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therealvinelle · 3 years

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in the “everyone is in love with Bella” scenario, what about the wolves? Wouldn’t it be really fucked up for Sam to fall in love with her? Would it make the wolves try to redefine imprinting? how would Leah react to the whole situation?

Anon is referring to this post. For the record, I didn't get into them in the post because the plot would veer so far off-course in Twilight that Edward never leaves and Victoria never becomes a threat to Bella, meaning Bella and Jake don't get close and she doesn't need their protection.

But, let's do this.

First encounter

Bella arrives in Forks, and Billy and Jacob are there to hand over the pickup.

Boom.

They fall in love.

Jacob, having never had a real crush before nevermind something so powerful as falling in love, is overwhelmed by these new feelings. He blushes and flushes and stutters, and fails to say anything reasonable or even intelligble to Bella. Too mortified to function, he decides to hide in La Push until the embarrassment fades. Which very well could be never.

Billy, meanwhile, is unable to cope. He just fell in love with Charlie's daughter. Charlie's 17-year-old daughter who used to make mud cakes with Billy's daughters.

This is bad.

This, to a good man like Billy, is unforgivably bad.

He goes from being Charlie's best friend to suddenly being very distant, not wanting to ever cross paths with Bella again.

But, you asked about the wolves, not just Jake and Billy, so let's take this scenario further.

Bella's friends, all of whom are hopelessly in love with her, drag her to La Push

Jessica, Lauren, Mike, Angela, Tyler, Eric, Ben, the whole gang, they're all going to La Push for the weekend.

And it just won't be the same without Bella. She's just so great, you know?

Everyone looks at each other and nods. Yeah, it's just not fun without Bella. Bella's great, someone should invite her.

They all invite her, one by one, all of them with wide, adoring eyes. "It would be so amazing if you came, Bella," Jessica says dreamily, twirling a lock of Bella's hair around her fingers. "Your hair is really pretty," she giggles.

Angela and Ben are each blushing too hard to really say anything to Bella, so they end up running away from her. Bella is left feeling like some kind of freak. She later receives two notes in class, one from each, begging her in cramped writing to come to La Push. Yeah, not helping her feel like less of a freak.

Mike, Eric, Tyler, and Lauren all corner her, each worse than the last.

By the end of the schoolday Bella doesn't know what's going to happen at La Push but she does know that she doesn't want to go.

She complains about this to the Cullens (remember, her and Edward became an item much earlier in this timeline), and they all fawn and coo over her and act like she just went through a warzone. If she wants to go to the beach, she could try Isle Esme Bella. Would she like that, an island vacation? Or an island?

Bella is pulled out of school for a romantic two-week totally-not-a-honeymoon.

La Push never happens.

But surely Bella and the wolves must meet at some point

Billy catches wind that Bella Swan is dating Edward Cullen. As in, the girl he has fallen so deeply in love with is now being preyed upon by a blood-sucking demon.

Billy's own sense of propriety or honor be damned, he has to save this girl's life.

He tries to speak to her, just as in canon, but just as in canon this goes poorly. Bella is a savvy 17-year-old who doesn't need no warning, and besides, the Cullens are all so sweet. They're like hobbits, really, obviously she's not in any danger. She tells Billy as much. Vampires are lovely, does he know they gave her an island?

(Billy did not know this, and yes, that's weird. Doesn't mean they're not evil, though.)

Billy gets nowhere with his would-be intervention.

Time to bring in the big guns.

Sam phases around this time, and imprints on Emily. Break-ups with Leah, maulings, and tragic lovestories all around are had.

It is around this time that Billy brings Sam up to speed on the Bella situation, although leaving out the part where he's hopelessly in love with the girl because that would not be received well. Could Sam go speak with her about this, see if maybe she will take his warning seriously? The situation is dire.

Sure, Sam can do that. No one wants a human girl to get eaten or turned, after all.

Sam goes to see Bella.

And promptly falls in love just as he did Emily.

Emily, who is currently in the hospital from Sam mauling her, which happened specifically because Sam had imprinted.

It's official, Sam thinks, he's the greatest scumbag there ever was.

The Emily and Leah situation was awful enough as it was, breaking all three of their hearts and causing irreparable damage both physically and mentally. Sam wronged them both colossaly, and he can never amend that.

But he imprinted. He wasn't just being a douchebag, actual magic made him do it.

Now, though...

Either Sam imprinted on multiple people, in which case his happy ending is now polygamy. And how would that be a happy ending for Emily and Bella?

Or, possibly even more terrifying yet, he didn't imprint on either woman.

Breaking up with Leah, mauling Emily, making Emily fall in love with him after that and ruining her relationship with her cousin, in short putting these women through hell, all of it- it was for nothing. Sam's just a horndog who sees supernatural intervention where there's really just hormones.

Why couldn't he just have imprinted on Leah?

Sam can't go on a sabbatical to figure this out, his tribe needs him. So he takes to living in the woods alone, where he is alone, to try and figure this out.

But it gets more painful yet, because he can't just disappear on Emily.

So, he tells her. He owes her that much. And it's not goodbye forever, either, just- goodbye until he can figure out how to be the man she deserves. A man anybody deserves, really, because right now Sam's not it.

Emily has no idea what to make of any of this, but she knows her heart is broken.

She has to see this woman all of this is about.

Naturally, she falls in love as well.

The plot thickens

The next time Sam drops by, Emily gives him the news. They're both in love with Bella now.

Sam no longer knows what to make of anything.

Is the universe trying to tell them to form a polycule?

Nothing like that has ever happened before, but not much is known about imprinting. There's a first time for everything..?

At this point they're both giving themselves headaches trying to figure this out. It's a mess.

More, Bella hasn't even met either of them. Sam and Emily can't just walk up to her and say "Hi, be our wife".

Or can they?

If Emily fell in love at first sight, maybe it'll work in reverse. Maybe Bella just has to look upon them, and she'll fall in love.

Sam is dubious, but at this point let's just do this. Let's just do this, see what happens.

They walk up to Charlie's to deliver some of Harry's fish fry. Bella opens the door.

"HIIIII" Emily says, trying to act normal.

Sam's not saying anything.

"Hi," Bella says back, nonplussed, and looks at the bag Emily is clutching with white-knuckled fists.

All three of them are silent.

Bella is starting to wonder if there's something with the town water supply. She is also wondering if these people are planning to say anything, or if they just really enjoy knocking on doors and saying hi to people. Is there something Bella should be doing?

Eventually she clears er throat and asks if there's anything she can do for them.

Sam and Emily glance at each other. Bella's not looking starstruck with love, but she's not acting normal either. Who stands in a doorway and stares at people for almost a minute before talking?

It's inconclusive.

Emily hands over the fish fry. "From Harry," she says, and introduces herself.

Bella nods, remembering Charlie's friend who all but ran out of the door when he saw her and hasn't been fishing with Charlie since. None of Charlie's friends have. Charlie is going nuts. Maybe she should try hooking him up with Carlisle, vampires are lovely, they'd get along so well.

Bella, noting Emily and Sam aren't saying anything else, says bye and moves to close the door.

"Wait!" Sam yells, at the same time as Emily rips a piece of paper from her pocket, and sticks it into Bella's hand.

Bella looks down on it. It's two phone numbers.

She looks back up at Sam and Emily, who by now feel quite certain that this girl hasn't fallen in love with them and that this is the most humiliating moment of both their lives.

Just in case, though...

"Call us," Emily says flirtatiously, winks, and runs away.

Sam follows.

Bella never calls them back, and they never speak of this again.

A few months later, Leah who’d been shopping in Forks happily tells Sam and Emily that she's fallen in love with a girl, she lives in Forks, she's amazing, her name is Bella Swan.

"I took one look at her, and I knew," Leah says dreamily.

#sam uley #leah clearwater #emily young #billy black #jacob black #bella swan #twilight #twilight meta #twilight renaissance #twilight quileutes #twilight shapeshifters

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erectionsandtea · 3 years

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Poly party summer fun headcanons, part 2 ! 😀 (this got way too long so I’m posting it as it is, and if I get more ideas, or if you guys want to send me anything 😉, I’ll either reblog this post or make a new one.) Enjoy!

(part 1 can be found here)

Amusement park: (these are based on amusement parks I have been to since they're all I know, lol)

IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER

- they go early so they can do everything (twice) but they also stay until it gets dark bc El wants to see all the lights

- one of her favorite rides is the big ship that swings back and forth because it feels like flying

- Max, Lucas, and Dustin take El on her first roller coaster ride, and it's super scary but she also loves it (Robin and Nancy go, too)

Lucas and Dustin scream like little girls on the roller coaster and become the butt of many jokes about it (most of them from Max)

Max and Lucas would totally try to kiss for the roller coaster camera (idk why okay, stop me) but the photo would look absolutely ridiculous and Max’s hair is fuckin EvERYWHERE

El uses some of her money to buy a copy of the photo (she buys a copy of their photo from every ride, it's a lot of money, but the others help her out with it), and when she gets home, Will helps her make a collage of all the photos that she puts up in her room

- El also wants caricatures, but they don't have enough money for everyone (so she just gets one of herself). Will watches the artist, who gives him tips on how to do it so he can draw some for El later (and he totes does bc good brother vibes)

- they do the ferris wheel last bc it is super romantic (even more so at night), and everyone wants to go with everyone else. Max wants to go up every time someone else does bc she wants to try to spy on them, lol

Groups, in order from side to other side (sitting, not riding order):

for her very first time: Max/El/Mike (her two bffs, aka her bf and gf)

Mike/Will

Max/Lucas

Dustin/Suzie

El/Max/Lucas

El/Mike/Will

El/Mike

El/Max

the guy running the ferris wheel is just like “you kids again???” bc they keep just getting off the ride and going straight to the back of the line to go up again, but eventually they have to stop bc the park is literally about to close and they’ll be kicked out

- there's also a haunted house ride and El absolutely has to ride with Mike bc when she is scared or feels like she's in danger, he's always been the best at making her feel okay again. She clings to him throughout the ride, but ends up laughing at how cheesy not-scary most of the effects are.

- as exhilarating as the drop rides are, El doesn’t like going on them too much but she can do it like, once. maybe twice.

- Lucas and Max, and Dustin and Will, like that ride that’s like the ferris wheel except you’re in a cage and you can manipulate the cage (by spinning it and stuff) to take you upside down. Dustin and Max do it too much, like to an extreme, and Will and Lucas are like “stop, the world is literally spinning” and they’re very disoriented when they get off

- there’s a rapids ride, and since the rafts are big enough to hold 8 people, the whole party is able to go together in one, and then the teens can go together in another one. they totally get sprayed by bystanders.

- there's a shooting game (like where you go through a tunnel on a track, and targets pop up and you shoot them)

Lucas is the best and El rides with him bc the best should introduce the newbie, and she has so much fun, it's nothing like the guns she's experienced in her previous (lab) life.

Max and Dustin fight really hard to be second best.

Mike and Will go together and compared to the others, they suck, but that's okay they have fun anyway, and they joke about their own terribleness.

- Dustin buys those deep-fried snacks (you know the ones I mean) and he is literally the only person in the group that likes them (okay, not true, Robin can handle them, too)

El, against the advice of the others, wants to try those snacks bc she’s never heard of anything like that before, and the first time she takes a bite, her face goes through a range of like 10 emotions bc she’s being assaulted by flavors-

but after she manages to swallow it, she’s like “wow, that was amazing” and the others are like “...you serious??”

Mike is just like “that is disgusting and I’m not kissing you after that lol” and El is just like “but...why?” (he totes does tho, he doesn’t give a f, he’s kissing his gf bc he just can’t resist the cuteness)

Nancy, even though she doesn’t necessarily like it, can totally handle taking a bite and finishing it (like that beer from season 1) and Robin is like “that’s impressive, band geek” and Nancy’s just like “I’m not in band” (idk lol)

- El wanting to try EVERY food but the others have to cut her off bc it’s so expensive and she will get so sick

- Mike being a good bf and holding souvenirs bought by his bf and gf (Will totally buying a sweet little something for his awesome mom) (El totally doing the same thing to remind herself of Hopper, but she keeps it in her room instead)

- Lucas also being a good bf for the same reason but complaining about it, lol

- everyone goes on the log ride (you might know it as the flume) bc there isn’t a person on earth who doesn’t like that ride, and even tho she knows about the impending splash, El is still super surprised when it happens

Groups, in order (front to back):

El, Mike, Max, and Lucas (Max is explaining to El over Mike’s shoulder that “you absolutely HAVE TO be in the front, it’s the best way”)

Suzie, Dustin, Steve, and Robin (irrelevant but don’t tell me Robin sits in front of Steve, there’s no fuckin way, she’s not his gf, also Steve and Dustin just have to sit together bruh)

Will, Dustin (bc obvsly he goes on again), Nancy, and Jonathan

Mike has his arms around El like he thinks he’s going to protect her from the huge spray of water (but his skinny arms won’t protect shit lol) and he somehow manages to make a decent photo come out of him kissing her cheek while she is simultaneously screaming (good screaming)

- everyone loves the bumper cars (Jonathan and Suzie hang back tho, to hold everyone’s stuff and cheer from the side)

Max, as the only one (sans teens) who has actually driven a car before, rides with El so she can teach her how to do it

her and Lucas (with his passenger Will) are automatically in competition with one another (”you’re going down!” “no, YOU’RE going down!”)

Robin, riding by herself, goes after Steve and driver Nancy (who’s surprisingly good at this)

and Dustin (passenger Mike) gangs up with Robin to take on Steve and Nancy, which makes Nancy even more determined now to destroy both of them

Steve’s a little afraid of Nancy when she’s like this, lol

eventually Dustin and Robin are like “okay okay, we’ll stop! jesuschrist, how did you get so good at this??” (but also they are just in total awe of Nancy) and they just go after each other instead

- El doesn’t like spinning rides (too dizzy and they totally make her tummy “feel weird, like there’s a storm in it” “uh oh, you’re nauseous, El” “naw-shus?” “yeah, like sick, here, sit down for a minute”), but Will loves them and he’s there for her

- the sky ride (the one that takes you from end of the park to the other), groups:

Mike and Will on one side, Max and El on the other (the seats are basically little cabins, seats for 4 people)

Lucas and Dustin on one side, Jonathan and Steve on the other

Robin on one side (she totally takes up the whole double space, putting her leg up), Nancy and Suzie on the other

- carousel ride! (during the day)

El wants the prettiest horse

Max gets the most badass thing which is like...a wolf??

Lucas and Dustin ride only bc there’s a game where you can try to throw rings into a hole while going around (they each get one in by pure luck but otherwise suck). they don’t really care what animals they get, they just need ones that move up and down. Dustin gets a cat with a fish in his mouth, and Lucas ends up just picking a rabbit before everything is taken and he doesn’t have a choice anymore. The others fuckin laugh at the image of Lucas riding a rabbit

Suzie gets another horse

Will gets a lion which doesn’t move up and down but he’s okay with that, he’s kinda just going bc everyone else is

Mike gets stuck with a horse bc he was at the back of the group and by the time he gets there, every other non-horse animal is taken (but they joke about how he should have gotten the non-moving giraffe, taken by Steve, bc it’s so tall and gangly like him lol)

Nancy gets a horse

Robin takes the wild boar bc “dude that is the most badass animal on a carousel I have ever seen!”

Jonathan stays behind, no matter how much the others beg, but he takes lots of really good pictures (including the one time Dustin gets the ring in the hole and then cheering, then also him and Lucas high-fiving, and the various couples exchanging really cute looks, and El having the best time ever bc she’s never been on one of these before)

they go on the carousel one more time near the end of the night and this time Jonathan gives in and rides with them, but he sits in one of the benches that’s just there for the parents), and he still takes pictures as best he can without getting up and moving

- photo booth photos! (I’ll leave the silly face ones up to your imagination)

El and Max (one super close hug with faces pressed together, one kiss, one silly faces, and one smiles)

Will and Mike, but Max and El totally burst in for like, the last 1.5 pictures, it doesn’t ruin them tho, Mike and Will just ignore them (one nice smiles bc they’re like “what do we do??”, one hug, one kiss being interrupted by the girls in the background, one candid laughing while the girls wave at the camera)

Will and Mike again (one candid of Mike holding the curtain shut to make sure no interruptions and Will laughing, one kiss (non-interrupted), one silly faces, one just being super cute and close together and leaning on each other)

Max and Lucas (one smiles, one kiss, one of her pretending to look tough by putting him in a headlock or putting a fist next to his face like a punch, one that was supposed to be funny faces but instead is her looking off to the side where Mike has opened the curtain and stuck his head (with his tongue out) in as revenge and Lucas with that look of “dude, really??” on his face)

Dustin and Suzie (one kiss, one smiles, one nose-to-nose, one super close together leaning on each other cute)

Mike and El (one smiles, one kiss, one of him like surprise-trying to pull her into his lap kind of thing idk and her just looking super surprised but happy but also Max is in the background ruining YET ANOTHER picture, and one candid of them giggling about the previous picture with their foreheads pressed together almost nose-to-nose)

Mike and El again bc she wants non-interrupted photos (one with her actually sitting in his lap this time (she did this beforehand so he wouldn’t scare her again with the surprise-pulling thing), one of them pretending to look all hoity-toity like super models, one with her arms around his neck and his arms around her waist and they’re all close and cute sort of candid, and one just like the last one except they’re looking at the camera and smiling)

Will and Mike and El (one with Mike in the middle while his gf and bf give him a kiss on each cheek, one with El hanging over Mike’s shoulders in sort of a half-piggyback and he and Will are laughing, one with Mike and Will kissing while El makes a funny face at the camera, one of them all making funny faces at the camera)

Max and El and Mike (one with El in the middle, Max’s arms are around her waist almost dipping her backwards, her legs are up in the air (as far up as they can go in the tiny booth) and her head is tilting back onto Mike’s shoulder with his arms around her shoulders and he’s pressing a kiss to her hair, one with El kissing Mike’s cheek while he and Max make funny faces, one with Max behind them and her arms over both of their shoulders pulling them all close and their faces squished together with this super big cheesy grin while Mike is laughing at El’s funny face, one with Mike and El kissing and Max sitting next to them making the 👌🏻 symbol and winking at the camera, bc she just has to get sassy)

Bonus, more teens:

- Robin takes Steve on all the crazy rides (aka drags him, makes him go, etc.) They both get a little sick, but for her it's totally worth it (for him...not so much)

- Dustin and Robin get along hella bc he joins them on the crazy rides and is just @steve like “what are you, a pussy?”

- Nancy has to remind Jonathan that the kids will be FINE, and they don't need to hover around them all evening, "let's go enjoy ourselves"

- Nancy likes roller coasters, CHAnGE mY MInD

- Steve and Robin totally scream when they go on the drop ride together, except Robin’s scream is more “holy shit, exhilarating and so exciting! whooooo!” while Steve’s is more “this is fun but also I’m totally gonna die!!”

- Steve is a boss at those games where you have to throw something at/into/onto a target and he wins a stuffed animal

- Robin is p decent at those games too, but she’s not a match for the king (she comes close though, they actually turn it into a competition to see who can win more stuff)

- Nancy kicks butt at that game where you shoot a spray of water and make the target thing rise to the top or race or whatever (any shooting game, really), you know what I mean (Jonathan fucking fails, sorry Jonathan)

- Steve totally wins that game where you swing a mallet and try to ring the bell. Robin doesn’t win but she gets way closer than they thought she would and Steve’s “wtf”. Dustin is also stronger than he looks, and even tho he doesn't win, he can at least lift the (smaller) mallet, which is more than any of the others can do.

- Robin HAS to do that game where you try to climb the flat, almost horizontal rope ladder to the end and she doesn’t even make it halfway before she falls, but it’s hilarious

- Nancy also tries that game after some goading from the others, and she makes it farther than Robin (about halfway) but still fails fantastically. And then she takes a bow.

