#cas goes back to Scotland (

[hiswhiteknight]

Unbelievably Outlandish - Part 12

Summary: Before starting down a new crossroads, the Reader goes onto an adventure of literary traveling. Suddenly tossed into an unbelievable story that has swept the world, The Outlander Series itself. How will a twenty first century woman survive?

Note: It has been a super long time since I've posted, like a year or more. I'm going to try to post weekly, but it depends on my schedule. As for a tag list, I'll be starting a new one – please send me a message to be added to the tag list. I don't always get to look through comments, so please message me.

Note Note: I own no characters, except reader, clearly this is based off the lovely book series Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and tv show. This follows more the tv show, but it’s far from accurate. I’m going to try to get better with using less proper English, but who knows maybe I’ll get into Scottish slang.

Pairing: Jamie Fraser x Female Reader

Words: 2700 (SO LONG)

Warning: Angst, playfulness, cursing, slow start

It turned out, in Angus's mind, the dog turned out to be a good distraction for you. It kept you from running around because you found yourself always training the dog. She was an angelic thing, who always got into some kind of trouble along the way. Your whole life you've been much of a rule follower, but as of recently you were finding you had a lot in common with the dog.

With this being said, you have yet to find a name you'd like for her. Often you found yourself filling the boredom by naming old fictional characters you loved when you remember the character Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables. Outside from being incredibly charming, he was intelligent, kind, and had patience and devotion for the ones he loved. You imagined you had a lot in common with Anne Shirley or you hope you did. And with that thought, you named the dog Blythe.

Jamie enjoyed watching you work with the mischievous creature. He could tell this was the first time you were filled with joy since you arrived in Scotland, "Why don't you go over and talk to the girl," Murtagh said from next to him.

He shook out of his daze, acting like he wasn't doing anything weird, "I like my bullocks, thank you."

Murtagh shook his head, "She wouldn't have that mutt if it wasn't for you, you know."

The men continue to work around and pack things away, "You and I both know she is a stubborn woman, if she wanted that dog enough she would have got it without myself or Ned mentioning a word."

"Coward," Murtagh whispered to Jamie.

"Damn right," he chuckled back.

You were working on the pups reactivity and word commands. While growing up you didn't get to have a pet, but your mother told you about when she raised dogs as a child. Your family moved around a lot, so having a pet wasn't in the cards. "Don't get too comfortable girl, we're going to be off soon," Angus barked at you from afar.

You turned around losing the smile on your face. With the time being away from the castle, you still hadn't earned much trust and you most definitely didn't give the men much energy. Outside of the pup, you were like a empty soul and it was coming to be more evident with every passing day. The dog plopped herself next to you watching Angus with her tongue out. Even Blythe was better respected and well liked by the men, even Angus though he'd deny it if anyone commented. Their acceptance of the dog made you more tolerant to their attitude and patriarchal manner. "Yes master," you bow.

"It's nice you are starting to learn your manners," he smirked back while making gestures towards the men.

With a deep inhale and low tolerance of attitude today you started to trudge towards your horse, "It was sarcasm, idiot," you grumbled.

He appeared to have the same tolerance of my attitude, "Watch your tongue girl or you'll get it cut off," Angus advanced forward while gripping his dagger.

Jamie and Murtagh were about to make a move when another man's voice appeared, "Everything alright miss," a British voice caught your attention.

Angus directed an aggressive response to the man. You turned to look at the man and in your daze started to register things about this man. He had a proper accent, boots, and his hair read a gentleman. He was clearly a British soldier and he could mean serious trouble. You turned to look at Jamie for a split second before charming a smile, "Excuse me sir," you asked, ignoring the comments from the other man to rile this man. This was not the time and place.

You could tell the tension with Dougal increased. He didn't trust what you would say, "I was asking if you were alright," he stepped forward again, ignoring the men behind you.

"Oh, I'm sorry you had to hear all that, sir. You shouldn't have had to hear a lady speak out of tune like that. It was very unbecoming of me," you looked embarrassed. Let's hope your acting skills are up to par. You ignored Murtagh mutter unbecoming to make fun of you, "It's just Angus here is a very, very, very," you paused to look at him, "Very distant cousin." You turn back to smile at the officer, "I sometimes gets so overwhelmed by his voice and tone I just lash out. I apologize," you put you hand on your heart. The dog looked up at you oddly, not recognizing your behaviors.

He smiled at you, not acknowledging the grumbling Scots behind you, "Not necessary, my lady I understand quite well actually." He bent down to scratch the puppy sitting in front of you, "I'm sorry your accent."

You scratch the back of you neck, "Right, I must sound so improper. I'm Y/N O'Mulligian. I came to visit some family here from the colonies at my brother's request. He said I could use some real life hard work. He likes to call me a debutante," you sent him a teasing smile.

Responding well to your story, he rises and smiles at you. A relief was lifted off your shoulders, you were almost past this moment when Dougal interrupted, "Enough," he shouted, "She is the guest of the clan MacKenzie and her business is none of yours." You clearly spoke too soon because the officers defenses shot back up.

"So off you go," Angus finished.

You had to stop yourself from rolling your eyes, "Are you sure you are alright, miss," he looked unshaking at you. He clearly felt so much privilege he did not care remotely about the strapping Scottish men standing around him. You wanted to smack yourself in the forehead how stupid these men had to be to not recognize the importance of this one man.

Dougal looked as if he was going to fight the man. You put your arm on his bicep to stop him, "Of course, good sir," you smile, "It's nice to know chivalry is not dead. I have more hard work to learn as you can see, it was very nice meeting you."

"Pleasure is all mine," he smiled back before frowning around the man watching this moment. He backed away into the blacksmith area to continue his work.

A minute passed by and you felt a firm grip on your arm drag you towards your horse, "It's best you didn't speak," Dougal scolded in your ear.

Anger surged through your body and it took every fiber of your being to say nothing. But as you were shoved onto your horse, you looked in the direction of the soldier and back at Jamie. You knew if you yelled it'd bring attention to Jamie, a fugitive to the English Army.

You continue to seethe on the ride. Blythe sat up, doing her best to see over the horses head to look ahead. "What's the dog's name," Jamie trotted next to you.

"Blythe," you muttered directly.

"What a cute English name," he emphasized on one word of his sentence.

You pulled back on your horse and halted, "Excuse me?"

He chose to stop with you, trying to not say directly what he'd like to say. It's been odd between you and Jamie. You weren't sure if you were pushing him away out of anger or fear, but none the less at this moment it appeared to be anger, "Nothing, it's a cute name."

A sarcastic laugh left your mouth, "No, no, you had a tone," the man halt to watch another scene unfold, "You clearly have something you want to add, some hidden message you feel you want to hide. Say it."

"Nothing, you seem to just like the English a bit more than an Irish Woman from the colonies I thought would," he said like his words meant nothing. It didn't matter the fact that maybe he felt jealous or he had a right to comment on any intention or likes you have. That comment engulfed your whole body into volcano, hell fire fiery.

Heat was written all over your face and Murtagh didn't have enough time cool down your fire with rationality, "The boy is just saying, you were awfully chummy with the Brit," Angus chimed in, "like a girl in heat."

And there goes Mt. St. Helen, "Un-Fucking believable, do you know how fucking dumb you are, like every single on of you are just egg head fucking dumb," you scream enough to make the echo quake the woods around you.

"Lass," Ned sent a warning your way.

Tears started to brim your eyes and Jamie knew he'd set you up to fail again. You point to Ned, clearly a man of reason, "That man back there," you continued to yell, "Was an English Officer out patrolling." You looked to Jamie and everything deflated in you. Everything from the past and the reality of your new world just collapsed in your soul, "I was trying to save you."

A sigh leaves your lips and you talk lightly while using your hands to emphasize your point, "Men are idiots and will always fall for charm, so I used mine to protect you all," you continued to go on, "Call me a hussy, I don't care. And that plan to charm the officer actually worked until you opened your trap, my lord," you bowed your head at Dougal. Something than broke in you, in that moment, you were exhausted at being angry. You had no more fight in you. You gave Jamie another look, "I was scared. I was trying to save you," you whisper.

Taking a deep breath, you dismounted from you horse, "Now where are you going," Angus shouted at you.

The anger stirred up again, spinning around to look at him, "To relieve myself, thank you," you speak loudly while stomping into the woods.

You knew what Dougal did to Jamie in the pubs and you weren't sure why. It wasn't much of your business, but you could see it chipping into Jamie. You were stuck again in your thoughts, give into this new world and let these people in or continue to bury who you knew you were inside a dark cave and never leave.

The ride to the next village was quiet, especially after finding Scottish men hung out on display. You wanted to vomit at the lack of humanity in the cruel act. If this was the normal the British did to Scots, I'm not all shocked of their lack of kindness and trust towards me. I'm sure I wasn't helping the matter either.

When you got to the pub, you chose to join in with the drinking. The owner made a bee line as Blythe trotted behind you and laid at your feet, "Lass, we do not let do-," he stopped mid sentence from the look you were giving him. You were sitting up straight, dead face.

"You were saying, sir," you answered curtly.

"What can I get for you miss," he finished instead.

"A pint of whatever, I am not picky," you said, resting your feet on the chair in front of you.

The men went a distance away from you, you imagine to process the thing they just witnessed. A man approached you with a smile on your face and you shake your head putting your other foot on a chair and shoving it away from your table. He quickly turn around, "You'd make more friends if you weren't so prickly."

Murtagh patted at the dog, "My expression and acts are nothing but kind, sir." He shook his head, "Plus, I don't need any more friends when I only need you."

He chuckles, looking at Jamie, "It was a kind thing you did with the soldier. I'll be the only one to admit, that was a good eye you have."

"Don't think much of it, it was also self preservation because I'm not a exactly the kind British soldiers have a keen sense to protect," the man brought you your pint and you started to drink while you viewed in your surroundings.

He pointed at you, "You like everyone to think you're this cold hearted she witch."

"Maybe I am those things," you said like it didn't bother me to have that reputation.

Murtagh shook his head, "You are quite the opposite lass and the only person you are hurting are you." You roll your eyes sighing as he looks at your with a smirk, "And maybe a red headed boy who I suspect would do anything to see you smile once again." You sit up straighter as Murtagh stands while looking at you, while gesturing to Jamie. He lifts his eyebrows speaking you the truth, "Don't think I only talk to you because your good company. I get sick of seeing the boy mope around with his worry for you. A single smile from you can set his day."

You glare at him as your cheeks warm red, "Mind your business."

When he walks away, you sit and continue to process your reality and options. Every now and again you catch a glance at Jamie. You could see his expression and the change in him over the last few weeks. You stand walking your glass over to the bar with Blythe walking behind you. You could tell Dougal was about to start his speech. He wouldn't need Jamie today if you guessed right. Those hanging men were part of this community they didn't need to see Jamie's scars. You leaned against a pillar near Jamie, "You alright," you asked him catching eyes with Murtagh.

You shake off his knowing look. Jamie stood up straight looking at you bewildered from the sudden change in your demeanor, "Are you talking to me?"

"Don't make it a thing, just answer the question," you whisper.

"Aye, I'm fine," he whispers back, glancing at you for a second too long into silence. He clears his thoughts, "If you don't mind me asking, what changed your mind with speaking to me?"

You smirk, "Murtagh paid me."

He shook his head, "Sure," he was trying to hold back a smile. Something appeared to pop up in his head, "Look Deoiridh, I'm sorry about."

"No," you stopped him, "Jamie, I'm stubborn and I don't know what I'm doing. I'm not from a place like this, so."

You noticed a change in his eyes when you said his name instead of Mr. MacTavish. This is where he stopped you, "I only want to help."

"Does that mean you agree I'm stubborn because Murtagh implied I was prickly earlier and that's why I don't make friends," you say while trying to hold back a grin.

He shook his head making his red hair shake with it, “You see comments like that are a trap and I will not be stepping on that one.”

“Smart man,” you say to him.

“And now a compliment, I might think you are wanting to be my friend again,” he whispered back with a smirk.

You see Dougal getting ready to do your speech, “I should be getting out of here and up to my room. I shouldn’t be down here when,” you stopped to look at Dougal, “Well good night.”

“Goodnight Y/N,” he whispered back.

“And Jamie, just for transparency sake, the jury is still out if we are friends,” he paused appearing to hold his breath. You offer a small smile, “I need you to walk over to Murtagh and tell him I was nice then I'll consider being your friend. You know for the sake of proving Murtagh wrong. It's the price you have to pay for my friendship.” And before he can respond, you and Blythe make your way upstairs.

#outlander fanfiction #outlander imagine #jamie fraser imagines #fanfiction #outlander #jamie fraser x reader #jamie fraser imagine #jamie frazier x reader #unbelievably Outlandish

[phantomato]

A Rough Gang of Naughty Children

Tomorrow morning is rubbish collection day.

“Come on out,” Dennis calls. Tom hears his feet on the hallway floorboards; Dennis has gotten a little bigger in the past year, and it makes his heavy tread even more pronounced. The lighter gait behind him must be Billy, who, while older and taller than either Dennis or Tom, walks so as not to be heard.

It’s a good skill around Wool’s. Making yourself known tends to get a person saddled with extra chores. There’s always babies to be tended, or dishes to be scrubbed. Tom’s better with the babies than the dishes.

Three sharp raps on the door-frame signal that Dennis is standing there. Billy, two years older, peeks from behind his shoulder. Dennis is bigger than Tom, one year younger, and two behind in school, owing to his parents having not started him when he should’ve done.

Well, they had been sick, Tom supposes. And now they’re dead. Parents aren’t good for much, really.

“You do still like to have a spare shilling, don’t you?” Dennis asks. “Or does silver come out your ears now that you’re a fancy public school boy.”

Tom scowls and punches his pillow, which he is mostly sure doesn’t have nits in it. If he’s right, he’s going to do all his own laundry this summer in order to keep it that way. He’s twelve, and nine months at Hogwarts has persuaded him he never wants another day of lice in his life.

Billy scratches his head and Tom jumps up, just to get them away from his good sheets.

“Yeah, fine,” he says, herding them back out to the hall and closing the room solidly behind him. He’s put up a paper nameplate for himself on the door, ‘Tom Riddle’ in big block letters that should warn anyone away from going through his stuff. Too bad he’s not allowed his magic. “Is Amy coming?”

“Amy’s waiting out front,” Billy says. “She’s got the bags.”

The bags, rucksacks patiently sewn and re-sewn by Amy and Tom, allow them each to carry about twenty pounds of scrap metal.

On a good day. Most days are not good days.

But the bags are worth it, and bringing Amy is worth it. The bobbies don’t get so worked up about roving gangs of children when there’s a girl in it. Plus, she can cry on command, and neither Billy nor Dennis can do that, and Tom’s crocodile tears aren’t as charming since he hit ten.

So he goes down the stairs ahead of Billy and Dennis, leaving them to their shoving and insults, to get a head start with Amy. She’s got the magnet from the science set in the front pocket of her pinafore—the rest of that donation is long gone, but one of the four of them has always kept track of the magnet, for just this purpose—and hands the pen knife over to Tom when he comes close. “You’re on wires,” she says. “I jabbed my finger on a needle yesterday, so I’m not doing it.”

Tom complains by groaning, but he takes the knife. It’s got to be him or Amy. Dennis does a sloppy job of cutting the casings off wires, which makes them worth less, and Billy lies and says he did, which is even worse.

“If you still remember how, anyway,” she adds.

“I remember,” Tom responds.

Like he’d forget eleven years of this after a scant one in Scotland.

Like he wasn’t the only one of them that was born here.

Amy had a mum for five years, Dennis had parents for a full six, and Billy only got four years but he’s still got a great-aunt that sends him a card and sweets for Christmas. And socks, sometimes, too.

They go to the workhouses down by the river, which have the best shot at yielding copper. There’s bits of wire—some even bare, to save Tom the effort—in a few of the skips, and they find part of an old radiator tucked in a back alley. It takes Billy and Dennis together to pry the thing apart and get at its copper-tube guts, but that’s a good haul already.

All the tools they find stick to the magnet, though, so they’re not worth taking. Dennis chases Amy with a rusty saw-blade for half a block, and she screams and shouts all the while, as Tom sits back at the previous kerb to get the rubber casing off of a couple of assorted feet of wires.

“Is it magical?” Billy asks, squatting down beside Tom to watch him work.

For a second, Tom thinks he might’ve been made.

“Do they make you wear a tie and all? I heard the public school uniforms require ties every day, and in real silk.”

‘Magical,’ as Billy means it, is fancy uniforms and full meals. Those are true, too, but they’re not the type of magic that really makes Hogwarts special.

“We haven’t got ties,” which is true, because they’ve got robes instead. Tom heard a couple of the older students talking about how the uniforms might change soon, they might become more Muggle. Jackets and trousers and ties and all that. It might be nice, in some ways—Tom likes the robes well enough, but they also make him feel a bit like a girl in a dress, and that’s funny. Not bad, but funny. He already knows how to feel about trousers.

“We’ve got lots of books, and we never have to share a bed, and the water in the bath comes in hot without having to boil anything,” Tom says. “And they feed us a real Christmas dinner, with roast and pudding and everything.”

“If you stay,” Billy says.

“If you stay,” Tom agrees.

Most of the students don’t stay over for the winter hols. Most of the students don’t need to.

Tom finishes up with the wires, bending them into a coil so they take up less room in his bag. He leaves the remains of their casings on the kerb for someone else to sweep. “Amy’ll have our heads if we let Dennis keep on,” he says.

Billy nods. “Sure will.”

The day ends with a few more finds, the best of which is a mismatched set of bent brass candlesticks. Solid brass, not plated. They found some switch-covers that were only plated, those stuck to the magnet, so they got left behind.

Tom nicks some peaches from a green-grocer, and Amy begs two pies from a soft-hearted shop owner. They sit on the steps of a row house to eat it, the four of them, until the housekeeper pushes them along. They find a mutt who plays fetch for a bit. Tom pets its grey head a little longer than he should, because it’s probably got nits, too, but the stupid thing has dopey eyes and rests its chin on Tom’s knee and he kind of wants to hug it, but not in front of Amy and Dennis, so he settles for the risk of petting a little too long.

He’s awful sorry about the rabbit thing, really. Billy’s the only other one of them who likes animals. Billy wouldn’t’ve laughed if Tom hugged the stray.

By the time they’ve traded their metal to the scrapper and made it back to Wool’s—not home, Wool’s is not a home to anyone who lives there—they’re tired, their feet hurt, and Mrs. Cole is sour about the missed chores. But Tom takes his reprimands, and he helps with Amy and Dennis and Billy until every last baby has gone down to sleep and all the dishes are washed, despite the aches, despite the work, because—because he can feel the weight of that silver shilling in his pocket.

He can take it out at night, when he’s alone in bed, and look at how it shines in the moonlight. He can polish it on his shirt to take off some of the tarnish—it dirties the shirt, but the shirt gets dirty anyhow, and the shilling looks prettier. He can press it to his lips and feel the metal go from cool to warm to blood-hot, which means it’s real.

It’s real. It’s his. And Billy and Amy and Dennis will still have him along every rubbish bin day so that he can get more.

#tom riddle #wool’s orphanage #tomato shorts

[le-souriant]

#MusicMonday Review - November 2022

#MusicMonday is the hashtag I've been using for quite a while to share music recommendations from up-and-coming artists. Always fresh, and always different, trying to look for trends before they become one. You can check October's review for more music.

Indie or Punk? Punk or Indie? Let's have fun traveling the world in a friendly showdown between cutting edge examples both have to offer. Let's have a listen, with a word from the artists themselves. 🎧

Igaf Sequoia – Trap Door

Everyone wants to be king In a world full of powerful men It doesn't work that way

The wheel of fortune it spins It's rigged you'll never win

Like a slot machine in sin city I know you think you can but you'll never win, you'll never win

Our musical trip begins in Los Angeles, CA with a calm Indie Folk song, reflective of a familiar garden full of secrets. Just hold on to me:

"Almost all of our songs are derived through a composite of inspiration. Both instrumental harmonies and personal experiences inform this song in particular. Song writing, from the perspective of the lyricist, is a fluid mixture of poetry, memory and dreams.

The lyrics for this song were a spontaneous emotional response to the culmination of instruments and harmonies as they presented themselves. The lyrics wrote themselves in response to the vibrations. Musically as a band that has always been guitar first and then layered with instrumentation, for this song we flipped it and had my guitar part translated and recorded on keyboards first and then layered instrumentation from there to try and create a separate sound from our previous catalog of songs.

Generally speaking the vast majority of our songs thematically touch on our experiences with the drug addiction, idealism and heartbreak of our youth and reconciling that against growing older, getting sober, and becoming parents."

Pat Chow – Noxious Weed

There's seasons greetings And reasons fleeting To get on from day to day But that summertime and all the sun shiny glitter Mesmerizes the heart of me

We will continue on with our lives The sun will give and take The sun will shine We'll all get on with it Get on with it With our lives in the summertime

From Indie Folk, we now fly all the way to Perth, Australia for an Indie Punk jammy track that takes us through an all-season journey of a toxic seed you'd regret to plant:

"I wrote this song on the 1st of January 2019. It was summer time and I wanted to write a summer song. It's about the good times you have with friends and reflecting on that while realizing the good times are almost over. I was at the end of my tether of a silly season bender.

The second verse wrote itself using the rest of the seasons and a dash of self depreciation. The refrain we will continue with our lives is about how life goes on regardless of how you feel or what you want, things just continue to happen and they happen to you and you'll get on with it one way or another, with joy or begrudgingly."

Kikker – Trash

Be trash Go home Be garbage Alone

Staying with the Punk vibe, let's earn more flyer miles traveling to Swansea, Wales for some fast-paced, hard-edged melodic, rebellious Garage Frog Rock:

"Lyrically, the track is about frustration; about feeling stuck, and feeling that you’re unable to change anything. It’s about repeating cycles and feeling unable to break out of them, or feeling unable to cause meaningful change."

The Volts – The Less I Think I Know

But time goes on and on Where’s the place it all went wrong One day it’s there the next it’s gone  You’ve got to keep on keeping on

Just goes to show The more I think the less I think I know And even though It’s been so long I’ll miss you when you go

We move up north to West Lothian, Scotland for a straight up Indie track that knows it: when nothing seems to sink in, it can make you feel like sinking:

"The song's not really based on one experience in particular but more so about looking back on different things in the past and realizing how little you know about them and how differently you would handle them if they happened now."

