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cosmic-crybaby · 6 months

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Break My Heart Again- Tommy Shelby x Reader

Part 1

Summary: After being childhood friends, you and Thomas made a promise one day to get married, but when he returned from France, he came back a completely different man.

Warnings: Angst, fluff, tommy before the war (Lowkey OOC)

She's known Tommy almost all her life. They met one day at the cut when he was ten, trading cigarettes with the other kids, and she was eight, tagging along with her older cousin. It was merely a passing glance, maybe an introduction of names, but she hadn't seen him until years later. At the ripe age of twelve and fourteen, when he defended her when the older boys pulled at her hair and pushed her around. She was forever grateful to him after witnessing him take in three in a fight, punching the daylights out of one, shoving another's head into the mud, and threatening the third. 'If you ever come near her again, I'll fuckin' take your eyes!'. That was enough to scare them off. The two were almost inseparable ever since. Years of growing up together the two would often get into mischief together and cause trouble in the smoky streets of Small Heath. As [name] got a little older, the more she started to fall for the future gangster, and the more time passed, the more she started to change.

And of course, Thomas began to notice.

By the time they were seventeen and fifteen, the two delinquent teenagers seemed to be more than friends. The way Thomas would hold her hand as they run up the grassy hills, the way [name] would stare into his eyes as they lay on the grass under the shaded tree.

"I don't know what I would do without you, Tommy Shelby..." She spoke softly, her voice was like heaven to him. "I can't picture myself beside anyone else," She admitted. Thomas just stared into her eyes, his soft hands rising to brush his knuckles against her cheek, tucking away the pieces of hair that came undone from her clip.

"You don't have to...because I'm going to make a promise to you [name]," He suddenly sat up, causing her to sit up as well and gaze at him in confusion.

"What kind of promise?" She asked, curiously. He opens his mouth to speak then quickly closes it before thinking for a moment. Collecting his words carefully. Clearing his throat so his voice wouldn't crack, because he knew he wouldn't hear the end of it from her if that happened.

"That one day, when I have me own money and me own house, we will get married," He finished confidently. She sat there, her lips slightly agape.

"Stop joking around!" She laughed, swatting at his arm, causing him to laugh as well and to catch her hand before she should hit him again. This time both of his hands enveloped hers as he stared at her with a content smile.

"I'm being serious, trust me when I say I want to marry you one day [Name] [Lastname]!" He said, laughter hidden within his words. She thought for a moment then nodded once, reaching for his hand. She kissed the back of his hand, her soft lips were warm upon his skin.

"Okay, promise," She smiled lovingly as he returned the kiss on her hand before bringing her close to kiss her forehead.

"Promise,"

In the years that followed that day, she was by his side, even when he was starting to work at the betting shop with his family. At first, she was just there for moral support, but right when she finished high school Polly saw her potential and how educated she was, and on the spot, she was hired. Checking the maths and records in each book, making sure everything was in its place.

It was a dream being with Tommy at nearly every waking hour. Of course nothing would go beyond holding hands, gently touches, and friendly affection . But even when those were at a minimum, she was falling in love with him.

Her love for him only grew since they first met. It was unconditional love and ever since he made that promise to her, she only fell harder. It almost felt like she was already married to him. With the way he kissed her forehead or cheek, the way he was so kind to her and checked in on her work whenever he needed an escape, and how he would tell her he loved her. Every night after work when he walked her home. He would kiss her knuckles, her cheek, and her lips before saying.

"Goodnight [name], I'll pick you up in the morning, I love you,"

It wasn’t until she began to notice his slow distance from her. At first, she thought nothing of it as he wouldn’t give her as much affection as he normally did. Her hands grew cold as they were empty from his. His touch was slowly detaching from her own. The emotional distance was noticed quickly, but the physical distance made her heart cold. He went from seeing her every day to nearly every other day, now...she was lucky to even catch him at the betting shop. As much as she wanted to convince herself that it was nothing, she couldn’t help the emptiness she suddenly felt. She had wondered what he was so busy with and deep down she had hoped he hadn’t gotten in any more trouble than he already was getting himself into.

The weeks and months went by, her resentment for Tommy only grew. On the days he went to the shop, she tried to make her presence known, nothing but a simple "Hi [name],"would be his response. Sometimes not even making eye contact with her.

One day, in 1914, he approached her in her office. She was too busy organizing files and writing down and calculating the records to make sure they were accurate. She didn't even notice his presence at first. He stood in the doorway, hands in his pockets as he stared at her, waiting for her to pay him any mind.

“I’m busy,” She simply mumbled, seeing him in the peripheral vision of her eyes. He scoffs before stepping in further and closing the door behind him.

“So that’s how you treat me now, eh?” He asked, sitting across from her in a chair. He was met with silence as she kept her eyes glued to the page. “[Name]” He called.

Again, silence.

Tommy suddenly slammed the book shut and grabbed the pen that was in her hand.

“Hey! I'm trying to work, you just made me lose my spot!” She shouts, quickly standing up as the chair behind her scrapped against the wood floor loudly.

Tommy just smirks. She stomp towards him to retrieve the pen back, but the older boy just held it above her head as he extended his arm up, barely just out of her reach.

“Thomas, this isn’t funny!” She pleads. He just laughs.

“There you are, finally acknowledging me,”

She sighed in defeat and set herself back on her feet, holding his gaze with a glare.

“What do you want now? Go on with it, Polly needs these by the end of the day and she’ll have my neck if I don’t have em ready,” She crossed her arms over her chest. Tommy let his arm down, setting the pen on the desk.

“What makes you think I want something?” He asked. Her eyes widened slightly.

“I don’t see you for months and you barely even talk to me let alone look at me whenever you’re here, so this sudden change in behavior is quite a shocking one,” She explained, her tone still stern. She was met with his eyes, a guilty look on his face.

“I know...I know and I do apologize-”

“You were supposed to be my closest friend, Thomas...” She interrupted him. Her voice was calm, almost meek.

“I am your closest friend, never forget that [name],” He held her slumping shoulders. She takes an exhale through her nose.

“Listen to me...I’m sorry, I had some prior engagements that needed my attention,” He said quietly as he tried to get her to look into his eyes.

“I know but I just wished you had just talked to me...I felt so alone,”

Thomas held his breath and clenched his jaw. He couldn’t tell her now...Not yet at least.

“When you’re with me, you’ll never really be alone,” He told her, holding her close. She knew there was some truth to his words but pushed herself away from him.

“I have to get back to work,” She said. He rolls his eyes at her sudden coldness.

“I’m not leaving until I get a smile out of you...and maybe an ‘I love you’,” He smirked, still holding her, his hands on her shoulder blades. She scoffs, giving him a small, ingenuine smile.

“Happy?” She asked. He shook his head. His hands slowly crept to her sides, going unnoticed by her.

“Tommy...” He gave her that look. That look of mischief. “Don’t you dare-” But her warning came too late. His fingers began digging into her sides, it didn’t take long before she began giggling profusely.

“Tommy stop! I can’t- I can’t breath!” She squealed in between fits of laughter as she tried to push his hands away. He was too strong.

“Tell me you love me [name]!” He laughed.

“N-No! Never!” She laughed, the tears in her eyes started to seep down her cheeks.

“Say it [name] and I’ll stop!,”

“Fine! I love you Thomas Shelby!” She gave in. The tickling had stopped, yet she barely caught her breath when Tommy pulled her close and picked her up from the ground and kissed her cheeks.

“I love you too, [name] [lastname],” He said quietly. Looking into his eyes made her even forget why she was upset with him. He looked at her with perfect love in his eyes and a small smile on his lips as he quickly kissed her hand before leaving her to continue your work.

A week later, Tommy had told her the secret he had been keeping from her. Finally letting it out.

“No...Tell me it’s a lie...” She was in denial. Shaking her head as the tears welled up her eyes.

“[Name]-”

“No...”

“[Name] please...listen to me,” He approached.

“Please don’t do this you don’t have to do this!” She cried.

“We have to go, [name]...it’s the only choice,” He calmly stated.

“To put your lives on the line? To leave your family behind to leave me behind?”

The silence was daunting. She sniffled and turned away from him.

“I understand the sacrifice you’re making, but I can’t bare the thought of my life without you...Arthur, John, you...You three have been in me life every day since I was a child, if you were to never come back I don’t know what I would do without you,” She shook her head as she choked up once again.

“Don’t think of it that way, love...We will come back once it’s over...and when it’s over I will come back to you,”

“Tommy...” She felt his hands on her shoulders as he stood behind her.

“You will be the one I am living for...who I am looking forward to come home to...” He steps in front of her, grabbing her cheeks in the palm of his hands as they locks eyes.

“I don’t want to lose you,” She whispered. He pressed his forehead to hers. Closing her eyes tightly to stop the tears.

“You won’t...I promise,”

She has always known for Tommy to keep his promises. But deep own she wasn't sure if this was within his control. And it scared her. Shattered her heart and soul to know he was leaving in just a few weeks. Every day after that he spent every moment with her as if it were his last, even though it felt like it to her.

The day the three Shelby brothers left, Polly, Ada, and Martha were in shambles. [Name] tried to stay strong but the second she approached the train station she began to tear up.

She had said your goodbyes to John and Arthur first as she held off her departure from Tommy. She stood in front of him, he seemed to put on a brave face for his family and for her but she could read right through him. He was just as scared as she was. She embraced him tightly.

“I will write to you every day...and pray for you three while you’re gone,” [name] told him. He nods quietly, he reaches into his pocket to pull out a small, simple, ring to held it to her.

“Remember that promise we made when we were kids?” He asked.

“That we’d get married one day?” She nods.

“I am giving this to you, so that when I do return we will get married...That way I will come home with a purpose...to marry you,” He said. She gasped a bit as he slipped the golden band on her ring finger.

“Just promise me you’ll never take it off, for as long as I live and love you,”

“I promise,” She smiled at him. He gave [name] a quick kiss. The train whistle blows.

“Come home to us soon...please,” She begs. He nods again before Arthur and John pulled him away to board the train.

Watching the men wave off their families as the train took off was heartbreaking. The four women of Small Heath held onto each other, comforting each other when they watched the three men in their lives leave on a train. [Name] rested her head on Polly’s shoulder as she rubbed the young girls back, quietly sobbing beside her.

[Name] went home that day, sitting alone as she twirled the ring on her finger, counting the days until his first letter came.

#Spotify #peaky blinder fanfic #tommy shelby #thomas shelby #tommy shelby x reader #x reader #peaky blinders #peaky fucking blinders #tommyshelbyxreader #light angst #friends to lovers

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beneaththetangles · 3 years

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Reader’s Corner: Springtime Window, Boys Run the Riot, and A Sign of Affection

A Sign of Affection, Vol. 2

Volume one of A Sign of Affection was a manga I had on pre-order a full year before it released, and I instantly hit the preorder button whenever a new volume becomes available. No surprise then that I stopped everything to read volume two when it arrived, and it did not disappoint. It’s every bit as good volume one, and perhaps better. My heart was so giddy and happy when I finished because Yuki is such a brave and courageous woman and was really moved at how she is able to share her feelings so openly. And Itsuomi! He treats her so well, and so respectfully! I am very much appreciating this very sweet, slow burn romance, though I am eager to witness it fully unfold, especially after seeing both these characters open up to one another. Volume two shows more of Yuki’s hope concerning her friendship with Itsuomi, as well as more about Itsuomi’s dream, along with the lingering concern, first voiced by another character, about whether Yuki can fit into it. And just as Yuki feels her time spent with Itusomi is so short, I can’t help but feel the same way. I’m desperate for the third volume because the ending was such a cliffhanger! But not only that—I just love the sweetness of this story and this beautiful romance. I highly recommend this josei series! ~ Laura A. Grace

A Sign of Affection is published by Kodansha Comics.

Stitch and Samurai, Volume 1

Stitch & Samurai asks a very important question: Can the premise of Lilo & Stitch titulor alien crash landing in feudal Japan and being found by an aggressive warlord carry an entire manga series? Turns out, the answer is yes, yes it can. This first volume opens with Lord Yamato preparing to burn an entire village down as a way of spreading his authority. Then he sees something crash into the ground. It’s a rocket, holding Stitch. The “blue racoon,” as Stitch is called, causes Yamato to totally lose focus on the war efforts and instead shift them toward trying to befriend Stitch. It’s ridiculous in the best possible way. Also, the artist approached this work by doing a combination of a more traditional and realistic manga-style artwork for the Japanese cast contrasted with the American cartoon look of Stitch. It works beautifully. The first volume was a lot of fun and I look forward to seeing where this ridiculous concept goes next. ~ MDMRN

Stitch & Samurai is published by TOKYOPOP.*

Rascal Does Not Dream of Petite Devil Kohai (Rascal Series, Vol. 2)

Despite its focus shifting from “bunny girl senpai” to “petite devil kohai,” and thus severely lacking in the rapid fire exchange between Sakuta and Mai that made volume one so much fun, Rascal Does Not Dream of Petite Devil Kohai is a vast improvement on its predecessor. Author Hajime Kamoshida’s habit of not letting the story unfold in a natural way, but forcing it to go where he wants and then quickly trying to explain the rational when certain situations don’t add up, returns but in far fewer instances. Although the plot seems as complex as that in volume one—Sakuta and Tomoe, the kohai with whom he exchanged butt kicks in volume one, are trapped in a time loop in which they pretend to be a dating couple to avoid the latter being ostracized by her friends—there are actually far fewer complications with this sci-fi device and thus a smoother plot overall. Buffeted by the endearing personalities of the central “couple,” as well as final chapters that take the story in an interesting and unexpected direction, Petite Devil Kohai is a triumph, an entry that is compelling from start to finish and, after the inconsistencies of Bunny Girl Senpai, an encouraging sign for the future of the series. ~ Twwk

Rascal Does Not Dream of Petite Devil Kohai is published by Yen Press.*

Springtime by the Window, Vol. 1

Volume one of Springtime by the Window is nothing but warm, fuzzy feelings—namely, the lovey dovey kind. Cool and popular Yamada is in love with his childhood friend, Seno, while Yamada’s friends, Akama and Toda, appear to have feelings for one another as well. Originally posted as tweets by the artist, the volume has a social media or webcomic feel to it, featuring short chapters with miniature payoffs as they depict school life and place the would-be couples in situations that push them nearer and nearer to admitting their feelings. I do think this series would probably best be enjoyed in such short bursts, but I admit, I found myself reading quickly through the volume, like an elementary-aged child tearing through an entire bag of candy, making a meal on food that’s quite lacking in nutritional value, which in manga terms, comes across somewhat in story but more profoundly in the almost-novice and inconsistent art. But also like said kid, I was too hopped up on the sweetness to really care. ~ Twwk

Springtime by the Window is published by Tokyopop.*

Boys Run the Riot, Vol. 1

Based purely on the concept of the openly transgender mangaka Keito Gaku developing a manga featuring a transgender and LBGTQ+ lead discovering his voice while entering the world of street fashion, Boys Run the Riot would demand attention. But this series isn’t satisfied with staying within the confines of that premise, as complex as that lane by itself would be. Instead, Gaku is weaving a tale of young character who are trying to find out and be comfortable with who they are, despite the sacrifice and cost that comes with doing so, as represented in this volume through Ryo, who is facing gender dysphoria while being surrounded by fellow students and teachers who, whether entirely real or imagined, don’t care about his struggles; Jin, the transfer student, held a year back and seen as a delinquent, and who finds a kindred soul in Ryo as one who shares his eye for fashion, quickly enlisting him as a partner in starting a brand; and most surprisingly, several others in more subtle situations who are likewise trying to find their own way in an unforgiving world. What results is a powerful and human look at the complications for those working through issues of gender identity and a host of other identifying traits about themselves in a cultures that impresses normalcy on them, and how they learn to fight back by being themselves. This is a moving and significant work. ~ Twwk

Boys Run the Riot is published by Kodansha.*

The Treasure of the King and the Cat

The Treasure of the King and the Cat is a TokyoPop collection of two stories (and a set of small postlude vignettes) about the half-elf wizard O’Feuille and Prince Volks, the twin brother of King Castio, saving various people. The first story revolves around a young boy whose mother is ill while also conducting some world building about the inherent magical nature of half-elves in this world setting. The second leads more into the main plot about people disappearing and cats turning up all around town. This is advertised as a Boys Love (BL) manga as there’s heavy homosexual overtones, though everything is winked and nodded at with no actual relationships developing. Volks’ huge crush on O’Feuille is played up a lot with the king and his humble servant implied a lot as well, but again, no development beyond that, There’s a kingdom of missing people to deal with, after all! As you can tell, the story is silly and simple, a read without much distinction, but it does make one think about the nature of what it is you genuinely treasure. ~ MDMRN

The Treasure of the King and the Cat is published by TOKYOPOP.*

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Reader’s Corner is our way of embracing the wonderful world of manga, light novels, and visual novels, creative works intimately related to anime but with a magic all their own. Each week, our writers provide their thoughts on the works their reading—both those recently released as we keep you informed of newly published works and older titles that you might find as magical (or in some cases, reprehensible) as we do.

