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theadventurousdork · 4 years

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Dani Clayton and Jamie Taylor: A scene by scene study on the dynamism of a queer romance

by theadventurousdork

Well, here we are! An unnecessarily long essay breaking down Dani and Jamie’s scenes together that I decided to write purely for the fact that they have taken a hold of my queer little heart and haven’t given it back yet. Grab some awful tea or coffee and take a read, if you’d like!

Episode One

In this episode, we see Dani and Jamie meet for the very first time. This is the beginning of them and their story. It all starts in the kitchen of Bly Manor where a dirt covered Jamie walks in just in time for the residents of Bly to gather for an afternoon lunch.

“The gardener didn’t even introduce herself to the new au pair. She barely acknowledged her at all. Simply treated her as if she’d always been there. The others in the room just assumed they’d already met, which, if she were honest, was how the au pair felt when she first saw the young woman.”

Jamie walks in without even batting an eye to the new guest meanwhile, we see a soft eyed Dani looking over at the gardener with a gaze that gives the audience the first look to the gravitational pull that seems to be set between them. With Dani explaining her belief that she has seen someone on the parapet of the old wing, Jamie’s reaction is cold. She looks down at the table with a hardened look. She looks almost hurt. We learn later on that Jamie was the first adult resident of Bly to find the dead body of Rebecca Jessel floating in the lake of the manor which has probably resulted in trauma for Jamie as she remembers her late friend. With Owen and Hannah also finding the possibility of someone being on the balcony to be slim, the residents carry on with their meal. As the introduction to Jamie’s character, we are able to see her cold and guarded exterior. However, we also see her wit and humor as she comfortably pokes fun at Miles and Flora. The space she takes when she walks into a room isn’t empty for she fills it with her bold personality and Dani immediately takes notice of this yet she doesn’t show any hint of openly acknowledging it.

Episode Two

Episode two sheds a different light on the pairing. This episode gives us the first look at Dani’s trauma and the weight that she’s feeling on her conscience. But first, we see her changing the tide at Bly as she puts Miles and Flora to work in the garden as punishment for locking her in a closet. As Dani and the children pull weeds, a relaxed Hannah and Jamie watch from a distance just as Owen offers them drinks. As the trio sip on their gin and tea, they discuss Dani and how her presence is a nice addition to the grounds of Bly. This is where something I call “testing of the waters: part one” occurs. Jamie asks Owen if he thinks that Dani’s pretty before continuing to poke fun at his inability to answer. Now this seems rude, especially considering Hannah’s negative reaction to it even going as far as to remind her that romances don’t fare well at Bly. However, I feel like Jamie does this purposefully to see if Owen would provide any reaction that would indicate that he would have any intent of pursuing Dani, which he quickly shuts down as he states that he only has eyes for Hannah. Jamie’s choice to do this can boil down to a simple poking of fun or maybe something more in terms of her trying to understand, and maybe even deny, the gravitational pull that she’s feeling towards Dani by deflecting it to Owen.

This episode also offers the first glimpse into Jamie’s humanity and her deeply empathetic nature. As a distressed Dani storms outside in tears after being triggered from seeing her dead ex-fiancé’s glasses, our favorite gardener comes to the rescue with buckets in hand. Now this is probably the first time that Dani has physically seen Edmund’s glasses since she packed them away before leaving Bly which can explain her intense reaction to finding Flora wearing them. The part to highlight about this interaction between Jamie and Dani isn’t the fact that Jamie tries to console her but is the way that she does so. First and foremost, the gardener tries to make au pair laugh. She makes multiple attempts in her dialogue to make Dani crack the slightest smile. Jamie’s dialogue saying, “there we are,” after Dani finally gives into the attempted jokes shows how laughter was Jamie’s initial goal.

“How else do you think I keep all these fucking plants watered? With my endless well of deep inconsolable tears. That’s how. It’s what got me the job in the first place.”

After she accomplishes this, she goes on to relate to Dani by telling her that she cries several times a day in an effort to make Dani feel normal and not alone in her vulnerable state. To see someone as cold and guarded as Jamie admit to something like this quickly humanizes her and puts her in the position of becoming a dynamic character. Finally, Jamie tells the au pair that she’s doing a great job and leaves a smiling Dani to watch her as she leaves. This offers insight to how Jamie doesn’t like seeing people in distress. She radiates a grounding energy and puts it upon herself to ensure that no one feels like they’re in over their head.

Dani is able to return the favor as she finds an angry Jamie kneeled over a massacre of her rose bushes. Jamie’s hotheaded attitude is shown as she wastes no time getting up to confront Miles for cutting her roses before they were ready. The point to highlight in this moment is that Dani hears her out. Dani listens to Jamie’s grievances and not once tells her that she’s overreacting. Dani hasn’t known Jamie for long but she knows the importance of plants to the gardener and she doesn’t give Miles a pass at ruining something that matters so much to her. Having two separate scenes showing that each half of the pair have the power to talk each other down regardless of having known each other long, serves as a taste as what’s to come for their journey together.

Episode Three

Here we see “testing of the waters: part two” as the keepers of Bly watch over a sleeping Miles and Flora by a crackling fireplace. A tired Hannah rests her head on Owen’s shoulder as Dani and Jamie watch from across the room. Jamie goes onto ask Dani if she wishes she were leaning on Owen instead of Hannah and explains how every woman in town fawns over Owen without him even knowing it. This key moment goes hand in hand with Jamie’s testing of the waters in episode 2 when she tests Owen’s potential attraction to Dani to now testing to see if Dani would be interested in Owen. Jamie’s subtle comments allow her to see the odds of Dani liking Owen without risking any awkward interaction that would potentially be too invasive. With Owen being the only man in the house, it’s understandable for Jamie to want to see if Dani would pursue him which in turn would signal that Dani may not be interested in someone like her.

What comes next is what I like to believe is the moment that Jamie begins to fall for Dani and I mean really fall for her. The conversation about love and possession is beautifully done and sets the distinction that will go onto separate Peter and Rebecca from Dani and Jamie. After a vindictive history lesson on the toxicity of Peter and Rebecca’s relationship, Jamie mentions the idea of loving someone versus possessing someone to which Dani replies that she doesn’t believe should be possible. The effect of this is seen on Jamie’s face as she looks at Dani. It’s a face that says that she’s staring at someone who understands. Understands the fragility of love and the thin lines that separate healthy versions of love from toxic ones. It happens in the span of a second but we can see a switch click in Jamie’s mind just before she breaks her gaze. From what we collect of Jamie’s past a few episodes later, we come to understand that she has always been owned. Stemming from a broken home and growing up in the foster care system, Jamie has always been someone else’s possession to claim ownership of but never was truly loved and nurtured. To hear someone finally understand that there’s a distinction between loving someone versus feeling like they have the right of possessing them, must feel like a moment of overdue comfort.

After a restless night due to seeing Edmund’s ghost again, Dani wakes up the following morning to see Jamie asleep on the couch. This scene lasts merely thirty seconds so why make the choice to keep it in? What significance does it really hold? Is there any significance at all? For me, the significance is comfort. I feel like there’s a level of comfort that Dani feels when she realizes that Jamie was just down the stairs as she laid awake the night prior feeling as if she were alone in the depths of her own shadows.

The new day ends in the tragic news that Owen’s mom has passed away. After a sympathetic Hannah sends Owen off and leaves to light a candle for the deceased, the gardener and au pair are left to give their own goodbyes to each other. As Dani voices that she’s glad that Jamie stayed on the grounds throughout the day and the night prior, Jamie agrees and the two share an uninterrupted gaze at one another. Here is where we see Dani’s first advance as she takes hold of Jamie’s hand. Ever so slightly does Jamie latch back before Dani quickly pulls away.

“Who the hell knew?”

Those words leave Jamie’s mouth as a mixture of relief and shock paint her face as she gets into her car. Dani watches her drive away with an expression that reads “did I really do what I think I just did?” This moment is cut short as she turns around to see Edmund’s ghost staring blankly from behind her. Fear overcomes Dani and a scream is let out as Edmund gets sucked backwards by an invisible force. Up until this point, Edmund’s ghost has remained stagnant, either appearing in a reflection or in parts. This extreme motion of getting pulled backward into the manor can be read as a way to reflect the intensity of the emotions that Dani is feeling in that exact moment. The amount of tension that Dani must have felt to muster up the courage to reach for Jamie’s hand must have been extremely intense which in turn would evoke an intense manifestation of Edmund’s ghost.

Episode Four

Episode four is what I call the episode of guilt. In this hour, we delve deeper into Dani’s past and the darkness that she’s been holding in her heart. Dani’s life just before Bly is revealed and we see snippets of her life with Edmund. From childhood best friends to teenage lovers to getting engaged, Dani and Edmund almost seemed like the perfect set up to an 80s romcom. Almost is the key word here as it’s revealed that Dani breaks up with Edmund just before he storms out of their car into the path of an oncoming truck, killing him right in front of her thus revealing why Edmund is haunting her. Flashforward to Bly, Dani has begun to see Edmund’s ghost more and more. His first appearance in the episode is in Dani’s bedroom mirror just as Jamie helps unzip her dress. If it weren’t apparent in the episodes prior, Dani holds an immense amount of guilt. This guilt doesn’t only stem from being the reason why Edmund was killed but also lies in who she is. Edmund’s presence is symbolic for the guilt that Dani feels whenever she is just on the brink of exploring her sexuality. We see that every interaction that Dani has with Edmund’s ghost occurs just after she shares a moment with Jamie. With Jamie being a tangible representation of what Dani desires, her visions of Edmund become more intense and more frequent as her guilt increases.

The episode continues to show Dani experiencing Edmund’s haunting again when Jamie arrives back to the manor after attending Owen’s mom’s funeral. Here we see Dani catching herself staring at Jamie from across the table. When Jamie catches her gaze, Dani retreats to the sink where we see a mixture of nervousness and excitement across Dani’s face as she looks over her shoulder to take one more look. This moment filled with butterflies and yearning is cut short as Edmund’s hands slide across Dani’s hips as she sees him in a reflection which causes her to panic. Edmund’s presence is growing closer and stronger as Dani has begun to navigate her feelings for Jamie.

In a flashback, we get a glimpse into possibly one of the first times that Dani’s internal conflict of her sexuality crosses her mind. As Dani gets a dress fitted, the female tailor makes flirtatious passes at her. We see Dani acknowledge these advances and isn’t opposed to them occurring. The scene switches to a guilt stricken Dani, her eyebrows furrowed above saddened eyes that wander upward to Jamie who’s helping prep the table for dinner. This quick glance up to Jamie holds so much. The internal turmoil that Dani is feeling in this moment is palpable. To think that all of her moments of repression have led up to this. This feeling of wanting. This feeling of yearning. To live openly and authentically as the person she’s always been.

Later that night, the keepers of Bly hold a bonfire to honor those that they’ve lost. A weight can be felt on the four as they remember their late loved ones by the warmth of the fire. The concept of found family lies in the heart of those who find a home at Bly and can be seen through Hannah and Jamie’s odes to the late Rebecca, Dominic, and Charlotte.

“Because from here on in, the shadows get deeper… the nights get longer. We’re heading into the dark and we have to hang onto each other. So, we can only carry so much.”

As they commemorate who they’ve lost, Jamie mentions Dani and how she believes that Dani is the key to getting Miles and Flora back to themselves. A moment of pain rushes across Dani’s face as Jamie states how she believes that Dani is stronger than she thinks. To be in the midst of an internal conflict yet hear how someone believes in your strength can be something so painful to hear as you struggle to believe it yourself. We see Dani in a battle with herself as she fights to live authentically regardless of the guilt she’s carrying.

Eventually, the gardener and the au pair break away from Owen and Hannah to go to the greenhouse. A pivotal moment in the growth of Dani and Jamie’s relationship occurs here when Dani makes the decision to lay everything out on the table for Jamie and finally explain her history with Edmund as well as sometimes seeing his ghost.

“I’ve never told anybody that.”

These words that leave Dani’s mouth are so intimate and so vulnerable. Jamie takes what she’s being dealt and handles it with such a level of care that ensures that Dani knows that she’s being heard and respected. As we’ve seen Jamie talk Dani down from a breakdown in episode 2, we see a parallel here where Jamie takes it upon herself to make Dani laugh in an effort to console her. This moment is cut short as Dani musters the courage to ask the heartbreaking question that allows Jamie to make the decision whether to take or leave Dani and all of her baggage.

“Think I’m crazy?”

The pain in Dani’s face as she asks this shows just how scared she is to be rejected by the one person she wants the most. Without even a hint of hesitation, Jamie reassures her that nothing has changed in her view of Dani’s strength. A wave of relief comes over Dani as she’s hit her tipping point of acting upon the feelings she’s been suppressing all this time. She kisses Jamie and a moment of vulnerability is shown on Jamie’s face as she gets the confirmation that Dani is sure in her decision to do this. This moment is short lived by Edmund’s ghost appearing just behind Jamie, causing Dani to retreat in a panic. This is probably the worst cockblock in the history of cockblocks. Dani quickly retreats as Jamie mirrors her actions and immediately puts her walls back up as embarrassment sinks into them both in different directions. As the pair make it back to Hannah and Owen, Dani is visibly disappointed with how things ended up. Jamie’s comment of “it’s all good” as she guides Owen away from the bonfire shows how she would prefer to move on right away instead of confronting the confusing messages she’s just received from Dani.

The final scene of the episode is what I like to call Dani’s last straw. Dani’s guilt has turned to anger as she makes the decision to confront her own shadows by throwing Edmund’s glasses into the bonfire. Flashbacks of kissing Jamie intercut the scene to really solidify Dani’s desires to move on and be able to freely love her without the burden of her past.

“It’s just you and me then.”

Dani is tired. She’s waited for this moment. She’s finally accepted this part of her and she stares straight into Edmund’s ghost without any more fear. She’s found the strength to move on.

Episode Six

The sponsor of this episode is cement as Dani and Jamie cement their relationship in this hour. The episode begins with Dani’s attempt at reconciliation after the unfortunate cockblock of a certain dead ex-fiancé in episode four. Dani wakes up at the crack of dawn to visit Jamie in her greenhouse. Dani’s entire existence in this moment is ridden with nervousness as she puts on her best “everything is normal” face. Jamie is quick to notice how out of character waking up this early is for Dani to which Dani dismisses. We see that Jamie’s cold and guarded exterior is back and for good reason considering the unfortunate events at the end of her and Dani’s last interaction. Dani’s eagerness to patch things up puts her through several attempts at getting a reaction out of Jamie, each of which ends up being shut down. First is the gesture of giving Jamie coffee which results in her gently spitting it back into the cup. Next is Dani’s attempt at voicing how lonely she’s been.

“No Owen. No you.”

Dani’s voice drags on a little longer here to emphasize how Jamie’s absence the last few days have created a noticeable emptiness at the manor. Jamie responds with a simple “sometimes people wanna be alone” which seems like her own personal choice. However, Dani finally gets a reaction through Jamie’s icy exterior when she makes her laugh after a terrible attempt at a British accent. This mirrors the other instances prior where Jamie has made the effort to make Dani laugh in order to ease any emotional tension. After the ice has been broken, we see Dani’s first wind of confidence as she asks Jamie out to a boring ol’ date at a boring ol’ pub. We can see relief and a sense of pride strewn across Dani’s face when Jamie catches her drift. This marks the beginning of a fresh start for the two.

The next time we see the pair is in the kitchen as Jamie surprises Dani by coming back to the manor after initially leaving.

“Made it halfway home and I thought ‘rough day, maybe Poppins might fancy a little boredom.’”

Dani’s shocked excitement quickly turns into awkward nervousness as Hannah and Owen wave them away to spend time together. Jamie gently takes Dani’s hand and guides her out of the room. This presents the reaffirmation that Jamie still cares enough to try again with Dani.

The gardener leads the au pair somewhere off on the grounds of Bly to a secret area where moonflowers have bloomed. She explains how difficult they are to grow in England and how fragile their lifespan is.

“That’s a lot of work for a flower that only blooms once.”

“That’s what people feel like to me. Exhaustive effort, very little to show for it.”

“All of them?”

“All of them. Even you. Even me… especially me.”

Jamie’s emphasis on herself shows her insecurity of not being enough after anyone makes the effort to break down her walls and gets to know who she really is. What follows is a tear-jerking speech that gives insight on Jamie’s past and her painful upbringing. From the details of her childhood like growing up in a broken home, being forced into foster care, and serving time in jail, we begin to understand why she puts such a strong, guarded front. The absence of a family unit in her youth and young adulthood has resulted in her feeling like she may be unlovable. Like she might not be worth the effort of loving. Just as Dani did in episode four, this is Jamie laying everything out on the table for Dani to decide whether or not she will take or leave Jamie and all of her baggage. After Jamie finishes her monologue, Dani gets up and doesn’t say a word. She takes hold of Jamie and kisses her. No words can alleviate the pain that Jamie’s endured but the effort of loving her can be a start. Dani pulls away for a brief moment to reveal a relieved Jamie smiling back at her after she has realized that Dani has chosen to accept her for everything that she is.

The next scene they have together is the morning after Dani finally gets her first restful night’s sleep.

“The au pair could not remember that last time she’d slept this well. And she thought perhaps she never had.”