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teawaffles · 3 years

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The Fugitives from the Fire: Chapter 5, Part 2

“Hey, madam innkeeper: where would you normally have been in the building?”

“……Since when did you get in charge of the investigation?”

As Sherlock took the lead, it seemed Gregson was displeased, but also no longer in the mood to put up a fight.

Hillary sniffed.

“I was always at the reception desk. I’m the only one managing the inn; I don’t have a single employee.”

“In that case, do you remember when these three men came to book their rooms? Or rather, at the time, had there been anyone with burns on their face?”

Sherlock was now diverting the conversation away from the case, instead attempting to verify if there were eyewitness accounts of the other fugitive. However, Gregson responded in a low voice.

“Holmes: it’s not going to work. We also tried asking her when we arrived at the scene back then, but it seems she has a strange policy of protecting her guests’ privacy, so she doesn’t check her guests’ appearances and such too closely.”

It seemed Hillary had heard him whispering, for she spoke up in defiance.

“You know, these parts are full of people with something to hide. I always make sure they pay up, but I don’t do such tactless things as staring people in the face.”

“Tactful, eh……”

Even Sherlock couldn’t stop himself; he cracked a wry grin. He didn’t know if it was an unwritten rule of the slums, but the innkeeper’s response was certainly a little too risky.

Nevertheless, at this point, there was nothing to be gained from laying blame on her. Sherlock continued.

“In that case, when the fire started, were you also at the reception?”

“That’s right. I wanted to stay there until the fire was contained, but a bunch of bobbies dragged me out at the very last moment.”

It seemed the lady possessed a truly dauntless spirit, so much so she had been willing to go down with her inn. That elicited something close to admiration within Sherlock, and he looked over the suspects.

“You mentioned ‘the very last moment’… That means you stayed at the reception until everyone had escaped?”

“Indeed: as the landlady, I have to ensure my guests are safe. Besides these guys, I definitely saw the ones from rooms 102 and 201 escape out the front door.”

“You’re indeed the epitome of a host.”

In his mind, Sherlock added this new piece of information on the guests’ rooms.

Excluding the murder victim, there had been five guests in total.

On the ground floor, rooms 101 (Jerry Dorff) and 102 had been occupied.

On the first floor, rooms 201 and 203 (Mike Myers).

Then on the second floor, room 301 (Bruno Campbell).

As he gathered the respective locations of the guests, the proprietress spoke up.

“Oh yes — earlier, everyone was talking about who had the chance to go up to the second floor, right? You’ll have to rule out Mr Jerry over there: for some reason, he immediately ran outside when the fire began. He seemed the very picture of alarm.”

“Hmm; this man, panicked?”

As far as he was concerned, people were free to run away in any manner they liked. But the gap between that and the taciturn, mysterious man before them made even Sherlock’s expression soften. It seemed Jerry had been strangely embarrassed by that reaction, deliberately clearing his throat.

Then, the detective turned to Gregson.

“Come to think of it, when you were going back upstairs, did you go past anyone? There must’ve been people rushing to escape.”

“I remember that: I passed by Bruno, Mike, and one other guest on the stairs. But is that important somehow?”

“If the killer had been among them, then he must’ve murdered the victim in the short period between the time you went downstairs to check the situation, and the time you returned to the second floor.”

Gregson groaned. “……Of course, that interval feels way too short. It didn’t even take me 30 seconds to go downstairs and back up again. So, that means……”

The locations of the suspects’ rooms. The escape route. The span of time until the victim had been murdered. Putting together all the clues they’d gathered by questioning the people involved, a single answer surfaced of its own accord.

“——It’s impossible for the killer to have gone upstairs and murdered him.”

Sherlock sounded as if he were pronouncing a judgement. Then, Gregson finally got his head around it — just like what a detective’s assistant would’ve done.

——“In that case, how did he murder the man in the room?”

“T-Then, the man in the room — how was he murdered……?”

Once again, the John in his imagination overlapped with Gregson. In theory, this ‘riddle’ had turned into something impossible to solve, and the assistant inspector was wracked with an anguish akin to agony.

However, that was a tale that only applied to ordinary people.

With his singularly transcendent powers of deduction, the consulting detective had already narrowed down two answers to this case.

Truthfully, right now, he could proceed to the solution right away. But for some reason, he didn’t want to do that. Surely, the reason why he was investigating the truth like this, was because he saw the figure of the man before him strenuously racking his brains.

As Gregson continued to despair, Sherlock Holmes placed a hand on his back.

“Gregson, do you have a moment?”

“……What do you want?”

He looked exhausted — but that was a weariness born from his own sense of responsibility, and even Sherlock refused to take a jibe at him now.

Gregson was shouldering a duty as a police inspector, so the detective resolved to use a little discretion.

“I want to talk to you outside for a bit.”

“…………”

Sherlock had said so in a serious tone, and Gregson didn’t put up a fight.

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

Once they left the inn, an unnerving oppressiveness made their skin prickle: clearly, the locals’ anger had only intensified. Lestrade was trying his best to negotiate with and conciliate them, but it wouldn’t be long before their frustration boiled over.

Yet, even as they were caught in this race against time, Sherlock remained unhurried. On the streets to which filth clung here and there, he began to speak as if they were simply having a chat.

“First off, from the conversation earlier, we’ve eliminated the possibility that the culprit went to room 303 and killed him. As such, we have to consider a different tack.”

“A different tack?”

“What I mean is, the idea that he didn’t attack from the door — rather, the window.”

Sherlock proposed the theory he’d thought up at the start: that the man had been shot from the window. With this idea, they could break free of the ‘riddle’ created by the locked room — the murderer could kill the victim even without going all the way to the second floor.

However, Gregson shrugged in amazement, and explained in an indifferent tone.

“This might dispute the deduction you’re so proud of, but we did look into that as well. Firstly, for this method to work, there must’ve been two men in total: one to start the fire at the inn, and the other to shoot the victim from outside. But hiring another collaborator to silence an accomplice, or settle a falling-out, brings its own share of danger. In addition, in order to shoot his victim, a gunman would minimally have to be at the same height as him. There’s a brothel across the street from the inn, facing its north wall, and with three floors to boot, it fits the bill. But at the time of the murder, there’d been people on its second floor, and no one testified that they heard a gunshot. Hence, that explanation has to be rejected.”

Unusually, the inspector had discussed his view without a hint of his usual thorny attitude.

But Sherlock was adamant. “If that’s the case, then——”

——“If that’s the case, then how about something like this? Sherlock.”

His partner’s voice resounded through his mind. Now, the detective persisted in playing the role of an assistant, raising another idea to the inspector.

“From the street beside the inn, he could’ve aimed at room 303’s window and shot the victim. With that, he wouldn’t have raised suspicions among the people in the brothel.”

“……That’s rather cliché. There were officers outside the inn, so if there’d been someone with a gun outside, they would’ve arrested him long ago. Moreover, the victim collapsed a step away from the room door. If he’d been shot from the window, he would’ve lain there still. Even if he had then used the last of his strength to crawl all the way to the door, with that level of blood loss, it’d be strange that there hadn’t been a trail of blood leading from the window. As I said earlier, as far as I could tell through the keyhole, I didn’t see any marks like that.”

The inspector calmly refuted his theory, and Sherlock made the same troubled face as John always did.

——Then and there, he eliminated one of his two suppositions, and completely saw through the ‘riddle’ of this case.

“Is that so? Then I’m completely at a loss here.”

“Hmm, what’s gotten into you since earlier? ……You kept making deductions that were quite unlike you.”

Gregson had casually said something that, deep down, revealed a glimpse of his recognition of the detective’s ability. Unwittingly, Sherlock broke into a gentle smile.

But just as quickly, he replaced it with the troubled expression required of the fool he was playing. Sherlock put both hands behind his head, and looked up at the sky.

“Hey, Gregson. Somehow, we’ve been talking over and over and getting nowhere; so for a change of pace, how about a quiz?”

“Huh? You purposely brought me all the way outside, for a quiz?!”

Gregson frowned, but Sherlock continued without a care.

“Let’s say there are two children, A and B, and they’re friends. One day, the two of them play catch at a distance of about 20 steps away from one another. But although A can throw the ball to B, B can’t throw it back to A. Why is that so? In case you were wondering, the two of them have the same strength.”

“……Hmm.”

Gregson forgot about his complaints for a moment, and pondered.

“Did B sprain his shoulder?”

“In a quiz like this, that kind of reasoning’s rubbish, isn’t it?”

“There’s a wall between them.”

“Then A couldn’t have thrown the ball over.”

“……Another kid suddenly appeared and stole the ball.”

“You’re being a little careless, aren’t ya?”

It was unclear what the intention behind this quiz was, and to top it off, Sherlock had rejected every one of his answers. At last, Gregson raised his voice.

“Dammit, just tell me the answer already! Also, what’s the point of a quiz like this?!”

“Come on, now,” Sherlock parried. “I’ll give you a hint: for example, try looking at this building here.”

“Hmm……”

The detective pointed to the inn they had just stepped out of. Coincidentally, just like the one that had burnt down, this building also had three floors.

“What about it?”

“Man, you’re still as slow as ever. Look……”

Sherlock pointed to a window on the upper floors, and moved his finger between that and the window below it a few times.

Watching that action, Gregson seemed to have arrived at the answer himself.

“I see. So the children were standing on the upper and lower floors respectively, and leaning out the windows to throw the ball? Although it could be thrown from the floor above to the one below, it would be difficult to throw the ball back up in the other direction. That’s to say, the distance of 20 steps was not lengthwise, but vertical——”

Right then, as if a bolt of electricity had coursed through him, Gregson twitched. His hand shot to his chin; sinking deep into thought, he remained absolutely motionless, with only his lips piecing fragments together into clues.

“There’s only one way…… To be able to kill without going upstairs…… In that case, the position of the body…… And it ending up as a locked room…… But, such an extraordinary method –– is it even possible?”

At his final question, Sherlock grinned.

“I don’t have the foggiest idea what you just thought of…… But when you’ve eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” [1]

“………!”

Gregson looked at the detective, standing boldly where he was.

Whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

That was what he’d always maintained.

A suicide, or an accident. Pretending to be dead. Entering the room and murdering him. A sniper shot from the window. After carefully pursuing all lines of thought, in the end, only this solution remained.

In that case, it had to be the truth.

Could it be, that he’d started this entire conversation in order to guide him here……?

“……Hmph.”

At that thought, Assistant Inspector Gregson reassumed his usual, haughty attitude: the manner of a police inspector who saw the detective as his enemy.

“Let’s go, Holmes. I’ll tell you what I’ve deduced.”

——This is my case.

As Gregson strode away triumphantly, Sherlock chuckled.

T/N: Sherlock has grown so much..! (my /heart/)

Footnotes:

[1] A quote from Chapter 6 of the Sherlock Holmes novel The Sign of the Four, by Arthur Conan Doyle. (Wikipedia)

#moriarty the patriot #yuukoku no moriarty #yuumori #english translation #the girl who sees rainbows

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cristinardvaya · 3 years

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MY OPINION ABOUT THE VIDEOGAME 'UNTIL DAWN'

The beginning of the story is very interesting. The graphics, the atmosphere, the use of the totems that show possible futures, the fact that you can find clues from different categories that explain the story... it's one thing that I loved, and it gives a lot of gameplay. Also, the video that you complete as you find the totems is very intriguing. It gives you certain clues as to where the story is going, although you don't fully know the true motivation of the story until you get to the big plot twist, which I also think is awesome.

The use of the psychologist is an addition that gives the game a lot of personality, a lot of mystery, and the fact that the things you talk to him are reflected in the story is a great thing.

First I summarise the story and then I give my opinion and some ideas that may fix the meaningless points (I'm not saying that the story is wrong, I just need to see the story as something logical and credible).

(It contains spoilers from here): I warn that this is a long post, but an interesting one if you like scary stories.

The story:

(It doesn't have all the details)

At the beginning, the story is very good: they were in a huge house of the "protagonist" family, who had bought that whole mountain for themselves. There were the children of the family (who are Josh, Hannah and Beth, the parents never appear in person) and their friends spending what seems to be the winter. The friends wanted to play a prank on Hannah and it backfired: Hannah got really pissed off at the friends and ran off into the woods, followed by her sister Beth. Josh was drunk and couldn't do anything about it. The sisters supposedly died falling off a snowy cliff (Beth is clearly seen dying after hitting her back on a rock, but we don't know about Hannah exactly), and a mysterious guy with a flamethrower and a really big knife that previously walked near the house seems to try to save them (even though it's a scary video game you don't have to be suspicious of everyone and think everything is going to kill you), but he couldn't.

Josh, a year later, invites all his friends to that mountain to have a party and forget the past. Their relationships have changed, now they have different boyfriends/girlfriends and all that (the game focuses a lot on love relationships at the beginning, giving it a teenage feel). They have arguments, they don't get along as well as they used to, it seems that the accident broke them up. The huge house, or mansion they go to has no light bulbs, and everything happens at night, until dawn. The psychologist is like a break from the game, like something separate but related. The person who is playing the game is like the psychologist's patient, who has problems. The psychologist makes him choose between characters, between things that make him "afraid"...

Following the story, photographs of the sisters are found throughout the house. At one point, the couples split up (there are four couples, although one doesn't form, Mike and Jess, Matt and Emily, Ashley and Chris and Samantha and Josh - the latter is the one that doesn't form).

The couple Mike and Jess are sent to a cabin where they want to get intimate in their relationship, but something chases them and ends up kidnapping Jess. Mike tries to save her and arrives at a typical gold rush mine, where some sections are collapsed. He finds Jess in a lift (dead or alive depending on the player's choices, I think), who falls all the way down without Mike being able to do anything. He then has to escape from there, sees a flamethrower and chases him to an old, abandoned and destroyed madhouse.

Meanwhile, Matt and Em have gone to get a bag that Em forgot (they are not seen again until much later in the story). Ash, Chris, Sam and Josh stay at the mansion, having episodes of scares, still in no danger. Chris continues to play pranks as before and Sam takes a bath.

While she's in the bath, Ash, Chris and Josh have a seance, and the sister's supposed ghost talks to them and directs them to the library to find out how she supposedly died (I think you can choose to be Hannah's or Beth's ghost). Josh doesn't like that and leaves, not to be seen again until much later. Chris and Ash find pictures, videos, supposed ghost apparitions... and they reach what appears to be the continuation of the mansion through the basement, but it's badly damaged, it looks like it was a different house.

For his part, Mike follows the flamethrower guy to the asylum and discovers that there were 30 miners in the mine looking for gold, 80 years ago. The mine collapsed at that time and 12 miners were rescued in the asylum. Doctors at the time had been shocked to find them in such a good state (they should have been dead), and witnessed transformations in the miners into murderous, insane, cannibalistic creatures, which apparently condemned the asylum. The staff didn't want the media to know what was going on there and hid it (a journalist found out, but I'm not quite clear what happened afterwards).

Meanwhile, Ash and Chris are chased around the house by a supposed madman, until he captures Ash and Chris must find her. He arrives at a place where he has to choose between saving Ash (he's in love with her) or Josh (his lifelong best friend), as there's a Saw-like scene with a saw. Personally, I saw Ash being saved, and Josh dying. When they leave the place, they are reunited with Matt and Em, who have returned from looking for the bag. They talk about the psycho and that, and decide that the two of them will go to the radio tower to alert the police (they can't go down the mountain because the psycho has the key to the cable car). When they are in the tower, something cuts the ropes and they fall, ending up in the mine. Here I saw Matt save himself and let Em fall with the tower into the void.

In the psychologist's office it is discovered that the patient is the psychopath who has organised all this.

The psycho finds Ash and Chris after finding out that there were a bunch of cameras all over the house and dead animals on hooks (it was the psycho's hideout). Just after, Sam has just had a bath and follows a trail of balloons with arrows drawn on them showing the way to "find her clothes" (her clothes have been hidden while she was bathing and she is wearing a towel around the house). She reaches a room where the psychopath talks to her and shows her a video of her in the bathroom and the video of the prank played on Hannah the year before, and the psychopath goes after her. He chases her and eventually catches her and leaves her in a room where Mike finds on his way out of the asylum tunnels. He gets her out of there.

Another Saw-like scene appears where Ash and Chris are tied to chairs, Chris is holding a gun and there are saws above their heads that are slowly lowering. He has to choose between killing himself or killing Ash, if he shoots, the saws would stop (and I think they would both die if they let the saws come down). The gun only have blank bullets and right at this point is when they discover that the psycho is Josh in disguise (this is the big plot twist). Turns out he wanted to play the joke of the century on them so they would suffer the same way his sisters suffered (this means that the psychologist's patient is him, he was crazy because of the dead of his sisters, I think the psychologist's visits show that he needed help to get over the death of his sisters and medicate himself - this is mentioned -. Something I liked is that every time the psychologist appeared, the place looked more and more like the destroyed asylum Mike found, until you see just the rubble - this may also symbolize Josh's mind -). He is taken to a place, blamed for Jess's death (he claims it wasn't him) and left there, guarded by Mike.

Then, it's discovered that Em, who fell into the mine next to the radio tower, is still alive (she was lucky to have hooked onto a wire). She walks through the mine and encounters the flamethrower guy (who she first runs away from) and a strange creature (which turns out to be the thing the flamethrower guy wanted to protect them from). She falls down a grotto and reaches the area where the sisters died. Their bodies are gone. She finds the sisters' stuff nearby, Beth's grave (just Beth's) and Beth's head (a flaw in the creators keeping the face intact. After a whole year it should be signs of decomposition, although it's a cold climate, it can't last that long - considering it's a cave and hasn't been in contact with snow).

(I explain why at this point the story stops making sense to me and just focuses on scaring the players and adding a lot of violence - this is my opinion, of course-)

Em is chased by the creature and manages to escape and get to her other friends who are back in the house. Mike runs off alerted by the screams and leaves Josh alone. They let the guy with the flamethrower into the house, who explains what's going on: the mountain has some kind of curse from an Indian tribe (or so I understood) that unleashes a spirit (or mutation) if someone eats human flesh on that mountain. It transforms into a wendigo, a creature with impenetrable skin, but susceptible to fire, very violent, that its eyes lighten and only detect changes in the movement of its surroundings, its teeth and nails become longer, its body moves very fast and adapts to the movements of its prey. Bullets don't kill them, but make them back out. This is what happened to the 12 miners they rescued (apparently they ate the rest of the miners).

As they left Josh alone, Chris and the flamethrower guy go to look for him, the others must stay in the basement until dawn, when the police arrive and the wendigos stop hunting (for some reason they don't explain?), because it's a safe place. They don't find Josh and the wendigo approaches them (apparently killing the flamethrower guy I believe there's a posibility where this guy survives) and Chris runs alone to the house (here he can die if you don't control the character properly with the controller, I saw him die - strange that decisions take a back seat and the controls are the ones that kill or don't kill the characters-).

Now, for some strange reason that I don't understand, they think that Em is infected by the wendigo (not true) because it bit her even though the flamethrower guy told them that they only transform if they eat human flesh, and Mike goes crazy and wants to kill her (you can choose whether to shoot her or not). And for another strange reason that I don't understand either, Mike wants to go to the wendigo's lair, where they supposedly have Josh's body, who has the keys to the cable car, to get out of there as soon as possible, and not wait in the basement safely until dawn -which is 2 hours left- for the police to rescue them by helicopter 🤔. Well, the thing is that he goes to the asylum through the underground tunnels, he finds a bunch of wendigos locked up there (by the guy with the flamethrower), and others who are untied and chase him to the mine.