#Manga #Light Novels #Yubisaki to Renren #A Sign of Affection #Stitch & the Samurai #Tono & Stitch #Seishun Buta Yarou #Rascal Does Not Dream #Springtime by the Window #Boys Run the Riot #The Treasure of the King and the Cat #Ou to Neko no Hihou #Reader's Corner #Articles #Author: Laura A. Grace #Author: MDMRN #Author: TWWK

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sarcastically-defensive17 · 4 years

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Times Like These - LRH. Chapter 1 - 2 months, 7 days, 6 hours and 11 minutes

It had been exactly 2 months, 7 days, 6 hours and 11 minutes since he had moved in.

It's not that she would want to see him out on the streets, or mooching off of their kind grandmother anymore than he had. She knew the spare room in her fathers' house was the best place for him.

It's not even that she didn't like being around him. It was that she hated his smug, self-centered attitude, and the blatant narcissism that rolled off of his tongue with every syllable drawn from his viper mouth.

In short, she hated her cousin.

He was two years her junior and acted as if he was the be all and end all of the universe. Now, Audrey would never admit it, but she could be rather selfish. In specific circumstances, she could be arrogant, but unlike her frustrating cousin, she has the capabilities of acknowledging the feelings of others.

Despite what her father says.

Jason Bernard Clifford, often called J.B by family and his overly obnoxious 'popular' friends, was the very bane of her existence.

She had just settled Alexis. Just as the little girls' brown eyes closed, obnoxious music blared through the upper story of the house.

The 10 month old jolted awake and adopted a deep frown on her face as she jutted her bottom lip out.

Audrey released a growl from her throat, pulling the babe into her hip and shushing her. It took almost 15 minutes to get her back to the point before sleep, and when they reached it, she was out of the room.

She stomped towards his bedroom, the same room that used to belong to her brother, and threw the door open only to be met with the strong stench of marijuana and the unmistakable toxic fog of teenage boy.

"Jason, for the love of god-"

"What the fuck do you want now?" He snapped, not even looking up from his video game at the presence of his cousin.

There was a pale yellow bong resting on the floor next to his leg, and garbage and clothes strewn over the entirety of the room.

She sighed through her nose, closing her eyes for a minute as she restrained her mind from delving into the idea of giving the boy a concussion.

"How many times do I need to remind you that there are other people that live in this house? I'm convinced that you enjoy watching Lexi stay awake all night because of your shitty mumble rap!" The same event had happened 3 times this week. It was only Thursday.

"Whatever," he still didn't bring his eyes from the screen.

She huffed, stepping in his vision and blocking the television, "You are unbelievable."

The thing about J.B, was that he could go from 0 to 100 in a matter of seconds when it came to his elder cousin.

They hadn't gotten along since they were little. In fact, he hadn't gotten along with many family members, the exception being his doting uncle Daryl.

"I'm unbelievable?"

"Yes, that's what I said, dumbass."

"Oh, you're such a little princess. Maybe if you pulled the stick out of your ass you could loosen up," he snapped, a sadistic laugh falling from his lips at the end.

"What the hell did you just say to me?" She growled, her eyes flaming with anger.

She had simply gone to his room to remind him that there are other people present in the house as well and to ask him to turn down his incessant noise. It was a very real possibility that the interaction would result in an argument, but to be honest, she was fine with that.

The boy irked her to no extent. He was 17 but acted as if he owned the house and could make the rules, and to her, it seemed like that was the reality.

Jason could do no wrong in her fathers' eyes, and it had been like that since Michael left and her parents marriage fell apart.

Her mother, the lovely Karen, was on a pilgrimage of Europe with her sister. A trip that Audrey rejected going on, for the sake of her university degree and her daughter. As such, the youngest Clifford child moved in with her father, despite her being old enough to live on her own.

University was economically draining, as well as emotionally. The only escape Audrey had was the casual job she had at the local tattoo parlor.

And even the money she made there wasn't enough to pay rent, travel, food for the two and babysitting.

"I said, you should try pulling the stick out of your ass, you uptight little-"

"Do you two ever stop fighting?" they both turned their heads to be met with the sight of the blond man she called her father.

Immediately she felt her eyes roll back into her skull, knowing that the argument will be brushed off and she will soon take her place cleaning the war zone in the kitchen.

"Sorry Uncle Daryl," Jason murmured, shoving his hands into the pockets of his grey sweats and adopting an innocent look. "I asked Audrey to clean the mess she made in the kitchen and she just blew up at me!"

"What? It wasn't my mess!" She screeched, raising her arms in the air when her father nodded at the boys words. Typical of Jason to change the topic. And her father would always believe it as well.

"I honestly think it may be that time of the month again," He whispered to his uncle, following it closely with a deep cringe.

Her father opened his mouth to answer the boy, a sympathetic look directed at him, but was cut off by the sound of Audrey grunting and stomping out of the room.

"I'm sorry about her, Jason. You know how ladies get at that time," she could basically hear the cringe on her fathers face as the words sounded through the thin walls.

She slammed her bedroom door behind her, and the sound of her 'Piss off, Jason' sign hitting the ground tore another growl from her throat.

Times like these, she wished for nothing more than her brother to talk to, or her mother to come back to Australia so she could move in with her. Instead, she was stuck in her old family home, with a man she thought too immature to be any sort of parental figure, and a teenage delinquent whose only purpose in life was to make hers and her daughters hell.

Audrey had more important things to focus on rather than the two impossible males she lived with.

She had first-year University work piling up, bags under her pale green eyes and an influx of shifts coming up in the next two weeks and a teething baby who was going through a hair pulling phase.

Unsurprisingly, she longed for the days when the only worry she had was kicking Michael's ass in Guitar Hero.

After a few hours of stewing in her bedroom, she had a shower to alleviate some stress. She decided her monthly self-care routine would be the best way to unwind in preparation for a long day of work as Lexi was sleeping peacefully in her crib.

Her mother had sent her a two tubs of a blueberry extract hair mask from France with her last postcard, and Audrey adored the substance. She had already planned to make a trip to the country in the future simply to get more of the product.

She was so exhausted by the time she was layering it on her blonde hair that she didn't pay particular attention to the overly blue colour of the product, nor did she make sure to keep her eyes open for the ten minutes it was meant to stay in her hair.

45 minutes later, she woke up and upon realizing she forgot to rinse her hair, went to do so; only to emerge with patches of blue dye coating her naturally blonde locks.

The entire house, and the neighbours surrounding it, were woken abruptly at 11:30PM by the sound of Audrey Clifford screeching her cousin's name at the top of her lungs and the aggressive grunts from Alexis as she woke with a start.

#luke hemmings #book #chapter 1 #michael clifford #clifford!oc #audrey clifford #alexis clifford #ashton irwin #calum hood #Daryl clifford #Karen clifford #Jason Bernard Clifford #luke hemmings x oc #luke hemmings fanfiction

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sometimesrosy · 5 years

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You really think they’re going to go back to earth?? I mean, I could see Bellamy and Clarke landing at the dropship site all ready to rebuild humanity with radioactive playing softly in the background, fade to black. But I can also see them really leaving earth in book one.

It is, of course, only a speculation. I don’t know. I recognize that I am leaping ahead of canon evidence to make that speculation, but then, I have done that before and been correct. I guessed, from out of nowhere that cryo sleep would be a solution, but my guess came too early. I guessed that for the COL they would save everyone instead of losing everyone like MW, because that’s the kind of twist that would keep an audience on it’s toes. Once i accepted the time jump and clarke left behind, I guessed that she would become a mother, although I said it woud be bellamy’s child. So i got the motherhood right but not the shipping spec. When you spec on this show based on shipping it’s almost never right, that’s not how they make their narrative choices. I guessed that s5 would end with Bellamy and Clarke would lose the war for Eden (McCreary cheated) and take their people who stopped fighting into the wastes for an exodus. As the season went on it became probable that the exodus would be in the stars instead of on earth. So like, these big conceptual stories? I’m picking up on. I think it’s because I speak the same language as JR, 90s scifi geek who went to college to study writing. We have the same references in our heads. Once I started LOOKING for his symbolism and allusions and archetypes, the whole show fell into place and made a lot of sense to me. This show is NOT random. He’s not changing the story to please fandom or to hurt them (except in cases where he can WORK with the changes.)

I’m not intending to brag, I’m intending to show you that although my spec seems like it comes out of left field and there’s no basis for it, the basis actually comes with the TYPE of story he’s telling and the common language in the GENRE. Like, I started picking up on his symbolism in s3, but if I didn’t keep getting confirmation that I was right with the themes and archetypes and symbolism and allusions, I would have changed my theories. But I keep getting confirmation that I’m on the right track. JR is going down a familiar path for me. So I’m trying to find the street signs and show them to you so you can follow the path too.

So WHY did I come up with this wacky theory about Clarke and Bellamy returning to earth? HOW? It didn’t happen until s5 was over and I started getting asks and started reading/watching those references he told us about and started thinking how all the storylines converge.

long and involved, so, below the cut.

Snarky foreshadowing– This was when I first went, wait, what? Raven, when she flew the last ship off of earth said, “Just once I’d like to take off from a planet while it wasn’t burning.” TWICE she’s done that. Third time’s the charm. They’ve been fixing the traumas, I think we’ll get this one again too, only this time the planet won’t be burning. They’ve got ONE planet left. The new one. Therefore, they will be leaving the planet and it won’t be burning. But WHY would they leave the planet when it’s not burning? Then I had to find a REASON for them leaving the safe haven planet.

History repeats itself– This story is about how pre-apocalypse humans were ruining the world. Becca is the real wanheda. She, her creation, eradicated humanity. That’s the genocide. She started the harshness of the Ark because of her madness. She started the harshness of the grounders as Pramheda. She came back and we saw her trying to fix what she’d done. She ALSO had to do with the eligius program and invented their nightbood. THEREFORE, the new planet colony is a descendent of Becca’s original crimes against humanity. Was it all an accident? Sure? But also it was the result of her choices, her hubris, her genius. She is Doctor Frankenstein. (Actually I just made that connection and I feel stupid for missing it. Does it work? Anyone see it also?)

You are responsible for your monster when you let it out– Lincoln’s words. VERY IMPORTANT. This makes EVERYTHING in the story make sense. If people don’t take responsibility for their evil, they are the monster. If people TRY to take responsibiilty for their evil, they are the hero. That’s why leaders sacrificing others is not a sacrifice, they aren’t taking responsibility they are using people. But Clarke or Bellamy risking their lives to fix their mistakes IS heroic. It’s not always smart, but that’s the good guy move. hero/monster has been a theme since s1.

The structure of the story is a spiral– They are returning to their greatest traumas and FIXING them. Making the right choice this time. Teaching others to make the right choice, learning from their mistakes instead of doubling down on their evil actions in order to make it worth it, like Octavia all season 5. Or Lxa in s2. Or Jaha the whole show. Or Cage Wallace. Redemption comes through recognizing your monster and DOING BETTER. Redemption is a MAJOR theme of post-apocalyptic stories.

Eligius 3 are Colonialists, NOT refugees– Monty said that they went to the new planet to USE the resources because the resources of the earth were used up. They aren’t looking for a home, they’re looking for another planet to consume. THIS IS WHAT STARTED THE ORIGINAL FALL OF HUMANITY. They reflect the values of Mount Weather who believed the earth was their birthright and treated the people on the surface as cattle to be used and tortured. This is a repeat of the MW conflict.

Eligius 3=Mount Weather– that means we’ll be getting a redo of the biggest and most traumatic “failure” that Clarke and Bellamy had. Except, it never really was a failure. It was the RIGHT thing to do. It happened also to be best for their people, but it was GOOD, even though it caused harm to some innocent people, because as Maya said, none of them were innocent. They were the disease. Clarke (med student, remember?) had to KILL the mountain to put it out of its suffering (like Atom) and to save the rest of humanity. This means that Eligius 3 will ALSO be the disease. They ARE the disease that caused the apocalypse.

JRs reading/viewing list: all about the aliens– Weird non linear, non reality hybrids of alien and human. Consciousness. AI. Philosophy. Religion. I have not gotten to see ALL of the films or read the books, but I’ve researched them all a bit and they share themes. Also Avatar (blue not airbender) And I believe that we’ll have a non-humanoid kind of alien that bonds with the humans to create something new (also if you’ve ever read Ender’s Game which JR certainly did, it actually moves on to tell the story of Ender as Speaker for the dead, and his psychic connection, facilitated by an AI in his head [JANE!] who brings back the dead species and allows another very odd species to be recognized as sentient. HOLY CRAP Madi is the speaker for the dead. omg i just realized!

If humanity is to be redeemed, they have to be responsible for their monster – They have broken the cycle of violence amongst themselves. They encounter a society that will be JUST as poisoned as the pre-apocalypse society that started this all. Russell’s people will BE the monster. Their enemy (the aliens who are NOT their people) will be the victims. To be the good guy, they will have to CHOOSE their enemy over their people. Lincoln did it. Maya did it. They were The Good Guys. Clarke and Bellamy will have to end Russell’s people. In doing so, they will replay the MW trauma, but this time they will understand WHY it had to happen and will heal the trauma of the past, because they are HEALING humanity.

If humanity is to be redeemed, they must FIX what they have broken, that is The Earth itself– They can’t drop Earth when it’s no longer providing for them and move onto another planet that they can use up. If you look at The 100 in terms of environmentalism, which you can, you can see this would make them the bad guys. To be the good guys, they have to go back to what they did and start over. This fits the spiral structure, as well as being the Good Guy and being responsible for your monster.

They aren’t going to discard the earth, or humanity– Why? Because they wouldn’t let Octavia martyr herself. She represents humanity. She will now be forced to WORK to redeem herself and fix what she did. So will humanity. They do not OWN the Earth, the Earth owns them and they are the caretakers. Octavia needs to go back to earth and treat it like her responsibility, not her property. She needs to follow what Lincoln believed. The attempted martyrdom was a reference to Lincoln. But she was cheating. She can’t cheat redemption.

THEY CAN’T CHEAT REDEMPTION: THEY HAVE TO GO BACK TO EARTH. In real life, none of this would have to happen, but this is not real life. This is JR with a story he wants to tell. The story is about the redemption of humanity and two mythic heroes who save humanity, not by keeping them from dying, but by leading them to redemption. THIS IS EPIC.

When I started thinking about all these thematic questions, I saw that it started to form into a narrative, and many of the characters had roles to play within this narrative, some more than others. When I looked at those characters and their relationships, it completely connected to the long game stories of the relationships of the delinquents and the storylines that are actively being told and have been left open at the end of season 5.

This theory slots the character arcs into the themes of the show as a whole AND the new main plot story of aliens, new planet, russell’s “peaceful” (yeah sure) society, bellamy and clarke’s commitment to be the good guy.

So yeah. I see them leaving the new planet to take responsibility for the planet humanity killed, destroying russel’s peaceful society so they can’t destroy the new planet, and leaving Madi behind (she is special) as the steward for the new people.

Because of the ORIGINAL foreshadowing that brought on this spec, Raven wishing to take off of a planet that isn’t burning, we know that they won’t destroy the new planet. They will save it. And leave it. In order to redeem humanity.

leaving madi and echo behind with the aliens is not necessary for this redemption plot, but it fits the youth shall inherit the earth generational story and reflects Abby’s struggle with letting go of Clarke, and also Echo’s story of belonging and family and loyalty, and with her stated backstory. You see how this theory connects the larger themes to the character arcs? it just makes sense to me. It isn’t convoluted to me. It is a direct if this, then that, kind of logic. It’s just that it is bringing together MANY past concepts and lessons to save humanity. I don’t know if it sounds convoluted to other people, so if it does, ask me question and we can see if i can get it any clearer.

I can tell the entire story now, with places for the main characters dealing with their personal stories. And it all fits. It’s CRAZY but I’m so excited about it, I can’t wait to see if I’m on the right track. Because if I am it is going to be SO GOOD. Like REALLY. Like miraculous. And everyone who ever hated on this show is going to have to eat their words. Just. I mean. WOW.

And all the characters people think were discarded and deserved better? They all have an important place, too. Wells has the vision for a life well lived. Lincoln’s idea of being responsible for your monster. Lxa’s power will actually be related to how they can save the new people (the flame), Maya’s conviction that she needed to stop her people because they were doing the wrong thing. Jasper’s belief that the problem WAS humanity and it might not be worth saving. Luna’s desire for peace. HOLY SHIT.

#the 100 #the 100 speculation #speculation #return to earth theory #aliens theory #i'm not really interested in 'no it's not' commentary because no one can KNOW if it's not because it's a spec #but i am interested in questions about how it would work or things i haven't considered or haven't seen #even if those things seem to oppose this spec #if something disproves it i'd like to know and see if i can fit it into the spec

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ghostbustermelanieking · 6 years

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praescitum chapter nine

chapter one, chapter two, chapter three, chapter four, chapter five, chapter six, chapter seven, chapter eight

casefile, season 10, season 11. part of my series that i write as i rewatch the x files.