Hausers – Chairoplane

Free to run with a bike riding with my brother undefeated pirates from the city

The Chairoplane runs turns round and round still a race with the bumper cars just long enough to smash my front teeth

We finally land in Milan, Italy for a Lo-Fi Americana song that evokes Aunt Lily singing for the Pope while she's washing in the basement bathroom:

"Basically, the song speaks of me when I was a kid.

I'm from the city, and my uncles lived in a small town in the countryside far from cities, which was a situation I wasn't used to be.

A genuine experience with real people, real feelings, and sincere human relationships, felt for the first time only far from the city, that gave fresh air while riding a bike in bucolic fields, having fun during the feast of the town imagining a peasant life, like in a painting by Ligabue. A picture of the life in the campaign.

You should see a film called "L'alberto degli zoccoli" of Ermanno Olmi.

It's in a strict italian dialect (that also I'm not able to understand), but it's a superlative film to understand where my feelings came from."

Listen to them and much more on the Playlist

@osornios

#music #MusicMonday #review #november #2022

[gayconfessioncas]

🏚

#oh i am. obsessed. i have been thinking about it and. will dean ask cas to stay in this fic? will he? #and who will confess their love first? and how? i am. i feel like I'm bubbling on the inside just waiting for things to unravel #right. okay. without further ado #sophia reads to build a home #okay what do i remember from last time. cas in the rain. cas getting an invitation to talk at the school dean works. #and now. this chapter. they are 18. fuck this one is gonna. have angst huh #okay so this is the aftermath of the party huh. cas is hungover and dean is full of guilt #wait no. i think days have passed. cas is? packing? shit is this it??? #cas is calling dean homophobic again. the frustration is. so real. cas please. he's literally bisexual #dean. we know you want to come out. this is the second time now you almost did. let it out bb. let it alllll ouuttt #okay. back to present day. #dean. listens to music. that reminds him. of cas. great! so without further notice i WILL be passing away!! thank you so much for your time #rule number one cas. don't ask dean about sammy. he WILL cry. don't test him #cas goes back to Scotland (?) in a month!! plenty if time for shenanigans and confessions!! here's your chance boys!! #(rowena voice) fix it! #back to 18. castiel i love but please. PLEASE stop assuming things about dean. don't let your anger and jealousy cloud your judgement!! #this scene is kinda. uncomfortable though. cause dean is talking about lisa to his friends and. well. he's in love with cas #so it feels all very fake. yanno? like a show. like hes trying to get a reaction from cas and that just makes cas angrier. its a whole thin #CAS ITS NOT DISGUST ITS JEALOUSY FUCKING HELL #oh these chapters are killing me. KILLING ME. AND NOW YOU JUST WANT TO GO BACK TO PRESENT DAY??? AFTER THAT MESS??? #HAVE MERCY DEAR AUTHOR IM SCREAMJNG #dean is talking to a class of teenagers about protest music and cas is watching. im about to explode #SHUT UP SHUR UP THEY JUSTED HUGGED FOR THE FIRST TIME KN NINE YEARS IM INCOHERENT #oh i. i need to go to sleep now... oh no. no i want to keeping reading #one more chapter? no. sleep. unless? noooooo i gotta sleeeeepppp. fuck. #okay but tomorrow is friday so more reading then. stay up late reading then

[p-redux]

Since so many people have asked for it already, is there any way you can post the Sam girlfriends timeline on your blog? Or would that bring trouble from ES lurking here? Thanks.

Hi Anon, I have gotten a bunch of requests for this in Asks, Comments, and DM's, I'm too tired to do a full retrospective with exact dates, picture and video proof, etc (it's all out there), BUT I will do a sort of summarized general timeline. As for trouble from ES lurking...that's never stopped me. Hahahaha.

Amy Shiels: Sam and Amy starred in the movie "Young Alexander" in 2003. The movie didn't get released for like 10 years. They seem to have been FWB (Friends With Benefits) on and off 2003 until 2014. For more info, search hashtag #AmyShiels and #TheBarbieWars #BarbieWars #Samy. Confirmed dated, but most likely FWB. More on Amy down below.

Abbie Salt: First met around 2011, when Sam filmed "A Princess for Christmas" with Abbie's sister, actress, Charlotte Salt. They dated briefly then.  For more info, search hashtag #AbbieSalt #Sabbie. Confirmed dated. More on Abbie down below.

Katie Rebekah Osborne: Dated before 2012, broke up when Sam left London to tour with Batman Live and Katie moved from London to Australia. For more info, search hashtag #KatieRebekah #KatieR. Confirmed Dated.

Amy Shiels: After being on and off for years, Amy went with Sam to the premiere of Outlander in New York in July 2014. Then when Sam went to L.A. where Amy lives in Sept. 2014, after Outlander Season 1 filming ended. Amy and Sam were photographed out on dates... until Sam met another petite blonde, Cody Kennedy in Oct. 2014. For more info, search hashtag #AmyShiels and #TheBarbieWars #BarbieWars #Samy. Confirmed Dated.

Cody Kennedy: October 2014 to sometime in January 2015. For more info, search hashtag #CodyKennedy #TheBarbieWars #BarbieWars #Sody. Confirmed dated.

Abbie Salt: When Sam went back to the UK for the holidays Dec. 2014,Jan. 2015, he met up with Abbie again and they rekindled their romance. Cody went bye-bye and Abbie and Sam dated from around February 2015 to November 2015. For more info, search hashtag #AbbieSalt #Sabbie. Confirmed dated.

Mackenzie Mauzy: Sam's longest committed relationship was with actress/singer, Mackenzie Mauzy. They dated from around March 2016 (first seen together by my eyewitness source holding hands at the Guns N Roses concert in L.A. April 1, 2016) to some time in 2018. For more info, search hashtag #MackenzieMauzy #Samzie. Confirmed dated.

After Mackenzie, Sam seems to have dated a variety of different women and does not seem to have been involved in another exclusive relationship.

So for 2018 to the present, 2021, here are the women Sam has been seen with (not in chronological order, since I can't remember exact dates and I'm not going to go searching). I'll post the women's name and the hashtag to search under for more info:

Pretty Blonde with Sam at Nobu London opening #NobuMysteryBlonde #NobuMysteryWoman Unconfirmed whether that was his plus one date for the event or a PR person. Has never been identified by name as far as I know. Fandom CSI fail. Unconfirmed dated.

Hayley Helene #tunagate girl #HayleyHelene. Not confirmed they dated, but she was on the boat with him during #tunagate so people assumed. Unconfirmed dated.

Danielle Kling #DanielleKling, woman he met in Hawaii. Also most likely the woman with the braids spotted with Sam in Scotland later on. Fan posted a pic. Confirmed dated.

Christina Ochoa: #ChristinaOchoa #Samtina, picture of them holding hands...at an airport, I think. Confirmed dated.

Georgia Ellenwood: #GeorgiaEllenwood #Samgia Spent time together in Chicago, he also went to one of her meets in NY, she posted IG story with Sam. Pretty much confirmed dated.

Hannah James: #HannahJames #Samnah #Jamieva #PlotTwist.  Recently received source confirmation that Sam and Hannah did indeed date, I think sometime 2018 or 2019.  MORE on Hannah down below.

Gia Marie: #GiaMarie #MissGia #G #Gia #MissGiaMarie #GiaSam #Hawaiigate Pic of them with their arms around each other walking on Malibu Pier, both posted from weekend getaway to Del Mar or Big Sur, can’t remember which one it was, I think it was Del Mar. Anyhoo, they went away together for a weekend getaway at a beach town in CA before they spent weeks in Hawaii together. Both posted from quarantine in Hawaii. Confirmed dated.

Anna Longford: #AnnaLongford #A #AH Mutually followed on Instagram. She lives near London, but posted from Scotland a lot, when Sam was there. He also was in London when she was there. Speculation simply because same place, same time, they mutually follow, and she’s the type he usually goes for--pretty, sporty, blonde. Complete speculation and unconfirmed dated.

Hannah James: #HannahJames #Samnah #Jamieva #PlotTwist. Both Sam and Hannah have been in Los Angeles, specifically Malibu recently. I have source confirmation that Sam was in L.A. still as of Friday. Not sure if he’s still here or not. But as of Friday, Sept. 3, 2021, he was. Received 100% CONFIRMATION from a trusted person that Sam and Hannah did indeed date sometime starting in 2018-2019. We had all suspected but it had never been confirmed, now it is. Seems like they may still see each other when they can. That part is unconfirmed. But they for sure dated in the past. Pic of them looking cozy together. Comments from mutual friends that would not know Hannah if not for Sam. The only connection is Sam. Confirmed dated.

So, that’s all folks...unless I forgot someone. Sam has had some exclusive, committed relationships and has also dated casually...sounds like a NORMAL MAN to me. 

PS. Anyone come at me with any negative comments about Sam and I will blast you. Sam is 41, gorgeous, rich, famous, and a nice guy, given all that, he could have dated 100 times the amount of women by now. By Hollywood standards, he’s, dare I say it? A monk, hahahaha. Like I’ve said before, he should date more, expand his horizons...try a cougar perhaps. Ahem. ;-)

#samheughan #amyshiels #katierebekah #codykennedy #abbiesalt #mackenziemauzy #nobumysteryblonde #nobumysterywoman #hayleyhelene #daniellekling #christinaochoa #georgiaellenwood #hannahjames #giamarie #annalongford #samheughandatingtimeline

[destinyc1020]

When do you think Tom is going to go to Cali? Do you think if he’s spotted in Cali that could be a sign of dating?

IF Tom does go to CA, it will only be more of a sign to me if he stays for a while. Like, if he just goes to CA and only stays a few days and then dips out to go back to London, then I'll be like: "Hmmm....." 🥴 That doesn't sound like a guy who has a gf in LA, cuz if he did, they would have missed each other like crazy, and I don't see him leaving after just a few days lol.

But IF he goes to CA and actually stays there for a WHILE, then all of his actions since March will actually make a LOT of sense to me (traveling, visiting w/family & friends, spending time to visit with Sam in Scotland so early when he could just go with his whole entire family later on, etc.).

I will DEF think something is up if he's spotted anywhere near Northridge again lol. 😂

And of course, if he and Z are spotted "hanging out" again, then for sure I will suspect that they're together.

All I know is that the current "vibe" I'm getting from him is VERY different from summer 2019 - 2020.

[mishavacado]

SPN has so much spinoff potential and so much canon to work with, it's such a waste that none of it's getting used. This post is just all of my spinoff ideas, I'll apologize in advance because it is VERY long.

Wayward Sisters, obviously. There are so many possible storylines to work with, so many stories to tell. I'd really love to see some Charlie, Eileen, or Krissy Chambers cameos. I think that Charlie and Claire would get along really well (just read this post). Rowena is another character that I think could easily be worked into the canon. She could teach the girls all kinds of magic and be the fun wine aunt that spoils the girls on their birthdays. I don't think that Claire would like her very much, but, Rowena and Alex would probably get along just fine. How much I need this in my life: 1000000000000000000000000/10 when I heard that this idea had been tossed out I was so angry. Why doesn't this exist?

Men of Letters prequel that's mostly set in the bunker. This show could really expand on the canon lore and give us some more background on the Men of Letters, as well as any other similar/rival organizations that were around before the main show's time. The Men of Letters have so much story potential for a spin-off; corrupt leadership, new monsters, other organizations, expanding the MoL to outside the U.S. Episodes could be in a monster-of-the-week (MOTW) format, starting and ending with the Man of Letters the case is assigned to making notes in his journal or case file or talking about the case, as well as the overall season arcs. Episodes would be titled by their case number, i.e S1 E1 Case No. 1925-4, etc How much I need this in my life: 1000000/10, the supernatural/historical drama combo would be absolutely stunning.

A series focusing on all of the alternate timelines and universes, both the ones mentioned in the main show and ones just randomly created for an episode. There are infinite possibilities. Each episode would be in a MOTW format, but with different versions of Sam and Dean. The HunterCorp universe, Jared and Jensen from the French Mistake, a universe where their names are switched, a universe where Dean went to college and was the one with the demon blood powers, a universe where they drive a Mustang instead of the Impala, a universe where Sam isn't scared of clowns. I could go on, but I'm going to stop myself here. How much I need this in my life: 9/10 I think it would be pretty funny, but it's not my best idea.

A Bobby and Rufus spin-off where they talk about cases they worked on together or with other hunters, but the stories are told similarly to Tall Tales. It's the same story but told from different points of view depending on who's talking. I wish we'd gotten to see more of Bobby and Rufus because I think those two are hilarious and really think that this could be funny, even if it was just a web series with twenty-minute episodes. How much I need this in my life: 10/10, I love Bobby and Rufus and I think that they have a lot of interesting hunting stories to tell.

GHOSTFACERS GHOSTFACERS GHOSTFACERS. How much I need this in my life: 100000000000000000000000/10, I love the Ghostfacers. That's my whole idea.

A Jack-centric show that's almost a political drama. Jack is the ruler of heaven and is constantly being manipulated by angels, demons, and Death herself. He just wants to make an afterlife paradise, but power-hungry angels won't leave him alone. Remember that Jack is very young and trusting by nature, so there is a lot of potential for disaster if he gets goaded into doing something, like making new universes or ending existing ones. Cas is a main character and he does his best to protect Jack, but he has to be careful to not seem overprotective/like another manipulator or Jack won't trust him either. I have no idea if I'm making any sense, but shoutout to me if I am. For some reason, I've always thought that heaven would be an interesting setting for a spin-off, and those angels are pretty similar to power-hungry politicians. How much I need this in my life: 800/10, I would totally watch this.

A very short series that just destroys the canon finale. Twelve episodes, detailing the storylines that were ignored or destroyed by Carry On. E1: Rescuing Cas from the Empty and he and Dean have a long talk about their ~feelings~. They kiss, and for the first time, Dean’s mind is free of doubt about whether or not anyone could ever love all of him. E2: Eileen returns. She says nothing when she sees Dean and Cas holding hands, just raises her eyebrow and smiles knowingly. Some excellent movie night content. E3: 1 year later. Sam and Eileen’s wedding. Dean and Cas aren’t legally married, but their matching gold rings are very prominently shown. It isn’t mentioned. The wedding is almost canceled because of the rain, but with a wave of Jack’s hand the clouds disappear and the birds start to sing. E4: Sam and Eileen have moved out of the Bunker. Cas finally convinces Dean to downsize, so they find a little house in Lawrence and settle down. Cas works as a special ed teacher. Dean works as a mechanic. Miracle loves the backyard but makes sure to stay away from the beehives in the back corner. E5: Sam and Eileen’s twins, Mary and Maura, are born. Dean and Cas love their nieces, and Jack loves them too. He doesn’t know what to call himself, so they settle on Uncle and call it good. E6: Deaths. They all die old. Cas’s vessel has aged, but he can’t die, so when Dean finally passes away in his sleep, Cas scatters his ashes in the woods and disappears, ascending to heaven, to spend eternity with Dean. The closing scene is a dark screen, with the whoosh of wings and a soft “Hello, Dean.” OK. That was a long one. My apologies. How much I need this in my life: 100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000/10. I would reach nerdvana thirty seconds into episode one.

Another spinoff of that idea is just...Dean and Cas living a normal life. Short episodes. Cas goes to the grocery store. Dean drags Cas to a horror movie fan convention. Cas meets a roomba. How much I need this in my life: I can’t type enough zeroes to express it.

Campbell prequel that focuses on Mary and her childhood. Mary being raised as a hunter but not being allowed on hunts. Mary rushing home to finish her chemistry homework so she can help her dad track a nest of vampires moving east. Mary missing her prom to help Samuel on a hunt. Mary trying to keep her real life secret from John, a man she knows loves the parts of her he knows about. Mary always being an outsider, the kindest and most beautiful girl in her class, but so slow to trust and quick to speak that everyone is afraid to be her friend. Mary is a character that has the potential a lot more development, for twelve seasons she’s the burning martyr in every Winchester’s imagined paradise. She deserves more. How much I need this in my life: 11/10, Mary isn’t my favorite character but I would die for her.

Gabriel spin-off. That’s it, that’s the idea. How much I need this in my life: 10000000/10, Gabriel is a character that we don’t know a lot about so there are so many possible directions for a story about him to go.

Show set in the SPN universe that doesn’t really interact with the main show’s canon. It’s about two cops in the 30s that become hunters by accident. After investigating the apparent suicide of a hunter in their small town, they become enthralled by her library, filled with books about ghosts and vampires. They pour over her journals on their own time, fascinated by what they’re reading. They get to know the hunter through her writings, her accounts of her hunts and travels. Eventually, a nest of vampires settles in the town and the two put their newfound knowledge to the test. This show would just be based on canon lore, there wouldn’t be any mention of the Winchesters or other main characters, although a few MoL team-ups is definitely a possibility. The two become quite a team, tracking werewolf backs on bulletin boards in their basements and hoarding rock salt. How much I need this in my life: 89/10, I think this could be really interesting and I am a sucker for historical hunters.

Speaking of historical hunters-Samuel Colt prequel. Cowboys, vampires, cowpires. Hunting in the wild west, galloping across the prairie chasing a pack of werewolves. This show could also tell us a lot about how different types of monsters spread across the U.S. Ghosts will go anywhere people go, but what about vampires? Shapeshifters? Ghouls? What was it like to hunt without technology to help with research? The hunters in this series would be the authors of the journals that modern hunters use every day. They’re the ones that tested tracking and trapping methods. Again, no idea if this is making sense, but I think that a supernatural western would be really awesome and would expand/substantiate the canon lore. How much I need this in my life: 1000000000000000000000000000000/10, I love cowboys and I love Supernatural. This is literally the best thing that could ever happen to me.

Crowley. I want to know more about him. A series that tells us all about Fergus Roderick MacLeod, starting with when he was born in Scotland and ending with his death in All Along the Watchtower. We know that Rowena was his mother, that he was a tailor, that he sold his soul for an extra three inches ~down there~, and that he was a terrible dad. I want to know more about his childhood, about the people he made deals with, about how he became king of the crossroads and of Hell. Crowley was a very interesting character that was abused by the story. I want to know more about him. How much I need this in my life: 10000000000000000000000000000000000000/10, I really do love Crowley and I would watch this a thousand times over.

Final idea: MOTW only. No season arc, no overall storyline. New hunters every episode, from all different times, from over the world. All kinds of monsters. One episode in Victorian England, the next in 1990s Los Angeles. Very few recurring characters, if any. The recurring characters would be the Bobby Singers of the world; the lore guys that you call when you need help. Each new character has their own style, own car, own music, own personality. The show could have some a m a z i n g guest stars because they’d only appear in a few episodes. There are so many possibilities for episodes, even if they weren’t full length. How much I need this in my life: 100000/10, I love MOTW episodes and would really like to get to know the characters. It would be very easy to write one-off fanfics for this show, and also very easy to introduce this show’s characters into Supernatural’s canon.

You made it to the end!!!!!!!! That’s all I have for now. Sorry for writing so much, I just can’t stop thinking about SPN and all of the wasted stories.

#al speaks #spn #spn spin-offs #my ideas #i worked hard on this #big brain time #do you like it?

[noladyme]

The Crown Princess of Charming - part 14

Welcome to Charming - its name says it all. Cat needed a fresh start; and though she hadn’t planned on that being in the arms of the crown prince of this little town’s bikerclub - that was what happened. Charming CA would either be the death of her - or a whole new life.

Rated M

Tags (let me know if you want on the list) @wonderlandfandomkingdom​ @edonaspanca​

14

Happy finally went to get some sleep. Jax had forgotten one of Abel’s teddy-bears; and I saw the big guy sneak it with him into the bedroom.

The day passed quietly. I spent most of it curled up on the couch; or pacing back and forth. Honestly, I was surprised I hadn’t made indentations on the floor, from where I walked. Jax was late, and I was worried. Around 3 pm he still hadn’t checked in.

I felt like I constantly had a set of eyes on me. You could say a lot about Happy; but he didn’t follow me to the bathroom, when I went. I literally had to stomp Tig on his foot; to keep him from holding the door open. Once I’d washed my hands; I stormed into the main room; and looked Clay hard in the eyes. “I’m not running, Clay. Stop riding my ass!”. He chuckled. “I only ride one ass. She’d cut off my balls if I took a trip anywhere else”.

I sighed. “Just… lay off me”, I said. “I’m in just as deep as you at this point”. The president stuck out his massive chin at me; and narrowed his eyes. “Why are you still here? Why didn’t you run when you could?”. I grinned at him sarcastically. “When do you mean? After I was drugged? Beat up? Almost raped?”, I scoffed. “Because I love Jax. And I’m the stepmother of your grandson”. Clay seemed taken aback. “Fair enough…”, he said. “Ok. We’ll let you powder your nose in peace from now on”.

I scoffed; and went outside for a smoke. I knew no one would have a problem with me smoking inside – the amount of cigars Clay went through attested to that – but I needed some peace. Bobby followed me. “Really, Bobby?”, I sneered. “You shouldn’t be alone right now”, he said. “I know you don’t see it yourself; but you’re limiting on an anxiety-attack”. “I’m fine…”, I whispered; and tried to light my cigarette. My hands where shaking too much, and Bobby put me out of my misery, by lighting it for me. “Thanks… sorry”. “We all know you’re on our side, sweetheart”, Bobby muttered. “Then why are you treating me like a prisoner?”. “That’s just Clay… being Clay. He’s a hardass”. He lit a joint for himself. “I hear you’re getting married…”.

I smiled for a second. “Yeah… we are”. “When?”, Bobby asked; taking a hit from the blunt. “After… all this is over”, I said. “And after Opie and Lyla. I don’t want to steal their thunder”. Bobby looked at me questioningly. “You’re very… nice”. “Thanks?”, I said with a chuckle. “I just mean, you think about others a lot. Want them to be happy…”.

I shrugged. “Good people deserve good things… right?”. Bobby smiled. “We’re the good guys?”. “I think so… you’ve all been kinder to me than anyone I’ve ever met before”, I said. “What about your family back home? Friends?”. I shook my head. “My so-called friends all seemed to disappear once Kohn came in to my life… And I have no family to speak of”. I took a draw from my smoke. “Except all of you…”. Bobby put an arm around me. “Well… I’m too old to be your brother; but I’ll be your fat, jolly uncle. How about that”. “That works”, I grinned.