Then it's discovered that Jess, the one they thought was dead (the one who was kidnapped by a wendigo), is still alive. They get another stroke of foolishness and those who had stayed in the basement go after Mike, and as if that wasn't enough, when they go down some sewer stairs, they continue walking without waiting and leave Ash alone 😑. Further on there is a choice between going towards some sounds or regrouping with the ones who left her (obviously regrouping, I believe the other one is for having a extremely stupid dead). Then they split up for another strange reason (they can't climb some stairs and Sam goes to climb the rocks, but Ash and Em go the other way). Sam finds Mike and they save themselves from some wendigos.

Another scene of the psychologist appears, but now he and Josh are in the mines. Josh is alive but now he's there. He has hallucinations of the things he fears most.

Now, Mike and Sam arrive at the wendigos' lair. It's a scary, terrifying scene, with corpses of people hooked to the ceiling, loose heads lying around.... (I couldn't watch this, I couldn't stand it). They meet Josh there. Then they split up again, Sam goes to the house to tell the other that they are good and Mike and Josh go back the way they came (a wendigo was following them). That wendigo, who turns out to be Hannah (she didn't die, she ate Beth after 30 days locked in the cave - which I say, in a few hours these guys have been in and out of the mine a few times, why did she stay there for 30 days? And besides, after 30 days, the meat would be rotten... I believe some animals would end up in the mine). The wendigo kills Josh (it kills him in a terrible way) and Mike leaves.

From then on, Matt is still alive and meets Jess by the mine. They are chased by a wendigo and manage to escape (if you control the characters well, I saw them being saved).

Sam, meanwhile, returns to the house and meets Mike. Then, Ash and Em arrive in a hurry, pursued by a wendigo. Then comes the most tense scene of the whole game: several wendigos are inside with them, and they have to stand still so that they can't be seen. The wendigos start fighting among themselves and the friends have a plan to get out of the situation, which is to explode the house with a gas leak, they just have to turn on a light and everything will explode. There are a series of scenes where they have to stand still and hide, and in the end, if everything is done right, they escape and manage to kill the wendigos (there is a final part where it looks like the wendigo who is the miner that the story talks about the most -Billy Bates - is going to kill Sam just as she is going to hit the light, but it is stopped by the wendigo who is Hannah, it's like Hannah saves her, and that's the only part of the ending that I really liked). The police arrive and save the survivors. The scene along with the credits of the survivors telling the police what they saw is also very original.

The video of the totems explains a lot: It was made by the flamethrower guy, addressed to the sisters' friends. In it, he tells that the flamethrower guy's grandfather hunted wendigos, but one escaped him, the most dangerous one called Makkapitew. Then the miners came to the mountain and the mines collapsed, awakening the curse again. The miners became cannibals and wendigos. If you kill a wendigo, you release its soul, which is susceptible to possessing another person, so it's better to contain them and not kill them. The Makkapitew, after so many hunts, was still free. The year Beth died, he tracked it down. But Hannah and Beth were there too. The wendigo forced them to fall off the cliff, and he could not save them, but avenged them by killing the Makkapitew.

I guess with the spirit of Makkapitew released, Hannah became a wendigo?

My opinion:

I actually liked it a lot (except for that final part full of nonsense). I like the fact that all characters can be saved (except Josh) if you choose the best option. Also, at the beginning it's very relaxed, not a lot of blood and violence. However, from the scene of the saw it changes very abruptly and everything starts to be much more savage and I don't like that, it gives me creeps, that's why I couldn't see some scenes like the hideout with the animal corpses (althought it's not real), the wendigo's lair and Josh's hallucinations. That's why I don't like scary movies and videogames that focus on that (I've loved other games like Little Hope and Man of Medan because there is the perfect amount of violence).

Things that don't make sense (but doesn't mean some parts aren't great):

At the beginning, I liked the story, it was very interesting, but when they add something that has no scientific basis, I usually stop liking it.

The thing I least understand is that the team investigating Hannah and Beth's death didn't find the mine or the wendigos or the asylum or anything. It seems that in this game they are all stupid when it comes to making important decisions but incredibly clever when it comes to organising pranks.

Regarding the characters, at the beginning it seems that they haven't changed much after the death of the sisters (but they no longer get on well), why are they still making annoying jokes if the sisters died with one of them? That happens to me and I would never think of making jokes again in my life.

Also, all that nonsense I wrote while summarising the story, why do they leave the basement which is safe? Are they stupid? I mean, they're scared but they're out looking for the wendigos? I don't understand that. Lastly, I have to ask, why must the wendigos have physical transformations? Why not have the same human vision but also the same speed? And it only happens to humans, why? Why doesn't it happen to other animals? And it can't be cured or avoided? Why do they only hunt at night? And why do they only like eating human flesh? The moment they stop being human, they stop being cannibals when they eat human flesh, but that doesn't mean they can't eat other things, after all, their stomach doesn't change and I suppose they will still be able to eat the same things as humans.

Ideas:

Personally, I would have given more play to the asylum. It was put on the back burner. Instead of curses and all that nonsense, I would have had them rescue the miners, and because they were in such bad shape, they tried a serum or something they were still researching to save them, but it went wrong and they were turned into that. Makes more sense, doesn't it? Sure, but it doesn't fit with Hannah being turned. But for that I have an idea compatible with this one: Hannah managed to get out of the mine (like all her friends in a few hours, you can clearly see there are exits from all the rooms), and half dead, maybe disoriented, she made it all the way to the asylum. There is no light there, she doesn't know where she is, she is traumatised from seeing her sister die, so she injected herself by mistake (or not, I'm thinking about it as I go along) with the serum that the asylum wardens hastily left behind before she died, and she was transformed. But... you'll say, that doesn't fit with the flamethrower man's grandfather hunting wendigos either, and I'm not convinced... Don't worry, I have a different idea to the previous ones, although it's not very well thought out: perhaps, the minerals in the caves of that mountain had a strange chemical component that causes such mutations, compatible only with humans, and there were people who ended up with those components in their body and were transformed before the miners arrived. So anyone with that compound in their body, with a trigger, could transform into a wendigo. Could that trigger be human flesh? Is there something different about human flesh than the flesh of other animals? Obviously their composition varies, and that could be key. That is, if they spend time in the caves and eat human flesh, they become wendigo. This last idea is more in line with history (or maybe the best idea it's a combination of these two?). I've just shown that it's possible to make a story almost as good without resorting to myths and curses. And ruining (in my opinion) the possible increible end.

#until dawn #until dawn summary #opinion #better ideas?#horror games #horror stories #man of medan #little hope

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mst3kproject · 3 years

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Attack from Space

What, you thought I was out of Star Man movies?

In the distant Sapphire Galaxy, the ferocious Superians (I think) have set out to conquer our universe, beginning with the planet Earth. The High Council of the Emerald Planet doesn't like that, so off goes Star Man to suss out the Superian spies who are sabotaging our space programs. This story intersects with that Dr. Yamanaka, a rocket scientist who has been kidnapped by the aliens and brainwashed into building them a fleet of super-spaceships. It's up to Star Man and Yamanaka's two brave children to save the day!

You guys, you're not going to believe this but I think this movie had a fucking budget. I mean, it wasn't a big budget, but there's much more action and plot and much less of children in shorts running around pointing at things! There's two different miniature space stations and a rocket ship that's better than the one in Radar Men from the Moon. There's a single plot that runs all the way through the movie and what's more, unlike the other Star Man movies it's not immediately obvious where 'part one' ends and 'part two' begins. When I think about it, it's probably the point where the rocket blasts off from the secret alien base, but that is purely a hindsight thing. This may be the best put-together film of the whole Star Man quadrilogy!

Don't worry, it still sucks.

Also in hindsight, I realize that the aliens are probably supposed to be the Sapphirians, seeing as they're from the Sapphire Galaxy. But the actors keep sounding like they're saying Superians, which also works, since they're supposed to be a 'superior' race... and a couple of times I swore I heard Severians... like they're going to be severe with us, which they were when they started blowing up cities. Now I'm really confused.

Anyway, like the other films in the Star Man series, Attack from Space begins with a narrator giving us the backstory. In Evil Brain from Outer Space, this served to gloss over the robot assassin killing Ballazar and his minions preserving his brain, which is something I really would have preferred to watch. In Attack from Space, it just tells us that the, um... Silurians? Are on their way. There's a brief time-killing interlude in which Star Man has to pass on destroying their space station because of the inevitable meteor shower, but then we get on to the idea of alien agents on Earth and the story proper starts up. So for once, the narrator doesn't outstay his welcome.

Besides the whole actual budget thing, the other way in which Attack from Space surprises is by making a fairly superficial but apparently sincere attempt to be feminist. This is the first Star Man film in which we've seen women among the aliens. The, er, Cyberians? Are a mix of stiff Japanese extras and a few very embarrassed white guys whose lip movements suggest they're speaking English but saying something totally different from the lines that have been dubbed overtop. The women we see appear to do desk work and monitor radio signals, kind of like Uhura on Star Trek, but it seems they can also serve as security guards, since Dr. Yamanaka's teenage daughter manages to pass as a guard just by stealing a, uh, Spherian? Uniform.

Yamanaka's daughter (according to IMDB her name is Kaoru... I think the narrator might have identified her as such but the name is never used again) is actually one of the most skilled and proactive of the human characters. She's not the one who comes up with the escape plan (her father's assistant, who was given a name but I can't remember it, did that) but she is essential to its execution and to the eventual positive outcome. In the final fight she makes a noble effort to save herself and actually manages to hold off the attacking, uh... Sumerians? Long enough for Star Man to get to her. It's not the same as giving her a personality but it is definitely something, especially in a genre that's usually so relentlessly male.

But as with the other films in the series, most of Attack from Space is just a relentless parade of what the fuck. There are fight scenes set to circus music. The, um... Submarines? They have two different uniforms – the 'rocket ship' version is a standard Japanese Alien silver baked potato jumpsuit, while the 'formal' one is just a re-used Nazi uniform, complete with heil Hitler salute! There's a 'Death Star' but it's just a planet where the rocks are on fire. There's a bit where they throw a dude over the side of the space station. Are we meant to think he just floats around in space forever, or does he fall to earth in a fireball like what happened when Mike dropped the Hubble Space Telescope?!

The two space stations are plastic model kit wheels barely better than their counterparts in Rocky Jones, Space Ranger! and don't stand up to anything like the amount of scrutiny the camera subjects them to. When Star Man tears one apart with his bare hands, it doesn't look remotely like a feat of strength – it just looks like a dude ripping apart a structure made out of wire coat hangers. Outer space is very windy and surprisingly breathable. If it were just the, uh, Siberians? Who stand around on the outside of their space stations unaffected, I might buy that, but humans do it too. Either way, it was nice of Star Man to politely shut the airlock door behind him after he busted his way in.

The fight scenes are delightfully silly – badly choreographed, badly executed, and badly shot, and because of it utterly hilarious. There's not a single punch that looks like it lands. The best bit in the whole movie is when Star Man kicks a guy up the stairs with the power of reversed film (this is the obvious choice for a MST3K stinger)! On the other hand, there are also some rather surprising bits where Star Man picks up a gun and shoots some aliens, which seems very un-superheroish of him.

The movie's scientist, Dr. Yamanaka, lives in a bunker on an island and wears a lab coat all the time. This is explained as being because of his work in rocketry, which is top-secret and dangerous and therefore must be kept away from population centres and the employees well-protected... but it's such a mad scientist trope that it's still a bit of a surprise that he's never revealed as working for the, um, Sulfurians? The whole time.

I don't know if it's worth it to try any sort of actual analysis on the Star Man series as a whole, but I do want to note that out of four movies, three of them involve a threat to the Earth that comes not from humanity, but from an outside force. The Salamander Men, Ballazar's Brain, and the... um... Sirenians? Are all alien creatures that want to take over the Earth as the first step to a greater series of conquests. In Invasion from Space we were told that Earth is 'the richest planet in the galaxy' but this idea doesn't come up in any of the other movies. So why do all these would-be galaxy-conquerors want to start with little old us?

Well, there's the obvious fact that we wouldn't have a comprehensible movie if they didn't, but let's look for a reason in the universe of the stories. One might be tempted to speculate that it's because Earth is easy to conquer by the standards of these spaceship-building, atomic-weapon-mastering, sorcerer-summoning aliens, but that may be a premature conclusion. All these beings seem to have heard of Star Man, after all, and if they've been keeping up with his adventures as we have (which we clearly have, as Star Man is allowed to address the UN at one point) then they must know the Earth is under his protection. There must be something else that makes the Earth special. What is it, exactly, that we're rich in? It can't be minerals, because none of the aliens are ever seen mining.

Considering that both the, uh... Shakespeareans? And Ballazar's Brain are seen to have Earthling scientists working for them, I would humbly speculate that what Earth is rich in... is humans! In Atomic Rulers, the human Magolians (or whoever they were) were able to figure out how to blow up the planet all by themselves, which is something none of these aliens ever even tried! Dr. Kurokawa and his brother of Evil Brain from Outer Space were somehow essential to the invasion plan, even though we never really found out what was up with that. In Attack from Space, the aliens kidnap and brainwash Dr. Yamanaka and his family to build spaceship engines for them. They never say they couldn't have done that on their own, but they don't seem very interested in trying.

Maybe this is why the Emerald Men (at least I can tell what their name is) think they need to keep sending Star Man to Earth. Humans are a resource that needs to be nurtured, not conquered, and someday we can help the entire galaxy to advance! Or is it more sinister than that? Do humans need to be kept isolated and protected, so that nobody – including us – can use our remarkable brainpower for evil? We are very good at evil. With the right tools, we could be an unstoppable force even greater than that of the... Saggitarians? Even Star Man would be unable to stand in our way!

I dunno about you guys, but that makes me feel pretty special.

#mst3k #reviews #episodes that never were #60s #starman and friends #attack from space

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chayacat · 3 years

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Devil’s Sweet Star (17)

Fandom: Dead by Daylight

Ghostface x Female Reader

Rated M for Violence, Language and Smut

***

Haaa... what a pleasure to reopen your business after an absence. Well, you didn’t want it, but you must admit that this little weekend has done you good. Even if in the end, Ghostface came to see you in your hospital room. But you are finally back in your café, your kingdom, your haven of peace. If some people find their work too stressful and boring in the long run, for you, your coffee is the opposite. The faces of the customers, their smile, the little conversations you have with them or that they have with each other... You'll never get tired of it.

The customers are numerous, and happy to see you again! Rumors are going fast in Roseville and when the locals found out what had happened to you, they all worried about you! And seeing you again was a real relief. One of your clients, a little old lady even brought you a small bouquet of flowers! How adorable! The room was full and your Neptune's pie was always the little favorite of the guests. Even though your March cake and Ufo brownies were also starting to be popular with people. And with your new cakes, people were flocking more and more. How nice it was to see a room filled.

“Have you read the papers lately? It seems that a certain Hoggins would be in the middle of a scandal. And Mr McKellan would also be involved!” said a woman to her colleagues.

“What? Really? What did they done?” ask one of them.

“Apparently, Hoggins would sign partnerships with his competitors, then sink them thanks to McKellan's complicity to recover more profits!” replied the woman

“What a bastard.”

“Personally, this does not surprise me. I saw the article on the website of a Georgia newspaper. They're the ones who have that exclusivity. Too bad, usually it's our little newspaper that gets good scoop like this.” said the man of the group.

“At the same time, they have another Ghostface murder to write about. This Jed Olsen is really super good! I don't know how he gets so much information!” said another woman.

This conversation caught your attention. Yet Jed told you that the journalist from Georgia got caught, didn't he? So how is it that they publish the article before Roseville? Unless...

“Hey!” said Mattew, entering the café with a childish smile.

“Mattew! Nice to see you! Melina isn't with you?” you answer with a bright smile.

“Nah, she’s already at work, Since the scandal came out, she's been motivated. Then? Feeling better?”

“Yeah, doctor said to not make too much efforts. But I'll be fine. The same as usual?”

“Yup! It's going to wake me up a little bit for work.”

You smile while you were preparing Mattew's order. Let's talk about him, shall we?

Mattew Erins is a lovely California Boy. His family, from Irish immigration, moved to America to pursue a career. And careers are diverse! Comedians, musicians, workers, cooks... Mattew is the only one in the family who has tried journalism. His mother, a great theatre actress, and his father, a director, tried everything to keep their son in line. But little Mattew still preferred the quest for truth to comedy. The same size as Jed, his beautiful green eyes, his body a little skinny and his blond hair make him one of the prettiest boys in Ohio. His parents were very open-minded, so he had no fear of introducing them to his boyfriend Chris, who was freaking out about the meeting. 3 years of pure love and laughter between these two and few arguments. The most interesting fact about him is that he can eat like an ogre.... without gaining weight.

“There you go!” you said, giving him his order.

“Thanks a lot! This will help!” he said taking a sip. “Haaa that’s good.”

“By the way, I heard that a newspaper in Georgia published the article on Hoggins... But Jed told me that whoever was at the reception had been caught...”

“Oh, the boss changed his strategy, to prevent Hoggins from attacking us, we sent our article to this newspaper and we waited for them to publish it to publish it right after. That way we don't risk anything, even if I think it's a bit unfair.”

“it is, but in a sense, you are protected. I heard there was a new murder of Ghostface... Jed had told me about it as well. Do we know who it is?”

“It...It was Mike. Police find Mike’s body in a state...Well, it's not pretty to see. Apparently, he went wild this time.”

“Oh God...I'm sorry to hear that...” you replied.

“He was an asshole, but he didn’t deserve it. Even the worst man in the world didn’t deserve a death like that. Well, I gotta go or my boss will be angry at me again. I'm a bit of a champion of delays at the Journal... I'll see you later! and rest from time to time!” said Mattew before leaving, smiling at you.

You take a little time to assimilate what Mattew told you. Ghostface killed Mike. In a way, Mattew was right, even the worst man didn't deserve to die atrociously. But on the other hand, He had gone after Jed. He almost killed him. So... He looked for it. But that means you have to thank Ghostface. Because if he hadn't killed Mike... Who knows what he would have done to Jed?

The thought of feeling indebted to Ghostface disgusts you. Because you know that he will use it to get what he wants from you. But it's a fact, he saved Jed's life. Unintentionally. The memories of last night came back to you. He saw you naked and had fun scaring you with his knife. But the cold of the blade passing over your chest didn't really displease you. It even gave you little thrills of pleasure. But it's out of the question to show it to him. Only Jed can give you these sensations. Not this lunatic who only tries to satisfy his fantasies.

But let's keep this to us, okay? For now, Jed and you are not officially together. Not yet, anyway. With what happened to him, and since he still hasn't turned the page, does he only feel ready to engage in a new relationship? Maybe it won't last? Maybe he's too scared? But yet this kiss he gave you... Isn't that proof to the contrary? That he wants to move on? And that with you he finally hopes he will get there?

All this is still confused. You'll have to discuss it with him... be sure that's what he wants. Because you’re sure about what you want: for you he's the only one that can make you happy, you're sure. But what about him? You sigh while shaking your head, you don't have time to think about that at the moment. you have to focus on your work... And on Ghostface.

If you couldn't find out more about him last night, you know that sooner or later he'll let his guard down, or he'll say something interesting to bring him down. And there, and maybe there, you can turn the situation to your advantage. But sneaky as it is, it is able to tell you anything... or to find out the truth. And you're in serious danger of regretting it.

“Excuse me, Miss! Can I have a refill please?” said a young man.

“Of course!” you answer taking the coffee pot to refill the young man’s cup.

Another one asks for a refill and when you are about to serve him, a man came in with a gun. A man you recognize among a thousand since he is the one who attacked you. He pointed his gun at you, ready to shoot. Your blood only made one turn. And before he can say or do anything, you throw the coffee in his face. He screamed knocking down his gun. You take the opportunity to hit him in the stomach and you put him on the ground. You give him an arm wrench and press his back with your knees to keep him on the ground.