Summary: As Mulder and Scully adjust to their reassignment to the X-Files and working together in the wake of their separation, they find themselves investigating a small town and a ghost that apparently warns people of bad things to come.

note: happy halloween! i actually started posting this story when i did to post this chapter on halloween, since it’s probably the most festive. but since i didn’t get as far in the story as i wanted to by this point, i’m going to kind of slow down my posting a little bit by waiting until i finish a later chapter to post the next one. i’m hoping to still be able to post at least one chapter a week, but idk if i’ll be able to keep up with that lol. those are the hopes!

warning for discussion of death in a (false!) historical context. i included fake historical people/historical battles in a real historical war.

---

nine.

october, 2016

If there's anything that Mulder and Scully are not used to, it's having a third presence on their stake outs. Back in the day, if they were staking out with someone else, said someone probably wasn't very happy about being stuck on a stakeout with them. (They've both heard plenty of “third wheel” gossip over the years, right along with the gossip about them being together long before they actually were.) Luckily, Scully notes, this time, they have what seems like a perfectly nice woman as their company. As much as she relishes the chance to have time alone with Mulder and inexplicably get paid for that time, it's better to share the time with someone who doesn't hate them. And Joy Seers seems like halfway decent company.

She gets takeout for everyone, fighting streets abuzz with Halloween traffic, cars and costumed pedestrians alike. She stops at a gas station and grabs a couple bags of M&M's as an added bonus for Mulder—in honor of the holiday, and because she's guessing they'll be here a while without much paranormal activity to entertain them. (She's still convinced that Ryan Caruthers, and maybe a few friends, are behind the whole thing. It makes much more sense than a diabolical ghost tormenting the entire town.)

Scully picks her way back to the school through streets crowded with pint-sized monsters, ghouls, and pop culture characters. Houses festooned in cobwebs and streamers and plastic skeletons. Kids in costumes holding onto their parent’s hands. At a stoplight near the school, she notices a kid on a bus bench. A familiar-looking kid with an Orioles cap pulled over his face.

She finds Mulder and Joy Seers in the classroom: Mulder setting desks and chairs upright, Joy propping a video camera up on the righted bookshelf. The room has been swept, most of the debris cleared; it looks like an empty skeleton of a room, bare walls and bare floors. “I brought food,” Scully says, sitting the plastic bags of containers on a desk.

“Thanks, Scully.” Mulder grins at her briefly overtop of a graffitied desk. She can tell he's enjoying this. He's probably been waiting for a case like this to fall on Halloween for a while. (“How do we always end up staking out haunted places on holidays, Scully?” he joked earlier, and she rolled her eyes, pointed out that this particular place is not haunted, absolutely not. Not the inn, not the school, not the town. She knows he's remembering their conversation last night, and she's hoping he won't bring it up. She feels silly just thinking about it.)

“Were the roads too bad?” Joy asks politely, squinting as she adjusts the angle of the camera. “I know they can be a little crazy on Halloween, especially in the fancier neighborhoods.”

“Not too bad,” says Scully, sitting at the desk. “Anything happen while I was gone?”

“Nothing yet,” Mulder says, sitting down at the desk beside Scully and smirking a little at her. She smirks right back.

“I was relying on our security system to prove whether or not there's any paranormal involvement, but it shorted out today,” says Joy with a touch of irony in her voice, climbing down from the chair and smoothing messy curls absently. “Convenient, huh? Principal thinks someone messed with it to cover up the crime, but we couldn't prove it; it just seems like a system malfunction. And he couldn't get anyone in here to fix it. So I'm setting up a camera in here since this has been the primary location of the activity. I'm hoping to catch some proof as to what this is, if anything happens.”

“That seems smart,” Scully offers. “Although it's strange that the security cameras would mess directly after a break-in.”

“It is,” Joy says, crossing her arms, “but the fact is that it was still working last night. Since my window lock was fixed, anyone who broke in would've had to use the halls. And the cameras showed nothing.”

“Someone could've been planning another break-in for tonight,” Scully comments.

“That's true.” Joy shrugs. “But everyone I talk to says it's just an issue with the computer system. We have the shittiest system, I swear. Anyways, we have this camera to catch anything strange that happens, paranormal or B&E's alike.”

Scully looks at Mulder, who shrugs. It does seem convenient to her—too convenient, especially considering Ryan's technical reputation—but she decides to let it go. She says, “Do we have any sort of plan past the camera?”

Mulder shrugs again. “Not really. I think we're just planning to… sit here.” He smirks at her a little, teasing her as he unwrapping the plastic silverware. “You are familiar with the method of a stakeout, aren't you, Scully?”

“Very much so,” she says dryly, resisting the urge to stick out her tongue.

Joy joins them in the clusters of desks, taking her food gratefully and thanking Scully. “I'm hoping that we'll be able to get something out of tonight,” she says, screwing the cap off of a water bottle. “I really am. Ryan's a good kid, and I hate that everyone's been putting the blame on him.”

“You really don't think there’s any possibility Ryan is behind this?” Scully asks, picking at her salad.

Joy shakes her head. “I never have. Aside from the fact that it seems improbable that a kid—albeit a pretty smart kid, but still—could pull this off, Ryan's always seemed like a good kid to me. I'm not close to Annie Caruthers, but she's always spoken highly of him whenever we see each other… And besides that, he's a model student. Aside from a bad attitude, I haven't seen any signs of delinquency from him. I almost can't believe he really set that fire.”

Scully bites her lower lip in consideration. “I think I saw Ryan outside on my way in,” she says carefully. “The intersection a block over.”

“Really?” Mulder asks, his eyebrows shooting up.

Scully nods. “I think,” she says, somewhat uncertainly. “He wears the Orioles cap, right?”

Joy taps her fingers on the desktop absently. “Probably just a coincidence,” she offers.

“It's a small town,” says Mulder helpfully. Scully pokes at a leaf of lettuce silently.

Mulder clears his throat awkwardly. “Have you ever considered that this… activity might be the result of possession of some sort? Some mixture of Ryan Caruthers and the ghost?”

Scully swallows back the urge to scoff.

“You think Ryan's possessed?” Joy asks, almost incredulously. “By the Specter?”

He shrugs. “Possession can sometimes give humans a power they wouldn't normally have. I've seen it before. That would explain how Ryan was able to get in and out of the school without being detected, how he would be able to move those heavy desks.”

Joy Seers looks uncertain, skeptical. “I suppose that could be the case, but I doubt it,” she says. “I've never heard of any possessions in the history of the legend. And I still just don't think Ryan's involved. Besides his prior history with the ghost, of course.”

Scully hmms in response quietly, sticking the fork in her mouth. She hasn't known what to make of this case since they got it a year ago, and she certainly doesn't know what to make of it now. Mulder shrugs, surprisingly nonplussed, as if he doesn't know what to make of this either.

“I guess we just wait now,” Joy says, and it's almost a question, a clarification. “Wait to see what happens next.”

They nod, nearly in unison.

Their forks scrape at the Styrofoam containers in the new quiet. The setting doesn't seem to align with the stunning silence all around them, the echoey hallways and dim classroom. As a child, Scully used to get scared in big empty buildings, especially in the huge church they used to attend in San Diego, all the looming, empty halls and the almost eerie paintings of Christ. She's gotten past that now, of course, but the oddness of being in an empty school has nearly brought it back. Right now, in all this empty and quiet space, with the small sounds in the hall as the sun sinks below the horizon, she can almost understand why people might think this school—even this town—is haunted.

---

It's getting dark now, the familiar October chill in the air. Ryan clenches his chattering teeth, beginning to regret not wearing the skeleton costume from last year. It's dorky as hell, but it's warm, he sweated buckets at last year's party. And it helps with appearances. He's just wearing a hoodie and jeans right now, no costume of any kind.

He got some candy earlier, even with the disapproving looks (either because he's too old to trick-or-treat, or because he set a fire), and so he unwraps a mini Snickers bar now and takes a bite. He's thinking about turning around and going to the party he told Annie he was going to. He should probably go to the damn party. He still has friends somehow, despite everything, and this is not the right way to spend Halloween. It might be spooky, but honestly, Ryan got tired of the horror movie bullshit at about six or seven. (He hates scary movies, scary stories, any of that stuff that makes him think about the empty eyes of the parents he'll never know and ghostly light on his bedroom walls.) He's nearly convinced, gets his bag up off of the bench and is about to walk away when his fingers brush over an envelope sticking out of the top. The letter from his Uncle Jared.

He swallows, sits down so hard his legs hurt. Shakes his head hard until he's good and resigned. He has to do this. He doesn't have a choice.

He rummages in his bag until he finds the stick-on tattoos and the bottle of water. Follows the directions as he applies them to the back of his hands.

---

Scully will admit, once again, that she's really, really not used to sharing stakeouts with other people; some of her favorite memories of working with Mulder are when they were alone on a stakeout. But they've been sitting in the school for several hours, and she has to say, it's a lot better than she expected. Aside from their opinions on ghosts, it turns out that she and Joy Seers have a lot in common. They discuss their college degrees—biology and pre-med are vastly different, but they took similar grueling science classes and can exchange stories about hellish professors—and Joy asks about the cross around Scully's neck, the one similar to her own. “Oh,” says Scully in surprise, reaching down to touch the cross, and the ring that hangs beside it. (Thank God she didn't ask about that; that'd be a fairly awkward conversation for all of them. Mulder doesn't wear his ring that she knows of, which she has no idea how to take, but at least it fields the Oh, are you two married? questions. A little.) “Oh, my mother gave my sister and myself these necklaces the Christmas I was fifteen. I've worn it ever since.”

She leaves out the occasions where she'd given it to her daughter and it was the only part of her They left behind, and when Mulder had worn it through both of their abductions. (She put the ring on the chain beside her cross when she stopped wearing it because it felt stunningly appropriate, that it lie beside something that had meant so much to both of them over the years. Sometimes she felt like she could feel Mulder in her cross as much as she could in the ring.)

Joy smiles a genuine smile. “Oh, that's wonderful,” she says. “Mine was a family heirloom. It was my grandmother's.”

Scully smiles back, a little easier than she might've a few months ago. It's getting easier to remember her mother, and concentrating on the happier memories does help. “It's beautiful,” she offers.

“Thank you—so is yours.”

Mulder stays politely quiet through most of these interactions, but he speaks up sometime in the fourth hour of their vigil. “Ms. Seers—” he starts.

“Call me Joy, please,” Joy says immediately.

“Joy,” Mulder says. “I remember when we met yesterday, you said something about there being more than one way to interpret the Willoughby Specter story.”

“Oh, right.” Joy throws out an absent grin. “That famous touchy spot. Especially around here.”

“I sense that people don't agree with you?” Scully asks, thinking of Robbie O'Connell's and the sheriff's claims that the ghost is angelic. Ryan Caruthers's claims that the ghost is anything but. The disdain she's seen in response to that skepticism. Personally, she can't really tell why the demeanor of the ghost matters, one way or another.

“I don't know if they do or don't. I haven't made any particular claims about the skepticism.” The other woman shrugs. “My husband is a historian, though,” she adds. “He's done some research into the subject, and we've discussed it before. The origins of this ghost aren't quite as black and white as everyone would like to believe.”

Mulder's interest is piqued—more than piqued, Scully can tell. “Would you mind sharing?” he asks.

Joy shakes her head. “The fame of the ghost just so happens to be intertwined with the origin of this town,” she says. “The name Willoughby comes from a Revolutionary War leader, General Samuel Willoughby. He's hailed as a hero, especially around here, considering he led his soldiers to victory in a battle right around this area. The legend got started when Willoughby published a book of his journals and letters during the war. In the journal entry dated the night before the battle, he speaks of seeing a 'specter’ who brought about feelings of foreboding and dread. This convinced him that he was doomed to die on the battlefield the next day, and his soldiers doomed to lose. So he changed his plans.”

“He survived the battle,” Scully says knowingly—she knows how these legends always go. “And he led his men to victory, and people attributed that victory to the Specter. Which is where the legend originates."

Joy nods. “But what most people don't acknowledge is how costly that victory was,” she says. “Over half of Willoughby's soldiers lost their lives, including his brother. As well as several civilians who unfortunately lived in the area and got caught up in the battle. And that's not to mention the British casualties. Personally, that's not my definition of angelic, especially considering the death of his brother.”

Mulder chuckles briefly, rubbing thoughtfully at his mouth. “It's not exactly mine, either.”

“People see what they want to see,” says Joy. “Someone comes to warn them of something bad coming, people want to think they have good intentions. That there's some way to be prepared.”

Scully hardens her face until it is stony, trying not to show her cards. Spreads her fingers out flat on the table and tries to think of anything but that night before her mother died. Mulder is nodding in agreement, and she's glad that he's distracted by this story, that he won't notice and start asking questions again. “So you don't think the ghost has… good intentions?” he asks Joy.

“Does a ghost have intentions?” Joy laughs. (Along the same line Scully has thought on in this case.) “But no, I don't. Personally, my husband and I have discussed it before, and we think that the ghost is demonic.”

“Demonic?” asks Mulder.

“Yeah. My husband has studied a lot of local history, and he found a court record corresponding to a diary entry from the judge in the early settlement that more or less became Willoughby. It speaks of a man who was convicted of the murder of his wife. He was scheduled to hang, but he disappeared from his prison cell the night before, despite two guards being posted outside. The man had been fairly wealthy and prosperous, and he had a fair amount of money stored away in his house, where they'd also found many signs of what they considered witchcraft and devil worship. All the more reason to execute him, they'd said. But after he disappeared, so did the money.” Joy takes a sip of her water bottle. “They found him two months later, dead in the mountains with no clear cause. All of his money on him. A lantern burning beside his body despite the snowstorm raging around him.”

Scully raises her eyebrows in a halfway interested response—it’s an interesting story, even if it sounds false. Mulder says, “And you think that's the Specter?”

“A ghost has to come from somewhere, right? It makes sense to me, especially that lantern detail. The details about his escape and discovery, as well as the trial records, lead me to believe this man had made a deal with the devil, for lack of a better term. And this is more or less his due he has to pay: bringing bad luck to the inhabitants of Willoughby.”

Mulder hmms under his breath. “That's a great theory,” he says. “And it makes a lot of sense, at least in my mind. It would be consistent with Ryan Caruthers's claims.”

“There’s discussion of 'the local devil worshipper’ in local folklore, but it's not as widespread. And since it took place a full century before, no one in the town ever connected the story with the Specter. But I've always thought it made a lot of sense,” says Joy. “And with everything that's happened here at this school, I've got to say, it makes even more sense to me now.”

“What do you think, Scully?” Mulder asks, and his hand is suddenly on her arm. He's noticed how silent she's been.

Scully grits her teeth and shakes off the thoughts of her mother and her cross and that fucking hallucination or dream or whatever she had before her mother passed away. Forces a smile. “I suppose it could be plausible…” she says, “... if ghosts were real.”

Mulder scoffs jokingly. “I can understand your skepticism, Agent Scully,” Joy says kindly. “Even i—”

They're cut off by the sound of distant crashes, somewhere in the building.

Scully's eyes dart to Mulder. “Did you…”

“Yeah,” he says, already standing. “Joy, do you have any idea…”

“I'm really not sure,” she says. “Maybe the cafeteria?”

More crashes, louder this time. “Split up, clear the halls?” Mulder asks, and Scully nods.

“Joy, you stay here, okay?” she says, standing and reaching for her gun, just in case. “Keep an eye out, call us if you need help.”

Thankfully, Joy doesn't argue; she just nods. “Do you really think you need that?” she asks, gesturing to the gun with her chin.

“Hopefully, no,” Scully says. “But it's a good precaution. In case whoever—or whatever—is destroying your classroom is dangerous.”

---

Mulder and Scully split up outside of Joy Seers's classroom; she goes through the west wing, and he goes through the east. The school is stunningly dark, the halls admittedly eerie, and Mulder is inadvertently reminded of the case years ago that he can barely remember the details of outside of the fact that a satanist PTA tried to kill him and Scully in a high school gym shower. He shudders involuntarily; that doesn't seem like a good line of thought after discussing a ghostly devil worshipper.

He's most of the way down the hall when he hears it: the creaking of a door hinge behind him. He whirls around to see the door of an English classroom hanging open in the circle of his flashlight.

Immediately, he sweeps his flashlight up and down the hallway, but it's completely empty.

Mulder swallows roughly, ignoring the chill spreading over him. He starts to turn back around when the door slams closed hard. He jumps, his hand flying to his holster automatically. Still nothing there; no signs of life, or things notably not alive.

“Hello?” he calls out, sweeping his flashlight up and down the hallway, feeling equal parts silly and determined. He's about to make some plea for the ghost to show itself when he hears another slamming sound, almost smaller than the last one. And then another, and another. The lockers lining the hallways are opening and closing, their slams cacophonous and engulfing. Mulder scans the hallway in frantic confusion, looking for any signs of the Specter, not sure if he really wants to see it or not, considering its legacy. But he still finds nothing, invisible hands moving the lockers as they slam, the cabinets shaking and rattling in place as if affected by an earthquake. Fascinated, Mulder stares, not wanting to look away, wanting to call Scully to get in here and see this. But before he can do anything, his flashlight flickers once, twice, and dies in his palm.

The lockers’ motion fades out as Mulder's breathing grows more erratic, maybe even fearful. The hallway seems darker without the flashlight, pitch black. He smacks the flashlight against his palm in an effort to get it working again, to no avail. “Shit,” he mutters, dropping the flashlight to his side and rubbing at his temples with his free hand.

