves. The Pross went under about a year ago. He rides past it every once in a while. Now it’s an Italian restaurant. He wants to think, Good riddance, on account of the terms he left on, but honestly, he’s more compelled to salute. 

–

He gets a call from an unknown number. He almost lets it go to voicemail, sure it's another fucking telemarketer. But for some reason he picks up. Phone clamped between his ear and shoulder as he does the dishes, he says, "Jax Donovan."

He hasn't heard the voice in five years, but he recognizes it from "Hey, feel free to hang up on my ass if you so choose–" The phone nearly falls into the sink but he catches it just in time, and presses it back to his ear, wet hands notwithstanding "--but hi. It's Jim."

There's a buzzing in his head. "This is Jax," he says, stupidly.

A pause. "Yeah, it sure is."

"Fuck me," Jax groans, bringing a hand to his head. He stares across the room, through the kitchen window. The sky is clear. Pale blue, like a robin’s eggshell. This is not a phone call he ever expected to get. The silence stretches on between them as Jax tries to figure out if he does, in fact, so choose.

Ultimately, he thinks he makes the right decision.

“Uh, how have you been, man?” 

[wefoundloveunderthelight]

Mystery Of Pixie Hollow by GleefullyCaptainSwan

Chapter 5/11

Read on AO3: | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

Or on FF

Stacy's Tortured Crew: @teamhook @kmomof4 @stahlop @lfh1226-linda @ilovemesomekillianjones @itsfabianadocarmo @mariakov81 @qualitycoffeethings @zaharadessert @jrob64 @jonesfandomfanatic @natascha-ronin @tiganasummertree @xarandomdreamx @therooksshiningknight @batana54 @superchocovian @onceratheart18 @ultraluckycatnd @snowbellewells @karlyfr13s @the-darkdragonfly @xsajx @deckerstarblanche @jonesfandomfanatic @winterbaby89

Chapter 5: Better Off on my Own

“Would you slow down, lass.” Killian tugged on her hand, pulling her back toward him.

“Sorry, I’m just nervous.”

He pulled her closer to him, a small smile growing as he brushed her hair out of her face. She smiled nervously. “Just act natural.” He said softly as his fingers slid across her jaw. “Relax, Emma.” He whispered as he leaned toward her, his mouth lightly caressing the corner of her lip. His heart raced the moment they touched, quickly pulling away, a smirk on his face as she stared at him dumbfounded.

“Better now?” He inquired, and she nodded silently. “Alright, let’s go find that fun house.” She walked beside him, her eyes darting in every location as she searched for anything that seemed familiar.

“Him.” She nudged him with her elbow. “He was manning the ride that night.” A short stalky man was standing at the entrance to the Ferris Wheel. Killian recognized him as well, he was sure he had sold them the tickets the night Alice disappeared.

“Aye, he’s familiar to me as well.” He smiled at her and nodded his head, diverting their steps in another direction so as not to come face to face with the man.

As soon as they faced the fun house ride, his steps stilled as he saw the woman they had captured previously. “Tink.” He said softly, before his entire world stood still. Behind the woman walked a blonde girl, eyes blue as the sky, staring toward the ground. “Alice.” She was older, her hair was longer than he remembered, but he would recognize her anywhere. He rushed toward them before Emma yanked him backward by the arm.

“Stop. We can’t just grab her; we need to find out where they have the others.” Killian reluctantly agreed with her, and they walked quickly toward the house of mirrors.

“Tickets.” The man asked with his hand out.

Killian frantically searched his jacket trying to find the tickets quickly. He watched his daughter disappear behind the door into the house. Finally, his fingers found the paper tickets and he shoved them toward the man. “Here.” He pushed through the turnstile and rushed toward the fun house, Emma hot on his heels.

“Killian slow down.” She yelled behind him, but he couldn’t stop moving, he needed to get to Alice. Rushing through the door he found his image staring back at him. Looking back and forth he tried to get his bearings, putting his hands out in front of him to slide against the mirrors as he made his way down the halls. He felt the desperation growing inside of him the further he went into the blasted house of horrors.

He needed to find Alice!