The moment to highlight in this short scene is Dani stopping to look at herself in the mirror. She is finally able to see her truest self without being haunted of guilt. She smiles as she looks at her reflection and to a sleeping Jamie in the bed next to her. She’s finally made peace with herself.

The final Dani and Jamie scene of the episode occurs at the end of the day just as Dani puts Flora to bed. Here we see the purity in the relationship that the two are creating. We see Dani unapologetically long for Jamie as she says she’s going to leave for the night. The au pair’s subtle look at the gardener’s lips as she speaks and the inching closer and closer to her shows just how high Dani’s confidence levels have risen to after being able to finally love freely. To see Dani in such a smitten state of mind is a breath of fresh air for not only herself but for us, the viewers, who have seen her in such a trapped state of mind when it comes to loving someone. The innocence of longing, in tandem of making the promise of spending other nights together, show how much care and caution they are taking in order to ensure that they’re building their relationship in a healthy manner. What they are both experiencing shows a trade off of what they each have to give to the other. Dani has accepted her sexuality, which is something that seems like Jamie has already done long ago. Meanwhile, Jamie is being loved and wanted, potentially for the first time which is something that Dani has already experienced in her past. Each half of the pairing offers support and guidance to the other as they begin their journey as a couple.

Episode Nine

This final episode of the season was an absolute doozy in terms of Dani and Jamie’s relationship. I’ve watched all of these scenes a solid million times over and I bawl my eyes out every. damn. time. But I mopped up my tear-soaked notebook and carried on for the purpose of this essay. The episode picks up action as Flora sacrifices herself to save Dani from being dragged and choked to death by Viola, the Lady of the Lake. As Jamie and Owen arrive back at the manor after both having awful dreams, they briefly see Hannah as she says that they’re needed at the lake. Jamie bolts the second she hears Dani yelling. She knows Dani’s in trouble and wastes absolutely zero time trying to find her. Jamie yells Dani’s name and you can feel that her sense of urgency has one goal in mind: save Dani.

“It’s you. It’s me. It’s Us.”

Viola has accepted the au pair’s offer. Besides Flora, Jamie is the only witness to see Dani’s last moment of belonging to only herself. From this point on, the darkness begins to fester deep within Dani’s soul and Jamie must live knowing that there was nothing that she could do as she watched Dani let part of herself go to let Viola in. Jamie runs into the lake as Dani’s trauma starts almost immediately. Her breathing is quickened, and she can’t stop repeating those final words that she felt deep in her bones. The gardener holds the au pair and takes one look at her as she already notices the effects of trauma. Dani’s darting eyes are panicked as she struggles to register that Jamie is there with her. Her breathing finally slows as Jamie holds her close in her attempts to calm her down. Jamie is Dani’s grounding force in this moment. Dani has finally freed the ghosts of Bly but at the cost of her own self. Her own life for the souls of the others.

The following scene highlights the days following the incident at the lake, immediately starting with Jamie and Owen looking into the well to find Hannah’s dead body. I wanted to highlight this moment just for the sake of Jamie for she has been there to witness all the deaths of her loved ones firsthand. She was the first adult to find Rebecca in the lake, one of the first to find Hannah in the well, and the first to see Dani die in more ways than one. She just can’t seem to catch a break but after all… death is beautiful, it’s natural.

Jamie finds Dani as she packs away her things however, Dani’s mind appears to be somewhere else. Darkness has begun to burrow itself into Dani’s soul. She’s shaking. She’s terrified. She’s mourning the loss of herself.

“I feel her. In here. It’s so quiet, it’s so quiet, but she’s in here. And this part of her that’s in here, it isn’t… peaceful.”

Dani explains how Viola’s presence feels like a beast waiting for her in a thick jungle. She feels hopeless again but this time feels heavier than all the rest. She has something to lose here now. She has a relationship with Jamie to lose, she has an entire life to lose. It isn’t as simple as feeling the guilt of losing someone or the guilt of loving someone. This feeling isn’t human, this feeling of dread goes beyond what the stages of grief entails. Where is she to go if she can’t go within herself to find peace?

“She’s gonna take me.”

A tear falls down Jamie’s face as these heavy words fall out of Dani’s mouth. This is the first hint of Jamie losing Dani. The fear of the inevitable fills the room with such a weight that no words can alleviate Dani’s pain. Yet Jamie tries. She tries her damn best. She offers her company with the seal of a pinky promise. She gives all that she can offer: herself and her love. Dani’s feeling of darkness doesn’t have to be lonely this time.

After a final goodbye to Henry, Miles, and Flora, the gardener and the au pair set off to start their lives together as the image of Bly fades away into the distance. Their life together starts at a diner as Jamie plans their course of action, hoping to end up in Vermont to see snow by Christmas. Here we see Dani looking at her own reflection in the tableside jukebox before stopping Jamie as she worries that they’re planning too far ahead. Dani’s cautious. She doesn’t want to get either of their hopes up.

“One day at a time is fine by me. As long as those days are with you, Poppins. One day at a time is what we’ve got.”

There’s a brightness in these words which in turn reflect onto them. There’s a light in this moment that shows that they haven’t lost their footing yet. And thus begins the final climb to their highest point before the tragedy that lies ahead occurs. We flashforward to a year later to The Leafling, the flower shop that the pair have opened up together. Dani is still Dani and Jamie is still Jamie but more in love this time than the last time and the time before that.

“You see, I’m not sick of you. At all. I’m actually pretty in love with you, it turns out.”

Here we see the reintroduction of the moonflower. The symbol of Jamie and Dani’s love. The last time we saw the moonflower was back when the pair finally made the choice to accept one another and start their relationship. This time, we see the moonflower one last time as Jamie chooses to solidify their love by finally breaking the big L word.

A montage ensues of the gardener and the au pair’s life together. Years have passed and peace was just finally in their grasp. Or so it seemed. This feeling of fluttering innocence is put to a halt as Dani sees Viola’s reflection in the door of the flower shop. Dani stops in her tracks as she stares at the reflection, her face is still as she stands in a quiet shock. That is until she sees Jamie through the door, smiling at her with such a playful gaze. This instance shows yet again that Jamie is Dani’s grounding force even after all this time and Dani’s own reflection returns not even a second later. This is a moment for the audience to take a peek into Jamie’s importance in Dani’s life, especially at a point that something so vengeful is making its way to the surface. To see Jamie’s smiling face cut through the image of the beast in the jungle, we can’t help but feel the same pain yet also the sense of relief that Dani must feel in this moment. Although Dani returns to herself, we can’t help but feel Viola’s presence looming.

The scene that follows is another significant milestone in Dani and Jamie’s journey together as Dani comes back home with a dying plant that’s concealing an engagement ring. Above the surface, Dani has put the ring in a dying plant because she knew that Jamie would waste no time investigating how to save it. But this can also be interpreted in relation to Jamie’s moonflower speech where she says “every living thing grows out of every dying thing” to show how their relationship is taking the next step of growth as she pulls the ring out of a dying plant. The ring itself is a traditional Irish Claddagh ring, which shows how Dani did her research and chose a ring specific to Jamie’s northern heritage. The hands that make the band of the ring represents friendship, while the heart representing love, and the crown representing loyalty. These representations are fitting for the relationship that the pairing has created and for Dani’s proposal speech.

“Here’s the thing - you’re my best friend and the love of my life. And I don’t know how much time we have left but however much it is, I wanna spend it with you.”

The thing to highlight about Dani and Jamie’s relationship is that it runs on Dani’s timeline which is something that is so important to showcase, especially considering how Edmund had made almost all the choices for her in her previous engagement. Jamie understands this and has always insured that Dani felt comfortable before progressing further into their relationship together. In this moment, Jamie finally has a promise of love while Dani has security in the person she loves the most. As Jamie accepts her proposal and the two share a moment of celebration, Dani’s face of worry as she hugs Jamie shows that she feels an inability to be fully happy. She’s unable to fully give herself to Jamie in this moment which in turn shows how Viola’s presence is getting closer and getting darker.

We jump slightly forward in time to the pair visiting Owen’s aptly named restaurant, A Batter Place. After a moment of remembrance for Hannah, Dani looks into the reflection of a metal water pitcher to see Viola’s reflection yet again. Dani’s face is surprised by this sight, but she keeps it quietly to herself as to not ruin the moment of reunion. If we compare this instance to the first time Dani looked at her reflection at the tableside jukebox at the diner years prior, we can see that this moment is filled with much more darkness. The light that used to be inside of her is dimming. Although Jamie is holding her and is physically next to her in this moment, she doesn’t cut through the darkness anymore. Jamie’s power as a grounding force is dimming as well.

“So, they’re all happy?”

The inflection in Dani’s voice here is so subtle that only Jamie takes notice of it. Jamie looks at Dani and senses that something has gone off in her. Owen continues to explain how Miles and Flora have no recollection of the events that took place at Bly. No recollection of the sacrifice that Dani made to save them.

“So, if they don’t remember Hannah…they don’t remember…”

Dani’s voice trails off here. She looks down and is caught in the bitter realization that her sacrifice has been forgotten. This feeling of a looming darkness, this feeling of living a life that’s ticking down to her own demise… was it worth it? Jamie can feel Dani’s pain immediately as her eyes stayed glued on Dani who’s trying to see if there would be any way to remind Miles and Flora about what she did. The gardener stares at au pair without breaking away and in this instant, we can see that, along with Dani, Jamie is breaking too. Breaking under the burden of knowing that she can’t take Dani’s pain away.

The scene that follows shows Dani washing dishes where she sees Viola again in the water. She panics and finally admits to Jamie that she’s been seeing her more and more. The tension that was present between them moments earlier immediately fades away as Jamie wastes no time in trying to console Dani. Jamie’s blind optimism here has a slight tinge of desperation as she refuses to let Dani slip away into the abyss that’s growing stronger and stronger. Dani’s interaction with Viola’s reflection in this moment sets off an alarm bell within her, unlike the other times where she sat quietly and dealt with it on her own. This is Dani’s tipping point. The highest level of fear is felt as the reality is beginning to sink in that the beast is coming for her. Another thing to note here is that even after all these years, Jamie still makes the conscious effort to make Dani laugh.

“I’ll do the washing up from now on, yeah? You’re shit at it anyway.”

Dani can’t help but give the smallest laugh, but it’s more than enough for Jamie. Through Jamie’s optimism, we have begun to see that she’s not only consoling Dani but also herself as she tries to convince both of them that they can have so much more time together. The episode continues on with the train of heartbreak as Jamie comes home after receiving civil union paperwork for her and Dani. What comes next is what I feel like is the most heartbreaking Dani moment in the entire series. Dani stares deep into an overflowing bathtub where an ominous Viola stares back at her. Jamie is quick to bring Dani back to reality but Dani has lost her footing. Her hold on Viola has flipped to Viola having a hold on her.

“It’s like every day I feel myself fading away, but I’m still here, and… I don’t really understand how that is.”

The fear has withered away into emptiness as Dani struggles to stay afloat. We see Jamie so pained as she watches the light fade into a grey nothingness as she listens to Dani talk about how she is beginning to lose herself to the beast.

“I’m not even scared of her anymore. I just stare at her, and it’s getting harder and harder to see me.”

To listen to the love of her life slip away through her fingers has Jamie in a phase of denial as she continuously refuses to let Dani break apart. We see the gardener’s optimism wavering as she tries her best to help the au pair hold onto herself. Dani’s voice as she says Jamie’s name is filled with nothing but pure hopelessness and despair as she dips further and further into uncertainty. Yet Jamie doesn’t lose hope. Jamie would never give up on Dani as she repeats the words she told Dani in the diner all those years ago.

“One day at a time.”

However, Jamie has run out of answers. She can only offer comfort now.

Next we see Dani hit her lowest low as she is taken over by Viola and awakes to see that she almost strangled Jamie to death in their sleep. Dani is shocked and broken as she sits in the disbelief of what she almost did. The time has come. The beast has arrived. Viola has waited years until Dani was so broken down and so vulnerable, that she would finally be able to take her. However, we can’t help but believe that Dani fought off Viola this long thanks to the love her and Jamie shared.

The gardener wakes up the following morning to find an empty space next to her. She reaches to the empty space in the bed and then for the note left on the bedside table. It can only mean one thing: her biggest fear has come to light. With her strong will and determination, Jamie gives one final push and flies back across the pond to Bly to face what she’s been in fear of all this time. The amount of immense grief that is felt in this moment, to be at the same place that the love of her life began to be taken away from her all those years ago, must be incredibly damaging. The manor holds so much of Jamie’s life. She found her family there. She created a beautiful garden on those grounds. Her and Dani’s love blossomed on the same grounds that she first began to lose her that night at the lake. Jamie storms off to the edge of the water. Her face is so tired. She already knows what she’s going to find and yet she still doesn’t lose the hope that maybe, just maybe, it wouldn’t be true.

“The gardener said the words she’d heard those years ago; she willed it with everything she had. You, me, us. Us. ‘Take me with you,’ she cried in her heart. ‘Take me. Drag me down like you did the others.’ But the lady in the lake was different now – the lady in the lake was also Dani. And Dani wouldn’t. Dani would never.”

The agony and desperation that we see Jamie endure in the moments that we see her find Dani laying at the very bottom of the lake is a type of pain that is unmatched from any other moment of pain that we’ve seen this season. Her muffled screams as she takes a hold of her heart, only to let her arms go in despair under the water is something so haunting yet so unbelievably moving to see her love so much considering how far she’s come from the cold and guarded gardener we saw all the way back in episode one. She would’ve given up everything. Absolutely everything to take Dani’s place. Given up everything to join Dani at the bottom of the lake. Unlike Peter with Rebecca, Dani could never take Jamie down to the depths. Dani could never harm a single soul, let alone the one person that mattered the most to her. By letting Jamie go and taking Viola’s place as the lady of the lake, Dani has broken the cycle of violence that’s haunted the grounds of Bly for centuries. As Jamie was the hero of Dani’s story, Dani will always be the hero to Jamie’s.

The final act of the season ends with an older Jamie finishing her story to the wedding guests.

“She would know nothing of the gardener, nothing of their life together. The details, the specific moments would all fade away. More time will pass, and the water will wash away the delicate features of her; of her beautiful, perfect face. But she won’t be hollow, nor empty. And she won’t pull others to her fate. She will merely walk the grounds of Bly, harmless as a dove, for all of her days. Leaving the only trace of who she once was in the memory of the woman who loved her most.”

We see an older Jamie comfort a teary-eyed Flora who is afraid of the time when she would also lose the love of her life. Jamie comforts her with advice that we can only ever assume she learned in her time with Dani. The final scene shows the gardener’s nightly routine as she stares into reflections, hoping to catch one last glimpse of the au pair. As she drifts away into sleep, a hand wearing a golden wedding ring rests gently on her shoulder. Our haunting love story has come to an end. And the rest? Well the rest… is confetti.

#dani x jamie #dani clayton #jamie taylor #thobm #the haunting of bly manor #damie #amelia eve #victoria pedretti #bly manor

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gravedangerahead · 3 years

Note

∞

"How did her belief system break down with the appearance of the ghost?/ Softly, without trauma/ In a series of imperceptible shifts"

The Photograph, from Ghost Quartet.

Since it's you asking I have to say: Sydney Sage feels 🥰 (I mean there was a lot of trauma involved in breaking down her belief system, but she was already far gone by the time she realized it)

"put a "∞" in my ask box and I'll shuffle my music player and give you my favorite lyric from the song that comes up."

#runner up:#She believes in the standard model of loveIn which the two lovers are bondedInto something greater than themselves #I cheated with this one too the first time I shuffled I got Lizzo's Water Me but my answer was gonna be too similar to the Tainted Love one #yes I listen to a song about a woman named Rose whose name is said a thousand times and think of Sydney Sage #it's not my fault she owns my soul leave me alone #ghost quartet #ask game #dave malloy #music #anther runner-up is: A ghost/ Or rather/ A GhOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOst #answered asks

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jupitermelichios · 3 years

Text

What I’d change about Rise of Skywalker

To be clear, these are changes I’d make to the existing script, not what I would have written instead. We can all agree Sheev coming back was, at best, a bit dumb, I’m also fully aware that a lot of people disliked TLJ for a variety of reasons and wanted ros to retconn more stuff, but this is not an attempt to change any of that. I’m taking the basic structure of the movie and shifting stuff around to create something I think is tonally and thematically more in line with the overall trillogy.

Also i’m aware the extended universe is sort of canon-until-proven-otherwise at the moment but as far as i’m concered there was a DC style crisis and it’s now open season on worldbuilding elements

- Starting right at the very beginning, our opening crawl is now just about immortality being one of the secret sith powers Sheev kept hinting about in the prequels

- Our very first sequence in the movie is now a (short) montage of Sheev sending psychic messages to members of the First Order, telling them to join his secret sith club. It’s not just Kylo, this is a thing he’s just generally doing, Hux, Pryde, Kylo, random Storm Trooper number 7, they’re all getting this same message.