And then from behind, he hears the scritching sound of a lit match. Golden firelight, small but unquestionably the brightest thing in the room, comes to life behind him, reflected on the metal lockers.

His heart in his stomach, Mulder whirls. He sees it almost immediately, it's unmistakable. He can't make out a face, but he doesn’t have to. It matches every description he's ever heard.

The Specter stands at the end of the hall, lantern held up like some kind of lamplighter.

Mulder's breathing is shallow, erratic; where the hell is Scully when stuff like this happens? He's dying to take a picture, but he knows that will likely only cause problems.

Instead, he draws closer, flashlight dead and useless in his hand, heart thudding against his ribs. The Specter doesn't move. He seems to be surveying Mulder, sizing him up, but somehow, Mulder can't allow himself to worry about that. He goes closer and closer, carefully, as if trying to calm a stray dog. “I know what you are,” he calls. “I know what it is you do.”

The Specter seems unaffected by this. He stands still, his face shadowed, his lantern flickering.

“Do you speak?” Mulder asks, thinking of the ghosts in that haunted house that one Christmas Eve. (If that was real; he and Scully have disagreed about it forever.) “What do you want?”

The ghost remains silent. Mulder's shoes creak on the tile floor as he steps closer, his palms sweaty around the flashlight. The Specter seems to be regarding him, considering.

When Mulder is about three feet away, the ghost's mouth contorts, dipping into a frown. Disapproval. A sudden fear plunges through Mulder's chest, nervousness—what does disapproval mean?—as he remembers Joy Seers's theory that the ghost is demonic. He is about to ask, again, what the Specter wants, when the lantern flickers out.

In a completely impulsive move, Mulder stumbles forward, absurdly swiping at the space where the Specter is. He feels nothing, and he doesn't know if it has disappeared or is still there. Breathing hard, he stands awkwardly in place, his hand curled around the useless flashlight.

And then he hears a pained yelp, down the hall the way he came from.

---

Scully is in the ninth grade wing when she hears it again: the crashing sounds down the hall to the right of her. She follows the sound, flashlight held out in front of her and gun held down by her side. There's a sound almost like banging, a clattery sound like something being dragged over the floor. Scully comes face to face with the double cafeteria doors, where the sound is louder, and pushes it open with a loud clang.

There's a startled shout, and then the smack of a body hitting the floor. Rounding the table blocking the body from view, Scully shouts, “Freeze, FBI!” completely on instinct.

“Shit!” The kid—Ryan Caruthers, Scully notes with an emotion somewhere between satisfaction and disappointed—scrambles to his feet, his ankle caught in a cafeteria chair. His face turns up towards Scully, full of regret and panic as he curses quietly under his breath: “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

Scully puts away her gun with a sigh—somehow, she doubts she needs it. “Ryan?” she says, somewhat sternly. “Ryan Caruthers?”

“I had no idea you'd be here,” Ryan says miserably, untangling himself from the chair.

“So you wouldn't have come if you'd known?” Scully asks. He doesn't answer, just rubs at his face with the heel of his hand. “No one's ever been here when you've done this before, right?” she prods.

“I haven't done this before,” Ryan snaps, glaring at her. “I know what you think of me—believe me, I know what everyone thinks of me—but I swear to shit, this is the first time.”

“How did you get in?” Scully asks, still firm. “The window in Mrs. Seers's room is fixed.” She remembers in a split second, as Ryan answers, that the window was fixed before the destruction of the classroom the night before, and mentally curses.

“I jimmied open another window,” Ryan says, sounding disgusted. “The windows in here are shit, the locks are awful… And I'm telling you, I've never done this before.”

“Then why did you come here tonight, Ryan?” Scully fixes the kid with the sternest look she can muster up. “Knowing that people believed you had broken in before?”

Ryan's face turns red, and he ducks his head. His hand shoots through the air as he reaches down to untangle himself from the chair, and Scully sees the same cross tattoo on the back that she remembers from last year. “I… was worried about what was going to happen,” he nearly mumbles. “Because of the ghost. I thought something bad might happen to someone, and I wanted to come here and try to stop it.”

Scully's stern demeanor falls, just a little. She doesn't know why, but it does. She asks gently (not too gently, of course—only a bit more gently), “How did you think you could stop it, Ryan? What did you think was going to happen?”

“Does it matter?” Ryan snaps venomously. “Aren't you going to arrest me now? Agent Sully, or whatever your name is?”

“It's Scully,” she says automatically, and is ready to say more, when she hears a distinctly female shout from somewhere in the building. Joy, she thinks immediately, and mentally curses herself and Mulder for leaving a civilian alone in a potential crime scene. Even if she doesn't believe in the ghost.

Ryan jumps at the sound, startled. “What was that?”

Hoping briefly that Mulder will get there sooner, that Mulder is okay, Scully says, “You know what, Ryan? I should take you in, but this is all very juvenile, and Mrs. Seers has vouched for you multiple times. So I'm going to look the other way.”

The kid looks stunned. Beyond stunned. He says, “Are you serious? Why are you doing this?”

She doesn't know why, she really doesn't. Outside of the face that is stuck at the back of her brain, along with pain and death and visions of the end of the world. Her son out there, somewhere, and she shouldn't let it affect her work, but… She says, “Look, I need to go. If you're still back here when I come back, I'm taking you in. If I ever catch you doing something like this again, my first call will be to Sheriff O'Connell. Do you understand?”

His face white, Ryan nods. Unwilling to wait any longer—unwilling to linger or analyze why the hell she did that, she really can't believe it—Scully turns and heads the other way, back to Joy Seers's classroom.

Inside, she finds all the fluorescent lights flipped on, Joy sitting in a chair heaving air like she is going to run out and Mulder crouched on the floor. Scully runs straight to her side. “Are you okay?” she asks, kneeling to examine the prominent red line on Joy's neck. “I'm a doctor, I can help you.”

Joy waves her off absently. “I'm okay, I'm okay,” she says, her voice only a little rough. “My necklace… it was being tugged, by I don't know what. It was choking me, and then it just broke.”

Mulder stands, the broken silver chain in the palm of his hand. “I saw it,” he says, and his voice is filled with some panicked emotion that Scully can't quite place. “It was being pulled by an invisible force, Scully, she was choking and it was just held up in the air. By nothing. And then it just snapped.”

Joy takes the necklace, muttering, “Damn,” under her breath. She rubs at her forehead, her eyes, in a tired sort of way. “I'm okay,” she reassures Scully again. “Scared me more than anything. I guess I have my proof now that the Specter is hostile.”

She laughs briefly, but Mulder doesn't, and Scully doesn't know how to ask why. She stands up a little reluctantly—she’d have preferred to check Joy a little more, but she really does seem fine, she's waving her off insistently—and dusts her palms off on her pant legs. “Deep breaths,” she says gently. “Try to stay calm.”

Joy clears her throat a few times, rubbing her neck with her empty hand. “So did you find anything, Agent Scully?” she asks raspily. “I heard more sounds in the cafeteria.”

Mulder looks at her curiously, but Scully doesn't know how to tell them what she saw, much less explain what could've convinced her to let Ryan go. She lies, “I think some furniture may have fallen over. I didn't see anything.”

---

They leave the school after that. There doesn't seem to be much point in staying. They have the video in the classroom, and therefore proof. Joy seems spooked by the whole encounter, seems to have lost interest in all of it—she thanks them profusely in the parking lot, but says that she doesn't see any need for them to stay if they don't want to. “I guess I can call you if anything else happens,” she says, “but I don't know if there's anything else you can do. And I'm sure you have more important work to get back to.”

Mulder doesn't bother telling her that they probably don't—he’s almost sure that Scully shares Joy's opinion, that the lack of an actual crime here doesn't justify their position. They shake Joy's hand and get in their car to head back to the hotel.

They're both quiet on the drive. Mulder can't get past what happened in the hallway, his encounter with the Specter. At the time, he'd mostly been fascinated, caught up in the excitement of seeing an actual ghost, but now, all he can think of is the other part of the legend. The part that promises that something bad will happen if you see the Specter. He drives back to the hotel with a precise carefulness that Scully doesn't seem to notice—she seems as lost in her own thoughts as him, fidgeting with her hands in her lap. He keeps sneaking glances at her, as if something is going to steal her away, because by his count, the only two people besides him who could be affected by the Willoughby Specter and his bad omens are Scully and William. He doesn't relax until they get back to the hotel, and even then, it is a cautious relaxation. He's extraordinarily glad that they are sharing a room.

He waits until they get up to the room to say it. He nearly blurts it out—he says, “Scully, I saw it,” and it feels like an exhale.

Scully, in the act of peeling her coat off, freezes. He can see the muscles of her back, can tell how tense she has suddenly gotten. “What?” she says.

“The Specter,” he says. “I saw the Specter, Scully, in the halls. It disappeared just before something pulled at Joy's necklace.”

Scully isn't looking at him. She drapes her coat over the back of the chair, her knuckles nearly white as she clutches it. “It's not that I… don't trust what you saw, Mulder,” she says carefully, her nails scuffing the side of the jacket. “But… are you sure that's what you saw? That it couldn't have been some kind of… projection?”

Twenty-odd years ago, this skepticism would've driven him mad. Now, he pretty much expects it. But it feels like there's something different here, some unusual emotion. The familiar stubbornness, and then something else layered under it. Almost fear. He wonders if it is because of the legend, the implication that something bad will happen to him. He swallows, reaches out and brushes a slow hand over the small of her back as if trying to offer comfort. “I really think it was,” he says. “It couldn't have been a projection, it was too… It couldn't have been.” She's still not looking at him. He flattens his palm against her back, rubs a circle with his thumb. “I don't know what that means, Scully,” he says softly. “Whether or not it's…”

“It probably means nothing, Mulder,” Scully says immediately. She finally turns towards him, and her expression is guarded, but she reaches out and squeezes his arm. “It'll be fine,” she says softly, firmly. Leans forward and kisses his cheek. “I'm going to take a shower, okay?” When she draws back, she won't meet his eyes. He watches her go into the bathroom, until the door closes behind her.

He showers next, tries to shed the thought of more misfortune, but he can’t quite shake the thought of it. After everything they've been through, he can't imagine going through more, even if it is a bit inevitable at this point. He doesn't know if he could bear it. Especially if whatever misfortune the Specter brings involves losing his wife or son. (He is praying it's something trivial, like a flat tire, or someone breaking into his house.)

When he exits the bedroom, Scully is lying in bed on her side, facing the wall. He climbs in behind her, touches her shoulder gently and briefly before settling in. He's ready to fall asleep and try and forget the whole thing, give Scully her space, but she rolls over first, rolls towards him until they're facing each other. “Ryan was in the school,” she says. “In the cafeteria. All that crashing around was probably just from him breaking in.”

His eyebrows raise in surprise. “Seriously? What happened, did he get away?”

“No.” She bites her lower lip, looking away from him. “Sort of. I… I decided to give him a warning.”

His expression shifts to confusion. “A warning?”

“Yes.” She is almost squirming, avoiding his eyes. “I… I don't know why. It just all seems so silly, the whole thing. And he insisted that this was the first time he had broken in. But I told him if I ever caught him doing that again, I'd call the police without hesitation.” She rubs at her forehead with embarrassment, her voice full of shame. “The security system was out, though. We hopefully don't have to worry about it ever getting back to Skinner.”

“Do you believe him?” Mulder asks, astonished and trying like hell not to show it. He's more surprised than angry, it doesn't really matter to him, but he can tell how foolish Scully feels and he hardly wants to make that worse. “That it was his first time?”

Scully rubs her forehead again, presses her palm over her eyes. “I honestly don't know, Mulder. I really do think that he's involved in this… it makes the most sense. I don't know how or why, but I hope he gets his act together. I… I hope that I've made this better instead of worse.”

“I definitely think Ryan has something to do with this,” says Mulder quietly, reaching out to squeeze her shoulder, “but I don't think it's the same way that you think so. I think he's a… catalyst of sorts. I think he has a connection to this ghost, and I can't put my finger on it. But I think Joy Seers was right. I think there's more to the legend than people take at face value. And I don't think that Ryan was responsible for what was happening in that school.”

Scully yawns, burrowing down into the covers. “Whether there is or there isn't, it doesn't really matter, does it?” she mumbles, sounding like she wants to drop the subject. “We're going home in the morning. I just hope that no one finds out what happened.”

“Yeah,” he agrees, quietly, and reaches over to turn out the light. They settle in next to each other in the dark, their arms pressed together, hands side by side. Mulder swallows, bumping his finger against hers absently. The adrenaline of the night hasn't completely left him, the implications of his encounter in the hall, and he's grateful that she is close by. As if that can prevent everything bad from happening.

“Do you think I made the wrong decision?” Scully asks softly, and that shame is still in her voice. “To let Ryan go instead of taking him in?”

“No, I don't,” he tells her honestly, covering her hand gently with his. “I think that isn't nearly the worst thing we've gotten away with on the job.” She chuckles at that, and he grins. “I don't see why anyone ever has to know about it,” he adds. “The cameras are out, and I'm not planning to tell anyone. And I'm sure Ryan will keep it to himself. You may have given that kid another chance that he'll take.”

“Mmm,” Scully says, and he can tell by her voice that she is tired. “It feels so convenient, the cameras. Especially considering how much I asked about them earlier. Mulder, I bet Ryan either knew about the system being down or took it down himself, if this really was the first time he'd broken in.”

“Hmm,” he says softly. “Maybe.”

“I guess I just didn't think he was dangerous,” she whispers. “I feel so foolish. I feel like I haven't done my duty as an FBI agent. I don't know what I was thinking.”

“You don't have to know,” he says, and he intertwines his fingers with hers. “You don't.”

She makes a small sound that indicated she disagrees with him, but she doesn't argue. Their elbows bump together companionably. Her palm is cool under his. They fall into quiet again, hands clasped together under the sheets.

Mulder matches his breathing to hers, calm, and he is nearly asleep when he hears a low whistling sound, akin to a moan. The shutters of the windows rattle.

A sudden panic shoots through him at the noise. “Scully, did you hear that?” he whispers.

“It's the wind,” she says, her voice sleepy but hard. “Just the wind, Mulder.”

The wind howls against the glass again and Mulder shivers, crawling closer to Scully. “You sure?” he asks, and she nods, almost growly in her delivery. Scully does not fuck around when she is tired, and he senses she's already in a bad mood from the Ryan Caruthers thing.

But the sound is too human, too eerie, and Mulder can't ignore it. He never thought he'd be this much in regret because of a supernatural encounter, but this is the kind of thing that is too hard to let go. He's as embarrassed as Scully about tonight—embarrassed about how badly he wanted to see the ghost, and embarrassed (and fearful) of the repercussions it will bring.

He drops a light, impulsive kiss on Scully's hair before curling up closer to her than before. He doesn't particularly want to leave Scully anytime soon, not if he can help it. Not with the wind howling like that and with the eerie figure of the Specter hovering at the back of his mind. It's silly, but considering how their last run-in with ghosts went, he doesn't think he's overreacting. He holds her hand tight and lays close to her, and she doesn't protest, and he thinks that is what gives him the courage to say what he says.

He says, nose against her hair, hand on her waist: “Scully, do you want to come back to the house with me tomorrow?”

She says nothing; the only sign of surprise is the slight lilt in her breathing. He adds quickly, “Just… to look over that tip I got last week. The one about the river creature?”

“Oh?” Scully asks, and her voice is very nearly coy. “It doesn't have anything to do with what happened tonight?”

He rubs his nose into her hair; he is moving entirely on impulse now. “If it did,” he says softly, “would it change your answer?”

She's quiet. He can hear every breath. It goes on for so long that he begins to consider pulling away, but she hasn't let go of his hand yet.

Finally, she says, “I hope you're ready. I've been thinking of lots of rebuttals for your river creature theories.”

He laughs, a little nervously, a little relievedly. She squeezes his hand once before letting go. She shifts a little in bed, turning over on her side, but she doesn't move away. His chest is against her back, his arm against her hip, and she doesn't move away.

The wind wails and the shutters rattle, and he thinks that the heat must be broken because he's freezing, but they're together, and she's warm. She is so warm, and she's here, and he loves her. He presses his cheek briefly to the back of her head before settling in to go to sleep.

---

Joy leaves the broken necklace on her desk. It's so dark out, she'd probably just lose it, and she couldn't do anything with it tonight, anyway. She feels nearly naked without it around her neck, but she feels equally relieved at the absence. Her breaths are still ragged, her neck still stinging, her heart still pounding. She can't quiet leave the fright of the moment, sweat slicking her palms, a shivery feeling up her spine. She just wants to get home and fall asleep for a few hours before she'll have to wake up and go back into school. She realizes that tonight hasn't exactly made any progress in the way of getting this ghost out of her classroom, and her temples throb. Tonight seemed like an ending, but she doesn't see why it would be. The ghost is likely still there.

She rubs at her eyes with exhaustion, texts her husband to let him know she'll be home soon and starts her car.