When he reached the exit, the light flooding into the darkness, he cried out as if in pain. “No.” Turning around he wandered back through the house until he found Emma, clawing her way through the halls.

“Did you find anything?”

“Did I find anything?” He repeated sarcastically. “They’re gone. I could have had her…” He slammed his hand into the glass mirror in front of him, shattering it to the ground but ignoring the way the woman jumped beside him.

“But you saw her, you know Alice is alive…”

“Don’t.” He cut her off. “Don’t talk to me about her, don’t even say her name. I would have had her tonight if it weren’t for you holding me back.” He shouted.

“Holding you back? I only asked for you to wait, to try and find the others.”

“And because of you she’s gone. You made me lose her twice.” She stepped away from him. “I was better off on my own.”

“Killian, I never meant…”

“Save it, I should have known better than to trust someone else.” He growled, placing the car keys in her hand and storming toward the entrance.

~*~

Emma peered through her eyes, the sunlight blinding her as it streamed through the blinds. She heard movement on the other side of her apartment and groaned as she rolled onto her side. Dragging herself to sit, her feet hit the floor with a thud. She stood wearily, sliding her feet across the wooden boards beneath her feet as she made her way through her apartment.

“Look what the cat dragged in. Bloody hell you look like shit.” Will was standing in her kitchen with a plate of eggs in his hands. “I was just about to wake you.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Checking up on ya, makin’ sure ya eat.”

“I’m fine.”

“Emma, you’ve been running around all over the bloody state, how is any of that fine?”

“I have to find him, Will.”

“Emma, I know…” A knock at the door interrupted them and Emma jumped at the sound. “You expectin’ someone?”

She walked toward the door and looked through the peephole, her eyes widening at the sight on the other side of her door. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Stepping back, she tore open the door. “What can I help you with, officers?” She said with a saccharine tone and a fake smile plastered on her face.

“Miss Swan.” Officer Nolan said with a nod. “May we speak to you for a moment?”

“Did you find Henry?”

Officer Locksley shook his head in the negative and Emma rolled her eyes and stood away from the door to allow them to enter. “So why are you wasting my time this morning instead of searching for my son?”

“We’ve come to ask you a few questions.” David glanced at his partner before turning back to her. “About your visit to the fair last night, with Killian Jones.”

“Emmie…” Will admonished as he sat down at the table beside her and Emma shot him a warning glance.

“What? If they aren’t going to do their job, someone has to.” She growled.

“Ma’am, can you explain what you were doing at the fair last night?” Officer Locksley asked.

“I really enjoy cotton candy.” She said with a shrug as he began laying photos onto the table. Emma’s eyes widened as pictures of Emma and Killian fell to the table. One of the two of them holding hands, a picture of him kissing her, them standing in front of the fun house.

“How long have you been working with Killian Jones?”

“Are the two of you in on this together?”

“Where do you keep the children?” Officers Nolan and Locksley went back and forth asking questions in an accusatory tone that Emma did not appreciate.

Suddenly Will stood from the table, anger in his eyes. “How dare you. I don’t like the accusations you’re making.” He warned as the two men stood up, their eyes glaring at Will.

“We’re just trying to get information. Doing our job.” Robin spat.

“If you were doing your job, you’d have found her bloody son already. But since you haven’t, maybe you should get back to it.” He began to advance on the officers.

“Will.” Emma shouted, standing up and putting her hand on his chest. “You have pictures of me and Killian. So what? He understands what I’m going through, we have shared experience. Am I under arrest for going out on a date?” Emma asked angrily.

“Not as of yet.” Robin huffed.

“Then I’d like you to leave.” She tilted her chin upward, “Now.”

Stepping toward the door, Will waited until they had exited before slamming it shut and turning to face her. “What the hell is that?” He asked pointing to the photos. “You’re bloody dating this man now?”

“No, of course not. We were undercover.”

“Undercover?” His eyes widened. “Are you bloody mad, woman?”

“I have to find him and Killian, well, he’s just as motivated as I am. But…” She frowned. “He’s not speaking to me anymore.”

“What? Why?”