A rumbling of engines sounded; and Opie, Juice, Chibs and Jax came up the gravel road – followed by Mike and Quinn; in the van I’d arrived in myself. Jax got of his bike. “Why is it every time I turn my back, one of my brothers has his hands all over my old lady?”, he grinned. He walked up to us; and pulled me into his arms – instantly making me feel safe. “Hey, darlin’. They treating you good?”. “I was just having a smoke with my fat, jolly uncle”, I smiled. Jax furrowed his brows; then shook his head, and kissed my lips. “Let’s go inside. We have some things to talk about”.

---

Moments later we were all gathered in the cabin. Mike and Quinn took the couch; leaving Samcro and me to sit at the table. Jax was seated beside me; not having let go of my hand for a second since we were reunited.

Juice and Bobby had played rock-paper-scissors to figure out who would wake up Happy. The younger biker had lost; and held a bag of frozen peas to his chin – from where Happy had punched him.

Clay struck the gavel; to let it be known church was in session. “I just want to start this meeting, by thanking our visiting friends from the Nomads and Chicago, for being here with us today”. “You know I’ll always have Redwood’s back”, Quinn said. “I’m here for miss Rose”, Mike smiled. “And… Samcro”, he added with a playful smirk. Clay nodded. “Your loyalty to us won’t be forgotten… and we’ll need it”. He looked towards Jax.

“You all know the shit that’s been going on with Cat, and that sack of shit who took her…”. “You killed that asshole”, Piney said. “It was beautiful”, Chibs growled. Jax clenched his jaw. “Yeah… well now I have murder charges pending”, he said. “Stahl is going to use those charges to pull a RICO on the club. Everything we’ve been doing… They can bring us all down. Kill Samcro; and in the exhaust of that, The Sons of Anarchy all over the states”.

There was a murmur of anger in the room. “All of us?”, Mike said. “Yeah”, Clay said. “We can stop that…”, Jax said “I had a meeting with the state prosecutor”. He looked out the corner of his eyes at me. “They’re willing to kill Stahl’s case – if we hand them Nichols”. “Kill the drugs?”, Tig asked. “We voted that in just a minute ago…”. “I know!”, Jax said. “But either we kill the drugs, or we kill the club”.

Clay cleared his throat. “The Mayans are willing to return to our old agreement, if we get rid of our white power business”, he said. “It’s less money… but the way those assholes forced our hand – made us their bitches… They need to go”. Jax sent me a look, and a smile ghosted his face. Reputation over money.

“Is handing them Nichols going to be enough?”, Bobby asked. Jax shook his head. “No… the prosecutor needs something more in return”, he said. “I need to go away on drug-charges; so they have something to override Stahls case against me. Her evidence is weak enough as it is. They promise make the murder-charges disappear”. “Just you, though? Man, you won’t survive alone on the inside…”, Juice said. Clay raised his brow. “That’s the part you all won’t like… tell ‘em, son”.

Jax sighed. “As a show of good will, the prosecutor wants three sons – on top of me – to go away. I negotiated her down from the whole charter – to keep the table alive”. He paused for a second. “We get 3 years for possession… out in one, on good behavior”. I sawllowed hard. One year - it would feel like 100. Jax squeezed my hand under the table. “Shit…”, Tig snarled. “Clay stays outside… Chibs as well – we don’t want his sorry ass deported back to Scotland”, Jackson said. “And Piney can’t go – sorry man, you’re too old to have our backs”. “No complaints from me”, the old man chuckled. “We’ll give Phil his patch while you’re away… his year is up; and he took one for the club with that gunshot to his gut”, Clay said. The men all muttered in agreement.

There was a quiet suspense. Opie, Juice, Happy, Bobby and Tig all looked at each other. “Look, I’m not telling you who goes inside… it has to be voluntarily”, Jackson muttered. “I’ll go… It’s my turn”, Happy said. “And me… It’s one year”, Juice muttered. Tig frowned. “Shit…”, he said. “I got out of it last time. I’m in”. Bobby grimaced. “Now I feel like an asshole…”. Clay shook his head. “Bob; you and Opie have underage kids… Just let your brothers take this one”. Happy patted Bobby’s shoulder. “It’s good, man”.

“And Cat?”, Chibs said. Through the whole conversation, I’d been quiet – trying my best to keep calm, as they discussed which of my new family members would go to jail, with the man I loved. “What about her case?” Jax looked at me. “Stahl wants you in for questioning. She’s planning to use the recordings from your phone, to make you flip on me”. “But I won’t”, I said. He sighed. “We’re gonna let her think she can get us both at once. Me as a murderer and drug mule – which will bolster her case – and you as a witness”, he said. “In stead, I hand the drugs to the prosecutor… but I need your help”. “What do you want me to do?”, I asked.

Jackson turned to face me; taking both my hands in his. “You’re going to lead Stahl of my track; while I deliver Nichols to the prosecutor”, he said. “I’ve had agents following me around ever since I left you in the house; to go deal with the Mayan situation”. Opie nodded. “We had to turn back three times to get here… it’s why we were late”. “I’m gonna meet up with Nichols in one of our warehouses; where I’ll tell him we’ll be storing the drugs”, Jax said. “It’s already set up for the day after tomorrow… but if I have agents tailing me; he’s gonna make a run for it”.

Clay leant back in his chair, and lit his cigar. “What’s the plan, VP?”. Jax smirked – his facial expression sending warm tingles through my body. I told myself to focus. “We’re gonna do a bate-and-switch”, he said. “Stahl knows you’re too important to me, to just leave you behind. When I go to meet Nichols; she’s going to think we’re making a run for it”. “How so?”, I asked. “We’re gonna tell her”, he said. “The bug in your phone. We’re going to get her riled up; and have her send her agents after us”. “So we just… talk about running away?”, I asked.

Jax nodded. “Yeah. Three drivers; one passenger. Stahl will follow us to the warehouse; where we’ll pick up a dummy bag, that’ll look like drugs – and you ride away with Tig; who’ll be waiting in the building for us. We’ll make it seem like you’re still with me. I’ll disappear somehow; until Nichols shows up… you’ll be leading the agents away”. “That’s… some action movie shit”, Opie said. “How can you be sure she won’t know, you’re not the one continuing on with Cat?”.

Jax looked at the blue flannel I was still wearing. He grinned. “I wouldn’t let anyone else ride around with my girl normally. My old lady is going to be a bright, blue flag for them to chase”, he said. “The rest of us will be wearing hoodies and masks”. “And pants, right?”, Tig said. “Man, you think I’m gonna let you ride with my old lady, without your pants on?”. Tig’s face faded into a sulk.

“We’ll nail down two more locations after the warehouse. Cat stays on my bike with Tig; then jumps on with Juice; and lastly Happy”, Jax explained. “At each stop the driver with Cat creates some kind of chaos, for her to jump on to the next one. You spread out, and continue on. In the end, they won’t know which driver to chase. They’ll be too distracted; and use too many ressources to chase you - giving me a chance to focus on the deal with Nichols. Quinn; you and the Nomads will be in the warehouse as well; having my back”. Quinn nodded. “Of course, brother”.

Chibs sighed. “What do you need the rest of us to do?”, he said. “Be pissed… make it seem like Cat and I stole from the club, and are really running”, Jax said. “Happy and Juice were in on the plan – and we were all going north to sell the drugs… I was afraid of getting charged with murder; and asked my brothers to help me and Cat get away”. He lit a cigarette. “Clay; you Bobby, Chibs and Opie end the chase; before the agents get to them”, Jax said. “Cat hands over the bag to Clay…”. “Why?”, Bobby asked. Jax smiled. “Because once the agents realize it’s a dummy, they’ll know for sure you had your hands out of the drugs all together”. Clay nodded. “That way, club business will stay under the radar from the ATF. It’ll be like Jax planned it all on his own… which he did”. He sent his stepson a look. “He takes the fall. Samcro is kept out of it”.

“It’ll give us a bit of breathing room to rebuild our relationship with the Mayans”, Bobby muttered. Jax’s jaw clenched for a second. Muling for the Mayans still made him uncomfortable.

I swallowed hard. “What happens then?”, I said quietly. “After I give Clay the bag…”. He chewed his lip for a second. “You get caught…”. “What?”, I cried out. “Yeah. You give Stahl what she wants, saying you’ll testify in a trial against me. Lowen will write up a document for her to sign; stating she won’t charge you in return for your cooperation. She won’t be able to send you away for anything”. “You want me to snitch?”, I gasped. Jax shook his head. “I’ll already be in the state prosecutor’s custody. There won’t be a trial; so it won’t matter. Tig, Juice and Happy will be joining me, once you’re all back in Charming”.

Juice raised his hand carefully. “You think she’s just gonna let Cat go?”. “She’ll work fast to get you out of town; into protective custody. Cops will stop you at the county border. She’ll have to hand you over to them. Her case will be dead”.

There was a low murmur of chuckling and cursing around the room. “This is crazy, brother… you think we can pull it off?”, Juice. “I know we can… Look, I trust you all with my life. And I trust you with Cats life”. He squeezed my hands.

“You really have it in for this Stahl woman”, Quinn said. “She set Jax up…”, I muttered. All eyes where on me. “She used Kohn’s sick obsession with me… knew he’d go after me; and made sure Jax would try to get me back at any cost. Even murder”. Mike frowned. “Bitch… you’re telling me that fed-asshole kidnapped you; and she knew about it?”. I shrugged. “Can’t prove it… but yeah”, I said. “Before that, she put Kohn in contact with some Nords, who he paid to drug and beat me… she knew what would happen”. Rage ghosted Jax’s face. “We took care of it… she’s the last piece of the puzzle”.

“She’s mine”, Opie said. Everyone in the room looked at him. “You’re not the only one here, that has a score to settle”. Donna, I thought. “Unser…”, Clay muttered. “He’ll be the one to pick up Cat. We only need one cop in a police-car to pull her over”. Jax nodded. “It’s his time… he’s been a good friend to the club; but it’s time to retire”. He looked at Opie. “He’ll look the other way, while you get retaliation for your family”. Piney patted his sons back. “It’s time, boy”.

Clay cleared his throat. “Mike… can you have Chicago hold down the fort in Charming, while we pull this off?”. Mike nodded. “Yeah”, he said. “We got your back. You thinking lockdown?”. Clay nodded. “Just in case white power decides to make a show of force”. “It’s good, man”, Mike said. “But I wanna be there when Opie takes down that agent bitch. She almost had my kid’s favorite teacher killed”. I sent the bearded guy a smile. He winked at me.

Clay sat up straight; looking around the table. “This is a big pill to swallow… for all of us. Take a few hours; think it over. Then we’ll vote”. Chibs shook his head. “I don’t need to think. We do this… for our club; our brother – and our little sister”. He sent me a crooked smile. I blushed. “Ok”, Clay said. “All in favor of going through with Jax’s plan, say aye”. There was a resounding aye from all the men in the room. “All opposed?”. Quiet. “All right”, Clay said, and was about to pound the gavel.

“Wait”, Jax said. “Cat, we can’t do this without you. We need to hear you say it…”. I looked around the table. Every man in the room had just agreed to exact vengeance for what I had been through – some of them would even go to jail for it. Yes; they were also trying to protect their club – their brotherhood – but they had vowed to make sure Stahl could never touch me again. “I’m in”, I said. Jax put his forehead to mine. “Thank you”, he whispered.

“Then we’re good to go”, Clay said. “The day after tomorrow. Clubhouse, at 8 am… Let’s do this”. He struck the gavel; and church was over.

---

Jax and the rest of the club spent the evening planning out logistics surrounding switch-points. To be taken in on possession; the men going to jail had to have some kind of drug on them. I was hauling the dummy backpack. “I got it”, Opie muttered; and went to plant the bag at the warehouse – before going home to Lyla. Piney, Mike and Quinn followed him; to set up the clubhouse for another lockdown.

Tig called a Mayan rep; and managed to talk them in to giving the club half a kg. of heroin to be split between him, Happy, Juice and Jax. They’d be carrying it on their bodies; and get taken in for possession that way. They left soon after his call ended.

Clay left with Bobby, Quinn and Mike – leaving me and Jax alone in the cabin. “Are you ok?”, Jackson muttered; as I was packing up my things. “No”, I whispered. “You’re going to prison for me…”. He was sitting in the recliner in the bedroom. I zipped up my bag. “One year, Cat”, he said. “I’ll be back”. “Why is this so easy for you?”, I asked. “It’s not… I don’t want to leave you… Abel…”. He sighed. “If Stahl manages to pull of RICO… that’s hard time, babe. I won’t see my son – or you – before he’s a grown man… if ever”.

I grimaced. “I’m sorry…”, I muttered. “I’m sorry I came into your life and messed everything up”. Jax stood up; and rushed over to pull me into his arms. “You did nothing wrong, Cat”, he said. “If I hadn’t come… hadn’t given Stahl what she needed to get to you – you wouldn’t be here… you’d be living your life, raising Abel… you could have any of those women hanging around the clubhouse. I’ve been more trouble than good for you”. “Yeah”, Jax said. “I’d spend my days muling guns and drugs; and my nights getting my dick sucked by girls; whose names I’d be too wasted to remember the next day”. He sighed. “And I’d be hating myself… every second of it”. “You shouldn’t”, I muttered. “You’re a good man”. “That’s what you say… And you being who you are – that means something to me”. He put his hands on either side of my face; and looked deeply into my eyes. “I’m starting to believe I can make a difference in my club… be a good father. Because you believe in me”.

“I love you, Jackson”, I said quietly. “I love you”, he smiled. “When I get back outside; I’m gonna marry you”. I grinned. “After Opie and Lyla get hitched. Let’s give them that”. He bit his lip. “Ok… we’ll steal their officiant; and you can grab a centerpiece for a bouquet”. I laughed. “Not what I had planned”, I said.

He looked surprised. “You got plans already?”, he asked. “What; TM? Vows under a lift in the garage?”. “Your mom would kill us…”, I chuckled. “Nah… the clubhouse. Leave the prospects with the dishes”.

Jax grinned. “Deal”, he said; and kissed me deeply. “After that, let’s see if we can get you knocked up. We’ll make some beautiful babies”. My jaw dropped. “Wow… Ok; I hadn’t thought that far”. He frowned. “You don’t want more kids?”, he asked. “Yes! Of course I do…”. He narrowed his eyes. “Mine, right?”, he smirked. “No, Juice’s”, I leered. He sent me a menacing grin. “Told you not to joke about that”, he said. “Yes, sir”, I pouted playfully. He let out a deep exhale. “I should throw you down on this bed, and begin the babymaking right away… show you who the daddy is”. I grimaced. “See, now you’re bringing Tig into it again…”.

Jax laughed; and kissed me again. “Come on; finish up. We gotta get home”. He patted my bottom; and went in to the main room. I grabbed my bag, and followed him. “I still don’t understand why you want us to go home”, I said. “I thought you wanted me out of Stahls hands as long as possible”. He opened the door for me, so we could leave the cabin together. “We need to make everything seem as normal as possible”. He’d brought my new helmet and handed it for me to put on. “She doesn’t think I’m running?”. He grimaced. “Didn’t seem to catch on… She’s been asking Gary down at the coffeeshop about you. Which is good for us. Makes everything seem normal”. I shook my head. “So, where did I go for the last few days?”, I asked. He shrugged. “We’ll figure it out”.

We got on his bike, and began our ride home.

---

About 30 miles away form the cabin, we we’re suddenly followed closely by a dark car. Every turn we took; it was right behind us. Jax squeezed my hand gently; when he felt me tense up. I tried to relax; and held on to him a bit tighter.

The house was warm and quiet when we arrived. Our late-night ride through the forest and down the highway; had me feeling cold through and through – so it was a welcome surprise to see Gemma ready with a pot of coffee. Abel was in his crib; sleeping.

“Clay came home an hour ago”, Gemma said. “Explained the situation”. She looked at her son with sad eyes. “Baby… you really need to do this? What about the baby?”. Jax hugged his mother. “This is for him as well… I can’t go away for murder. And the club would die”. Gemma held on to him for a long time. “One year? That’s walking… maybe even his first words”. Jax frowned. “I know. But if I don’t… I might not see his first anything. Ever”. He sighed. “I need you, ma’. Cat needs you, for what’s coming”. Gemma looked towards me. “She’s got me. They both do”. She looked back at her boy again. “Shit… my son’s getting married”, she smiled. “Clay told you?”, Jax muttered. “You should have told me”, she chided. “It’s been a crazy, few days”, I said quietly.

Gemma waved me over; and dragged me in to her hug with Jax. She kissed both our faces. “I swear, Jackson… I will teach your old lady to cook!”. We all laughed. “Thank you”, Jax said; pulling himself out of her grasp. “Did you bring it?”. Gemma nodded. “It’s in my car. I’ll get it”.

Jax went to the window to look for possible agents staking out the house. “Ok, go. Leave it on the doorstep; and go home. I’ll call you tomorrow”. Gemma kissed his cheek; and left the house.

Jax went over, and took my hand. “You ready for this?”, he asked. I swallowed hard, and nodded. He let out a deep breath; and walked towards the door. “What was that thing, that guy Shakespeare said? All the worlds a stage…”. “And the men and women merely players”, I muttered, and tried to smile.

Jax opened the door; and picked up the bag containing the kitchen towel and my android. He handed the package to me. “Open it”, he whispered. I took a deep breath; and unwrapped my phone. We looked at each other intently.

“Cat, are you sure about this?”, Jax said. “Sure there’s nothing different about the phone?”. He raised a brow at me. I paused for a second; not sure what to say – before coming to my senses “No, baby. It’s fine…”, I said. I knew the conversation couldn’t end like that. “I need it… if Ray calls”. Jax nodded, and smiled. “The principal…”. “Yeah…”, I said. “You really thought it was bugged? Is that why you had Gemma take it?”. “It was probably nothing”, he smiled. “I just don’t want anyone to know what we’re planning… that would be bad”. I smirked. “I’m sorry I questioned you”, I playfully pouted. Jax looked at me in surprise. Good one!, he mouthed; before frowning in jest. “Just don’t let it happen again!”. “What, you’ll bend me over, and spank me?”, I grinned. Jax raised a brow at me. “That’s a promise, darlin’”, he grinned.

He walked into the living room, and I followed him; leaving the phone in the kitchen. “Did you have fun on your girl’s trip?”, he asked. “Sorry I couldn’t pick you up sooner. I had some preparations to make”. I thought about it. “It’s fine. We had fun…”. “Hmm…”, he muttered. He was writing something down on a pad. Lyla’s been shooting for 2 days. Out of sight. I looked at him and nodded. I was getting exhausted; trying to think of things to say; playful or not. Jax noticed my expression; and scribbled another few lines down. Relax. Doing good. Just any other night at the house. He smiled warmly at me.

I swallowed. “We talked about flower-arrangements for the wedding. She’s really excited”. Jax smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure she and Ope will have a perfect day… Too bad we’re missing it, huh?”. I chewed my lip. “Opie’s not in?”, I said.

Jax walked back into the kitchen; closer to the phone. “Nah, he wouldn’t understand…”. He sent me a look. Who, he mouthed. “Who’d you get?”, I said. Jackson smiled. “Juice. Talking to Happy tomorrow”. He put a finger to his mouth; mouthing Tig, to let me know not to mention him.

I heard Abel crying in the nursery; and ran down the hall to get to him – and away from the phone. I picked up the baby; and held him tight. Jackson had followed me into the room; and wrapped me and our boy in his arms. “You’re doing good, baby”, he whispered. “Just keep it up”. “It’s hard”, I answered. “I know…”. He looked down at Abel. He was quickly settling down from being held to my chest. “Shit…”.

He walked into the hallway. “Could you get the kid to shut up?”. I frowned. What are you doing, Jax? “Cat! He’s giving me a headache!”. Abel was letting out little squeaks; and yawning. I put him down in the crib; and followed Jax back to the kitchen. I shook my head at him. What? He frowned. “Have Neeta take him tomorrow”, Jax said. “Ok…”, I said. He sent me a painful look.

I finally understood. “What’s gonna happen to him when we leave?”, I said. Jax swallowed hard. I stroked his hair, and grabbed a beer from the fridge – handing it to him. “I dunno… I guess my mom will take him. Maybe Wendy will want him”. “We can’t bring him?”. He clenched his jaw. “What, on the bike?”, he snarled. “He’ll be fine… I don’t care”.

I went over to where he was sitting – taking his hand. “Ok”, I said; and kissed his knuckles. He took a swig of the beer; and stood up. “I gotta take a piss…���. He stormed down the hall. I followed him back into the nursery; and closed the door behind us.

Jackson was cradling his son in his arms, on the couch. I sat down next to him. “That sucked…”, he frowned. I stroked his cheek. He had tears in his eyes. “I know, baby…”, I whispered. “We know it’s an act…”. “Yeah, but saying the words…”. I kissed his forehead. “Abel knows you love him”. Jax looked at me, and smiled slightly. “He’s my little man, you know?”. I nodded. “Remember why we’re doing this. He’ll thank you some day”. Jax kissed Abel’s head; and went to put him back in the crib.

“It’s late”, I said. “We should get some sleep”. Jax nodded, and took my hand, leading me out of the room. “Do we need to bring it?”, I whispered; and nodded my head towards the kitchen. Jax shook his head. “Not tonight”, he answered. “I’m all acted out”.

We closed the bedroom door behind us, and turned on the baby-monitor. After undressing; we curled up on the bed. Jax wrapped his body around me; holding me close.

“I love you”, he whispered into my ear; his warm breath sending delightful shivers down my spine. “You trying to get some, Teller?”, I smiled. “Always”, he grinned; and pulled me closer. “But honestly; I think the little biker is tuckered out from all the driving I’ve been doing the last few days”. I chuckled. “Sure it’s not all the girls sucking your dick, whose name you’re too wasted to remember?” “Nah, babe. I’m all done with that”, he said. “Besides; you give the best blowjobs I’ve ever had”. I smiled at him. “That’s sweet”, I said. I sighed. “A year…That’s still a long time”. “You could get a vibrator”, Jackson smiled. “What? Wrap it in your cut; and have it lying next to me in bed?” He narrowed his eyes. “I don’t know whether the thought of that makes me horny or uncomfortable”.