The streets are dark, orange and black streamers hanging limply from street lamps and candy wrappers littering the streets. Joy yawns, making a left turn. Driving in the dark has always given her the creeps. She likes to think it's the product of moving to the country after growing up in the city: no lights, no noises, just endless black and silence. She turns on her brights, just because no one else is on the road, and hums absently to herself, drumming her fingers on the dashboard.

All of a sudden, out of nowhere, the radio springs to life. It's playing Monster Mash, and Joy never thought a goofy song like that would bring as much terror as this one does, because her hands were nowhere near the dial.

Spooked, frantic, Joy tries to reach out with her right hand and turn it off, but she can't move. Her hands are frozen, her wrists achey and her fingers spasming around the wheel in her attempts to move, but it's to no avail. She can't reach over and turn off the radio.

Her eyes yank from side to side frantically, the only part of her body she seems to be able to move. And then her foot moves without her meaning to. She presses down harder on the gas, increasing her speed far past the limit.

Joy tries to thrash, tries to break her hands free from the wheel or her foot from the gas, but she still finds herself frozen, helpless. She can't decrease the pressure. The bouncy sound of Monster Mash continues, too loud, echoing in her eardrums. She whimpers, just a little, as she shoots past 70 in a 35 zone. At least there are no other cars in front of her.

Her eyes jerk again, almost painfully, and land on the rearview mirror. There's no one on the road behind her, but there is a shape in the back seat. A hulking, humanoid shape that seems to be watching her.

Joy's breath catches in her throat, unable to take her eyes away, unable to look away. She is helpless. She can't make out the face of whoever, or whatever, is in the backseat, but she thinks it may be smiling. Smiling maliciously.

The next thing she knows, the shape seems to be lunging at her. Her hand suddenly moves, not of their own accord, swerving the wheel hard to the right.

The next thing she knows, everything is going black.

---

November 1, 2016

Willoughby Daily Press; Willoughby, Virginia

SEVERE CAR CRASH ON PINE TREE ROAD LAST NIGHT

Last night, a car swerved off Pine Tree Road and flipped in the adjacent field. The accident was estimated to take place a few minutes before midnight.

The car belongs to a Mrs. Joy Seers, who was reportedly driving the car when it crashed. Mrs. Seers reportedly obtained major injuries, and was transported to Willoughby General Hospital from the scene. No one else was harmed in the wreck.

Seers's husband was contacted, but declined to comment on his wife's condition. According to a source who requested to stay anonymous, Mrs. Seers is in a coma at Willoughby General, and it is unknown when she is expected to wake up.

The Willoughby Police Department declined to comment on the accident. It is assumed that no foul play was involved, although this is unconfirmed.

#xf rewatch #xf fanfic #i wrote this

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dust1feather · 7 years

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This is basically my declaration of love for Sterek, the best ever OTP, and for the amazingly talented Sterek fandom which has given me so much joy and happiness throughout the years. Here's hoping the years post-canon will be even better and brighter. #eternalsterek

Big thanks to @halekingsourwolf for the beta! (Also on AO3 here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/12178566 )

For Sterek

You meet for the first time on private property – 147 pounds of pale skin, fragile bones and sarcasm, and a majestic wolf with bunny teeth in a too big leather jacket.

Derek Hale: you're the king on Stiles' chessboard, his anchor, the prettiest alpha with the flower crown and Stiles your flower queen. You're the alpha of Stiles' heart.

Stiles Stilinski: you're Derek's anchor, his second in command, the emissary in training, the most loyal member of his pack. You're Derek's mate.

Mieczysław and cousin Miguel. You meet each other in a thousand different ways, in a thousand lifetimes. You impress each other with your Polish roots and fluent Spanish skills. Together you suffer through endless family dinners and visits to Grandma's only to be interrogated about your intentions. You'll have your informal occasions, too: relaxed get togethers and movie nights and bbqs in the backyard, letting the pack and your respective families mingle. You're no strangers to loss but the tragedies of the past make you appreciate your self-made families all the more.

Perhaps you're orphans and make your own families. Or you meet as kids and become instantly inseparable. Or you meet in school but have a hard time fighting through your different social cliques to reach out and make your special brand of jock and nerd work, connecting through mutual love for pop culture or music or literature. University fraternities may try but they can't keep you apart forever.

Sometimes you meet later in life, when you already have kids, but all that friendly neighbourhood DILF will charm your pants off. Often enough you get to have your kids together, carry your own pups and join your beautiful everything (Herald being the infamous exception, of course).

You communicate via notebooks full of scribbles in sparkly pens, you text and sext and skype and type and call using few words or none. The anonymous postcards are instantly recognizable and always welcome. And when you're not using words, you know to interpret each other's eyebrows and the eyerolls. Your love translates without sound or sight, with a simple sign or touch.

You're studying for your exams, learning anatomy bone by bone while lying in bed. You connect the multitude of moles, admire all those brilliant tattoos covering each other's bodies, magical and ordinary alike. You make having gray hairs okay because getting them means growing old together.

But first you're still young and you meet in the forest, lay on a rock and share a smoke. It's a club – it's always a club – dark, loud and full of people invading your space. You leave the wolfsbane laced drink and craft beer behind and move to the dancefloor where your sweaty bodies gyrate together, following the beat of the music while you learn each others' curves and angles by heart. Later you're in no hurry, you're vegging indoors, tangled on the sheets, kissing and watching the smoke twist and curl up, up, and up in lazy patterns. Taking turns shotgunning your spirits and dreams from lips to lips. You lose your virginities together... maybe you lose it to save your life, to avoid becoming the next sacrifice, but it always, always means something. Because you're soulmates, your innermost thoughts and desires appearing on your skin, helping you to find your missing piece, connecting you two old souls time and again.

Then the wildest dreams of your high school band come true and you love and play and break up and make up while touring and conquering whole continents. You give and take dance lessons, to seduce and be seduced; you clash your classic and street style backgrounds, a strict follower of rules and the other forever bending them, creating something altogether new just for the two of you. You paint each other like one of the French girls; you do portraits, make sculpture and pottery and nude drawings, sometimes in secret and sometimes in plain sight. You participate in the theater club, and the whole audience will get to witness your first kiss.

You travel the world with your magical circus; you are firemen, enjoying their pies. You meet as police officers and delinquents, as actual superheroes or vigilantes. You're PIs or FBIs. You're cowboys on a ranch, vagabonds, florists and tattooists, doctors and patients, bakers, chefs, sportsmen, football players representing rival teams. You're hot mechanics getting down and dirty under the hoods and jeeps. You're thieves, magicians, horse trainers, students and teachers and professors. You own a bookshop, magic shop; you work in a library, you're a TA. You drive a tow truck and you have a thing for your dispatcher who is calculating the shortest distance from you to him. You're a rentboy surviving on a stranger's kindness; you're a rich sugardaddy who starts with all the material goodness and ends up giving his heart and soul. It's omegaverse and neither of you believes in the society's unyielding hierarchy, yet there you both are, reluctantly taking part in the annual heat run.

The UST between you two is legendary and it burns hotter than a thousand suns. And when you finally snap, you do it against the wall, in and on the Camaro, in every single room and on every available piece of furniture to christen your new apartment. You do it on a motorcycle in space despite the raving zombies all around. You do it in captivity, not minding Derek's beta form in the least. You do it in secluded cabins in the woods, surrounded by snow, far from the rest of the civilization. Knotting is your thing. And despite what anyone might think, your BDSM and private club performances and role plays are fifty shades of okay.

And when it comes to porn, you're naturals. Made for recording videos online, letting the camera love your angles. It really is all about Neckz'n Throats. And in a real studio, you're famous stars colliding but doing it like professionals all the same. You have a good time, many many times, several times in a row, in several different positions, and yet it's the undeniable power of human love which penetrates you the deepest.

Everyone else sees what you have before you do. The witches teach you a lesson. You have to narrate your own life or you can only talk by singing or you are forced to speak your mind or you can only speak the truth or hear each other's thoughts or you are physically bound together until you learn better. And even if magically stolen away, your love will grow back organically, like the plants in the strong earth of the garden because there is no stopping such a force of nature.

You're involved in politics: the first son and his long suffering but lifesaving bodyguard. You're celebrities, you're famous models and authors, actors and larger than life movie stars returning home and given another chance at making things right. You're bloggers and vidders. You're food critics. You own restaurants and bars and work in diners and cafes and make coffees as black as your soul with a lot of sugar and extra cream.

You're royalty throughout the ages. In modern day, you hide from paparazzi and try to reign in your desire in the face of social expectations and pressure from the media. In ancient times, you struggle with archaic laws and wars, fighting for your countries and sending your most trusted knight or assassin to turn the course of war for you, to win the war for you and it's the biggest sacrifice every time. Or you're heirs or less important sons needed to seal the alliance of your kingdoms, to be wed to maintain the peace and strengthen the union of your countries. You've only ever seen a portrait of your intended, a horrible troll of a creature, and you can't believe your eyes when your fiancé turns out to be love at first sight. Or it's regency and you hesitate with even the slightest touch; you barely dare to dream of holding hands and yet a single look across the room makes everyone else disappear, leaving just the two of you with your unparallelled chemistry.

Stiles, you're Squirrelinski, a fennec fox, you are the fox to Derek's wolf. When you're given the bite, you become the most natural beta ever, challenging Derek's alpha at every turn but matching him step by step. Derek, your seedwolf makes the most adorable minifriend Stiles has ever had. And then there are sheepgoats and bunnywolves, androids being built and mermen coming ashore. There are demon creatures summoned and adopted. There's more than enough to handle in one set of you but sometimes it's either the Stilinski twins or a Derek's doppelganger and the only available option is to groupsex it away.

You're possessed by demons and chased by hunters. Even death can't keep you apart. You make a perfect werewolf-vampire couple or haunt each other as ghosts, or go to purgatory and back to fix it, to prove everyone you're not done yet and that you never will be. You're driven together by a curse, magic or fairies make you do it. It's fate or chance or accident. But that's only the beginning. It's what happens after, when you learn from each other, show respect and understanding, trust each other, and inevitably and irrevocably fall in love. Every single time.

And even when the whole world is on fire, you serve through the World Wars to see each other again. It's the apocalypse and the zombies are roaming the earth, they have spread all over the galaxy and you're fighting for your survival, still not letting each other go. Werewolves are known, there's slavery, you're kidnapped and held in captivity. You join forces, start a revolution and fight against the oppressors. You are each other's lifeline, you pull each other through it all and end up saving your city, your nation, your world, the universe while re-discovering your humanity with your love. And when you return to civilian life the war has left its mark on you, as the veteran with PTSD, you have your scars and battle wounds but sometimes the invisible scars can only be seen without sight and you manage to mend them together.

Your love transcends time. You travel back and forth through different timelines, you cross multiple universes just to be together. You chase after hurricanes and want to start all over. You take a gap year, you go on a roadtrip to see the world but the further you drive, the closer the two of you get and all that breathtaking scenery pales in comparison with your self-discoveries and budding love.

So, just so you know, Derek, Stiles is not afraid of you and he hasn't been for a long, long time. There's no need for ripping any throats out with teeth. Though it's still Stiles' house and Stiles' rules, buddy, whenever he's harbouring your fugitive ass. And Stiles, if one of these days you get lucky, Derek will show you that big ol' fist and you can be sure it's not the only big thing the big bad wolf has in store for you. But, most importantly, you trust each other now and you still need each other to survive, still keep each other alive and won't ever let go.

You're drift compatible, you fit together in every possible universe with every version of yourselves. You're Diego and Sid, the abominable snowman and sourwolf, you're big bad wolf and not so little red with the trusted baseball bat or the lacrosse stick. You two make a pretty good pair.

You belong to fandom. You belong to no one. You belong to each other.

Stiles and Derek. Derek and Stiles. Your love is eternal.

Canon is closed. You're finally free.

Long live Sterek.

#sterek #eternalsterek #sterek fic #sterek fandom #sterek is eternal #my sterek fic #my fic

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adambstingus · 5 years

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6 Real Crime Waves From History That Were Hilariously Insane

Thanks to the news, it’s easy to feel that right now is the most dangerous time to be alive. However, the truth is that the world in general keeps getting safer. You see, not only was the past lousy with criminal terrors, but ye crime waves of olde were also bit more … eccentric. Case in point …

A Bootleggers’ Turf War Included Tank Battles And Bomber Planes In 1920s Illinois

Illinois was both a great and terrible place to be a beer fan during Prohibition. Sure, there was no real shortage of booze, but there was a decent chance you’d be shot while drinking it. But while we all know about the glamorous gangland violence of Al Capone’s Chicago, a wholly different criminal empire was tearing it up in the southern part of the state at that time: the hillbilly mafia. And when they got into fights, it wasn’t with blunderbusses and cussin’, but with homemade tanks and aerial bombs.

During Prohibition, the booze king of Southern Illinois was a bootlegging antihero named Charlie Birger. He was loved because he drove the KKK out of the area, omitting that he did so mostly because they kept trying to steal his liquor. Soon after, he joined forces with the Shelton brothers, who agreed to take a cut of the profits from Birger’s speakeasies in exchange for providing him with only the most primo hooch directly from Florida. And if Floridians use it to blot out their reality, you know that’s some powerful hooch.

The partnership quickly dissolved, however, and the two sides went to war. Like, actual war. The Sheltons’ retribution involved attacking Birger with an armored truck they’d made themselves which rolled through the streets equipped with “an assembly of weapons” — i.e. a freaking tank.

As if that wasn’t enough, the brothers then performed perhaps the first aerial bombing on U.S. soil ever when a plane they hired dropped a few bottles of nitroglycerin wrapped in dynamite over one of Birger’s hideouts. You might be okay with dozens of people dying on the street, and you might be okay with criminals blasting each other with Tommy Guns, but when your criminal element is better-armed than the Army Reserve, it’s time to move.

19th-Century Sexual Harassers Were So Bad That Women Would Stab Them

While it’s oddly comforting to know that street harassment is not a modern problem, we should all long for a return of the Edwardian era, and not only because their catcalls involved complimenting a lady’s ankles and expressing a strong desire to experience the sublime sight of her ravishing bosom. At least in our great-great-grandmothers’ day, harassment had to be done face-to-face, which gave them a lot more options regarding what to do with said faces.

By the end of the 19th century, it became commonplace to fend off unwanted advances by plucking one’s hatpin out of one’s fashionably enormous hats and stabbing the fucker. These were no puny little thumbtacks, either — they could be well over a foot long and do fatal damage.

San Francisco Sunday Call Cutting-edge fashion.

One woman even forced robbers from a moving train armed with nothing but her hatpin, while 100 factory workers all wielding theirs fought off police who had come to make one of them as a political prisoner. You simply don’t see that kind of sisterhood anymore. Two women in Chicago, upon the former’s discovery of her husband’s infidelity with the latter, “drew hatpins and circled each other, duel-style, until policemen broke it up.” Cops just don’t get called to bust up hatpin phalanxes anymore these days.

And while today there’d be badly kempt rioting in the streets if dudes got stabbed every time they “accidentally” brushed a woman’s derriere on the sidewalk, 19th-century society still had a strict “gentleman or GTFO” attitude. Reporters were only too happy to dub someone a harasser, or “masher.” Even asking “insulting questions” was all it took to find yourself cast as the mustache-twirling villain. It was such an accepted part of society that it became a trope in the fiction of the era, and newspapers printed tutorials on how to get the most out of your deadly accessory, mostly by encouraging the lady to go straight for the balls. The clothes might make the man, but a hatpin can reverse that process in a pinch.

Brooklyn Museum Repeat: One foot long. Right through the balls.

Unfortunately, errant hatpins had a nasty habit of stabbing people by accident, too. At least, that was the purported reasoning behind laws banning or regulating hatpins — which, coincidentally, women weren’t allowed to vote against. Those laws are presumably defunct now, so if any fashion industry moguls happen to be reading, please bring back ridiculously huge hats and their pins. Plenty of people need reminding of that particular fashion tip.

New York Had a Gang Of Child Criminals Run By A Kindly Matron

When Fredericka Mandelbaum emigrated from Prussia to New York City in the mid-19th century, all she wanted was for her husband and herself to eke out a modest living to feed their children. She didn’t count on becoming the country’s first female crime boss.

Starting out as a snazzy street peddler, Mandelbaum discovered there was a fortune to be made befriending the countless Dickensian pickpockets in the city and buying their stolen wares. “Marm” Mandelbaum then used her motherly charms to recruit these baby criminals as her own private ragamuffin army.

Valerian Gribayedoff To supplement her regular muffin army.

Mother Mandelbaum used her stolen-goods-for-candy-and-affection racket to move up in the criminal world, leasing a store as a front from where she ran her operations, which ranged from financing bank robberies to moving stolen livestock. As a devotee of continuing education, she used the back as a classroom to teach her young delinquents how to become better at crime, a sort of finishing school for repeat offenders. She particularly exalted her female students, whom she was proudly saving from “wasting their lives being housekeepers” — a weird glass ceiling to break. With her sharp eye for business and nurturing of young talent, Mandelbaum soon had enough resources to buy the most important thing for a criminal: friends in high places. She had everyone from the local cab drivers to the police to the city’s highest-powered defense attorneys in her pocket.

