#i’ve started like 3 asks & all i could write for them is harvey
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I love how you write harvey sm!!! You had me swooning with every words !! So sweet, short, and straight to the point but very flavorful and entertaining! i'm so happy i came across your blog !
I have a prompt that u can feel free to use!
What do you think Harvey is like when he & the farmer just got married? For example, is he very timid that he couldn't sleep when next to the farmer? Is he very hesitant to hold them? Or other things u think/headcanon? Would love to read your thoughts! Thank you so much for your time !!<3
!! harvey as your new husband
contains ; domestic fluff. another post of me rambling lol. entirely sfw! gn!farmer / gender is never implied. short drabble.
note ; i’m in a harvey brainrot rn that every time i try to sit down to write for the other bachelors, i just end up staring at my screen doing nothing 😓
when you were only dating, it wasn’t rare for harvey to come over while you were working after he found some time of his own.
even once, after you invited him over and sighed about how dirty you felt the cottage was since you hardly had time to clean—he became accustomed to do so just for you.
bringing over his own cleaning supplies just to sweep the dust, help with laundry, clean your kitchen and make dinner for you.
and he didn’t even mind doing all of it, just to help you lift the weight of your chores.
so after that one time, and you came home to see a squeaky clean home, and your excellent boyfriend after a particularly exhausting day—you could’ve cried.
not to mention, he goes the great mile. those large yellow gloves over his hands, non-slip shoes and a hardware apron over his clothes so he wouldn’t get himself dirty.
some may say it’s a bit dramatic, but he says prepared.
anyways, it became a routine he was fond of doing.
harvey came over a lot. to the point where his own house didn’t really feel like home anymore.
he hated those nights when he couldn’t come over, forced to sleep in his own bed without you by his side. it would take him longer to fall asleep if he couldn’t feel you next to him. he probably had to hug a pillow just to feel something lol.
so when you got married, it’s safe to say he was ecstatic to be moving out of his lonely apartment. especially when you made time to come help him, packing stuff in boxes.
it really made him realize how life changing it is. to see you labeling each box, sorting through his cds and tapes while talking about your future together.
“i think these would look nice in our living room, i could move my bookshelf over and we could squeeze this in…” you ramble on, face full of concentration.
it made his heart gush, even just hearing you call it our living room.
when you’d “ooo” and “aaa” at items of his you looked forward to decorating the house with, and “uhh” at the ones you didn’t. he couldn’t possibly be upset, if anything, he’d laugh at your honesty. there’s nothing that’d make him upset right now.
so when you were finally married, you had to work but he spent the majority of the day squeezing his stuff into the house like you both planned, it still felt right.
you didn’t have to be beside him, helping him unbox for him to be happy. he found everything seemed to fit in place.
settling in didn’t feel as much of a task as you both thought it’d be. there was always a cloud of sadness when he’d have to leave, so finally that experience was tarnished after the knot was tied.
there’s no leaving anymore, because he always comes right back.
at this point, his nerves being around you were fizzled, but of course he still got butterflies when he’d see you.
any moment he was intimate with you still made him feel much younger with the way his heart would pound and his palms would grow sweaty. even if you were just leaning in to kiss him.
so the first night you two were living together as a married couple—i don’t think he’d be so nervous.
or at least, not nervous in a bad way.
“which side of the bed should i sleep on?”
“harvey, we’ve slept together before. this isn’t new.” you tease.
“well we’ve never slept together as a married couple who lives in the same house. this is the start to the rest of our lives, i want to make sure we’re making the right decision,” and after he realizes what he implied, he’s widening his eyes and shaking his head, “no! not like that! as in, what if i sleep on the right side, but i sleep on my right side so my back is always turned to you—“
“harvey, honey…i’m not going to be mad at you if i wake up and you’re not facing me.” you giggle.
he really knows how to overthink everything.
but once you’re finally tucked in bed together (you on the right, him on the left) i don’t think he’ll overthink at this point.
by now, you’re both so in love that he doesn’t second guess reaching over to hold you anymore. he doesn’t need to rethink all of that.
when you latch onto him, pressing your face into his chest and wrapping your arms around him—he’s bound to get butterflies. you may even hear his heart beat a little quicker. but he’s not shy to give you the same treatment.
if he could, he’d hold you all day. he never wants to let go.
#˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ mail 💌#✎ drabbles !#no thoughts just harvey#i’ve started like 3 asks & all i could write for them is harvey#stardew valley harvey#stardew harvey#harvey x farmer#sdv harvey x farmer#sdv harvey#sdv harvey x reader#sdv bachelor hcs
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take a break (run away with us for the summer)
warnings – none.
characters – diluc x fem!reader [can be read as gn!reader if you'd like, but feminine terminology (wife, mother, etc) is still there]
a/n – the first part of my hamilton!au !! all lyrics go to lin manuel miranda, i don't take credit for any of it. the song is "take a break" from hamilton :3 please reblog if you enjoyed this!!! link to series post.
“un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf.” you recited, fingers dancing on your beloved piano.
“un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf.” bennett repeated, copying your hands.
“good.” you placed your fingers gently on the ivory keys, your son following suit as he gingerly laid his fingertips on top of the back of your hand.
“un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf.” you hummed, your melody descending this time. these numbers were familiar on the tip of your tongue, having recited them to your dear bennett since he could talk.
“un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, se-pt, huit, neuf!” your darling son chorused. every morning, without fail, you would put your hands on his and he would change the melody every time. it had started out as a mischievous action at first, but you quickly found it endearing.
“sept, huit, neuf.” you corrected.
“se-pt, huit, neuf?”
“sept, huit, neuf.”
“se-pt, huit, neuf!”
—
diluc sat tiredly in his study, his quill and ink set laid out as if he was rushing to get something done.
My dearest, Jean.
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day. I trust you'll understand the reference to another Scottish tragedy, without me having to name the play. They think me Macbeth, ambition is my folly: I'm a polymath, a pain in the ass; I’m a massive pain. Harvey is Banquo. Cyrus is Macduff, and the Council on its way to Dunsinane. And there you are an ocean away… Do you have to live an ocean away? Thoughts of you subside, then I get another letter, and I cannot put the notion away.
My wife and Bennett are doing alright. (Y/N) misses you, as usual — she asked how you were the other day.
he laid his quill down exhaustedly.
you rapped your hand on the door once, that all-too-familiar routine of having to break your husband’s train of working and pushing himself to the limit constantly. rap, rap, wait for him to open the door with a smile on his face but today you hear absolutely nothing. you gently pushed his study door open.
“diluc, come and take a break. there’s a little surprise before supper and it cannot wait!” you smiled, glee evident in your voice as you put your hands on his shoulders.
“i’ll be there in just a minute, save my plate.” he rested his head on your hand, the sound of his tired exhales filling the silence of the office.
“diluc..”
“okay, okay.” diluc rose from his seat and stretched, taking your hand and allowing himself to be led downstairs by you.
“bennett is nine years old today, and he has something that he’d like to say. he’s been practicing all day…” you added, cheerfully sending your nervous son comforting smiles. bennett had really practiced all day — you wondered how busy diluc was in order to not notice the little boy practising his poem around the house since morning.
“bennett, take it away.” you chuckled. putting your hand to your mouth, you pretended to beatbox to the rhythm of your son’s present.
“daddy, daddy, look! my name’s bennett, i am a poet, and i wrote this poem just to show it! and i.. i just turned nine — you can write rhymes but you can’t write mine!”
diluc laughed, entertained by your son’s antics.
“what?!”
“i practice french and play piano with my mother, i’ve got a sister but i want a little brother—“
“wha- okay!” came your husband’s reply, a light flush colouring his face; he was absolutely floored by his boy’s comment.
“my daddy’s trying to start mondstadt’s bank — un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq!” bennett cheered, proud of himself for his craft.
“bravo!” diluc clapped, a grin as bright as the sun found on his face. the nine year old ran to hug his father and back upstairs — he truly was a copy of his redheaded father, wasn’t he?
“take a break?“ you laid your head on his shoulders, gently kissing his temple.
“hey, our kid is pretty great.”
“how about running away with us for summer break? we could go upstate.” you suggested. you had received a letter from your darling father a week ago, pleading for you to join him back upstate, back at your family manor.
“darling, i have so much on my plate-“
“we could all go stay with my father. diluc, please! there’s a lake i know, in a nearby park-“
“(Y/N), you know i’d love to go.”
“you and i could go when it gets dark!” you replied, blinking back tears. it had been years since he had spent any time outside of the little circle of shops and people and war and army he interacted with. why was diluc so damned stubborn — archons, it wouldn’t kill him to just take a break.
diluc grabbed your hands and squeezed them gently. he hated disappointing you, of course — what greater pain could he be in than seeing you upset over something that he could control, but chose not to? his work had to come first.
he knew that you’d understand the worth of his hands’ work.
—
My dearest Diluc, you must get through to Cyrus. Sit down with him and compromise — don’t stop til you agree. Your favourite older sister, Jean reminds you, there’s someone in your corner all away across the sea.
In a letter I received from you two weeks ago, I noticed a comma in the middle of your phrase. It changed the meaning, did you intend this? One stroke, and you’ve consumed my waking days. It says:
“My dearest, Jean.”
With a comma after dearest. You’ve written “My dearest, Jean.”
Anyways, all this to say I’m coming home this summer, at my sister’s invitation. I’ll be there with your family if you make your way upstate. I know you’re very busy, and that your work is important, but I’m crossing the ocean and I just can’t wait! Finally, you won’t be an ocean away, you’ll only be a moment away…
Sending my love,
Jean Gunnhildr.
—
“diluc! come downstairs, jean’s arriving today!” your infectious energy had been spreading throughout the manor the past week, and a glimpse of a smile was finally shown on your husband’s face.
“jean!” you ran into your sister’s arms, a loud whoop resounding as you took in the sight of your darling jean.
“(y/n).” the blonde smiled warmly, setting down her baggage and kissing you on the cheek.
“the gunnhildrs are reunited at last.” diluc chuckled, picking up jean’s bags.
“diluc.” jean greeted, the man replying with a soft ‘hi’, not wanting to break the precious moment between you two.
“it’s good to see your face.”
“jean, please tell him that even barbatos spends summers with his family.” you pleaded, sending a cheeky smile to your husband as he wrapped his arm around you.
“jean, tell my wife that barbatos doesn’t have a real job anyway.” he retaliated.
“you’re not joining us, wait?”
“i’m sorry ladies — i’m afraid i cannot join you upstate.” diluc exhaled tiredly. you brought your hand to the nape of his neck and started to massage his sore area.
“but diluc, i came all this way; surely you can reconsider?” jean turned to him, disappointment evident.
“i’ll lose my job if i don’t get this plan through Congress. i’m sorry, ladies. i can’t stop til i get this plan to Congress.” diluc replied, kissing you on the forehead. disappointing you felt so much more painful that losing his career.
but he knew that he had spent his whole life building it, and as much as he loved you, he wasn’t going to risk it all for a simple summer. recounting it in his head made it hurt even more.
taglist: @codename-hiraeth (send an ask to be added into the taglist!)
*** if you found jean's relationship with diluc slightly strange pls be assured that it is okay i am just taking everything from the musical and angelica had a (slight) crush on hamilton but she pushes it aside for her sister and i promise there is no affair between diluc and jean :")
please reblog (esp with tags!! they make my day :3) if you enjoyed! consider giving me a follow too if you enjoyed my content :")
#genshin x gn reader#genshin x reader#diluc x reader#diluc x gn reader#diluc x fem reader#hamilton au#hamilton#musical au#broadway au#[ 🎭 broadway brain!]#[📝 stewardess' notepad!]
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Uhhhh I feel like talking about Kristen Kringle so I’m gonna do it now.
This isn’t going to be very cohesive, I just felt like talking about my thoughts on her.
First of all, I want to say that she is nowhere near my favorite character. I felt completely neutral on her for all of Season 1, and started to like her in Season 2 before they killed her off. I can’t even say I understand why some people like her so much. But I will still defend her to my death because I firmly believe that woman did nothing wrong.
“But she was ableist to Ed!” I honestly think she didn’t like him not because of his autistic traits but because of how he acted around her. I say this as someone who heavily sympathizes towards S1 Ed, he was being incredibly creepy to her. He fucking sniffed her. Really, I think you could make stronger case for Harvey being ableist toward him (he literally told him that he needed help because he asked a riddle)
Plus, she literally apologized for how she thought of him even though she, in my very humble opinion, didn’t need to.
“But she gets in the way of Nygmobblepot!” Ignoring the fact that hating a female character because she “gets in the way” of a ship is misogynistic, how? Ed and Oswald are literally in the same room twice before she dies. I honestly didn’t think she would get this treatment from the fandom simply because she is such a non-factor in their relationship. If you wanna talk about Isabella, that’s a different story, but they’re two different characters.
I just genuinely don’t think there’s a valid reason to hate her, yknowwhatimsaying? Other then that, I don’t care about her that much. I liked her for the 3 episodes before she died, and her and Lee would’ve made a cute couple, but that’s about it. But I’m still side eying you very hard if you don’t like her.
Now I want to talk about her writing. It’s not a secret that Gotham does not write its women well, and Kristen Kringle is not an exception to the rule. She joins Isabella and Lee (strange how all the women Ed dated have the sake writing problems) in the “most of their character revolves around a man/men” category of misogynistic writing (well, Lee could hypothetically get better in Season 4 and maybe 5 since I haven’t watched them, but I don’t have faith).
Kristen doesn’t have much of a character outside of him. She has no existing plotlines, motivations, or goals. The closest thing she gets outside of him is her tendency to date jerks (Flass, Dougherty, Ed even counts technically).
Kristen does not have any scenes where Ed is not also in them. The closest she gets is a scene is Season 2 where she is talking to Lee and Ed isn’t in the same room as them. He is still in the scene though, he’s just overhearing them.
And then there’s her dying for Ed’s character development. Which is, for obvious reasons, not something you do to your female characters.
Now, I’m obviously not a professional writer, but I’ve thought about how they could’ve done her better. I’ve heard people throw out the idea of her becoming a villain herself, but that doesn’t really seem to make sense to me (interesting idea though). The best I can come up with is Ed almost killing her instead of actually killing her, have her help out Jim and Harvey sometimes, having her have a reaction to Isabella/Oswald/Lee, exploring her attraction to toxic men, and give her relationship with Lee more screen time (I’d say make them girlfriends but I’m trying to be a little realistic here). I think a weird and complex relationship between her and Ed could be cool,
I’ve never been good at conclusions, so just take the thing.
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bored so i’m answering all 150 questions from an ask meme for myself
1. Who was the last person you held hands with?
a girl from my math class last semester, after i fell TWICE while wearing platform shoes... she offered me her hand for stability and i accepted
2. Are you outgoing or shy?
outgoing around other people my age or with adults i'm familiar with, more shy with like... cashiers
3. Who are you looking forward to seeing?
uhhh my new roommates! i'm getting two roommates at college this year and it'll be nice to meet them :)
4. Are you easy to get along with?
yes! i'm not even gonna be coy about that, i get along with other people easily and i know that by now lol
5. If you were drunk would the person you like take care of you?
>has never been drunk >does not know what "the person you like" means in this context
6. What kind of people are you attracted to?
always depends, but gnc women and nblw are a surefire way to my heart... short hair and pants with a belt...... my face is heating up just thinking about it
7. Do you think you’ll be in a relationship two months from now?
No
8. Who from the opposite gender is on your mind?
what does this even mean. like, my dad?????
9. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable?
no but in the right circumstance it can. i don't make many sexual jokes with my friends or even talk about it really though... but i wouldn't mind if they did. just because i haven't had sex doesn't mean i'm not thinking about it, and it's curious that this whole aspect of life has been sort of blocked off from my conversations
10. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with?
deep conversation, huh... i'm not sure. i only get deep and existentialist with myself, i guess. it just hasn't come up in conversation yet
11. What does the most recent text that you sent say?
it's pictures to my parents from when we went off-roading yesterday
12. What are your 5 favorite songs right now?
oh this is impossible... ok don't make fun of me. DoReMiFa Rondo - 40meterP, The Last Shanty - Derina Harvey Band, Lake Ponchartrain - Ludo, My Dad is Rich - Danny Gonzalez, and ol' reliable, High School Never Ends - Bowling for Soup
13. Do you like it when people play with your hair?
yes! there was a girl in high school who liked doing that in freshman year when my hair was long... she liked the curls :]
14. Do you believe in luck and miracles?
well, luck is just something we say after something has already happened - "boy, that was lucky!" "it's unlucky that it went that way" - but there's no quality in a person that will ensure future endeavors work out or don't by fate alone. my perspective is of course influenced by the fact that i don't believe in superstition or any higher power
15. What good thing happened this summer?
i started writing letters to a friend overseas! i have a real penpal now!!!
16. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?
have not kissed anyone
17. Do you think there is life on other planets?
the universe is fucking HUGE dude. yes, but we have never had any contact with them, and likely never will... though humans may eventually expand to civilizations on other worlds
18. Do you still talk to your first crush?
my first real crush was on a girl in my freshman year, and she left after sophomore year, so no
19. Do you like bubble baths?
ummm sure! i took them more when i was a kid though. showers are just easier
20. Do you like your neighbors?
ive lived in this house since i was 10 and i don't know any of my neighbors lmao
21. What are you bad habits?
uhh i don't exercise much. i could stand to walk outside more often during summers, since i don't have any reason to go out to like class or whatever
22. Where would you like to travel?
i've been wanting to travel across europe since like middle school...... other places would be nice too, but language barriers scare me lol
23. Do you have trust issues?
nah
24. Favorite part of your daily routine?
talking to my friends :] also i fucking love ice water
25. What part of your body are you most uncomfortable with?
oh we're really going there huh. uuuhhh i'm not like uncomfortable with my legs but i NEVER wear shorts outside of my house/dorm and haven't since i was a kid... except the PE shorts in 7th/8th grade and my high school uniform which was a skirt and knee socks. ive just worn pants since middle school... i guess back then i thought i didn't have the body for it, and now it's because i haven't shaved my legs since i was 17. again i'm not uncomfortable with that and in fact i think i look good in shorts, it's just that i don't think that would be... presentable. i guess my "no one has to shave" activism doesn't start with me lol
26. What do you do when you wake up?
pull my blankets onto me if they've been kicked off and i'm cold, get my glasses, take my meds, start using my phone. i'll get my phone before anything else if i had a dream, though, so i can immediately write it in my dream journal
27. Do you wish your skin was lighter or darker?
this is a weird question. no.
28. Who are you most comfortable around?
my friends... so i guess alone in my room. i'm really looking forward to having a friend group or girlfriend irl who i'm completely comfortable being with
29. Have any of your ex’s told you they regret breaking up?
have not had an ex but boy that sounds dramatic
30. Do you ever want to get married?
yes! and i want a huge white ballgown for my wedding
31. If your hair long enough for a pony tail?
yes, but half of my head is shaved, so a ponytail would be wonky
32. Which celebrities would you have a threesome with?
LMAO...... i literally don't think about celebrities enough to have an answer to this, terribly sorry
33. Spell your name with your chin.
my url: zlhgdfbjjb wow that sucked
34. Do you play sports? What sports?
nope, i didn't even in high school. i was in dance as a freshman and did theater tech for the rest
35. Would you rather live without TV or music?
tv. and dimension 20 doesn't count as television
36. Have you ever liked someone and never told them?
literally every time lol. well irl at least. unfortunately every time i liked someone i knew they didn't like me back and every time someone liked me i didn't like them back...... so it's just been a series of tragic coincidences u_u
37. What do you say during awkward silences?
"............so! uh, " followed by something relevant
38. Describe your dream girl/guy?
honestly just someone i can have a genuine and candid conversation with... someone similar to me, but different enough that they can say things that will catch me off guard and make me laugh... someone whose interests overlap with mine and whose skills are different so we can work in tandem... and is a six foot three punk rock chick with washboard abs and a voice like thunder, of course
39. What are your favorite stores to shop in?
idk i'm not really into uh. experiences
40. What do you want to do after high school?
i didn't know in high school and i don't know now. i'm in community college though, and soon i'll transfer somewhere else..... majoring in computer programming! idfk honestly my life is just gonna happen, i'm not really trying to plan for it
41. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance?
god. i guess. sometimes people have just shown themselves to be Bad, though, and i don't think it's wrong to distrust someone even if they have apologized. everyone's done bad things, things they regret, things they can't believe they did... and it's up to all of us individually to decide who we can forgive and when
42. If your being extremely quiet what does it mean?
i probably just don't have anything to add to the conversation at that time. or i'm zoning out. i'm not sad often enough to have "you're quiet, are you sad?" as the first option in anyone's mind
43. Do you smile at strangers?
like, on the street? no, i don't make eye contact with other people. unless i'm expected to, ie cashiers, waiters, classmates/teachers, etc - basically, eye contact means a smile, assuming it was on purpose
44. Trip to outer space or bottom of the ocean?
the ocean certainly has more interesting stuff, right? i think i've always wanted to go to space though lol
45. What makes you get out of bed in the morning?
have to pee
46. What are you paranoid about?
uhhh nothing. paranoia is pretty irrational, right? the delusions i have are very infrequent and even those are usually buoyed by my lifetime of skepticism, so i don't think i have an answer to this question
47. Have you ever been high?
yes! almost always edibles, but a friend at college had a bong she let me hit a few times. i kept making people coach me through all the steps because i was afraid of doing it wrong lol. i don't mention being high to my friends online though... i guess i fear that they'd have a negative reaction to it? or at least wouldn't know how to respond? i dunno, i guess that's the drawback of being friends since you were all prudish teens. maybe i'll start being more open about it... i'm 20, after all, you'd think i know how to be an adult by now
48. Have you ever been drunk?
nope, i think i'm waiting until i'm 21, unless my friends at college this year put me in a real good circumstance for it
49. Have you done anything recently that you hope nobody finds out about?
errr. i suppose. but why would i mention it if i didn't want anyone to find out? ;P
50. What was the colour of the last hoodie you wore?
black! i haven't worn my hoodie in a while, though. summer heat and all
51. Ever wished you were someone else?
ohhh yes. recently my executive dysfunction has gotten the better of me... i feel like a third-person observer in my own life. i wish this consciousness of mine were someone better at doing schoolwork
52. One thing you wish you could change about yourself?
can we get those executives to function
53. Favourite makeup brand?
i have never put on makeup in my life
54. Favourite store?
idfk. see's candies?