I felt his penis stir against my thigh. “I think the little biker just answered that question for you…”, I said. He looked down. “You know, I think you’re right”, he chuckled. He rolled over to lay on top of me. “But let’s not call him little again… that was a poor choice of words”. He grinded against my warmth. “I agree”, I smirked.

Jax put his lips to mine; and we spent the next good while tending to both the bikers, and their old lady’s needs.

---

I woke up naked in Jacksons arms. His hand was holding on to my breast; and he was muttering in his sleep – smiling. For a second, I forgot all about the last few days; and what we had coming up. My stomach was rumbling.

“Jax”, I whispered; stroking his hair to wake him up. “You promised me pancakes”. “What?”, he mumbled. “In return for that thing I did… Baby… wake up”. He blinked his beautiful eyes for a few seconds. “Shit… I did. Didn’t I”. I nodded. “I’m hungry…”.

Jackson stretched; and gave my breast a final squeeze, before sitting up. “You make the coffee”, he smiled. He put on some boxers; and went to check on Abel. I pulled on my robe; and walked into the kitchen. My phone was still laying on the table; and all joy left my body.

Jax came up behind me. “He’s still asleep”, he smiled. I looked at him; then gestured to the phone. “He’ll sleep through anything”, I muttered. Jax’s face dropped, just as mine had. The stage was once again set.

“You just about packed up? We leave tomorrow morning”, he said coldly. I closed my eyes, and sighed. “Yeah, just gotta wrap up a few things”. “Good”.

I put on a pot of coffee. “Pancakes?”, Jax muttered; trying for a slight smile. “Not hungry…”, I said. “You gotta eat, babe”, he said. I shook my head. “Can we go out? Once Neeta picks up the kid?”. “No. I gotta finish up at TM”.

I went to the fridge, and grabbed a cup of yogurt; then a spoon. “Ok. I’ll… hang out. See Lyla, maybe”. Jax shook his head. “Lay low. We can’t let anything slip”. He sat down, and pulled me down on his lap. “Look, we’ll talk later, ok? I’ll let you know what the plan is”. I opened the cup, and put a spoonful in my mouth. “I understand”, I said quietly. Jax stroked my cheek; and smiled. “Give me a taste of that”, he said; and grabbed the spoon from me; taking a large mouthful of my yogurt. “You want your own?”, I smirked. “Nah, I’ll eat yours”, he grinned; and took another mouthful. “Hey!”, I laughed. He licked his lips, but missed a smidge of the yogurt on the side of his mouth. “You got something right… there”. I licked it away, and smiled.

Jax kissed my lips gently. “We’ll be ok, baby”. “Yeah”, I breathed.

---

Jax had to leave the house a few hours later, to figure out the last details of the plan. We made it seem like he was meeting up with Juice and Happy; which in reality he was. Tig would just be with them as well.

Neeta would be handing the baby over to Gemma later on; so before he left; Jackson disappeared into the nursery with Abel for a good hour. I decided to give him space to say goodbye; merely dropping in to hand Jax a bottle.

He was sitting in the recliner, cradling his son – tears in his eyes. “Hey…”, I whispered. “I got his bottle”. “Thanks”, Jax muttered; blinking away a tear. I smiled; and left my boys to it. Behind me I heard Jax whispering to the baby. “Momma Cat’s gonna take care of you, son. We both love you so much…”. Once I’d closed the door behind me; I had to take a minute to collect myself in the bedroom

After Jax left, Abel kept me busy. I could pretend to play house when I had him with me. I bathed him; fed him – and sang him old classic rock songs. The chance that our plan might fail, made me very aware that I might never see him again; so I kissed his precious face every chance I got. Neeta picked up the baby at noon; and I was alone in the house.

Act normal, I kept telling myself. I began doing laundry. Dishes. I washed the kitchen floor. Anything I could do to keep myself occupied. My android rang around 7 pm. I was unsure whether to pick it up or not; but when I recognized the number; I decided to answer the call.

“Agent Stahl…”. “Did you save my number?... That’s a compliment!”. I sighed. “What do you want?”, I sneered. “You’ve been out of town for a few days, it seems…”. Yeah, you haven’t been able to hear me through my phone, bitch. “Girls trip. My friend’s getting married”. “Lyla Dvorak?”, Stahl said. “How’d you know?”. How many conversations have you been listening to? “Small town…”, she said. “Look, I have some questions for you, on some evidence I’ve just received… so I’m going to have to ask you, not to leave town for the next few days”.

Jax came through the door with Happy and Juice. I gestured for them to keep quiet.

“I wasn’t planning on going anywhere”, I said into the phone. “Really…”, Stahl said. “Ok… tomorrow morning good for you?”. I looked at Jax. “I have plans tomorrow morning”, I said. “I expected as much… When can we talk, then?”. “Just give up, agent. You got shit on me or Jackson”. “Oh, but I do… I’ll catch up with you sometime tomorrow; don’t worry. See you then!”. She hung up. I threw the phone on the counter.

Jax narrowed his eyes at me; and closed the front door with a slam. “Hey babe!”, he said. “Who was on the phone?” “Stahl”. I chewed my lip. “She’s on to us”. I sent him a slight smile. He returned the gesture; and came over to kiss my cheek. “Shit”, he smirked. “That’s bad”. “You sure that phone’s not bugged?”, Happy said; stifling a smile himself. Juice stepped closer to my android. “It shouldn’t be!”, he said loudly. “I sure checked it!”

Jax smacked his brother’s head; and put his finger to his lips. Act normal!, he mouthed. Juice mouthed a sorry in return.

“Don’t worry about that now. Clay might be on to us”, Jackson said. “We need to go over the plan. Sit down… Cat, get us some beers”. “Ok, baby”, I tweeted; acting every bit the obedient old lady. I opened three beers, and put them on the table. Jax grabbed a piece of paper from his pocket, and scribbled down some words. Plan is set. Tig is up to speed. Just listen, and agree. I nodded. “You guys want dinner?”, I smiled. “What… You’re cooking?”, Happy said. “No thanks”. I sent him a putrid glare. He grinned at me.

“I called my mom. She’s taking the kid tonight… and forever after that. She just doesn’t know yet”. “Good”, Happy said. “We can get out clean”. “Yes!”, Juice said loudly. Jax rolled his eyes at him. “Cat, go fix yourself up. You look a mess”. My jaw dropped. Jax scribbled quickly. Sorry. Just pretend to leave. “Let the men talk”. “Ok, Jax”, I said – sending him a deathly stare. I walked to the doorway; leaning against the wall to hear what he had to say.

“She gone?”, he said, looking at me. “Yeah”, Happy muttered. “Good”, Jax said. “I love her, but she talks too much… You both clear on the plan?”. “Yup”, Juice said – having finally caught on to the fact that he didn’t have to yell. “Tomorrow morning. We leave TM together”. “Who’s your girl riding with?”, Happy said. “Who do you think, asshole?”, Jax answered. “Bitch rides with me”. I furrowed my brow; and walked into the living room; knocking over a squeaky toy, to get his attention.

I stomped down the hallway. “I gotta check on something”, I heard Jax say; and he followed me into the bedroom – closing the door.

“What the hell, Jax?”, I snarled. “Why are you talking about me like that?”. He took my hand. “I’m sorry”, he whispered earnestly. “I have to give her something she can use, to try to convince you to flip on me”. I shook my head. “I hate this, so much”. He pulled me into his arms; and kissed my forehead. “Believe me; I feel no better about using those words, than how I felt yesterday; when I said those things about our boy… Just, please. Let’s finish this” I closed my eyes. “Ok… You owe me a shitload of orgasms, Jackson!”. He smiled softly. “I’ll deliver. I swear”. I kissed him deeply; and then smacked him across the face. He looked flabbergasted. “I needed to do that”. “Y-yeah”, he muttered. “Can you kiss me again, so I know you’re not mad?”. I chuckled; and gave him a peck on the lips.

He went back into the kitchen; and I followed quietly behind – once again, standing in the doorway. Happy looked at me protectively. “All good?”, he muttered. “Yeah. Just needed to help her find her g-spot”, Jax leered. “For a teacher, she’s not too bright”. I smirked menacingly at him.

“So, we go to the warehouse; pick up the drugs – and haul ass north”, he continued. “I got a buyer set up. We’ll get a good 500 grand. Evenly split, three ways”. “Sounds good”, Juice said. “What was that about Clay?”, Happy asked. “We’ve been going head to head about all sorts of shit. He overheard me talk to my old lady, I think”. “Shit”, Juice said. “What about the drugs?”. “He doesn’t know I’ve already made negotiations. He want’s us far away from heroin”. He sent me a meaningful look. Right. Clay wants nothing to do with drugs. “We should have won that vote”, Juice said. “Yeah, well… we’re on our own”, Jax responded. Keep the club out of it.

“Meet up at the clubhouse; move out – never look back”, Happy said. “That’s right”, Jax said. He made a gesture for the conversation to wrap up. The others didn’t seem to know what to say. I rolled my eyes. “Jax… Baby?... I lost it again”, I said playfully. All three men looked at me with wide eyes. Jackson bit his hand to stop from laughing. “Right boys. Get out”, he said. “I’m laying pipe”.

Happy and Juice left the house quietly; both still still staring at me in wonder all the way out the door.

Jax walked over to me; and we held each other for a moment. I was painfully aware that this would be our last night together for a good while. And I planned to make the most of it.

#jax teller x oc #jax teller fic #jackson teller #jax teller #jackson teller fic #sons of anarchy #sons of anarchy fic #soa

[spnregencybb]

THE FRENCH DECEPTION || A DEAN/CAS REGENCY FIC Posting Sunday, 20th September 2020

SUMMARY: Lord James Emmanuel Stephen Castiel Scott, second son of the Duke of Inveresk (and just Castiel to his friends), has finally returned to Britain after years spent in France as a spy during the wars against Napoleon. His childhood friend Lady Celeste Middleton, Marchioness of Bradbury (and just Charlie to her friends), invites him to her summer house party in the country so she can play matchmaker: she just knows that her dear friend Sir Dean Winchester, a baronet and retired naval officer, would be perfect for Castiel. Unfortunately, he declines her invitation, and she cannot simply tell him her reason for wanting him to come, so she invents a tale of blackmail and intrigue for which she needs his assistance. He rides down from Scotland and insists on playing the part of a displaced Frenchman to try and identify her extortionist. His prime suspect? Sir Dean Winchester, who is clearly a fortune hunter.

Sir Dean Winchester had hoped to rescue his estate by making his fortune in His Majesty’s Navy, but a former love rival of his father’s cheated him out of his rightful prize. Forced to retire when his father died in order to take up his title, he realises that he shall need to marry for money if he wants any chance of paying off his father’s debts and let his younger brother Samuel marry for love. Lady Bradbury has been a good friend to him, so when she invites him and Sam to her house party, he hopes to meet a potential match among her wealthy friends. Unfortunately, the only one who catches his eye is the mysterious - and sadly impoverished - French émigré Monsieur Castiel Novacque. As time goes on and the two men grow closer, however, Dean begins to wonder if he really is willing to give up the hope of love for the sake of money.

READ A SNEAK PREVIEW BELOW THE CUT!

‘You are a very fine dancer, Cas,’ Dean complimented him. ‘I have rarely seen such grace.’

‘You flatter me, Dean,’ Castiel murmured in his ear, one of many benefits of the waltz. ‘You are also very elegant on your feet. I would ‘appily have watched you all night, except zat I would not ‘ave ‘ad ze pleasure of dancing wiz you myself.’

‘That would have denied both of us a great pleasure, I believe,’ Dean replied boldly, his heart thudding in his chest.

Castiel’s lip quirked up at the side. ‘I would by no means suspend any pleasure of yours.’

Dean felt his face grow hot at the flirtatious banter. He had exchanged such pleasantries with ladies and gentlemen on many occasions before, but something about Castiel unbalanced him, made him feel each word deeply. ‘You are generosity itself.’ To his chagrin and relief, the dance came to an end, and they pulled apart with mutual reluctance.

‘You look razzer warm,’ Castiel said with concern. ‘I am a bit over’eated myself. Per’aps we can take a turn about ze garden, breaze ze fresh air?’ He offered Dean his arm, and Dean wrapped his hand around Castiel’s muscular bicep.

‘Lead the way.’ They walked out from the ballroom at a leisurely pace, simply enjoying each other’s company. Dean leaned in a bit closer once they were out of sight of the other guests, drawn to Castiel like a magnet. ‘What a beautiful night.’

‘Delightful,’ Castiel murmured closer to Dean’s ear than expected.

‘Um, Cas… personal space?’

‘My apologies,’ Castiel replied, but did not move away. Instead, he brought his hand up to Dean’s cheek, stroking it with his fingertips before cupping Dean’s jaw. ‘Dean.’

Dean swallowed nervously, sucking in a breath as Castiel stepped closer still. ‘Yes, Cas?’

‘Dean, if I have misunderstood, please stop me.’ After a moment’s pause to allow Dean to step away- an opportunity Dean most decidedly did not take- Castiel leaned in and pressed his lips to Dean’s. A whimper in Dean’s throat became a moan as Castiel deepened the kiss. After a few breathtaking seconds, he finally pulled back.

‘Cas… that was…’

‘Wonderful,’ Castiel finished.

‘Very,’ Dean agreed. He licked his lips, and Castiel’s eyes tracked the motion.

‘As are you, mon cher.’ He brushed his knuckles along Dean’s cheek. Dean’s eyes fluttered closed, but when Castiel leaned in again, Dean stepped back.

‘Cas, I… my God, how I wish… but I cannot. I am so sorry, Cas, with all my heart, but I cannot.’ With that, he turned and ran back to the house, leaving Castiel staring after him.

#spnregencybb #destiel #no homophobia #secret identity #misunderstandings

[tanoraqui]

ok my last review of my own SPN fic from the early 2010s gets its own post bc the other two were getting long and honestly this was more Good Omens fic than anything. Literally I lost steam on it when faced with the prospect of writing Supernatural characters other than Crowley (the fic, of course, being centered around the idea that What if That Was Proper, GO Crowley, and if so, How).

Once More Unto the Breach proposes that, shortly after the events of Good Omens, Aziraphale was yanked back to Heaven and tortured for a while until he, ah, saw the light again (with input of later seasons, I suppose I’d include Naomi in this somewhere), and Crowley was yanked back to Hell where he was tortured...and just kinda. Tortured. A lot. And had his grace stripped out, this one of the last of the angels who’d followed Lucifer in his fall (and idea SPN never got into but hella could’ve tbh; it fucks). And then, now that he was basically a normal mortal, for some reason they dropped him back in the timestream in like 1500s? Scotland with no memory, planning to let him lead a normal human life and then SURPRISE you’re back in Hell! Bitch! Suffer! 

Except instead of leading a normal human life, he (per canon spn) sold his soul to a crossroads demon for a bigger dick, and then, uhhhh, paperwork got lost and he just kinda ended up in the shuffle as a normal demon working his way up through the ranks, eventually becoming the SPN!Crowley we know? Aziraphale, meanwhile, has been sent out again to participate in the newly destined Apocalypse, Michael vs. Lucifer - ineffable!

And then, ofc, they meet a time or two...mostly very awkward and Aziraphale is like, “he’s superficially familiar but no, it’s obviously not My Crowley - who was evil and lied to me, ofc”, and Crowley is like, “what a weirdo.”

The Apocalypse fails to happen again. Aziraphale attempts to quietly duck out of Heavenly duties and resume his bookstore in London. Ch.2 of this fic - which I wrote! - is a pretty solid fic all on its own, of alternatingly Castiel’s and Raphael’s side showing up and trying to persuade him to join their team, and Aziraphale trying very hard to politely send them away before eventually snapping and joining Castiel. In the middle of a fight in a random heaven that happens to be an early 19th century British Navy ship in the height of a storm, because fanfiction is for SELF-INDULGENCE and nothing else.

Actually, u know what, just

“Is that so,” Ezekiel asked softly, playing with his blades. He had three now, his own and Castiel’s. “And how, exactly, are you going to stop me?

Aziraphale made up his mind. “He’s not,” said the bookseller, stepping between them and spreading his wings like a shield in front of the wounded rebel. “I will.”

“What are you doing?” hissed Castiel. “You do not need to die!”

Ezekiel laughed. “You?” He stepped back mockingly, and spread his arms in challenge. “Little brother, you are even lower class than the pathetic excuse for an angel cowering behind you. Who are you to challenge I, Ezekiel, Weapons Master of the Heavenly Host?”

Aziraphale stood up straight, spreading his wings wider. Lightning flashed for the first time in the tempestuous sky above, illuminating their feathery expanse.

“I am Aziraphale,” he stated, “Guardian of the Eastern Gate of Eden.” The scabbard appeared at his side like it always did, like it hadn’t done for over 6000 years. He reached down and drew the sword, hilt conforming perfectly to his grip. The blade caught fire instantly, and any raindrop that came near evaporated to steam before it touched the flame. “And I wield the Sword of War.”

Ezekiel’s step backwards was genuine this time, as was the fear in his voice.

“The Sword is a Weapon of Heaven, and belongs to Raphael!” he managed.

“I’m afraid it doesn’t,” Aziraphale said gently. It was an elegant sword, long and thin and rapier-like, and very clearly meant to kill. “This is the blade given to my hand by Michael, Commander of the Heavenly Host, when we all trained together as brothers. Before all the senseless bureaucracy took hold. From me, it passed to the human Eve, and there it became a Symbol to the humans, of War. It’s their Weapon, really, so I will use it on their behalf. If Raphael considers that ‘rebellion’, then so be it.”

ANYWAY. So, Aziraphale joins Cas’s rebellion and mostly starts sorting records in the very neglected Library of Heaven that contains a book recounting the life of every single person ever, bc that’s my idea of heaven and I’m right. But also he needs to rescue the nice young rebel angel whose capture kinda prompted him into this decision in the first place, and that means breaking into the really serious heavenly prison area...so he goes to the new King of Hell and bargains to borrow one of the lost Treasures of Heaven (remember those, from s6?) that Crowley has ended up with. They agree: Aziraphale can have the Crown of Pollution thing for 24 Earth hours, and in return, at a time of his choosing, Crowley will get a treasure of Heaven to which Aziraphale has access for 24 hours.

Upon getting the Crown back, Crowley informs him that the treasure he’d like is...Aziraphale, actually. The Sword of War, if he wants to be fussy, and Aziraphale is welcome to come along with it! After all, surely a warrior of Heaven is as valuable as an artifact. “You want me to...smite your political enemies?” Aziraphale says slowly. “Sure,” says Crowley. “Also, come to tea for 10 minutes once a week or so and tell me hte latest news from your little war. I never said the 24 hours had to be consecutive.”

Obviously Aziraphale is Pissed AF, but he’s also stuck, and afraid to tell anyone that he’s been Dealing with a demon. So he goes once a week to tea, and gives absolutely monosyllabic answers full of ice...

Crowley fills some of the silence by starting t just bitch about work...and offers booze every time...once, after a hard battle, Aziraphale accepts...he offers bitchy comments about the demons Crowley complains about...don’t do this, Aziraphale tells himself firmly; it’s not YOUR demon, and anyway that was still probably a lie, and even if it wasn’t (it definitely wasn’t) you can’t find him; he’s probably dead...and this one’s MUCH trickier... There’s an assassination attempt on Crowley in which Aziraphale throws his sword across the room to him and it catches fire just as it does for Aziraphale, just as it doesn’t do for anyone else...

And that’s kinda where I stopped writing, bc I kept just...not wanting to write scenes with actual SPN characters, even though I really did need to involve Castiel, if I wanted him and Aziraphale to have a, “wait, you’re working with Crowley?” “Wait, YOU’RE working with Crowley?!”

I don’t really know how the rest of all that was supposed to go, with Purgatory and the Leviathans and everything. Cas WAS definitely having Aziraphale do research, while he alphabetized the Library, into Purgatory, and that’s a whole additional level of “wow I thought you were legit but Apparently I’m Disappointed Again.” Aziraphale is angry at both Crowley and Cas, but *checks outline* when Cas absorbs all the souls and goes nuts, Crowley runs, worried, to tell Aziraphale. Aziraphale tries to confront/calm Cas, and gets the dubious honor of being the first person “spared” by the new god.

Somewhere in here, logically, Aziraphale must tell SPN!Crowley about GO!Crowley, and Crowley’s like, “weird. I mean, I guess I’ve had dreams now and then of flying or being a snake or burning-but-in-a-good-way, but doesn’t everyone?” (I didn’t write this down anywhere but, like...it must happen.)

Somehow (Library of Heaven? Someone finally found the lost paperwork in Hell?) Aziraphale and Crowley find out that GO!Crowley’s (OG Crowley’s!) lost Grace is in, where else, Hyde Park, turned into, what else, an apple tree. If he is proper Crowley, it should woosh back into him when he touches the tree...

Aziraphale watched it breathless anticipation (not that he usually breathed anyway) as Crowley rested his hand on the bark of the tree. 

Nothing happened. 

“Well, that was a bit of a disappointment,” said Crowley. He reached up and carelessly grabbed an apple, brought it down and bit into it.

Everything exploded in the bright light of Grace.

In the planning document, I’ve written that Crowley goes back to Hell to try to wrangle it and Aziraphale ditto Heaven, which I guess...is reasonable. Good Omens ends with them both happily fucking off to stay on Earth and that’s the happy ending, but here, early SPN s7 with Cas having just fucked off into a lake and exploded with Leviathans, both Heaven and Hell could really use a sensible guiding hand, and unlike every other time (ie, all the time) that’s true, there’s a genuine opportunity for someone to step in and have influence. So...

Verdict: 11/10 this fic still SLAPS; thank you for coming on this exciting journey of nostalgia with me.

#supernatural #spn #my fic #good omens #p.s. SHOUTOUT to the PAGES document format that these are all in bc i wrote them on my high school desktop computer #goddamn that was a While ago

[shirtlesssammy]

9x21: King of the Damned

Then:

Things are going really well for the angels. 

Now:

1723

Abaddon arrives at an inn in Leith, Scotland and introduces herself to a confused young man as a “friend of the family”. She notes that he’s traveling in the morning to the colonies. The innkeeper interrupts their little conversation, and Abaddon makes quick use of the coathanger on the wall when she slams the dude into it, killing him. She then starts chanting her spell. The sigil on the door she painted lights the room yellow. 