In the end, it took a private detective agency hired by the district attorney to bring her down, as no local cop dared to raise a hand against Mother. But before the law could close in, Mandelbaum simply packed up and retired to Canada, making everyone to feel bad for never visiting. She lived there quietly under an assumed identity until her supposed death in 1894. Rumor had it that her coffin, transported back to New York City, was filled with stones, and she had in truth returned in the flesh under the name Madame Fuchs, indicating how few of them she gave. In any case, at her funeral, many mourners reported having been pickpocketed. It’s what she would have wanted.

Bandits Used To Steal Wigs All The Time

These days, a secondhand wig is worth about as much as the cheap bald bastard who bought it. But in the days of dandies, having a fancy wig was both necessary and expensive. That meant wigs, which cost about as much as the average worker made in a year, were right alongside jewels and cash on every highwayman’s wish list.

Wigmaking was a process that took “six men six days working from sunup to sundown” and a complicated pre-UPS importing system. That’s a lot of money for something that looks like a Bond villain’s pet died on your head. In fact, getting your hands on a bigwig’s big wig was such a score that it made other types of robbery not worth the risk. Instead of slyly trying to cut a purse or pick a pocket, all a would-be bandit had to do was cut a hole or two in the back of a carriage, grab a few fistfuls of powdered perfection, and take off before their now-unsightly owners had any idea what hit them. Boom, that there’s a year’s worth of absinthe.

And with way less needless crotch contact than pickpocketing.

One story tells of a thief so bold as to simply replace his mark’s wig with his own cheap rug when he wasn’t looking. The mark, not feeling the difference, simply walked away, not realizing he had lost a fortune in doll hairs. Unfortunately, the bandits too fell victim to fashion. Wigs eventually stopped being stylish, thereby killing one the criminal underworld’s sillier sources of revenue.

17th-Century Dairy Farmers Used To Dye Their Cheese To Jack Up The Price

Food coloring is an important staple in today’s food, especially when it contains little to no actual food. That’s why we’d be more upset at finding out that Cheetos do in fact contain cheese. But back in the day, fake cheese was a huge scandal.

Before we needed an advanced chemistry degree to read food labels, a food’s color was often a sign of its quality. For cheese, a bright orange color signified that it came from quality breeds of cows that eat certain types of grass, which affected the taste greatly. However, in the 17th century, English farmers had figured out that they could get more bang for their cheese by separating the cream first and using it for other products. But it was the cream that had all that orangey goodness, and while their now-white cheese was of the same quality, there’s such a thing as branding. Paint those McDonald’s golden arches green, and it’s game over, baby. Game over.

So the cheese makers came up with a way to disguise their stupid white skim cheese as the full-fat good stuff. They started using natural dyes from a number of plants, including saffron, marigolds, and carrots, and the monocled masses were none the wiser. Later, they started using an extract called annatto, which is what Kraft now uses instead of artificial coloring, because you can even make fraud more lucrative by making it “vintage.” In a matter of decades, the ruse had become an industry standard, being used by cheesemongers all across the UK and the U.S. (except New England, as they prefer to dine on their own smugness). However, the practice of coloring cheese eventually backfired, as it became so common that orange cheese came to be regarded as low-quality instead, begetting an industry of “artificial cheese products” and giving previously exalted cows low self-esteem.

A Gang Of One-Legged Men Terrorized Australia

Everything in Australia is deadlier than it should be, and that extends to their old-fashioned gangs. Around the turn of the last century, the scourge roaming (or rather, hobbling around) the streets of Melbourne was a gang called Crutchie Push, and it consisted almost entirely of one-legged men.

They might not have been fast, but death was certain if you were caught by the Crutchie Push (“push” being so hilariously appropriate Australian slang for “gang”). It was a requirement to be one limb short of a set to join the gang, meaning most of them went into battle already on crutches — except for one berserker who still had both legs and ran into fights swinging a brick stuffed inside his sweater sleeve like a low-rent Mr. Fantastic. From there, everyone else (hopefully in choreographed synchronicity) balanced on one leg and used their crutches as weapons. Their signature move was to jab an opponent in the stomach with the tip of the crutch, then swing it around and beat him with it while he was doubled over. It was a surprisingly effective way to force compliance from shop owners and random people of whom they demanded money, food, and booze. Still more reliable than Social Security.

But for a bunch of people who were physically unable to run, the Crutchie Push were bizarrely hard to catch. You’d think you could just lead them to a staircase and be done with it, but when an officer became involved in a brawl with leader Valentine Keating, the one-legged man actually outran the officer before he could be arrested. That’s either Olympic-level crutch skills or a hilariously unfit cop. Eventually, the police became so frustrated with the gang that they assembled a task force made up by the ten most violent police officers in Australia. These “Terrible Ten” were sent out to track the Crutchie Push down and beat them with hoses, because there is apparently a very fine line between legitimate Australian history and the fever dream of a wealthy conservative business owner looking to build a casino atop an Army veterans clinic.

Keating was eventually imprisoned for beating a cop to death with his crutches, after which he … um, went on to a nice, quiet life as a barkeep until his death from tuberculosis. In all of his days tending bar, he never called the police to break up a fight. Why use them as a crutch if you can beat a man to death with your own?

You don’t have to steal to get this wig for your dog.

Also check out 8 Unsolved Crimes That Were Clearly Committed By Satan and 4 Terrifying Historical Crimes No One Can Explain.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel, and check out Why Thomas Edison Was History’s Biggest Dick, and watch other videos you won’t see on the site!

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from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/6-real-crime-waves-from-history-that-were-hilariously-insane/ from All of Beer https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/183703998612

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allofbeercom · 5 years

Text

6 Real Crime Waves From History That Were Hilariously Insane

A Bootleggers’ Turf War Included Tank Battles And Bomber Planes In 1920s Illinois

19th-Century Sexual Harassers Were So Bad That Women Would Stab Them

San Francisco Sunday Call Cutting-edge fashion.

Brooklyn Museum Repeat: One foot long. Right through the balls.

New York Had a Gang Of Child Criminals Run By A Kindly Matron

Valerian Gribayedoff To supplement her regular muffin army.

Bandits Used To Steal Wigs All The Time

And with way less needless crotch contact than pickpocketing.

17th-Century Dairy Farmers Used To Dye Their Cheese To Jack Up The Price

A Gang Of One-Legged Men Terrorized Australia

You don’t have to steal to get this wig for your dog.

Also check out 8 Unsolved Crimes That Were Clearly Committed By Satan and 4 Terrifying Historical Crimes No One Can Explain.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel, and check out Why Thomas Edison Was History’s Biggest Dick, and watch other videos you won’t see on the site!

Follow our new Pictofacts Facebook page, and we’ll follow you everywhere.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/6-real-crime-waves-from-history-that-were-hilariously-insane/

0 notes

wetrumpfeed · 5 years

Text

Afternoon MAGAthread: YOUR WEEKLY PRESIDENTIAL RECAP!

HAPPY SATURDAY PATRIOTS!

This is u/Ivaginaryfriend here and I'm back with all things spicy and dank from the past week! For those that missed any past recaps you can check those out here!

Sunday, January 27th:

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

58,000 non-citizens voted in Texas, with 95,000 non-citizens registered to vote. These numbers are just the tip of the iceberg. All over the country, especially in California, voter fraud is rampant. Must be stopped. Strong voter ID! @foxandfriends

We are not even into February and the cost of illegal immigration so far this year is $18,959,495,168. Cost Friday was $603,331,392. There are at least 25,772,342 illegal aliens, not the 11,000,000 that have been reported for years, in our Country. So ridiculous! DHS

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, just stated that because of me NATO has been able to raise far more money than ever before from its members after many years of decline. It’s called burden sharing. Also, more united. Dems & Fake News like to portray the opposite!

(Retweeting ChatByCC) Strong people stand up for themselves—but stronger people stand up for others. Thank you President @realDonaldTrump for standing up for America.

Thank you to Brit. This is a very big deal in Europe. Fake News is the Enemy of the People!

(Retweeting Ken Paxton) VOTER FRAUD ALERT: The @TXsecofstate discovered approx 95,000 individuals identified by DPS as non-U.S. citizens have a matching voter registration record in TX, approx 58,000 of whom have voted in TX elections. Any illegal vote deprives Americans of their voice.

(Retweeting The GOP) “300 people are dying from heroin overdoses a week in this country, 90% of it is coming over the southern border… We’ve got to stop it.”—@KellyannePolls

#HolocaustMemorialDay

BUILD A WALL & CRIME WILL FALL!

Never thought I’d say this but I think @johnrobertsFox and @GillianHTurner @FoxNews have even less understanding of the Wall negotiations than the folks at FAKE NEWS CNN & NBC! Look to final results! Don’t know how my poll numbers are so good, especially up 19% with Hispanics?

After all that I have done for the Military, our great Veterans, Judges (99), Justices (2), Tax & Regulation Cuts, the Economy, Energy, Trade & MUCH MORE, does anybody really think I won’t build the WALL? Done more in first two years than any President! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

Aaaaahaha, Wikileaks putting NYT in their place.

r/politics is propaganda. Their target is us.

Kamala Harris literally prostituted her body to obtain positions of power within the United States government. Then she joined the #MeToo movement and accused Kavanaugh of being a rapist. Now she’s running for President

This is an actual tweet by an actual congressman.... Mark Dice throwing a little shade

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

In Their Heads. 24/7. Rent Free.

Leftist Are Trash.

Interesting

saw this on the pole of a stoplight down the street from my house, right in front of the elementary school

Monday, January 28th:

TODAY'S ACTION:

Executive Order on Taking Additional Steps to Address the National Emergency with Respect to Venezuela

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

Tariffs on the “dumping” of Steel in the United States have totally revived our Steel Industry. New and expanded plants are happening all over the U.S. We have not only saved this important industry, but created many jobs. Also, billions paid to our treasury. A BIG WIN FOR U.S.

Numerous states introducing Bible Literacy classes, giving students the option of studying the Bible. Starting to make a turn back? Great!

Howard Schultz doesn’t have the “guts” to run for President! Watched him on @60Minutes last night and I agree with him that he is not the “smartest person.” Besides, America already has that! I only hope that Starbucks is still paying me their rent in Trump Tower!

“In the Media’s effort to destroy the President, they are actually destroying themselves. Given all of the tremendous headwinds this President has faced, it’s amazing he has accomplished so much.” DEROY MURDOCK @foxandfriends I agree!

In the beautiful Midwest, windchill temperatures are reaching minus 60 degrees, the coldest ever recorded. In coming days, expected to get even colder. People can’t last outside even for minutes. What the hell is going on with Global Waming? Please come back fast, we need you!

How does Da Nang Dick (Blumenthal) serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee when he defrauded the American people about his so called War Hero status in Vietnam, only to later admit, with tears pouring down his face, that he was never in Vietnam. An embarrassment to our Country!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

'We don't want open borders': Hispanic pastors back President Trump on immigration

NATO increases spending by $100B due to Trump calling them delinquents

'They Treated Me Like El Chapo': Roger Stone Recounts 'Over-the-Top' Arrest | This arrest is such an outrage... Mueller must go!!!

BOOM!!!!! Federal Panel Of Judges Dismisses All 83 Ethics Complaints Against Brett Kavanaugh!

State of the Union address rescheduled for February 5

Border Patrol Wife Invites Speaker Pelosi to See Why Walls Are Needed

PRESS BRIEFINGS, INTERVIEWS, RALLIES:

Press Beating

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

Just a reminder that Reddit intentionally silences the political speech of 700,000 supporters of the President of the United States

Has anyone seen Ruth?

Accurate as hell

This is why I like a small federal government.

Tuesday, January 29th:

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

A low level staffer that I hardly knew named Cliff Sims wrote yet another boring book based on made up stories and fiction. He pretended to be an insider when in fact he was nothing more than a gofer. He signed a non-disclosure agreement. He is a mess!

“Our economy, right now, is the Gold Standard throughout the World.” @IngrahamAngle So true, and not even close!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

GOOSEBUMPS

Soon to be Fired Johns Hopkins Distinguished Service Professor of Psychiatry: Transgenderism is a “mental disorder”, that sex change is “biologically impossible,” and that people who promote sexual reassignment surgery are collaborating with and promoting a mental disorder.

Tucker Carlson: Roger Stone raid shows that CNN is no longer covering Robert Mueller. They're working with him

Twitter Says Advising Fired Journalists to 'Learn to Code' Is Hate Speech. But when reporters were mocking out of work coal miners and manufacturing workers the same way it was okay

LMAO - Nancy and Cryin' Chuck's choice for the Dems' SOTU response is a tax delinquent with nearly $200k in unpaid college debt.

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

Al Gore's 10 year Climate Change Challenge

WHERE'S RUTH?

Total disaster

Yikes

Where in the World, is Ruth Bader Ginsberg?

Wednesday, January 30th:

TODAY'S ACTION:

Two Nominations Sent to the Senate

President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Judicial Nominees

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

Maduro willing to negotiate with opposition in Venezuela following U.S. sanctions and the cutting off of oil revenues. Guaido is being targeted by Venezuelan Supreme Court. Massive protest expected today. Americans should not travel to Venezuela until further notice.

When I became President, ISIS was out of control in Syria & running rampant. Since then tremendous progress made, especially over last 5 weeks. Caliphate will soon be destroyed, unthinkable two years ago. Negotiating are proceeding well in Afghanistan after 18 years of fighting.. ... ....Fighting continues but the people of Afghanistan want peace in this never ending war. We will soon see if talks will be successful? North Korea relationship is best it has ever been with U.S. No testing, getting remains, hostages returned. Decent chance of Denuclearization... ... ...Time will tell what will happen with North Korea, but at the end of the previous administration, relationship was horrendous and very bad things were about to happen. Now a whole different story. I look forward to seeing Kim Jong Un shortly. Progress being made-big difference!

If the committee of Republicans and Democrats now meeting on Border Security is not discussing or contemplating a Wall or Physical Barrier, they are Wasting their time!

“Three separate caravans marching to our Border. The numbers are tremendous.” @foxandfriends

The Intelligence people seem to be extremely passive and naive when it comes to the dangers of Iran. They are wrong! When I became President Iran was making trouble all over the Middle East, and beyond. Since ending the terrible Iran Nuclear Deal, they are MUCH different, but.... ... ....a source of potential danger and conflict. They are testing Rockets (last week) and more, and are coming very close to the edge. There economy is now crashing, which is the only thing holding them back. Be careful of Iran. Perhaps Intelligence should go back to school!

Dow just broke 25,000. Tremendous news!

Spoke today with Venezuelan Interim President Juan Guaido to congratulate him on his historic assumption of the presidency and reinforced strong United States support for Venezuela’s fight to regain its democracy.... ... ....Large protests all across Venezuela today against Maduro. The fight for freedom has begun!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

JUST IN: Woman who sexually assaulted Infowars reporter has been arrested.

Brad Parscale on Twitter: "Where it counts @realDonaldTrump is stronger than 2016. The fake news establishment media is not fooling these voters."

NO SHIT SHERLOCK ...

This is insanity. Seems like advocating for Post Term Abortion AKA MURDER by any standard I’m aware of. The only thing worse than what the Democrat Governor of VA said was the fact that there’s zero pushback from the host.

Trump slams Virginia Democrats over 'terrible' abortion stance

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

Book burnings don't always look like this...

Lion King (NY Progressive Remaster, 2019)

I'm afraid that 2019 is the year that the Supreme Court is going to be RUTHLESS

Judge Orders Release Of Sealed Records From BuzzFeed’s Dossier Lawsuit

Anytime some media company tries to run some sensational headline about MAGA being violent..new rule..always wait 3 days to get the real story.

Thursday, January 31st:

TODAY'S ACTION:

President Donald J. Trump Announces Appointments for the Executive Office of the President

Executive Order on Strengthening Buy-American Preferences for Infrastructure Projects

President Trump's Message on Securing our Border

President Trump Meets with American Manufacturers and Signs an Executive Order

President Trump Meets with the Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

So great to watch & listen to all these people who write books & talk about my presidential campaign and so many others things related to winning, and how I should be doing “IT.” As I take it all in, I then sit back, look around, & say “gee, I’m in the White House, & they’re not!

Large sections of WALL have already been built with much more either under construction or ready to go. Renovation of existing WALLS is also a very big part of the plan to finally, after many decades, properly Secure Our Border. The Wall is getting done one way or the other!

Lets just call them WALLS from now on and stop playing political games! A WALL is a WALL!

With Murders up 33% in Mexico, a record, why wouldn’t any sane person want to build a Wall! Construction has started and will not stop until it is finished. @LouDobbs @foxandfriends

China’s top trade negotiators are in the U.S. meeting with our representatives. Meetings are going well with good intent and spirit on both sides. China does not want an increase in Tariffs and feels they will do much better if they make a deal. They are correct. I will be...... ... ....meeting with their top leaders and representatives today in the Oval Office. No final deal will be made until my friend President Xi, and I, meet in the near future to discuss and agree on some of the long standing and more difficult points. Very comprehensive transaction.... ... ....China’s representatives and I are trying to do a complete deal, leaving NOTHING unresolved on the table. All of the many problems are being discussed and will be hopefully resolved. Tariffs on China increase to 25% on March 1st, so all working hard to complete by that date!