55. Favourite blog?
@aphternoon
56. Favourite colour?
light blue! like miku!
57. Favourite food?
i never have a good answer for this. in architecture camp when i was 16, my answer was rice - as in, white rice with butter, because it's so dependable, and it really is fucking good. i haven't come up with a better response since
58. Last thing you ate?
steak and potatoes made by my dad
59. First thing you ate this morning?
chocolate milk. every time i make it, i think of all the times i made it before. i'm kind of connected across time to all my past selves..... a plastic red solo cup, using a metal spoon to get two and a half heaping spoonfuls of nesquik, and maybe another tiny bit for good measure, pouring milk from the gallon, stirring it all up, and sometimes even whipped cream.... when i put the spoon in my mouth to catch the residual flavor before putting it in the sink, it's the same way i've done it for years, since i was a teenager, since the mornings before middle school, since i was a child and was much closer to the counter. one time when i was very young, i was sad, crying, and my mom made me some chocolate milk, and it made me feel better. it always makes me feel better. i drank it when i was five. i made it this morning.
60. Ever won a competition? For what?
i submitted a pun for pi day once in my senior year and it's the only time i ever got on stage for our morning assembly announcements. i won a small pie
61. Been suspended/expelled? For what?
nope
62. Been arrested? For what?
nope
63. Ever been in love?
never
64. Tell us the story of your first kiss?
haven't had it. i did witness my cousin's, though, when i was in middle school, because we were over at a friend's house, and . that moment in time gave me the impression that my first kiss was soon to come, and it wasn't
65. Are you hungry right now?
now that you mention it yeah
66. Do you like your tumblr friends more than your real friends?
since i graduated yeah
67. Facebook or Twitter?
twitter
68. Twitter or Tumblr?
tumblr
69. Are you watching tv right now?
no i'm listening to Antonio Vivaldi - The Four Seasons - Fall - Allegro. oh wait it's just switched, now it's Vivaldi - The Four Seasons - Autumn - mvt 3 Allegro
70. Names of your bestfriends?
too shy to say......
71. Craving something? What?
dude you JUST asked me if i'm hungry, i haven't decided yet!!!
72. What colour are your towels?
when i go to school the towels i bring are blue
72. How many pillows do you sleep with?
one right now somehow. and a uhhhhh
73. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?
ok fine i have a dakimakura. it was a gift from my brother. i got him a titty mousepad the next christmas though so we're even
74. How many stuffed animals do you think you have?
oh i used to have a fuckton... any ones i have left would be in my closet though. but i still cherish my 4ft rainbow trout pillow
75. Favourite animal?
ringed seal my beloved
76. What colour is your underwear?
do you people have uniform colors for your underwear? the ones i'm wearing are black if you really care to know
77. Chocolate or Vanilla?
generally vanilla i think
78. Favourite ice cream flavour?
at school sometimes they had a froyo machine and sometimes the flavors would be vanilla and cappuccino and the swirl of that was so fucking heavenly. i know froyo isn't technically ice cream but shut the fuck up
79. What colour shirt are you wearing?
it's a white shirt that says "i ♡ the colorblind" and the ♡ is one of those colorblind tests with all the circles and in it it says "secretly loathe"
80. What colour pants?
wearing shorts rn but all i have are jeans that are blue or black. some pajama pants though
81. Favourite tv show?
uhhh i watched severance recently and it rules. idk if i have a favorite. i mostly watch dimension 20 honestly
82. Favourite movie?
encanto is kind of a comfort movie for me at this point... also penn & teller get killed should have been a cult classic but idk if people who didn't have a brief hyperfixation on penn & teller would agree with me. oh and the tintin movie is underrated
83. Mean Girls or Mean Girls 2?
before my freshman year i told myself i was gonna watch mean girls so i could understand high school culture and then i literally never watched it
84. Mean Girls or 21 Jump Street?
i've seen neither
85. Favourite character from Mean Girls?
why does this person like mean girls so much
86. Favourite character from Finding Nemo?
??????? the jellyfish?????
87. First person you talked to today?
umm i texted my roommates for the upcoming schoolyear if that counts
88. Last person you talked to today?
brief interaction with my mom
89. Name a person you hate?
you could show me any republican and i would detest them immediately
90. Name a person you love?
idk i'm pretty attached to all the d20 people, those guys are great. well, almost all of them
91. Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now?
[cracks my knuckles] [stares into the eyes of the mr beast photo pinned to my dartboard]
92. In a fight with someone?
i'm not that involved in drama!!
93. How many sweatpants do you have?
i don't know if this single pair counts as sweatpants or if it's just gray pajama pants with pockets
94. How many sweaters/hoodies do you have?
like two i think
95. Last movie you watched?
what's up doc? (1972). fucking sucked
96. Favourite actress?
idk celebrities
97. Favourite actor?
idk celebrities
98. Do you tan a lot?
in my experience i tan easily and rarely burn but i went out in the sun more often as a kid so that might not be up to date
99. Have any pets?
we used to have two dogs and then one, and then chickens in the backyard... ive always been allergic to cats but i somehow became allergic to dogs too in recent years :( no pets right now though
100. How are you feeling?
pretty good. mildly worried about a project in my summer class with vague requirements but it'll probably work out i think
101. Do you type fast?
typing tests say i'm about 80wpm, no idea my speed on the phone
102. Do you regret anything from your past?
oh sure, but i guess nothing would've worked out any way other than the way it did
103. Can you spell well?
incredibly
104. Do you miss anyone from your past?
i didn't keep in contact with anyone from high school somehow..... i miss them terribly. and everyone i went to school with even before then, it would be interesting to reconnect with them, though i don't see how it would happen if i keep going to schools in different cities
105. Ever been to a bonfire party?
iiiii don't remember. i don't think so? all my experience of bonfires is from the sims 3 university lol
106. Ever broken someone’s heart?
some fuckin guy i only knew through a groupchat on kik when i was like 13? hardly a heartbreak but yknow. also this annoying tumblr friend who i blocked around the same time who, upon briefly unblocking, sent me this weepy direct message about having always loved me or something...... i blocked them again
107. Have you ever been on a horse?
yes
108. What should you be doing?
working on schoolwork i guess? it's not due until tomorrow!
109. Is something irritating you right now?
this show i wanna watch only comes out once a week!!!! i wanna watch it NOW!!!!!!
110. Have you ever liked someone so much it hurt?
i don't think so... it's more of a bubbly feeling in my chest than something painful
111. Do you have trust issues?
didn't you already ask this
112. Who was the last person you cried in front of?
my mom
113. What was your childhood nickname?
never really had one
114. Have you ever been out of your province/state?
yes of course
115. Do you play the Wii?
my cousins had one that i'd play with as a kid! we did wii sports resort often, and i also liked the board game one a lot. the tag-team minigames were so fun lol
116. Are you listening to music right now?
yeah, the playlist has moved to Pokemon Sword & Shield OST - Gym Leader Battle (Full In-Game Version). i'm listening to instrumentals so i'm not hearing lyrics while writing this stuff out
117. Do you like chicken noodle soup?
actually no
118. Do you like Chinese food?
of course
119. Favourite book?
the haunting of hill house, i would say
120. Are you afraid of the dark?
yes! i know that all there is is the same as what's in the light, but it really heightens my fear to be only barely able to see...
121. Are you mean?
geez i hope not
122. Is cheating ever okay?
i mean if your husband is abusive and you're secretly fraternizing with a woman like in all those 1800s movies then sure. but in almost all circumstances no
123. Can you keep white shoes clean?
why is this even a question
124. Do you believe in love at first sight?
mutual attraction sure. love, no.
125. Do you believe in true love?
sure, but a person can have many true loves in one lifetime
126. Are you currently bored?
yeah that's why i'm doing this
127. What makes you happy?
talking about whatever my current interest is
128. Would you change your name?
god i mean. i've thought about it, but you'd think that if i wanted to, i would've done it already. i've never really been able to think of a good option. sounds like more trouble than it's worth, so i guess i'll learn to like the name i already have
129. What your zodiac sign?
gemini
130. Do you like subway?
not really into sandwiches so no. their spicy salami is pretty good though
131. Your bestfriend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do?
dude you know i'm a lesbian how the hell did this happen
132. Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with?
swear to god you asked this question already
133. Favourite lyrics right now?
Dad been alive for 400 years / Vampire shit, he don't show up in the mirrors / Rich man shit, he don't show up for his kids / How he live forever but ain't got time for his kids?
134. Can you count to one million?
alright i know all the numbers and i know the order but a million seconds is 12 days so why the fuck would i do that
135. Dumbest lie you ever told?
uhh none come to mind... i certainly have lied, i just don't remember any as being particularly stupid
136. Do you sleep with your doors open or closed?
my door is never open unless i am actively entering or exiting
137. How tall are you?
5'8"
138. Curly or Straight hair?
mine? curly
139. Brunette or Blonde?
mine? brunette
140. Summer or Winter?
summer <3
141. Night or Day?
night..... it's secret, and no one can ask anything of me
142. Favourite month?
june, my birth month!
143. Are you a vegetarian?
no
144. Dark, milk or white chocolate?
milk chocolate my beloved. god i wish i had some milk chocolate right now
145. Tea or Coffee?
coffee, but only the starbucks kind where the flavor is extremely diluted
146. Was today a good day?
uhh not much happened but sure!
147. Mars or Snickers?
dude i don't even remember what mars bars taste like. so snickers by default
148. What’s your favourite quote?
"y'know, i'm old enough to remember back to simpler, more innocent times, when the worst thing you'd hear about the news was hijacked jetliners flying into buildings"
149. Do you believe in ghosts?
nah, too rational for that. if a soul sticks around after death, where was it before birth? why can something be created but not destroyed?
150. Get the closest book next to you, open it to page 42, what’s the first line on that page?
"Citra now seemed to shrink in her chair." that's from Scythe, a book a friend got for me in high school, which i haven't had the chance to read yet... it means a lot that she gave it to me as a gift, so i'll have to start it sometime. glad that that line wasn't something extremely spoilery lol
okay that's all 150. i did this for me and me alone but i'm posting it because why wouldn't i. shoutout to all 1 people reading this (me)
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A Very Special Guest Post From TonyToniToneHasDoneItAgain
Hello to the commentariat! I contacted Clyde a few weeks ago asking if I could cash in my "Stein Winners Get A Crack At Writing This Thing" as part of the College Football Pool extravaganza. Now, a couple of items of note: I can’t remember when I won the Stein (2018?) and I had started writing something I was going to use, but I forgot to finish it and didn’t follow through. The topic? Being diagnosed with ADHD at 51. As Alanis would say: ironic, don’t you think?
Anyway, last weekend Mrs. TTT and I, along with our youngest, decided to check out the Funky Flea. This is basically a Flea Market that is….that’s it, it’s a flea market. Where the Funky part comes in, I’m not sure, but what I am sure of is this: the time to shop for RTARLers is done as I have compiled some awesome ideas for the commenter on your Easter list! People buy Easter gifts, right?
Apologies to a certain Boston podcaster who used to write who did a schtick like this. Bigger apologies to anyone that gets left out…maybe stop changing your screen name every 2 days. (ALL PRICES ARE IN CANADIAN DOLLARS…WHAT SAVINGZ!!!)
To Spencer096…that guitar he’s been searching for…
Now, admittedly I am not a guitar aficionado but does this not look like something he would use to practice his techniques? WATCH HIS LEFT HAND…RIGHT HAND…LEFT HAND AGAIN! It’s only $199 according to the 3 year old who made the price tag. Maybe they will throw in the Tupperware bin of picks for free. Not sure what shape the body of the guitar is supposed to represent…something classy no doubt. I should pay more attention to Spencer’s blog posts, I am sure he has explained it to me. Maybe ask this guy:
To Vlad and Wayne Fontes Safari…something Michigany!
Now I know there is another person that would really enjoy something in the Card Collectables Realm (wait your turn BoTS) but Vlad may enjoy this Red Wing legend! I must admit, though, being a Canadian I am required to have an Encyclopedic knowledge of hockey but I do not remember anything about Alex Delvecchio. He’s been in the Hall of Fame almost as long as I have been alive so he must have been the Jaromir Jagr of his day if he played for 24 seasons. I looked for anything Wolverines/Lions for WFS but this Flea Market was only so Funky so you will have to share…you can get the Doug Harvey card above! I actually knew who he was!!
To MSUNY and Ricky…Hilarious Hunting Hats
This looks like the type of thing Ricky would wear…and MSUNY too? Maybe? Not sure but believe me when I say these were the only hats I could post here as the others had…ummm…different hunting “slogans”.
To my man Some Random Old Dude…from YOUR Montréal Expos, Andre Dawson!
Now I have to be honest here, I got pretty excited when I saw this. Then I thought about my internet friend who is also a fan of Les Expos. There were only 3 problems: one, they were asking 80 dollars for this (eBay had them for 39); two, I remembered that Andre never wore this version of the Expos jersey (it was the much cooler older one); and three, they had spelled Dawson DAHSUN…okay I made that last one up. Maybe SROD would consider a trade for a copy of his novel.
To Clyde…some “reading material”...
I looked around to see if there was anything Maine-related or obscure violent films…no. So I thought he may enjoy this classic magazine. It’s in a plastic bag so you KNOW it is valuable (or maybe for other reasons…yuck). Also from what I’ve been told if Clyde got “excited” he may take out half the booths here simply walking by. FYI this is Playmate of the Year Lisa Baker from the confusing town of Detroit, Texas. She actually did another layout in 1997 at age 53 and as far as the internet says, is still kicking ass at 80.
For Black…hell the whole crew…the official #meetup shirt
So, ironic item #2, I had this writeup done and then yesterday the somehow clairvoyant WHO IS MEGABLACK?? posted this:
To Scripty…something I think he actually asked me for…
I vaguely remember having an online conversation about license plates and that he asked for this one. If this is true let me know and I can possibly deliver it to you. FYI, it says Green Province but it doesn’t mean recycling but that it is “inexperienced” or “not ripe”...
To BoTS…a card I am sure he does not have but MUST…
I don’t even know where to begin with this…was this a photoshop job? Did Bedard agree to wear the Seinfeld puffy shirt for a hockey card company? Does he moonlight as a background singer for Hamilton? What the hell is this and how much is it worth? Like the Playboy, it is behind plastic. Why?? Anyway, if anyone knows the worth of it, BoTS will…
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
And there you have it! We plan on going back again in a couple of weeks so I will be on the lookout for:
DVD copy of Season 1, The Grinder for JHUJ;
There were a bunch of ties here that Trey may like
Butters asked if I could look for some offense for the White Sox but I don’t think the Funky Flea works that way;
Lots of old smelly Men’s League Hockey jerseys for Terry Dixon
Longtime Lurker? He isn’t around long enough for me to know what he likes!
Happy Easter, RTARL!
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Hi, could you please write something fluffy with Charlie Weasley, maybe he and his partner have a day off and bake together? 🖤
aaahjuaksahjd this idea was so cute! I loved writing this and hope you’ll like it as well <3
Pumpkin Pie | C.W.
Pairing: Charlie Weasley x y/n
words: 1.038
a/n: I’m 100% sure that Charlie got some pet dragons, so I had to include them!
warnings: none
The smell of warm coffee woke y/n up from their dreams, followed by Charlies lips kissing their forehead softly: “Good morning, sunshine.” He brushed with his fingers through their hair before standing up again.
After slowly opening their eyes, y/n could see their boyfriend balancing two cups with hot liquid in one hand and a plate of fresh cut fruits in the other. “Harvey! You could move a bit a least, when I’m bringing breakfast.” The way the famous dragon caretaker Charlie Weasley tried to step around his dog-sized pet dragon made his boyfriend/girlfriend laugh out loud. He shot an acted pouting look at them, before they sat up, grabbed the cups and helped him get his balance back. “But be careful! That’s really hot.” His caring personality was one of them many things to make y/n fall in love with him everyday, again. Still, they started smirking and added: “Well that’s not the only hot thing in here.”, which made Charlie blush really hard.
Y/n couldn’t help but giggle now, he was so cute when they made these kinds of innuendos.
While drinking coffee he couldn’t take his eyes of y/n. He just felt so lucky to have them by his side and couldn't believe they’re still there. He loved everything about them: Their bright laughter, the way their hair framed their face and their curiosity. He could tell them everything about his family and his job and his dragons and they would listen carefully. They support him on every occasion, even if he’s gone for a while due to his job. All in all they just make him the happiest man on earth.
And he just wanted to show his boyfriend/girlfriend how thankful he was.
After breakfast and a quick shower y/n ambled downstairs to the kitchen, where their boyfriend was already working eagerly. “Eh..Charlie?”, they asked with an unsure-how-to-feel-about-this tone: “Why did you empty all of our cabinets?” He turned around with the biggest smile on his face, spreading out his arm in joy:”We’re baking!” - “Baking? Is your whole family coming over?” y/n asked laughing. “No, they’re not. But you know the children could eat for at least 2 whole Weasley families.” These said children were his pet dragons, which weren’t able to survive on their own in the wilderness: Harvey, who got only one wing; Poncho, who lost his scales on his torso, so y/n knitted a cloth for him and his little brother Pip who was just too small.
“And guess, what we’ll be baking?”, he grinned and grabbed a pumpkin from the counter, playing with it like a Quaffle. Y/n’s face brightened immediately and a huge smile appeared on their face:”Pumpkin Pies?!” He nodded and wanted to say something but his partner already threw themselves around his neck and pecked his freckled face with kisses. “You know how much I love these! They’re my favourite!” Charlie just laughed, grabbed their waist to whirl them around and kissed them softly, but with passion. “I know, Darling.”, he breathed against their lips.
Not even five minutes later the kitchen looked like a total mess. Y/n struggled with the pumpkin, better with cutting it open. But they refused Charlie's help since they are “a strong independent woman/man”, which he just commented with a raised eyebrow and a grin. So he decided to lay back and watch until his boyfriend/girlfriend took the biggest knife they could find to ram it into the pumpkin, trying to brutally slash it open. “Woah there, buddy! Easy! Let me handle this now.”, he put one hand on their arm to calm them down and the other one took the knife. Y/n shot him a dark look and huffed: “I am not one of your dragons, Charles.” He grinned and teased:” But you’ve got the temper of one.” They couldn’t argue that, relaxed and shrugged: “So you’ve got to tame me then, later, will you?” And suddenly his face turned almost the same colour as his hair.
Making the dough for the pies was even more messier but at least not as dangerous as pumpkin cutting. Charlie tried to help his partner at first, but there wasn’t much to help with, so he just stood behind them, his strong arms wrapped around their body and watching their hands carefully. “Just in case your dragon temper rises again.”
They needed hours to finish the dough and pumpkin filling. Mostly because either Charlie or y/n kissing the other one and forgetting to work, or because of hugging and cuddling each other so much that one couldn’t really work with their hands. But they never mind.
Also both had a really sweet tooth, meaning most of the dough was nibbled before they could make a whole pie out of it.
When finally making the pies, they counted full 3 of them. They even got some help while decorating. Pip was so small he could trample on the pies and make some cute patterns with his tiny, washed feet. And Poncho was sitting on Charlie's shoulder, heating up the pans filled with sugar to make some caramel.
“Just the caramel on top and voilà! We’re done!” With both hands on their hips, y/n smiled brightly at Charlie, who was trying to get some dough and flour out of his hair. When his boyfriend/girlfriend noticed, they laughed, but helped him get rid of it. “Fortunately we’re not in your mums kitchen. She’d lose it!”
“Totally agree!”, he laughed “and she’d also lose it when we’d eat this really delicious looking pie right now when it’s still warm” - “But we’re in our kitchen. and so she’s not here” - “And she’s not here”, he grinned.
Grabbing two forks and one pie, the couple went outside to have a nice afternoon picnic in their garden, accompanied by their dragon children.
Everyone’s got something of the pie and everyone agreed it’s the most delicious one they’ve ever had.