“Last night, we saw his daughter. He wanted to go after her, but I told him to wait, I wanted to find Henry too.” She sat at the table, picking up the photo of the two of them standing in front of the fun house. “By the time we caught up to her, she was gone.” Her thumb grazed the photo of him kissing her. “He blames me for losing his daughter. And he’s right. It was my fault.”

“Emma, this is crazy, you can’t go around searching for Henry on your own. Something else is going on here. Something dangerous. You have to be careful. And you have to stay away from this Killian Jones.”

She tossed the photo to the table. “You don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

“Good. We’ll find Henry, but…” He wrapped his arms around her. “I can’t lose you too.”

“You’ll never lose me.” Emma smiled as she snuggled into her friend’s chest. “Can you stay tonight? I don’t want to be alone.”

“You’re not alone, Em. No matter what happens, you’ll never be alone.”

~*~

Killian angrily slammed himself into the metal chair in the center of the room, his eyes glaring around the tin box they put him in. He was furious when Officer Nolan picked him up from work and drug him into the station back in Storybrooke. He was pretty sure his reach was out of her district and yet here he was in Officer Mills station.

The door opened and Regina Mills entered the room, the air of superiority and arrogance filling the space around him.

“For what reason am I afforded this pleasant meeting?” He stood as she entered the room.

“Sit.” She demanded as she tossed a folder onto the table. “Why is it that trouble seems to follow you, Mr. Jones?”

“I haven’t the foggiest idea what you are inferring about.”

She opened the folder to a photo of him and Emma standing in front of the fun house last night, hand in hand, staring at each other.

“Bloody hell, does my ass always look like that in those jeans?” He grinned.

“Where’s the girl?” She demanded.

“Well, I’m not certain right now, you see Emma and I have a pretty open relationship. We aren’t exclusive, I don’t keep tabs on her.” He sat back in his seat, crossing his arms.

“I’m not talking about the damn woman you’ve roped into helping you, I’m talking about the girl.” She yelled, pointing to the small blonde child in the photo standing in front of them. “Why is it that you and this Swan woman show up and another kid goes missing?”

Killian sat up suddenly. “Wait, a girl went missing last night? How did I not see her? I was so focused…” He trailed off.

“Oh, now you’re suddenly paying attention. Where did the jokes go?”

“I was just trying to get to Alice.”

“Excuse me?”

“My daughter…she was there.” Killian picked up the photo, he barely remembered the blonde girl from last night, he was so focused on getting into the fun house to find his daughter. How had he missed this child in front of him? “I didn’t…”

“Stop talking, Jones.” The door swung open as the fiery woman stepped into the room. “Regina.” She said pointedly, “I know you aren’t questioning my client without his lawyer present.”

“Of course not Ms. French.” Regina said with a frown as she slammed the folder closed on the table.

“Are you charging Mr. Jones today?”

“You already know that I’m not.”

“Let’s go.” She said as she narrowed her eyes in Killian’s direction. Killian smiled at Regina as he stood.

Killian leaned over as he approached Regina. “We’re on the same side here. I swear to you, my daughter was there last night. If this girl went missing, that has to mean something. I’m begging you…follow the trail.”

“Killian, now.” Belle demanded.

Killian followed Belle through the halls of the station, he could tell by her posture that she was angry. He had known Belle since he before he had met his wife. She had been at his side when Alice was born, when they put Milah in the ground, and the day that Alice had gone missing. Without Belle, there was no doubt that he would have put himself in an early grave.

The moment they exited the station, she turned on him angrily. “What were you thinking?”

“I almost had her.”

“Almost had her…” She turned and stormed toward the car, turning back to him as she reached the vehicle. “You almost got arrested. Do you realize what it took to get them off your back last time you showed up around that damn carnival?”

“Belle, I’m close.”

“You’re close to losing your best friend, Killian.”

He frowned. “I swore to her that I would find her! I can’t give up on her.”

She opened the car door and climbed in the passenger side, tossing her keys toward him. “You’re driving, I’m too angry to drive.”

He walked around and climbed into the driver’s seat of the car, starting the engine before he turned toward her. “I’m sorry you had to come down here.”

“When your boss called and told me they hauled you out in the back of a cruiser again, I swear Killian, I can’t keep doing this.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Who is this woman?”