“Someone calls the cops! Quick! I won't be able to hold him for long!” you shout at everyone before looking at him: “Wasn't it enough to stab me? You want to kill me with a bullet between the eyes now??? I've had enough of you and your boss! You can tell McKellan I intend to stay here whether he likes it or not!” you whisper to his ear.

The police arrived a few minutes later and boarded the young man. You warn them that this is the man who stabbed you. They took note of it, alerted the police station and greeted you before leaving, the suspect in the vehicle. Once inside, everyone applauded you. You feel both flattered and embarrassed, you acted only instinctively... nothing more. You resumed your work for the rest of the day. Proud of your action, you can't help but smile, you can't wait to tell Melina, Mattew and Jed all about it.

The end of the day came and as usual you go around your café to make sure everything was locked. Especially the back shop. As you went to close the back door, two hands came to hide your eyes which startled you. A little laugh was heard, a familiar laugh.

“Ready to go home Miss?” Said Jed laughing a little.

“Jed! You’ve scared me!” you answer, tapping his shoulder as he turned around and laughed.

“Sorry, I couldn't help it. Are you done going around? Are you ready to go home?”

“I am. We can go. I have to tell you something crazy.”

“What? A client fell on his butt because you clean the floor too much?”

“No... The man who stabs me attacked me again. Don’t worry he didn't have time to do anything. I sent him coffee in the face and I mastered him like a champion of martial arts! You should have seen that!” you replied proudly.

“You've mostly had some pretty sharp reflexes. Someone told the police? Did they come?” He asks.

“Yes. I told them that he was the one who stabbed me. But it seems that they already knew at the police station. Thanks to your testimony. Besides Mattew told me for... your former colleague. Mike. Ghostface apparently didn't miss him.”

Jed only nod before opening the van’s door. You get in and put your belt before watching Jed again hoping he answers. But nothing. He simply started the car and hit the road to get home. You look at the road slightly annoyed thinking that you have to thank Ghostface for somehow saving Jed's life. Jed noticed your annoyance and patted your leg while smiling before refocusing on the road.

He parked, went down, and you both took the opportunity to pick up your respective mail. Mrs. Lawson took you in her arms when she saw you, which made Jed sneer at this embarrassing situation. You reassure the old lady before you say goodbye and leave with Jed to your respective apartments.

“Hey... it doesn't seem to be going well. You... Do you want to talk about it?” ask Jed, worried.

“It's just that... I feel compelled to thank Ghostface for killing Mike. After all, he tried to kill you at work... Who knows what could have happened to you? Maybe Mike would have come here, he'd come home and...” you said, some tears forming at your eyes.

“Hey hey hey...It’s over now. And you don't have to feel indebted to this murderer. Mike didn't know where I was living anyway. He could never have done anything to me. And then... I know how to defend myself a little bit. Even if you don't see it... You know what? Tomorrow night I'll invite you to dinner. At home or in the restaurant of your choice. I owe you that. It'll change your mind. Ok?”

You nod and kiss him on the cheek before wishing him good night. You close the door of your apartment and sigh with relief, but look dreamy. a one-on-one dinner with Jed. Well, this is not the first time but ... There you can discuss. Either you're officially together, or he'd rather wait. But with the sign numbers you've seen, if he tells you, he's not sure he wants to engage in a relationship with you, you'll be disappointed... but not discouraged.

You head to the kitchen to get ready to eat. Tonight, it's Mexican. Homemade fajitas to reward yourself for your day. You've earned them! You prepare your meal, the sweet smells of spices spreading throughout the room, sweet and slightly spicy smells. You smile proudly of the result when suddenly two hands came to hide your eyes.

“Smells pretty good here... There are some for me, I hope?” Said Ghostface by releasing one of your eyes to try to catch a fajita. A gesture stopped by a wooden spoon on the hand.

“Don't even think about it. I'm not going to let you sting my food. Why don't you go steal your meal from one of your future victims? Or go home.” you answer frowning.

“Oh, come on. You can do it again. Given the amount, you could feed your whole building. I have the right to eat at least one. So? I’ve heard you've mastered your attacker? You see that sometimes diplomacy is not always the best solution. And again... I'm sure you would have slaughtered him if you had been alone.” he replied, laughing.

“I already told you that I'm not twisted as you are. And I only did it because he was pointing a gun at me. It's self-defence.” You said slightly angry.

“Of course, Of course! But you know... you start with a kick or a punch... And then you move on to an iron bar... or a stab wound. You know when you've lived a life like mine... After a while you think: either you are the prey or the predator. I'll let you guess which route I took.”

“I'd never be like you.”

“And I don't want to! You'll just be my accomplice; you won't say anything... you'll lie to the police... You will be... my guardian angel. My beautiful angel. And then who knows... Maybe you'll save me from madness. or that I will train you with me.”

“I have someone now and...”

“Do you really want to live with that Nerdy Boy? While you could have a more exciting, more dangerous life! Do you prefer a boring life to that? I'm not saying Jed won't be faithful to you... from what I learned from him, he's the best boyfriend girls would love to have. But all he thinks about is working. As I told you, I will treat you like a queen. A treasure from which no one will come near. You will be mine, and only mine. I'll never let anyone take what I care about again.” Said Ghostface touching your cheek with gloved hand.

You were about to react when he ran over you, sticking his arms on the worktop. You could hear the breath through his mask, then a little sneer before he retired, a fajita in hand. He walked to the window, lightly lifted his mask to take a bite. Then he handed it over and looked at you.

“Taste good, but I would have added a little more spice. Oh, by the way, don't thank me for saving your little nerd's life. I need him to talk about my exploits. Think carefully... He or I. Sweet dreams.”

Then he vanished. But at least you've learned a little more. It's only a small step, but it's better than nothing. But what did he lose to get to this point? Only he has the answer. For now, you have to hold on. Choosing between him and Jed? The choice is quickly made.

And maybe once you're together... You can bring him down.

And finally, you'll be free from the Devil.

At least that's what you think.

***

(And it’s done! Pass my code asks me for time, sometimes I wonder how I get to write and focus on my code at once. But I hope you’ll like this chapter! And now I'm resting my brain for the weekend! Have a great week-end everyone! See ya!)

#dbd fanfic #dbd #dead by daylight #ghostface #danny johnson #jed olsen

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bvckiesbarnes · 4 years

Text

does that make me crazy?

Pairing: Mafia!Bucky x Reader

Word count: 1.6k

Summary: Reader is a waitress at a seedy bar. Bucky comes in to collect some payment and talk business with your boss. Things go wrong, and Bucky tries to get the truth.

Themes/Warnings: Mafia!Bucky, slight gun violence, slight swearing.

A/N: Requests are open! This is also my first Bucky x Reader fic so please be kind :)

You wipe down the bar top, idly trying to count in your head how many tips you got. You weren’t great at math but you still wanted to try. It was a slow night, typical for a Tuesday.

The bar you worked at was pretty seedy and it was situated on one of the many streets run by the Mafia. They were relatively safe if you payed the protection fee and didn’t make stupid decisions. You didn’t know exactly how much that fee was, but it wasn’t enough to go bankrupt, that’s for sure.

Just as you were finishing with the till, three people walked in. Two of them walked slowly, obviously assessing the room for threats. A woman with red hair and the type of attitude that says she could kill you with a single look inspected her nails, whispering something at her companion, an extremely muscular blonde man trailing two steps behind.

The man in the middle, though, is what makes you pay attention. He has full lips, artfully tousled brown, almost black hair and the most piercing set of blue yes you have ever seen. His jaw is sharp as a knife, broad shoulders filling out his jacket nicely.

You feel your mouth run dry and you immediately swallow, trying to get your tongue to work.

When you finally speak, you try to address all of them, your eyes lingering slightly on the man in the middle.

“Sorry, we’re closed,” you say, smiling apologetically.

The man in the middle doesn’t even miss a beat. “It won’t take a minute,” he says, a Brooklyn drawl lacing his words.

The moment he speaks, you recognise him. James “Bucky” Barnes. Notorious leader of the Mafia. The Mafia.

You are so fucked.

Trying to keep your voice steady, you straighten your back, trying not to betray anything. “Can I help you?”

“Is there any chance your boss is around?” Bucky asks, inspecting the bar and wincing slightly at the state of the stools, “I need to have a little chat with him. Tell him Bucky’s here.” His smile was all teeth, predatory and dangerous.

“Uh, yeah, sure, I think he’s in the back. Should I get him, or..?” You say, gesturing with your thumb.

Bucky just smirks, a lopsided thing that was far too innocent to be anything but. “That’d be great, doll.”

You give him a tight-lipped smile and rush to the back, not wanting to keep him waiting.

Your boss—Mike—wasn’t the best, but he wasn’t the worst, either. He usually pays on time, which is nice, and he only sometimes uncomfortably flirts with you. He’s only harassed you like, once. In New York that’s pretty good.

The world is fucked.

You quickly push the back door open. “Hey, Mike? There’s someone–oh, what the fuck.”

There’s a gun. Mike is holding the gun. In all your years in New York, this is actually the first time you’re getting a gun pulled on you. Fun. If you had a bingo card, you’d definitely win it with this.

Mike is breathing harshly, red in the face. Sweat drips down into his eyes. How he’s keeping them open is a mystery to you. “I know who’s here,” he whispers harshly, finger shaking on the trigger, “and I don’t wanna see him.”

The smart thing to do is back away. Tell Bucky to come back another time. For some reason, your brain wholeheartedly disagrees and decides to speak. “I don’t really think you have a choice,” you retort, voice steady.

Mike just turns even redder. You didn’t know a person could even have this much blood in one area. It seems unhealthy. “I swear to god I will shoot you,” he practically barks. “Tell him to go.”

“Okay, okay, let’s think for a moment here–”

“I am warning you–”

“I’m going!” You say, hands up in a placating motion. “Don’t shoot.”

You back out, keeping your hands up the entire time. You try your hardest to look normal when you go back into the bar, hoping that Bucky and his group don’t see through your façade. The moment you step back into that room all eyes are on you.

Except only Bucky is there.

This is gonna be bad.

You speak before Bucky can say anything.

“Hey, sorry, I think you just missed him, but I could leave a message or–oh you are very close.”

With each word you spoke, Bucky stepped closer, backing you into the bar. Your back hits the corner and suddenly you’re aware of just how close he is, the scent of his aftershave spicy and clean. It was intoxicating and, quite frankly, you didn’t mind it.

“Now I’m gonna ask you a question and I expect you to be honest with me, darlin’,” Bucky said, his voice low enough that you needed to concentrate to make out the words he was saying.

You swallow, catching the way his eyes follow the movement. He was a head taller than you, emphasising the feeling of being caged in. It made your heart race—and if you were being truthful—not just from fear.

He leans in a little closer, his hands coming up to rest beside your head. “Where’s your boss?”

Each word was spoken softly, but he may as well be shouting them for how loud they seemed in your ears.

“Not here—” you start to say, but Bucky just clicks his tongue, shaking his head.

“Now, I don’t get pissed off, easy. I like to think myself quite reasonable, actually,” he twirls a strand of your hair, playing with it idly. The casualness just added to the butterflies in your stomach which you firmly told yourself was panic and not anything else.

“Lyin’, though,” he continues, “gets on my nerves, and you don’t wanna be on my bad side.” The low, almost growl of his voice shivers down your spine. You look away, trying to break the tension.

Bucky gently grabs your chin, making you look at him. His grip is calloused yet soft. You could break out if you wanted, but something about him traps you in his gaze.

“So I’m gonna ask one more time,” he says, piercing blue eyes boring into yours, “where is your boss?”

A voice in your head tells you to shut up and avoid getting shot. Another voice tells you to answer, because something tells you he could do a lot worse than shoot you. A part of you also wanted to see how he’d react to your honesty, if he’d smile a genuine smile or if he’d just back off.

“He’s in the back,” you say, voice quiet but surprisingly steady.

A grin spreads across Bucky’s face, boyish and pleased. “Thanks, doll.” For a second it seems like he’s going to lean in, maybe drag his lips across yours, but the moment is broken when the door to the back room opens.

You startle, eyes immediately looking over to what moved. Bucky leans back slowly, unperturbed. The two people he came in with were holding your boss between them, bruised and bloody.

Bucky makes some quick hand gestures, obviously telling them to take care of it. How, you didn’t want to know. They left quickly, speaking in low hushed tones, strangely jovial considering what they just did.

Then, something clicked. “Hold on, he’s—”

“Yup,” Bucky says, popping the ‘p’.

“Which means you already knew where he was,” you say, the realisation slowly dawning on you.

“I wouldn’t be good at what I did if I didn’t,” he grins, leaning on the bar next to you. You’re relieved for the space it puts between you, since your cheeks were absolutely burning. Why was he so hot? Why couldn’t you be attracted to, like, an accountant, or something?

“So, if you knew, why did you ask?” You say, crossing your arms, trying to regain some dignity.

Bucky shrugs. “Wanted to see if you told the truth.”

Your brows furrow, and in a fit of boldness, you take a step closer to him. His eyebrow quirks up at that, smiling rakishly and running his eyes over you.

“And you needed to see that because..?” You ask, slightly annoyed now that the shock of the night was gone.

“Because I wanted to ask you to dinner,” Bucky says, writing something on a bit of paper he fished out from his pocket.

“You—I—what?”

“Dinner,” Bucky says, slow, as if he was speaking to a child, “it’s a meal you eat with someone you wanna get to know better.”

“Yeah, I know what dinner is,” you snap, annoyed at his condescending tone. This only makes him smile wider, making you bristle. “What I wanna know is why do you want to ask me to it.”

Bucky just smiles wider. “Come to dinner and I’ll tell you,” he says, sauntering over to you and handing you the piece of paper. “This number doesn’t connect directly to me, so don’t get any ideas, doll.” He stood just a bit too close, but you refused to take a step back. Instead you looked him in the eyes, straightening your back.

You were just about to ask about what you could do with a number before realising the world he comes from. Maybe it’s best to keep this to myself, you think, pocketing the piece of paper.

“I’ll pick you up at seven tomorrow,” Bucky says, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear. Before you could answer, he was already walking away, leaving you with the residual warmth left behind from his touch.

What a weird fucking night.

#bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x y/n #mafia!bucky #my writing #bucky barnes #marvel

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daresplaining · 4 years

Photo

It has been a year and nine months since we last saw Mike Murdock, and a full two years since we had any actual information about his whereabouts (as his last few appearances were a dream sequence). While I, personally, haven’t let him wander far from my thoughts in that time, I recognize that some people might like a refresher, or may even be new to the character. With that in mind, I’ve put together a little Mike primer in anticipation of his long-awaited reappearance in tomorrow’s Annual.

Silver Age Mike Murdock (Daredevil vol. 1 #25-41)

[ID: Three panels from Lee’s Daredevil run, showing Matt Murdock changing into his Mike Murdock outfit.]

Matt: “The peculiar personality of mischievous Mike really began to grab me! I enjoyed playing the role of my hip, happy, hedonistic twin! Especially since it was so easy for me to make the change from mellow Matt to merry Mike! All I need do is ruffle up my hair-- change to some loud, sporty threads-- and switch my frosted spectacles for a pair of groovy sunglasses! Then, presto-- I become the coolest cat in town-- the zingiest, glitziest loudmouth you know-- the most fun-lovin’, frantic fraud of ‘em all-- the people’s choice-- marvelous Mike Murdock in person!"

The abstract concept that would become Mike Murdock first appeared in Daredevil #25, halfway through Stan Lee’s run. At this point, the Daredevil universe mainly consisted of Matt and Foggy, up-and-coming young lawyers in their very first law office, and Karen, their secretary and mutual crush. This early in his superhero career, Matt is still making it up as he goes, juggling his dual identity and grappling with a bizarre series of supervillains/Spider-Man (more on that in a moment). Matt’s primary strategy for keeping his Daredevilling a secret at this time is to create a meek, boring, stick-in-the-mud civilian identity for himself, so that there’s no chance of anyone connecting straight-laced lawyer Matt Murdock with Daredevil. He resists the urge to court Karen, he over-exaggerates his blindness, and he lives for the times when he can toss aside his civvies and let loose as Daredevil.

Into this situation swings Spider-Man, who accidentally reveals to Karen and Foggy that he believes Matt to be Daredevil. Matt is as yet inexperienced at dealing with secret identity slip-ups, and when his friends confront him, he tries to throw them off the trail by inventing another identity: Mike Murdock, his hip, loud-mouthed superhero twin brother. And it works... almost too well. Matt loves being Mike, and his “twin” quickly turns into an outlet for everything he has been suppressing in his Matt Murdock identity. He is loud and boisterous in the office, he flirts with Karen, he revels in bragging about his exploits as Daredevil. Mike becomes a coping mechanism, a source of freedom, a relief from all of the stifling secret-keeping, and a glimpse of the person Matt maybe wants to be. He even considers proposing to Karen as Mike and taking on that identity permanently. Eventually, though, the charade turns sour. Karen and Foggy grow fond of Mike and become increasingly upset by Matt’s blasé attitude about his brother’s dangerous superhero life. Finally, Matt decides it would be best to kill Mike off, and he fakes his “twin brother”’s heroic death during a supervillain fight.

“Fragment” Mike Murdock (Daredevil vol. 5 #606-608)

[ID: Panels from Soule’s Daredevil run. Foggy is sitting at his desk, having a gun pointed at him by Mike Murdock.]

Foggy: “That is... correct. How did you...?”

Mike: “Because I ain’t him. I’m me. And now, Foggy... you need to call my brother.”

Fifty years (our time) later, the Daredevil landscape looks very different. While Matt occasionally uses the “Mike Murdock” alias to go undercover, putting on that actual identity has never again been necessary. The stifling act he once wore as Matt Murdock is long gone, and he views the Mike period of his life as nothing more than a slight embarrassment. In an attempt to take down the Kingpin, he teams up with a group of Inhumans, one of whom has the power to bring words to life. While going through some of Matt’s files, this Inhuman stumbles upon some text about Matt’s fake twin brother, and accidentally uses his powers.

What follows is a psychological, philosophical rollercoaster. Mike Murdock materializes as something dubbed within the story as a “fragment”-- a person who believes themself to be real, who has memories of a lived past, who looks and sounds and behaves like a normal human, but... isn’t. This Mike is very much the same flirty loudmouth that Matt dreamed up in the 60s, while also being his own person, with characteristics and a “past” that don’t quite match up with the Mike we know. Matt is weirded-out and horrified to be confronted by this living, breathing embodiment of a fake identity he created, someone who fully believes himself to be his brother, and Mike is equally horrified to discover that he is fake, that his memories and relationship with his brother are fake, and that everything he thought he knew is wrong. Matt becomes determined to have Mike deleted back out of existence, and when Mike realizes this, he fights back, desperate to stay alive. In the end, Matt comes to accept Mike’s humanity and opens himself up to the possibility of having a new family member, but not before Mike becomes convinced that his brother wants him dead. He flees to the protection of the Kingpin, and the last we see of him, he is walking away with the Hood toward a dangerous and uncertain future.

The strangeness of Mike as a character and the massive change he presents to the Daredevil status quo mean that his continuing existence is full of exciting and unpredictable possibilities. The preview for the Daredevil volume 6 Annual, which will bring him back after his two-year absence, suggests that we will be getting a glimpse into his memories-- the fake version of Daredevil history that exists inside his head, in which Matt Murdock has always had a brother-- and that he will be seeking to reconcile the dissonance between those memories and the real world. What might happen from there is, at the moment, anyone’s guess.

#Daredevil #Mike Murdock #Matt Murdock #Adventures in Continuity #Mike Murdockalypse #ONE MORE DAY!

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fanfictionforeveryone · 4 years

Text

[SUMMARY:] Marina is working for the Corleone family unaware of their criminal activity. Vincent Mancini takes an interest in Marina unaware that she has secrets of her own. Marina is on the run from an abusive ex-boyfriend, Joey. Vincent vows to protect Marina from Joey while also protecting her from the life he lives.