- Kylo buggers off to go murder Sheev, because Snoke never actually let him graduate (or whatever modern sith do) so he’s not actually a sith lord, but he’s like ah, new/old sith lord is in town, I go kill him and I get to take his title by right of conquest rule of one styley, and also take out a threat to my power base. Also in the one scene we see of him interacting with the first order it’s pretty clear he actually really fucking hates being in charge, so a mission to kill Sheev is looking super win-win

- The reason Exigor is sacred to the Sith now, the reason Palpatine’s able to communicate accross planets, and the reason he’s still alive (ish) are all the same - the planet “has a heart... oF KAIIIBURRRRRR!” (yes the line should be delivered exactly like that) that amplified force powers

- Instead of just being Ian McDermott in white facepaint, Sheev’s design draws heavily on Darth Nihilus or Darth Sion, his body is dead or maybe nonexistant depending on how gross they’re prepared to go. The point is, the answer to the question ‘how the fuck did he survive?’ should be essentially ‘he didn’t’; he’s a consiousness and a fuckton of willpower and not much else

- We establish a temple/cult in this universe that worships twin gods and are generally all about balance and shit coming in twos and they think force diads are sacred. I’m thinking someone at the temple has resistance information, and when Rey and Poe visit, Poe goes to talk to the contact while Rey meditates and sees Luke’s ghost who tells her how he and Leia came here together and about their belief system and how there are different ways of connecting to the force than just being a jedi, setting up the plot point of the diad, our theme of ‘the people we love are never really gone’, and also laying the groundwork for what’s going to be a second theme of building something new rather than repeating the mistakes of the past, by establishing the sith/jedi dichotomy isn’t the only possible path to take.

- Rose and Finn are bored and stuck on base while their friends are on this mission, so when they get a distress call from a minor First Order base they go off to investigate. They find Hux, who’s been ousted in a coup in favour of the First Order just straight up following Sheev after Kylo wondered off, who promises them information. At this base, Finn also sees some young storm trooper cadets.

- Back at the rebel base they all meet up and Hux (who they’ve taken prisoner) tells them about Sheev being back, which they didn’t know about because he’s only been speaking to bad guys.

- Leia is already dying, Rey is super upset about it and during an accidental mind share, Kylo finds out and tells her Sidious knows how to heal people by transferring life energy from one person to another. The healing thing is specifically a Sith power this go around. We get a moment pretty soon after during a mission where someone gets injured, probably Finn, and she figures out how to heal them based on the hints Kylo gave her

- Also this time Leia still isn’t a jedi but not because of a prophesy, it’s because she disagrees with their philosophy, which is going to be relevant later. We get a line to the effect that ‘Luke didn’t grow up surrounded by the legacy of the Jedi’s failings, I did’

- The weird knife thing isnt anymore, it’s just a hollicron now, and the whole bit with both Lando and Rey’s parents and the bonty hunter are removed to give us breathing room elsewhere, it’s just a more tradtional fetch quest now.

- In order to get the holicron translated, Poe’s like “you’re not going to like this, but I maybe know a guy from doing undercover missions”, and takes them to Black Sun to speak to Darth Maul, that’s right, Darth Maul is here now, and he helps them because his prosthetics are breaking down and Rose fixes them and saves his life. Also he’s pretty pissed at Sheev for getting him killed so he’s totally chill with them killing the guy.

- The Hollicron tells them that the last known map to Exigor was stored in the archives of the temple of Corisant.

- They go to the ruins of the temple, a place that is both nostaligic and also has actual character significance to kylo and ties into our theme of how the jedi and the sith are both a bit shit, and even though it makes more sense for it to have been cleaned up, it’s full of little baby skeletons from Anakin’s massacre, just for the drama of it

- Rey and Kylo fight, he taunts her again with the promise of healing Leia, but this time Rey uses their bond and her knowledge of how to talk to force ghosts to basically force Kylo’s third eye wide open so he’s hearing a hundred force ghosts all at one, stabs him while he’s distracted, heals him, and then she fucks off, leaving him to talk to the force ghost of Anakin, who tells him he’s a moron who’s falling for the same bullshit Sheev used on him

- Rey joins up with the others, but at the Rebel base Hux has managed to escape and shoots Leia (it’s dramatic and she dies saving someone but it’s not actually particularly plot relevant so imagine your own death scene of choice here), and obviously Rey feels it

- At this point the gang split up, Poe and Rose go back the the Rebels because they know they’ll be needed, Finn goes off to rescue the storm trooper kids he saw earlier (yeah I’m adding a subplot what’re you going to do about it), and Rey goes off to fight Palpatine

- In the temple, Leia appears to Kylo as a force ghost while he’s doing dramatic ‘i can’t go on’ kneeling pose and gives him a little pep talk and name drops the title

- Finn goes to the first order base, finds the kids, and the little ones are on board with escaping but then they run into some teenagers who actually have guns and it cuts away on a ‘will they turn him in?” cliffhanger

- Rey arrives in Sheev’s big cave thing, tries to fight him but he’s all ‘the jedi could not defeat me before, what makes you think they can now when you’re barely more than a padawan’ and force lightnings her a bit. They’re not related in this universe, he just wants to steal her lifeforce to heal himself more because she’s powerful

- Turns out that the First Order have been tracking Hux, so they know where the Rebel base is so there’s a big space battle going on, and the First Order don’t even have any fancy secret weapon but there’s a lot of them and there’s not enough Rebel ships left after TLJ. Poe’s up in the air flying even though he’s the boss now, and Rose is on the comms trying to contact allies

"This is the Rebellion, please. In the name of Leia Organa, we're calling you. Please, if there's anyone out there. For Leia Organa, for Luke Skywalker, for Amilyn Holdo, please…" and then when there's no response, in tears, she whispers, "For Rose Tico, please!"

There's a beat of silence, and then the radio crackles to life.

"Rose Tico calls for aid, and Black Sun will answer."

A moment later another, "Leia Organa calls for aid and Cloud City will answer."

and then a moment later, “The Rebellion calls for Aid and the Free Troopers will answer” and we cut to Finn in a stolen First Order ship full of the trooper cadets of all ages.

A makeshift amada joins the fight, same as in the original version, and rose and circular briad crown girl who’s also been trying to call for back up hug in celebration and have a very brief ‘oh wait maybe i’m into you’ moment

- Back on Exigor, Kylo arrives to find Rey on the floor, dying. He takes her hand and we see them as spirits, surrounded by the flickering memories of their lives, they’re seeing one another properly for the first time, and they ackoledge one another as twins via the force (personally i’d make them explicitly siblings, by force if not blood, here to carry on the proud star wars tradition of ambiguously incestuous twins, but that might not fly with disney execs in the the 21st century), and then he gives her his life force to heal her and his last words are a title drop again, mirroring what Leia said to him, because this movie is cheesy as hell

- "The power of the Jedi could have lived in you, as the power of the sith lives in me. But instead you threw it away, for what? For that pathetic little boy? He was no more a true sith than you are a true Jedi!"

"I don't need to be a Jedi. The force is with me, and I am with the force. You have the sith. I have all that was and is and will be!"

Behind her force ghosts begin to appear, but not just jedi. There is as many of the Skywalker clan as we can get (including some reused green screen footage of Carrie Fisher), and Rose's sister, and Han, and people visually implied to be Poe and Finn’s parents, and Holdo, and behind them hundreds of others. Basically if we can afford them, they’re cameoing here, alongside a load of extras. And last of all, standing beside her is Ben.They exchange a look, and then Rey strikes. Palatine tries to force lightning her but it doesn't work, and she presses her hands to his cloak, pulls the life force out if him. Thes a terrible screaming and we see glimpses of the other sith, before they dissipate and the robe falls to the ground.

And obviously the space battle also gets definitively won at the same time, this is movieland, I’m thinking Finn and Poe have to coordinate an attack that relies on Finn using the force is that vague ‘jedi’s are all amazing pilots’ way episodes 1 and 4 both used

Oh and then at the end they’re all celebrating back on the Rebel base, and Finn starts to hit on Rose and she’s like “I’m not the one you want to say that too, also you’re not my type” and smooches circular braid-crown girl who’s been in the background of all these movies with nothing to so

Finn joins Poe and Rey and they all hug in the same ambigiously-poly way they did in the original, and then Poe’s like “I’m sorry about Kylo” kind of awkward because he still hates the guy but he knows Rey doesn’t, and Rey’s like ‘I’m not, the people we love never really leave us’

and then the final scene, Rey is carrying Kylo’s lightsabre and lays Luke’s and Leia’s on the altar of the temple of the twins, and goes to ask the priests to tell her about their religion, with the implication that she’s starting to build her own new version of the jedi

(and if I was disney this would totally be the set up for a new animated series about Rey travelling around the galaxy meeting new weird alien cultures and learning about what cool force powers they have, and the knights of Ren can be the bad guys, and sometimes she’ll come and help Finn and Poe and Rose with trying to rebuild the galaxy. And then they have to take out Black Sun in season 2 and it’s all super dramatic because they were allies sort of and had cameos, and now rey and maul are forced to have super cool spider-legs lightsabre battles instead)

#long post #rise of skywalker #ros #script doctor #star wars #its not perfect by any means #i did like the 3po and chewie screen time from the original that i cut here #but it gives rose and finn a reason to be in the story #genuinely shifts the status quo in a way the original didn't #and cuts a fair amount of unecessary faffing about #i wanted it to be more of an ensemble cast #there's a lot of good characters in this movie #but ros just didn't make room for them all #i also tried to make things a little bit less contrived #i'll admit part of these changes may actually just be because i'm more nostalgic for the prequels than the original trilogy #but i also felt like the parallels they were draweing between anakin and kylo #made havig references to the preqels make a lot of sense

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need-a-new-hobby · 4 years

Text

Lessons Learned

Aaron Hotchner was dreaming about his family; his beautiful wife, Haley, and their beautiful son Jack, on a picnic, little Jack kicking a ball around, Haley smiling at him. He reached out to hold her hand but a ringtone broke the fantasy. Sighing, he reached for his phone instead.

"Hotchner…When?…Did they raise the terror alert?…No, that's probably best…All right, get everybody in now. I'll be there in a minute." He hung up and Haley slowly got up next to him, combing her hair behind her face.

"What’s going on?" She yawned, folding her hands over her face and pulling her knees close to her body.

"Nothing, I just have to go to the office."

"It’s 6:15, and you're talking about a terror alert? It's bad, isn't it?" She rubbed her face and Aaron got dressed behind her.

"I don't know yet."

"Please don't lie to me." She knelt her chin on her shoulder.

"It might be. I may not be home tonight. I mean, I might be home late."

"I know."

"Shoot. I forgot. Tomorrow is the day we scheduled to take Jack to have his pictures taken."

"Don’t worry about it. I'll reschedule."

"No, no, no. Go ahead and take him, and I'll do my best to be there, okay?" He grabbed his belt, tie and jacket.

"Just come back safely," she pleaded.

"I will," he promised her, taking his wallet, gun and badge. "Bye," he whispered before kissing her softly. Her doe eyes followed him out the door.

^-^

The ladies of the BAU were already setting up in the conference room when the men walked in.

"Everybody meet Agent Prentiss?" Hotch asked his team.

"The other day," Garcia piped up.

"This morning getting coffee," Piper voiced.

"I’ve been filling her in on protocol." JJ distributed the case at hand. The woman with black hair and matching suit jacket rose to shake Morgan’s hand.

"We can make nice later," Hotch reminded them and turned to JJ. "What do we know?"

As Garcia grabbed her flamboyant yellow pen, JJ attended to the screen. "The DEA raided what they thought was a hardened meth lab right here, in Northern Virginia, but they found this instead."

Morgan and Gideon stared at the image on the screen. "That could be a dispersal device for a chemical weapon," Derek suggested. "Sophisticated."

"Homeland Security is thinking of Al Qaeda."

"They’ve developed devices that span the spectrum of sophistication," Reid explained, glancing at Prentiss. "Some as simple as soda bottles and paint cans."

"They’re called al ikhteraa, literally 'the invention,’" she said, pronouncing the word perfectly.

"They are," Spencer muttered softly to Derek while shrugging quickly. Piper grinned, despite herself. She’d met the agent this morning and was already impressed by her fluency in languages.

Hotch broke Piper’s thoughts asking,"Do we know what the biological or chemical agent is yet?"

"No, not yet," Morgan replied.

"The cell members bailed out through a tunnel," JJ said, glancing at her file. "The DEA recovered a Nextel 2-way and managed to intercept a message." She placed the message on the table between Reid and Prentiss. As the new agent picked the message up, JJ clarified, "No, that’s not the transcript, it’s in-"

"It’s in Arabic." She proceeded to translate the document ad-lib. "Our friends surprised us and eloped." Garcia looked up at her from the her laptop screen. "We can no longer wait for the wedding as planned." Piper was sure that Gideon couldn’t stop staring. "We can deliver our gift at the next crescent." Emily looked up from the paper at her new colleagues and heard a low whistle from Piper.

"You’ve been holding out on me," she snickered. Penelope just smiled at her. Derek’s forehead was about to stay wrinkled forever.

"I lived in several middle-eastern countries growing up," Emile explained.

"Next crescent?"

"Muslims sometimes use a lunar calendar," Bishop informed the group. "We’d have to look it up-"

"Next crescent moon is in two days," Garcia added.

"So whatever they're attacking, it's happening in less than 48 hours."

"Payment for the Nextel is linked to this man, Jind Allah."

"Literally 'soldier of God.’"

"I don’t like the sound of that," Bishop muttered.

"That’s pretty poor operational security for a sophisticated plot," Morgan remarked.

"Two months ago, Jind Allah was captured leaving the U. S. using a forged Pakistani passport via Richmond International Airport. He's been held as a ghost detainee in Guantanamo Bay ever since," JJ noted.

"So technically, he doesn't exist," said Garcia.

"Soldier of God isn't a name."

"No, it's most likely a name taken on for the Jihad. Extremists claim it's a holy war, yet the words "holy" and "war" never appear together in the Quran," Piper replied.

"Do we know his real name? CIA interrogators have gotten nothing out of the guy."

"They need us to break him."

"We do know from past intercepts that he's a recruiter. He came into this country to assemble the omega cell, a sleeper cell with an unknown mission," JJ sighed, shaking her head.

"We have 48 hours to do what the CIA hasn't been able to manage in two months?" Morgan looked at the team.

Piper flipped through the report and sighed. Under her breath, she murmured, "Easy, right?"

"We could be looking at the first attack on our soil since 9/11," Gideon thought aloud.

Yikes, that’s dramatic.

^-^

"Hey," Hotch greeted Gideon in his office. The profiler was packing his go-bag in a hurry.

"Car here? I told Reid and Bishop 5 minutes."

"I think you should take Prentiss with you to Guantanamo." Gideon looked at the unit chief.

"Excuse me?"

"She could be of help."

"I don't know enough about her abilities," he said raising his shoulders. "There’s plenty for her to do back here." He barely looked back at Hotchner.

"I don't know what she's capable of either, but we've got to find out sooner or later." Gideon walked past him, out the office.

"It’s an interrogation, not a training exercise," he said, looking back at Hotch.

"She’s the only member of the team fluent in Arabic."

"There are other translators."

"Yeah, but they haven't studied behaviour," Aaron persisted.

"She even have her ready bag yet?" Emily watched the two senior agents, slowly lifting her ready bag onto the desk.

"My guess is there isn't much this woman's unprepared for." They glanced at the younger agent. Sighing, Gideon rushed down the steps.

"Car leaves in 4 minutes," he said aside to her as he rushed past.

"Yes, sir," she said, smiling and looking back at Agent Hotchner. Piper glanced at the fellow agent excitedly. She was just glad to have another girl to talk to.

^-^

Dale Turner mused: "Some of the best lessons are learned from past mistakes. The error of the past is the wisdom of the future."

^-^

Emily sat near Gideon and Reid on the sofa, watching them play chess. "Excuse me, sir. I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate-"

"Do not thank me," he cut in.

"Sir?" Reid glanced between the two of them awkwardly.

"It’s not a favour."

"Of course. I know that."

"You’re coming to do a job."

Reid asked his mentor, "Do you think the interrogation of Jind Allah will work in time?"

"Interrogation is the most dynamic form of profiling."

"That’s not an answer," she scoffed. "Sir," Emily enunciated.

"He’s been locked away in Gitmo, he doesn't know we raided the cell's safe house, that’s an advantage for us. The main thing is to get him talking about anything, then his language and body movements will betray him." He focused back on the game at hand. As Reid picked up his pawn, Gideon continued. "It’s like this; you focus on the way your opponent holds his piece, how quickly and firmly he places it." Reid became flustered hearing his mentor and Piper giggle quietly behind him."Then you watch his face and body. It'll telegraph a player's strategy, his training, maybe his motivations."

"Is that what you need us to do?"

"No, I need you to listen." He glanced at Emily. "You’re fluent in Arabic. I won't know the nuances like you. Every word, every phrase. Be on the lookout for subtext, ulterior meanings." Emily subtly straightened. "Reid, I want you to watch for tells. Non-verbals, micro-expressions. Watch him when he's comfortable and relaxed, then note the behavioural changes when he's under stress."

"You got anything specific for me?" Gideon looked up at his appointed consultant as she handed him a cup of coffee. "Where’s mine?" Spencer mouthed at her. "You don’t get any, you’ve already had 5 cups in the past hour," she reprimanded him.