Republicans on the Homeland Security Committee are wasting their time. Democrats, despite all of the evidence, proof and Caravans coming, are not going to give money to build the DESPERATELY needed WALL. I’ve got you covered. Wall is already being built, I don’t expect much help!

Democrats are becoming the Party of late term abortion, high taxes, Open Borders and Crime!

More troops being sent to the Southern Border to stop the attempted Invasion of Illegals, through large Caravans, into our Country. We have stopped the previous Caravans, and we will stop these also. With a Wall it would be soooo much easier and less expensive. Being Built!

Looking for China to open their Markets not only to Financial Services, which they are now doing, but also to our Manufacturing, Farmers and other U.S. businesses and industries. Without this a deal would be unacceptable!

Schumer and the Democrats are big fans of being weak and passive with Iran. They have no clue as to the danger they would be inflicting on our Country. Iran is in financial chaos now because of the sanctions and Iran Deal termination. Dems put us in a bad place - but now good!

Very sadly, Murder cases in Mexico in 2018 rose 33% from 2017, to 33,341. This is a big contributor to the Humanitarian Crisis taking place on our Southern Border and then spreading throughout our Country. Worse even than Afghanistan. Much caused by DRUGS. Wall is being built!

(Video)

Just concluded a great meeting with my Intel team in the Oval Office who told me that what they said on Tuesday at the Senate Hearing was mischaracterized by the media - and we are very much in agreement on Iran, ISIS, North Korea, etc. Their testimony was distorted press.... ... ....I would suggest you read the COMPLETE testimony from Tuesday. A false narrative is so bad for our Country. I value our intelligence community. Happily, we had a very good meeting, and we are all on the same page!

Our great U.S. Border Patrol Agents made the biggest Fentanyl bust in our Country’s history. Thanks, as always, for a job well done!

Just out: The big deal, very mysterious Don jr telephone calls, after the innocent Trump Tower meeting, that the media & Dems said were made to his father (me), were just conclusively found NOT to be made to me. They were made to friends & business associates of Don. Really sad!

Nellie Ohr, the wife of DOJ official Bruce Ohr, was long ago investigating for pay (GPS Fusion) members of my family, feeding it to her husband who was then giving it to the FBI, even though it was created by ousted & discredited Christopher Steele. Illegal! WITCH HUNT

This Witch Hunt must end!

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

President Trump warned us 2 years ago that the Democrat party would push for late term abortion.. watch Clinton accuse him of using "scare tactics"

"nO vOters, wE wOuLD NEVER dO tHAT" - 2 YEARS LATER ...

And they wonder why we call them NPC. Behold, the womanoid robot.

House Dems Reject GOP Proposal to Block Raises for Federal Employees Guilty of Sexual Misconduct. Vote was chaired by Democrat Tony Cardenas, who is accused of drugging teenage girl

Graham: We’re Getting Trump’s Ninth Circuit Nominees Confirmed

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

Press that button!! You know you want to!

Roger Stone Explains How to Dress for Court

Ohio Passes Heartbeat Bill Which Bans Abortions After 6 Weeks

White people in Chicago at 2AM...

Friday, February 1st:

TODAY'S ACTION:

President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to Key Administration Posts

President Trump Meets to Discuss Fighting Human Trafficking on the Southern Border

🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:

I inherited a total mess in Syria and Afghanistan, the “Endless Wars” of unlimited spending and death. During my campaign I said, very strongly, that these wars must finally end. We spend $50 Billion a year in Afghanistan and have hit them so hard that we are now talking peace... ... ....after 18 long years. Syria was loaded with ISIS until I came along. We will soon have destroyed 100% of the Caliphate, but will be watching them closely. It is now time to start coming home and, after many years, spending our money wisely. Certain people must get smart!

Best January for the DOW in over 30 years. We have, by far, the strongest economy in the world!

JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!

Great news on Foxconn in Wisconsin after my conversation with Terry Gou!

(Retweeting The White House) "We added 304,000 jobs, which was a shocker to a lot of people. It wasn't a shocker to me."

Thank you to Senator Rob Portman and Senator Cory Gardner for the early and warm endorsement. We will ALL WIN in 2020 together!

National African American History Month is an occasion to rediscover the enduring stories of African Americans and the gifts of freedom, purpose, and opportunity they have bestowed on future generations..

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

Governor Who Endorsed Infanticide Received $2 Million From Planned Parenthood

EMBARRASSING - Elizabeth Warren apologizes to Cherokee Nation over taking DNA test to prove Native American roots

Virginia Governor on Blast!!! @GovernorVA Are you the one in blackface or the one in the KKK hood?

Very Fake News CNN falsely labels Northam a Republican.

REMINDER: Cory Booker Groped Someone In High School and Wrote an Op-Ed About It. Then Tried to Destroy Kavanaugh's Life. Fuck Him.

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

If Fake News Journalists need help coding, I know a guy.

YUGE difference between President Trump and Ralph Northam!

u/Daniel_Wat posted this in r/dankmemes

Northamsgone

New Planned Parenthood Ad Campaign is looking lit 🔥👽

Saturday, February 2nd:

SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:

(D)Ralph Northam now claims he is neither the blackface or KKK person in his yearbook photo...ok...so why was his nickname “Coonman”?

Planned Parenthood receives about $500,000,000 a year in taxpayer funds. In the most recent election, Planned Parenthood helped contribute $30,000,000 to Democrat’s campaigns. Democrat politicians are buying campaign contributions with your hard-earned money. It’s a corrupt money laundering cycle.

The greatest jobs President America has ever seen! MAGAnomics – January Jobs Report, Massive Wage Growth, Manufacturing Report and Overall Economic Numbers Stun Financial Media…

Don Jr. is a certified spice dealer

🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:

The two parties in a nutshell.

Quick Shills are up early. Post pics that make them realize they have no charisma or class

“And I would’ve gotten away with it if it weren’t for you meddling Republicans!”

Definitely not the most convincing apology I have ever seen.

WHAT A SPICY WEEK!

Of course no recap is complete without some tunes for your jamming pleasures:

I'll Keep You Safe

World On Fire

One Dance

It's Strange

Right To It

Imagine

MAGA ON PATRIOTS!

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robgrayofficial · 5 years

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HAPPY SATURDAY PATRIOTS!This is u/Ivaginaryfriend here and I'm back with all things spicy and dank from the past week! For those that missed any past recaps you can check those out here!Sunday, January 27th:🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:58,000 non-citizens voted in Texas, with 95,000 non-citizens registered to vote. These numbers are just the tip of the iceberg. All over the country, especially in California, voter fraud is rampant. Must be stopped. Strong voter ID! @foxandfriendsWe are not even into February and the cost of illegal immigration so far this year is $18,959,495,168. Cost Friday was $603,331,392. There are at least 25,772,342 illegal aliens, not the 11,000,000 that have been reported for years, in our Country. So ridiculous! DHSJens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, just stated that because of me NATO has been able to raise far more money than ever before from its members after many years of decline. It’s called burden sharing. Also, more united. Dems & Fake News like to portray the opposite!(Retweeting ChatByCC) Strong people stand up for themselves—but stronger people stand up for others. Thank you President @realDonaldTrump for standing up for America.Thank you to Brit. This is a very big deal in Europe. Fake News is the Enemy of the People!(Retweeting Ken Paxton) VOTER FRAUD ALERT: The @TXsecofstate discovered approx 95,000 individuals identified by DPS as non-U.S. citizens have a matching voter registration record in TX, approx 58,000 of whom have voted in TX elections. Any illegal vote deprives Americans of their voice.(Retweeting The GOP) “300 people are dying from heroin overdoses a week in this country, 90% of it is coming over the southern border… We’ve got to stop it.”—@KellyannePolls#HolocaustMemorialDayBUILD A WALL & CRIME WILL FALL!Never thought I’d say this but I think @johnrobertsFox and @GillianHTurner @FoxNews have even less understanding of the Wall negotiations than the folks at FAKE NEWS CNN & NBC! Look to final results! Don’t know how my poll numbers are so good, especially up 19% with Hispanics?After all that I have done for the Military, our great Veterans, Judges (99), Justices (2), Tax & Regulation Cuts, the Economy, Energy, Trade & MUCH MORE, does anybody really think I won’t build the WALL? Done more in first two years than any President! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:Aaaaahaha, Wikileaks putting NYT in their place.r/politics is propaganda. Their target is us.Kamala Harris literally prostituted her body to obtain positions of power within the United States government. Then she joined the #MeToo movement and accused Kavanaugh of being a rapist. Now she’s running for PresidentThis is an actual tweet by an actual congressman.... Mark Dice throwing a little shade🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:In Their Heads. 24/7. Rent Free.Leftist Are Trash.Interestingsaw this on the pole of a stoplight down the street from my house, right in front of the elementary schoolMonday, January 28th:TODAY'S ACTION:Executive Order on Taking Additional Steps to Address the National Emergency with Respect to Venezuela🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:Tariffs on the “dumping” of Steel in the United States have totally revived our Steel Industry. New and expanded plants are happening all over the U.S. We have not only saved this important industry, but created many jobs. Also, billions paid to our treasury. A BIG WIN FOR U.S.Numerous states introducing Bible Literacy classes, giving students the option of studying the Bible. Starting to make a turn back? Great!Howard Schultz doesn’t have the “guts” to run for President! Watched him on @60Minutes last night and I agree with him that he is not the “smartest person.” Besides, America already has that! I only hope that Starbucks is still paying me their rent in Trump Tower!“In the Media’s effort to destroy the President, they are actually destroying themselves. Given all of the tremendous headwinds this President has faced, it’s amazing he has accomplished so much.” DEROY MURDOCK @foxandfriends I agree!In the beautiful Midwest, windchill temperatures are reaching minus 60 degrees, the coldest ever recorded. In coming days, expected to get even colder. People can’t last outside even for minutes. What the hell is going on with Global Waming? Please come back fast, we need you!How does Da Nang Dick (Blumenthal) serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee when he defrauded the American people about his so called War Hero status in Vietnam, only to later admit, with tears pouring down his face, that he was never in Vietnam. An embarrassment to our Country!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:'We don't want open borders': Hispanic pastors back President Trump on immigrationNATO increases spending by $100B due to Trump calling them delinquents'They Treated Me Like El Chapo': Roger Stone Recounts 'Over-the-Top' Arrest | This arrest is such an outrage... Mueller must go!!!BOOM!!!!! Federal Panel Of Judges Dismisses All 83 Ethics Complaints Against Brett Kavanaugh!State of the Union address rescheduled for February 5Border Patrol Wife Invites Speaker Pelosi to See Why Walls Are NeededPRESS BRIEFINGS, INTERVIEWS, RALLIES:Press Beating🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:Just a reminder that Reddit intentionally silences the political speech of 700,000 supporters of the President of the United StatesHas anyone seen Ruth?Accurate as hellThis is why I like a small federal government.Tuesday, January 29th:🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:A low level staffer that I hardly knew named Cliff Sims wrote yet another boring book based on made up stories and fiction. He pretended to be an insider when in fact he was nothing more than a gofer. He signed a non-disclosure agreement. He is a mess!“Our economy, right now, is the Gold Standard throughout the World.” @IngrahamAngle So true, and not even close!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:GOOSEBUMPSSoon to be Fired Johns Hopkins Distinguished Service Professor of Psychiatry: Transgenderism is a “mental disorder”, that sex change is “biologically impossible,” and that people who promote sexual reassignment surgery are collaborating with and promoting a mental disorder.Tucker Carlson: Roger Stone raid shows that CNN is no longer covering Robert Mueller. They're working with himTwitter Says Advising Fired Journalists to 'Learn to Code' Is Hate Speech. But when reporters were mocking out of work coal miners and manufacturing workers the same way it was okayLMAO - Nancy and Cryin' Chuck's choice for the Dems' SOTU response is a tax delinquent with nearly $200k in unpaid college debt.🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:Al Gore's 10 year Climate Change ChallengeWHERE'S RUTH?Total disasterYikesWhere in the World, is Ruth Bader Ginsberg?Wednesday, January 30th:TODAY'S ACTION:Two Nominations Sent to the SenatePresident Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Judicial Nominees🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:Maduro willing to negotiate with opposition in Venezuela following U.S. sanctions and the cutting off of oil revenues. Guaido is being targeted by Venezuelan Supreme Court. Massive protest expected today. Americans should not travel to Venezuela until further notice.When I became President, ISIS was out of control in Syria & running rampant. Since then tremendous progress made, especially over last 5 weeks. Caliphate will soon be destroyed, unthinkable two years ago. Negotiating are proceeding well in Afghanistan after 18 years of fighting.. ... ....Fighting continues but the people of Afghanistan want peace in this never ending war. We will soon see if talks will be successful? North Korea relationship is best it has ever been with U.S. No testing, getting remains, hostages returned. Decent chance of Denuclearization... ... ...Time will tell what will happen with North Korea, but at the end of the previous administration, relationship was horrendous and very bad things were about to happen. Now a whole different story. I look forward to seeing Kim Jong Un shortly. Progress being made-big difference!If the committee of Republicans and Democrats now meeting on Border Security is not discussing or contemplating a Wall or Physical Barrier, they are Wasting their time!“Three separate caravans marching to our Border. The numbers are tremendous.” @foxandfriendsThe Intelligence people seem to be extremely passive and naive when it comes to the dangers of Iran. They are wrong! When I became President Iran was making trouble all over the Middle East, and beyond. Since ending the terrible Iran Nuclear Deal, they are MUCH different, but.... ... ....a source of potential danger and conflict. They are testing Rockets (last week) and more, and are coming very close to the edge. There economy is now crashing, which is the only thing holding them back. Be careful of Iran. Perhaps Intelligence should go back to school!Dow just broke 25,000. Tremendous news!Spoke today with Venezuelan Interim President Juan Guaido to congratulate him on his historic assumption of the presidency and reinforced strong United States support for Venezuela’s fight to regain its democracy.... ... ....Large protests all across Venezuela today against Maduro. The fight for freedom has begun!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:JUST IN: Woman who sexually assaulted Infowars reporter has been arrested.Brad Parscale on Twitter: "Where it counts @realDonaldTrump is stronger than 2016. The fake news establishment media is not fooling these voters."NO SHIT SHERLOCK ...This is insanity. Seems like advocating for Post Term Abortion AKA MURDER by any standard I’m aware of. The only thing worse than what the Democrat Governor of VA said was the fact that there’s zero pushback from the host.Trump slams Virginia Democrats over 'terrible' abortion stance🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:Book burnings don't always look like this...Lion King (NY Progressive Remaster, 2019)I'm afraid that 2019 is the year that the Supreme Court is going to be RUTHLESSJudge Orders Release Of Sealed Records From BuzzFeed’s Dossier LawsuitAnytime some media company tries to run some sensational headline about MAGA being violent..new rule..always wait 3 days to get the real story.Thursday, January 31st:TODAY'S ACTION:President Donald J. Trump Announces Appointments for the Executive Office of the PresidentExecutive Order on Strengthening Buy-American Preferences for Infrastructure ProjectsPresident Trump's Message on Securing our BorderPresident Trump Meets with American Manufacturers and Signs an Executive OrderPresident Trump Meets with the Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:So great to watch & listen to all these people who write books & talk about my presidential campaign and so many others things related to winning, and how I should be doing “IT.” As I take it all in, I then sit back, look around, & say “gee, I’m in the White House, & they’re not!Large sections of WALL have already been built with much more either under construction or ready to go. Renovation of existing WALLS is also a very big part of the plan to finally, after many decades, properly Secure Our Border. The Wall is getting done one way or the other!Lets just call them WALLS from now on and stop playing political games! A WALL is a WALL!With Murders up 33% in Mexico, a record, why wouldn’t any sane person want to build a Wall! Construction has started and will not stop until it is finished. @LouDobbs @foxandfriendsChina’s top trade negotiators are in the U.S. meeting with our representatives. Meetings are going well with good intent and spirit on both sides. China does not want an increase in Tariffs and feels they will do much better if they make a deal. They are correct. I will be...... ... ....meeting with their top leaders and representatives today in the Oval Office. No final deal will be made until my friend President Xi, and I, meet in the near future to discuss and agree on some of the long standing and more difficult points. Very comprehensive transaction.... ... ....China’s representatives and I are trying to do a complete deal, leaving NOTHING unresolved on the table. All of the many problems are being discussed and will be hopefully resolved. Tariffs on China increase to 25% on March 1st, so all working hard to complete by that date!Republicans on the Homeland Security Committee are wasting their time. Democrats, despite all of the evidence, proof and Caravans coming, are not going to give money to build the DESPERATELY needed WALL. I’ve got you covered. Wall is already being built, I don’t expect much help!Democrats are becoming the Party of late term abortion, high taxes, Open Borders and Crime!More troops being sent to the Southern Border to stop the attempted Invasion of Illegals, through large Caravans, into our Country. We have stopped the previous Caravans, and we will stop these also. With a Wall it would be soooo much easier and less expensive. Being Built!Looking for China to open their Markets not only to Financial Services, which they are now doing, but also to our Manufacturing, Farmers and other U.S. businesses and industries. Without this a deal would be unacceptable!Schumer and the Democrats are big fans of being weak and passive with Iran. They have no clue as to the danger they would be inflicting on our Country. Iran is in financial chaos now because of the sanctions and Iran Deal termination. Dems put us in a bad place - but now good!Very sadly, Murder cases in Mexico in 2018 rose 33% from 2017, to 33,341. This is a big contributor to the Humanitarian Crisis taking place on our Southern Border and then spreading throughout our Country. Worse even than Afghanistan. Much caused by DRUGS. Wall is being built!(Video)Just concluded a great meeting with my Intel team in the Oval Office who told me that what they said on Tuesday at the Senate Hearing was mischaracterized by the media - and we are very much in agreement on Iran, ISIS, North Korea, etc. Their testimony was distorted press.... ... ....I would suggest you read the COMPLETE testimony from Tuesday. A false narrative is so bad for our Country. I value our intelligence community. Happily, we had a very good meeting, and we are all on the same page!Our great U.S. Border Patrol Agents made the biggest Fentanyl bust in our Country’s history. Thanks, as always, for a job well done!Just out: The big deal, very mysterious Don jr telephone calls, after the innocent Trump Tower meeting, that the media & Dems said were made to his father (me), were just conclusively found NOT to be made to me. They were made to friends & business associates of Don. Really sad!Nellie Ohr, the wife of DOJ official Bruce Ohr, was long ago investigating for pay (GPS Fusion) members of my family, feeding it to her husband who was then giving it to the FBI, even though it was created by ousted & discredited Christopher Steele. Illegal! WITCH HUNTThis Witch Hunt must end!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:President Trump warned us 2 years ago that the Democrat party would push for late term abortion.. watch Clinton accuse him of using "scare tactics""nO vOters, wE wOuLD NEVER dO tHAT" - 2 YEARS LATER ...And they wonder why we call them NPC. Behold, the womanoid robot.House Dems Reject GOP Proposal to Block Raises for Federal Employees Guilty of Sexual Misconduct. Vote was chaired by Democrat Tony Cardenas, who is accused of drugging teenage girlGraham: We’re Getting Trump’s Ninth Circuit Nominees Confirmed🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:Press that button!! You know you want to!Roger Stone Explains How to Dress for CourtOhio Passes Heartbeat Bill Which Bans Abortions After 6 WeeksWhite people in Chicago at 2AM...Friday, February 1st:TODAY'S ACTION:President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to Key Administration PostsPresident Trump Meets to Discuss Fighting Human Trafficking on the Southern Border🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:I inherited a total mess in Syria and Afghanistan, the “Endless Wars” of unlimited spending and death. During my campaign I said, very strongly, that these wars must finally end. We spend $50 Billion a year in Afghanistan and have hit them so hard that we are now talking peace... ... ....after 18 long years. Syria was loaded with ISIS until I came along. We will soon have destroyed 100% of the Caliphate, but will be watching them closely. It is now time to start coming home and, after many years, spending our money wisely. Certain people must get smart!Best January for the DOW in over 30 years. We have, by far, the strongest economy in the world!JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!Great news on Foxconn in Wisconsin after my conversation with Terry Gou!(Retweeting The White House) "We added 304,000 jobs, which was a shocker to a lot of people. It wasn't a shocker to me."Thank you to Senator Rob Portman and Senator Cory Gardner for the early and warm endorsement. We will ALL WIN in 2020 together!National African American History Month is an occasion to rediscover the enduring stories of African Americans and the gifts of freedom, purpose, and opportunity they have bestowed on future generations..SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:Governor Who Endorsed Infanticide Received $2 Million From Planned ParenthoodEMBARRASSING - Elizabeth Warren apologizes to Cherokee Nation over taking DNA test to prove Native American rootsVirginia Governor on Blast!!! @GovernorVA Are you the one in blackface or the one in the KKK hood?Very Fake News CNN falsely labels Northam a Republican.REMINDER: Cory Booker Groped Someone In High School and Wrote an Op-Ed About It. Then Tried to Destroy Kavanaugh's Life. Fuck Him.🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:If Fake News Journalists need help coding, I know a guy.YUGE difference between President Trump and Ralph Northam!u/Daniel_Wat posted this in r/dankmemesNorthamsgoneNew Planned Parenthood Ad Campaign is looking lit 🔥👽Saturday, February 2nd:SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:(D)Ralph Northam now claims he is neither the blackface or KKK person in his yearbook photo...ok...so why was his nickname “Coonman”?Planned Parenthood receives about $500,000,000 a year in taxpayer funds. In the most recent election, Planned Parenthood helped contribute $30,000,000 to Democrat’s campaigns. Democrat politicians are buying campaign contributions with your hard-earned money. It’s a corrupt money laundering cycle.The greatest jobs President America has ever seen! MAGAnomics – January Jobs Report, Massive Wage Growth, Manufacturing Report and Overall Economic Numbers Stun Financial Media…Don Jr. is a certified spice dealer🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:The two parties in a nutshell.Quick Shills are up early. Post pics that make them realize they have no charisma or class“And I would’ve gotten away with it if it weren’t for you meddling Republicans!”Definitely not the most convincing apology I have ever seen.WHAT A SPICY WEEK!Of course no recap is complete without some tunes for your jamming pleasures:I'll Keep You SafeWorld On FireOne DanceIt's StrangeRight To ItImagineMAGA ON PATRIOTS! #robgray