Vincent and Marina. PART ONE

[[MORE]]

Michael Corleone entered the room with his six year old grandson, John. With a smile you greeted the young boy you would be set to tutor for the summer.

Michael stopped at the door and crouched down to his grandson.

“John, this is Marina. She’s a good friend of mine and she’s going to help you with some school work during the day.” Johns parents had been killed in a car accident and Michael felt responsible for him.

“I expect you to be a good boy and listen to what she says.” John smiled bashfully making you giggle. Michael was a friend of your fathers who openly let him know you had been looking for work. You were happy to work for the Corleone family as your father only told you good things of them.

“Hey uncle Mike, Luigi is waiting for us in the dining room.” You looked up to see a rather handsome man with dark black slick hair and piercing dark eyes. The man seemed instantly distracted from what he told Michael as he locked eyes with you. It was clear he took an interest in what his eyes were focused on. Michael stood up clearing his throat knowing his nephew very well.

“I’ll be right there, Vincent.” Michael narrowed his eyes at him as Vincent smirked at you, you couldn’t help but blush. Michael cleared his throat once again catching his nephews attention making him give his uncle a nod before leaving the room. Michael turned to you with a smile before gently pushing John in your direction.

“He’s all yours. You let our servant, Lilian know if you need anything.”

“Thank you.” You smiled as you took Johns hand and led him to the table. The room the two of you occupied had a back door entry into their beautiful garden that you could see through the windows. The house was like none you had ever seen before.

Vincent waited for his uncle down the hall and walked with him towards the dining room.

“Who was that?” Vincent couldn’t help but ask making Michael sigh.

“Don’t even think about it.” Michael responded bluntly before the two entered the dining room.

Luigi, an older heavy set man the family had known for years sat at the end of the table. Luigi was a man they grew not to trust any longer but he was not aware that the Corleones were on to him and agreed to a meeting.

Vincent never liked this man and Michael knew of this. Michael did his best to give his nephew advice on how to tame his anger, how to not act on impulse...something his father was very well known to do.

“Michael, just the man I wanted to see.” He put out a cigar and stood up as Vincent and Michael stood straight without saying a word.

“I have a proposal for you. Something you might like.” He grinned.

“I’ve got some people who want a hit out on Rafioso-“

“Rafioso.” Michael muttered low. Rafioso was an enemy. An enemy of his that took the life of many people he loved. An enemy who had tried to set him up years prior.

“Yes. Rafioso. They want him dead. I couldn’t think of whom better to do it than a Corleone.”

Vincent grew with excitement, he knew just how badly Rafioso was hated by his uncle but he was not expecting his uncles response.

“I’ll have to pass on that offer.”

Vincent couldn’t help but look at his uncle with a puzzled expression.

“Uncle Mike-“

Michael lifted his hand silencing Vincent. No one looked more shocked than Luigi.

“I do not understand, Michael. Surely you will think this through.”

“I have nothing to think over but my doctor appointment that I am about to be late for.” Michael responded rather snarky making Luigi lift a brow.

“I see. I think you are making a grave mistake but I’ll leave you to it.” Luigi picked up his belongings and let himself out of the room. Michael did not take his eyes off of him until he left his front door and heard it lock shut.

“Uncle Mike, how could you turn that down-“

“Never question my judgment in front of an outsider again.” Michael interrupted in a calm yet stern manner.

Michael had learned a lot in his time as a Don and knew he had very much to teach his nephew.

“Luigi has something else planned and he thinks he’s going to fool me, that fat fuck has something else coming for him.”

Vincent didn’t say a word, he was a witness to his uncle always having a good judgment to things. Michael knew this was a set up, a set up to get one of his people in a spot easy for Luigi and his people to target. Michael walked out of the room leaving Vincent alone to think over what had just occurred. Thinking how quickly this would have went over his head had he been alone. Vincent knew he had to have a better way of thinking in this life or it would cost him his own.

John was finishing up his homework beside you as you went over the books he had. Heavily invested in the tutoring session, you were not aware Vincent had made his way to the door way and stood just outside quietly watching you with John. Vincent thought you were a beautiful woman, you had long dark locks with an olive complexion. Your observant dark eyes was what caught his attention the most. They seemed innocent yet curious. You were delicate with your fingers as you turned the pages of the book before you. You seemed so gentle to him, it was no mistake why Michael trusted you with his grandson.

“Uncle Vincent!” You looked up as John excitedly called out for him completely blowing up his spot.

“Hey kid, you caught me huh?” Vincent chuckled as he let himself in the room. You smiled looking up at him as he stopped before the table and stared down at you with a slight smile.

“I don’t think we were properly introduced. I’m Vincent.” You knew him not being introduced was not a mistake, you remember the interaction between him and his uncle from earlier.

“I’m Marina.”

Of course you had a beautiful name he thought, a beautiful name for a beautiful woman.

“What are you two working on?”

Vincent went around the table and leaned over between the two of you. You did your best to stop yourself from smiling but his closeness made your heart flutter.

“Marina taught me how to do to math problems using these.” John showed Vincent some foam like material apples making him chuckle.

“Oh yeah? That’s nice.” He looked over at you with a smile when Michael suddenly walked into the room.

“Vincent.” You didn’t have to know Michael to know the unhappy tone in his voice, it quickly wiped away the smile Vincent had on his lips and made him stand up straight.

“Can I see you in the hall? Now.” Michael walked out first as Vincent quickly followed closing the doors behind him.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Michael whispered to Vincent making him frown.

“I didn’t know I was doing anything wrong by talking to a beautiful woman.”

Michael sighed shaking his head.

“You don’t get it, Vincent. She is the daughter of an old good friend of mine. This man asked me for work for his daughter, trusting her in my care. She does not know of this part of our life. She can’t-“

“Okay and what do you think I’m trying to get her caught in the mix, come on uncle Mike it’s just conversation.”

“I know that look, Vincent. That’s not just conversation, that’s the way I looked at your aunt. A beauty she is but this life isn’t for her. You’ll just put her in danger so don’t start anything.” Michael left to his bedroom awaiting his private doctor leaving Vincent in the hall lost in his thoughts. His uncle was right. You had the kind of beauty that made Vincent want to go back for more. His uncle making you sound like forbidden fruit tempted him even more than he already was. Vincent had not had a serious relationship in a few years being heavily caught up in the life style of his family. He didn’t think he was looking for one but he couldn’t help his attraction towards you.

“Alright, that was good for today. So I’ll see you tomorrow morning?” You smiled crouching down to John. He smiled nodding his head before Lilian came to take him for lunch. Now alone in the room you finished packing away Johns books and organizing them on the table for the next day.

“Coming back tomorrow?”

You gasped looking up to see Vincent standing by the door.

“Vincent.” You chuckled with your hand on your chest.

“You frightened me.”

“Mm.” He took another step in the room with a slight smirk across his face.

“I think you’re the last person I want to frighten.” You not knowing the double meaning behind this comment regarding his life style, laughed it off.

“Well, I better get going now.” You carried your purse over your shoulder, pushing a strand of hair behind your ear. Vincent couldn’t stop looking at the beauty you held, he wondered if you knew just how beautiful you were.

“So soon?” Vincent responded.

“Yes. I have to get home to take care of my father. His health is not at its best.”

Vincent frowned not being aware just how different your life was to his. The way you lived.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Marina.”

“I’m all he has. Everyone else is in Sicily.”

“Mm. So it is true what they say.”

Vincent smirked making you raise a brow in confusion.

“In Sicily women are more dangerous than shot guns, it’s what Uncle Mike always told me.”

You laughed feeling your cheeks blush, Vincent liked the sound of your laugh.

“What makes you say that?”

“It’s true. Look at you for example-“ Vincent stepped closer into the room making your heart pound hard in your chest.

“A gorgeous woman but you’re dangerous and you don’t even know it.”

“How so?” You stepped closer to him as he placed his hands in his pockets staring you down.

“You’re tempting.” He stepped closer to you looking down at your lips.

“Tempting but forbidden. I don’t really like to follow the rules though.”

Your eyes drifted down to his lips as he spoke. You didn’t know this man and you had never felt such an attraction with a stranger before but you couldn’t help yourself. You could tell by his body language that he wanted to kiss you, you wanted to kiss him too. That’s when the two of you were completely caught off guard by the sound of the door of the office opening.

It was Michael.

“Mr.Corleone.” You spoke nervously taking a step back from Vincent.

“You need a ride home, Marina?” Michael asked in a serious tone.

“No, I’ll be on my way now.” You began to make your way to the door when Vincent grabbed you by your wrist.

“Let me give you a ride home-“

“That won’t be necessary, Vincent. I’ll have someone do so she arrives safely.” Michael interrupted.

You gave Vincent an apologetic smile before quickly walking away in embarrassment and leaving the house.

Vincent attempted to leave the room only to be blocked by Michael at the door.

“I’m warning you, Vincent. That girl isn’t for you, let her be.” Michael stepped aside letting Vincent leave the room knowing he could not control his nephew but he also knew he knew things of you that no one else did. With the things he knew about you, he knew you would not be able to handle this life style. You had been through enough. He didn’t want his nephew to make the same mistake he had made in the past and be the reason an innocent woman was hurt.

The next day you were a little anxious about stepping into work. You took an interest in Vincent and you knew he was interested in you too but, you knew it was a match that would not be possible. Michael for some reason did not like the two of you speaking, you were unaware of why but you simply thought he did not want to mix business with pleasure.

Michael caught Vincent in the kitchen that morning having his breakfast, he knew it would be minutes before you would arrive.

“Up early to catch your new friend?” Michael sat at the table across from Vincent.

Vincent didn’t say a word and gave his uncle a look.

“Just like your father. Never listened to anyone.”

“I’ll learn my own lessons. Don’t worry about it, Uncle Mike. I won’t let her get to close.”

Vincent wiped his lips and left the kitchen to see you through the window coming out of the car.

Today you wore a soft blue sundress that hugged your every curve. Vincent couldn’t help himself but to let his eyes roam.

“Good morning, Marina.” You were greeted at the door by Lilian with a smile and right away noticed Vincent behind her.

“Good morning.” You responded with a smile as you entered the house and immediately was cut off guard with John running into you.

“Marina! Did you bring the apples?!”

“Of course I did.” You laughed as he held on tightly to your thigh.

“Come on, lets get going.” You took him by the hand and passed Vincent with a smirk.

“Good morning, Marina.” His voice was low and husky, it was an almost seductive tone.

“Good morning, Vincent.”

John stared up at the two of you before pulling you away making Vincent chuckle.

“Hey remember what I said, John.”

“I know. I know.” John mumbled excitedly walking into the study.

It was hard not to think of Vincent as you tutored John, all you wanted was for him to walk through the door and give you that look. That look that sent shivers down your spine. You sighed as you let John read a book and stood up to look at the bookshelf in the room. It was a beautiful oak shelf, the room had many beautiful things to it. Looking at all the pieces in the room, you couldn’t help but wonder what exactly the Corleones did for a living.

Vincent stood by the door way with his arms crossed silently watching you look through the book shelf with a look of amusement. He stepped into the room not making a sound as John stayed distracted into his book. Vincent made his way right behind you as you got on your toes attempting to reach for a book on the top shelf clearly having some trouble.

“Need help?” Vincent’s leaned in close behind making you jump with a gasp.

“Why do you keep doing that!” You whispered with a laugh looking behind you to make sure John was still focused on his school work.

“Oh I just like that little jump you do.” He teased as he looked up at the book you had been attempting to reach. With his arms around you from behind he easily grabbed the book you wanted and bought it down before you.

“This the one you wanted?”

“Yes.” You smiled looking down at the book as you took it from his hands.

“Marina, I finished!” John quickly called out for you making you both look over.

“I better get back to him.” You whispered as you looked back at him and felt your back against his chest.

Before you attempted to walk away he gently grabbed your arm and pulled you to him.

“I want to take you out.” His bluntness caught you off guard.

“You mean a date?”

He chuckled with a nod in response.

“Yes a date- and before you say anything, don’t worry about my uncle.”

“Ok.” You smiled looking up at him.

“Is that a yes?”

“Yes. It’s a yes.” You laughed still doing your best to whisper.

“Tonight at seven. I’ll pick you up.”

You couldn’t believe he was actually asking you out, you felt your heart practically leap out of your chest with excitement.

The rest of the day all you could think about was your date with Vincent. It had been nearly a year since you last went on a date. It was a hesitant topic for you being you had just been in an abusive relationship the year before. Joey was a very controlling man and whenever he did not like something, he would turn violent. Your father and you had both moved to the other side of town so that you could escape Joey. No one knew of this or so you thought. Your father being good friends with the Corleone family trusted Michael to get revenge on Joey. You never knew of this, Michael had sent Vincent himself to finish Joey off but Joey had left the country after you moved. Vincent had no idea you were the woman this man had hurt. Vincent didn’t ask questions, he was simply given a task and he would get it done. There was many things the two of you did not know of each other.

Tonight you decided to wear a pink silk dress, as he told you to wear something nice. You came out of your room excitedly before running into your father.

“Look at you! Where are you out to today?”

“Vincent. He asked me out on a date.” You smiled as you looked in the mirror putting on a pair of earrings. Distracted with what you were doing you didn’t notice your fathers reaction when you mentioned Vincents name.

“Vincent...Michael Corleone nephew?” He responded rather puzzled.

“Yeah. You’ve met him?” You turned to find your dad with a concerned expression.

“No, I-“ before your father could continue you heard the beep of a car outside the door.

“That’s him! I won’t be out late dad, dinner is set for you already. I’ll see you tonight.” You kissed your father quickly on the cheek and rushed out.

Your father was perfectly comfortable with you working for the Corleone family simply tutoring the six year old boy. He didn’t know how he felt of you dating a Corleone family member. There was very much that he knew of them that you were not aware of.

Stepping out of the door you found Vincent in a black suit leaning against his car patiently looking at the exterior of your home, before he noticed you. The second he noticed you his eyes sparkled with delight.

“Marina.” He smiled as you nervously looked back at him. Dear God did he look amazing. His slick back hair and the exotic look in his eyes, he was a fine Italian man indeed. He opened the car door for you and let you in before proceeding back into the drivers seat driving you away.

The drive was quiet as he drove into the other side of town. This side of town was an area you were not too familiar with but one thing you knew was that it had the most popular restaurant in town and to your surprise, he stopped right in front of it.

“Sunset Restaurant?” You whispered looking out the window making him chuckle. He let himself out of the car and quickly opened the door for you, taking your hand and leading you inside.

Sunset Restaurant was known as one of the most expensive and busiest restaurants in town. People waited for months to be able to make reservations, you wondered how he was able to get a spot. He led you inside and the waiter quickly led you to a private booth.

The place was as beautiful as you imagined it to be, you couldn’t believe you were actually in it.

“How did you get us a spot here?” You whispered leaning in looking up at the golden crystal chandeliers.

“I know a few people.” He winked at you just as you both arrived at your booth.

He definitely knew a lot of people, a Corleone always had connections and most of all, respect. Sitting down beside him you were given a menu which you were excited to look at before noticing the prices.

“Oh..” you gasped in a whisper. Vincent looked over at you with a frown.

“Get whatever you’d like, Marina.” You smiled in response before making your choice.

The two of you shared moments of laughter as well as him getting to know the kind of woman you were. You would notice the look in his eyes as you spoke, sometimes he’d watch your lips as you conversed, other times he’d have a slight smirk just listening to you speak. His body was completely turned in your direction with his arm leaning leaning over the booth behind you.

The food was delicious and the conversation was sweet. Vincent couldn’t keep his eyes off of you.

“Have I told you how beautiful you look today?” You watched as his eyes roamed over your features, he spoke in a low husky voice that began to arouse you. He could tell by the way you looked down at his lips that you were thinking of the exact same thing. Without thinking twice about it, Vincent leaned in and slowly put his lips against yours. The kiss started off sensual, you felt him cup the side of your face with his warm hand. Moaning into his lips he aggressively pulled you in close against him making you put your arms around his neck. The feeling in your chest burst throughout your body sending goosebumps throughout. Finally you caught your breath and pulled away, his face still close to yours, his eyes looking directly into yours. Vincent Corleone knew you were like no other and he wanted you. He wanted you for himself.

Vincent drove you home not long after, you felt like you were on cloud nine sitting in the car beside him. All you could do was smile to yourself thinking about the way he kissed you, the way he spoke to you, the way he held you. You wanted more. Vincent liked your innocence, he liked the look in your eyes as he kept you close to him. Soon he made it to the end of your block pulling up slowly to your home. Taking a relaxed deep breath with a smile you looked over at him before being distracted by something outside the car. Vincent frowned noticing the change on your face, following your eyes he noticed you looking at a black car slowly and suspiciously driving in front of your home. He didn’t know why you looked at the car the way you did but it was clearly something that made you uncomfortable. He discreetly grabbed onto his gun on his side not liking the way the car slowed down in front of your house. Before Vincent made another move the car quickly drove away. Vincent looked over at you to find you in a daze, you looked horrified before quickly opening the car door.

“I-I better go.”

“Marina-“ Vincent quickly got out of the car running to the other side. He didn’t understand what just took place but he knew the look of fear.

“Marina, just wait one minute.” He quickly followed behind you as you walked to your door.

“I’m sorry, I’ll see you tomorrow morning. I have to go.” You unlocked your door nervously and before he could respond you shut it behind you. Vincent stayed looking at the door at a loss for words before looking down the block at the direction that car had went in.

“Dad!” You yelled with tears in your eyes running into his bedroom.

“Marina, what happened? What did he do?”

You grabbed your father crying into his shoulder as you shook your head.

“It wasn’t Vincent dad. It’s...it’s Joey.” You sobbed loudly as your father hugged you tightly.

“He’s back, he’s come back for me.” You cried as you pulled away wiping your tears.

“Where did you see him, Marina?”

“I saw his car. It was him, he was outside our house driving by slowly. He’s looking for me dad, I can’t do this again.” You cried thinking of the horror Joey had already put you through. This man terrified you.

“Alright sweet pea do me a favor, have a cup of tea and a shower. I want you to relax. I will take care of it.” Your father kissed you on the forehead before he left the room.

Vincent arrived home feeling a bit distraught with the way you were left. He knew this was a discussion he wanted to have with his uncle before making the next move. As soon as he stepped inside, Michael was waiting for him in the hall.

“Vincent, in here.” He motioned towards his office making Vincent frown as he followed him inside.

“Nice night with Marina?” Vincent adjusted his suit as he sat across from Michael with a puzzled expression.

“Her father just phoned me.” Michael sighed as he sat down in his chair. Without giving it much thought, he began to explain the situation to Vincent.

“Do you remember about a year ago the hit we had out on a man named Joey?”

Vincent frowned not understanding where this conversation was going.

“You mean the man that left the country.”

Michael nodded as he continued to explain.

“Joey has returned. Joey was ordered to be killed because he was a violent man, he was a violent man to my good friends daughter.”

Vincent knew where this conversation was going and he did not like it.

“Her father, Sal, called me for help. He knows the life we live, Marina doesn’t. When Joey escaped I financially helped them get a new home far from where they were before but, it seems he has found them.”

“I’ll get it done.” Vincent responded sharply knowing exactly what had to be done.

“Hold your horses, Vincent. This is how mistakes are made. This is personal now, I know you like the woman. I can’t have you making any bad decisions on impulse.”

Vincent sucked his teeth looking away, it was hard not to act on impulse as he remembered the fear in your eyes.

“We will make a plan and act on it quickly. For the time being I want you to watch Marina. Joey is a dangerous man and we can’t allow him to get close to her again.”

Vincent responded with a nod before he stood up staring down at his uncle.