"Absorb the information we gain about him. I want you to understand who he is, his character, his background, those timelines you make. I need you to create a profile on the spot." Piper nodded thoughtfully. "If we can establish a baseline, we'll be able to read him once I challenge his belief systems. Before I can get him to give up where or how they'll attack, I'll first have to cause him to reveal something of himself."

Piper pulled Emily to the other side of the plane, "Did you see Morgan’s face when you translated the Arabic." She threw her head back as she laughed. "Priceless! You blew them away." She glanced back at the boys before motioning for Emily to take a seat. "Ugh, you have no idea how happy I am that you could come."

"Really?" Emily was confused at Piper’s excitement. "I thought you were close to them."

"Please, Gideon is the only reason I’m here, and this is like my second week."

"But you fit in so well." Emily leaned forward.

"Bah, Gideon will warm up to you." She raised an eyebrow and Piper. "Trust me, the only reason he’s a little icy is because he doesn’t know you yet. I guarantee, you do what you did this morning, you’ll be the most valuable member here."

"So tell me about the team." Piper glanced at her watch.

"Okay, Agent Hotchner, we all call him Hotch, may secretly be a robot. I don’t think I’ve seen him crack a smile or blink. Jason Gideon basically built the BAU. He’s like a genius at this behaviour stuff but he never lets on to what he really thinks. Personally, I think he uses it as a shield from the team but he pours his heart into every case we get, treats each victim like a personal wound. Spencer Reid," she said, glancing behind her discreetly before continuing. "He’s like a super genius, graduated high school at 12, 3 PhDs before he was of drinking age, 2 B.As in psychology and sociology. He has like an IQ of 187 and can read 20 000 words a minute. If that’s not enough for you," she said, pointing a finger up. "The guy has an eidetic memory." She laughed at Emily’s face. "Moving on to Penelope Garcia, the girl has the weirdest relationship with Derek I have ever seen. They have like this rule to never call each other by name. You’ll see. Anyway, she’s like a wizard with technology, it’s crazy. I heard she got the job by hacking into the FBI but I can’t name my sources, obvi."

^-^

"What do you think they’re talking about?" Spencer asked, tugging softly at his scarf.

"Probably about the team," Gideon said softly before glancing at his terrified expression. "Reid, I wouldn’t worry about it. That girl has nothing bad to say about you. Your turn."

^-^

"Derek is like the biggest softie I’ve ever met but never give him any ammunition against you. He is relentless."

"What do you mean?"

"For my housewarming party, Reid got me a potted hyacinth which happens to be my favourite and he wouldn’t stop teasing him until Spence stabbed him with metal tongs." Emily laughed at the mental image.

"So you’re like a family?"

"In every way fathomable," Piper said, sipping on her coffee. They got up to join the boys, partly because they’d run out of things to talk about, partly because Emily was curious to see which genius was going to win.

Emily glanced at her watch. "You should put a lid on your coffee by the way," she said to her new friend.

"Hmm?"

"We’re almost there. Hold on." Gideon fell onto the seat next to him, as did Reid. Bishop and Prentiss were unlucky as they had nowhere to fall. They clung onto their seat and Piper prayed her coffee wouldn’t spill. Unfortunately for the boys, the twist of the plane meant their chess game fell to the floor.

"Gitmo’s runway is perpendicular to cuban airspace, so approaching aircraft have to negotiate a last minute 90 degree right turn in order to land. They call it the Gitmo twist."

"That twist almost cost me my coffee," Piper grumbled. "Hotch wouldn’t have talked to me for a week if he found a stain." Spencer gazed forlornly at the tumbled black and white pieces.

"I was winning," he said wistfully.

"Actually, he would’ve had you in 3," said Emily, casually flicking the hair off of her face. Reid and Bishop both looked at the new agent and then at Gideon, who looked completely neutral.

^-^

As soon as they landed in the detainment centre, Derek had called Piper. She’d let the others go in first while she took the call. "You better not be the harbinger of doom."

"You tell me, sweet cheeks, we have a preliminary profile for you."

"Talk to me."

"The tubes surrounding the device could be the explosive charge and the cylinder's gotta be where they put whatever bio or chem agent they plan on dispersing."

"Bio meaning some kind of disease?"

"Dunno yet, we’re still working on that. It looks like a 4 sleeper cell, they’ve assimilated into the community. Hotch says we’re looking at middle-eastern males in their early twenties."

"Anything else for me?"

"You know it. The size of the device suggests they're looking at significant targets; military installations, government buildings."

"Could be some kind of symbolism. Alright, thanks Morgan, I’ll let the guys know."

"Hey, Pipes. How’s the new girl doing?"

"She’s brilliant and that is all I’m telling you."

"Rude. See you when you get back." She put her phone away and motioned the guard to go first.

^-^

"You must be the BAU boys," boomed the slightly balding man before noticing Bishop and Prentiss. "And gals, pardon me."

"I’m Jason Gideon."

"Andy Bingaman, FBI."

"Agent Prentiss, Dr. Bishop, Dr. Reid," introduced Gideon.

"I'm the intelligence supervisor here at Gitmo."

"You guys having a hard time getting Jind Allah to talk?"

"Not only can't they get him to budge," he started, leading them to the workspace, "but 2 weeks ago, word got out that one of the other detainees was spilling secrets. Jind Allah managed to have a 3 minute conversation with him in the shower line. That night, the other detainee committed suicide."

"Charming," Piper murmured. The agents looked at the multiple TV sets. "Hell of an interrogation strategy," Piper said. "How long has he been kept like this?" The man had chains on his arms and feet and was nude except for a pair of white briefs with dark purple bruises.

"2 months."

"He's reciting the Qu'ran from memory,” Reid noticed. “He's most likely a hafez."

"He must have done it a dozen times since he's come to this facility."

"Some Muslim children are able to do it since age 12," Piper voiced.

"Two months of interrogation, that's all the CIA's been able to get out of him."

"There are cuts and bruises under his right eye socket," Reid noted before Piper asked.

"I have to ask, Agent, what kind of tactics are they using?"

"I control the actions to the detainees, but I can assure you, my protest about their methods has been ignored."

"Let the interrogation proceed normally," Gideon demanded. "I’m gonna interrupt and demand they stop harassing. There a bathroom here?" Bingaman motioned for a security guard to take the agent.

"It’d be easier if I just tell them to stop now."

"I wouldn’t," Piper warned the FBI agent. "That man has been in severe conditions for the past 2 months. He’s more likely to trust Gideon if the reaction is more…" she paused, searching for the right word, "visceral, more believable," she finished.

Go ahead with phase 2 as planned.

Copy that.

They watched the CIA interrogators circle around the detainee, like a falcon does his prey. Bingaman was confused."You really gonna put a show on for these guys?"

"No, not for them, for Jind Allah, he needs to see me as a complete contrast to what he's come to expect from his captors."

"It’s the best way to jump start him into talking," Reid added. "Do you have a glass board by any chance?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, right here, have at it agents."

Gideon left to make his dramatic entrance while Piper shifted the board into position, grabbing markers and cleaning fluid from her bag, and Spencer started setting up. Emily noticed Piper smiling while setting up. "What’s up?"

"Hmm?"

"You’re smiling."

"No, I’m not. We have a terrorist in a cell, why would I be smiling?"

"She’s answering a question with a question, Emily, she’s lying," Reid tattled.

Huffing, Piper leaned in and whispered quietly. "He thought I was an agent." She grinned and turned back to her board. Emily rolled her eyes as she focused on the detainee on the screens.

^-^

Agent Gideon shuffled into the interrogation room, glancing at both CIA agents, holding an orange jumpsuit. The interrogator that was leaning into Jind Allah’s face straightened. "Who the hell are you?"

"Supervisory special agent Jason Gideon, I’m an FBI behavioural analyst. It's time to show this man some respect."

"You gotta be kidding me."

"You have orders from Agent Bingaman to leave so I can speak with this detainee alone." The two men, having sighted Bingaman, edged out of the room. Gideon slowly placed the jumpsuit on the chained man’s lap.

"I’m sorry for the treatment you've suffered," Gideon apologised before the man reciting in front of him. "If you don't mind, I'd like to spend some time with you."

The man bowed his head to his hands.

"He’s stopped reciting," Emily remarked. Piper turned from her board and leaned in to see the screen. "He’s sizing Gideon up."

"The man hasn’t been treated with civility in months. The reaction was predicted." They looked back at the consultant. "He’s wondering if there’s some ulterior motive, which is understandable."

^-^

"If I don't mind?"

"I’d like to get to know you as a person, your faith, your ideology."

"To what end?"

"Studying human behaviour is what I do."

^-^

Piper split the board in half and started scribbling Morgan’s information on the cell in one column, started examining the prisoner’s personality in the other, while Spencer scrawled in his notebook.

^-^

"I'd like to believe, with greater understanding one day, we can come to a peaceful resolution of our differences."

"Is that so?" The man smiled.

"Look, I don't know what you've done or what you may have planned to do." Gideon walked over and pulled up a chair. "But unlike the other detainees here, you have the education, intelligence to convey the nuances of your culture. That's what interests me."

"Until, I don't give you what you want. Then you will resort to other tactics."

"I swore an oath to uphold the United States constitution, no matter where I am, no matter who I deal with."

^-^

Piper’s phone rang again. "Sorry, guys. It’s Morgan." She raised the phone to her ear. "What do you have?"

"We found a list of chemicals. Garcia said it’s a list of additives that could weaponize Anthrax."

"Jesus, just when you think the worst is behind you. Thanks, Morgan." She relayed the news to the others.

"Could they get enough anthrax?" Emily turned to Spencer.

"The letter sent to senator Tom Daschle's office in 2002 only contained two grams of purified spores."

"That doesn’t sound that bad."

"Two grams is enough to kill 25 million people if effectively distributed."

"Dear God," Piper said, running a hand through her short hair. They turned back to the video stream.

"Are you willing to have a chat with me?"

"Go ahead. Gideon, let’s chat." Emily leaned forward, resting a hand on a chair.

"What is it Em?"

"He’s from Egypt, Cairo."

"You sure?"

"No, he could be Yemeni, but odds are he's Egyptian."

"What type of name is Gideon?"

"American."

"I often forget that in your culture, you put your country first and your god last."

Emily picked up the radio. "Sir, he was born and raised in Egypt. They pronounce 'J' sounds as a 'G.’"

"You don't consider yourself Egyptian as well as Muslim?"

"Egyptian. In two minutes, you know more about me than those thugs found out in two months."

Reid smiled at Prentiss.

^-^

"They and I have very, very different motives and methodologies."

"And yet your country relies on them to protect you from us."

"Sometimes they're their own worst enemy."

"Who is your worst enemy, agent Gideon?"

"It’s not a who. It's a what; ignorance."

"You’re a very honest man. And you? Must have become a hafez by what, age 10?"

"9."

"You must have had tremendous discipline and dedication to memorise the entire Qu'ran by age 9."

"Perhaps," he said, as Gideon rose from his seat. "We are through already?"

"No, not at all, the sun is about to set. Mecca is in that direction. I'll have a prayer rug and water bowl sent in."

^-^

"What do we have?"

"Hotch and Morgan found the back up location, they’re planning the raid as we speak," Emily started. "For now, all we know for certain is he was born and raised in Egypt, likely in Cairo, memorised the Quran by the age of nine."

"Why?"

"I have a few theories. The more probable one is a life of discipline passed down from his parents to him since generational tradition is a staple of Islamic culture. It could be all he’s ever known. The other is that he was inducted at a young age into a strict Islamist society. But his anti-American sentiment is definitely rooted in loss. That kind of quiet hatred suggests the violent death of someone he cares about."

^-^

"Can I offer you some water?"

"I offer you some first." Gideon drank, then passed the bottle to the man in front of him, just before taking one himself. "They only kept it there to show me what I could not have."

"I’d like you to explain something to me. How can you ignore the fact that Muhammad preached passivity while he was in Mecca? 'Do no violence.'"

"His later message from Medina was perfectly clear. 'When violence come upon you, you must fight back with violence.’"

"He's quoting from the Hadith, not from the Qu'ran. It's called the verse of the sword. They argue that it cancels out earlier teachings," Reid spoke from the radio.

"Verse of the sword. Just someone's spin on the words of the prophet. It's not even part of the Qu’ran."

"But it does say in the Qu’ran, fight and slay the infidels wherever you find them and seize them in every stratagem of war."

"Unless they repent. Establish regular prayers and practice regular charity."

"Is it your intention, Mr. Gideon, to become a man of faith and revert to Islam?"

"I am a man of faith. I have repented, I pray regularly, and I practice charity. I have never committed violence against you, so how is it that my faith would allow you to live and worship as you please, and yours would take my life and snuff it out?"

"You are simply misguided people of the book. But if you revert to Islam…"

"He’s cocky, Gideon,"Piper spoke into the radio. "He keeps repeating the word revert, as though everyone has inherently converted from Islam."

"A billion muslims, one billion muslims manage to practice their faith in peace. For Allah is surely merciful."

"You…inquired about my childhood earlier. I will tell you...that it was a happy one until... one day... A bomb fell out of the sky and levelled the bazaar that I was in with my family. I was only 8."

^-^

"He’s opening up about himself."

"Maybe," Reid said. "We need to verify what he's saying, though."

Piper leaned in over Spencer’s shoulder. "Can you rewind it just a tiny bit?"

She watched it closely this time. "What are you thinking Pipes?" She grabbed her marker.

"Something not fully formed yet. Get Garcia to verify, I’ll get back to you."

"Speak."

"Garcia, I need you to check something for me. I'm looking for a stray bombing in a bazaar somewhere in Egypt approximately 30 years ago."

"Okay, great. That's not too obscure."

"I don't need you to get any details. We're just trying to set a baseline for Jind Allah's truthfulness. I need to know if it happened at all."

"When I know, you'll know."

"Thank you."

^-^

"When the rubble was cleared...half...of my family was dead. It was on that day that I swore my life to vengeance for Allah."

"And for that very reason, those holding you here can never let you leave. Your only hope is to tell me so I can hopefully one day share your struggle with the world."

"Your government won't even admit that I exist. How possibly can you tell my side of the story?"

^-^

"Okay, hear me out." The agents swivelled around to face her, just as Gideon walked in. "There was something bugging me about that story of his childhood. It’s his hesitation." She pointed towards the board. "That’s his story, right. He’s 8, in the bazaar with his family. All of a sudden, bomb falls from the sky and half his family is dead. Right?"

"Yeah," Gideon agreed. "What’s your point?"

"He keeps hesitating in bits he shouldn’t be. The only aspect he doesn’t hesitate about is the bomb. He enunciates," Piper circled some of the words, "with his family. Probably true. But I don’t think he was 8. I think he lost someone in his adulthood, someone he was responsible for." Piper walks over the screen and rewinds the tape. Once its cued, she pauses it. "See that pain. Watch his forehead wrinkle when he talks about the bomb. An 8 year old who loses his parents, that has serious self-esteem issues, but this guy is a leader, he’s arrogant. He says half of his family is dead which would mean he could have siblings except he’s independent, no personal attachments. This man may have memorised the Quran at 9, but his behaviour completely changed when he was talking about his childhood. He was calmer, more rational than he should be."

"Tell Garcia to look for more recent bombings." Reid’s phone rang.

"Hey Hotch, you got Bishop, Gideon, Prentiss, and me."

"We're at cell location number 2. No cell members, no lab, no dispersal devices and we’re still looking for escape tunnels."

"Got it," Reid replied, turning his phone of and turning to the others. "We’re running out of time. The attack's supposed to take place in less than 24 hours."

"So getting Jind Allah to talk is our only chance of finding them," Emily sighed.

"Time I confronted him with the truth. Show him my hand."

^-^

"I'm going to give you the respect of telling you what just happened. A team of agents raided an omega cell location, both of them. Our men are in place in Annandale as we speak. You gain nothing by remaining silent," Gideon informed him as he entered the room. As he spoke, the prisoner’s fists turned to open palms, rubbing slowly against his leg.

"Gideon, something's wrong. This guy seemed relieved by what you just told him." At that statement, Gideon excused himself politely. He walked calmly out the room, then told Reid to call Hotch.

"What’s the problem?" Aaron’s voice was calm and even. Piper felt her heart about to burst.

"It’s a trap. Get everybody out of there. Now! Now! Now!" he yelled into the phone.

^-^

Emily was pacing. Reid was staring at his phone. Piper blinked at the board trying not to imagine the worst, trying not to break down in front of anyone. Gideon kept wringing his hands. Piper’s ringtone jolted her. "It’s Bishop." She closed her eyes. "Thanks Pen." Taking a deep breath, she turned around. "They’re okay. But…" She exhaled shakily. "But they lost a S.W.A.T agent. Kenny. He was a friend of Morgan’s."

"Was anthrax involved?" Emily asked

"No."

"That wasn’t the final target then," Reid exhaled.

^-^

"You look troubled, my friend."

"You killed one of my men."

"I was here with you."

"The second location was a trap. One of my agents was killed in the explosion."

"This is war. We expect casualties. Shouldn't you?"

"He was a good man."

"If he would convert, there would be no reason for him to fear death."

"What do you say to his family?"

"Is he crying, Gideon?" Piper spoke softly. "Look at his hands."