“Thank you, Charlie...” y/n said, while leaning her head on his broad shoulder, holding his hand.
“I’ve got to thank you, y/n. For making me the happiest man everyday.”
#charlie weasley#charlie weasley x reader#charlie weasley x you#charlie weasley x y/n#charlie weasley fanfiction#charlie weasley fluff#harry potter fanfic#ask weaslebean
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You Better, You Better, You Bet - Chapter 9
As Long as You’re Mine
Ron Speirs x Juliet Fletcher
Summary: Juliet Fletcher reaches a breaking point in her life. When she is at her absolute lowest, she meets Ron Speirs, and something happens between them that neither of them will ever forget.
Word Count: 4.1K
Tag List: @vintagelavenderskies @how-are-those-nuts-sarge @iilovemusic12us @hesbuckcompton-baby @tvserie-s-world @whovian45810 @50svibes @cagzzz107 @evelynshelby @piano-isnt-my-forte
If you’d like to be added, let me know!
A/N: Hope you guys enjoy this update!
Warning(s): None :)
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8
AO3 link
Chapter 9 let’s go!!!
“Okay, how does this sound?” Juliet asked Ron, who sat on her bed as she put together her story of the trial. He was careful not to recline, lest he disturb her pages of notes carefully organized atop the quilt. “Meredith Fisher confessed to the murder of six-year-old Peggy Lee in front of the courtroom before her trial began. Mrs. Fisher was arrested and charged with the murder in September of last year. Her lawyer, Mr. Harvey Cooper, originally planned to plead not guilty, but in a shocking turn of events, Mrs. Fisher herself admitted to the jury she killed Peggy Lee before even opening arguments could be made.”
“I’d read that,” Ron replied.
Juliet huffed and looked around her room at the Blue Boar. Papers littered the floor, pens were nowhere to be found, and her typewriter was mocking her. Now that the trial was finished - with such a dramatic twist - she was hard at work, trying to ensure she reported it just right. An impossible task, it felt like.
“Okay, but would you read it because I’m your girlfriend or because of the writing?” she asked.
“The writing,” he told her. “It’s simple, it explains everything.”
“It feels a bit long for the lead,” she said. “Perhaps I should put the bit about her arrest in the nut graph.”
“That does feel more like background information,” he agreed.
She pulled a pencil from behind her ear, scratched out the sentence, and began again. “So, it’d go like this - Meredith Fisher confessed to the murder of six-year-old Peggy Lee in front of the courtroom before her trial began. Her lawyer - I’m gonna take out his name and have that later - so, Her lawyer originally planned to plead not guilty, but in a shocking turn of events, Mrs. Fisher admitted to the jury she killed Peggy Lee before even opening arguments could be made. Then I’ll go into when she was arrested, the details of the murder, then the evidence the prosecution had prepared, and finish with her sentencing date. How’s that?”
“I think it’s perfect,” he said.
She chewed her lip. “Should I use the word shocking? I don’t want to tell the readers how to feel.”
“When she confessed, what was the first thing you heard?” he asked.
“Gasps,” she answered.
“There’s your shock,” he said.
Juliet had to concede that point. Ron almost didn’t believe her when she told him the story. The judge had barely gotten the words “How do you plead?” out before Meredith let out a wail like wounded animal and confessed to the whole gruesome thing. She sobbed that she was sorry, but she knew she had to be punished. She wasn’t safe. And truthfully, Juliet felt bad for her. It was truly one of the most pitiful things she’d ever witnessed.
But the one thing Juliet could never forget, the image that would stick with her for all her days, was the look on Peggy Lee’s parents’ faces. The Lees watched, dignified, proud, yet misty eyed as the person who killed their daughter begged for mercy. Their grief was profoundly felt, despite their stately manner. They said nothing. They did nothing. And they spoke to no one upon their exit from the courtroom.��
“Jules?”
Ron’s voice brought her back to the present, his hand on her shoulder making her turn to look at him.
“Sorry,” she said, shaking her head. “Just...it’s so unfair. If anyone had a right to be screaming and crying it was the parents.”
“They must be very English,” he said.
“Oh, they were proper English,” she agreed. “Stiff upper lips and all. The mother did at one point hide her face in the father’s arm, but other than that, they were stoic.”
“Thinking about including that in your story?” he wondered.
“God, no,” she replied. “I’ll mention that they were there and offered no comments, but this isn’t that kind of article.”
“Just the facts, huh?”
“As usual.”
“Juliet.”
“Yeah?”
“The article’s gonna be great,” he said.
“How can you be so sure?” she asked.
“Because you care this much,” he said. He accentuated the point with a kiss to the top of her head. “I’ve got a staff meeting. Are you alright here?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for being so patient with me.”
He kissed her again. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“See you later, Ron,” she returned.
With that, he left. Juliet started trying to condense the lead again, still feeling like it was too long. There had to be a better summary. But it was a lot to try and fit into one sentence, so she resigned herself to making it more than one line. She hadn’t chosen a headline yet, either, but she usually liked to write the article first. That way she could pick out the singular most newsworthy part and headline with that. As she organized further, the phone rang.
“Hello?” she answered.
“Juliet, it’s Lottie.”
“Hey, Lottie, how are you?” Juliet asked.
“Fine, same as usual,” Lottie returned. “Otis just rang and told me about the trial. I hope you’re hard at work.”
“Absolutely,” Juliet assured her. “I’ve nearly got the lead down. I’ve just got to get the facts organized. I’m thinking of doing a follow up story about the shortcomings of Operation Pied Piper, since Cooper’s little tidbit did prove to be true.”
Sad as it was, Harvey Cooper was right. There was no process for vetting the families agreeing to take the children. The committee had been in such a hurry to evacuate, they had not even considered that some children could end up in more danger than they were at home in the cities. Juliet found the whole thing fascinating, and it could open up a conversation about war time protocol - be meticulous or swift?
“I think that’ll be fine,” Lottie said. “But have you gotten any war news? I know I wasn’t enthusiastic about it initially, but you’re the only reporter I’ve got with the Airborne.”
Juliet bit her lip. While the prospect of war news had originally driven her to accept the Peggy Lee story, she found herself conflicted about it now. Her relationship with Ron threw a wrench in it.
“I think it’s a conflict of interest for me to cover the Airborne,” she said.
She could practically hear Lottie’s eyes roll. “Oh, come on, Juliet, don’t be absurd.”
“It isn’t right, Lottie!” Juliet insisted. “I’m in an intimate relationship with one of the soldiers, there’s no freeing me from bias there.”
“You could use it to your advantage,” Lottie said. “Obviously, you can’t use him as a source, but couldn’t he lead you to the right person?”
“I can’t ask that of him,” Juliet said. “I don’t want him to get the wrong idea.”
“What wrong idea?”
It was something Juliet had already put a lot of thought into. As badly as she wanted to cover the war - and it did seem like things were ramping up even more in Aldbourne - she was hesitant. She had actually considered asking Ron for a source and then immediately hated herself for it. She would not use her relationship to get ahead in her job. She couldn’t. It just wasn’t right, simple as that.
“That I’m using him,” Juliet explained. “If I ask him to get me a source, he might worry that it’s the reason I entered the relationship, and that’s not the case.”
Lottie sighed. “So, you just want to give up on covering the war?”
“I didn’t say that,” Juliet returned. “I’d be happy to cover something else once I get back to London, but-”
“Forget it,” Lottie cut across her. “Just focus on the trial for now and then Pied Piper, if that’s what you want.”
“Lottie -”
“Good afternoon, Juliet,” Lottie said harshly, hanging up before Juliet could protest any further.
She sighed, hanging up as well, and sitting back in her chair. She had a feeling the conversation wasn’t quite over, but she’d hear more about it on her next trip home. For now, she wanted to focus on what happened at the trial. The sentencing would be in another few weeks, so she needed to get this done.
***
Ron was right of course. The article was published and the London Pursuit sold the most copies it had in years. It surprised Juliet a little, but perhaps people were tired of war news and what better than a dramatic murder trial for a change of pace? It was morbid, sure, but Juliet knew she’d handled it as well as she could.
Lottie called, absolutely elated by the circulation numbers. And honestly, Juliet was thrilled too. She found Ron later that day and leapt into his arms as a display of her unmitigated excitement. She’d done it, and done it well! It was cause for celebration. So they went to London for the weekend - staying with Nancy of course, since she would have had a fit at missing an opportunity to see Ron - and they went to a nice dinner, champagne and everything. Juliet could hardly believe her luck. Everything was going so perfectly.
And that night, as they lay together in the afterglow, she looked at his face and knew she loved him. The kind of love she read about in books and poetry. The kind that crooners sang about on the radio. She’d found it. It was scary enough to admit to herself, but she determined that she would - one day soon if the opportunity presented itself - admit it to him.
He caught her gazing at him.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Nothing,” she replied. “I’m just happy you’re mine.”
***
The sentencing hearing was not as interesting as the trial itself, but Juliet was relieved to report that Meredith Fisher was going to prison for life. There would be no chance for parole, either. So justice was served.
However, Juliet couldn’t help but notice the look on Mr. Lee’s face. Mrs. Lee had not come for the sentencing, so it was just father. When the judge announced Meredith’s fate, Mr. Lee only closed his eyes and let out a long breath. He nodded, put a hand over his heart, and inhaled again. A single tear rolled down his cheek. It made Juliet look away so that he could have that moment for himself. To take in whatever feelings came to him. To remember Peggy and take some solace in that her killer was going away.
“I thought I’d be happier,” Juliet told Ron as they prepared for bed that night back at the Blue Boar. “But it still just feels...rotten.”
“Nothing can bring the girl back,” he said matter-of-factly.
“I know,” she replied. “But I just....I suppose you’re right. What else could anyone have hoped for in this situation?”
“Right,” he agreed.
“I’m also grateful we didn’t have to hear that lawyer make that ridiculous argument in a courtroom,” she said. “I don’t think I could bear the looks on the parents’ faces at that.”
“That would have been awful,” he said.
“Even so, it feels rather anticlimactic,” she said. “Especially for the prosecution who spent months putting everything together.”
“They still got the result they wanted,” he pointed out. “So what does it matter?
She shrugged at that. She still felt unsatisfied, as if there was something more to be done. Even though logically, she knew there wasn’t. She would write an update for the paper, and that would really be the end of it. That was when it hit her. What was really upsetting her was that now that this was over, there was no more reason for her to be in Aldbourne. Especially now that she didn’t want to cover the Airborne. It meant that she would go home to London, in turn reducing her time with Ron significantly. And that was a dreadful thought.
***
“What do you mean you aren’t coming back to London?” Lottie cried through the phone. “What about the Pied Piper story?”
“I reckon it can wait,” Juliet said, entirely unconvincing, but she hoped Lottie was buying it. Her reasons for remaining in Aldbourne had nothing to do with her job and everything to do with the man she was in love with. “And maybe with some time, I can find my own sources on war news.”
Lottie remained silent for several minutes. “So, you’ve just changed your mind all of a sudden about covering the Airborne?”
“Not completely,” Juliet lied. “I...I’m just not sure I’m quite finished here. And what if there’s something else about the Peggy Lee story that comes up? I could -”
“Give it a rest, Juliet,” Lottie groaned. “I know you want to stay for your boyfriend.”
“That’s not -”
Lottie cut across her protests. “Please do not insult my intelligence by suggesting otherwise. You want to be near him.”
“You don’t sound quite as sympathetic as I hoped,” Juliet said, giving in.
“You have a life in London, Juliet!” Lottie reminded her harshly. “You have a job to do, your mother is here, and you want to put everything on hold for some man?”
“He’s not just some man!” Juliet argued indignantly. “He’s...different from any man I’ve ever known. And what we have means more to me than anything I’ve ever known.”
She glanced down at the necklace that sparkled against her skin. A constant reminder of how much she meant to him as well.
“Oh, come off of your cloud, will you?” Lottie snapped.
“Lottie,” Juliet said seriously. “The whole time I was with Arthur, did you ever know me to put him before work? Or my family?”
“No, so why is this Ron fellow -”
“Because it is different,” Juliet emphasized. “This is it, Lottie. He’s the one.”
That seemed to stump her. “Has he...proposed?”
“No, he hasn’t,” Juliet said. “I don’t even care if he does.”
Lottie scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous, you can’t just carry on living in sin.”
Juliet rolled her eyes. “Could you please pay attention to what's important here? There’s a man in my life who I genuinely see a happy future with and I just...I want to focus on that. Is that so wrong?”
“I suppose not,” Lottie sighed, and Juliet inwardly celebrated a moment of victory. “But I can’t pay you if you aren’t working. At least be making the proper phone calls to follow this Pied Piper story. Conduct interviews of other families there who have taken in children from the cities. Part of the story is there if you know where to look.”
“No problem,” Juliet said. “You’ll be glad to know I’ve already begun. I’ve got an interview with the Barnes family next week, who are housing a little girl. I’ll ask them about how the process went for them.”
“Perfect,” Lottie said. She paused for a beat. “And, Juliet?”
“Yes?”
“I really am happy for you.”
Juliet smiled softly. “Thank you, Lottie.”
***
Spring fully thawed the winter out by the time April arrived. Aldbourne was rather charming in bloom. But Juliet wasn’t sure if it was the flowers or that she was in love. She found herself humming a lot more than she used to - these days she didn’t even need food to start a merry tune in the back of her throat. She had more energy, despite spending rather long nights in Ron’s arms. And she found her enthusiasm for work - even though her priority shifted - a great deal easier to come by as well.
The interview with the Barnes family went splendidly. They were also housing a couple of lieutenants from the Airborne, though they were not in Ron’s company. Juliet only exchanged brief greetings with them, as they were heading to work just as she was entering the house. She nearly melted at the connection they had formed with the girl - Ann - which was clear in their goodbyes to her for the day. She seemed particularly close to the tall redhead.
Juliet told Ron about it that evening over drinks.
“Yeah, that’s Winters and Welsh,” he told her. “Good officers.”
“Do they spend much time here?” she wondered, indicating the Blue Boar.
“Welsh does, but Winters doesn’t drink,” he said. “He spends most nights there with the family.”
“I can tell,” she said. “I mean, it was seriously precious. She hugged his knees and he patted her on the head and I think I fell a little bit in love with him for a moment.”
He scoffed. “Good luck, I think he has a girlfriend.”
“Has he?” she questioned.
“Yeah, the nurse,” he said. “She works for the regiment.”
“You lot have your own nurse?”
“She’s got some connection to Colonel Sink,” he said with a shrug. “I’ve never actually met her.”
“And what about the other chap?” she asked. “Welsh?”
“He’s engaged,” he told her. “Her name’s Kitty.”
“You know that but not the name of the nurse?” she questioned.
“I only know because Harry never shuts up about her,” he said. “The whole regiment knows at this point. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Krauts knew.”
She giggled. “I think that’s sweet.”
“It’s obnoxious.”
“You mean, you don’t brag about me to the whole regiment?” she teased. “Romance is dead.”
“Sorry for your loss,” he retorted as he took a swig of his drink.
“Not as sorry as I am,” she returned. “Now I’ll have to spend God knows how many hours in mourning.”
“At least you look good in black,” he said.
“My saving grace,” she agreed with a smile. She paused for a beat. “Seriously, you don’t talk about me at all?”
“I do if you come up,” he told her.
“And what do you say?” she wondered.
“Whatever’s relevant,” he said.
She rolled her eyes. “You’re impossible.”
“I prefer not to broadcast my personal life,” he said. “All they need to know is that you’re mine.”
She smiled as she leaned over to kiss his cheek. “That’s true.”
***
April was drawing to a close. Juliet stood in her room, preparing to go and interview another Aldbourne family about their process in fostering a child from London. These interviews were restoring the bit of faith she’d lost in covering Peggy’s story because most of the families were very kind, and doted on the children. They were proud of doing what they could to ensure the future of England. And the children were mostly happy. What happened to Peggy was a tragedy and an outlier.
She was just getting ready to leave when Ron entered her room. A grim shadow of doubt on his features made her smile disappear as fast as it had come. Something was wrong. He definitely had bad news.
“We’re moving out,” he told her.
She had expected this at some point, but she still blinked in surprise. Her shoulders drooped as the reality of it percolated through her.
“Oh,” she said. “Well...when?”
He hesitated. “This is off the record -”
She scowled at him, momentarily offended that he felt the need to clarify.
“Everything between us is protected, Ron,” she said sharply. “You and I are always off the record unless stated otherwise.”
“Sorry,” he said quickly, picking up on her tone. “I know that, I just -”
“When?” she demanded again.
“End of May,” he said. “I don’t know when we’ll be back.”
The if hung in the air, but remained unsaid. This was it. The moment she had been dreading since she met him. Well, maybe not that long, but since they had started getting to know each other there in Aldbourne. The war was taking him from her, like it took everything.
“I see…” she trailed off, her annoyance easing up. That was sooner than she had hoped and she didn’t want to waste any precious time being angry at him. “Um...where - wait, I can’t ask you that.” She bit her lip. “When - oh, no, you’ve just told me, that’s right -”
“Juliet.”
“Yes?”
“Wait for me.”
Once again, Ron failed to disappoint her. Despite all the reassurance, she worried that when they shipped out, he would take the opportunity to break it off with her. Instead, he was asking - in his way - for a commitment from her. She held his gaze for a long moment, waiting for him to say more. But he didn’t.
“You really want to stay together?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said assuredly.
“Oh, thank God,” she sighed, and she threw herself into his arms for a kiss.
He returned the kiss with enthusiasm, his lips fiery and desperate against hers. As if he were leaving the following morning instead of a couple of weeks. But Juliet wanted the intensity. She wanted to savor every touch, every kiss, every moment she had before he was gone. She also wanted to let him know that she absolutely would wait for him. She would do anything he asked of her. She just wanted him. Forever, if possible. And if the war robbed her of that, she would at least have the memories of kisses like these. Of nights in his arms. Of his unwavering dedication to her.
***
The arrangements were made for Juliet to return to London once Ron and the rest of the Airborne were off. On his final morning in Aldbourne, they of course made love again, only it was the after that they relished even more. Juliet etched into her brain the feeling of his embrace, the warmth of his skin, the sound of his voice. She wished desperately that she could freeze time and hold onto him for just a little longer. She had found something so wonderful and now it was being dragged away from her.
“Jules,” he said, voice low as if there might be someone listening on the other side of the door.
“Yeah?”
“We’re going to France,” he said.
She blinked and adjusted her position so she could look him in the face. “France?”
He nodded. “I wanted you to know.”
She couldn’t explain why that felt more intimate than anything they had just done in her bed.
“Why tell me now?” she asked, curious.
He swallowed, his eyes fixed on the ceiling, but his arm gave her shoulders a squeeze.
“Trust,” he said.
She pressed her lips tenderly to his chest to let him know how much she appreciated his trust. There was no longer a need to specify on or off the record. His statements were privileged. Anything he told her would remain between them.
For a fleeting moment, she considered telling him right then that she loved him. Because if he was going to France, there was a chance he would never come back. And shouldn’t he know just in case? But her heart told her to play it safe. If she didn’t tell him now, perhaps whatever power there was would protect him enough so that she could say it later. If there were still things left to be said, hopefully that would keep him alive.
There were no guarantees, of course. All they had was each other and their promise.
That afternoon, the trucks began rumbling out of Aldbourne. Juliet walked Ron as far as she was allowed. Her chest felt tight as the impending goodbye hung in the air. She hated this. It was too painful. How could it be that the very war that brought them together would also be the reason for their parting? What was fair about that? Nothing, that’s what.
A kiss from Ron drew her out of her thoughts. He held her firmly against him, almost as if he were afraid she would disappear right out of his grasp. When they parted, they were both breathless.
“Be careful,” she said.
His eyes searched hers. “You too.”
Her brain was practically screaming at her to tell him now just what she felt. But she was too afraid. Too afraid it would doom him. Too afraid he wouldn’t say it back. Or even worse, say it only because of the passionate nature of the moment. It had to be when they weren’t so desperate. When they really meant it because whatever was coming was not a threat.
“I’ll write,” she told him.
“I’ll respond when I can,” he returned.
She nodded. Her throat was dry and thick. The lack of tears in her eyes surprised her. How could she not be crying when she could feel her heart breaking so badly? She kissed him again. Just to prolong the last moment where he was only hers.
“Stay safe,” she told him.
He nodded.
With one last kiss, they said goodbye without saying it. Juliet went to the train station and headed home to London. And Ron went to war.
#band of brothers#ron speirs#juliet fletcher#ron speirs x ofc#hbo war#you better you better you bet series#Easy Company#band of brothers fic#hbo war fic
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my thoughts on TUA season 2
(spoilers, obviously)
- opened with Klaus and Ben, my kings. Klaus’s hair looks so weird straightened while short
- AWESOME opening soundtrack
- seeing all their powers so controlled makes me wonder how they leveled up to that skill in the alternate timeline. like the only time we saw Klaus use the powers of other ghosts in the correct timeline was when two of them caught him falling out of the sky. however Diego did end up controlling bullets and Allison used her voice to technically kill one of the Swedes
- the homeless man screaming Allison’s name alongside Luther... funny shit
- big teddy bear Hazel
- Elliot was fucking awesome i think he was a great addition as a side character. rip tho :(
- honestly i don’t understand why Diego would WANT to save JFK. like it’s not that big of a deal. does he not understand what messing with the timeline can do??