“What woman?” He turned back and pulled out of the parking lot, heading toward home.

“The blonde in the photos, the woman you were kissing…” He could feel her staring at him. “Who is she?”

“No one.” He caught a glimpse of her and frowned. “Look, she’s just helping me out. Her son is missing too.”

“Killian…”

“She showed up at my door asking questions about Alice. Her kid went missing in Storybrooke too.”

She groaned. “Killian, I know you miss her. I miss her too. But you can’t keep going to that fair.”

“Another kid went missing when we were there.”

“Yeah, and they think you did it. Don’t you get it? They want to pin this whole damn mess on you. Stop helping them make their case, you look like a crazy man.”

“I’m not bloody crazy, Belle. I saw her last night. She was there.”

Belle sighed in the seat beside him. “I’m not saying you’re crazy. If you saw her, then she was there. But you can’t help Alice if you are rotting away behind bars.”

“No one else is helping her. The only person who has even looked at me like I made any bloody sense lately is Emma Swan.”

She reached her hand across the seat and touched his arm. “I believe you. I just don’t want to see you get your hopes up like last time.”

“I’m going to find her, Belle.” He replied softly as he pulled into the spot and parked the car.

“I know you will, Killian.”

“I can’t just give up on her. She’s out there, going through something and I can’t be there to protect her. She’s alone and scared and I…” He swallowed hard. “I failed her.”

“No. You’ve never failed her. Never. Killian listen to me…” Her hand reached over and pressed against his cheek, pulling his eyes in her direction. “When God was giving out dad’s, he gave Alice the best one out there and I know that if anyone is going to find her, it’s you. Just be safe, please.”

He wiped at his eyes with the edge of his sleeve. “I love you ‘Elle. Have I told you that lately?”

“It’s always nice to hear it.” She smiled. “Now, have you eaten?”

“You know the answer to that.”

She grinned as she reached for the handle to the door. “Good, then let’s get something to eat and maybe you can tell me a little about this Emma woman you were kissing in that picture.”

He groaned. “There’s nothing to tell, we were working undercover, that’s all.”

“Mm hmm, yes it looked like you were having a terrible time.” Killian tapped the top of the vehicle and smirked.

“Honestly, love, there’s nothing to tell.”

“Perhaps if you started from the beginning, I’ll decide for myself.” As Killian followed her into the diner he knew there would be no denying his friend the tale of how he met Emma Swan. Though he wasn’t sure the story even mattered anymore, after the way he yelled at her the last time they spoke, he was sure that she would never speak to him again anyway.

~*~

“What do you want us to do, Cap?”

Regina stared at the photo on her desk. She wasn’t sure what Killian Jones and Emma Swan were up to, but something told her things weren’t as they seemed. The disappearances at the carnival were too coincidental to not be related to each other. Throughout the years she had kept her eye on Killian Jones, the man had all the red flags she knew to look out for. Dead wife, convict, taking care of a kid on his own, everything screamed that he was responsible for whatever happened to his daughter.

But then other children started going missing, each time they tried to trace it back to the man but there was never anything concrete that connected him beyond his interference in her investigation. Perhaps if Regina had her own children she might have understood the man’s desperation but as a single woman, devoid of her own family or significant other, she simply couldn’t grasp being so unable to let go of something.

Then there was the matter of Emma Swan. Somehow she had gotten involved with Killian and now there were two of them out there getting in the way of her investigation.

Something wasn’t adding up. She had researched Emma Swan, single mother, barely making ends meet, but from everything she had dug up, the woman loved her child more than anything else in her world. For her to be involved with bad boy Killian Jones, meant that she believed that this man could find her son, that she believed his daughter was still out there…missing.

“Go over the Jones and Swan cases one more time.” She looked up at her reports standing in her office. “Go through everything, every piece of evidence we have. Go back out to that carnival, snoop around. Something stinks here and I want to know what it is.”

“I thought Killian was our guy?” Robin asked.

“Maybe…” She stared at the photo of the man with his daughter. “Let’s just make sure we’re right.”