"I say: Where were you to mourn when my son was murdered?"

^-^

"He was lying about the first story. He didn’t hesitate at all here," Piper gently spoke.

"And this time when he mentioned his son," Reid continued, "he looked at his hands, like he had to concentrate to control his anger."

"Which means it must have been more recent." Emily added. Spencer reached for the phone.

"Garcia. What do you have on that bombing.”

"Okay. I'm cross referencing bombings and child victims. Seven years ago, in the heart of Cairo, Egyptian government blamed Hezbollah, but conspiracy theories on the street claimed it was a joint US - Israeli strike that went astray. Your ghost detainee's name is Jamal Abaza."

"How about his son's name? Do you have that?"

"Amir Abaza. 8. Killed in the blast."

"All right. Find out everything you can on that. I'll get back to you soon."

Emily grabbed the radio. "Sir, we know his real identity."

^-^

Garcia spun in her chair, JJ looking on. "Reid, I got something for you."

"You’re on speaker."

"Jamal Abaza's been in the U. S. for a while. He volunteered as the prison imam at the Dearfield correctional center three years ago."

"How could the CIA not know that?" Piper asked.

"They’re focused overseas," Emily replied. "We’re domestic."

"Yeah, they probably sent a request for a domestic information search, and it's somewhere making its way through channels."

"Thanks, Pen, you’re a legend,"Piper praised her.

^-^

"If he was a prison imam," Spencer got up and started pacing, "he must have recruited militant islamic society members. M.I.S is an atypical prison organisation. They pick up an amalgam of ethnicities, those that slip through the cracks, the ones that traditional groups won't accept. It's made up largely of American citizens, citizens with a reason for hating the government," Reid finished

"We’re looking at homegrown terrorists," Gideon noted grimly.

^-^

The four profilers found the two CIA agents sitting with empty coffee cups. "What the hell do you want?"

"The name Jamal Abaza mean anything to you?"

"Abaza was an imam in Cairo. He preached Jihad to his followers, but he fell off the grid seven years ago."

"That’s because when his son died, he took the Jihad name: Jind Allah. He came to America to recruit sleeper cells." At Gideon’s words, the agents stood up.

"You’re telling us that that detainee in there is Jamal Abaza?"

"He was also a prison imam in Virginia three years ago," Reid interrupted. "Are you familiar with the Militant Islamic Society?"

"They’re homegrown?"

"We know the cell that Abaza put together has access to anthrax," Emily added, "but we can't find any reports of any going missing in the States."

"We have protocols that we have to follow."

"You really going to allow a terrorist attack on U. S. soil because of protocols? I told you what I learned in there because you and I, FBI, CIA, right now we have the ability to break through all the protocol and share information."

"Let me see what we have."

"Coordinate with Agent Jareau and Penelope Garcia at Quantico," Gideon said irritably, marching back into the office.

"You think it’ll work?" Reid asked.

"I don’t know."

"CIA’s tough, They play it pretty close to the vest."

"Well, if we don't all work together, more people are gonna die."

15 minutes later, Piper walked back into the office.

"I just got a call from Garcia. Whatever you said must have worked, Gideon, because Penelope found a Dutch firm called Genimmune reported that they may have had a security breach involving anthrax last week."

"May have?" Emily asked.

"Apparently, they’re still doing a security and inventory sweep, but the real kicker is that they may be missing up to 20 grams of lab grade anthrax."

"That could potentially kill a quarter billion people."

^-^

"We have less than ten hours before the new crescent moon rises," Emily worried.

"Nine," he corrected.

"Aren’t you worried?"

"I’ve been with him long enough to trust him." He smiled at Emily.

"Well, you can worry slightly less. Hotch just texted me that they have a lead. Someone called Tariq Muhammed. Dutch citizen, Islamic convert. Traveled here 4 days ago under his original name, Andre Janssen. Perfect for a sleeper agent.”

^-^

Hotch and Morgan stepped out of their vehicle in front of Janssen’s house and walked over to the agents in blue.

"Infrared scanning still shows no one inside. We're doing a soft entry in case it's booby trapped." The agents in biohazard suits barged through the door, separating, many clearing the house quickly, except for one.

"Sir, get in here!"

Half an hour later, their chief walked out to the two BAU agents. "We have 5 deceased males and what looks to be a crude lab, all shot in the head execution style."

"Any anthrax on the scene?"

"Only residue. There's also packing and tags from 4 new backpacks."

"Backpacks?" Morgan looked to his boss.

"They’re already on the move. We're too late."

^-^

"Okay, thanks, Morgan." Spencer looked at his team. Piper was on the verge of breaking. His mentor was staring intently at Abaza. Emily was pacing. "The lead went cold. They were too late."

He saw them all break a little more. Gideon slammed his fist on the table and walked out. Emily said she needed a coffee. Spencer watched as Piper reached her breaking point. She looked at the blue marker in her hand, and flung it across the room. He didn’t even see it bounce off the window and barely heard it clatter to the floor. Before he knew it, the consultant was crying into his shoulder. Spencer didn’t say a word. There was no need. She just needed to be held. He felt her calm down, felt her squeeze for a heartbeat and then felt her step away. "Sorry," she spoke softly, like a mouse. She sniffled and he saw her push the pain away. This was what he hated about his job. The tension hanging in the air, the tantalising steps before a break in the case and seeing the tangible traces of a hard case linger in someone’s soul. "Tell me Gideon has a plan. That we’re not just waiting for a magical sign."

"I think he has a plan."

"5 people are dead, Spence. Because I can’t figure that psychopath out."

"This isn’t on you."

"Isn’t it, though? He said it, very clearly on the plane. Emily was meant to figure out the nuances, you were meant to see the behavioural tics. I was meant to predict it, but he’s just sitting there. Calm and iridescent. As though he doesn’t know that 5 people are dead." She closed her eyes.

"We have time, Piper, just stick it out." She still didn’t open them.

"Calm." She opened her eyes. "He’s so calm, why? He created the sleeper cell, which means he planned it didn’t he?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So we only have 8 hours left until sunset, why isn’t he more worried?"

"Overconfidence, arrogance? You profiled that. Where are you going with this?" He saw your eyes widen.

"We need to overload him. Let’s see what happens if we give him a power trip."

^-^

When Reid and Gideon walked back in the interrogation room, he was still praying. "Have you finished?" Gideon asked.

"As you said, the sun is set."

"Yes. I'd like you to meet a colleague of mine. Dr. Reid." He gave an awkward wave.

"May we speak?"

"Of course. I have a little time." When the agents stared at him blankly, he clarified, "That was a joke. I have all the time. Please."

"A joke, well, we're making progress. Is there no way for this thing to end? This Jihad?"

"The Jihad will end when Allah wills its end."

"Then how will you know that it is Allah's will?"

"When the Jihad ends."

"Right. I have been lying to you. My colleague has been outside watching us as we talked on monitors. Watching your body language, trying to figure you out."

"Were you successful?"

"Somewhat," Reid stated, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Your name is Jamal Abaza. Your son Amir was killed in 2003 in the bombing at the Mahfouz bazaar in Cairo. Since then, you've been recruiting M. I. S. members in prison by convincing them that U. S. economic policies are exploiting third world nations and turned them into extreme fundamentalists by promising a better existence with Allah."

"I would say that you were more than somewhat successful."

"But I did not learn where your M. I. S. cell was going to make an anthrax attack in the U.S. at the new crescent tonight. I have no knowledge of such a thing. "

"Yes, you do, Mr. Abaza. And there is still time." Gideon’s face went slack. He raised a hand to his earpiece. "What?…Are you sure?" Slowly, the profiler lowered his hang, his throat dry. As he slumped away, Reid followed him into the other room. Abaza started praying again, reciting the Qu’ran, only for Gideon to come back in, the news playing in the background

"Something has happened?"

"How could you? You choose to contort Islam into an excuse for a life of violence. You have perverted your faith to justify murder."

"Now we are finally chatting, Gideon," said Abaza, ignoring the three young profilers behind Gideon.

"You accuse Americans of being puppeteers of the third world, yet you used your own people's faith tonight to make them dance for you. Why? Why is it always those who profess to be the most fervent believers in this war? They always manipulate other people to die for them." Abaza stood up, eye blazing.

"Does your president go into battle? Or does he send your children?"

"Tonight… All those innocent people."

"There is no such thing, Gideon. They were infidels. And they were engaged in activities that spread American policies over the entire world. Your incessant need to own things, material things. Your capitalism rests on the back of third world countries. No one's hands are clean. No one is innocent. "

"Those people tonight, they were innocent. They never hurt you," Gideon emphasised.

"They hurt me by existing. Yes, the infidels shall fall at the hands of the righteous. And that is when the Jihad will end."

"So you are ready to murder 4 billion people."

"America has learned nothing from the past. You harden targets like your power plants, but you leave the soft root for our taking. What has happened tonight will affect your economy for years, the way September 11 affected air travel. And maybe the next time a giant shopping centre opens," he said as Emily walked back inside,"people will think twice before going. And maybe next it will be a school. Hey!" he called to the retreating agents.

"You can shut the video feed down now, Garcia, thanks."

"Has the sun not set yet?"

"No," Reid said, closing the door behind him.

"A shopping centre, a mall," Emily spoke into her phone. "It’s a grand opening tonight not long after sunset. That gives you about an hour."

^-^

Back at Quantico, Morgan and Hotch rushed to the elevators right when JJ caught them.

"Grand opening of the USA mall today,"JJ informed them. "It’s the third largest in the country, and it's right smack in the middle of McLean, Virginia."

"Let’s move."

^-^

As Hotch ran into the mall, he yelled back, "Morgan, I'm going to find the security office." In that moment, the profiler was called by another agent, motioning towards a van. The doors opened to the sight of young man in uniform, shot, execution style.

"Looks like loading dock security."

"Should we evacuate?" the agent asked.

"No, no. We'd have mass panic. Let's go."

"Morgan, I've got 4 guys on the east end of the roof. Morgan, it’s the air vents"

Derek put his mask on as he relayed the message to his team. "Move!"

The team moved upwards to the roof, scanning for activity. After a few minutes of walking, Morgan spotted 4 individuals near the air vents. Gaining sufficiently close, he yelled out, "Don’t move! Put the devices down and put your hands where I can see them!"

The member closest to the far end pulled out a machine gun. "Gun!"All he saw was the spray of bullets, three down, and one fleeing the scene. As Derek gave chase, the man turned to face the agent with a gun. Two shots rang out and the man fell through the glass, into the mall below.

^-^

Aaron came home to a seemingly empty house, save for the faint sound of a broadcast. "Haley?" He called out.

"Hey, in here," she replied. "You’re home. Did you see that there was an attempted robbery at the new mall? I'm glad I cancelled Jack's photos. I just decided I wanted you to be there. It's better if we do it as a family. Is everything ok?"

He looked at his baby boy and his wonderful wife. "Yeah, everything's perfect."

^-^

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said in order to learn the most important lessons of life, one must each day surmount a fear.

^-^

On the jet, Emily decided to ask the question that was bugging her."When did you know you were gonna have to trick him?"

"The first time I talked to him." Piper looked up from her Bertram Stoker novel.

"You realised you couldn't break him?"

"Well, I realised he was too smart to have had that nextel phone registered to him accidentally. He drew us there. He wanted our presence at Gitmo to confirm that he was successful.

"And that's when you started moving up the time of his prayers."

"If I'd used an actual clock, he might have caught on."

"So when did you figure it out?" Emily turned to Piper.

"I knew Gideon had a strategy and it was bothering me how relaxed Abaza was. That’s when it clicked for me."

"So it was all a chess game," Reid chuckled.

"We won this round, but you heard him. Jihad never ends."

Reid moved his queen to the corner. Gideon moved his rook into position.

"Mate."

"I quit," Spencer smiled. "Yield. Surrender. Capitulate. I'm gonna take a nap." Piper turned the page of her book.

"Prentiss."

"Sir?"

"You play?"

"Yes, sir, I play." Emily smiled as she moved into Reid’s seat.

#spencer reid #jason gideon #emily prentiss #criminal minds #spencer reid x oc #gideon #bau #hotch #aaron hotch hotchner #jj #jennifer jareau #penelope garcia #derek morgan #baby girl #chocolate thunder #bau x oc

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therosegoldwriter · 3 years

Text

Ghost Flight | Liv Archer | 2020

There’s a global pandemic. The world has gone crazy, about to tip off its axis. A virus, wide-spread, but not nearly as deadly as the media makes it out to be, has frightened government leaders around the world into closing schools, small businesses, air travel, restaurants, and church buildings.

America’s stock markets are down, the economy’s going into recession, and the prohibition has been reinstated, all thanks to a new strain of pneumonia.

She hopes she gets sick. There’s a chance the virus would be too much for her immune system. She pays little attention to the advice of the CDC.

Contracting and succumbing to the virus brought hope to her restless mind.

She makes her way through the airport that is so dead she doesn’t recognize it. She’s never heard it so quiet – her heeled boots make the only sound and she’s self-conscious.

An angel stands back against a news stand, watching. She’s calmer than usual. She glides past check stations and through security, no sign of shaking, sweaty hands or an ever-deepening fear in the background of her thoughts. She’s almost frighteningly peaceful.

The TSA agent appreciates her quiet manner and clear-spoken ‘yes sir’, ‘thank you, sir’ as he instructs her though security. She passes through without delay and swiftly gathers her things off the conveyor belt before anyone can be impatient with her.

There’s no rush. There’s no one in line behind her.

Is there a difference between peace and acceptance? There’s certainly something worse about being in the mindset to be accepting.

Angel pulls her back just before a man with a cart of trays runs into her, but she just waves away his apology and offers one of her own.

The waiting area at the gate hosts no more than twelve people, and none of them are coming within ten feet of each other. Half of them are wearing masks and gloves.

She takes no such precautions, unconcerned with the dangers of contamination. She feels free to occupy two chairs, one for her carry-on and one for herself, pleased with the promise of personal space.

Angel sits on the seatback above her carry-on, glancing down as she plugged in her headphones and proceeds to stare at the black screen of her phone as though watching something.

She’s thinking too hard to watch anything.

A few yards away, a young girl – no older than seventeen – sits down, turns her music up, and stares out the window.

Only Angel can see the two figures who linger behind her. One of them looks grief-stricken, burdened with the weight of failure. His companion places his hand on the kid’s shoulders and her eyes close weakly.

Angel feels a pang of pity – and another of dread.

He’d hate to be where the other angels are, but he knows his time will come. His watchful eyes return to the woman next to him. She seems okay, smiling genuinely at the face that just popped into her head – a young man, the star of her softest dreams.

She’s gotten better over the past few days, being mindful of the way she prays. Among her prayers, Angel has heard her stop asking for things and rather thanking the Father for everything in her life. The young man is always first on her list.

Time ticks by, the woman’s mood becoming less comprehensive as she zones out. The empty, thousand-yard stares have become more frequent over the past few weeks, Angel has noticed. She used to have such a lively mind, always firing with creativity and imagination.

A few seats away, a man sits down silently and gets a good look at the few people around him. He’s accompanied by a coal-black presence, shrouded in smoke-like gray.

Angel stares at his fallen brother, heavy-hearted.

The other angel catches his gaze and looks away, lurking around the man like a dark cloud.

Angel edges closer to the woman. He leans closer, whispers, ‘Not long now. We’ll get a change of scenery soon enough.’

She has no idea of the world behind the veil. The forces at work, working to aid her. Her heart is heavy with the silence. She perceives that she is alone in the world, and cannot see the host of Heaven seeking to guide her.

This is the third time she’s flown into Texas in the past two weeks. She stares out the window, bored. The plane is nearly empty. Everyone on board has a row all to themselves, and most of the rows are empty entirely.

She is slumped in her seat, sleeping lightly. When she wakes she is tired.

Life has continued and she is disappointed, but she accepts it.

“Not yet,” Angel whispers.

She closes her eyes again, weighed down with sadness.

She doesn’t pray on planes anymore, to Angel’s dismay. All her life, she’s been frightened by turbulence, praying a hundred times for safety.

She’s not afraid anymore.

The plane hits a pocket of air and drops violently. Her heart doesn’t change its pace, and her only reaction is to hope it keeps falling.

She hasn’t eaten all day. She just orders coffee and keeps ordering until she’s downed three cups.

“Remember when he told you he missed you?” Angel whispers.

At the memory of the man she cares deeply for expressing lightly his displeasure of the absence of her company, she smiles out the window.

She’s grown in the past few days; Angel has noticed her increased efforts to stay on top of the heaviness in her heart. He knows it hasn’t quite worked, but he commends her all the same. He’s proud of her – the way she clings to the thinnest of hopes, the way she envisions her future and keeps working for it.

He knows what she thinks of her future, how bleak it looks, how lonely she feels, and knows how she has stepped outside of herself to prepare for it anyway.

Angel looks a few rows down and sees the kid sitting alone, the two angels sitting beside her.

The looks on both of the angels’ faces says it clearly: the child has let go of hope. Her heart has closed, and she cares for nothing.

Angel feels the woman’s smile fade.

Her thoughts have returned to her unanswered message to the young man. Her throat tightens and her chest clenches; she is ignored and unappreciated.