- Lila... impeccable
- Sissy and Vanya... impeccable <3
- yeah and fuck u Carl
- ugh, Klaus’s beard. disgusting <3
- Ben and Klaus definitely act like they should be, given that they’ve been stuck with each other for over a decade. i’ve seen some people calling Klaus an asshole for not telling his siblings about Ben, which is completely understandable (cause he was an asshole), but I’m guessing it was because he was afraid? that sharing Ben with his siblings would mean that he would lose him to them, or his siblings would find him selfish, or they would ask something of him that he couldn’t give. if that makes sense
- that ghost bitch comment was funny tho
- to the guy who called Klaus pretty boy at the bar: sir you don’t know what you’re getting into
- Raymond!! he’s such a sweetheart, i really liked him in the show. i’m really happy that Allison has found a bit of normalcy (as normal as the 1960s Civil Rights movement could be). it shows how passionate she is about what she believes in: even though she knows the movement is far from over, even back in 2019, she’s not gonna abandon it
- Allison staring at the moon every night: either thinking about Luther or how the moon blows them all up. maybe both
- of course Luther would be working for Jack Ruby
- awesome cinematography during the mental asylum escape
- yeah it makes sense that the Handler would still be alive. she was a cool villain. although it would’ve been awesome to see how evil a fish could be
- Diego’s plan was pretty stupid. that’s my boy
- honestly they revealed how Klaus started a cult really well by having one of his followers find him at jail. Klaus, ever the musical aficionado, of course writes his scripture based off of pop songs
- Raymond and Klaus meeting!! that was cool to see how their paths connected
- Lila painting Elliot’s toenails green. ugh i love that crazy bitch
- i LOVE how they incorporated the umbrella man!! tbh i’ve always believed he was the one behind the assassination. Lee Harvey Oswald was framed
- honestly a bit understandable that Luther was planning on killing Vanya? cause he had no idea who she is now, but them reuniting was actually really sweet. he’s grown up so much
- the Swedes and their cats.
- the Umbrella company building with the nuclear family mannequins... creepy, awesome shit
- baby pogo baby pogo baby pogo baby pogo
- shanked diego shanked diego shanked diego shanked diego
- did anyone else get vibes from Klaus’s episode opening that he was an escort to the old woman? like how he was being shown off at her arm or something and getting out of jail from a call from the governor. idk maybe the lady was just very taken with him, as anyone would be
- Elliot, our helpful king
- Allison and Klaus’s reunion was so sweet!! i’m so glad they got to interact so much more in this season
- Ben getting Raymond out through a haunting... hilarious
- sweet intimate moment between Lila and Diego
- Ray meeting Luther was hilarious, but i do feel for the poor guy. i mean i’m not in love with my adoptive sister but still
- the sit-in was really well done and beautiful while terrible. the ‘riot’ that ensued was very appropriate for today’s setting
- D-Dave
- honestly i was scared that Klaus was gonna be overly attracted to him or whatever, which would be weird cause he’s years younger than Klaus, but honestly, at the core he just wanted to save Dave’s life. even if it means never meeting him in a different timeline. he truly loved Dave. and that ptsd flashback was done so well
- i knew Lila wasn’t trustworthy but i didn’t REALLY expect that!
- Vanya and Luther talking with each other, Luther admitting the apocalypse wasn’t all her fault. beautiful
- the Majestic 12 reminds me of the conspiracy theory that only a few families control basically everything in the world. the Majestic 12 may be based off of that, idk
- idk about everyone else but Klaus’s scorpion and the frog story made total sense to me! frogs ARE bitches
- the diner scene.... ugh. it really shows that the two of them did fall in love and they did stupid in love things, like talking about their family, about why Dave wanted to join, favorite colors, favorite foods, etc. however that’s seen later on when Dave visits the compound
- yes it’s very disheartening when Klaus is attacked, but honestly i think it had to happen, just like the riot had to happen. the 60s weren’t a fun time for lgbt people and poc. it was only going to be a matter of time before the show HAD to acknowledge the consequences of Klaus’s ‘flamboyancy’ in 1963 Texas. it doesn’t make it right or easy to see, but it’s realistic.
- it also makes sense that Klaus fell off the wagon after experiencing something like that. yes we all would’ve liked him to stay sober, but sobriety and recovery aren’t linear.
- Allison is so happy with Ray can we please drop this pseudo-incest plotline let’s MOVE ON
- Texas Grace ! who is not actually Grace rip (i think? i was a bit confused lol)
- the scene with Harlan running off was really upsetting but we got to see those weird light particles that we saw in the first season
- Pogo Pogo Pogo Pogo
- Klaus being a dick to Ben again, as brothers do. i do feel bad for Ben though it must be sooo frustrating. that scene with him and Allison was really sweet and funny tho
- i just have to say that Luther and Diego are so fucking funny this season it’s awesome. like there are a LOT of good lines overall by everyone but they’re hilarious. “At least he didn’t shank my ass” “no bro, he shanked your heart”“Dads part of a sinister CABAL that’s plotting on killing the president.” “a caBAL?”“You two still a thing? *leans in* do we need to talk?” “No, she’s married.” “Woah dude... that’s rough.” and countless others
- the sibling reunion!!
- Klaus really does get left out of everything tbh
- Ben :(
- sisters and Klaus!! that was so awesome to see. and Klaus’s hairpins, Vanya saying she’s gonna tell Sissy she loves her, their dance sequence, Klaus calling Allison out on that incest. beautiful
- the fucking Swedish cover of Hello was PERFECT i mean i was sad for the Swedes but it was hilarious. there were a couple beautiful shots of the boat on fire though
- god it must’ve been so traumatizing for Allison to be thrust into such a hostile place with no voice and no way to contact her family
- idk about you guys but long live Team Zero
- calling Ben that he was becoming their father was a bit uncalled for
- the fact that Klaus didn’t help Dave’s chances, and in fact escalated Dave’s own timeline.. his trembling hands... robert sheehan is an amazing actor
- the Black president bit lmaoo loved it
- the way Reginald spoke to Diego.. i’m gonna throw hands with an old man
- Klaus LITERALLY looked like he was having a seizure and they all just... played it off??
- poor, poor Carl. nah fuck him lol
- that bloody opening scene was awesome! and thank god Five got to say fuck. the fact that it was about a candy bar makes too much sense
- Robert Sheehan acting as Ben: amazing showstopping spectacular he’s so talented
- the whole multiple Fives and Luther bit was honestly really funny, and i immensely respect smaller Five over bigger Five.
- yes Klaus, you survived a family of seven. you got this
- not sad about Carl dying one bit!
- Ben... that was such a beautiful scene. not just the content of the scene, but the cinematography. Ben fading away... Vanya hugging him... ugh. the main takeaway i had from that scene is that at the core of it all, Ben and Klaus love each other immensely. they have a weird, dysfunctional, fucked up relationship, where Klaus is an asshole and Ben definitely shouldn’t of possessed him without his consent, but they’re still brothers, and Ben forgives him.
- oof Ben’s funeral was hard. also was it just me or did Klaus’s kid actor sound weird? like it sounded like Robert was dubbing his lines
- all the siblings back together again!!!! Klaus going with Vanya to save Harlan!! Vanya telling him Ben forgives him and that it wasn’t Klaus’s fault Ben got stuck with him!! everyone in the car!!! be still my beating heart
- yeah didn’t see Lila having powers coming tbh. i really feel bad for her she’s had such a rough and traumatic life, especially with the Handler as her only parental figure
- the Swede brother and Five putting down their weapons: “enough.” the Swede wanted revenge for his brothers - an eye for an eye, but there was a mutual understanding between the two of them: they would do anything for their family. if the Swede hurts one of the Hargreeves, Five would never stop coming after him. i thought it was very beautiful
- mmm Reggie’s foreshadowing coming into play. proud of u Five
- the ending was so beautiful. everyone got closure in some type of way. except now Klaus is alone with nothing but his dog tags :(
- EMO BEN HAHAHA WTFFF?? is Lila in the sparrow academy? why was Ben’s portrait over the mantle piece? did Five disappear?? is the sparrow academy just older versions of the siblings who stuck around?? so many questions
FINAL THOUGHTS
- Ellen Page’s acting consistently blows me away. she is amazing
- beautiful cinematography, funny writing, pretty good acting. i didn’t like the soundtrack as much as i did the first season’s, but some of it wasn’t bad.
- i’m glad ben got peace, but i’m also glad justin min isn’t gone for good. his social media presence is too vital for us
- i swear to god if they keep treating klaus as a joke and don’t let him get any actual development like everyone else had (he barely got closure with Dave, he reconciled with Ben through a second party) next season, i’m gonna riot. PLEASE i want to learn more about his powers now that Ben is gone. what happened to seeing tons of ghosts when he’s sober??
- Luther and Diego were probably my favorite duo of the season, I’m so happy that they’ve reconciled and are bonding more.
- just seeing Vanya grow and be happy was amazing
all in all, really wonderful season. i probably liked it better than the first one. now it’s time to consume fanfiction and maybe finish my own (check out “god doesn’t want him and neither does the devil” on ao3!)
#the umbrella academy#tua spoilers#tua season 2 spoilers#the umbrella academy season 2 spoilers#the umbrella academy season 2#tua season 2#klaus hargreeves#luther hargreeves#vanya hargreeves#five hargreeves#ben hargreeves#allison hargreeves#raymond chestnut#dave katz#diego hargreeves#reginald hargreeves
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@.JaneyPowellx: This has been something I’ve been debating doing for a long time now and it’s never really felt right. Even now, with all of the words on paper, or typed on to a digital page, it doesn’t feel right. I found writing fiction through the desperate need to escape reality & I’ve done everything in my power to keep them separate. Whether your favourite work of mine is Harry Potter, The Selection, We Were Liars or Twelve, you’ll never find me in them because they’re idealised situations in world’s that could be just around the corner or in far off places.
This story is different. It isn’t fiction and it isn’t escapism. It’s set in the real world and within the 21 years I’ve been alive. If you’re holding this book in your hand after purchasing it or have just downloaded it from my website, I’ll be bold enough to assume you already know the basic premise of the plot and you already have your expectations. There’re different versions of this story on true crime YouTube channels, in the newspapers and on blogs, some written with a good lot of research being done and others written just for clicks. It’s been a hard thing to accept, but all of them are somebody’s experience of the event and therefore hold a certain degree of truth.
This is just another version of a story that you might have heard before, this time told by me, Janey.
CHAPTERS 1-3: TRIGGER WARNINGS THROUGHOUT FOR ABDUCTION, ASSAULT/HARASSMENT, DRUGS & ABUSE
//OOC: This isn’t a full on story, just the outline! I think it’s taken her ages but she’d definitely record like a diary-styled retell of everything that happened to her involving the abduction that happened when she was 15. It’d be super cheap and available in stores AND online but all the profit would be go to appropriate foundations.
CHAPTER ONE - Happy Birthday!
In this chapter, Janey would start out by describing her fifteenth birthday. The year before, she’d seen Harvey, her older brother, cross a milestone - his sweet sixteenth. Therefore, the expectations for her birthday were pretty high. She was expecting the big party, huge balloons, special presents, a sip of alcohol and extra privileges but alas, she was only turning fifteen. Her parents were very clear about birthdays, drinking and other rules: 16, 18 and 21 were the milestone birthdays, otherwise parties were smaller and inexpensive.
She’d go on to explain how she’d been sulking all day because of it and explicitly remembers refusing to blow out her birthday candles after dinner. It would be something she’s embarrassed by now but at the time, it was perfectly reasonable. She’d mention that most people who only know the twenty-one year old her wouldn’t recognise fifteen year old Janey. A moody teenager who insisted on dressing like Jade West from Victorious and took way too much interest in her pink flip-phone (another thing she wasn’t happy with, seeing as Harvey - being 16 - had recently got a better one).
It’d talk about how her parents were firm but fair and well known in Violet Springs. Her Mum was a teacher and, to Janey’s horror, actually taught her in Year 7. Her Dad is an independent photo journalist who mainly covers local sporting events. She’d explain how they’re amazing parents and even if fifteen year old her couldn’t see it, they were equally amazing to Harvey, Annabel and herself.
Janey would go back to writing about having serious middle child syndrome and never making life easy for her parents. She wasn’t “naughty” but definitely pushed boundaries by breaking curfew, getting in trouble in class and talking back a lot. She’d confess that she cared a lot about being in the “right” crowd in high school. Deep down, she was always a naturally quiet person but felt the pressure to be as loud as the other girls. She wanted attention, and to be popular, and for boys to like her; that was all that mattered & if she knew then what she knew now, she probably would’ve slapped herself because she has no doubt that that’s what ultimately led to everything going wrong.
She’d mention that her birthday is the 19th of March (and she prides herself on being a true Pisces as it’s also her moon sign). It also gave her a couple of months until summer, where she and her friends planned her REAL birthday party since her parent’s wouldn’t give her one. They’d decided that they’d go to the open fields in between Lilac Heights and the Cotswolds (?) during the summer and drink, get high and just have a good time. She’d explain how the group of girls she was friends nearly all had older boyfriends who were in college and it was easy to get a hold of stuff they probably shouldn’t have been having.
Janey would talk about how the field has become iconic for completely different reasons now. If you google it, you won’t have to scroll very far at all to see pictures of it sectioned off when the police were searching for her. But, that summer it was beautiful and everybody was tanned, having fun and happy to be going into the last year of high school. Janey would explain that she’d always been insecure about not having a boyfriend, but she and her friends planned to change that because one of their boyfriend’s was bringing a guy who she’d been speaking to online. He was 22.
The end of this chapter would be romanticised and Janey would reflect on how it was the last time she was ever “old Janey.” Her plans had been to sneak back in through Annabel’s bedroom window and get into bed before her parents even suspected a thing. But, that never materialised.
CHAPTER TWO - As It Happened.
In this chapter, Janey would mention that she’s going to tell everybody exactly what happened that night. Details the police couldn’t even figure out when they tried to piece it all together. There’d be a trigger warning that she’ll be mentioning drinking, harassment and abduction but would promise that it isn’t graphic.
The first part would be about how the field party was a typical summer thing; hot weather, people drinking and having fun as well as sneaking off into the forest (but not too deep) to do god knows what. She’d talk about how she ignored the constant texts and calls from her Mum when it got dark, and how she was drunk. It’d also cover that she was introduced to the friend of her friend’s boyfriend and even though he wasn’t her type, she was excited about the attention. When it got too dark to see anything, most of her school friends decided to call it a night but Janey went to Downtown Springs with the guy she’d met and his friends because they promised they could get her into Indigo, which they did.
Most of the night was fun; she was bought drinks, there was lots of flirting and she felt special...which is kind of the hole she’d been trying to fill throughout her teen years. She’d definitely then mention that the guys she was with and every person like them exploit people who aren’t feeling their best and would talk about surrounding yourself with people you trust and not just people who are giving you what you want.
At one point, the boyfriend of her friend (who was now at home) started getting really loud and rowdy. To this day, Janey doesn’t know if it was genuine or just an act for an excuse to get her to leave the club with them and not go home like she’d planned. They were kicked out before it was midnight and she’d vividly recall passing a few people from school (including Wes and Nate - her ex, I think!) and chatting to them for a little while before the guys she was with mentioned their friend was having a house party in London. Nate specifically asked her to stay but she was set on having fun on her birthday and left with them.
She’d talk about seeing familiar buildings of Violet Springs turn into intimidating city offices and the roads getting wider as they entered London. The atmosphere in the car shifted slightly but at the time, she was too drunk to even notice. Neither of the guys said anything to one another or her & it gives her the chills now to know that in that moment, she’d been abducted, but she didn’t know it. They got out of the taxi and Janey remembers being embarrassed about not having enough cash on her to pay for her third of the fare - something trivial now - and one of the guys just paying for it without much fuss.
Once they stepped outside, she saw they were stood in front of a tower block that was almost completely silent. No sign of a party. That’s when she started to hesitate but was too shy to say anything; she was in a weird part of London at 11:45 with nobody she knew and no money. Also, she was sure she was just overreacting. One of the guys said that the party was on the top floor which is why nobody could hear it and even faked a phone call with the “host”. Janey took the elevator up to fifth floor with them and again, felt as if something weird was going on because the top floor was the seventh.
This also ended up being something that confused the police in her investigation; witnesses who saw her enter the tower block had overheard the conversation and couldn’t piece together WHY she wasn’t seen on the seventh floor or who’d even supposedly had the party.
She’d explain how the flat they entered belonged to the friend of her friend’s boyfriend and how eery it felt when it was completely silent. She asked multiple times about the party and both guys said they’d go up soon, but they wanted to have some more drinks and smoke before going up so that they were on everybody else’s level of being completely fucked. Janey remembers sitting on the arm of the sofa and realising how gross and dirty everything was. She wondered how someone who was 22 had given up already and remembers seeing pictures of her parent’s starter home at that age and how pretty it was by comparison.
The longer it took for them to go back up to the party, the more anxious Janey got. Eventually, she excused herself to go to the bathroom and decided that she’d have to face her parent’s consequences and ask her Dad to come and get her. She panicked even more when her phone wouldn’t switch on and she realised it was dead...meaning, she’d have to borrow money to get home. Once she came out of the toilet, she half debated leaving without them knowing because she just had a horrible feeling but felt like that’d be rude. So, she went back into the living room and asked to borrow a phone. That’s when things shifted completely and fun flirting became intimidating harassment; sleazily flirting with her and telling her not to be boring. One of them even insisted on kissing her to shut her up but once she got really upset, they agreed to take her home on the basis she’d have one last drink. She did, and it was spiked, which made her pass out.
The next day she woke in the bedroom of the same apartment, still fully dressed - something she was too young to register at the time, but now she reflects on it, it was the one comforting thing of the whole morning. But, her bag had gone and the door to the room was locked from the other side. She remembers banging on it and calling for someone, but nobody answered. She’d describe the panic and desperately wanting her brother or her Dad in that moment, but had to keep reminding herself she didn’t have her phone to contact them. She ended up being shut in that room for twenty-four hours before one of the guys came back; the friend of the boyfriend. He told her that she wouldn’t be going home and the more noise and fuss she made, the longer she’d stay in the bedroom.
Janey would talk about how her biggest regret is NOT making a fuss and screaming until a neighbour or somebody heard, but her survival instincts kicked in and she was scared she was going to be seriously hurt if she didn’t listen. So, she stayed quiet and followed what she wanted him to do; which was to dye her hair brown and change into clothes he’d bought for her - a basic black tank top and sweatpants. Again, at the time she was too confused to even begin to think about why but now she knows it was because she’d soon be declared a missing person and if they were taking her into public, she looked too familiar to any description circulating.
She’d end this chapter by saying how she remembered sitting on the floor of the living room that night while he put the dye in her hair, trying not to cry while her story first broke on to some of the news networks. But she’d also talk about how she felt twistedly happy that her parents had decided she was missing and not just out being her usual, difficult self.
CHAPTER THREE - THE FLAT.
She’d start the chapter with a warning about mentions of sexual abuse again. This would be a really brief chapter, but it would basically be her explaining to everyone who she was taken in the first place; trafficking; and how it isn’t what everyone imagines. She wasn’t chained up in a basement somewhere. In fact, before the news of her disappearance really blew up, she was actually allowed out given that she was with one of the two guys. She’d go to the store, or just sit in the park and once even to the gym.
She’d explain how ultimately though, she’d been taken as a product. Neither of the guys ever slept with her, but there were other men who did and they’d pay the two guys to do so. She’d never get or see any of it and she’d talk about how from the beginning there were strict rules. Her name would be ‘Liz’, short for Elizabeth which was her middle name, she wasn’t to have personal conversations with any clients and the answer had to always be yes to whatever they asked. Also, crying or appearing upset was a big no.
She’d talk about how this went on for a month which was enough time for the search for her to gain momentum and more press coverage. And, she knew this, because the people keeping her almost INSISTED that she read newspaper articles or watched reports about herself. She’d also mention how they would mock her parents, sister, brother and friends who obviously would make appeals or speak about it in statements and find it funny. That would often set her off and she’d argue with them, which never ended well for her.
The chapter would be rounded up with how by the end of August and moving into September, when she was supposed to be starting college, the police released sketches of the “suspects” and mentioned that they could be in the London area. For around three days, Janey had hope and felt like she was going to be found...but the guys began to panic. That’s when she wasn’t allowed to go outside anymore & one night, she overheard the guys speaking about how they were going to move her “and the others” further away from the Capital. That’s when she knew that this was going to be a lot harder than just doing what they said until they got bored.
#janeys projects: janey#please just pay attention to TW and stuff - i've made sure it's all labelled correctly so nobody reads anything they dislike!