[star-going-supernova]

I would certainly be interested in reading the unofficial version of Damsell in Distress if it's not a problem. - Elsie

Ask and ye shall receive! It starts immediately after Maddie tells Godzilla that her dad was kidnapped and includes the beginning of the original ending. It's also incomplete, as I stopped writing the murdery part maybe 2/3 of the way through.

Please be warned, what happens isn't nice. If KiaRL was too much for you, maybe skip this one. It's similar to what Godzilla did to those kidnappers, but it's from one of their POVs, so, like, there's a bit of detail in some places. I wouldn't say it's overly graphic, but... yeah. Exercise caution.

• • •

Kidnapping, when done right and with fellow professionals, was a lucrative business. Blake Curtis knew that well.

It was with well-earned confidence that he and the other seven members of their homegrown operation relaxed in the nice office space they’d rented out for this particular venture. The building was decently far from the mark’s—no pun intended—place of residence, but not so far from the location of the organization he belonged to.

You didn’t want the fingers to start rotting in the mail, after all. And sending them in anything other than a padded envelope was bound to be memorable to the wrong people.

Being forgettable was, in all ways, the name of their game.

Blake and every last one of his associates were plain. Not a one of them was particularly attractive, or had stand-out features, or had public interactions outside of the most basic, scripted conversations. And for that reason, no one every gave them a second look. No one ever remembered them more than a few minutes after an encounter—and they certainly wouldn’t have been able to describe them.

It was an art form, and a well-paying one, at that.

Completely unconscious in one of the other rooms in the office was their newest target, a man reportedly high in the rankings of Monarch. Mark Russell: divorced—the ex was dead—father of two children—one of whom was also dead—and living with his young daughter out in the middle of nowhere. Important enough to his peers to be worth a ransom, but not so important to have a bodyguard.

They couldn’t have asked for a better setup.

With the target secured and unable to cause any problems, it was just a matter of waiting. Four of his associates had broken out a pack of cards and were coming up with increasingly ridiculous ways to cheat at their game. Alice, his cousin, was reading Pride and Prejudice by the window, sipping at some fruity drink she’d made for herself.

Ryan was napping on the couch, his hat covering his face, and good ole Winnie, the leader of their group, was typing away at her laptop.

Blake sighed, content, and leaned back in his comfortable office chair. He took a drag of his cigarette and let his eyes drift half-closed. The toe of his shoe absently slid along the ground, lazily spinning him back and forth.

A faint tremble went through his chair.

Off to his side, Alice made a dreamy noise. A burst of laughter rose up from the card players.

Another tremble, slightly stronger than the first, had him peeking his eyes open. An earthquake, perhaps? They didn’t have any neighbors in the building—they’d made sure of that—but no one else seemed to be noticing the shudders passing through the structure.

They began to increase in intensity, and the time between them grew shorter.

Snorting awake when a mug rattled on the coffee table, Ryan pushed his hat up and raised his head. “What’s doin’ that?” he asked groggily.

Alice and Winnie looked over at him. Blake stood, keeping his stance wide as the tremors grew worse.

“I don’t think this is how earthquakes work,” Alice said, sliding a ribbon into her well-worn book.

The four playing cards, who Blake now saw were sharing a couple bottles of alcohol between them, set their game aside, still giggling.

“A train?” Blake suggested. “Helicopters?”

The windows rattled, and outside, someone screamed.

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Omar said, stumbling up from his seat. He took a swig from one of the bottles. “I rem’ber this scene.” He stared into the narrow opening with one eye squinted shut.

“What are you doing?” Eli asked, less drunk-looking than the other three.

“Lookin’ for ripples. That’s how you know a t-rex is coming.”

“It won’t work if you’re holding the bottle, moron,” Dennis, which was wonderfully ironic, said. Blake didn’t pay them any attention, though, as he went over to one of the windows.

He could hear more people screaming, and despite a poor vantage point, he was just able to make out a number of people running frantically down the road. A car swerved wildly around the fleeing populace, crashing into a light pole. The driver climbed out, appearing to be muttering in a panic to himself, and took off at a sprint.

“Something’s happening out there,” he said to Alice as she joined him.

Sandy chuckled. “Maybe it’s a monster attack.” She stood and cracked her back.