Angel hears her praying. She’s pleading for help, for release. He reaches for her to comfort her, but in this moment she is far from him.

Her pain has shut him out.

Angel lays a warm hand on her forehead and she drifts off to sleep. He wipes the tears from her face and sings calming dreams of winter into her ear.

She hasn’t slept through the night in five days. Angel is there at all hours to return her to slumber, but no matter how many pleasant dreams he gives her, she persists in awakening.

He worries for her body.

When the seventeen-year-old girl gets up to go to the bathroom at the back of the plane, the angel Death follows her in.

Neither of them return.

The child’s guardian angel lowers his head hopelessly. He’d lost contact with her days ago; there was nothing he could have done.

Farther down the cabin, the fallen angel laughs. He has killed his own remorse and does not feel the agony that all three of the other angels suffer.

Despite Angel’s best efforts to deepen her sleep, the woman awakens the moment one of the other passengers begins screaming.

The seventeen-year-old’s body has fallen out of the bathroom at the feet of the stewardess who had gone to investigate the lengthy duration of her time within.

Angel watches the face of the woman who sits next to him. She’s straining to see the reason for the panic that has overtaken the plane, her sleepy expression flashing from confused to shocked in seconds.

The child’s angel crouches over the body.

The soul is gone, the heart is still. The angel, distraught by the selfish panic of the passengers, stands and wails for silence, pleading for respect for the loss.

No one hears him, but they all fall silent.

He is gone with a prayer, vanished without another word.

Angel is sorrowful as he feels the woman’s envy.

The plane is quick to land after the body is found, and the passengers are herded off-board. Angel keeps the woman close, murmuring gentle words of comfort as she sits to wait for another flight to take her the rest of the way.

Angel doesn’t know which of them is more disturbed over the suicide. He keeps seeing the other guardian angel’s face, empathetically feeling the terror of his human being entirely unresponsive to his efforts. He kept feeling the unshakeable belief that one day he’d experience exactly the same thing.

She kept seeing that lifeless body on the airplane carpet, blood pooling from the arms of one so young. Her face had been so relaxed, so peaceful. She didn’t look dead, she just appeared to be sleeping. She wishes she knew what that was like.

Angel is broken out of his thoughts as his fallen brother meanders closer, a black smile breeding unease.

The fallen angel seizes the woman’s chin in a cold hand and turns her head towards the tiny liquor store across the terminal. “You could always drink yourself to death,” He taunts.

She stares at the store, heart racing.

Angel slaps the tempting spirit away angrily, and she looks away from the shop.

The fallen angel chortles. “Come on, sweetheart, you know you want to try it. You could go into the bathroom, hang yourself with your scarf. Or you could break the mirror and barricade yourself in a stall, do it the same way the kid did.”

She’s considering it.

Angel feels her unhappiness rush in like a tidal wave, the hope of peace bobbing to the surface. He rises, flaming with fury.

Angel burns brightly, and his fallen brother puts more space between them. He laughs joyously, innocently. “Don’t get mad at me, brother,” He glances down at the suffering woman. “I’m not the first one to suggest it.”

Angel’s eyes snap with fire, and he feels the woman’s ambition fade. He is fueled in his efforts. “Be gone, tempter. She belongs to the Father, and she is under my protection.”

The fallen angel recognizes his loss, but is not so quick to take his leave. “And you’ve done a fine job so far. Even I can see her soul searching for darkness.”

“Her soul searches for peace, brother. Unlike you, she will find it.”

When the tempter returns to his sorry victim, Angel kneels gently before the woman. She is tormented and conflicted, tears spilling over her cheeks, eyes resting achingly on the sign for the restrooms.

Angel draws her close, warming her cold hands. “Breathe, child,” He whispers. “The pain will pass. There is work for you yet.”

She can’t feel him, can’t hear him, but her mind quiets.

Angel smiles proudly and touches her phone.

It emits a unique chime and flashes a notification.

The woman hurries to wipe her face, her heart alighting.

The message is from the one she loves, the first of a short string of conversation.

Angel gazes around the airport, sorrow-ridden, praying for the day she regains her fear of flying.

#short story #fiction #depression #angel #sad #angst #tragedy #2020 #corona #writing #novel #author #writer #book #story

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lesbianmuppet · 4 years

Note

for the song ask: 23?

23: A song that when you listen to it you’re transported to a liminal space, time is pointless and you must sit and wallow in the void that remains

oh man this is a tough one. literally any song from ghost quartet (especially act 3) or the bands visit....

if i had to choose i would pick the photograph from ghost quartet!

how did her belief system break down with the appearance of the ghost? / softly, without trauma / in a series of imperceptible shifts

song asks that get progressively more specific

#nothin like getting screamed at in the dark by gelsey!#truly one of the best theatre experiences i have EVER had #also another runner up is tower tea ceremony from octet #specifically the pitch pipe chorale #silentwillow-arts

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chrysalispen · 5 years

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vii. sleep mothered them, and left the twilight sad;

AO3 Link

In the midst of the short journey back to the surgery, Cheerful Sparrow was the first to break the silence between them, and he did not do so until the tent and its endless lines came back into view.

"I hope," he said very quietly, "that you'll not hold Bryn's words against her."

"You see it in this profession often enough," Aurelia replied in a thin, dead voice. "Circumstances being what they are, no doubt I make an easier target for her anger."

"Aye, but that don't excuse her castin' aspersions and such. I'll talk to her about it." He hesitated. "Doubt anyone'll be askin' after your feelings, though. I'm sorry, truly. I can see you and Captain L'sazha were close once upon a time. He never was one for talkin' much about his life before he came down here."

"We were children together. I can't- I wouldn't know how he truly felt. There were," Aurelia faltered, "I can only speak for myself. But his presence brightened the life of a very lonely little girl, and-" She heard the crack in her own voice and stopped, tried to breathe through it, to keep her grief from spilling forth unchecked until she was certain the urge to cry had passed. "Sazha was my best friend. We'd planned to- ...we meant to leave the Empire and go adventuring toge- to-"

And then she couldn't stop it anymore. The words were choked out by a strangled sob, her chest hitching in a short gasp, and the tears came hot and close. She hated herself for it, but she couldn't have stopped it if she tried. To his credit, Sparrow didn't say anything, just stood still and let her cry.

"What happened to him- it's all my fault. He'd made a new life for himself, and I was part of the force that came down here and kicked it all apart like a godsdamned anthill-"

"Last I checked, your name was not Solus zos Galvus, unless we're mistaken about a hells of a lot more than we thought." She offered him the barest ghost of a smile, a small and tremulous thing, and he continued, "You can't hold yourself to task for your Emperor's actions."

"No, but I can hold myself to account for my own."

"Aye, that's as it may be, but- listen, it's commendable t'want to change yourself for the better. Just have a care you don't take the whole bleedin' world's troubles on your shoulders. There's a difference between atonement and bein' a martyr, like."

"Every single person in this camp right now has lost family and friends, if not their homes." Aurelia swiped at her eyes with her sleeve. "Crying over my own losses is naught but selfishness."

He gave her a sad smile.

"Selfish? I wouldn't say so. Bryn may not have noticed - as y'can see, she has her own troubles just now - but seems t'me like the Empire's taken its share from you too." Unable to formulate a proper response, she stared down at her hands, picking at her sleeve with her fingertips. "You good to get back to Captain Brudevelle, or do you need a minute?"

"I'm... no. No, I've taken enough of your time."

"Only time I'd be spendin' asleep, have no fear. Let's get you back before she sounds the alarum -- an' maybe see if she can't scrounge up a pair o' crutches or summat in the bargain. No offense, lass, but you're heavier than you look."

~*~

The next handful of hours (bells, they called it here) proceeded in a blur of activity, for which she was grateful. The tasks she'd been set to complete were not so very unlike her duties within the infirmary in the VIIth Legion's camp, for all that she lacked many of the amenities that she realized now she had very much taken for granted.

When not on the battlefield Eorzeans relied on magical healing far less than she'd supposed, which was something of a surprise. It also meant that her own mundane skills were not half as useless as she'd worried they might be, though at this juncture she'd hardly put them to use. Léonie - Captain Brudevelle - had set her and a handful of able-bodied volunteers to overseeing the triage roster. She was currently spending what little spare time she had in stripping down the remaining bolts of homespun the Grand Companies' remaining medical teams had on hand to create bandages and dressings.

Aurelia set the heel of her splinted leg on a low stool (a milking stool that had been repurposed, she suspected) and kept a watchful eye open while she kept her hands busy. Most of those milling about were freelancers who had taken up arms beneath the banners of the Grand Companies. She heard myriad different accents among the chatter, most she assumed to be Eorzean, though her ears caught tongues she recognized from all three continents.

A couple of adventurers who passed by the triage lines on their way elsewhere caught her eye for a brief moment. Both Hyur in appearance, but fair and svelte and very tall, their brows carefully covered-- Aurelia knew her countrymen on sight, and she noted with something like amusement their own expressions of startled recognition when they sighted her; clearly they knew her too. Imperial defectors who'd made sellswords of themselves, no doubt.

Like Sazha. She couldn't help but wonder if he would ever have attempted to reach out to her again, had circumstance not dropped him back in her life--and thought to herself that the odds were against it.

It was a sort of bookend to their lives, she mused. They had met by blind chance, had grown up dogging each others' heels, and in the end had become little more than ships passing in the night, physical and emotional distance enforced by the strictures of the imperial caste system. He had had no reason to believe he would ever see her again and so he had made a life for himself here.

One that had been cut short by-

Aurelia let out a choked exhale at the sudden wave of pain that snapped through her head, just behind her eyes, and doubled over with a hand pressed to her temple.

"Not like that, Bryn," Sazha is saying. His voice is soft and ragged, the barest sound rising from a wasted chest and charred lips. The weeping woman at his side tries to glare at him and can't. Even in the throes of grief and jealousy, she can believe naught but the best and truest intentions from him. If he says that the Garlean is nothing more to him than an old friend, he means it.

He sighs, one of his bandaged hands resting on her forearm and patting, the movement slow and clumsy as he tries to offer what bare amount of comfort he can. Bryngeim wants to rage at him out of jealous hurt. Throw his hand aside. Storm out of the tent and confront the woman. She does none of those things.

"Childhood friend or not, she has no call to be so blasted familiar with you. If she cared so much she'd have defected long ago."

"She had a duty. And family. Not easy to defect." His reply, mumbled as it is, halts her angry rant in its tracks. "Empire makes it hard. The more you have, more you have to lose."

"Sazha..."

"Don't blame her." His unburnt eye falls shut. "She's here now."

Bryngeim bows her head, feeling a vague sense of shame. That much is true; the Garlean woman is here now. It is also true -- much to her own chagrin -- that her beloved at one point knew the prisoner extremely well, well enough to be much more than passing fond of her. And he is insisting she help the woman once he has passed. It feels like salt rubbed in a raw wound, though she knows he doesn't intend it that way.

"Bryn," he mumbles. His eye has still not opened. "Don't forget. Talk to the brass. Keep her off the gibbet."

"...I know, I know. You always were too sentimental by half." A great sigh erupts from the woman's lips and as she responds, she tastes the salt of her own tears. "Fine, all right. I'll give her that box like you asked *and* I'll try to get leave to speak with Admiral Bloefhiswyn on her behalf. I don't much rate the chances of her listening to my like, but I'll try."

"Oi! Watch out-"

She'd nearly fallen off the stool.

A soft chorus of concerned murmurs had arisen from the small group of wounded nearby, and Aurelia stared at them all with blank and uncomprehending eyes, her head still pounding with the vestiges of that ache. She winced as she saw she'd upended the box of cloth bolts. It was Sparrow who had caught her as she was about to fall in the mud. He was carrying a large and familiar-looking bag slung over one shoulder.

"Saw you hunched over grabbin' at your head, like, and then you nigh keeled over. Should I fetch Léonie and let her know you need to lie down? You look ill."

Aurelia heard the question but it didn't register right away that he was talking to her; she was still puzzling over the vivid scene she'd just witnessed. Slowly she reached for the box, checked its contents, and was relieved to note that most of them were still intact. Fine job it would have been if she'd soiled all of the supplies they had left over a fainting spell. "I- no. I'm fine. I just..."

What in the seven hells was that?

She'd seen Sazha and Captain Ahrmbraena talking--through, it seemed, the Captain's own eyes. No, not just her eyes; her own memory. Had it been a hallucination for lack of sleep? Some sort of extremely lucid daydream? It had felt so real Aurelia could almost feel the roughness of the homespun cloth that had been used to make Sazha's dressings. And she'd felt every thought and emotion of the Captain's as surely as if they'd been her own.

Well, there had to be some reasonable explanation, surely, Aurelia thought. It wasn't as though she could read minds, or project herself into the woman's body; the very idea beggared belief. Likely just a passing fancy, or she'd been dreaming. She was starting to feel every ilm of her exhaustion.

"Lass-"

"I'm fine," she interrupted somewhat absently, shaking her head and wincing at the fresh stab of pain the movement sent through her. "Mayhap a bit tired. What're you doing here? I thought you would have sought your bed."

"I did, but one of the lads found something on their run that I thought might be of use to you."

With a grunt, he unshouldered the heavy bag he was carrying and set it in front of her. The fabric was covered in mud and singed in places, but the damage appeared to be superficial. She gasped, recognizing immediately the scarlet triple-link insignia of the imperial standard, stitched as it was into the canvas.

"You found a field kit!"

"So this is what you were telling us about, then? Good."

Aurelia's hands quivered with excitement and relief as she unsealed the top and flipped the bag open. Syringes, fresh dressings, spare reagents and alchemics, a set of sterile tools for use in an operating theater (or on the field itself in a dire emergency)-- they were all here. Granted, it wasn't enough to actually use on more than a few of these poor folk, but arguably more important than the potions were the tools themselves.

"You... didn't have to go out of your way for me like this," she said unsteadily.

The silver-haired marauder shrugged, hazel eyes not quite meeting the wide sea of blue. "Well, might be as I heard you mention such a kit a brace o'times afore Cap'n Léonie set you to work."

"Sparrow, that was hours ago-"

"-and might be as I had mates in some other search units about to start makin' their rounds. One of them served some time with the imperial army in the Estersands 'bout five summers past afore he came to Eorzea, so he said he'd keep an eye out."

Before she could stop herself, Aurelia had thrown her arms about the man's neck mid-explanation and bestowed upon him the fiercest embrace she'd granted anyone since she was a child. She could feel him stiffen in surprise beneath her, but after a moment- somewhat awkwardly- he patted her on the back.

"Here now," he coughed, his deep voice a touch gruff with his embarrassment, "no need t'make a fuss. If you say one o'these would be useful, that means it helps our lot too. Just help as many folk as you can manage, an' that'll be us square."

"I'll not forget this," Aurelia said, still smiling, and meant it. He had been unfailingly kind to her when he had no reason whatsoever to take her part. It seemed that she had at least one other person in her corner, and that made her feel an immeasurable sense of relief. "I promise you that. Tell your friend he has my most sincere thanks."

"Aye, I'll pass it a-"

"I told you lot I don't need any swiving help!" a voice roared, the shout echoing from nigh the back of the line.

Both of them turned to look in that direction and bore witness to the sight of two men in Maelstrom colors, a Hyur and an Elezen, dragging a decidedly recalcitrant-looking third in officer's dress towards the front of the line. The Roegadyn was cradling his left arm and his face was deathly pale except for a couple of spots of hectic color on his cheeks, indicating a fever.

He was clearly also in a very high temper and he towered over his fellows as he blustered all over the camp, which made their ability to drag him forward despite his attempts at resistance all the more remarkable.

The Elezen caught her eye and waved.

"Miss!" he called. "Miss, we need a healer. I know there's others ahead of us but I'm beggin' ye, please. He's ill and gettin' worse by the minute. Taken fever, an' he's weak as a-"

"Shut your bleedin' hole," the Roegadyn snarled at him. "I'll show you weak."

"Sir," the other man said, expression pained, "with all due respect, if you would just-"

"Bugger off, both of you! There's naught wrong with my arm." The man yanked his limb out of their reach, swearing as he did so. He wore a brown band about his good wrist, meaning someone had marked him as lower priority for treatment. Aurelia surmised it was one of the others, as she didn't recognize the man. "Just needs one of those conjurers to wave their fingers a touch."

Inwardly, Aurelia sighed. This man promised to be a difficult patient if his behavior now was any indication. She was tired, grieving, and her hips and leg were still a dull background ache. Her composure had already slipped its leash once; she wasn't entirely sure she could rein it in a second time.

Still, she turned her attention towards the trio with a polite smile.

"Well then," she said aloud, keeping her tone as even and mild as she could manage, "I see you've had at least a cursory examination. Let's come in out of the wet and have a closer look."

Those rheumy eyes tracked over her form - including her partially exposed third eye, though she knew it was difficult to see it in the dark. He scoffed, loudly, making his disdain evident.

"I'll take no directions from your like, Garlean. Aye, I know what you are. There's rumors all down the line about the imperial prisoner working the triage lines. Stick to your busywork and let the healers do what they're good at."

"...Are you done? You can come in if you like, or should you prefer to stand out here in the damp and cold and continue to be miserable while rousing the entire camp with your bluster, then I suppose that too is your choice." Annoyance at his coarse demeanor had made her response sound rather more waspish than she'd intended, but Aurelia couldn't be bothered to moderate her tone.