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hey! this isn't a specific prompt per se, but i was wondering if you could write something based on Nick attending Baxter High. Like something post part4 with a completely different outcome (ofc). I just really like the idea of the new transfer kid being Sabrina's boyfriend. Thanks!! ❤️
I 100% need to be writing “a story in 140 characters that you can shoot and produce in pandemic times” for grad school, but I had this idea while I was cleaning my kitchen and here we are. <3
“I’m drawing Roz a comic,” Harvey said. “The last scene will be me asking her.”
“That’s brilliant,” Theo approved. “I’m trying to write Robin a song. Cheesy, but he’ll love it.”
“What about you, Scratch?”
Nick looked up from the book he was reading. Both Harvey and Theo were looking at him expectantly.
“What about me?” he questioned.
“You got sucked into a book again, didn’t you?” Theo stated. “This is lunch, Scratch. It’s your chance to escape from classes and schoolwork, not pick up a book for fun.”
“That looks more like a brick than a book,” Harvey added.
“It’s War and Peace,” Nick said. He wasn’t a big fan of lunch periods. Sabrina had a different lunch and he found the whole thing rather obnoxious. Lunches at school were their thing. Instead, he got to sit with Harvey, who actually wasn’t all that terrible, and Theo, who was pretty damned cool. “It’s pretty good.”
“Captain of the wrestling team and he’s reading War and Peace during lunch,” Theo said to Harvey. “For fun.”
“We’re talking about prom,” Harvey said. “How are you asking Sabrina?”
“I have to ask her?” Nick questioned. “She’s my girlfriend. Doesn’t that make her my built-in date?”
“She’ll be expecting a promposal,” Theo told him. “All the others will be getting them and she’ll want one, too.”
“I’m sorry, a promposal?” Nick repeated. “What in the Heaven is that?”
“It’s what it sounds like,” Harvey answered. “A proposal to go to prom.”
“That’s stupid,” Nick stated.
“It is,” Harvey agreed. “And Sabrina will expect one. Roz, too.”
“I’m doing one for Robin too,” Theo added.
“And what do people do for these promposals?” Nick asked. “Pass a note in class and say ‘check yes or no?’” He would just send her a note on her hand if that was the case. They tried to refrain from using magic during Baxter High hours, but magic markers were easy to hide.
“Cheesy stuff,” Theo explained. “Last year, this girl’s boyfriend put those chocolate kisses all around her locker and left her a note that said ‘now that I’ve kissed the ground you walk on, will you go to prom with me?’”
“I’m not doing that,” Nick stated.
“We wouldn’t let you,” Harvey assured him.
“You could send her a cheese pizza, have them write, ‘I know this is cheesy, but will you go to prom with me?’ on the inside of the box...”
“Theo?” Harvey said. “Stop talking.” Theo shrugged good-naturedly. Harvey gave his attention to Nick. “People do things like stand outside of windows with signs or decorate their date’s car. I’m making a comic book for Roz, Theo is writing Robin a song. Just come up with something that’s uniquely you and Sabrina.”
The bell rang to indicate the end of lunch. Nick stood like the rest of his classmates, but his mind was on this whole concept of a ‘promposal.’ He thought it was utterly stupid. Sabrina was his girlfriend. They had literally been to both Heaven and Hell together. Did he really have to do something as ridiculous as putting candy around her locker and coming up with a terrible pun to ask her to go to prom with him?
He met Sabrina at her locker.
“Hey you,” she greeted as she swapped out her books for her next class. Nick leaned against the locker next to hers.
“Mortals are stupid,” he declared. She raised an eyebrow.
“What have the mortals done now?” she asked. It was a great source of amusement to her, watching Nick attempt to navigate the mortal world as a normal teenager. She knew there were some days when it was a sheer miracle he hadn’t cursed all of Baxter High - minus her - by day’s end.
“They use so many puns,” Nick stated. “So many terrible, unnecessary puns.”
“And where did this come from?” she asked. She closed the locker and allowed Nick to take her hand. This was their routine. They met at one of their lockers between classes, walked to class if they had it together, to an appropriate parting place if they didn’t. It was one of Sabrina’s favorite things about having Nick at Baxter High.
“Just something Harvey and Theo said at lunch,” he shook his head. A flyer for prom caught his eye. “We going to that?” he asked, nodding at it as they passed.
“I’d like to,” Sabrina hinted. “If someone asks me...”
Nick huffed to himself. He was going to have to come up with one of these dumb promposals.
“Someone will ask you,” he assured her. He lifted her hand to his lips outside of their classroom. “Time to pretend the mortals have history right.”
Sabrina laughed and followed Nick into the classroom. She enjoyed learning both the mortal and magical versions of history. Nick had a hard time not correcting the teacher.
Nick barely listened that day, however. He tried and failed to come up with a way to ask Sabrina to prom. If Harvey was creating a comic and Theo writing a song, he had to do something equally as big, something that Sabrina would love. She deserved that from him, after everything they had been through.
Except, several days later, he had nothing and the promposals had started at school with poorly made signs and ever worsening puns. In a moment of desperation, he found himself in the Spellman kitchen.
“Hi love,” Hilda greeted. “Sabrina’s out with Roz, but she should be home soon...”
“I actually stopped by because Sabrina isn’t here,” he admitted. “I need some help...”
“What can I do for you?” Hilda asked as she worked on that evening’s dinner. She and Cee had moved back in during those few days in which they thought Sabrina was gone from this world and never left after she returned to their plane. “I’m making that chicken casserole you like, by the way.”
“Excellent,” Nick smiled. He himself had all but moved in. “Do you know anything about these ‘promposals’ mortals do?”
“Isn’t that what they call asking another to prom?” Hilda asked.
“Yes, and I need to come up with a way to ask Sabrina.”
A howl of laughter sounded from behind him.
“Dammit,” he cursed. He turned to face Ambrose who was beaming from the doorway. “Of course you showed up right now.”
“I do love watching you play mortal, Scratch,” Ambrose said with barely contained glee. “Tell us more about your dilemma.”
“You know what? Never mind. I’ll figure it out...”
He tried to leave, but Hilda clucked her tongue to stop him.
“Ambrose, leave the boy alone,” Hilda said. “How can we help you, Nicholas?”
“I need an idea,” Nick said. “Literally any idea...”
“Have a seat,” Hilda waved at the kitchen table. “We’ll see what we can come up with.”
“Yes, Nicholas, let us help...” Ambrose made to sit down.
“Out,” Hilda directed him. “You won’t be helpful.”
“And miss Nicholas wrestle with a stupid mortal tradition? Absolutely not.” He took a seat and folded his hands. “Now, Nicholas, here’s what you do. She loves blueberry pancakes, no?”
“They’re her favorite,” Nick nodded.
“Have Hilda make up a batch,” he continued.
“I could do that,” Hilda nodded her agreement.
“Just make sure you make enough for the rest of us,” Ambrose advised her. “Anyway, present her with the pancakes and a note that says ‘I love you berry much. Go to prom with me?’ She’ll love it!”
“Ambrose!” Hilda chided. “That’s a terrible idea!”
Nick dropped his head to his hands.
***
In the end, Nick came up with the idea all on his own, despite Hilda’s best efforts and Ambrose’s merciless teasing.
“Come on, Scratch,” Sabrina tugged at his hand. “I want popcorn and candy before the previews.”
“I’ll never understand your love of previews,” he commented. “But before you blow inside in all your glory, perhaps you may want to pause here on the sidewalk and read the marquee?”
Sabrina gave the Paramount’s marquee a precursory glance, expecting to see a listing of the night’s movies.
Except...
It said something else.
She stopped in her tracks and read it again.
Go to prom with me, Spellman?
She turned to Nick.
“Well?” he asked.
She was glowing.
“Nick...” She threw her arms around and kissed him soundly. “Of course!”
He chuckled against her lips and kissed her again.
“So I did it right?” he asked. “This whole promposal thing?”
“You did it perfect,” she assured him, arms still looped around his neck. A thought occurred to her. “Is this why you called mortals stupid last week?”
“It’s also why I’ve been a little distracted lately,” he admitted. “I thought the fact that you’re my girlfriend meant I had a built in prom date, then Kinkle and Theo started talking...”
“Technically, you do,” she told him. She pecked his lips. “Thank you for going along with this whole mortal promposal thing anyway though.”
“Anything for you,” he said. “I love you, Spellman.”
“I love you, Scratch.” She pecked his lips one more time. “Now let’s go get some candy.”
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Could you speak about Nick's heroic moment that impressed you? You mentioned Sabrina's heroic moment that impressed you (Lupercalia) and Harvey's heroic moment that impressed you (saving the witches) so I wondered if you had a Nick moment!
Buckle up kids, it’s time for me to get emosh about Nick Scratch!
Yes I do have a Nick moment, and I am happy that you asked about him! (Apologies for taking so long to reply to this and other CAOS questions I have in the queue, life has been a frenzied whirligig.) I know the rules of love triangles, and one must play fair.
(It has been interesting writing a proper love triangle, which I hadn’t before, and seeing the many reactions to it. I have one friend who was for Harvey in book 2, but in book 3 she switched to Nick. I have one friend who still loves Harvey and was mad he only got one POV chapter in book 3. I have my father, who is scandalized by the thought of love triangles and wishes for people to Commit to Each Other, and is firmly Team Nabrina and Harvalind without knowing either of those ship names! I Cannot and Will Never tell my father about the sex demons.)
I think everybody noticed the moment where Nick Scratch sacrificed himself to Satan to save Sabrina and also the world. It’s such a big moment and a big sacrifice that it instantly makes many forgive him for all his mistakes. And it’s the very end of that part, and I’ve noticed with Netflix binges even more than with usual TV, the end is the bit that sticks most with people and leaves the deepest impression. You can’t just click on the next episode. You have to sit with what happened.
That moment of heroism wasn’t overlooked. But early in Part 3, we see inside Nick’s mind in hell, and after weeks of torment he’s still fighting. Wrestling the fallen angel, as Jacob wrestled the angel, and saying no, he won’t give up. The kind of heroism that struggles on, and on, even when it’s tough and thankless, is more difficult than impulsively going down in a blaze of glory. It’s hard to feel good about that kind of fight. It isn’t glorious, it isn’t flashy, and it takes bedrock strength and rare courage. I was so impressed by that moment, and I did worry it would be lost, since Nick’s wild acting out from trauma and satanic possession follows. That inspired Nick’s plotline in Path of Night--to think about how Nick was tormented, and how and why he was able to resist the Dark Lord.
Writing Nick’s POV in hell in Path of Night was tricky, as I couldn’t save him and I knew he would be in a dark place even after being saved! Had I been told people would be reading about a fan favorite character being trapped and tormented while stuck in their homes due to pandemic... I don’t know what I would have done. (I mean, I would have asked the time traveler giving me these tips to give me lottery numbers, please.) I hope I would have been brave and written him the same way I did.
Book 1 (Season of the Witch) is the family-focused book, because Part 1 is about family coming through for Sabrina, and ends on her toasting them at home. Book 2 (Daughter of Chaos) is the romance-focused book, because Part 2 has many people starting new relationships and exploring what relationships mean to them, and ends with Nick coming through for Sabrina. Book 3 had to be the friendship-focused book, as Part 3 had Sabrina on missions with her friends, who were coming through for her by going to hell and fighting monsters and knowing what was up with her at last.
It couldn’t be about Sabrina and Nick’s romance, any more than Book 1 could really be about Harvey and Sabrina’s romance, because I was foreshadowing a breakup in both books. Both relationships were loving, but terribly damaged by lies (for which I blame Satan!). And all of these people need to find out who they truly are.
A character who only works in a romance isn’t a good character, and I think Nick is a good character. So when you’re examining a character on their own, you have to pose and answer these questions: who IS this person? What do they care about? How can they be taken apart, and put back together? Consent in CAOS is a big and thorny theme, (and a big and thorny subject generally!), and is discussed extensively in Daughter of Chaos, and that plays out in Path of Night, where Nick has his selfhood stripped away from him and has to try and claim it.
The epigraph for the book is a Dostoevsky quote: ‘Hell is the suffering of being unable to love.’ Nick says himself in Part 1 that Satan doesn’t want his servants to love, and hell is Satan’s kingdom, a place of utter loneliness. What do you do, in a book about friendship, with the plotline set in hell?
The truly lost are those who don’t realize they are lonely in hell. Lilith is ruling hell but missing Greendale, because Lilith underneath it all is a team player--she tried to be on Lucifer’s team for millennia until he made it clear there would never be any reward for her work, and in Part 3 she tries to be on Sabrina’s team, and goes to Zelda for help as an ally. There’s hope for Caliban, because in his reaching out for Sabrina, we see he can be lonely in hell. And what about Nick, in the lowest point of that lonely place?
I like someone who’ll do epic things for their love, but I don’t like when a character only cares about their love--I think that’s small-hearted. Fortunately I don’t think Nick’s that kind of character at all. He undoubtedly loves Sabrina dearly, but he also had a breakdown about being expelled from school, and even under Satan’s dire influence he found a nice white shirt and came to a magic ceremony because he wanted to be part of it: he cares about community. But his is a community in which caring is forbidden, so caring about that community is a paradox in itself which many of the witches have to deal with, forcing them to lie to themselves and each other. (Zelda and Prudence, very much caught in this trap.) Nick and Prudence both project an air of confidence, but Prudence was literally willing to be consumed in order to matter, and Nick willing to be consumed in order to be loved. (But what is there to love, if you’re consumed?)
Nick’s acting out under the influence of Lucifer in Part 3 is like Harvey being impelled to his father’s violence by Lucifer, though it goes much deeper: that influence brings out the specific dark impulses you DO have, while you might never have acted on them. A lot of Nick’s dark impulses are based on insecurity and his terrible coping mechanisms for dealing with that insecurity: he was gutted when expelled because he doesn’t have a home to belong to. He was raised (and abused) by someone possessive and murderous, who told him as abusers do that only she could love him, and then tragically his community’s ethos confirmed that belief for him. He mentions in Part 1 that he envies mortals because they can love. He’s told by his community that what matters is Satanic power, so he’s instantly made insecure by Caliban Prince of Hell, but he’s also insecure about Harvey because of the idea only mortals can love and be loved, and he’s afraid he can’t be loved by Sabrina as she loves this mortal. Of course, that worry itself makes it plain to us Nick is fully capable of love and of being loved, but that is anything but clear to him.
The witches are starving for love, and that’s love in all senses of the word. Sabrina does a ton to save and help Nick (to the point of overlooking her own pain and betrayal), but she can’t do it on her own because nobody can: everybody needs a net of community to catch them.
I mentioned that Book 3 was about friendship because it sets up Part 3, in which friends come through for each other. Nick’s part of that. Sabrina isn’t the only one who comes for him in hell: the mortals came too, and that’s important. Nick’s the witch who is always talking about and interested in mortals, and it was interesting to explore in Path of Night how that came to be. He’s also protective of the mortals--all the witches know mortals die easily, it’s why they call them that--but Nick came to protect Harvey in Part 1, and in Part 2 argued with Sabrina that mortals shouldn’t be fighting Satan as Sabrina planned to fight Satan. Obviously he cares about Sabrina more than he cares about them, but he worries about the mortals in the same way you’d be much more concerned about a toddler toddling into battle than a ninja, even if you were in love with the ninja. It says something about a person, when their impulse is to shield the vulnerable rather than target them.
In Path of Night it was interesting to explore the potential for friendship with the mortals for Nick. Roz and he have a lot in common, as the big readers of their groups, and were open to being charmed by each other in Part 2. Theo would be an amazing friend for anyone, as he’s ride-or-die for his friends, and also very clear-eyed about them. (Not being romantically interested in them helps with that.) It would obviously be good for both Nick and Harvey to start seeing the other as a person rather than an avatar for their own insecurity. And at the end of Part 3, when Sabrina was off in hell and he certainly wasn’t trying to win her favor, Nick showed up when the mortals called, stayed for them, and fought for them. In another time, he died for them. They came for him, and he came for them. Showing up is a good start. I always love a character who shows up: Sabrina constantly, Ambrose and Hilda and Zelda fighting their god for love, Harvey squaring his shoulders and going in to shoot his brother, Theo hurling his own body at the gates of hell.
But the mortals aren’t Nick’s friends yet: they don’t really know him, and Harvey is triggered by lies, which Nick has had to live by. There is someone, though, who does know him. The big romantic plotline of Path of Night is Prudence and Ambrose coming together on adventures far from home, and the thread about friendship there is that Ambrose is working out whether Prudence likes Nick romantically, or Ambrose himself. In Part 1, Prudence is spiky with Nick because he just dumped her and her sisters (as told in book 1). In Part 3, she’s mad at him and tells Sabrina they don’t work as a couple because she has no time for men who betray women, and Prudence is mad at him in Book 3 too. But in Book 2 and Part 2, she’s helping Nick, hanging out with him, and talking him up to Sabrina. It’s Ambrose, the oldest of the coded-young characters and one of the few with a loving home, who sees and names Prudence’s feelings for Nick, for whom she has a pet name. It’s complicated, in their world and with their respective pain, but he is her friend. She’s the one he opens up to at the end of Part 3.
But Nick doesn’t know Prudence is his friend. Lucifer, known as the Father of Lies, systematically takes apart Nick in Path of Night, to get him to the place he’s in when we hit Part 3. He has to convince Nick that what Nick always feared is true: nobody cares. There’s the physical torture element, which I touch on lightly but enough to be clear it happened, but wrestling with inner demons means more. To quote Faulkner, ‘the only thing worth writing about is the human heart at conflict with itself.’ Nick imagines sleeping a lot throughout Path of Night, imagines peace (another epigraph for a Nick chapter is Dante’s ‘Peace to your hungry soul’), but he’s not really sleeping and there’s never any peace--I deliberately made him more and more tired as the story goes on. Not only tired, but sick at heart as the devil tempts him: he’s offered books, a return to childhood and his mother, a return to school, the story of epic romance he wants to be the hero of, mortal acceptance and affection, and finally Prudence as a friend he trusts to tell him the truth. When he uses his sharp mind to discern flaws in all Lucifer’s illusion he’s shown just enough reality to hurt him. (Harvey and Sabrina have much pain and history to work out and there’s love there, as shown by the two names on Sabrina’s candle, but Sabrina and the Fright Club are all risking their lives to save Nick, and Lucifer sure doesn’t want Nick to realize that: Lucifer’s trying to induce despair.)
When we see how someone is tempted we also see what they value. In Nick’s case it’s his mother’s love, his mother’s books, a home, romantic love from Sabrina, mortal connection, friends, his school and the opportunities for relationships and knowledge it offers. Then we see everything Nick wants stripped away from him, exposed as illusion. To quote from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, one of CAOS’s forebears in the genre and because I love Buffy, ‘Take all that away, and what’s left?’ The answer is ‘Me.’ When all that’s left is you, then you just might be enough. Even if you always feared you wouldn’t be.
At the end of Path of Night, I couldn’t have Nick be saved, or even have Nick realize he was worth saving, but I wanted the ending to be as happy for him as it could be, by showing my audience that there was hope for him to be found, in all senses of the word. I wanted the reader to feel they’d learned more about who he was, gained understanding of his flaws, that there was greatness in him despite said flaws. Sabrina and the mortals ARE coming to rescue him. Prudence DOES care about him. And saying no, in that loneliest and darkest place, meant something.
So. That’s Nick’s hero moment for me.
#chilling adventures of sabrina#caos#nick scratch#nabrina#sabrina spellman#prudence blackwood#harvey kinkle#theo putnam#roz walker#zelda spellman#ambrose spellman#hilda spellman#path of night#caos books#lilith#prince caliban
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Ten Things III
Summary: If there’s one thing you have to know about Harvey Kinkle, it’s that he rarely thinks things through. So when he meets (and falls for) Sabrina Spellman on his first day of Baxter High and finds out that she can’t date anyone until her tempestuous sister does, it seems like the obvious solution is to get someone to date her so he can go out with Sabrina. A not so obvious choice for the challenge is Caliban, but, hey, it’s not like Harvey thought that far.
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Word-count: 3.2k+
A/N: i’m like ridiculously excited to write the next part for this series but we needed some build up!! enjoy!! 💕
The more Sabrina thought about it, the more she convinced herself that Harvey's plan wasn't all that bad. She did, however, feel even worse about lying to you. She kept telling herself that it would work out because Caliban was a good guy at his core and you just didn’t know how to make the first move. All you needed was a push in the right direction, and she and Harvey were … well, more of a shove. But still. It would work out.
It had to work out.
Sabrina cast her ill-placed optimism aside as she thought of how bad it would be if this didn’t work out while she and Harvey dug through your room in search of things that you and Caliban could bond over. She suggested one of the bands from the posters on your wall, Harvey said Caliban would never see any of them in concert. Harvey suggested paintballing, Sabrina told him that you’d shoot Caliban somewhere he probably didn’t want to get shot with a paintball.
The back and forth kept going until the two of them were lying on your bed, staring up at the ceiling and talking quietly about the few options that were left.
“They could … I don’t know,” Harvey said with a quiet sigh, waving his hand at the ceiling. “Burn down the chem classroom?”
Sabrina smiled to herself at how much you would actually enjoy that. She could just picture you running away from the burning building and Caliban driving the getaway car. “I was thinking of something slightly less illegal.”