An enormous crash jolted the building so badly, everyone standing found themselves grasping desperately for something to hold on to. Ryan tumbled off the couch with a yelp. Omar lost his footing entirely and fell with a strained chuckle. The glass bottle hit the edge of the table and shattered.

While Omar complained about getting bits of glass in his hands, Blake, closely followed by Alice and Winnie, ran to the roof access the office space came with.

“Maybe something crashed,” he huffed out. “A plane, or a huge pile-up—”

“If only we could be so lucky,” Winnie said, and then they were bursting out onto the roof.

He heard his cousin whisper a curse in another language, his own jaw going slack as his mind went blank with an instinctual fear.

Not a few blocks away, Godzilla stood between high-rises. He moved slowly, almost carefully—if you were willing to personify such a monster—but every few footfalls, he seemed to step particularly hard, shaking the earth.

The three of them remained frozen, watching with wide eyes, as Godzilla growled, periodically swinging his head around. Like he’s looking for something, Blake thought.

He—like most of the world—had seen footage from at least one of the past incidents involving the Titans. Godzilla in San Francisco had been all anyone could talk about for a few weeks, and the clip of him leaving the city always seemed to be playing on one news channel or another. A sensational tragedy.

It didn’t do the real thing justice. Such a massive creature—he hadn’t comprehended before now just how large Godzilla truly was. And it was different to see him with his own two eyes, where the possibility of an internet hoax couldn’t explain a thing.

“Whatever he’s doing here can’t be good,” Winnie finally said. “We should leave before any other Titans show up.”

She vanished back into the office, leaving Blake and his cousin to stare at the monster towering over them.

A disbelieving huff left Alice. “That’s not something you see everyday, huh?”

“Are we supposed to run away?” Blake asked. “Or is it like a tornado drill?”

“If Winnie says we’re leaving, then we’re leaving.” She paused as Godzilla leaned forward to sniff at a skyscraper. A few more steps, and he’d be walking entirely away from them. As it was, Blake figured someone with a better throwing arm could probably hit the Titan from where they were standing. Alice shook her head and turned toward the roof access. “C’mon, we gotta grab Russell. We’ll have to figure something else out if the drop-off gets changed.”

Since her back was facing Godzilla, Blake was the only one who say the way the monster’s head turned in their direction. His spines pulsed blue, sending a shock of fear down Blake’s own spine, and he took two thunderous steps closer to their high rise.

Blake stumbled back, suddenly unable to breath. His focus narrowed down to those inhuman, burning eyes, suddenly centered on him. His reaction must have caught Alice’s attention, because he distantly heard her scream out behind him.

For some reason, hearing her scream like that was what made Blake snap out of his daze, just in time to see Godzilla’s claw-tipped hand-paw thing closing in on their roof.

The building shook when he made contact, a web of cracks spiraling out from Godzilla’s palm. Blake lost his balance entirely, landing painfully on his tailbone. Even then, he couldn’t completely shake himself out of his stupor enough to stand, much less run.

After sniffing again, Godzilla started growling, low and dangerous. The sound of it nearly paralyzed Blake.

He managed to pull himself backward in an awkward crab-walk until his back hit the short raised ledge surrounding the roof. Through it all, he couldn’t look away from Godzilla’s eyes.

Could an animal really feel as much fury as Blake thought he could see in them?

A commotion below finally ripped away his attention. Ryan had emerged, stumbling for the soccer-mom-style van they had parked across the street. He was emitting a constant stream of panicked gibberish. Sandy was standing at the base of the building, hollering at him to hurry up and stop tripping over himself.

“Hey!”

Blake whipped around. Dennis was standing in the doorway with an impatient look on his face. “Didn’t you hear Winnie? We’re leaving!”

An odd buzzing interrupted his attempt to answer, and both men looked up in surprise. Godzilla, was above them, leaning on the roof. He had blue eyes now, Blake realized.

Dennis made a strangled sound. “What the hell—”

Godzilla’s mouth opened as the buzzing seemed to reach its peak, and a bright blue beam of light shot out from between his razor sharp teeth. Blake cried out and curled up into a ball. The heat from being so close to the beam was painfully intense.