At a bar, angels are drinking and chilling. Nerd angel decides to interrupt a group by telling them about how cool he is for getting picked by “Met Man” to head back to Heaven. He’s overheard by a couple at the bar. 

As he’s leaving later, they kidnap him and chain him up.They’re on the other side of the angel war and want to know more about his allegiance to Metratron. There are footsteps growing louder from the hallway, the music grows tense, and the derpy angel nervously asks, “Is that him?” It is. 

It is ...Cas. 

Meanwhile, the brothers arrive to see “the commander”.

They’re brought into the main operation room. It’s buzzing with angels all looking for Metatron. Cas greets them both with a hug when they enter his office. The brothers are skeptical of Cas’s new leadership role, but Cas believes someone has to stop Metatron. Cas needs the brothers to interrogate the kidnapped angel. MOC!Dean is game.

Crowley, meanwhile, is meeting with his team of trusted demons. 

He’s making it clear that the king is back, and Abaddon must be stopped. He asks for their “Yo” of allegiance, but gets only silence in response. Until Abaddon blurts it out from the door. She reviews the fact that Crowley helped the Winchesters get ahold of the First Blade and Dean’s wearing the Mark of Cain. She points out that once she’s gone, Crowley’s next on their list. She wants to team up but Crowley declines. She has no hold over him. 

Enter Gavin Macleod: the Scot from the opening --and Crowley’s son. Crowley swears he doesn’t care about the boy. Abaddon is willing to bet that his little foray into humanness left him with more compassion than he thinks. She starts to torture the poor dude. 

Crowley holds out for a couple seconds but way too quickly demands that Abaddon stop.

Sam and Dean are busy playing Good Cop/Bad Cop with the rogue angel. Dean wants to stab the dude, but Sam catches on REAL quick that the angel likes to boast, so he goes for a little reverse psychology. 

They both egg the guy on enough to have him reveal that there’s a private portal to Heaven now. 

Gavin, now recovered from the torture, adamantly denies that Crowley is his father. His father was Fergus Macleod, a simple tailor. Abaddon and Crowley reveal to poor Gavin that he’s in the future. He mistakes them for angels. 

Sam and Dean continue their schtick. And they get a lot of intel from the guy. They learn that the portal moves around and there’s an elite, secret Heaven squad (that this guy ultimately wasn’t chosen for). Sam and Dean leave the room convinced they didn’t learn a thing. 

Gavin learns that his dad sold his soul for “an extra three inches of willy?!” He does not like this turn of events. Crowley assures him that his dear old dad is the King of Hell so everything is good! 

Another angel opens the interrogation room to find the nerd angel stabbed through the heart, dead. Sam and Dean have to explain themselves to the Commander. 

Dean wonders if Cas’s operation has been compromised. Cas had real faith in the angels under his charge (and there goes Cas again with his faith in others…). Dean heads out to find out who killed the angel. Cas holds Sam back to ask about Gadreel. “It's not really something I like to…” Sam starts, before Cas cuts him off. (Sam, you never want to talk about your trauma, bby) Sam then tells him that it was like they were sharing housing, but he never felt threatened. He was misunderstood, but not a danger (well, except for Kevin.) 

Crowley and Gavin confront their past, each blaming their respective parents for their terrible lives. Gavin can’t even read! Crowley shoves an impatient hand against Gavin’s forehead and hands him a newspaper. Tada! He can read now! (This remains one of the funniest and weirdest canon demonic powers. Can you imagine some demon elementary school teacher just trying to live a neutral life and impatiently zapping all their students with reading power?) Gavin immediately warms up to Crowley, and further cheers to learn that he can now adopt the title “Prince.” Gavin would like to be sent back through time and continue nipping off to the new world, though. GAVIN you fool you’re already THERE and you can have hot showers here. HOT SHOWERS.

Gadreel arrives at a clandestine meeting with Cas. Gadreel reveals that he’s still sour about what happened in the Garden. “You feel misunderstood,” Cas notes. He thinks that Gadreel wants to redeem himself and that’s why he’s helping Metatron. Yep, Cas isn’t speaking about himself AT ALL here. Cas tells Gadreel that Metatron can’t be trusted. Just then, angels race in to attack their meeting. RUDE. Gadreel and Cas dispatch them handily. 

Dean has First Blade flashbacks while he researches, zoning out so much that he can’t even hear his own phone ringing next to him. Sam snaps him back to Earth. The phone call is from Crowley and he’s plotting to kill Abaddon with their assistance. When they hang up, Crowley looks up to a smiling Abaddon. It’s a trap!

Dean and Sam unbury a corpse to unearth the First Blade that’s hidden inside of it (yeah that was a lot already) when they’re confronted by a hellhound.

Cornered by the hound, Dean calls Crowley, then puts him on speaker. Crowley tells “Juliet” the hellhound to stand down. At least there are SOME loyal subjects left in Hell! The Winchesters chop the blade out of the body and head out.  

Gavin throws a temper tantrum about wanting to travel back in time and slams the door to his room in their suite. Crowley gets a call from Dean and tells him where to meet him to get the drop on Abaddon. 

Crowley drops the code word he learned earlier in the season: “Poughkeepsie.” He warns them that it’s a long drive from Poughkeepsie. Dean hangs up and looks troubled, but doesn’t bother to share his concerns with Sam. 

Abaddon smirks at Crowley as her plans settle into place. She’s about to be overrun with the Winchesters and Crowley - and she doesn’t trust a single one of them. She shoots Crowley in the shoulder with a devil’s trap bullet to nullify his AMAZING READING POWERS. 

Gadreel begs Cas to trust him. He didn’t send the angel assassins! Cas tries to use the attack to bolster his argument that Metatron can’t be trusted.

For Concerned Blue Eyes Science:

Cas asks for intel - not action. If Gadreel will turn spy for Castiel, then Cas has an advantage for his own battles. Gadreel can try to keep his hands clean. 

Dean and Sam arrive at the hotel. Dean spins a quick lie about how Crowley spotted demons in the basement. While Sam goes to check that out, Dean heads up to Crowley. “Love the crazy bloodlust in your eyes,” Crowley croons in greeting. 

Demons attack Dean immediately and Abaddon power-pushes him against a large painting and pins him like a bow-legged bug. 

Sam finds absolutely nothing in the basement while Dean confronts literal and probably also metaphorical demons upstairs. Dean draws from the power of the blade, the Mark glowing through his jacket, and pulls away from the wall under his own magical steam. He psychically snaps the blade to himself and strides across the room to skewer a disbelieving Abaddon. I ALWAYS forget that Abaddon dies in this episode. It’s just like…Crowley family drama, Winchester family drama, Angel drama, lol she’s DEAD.

After she dies, he continues to hack away at her body. Sam tells him, breathlessly, that he can stop now. Dean’s doing GREAT, guys! 

Afterward, Crowley reveals that he warned Dean about the trap and Sam shoots a surprised look at his brother. Err…awkward. The Winchesters tell Crowley that the laws of time travel require Gavin to go back to his own time, even if he dies. Honestly, sometimes I just sit back and think about how much I love this sprawling show that’s like...ghosts? Yes. Angels and demons? Okay. Time travel? Why the fuck not?

Sam plans to bring Gavin back to the bunker and magic him home. Crowley heads in to say goodbye to his son, but zaps away with him instead. In a park green, Crowley tells Gavin about the fate of his ship to America, and that he should go live his life in the current century.

Gavin bids Crowley a fond farewell. Crowley, for his part, struggles against his FEELINGS and zaps out. 

In the car, Dean tells Sam why he directed him to the basement. Dean knew the blade would help him take down Abaddon and anyone else who got in his way. He wanted Sam out of the way for that. Sam speculates that the Blade is changing Dean. He begs Dean to lock the Blade away until they need it. “No,” Dean says quietly, and we cut to black.

I Had a HellQuote Named Juliet:

No, we get it. You're a rock star

Holy mother of God! We're amongst the stars! Are we in heaven, then? You must be angels!

No one bends the rules like you two bend the rules

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive! 

#spn recap #spn rewatch #spn 9x21 #king of the damned #dean winchester #sam winchester #castiel #cas #crowley #abaddon #gadreel #supernatural season 9

[elizabethrobertajones]

14x05 watching notes

filed under: episodes that demand a written apology from the writer

Morning, I opened the episode to check it worked and the first thing on screen was dead Maggie, so I guess skip the preamble, let's get rid of that D:

Meredith is going to look after Maggie. Who so far this season has just been the human representation of the :o emoji

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Er, she's not going to look after us, after the THEN card we abruptly drop into Dean having his beach retirement chat with Sam

A lingering reminder of how Jack would help - if he had his powers - but Sam asks "then what would we do" and cut to Dean being Michaeled. At this point I can't tell if we need to remember 13x23 for Reasons or if they just don't trust us to remember the recent history of the show at all and are catching up people who might have dropped by to see how their favourite guest star, Maggie, is doing.

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I mean I love her but she isn't the headliner normally :P

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OH GOODNESS SHE'S THE COLD OPEN GIRL. Maggieee no. She looks so scared. Why are they sending her hunting on her own??? She is a smol scared bean who was not prepared for the apocalypse and surely must be able to find other off-the-radar jobs for a person from another universe in this world that don't involve throwing herself at monsters!

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She's wearing pink trousers for a stealth mission at night. She makes Sam's orange jacket look like camo

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Also she's recording herself... Maggie... What are you doing........ hon......................

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I have adopted her, but it turns out I have another stupid child among my many, many stupid children and just once I wish they didn't turn out like this :P

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So she's like, attached a go pro to herself to record her hunt for... training purposes? reporting back to Chief? because she's become an adrenaline junkie after all the time she was nearly eaten by supervampires?

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MAGGIE

Gad dangit

He was slow moving and you heard him behind you. Swing first, ask questions later, when it's a growling noise in a dark crypt.

-

Has anyone been counting the apocalypse world peeps because I'm pretty sure they're relying on us not to recognise them because they're a crowd. At this point we almost certainly have like 50+ distinct individuals instead of the 25 they purportedly rescued.

I say this because I feel like some of the white guys from the original batch appear to have metamorphosed into a more diverse group

-

Sammy setting homework.

Sorry, not Sammy. The Boss.

Dean comes in to observe class.

Sam immediately sheds all his confidence and goes back to being Sammy. He does seem to have a slight layer of scruff more, or maybe it was just that he was looking particularly clean-shaven last episode out of shock

Dean offers to get him a camp counsellor whistle, and Sam gets even more awkward about hunter check ins. I can see this feeding itself here, with Sam blustering and getting weird about his position of authority in front of Dean, and Dean who is both latching on in a brotherly way, and lashing out in a recently emotionally maimed Dean way, but can't yell at the apocalypse peeps they rescued and graciously allowed to stay because, you know, Michael destroyed their world, so taking it all out on Sam... Unfortunately, Dean being the wounded, irrational party, it's down to him to realise he's being a lil too harsh on Sam OR Sam to stop rising to the bait.

In this case, I would say the ball is firmly in Sam's court, not because he's at any particular fault for instinctively reacting like the needled little brother when big bro wanders in snarking at his attempts to do his job, but because he is the one behaving like the adult already in this scenario when he's facing the AU peeps and being The Chief in a natural way where he's thriving in the environment, and crumpling immediately in the face of this one random element is a clear part of his growth and maturity arc. As it is he's feeding Dean's reaction a LOT by getting embarrassed and changing his behaviour and not standing his ground and continuing to act like a mature adult, and giving Dean the little brother teasing opening he feeds off in the dynamic.

In other scenarios this could flip with Sam doing his best and Dean being a dick who's seeking an opening and trying to get Sam to crack and in that case it would be all on him to correct his behaviour, but in this case, I'm leaning Sam being the problem despite the appearance, because he crumpled just to hear Dean coming up the steps, never mind how it went from there. He's acting ashamed of being the leader, because he knows it's emotionally infringing on Dean territory, as he sees Dean as a natural and more rightful leader, and doesn't recognise his own strengths and skills being applied in spades here; his self-confidence immediately is put under the microscope when he knows Dean is there, and it topples his precarious house of cards of self confidence.

He has also put himself in a position of managing Dean, coming in last episode all, alright champ how's it going? and had a success by a country mile with getting Dean to leave his room, open up, and have some fun, and that's not even comparing it to the same time last season when in 13x05 he completely failed at the same task. He has been working gently on Dean to help him, but he can't when it comes to getting Dean used to having the AU peeps around and accepting Sam's new job there, if Sam acts like it's something to be ashamed of and is too horrified by usurping Dean to focus on letting his instincts talk and continuing to blatantly be a wonderful leader.

-

These AU peeps are also seeing their venerated war hero general just crumple into an insecure mess as soon as his brother walks into the room >.>

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Sam gets coffee, turns into coffee!Sam (Lizbob's on the record favourite character in the entire show), finally snaps back at Dean about how many hunters he's keeping track of right now when Dean stops needling in a funny way and asks about Sam's health - of course, now it's all built up into Dean bothering Sam so instead of being a nice request, Sam snaps.

It's possible that while Sam now runs the hunters, delegating to Mary and AUBobby and even Dean if he'll accept it, to help keep track etc, will really benefit in the long run.

-

Slick way to work where Cas and Jack are into the same breath as where Mary and Bobby are - rugarou, which is code for off screen case - and throw it all out there as plot and ongoing character work AND the requisite where is Cas comment to keep fandom happy.

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God, I haven't even gotten around to what I meant to say immediately that Sam dropped down into his codependency seat at the table and Dean is unintentionally mirroring 9x13's final scene of all the many times they've been around this block - off the top of my head but as someone who has been keeping a very close eye for a very long time, I can't think of another significant instance where Sam was sitting and Dean was standing while it got heated.

Of course 9x13 was working very hard to show their divisions, while of course here Sam is just sitting in his Dean Is Upsetting Me chair and Dean's not sitting at the table which just means not engaging with Sam on his level in a very literal as well as metaphorical way - in character, that's a body language dissonance as well as making Sam look up at him. In staging terms, it carries the weight of years of directorial and acting decisions about how to portray the brothers in crisis that I've been noting in case of a pattern.

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"Yeah, but a war isn't hunting" good grief Sam is making their entire lives sound even worse than ever given they grew up in this and now he's listing off all the stuff they need from the perspective of being the Bobby. I mean, when they say they were raised like soldiers, they're adding in the fact they do zillions of almost completely unsupported 2 man raids into hostile territory with limited gear or recon. The recap at the start, showing them going in to fight the werewolves with an angel and a nephilim on their side, was an easy hunt for a reason and not just because there were 4 of them :P Without that, no matter how many hunters they accumulate, it's always looked like a losing battle because many of these things you'd want to call the national guard on if civilians could be alerted to the danger.

-

See, Dean is acting needle-y but as soon as Sam gets an unnerving alert on his phone he's concerned and asks who it is - remember last episode where he was like don't know don't care about the guy Sam was Bobbying from the car? - and when he says "maggie" ... well, they're all clearly protective of her in particular D:

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Oh good, the body cams thing was a Sam innovation and therefore a good idea and we can pat his head for it

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Bobby never had that and I bet he'd have LOVED to keep track of his peeps that way.

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The other hunters meet up on the last thursday of the month to watch the highlight reel from Garth Cam, BYOB, popcorn provided

-

Nyooom

This shot should win awards for the fuckin horrifying perspective that I, as a non-mountain-dweller, can barely comprehend that it looks like the sky but then you keep on looking up and there's trees in there. Is this something people in big countries are used to? I mean I've seen my share of mountains in Scotland and they're way too cramped to fake you out like that.

You have to understand that in my town, wedged between two cliffy cliffs, the entire old town is like 500ft wide at best before more cliff. There's only 2 directions - up and towards the sea :P  You don't need fancy camera tricks to contain everything... I'm getting agoraphobia just looking at this. I mean I don't think it's intended to cause existential horror but mission accomplished.

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Dean getting morbid talking about how having a private cemetery would be nice. I mean, they practically need one behind the Bunker after all this time, wherever the final resting place is of at least Kevin and Charlie's bodies as well as anyone else who died in and around there who wasn't dumped in the sewer like Ketch was :')

During day this place isn't half bad, with its whimsical overgrown look, the slanting fence of the bridge to cross to get there, the jungle closing in around the little plot...

But remember, Dean. Beach holiday. Eyes on the prize, man. You and the rest don't get to hang out behind the Bunker for eternity at least until you're all old and earned it.

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Dean defends knowing what a walker from the Walking Dean is... in 12x15 he was playing with a Negan bat which I assume he still has somewhere, washed off and placed in the armoury :P Sam is at least being a bit more authoritative here in the sense of reeling off info as the Chief in charge of Maggie's fate and knowing her mission etc...

Honestly this makes me feel like the dynamic of Dean drives, Sam rides shotgun can mature too, in the sense that Dean is no longer taking control from Sam - back in season 10 that was very heavily used as part of their toxic dynamic and there's definitely shades of season 10 dynamics on the chopping block around these parts - because Sam needs all the extra time to manage his army from the road, with his hands free to check the phone and read up on everything, while Dean is free to drive and be Dean.

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Sam being all I FAILED SHE IS DEAD at every turn and Dean being all "hey check it out, drag marks! :D" "but no blood!!! :D :D :D"

-

As a student of analaysisisign things I have no idea what was just implied by Sam and Dean being called back to the surface followed by the sound effect of spooky cold breath, a wonky focus on a statue of a bearded dude and smol cherub, and then being interrupted by a 1900s gardener.

Apron plus hat seems like Michael coding but god knows what it means.

I bet they're actually talking to a ghost but he's so busy just defending the ancestral land that he's passing as a real alive person and it's one of those completely harmless cases where the ghost just lurks around protecting the land, doesn't go vengeful, and wards off people who hang out there... Not that he had much luck with the drunk teens.

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1900s gardener stands outside, unable to go into the house, surveying it with a weary eye.

The garden is completely and utterly overgrown, almost like no one has gardened it for 100 years, even though there appears to be a gardener on the property.

*rubs chin*

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1900s gardener gives them one last suspicious look before wandering back to work, significantly enough that we see it with a whole separate shot

what is his deal

why is he dressed like that

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Does Meredith feel guilty for MURDERING JOSHUA and side note, can we really trust that it was him who got murdered. Maybe he's in retirement dressed in an olde timey shirt and waving antique gardening implements at Sam and Dean for kicks.

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Considering they improv'd the line about the HPS it's very lucky that Mobby came up with that line - I guess showing how they think alike and all

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"Just wish you'd checked in with the main office," Sam bobs his head, like, "ME", "before you came out here..."

Yeah, here's the Sam and AUBobby leadership conflict I was hoping for :P

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Mary asks for a mo and shepherds Sam out in particular, leaving AUBobby and Dean to handle the architect digest subscriber. She's all momsy with her handling of him, and Dean and AUBobby are left to do the awkward small talk - we know AUBobby really doesn't have it as his strong suite, even though it was Bobby's, like in 6x21 where he was the only one to ever say sorry about your mom to the guy. It also means they have to do the blathering while trying to work out any supernatural history on the property in character, while Mary and Sam are designating themselves the ones who can get to the heart of the problem and handle it like the profession adults. I like the implicit trust/respect bond that gives here.

I mean she has it with Dean too I would think but she's spent more time with Sam lately and it's important now to show she's grown such a bond with Sam, as it's been 2 whole years of her being back before they could begin to properly bond due to various issues.

-

"It was her first solo hunt and she was nervous" listen Sam and Dean are like 1000 pounds of muscle and "fuck you apocalypse" experience and they hunt together. Maggie was smol and wore pink trousers.

-

Is. Is smol.

God. I'm turning into Sam.

-

Lol conspicuous blood transfusion bags. Nice gig, to drain peeps and get a nurse to apply the blood directly to you. Is he a vampire with an olde timey set up?

-

Maggiieeee

stealing her boots is just mean.

Does she have pink plaid as well as pink trousers?

My god how did they let her out of the house? She's too cute and innocent for this world.

Or her previous world.

Can we shunt her along one more world to one which doesn't have this much monster trouble even, as she's clearly still not found the AU which suits her best.

-

Heee Dean knocking the mantelpiece and saying the house has "good bones" like he's an expert on houses

The question is, has he watched a lot of junk reality TV about house refurbishment, or is he just faking on the fly

I have not watched enough aforementioned junk TV to call this one

-

Oh, nope, the daughter validates it by saying her grandpa used to say it. Dean has watched enough TV to pass

-

Ooooh AUBobby having a go at Sam for his shoddy leadership of letting Maggie come here when she had no idea what was up.

I'm guessing the help over text messaging may have been a bit more backseat hunting from AUBobby, but he didn't try to STOP Maggie, or tell her to wait while he and Mary dashed up here.

In any case, here's the conflict of leadership I've been waiting for since before the season began :') Unfortunately, Sam shaved off his beard before going toe to toe with AUBobby, so he takes the first round by default of bristliness, as Sam ceded some portion of control back to Dean on Dean's return and this has made him weird and jumpy about acting like the chief in front of his peeps, and now AUBobby's taking the opening.

-

He has such a power stance that Bobby never had

Shoulders back, beard out

-

Dean defends Sam like when is anyone ready to hunt, because from their perspective of course they were as smol-seeming as Maggie and CONSIDERABLY younger when they were plunged into hunting. She's a grown adult! She can handle it! (she may or may not be a mirror to Jack, who is consumptive, and therefore betraying some sort of inherent unreadiness to hunt and a requirement that the smols among you be protected rather than forced to grow up too young and go hunting as a rite of passage, just as Sam and Dean were given their first beers barely in single digits by gnarly hunters)

"A real leader would have seen that a mile away" Yeah AUBobby is too used to leading his peeps - perhaps he liked a semi retirement where Sam was the leader and the world seemed safer and they could hunt like the old days...

-

Mary mediates, splitting up the team in the only way that makes sense, hoping that Dean can defend Sam in absentia (and thus be forced to confront that Sam IS a good and thoughtful leader and to stop mocking him and start defending him) and she can comfort Sam and build him back up as the Chief.