"And who in blazes do you think you are, to be taking that tone with me," he sneered, "the Emperor? Think I'm one of your pet savages to order about at will, is that it?"

With some effort, she took a deep breath and held her tongue. She had no idea who this man was, but the medals he wore on his jacket indicated a fairly high rank and it probably wouldn't be wise to antagonize him unnecessarily.

"Sparrow, would you mind taking these dressings and the kit inside? And the stool so I'll have a place to sit? I can take matters from there." She reached for the makeshift walking aids she'd been lent and carefully maneuvered herself to stand on her good leg. "You two, please bring your friend inside."

Safely out of sight now, Aurelia winced as she made her slow and careful way towards the surgery. Her hips, still sore and extremely disinclined to bear her weight after her recent injury, screamed in silent protest. Under normal circumstances there was absolutely no way she'd be up and about like this; she really should be keeping her weight off both feet for about a sennight. As it was, she had to force herself to work through the pain.

Just like the rest of them, she couldn't afford the time spent in a sickbed. And bellicose as this man was, a patient was a patient and none of them had the luxury in a crisis situation to choose who was and wasn't deserving of treatment.

Steeling herself, she nudged aside the oilcloth flap and entered the relative dry warmth of the surgery. The partition was drawn; she could hear voices speaking quietly on the other side of the cloth. Otherwise it was quiet save the soft tick of an aetheric chronometer on one of the nearby shelves.

"Where's the healer, Garlean?" was the first thing out of the man's mouth.

"You're speaking to her," she said. Sparrow had set the field kit within easy reach for her to remove the steel tools within and a roll of fresh linen, so she did just that, looking over the assorted bottles and their contents within and refusing to give the irritating man a second glance. "I'll need you to have a seat on the table so I can examine the wound, please."

There was no response, so she looked away from her tools to repeat herself in time for the man to cast an imperious glare at her down the length of his aquiline nose.

"The request was for a healer," he snapped, "not an imperial wench with the manners of a harpy. I'm not near enough of a fool to trust your like to pull an ingrown toenail from your enemy, never mind-"

Aurelia's temper snapped like an overtaxed thread.

Her palms slammed down onto the surface of the table hard enough to crack the brittle wood and set the nearby potion bottles to jittering in place on its surface, making them all jump. She rounded on the man with unbridled fury in her dark blue eyes, a vicious rage burning in their depths, and his sneer faltered before the heat of her anger.

"My best friend, who fought the Empire beneath your banner," she hissed, "is dying. He is dying slowly and painfully, and with the limited resources on hand there is little that can be done to ease his suffering as he passes. Would that your places had been exchanged, but they were not, and it is your life I must needs safeguard and not the one I hold dear."

"How dare y-" he began, but Aurelia was not finished.

"As regards mine heritage, you should count yourself extremely fortunate that I am first and foremost a chirurgeon. I am charged with the preservation of life, regardless of the worth I would personally find in it. Rest assured, you have naught to fear from me save my words--which hardly cut so deep a wound that your pride shall not recover anon. Now," she bit out, "kindly place your arse on the sodding table, and keep your mouth shut unless you are addressed. You can do that much, can't you?"

The man had gone slack-jawed with incredulous astonishment-- but he didn't attempt further argument. Shivering, looking visibly ill now that he was no longer shouting at everyone in close quarters to obey his orders, the man seated himself on the edge of the table.

"Move aside," she told his companions, voice still flat and cold with anger. They all but scrambled to clear a path as she reached for the dress jacket slung loosely over his shoulders and shoved it aside. The foul smell hit her nose almost immediately, though she didn't react, only peeled back the dirty bandage that had been slapped over his forearm in all haste some time ago. "How long has your arm been like this?"

"S... since yesterday evening...?" At her mulish expression he sputtered, "Don't give me that look! 'Tis just a scratch."

"Aye, one you've let fester long enough it's like to cost you the limb."

"Like hells it is! This is why I wanted to see someone with magic, so they'd just heal it and I'd be about my way!"

"Conjury can only do so much," she said. "Magic isn't a panacea; even I know that."

"You imperials have taken aught else of value," he snarled at her. "I'll die before I let you take my godsdamned arm in the bargain."

There it was, she realized. The fear and distrust he'd hidden beneath his belligerence--not of her specifically, or even her people, but of medical practitioners in general.

Her own helpless anger subsided beneath a small sense of pity. She suspected that - ironically enough - he had put off having his hurts addressed simply because he was too frightened to deal with a chirurgeon, and ashamed of his fear. He was far from the first patient she'd received who worried her first answer to his problem would be a bone saw, and he'd hardly be the last.

She put her hands under his arm, bracing them at the wrist and the elbow so as not to touch any part of the wound itself. The man flinched and hissed at even her slightest touch; pus had leaked into his filthy dressing from the opening of the wound, and she could see a small piece of metal lodged just under the skin. Angry red streaks lanced down his swelling limb nearly to the elbow where her index and middle fingers touched.

When Aurelia spoke again, she kept her voice perhaps a bit calmer and gentler than before.

"First things first, there's shrapnel that needs removed. It's the most likely culprit-- and then I'll need to clean and suture it and change out your dressing. I think I have some things on hand I can use to keep the infection contained. Although at this point, I can't promise that any of these measures will forego the need for amputation. Captain Brudevelle is currently working with other patients; once she is available, I shall consult with her. For the time being, that is the best I can offer."

"I told you, I am not-"

"I am very sorry that you mislike matters as they stand," she said quietly, "but your anger changes nothing. Shouting at your wound will not cleanse nor heal it. Nor will shouting at me. Hopefully it shan't come to surgery, but if it's your arm or your life, then we shall take the arm that you might survive the infection. I would not even suggest it if it were not a possibility."

He blanched even paler beneath his fever-stained cheeks, but nodded and slumped forward in a clear show of defeat. His gaze didn't meet hers. He had lost what little fight remained in him.

Aurelia turned to his two underlings.

"Now," she said, "if one of you gentlemen would be so kind as to assist me, I shall need the basin atop that sideboard filled with water and brought to me, please. Quickly."

#reborn by fire #aurelia laskaris #chapter 7: sleep mothered them #wol origin story

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loretranscripts · 5 years

Text

Lore Episode 26: Brought Back (Transcript) - 25th January 2016

tw: racism, colonialism, live burial, slavery

Disclaimer: This transcript is entirely non-profit and fan-made. All credit for this content goes to Aaron Mahnke, creator of Lore podcast. It is by a fan, for fans, and meant to make the content of the podcast more accessible to all. Also, there may be mistakes, despite rigorous re-reading on my part. Feel free to point them out, but please be nice!

No one wants to die. If the human design was scheduled for a revision, that’s one of the features that would get an overhaul. Our mortality has been an obsession since the dawn of humanity itself – humans long for ways to avoid death, or at least make it bearable. Some cultures have practically moved heaven and earth doing so. Thousands of years ago, the Egyptians built enormous stone structures in order to house their dead and ensure them a place in the afterlife. They perfected the art of embalming so that even after death, their bodies might be ready for a new existence in a new place. Death is a reality for all of us, whether we like it or not. Young or old, rich or poor, healthy or sick, life is one long journey down a road, and we walk until its over. Some think they see the light at the end of it all while others hope for darkness, and that’s where the mystery of it all comes in: no one knows what’s on the other side. We just know that the proverbial walk ends at some point, and maybe that’s why we spend so much time guessing at it, building story and myth and belief around this thing we can’t put our finger on. What would be easier, some say, is if we just didn’t die, if we somehow went on forever. It’s impossible, but we dream of it anyway. No one returns from the grave… do they? Most sane, well-adjusted people would say no, but stories exist that say otherwise, and these stories aren’t new. They’ve been around for thousands of years and span multiple cultures, and like their subject matter these stories simply refuse to die. One reason for that, as hard as it is to believe, is because some of those stories appear to be true. Depending on where you look, and who you ask, there are whispers of those who beat the odds. Sometimes the journey doesn’t end after all. Sometimes, the dead really do walk. I’m Aaron Mahnke, and this is Lore.

The quintessential zombie movie, the one that all the commentators say was responsible for putting zombies on the map nearly 50 years ago, was George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. The creatures that Romero brought to the big screen managed to influence generations of film makers, giving us the iconic zombie that we see today in television shows like The Walking Dead. The trouble is, Romero never used the word “zombie” to describe the creatures from his landmark film. Instead, they were “ghouls”, a creature borrowed from Arabian folklore. According to the mythology, ghouls are demons who eat the dead and, because of that, are traditionally found in graveyards. But Romero’s ghouls were not the first undead creatures to hunger for the flesh and blood of the living. Some think that honour falls to the Odyssey, the epic Greek poem written by Homer nearly 3000 years ago. In the story, there’s a scene where Odysseus needs to get some information from a long-dead prophet named Tiresias. To give the spirit strength to speak, Odysseus feeds him blood. In a lot of ways, the creatures we think of today as zombies are similar to the European tales of the revenant. They’ve gone by many names – the ancient Irish called them Neamh-Mhairbh, meaning “the undead”; in Germany they are the Wiedergänger, “the ones who walk again”; and in Nordic mythology, they’re called the draugr. The name “revenant” itself is Latin and means “the returned”. The basic idea is pretty easy to guess from that – revenants were those who were once dead, but returned to haunt and terrorize their neighbours and family. It might sound like fantasy to our modern sensibilities, but some people really did think that this could happen.

Historians in the Middle Ages wrote about revenant activity as if it were fact. One man, William of Newburgh, wrote in 1190 that, and I quote, “It would not be easy to believe that the corpses of the dead should sally from their graves, and should wander about to the terror or destruction of the living, did not frequent examples, occurring in our own times, suffice to establish this fact, to the truth of which there is abundant testimony. Were I to write down all the instances of this kind which I have ascertained to have befallen in our times, the undertaking would be beyond measure, laborious, and troublesome”. Newburgh goes on to wonder why the ancient writers never mentioned events like these, but doesn’t seem to take that as proof that revenants are pure fantasy. They mentioned all sorts of boring things, mundane and unimportant, so why not the unnatural and unusual? He was, of course, wrong – the ancient Greeks did have certain beliefs surrounding the dead and their ability to return to haunt the living, but to them it was much more complicated, and each revenant came back with its own unique purpose. You see, the Greco-Roman culture believed that there was a gap between the date of someone’s actual death and their intended date of death. Remember, this was a culture that believed in the Moirai – the Fates – who had a plan for everyone. So, for example, a farmer might be destined to die in his 80s from natural causes, but he might instead die in an accident at the market or in his field. People who died early, according to the legends, were doomed to wander the land of the living as spirits until the day of their intended death arrived. Still with me? Good. So, what the Greeks believed was that it was possible to control those wandering spirits – all you needed to do was make a curse tablet, something written on clay or tin or even parchment, and then bury it in the person’s grave. Like a key in the ignition of a car, this tablet would empower someone to control the wandering dead. Now, it might sound like the world’s creepiest Martha Stewart how-to project, but to the Greeks magic like this was a powerful part of their belief system. The dead weren’t really gone, and because of that they could serve a purpose. Unfortunately, that’s not an attitude that was unique to the Greeks, and in the right culture, at the right time, under the right pressure, that idea can be devastating.

In Haiti, the vast majority of the people there are genetically connected to West Africa to some degree, up to 95% according to some studies. It’s a remnant of a darker time, when slavery was legal, and millions of Africans were pulled from their homes and transported across the Atlantic to work the sugar plantations that filled the Spanish coffers. We tend to imagine African slaves being shipped to the new world with no possessions beside the clothing on their backs, but they came with their beliefs, with their customs and traditions, and with centuries of folklore and superstition. They might not have carried luggage filled with precious heirlooms, but they held the most important pieces of their identity in their minds and hearts. No one can take that away. There are a few ideas that need to be understood about this transplanted culture. First, they believed that the soul and the body were connected, but also that death could be a moment of separation between the two. Not always, but it could be – I’ll explain more about that in a moment. Second, they lived with a hatred and fear of slavery. Slavery, of course, took away their freedom, it took away their power. They no longer had control over their lives, their dreams, or even their own bodies. Whether they liked it or not, they were doomed to endure horribly difficult labour for the rest of their lives; only death would break the chains and set them free. Third, that freedom wasn’t guaranteed. While most Africans dreamed of returning to their homeland in the afterlife, there were some who wanted to get there quicker. Suicide was common in colonial Haiti, but it was also frowned upon. In fact, it was believed that those who ended their own life wouldn’t be taken back to Africa at all. Instead, they would be punished. The penalty, it was said, was eternal imprisonment inside their own body, without control or power over themselves. It was, in a sense, just like their own life. To the slaves of Haiti, hell was just more slavery, but a slavery that went on forever. These bodies and trapped souls had a name in their culture: the zombie. It was first recorded in 1872, when a linguistic scholar recorded a zombie as, and I quote, “a phantom or ghost, not infrequently heard in the southern states in nurseries and among the servants”. The name, it turns out, has African roots as well. In the Congo they use the word nzambi, which means the spirit of a dead person. It’s related to two other words that both mean “god” and “fetish” – fetish in the sense of manufacturing a thing, a creature that has been made. The walking dead, at least according to Haitian lore, are real.

What did these zombie look like? Well, thanks to Zora Neale Hurston, we have a first-hand account. Hurston was an African American author, known for her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, and regarded as one of the pillars of the Harlem Renaissance. And it was while researching folklore during a trip to Haiti in 1936 that she encountered one. In her book Tell my Horse, Hurston recounts what happened. “I had the rare opportunity to see and touch an authentic case”, she wrote. “I listened to the broken noises in its throat.... If I had not experienced all of this in the strong sunlight of a hospital yard, I might have come away from Haiti interested but doubtful. But I saw this case of Felicia Felix-Mentor which was vouched for by the highest authority. So I know that there are Zombies in Haiti. People have been called back from the dead. The sight was dreadful. That blank face with the dead eyes. The eyelids were white all around the eyes as if it had been burned with acid. There was nothing you could say to her or get from her except by looking at her, and the sight of this wreckage was too much to endure for long”. Wreckage. I can’t think of another word with as much beauty and horror as that, in the context. Something was happening in Haiti, and the result was wreckage, lives broken and torn apart by something – but what? The assumption might be that these people had all attempted suicide, but suicide is common in many cultures, not just in Haiti. When you dig deeper, though, it’s possible to uncover the truth, and in this case, the truth is much darker than we like to believe. Zombies, it turns out, can be created.

On the night of April 30th, 1962, a man walked into Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Haiti. He was sick and complained of body aches, a fever and, most recently, coughing fits that brought blood up from his lungs. Naturally, the medical staff were concerned, and they admitted him for tests and treatment. This man, Clairvius Narcisse, was seen by a number of medical doctors but his condition quickly deteriorated. One of his sisters, Angelina, was there at his bedside, and according to her his lips turned blue and he complained to her about a tingling sensation all over his body. But despite the hospital’s best efforts, Narcisse died the next day. Two doctors, one American and one American-trained, each confirmed his death. The man’s sister, Angelina, signed the death certificate after confirming the man’s identity. Because she couldn’t read or write, she did so by pressing her thumbprint onto the paper, and then his family began the painful process of burying their loved one and trying to move on. Death, as always, is a part of life; never a pleasant one, but a part nonetheless. Over 18 years later, in 1981, Angelina Narcisse was walking through the market in her village, something she did nearly every day. She knew the faces of each vendor, she knew the scents and the sounds that filled the space there, but when she looked down the dirt road toward the small crowd of people something frightened her, and she screamed. There, walking toward her, was her brother Clairvius. He was, of course, older now, but it was him. She would have recognised him anywhere, and when he finally approached her and named himself with a childhood nickname, any doubt she might have had melted away. What followed was a whirlwind of revelations as Clairvius told his sister what had happened to him, and it all started, he said, in the hospital room. According to him, his last moments in the bed there were dark, but fully aware. He could no longer see anyone, and he couldn’t move, but he remembered hearing the doctor pronounce him dead. He remembered the sound of his sister weeping. He even remembered the rough, cotton sheet being pulled up and over his face. But awareness continued on to his funeral, where he claimed to hear the procession. He even pointed to a scar on his face – he claimed that it was the result of one of the coffin nails cutting him. Later, the family brought in a psychiatrist, who performed a series of tests on Clairvius to see is he was a fraud, but the man passed with flying colours, answering questions that no one but Clairvius himself could have known. In an addition, over 200 friends and family members vouched for the man’s identity. This, all of them confirmed, was Clairvius Narcisse.