Dennis was huddled in the stairwell when Blake managed to look over at him, ears ringing and spots popping in his vision. His jeans were darker on the insides of his thighs. Blake couldn’t even blame him.

As his hearing returned after a few seconds, he became aware of a terrible shrieking. Leaning up to look over the ledge at the ground, he stared uncomprehending for a moment before the reality of what he was seeing hit him. He turned and heaved, throwing up his lunch beside him.

He caught sight of Dennis rushing over, but he wasn’t able to warn him away fast enough, and after a moment, his colleague was vomiting over the edge of the roof.

The road below was nothing more than a scorched crater, their van reduced to a smoldering mound of metal. Ryan was completely gone, just vaporized in the heat of the laser-like beam Godzilla had shot.

But that wasn’t the worst of it.

Having been close to the beam himself, Blake’s skin felt tight, like after getting a bad sunburn. What little of his skin he could see was reddened, but not blistering.

Sandy, who’d been down there with Ryan, hadn’t been as lucky.

She must have just ventured away from the building when Godzilla fired, not close enough to share Ryan’s fate, but closer than Blake.

What he’d seen would haunt his nightmares for years to come, he suspected. The writhing mass of flesh, with bubbling sores, all melted in on herself, was unlike anything he’d ever seen. The roof was too high for him to have seen details, but he’d gotten the impression that Sandy’s face was nothing more than a smooth plane, her open mouth the only remaining orifice.

Dennis was babbling as he remained hunched against the ledge, but Blake couldn’t make himself understand any of the words.

Gagging over the sour taste lingering on his tongue, Blake shrunk back as he looked up at Godzilla, just in time to see the monster huff with his eyes half-lidded. It was an expression of satisfaction if he’d ever seen one.

“Wha’s goin’ on?” Blake heard Omar say.

Godzilla’s hand lifted from the roof, just as the man drunkenly stumbled through the door.

“Someone’s screamin’ down there,” he told them, rather pointlessly. “Winnie’s all worked up ’bout it.” He kept walking, apparently somehow missing the giant lizard monster looming right over them.

Blake saw it coming a moment too late. “Omar—!” he cried, reaching out as if he could shove the man to safety.

But he couldn’t, so he watched helplessly as Omar squinted in confusion as Godzilla’s hand slammed back down, squishing the man with disturbing ease.

He'd seen a snake, once, flattened on the roadside. Like a flat drawing. Omar was reduced to that, to a thin, bloody pile of viscera. His jeans were still visible, bunched up on themselves. Empty. Leaking.

Dennis groaned and threw up again, this time, on their side of the ledge. While he was distracted, Godzilla’s blood-dripping hand swept upward, on a collision course for the both of them. Blake yelled wordlessly and dove forward, ducking.

With a meaty thwack, Dennis was swatted up into the air. He shrieked as he fell, and the abrupt silence made Blake gasp out a terrified sob.

Why is this happening? he wondered hysterically, scrabbling at the rough concrete to try and put some distance between himself and the monster. But there was no safety to be found.

Godzilla once more returned his bloody hand to the rooftop, and Blake heard the way the building began to crumbled beneath the pressure. A large hole broke through the top floor’s ceiling with a grating crash, Godzilla’s hand mercilessly sinking into the building.

It was then that Blake heard the Alice’s screams.

(a few more deaths that I never wrote happen here. Blake is the only one left alive)

For a second, Blake thought he was about to witness Godzilla swallow a man down whole. That Mark Russell—who should be glad to still be unconscious—would disappear behind those teeth and never be seen again.

Instead, Godzilla made a rumbling noise so very different from his growls, and turned his back on the building. There was a mind-boggling gentleness in that blood-stained jaw, holding a human as if he were aware of how delicate the man’s body was.

It scared him, the possibility that Godzilla could be aware like that. Intelligent.

Blake slumped bonelessly against the rooftop beside the large hole and breathed a shaky sigh of relief. The blue sky was suddenly blocked by something gray, casting him in a shadow, and his last thought was of realization—that Godzilla’s tail was about two seconds away from demolishing the building and him with it.

He didn’t even have time to close his eyes.

• • •

Only a few hours after Maddie’s brief interaction with Godzilla, reports of the King entering a decently sized city reached Castle Bravo. He didn’t seem to be moving with aggression, or in response to a threat, so G-team was left largely on standby.