-

Dean goes on such a face journey about this whole thing, from feeling weird about AUBobby to bad about what's going on with Sam to just worried about Maggie and very much taking on that blame for sending a smol out into the field, especially as he has recused himself from responsibility to these people - while fairly taking a mental health break from the frontline as well as competing with how Sam already got there... Anyway that was like 18 distinct facial expressions each with a story and it's too early in the morning... I JUST got my cup of tea and it's still too hot to drink so Jensen's defeated me this round

-

Sam gets comforted by another trenchcoated figure

"Don't listen to Bobby" "maybe he's right" shush.

"THIS IS WHAT HE WAS BORN TO DO"

ILY Mary. She's coming in fresh on adult!Sam, she doesn't even have the feelings about him as she does to smol scared 4 year old boy Dean, especially if we account for postpartum depression making it hard for her to bond with him as per the entire metaphorical structure of the show from episode one to present. Now she's getting to spend time with him - and especially as her only significant time with him BEFORE this was 12x14 aka Bobo's ode to Sam's leadership round 1... Yeah, she sees Sam as this giant gangly admirable leader guy she happens to have birthed.

-

"Bobby can't see that... not the only thing he's been missing lately."

Good grief, Mary in the trenchcoat has been making the eyes at AUBobby all Michael-hatted up and being ignored and rebuffed from her sparkling heart eyes. I wonder what this is a metaphor for, Ms Meredith Mixtape "know who you love" Glynn.

-

Also, Mary feeling comfortable to innuendo her crush on AUBobby to Sam - it really is an adult relationship and respect and emotional trust that I feel never in a million years could just pop up between her and Dean.

Oh boy, this scene is still going.

*Hides behind the secondhand embarrassment cushion* Sam goes there, like, not going to mention it but you - he sounds less bumbling than he has at other points... Sam's awkwardness factor can shoot through the roof to the point where in 3x04 where he attacks those guys and then is like "have a nice day" when they're not demons? I kinda want to reach through the screen and strangle him with my bare hands before he does it just to spare myself seeing it. Also the gifset of that has been on my dash all week, and it predisposes me to loathe Sam's awkwardness. Please god let us get through this in one piece.

Mary is too busy being wistful to realise her son is an awkward bumbling moose who is all misplaced stammering words and wonky legs spinning for traction when he's out of his depth.

-

Aww now Mary is getting to talk about her deal... She thought she had something good going with AUBobby but since they've been back he's been "hunting all the time and won't take a break not even for a second" - the ole bury yourself in hunting to avoid facing trauma or feelings thing. Of course AUBobby may be struggling with the weight of the world he left behind, the people who he couldn't save there and not knowing what has happened to them. There's a lot to unpack with him that hasn't been explored on screen and a lot of it is casting him as behaving in a Dean-like way, while Mary is the "I'll just wait here then" to his coping mechanisms.

-

"There's something on his mind, and he doesn't want to talk about it"

Aforementioned trauma, OR a pun about him being possessed by Michael

yeah I'm harping on it as a half-joke half-kinda want to have it on the record in case I'm right :P

-

"Bobby's not open like your dad"

Mary, you do realise how that sounds to literally everyone else, right? We KNOW you're practically from a 3rd AU aka the past where John was practically the mirror AU to his future self

Unfortunately, Mary is the only person in the room who ever has that particular story, which sucks for her

-

Anyway Meredith has reached some sort of characterising level with these people that I am just in pure awe of

-

"Not like your dad when I knew him"

"Bobby's got walls. Big ones"

I do think it's funny that Mary has essentially ended up crushing on a man who is a John-like parallel to the anti-John mirror that Bobby was, who of course had his own Karen who he was a different person with, who was a Mary mirror, and .... yeah

it's an interdimensional timetravelling wife swap

-

It makes Destiel look straightforward

-

Part of Meredith's skill here is not just accounting for every angle, but also juggling this nonsense

-

Anyway Mary doubting she can get through AUBobby's walls and be the person who has to do the emotional labour to get the guy she wants - if she's ready to put herself out there again

this is NOT a conversation to have with Dean in a million years. Even Sam takes a mo

"I shouldn't be talking to you about this!" she giggles and she and Sam smile and set off again, all touchy feely.

Sweet.

-

Anyway there's another dynamic in these woods.

"You think I was too hard on your brother back there." "He's doing his best. He's doing better than his best." Funny way to phrase it but yeah, Dean can see Sam's levelled up and his new best is this new levels of responsibility and good leadership overall.

-

LOL at how terse that conversation was. Dean points out that Sam could do with a hand running things, makes fun of the beard, no offence, and cut back to Sam and Mary

-

Sam explains Karen to Mary, to give her an idea of what might be AUBobby's backstory too.

"he never had any children?" "no"

Scuse me, that's the line that makes me BAWL every time I watch it. HE DID SO, YOU FOOL. IT WAS YOU AND YOUR UNGRATEFUL BROTHER

I am writing a letter of complaint to the management

-

"Whatever your Bobby" - oh dear, AUBobby is now "your" Bobby, like, they found him first but he's now Mary's :p

Sam is now full on giving Mary relationship advice about how it's worth it to move past those walls and give him a go if she really cares about him.

-

Has he ever had this chat with Cas, or is this just practice

-

"Cas, wait, I really appreciate you came to me with this but I am getting killer deja vu for a second here..."

-

Mary finds a disturbing firepit, Dean finds a creepy hunting cabin. This is about to be a barrel of fun

-

AUBobby... Don't just run off. Poke Dean and POINT AT THE THING YOU'RE FOLLOWING

... Dean, also, have some awareness in your peripheral that AUBobby just legged it

-

Again, way more athletic than our Bobby was

-

That's a human hand

-

Are those real IDs or hunter IDs

-

Oh it all came from one wallet, with the same pic on them all, so yes.

-

"Not one of ours" but part of the wider network/family nonetheless. His bearded look recalls Asa Fox, and there's the unspoken discussion again about sharing resources, if ALL hunters shouldn't be pulled into their network and the word spread that the Bunker is at least a resource, that Sam is there to be the hub even if they aren't all part of the centralised AU hunter squad, and Sam starts Bobbying in earnest for this world as a whole.

Of course they'd never have sent Maggie somewhere that a seasoned hunter had already disappeared.

-

Dean finally realises AUBobby is gone, and immediately gets jumped, with rather less warning than Maggie had.

I like how the man has had time to dress up in a suit from his sick bed, if indeed that is the case

monsters in suits

-

Well that's new

-

Well in 13x14 Meredith wrote Gog n Magog who were a fake out full of sand... Now this monster is a fake out full of ash?

-

Cut to: Old man still in his hospital bed, definitely not attacking people in the flesh

-

Oh dear, his daughter hearing something in the house while earnestly getting on with dealing with his estate makes me pretty sure she's not in on anything and she shouted them out of the house in genuine grief-stress, which I already wasn't particularly doubting.

-

The ole dragging chains upstairs ghost trick, which I honestly wish I could say I have never heard for myself but the ghost next door is not my problem, Victorian walls keep them contained, and honestly if you've been following the saga on random incidental comments on my blog I'm really only inclined to believe in ghosts for the humorous fake hysteria of a moment's entertainment but the odd noises next door late at night really have been going on long enough and yesterday some folk moved in so, you know, first act of a horror movie setting up mere feet away from me, the disinterested neighbour scowling at all the evil poured into the walls of that house by careless landlords and human suffering I witnessed firsthand caused by it >.> Anyway. Unlike this woman I stayed right in this spot instead of wandering around trying to work out where that noise was coming from, because I'm in the house with the wacky backstory where weed dealers sawed through the support beam in the roof and the front of my room collapsed shortly after we moved in :P

-

I'm sorry, but if a ghost opens a door for you ahead of you in the hall, my advice is not to immediately go up to the door and go in

-

SUPERVAMP IN THE ATTIC

-

She does an admirable duck and cover maneouver, only to realise he hasn't chased her. Huh.

Michael's super vamps are super weird.

-

"You're not crazy" Neil the nurse immediately straightens up and eyeballs Sam a lil harder.

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

PS where is the ghostly gardener in all this because he wasn't the supervamp so

-

this is like a murder mystery puzzle but all the bits are so utterly wild... Dead hunter, Maggie being drained for the "stroke" victim who is also attacking people in a suit while made of ash... supervamp in the attic who won't follow her out of the room she found him in

I mean in all this has no one gone back up to the attic where a supervamp is apparently just LIVING?

He's currently just chilling there while they have this conversation

he's just, like... waiting for them????

-

Dean walks in mid-crisis "You hunt monsters?!" "oh good you told them" He does like when things are all quick and easy and right to the point.

Last episode he cheerfully told Dirk that hatchetman Jordan was coming for them, while Sam blustered over telling Sam even when the EMF was SCREAMING that there was a ghost right in the room with them and the display cases were freezing over.

With Mary's influence at least, Sam is happy to get into telling the full story

-

"Wait time out, there's a dead body on our property?"

THERE IS A SUPERVAMPIRE IN YOUR ATTIC

BIGGER PROBLEMS

-

Dean is entirely brushed down... Like... He must have been brushing ghost ash off of himself all the way back to the house.

-

Sam invokes 8x08 right after I was talking about Fred. Dangit, Glynn.

I feel like Sam is sort of making a jump here, but on the other hand the house isn't under ghostly or vampiric shutdown. The father is here, unconscious, so perhaps projecting and I guess if Sam is wondering how he could be doing it, then astral projections may make sense to some degree... Working out how it all ties together is going to be another huge step though. I know the sell for this episode was partially nightmares and dreams, and we have Maggie in a djinn-like trap and the old man both a sleeping Bobby from 3x10 and also a possible Fred Jones projecting it... The supervamps are something that Dean would have brought here, and "walkers" from the Walking Dead is something the boys could have brought. Which means the other hunter could have been murdered by his own trauma... idk. Why am I trying to piece it together now?

watch the episode, lizzy

-

LOL the daughter just reeling off her dad's "workaholic with textbook narcissistic tendencies" while also herself clearly being the offspring of such a person (is the manifestation of her dad her own trauma?) and hey no doubt that description of the father might come to bear on some of the father/power figures in the episode. Definitely not what Sam is though he's among the mix - perhaps a dark warning of a guy who works himself to death like this and becomes entirely self-absorbed in the process, but Sam just took a minute to advise his mom's love life so he's hanging in there with his sense of self for now. In the sense that a dark arc doesn't seem to be looming for him in such a way as red flags literally followed pre-Mark Dean around.

-

Okay took a LOT of me yelling at the screen but they FINALLY realised there's an unresolved vampire in the attic situation and Sam's going up to check

-

Meanwhile Mary has been separated out in this cursed property to have her own side-adventure with AUBobby

-

Lol the daughter downs some anti-anxiety medication with whisky while Dean sits behind her tuning his knife in a rather grim melody. What a scene.

-

He also has his foot on an armchair like the total troll he was raised as

-

She goes off on one and Dean immediately likes her

"Thanks dad" "no love lost between you two, huh?"

T stands for terrible father

-

"I get it" "not here for a heart to heart" *pause* *launches into a John Winchester Metaphor Of The Hour rant

"But my MOM" *Dean looks up, eyes all vulnerable* "Depression runs in our family" oh booooy

So she found her mom and Dean saw his mom consumed by fire in a way that is still scarring him TO THIS DAY (re: 13x01 nightmare) and this is our first Mary parallel of even a dead mom but one with a personality, and her own problems... Not the temporary insanity of drowning her children like Constance Welch in 1x01, but a woman who had depression and a husband who wasn't there for her... In 14x01 Mary and Sam's discussion revealed how much she was doggy paddling on the surface of all the awful that's happened to her, but this is our real notable parallel to discuss a family history of depression running through Mary's side of the family, which goes not just for Dean (who, like, really has anxiety himself) but also all of Mary's issues, including in 12x21, begging Ketch to kill her at a lowest point before they got her to entirely retreat into herself.

-

Glynn still out for Dean's blood: "the most ridiculous thing is... I worshipped him when I was a kid" Dean is feeling like she took that machete and shoved it in his stomach, as she sits there swigging whiskey and telling him how he feels. "Didn't know any better. He's the only family I have left."

-

"Can I give you a little advice?......... let it go." Oh Dean :')

Emerging from his cocoon, still mostly trapped in there but I think that's a bit of a wing poking through.

"The past is -" *forcefully stops himself from saying "in the past"*

He talks about it as baggage and how every single day he tries to let it go and leave the baggage behind. God he's strong and amazing and working so hard to be the best version of himself.

-

Oh my god who builds the hall up to the attic as part of the crawlspace? This is horrifying on an unnecessary level and I'm writing into that architecture magazine to complain

-

This is the creepiest attic. Who KEEPS these horrifying mementos. Give them to a thrift shop for a hipster to buff up and turn into a conversation piece in their living room.

-

Okay, blood bags and a girl in chains (explains the clinking) are a bit weirder than average.

-

"Sam... it's here" "What?" "It's heeeere" Sam how long have you BEEN in this business?

File this under your panicky first aid to Stuart last episode

-

Sam got ashed just like Dean did. Hm.

It also looked like one of the crazed hunger vamps from apocalypse world more than one of michael's supervamps maybe? It's really hard to keep track of all these :P

-

Oh my god AUBobby has a son, who was murdered by angels. This is terrible D:

Something about the immediate moment of him wandering in... When Bobby went off earlier I was thinking of 7x11 where he saw his younger self. This approach seems almost more like 6x04 and Crowley seeing Gavin for the first time.

Anyway this is of course another way to twist AUBobby around on himself - he managed to get a son, maybe Karen wasn't murdered by a demon, maybe he had a different wife. Whatever it is, it gives us a version of Bobby totally different from ours and also in how he will relate to Sam and Dean - not as the sons he never had, but if he's thinking of young men in the fight...

-

Oh no AUBobby just got stabbed... Er... is this a nightmare or is he just dead?

-

Is AUBobby really going to -

OW

That's more impressive than breaking a crypt scene mental wall to save your loved one. Then again, original flavour Bobby once stabbed himself in the gut to save Dean so I guess he takes a lot of pain for his loved ones, and honestly gathering the strength to pull a knife out... Maaaybe nicer than putting it in???

The fact this is all going down with angel blades as well.

-

I swear to god... Meredith, don't make me watch AUBobby stab a vision of his own son to complete the loop with our Bobby stabbing Karen.

-

"I'm sorry"

*WhOMph grey ash everywhere*

Kinda takes the pure angst out of it at least :P

-

Dean gets a better look. "You're giving him a transfusion?"

Yeah, there's some fuckery at work here, sir. The nurse seems a lot less flustered answering this one which is almost as suspicious as someone who has been non-flustered suddenly getting flustered

-

Dean regrets saying "make me a sandwich before he is done asking. Which is the only reason I forgive that request :P Remember in 1x06 where he was bossing Sam's friend around to get them a beer and a sandwich so they could talk in peace about shifters? God. She KNOWS about monsters it's just that he wants to ask a sensitive question here.

Or punch the nurse in the face over the comatose form of her father.

A nod to her that it's a ruse gets her in on it, though. Female!Dean who is a different mirror than Dirk (though still messed up by a father) gets on his wavelength.

-

AAH He remembered the djinn thing!!! Dean's memory is so good and I love him and he's the best and also Meredith is riffing off 2x20 which is actually illegal, I literally have that written down here in the rules and regulations. Although it does give me my opportunity to remind us all of Dean's long speech about why does he have to be the one to save all these people to John's grave when he was thinking he had to go unwish stuff.

-

Sadly he didn't show up with a knife tipped in lamb's blood so let's see how this goes.

-

Oh my god the djinn's literally thought Dean was Michael the whole time. I have to rewatch now >.>

Well, not now, but.

-

He thought Michael was testing him, and would be back to give him an upgrade, and now he's waxing poetic about the untapped potential of djinn. We're back at season 6, with the hunter compound vs a monster army, except this time the monsters aren't a reaction to the nonsense of angels, they're the direct work of the angel stepping into the place of Eve as the experimenter, his grace vs her black goo. I suppose the weirdness out here is the djinn flexing its muscles with projecting hallucinations.

And I guess that means it hasn't affected Dean except the generic ghost of Mr Comatose over there (apologies to Cas) which I'd assume is part of the generic set up for killing hunters as it was what got Maggie too.

-

The question is, is that Maggie in the attic, or a nightmare for Sam. Wouldn't she be djinned too?

-

"Because of him - because of YOU - I can bring those nightmares into the world" well that's a weighted line >.> Dean's guilt for saying yes,  for these things done with his face. Literally bringing nightmares into the world.

Which does at least confirm that the nightmares so far have been external and we're not IN a dream which has been worrying me.

On the other hand that means AUBobby really did get stabbed that badly.

-

"I highly doubt you have a knife dipped in lamb's blood" I TOLD him.

-

you can't just kneecap the djinn

-

"I am curious, what are YOUR nightmares"

Literally pausing it because Meredith is absolutely horrible and I hate her and she keeps being mean to my boy Dean and I can't handle this and I don't want to know

(I am curious. What ARE his nightmares?)

-

Er excuse me did he just prod his way into finding Michael still in there

Because the other option is that Dean's mind is so utterly scared and scary with all he's been through he literally just out-nightmared a nightmare machine by force of personality.

-

"You don't know my family"

Keep the one liners coming

I'm easily placated by them

-

Cut to: the next morning. He offers his double a chance to get her apology from her father, and books it.

-

Nyoooom back along a CONSIDERABLY less horrifying shot of the same sort of landscape

-

Maggie's back! Everyone loves Maggie. She is the adorable mascot of these people.

Keep the cute pink bunny back at home maybe

Dean gives Sam some affirmation about being the leader of his people.

Now Sam needs to not fold immediately the next time he sees Dean seeing him do something leadery. Deal?

-

Mobby H/C

You know he's vulnerable not because he has his shirt off, but because he has his hat off.

-

These "angel wars" in the AU sound pretty formal.

You know, it would probably be PRETTY HARD to get the average American to fight a war against angels until it's way way waaay too late.

I mean, case in point: we call where they come from, "apocalypse world"

-

"Hunting" "it ends the same." "No." Mary F Winchester puts her foot down. No it ends bloody speeches on her watch! All she has is her optimism but damned if she won't use it!

"I don't know any other way to live" "Then we'll find one"

You are doing a good job and you can save all these dumb guys from themselves.

-

DEAN TALKED TO MAGGIE. HE'S HELPING. HE WENT AND LEADERED HER FOR SAM.

Now have a beer, bro

"She learned from the best, huh? :)"

":)"

-

Awww Mary comes up with AUBobby and they're taking a vacation. Let AUBobby go fishing or something. Good lil Cas parallel Mary fixing her broken warrior with a Donna cabin adventure.

...

Do you not worry a lil about what is out there? Donna comes prepared with a flamethrower.

""relaxing"" """vacation"""

-

Anyway best reason ever given on the entire show for a set of characters not to be in the next couple of episodes, second to "Cas is taking his son out to teach him to hunt some more"

-

Bobby has a clean new formal black mourning cap to deal with fresh memories of Daniel

-

Sam getting the leadership baton from a representative of Bobby who he may see more as Bobby than perhaps he ought. AUBobby says he's not sure he ever had it in him to be a leader, while our Bobby was the undisputed best at what he did and as much as he may have complained, his competency is what Sam is now emulating.

-

Mary being "allowed" to go by Dean. "if you need anything... ANYTHING..." *grabs his shoulder and shakes him* You're starting to turn into the mom in a movie who leaves the kids behind and without supervision they throw a wild party to rebel against you stifling them. SO not the dynamic, but that's the licking a thumb and pressing down a stray bit of hair type momming she's doing all of a sudden.

"Go. Be happy." :')

HUGS FOR THE BOY. That's 2 whole onscreen dean hugs this season.

-

Aww Dean talking to Garth :')

Sam and Dean in synchronicity, talking to ALL their hunter network, not just Jody plus the AU peeps

-

Though. Sam has implemented a buddy system.

Dorky camp counsellor that he is.

-

Dean should get him a ceremonial whistle for Christmas.

-

"Move on from what I - from what we - from what he did"... Dean. Buddy.

Go lie down.

That's some of the most intense blurring of self ever, between Dean's guilt, whatever made the djinn scream in horror to delve his head, and his symbolic blending with Michael as the Michaelsword...

-

"Starting to feel like myself again... almost..." shakes his head and starts heading out to go watch more movies, sad that halloween is passed so no more slashers on every channel

-

"We'll work harder" "how, you sleep 3 hours at night" "then I'll sleep 2" *Dean gives him the NO look*

Well there's a great representation of how their issues mess themselves up and they carve away their sense of self and their health for each other.

-

Seriously. What did the djinn SEE. What nightmares are in my boy's head? Oh god I'm stressed.

-

What happened to the 1900s groundskeeper, Don?

#14x05 #season 14 spoilers #my stuff

[antifaintl]

2017: A (Partial) Timeline Of Bigoted Violence

In 2018, we began trying to monitor news reports concerning significantly-violent hate crimes.  Here is a chronological list of the 100+ violent hate crimes we documented in 2017 (the dates link to the news source of each incident): January 2017: Over 40 Jewish centers in the U.S. receive bomb threats. January 1, 2017: 19-year-old Nathan Richardson encounters 67-year-old jogger Wenqing Xu and beats him to death in an unprovoked, random attack.  After committing the murder, Richardson texted his friends that he “fucked sum chink up. Bodied him. I think pure crime scene – his head’s gone,”

January 5, 2017: Neo-nazis bomb a refugee centre in Gothenburg, Sweden, seriously injuring an immigration officer working there.   January 20, 2017: A right-wing extremist shoots a protestor at a Milo Yiannopoulos event at the University of Washington.

January 25, 2017: An arsonist destroys the only mosque in Victoria, Texas. January 25, 2017: Neo-nazis in Gothenburg, Sweden plant a bomb at a refugee centre.  It fails to detonate.

January 28, 2017: a First Nations woman walking with her sister is struck by a trailer hitch hurled from a passing vehicle.  After struggling in hospital for several months, she succumbs to her injuries.   January 29, 2017: Alexandre Bissonnette walks into a mosque in Canada during evening prayers and opens fire, shooting 17 people and killing six of them.