“Oh, right,” Harvey mumbled. Sabrina laughed at how defeated he seemed and absentmindedly reached for his hand. She ran her thumb over the side of his hand as he, very awkwardly, said in a voice a few octaves higher, “Uh, so where is your sister anyway?”
“Skatepark by the mines,” Sabrina said with a sigh before rolling onto her side and propping herself up on her elbow. “She goes there almost every day after school.”
“She does?”
Sabrina lifted her other hand and moved some curls out of Harvey’s face. “Mm-hmm.”
“You know…” Harvey said slowly as he tore his eyes away from the ceiling to look at her. It was such a small, sweet moment. “That could work. Caliban could go there and then they just happen to run into one another.”
“I don’t know. My sister’s not exactly the coincidence type. She might run him over with her car,” Sabrina said hesitantly. But at least if it was purely ‘coincidental’ then she wouldn’t feel so guilty about it. She let out a breath and collapsed back onto the bed. “Don’t you think this is all a little weird?”
“Super weird but-” Harvey reached across the space between them and held Sabrina’s hand again. “But I think you’re worth a little weirdness.”
“Oh, am I now?” Sabrina laughed, rolling over again to face him.
Harvey was so much sweeter than she expected. He had a good heart, and he was going to absurd lengths just for the chance to go on a date with her. She had never even told him if she’d say yes.
Sabrina’s breath hitched when Harvey rolled onto his side to look at her. It felt like he was going to kiss her and, as much as she wanted that to happen, she wasn't sure if-
“I think you are,” Harvey said quietly. He started leaning in slowly when the door to your room burst open and he jumped sky high and off the bed.
“Cousin!” Ambrose said with a wide smile as he sauntered closer. He tilted his head as he looked at Harvey. “And friend.”
Sabrina let out a sigh and got to her feet. “Leave him alone, Ambrose." She wasn't sure Harvey could survive an encounter with Ambrose when he was already so flustered. "What do you want?”
Ambrose to his eyes away from Harvey to dramatically turn back to Sabrina. “Our dearest Y/N is should be home soon and I wasn’t sure you wanted her interrupting your canoodling.”
“We weren’t canoodling,” Harvey said awkwardly.
Ambrose gave him a knowing smile. “I’m sure, friend.”
“Okay.” Sabrina took a step closer and put one hand on Ambrose’s shoulder and held his hand in her other as she started guiding him out of the room. “Thanks for the heads-up, Ambrose, we can handle it from here.”
Ambrose made a few more comments as she shoved him out the door, but it was nothing Sabrina couldn’t handle. Harvey, on the other hand, was five shades paler when she turned around again.
“I think I should go,” he rushed out. “This has been really good though! I’ll be sure to tell Caliban about the skatepark.”
“Okay,” Sabrina said quietly. Her small, sweet moment was long gone.
As Harvey dashed out, he stopped momentarily in front of her. Sabrina didn’t move as he did, unsure about what he was doing. He only stopped for a second, but in that second he leaned down and kissed the top of her head before letting go and running out of the room, leaving Sabrina alone in your room and extremely confused.
A few seconds later, she heard a horn honking in the driveway and went to the window to check it out. Harvey was apologizing frantically as he tried to run across to his truck, and you were yelling something at him from behind the wheel of your car.
Sabrina hoped this would work.
---
“Do you just assume I know how to skateboard?”
Caliban was sprawled on his usual bench as Harvey paced around him, telling him everything that happened between him and Sabrina during their recon mission. His hair was in a messy ponytail today, but pretty much everything else Caliban wore was messy as well. Somehow - for a reason Harvey didn’t quite understand - every girl that walked past was still checking him out.
“No, I’m just telling you what we think will work,” Harvey said as he stopped in front of the bench, blocking off Caliban’s sun. After fifteen minutes of Harvey’s rushed talking, that question was Caliban’s only response. “She might be nicer on her own turf.”
Caliban let out a breath as he stopped squinting at Harvey to roll up to a sitting position. “I’m touched by your concern for my well-being, but I think I can handle myself.”
“Okay, dude, whatever you say.” Harvey sat down next to Caliban and started bouncing his leg almost immediately.
“Alright, what’s the matter with you?” Caliban asked. He rolled his eyes when Harvey looked over at him with a frown. “Something happened that you're not telling me. You look like you’re about to throw up.”
Harvey started stammering out excuses but eventually just took a deep breath and started from the beginning. For the second time, but much slower, he told Caliban about how Sabrina held his hand and teased him without being mean about it. He mentioned how she smelled like the woods but in a good way, a sweet way, and her shampoo was some fucking lavender flower scent that he couldn’t get out of his mind. And then he told him about how he kissed her.
“-On the top of her head! Like who does that?” Harvey finished after another ten minutes of uninterrupted rambling. “Not her forehead, by the way. Like the actual top of her head.”
He groaned and fell back onto the bench as Caliban laughed and patted his chest in what Harvey assumed was an attempt to comfort him.
“Harvey, settle down.” That’s all Caliban said for the first few seconds as Harvey calmed his anxiety to a silent bubble inside him. “Now that you’re getting some oxygen to your brain, listen here. People eat that cute affectionate shit up.” He held up a hand when Harvey started sputtering out protests. “Think about it: If Sabrina kissed you on the head, how would you feel?”
Harvey was quiet for a second as he thought about a non-lame answer. He doubted Caliban would be impressed by his honest answer, so after a few minutes, he mumbled, “I guess it wouldn’t be so bad.”
“Well, there you go. She doesn’t hate you; she just thinks you’re not so bad,” Caliban said with a tricky smile and another pat on the chest.
“Thanks.” Harvey rolled his eyes and adjusted as the weight of messing things up with Sabrina before they even started rolled off his shoulders. “So, uh, do you?”
Caliban turned to face him with narrowed eyes and a set jaw. The slight scowl didn’t intimidate Harvey like it did that day outside of Ms. Wardwell’s office anymore. “Do I what?” Caliban asked.
“Know how to skateboard.”
“Oh.” Caliban let out a breath and shrugged as his face shifted back to its usual state of cool indifference. “I know enough to get by.”
“Uh … okay.” Harvey didn’t know what to say to that. He scratched his head slightly as the two of them sat there for a few seconds. “She also doesn't date smokers."
"So I've been told," Caliban said with a sigh, looking down at where his cigarettes used to live in his jacket. "Would it be weird if I said good luck? I don’t know what this situation calls for.”
Caliban let out another laugh as he got to his feet. He messed up Harvey’s hair as he walked around the back of the bench. “Don’t worry, Harvey. You’ll get your date with Sabrina Spellman.”
Harvey didn’t say it, but that wasn’t what he was worried about. He knew you couldn’t be all bad since Sabrina loved you so much, but his mind kept going back to you yelling at him to ‘remove his head from his sphincter, then cross the road’ and he worried Caliban might be a little out of his depth.
---
After their little chat, Caliban blew off the rest of his classes to head to this mystery skatepark by the mines. As far as skateparks go, it wasn’t anything spectacular but he could see the appeal of the rough, dug out holes and all the stray scaffolding. There were a few proper ramps set up and some of the old mining holes had been smoothed out and converted to the necessary quarter or half pipes. It had a dilapidated charm.
As he walked around, he saw some kids doing tricks on the scaffolding and others sneaking off into the mines. Some people had climbed to the top of long-abandoned structures and were either making out or playing chicken. Caliban couldn’t see you, though, no matter how hard he looked.
Deciding he should probably stop being a creep, he took his board and went to one of the ramps. He started messing around to get the feel for skating after weeks of not practicing, relieved that you only showed up after he’d stopped falling down.
You didn’t have a skateboard or rollerblades, just a messenger bag and a precariously stuffed notebook. You seemed surprised to see him there, but Caliban pretended not to notice. All you did for the first five minutes was stand there and watch him with a glare and clenched jaw, so Caliban did his best to gradually up his game.
Something he did must have caught your attention because you settled on the edge of the ramp, one leg dangling off the edge as you balanced your notebook on the other and started writing. Caliban made no attempts to come any closer than when he skated up the side, and even then he didn’t speak to you.
He didn’t notice at first when you put away the notebook and repositioned yourself to focus on him, but his heart stuttered when he did. It was disgusting, really, that you had that effect on him but he squashed those feelings under his wheels as he rode up the side of the ramp, twisted, and landed next to you with a small thump as he caught his board in his free hand.
Caliban gave you an easy smirk as you stared daggers into his heart.
“I haven’t seen you here before,” you said when the stare-off started irritating you. Caliban figured that was because you were used to winning them, so he didn’t take your irritation personally.
“A little puppy-dog told me about it,” Caliban said, moving his board from his lap to the space behind his back and stretched out his hands behind him for good measure. He was the picture of easy confidence as he sat on the edge with you, looking out at the almost setting sun. “It’s not bad.”
You rolled your eyes and adjusted your hold on the strap of your messenger bag. “Glad it meets your standards, Sparky.”
“A bit defensive, are we?” Caliban asked, even though he smiled at the nickname. You scoffed but didn’t respond, so Caliban popped one of his earphones back in. He’d been listening to those bands Harvey said you liked all afternoon, and they weren’t nearly as bad as he expected.
It took a few minutes before you reached over and yanked the earbud out of his ear and called him rude, but Caliban held in his snark long enough to hold out the other earbud to you. You took the earbud from him very apprehensively and popped it in, but you didn’t say anything after your momentary surprise.
The two of you sat, joined by the cables of Caliban’s earphones, and watched the sunset without saying anything. You looked at Caliban every now and then, doing your best to hide your curiosity, and Caliban looked at you a lot more, not bothering to hide anything.
And then the album ended.
You pulled the earbud out and dropped it in Caliban's lap with a polite smile before gathering up your stuff and getting to your feet.
“Hey, where are you going?” Caliban asked, lifting up his head to frown at you.
“Home,” you said with the closest thing Caliban had seen to your smile. “Where are you going?”
“Nowhere. I thought we were having a moment,” Caliban said, tilting his head even more.
You crouched down, leaned in slightly, and tilted your head to match Caliban’s movement. “Moment’s over,” you said in a low voice. Your eyes dropped to his lips for a second and then you were on your feet and walking away.
You didn’t see the kids skating out of the mines, but Caliban did and he was on his feet and racing to get to you before the collision did.
---
One moment you were walking back to your car, and the next you were on your back and in the dirt with Caliban on top of you and some very concerned rollerbladers torn between asking if you were okay and skating away as fast as they could. They decided on skating away when you yelled at them to get away from you or you’d shove that rainbow skate so far up their asses that they’d need a dentist to get it out.
You were still yelling when Caliban started laughing, bits of his stray curls tickling your face as he did. You weren’t sure if your chest fluttered because he looked really pretty when he laughed or because you were still pissed that he’d knocked you to the ground and then laughed at you.
“Stop laughing or you’re next,” you warned.
Caliban did his best to stop laughing, but he made no attempts to hide his smile. “You can’t threaten me. I saved your life.”
“You crushed my spleen.”
“It’s a nonessential organ.”
“I will crush one of your nonessential organs.”
Caliban started laughing again and you had to decide whether he was pretty or you were pissed. You decided it could be both, but you were still leaning towards threatening him again despite his prettiness.
“You can get off of me now,” you snapped when pretty started creeping up on you. “Those scary fifteen-year-olds are long gone.”
“Are you sure? I think we should wait it out some more.” Caliban smiled and lifted his hand to wipe some dust off your face. His hand was warmer than you expected, softer too. He was different than the first time you met, but you couldn’t figure out what it was.
“If you don’t move,” you said in a voice soft enough to match the feel of his hand on your face, “I will bite you.”
Caliban smiled, no doubt another witty retort on his tongue, but he didn’t say anything as he rolled to his side and got to his feet. He held a hand out to help you up, but you were still mad at him and his amused face.
You pushed his hand away and gathered your things. Luckily for him, nothing was damaged, but that didn’t stop you from arguing with him about the collision and your nonessential organs.
“Perhaps-” Caliban interrupted after you started running out of steam. He took a step closer, dropping his gaze for a second as he did “-we could settle this over dinner.”
“Dinner?” You scoffed and crossed your arms over your chest. “Why should I go out for dinner with you, Sparky?”
Maybe the amused smile made him prettier than you cared to admit, but the fact that Caliban was amused by you annoyed you even more. He took another step closer. “Because I saved your life and you hate feeling like you owe people,” he said. Another step closer. He dropped his voice to say, “And, deep down, I think you’re more interested in how this would turn out than you are mad at me.”
“I think you’re underestimating my ability to be mad at you,” you said, looking down at his lips for a second as they curled into another smile.
Your eyes snapped back up after Caliban started talking, knowing full well that he noticed you looking at his lips. “Oh, no. I know you can be plenty mad at me.”
“Did forget that I don’t date smokers?” you asked, hoping it made up for your momentary loss of snark.
“I quit. Turns out they’re really bad for you, who knew?”
You felt yourself laughing before you could stop it. Shaking your head, you took out a step closer to Caliban and put a hand on his chest. “One date, Sparky. Then we’re even.”
“One date,” Caliban repeated.
He didn’t move from his spot and you weren’t sure what else to say. Agreeing with him was something you hadn’t expected, and neither was him being so annoyingly agreeable. You bit the inside of your lip as you stewed over this new development.
“Well, I should be off,” Caliban said quietly when the sun was almost completely over the horizon. “I don’t want to be around when those fifteen-year-olds come back.”
“Don't worry, Sparky, the scariest thing out here is me," you said.
"I have no doubt about that."
Caliban let out another laugh and shook his head as he took three steps backward before turning and walking away. He lifted his hand and waved at you without turning to check how you reacted, so confident that you were watching him go.
Well, he wasn’t wrong. You were watching him, trying to convince yourself that you were still more pissed than he was pretty.
Part 4
Tagged: @t-a-i-l-o-r-m-a-d-e @miss--moose @marrypuffsstuff @harryscarolinaa @igorsbby @foji2000 @hxlalokidottir @artaxerxesthegreat @thxmagic @strawberriesandknives @xealia @hotmessindisguise @acciomaximoff @reheated-coffee @shelby-x @perseny-blog @millie-753 @luneerius @shizzybarnaclee @lettherebelovex @throughparisallthroughrome @ietss @thebookwormlife @mechanicalanimalz @mariamermaid @nqbmf @caliban-is-my-girl @shephard17895 @music-movies @clockworks-world-to-fandoms @luquincy @marina468 @olivia-west-allen @drrramaaaqweeen @roxytheimmortal
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I did it, guys! THE WEDDING!
That’s Edward’s wedding…but the only thing I can think about is just LOOK AT THEM!!
“Are you ready for this?” I AMMMM!!!!
Jean underlying to Susan the surprise of being invited...she has this talent of saying what she’s thinking with such conviction but without being unpleasant... I just adore her!
Patrick ‘s speech and the not so subtle remarks toward Edward, I wouldn’t expect any less from him. He’s always been very objective, I think even with his own son. He’s protected him enough, now it’s time he takes his own responsibilities.
Lucien wants to leave...let’s face it, who would want to be there? At the wedding of someone who’s hurt you and your family so much and so recently nonetheless?
Oh great...a fight at a wedding...now they can leave! Thank god!
Look at Lucien being so very attentive and taking Jean’s hand and asking her to be careful because there’s glass all over the floor
OMG Edward’s dead! I didn’t expect that!
In the meantime Lucien’s aunt has a favour to ask, but he doesn’t seem very inclined to help her found her niece...”I’m dying”, she says and Lucien’s face speaks for him...he cannot refuse her, can he now? Because he can be reckless, but he has a heart of gold.
Wow there’s a flash back! I love this! Aww Lucien, poor boy...“that’s enough” my heart is broken
Great now, he’s obviously going to the crime scene even though he’s not the police surgeon, anymore. Do we care about it? No, because let’s face it he’s the one who will solve the case!
Hahahah the famous Dr. Wallace...well, Lucien was right what an incompetent ! Matthew’s face, though when he asks about the cause of death...
Searching in a fountain full of blood...typical Lucien!
Dr Wallace and Alice at the morgue. She is behaving just like we would expect her to do with Dr Blake but the new police surgeon calls her “Miss Harvey” ...how dare he! .... “it’s Dr Harvey”...I love this woman!
Patrick asking Lucien for help and discussing his son’s murder was bittersweet...I couldn’t understand his character at first, now I’ve come to appreciate him.
Matthew defending Alice so fiercely and giving apiece of his mind to Dr Wallace...great scene!
In the kitchen Jean and Rose are talking about her children and the wedding... I want to give Jean a big hug, right now!
Aww look at the lovebirds planning to go to Melbourne for wedding shopping ...I can hardly wait!
Lucien is so sweet...he wants to stay at the bridal shop with her...“it’s bad luck” and we wouldn’t want anything to happen before the wedding... thank you very much! Now Lucien go!
The shop assistant referring to Jean as “The mother of the bride”...what?! thank your lucky stars that Lucien is not there to hear you!
Ohhh look who’s back! Danny! (can he call the Doc “uncle Lucien” just once? please!)
Jean chastising Lucien for not having checked Catherine’s address...she knows how to get his attention, though and I had the time of my life!
Wherever he goes he finds a dead body and he almost breaks his neck in the process..obviously!
Lucien being reinstated as police surgeon..that was Patrick’s doing, wasn’t it?
Patrick and Jean talking in the sunroom...I enjoy their conversations. He thinks so very highly of her and of Lucien, too probably (even if he doesn’t want to admit it) “you deserve to be happy!” My heart!..... “we need these triumphs”...yes Patrick, thank you for saying it! We do! They’ve waited for so long!
So now after the rather unpleasant chat at the pub with the father of the bride he’s being followed...that was scary, eh?
What?! Another dead body? Mr Dunne and it cannot be Patrick’s fault...ohh poor Cec, he’s in shock!
And now Patrick is in jail..what an annoying lawyer and Bill has definitely improved his skills..not only his fists for once!
Lucien pleading Patrick to rest and talk to his wife (Lucien is definitely getting better at this...I hope he’ll do the same with Jean) ohh Patrick the dialogue “sooner or later we all just become our fathers”, the look on Lucien’s face...goosebumps!
And Lucien going home and taking that clock from the chest...I love these flash backs, even though they are so heartbreaking (probably that’s why I like them)...poor little boy! He wasn’t even allowed a last hug to his father...how awful is that?! And later at the Colonists’ Club with aunt Dorothy talking about his father’s past and how their family had disapproved of Genevieve and later how they tried to make amends, but the betrayal was already too much for Thomas...
Lucien’s insecurities come to the surface, finally in his brief exchange with Matthew...“what if I don’t deserve her?”. He’s definitely putting her first, her needs, her dreams, her desires, what if he isn’t capable of being what/whom she deserves? She is the most important thing to him, now and he wants to be the right man for her. As Matthew reminds him, that man she deserves is something he already is, the best version of Lucien Blake. She doesn’t want him to be something he is not, but he owes it to her... to be the best version of himself.
Seeing Patrick in that car and Lucien’s reaction to his death was too much and his struggle in wanting to find someone responsible for his death, because he can’t accept that “sometimes people just die”...but in the end he has to come to terms also to this and it’s so very difficult.
He ends up talking with Jean because she’s always listened to him, even when he was the “ghost” of the man he is now and he knows that there’s no one else he could go to and tells her how he met Patrick, his first impression of him. And both have tears in their eyes, and he knows what he is about to ask, “Jean, my darling....I think we may have to postpone the wedding”, but she insists on Patrick’s last words to her and despite what they are both feeling they decide to go on with their wedding plans.
And now are they discussing their sleeping arrangements with Rose? The bedrooms are small? Yeah...we all get that!
Ohh Lucien your Jean is really a true marvel, she helps with both cases in the end...so smart!
There’s something about this scene of Lucien and Jean in front of the fireplace that really makes it a marvel to watch. I don’t know what it is, the lights, the acting, the writing...probably everything. These bits of their pasts they reveal to one another are precious moments...here Lucien trusts Jean so much that he isn’t afraid of telling her about his engagement and subsequent marriage with Mei Lin, and clearly he’s admitting to her that in the end he made the same choices his father did. He married a “foreign girl” in spite of his family and naturally, when faced with that, at the time, they both said things to one another they could not get back. But then he finds and reads Thomas’ letter to him, a letter he sent back, like all the others his father sent...well I couldn’t stop crying here and that line in which he said that he hoped his son would find someone who loved him “...regardless of what happened next”. A line in which Thomas uses more or less the same words Lucien himself spoke to Jean in season 3...I just can’t. And confessing that he had hated his father for a very long time and his fear of becoming like him...but that coming back to Ballarat was probably the best thing ever happened to him!
I could have never imagined Roslyn to be the murderer, but what really struck me was Lucien’s speech once again. Telling her how the only thing she had ever wanted was her father’s love and to hear him say he was sorry (the same things Lucien wanted from his father, and that in the end were the thing Thomas wrote to him, but that he never got the chance to know...until he read that letter the night before).
And then...well...when one thinks she’s ready to see the wedding....I mean...we’ve waited for so long!
I’VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING MORE BEAUTIFUL IN MY LIFE! Jean is radiant and so stunning! I’m so glad she’s wearing a white dress! I love it and she looks lovely in it!