“I’ll kill him with my bare hands if he does anything to Marina.” With those last words, Vincent left the room. Michael knew this situation could and would turn very ugly.

Please let me know if you would like to read more. Not sure who’d be interested in this.

#the godfather #michael corleone #vincent mancini #andy garcia #mafia #fanficfion #crime fiction #al pacino #francis ford coppola #readerxcharacter #fanfic #romance

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cesaray · 4 years

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Ehy there! I'm the same anon as before. Wanted to let you know that your answer was very cool! I personally prefer BrBa (there is a weight in BrBa that I genuinely love despite feeling emotionally drained every time I rewatch S5), but I totally get what you mean with BCS being lighter and so, easier to watch. This said I'm curious, what do you think about the various characters? Other than Walter White, who is probably the biggest asshole in history (to be fair, that was the point though) lol

hey anon! i get what you mean by the weight in brba and perhaps a few years back i would’ve liked that as well, but in these trying times bcs hit the spot better for me. maybe i’ve evolved as a viewer as well and now also looks for other factors that make a show ‘good’, beyond ‘dark and gritty’ and the like

now characters - overarching comment is that i like how complex and morally gray they are

>>> [as of now i’m on 5x09 so i don’t know anything that happens hereafter]

- jesse: perhaps the character that the audience feels the most - he was absolutely not ready for the whirlwind ordeal he got himself into. he’s desperately trying to retain some humanity but at the same time is constantly being threatened, cajoled, and deceived back into the fold. talk about trauma! there is still so much good in him and i hope he gets to a good place again. protect him

- mike: what a guy!?! mike had similar motivation to walter at the outset (to provide for his family) but went down the road very differently. he’s methodical and pragmatic but didn’t get consumed by ‘the game’. i think his backstory in bcs was brilliant and it shed more light on how a former cop came to do what we see him doing on a day to day basis in brba. 'providing for kaylee’ as a sole motivation for turning criminal is too thin, while the story with matty made the character of mike whole, because it made a crack in him that let other things in. absolute legend. shame he got off’d by walter with his tiny gun

- fring: what a great character - giancarlo esposito did an amazing job with him. a man so meticulous, so rational, so careful, whose eventual downfall stems from his irrational, burning hatred for the man who killed his lover (getting black sails vibes here guys). and what a very terminator way to go. i have manythings to say about fring but also nothing at all because he’s just *chef’s kiss*

- lalo: exuberant, flamboyant, surprisingly well-adjusted lalo. how brilliant. the biggest menace up north in a floral shirt. brings real diversity to the salamancas who otherwise are blanketed crazy or crazy. gets hosed by kim about getting his shit together? actually proceeds to get his shit together. absolutely dying to see him in bcs s6

- skyler: for the first few seasons skyler kind of served as the mirror, reflecting the horrors of walter’s grotesque transformation. then she corrupts herself and helps walter launder the money in an attempt to protect her family, only to find that there is no end to walter’s pursuit for more, and this time the danger comes from not who walter associates himself with, rather from walter himself. i hope something good happens to her!! [edit during 5x12: i take it back - the blasted woman wants walt to kill jesse]

- jimmy: saul goodman as we see him in brba is a completely flat character - he’s a dirty lawyer. that’s pretty much it. bcs is the polar opposite. i remember watching bcs and reflecting that (esp the first few seasons) the show was not in a hurry to go anywhere, but rather explored every possible angle and just let the audience bask in Good Writing. jimmy mcgill who started off just wanting to get his place in the world, and ended up finding a way to do that by becoming saul goodman - leaving his family name, his brother who loomed over him all his life behind. with that said i feel like there’s quite the gap to fill between end of s5 bcs and brba

- nacho: ngl he’s kind of a fav of mine. what’s up with him constantly trying to kill his boss? dude singlehandedly accelerated the demise of the salamanca name. and what a backstabbing little bitch after lalo brought him to his HOUSE and poured him (expensive) drinks by the FIRE. absolutely dying to see what happens in bcs s6. (although i think my boy ignacio is destined for tragedy here... )

- kim: what can i say about kim other than that i love her?? brilliant, fiercely protective kim. kim kind of mirrors skyler in that initially she gets pulled into the orbit of someone else’s chaos. however kim saw the dark side and on some subconscious level, liked it. also she’s So Good at her job and it’s so enjoyable to watch. she’s also the reason lalo knows about the cayman islands

there are other characters i could write about but i will end my little essay here

#Anonymous #asks #breaking bad #better call saul #does any of this make sense? i don't know #bcs

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hellyeahomeland · 4 years

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“Designated Driver”: an HYH recap

Disappointingly, this episode doesn’t pick up in Carrie’s hotel room after Yevgeny kissed her goodnight. It is the next morning, and she’s speed-walking down a street in Kohat. Her good buddy Arman, whom we met in the premiere, has driven all the way from Kabul to pick her up.

She races into his truck and starts frantically writing on the first piece of paper she can find. It is a real treat to see Claire Danes’ actual handwriting! ...Wait, none of you care about that?

Anyway, Arman is like, hello wtf?? Carrie explains it’s something she heard, evidence actually, and she needs to write it down before she forgets. That’s right, Carrie fucking Mathison was DRUGGED and woke up the next morning and still could recall the crucial climactic ten seconds of that cockpit recording even though right after she shared a steamy kiss with Yevgeny. She is brilliant, and we have no choice but to continue to stan. She asks Arman to drive her to Bagram Airfield back in Afghanistan, and off they go.

In the White House, Hayes, Linus, and Zabel are meeting with the Pakistani ambassador about the rapidly escalating situation on the border. Hayes is his typical uninformed self, Zabel is his typical racist warmonger self, and Linus is his typical silent “have I been swallowed whole by an alligator yet?” self. It’s all very… depressing, to be honest. The ambassador says they’ll defend themselves with all they have if the Americans invade.

Outside the Oval, the ambassador is verging on speechless. Linus says they have to be the grown-ups in the room but suggests that maybe as a show of good faith, they could get that special ops team released from Kohat. Remember? The one that Carrie tricked Jenna into giving up last week. Linus says they are thisclose to oblivion, and I have heartburn.

Back in Pakistan, Jalal is overjoyed that the government is protecting him. Balach, his father’s closest advisor, is like “coolio dude, congrats.” Jalal asks for some advice and Balach says he should gather men and weapons and lay low. Once again, Jalal is offended at the suggestion of hiding. Instead, he asks Balach to find a target (i.e., Americans) for them to attack. Balach refuses—he’s not afraid to fight, in fact he’s been doing it as long as Jalal has been alive. But he’s also not stupid, which Jalal most certainly is. And if this show has told us anything this year, it’s that the dumbest people in the room are the most dangerous.

A few hours later (but really, what is time?) Carrie arrives at Bagram Airfield, which is apparently like an open-air farmer’s market because she just walks right in, no issue. She finds Worley. Man, this episode is making us remember! He’s the mechanic from “Chalk Two Down” who had the pregnant girlfriend and whom Carrie initially suspected of being involved in the helicopter crash. She brings him her rough transcript and asks him to translate. He’s the third person after Saul who seems to give a shit about the flight recorder but confirms what it sounded like last week: the crash was an accident. Fluke mechanical failure due to metal in the engine oil. Carrie asks why they didn’t call in to tell someone what was happening. He answers: “Aviate, navigate, communicate. They never got past step one.”

Then Carrie finally rings Saul.

Saul: Thank God, I’ve been worried sick. Carrie: It was an accident, Saul. Mechanical failure. I’m at Bagram and they just confirmed it. Saul: Jesus. We need to get you and that flight recorder back to DC ASAP. Carrie: Oh, right… I don’t have it. Yevgeny stole it from me. Saul: What’s this transcript then? Carrie: I just Rain Man’d that shit. Saul: First, I love you. But second, we have nothing. Carrie: You are getting on my last nerve. I’ve risked my sanity, my life, and my reputation for the truth on this fucking flight recorder. I heard it. The Russians have it. These are fucking facts. Don’t tell me that’s nothing. Saul: You have zero credibility, Carrie. You’re somewhere between a rogue agent and a national security threat. Carrie: Ok, Mr. National Security Advisor. Why don’t you do something? Talk to the Russians and figure out their endgame. I’m so fucking tired. Saul: Fine. You should probably turn yourse— Carrie: [click]

At Kabul station, Mike Dunne continues to be the most annoying person alive. He whines to Jenna about Carrie showing up at Bagram, and Carrie shooting down the helicopter, Carrie giving up the special ops team last week, Carrie this, Carrie that. He’s obsessed with Carrie is my point. Jenna tries very hard to Play It Cool but her anxiety about Carrie returning back to Kabul is palpable. It’s only a matter of time before Carrie starts talking and sells Jenna down the river, too.

The show continues to bring back ALL THE MINOR CHARACTERS. Saul meets with the Russian ambassador from last season, the one who couldn’t make anything happen with Carrie’s release. He tells him about Carrie and Yevgeny and the ambassador is like “they were supposed to stay away from each other! Those crazy kids!” It’s very much two dads meeting to talk about their rebellious teenagers and just what are we gonna do about them? Saul asks for his help locating the flight recorder. He says he’ll see what he can do.

He calls Saul later and tells him the Russians don’t know squat. Which Saul knows is a lie. I mean, they both know it’s a lie. We all know it’s a lie. Saul does his best angry, menacing whisper but the ambassador just says that the Russians have what they want.

In Kabul, Carrie is amping up to go New Car Smell on Yevgeny’s ass. She suspects he’s already back in Moscow devising new ways to fuck her over, but she sneaks into his apartment looking for some evidence or clue as to his whereabouts anyway. Surprisingly, the place is completely empty. Afterward, she and Arman wait out a traffic jam in the truck.

Arman: What next? You always know what to do next. Carrie: Not this time. I’ve dug myself a gigantic hole, but I don’t see a way out. Just a few days ago there was a moment where I actually thought I’d done it. I’d won. Now look at me. God, I’m so fucked.

Suddenly, Carrie is grabbed from the truck by two men with guns and thrown into an abandoned building where Yevgeny enters.

Yevgeny: I’m sorry for the ambush. Carrie: You’ve done way worse things to me. Yevgeny: That wasn’t personal. Carrie: Fuck you, it’s always personal. Anyway, you took something from me and I want it back. What’s the price? Yevgeny: Saul asked the same thing. For him, it’s not for sale. For you, I could make a deal. Carrie: Please be less cryptic. Yevgeny: Saul’s been running an agent in the Kremlin for years. Find that agent, and I’ll give you the flight recorder. It’s the only thing worth more to my country than the US self-destructing in Pakistan. Carrie: That person doesn’t exist. Believe me, after all these years, I’d know. Saul probably just made up the story to get you all paranoid. Looks like it worked. Yevgeny: No, he exists. It’s the only explanation. Carrie: Look, even if this person existed, Saul would never give them up. It’s his first and only commandment. You never give up an asset. Yevgeny: I never said it would be easy. Carrie: It’s not that it’s not easy. It’s impossible. I’ll do anything else, but I can’t betray Saul. Yevgeny: Based on recent events, I’d say you can do just about anything.

Back at Jalal’s base, Balach says he’s found a target. He asks Jalal for some men to place an IED. Jalal wants a driver instead. That would make a statement: that they’re not afraid to die. Once again Balach worns that they’re inviting more endless war, but Jalal won’t hear it. He orders Balach to prepare the car, and he’ll find the driver.

In Kabul, Carrie and Arman are parked outside the CIA station. Saul calls Carrie again. He shares the dead end with the ambassador and asks Carrie why the Russians would lie about it. She’s silent and then lies about the meeting with Yevgeny. “I found it, Saul. The truth,” she says. But the truth isn’t much use if no one will listen.

Arman tries to dissuade her from turning herself in. He can get her to Dubai and she can hide out. But she knows that’ll only delay the inevitable, and things are about to get much, much worse. Arman senses a shift—just a few hours ago it was Bagram this, Yevgeny that. Now she seems resigned to her fate. He asks what happened with those two men. “They made me an offer, knowing I’d have to accept.” She thanks him and tearfully hugs him goodbye.

She steps out of the truck then and spots two girls playing in the street. It’s an interesting moment: is she thinking of Franny? Or herself, that fearless little girl Maggie recalled last season? We can’t know for certain, only that she ditches her phone and walks straight up to the gate at the station and turns herself in: “I’m Carrie Mathison. I’m wanted by the FBI. I’m turning myself in.”

Inside the station, a guilty Jenna has convinced Mike to let her supervise the handover of the special ops team at the border. Then Alan reveals that Carrie just turned herself in. There’s an extended sequence in which

Jenna looks like she’s about to throw up

Mike looks practically giddy at the recent development

Carrie looks like she wants to strangle every single useless person in the building

Balach is overseeing the assembly of the car bomb and notices that Jalal is sharing some food with his two young sons. He asks what the hell is going on and then Jalal tells him that he’s found the driver for the attack: him. Balach refuses.

Jalal: Fine, I’ll just kill your wife and sons anyway. Then I’ll kill you. It’s what my father would have done. Balach: Don’t hurt them. Jalal: They’re the family of a coward who wouldn’t agree with all of my dumb ideas! Balach: I can’t believe how completely terrible you are. Jalal: Look at it this way: you can drive this car and die a martyr. Then your family will be treated with honor. Or you can refuse and you’ll all die. Balach: Give me your word that they’ll be taken care of.

Jalal just nods.

In Interrogation Room #1, Jenna enters to give Carrie some water but it’s Jenna so she’s not able to hide her true motives for long.

Carrie: This little dance we’ve been doing all season has been amusing but it pays off now. Jenna: What? Also what the hell are you doing here? Carrie: I’m turning myself in. Jenna: Why now? By the way, the special ops team that you tricked me into giving up is being freed. Remember them? All that bullshit about a flight recorder— Carrie: It wasn’t bullshit. Jenna: Everything that comes out of your mouth is bullshit. Carrie: Just say what you came in here to say. Jenna: Are you going to give me up? Because I was dumb enough to trust you? Carrie: No. Jenna: How can I know you won’t? Carrie: I thought we already went over this. You can’t know anything for sure. If you’re looking for guarantees, you’re really in the wrong line of work. But I just promised you. Your bosses here will never know you were involved, and that’ll have to be good enough. Jenna: I lovehate you. You still put me in a terrible position. Carrie: Maybe I did. But in my own fucked up way I ended up teaching you a lesson. On the other hand, I have actual problems. And if this is the guiltiest you ever feel, consider yourself lucky. Now go, before the FBI catches you talking to a ~Russian spy~.

Vanessa Kroll—remember her, she’s the I Mean Business FBI investigator from “Two Minutes”—steps into the interrogation room for her turn. Jenna and Mike observe from behind the one-way mirror. She begins to lay out the facts in front of Carrie. Well, I should say “facts.” They’re really just statements about Carrie’s behavior, as told from another vantage point, that make her look really guilty. Carrie plays at the improbability of it all. Carrie singlehandedly convinced Beau Bridges to come to Kabul, then passed off the info to the Russians who passed it off to the Taliban who just happened to be waiting with an RPG.

Carrie is in deep shit and she knows it, but she is remarkably articulate and reminds everyone that she doesn’t fucking work for them and she can talk or engage with anyone she fucking pleases to, thankyouverymuch.

Vanessa: Not when you’re providing aid and comfort to the enemy. Carrie: If you’re talking about Yevgeny Gromov, it’s more like he provided aid and comfort to me. Sara: 😏 Carrie: Anyway, I want a lawyer. Vanessa: Fine, then you’re under arrest. Carrie: Peachy.

In the next room, Jenna is maximum confused. It’s almost like Carrie wanted to be arrested, which obviously begs the question of what she has planned when she gets back to America. Mike continues to possess a quarter of a brain cell and is all, weren’t you going to the border or something or other?

In Saul’s office, Linus gives him the lay of the land. Carrie has just invoked Saul in her defense, and he’s now on a fast track to the same amount of credibility that Carrie herself has: that is to say, zero. They bought some time with the release of that ops team but continuing to give Carrie cover is really bad optics. Saul reveals the whole deal with the flight recorder. Then he admits it’s pretty much all his fault. He was there when she was returned back from the Russians. She didn’t even recognize him. And he took her out of treatment when he knew she wasn’t ready, because there was a job to do and he asked nicely. He can’t turn his back on her now.

The episode closes with an incredibly-edited sequence. While Carrie is escorted out of Kabul station in handcuffs, Jenna arrives at the border where no one knows why she’s there or seems to give a shit.

Meanwhile, Balach approaches in the car and records a video for his wife, soon to be a widow. He’s going to die and he’s been preparing for that reality his whole life. He asks her to forgive him and to make sure that Jalal keeps his word about protecting them, lest he meet the fate of a vengeful God.

Carrie and Vanessa board an airplane headed back for Washington. Carrie struggles with her seatbelt before the zip ties around her wrists are removed. The bus with the special ops team pulls up to the border and the crew sits inside, waiting for the go-ahead. Balach readies the bomb. Carrie’s plane taxis, she exchanges looks with Vanessa. Everything gets very quiet.

Then Balach starts driving.

He speeds toward the border as soldiers scatter. Someone grabs Jenna and she ducks behind another vehicle. The team in the bus stare out the window. “Move the fucking bus!” they yell. They are sitting ducks as Balach heads straight toward them. The soldiers on the ground fire rounds and rounds at Balach, missing each time. The driver of the bus hurries out, saves himself. Everyone stares as they prepare for the inevitable. Balach screams, moments away from oblivion. His crying sons flash through his mind. He’s doing this for them, remember? He’s giving himself up for them. Then: a crash, an explosion, a flash of white.

Carrie’s plane lifts off. There’s a look of resolve in her eyes as she stares out the window at this place. This place where she fled to escape her grief, so many years ago. This place where, more recently, she fled to escape her trauma. Now she’s leaving and never coming back. Is she a martyr, too? Has she given herself up, for her family, for Saul? Or is it the reverse? Is she about to give them up? She’s exploded her life, in her own way. I would rather you say I was dead. Darkness.

#homeland #an hyh recap #designated driver #*#by: sara #homeland spoilers

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thecreelhouse · 4 years

Text

Kill the Lights // Chapter 7

Steve Harrington x Original Female Character

Read chapter 6 here!

Summary: After Violet- formally 003, a telekinetic, electrokenetic, and clairvoyant 19 year old- loses her first family, her first love, nothing is the same. She finds herself taken in by Hopper and El, struggling to find her footing and meaning to keep fighting. The Party, especially Steve Harrington, try to show her where her strengths have been hiding all along, and that no one has to fight their battles alone. Sometimes you don’t need to be rescued, but someone’s love and support while you rescue yourself sure doesn’t hurt.

Word count: 4,501

Content warnings: PTSD, grieving, some language, some minor arguing? Honestly, nothing as heavy as the last few chapters- this one is mostly fluff and comforting!!!

Author’s note: hi!! So this is the last chapter I’ve written up to so far, and I’m hoping to work on a few more this week before my next update. The next one should start to mesh into the plot of season 3!! (Loosely, though. There’s some things here and there I’m changing, aside from shoving a whole OC into a story she was never in originally lmfao.) I’m hoping this won’t extend further than 15 chapters.... but I’m a long winded bitch, so who knows. Song I listened to while editing through this one was ‘I’ll Be Your Girl’ by Kitten. As always, thank you to anyone who’s been reading this!! Feel free to leave feedback if you’d like! :) Hope y’all enjoy this one, lots of cute and comforting moments!!

Chapter 7: I’ll Be Your Girl

“Okay, so do you see anything?” El asked, waiting for Violet’s response. She just hummed, unsure.

“Uhhhh, yes! Y- wait. No. Sorry. That’s just the inside of my eyelids.” Violet huffed, frustrated. She whipped the fabric of the makeshift blindfold off her eyes, flinging back onto the couch. El pulled hers off, wiped the dribble of blood from her nose before leaning back next to Violet.