#robgray

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lukethalias · 6 years

Text

title: divided we fall

prompts: remus lupin [character]

word count: 2433

warnings: death mention (sibling death); war mentions (canonical)

notes: i've never written a remus-centric piece, and i didn't really expect the first one i wrote to be thinking about him during the war, but there you have it. i wrote this a while ago and was just ?? ambivalent about posting it but. here we go. also can be found here.

disclaimer: disclaimed.

summary: There is a traitor in the Order, and it's constantly in the back of Remus' head, like two dots he doesn't want to connect. / Remus Lupin sits on a roof and tries to scour the taint of war from his soul, and Marlene McKinnon remembers the eyes of every person she fights, no matter how much she drinks to forget. —remus lupin and the impossibilities of trust in war time.

Remus sits in the dark of the night, holding his knees tight against his chest. It's one of those nights.

He's on the roof. People tend to think the presence of the moon should feel oppressing—to be fair to them, the full moon is literally his boggart—but it's not. He feels oddly calm with moonlight on his skin, provided it's any phase of the moon other than full. It's sort of liberating, seeing the silver of the moon dance across his skin and staying in complete control of himself. It's almost like a reminder: hey, you're not wholly lost.

The moon isn't his problem tonight. The war is.

There was a skirmish earlier in the night. He thinks that's the right word. It wasn't quite as large as a battle, but it was more than a clash in the streets. There had been a distress call—Caradoc had been on a surveillance mission, and something had gone wrong. Remus still isn't sure what happened. Everything had moved too quickly, and he'd forgotten to ask.

He, Benjy and Marlene had been the only ones available to respond. They're both okay, he's pretty sure. Last time he saw Benjy, Dorcas was yelling at him in the infirmary as Lily fixed him up, and Marlene has a standing tradition with Sirius: after any battle either are involved in, they find a bar and drink until they can't see their opponents' eyes anymore, or they throw up. Whichever happens first.

Sirius. The very reason Remus is up on the roof, or sort of, anyway.

It's not Sirius' eyes who haunt Remus right now, but they're scarily similar.

Remus doesn't know who Marlene duelled. He's pretty sure Benjy was facing off against Nott, or maybe Mulciber, and he thinks he remembers hearing Dolohov taunting Caradoc, but it's all a bit of a blur. The one thing which he remembers vividly, in a way he's not sure he'll ever forget, is duelling Bellatrix Lestrange.

He doesn't like to think about it, but she's also known as Bellatrix Black.

Sirius' face floats into his head, unbidden, and Remus squeezes his eyes shut. He didn't duel Bellatrix for too long—the Death Eaters Disapparated after fifteen minutes or so, and Remus got the very distinct impression that they were toying with the Order—but it was long enough that the family resemblance was unmistakeable.

He remembers Bellatrix's laugh, and he flinches. It's crueller than Sirius', he tells himself, and darker too, but.

But.

The 'but' haunts him, because it feels like paranoia, but he knows it's not entirely. Sirius is different now, during the war.

At least, he hopes it's a 'now'. It's more frightening to think that Sirius has always been this way, and they never noticed until now.

He's not sure the others have noticed, actually. Well, he thinks Peter may have, from the wary looks the shorter man sends Sirius sometimes, but he doubts James has, though whether that's because there's nothing to see or because James refuses to see it is another matter entirely.

Remus remembers a debate in the Order headquarters once, about the use of dark magic. Someone—Moody, maybe—pointed out that as long as the Death Eaters were willing to use Unforgivables and the Order weren't, the Order would always be stuck on the defence.

"We signed up to defend people who couldn't defend themselves," Benjy had pointed out.

"They've got worse things than Unforgivables," Sirius had said at the same time.

He hadn't said anything else, and the debate had continued in the vein of Benjy's response, not Sirius', but Remus had kept his eye on Sirius the whole time. There was something in his expression that Remus couldn't put a finger on, but had chilled him to his very bones all the same.

He's always been aware of who Sirius' family is. It's one of those things that's impossible to escape. It's just been a while since he's thought about how much that has informed who Sirius is.

It was more obvious when Sirius arrived at Hogwarts. He was a mess of contradictions, wanting to prove how different he was from his family but also not knowing how—all he knew was his family.

He had to unlearn prejudices, some more successfully than others.

Remus pauses. That's a rabbit hole he doesn't want to go down. Fifth Year was a long time ago, and some wounds only heal if you leave them alone. It's much easier to dismiss his concerns if he thinks about how vehemently Sirius hates blood supremacy than if he thinks about how Sirius thought of him as a werewolf, as a weapon to be used, before he thought of him as Remus, as his friend. Sirius was sixteen, and maybe it was only for a moment—he's not sure he believes that, but he can't afford to follow that train of thought right now—but it was enough to count.

Remus shakes his head, as if he can rattle that memory out of his mind, with all the connotations and thoughts that accompany it.

He breathes in the night air again, holding it in his lungs, to see if that helps ground him in the present. It does, a little.

He opens his eyes. He doesn't remember closing them, but he's glad he did, because when he opens them, it's like the night is new again, even as it feels impossibly old.

The moonlight looks starker against the rooftop, and something about the bare tree in the yard feels crisp. It's easier to breathe in the night, and leave the past behind him, where it's safest.

Instead, his mind strays to a different aspect of the night: not Bellatrix, but why she was there in the first place.

There is a traitor in the Order.

It's something which everyone knows, and nobody wants to address, because that means admitting that one of your friends, your comrades, one of the people you run into a warzone with every day and trust with your life, with your friends' lives… that means admitting one of those people you love is not only capable of betraying you, but has done so already.

There is a traitor in the Order, and it's constantly in the back of Remus' head, like two dots he doesn't want to connect.

He breathes in the night air, letting the cold settle into his chest. He closes his eyes.

A moment later, he opens them, attention caught by a sound to his left. He turns to see Marlene clambering out of his bedroom window, and smiles despite himself.

"Last I checked, delinquent, that wasn't your room," he teases as she shuffles over to him. She pulls a face at him, but there's a smile playing at her lips as she nudges his shoulder with her own.

"Nobody else was here when I got home, but I could feel the draught from your window when I got upstairs," Marlene explains. "I wanted to come see you, especially after a night like ours."

Remus nods, his smile fading into the memory of the skirmish.

"Who'd you duel?" he asks, glancing at her.

She doesn't flinch, but something pained crosses her face. "Rod," she says, jaw tight, eyes huge.

Remus nods, translating that to Rodolphus Lestrange. Like Sirius, Marlene grew up with most of the people they have to fight, though less involvedly. A Slytherin mother and socialite paternal grandparents meant she existed within the borders of that crowd, but that was a far cry from The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. She was close enough that she knew all of the children in those families, and her presence was as important as James' in Sirius' transition to Gryffindor, but her world was easier to escape. Her parents were never active blood supremacists, though her grandparents were, so she didn't have to run away from home to escape the trappings of that life—she just had to estrange herself from her grandparents.

No wonder Marlene and Sirius drink to forget after every fight, he thinks. He might too, if he could see childhood friends in the eyes of every opponent.

"You had Bellatrix, right?" Marlene asks, and Remus nods. She tucks her knees in under her chin, pulling her legs into her chest.

He doesn't know what he expects her to say, but it isn't what she says next.

"It's hard, isn't it?" she says quietly. "Seeing him in them, and them in him."

Remus sort of feels like she's pulled his heart out of his chest and the words out of his head, and he looks at her in shock.

She smiles, but there's no amusement in it. It's resigned, and sad, like something she's held close to her chest.

"Remember last week, at the Hogsmeade raid?" she asks. He nods, and she looks down at her knees. "Regulus was there."

Remus pauses. He shouldn't be surprised by this. He's known for a long time that Regulus bore the mark—they all have. He doesn't think any of them are likely to forget the day Sirius found out. There's a big difference, though, between knowing something in a distant sort of way, and actually being made aware of it in a real and visceral way.

"Did you—" he begins, but he doesn't know what he's going to ask.

"No," Marlene says, even though he doesn't think she has any more idea what he was going to ask than he does. "He's—fuck, Re, he's always been younger than me. He's always been Matty's age."

Remus stills. Matty was Marlene's brother—is Marlene's brother. He's never been sure about the tenses. Do you stop being a brother when you die?

He remembers Marlene crying in the corridor in Seventh Year. It was the first week of their final year, and Marlene's brother had been murdered a fortnight beforehand. Nothing had felt real, but at the same time, it had felt all too real. This was war in action, and it didn't look like a battleground or a blaze of glory: it looked like a crying girl and a boy who died too young.

"Am I still a sister if he's not here anymore?" Marlene had asked, tears streaming, and he hadn't known how to answer. He's still not sure, but he thinks yes. Just because he's not there anymore doesn't mean he wasn't ever there, and it doesn't mean he doesn't matter.

Remus thinks about all of this as he digests what Marlene said. Regulus and Matty were the same age, the same way that Marlene and Sirius were—the only difference was, Matty ended up in Ravenclaw to Regulus' Slytherin, and started dating a muggleborn around the same time Regulus officially joined up with the Death Eaters.

Matty is forever sixteen, and it doesn't surprise Remus that Regulus still occupies the same space in Marlene's head. They were always the same age; he doesn't blame her for not being able to deal with the fact that Regulus grew up when Matthew never could.

"Oh, Mar," Remus whispers, carefully slinging an arm around her and offering her what comfort he can. He's never been big on physical affection—not because he's inherently opposed, but because he's always felt so othered by his lycanthropy. His friends have been instrumental in trying to normalise it for him, though, and it feels overwhelmingly right to try hold Marlene together in this way, just in case she needs to feel like she can break apart.

"And he's—you know, he's Sirius' little brother, and Sirius—he's bad at dealing with his feelings, he always has been, so I don't believe his nonchalance about Reg for a moment," Marlene says, and Remus thinks she's right, but his thoughts about believing Sirius in general are complicated right now, so he says nothing.

"I would do anything to be able to protect Matty," Marlene says quietly, and her voice absolutely breaks Remus' heart. "And maybe I can't save my little brother, but—"

"But you can at least not hurt his," Remus finishes quietly. Marlene nods.

Remus gets it, he does. It's just that his thoughts on Sirius are complicated enough at the moment without throwing in the fact that his kid brother is fighting for the other side.

"Do you see Sirius in his eyes?" Remus asks suddenly.

Marlene looks sad. "I see Sirius in every inch of him," she says softly. "The only difference is I think that Sirius didn't expect war to be something better than it was."

Remus nods slightly, and Marlene's eyes turn to him, gaze sharp.

"Do you see Sirius in Bellatrix?" she asks. Remus almost doesn't tell her, except… well, except she doesn't sound appalled at the idea that he might be able to. She sounds calm, and curious, and maybe even the slightest bit expectant.

He's not sure how to say it out loud, though, so he just nods slowly. "I don't want to," he adds, "but…"

"But that doesn't mean it isn't there," she finishes, nodding slightly.

Remus looks at her, really looks at her. "But you still trust him, don't you?" he asks in wonder.

"Yeah," she says. "But that's because I know all of them—Sirius, and his family too—well enough to know all the ways that they're not like each other. And they're not different in every way, but—I think they're different in the ways that count." Marlene looks thoughtfully at him. "I understand if you don't, though," she says quietly, and she squeezes his hand, and something blooms in his chest—something like comfort, like the warmth of being understood when you're scared that you're not worth understanding.

"If I don't see the differences, or if I don't trust him?" Remus asks, and it's almost joking, but it isn't, not really.

Marlene shrugs, though. "Both," she says simply. "Trust has to be earned, and he hasn't always done a good job of that with you."

Remus has always thought that, after the gigantic fight and subsequent making-up after the Willow incident, none of his friends would ever acknowledge the situation again. It's a shock when Marlene does, but not an entirely unpleasant one. It sort of feels like being recognised, like mattering.

"I'm glad you were with me tonight," Remus says. "Benjy too. And that Caradoc's okay."

Marlene smiles at him, a real smile, one which he can tell she means to her core. "Me too," she says sincerely.

They stay sitting there, waiting for the dawn.

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