January/February 2017: four men used Grindr to target gay men for assaults and robberies.  Pretending to also be gay, they would arrange to come to their victims’ homes, where they would hold their victims at gunpoint while they beat them, bound them, verbally abused them with with homophobic slurs, and stole property and vehicles. February 2, 2017:  27-year-old active white supremacist William Christopher Gibbs arrives in a Georgia hospital claiming to have accidentally poisoned himself with ricin.  The extremely deadly illegal compound, most popular with terrorist groups, has been used in attempts to assassinate U.S. elected officials in the past.  Gibbs’ hands and his vehicle tested positive for the presence of ricin. Gibbs was later charged with possession of ricin.   February 16, 2017: Inspired by Dylann Roof’s mass shooting of black church-goers, 28-year-old neo-nazi and convicted felon Benjamin McDowell goes online seeking someone to furnish him with firearms so he can commit his own mass murder.  Authorities, who had been monitoring McDowell after he threatened a synagogue, arrest McDowell after he buys a pistol from an undercover FBI agent. In 2018 McDowell pled guilty and received a ten-year prison sentence.

February 19, 2017: less than a month after a white supremacist shot seventeen people in a mosque, killing six of them, 35-year-old Florida resident Gerald Sloane Wallace calls several mosques, leaving threats to come and shoot their members.

February 21, 2017: a 24-year-old transgender woman is shot and killed in Chicago, IL.

February 22, 2017:  Adam Purinton tells two men from India to “get out of my country” then shoots both plus a bystander, killing one.

February 26, 2017: a transgender woman is shot and killed in New Orleans, LA. February 28, 2017: a mosque in Toronto is set on fire by arsonists.

March 1, 2017: a transgender woman is stabbed to death in New Orleans, LA.

March 3, 2017: A Sikh man is shot and injured in front of his Seattle house by a white man wearing a mask, who yells at him to “go back to your country!”

March 7, 2017: After repeatedly harrassing his Hmong neighbours, 81-year-old Wisconsin man Henry Kaminiski steps out of his home and fires a pistol at neighbor Mai Houa Moua as she worked in her garden.  Kaminski then fired twice more at Moua from inside his home, then fired at a deputy responding to the resulting 911 call.  During his arrest, Kaminiski made several racist remarks concerning the Hmong and his belief they were “taking over.”  Police also found child pornography on Kaminski’s computer.

March 12, 2017: a mosque in Ypsilanti, MI. is set on fire by arsonists. March 20, 2017: James Jackson arrives in Manhattan with a sword and stabs the first black man he sees to death.  He later tells authorities he “intended to kill as many black men as he could.”

March 22, 2017: a 38-year-old transgender woman is shot and killed in Baltimore, MD.

March 23, 2017: Two Liverpool sisters chase a Muslim man down the street, calling him a “fucking Paki” and demanding that he go back to his country, before knocking him to the ground, kicking him in the head, and biting him in the leg so hard that he was left with permanent scarring.   March 24, 2017: Yelling “I hate Muslims!” a man in Minneapolis stabbed a Somali man in an attempt to kill him.   March 26, 2017: A racist mob attacks a 15-year-old Polish boy in Gloucestershire and, when a local Asian shopkeeper tries to intervene, attack him as well with crowbars and baseball bats, then attempt to run him over with a car.

March 26, 2017: Seven or more members of the Jewish Defence League assault a 54-year-old Palestinian-American college professor.  The authorities lay hate crime charges against the assailants. March 31, 2017: A 17-year-old Iranian/Kurdish boy is nearly beaten to death by a mob of eight people in Croydon after he revealed to them that he was a refugee.

April, 1, 2017: Members of an extremist Hindu nationalist group physically assault people in Alwar, India who had purchased cows.  One of the victims - a 55-year-old Muslim farmer - died of his injuries two days later.

April 4, 2017: a 27-year-old man breaks into the home of 65-year-old Orthodox Jewish woman Sarah Halimi, beating her to death while calling her “Satan,” and then throwing her body out of a third-floor window.   April 6, 2017: A Charlotte store is set on fire by an arsonist who leaves a warning message for the shop owner that he “did not want any refugee business owners and that they would torture the owner if they did not leave and go back to where they came from,” according to police.  It was signed “White America.”

April 7, 2017: 24-year-old Scottish resident Connor Ward is arrested on terrorism charges after police accuse him of preparing a bombing campaign against mosques and Muslim centres in Scotland.  Police are forced to evacuate his neighbourhood when a search of his home uncovers explosives, bomb-making materials, a cache of illegal weapons, as well as neo-nazi flags and other materials.  A year later, Ward is convicted on all charges and sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for six years. April 11, 2017: A 55-year-old Palestinian-American college instructor is hospitalized after being brutally assaulted while attending a Washington, D.C. protest against Israeli apartheid by a group of five Jewish Defence League members.  32-year-old Canadian Jewish Defence League member  Yosef Steynovitz and 23-year-old Canadian “Proud Boy” Brandon David William Vaughan are charged with assault with significant bodily injury while armed, among other charges.  

April 21, 2017: a 28-year-old transgender woman is shot and killed in Miami, FL.

April 30, 2017: A  white man storms a pool party in San Diego and shoots four black women, two black men, and one Latino man while allowing white attendees to leave.  One victim dies while the other six sustain critical injuries.

May 5, 2017: A man walking his dog on South Beach in Miami is confronted by two men who call him a “fucking faggot,” then attack him, beating him unconscious.  At one point in the attack, one of the attackers shouts  “all faggots need to die and we’re going to make sure they do!” May 14, 2017: Vandals spray-paint hate graffiti on the home of a black family in upstate New York before attempting to set the house on fire while the family slept.  Although the family escaped unscathed, their garage burnt to the ground and their house suffered some damage. May 14, 2017: 24-year-old lesbian Lerato Moloi is found raped, beaten, and stoned to death, her body dumped in a field and burned beyond recognition.  Two men are arrested. May 17, 2017: A homophobic mob break into the home of a gay couple and shoot and stab both men to death.   May 17, 2017: a 34-year-old transgender woman is shot and killed in Fresno, CA. May 20, 2017: University of Maryland student and member of the “alt-Reich” facebook group Sean Urbanski walks up to 22-year-old Richard Collins III, who is black and who Urbanski does not know, and stabs him to death in an unprovoked attack.  Urbanski is later charged with a hate crime.

May 20, 2017: A man begins screaming homophobic slurs at a lesbian couple riding the subway before attacking them both, beating one woman unconscious.

May 24, 2017: A barrage of doxxing, rape threats, and death threats received by trans comic book artist Sophie Labelle forces her to cancel an appearance and event at a Halifax book store, which also received bomb threats and threats of attacking the event.  Labelle is forced into hiding.

May 25, 2017: A black woman riding the train home is subjected to extreme verbal harassment by Jeremy Christian, who admits to being a neo-nazi and tell her he will kill her.  As she leaves the train, Christian hits her with a bottle, cutting her eye open.  When police arrive, they refuse to arrest Christian.  The next day Christian would stab three people, killing two of them. May 26, 2017: Three men intervene on a MAX train in Portland when they witness another man verbally abusing two Muslim women with an Islamophobic tirade.  The Islamophobe responds by pulling out a knife and stabs the three interveners, killing two of them.  

May 26, 2017: Two Muslim butchers are beaten by members of an extremist HIndu nationalist group in Malegaon, India after being accused of trading in beef.

May 27, 2017: A white man drives his pickup truck through a campsite, targeting the Native Americans camping there while yelling racial slurs at them.  He intentionally drives over two Native American men, killing one and injuring the other.

May 27, 2017: A 34-year-old Anthony Hammond lets loose with a flurry of racial slurs directed at a black man in a parking lot, then pulls out a machete and stabs the man before barricading himself in his apartment for several hours, until finally surrendering to police.

May 28, 2017: Two teenagers attack a Jewish couple and their five daughters at a beach.  

June 3, 2017: 38-year-old white supremacist Phillip Wade racially abuses a 57-year-old black man on an Oakley, CA. bus, then pulls a knife and stabs the man to death while the man is walking away from the confrontation.  The victim is the third racialized person Wade has stabbed in the past six years and the second person he’s murdered.  

June 6, 2017: A 15-year-old black boy cutting through a park on his way to see his girlfriend is hit from behind and beaten unconscious by a group of men yelling “Nigger!” and “Go back to Africa!” at him as they punched and kicked him.

June 7, 2017: a 23-year-old white man in a Chicago Starbucks spits at a black man, telling him his children are “disposable vermin” and calling a second black man a slave, then punches a black passerby, knocking him unconscious.  He’s charged with a hate crime three months later.

June 10, 2017: A mob screaming transphobic insults attacks three trangender women, stabbing one and sending two to the hospital.

June 18, 2017: two men armed with baseball bats attack a group of Muslim teenagers, kidnapping a 17-year-old girl, who they beat to death, dumping her body in a pond.

June 1, 2017: A Princeton professor and racialized woman is forced to cancel a three-city lecture tour to promote her book about the Black Lives Matter movement after receiving over 50 death threats. June 19, 2017: Shouting “I’m going to kill all Muslims!” 47-year-old Darren Osborne drives a courier van through a crowd of Muslims leaving a Finsbury mosque, killing one person and injuring ten others.

June 21, 2017:  an Islamophobe approaches a Muslim man and woman sitting in a car stopped at a traffic light and knocks on the window.  When the driver rolls down the window, the Islamophobe sprays the driver and passenger with acid, severely burning both.  

June 22, 2017: Three Muslim teenaged brothers on a train out of Delhi, India are attacked by other passengers who accuse them of not being Indian nationalists, abuse them with Islamphobic slurs, and then assault them, stabbing 17-year-old Hafiz Junaid Khan to death and injuring both of his brothers. June 23, 2017: After assaulting his wife, a drunken Britain First supporter and neo-nazi Marek Zakrocki drives off in his work van after declaring he would “kill a Muslim” “for Britain.”  Shortly thereafter, he tries to run down restaurant owner  Kamal Ahmed outside of his establishment.  Failing to kill Mr. Ahmed, Zakorcki does drive his van into the restaurant, shattering its windows. June 24, 2017: 20-year-old neo-nazi Ethan Stables is arrested near the New Empire public house in Cumbria.  Having learned that the pub was hosting an LGBT event, Evans - who was known to refer to LGBT people as “degenerates” and to deny the Holocaust - had purchased a machete and researched bomb-making - told acquaintances he was planning to murder attendees and was arrested during his final reconnaissance of the pub.  Stables is convicted of terrorism early in 2018.

June 27, 2017: A huge mob attacks a dairy farmer and his family in Jharkhand, India after a dead cow was rumoured to be found outside of their house.  The mob tries to burn down the family’s home with them inside and beat the entire family so badly that they all require hospitalization.  The father of the family is in a coma for eight days and spends two months in the hospital recovering from head injuries and various broken bones.

June 29, 2017: A 40-year-old butcher is pulled out of his car by an angry mob in Jharkhand, India and beaten to death upon suspicion that he was transporting beef.

July 2017:  A 39-year-old passenger in a Lyft car begins insulting the driver’s race and religion before pulling the driver’s hair, punching him, and choking him. July 2, 2017:  a 28-year-old transgender woman is shot and killed in Lynchburg, VA.

July 9, 2017: Britain First leader Paul Golding viciously attacks someone he befriended and had attended a “self-defence” training with earlier in the day in what the sentencing judge described as “a really nasty and vicious assault.”

July 14, 2017: Lane Davis, a 33-year-old “alt-right” racist activist and former unpaid intern for Milo Yiannopoulos,  starts a fight with his own parents.  After accusing both of being “leftists,” Davis grabs a kitchen knife and stabs his father to death.  

July 16, 2017: A man attempts to pull the hijab off of a Muslim woman waiting for the tube in London, then hits her when she resists.  He then pins her friend to the wall and spits in her face before leaving.   July 16, 2017: Arsonists set a mosque in Manchester ablaze. July 18, 2017: A NASA researcher of South Asian descent has her car windshield shattered by a rock thrown through it by an assailant screaming “go back to your country!”  She’s injured in the attack. July 19, 2017: Two men exit a car and attack a racialized pedestrian with their fists and an iron bar.  

August 2017: a gay man has his jaw broken by a man shouting homophobic slurs and a group of people outside of a fast food outlet. August 2017: After enduring eight different racist attacks, including having the front window of their home smashed in and their car set on fire, a Pakistani family is forced to flee their Dublin home of the past ten years.

August 2, 2017: Two men chase down and beat up a 29-year-old transgender women while yelling transphobic insults at her.

August 2, 2017: Five white men attack a black couple at a KFC drive-through, using racial slurs as they assaulted them and pointing a gun at them. August 5, 2017: A mosque in Bloomington, Minnesota is firebombed, narrowly missing killing & injuring dozens of members there for morning prayers.  Police arrest three white Three Percent militia members who admit to the attack, stating that they wanted to “scare Muslims out of the country.”

August 6, 2017: someone lights the car of the president of a Québec City mosque on fire.  His mosque is the same one where  Alexandre Bissonnette had shot 17 worshippers in January. August 8, 2017: A well-known Chicago neo-nazi starts an altercation at a concert, then pulls out a smuggled knife and stabs a man and a woman at the show. August 12, 2017:  A white supremacist in Charlottesville, VA. drives his car at high speed directly into a crowd of anti-racist protestors, killing one woman and seriously injuring 19 other people.

August 12, 2017: A self-identifed member of the white supremacist “three percenter” movement is arrested by the FBI after unsuccessfuly trying  to blow up a bank in Oklahoma City with a car bombed modeled after the one used by Timothy McVeigh.

August 14, 2017: A man boards a train in New York when he notices another man glaring at him.  Feeling uncomfortable, he moves to another car only to be followed by the glaring man, who kicks him in the face while screaming “death to all faggots!” before exiting the train and getting away.

August 20, 2017: A racialized man standing outside his own home is attacked by a motorist who, without any provocation, jumped out of his car and ran at him, shouting racial slurs, before physically assaulting him.  The victim is seriously injured in the attack.

August 20, 2017: While waiting in line at a food truck, a 22-year-old man is subjected to homophobic abuse and demands that he “go back to your country!” before 24-year-old Gregory Brzoza beat him unconscious.  The victim loses several teeth and has a broken jaw. August 23, 2017: A 37-year-old man and a 47-year-old man start a fight with a black high school student on a city bus, yelling racial epithets at him as they beat him.

August 26, 2017: Four white men attack a black couple  at a recreation center in Rustenberg, South Africa, yelling racial slurs at them as they beat them.  One of the accused was evading charges for a racially-motivated attack against three petrol pump attendants in 2014 when he was arrested for this assault.

August 27, 2017: yelling “ this should clean away the AIDS!” a 56-year-old man throws boiling hot water over a 21-year-old gay man before hitting him about 16 times with a metal bar.

August 28, 2017: Several white teenagers begin shouting racial epithets at a 8-year-old black boy playing in an adjacent yard before wrapping a rope around his neck and hanging him.  The boy survives but has to be airlifted to medical care for the injuries he sustains.

September 2017: an extremist Islamphobe group claims responsibility for a series of hammer attacks by masked men on hijab-wearing women and racialized people in Burgundy, France that left three people injured.  

September 3, 2017: Ally Steinfeld, a transgender teenager, is beaten, stabbed repeatedly, tortured, and mutilated before being murdered by a gang of assailants.  Police arrest three people, with more arrests forthcoming. September 7, 2017: A swastika-adorned neo-nazi assaults a Filipino-Turkish man in a Fullerton, CA. parking lot while yelling racial slurs at him.

September 12 and 14, 2017: 23-year-old white supremacist Kenneth Gleason drove through Baton Rouge, shooting black men he passed in his vehicle before jumping out and shooting his victims again at close range.  Bruce Cofield and Donald Smart are murdered.   A speech made by Adolf Hitler is among items recovered by police from the racist murderer’s home. September 14, 2017: A 40-year-old man begins spitting and repeatedly punching a 37-year-old Orthodox Jewish woman on the subway in New York.  When her 57-year-old mother tries to intervene, the man punches her, pulls her hair, and spits on her as well, yelling “dirty Muslims” as he escapes from the train car. September 15, 2017: A black Cornell University student returns to his residence to find five members of a white fraternity shoving and harassing his roommates.  When he asks them to leave, they attack and beat him while shouting racial slurs.  Two months later, one of the attackers is charged with a hate crime. September 15, 2017: A 29-year-old white supremacist covered in racist tattoos repeatedly enters a hookah lounge in Lake Forest, CA., threatening to kill the Iranian staff and patrons.   September 18, 2017: two men jump out of a taxi to racially abuse a teenage boy walking with his friends.  One of the men pulls out a knife and threatens to stab the teenager.

September 20, 2017: A man is charged with a hate crime after attempting to murder a Muslim woman and 12-year-old girl by deliberately driving his car into them in two separate incidents on the same day.  The woman is severely injured, with broken limbs, extensive cuts and other injuries requiring skin grafts. September 24, 2017: A 58-year-old surgeon on his way to his mosque is confronted by two men who begin shouting Islamophobic insults at him and then stab him in the neck.  

September 27, 2017: Police arrest six members of neo-nazi terrorist group National Action for plotting to murder a Labour MP.

October 2017: a gay teenager and her two friends are harassed and then beaten by a mob of 20-30 high school aged boys. October 2017: Two teenaged sisters - both hijab-wearing Muslims are approached by 32-year-old Christopher Beckham as they get off of their school bus.  Beckham yells “Allah Akbar” and “go back to your country!” at them.  When their father comes to their aid, Beckham produces a knife and tries to stab him and punch him, all while yelling Islamophobic slurs at the family.

October 6, 2017: A stranger starts an argument with a Syrian refugee outside the refugee’s home, making disparaging remarks about Muslims and refugees and then attempting to break into the home when the refugee flees inside for safety.  A few hours later, a mysterious fire is started in the refugee’s family’s backyard.  The fire quickly engulfs the home, completely destroying it.  Although the Syrian refugee family are able to flee, they lose everything but the clothing they were wearing when they fled. October 8, 2017: A 66-year-old black man is held at gunpoint in his own garage while two white assailants shout racist epithets and beat him.  The two leave only to return minutes later to shoot up the victim’s home.

October 17, 2017: 64-year-old Gerard Medvec is arrested after telling police of his plans to firebomb the home of his neighbours, who he erroneously believes are Muslim.

October 18, 2017: Three neo-nazis pull up to a Gainesville bus stop after the aborted Richard Spencer appearance at a local campus and proceed to taunt people waiting for the bus with pro-Hitler and racist verbal abuse.  After someone throws something at the car, one of the neo-nazis gets out, points a handgun at the crowd, yells “I’m going to fucking kill you!” and fires at the crowd, happily missing.  All three are charged with attempted homicide; one is charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a weapon. October 18, 2017: A white couple in a pickup trucks begin shouting racial slurs at a black woman in another car as well as black pedestrians.  At one point, the man claims that he “we kill niggers!”  Moments later, he reverses the truck at high speed, ramming the black woman’s car and totaling it before speeding away.

October 21, 2017: Two men board a train in London where they verbally abuse a gay teenager before strangling him and punching and pushing his female friend to the ground. October 22, 2017: 26-year-old white supremacist and card-carrying National Socialist Movement member Taylor Michael Wilson attempts to derail an Amtrak train and is arrested on terrorism charges after the train crew tackles him and holds him until the police arrive.

October 22, 2017: A 60-year-old black man standing outside his neice’s home is attacked by two white men who yell racial slurs at him as they beat and stab him multiple times, puncturing his lung and lacerating his kidney.  

October 22, 2017: After a string of attacks by vandals, an interracial couple and their young son are forced to leave Belfast when their car is firebombed and completely destroyed in a racist attack.  

October 28, 2017: Hours after a “white lives matter” rally 50 miles away, 20 white supremacists enter a Tennessee restaurant and immediately begin arguing with an interracial couple eating dinner.  When the white woman in the couple argues back, one of the men in the white supremacist group punches her in the face, splitting open her forehead.  

October 29, 2017: A 26-year-old lesbian is confronting in a Jack-in-the-Box restaurant by a mob of at least five people, who begin taunting her and her girlfriend and homophobic slurs before assaulting her.  The attack leaves her with broken teeth and a permanent injury to her left eye.   November 1, 2017: 47-year-old Scott Ostrem, best known by his neighbors for his frequent racist tirades, shoots two Latino men and a Latina woman to death in an unprovoked mass shooting in a Colorado Wal-Mart.

November 1, 2017: an immigrant family’s restaurant is completely gutted in an arson attack a few weeks after the restaurant was hit by vandals.  The arsonist spray-painted the words “GO BACK” on the restaurant before burning it down. November 2, 2017: a 52-year-old man murders his 14-year-old son after a lengthy, loud, and heated argument about the son being gay.

November 6, 2017: A black woman driving out of a parking lot is accosted by a man on the street.  When she exits her vehicle to find out why he’s trying to get her attention, he calls her “a black bitch” and punches her repeatedly in the face, dropping her to the ground and breaking her nose.   November 6, 2017: Two adult women in a London KFC begin throwing food at a 15-year-old girl eating in the restaurant with her friends.  As she stood up to turn around and face her attackers, they throw a hot drink in her face, pull her to the ground by her hair, and begin kicking and punching her while yelling anti-Asian racial slurs at her.  The two women break the girl’s arm before fleeing.

November 7, 2017: A mob of youths kick down the door of a racialized family and later that night attack another racialized family’s home with a barrage of bricks.   November 11, 2017: A group of men confront a man walking home and ask him if he’s gay.  When he confirms that he is, they beat him to the ground.

November 12, 2017: A Liverpool-area home is firebombed at 4AM while the Syrian refugee family of two parents and three toddlers slept.  No one is injured, but the family is forced to find a new home because of the extensive damage. November 13, 2017: A white man on public transit in San Francisco repeatedly tells a fellow passenger that he hates him, calls him a “Chinese nigger,” and punches him several times.  

December 1, 2017: FBI arrest Bernandino Bolatete for possession of an unregistered silencer after several weeks of investigation during which Bolatete described in great detail his plans to commit a mass shooting at the Islamic Center of Northeast Florida.

December 2, 2017: A 41-year-old man enters a Jewish seniors’ residence where he hits an 84-year-old Jewish man with a fire extinguisher while yelling anti-semitic slurs, threatening to kill him before robbing him.  

December 3, 2017: after an altercation in a parking lot,  38-year-old Jeffrey Peters follows an African American driver home.  Once at the man’s home, Peters pulls out a loaded handgun, yells  racial epithets, and threatens to shoot him.