“I’m sorry.” El whispered. Violet shrugged it off.

“It’s not your fault, kiddo. Maybe it’s just something I’m not meant to learn.”

They were trying to see if Violet could learn how to use the void to see and find people, and so far, the efforts were unsuccessful. El tried to describe in detail as best she could how it worked for her, and Violet followed her directions, but nothing came about. They had tried several times that week, hoping for a breakthrough.

It had been about two weeks since Violet went to that party with Steve, since the meltdown she had, since they had their most vulnerable conversations yet. They spent time together when they could, but Steve was in the process of trying to find a job for the summer, trying to shake his dad off his back about not getting into college.

It frustrated her to see Steve beat himself up over something so minuscule in the grand scheme of things. Higher education was important, sure, but it wasn’t for everyone, and that was okay. If only his parents knew how much he went through in the past year, how brave and strong he had been, not just for himself, but for the kids too. He was so much more than his academic skills, and Violet thought they were foolish for treating him so lowly over it all.

In the time apart, she spent most of it with El, or El when she had plans with the rest of the Party. But now that it was summer, Mike wanted to spend even more time with her, which Violet understood. They were apart for practically a year before, they were just making up for lost time. Hopper wasn’t much of a fan of that, though. He had Violet playing chaperone when he was at work, which Violet didn’t care for, and only pretended to do when he was home. She didn’t have time to babysit those two and trusted them. Probably helped a bit that El warned Mike once that her older sister could read his mind and find out if he ever lied about anything they ever did.

Violet just might have more parental control over this situation than Hopper ever would.

“When do you see Steve again?” El asked, trying to change the subject and focus on something good.

“He’s coming by later, I think. Something about going to a mall?” Violet responded. El’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“What’s a mall?” She spoke slowly and softly.

Violet’s hands stretched wide from her body as she spoke, “it’s like, a GIANT building, with a ton of smaller rooms inside for stores. Like, how downtown has all those shops? But in one place. And food and sometimes arcade games!”

El’s eyes widened with a childlike wonder. “Can I come with?”

“Mayb-“

“No, El.” Hopper yelled over from the kitchen. “Too many people, it’d be unsafe.”

Violet huffed, watching her sister’s smile drop into a frown. She got up and walked into the kitchen, standing in front of Hopper, who was trying to make his way back into the living room with a beer. He frowned down at Violet as she crossed her arms while glaring up at him.

“C’mon Hopper, she’s been so safe and sure all year. She shouldn’t spend her entire summer in this cabin.” Violet argued for El’s sake. El nodded in the background, and Hopper sighed.

“It’s not that I don’t want her to have a good summer. She deserves that. But she also deserves safety, and I can only guarantee that here, or when she’s with you guys at someone else’s house. Or the occasional trip here and there downtown. Even that’s still risky.” He said, shoulders sinking. He was clearly sad he couldn’t give his daughter more than the life she had right now, but he’d be damned if he fucked up his second shot at a family. At being a good dad.

“She wouldn’t be alone. I’d kick anyone’s ass that would even look at her the wrong way.” Violet protested, and El giggled at that. She understood where Hopper came from, but she refused to see another childhood fully taken away from the damage done at the lab.

“I know you would, kid. But I’m even afraid of you going out in places that busy, too. I just can’t stop you, since you’re technically an adult.” He sighed. Violet reluctantly stepped aside to let him pass, but followed close behind as he made his way into the living room.

She flopped onto the couch again before he spoke back up. “We don’t even know where Brenner went, if he died or not. I know that lab is dead for good but the monsters that ran it aren’t all accounted for, dead or alive. It’s just too dangerous. So much can go wrong in a crowd at a big place.”

“You say all of this like El can’t snap their necks if she needed to! Like I’m not capable of electrocuting someone on the spot!” Violet argued, now getting angry. Not at Hopper, just at the situation they were in. How it wasn’t fair that although finally living outside of that nightmare, both her and El would truly never be free in this world. Not in a world where monsters like Brenner still roamed and lurked among the normal people.

“I’m not getting into this right now, Vi. Please.” Hopper pleaded with her to stop as he pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes clamped shut. “I know you mean well, I know you want what’s best for El, so she has a normal life from here on out-”

“You don’t want that?” El asked, voice cracking.

“No- no, I do want you to have a normal life, El.” Hopper groaned. “But a normal life also is free of snapping necks unless absolutely necessary. I want you to protect yourself if you ever felt threatened, but I’m trying to make sure that you never feel threatened like that ever again.”

El nodded, sniffling. Violet wrapped her up in a hug, giving Hopper an empathetic glance. He got up.

“C’mere you two.” Arms wide open, he motioned to hug it out. El got up, dragging Violet by the arm and pulling her into the hug too.

“We know you’re just trying to keep us safe. I’m not upset with you, just sucks how rotten this world is.” Violet mumbled, trying not to cry out of anger.

“You’re just being a dad.” El spoke up, smiling a bit. Hopper pulled back from them, eyes glassy. He looked at the two girls with pride. So, so much pride for who they were, who they were becoming in time and proper healing.

Neither of them were biologically his kids, but he felt like the luckiest dad in the world having them as family.

“Yeah, I’d have to agree, you got it down to a science. Even the loud snores during your dad naps.” Violet joked, and Hopper rolled his eyes while chuckling.

“Maybe one of these days we can all go together, on a weekday morning or something, yeah? With me, though. Not just the kids, El. Got it?” Hopper said, and El nodded quickly.

“Halfway happy.” She said, hugging him again.

“Pretty sure she’d kick a bad guy’s ass faster than you could whip your gun out, though,” Violet joked again. Hopper raised his hand and ruffled her hair.

“Be nice to your old man.” He joked back, before sitting back down in his recliner.

Aside from the previous conversation and her anger surrounding it, Violet felt a feeling of contentment float over her. That she was so lucky to be a part of this little family. Puzzle pieces from different puzzles, but learning how to fit and work together regardless. She was finally beginning to feel that maybe, just maybe, she had a place in this world after all. And it could be right here, with this family. Her family.

A knock at the door pulled Violet from her thoughts, and she ran over to answer it. Not only Steve stood outside, but so did Mike. El’s face lit up as she ran over and closed the gap between them quickly in a tight hug.

“I didn’t know you were coming!” She said excitedly. Mike grinned back at her.

“Surprise! I brought some movies over too, if that’s cool?” He said, and El grabbed his hand, leading him into the cabin. They carried on with their own conversation from there.

“Hey, Steve.” Violet greeted Steve, and he smiled. “I didn’t know you were bringing Mike over.”

“Yeah, he asked since I was already coming by. His bike was in my car, too, so if he needs to leave before we get back he can.” He explained.

“Good timing too, El needed a pick-me-up.” Violet said, smiling back at the two younger teens. She glanced back at Steve and excitedly asked, “Ready to go?”

“Ready spaghetti!”

“You’re a dork.” She laughed as she grabbed her keys and bag. “Hop, I’m heading out.”

“Okay, kid, be safe. Have fun.” He said, turning around in his chair. His eyes narrowed in on Steve before saying, “No funny business, Harrington.”

Steve’s eyes widened and he froze up, terrified to reply at all, but Violet pulled him back onto the porch before Hopper could harass him anymore.

“Soooooo,” Violet trailed off as they walked down the stairs. “I was thinking since it’s so nice out, maybe I could drive?”

“Wait, what? My car?” Steve asked, confused. “Violet, have you even driven a car before?”

Violet laughed, shaking her head. “No, and yes I have! But I meant maybe I could take us on my bike?”

Steve gulped nervously, “Y-your motorcycle?”

“Yes, Steve, the only form of transportation I own.” Violet responded with giggles. Steve’s eyes grew wide again, terrified.

“I don’t know, Vi...”

“I ride it all the time. I’m still alive.”

“Says the girl that has healing powers.”

“Which should make you feel much better about your first motorcycle ride!” She argued, smirking. “C’moooooon, Steve, please? You’re always driving us everywhere. Let me do it for a change. I wouldn’t let you on without my helmet, anyway.”

Steve bit his lip, eyes flickering between Violet’s puppy dog eyes and the bike. His stomach flipped at both, not sure which one made him more nervous.

“What about you? Do you have two helmets?” He asked, worried.

“Can’t die by my own hand, remember? I’ll be fine. It’s my turn to protect you.” She said confidently. Steve’s face immediately blushed up.

“Alright... I guess. Gotta experience more in life too.” He said hesitantly, but smiling at Violet’s growing smile.

“Atta boy! C’mon, lemme give you the rundown on safety basics.” Violet pulled his hand as she practically skipped over to her motorcycle. She swung her leg over as she sat, and patted the space behind her, motioning to Steve to join her. He hesitated, but pushed himself to move. He noticed how close their bodies were when he sat down.

Violet handed him her helmet, “Before, you put that on, lemme point some stuff out.”

She pointed where to hold onto on the bike, where not to hold onto or touch on the bike, to tap her shoulder a few times to pull over if he needed her to stop, and that he’d be much safer holding onto her than the tiny side handles on the back of the seat. That last detail only made him even more nervous about this whole idea. Steve nodded as he listened attentively, making sure to remember the most important safety rules. He looked so out of his comfort zone. Violet shifted her body around fully to face him.

“Steve?”

“Yeah.”

“Breathe,” Violet laughed, running her hands through his hair. He usually hated if anyone touched his hair, but seeing how comfortable she was interacting with him only made the butterflies in his stomach grow more.

“Right, sorry. I’m good. I’m nervous, but I’m good.” He said, looking at her. “I trust you.”

That really made Violet’s stomach flip. She grinned in response as she lifted the helmet onto his head, before turning back around to face the handlebars. She started the bike up, and immediately Steve jumped a bit, grabbing onto her waist as a reaction. She smiled to herself, before looking back at him.

“Ready?”

Steve nodded, looking like a bobble head with the helmet on, but he’d rather look silly and have a bad hair day than be seriously hurt, god forbid. And that said a lot about how much he was concerned about safety if he was willing to put his hair on the line first.

Violet began to drive off, feeling the wind in her face, instantly at ease, and Steve’s arms holding onto her tighter. Her favorite feeling in the world just got better.

———

Walking around the mall, Violet’s eyes were wide with amazement and curiosity. There was something about the amount of people, their conversations in passing, the variety of stores and neon lights that all were giving her sensory overload. But a good kind. The kind where she couldn’t believe the sight before her eyes.

She had been to a few malls before with Amy, but none of them were of this size and structure. It was a brand new experience for her.

Steve’s heart practically melted every time Violet would squeal in excitement over something most people would take advantage of every day; the little things, like being able to try on cute clothes with bold patterns and buy milkshakes the size of your head all in one building, amused her so easily. Steve thought his face would break in half from smiling so much at her excitement over the surroundings.

It didn’t help to calm the feeling he got around her whenever she’d grab his hand as they walked, swinging it dramatically back and forth while admiring the glow of the neon lights above different stores. Or how she’d spot something across a store, and immediately grab his arm to drag him in another direction. The amount of trust she had in him and their friendship to continue the physical contact was truly mind blowing to him. Violet went from flinching at his offer of a handshake to always reaching for his hands first in just under two months time.

Violet’s progress made Steve so happy. So happy for her, and happy to be a part of the process, to help her along and support her. Even if nothing came of ... well, whatever was happening between them, he was just genuinely happy around her. For the first time in awhile, things didn’t feel like bullshit.

“Oh, oh, oh!” Violet exclaimed as they walked to the food court. So many sights and smells were to be had, and it made her stomach rumble. “I am definitely in the mood for some serious greasy mall pizza.”

Steve laughed with a confused look, “You actually like the grease?”

“Uh, duh. It’s what makes pizza like that so damn good. That and the super melty cheese.” Violet declared as they walked over to the pizza place. When they ordered, she headed towards the register to pay, but Steve jumped in front of her, beating her to the punch.

“Hey! I can pay for my own shit, y’know.” Violet giggled.

Steve shrugged with a smirk, “I know. But you also have been living off your savings for the last few months and I think you shouldn’t use it all up on greasy mall pizza.”

“Fair point, I definitely need a job again.” Violet said, wishing she didn’t leave the diner job in the hurricane of change when Amy passed. “Bet I could find something here, but Hopper would be pissed.”

“He just is looking out for you, he means well, Vi.” Steve said as they grabbed their food and headed to a table.

“I know! I know. I’m grateful he cares, just wish he’d loosen up on El and me, y’know? I just want us to both have normal lives. Not running from anyone, not hiding from anything, just... plain, boring, teenagers being stupid teenagers.” She said with a bit of a frown. Steve nodded in understanding, and reached for her hand across the table. He gave it a quick squeeze in reassurance that he understood her feelings.

“Give it time, and just keep being a great sister to El. Things will fall into place.” He said softly. Violet felt her eyes water, and immediately took her hand away, shaking the sadness off.

“Nope, no, you’re not gonna make me cry on my greasy pizza. I got hot cheese to inhale. That’s the priority right now.” She said, laughing off the sadness. Steve laughed along with her, taking the hint that this was not the time or place for heavy conversations like these that they fell into.

As they continued conversation while eating, the lights around them went out suddenly. Their surroundings were flung into darkness. Confusion and frustration filled the air from both the shoppers and employees nearby.

“Uh.... Vi?” Steve leaned across the table closer to her as he whispered, “You didn’t do this, did you?”

“Absolutely not.” She whispered back quickly. A small feeling of dread and fear began to climb out from the back of her mind. This wasn’t normal, not for a place this big with so many people.

The power flickered back on just as she finished her thought, though. Lights buzzed to life, the escalator started moving again, and the fountains returned to spitting water out at different angles. People around them shrugged it off, but Violet and Steve both looked around, almost frozen for a bit longer, before trying to ignore whatever the hell just happened.

“You alright?” He asked Violet, and although she nodded, her face was as white as a ghost.

“I ... yeah. I will be. My senses are probably just in overdrive from all the activity around. Lots of people, lots of thoughts to read.” She played it off, but Steve knew she was still nervous.

“C’mon, let’s go see if we can find you a walkie so you’re finally in touch with the rest of us.” He said, smiling, trying to reassure her that things are alright. He wanted to distract her away from whatever feeling crept up on her and wouldn’t leave her be.

“Okay, fair! But I’m paying for it myself!” She said, trying to ignore the bad feeling and follow his lead on the distraction. Steve held his hands up in defense.

“Alright, alright!” He laughed. “Maybe we can see who the hell is hiring around here, too. I bet Hopper wouldn’t be as worried if we worked in the same building.”

“While the thought is sweet, he definitely thinks it’s a joke whenever I mention you’ll be around to protect me anywhere.” Violet giggled. Steve rolled his eyes, only causing more laughs to tumble out of her mouth.

The pair got up and linked arms before walking off to explore the mall some more. Violet just wished she could have left the uneasy feeling behind them completely, too.

———

“Can we make a quick detour on the way home?” Violet asked Steve as they walked through the parking lot to her bike. Her voice was small, like she was afraid to even ask.

“Yeah, of course. Is everything okay?” He asked with concern, noticing the change in her tone, and Violet nodded.

“Mhm... I just uh... you can totally say no if you don’t want to, but I haven’t visited Amy in some time, and was wondering if you didn’t mind coming with me?” Her voice shrunk even more, and Steve could see why she was so nervous now. His face softened as she tried looking down, anywhere but him.

Steve lifted her chin gently with his hand, bringing her eyes back to his. “Absolutely, Vi. As long as you’re okay with this, of course.”

“I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t okay with it.”

“Then yes, of course I’ll go with you.”

Violet nodded silently, unsure what she was feeling right now. Was this right? Was this okay? Too soon? She genuinely did want to visit, it had been awhile since she last did. Guess focusing on life and healing distracted her a bit from grieving. Maybe it wasn’t just a distraction though, maybe it really was part of the healing process.

She trusted Steve more than anyone else right now, besides El. She decided in that moment it was only right to have her newfound best friend with her while she visited Amy’s grave.

They got on the bike, and once both were safe and ready to go, Violet began to ride off and towards the cemetery. It was a slow, steady and quiet ride over, and Steve didn’t dare disrupt that for anything.

When they pulled up to the cemetery entrance, it was dark, but Violet snapped her fingers and a blue electric spark turned into a blue flame in her palm. Steve’s eyes grew wide in surprise; he already knew her for a few months now and still couldn’t help reacting in shock and awe at Violet’s abilities.

They walked a few minutes, along the edge of the cemetery and towards the back of it. When they reached Amy’s grave, it was a small, simple headstone. It only had her name, birth and death dates, and a phrase that said “grow forward” engraved at the bottom. Violets were scattered through the grass around it, some wilting. Violet knelt down next to the grave, and began to heal the wilting flowers back to life. Steve wasn’t sure if he should give her space or not, so he stood a few feet back to be safe.

“Hi, baby.” Violet softly spoke out, as if Amy was right there. “I’m sorry I haven’t visited in awhile.”

Her fingers gingerly traced over the letters engraved in the stone. This was as close as she’d ever get again to touching her. This was their only contact now.

Violet inhaled slowly before speaking again, “I’ve been trying. Trying real hard to do this... life thing, without you. It’s fucking stupid. But it’s not impossible, I guess. Just so hard.”

Steve felt his heart weigh heavy in his chest as she continued to talk to Amy. He wanted nothing more than to comfort Violet instantly, but knew better to hang back still. His eyes began to blur with his own tears, and he blinked them away.

“But you’d always say such silly shit like ‘all good things come to an end to make room for new beginnings’” Violet laughed, voice shaky as she tried holding her own tears back. “So, I’m finally trying that... and it’s working. And I’m scared you’ll think I forgot you, wherever you ended up, whatever sort of afterlife you’re in. I’m weighed down with this guilt of moving forward, growing forward without you. But I think if you were able to, you’d haunt me to yell at me otherwise or some shit.”

Violet took some deep breaths before continuing. “I miss you every day. But I want you to know I’m in good hands now. I’m with good people. People who... who consider me as family. Who honor and respect that you were and always will be my first family, but want to step in and also help where they can. It’s not easy letting anyone in. You know. You tore those same walls down with your bare hands when we first met. I’m safe with these people, though. I promise. I trust them, more than I even realize myself most days.”

Steve smiled as she talked on. He felt nervous to be listening to a moment so intimate and private, but realized Violet was letting him because she trusted him, she really trusted him. That trust was precious to him; he knew that Violet didn’t just hand that out to anyone she crossed paths with.

“Steve?” Violet turned her head to where Steve stood back. His head snapped up as he pulled away from his thoughts. “You okay?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” He asked as he moved closer to her. “Are you okay?”

“I think so.” Violet whispered. Her eyes were glassy, but Steve knew she was telling the truth. She was doing much better than the first moment they met.

Violet turned back to the gravestone, laying her hands on it before whispering, “I love you” to Amy’s final resting place. She got up, and looked at Steve as she whispered a “Thank you” to him. He nodded, pulling her in for a hug.

“It helps more than you realize, y’know. Having a friend here with me.” Violet said, voice small and fragile. “I know it’s probably weird but-”

“It’s not weird, not at all. Sometimes you just need the support, and that’s okay, Vi.” He whispered back as he traced circles into her back. The little details like that really soothed Violet.

“We should probably head back, don’t want Hop to think someone snatched me or something.” Violet gently laughed. She flicked her wrist and created a flame again, while using her free hand to intertwine with his. They began walking back to Violet’s bike.

“Yeah, especially because he doesn’t think I could help you if you needed it.” Steve laughed, rolling his eyes.

“Let’s be real, if we were in any danger, I’d be saving your ass.” Violet said, smirking at Steve. She meant it in a joking, lighthearted way, but the hypothetical idea still weighed heavy on Steve’s heart, events of the previous year still fresh enough in his mind to cause worry.

He stopped walking, causing Violet to stop and face him. Their hands were still laced together.