The way his voice falters when he says his vows, Jean’s certainty when she speaks hers, the kiss... and then Doctor and Mrs. Blake are dancing together and he kisses her on the cheek and that wedding band his sparkling so much...
And then you think you’ve already cried enough, but nooooooo they come back 4 months later (4 months? What kind of honeymoon was that exactly?!) and he opens the car door and you think it’s sweet, but then ohh then he just says “Mrs Blake” and you start sobbing once again.
And then she is popping the kettle on, but he can’t keep his hands (or lips) to himself and they’re kissing again and you are just there grinning like a fool. Matthew Lawson has just been promoted to “the new telephone” and really they can’t even have 5 minutes to themselves because obviously as soon as they set foot on Australian soil, someone drops dead...but the end ohhh the end...he comes back and has to kiss her again and then “I love you” and I’m just sobbing again...forever!
The last thing I have to say before I let you go is that I’m so thankful for all of you and I want to thank you all for your support, for having “travelled” with me until now and for the best welcome I’ve ever had.
Now I can really really say it, “The Doctor Blake Mysteries” has the best writing, the best acting and setting I’ve ever seen!
#the doctor blake mysteries#tdbm#family portrait#spoilers#jean and lucien#lucien x jean#jean blake (now I can say it!)finally#lucien blake#my otp for ever#the wedding#all the feels#this fandom is wonderful#thank you guys#i will go down with this ship#happily ever after#this show is everything
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How do you like NaNo so far?
Okay tea! It’s going okay! Honestly, it’s not going as well as I expected but also going... better than I expected (simultaneously lol)!
I’ve been tracking a LOT of things, so on my MyWriteClub, I track if I’ve written that day (I’ve written 12/19 days of the month so far), and I’ve also been tracking on NaNoWriMo’s website (I’ve written just over 4300 words this month). This is a pretty solid streak, and I’ve definitely been writing WAY more often than I usually do, and enjoying it WAY more because of where I’m at in the book.
Y’all, I gotta say it... I love Feeding Habits. I’ve got a huge, huge problem with writing a book, loving it, then feeling embarrassed by it after a few weeks of finishing it, and with Feeding Habits, I’ve been extra hard on it. It’s not that I feel embarrassed by it like I do Moth Work (this is a whole other issue), it’s just been two moods: grueling to write, or magnificent. Most of the time, it’s been grueling, and I have a really hard time not enjoying drafting because it’s my favourite thing about writing and so that affects my mental health, etc, etc. So when I, in this moment, am saying I love Feeding Habits, I just want myself to fully, 100% feel this way, because I know, with the last few books I’ve written, it doesn’t last (not to be pessimistic, but to be grateful for where I am).
NaNo is actually not all that different to me usually writing proces. I actually always think about writing every day, it’s just about 1/7 days a week I may actually do it, more if I’m in a good patch. I can’t give NaNo full credit for my productivity, however. I am in a really great place in Feeding Habits right now, and NaNo occurred right at the start of that, so it was really coincidence and timing that I’m currently doing okay in the book, and therefore, able to produce. I’ve mentioned that I just can’t write when I’m mentally unwell, and that not writing furthers that mental unwellness and so I’m really, really happy with how this month is going with writing right now. I don’t feel heavy, I feel I’ve written a lot of great (and very gay <3) stuff, and I’m so pleased.
I am only tracking NaNo progress for Feeding Habits specifically because I wanted to put more attention on it, and I definitely think it has been successful in that regard! I’ve been doing tons of other writing though, either for classes, or personal stuff (do not ask me how submitting a poem at 11:59pm on the day of the deadline went hahaha), so I feel like I’m... thriving??
Excerpts from Feeding Habits stuff I’ve been working on recently under the cut!
This is the boys’ first ever conversation in months and in the book:
A canoe-rental kiosk ruching the Hudson River. Harrison pays for a two-hour time slot with the last of his savings and lugs it to the shoreline by himself. It is nearly midnight, the sky clogged with fog and moonlight.
Lonan will not enter the water. Back near the kiosk, he fiddles with a beachstone, bathing in tungsten from the streetlamp above him. He gave no reason for his rejection, just picked stones as they walked along the boardwalk, through the parking lot, to the kiosk. As if he’d polish them, feed them through a rock tumbler as if he has patience for that, tend to them like infants, shape, polish, burnish, sell them for thirty dollars a piece and donate the money, as if has the mind to.
Harrison shifts the canoe perpendicular to the water and steps in. The boat cranks under his weight, its coldness seeping through his jeans.
Lonan stoops for more stones. His knees luminescing in white sand. His hair oilslick, cropped to his scalp like blunt grass. His fingers arrowing through sand, a raven filching seed. He unearths the stones with urgency, a paleontologist, a gravedigger.
“You’ll never make a sale on those,” Harrison shouts from the canoe. His voice splinters the night and puffs with the sand.
Lonan nearly drops his handful of stones. It takes him a moment to look up, and when he does, he searches the treeline first, the windows of a parked SUV, the gaps between a thicket of lifejackets before reaching Harrison, and he’s so deerlike, Harrison thinks, he’s so limp, so feeble, so susceptible. His hair jutting briefly from his scalp like an accordion, badly cut probably because Eliza likes it that way. His skin nearly lilac in places, a gauntness in his face, a hunger.
“My mother tells me you like her cooking,” he continues. “That you’re here for your sister. That you’re here alone.”
Lonan reaches for another stone.
“Eliza wants you to look like a deacon.” Harrison frills a hand toward his hair, snaps his fingers like scissors. “So holy. I could ordain you right now. Make you born-again. There’s so much water.”
“I don’t swim,” Lonan says. He reaches for another stone, then another so his palms turn into one.
“You don’t? You’re a land mammal. Rhinoceros. Hippopotamus. Is it the stones? You’re afraid they’ll sink you?”
CANOE SHENANIGANS (#BOYSINABOAT):
Harrison shuffles forward until their knees touch. He reaches. He makes contact. He touches his skin. He touches his ear. He touches cheek. He touches eyes, fingerprints his irises, wrings the tears from his eyelashes, pulls his face by the jaw, cradling his land mammal. He is crying. They should both cry. They are both crying. Their own lake puddling in Harrison’s palm. Theirs as Harrison dips his free hand into the water. Theirs as he hushes Lonan’s writhing. Theirs as he christens him, the water gorging his eyes, his nose, his mouth. Theirs as he promises it will be okay. Theirs as he says he will get to know this stranger. Theirs as they promise to both regrow. Theirs as Harrison jerks the canoe. Theirs as they capsize. Theirs as they reunite in fizzing tide, caught in the river, both animals trapped in amber.
Some context for this next excerpt: Lonan and Harrison get into shenanigans the night before, Harrison ~robs Lonan, abandons him, and yeets himself to the barn mentioned in chapter six where he falls asleep for the night. Here, he wakes up at dawn and is coming up with an excuse to explain why he’s there early to the homeowners. He decides, since they hired him to fix up their barn, he’ll just say he was trying to be a good worker:
Harrison fixes himself in the reflection of an overturned wheelbarrow, its silver belly clouded with rust. He exists the barn dry, well-rested, a richer, more fashionable man.
Before he even finishes ascending the veranda of the Harvey house, Sharleen opens the door. Her white hair is pearled into a bun. She wears a paisley patterned apron, chartreuse.
“Raspberry danishes,” Harrison says. “All I wanted was to bring you some fresh raspberry danishes, but all the bakeries were closed.”
Sharleen rolls up her sleeves. Her hands are caked with flour and fat.
“I considered tulips, but realized I’ve never asked for your favourite flower. Is it tulips? Hydrangeas? Chrysanthemums?”
Sharleen juts open the screen door and holds it open for him. He enters the foyer, and it smells like cinnamon, like sugar.
“I’ve heard marigolds are helpful for warding off squirrels,” he says, taking the hand she offers for his jacket. Sharleen doesn’t jump when he runs his finger across her wedding band and pecks her knuckles with his mouth. She doesn’t even speak. “Is that true?” as they usher toward the kitchen. “Pretty and purposeful. Sounds fake.”
Sharleen dusts her hands on her apron and jars open the kitchen door.
“Could be a double whammy. Or a scam. Or an old wives’ tale,” Harrison says as they walk into the kitchen, so occupied with the marigolds he does not notice when Sharleen returns to the stove to flip a pancake, so occupied, when he turns to the kitchen table, expecting only Harvey but seeing Lonan, all he says is, “Sounds too good to be true.”
The embarrassing aftermath of that lmfao :)
Harrison eats his pancakes on the porch. The Harveys’ dog joins him, a golden retriever named Leila. He cuts her a rift of cake and slots it into her mouth when she whines. One bite for him, another for Leila. Him, Leila, him, Leila. The good news is since he fixed their coffee machine, he now drinks drip.
It does not take long for Lonan to follow him outside. Harrison’s known this was inevitable and has dreaded the last five minutes because of it. He slits another triangle of pancake and feeds it to the dog.
It’s too cold to be out without a jacket. Wind nips Harrison’s ears and icicles his fingertips. Lonan’s shirt, the pale blue button-up he nabbed knowing he’d have cash, brays under the breeze, barely denser than a tissue.
So, after Harrison knocks them into the water (lol), this happens. My favourite description of Lonan: grass, and speck. (TW murder-y??):
“Pull me under,” Lonan said, spitting water, his voice grating under pressure. He trembled, his limbs his betrayal, tremoloing in the waves.
And Harrison did. Dousing him by the shoulders and holding him under so only he floated in the miniscule gap of air, Lonan a sunken, thrashing speck. It was thrilling, holding a body in his hands, determining its fate. And equally as thrilling to hold it as he lulled Lonan back up and over his shoulder where he deflated, gasping. At first Lonan coughed, once twice, heaving saltwater and saliva. But then a birdlike sound, compact but jittering, the wisp of a laugh, and Harrison couldn’t help but wonder if he was thrilled, too
“Do you feel accomplished, Harrison?” Lonan asked, his teeth prattling like an accordion. His hand trailed up the tail of his jacket, scrawling along the soaked leather. Lonan shifted, his body dead weight nearly drowned. And there was the sound again, chirping, “You’re not the first person who’s tried to kill me this year. Congratulations.”
So the tea is that Harrison robs Lonan by swapping shirts with him (tea tea tea), so here’s that scene where they re-swap and Harrison pesters Lonan about not marrying Eliza:
“Why won’t you marry her?” Harrison asks. “You could have children. A honeymoon.”
Lonan stuffs his free hand into his pocket. His breath fogs with every exhale, his nose pinkish with cold. Harrison doesn’t feel any of it, the breath, the cold, his hands. He doesn’t move to button up his flannel. He doesn’t want to move.
“You’re going back to her. You’re here to check on Reeve, and then you’re going back. To get married. To have children. To honeymoon forever.”
Lonan’s hair is awful. Spoking from his scalp like a raven’s wings, some sections ragged, uneven. Not a haircut, but punishment.
“You’re perfect,” Harrison says. He should being shivering, be freezing, but he feels nothing. “Why can’t you say you’re perfect?”
Lonan moves first. They could reabsorb. Go back to blue. But he only reaches for the flannel with his free hand and drapes it around Harrison’s shoulders. Arm by arm, slotting them through the sleeves. Button by button, securing it up his abdomen, his chest, right up to his throat. If Harrison looks closely, one of his eyes is rimmed with scarlet, like a vessel there popped, and a pool of lilac simmers, almost undetectable, across his temple.
“You could’ve married her,” Harrison says. His voice has dropped to a whisper. Lonan swings his jacket around his shoulders, securing his arms through each loop of leather, one, two. Zipping so his exposed skin may rewarm.
“I need to take you home,” Lonan says. Lonan with the broken eye. Lonan with the blackberry skin. Lonan with the teeth-shorn shirt. Lonan with the mowed hair. Lonan with the burned palms. Lonan with the wedding ring that was never really a wedding ring. Lonan who looks as if he’s always prepared to blink, just in case something comes out to get him.
(lonan’s dialogue IS SO SOFT gay PINING said WHOMST i did i am whomst)
god i want to share more but I need to save stuff for the writing update, here’s one MORE THEN I AM GONE:
Harrison sleeps in the car on his way back and doesn’t wake until the next day. In that time, Suzanna slots takeout boxes through the unrolled window, three full meals: sweet corn and tomato fusilli, beef stifado, meatless cassoulet. What she doesn’t know is they sit, untouched, under the passenger’s seat, not because Lonan is averted by her cooking, but because he’s saving them to share, just in case. She brings a vacuum sealed bag of extra comforters the first evening when flurries dot the windshield, Harrison is swathed in them all by the time the snow reaches half an inch. One lined with Sherpa closest to his skin when he stirs, the bulbs of fabric like cottage cheese. In the time he’s in the car he dreams. Of driving into the ocean. Of haircuts. Marriage.
OK BYE
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Welcome to the Family
I’ve finished writing this installment offically and eeepppp, I’m excited :) I also figured out where I want to go with this, starting to feel like that each installment is getting pretty formulaic and that another thing I’m excited about. I love Jason and I love setting Halley up during his Robin years BUT I also miss writing Tim and Damian like in my Mother’s Day 3-parter sooooo I’ve made a plan and can’t wait to start writing and posting it!
Also I’ve never done any requests or stuff like that before, but if there was anything you guys wanted to see happen in this don’t be afraid to ask!
You’re Taking Up a Fraction of My Mind pt.5
Jason was hell-bent on proving himself to Dick; he was going to make that prick eat his words and admit that he was wrong about him by the end of the night. He knew what he was doing and wasn’t just some dumb knock-off version of him. Too prove he knew how to get a handle of situations like these, he decided on going with a full frontal assault, landing onto the roof of the bank and rolling safely into a standing position. He saw the sky light, walking to the edge of where the cement roof met the glass and looked in.
Two-Face stood off directing his goons on where to go, watching as they raided the bank. Goons walked towards the back of the lobby, most likely making their way to the vaults. Robin noted how the alarms weren’t going off already being disabled. He knew that Gordon would probably be sending units this way regardless being tipped off and Batman saying he’d deal with it; someone had to clean up their mess once they were done doing the cop’s jobs. This whole thing started to give Robin a strange feeling. It was too easy almost. Why would Two-Face tip them off like this? He shrugged it off, preparing himself to break through the glass-
“Are you stupid?” Nightwing gapped at him, pulling him back by his cape. “Going in alone? Ahead of me? All of them are armed, you’d be gunned down the moment you touched the floor. What were you thinking?” Nightwing let him go, pretty sure he wouldn’t try anything now. He pointed to the ledge of the roof. “We climb down, enter from a window a floor above them and sneak ourselves in, take them by surprise, hopefully not all at once.”
Nightwing didn’t give him a second to fight him on the plan, shoving him away from the sky light and towards the ledge, out of sight; if any of them below looked up they would’ve clearly seen Robin’s silhouette. Nightwing rolled his eyes as Robin huffed. The boy relented as he followed Nightwing down the building, landing on the fire escape a floor down. Nightwing was able to shimmy the window up with a tool from his belt and slowly lifted it, letting Robin go in first. He slipped in behind him, gently closing the window once his body was inside the office room.
He took a few steps to get in front of him, moving in the shadows as they crept out of the room and into the hallway. They exited the hallway and were met with a balcony where you could see the lobby area of the bank down below. A man who appeared to be keeping watch of bellow stood a little ways away from them, still oblivious to the two intruders. Nightwing put a finger over his lips, silently telling Robin to stay silent and still as he moved forward.
On the balls of his heels he crept in the shadows behind the man. When he was behind him, he reached a hand up to cover his mouth, the other arm wrapped around his neck, cutting off his airways. He backed them up away from the railing and back into the shadows of the hallway. Once he was sure the man was out like a light but still breathing, Nightwing carefully laid him to rest against the wall. He grabbed his gun and quickly took it apart so it’d be unusable.
He motioned with his hand for Robin to follow him now, speaking softly, “We take the stairs to the vault, take out the ones inside there first, then go to the lobby for the rest.” He signaled to the stairwell that led down to the vaults.
Robin for once nodded, not talking back or doing his own thing first, following Nightwing as they carefully crept down below. He wanted to protest, but he had no other plan ready to pitch and he was prime in bitterness about the roof. He felt his chest tighten when he followed Nightwing into the next hallway where there had been the stairs to get the vaults; he really hated taking orders from him.
“Hello boys,” Nightwing smirked when they reached the bottom of the stairs and away from the lobby above. He smirked when the henchman noticed them and jumped. Where all henchman so stupid? Yes, yes they were, Nightwing chuckled to himself, “Let’s dance,” He quipped, causing Robin to pretend to barf.
Nightwing took the lead, taking his escrima sticks out, letting electricity crackle out from the tips. Jumping in he began his attack, using his weapon to smack against the back of a man’s neck while the other jabbed into another’s stomach. He moved fast, ducking and dodging bullets that flew at him, kicking guns out of hands and swiftly taking out his own set of thugs. He didn’t rely too much on gadgets, using his speed and agility to take down his opponents.
In the middle of the fight he looked up to check on Robin. He was faring just as well, not as fast as Nightwing but his hits were more brutish, the impact of his fists causing the man he knocked down to spit out a tooth. When the enemy appeared to start to get the jump on him, he’d reach to his utility belt, pulling smoke pellets, slamming them down onto the floor, covering his area of the room in smoke. This gave him the advantage, continuing to let him punch out the men coming after him.
The boys breathe in heavily once the room was filled with either unconscious or groaning men, the smoke clearing. “They’re not getting up anytime soon,” Robin smirked, fixing his glove.
“Yeah,” Nightwing jeered, noting what Bruce meant about Jason’s fighting being rough.
“What did I do now?” Jason could sense the sneer in Dick’s tone, placing his hands on his hips in annoyance. “Seriously, there’s no pleasing you is there?”
“Don’t you think this is a little overkill?” Nightwing motioned to the men surrounding Jason on the floor. He looked to Jason before making his way towards the stairs, knowing that the gunshots must’ve already alerted everyone on the main floor.
“I really don’t know why you guys harp so hard on going easy on them. They’re the bad guys.” Jason glared at the back of Dick’s head as he followed.
“They are the bad guys,” Dick nodded in agreement but his voice was softer as he waited to jump back into action. “But we’re the good guys, so you should start acting like it.”
With that Dick jumped into the room, cartwheeling right into his first goon of the room. He easily ripped the gun out of his hand, slapping the bag filled with money away as well. He kicked the man away moving to the next. He could hear Harvey shouting for his men to kill the two vigilante’s while he began to make his way to the door, grabbing whatever bags filled with cash he could hold. He looked surprised to see them. He bellowed for his men not already engaged in the fight, ordering them to grab whatever they could and get to the vans but he stopped when he saw flashing blue and red lights flashing from outside the tall glass windows and door of the bank.
Robin saw this and ran past Nightwing determined to prevent Two-Face from escaping. He took out anyone who stood in his way, bashing in kneecaps and smashing fists into faces. He mowed them down, feeling adrenaline pumping through his veins as he got closer and closer to Two-Face. Taking out a batarang, he threw it, aiming and hitting his target. Two-Face was forced to drop the bag of cash in his hand as the blade of the batarang grazed his hand. He whipped his head around to look at the Robin, both of his faces enraged.
“Ew, you’re as ugly in person as I thought.” Robin mocked disgust, having never had the pleasure of meeting Harvey Dent yet. “And, I gotta say, this plan was pretty lame; I thought you’d be somewhat smarter. You literally told us where you were going to be. It’s like you wanted to go back to Arkham.”
“What are you talking about kid?” Two-Face sneered, pointing his gun out to aim at him.
“The envelope you sent to the police station? You wrote the addresses of where you were going to be. Are you so stupid that you already forgot?” Robin laughed, leaping into the air to avoid the bullet Two-Face sent his way. “Hey, don’t be salty, it’s your own fault you got caught!” He taunted, enjoying the frustrated look on the villain’s face as he rolled out of the way of another shot.
Harvey yelled out as the kid kept dodging his shots, switching over to his machine gun that rested on a strap around his torso, opening fire. Where did Batman get all these kid’s from? He had no idea what the kid was talking about, “I don’t know what you’re talking about kid,”
Robin puffed, nearly getting hit this time but jumped behind a counter at the last second. Two-Face’s voice was thick with aggravation as he grunted, hearing his gun click. Empty, he hissed, quickly reaching for his suit for a reload. Robin peeked his head over the counter, hearing his hesitation. He took the chance to jump out from his hiding place just as Nightwing finished taking down the last of the goons. Nightwing saw his mistake before Robin did and wasn’t all that surprised. The boy just kept proving that he was impulsive. He didn’t even bother trying to call out for him to stop instead raced to get to the pair as Robin reached Two-Face.
Robin kicked the machine gun out of his grasp, the force making him falter and hit the ground. As he was down Robin socked him right in the jaw when his feet touched the ground. Two-Face didn’t stay down for long, pushing himself up, recovering quickly as he pulled a second pistol he had concealed inside his coat pocket. He brought it up to jab into the underside of Robin’s chin, cocking it to let him know he would shot if he moved or try anything. Robin raised his hands up to signal that he wouldn’t, the metal cold against his skin.