Everything changed quickly. There were suddenly alarms going off, people shouting, and panic spread like wildfire through the halls.

Maddie watched with a dull sense of bewilderment as Castle Bravo employees ran in and out of the control room, frantic and jittery. Having grown tired of sitting numbly on the floor, Maddie pushed to her feet and carefully wandered through the chaos.

Unwilling to interrupt anyone, she merely listened in, and through her unsubtle eavesdropping, learned Godzilla had apparently gone berserk on some humans in an office building. Just straight up murdered eight people.

No one seemed to know why—whether he’d been provoked somehow, or whether he’d simply gone into a city with the intent to kill.

Griffin suddenly appeared at Maddie’s shoulder, startling her. “C’mon, kid, we’re getting you out of here, all right?” She gently but firmly wrapped her fingers around Maddie’s upper arm and smoothly guided her out of the room.

“You’re not going after him?” she asked, hurrying to keep up.

“We will, but only after we get the handful of civilians back to the mainland.” She cast Maddie an apologetic glance. “Emergency protocols, kid. Ilene’ll join you soon to stay with you until we get things figured out.”

An Osprey being piloted by Griffin and another G-teamer took off a few minutes later, carrying seven civilians who had all been at Castle Bravo for different reasons. Maddie recognized two of them from the investigators for her dad’s kidnapping, and she tightly gripped the edge of her seat. If Godzilla’s totally uncharacteristic attack got her dad killed or something because Monarch had to set the case aside, she’d be having words with him.

Even with aircraft as fast as the Ospreys, the flight still took over an hour. Long enough for Maddie to slip in and out of a doze, never quite falling all the way asleep. It left her feeling even more tired by the time they landed.

They literally couldn’t have made the journey shorter, since the Osprey dropped them off within throwing distance of the ocean. A Monarch warehouse sat in a large industrial park, complete with an impressive pier jutting out into the water.

While the other civilians went inside, Maddie wandered out to the end of the enormous dock, where she sat down and dangled her feet off the side. It was high enough up that she couldn’t have touched the water even if she hung off the edge completely.

She lowered herself to her back and tried to keep her mind nice and empty. No thoughts were better than bad ones.

She wasn’t sure how long she stayed like that, though it couldn’t have been too long, when she heard the splashing of something moving through the water.

Maddie sat up, instantly surprised to see Godzilla approaching the pier, his head held oddly above the surface. She’d never seen him swim like that.

He rumbled at her as he got closer. Squinting, Maddie saw that he had something in his mouth, held careful between his teeth. She couldn’t tell what it was.

An animal of some sort, maybe? Regardless, she quickly stood and backed up, since Godzilla seemed to be aiming to deposit his cargo where she’d been sitting. He leaned up, the rumble only growing in strength, and carefully spit out the thing in his mouth. She had only a moment to appreciate how hilariously smug he looked with himself as he sank back to a comfortable depth, and then she was looking at the creature he’d presented her with.

She couldn’t have been more shocked if she’d been hit by a bolt of lightning. Maddie darted forward and collapsed painfully to her knees with a strangled little yelp.

“Dad!” she cried, frantically tugging and pushing at him. “Dad, please!

He was definitely breathing, which almost made her burst into tears on its own, but then his eyes sluggishly opened at her call, and Maddie gracelessly collapsed against him. Hugging someone who was half-unconscious and entirely restrained was awkward at best, but it was still one of the top five hugs she’d ever participated in in her life.

She heard him slur something back, quiet and raspy and still very out of it, but she was pretty sure it was her name.

“I should go get someone,” Maddie realized. It felt like she’d been dropped into a world that moved twice as fast as she did, or like she’d been trapped in slow motion since her dad had been kidnapped.

Luckily—because she wasn’t sure she could have pried herself away from her dad—someone seemed to have taken notice of Godzilla’s appearance, and a crew of people were already running out to them.

Before they could reach her, Maddie turned to Godzilla with a lump in her throat. “Thank you,” she said, trying to inject every ounce of her sincerity, and then some, into those two, utterly inadequate words.