December 3, 2017: A gay man standing outside a London nightclub is attacked by two men yelling homophobic slurs, injuring him so severely that he requires reconstructive surgery afterwards. December 3, 2017: A gay married couple & their friend are drinking in a Provincetown, MA. bar when 49-year-old Scott Rego walks up to the group, smashing one of them in the head with a beer bottle, then kicking him on the floor and assaulting the two other men while yelling homophobic slurs at them.  A civil complaint is filed against Rego four months later for attacking the victims because of their sexual orientation.

December 4, 2017: An 18-year-old Muslim woman on a train is approached by a man that tells her he is going to kill her and all Muslims before he begins slapping her and trying to force her head to his crotch.  At the time, the man was awaiting trial after assaulting a 10-year-old Filipina girl on a train seven months previously.

December 6, 2017: A 50-year-old Muslim man Rajasthan, India is lured to a remote location by 37-year-old Islamophobe Shambulal Regar.  While Regar’s 14-year-old Regar nephew filmed, Regar severely beat his victim, then poured kerosene on him and burnt him to death.  Regar had previously posted videos condemning romantic relationships between Muslim men and Hindu women.   December 7, 2017: A Colombian immigrant is hospitalized after stepping between his 13-year-old son and a baseball-bat wielding attacker.  The victim, his son, his wife, and a family friend were walking across a parking lot while shopping when a man jumped out of a white BMW with the baseball bat, screaming about how the frightened family were “ISIS” and “terrorists” before swinging at the 13-year-old boy and repeatedly striking the father with it instead. December 7, 2017: A 48-year-old Muslim man is hacked and burned to death in a murder recorded by the perpetrator and posted on YouTube as a warning to Muslim men against marrying HIndu women.

December 9, 2017: After retired veteran Kevyn Fowler moves to a predominantly white Jacksonville, AR suburb, his dog is poisoned and his truck and trailer are stolen.  Then on December 9th, someone sets Fowler’s garage on fire after spray-painting “MOVE NIGGER.”  Fowler is African-American.

December 12, 2017: 21-year-old white supremacist William “Bill” Edward Atchison walks into a high school in New Mexico and shoots two Latino students, killing them, before turning the gun on himself.  It’s later revealed that Atchison was heavily-involved in the “alt-right” and was known to police.  

December 16, 2017: On his way to practice, Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling is subjected to racist insults by an unidentified man who goes on to kick Sterling.   December 17, 2018: A 52-year-old neo-nazi who had previously been convicted of murdering a man who had called Adolf Hitler a criminal detonates a nail bomb on the platform of an S-bahn train station in Hamburg, Germany, injuring one commuter.

December 22, 2017: After convincing their daughter to break up with her 17-year-old neo-nazi boyfriend, Scott Fricker and Buckley Kuhn-Fricker are shot to death in their home by the neo-nazi.   December 22, 2017: A 45-year-old man leaving a gay club in Ohio is immediately assaulted by an assailant who fractures his skull, breaks his nose, and leaves him with a black eye and concussion after screaming homophobic slurs at him and stealing his phone. December 25, 2018: A 31-year-old trans woman is attacked from behind by a 40-year-old man in a Brooklyn homeless shelter, who hits her with a chair while yelling transphobic slurs at her.   December 27, 2017: A 51-year-old Muslim woman in a Brooklyn Panera Bread is accosted by a mob of teenagers, who call her a terrorist, spit on her, and then begin punching her. December 31, 2017: Responding to a noise complaint, police in Colorado encounter a man who, after barricading himself into his apartment, engages them in a firefight, killing one sheriff’s deputy and wounding four others.  37-year-old Matthew Riehl was a self-described “libertarian” who frequently shared Islamophobic and alt-right posts on social media.   2017 = twenty-one shootings, fifteen arsons, sixteen stabbings, seventeen mob beatings, over 41 bomb threats, one bombing, three thwarted/failed bombings, one thwarted train derailment, a foiled political assassination, an acid attack, a hanging, and several other miscellaneous assaults by bigots, Islamophobes, nazis and racists which took the lives of forty-nine people and seriously injured eighty-four others in the countries we looked at (Canada, France, Honduras, India, Ireland, Malta, South Africa, Sweden, the UK, and the US).  And those are just the ones that we found media reports for.   Here’s hoping in 2018 we’re all more effective at undermining bigoted extremism and the horrific violence that comes with it.

#antifa international #fascism #terrorist #terrorism #homophobia #transphobia #violence #antifa #antifascist #antifascism #antiracist #antiracism #extreme right

[sachertortes]

@holdmecloseandfast​ here you go! (I couldn’t add more vids to the last post so I had to make a new one lol)

Okay, the thing with Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir is that they’ve been partners since they were 7 and 9 respectively. So they’ve grown up together, trained together etc. for over 20 years. 

Scott says that he considers his first kiss to be Tessa, when he was 10 and they were at the Ilderton Carnival. Aww.

(Everything under a cut to spare your dash)

When they both young, they were living in CA and training in Michigan.

When they trained in Canton, Michigan they had to cross the border from Canada. Scott: “When we crossed the border, they would ask for a note from Tessa’s parents because they thought I was stealing her to Vegas to elope.”

They rose through the ranks of Juniors and started Seniors. They were actually devastated when they didn’t make the cut for the 2005 Olympics.

For the 2008-2009 competitive season, they withdrew because Tessa developed compartment syndrome on her shin. When she went for surgery, it was a very very delicate time for them. Scott was basically training alone (he says he was skating with a sandbag to stand in for a partner). And during this time, some people had no faith that Tessa would ever be back in shape to compete. A lot of very shrewd, very rich parents and coaches were presenting Scott with their daughters to skate with. He refused, of course! But before we get all swoony, by his own admission Scott was not handling Tessa’s injury/surgery very well. He says he did not call or visit her in the hospital once (?!?!?!?!) An awkward teenage boy thing or a Scott thing IDK. 

But despite what must have been a great deal of awkwardness, they pushed on to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics where they won gold. During this time, Scott was dating figure skater Jessica Dube but doing [this sort of thing] with his skating partner pre-skate. It’s to ~~synchronize their heartbeats~~.

Post Vancouver - Pre Sochi aka The Struggle Years. Things are tense at their training cam. They’re training with their main competitors and their coach begins giving most of her attention to their competitors as well. Tessa is dating her coach’s son, Fedor.

When they were really struggling, Tessa tells this cute as hell story about a Bucket of Rice. Basically, one of the things they use in training is the thought that every good thing that they do they add a grain rice to the bucket. And some days are bad, and you don’t add rice to the bucket but you’re also not taking any out. At one point Scott left this outside her hotel room before a competition, to say “Look at all this rice we already have in our bucket.”

In 2013, someone (in PR, probably 😒) convinced them to do a reality show. It was...bad. Awkward as hell. It painted Tessa as this sad, lovelorn girl pining after Scott who was already attached to a girl named Cassandra. (The fact that Cassandra looked like Tessa-lite did not go unnoticed by fandom 👀👀👀). At one point Fedor comes in as a footwork coach and Scott so obviously despises the dude. The show was cringey. Mention it to an old VM fan and watch their eye twitch lol. At least it showed people how awful the atmosphere was at Canton. If you do want to watch it, it’s on Amazon streaming.

This was also the year they did a bridal photoshoot for some reason?? The pics are cute tho: [here] and [here].

Around this time, it’s generally thought that even they were both with other people they were messing around with each other. Things were still bad at their training camp, they both felt that their coach wasn’t completely on their side and Tessa’s leg began acting up again. If you search youtube for their Carmen program and “4CC” it’s actually really heartbreaking because they had to stop in the middle of their FD :(

They kept coming in second to their training mates, Americans Meryl Davis and Charlite White. Scott said that he knew that the writing was on the wall when they came in second during Worlds, after performing clean and even in their own hometown.

They had a difficult time at Sochi, making a bunch of wobbles and mistakes in the Team Event. Before their Individual Event FD, Scott says to Tessa, “No matter what, we’re together, and no matter what, I love you, and no matter what, we’re gonna enjoy this.”

After earning Silver at Sochi, they performed the following angsty as hell Exhibition.

For the rest of 2014 and 2015, they went on tours and shows together. Scott was seeing Olympic Curler Kaitlyn Lawes and Tessa was seeing skier/dudebro Ryan Semple. Ryan doesn’t really last tho.

Then, as Tessa tells it, “We went on a Gold Medal Plates trip to Scotland, northern Scotland, this year and we were with Spirit of the West and Johnny Reid was there performing. And Johnny Reid’s backup vocalist, Miku Graham, and pianist, Michael Shand, they performed a song in a pub. And it was this very stripped-down, beautiful version of ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’, Tina Turner. And it was funny because we just sort of caught eyes, while she was singing, and we just knew we needed to skate to this song.” Yes, they locked eyes across the room where Scott’s girlfriend was also present because that’s what buddies do I guess.

A short time later, Scott becomes single 🤔 and they both decide to come back for the Pyeongchang Olympics.  🤔🤔 

The thing that I love most about their comeback in 2016 leading up to the Olympics is that they were working with B2Ten (an organization that provides support for elite amateur athletes) and new coaches and they seemed stronger both physically and mentally this time.

This promo video for their comeback is 🔥🔥🔥. The good stuff starts at 1:00.

The Olympics happened (I could write a whole separate post on why it seemed like everything was against them this time around too and why their Gold was so wonderful and meaningful) & everyone fell in love with them but they denied, denied, denied when it came to questions about their relationship. Fandom rumor seems to veer towards them actually getting together at the beginning of summer 2018, then something happened and they broke up. Don’t ask me what the receipts are for that one, I genuinely don’t know how people came to that conclusion? Some think that since she was doing a Vogue photoshoot while they were in Japan and he came to the shoot that was evidence that they were finally making a real go at it? IDK IDK. 

Then they went on tour together and signs pointed to the fact that they had a whole tour bus to themselves?

In any case, last December shipper dreams were dashed, crushed, demolished! once Scott showed up to Canada’s Walk of Fame event with his new girlfriend, Jackie. Jackie was Scott’s partner for about a year before he was partnered up with Tessa. There was much weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

Anyways, after allllll of that I bring us to the present day where Scott is dating his skating partner (yay!) but not that one (...oh.) and Tessa is single and ready to mingle. 

They have another tour coming up this year so...we’ll see where this goes I guess!

EDIT: OMG HOW COULD I FORGET ABOUT THE BABY BLOG

So in 2010(?) someone made a conspiracy blog that claims that Virtue/Moir are together and they are actually parents of a bunch of toddlers and that they are bad people b/c they leave their babies to go on tour all the time??

If you wanna read the crazy you can do so [here].

#ummm i hope this is kind of coherent #Scott is usually the one saying all of these sweet things b/c Tessa is famously tightlipped/PR trained to hell lol #i'm probably missing a bunch of stuff #you get so turned around b/c a lot of their old stuff isn't up on YT anymore :(

[the-adaa]

“People Are Rewarded by Close Looking” – Kathan Brown of Crown Point Press on the Enduring Excitement of Printmaking

By Sarah Evers • May, 2019

Photo by Laurie Fraenkel.

Crown Point Press is not your typical gallery; not often do you find an entire printing operation in the same venue as a dynamic exhibition space. Kathan Brown, a pioneer of printmaking in the San Francisco Bay Area, started Crown Point Press in 1962 in a storefront in Richmond, California. Moving to Berkeley and then Oakland in the early years, and settling in San Francisco in 1986, Crown Point began by printing and publishing Bay Area artists including Richard Diebenkorn, Beth Van Hoesen, Wayne Thiebaud, and Robert Bechtle. From 1971 through 1976, Brown and her printers also produced artist projects for New York publisher Parasol Press, which sent Sol LeWitt, Brice Marden, Dorothea Rockburne, and other East Coast artists to work at Crown Point.

What began as a studio focusing on the production of etchings has now expanded to the Crown Point Press of today: a renowned etching studio that is also an authority on printmaking and an important presence in San Francisco’s expanding gallery scene. Crown Point's location around the corner from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is one reason why visitors to the gallery come from around the world, but the reputations of its artists and the importance of the books it publishes are a stronger factor. A passion for teaching others about the etching process is an essential component of Crown Point's operations and makes the press stand out from a traditional gallery model.

The underlying message behind all Crown Point's operations is the importance of printmaking, especially etching, along with a passion for keeping the art form alive. Its how-to books on hand-printing processes enable artists anywhere to have successful access. Videos of artists working at the press are available online, so anyone can witness the intricacies of the work. Crown Point Press also hosts summer workshops in which people across a spectrum of experiences can try their hands at etching.

We spoke to Brown about opening her own business, her relationships with local artists, the expansion of the workshop into a gallery, and more.

When did you first become interested in visual art?

I come from an art family. My mother went to the Art Institute of Chicago, and was a practicing artist all her life. She never stopped doing watercolors and drawings, even though it was not easy during the Depression when she was working full-time. My father was a professional photographer and we had a darkroom in our house. I made drawings and paintings with my mother and helped my father develop photographs in our basement. Art was all around me when I was young.

How did you originally become interested in etching?

I studied at Antioch College, which was not known as an art school but had a very good liberal education and was experimental back in the days when most colleges weren’t. When I told my art professor I was going to take a year off to study in London, he offered to get me into the Central School of Art. I said, “I’m not an art major,” and he said, “You should be.” He was persuasive. After a year abroad, I came back to graduate from Antioch with a major in art, and after graduation I returned to London for a second year at Central.

At the end of my second year in London I visited Edinburgh and discovered a dismantled etching press in the backyard of the rooming house where I was staying. The landlady said that students had brought it there to save it from being melted down for scrap during the war. “If you want it, you can take it,” she said. I had a plane ticket to return home, and I turned it in, got a ticket on a freighter, and took the press with me. That press is here at Crown Point now, though we have others we use more.

The press from Scotland in the Crown Point studio.

How did Crown Point Press begin?

In 1959, soon after I finished my schooling, I married Jeryl Parker, an artist whom I had met in London. We installed my press in the studio of an artist-friend, John Ihle, and lived in an apartment across the street. Our son Kevin was born in 1961. In 1962 Jeryl and I rented a storefront space in Richmond, an industrial town next to Berkeley, and lived in a little apartment in the back. We set up an etching workshop in the storefront; that year I got a business license for Crown Point Press. Jeryl was teaching at the College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, and I ran the shop. I didn't publish at the time; a few local artists paid an hourly fee to work in the studio and have technical advice from me. I was also working as a typist for a company that supplied temporary services to banks and insurance companies.

In 1964, Jeryl and I separated and my grandmother helped me buy a house in Berkeley; it had a big basement for the press, and I could look after Kevin while I worked. I was able to hold classes in my basement studio for the University of California at Berkeley's extension program, and I invited artists to do projects that I printed and Crown Point Press published.  I also worked on my own art in the studio, and in 1964 published a bound book of my etchings accompanied by poetry by Judson Jerome, whom I had met in my college years.

Kathan in the Berkeley studio with her son, Kevin, 1965.

A friend suggested that Richard Diebenkorn might be interested in trying out the etching process. She said he liked using different kinds of mark making, and recommended me to him. He took plates to his studio, and when a painting would get “stuck,” as he said, he would copy the image onto a plate. It would be simplified and print backwards, and this was useful to him. He thought of etching as “a way of drawing.” Diebenkorn was the first artist (besides myself) that Crown Point published. Wayne Thiebaud, who at the time was showing in the San Francisco gallery that showed my own work, was the second.

Richard Diebenkorn, #19, from 41 Etchings Drypoints, 1963, drypoint. Courtesy Crown Point Press, San Francisco.

How did your business grow over the years, from the single press in your home to the current size of Crown Point Press?

In the ‘60s and ‘70s, in addition to holding workshops and publishing and printing artists from California (Diebenkorn, Thiebaud, and Van Hoesen at first, then Bechtle, Tom Marioni, William T. Wiley, Robert Hudson, Chris Burden, Terry Fox), from Europe (Daniel Buren), and New York (John Cage, Joan Jonas, Pat Steir, Robert Barry, Hans Haacke). I also did quite a lot of printing for Parasol Press. Parasol sent New York artists to me: Sol LeWitt, Brice Marden, Robert Ryman, Mel Bochner, Dorothea Rockburne, Sylvia Plimack Mangold, and Robert Mangold. The owner of Parasol Press, Bob Feldman, was very supportive and showed me that it was possible to operate this kind of business.

Wayne Thiebaud, Banana Splits, from Delights, 1964. Courtesy Crown Point Press, San Francisco.

What is the structure of the summer workshops at Crown Point?

We usually have ten people in one workshop with three printers. I start out with an introduction, basically outlining the concepts behind the process. Some of the people who attend have experience in the field, but some have never done etching before. Some are laymen in the art world; others are professional artists. Some teach printmaking. In the workshop everyone has a working space and people begin by getting a plate and starting to work. When they run into something they can’t figure out, they go to a printer, and the printer says “You need to use more of this, less of that,” or maybe they demonstrate: “Copy my gesture for wiping the plate.” That’s the way the workshops are run; they are very individual.

I generally poke around in the workshop, talk to people. I don’t actually do any work in the studio anymore, although I did everything there for a long time, and I understand what goes on there. All our Crown Point printers are really good, and they’ve got it figured out; they know exactly how to handle it all.

The workshops are only in summer, but all year long we have tours, lots of school tours and groups from out-of-town museums, so people can get a sense of what’s going on here. We also sell books about printmaking and art in general. We publish some of the books ourselves, usually when we think they wouldn’t exist otherwise.

The studio during a summer etching workshop, 2018. Courtesy Crown Point Press, San Francisco.

Have there been any developments in printmaking technology that you’ve used in your workshops?

We pretty much do it the same way Rembrandt and Goya did, except with more color. Not much has changed from back when they did it; I think that’s one of the interesting parts. A lot of the process involves using materials and techniques an artist may not use regularly, such as drawing on copper plates using tar, wax, salt, and sugar syrup. It’s all hand done and the materials are so tactile and beautiful.

Tom Marioni creating the etching, The Sun’s Reception, Sausalito, CA, 1974. Courtesy Crown Point Press, San Francisco.

How have you balanced the workshops with the operation of the gallery business?

In 1988, I moved Crown Point Press from Oakland to San Francisco, and Valerie Wade joined us. Her title now is Director/Partner. She handles the gallery side of the business, attending art fairs and developing our network as well as planning and hanging our shows. She and I also discuss which artists to invite to create prints here.

How do you choose the artists you invite?

That is the single most-asked question I get at Crown Point, and I am still unsure how to answer it. Valerie and I are glad to have recommendations from artists who have already worked here, and she is in touch with the art world in general through her attendance at art fairs and her day-to-day networking. In our publishing program, we can only accommodate three, maybe four, artist projects in a year because the printing process is so time-consuming; if we are to stay in business, our published artists must already have developed markets. But, don't forget, we also have summer workshops that anyone can join.

Which artists have worked with you recently, and who are you excited about now?

We’re always excited about the artists who work here, and we always have a great time with them. Charline von Heyl has been here fairly recently, and I like her, and her work, a lot. We had a wonderful show of new (and older) work by Darren Almond, who came from England, last fall. Mary Heilmann is very good. We showed her new color etchings last year. And we have a new project scheduled with Laura Owens, who is from Los Angeles and has worked with us before. Also, I'm hoping we might have a new project this year with Wayne Thiebaud, who was one of the first artists I worked with back in the 1960s; we have published his prints regularly over the years.

Charline von Heyl in the Crown Point studio, 2014. Courtesy Crown Point Press, San Francisco.

Can you tell us about the current show in the gallery?

The 2019 springtime exhibition at Crown Point Press focuses on a set of four recent etchings by Los Angeles artist Mary Weatherford. She is known for attaching lighted neon tubes to the surfaces of her paintings; the prints, without neon, have a strong interior light. “Gesture,” the accompanying group exhibition, reaches back into Crown Point's history to Brice Marden’s “Five Plates” of 1973, and includes later work by Pat Steir, Mary Heilmann, Amy Sillman, Charline von Heyl, Jacqueline Humphries, and John Zurier. In June and July we're featuring a bound book of etchings about California by Fred Martin titled “Beulah Land.” Crown Point published it in 1968; this show is part of a citywide celebration of The Dilexi Gallery, which was an important influence in San Francisco's art history.

Installation view of “Mary Weatherford,” 2019. Courtesy Crown Point Press, San Francisco.

Do you have any advice for collectors who want to learn more about print as a medium?

I think people are rewarded by close looking. These prints have dimension; it might seem, at first, like they’re printed on a flat sheet of paper, but they are actually embossed into it. This is the only print process that does that; in lithography, woodcut, silkscreen, the ink sits on top.

Etchings have a special energy when you look at them closely. I think that when people are able to see this, a light comes on inside and they think, “oh, this is really something different.” And then the door is open to a real appreciation of the process. We aren't just making a drawing on a plate, putting some ink on it, and printing it. It’s much more complex, and although the artist has technical help from our printers, everything is in the artist's control completely.

If you can visit us in San Francisco, you will be welcome; we give tours that include the studio. (If an artist is working in there, we have a secondary studio you can see.) Some of the people who take our summer workshops are collectors. Some are artists, but we also get people who come in and say, “I’m not an artist, or a collector, but I want to find out how it’s done.” This curiosity is always rewarded. No matter how the drawing starts out, when it’s printed, it looks purposeful, because the printing, in itself, provides a kind of presence.

Installation view of “Green by Richard Diebenkorn: The Story of a Print,” 2017. Courtesy Crown Point Press, San Francisco.

Do you have some advice for somebody thinking of opening a gallery right now?

It’s important to establish a close connection to the artists in your network. We learn about interesting artists through word of mouth from the artists we already work with. You also should be ready to pounce on something new as soon as you can. My partnership with Valerie Wade has been essential, as she’s really out in the world and can get a sense of what's going on and which artists might be ready for a project with us.

Looking back, I’m astonished by some of the things Crown Point Press has done. We've printed and published a lot of great art, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D. C. and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco both have archives of our work. We are lucky to have had a lot of goodwill over the years. Some of the workshop people and printers who have worked here have opened their own workshops. The artists who work with us generally become engaged with what we are doing and often return for another project. We publish books on the etching processes so everyone can learn, and we hope more artists and more printers will become interested in using this medium. The technology is very old, and I think people appreciate the fact that we’re helping to keep it alive.

#Gallery Chat #ADAA Galleries #Crown Point Press