Dent pulled him to his chest, so that they both face Nightwing, the gun now digging into the side of Robin’s head. Nightwing dropped his escrima’s knowing not to test Two-Face. He still remembered one of his first encounters with the villain as Robin. He’d been captured and beaten near to death; Two-Face was unhinged and had no problem hurting kids, especially Batman’s.
“Now, Nightwing, you’re going to let me walk out of here,” He said, saying his name like it was a joke. He had a no-nonsense tone to his voice as he continued, “Or else I’ll shoot the kid.” He started to back away, making Robin fall back with him.
Robin opened his mouth to talk, already seeing the look Nightwing shot him to shut the hell up. This kid was a real piece of work, Nightwing noted, his mind rushing to think of a way out of this situation that didn’t end with Robin with a bullet hole in his skull. What he didn’t know was that Robin already had a way out and his mouth was needed for it to work. He had a look of exasperation on his face as he let out a huff.
“You know, taking me as a hostage is probably the only good idea you’ve had all night-,”
“Kid, I will shoot you.” Dent hissed, knowing Robins were known for their mouths.
“Oh, no, I know you will.” Robin nodded, “But I really don’t think that’s a good idea and I swear I’m not saying that to just save my neck.” He continued not biting his tongue. “I just don’t think Batman would try anything funny if you had a hostage, me especially, I’m kinda his favorite now.” He eyed Dick as he let the dig slip out. Feeling spiteful at Dick’s unimpressed and clueless face, another lightbulb lit in his head. “Ha! I’m also the second Robin, and don’t you have some sort of 2 fetish?” Robin moved his taunts back to his captor, feeling the grip the man had on him tightening in anger.
“You little shi-,” Two-Face started but didn’t get to finish.
Robin moved quick, using the distracted state against him and heaving him up and over his shoulders. He let out a breath as he flipped him up and onto the floor. Kneeling down in one swift movement to hold down the hand with the pistol and dealing him a hard punch in the face, rendering him unconscious. He throw the gun aside, rubbing his hands together as he saw Two-Face out cold.
He felt pumped by his take down, almost jumping in place from excitement. He single handedly took down Two-Face, if Batman had only seen that. His self-celebration was cut short as he heard heavy footsteps approaching. It was Nightwing of course and he didn’t look pleased. Please, he’s just jealous he didn’t get to punch Two-Face in the face, Jason smirked, as he got closer.
“That was incredibly stupid.” Nightwing said, kneeling down to make sure Two-Face was really out. When he was pleased that he was he stood back up, towering over the boy. “What if he pulled the trigger while you were taking him down?”
“Then we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” Robin laughed, rolling his eyes as Nightwing made a fussy face.
“That trick might’ve worked on him, but it wouldn’t work on someone like the Bane or Joker, hell, you’re lucky that it even worked on Dent.” Nightwing chastised, as the doors of the bank were flung open, revealing the GCPD; of course they show up once the fighting’s done. Nightwing rolled his eyes, leading Robin out of the building as the cops began handcuffing those inside. “That was pure luck nothing else. Don’t let it get to your head.”
Robin rolled his own eyes again, sick of Dick’s nagging. Once they were outside they noticed Batman arriving as well, going to talk to Gordon who also just showed up. The pair made their way to the two, seeing Gordon moving away to take a phone call. Batman saw the two boys approaching, giving them a curt nod, silently telling them good work.
“Dammit,” Gordon’s voice took their attention. He quickly hung up the phone, shooting Batman a pissed off look. “There’s been an incident at Arkham, Harley broke Joker out.”
Batman’s eyes narrowed at the news, turning to look at the bank. Harvey was being dragged out by officers. He looked back to Gordon before looking to Nightwing. Robin bit his lip, feeling rage take over him. Harvey’s words echoing in his head. He hadn’t sent the envelope to the police and Batman; he’s been set up and they played into it. The Joker must’ve somehow found out about the robbery. He did have his goons set up all over the place, he probably had Harley set some up inside Batman’s Rogue’s ranks.
Jason wanted to groan, realizing what that would mean. He looked at Dick, as he and Batman began to discuss with Gordon how best to track the Joker down. He had said it first, back at the police station. Dick was right, the Joker did in fact send the envelope.
#Jason Todd#jason todd fanfiction#jason todd x oc#jason todd x reader#jason todd imagine#jason todd as robin#dick grayson#dick grayson x oc#dick grayson x reader#dick grayson x sister!reader#Dick Grayson x batsis#nightwing#nightwing fanfic#nightwing x reader#dickjay#batman fanfiction#bruce wayne x reader#dc comics fanfic
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Capratone, The Asteroids & The Metronoids (for Beginners)
Tracks & Traces #13: I’ve been planning to write about the music of Capratone, The Asteroids and The Metronoids for sometime and have finally gotten around to it (somehow its been almost 3 years since the last T&T). The link between these bands is Andrew Lyster (now living in Brussels) and as I will explain, he kindly answered some of my questions for this hybrid Tracks & Traces. Since originally publishing this piece Richie Kelly of Capratone has also similarly added valuable information I would never have been able to share otherwise. Usually I just depend on my memory, the records, press cuttings and any surviving notes I took from the times but as I got deeper into the story there were too many question marks about line-ups (pre-Capratone), the issue of a possible ‘lost’ Capratone album and don’t even get me started about The Metronoids! At time of writing most of this music is hard if not impossible to find streaming online and I couldn’t even locate any band photos or videos either. Which is all the more reason to write a piece to mark their existence and hopefully spark a revival of interest. When I was putting the finishing touches to the article I did discover there is now at least some music from The Asteroids on YouTube. Not long after I originally shared this piece, Joss Moorkens of Capratone sent me two band photos, the first line-up (L-R: Fiachra, Joss, Andrew) and as a four piece with Richie Kelly (below).
I first saw Andrew Lyster play (vocals/guitar) when I caught The World of Pugh in a venue I only went to once, Dillinger’s. Like many things from those days it’s long gone but it was a bar with a small stage (up some stairs?) somewhere off Dublin’s Capel St. (18/3/94). As I totally forgot who was in the rest of the band I’ll let Andrew take up the story.
“The World of Pugh was the first group where I wrote songs. I think it started around 1993. Originally it was Keith Swan on drums and a fellow called Brian McEleney on bass. Then in 1994 I brought some songs in and Brian took off to be replaced by Niall Brown (who was also the singer and guitar player for The Moustaches). Niall played bass for World of Pugh in the form where we had songs and did gigs.”
I’m sure someone like Joss Moorkens (then drumming with Tucker Suite) had told me about TWOP and the name had struck me (there was a very cool hand drawn flyer for the gig). They played bottom of the bill with Tucker Suite, Budge and Schroeder’s Cat, all part of a very exciting little scene at the time. Less than two weeks later I happened to see TWOP again on a bill with The Moustaches at a house party on Middle Abbey Street. The Moustaches, who sadly never released anything, were also part of this same scene (in my mind anyway). As I recall, this latter show was on the second or third floor of a semi derelict space in which a friend of both bands was living as a caretaker. Andrew has now told me that he and Keith Swan actually lived there and it was where TWOP rehearsed. I remember sitting on an old mattress and really enjoying the atmosphere (a cymbal was tied to a rafter). I do remember that TWOP had a real sense of humour on stage with some crowd involvement going on. They never had any releases but might well have recorded something (I’ve also heard tell of an unreleased album by The Moustaches!). This would be the last time I saw them play, perhaps it was even their last show? It would be another year before I would see Andrew onstage again.
While researching this piece I did find an Irish band family tree which shows that Andrew, Joss, Fiachra Lennon and Brian Gough were in a band called Mudshark (1991-92), which was not actually their first band. Again, Andrew gave me some more information which I thought was worth sharing and clarifying about these early days.
“Brian Gough (later in Mexican Pets) had been in an even earlier band than Mudshark with me called The Foots. This band only played one gig in a pub in Dun Laoghaire in 1991. Our friends had to listen to the music from the street because they were too young to get in. After The Foots broke up I think Brian went on to another group called Harvey, and then Tucker Suite with Greg Barrett (later in Joan of Arse) on bass initially. Greg then did Schnorbitz with Joss, and had a cool band called Giraffe Running.”
Andrew’s next band would be Capratone (vocals/guitar) along with Joss on Drums and Fiachra on bass. Regarding song-writing Andrew told me, “For the most part I would write the songs and we would try to make them better by all writing our own parts through rehearsals. One or two were group written from stuff that happened in rehearsal.” I first saw them in another venue off Capel St. supporting Schroeder’s Cat at Behan’s Bar (previously The Fox & Pheasant) (3/4/95) and again just ten days later at The Plough with (surprise surprise) The Moustaches and Schroeder’s Cat. I would get to see this line-up play quite often on local bills until Sept ‘97 (more on this later). I recall they also played a short tour around Ireland with US band The Make-Up (April ‘97).
In early ‘96 they tried to record an album with producer Marc Carolan. Andrew told me it was to be called, “Le Plus Roll, because we felt our music was more Roll than Rock. I can’t pin down the exact date of the recording, but my guess is that it was in 1996. We had 2 days in a studio somewhere in Rathgar. It was a 24 track ADAT studio. I think it had a Soundcraft desk. The highlight equipment-wise was an incredible Ampeg bass stack that belonged to some professional band. Its sound was so authoritative and great that by the end of the long first day’s recording, when I had crawled into bed, I was woken up a couple of times by LOUD auditory hallucinations of Fiachra’s P Bass blasting through that thing. Marc, and the three of us all worked really hard for the two days, we did manage to record and mix all the songs we came in with, but I think the short time-frame worked against us capturing the right aesthetic. The means of production were expensive to rent and we couldn’t afford to record even in a project studio like that for more than a day or two.”
Luckily, one of the songs, ‘Homeward’, ended up on the Irish band compilation album, Zip Up Your Boots For The Showbands (1996). I always loved this intricate and explosive song and a whole album like this would have been quite something. The only place online you can hear it now is on a radio show I made for Dublin Digital Radio about bands that played in Dublin’s Attic venue. I must point out the musicianship of Capratone, it may not have been so obvious in the more noisy Tucker Suite but Joss was such an amazing and distinct drummer and both Fiachra and he so easily locked together. They created a lot of space for Andrew’s vocals and guitar for these catchy and very inventive songs to really flow.
At some point in late 1996 Richie Kelly joined (on right in pic) on guitar and they played as a four piece. At some other point Andrew left but as the band continued things must have been going really well musically. According to my notes the last two times I saw Capratone play was at the start of September ‘97, supporting The Sewing Room and Luggage at Dublin’s Mean Fiddler and then a headline show in The Funnel venue at the end of the same month. This doesn’t mean they stopped playing of course but for whatever reasons I didn’t see them again. Things don’t stay static, I did get really into electronic dance music and clubbing the following year but continued to see guitar bands as well but gigs would clash, allegiances, circumstances and tastes change, choices have to be made.
At some point this second line-up hooked up with Dublin label Folkrum Records (run by Dan Watson) and they recorded a mini album, The Art of Go, which was released in early 2000 (CD only) and produced by Simon Kenny aka Si Schroeder. At that stage Joss and Fiachra were still in the line-up with Richie and Eric Sexton (on guitar). I wasn’t sure if any of Andrew’s songs survived after his time with the band (on the Capratone page of the old Folkrum website he only gets thanked for the name) so I needed to ask him about it, “I didn’t write anything on the LP called The Art of Go. There was a strange overlapping series of line-ups in Capratone but when I left I think Richie Kelly (who was a recently arrived guitar player joining the original 3 piece) took on the song-writing job. As far as I know those Art Of Go tunes were all of his making. Richie went on to make a few attempts at recording subsequent line-ups of Capratone.” According to Joss’ short biog of the band on Last.fm, by the end of Capratone the line-up had changed completely from the original one.
Since I published this piece Richie Kelly has been in touch and has kindly provided more detail about joining the band and how his role and the line-up evolved. “I saw Capratone in 1996 and was blown away. Even before the show ended, I wanted to join but that seemed unlikely. It turned out that Andrew’s song-writing was taking a new direction and he had decided to add a second guitarist. We were connected through an extended friend group and apparently word had gotten to him that I was as enamoured with The Beach Boys as he was. We bumped into each other and started talking music and I must have auditioned and joined the band shortly thereafter. At some point I brought a song to the band and we added it to our set (with my vocals). I started contributing more so when Andrew decided to stop playing, we just continued. We added Eric Sexton, a friend and former bandmate. The Art of Go was recorded by Simon Kenny with basic tracking done over a weekend at a large room in Joss’ father’s business. Simon and I continued vocals and overdubs at his flat in Donnybrook.”
Surprisingly none of this music has made it onto YouTube or anywhere else online that I could find. It can be bought on Discogs, which is how I got my hands on it about two years ago. In my opinion it works really well as an EP, with a few really engaging tracks but with some filler too. The best for me would be ‘Clozer’ which sounds like a lost classic and musically is a more full bodied version of the band heard on ‘Homeward’. ‘Free Jazz’ is pleasingly upbeat and cruises along on Beach Boy vibes. They do sound quite American (Pavement and bands of that ilk) at times (as did Capratone mark 1) but this was very much the sound and influence of the times, everything still comes down to the quality of the song-writing. The band broke up a good while later, sometime in 2003 without anymore releases. At some stage Richie Kelly moved to Brooklyn, New York and started a similar sounding band there but with more brass, Sport of Kings. He even re-recorded ‘Free Jazz’ and made a video for it. The influence of Brian Wilson is clear on this song in particular, they cleverly re-use The Beach Boy’s ‘Cool, cool water” line in the song (also present in the original version). Apart from some positive reviews of their only EP, Logic House (2011), there is little sign of the band online either but at least you can check out their excellent video for ‘Free Jazz’ (see below). I did find just one image of Capratone at this time on the Folkrum website, which I have enlarged below. Richie is the golf club carrying member.
In my original piece I wasn’t sure what happened to Capratone next so Richie can take up the story, “The Art of Go attracted the interest of Shifty Disco, who released all of the Elephant 6 stuff in the UK. We set about making a full length for them which we were calling Aviation High. Simon Kenny was initially set to record but was so busy with other projects, I asked Andrew to do it and he agreed. Drum and bass tracking took place in a studio in Dublin. Andrew and I indulged our love of tinkering at his family home while recording my parts and mixing. The result is a pretty high fidelity Capratone record. Shifty Disco preferred the super compressed Capratone of the previous record and passed. We trudged along with some line-up changes after that. The most stable line-up though was myself, Cian Synnot on drums, Fiachra McCarthy on guitar and Michael Stevens (of Groom and many other excellent bands) on bass. As Joss said, no original members were left by the end of Capratone. I believe we kept the name simply because we couldn’t come up with a new one, apparently I have a problem naming things. When I ended up opening music studios and practice spaces in Brooklyn after moving there, I asked Joss if I could use the name of his label Scientific Laboratories because I loved it so much and couldn't think of an alternative.”
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I think it’s well worth including here what happened with Richie’s next band Sport of Kings. “My love of fidelity only increased as the years continued except my focus switched from The Beach Boys to Steely Dan. I because obsessed with doing an indie rock version of their music and Sport of Kings took that direction. The initial line-up was drums, bass guitars and Fender Rhodes and then we added a horn section and a drummer from NYU’s Jazz Program who were incredible and took things to a whole different level.”
“After our Logic House EP, we made a full record (15 songs to be called Queer Theorem) with Michael Leonhart of Steely Dan as producer and occasional synth/horns/vocals contributor. This was essentially a dream come true for me. Initial tracking was done by me at a studio in Brooklyn and painstaking overdubbing, vocals and mixing was done by myself and Michael at his mixing room in the city. Ironically, we recorded yet another version of ‘Free Jazz’ with Michael. I’m not sure why I keep rerecording it but it might have something to do with Andrew and I finding out Brian Wilson used to record ‘Proud Mary’ every time he went into a new studio to check the sonics. I think I now have 4 completed versions!”
“I put an enormous amount of effort into Queer Theorem but it took so long that by the time it was ready, many band members were so in demand by big artists that they had little time to give. Keeping a 7-piece band of amazing musicians afloat proved too difficult and I disbanded the group rather than trying to recruit new musicians. I had also taken that level of fidelity to its conclusion and I returned to looser music after moving to Portland, OR.”
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The next ‘band’ Andrew founded was solo project The Asteroids. I don’t think he ever presented it live but there was just one release, an exquisite three track 10″/CD, Moonlight Music For Beginners, which was released on Joss Moorkens’ Scientific Laboratories label in 2000 (the same year as The Art of Go). You can listen to what has to be my favourite song, ‘Nine Lives’ at link below (the other two songs can helpfully be found on the same channel and I’ve linked them here). According to the sleeve notes it took two years to record, with I assume Andrew playing all the instruments and doing the programming etc. I was sure to pick this up on vinyl at the time and have cherished it since. The amazing paintings on front and back were by the artist Niamh McGrath.
‘Nine Lives’ is so laid back, rich in instrumentation but for me it’s all about Andrew’s vocals (Alan Kelly of The Last Post also provides additional backing vocals). The lyrics prove to be the real earworm for me, “Who is the man, who has done this to you?” with an unexpected lyrical twist at the end. The song has somehow burrowed its way into my consciousness and over the past 20 years has been liable to play in my head at any time. ‘Return Of The Moonlightman’ is more sparse and based again around the vocal arrangement, a second deeper voice (John Parkinson) enters the fray about halfway and it goes to another level with a lovely gradual close. ‘The Great Escape’ is dominated by a really warm organ sound that pulls you along. This one in particular reminds me of Brian Wilson, one of Andrew’s touchstone influences. It’s one of those releases which has dated really well in my opinion and is pretty much unknown I think (I don’t know how many were pressed or sold). There was so much promised with this release and frankly it’s something of a shame it was not followed up at the time. If Andrew had been signed or whatever then things might have happened differently but like all of the bands I’ve written about in this series, we’re lucky to have what we have and the music will last forever. You can still find it for sale on Discogs and it can be played and purchased on iTunes and Tidal. There was one other song from this period, ‘Lunar Doo Wop’, released on a compilation CD included free with the first Foggy Notions magazine. I vaguely remember it but can no longer find my copy (the title tells us all we need to know!).
Sometime in 2005 or later I bumped into Andrew and he gave me a CD from his latest group The Metronoids. It was a two track disc in a plastic wallet (no cover artwork or personnel details) called Petroleum. Today this doesn’t even exist on Discogs never mind anywhere else! Until I asked Andrew about it I wasn’t sure if this had simply been a promo but he told me there was artwork etc. The reason I probably never saw it for sale is that I left Dublin in 2005. For a bit more information I had to dig into the data on the CD itself and found that the track names are simply ‘Petroleum 1 & 2′ and for what it’s worth the genre on iTunes comes up as Blues (not sure how this gets assigned). It’s a pleasant listen (the more spirited second track is my favourite) but it surprised me very much to find it was all drums/percussion and obviously nothing like what he’d done before. This would be the only release under the name, which I imagine is pretty rare to come across.
I obviously had to get Andrew to explain The Metronoids to me, “This was a project I really enjoyed. Done in 2004/5 with Joss and Marc Hayes (drummer from The Moustaches, Boxes). It was always a real pleasure to be in a room with those two guys. I think we did a handful of rehearsals and one recording session. The idea was drum improv within premeditated structures. All three of us played drums. I think I got the notion to do a project that required a different kind of listening from my love of the CD called Guitar Solo by Annette Krebs.”
I wasn’t aware of this at the time but Andrew, Joss and Fiachra briefly reunited as The Lamps in 2005 but as far as I know while there were some live gigs there were no releases. Since then Andrew has told me he is currently working on two new music projects, “One with Fiachra Lennon is called Fig/Astro, it started in 2018, we should be finished an LP this year. He wrote a bunch of instrumental tracks and sent them to me. At his request I turned the instrumentals into songs, and the productions are evolving from there with both of us working on it via WeTransfer. He is a real natural musician so the songs have a very solid foundation. It was refreshing to write songs this way from track to song, rather than from song to track as I had always done previously. My own LP has been in the pipeline since 2009 when I wrote a load of songs and set out to record them in-the-box. Some of the songs went through over 20 productions. Working on a finite group of productions over a long period, under the microscope of Digital Audio Workstation has really allowed me to discover how to do my own thing. The work on this solo album takes a lot of focus.”
After Capratone Joss would go on to play with Joan of Arse and The Dudley Corporation and guest on many other releases, most of these can be found on his impressive Discogs entry. When I was doing my research for this piece I was excited to find an old Souncloud page for The Asteroids I never knew existed, it has two unreleased tracks which date from about 2014 but Andrew said the music since then has been become more abstract. Fiachra meanwhile has a bulging Soundcloud page full of his own demos that is very worth exploring too. Both of them are also on Twitter, The Asteroids and Fiachra. It will have been a long time coming but I’m looking forward to the next new releases from both these artists.
Sometimes the best things take time.
Stephen Rennicks
#capratone#the asteroids#the metronoids#andrew lyster#fiachra lennon#joss moorkens#richie kelly#folkrum records#the art of go#moonlight music for beginners#sport of kings#the world of pugh#dublin#music#1990s#2000s
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