So, what happened to him? According to Clairvius himself, he was poisoned by his brother over a property dispute. How? He wasn’t sure, but shortly after his burial, a group of men dug up his coffin and pulled him free. That’s a thought worth locking away deep in the back of your brain, by the way: trapped inside a coffin beneath the earth, blind and paralysed, cold and scared. It’s a wonder the man didn’t go insane. The men who dug him up were led by a priest called a Bokor. The men chained Clairvius and then guided him away to a sugar plantation, where he was forced to work alongside others in a similar state of helplessness. Daily doses of a mysterious drug kept them all unable to resist or leave. According to his story, he managed to escape two years later, but fearing what his brother might do to him if he were to show up alive, he avoided returning home. It was only the news of his brother’s death many years later that coaxed him out of hiding. The story of Clairvius Narcisse has perplexed scientists and historians for decades. In the 1980s, Harvard sent an ethno-botanist named Wade Davis to investigate the mysterious drug, and the result of his trip was a book called The Serpent and the Rainbow, which would go on to be a New York Times bestseller as well as a Hollywood movie, but few agree on the conclusions. Samples of the drug that Wade collected have all been disproven, no illegal sugar plantations staffed by zombie slaves has ever been discovered, and the doctors have been accused of misreading the symptoms and prematurely declaring the man dead – there are so many doubts. To the people closest to him, though, the facts are solid. Clairvius Narcisse died, his family watched his burial in the cemetery, he was mourned and missed, and 18 years later he came back into their lives. The walking dead: medical mishap or the result of Haitian black magic? We may never know for sure.

Stories of the walking dead are everywhere these days. It’s as if we’ve traded in our obsession with extending our life and resigned to the fact that normal death, the kind where we die and stay dead, might be better. We fear death because it means the loss of control, the loss of purpose and freedom. Death, in the eyes of many people, robs us of our identity and replaces it with finality. It’s understandable, then, how slavery can be viewed through that same lens. It removes a person’s ability to make decisions for themselves – it turns them, in a sense, into nothing more than a machine for the benefit of another person. But what if there really are individuals out there, the Bokor and evil priests, who have discovered a way to manufacture their own walking dead, who have perfected the art of enslaving a man or women deeper than any slave owner might have managed before, to rob them of their very soul and bind them to an afterlife of tireless, ceaseless labour? In February of 1976, Francine Illeus was admitted to her local hospital in Haiti. She said she felt weak and light-headed. Her digestive system was failing, and her stomach ached. The doctors there treated her and then released her. Several days later, she passed away and was buried in the local graveyard. She had only been 30 years old. Three years later, Francine’s mother received a call from a friend a few miles away. She needed her to come to the local marketplace there, and said it was urgent. Francine’s mother didn’t know what the trouble was, but she made the journey as quickly as she could. Once there, she was told that a woman had been found in the market. She was emaciated, catatonic, and refused to move from where she was squatting in the corner, head down, hands laced over her face. The woman, it turned out, was Francine Illeus. Her mother brought her home and tried to help her, but Francine seemed to be gone. She was there in body, but there was very little spirit left. Subsequent doctors and psychiatrists have spent time with Francine, but with very little progress to show for it. On a whim, Francine’s mother had the coffin exhumed. She had to see for herself if this woman, little more than a walking corpse, truly was her daughter. Yes, the woman had the same scar on her forehead that her daughter had, yes, they looked alike, yes, others recognised her as Francine, but she needed to know for sure. When the men pulled the coffin out of the earth, it was heavy, too heavy, they murmured, to be empty. More doubtful by the minute, Francine’s mother asked them to open it, and when the last nail had been pulled free from the wood, the lid was lifted and cast aside. The coffin wasn’t empty after all – it was full of rocks.

[Closing statements]

#lore podcast #podcasts #aaron mahnke #podcast transcripts #zombie #zombies #night of the walking dead #revenant #voodoo #haiti #transcripts #26

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sanssa-archive · 6 years

Photo

How did her belief system break down with the appearance of the ghost?

#ghostquartetedit #musicaltheatreedit #sailormoony #ghost quartet #musicals #mine #*mygraphics

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thisweekingundamwing · 6 years

Text

TWIGW February 11 - 17th

Happy Sunday Gundam Wing Fandom!

We have some super awesome things for you to check out this week! Many many thanks to those who submitted and tagged us in content - it makes our job so much easier! Especially with the archiving happening on AO3! If you’ve created something we missed, please feel free to let us know so we can feature you too!

Remember, if you find something you love, please please make sure you let the creator know how much you enjoyed it! Every little comment/like/reblog goes a long way towards fueling their desire to do more!

Thank you for all that you do, and keep submitting your great content to us!

-Mod CB

Fanfiction:

A Little Piece of Gundam Wing

The archive is being ported to AO3! Check it out!

@ahsimwithsake

Fickle Faithful

Heero-centric, implied future 1x5x3. This might grow into something more.

Late entry for @gwblockparty Rewrite the Romance

Rated T for swearing

Amberly

Knife in Hand

When Duo learns there's a hit out on him, he turns to the only person in Chicago he believes capable of helping him. But will the cost of the Broker's help be too high?

Pairings: 2x3, past (underage) 6x2, past 1x3

Warnings: Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Consent Issues, Organized Crime, Assassination, child trafficking, Past Abuse, Federal Agents, Abuse of Power, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Gender Issues

Amberly with @yourbloodlikewine

In This Light

Duo spent the last semester working in his older brother's coffee shop. He's resigned himself to a boring spring when a stranger appears, shaking up his entire life. Eli left home last fall, choosing to spend the last six months living out of his van on his travels from the Midwest to the East Coast. By the time he arrives at Ink's, the novelty of traveling alone has started to wear off. Still, the last thing he's expecting is to meet someone who's going to change all that for him

Pairings: 2xOMC, 3xOMC, Solo x OMC,

Warnings: Rape/Noncon, Original Characters - Freeform, Alternate Universe, child abuse mention, Sexual Assault Mention, homophobic parents, Re-Written Characters, Drug Use, Violence, off screen murder, gratuitous author indulgence

@anaranesindanarie

Cocktail Friday

Cocktail Friday drabbles.

Pairings: 2x3

Warnings: bar, diplomats, Russian accent

Death Unspeaking

What happens when a Gundam Pilot is mute? What happens when the other Pilots look down at him because of it? Will he overcome the odds or will the odds overcome him? For Manny who encouraged me to work on this.

Pairings: 2x3

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage

Designation01

War Tactics

Heero's perception leads to an interesting discovery: Duo Maxwell avoids mirrors. An introspective ficlet that aims to explore using BDSM and possible lack of body autocracy to overcome self-image issues.

Pairings: 1x2

Warnings: Mirrors, Body Image, Body Horror, Hand Jobs, NightmaresComfort, Emotional Discomfort, Control Issues, Complete

@duointherain

To Be Human is to Love

Duo and Heero are working a damaged part of their new colony, things go wrong.

Pairings: 1x2

Warnings: Spaced

EclipseMage

Broken and Bloodthirsty

Duo is terrible-awful at coping. Quatre gets the brunt end of it after a reckless mission-gone-wrong.

Pairings: none

Warnings: Pilot angst, Physical fight ensues, Underage Drinking

flamingofics (hey @idkmybffflamingo is this you? let us know!)

Will You Have Me?

Duo returns from a Preventers mission on the fourteenth of February. Trowa takes the opportunity to attempt to confess his feelings for him.

Pairings: 2x3

Warnings: Fluff and Angst, Confessions, Misunderstandings, Gundam Wing Valentine's Day Fan Exchange

Gift fic for @claraxbarton from a GW Valentine’s Day exchange in 2016

Ginnybag

Past Tense

'Milliardo.... I'll be waiting on the other side....' A quarter of a century after the fight at MOII, the Epyon System follows the last command given by its maker, returning him to where he will, once again, be needed. But 25 years is a long time and the world he left behind is not the one he wakes in, and fighting to be more than the ghost that he has become to his friends and family may be one battle Treize Khushrenada really cannot win.

Pairings: 6x13, 3x11, 5xMariemaia, 4xR, 2xDorothy, 13,OMC

Warnings: Newtypes, POLITICS!, Sanc, Past Heero/Relena, Past Treize/OFC, Past Treize/OMC, Dysfunctional Family, Family Issues, Parents & Children, Discussions of Politics/War/Abuse/Sex, References to Drugs, Romefeller Foundation, Mentions of Past Nastiness, ZERO System, Canon - to a point

Poison Seven - A Thousand Words

Part 7 of Poison

Pairings: 6x13

Warnings: none listed

Wild Roses: Cold Comfort

December AC 191: Six months after creation, Treize's new Wing is rapidly gathering a reputation as the best of the best. A routine patrol in space cements Zechs's status as an Ace and leaves Treize injured, revealing the depths of his religious beliefs. As the 10th Anniversary of the Fall of Sanc combines with the fallout, Leia begins to doubt her husband, Lady Une summons the Zodiac to form, and Noin earns her wings. On Christmas Eve, Treize marks his 21st with a mission he did not expect, culminating in professional triumph and personal revelation for both men.

Pairings: 6xOMC, 6xOtto, 13x11, 13xLeia Barton, 6xOttoxOMC, 13x6, 6x9

Warnings: Nuclear-powered suits, The Duchess of Richmond's Ball, Medical Euthanasia

JunaAzumi

Aún existen los príncipes azules

Trowa sabia que habia separado a los 5 pilotos pero no se arrepentia de nada.

4x5

Bailemos hasta que se acabe el mundo

Quién puede tener una cena en medio de una guerra? Quatre y Heero te darán la respuesta

1x4

Quatre vs Duo

Los chicos se van de vacaciones a Playa del Carmen, Quatre y Duo compiten por las atenciones de Heero ¿Quién ganara?

1x4

Quiero Acordarme de ti

Resumen: Quatre encontró a Trowa, estaba preparado para cualquier cosa menos menos para lo que encontró 04x03 escena perdida del capitulo 38

3x4

facetiousfutz

Short Oneshot Requests

Occasionally I open the floor to short fic and drabble requests on my personal Dreamwidth account (same username, if you want access), and these are the fills I've deemed worthy of lurking eyes. I have a ton of fandoms. This will focus heavily on humor pieces and M/M and F/F ships, with some exceptions. If any archive warnings ever apply, I will make a note of it in the beginning.

Multiple fandoms/pairings, please see chapter specific warnings

All characters underage in canon are aged up accordingly in smut fics

@kangofu-cb

If You Let Me

If Trowa could give the new residents one rule for surviving the ICU, it would be ‘Don’t Touch Anything. (Especially The Patients.)’. In reality, he’d actually give them a lot of rules, possibly with diagrams for clarity. But his main rule essentially covered the bases. When you worked in one of the largest ICUs, in the biggest medical center in the country, at a hospital known for taking on unstable patients for the most complex and risky surgeries that were performed no-where else, new residents were a menace. Until he meets Dr. Maxwell, the newest anesthesia resident.

Pairings: 2x3, background HxD

Warnings: Alternate Universe - Medical, Doctor/Patient, Nurses & Nursing, Fluff and Smut, this is literally my feel good thing guys ok, I mean I'm not saying there won't be any angst, but basically this is all WAFF

@ladyjstruth-blog

Going Home

Quatre has a secret that comes out unexpectedly and now everyone has to deal with the fallout. The news is hardest on Trowa, who still loves him, even after years of breaking up.

Pairings: 3x4

Warnings: Drama and Romance, Post-Canon

Lil_1337

2018 Comment Fic_Feburary

Drabbles and short fics written for the Live Journal community Comment Fics which can be found here: http://comment-fic.livejournal.com

Multiple fandoms/pairings, please see chapter specific warnings

Maldoror

The Source of All Things

Center, a planet where magic and technology blend. Or more accurately, fight tooth and nail. A planet of Sources, holes in our boring dimension letting through arcane power, chaos and pseudo-deities. In this hot-house of myths and very real dangers, Trowa and Quatre find a mysterious man at the end of a shamanic voyage. Portents suggest this Heero Yuy is crucial to Center’s survival. He’s important enough to have some interesting enemies after him, at any rate: a devious killer and thief called ‘Shinigami’, and a very irate Dragon. Beyond them looms an even greater threat. Indeed, the greatest of them all.

Pairings: 3x4, 2x5, eventual 1x2x5

Warnings: alternative universe, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Plot Twists, fairly graphic depiction of sex, Mild description of self-harm, Mathematical Magic, weird science, crones - Freeform, Magic and Technology brawling and eventually screwing, Eventual Threesome, Kinda, Insanity of arcane origin, The universe is a pile of marbles and other dubious allegories

Two Halves

The two kingdoms of Sanq and Lin were at war for years; a conflagration involving magic, armies and political murder. The conflict left both nations devastated and strewn with refugees. The king of Sanq finds his infant son, lost at birth, among the death and the ruin, a miracle he barely dared to hope for. But there isn't just one boy, there are two, clinging together like two halves of a whole that cannot be separated. Decades later, the truth behind that second child’s existence will put a hole in the world, or possibly save it.

Pairings: 1x2

Warnings: Fantasy AU, medieval setting with magic, starts with our heroes as children, Cousin Incest, sort of, eventually, being royalty this is in fact the norm and rather expected of them, Canon-Typical Violence

Shinohoshi13

By Demons Be Driven

For years she struggled to live, burdened by a long-forgotten past, an unclear present, and a non-existent future. War consumes her life, forcing her to live as if every day is her last. Fate has seen fit to gift her with unnatural abilities far beyond the normal human capacity. With those abilities, she leads a daily game of tag, putting her life on the line over and over again. Will a chance meeting with a young man give this tired young woman the will to keep fighting? And with the war escalating higher and higher, will she have the time to find out who, and what, she really is?

Pairings: 5xOFC, background 1x2, 3x4, 6x13, unrequited Rx1

Warnings: Relena bashing, Adult Content, Graphic depictions of violence - Freeform, Crude Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Strong Language, Torture, Violence, Psychological Horror, Magical Realism

Sol1056

Tetractys

In a reality where Kushrenada won, the five gundam pilots live a half-life, effectively prisoners. An unexpected chance at freedom may let them regain what they'd lost, but it also means a return to battle. Some things, once lost, cannot be regained. | Significant rewrite of original version.

Pairings: 4x5, 1xR

Warnings: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Multiple Universes Colliding, Post-Canon, Mecha, Alternate Reality, War, Politics, Rebellion, Slow Burn, Accelerated humanity, Paranormal skills, Butchered scientific theory, Global warfare, Significant battle scenes, Mecha reduxes, Multiple Pairings, Female gundam pilots

Thai_Tea_Addict

Wolves and Lambs

On the cusp of war, Remus Lupin discovers he has a son. Facing a prejudiced wizarding world unwilling to believe Voldemort has returned, Remus must now navigate his duties as both a member of the Order and as a father to one Duo Maxwell. Duo doesn't know a lot about families, but he knows war. HP Fifth Year, Post-GW main series

Pairings: 1x2, 2xHP, 3x4, Romione

Warnings: Harry Potter crossover, Family Reconstruction Act, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Politics, Wizarding Politics, War, Disturbing Themes

@vegalume

Ellion - Book 1

Set in a world where one mad man tries to rule all and destroy the last traces of magic, one young man must overcome a life filled with war and death in order to save those he holds dear.

1x2, 13x11

A/U, Fantasy, Angst, Mpreg, Character Death

Snippets:

@chronicwhimsy

WIP Wednesday - Post-canon 2xR snippet for @gwblockparty Rewrite the Romance

@kangofu-cb

We Won’t - AU RxH snippet for @gwblockparty Rewrite the Romance

@lifeaftermeteor

LAM!verse snippet featuring Relena on the Warpath

@remsyk-blog

Thrill of the Chaste - AU 2x3, HxR Amish Romance for @gwblockparty Rewrite the Romance

@terrablaze514

Flu Aftermath Writing Prompt

@thefallenstar-treizekhushrenada

Valentine’s Day drabble about cake, 13x11

Photo Edits/Manipulations

@zechs

Incorrect Zechs Quote

Headcanons / Meta / Discussions:

Multiple Contributors

Self-Destruct suit discussion

@gundamwing-ellesmith

Otakon’s Gundam Wing Panel thoughts

Fanart:

@arubees

Heero and Duo

@cree8ions

Dorothy Catalonia

@hainekoken

Heero Yuy

@hasuyawwn

Duo Maxwell

@noelleian

Quatre Raberba Winner

Trowa Barton

Sally Po

@outofworkshinigami

Duo twin commission for @anaranesindanarie

@oxymoronicidiosyncrasy

Heero Yuy

Duo Maxwell

@rockmandash2

Duo Maxwell

Duo Maxwell sketch

@vegalume

Taste the Rainbow

@versari-arts

Hilde Schbeiker

@xan-drei

Heero and Duo from LAM!verse, commission for @lifeaftermeteor

Cosplays:

@18thcenturylove

Duo Maxwell

Calendar Events:

Cocktail Friday

https://gwcocktailfriday.tumblr.com/

A new prompt every Monday!

Submissions should be posted Fridays between 3 and 5pm EST, and tagged with @gwcocktailfriday

Interview with a Creator by @remsyk-blog @interview-with-a-creator

Remsyk has created an online interview for fandom creators to fill out and then she features one each week so that everyone in the fandom can learn a bit about each other.

If you haven’t filled out her interview, go! do! now!

Honorable Mention:

@kangofu-cb was mentioned by AO3 Admin as a winner in the 2018 Feedback Fest Challenge, and won a prize! Thanks to everyone who recc’d something on their post as part of the challenge! Over 500 fanworks (in total, not just Gundam Wing) were mentioned as part of the challenge! And special thanks to @terrablaze514 for bringing this to the attention of the mods!

#twigw #this week in gundam wing #february 11th - 17th

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