Violet sensed his uneasy feelings. “Hey, if any of that shit ever came back, you know I’d save your ass no problem, right? Or if something else crazy happened. Or even if Billy tries to knock you out again.”

Steve rolled his eyes again, smiling. “I know, I know.”

Violet handed him the helmet before straddling the bike. She smiled up at him while he placed the helmet on. Her smile was contagious to Steve, it always caused him to smile right back. Violet started the bike up as Steve sat behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She looked back at him, the same damn smile still going strong.

“I’ve got your back, Harrington. Always.”

#stranger things fanfiction #steve harrington x ofc #steve harrington x oc #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington fanfic #stranger things x reader #stranger things x oc #stranger things fic #kill the lights

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golbrocklovely · 5 years

Text

the chosen daughter // colby brock - chapter three

A/N: hey yall! here’s the next chapter. i’m so happy yall are enjoying this story so much. writing this story really gets me in the spooky mood. please let me know what you think. i’d love to hear it. also let me know if you want to be on the taglist. okay, see yall later :)

story description

taglist: @far-to-many-bands , @idfk-tbh-oops , @muted-mayham , @ughwhyislifesohard , @justtanerd , @ashyoungxblood , @cmburgos

trigger warning: cursing, mention of weapons, vampire powers

word count: 2134

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I said, who the hell are you?”

I stared at the two guys in front of me, both pointing weapons. One had light blonde hair that almost covered one of his bright blue eyes. He was dressed in an orange shirt and white pants. In his hand was a crossbow, but instead of a bow inside it, it was a stake. The other one had silver hair that rested just above his dark eyes. Dressed in a black shirt and yellow plaid pants, his weapon of choice was a shotgun.

“Guys, don’t shoot. She’s human.” Mike stated, leaning his back against the couch behind the blonde-haired boy.

When the hell did he get here?

The guys looked at each other and lowered their weapons slightly. “Who is she?”

“Her name is Jade. She’s my friend. And… she knows.” Kevin replied, standing next to the silver-haired boy suddenly.

How did he… never mind.

“She knows about us? How?” Blonde boy asked, his weapon resting at his side.

“I don’t know. But she came in tonight asking about y’all, so she obviously knows something.” Kevin commented.

Silver chimed in. “Did Mike try to see-”

“My powers don’t work on her.” Mike deadpanned.

Silver and Blonde turned to him. “What?!”

Mike shrugged. “Dude, I don’t know. It just doesn’t work.”

“I’m sorry, but what the fuck is going on here?” I exclaimed. “Kevin, who are these two?”

“That’s Sam and that’s Jake.” He pointed at Blonde, and then Silver.

“Dude, why would you tell her our names?” Jake asked.

“She’s already seen your faces and knows about XPLR. Who cares if she knows your name?” Mike retorted.

“Wait… this is XPLR Services?” I questioned, glancing around the apartment.

It was extremely barren, only having two couches, a table, two lamps, and a small kitchen off to the side. The windows were covered in newspapers, not allowing any light from outside in. There were three doors off to the side, most likely bedrooms and a bathroom.

“Yes, this is it.” Sam stepped towards me, putting his hand out. “I’m Sam. Can I ask you how you found out about us?”

I shook his hand, confused. “Yeah… um, this guy X dropped a piece of paper on the ground last night after he saved me.”

“X?” Jake scrunched up his face.

I nodded. “Yeah. He said his name was X.”

Sam sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Colby…”

…Colby?

Sam pulled out his cell phone from his pocket, smacking a couple buttons and then calling someone.

In a hush tone he spoke. “Colby…get the fuck over here now…Yes right now!...Somebody knows about us…no I highly doubt she’s dangerous…just get here soon...but no guns blazing.”

Sam ended his call, looking back up at all of us with a grimace. “He’ll be here in a second.”

A burst of wind came in behind me, the front door slamming open and then closing suddenly. A man stood to the side of me, looking at the group of guys.

“What’s the problem Samuel?” The man queried, his voice deep and familiar. Sam pointed to me and the man turned. I looked at him.

X… or I guess… Colby.

“Why are you here?” Colby questioned.

“We were gonna ask you the same question, ‘X’.” Kevin smirked.

Colby scoffed, facing Kevin. “Why do you think I have something to do with this?”

“She asked for you.” Mike explained.

Colby spun back to me. “How’d you find us?”

“When you left, you dropped a piece of paper. It said XPLR Services and then a phone number. I was gonna call the number but there was no area code, so I couldn’t.” I admitted.

“Dude really? You had our number written down?” Jake chided.

“Sam told me to start giving it out to those that we save.” He turned back to me, stepping forward. “Why were you searching for it, for me, anyway?”

“Someone’s got a stalker…” Kevin joked.

“No. I was just… curious. Besides, what’s the big deal about me knowing about this place? What even is XPLR Services?” I ranted.

“We’re vampire-” Jake started.

“Dude, don’t tell her.” Colby grumbled.

“What’s the harm in telling one person about us?” Jake suggested.

Colby sighed. “If we get caught, I can only protect you for so long.”

“We’ll be fine.” Sam chimed in.

Colby hissed. “But we don’t know her. What if she’s-”

“I mean, there’s no way to know anyway. No one’s powers work on her.” Sam insisted.

“Not even yours?” Colby pointed to Mike.

Mike shook his head. “Nope. Kevin’s didn’t work either, but she was able to guess what it was without it affecting her.”

“What is she, a witch?” Colby guessed.

“They don’t exist.” Kevin spoke.

“We’re vampire hunters.” Sam interjected, looking at me.

“Sam… really?” Colby groaned.

“What? She’s been here for like ten minutes and hasn’t done anything. She’s not evil or out to get us, otherwise we would already be dead meat. I’m tired of hiding out and pretending, brother. Telling one person, one human, isn’t gonna end us.” Sam dictated.

“…It’s your funeral.” Colby deadpanned. He walked over to the kitchen and hopped up, sitting on the counter.

“Vampire hunters? I didn’t know that was a thing.” I stated.

“Technically it’s not. It’s against the law, especially in California. We could go to prison for what we’re doing.” Jake informed.

“So, XPLR Services is a… vampire hunting business.” I confirmed.

Sam nodded. “Exactly.”

“But… three out of the five of you are vampires?” I questioned.

“We only hunt vampires that harm humans. Ones that assault or go after humans for sport.” Mike answered.

“Oh, so, like the one that attacked me last night.” I implied.

“Yeah,” Colby interrupted, turning to the rest of the group. “He was the one hunting on Hamilton Street a couple weeks back. That was just his night off.”

“So, you keep this all hidden because it’s illegal.” I commented.

Kevin declared. “And because we don’t want to mess with the Elders.”

I crossed my arms, confused. “Who are the Elders?”

“Good question. No one knows for certain but essentially, they are the first created vampires. They’re most powerful and the hardest to kill. The older a vampire is, the stronger they are. Most Elder vampires are high up in the government and society so offing them or even alluding to being a hunter could get us killed.” Jake disclosed.

“And God knows no police or human authority is going to be able to bring them to justice, so killing is easy for them. We’re just here to get rid of the lower ranked ones, preferably unnoticed.” Colby finished, staring me down. I raised an eyebrow at him.

Sam smiled, finally looking at me. “Does that answer all of your questions?”

“…For the most part.” I responded. “I promise I won’t tell anyone your secret. I don’t exactly have anyone to tell anyway.”

“You better not.” Colby snapped.

“Colby… chill.” Sam addressed me again. “Why don’t I take you home?”

“Okay. Thanks.” I muttered, a tight-lipped smile resting on my face.

He nodded his head and strolled towards a door by the kitchen, going inside. Jake, Mike, and Kevin all sat on the couch and talked quietly to each other. I stood awkwardly by the door, waiting for Sam.

Suddenly Colby came over to me, lightly grabbing my arm. “Listen here. Sam is my best friend and my family. So is Jake, Mike, and Kevin. I don’t know if you’re good or not.”

“I am.” I demurred.

“Say that all you want, but I will never know since my power can’t tell.” Colby continued. “You need to know that telling a single person about XPLR could put all of us in harms way. Jake and Sam are human, just like you. They may be great fighters and hunters, but they can get hurt and die. I will not allow that to happen.”

“Okay.” I mumbled.

“If that means I have to go against my own beliefs, I will kill you to protect them. Do you understand?” His grip tightened on my arm, his fangs springing from his mouth.

How was he attractive even now?

I rolled my eyes, annoyed at myself and Colby. “Put your fangs away. You’re not scary.”

His hand slid from my arm as I stood up straighter. “I won’t tell anyone. Trust me.”

“I don’t.” His eyes bore into mine, turning red for a split second.

“You ready to go?” Sam hummed, a sweet look coming to his face.

“Yeah. Thank you.” I smiled back. “Nice meeting you Mike and Jake. I’ll see you later, Kevin.”

“Same to you Jade.” Jake waved.

Colby glared at me as I waved at him, smirking. Sam placed his hand on my lower back as we walked to his car. We stayed silent until he began to drive.

Sam spoke suddenly. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.” I murmured.

“How do vampire powers not work on you?” He questioned.

I shrugged. “I have no idea. It’s always been this way, even well before vampires came out to the public.”

“That’s crazy. I wish I had that. It would be so much easier fighting.” He chuckled.

“How often do you fight vamps?” My gaze landed on him.

“Weekly. Sometimes daily. It really depends on how shitty vampires want to be.” Sam confessed.

“Can I ask you something now?” I responded.

Sam nodded his head, not speaking.

“You seem like an awfully chipper person. How the fuck did you meet X – I mean, Colby?” I sassed.

“I didn’t exactly meet Colby. He met me.” Sam joked, his voice changing suddenly. “He saved me.”

“Really?” I cocked my head to the side.

“Yeah. A couple years ago, when I had just came out to LA, I was attacked by a group of vamps. He saved me from them.” Sam affirmed.

He continued. “But if it makes you feel any better, he was equally as bitter towards me as he is to you. It’s just how he is when he’s first getting to know someone. At least with me, he saw I was a good person. With you… he can’t. So he’s probably extra…”

“Colby.” I jeered.

He laughed. “Right.”

“Why did he say his name was X?” I wondered out loud.

A light smile rested on Sam’s face. “It was a nickname I gave him. When he first saved me, he didn’t tell me his name. So I called him Xenoparochus, X for short.”

“Xeno what?” I sputtered.

“It’s Latin. It means ‘a person who provides for strangers’. I was really into Latin at the time.” He confided.

Nothing else could fall from my lips besides one word. “Oh.”

“It’s kinda why we called our ‘company’ XPLR. Also, because we both love to travel, but we don’t get to do that often.”

“How did you guys meet Jake? And Mike? And Kevin?”

“We saved Jake on one of our first hunts, and immediately afterwards he wanted in. Mike and Kevin, we became friends with from hanging out at the Trapp Haus. Eventually we told them about our company, and they were cool with it. So, me and Colby live above the Trapp Haus. Kevin, Mike, and Jake live together in an apartment not too far away.” Sam explained.

“That’s great that you all are so close.” I conceded.

Sam pulled into the parking lot of my apartment building, parking in an empty spot. “It took a long time to get to where we are, but I’m glad I have them all in my life.”

“Especially Colby.” I replied.

“Yeah. He’s my family.” Sam muttered.

Silence fell over us for a moment. “Um… thanks for driving me home.”

“Let me walk you to your door.” Sam spoke, getting out of the car.

“Oh, you don’t have-” Before I could finish, Sam closed his door and walked over to mine, opening it. I took his hand and nodded a ‘thank you’ as we walked to the elevator, getting in.

“I want you to have this. It’s my phone number.” He handed me a piece of paper.

“Isn’t Colby gonna be pissed?” I raised an eyebrow at him, the elevator coming to a stop on my floor.

Sam smiled, following me down the hallway to my place. “Probably. But when isn’t he? I want you to have it in case something goes wrong.”

“Thanks. That means a lot.” We finally came to a stop at my door.

As I unlocked my door, I waved at him. “Have a good night.”

“You too.” Sam saluted lazily, slowly starting to walk away.

I flicked the lights on, glancing around my apartment hastily. My eyes widen as my mouth went dry. “Uh Sam?!”

“Yeah?” Sam stopped, turning back to me.

“Something went wrong.”

<< CHAPTER 2 || CHAPTER 4 >>

#colby brock #sam golbach #Sam and Colby #kevin langue #mike's dead #jake webber #colby brock fanfic #colby brock fanfiction #colby brock fic #colby brock vampire #colby brock angst #colby brock x oc #vampire #the chosen daughter #colby brock story

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mst3kproject · 3 years

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Teenage Wolfpack

This is, unfortunately, not a werewolf movie.

That’s it. That’s why I’m reviewing it. The title suggested a werewolf movie, the film itself would have been way more fun if it were a werewolf movie, it wasn’t, and now I’m annoyed. I felt the same way about The Wolf of Wall Street but that one is way too upscale for this blog.

After opening credits set to some very catchy and extremely inappropriate swing music, we meet brothers Freddie and John Morgan. Freddie, in his early twenties, was driven out of the house by their asshole father and now commits crime and dates underage girls. John, age eighteen, still lives at home but is getting increasingly frustrated, especially when Mr. Morgan mistreats his wife. In search of money to help his mother, Johnny gets drawn into Freddie’s web of crime. Things start going south when the gang rob the wrong postal truck, ending up with mail instead of money, but Freddie’s girlfriend finds something in one of the stolen letters that makes him think maybe, just maybe, he can make crime pay after all.

On the surface at least, Teenage Wolfpack is a pretty serviceable movie. The dialogue mostly makes sense and you can usually tell what’s going on. There are times when it sets things up and pays them off pretty efficiently, but at nearly eighty minutes long, there is also a lot of time spent dithering around accomplishing nothing. The opening, for example, where we are introduced to Freddie and his buddies as they show off their pasty German bellies at a swimming pool. They sexually harass random women, beat up the staff, and annoy their girlfriends. This bit is far too long and ultimately does very little for the story. Later we’re treated to a lengthy dance number, a weird sequence with a boy who admires Freddie throwing away his jacket, and a kidnapped dog, which are similarly useless.

The dog especially. It’s a little wiener dog and it’s very cute, but it never does anything except hang out and be cuddled. I kept expecting it to either get killed or for it to somehow be instrumental in the plot but it’s just a random dog and when things are supposed to be getting intense it vanishes from the story. It also never barks once, which makes me wonder if the movie crew sedated it before filming. My neighbours have two dachshunds and those little bastards never shut up, ever.

Outside of that, the story makes a reasonable amount of sense. There are bits in which you’re not sure what people are actually talking about, but most of those end up not really mattering. The final plot point, about the money at the bar, is not very clear at all – characters talk about what they found in the letter but we never get any details, or even see the text they’re reading (possibly this was simply cut from the English dub), so we only have the vaguest idea what they’re looking for. Worse for this ending, and the thing that pretty much kills the whole film, is that it is entirely lacking in tension. The guys are sneaking into the bar owner’s house to rob him while John, who has had enough of this, races to try to stop them. There’s a four-way standoff between Freddie, John, Freddie’s girlfriend Cissy, and the bar owner, in which the latter two are shot, but somehow the movie manages to make this downright boring.

I think a part of the problem may be that the stakes here are much lower than the earlier robbery of the postal truck, which involved fistfights and sneaking by the police (does anybody happen to know when ambulances were invented? Because there’s a scene in this movie where a policeman flags down a random passer-by to ask them to take an accident victim to the hospital). Here they’re just sneaking around a house and their only foe, besides each other, is a man with a heart condition. I guess we’re supposed to be worried for the bar owner, but he’s not really a character, just an Italian stereotype even broader and more offensive than that skit from Devil Fish.

The other issue is that we’re not really sure what this movie wants to be. Of course it’s a morality play, teaching us that criminals can never win, but it kind of wanders around that point in circles rather than attacking it from any particular angle that might unify the story. There are repeated hints that John is going to end up taking the blame for Freddie’s shenanigans, but the story never follows through on that. Cissy plays it sweet for most of the movie but turns out to be the very worst of this nasty lot, lying and trying to turn the brothers against each other… that was kind of a fun twist, but it’s not at all necessary to the plot. At the end, Freddie and John’s father turns up to identify these two criminals as his sons, but then the movie’s over, without any attempt at exploring what this means for the family. Mr. Morgan is clearly upset to see them getting arrested, but whether he will reconcile with Freddie or just disown John along with him, we never find out.

Cissy, by the way, is supposed to be fifteen. We never find out how old Freddie is exactly, but he’s at least a couple of years older than eighteen-year-old John. That’s a little questionable, but what’s even more questionable is the camera’s loving attention to her ass, especially when actress Karin Baal was only sixteen when she was in this movie.

The thing MST3K would have surely had the most fun with is the characters, which are very flat. John is a Wholesome Young Man who does things like remind his brother, who has just stolen a car right in front of him, to obey the speed limit. Mike, Tom, and Crow would have added their own dialogue to characterize him as a hopeless sniveling Mama’s Boy and it wouldn’t be much of an exaggeration. He’s supposed to be conflicted once the actual crime begins but instead he just comes across as a fool, willfully ignoring what Freddie’s really up to in the attempt to feel better about his own part in it.

Like a number of characters in MST3K movies about young criminals, the movie balks at actually allowing John to commit a crime. He does hit a guy over the head with a gun, but the guy volunteered for it in exchange for some money from Freddie! While Freddie’s gang beat people up and rob the mail truck, John is merely distracting a night watchman by giving him a letter to mail. It’s never very clear how much John knows about the whole plan. He went to Freddie because he knows he needs more money than he can get through legitimate means. He has seen them steal a car and when he’s sent to ‘borrow’ one he must know that the original owner probably isn’t getting it back, even if he’s able to secure it without any violence. Yet in the face of all this, he does his level best to remain oblivious.

Freddie seems at once eager to have John as a partner and yet reluctant to actually bring him into the fold. In T-Bird Gang the bad guys had Frank commit an actual crime as a test, to make sure he was up to it and to secure his loyalty. Maybe it’s because John is family that Freddie doesn’t seem to feel a need to do this… maybe the ‘hit a guy’ thing was the test, but it didn’t feel like that. Freddie can’t seem to decide whether he wants to trust John or protect him, which is another thing that movie could have used as a focus for this story, but doesn’t. It never really tries to get into Freddie’s head at all, which is a shame.

I guess the reason these movies don’t want their ‘hero’ characters to commit crimes is because they want them to seem redeemable. The problem with this is that for a character to be redeemed, you need something to redeem them from. A person can’t pick themselves up if they’ve never actually fallen. Then again, I’m not sure this movie is about redemption. Freddie certainly never redeems himself. Cissy looks for a while like maybe she wants to get together with John and try a life of things other than crime, but doesn’t. And John is only barely a criminal – we don’t even hang around long enough to find out whether his father’s going to think he is, or whether he’s going to take the blame for the stolen car.

Like so many other of these movies, the only goal Teenage Wolfpack seems to have is to make the audience feel crummy. The moral lessons are barely a sketch and deeply unsatisfying. The title seems to suggest an exploitation film but the bad behaviour it showcases isn’t any fun to watch. The most interesting conflict the story sets up is between John, Freddie, and their father, but that is barely explored and certainly isn’t done justice. The film-makers seem to have been competent but the script gave them nothing to work with.

This really should have been a werewolf movie. Freddie’s been thrown out of the family for being a criminal, but when John goes to him looking for money, he discovers instead the terrible truth about the recent slew of animal attacks! John still loves his brother but Freddie’s pack of slavering werewolves are a danger to everybody in town… can he bring himself to break out the silver bullets, knowing that he’ll be labeled a fratricide? Can he protect the Italian bar owner, or even his own parents from werewolfish bloodlust? That would have been an amazing movie.

#mst3k #reviews #episodes that never were #teenage wolfpack #50s

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