#did i really have to gif the entire scene? making this 15 gifs long?

[petercapaldi]

He's saying you need to stop. I don't know how. Well...I can tell you.

DOCTOR WHO - The Giggle

#dwedit #doctorwhoedit #doctor who #donna noble #fourteen #the doctor #[she called me spaceman] #dw spoilers #doctor who spoilers #* #shows #did i really have to gif the entire scene? making this 15 gifs long? #yes absolutely. thank you for asking #long post #.......sorry #pulsing lights tw

[moonknixght]

Jerk [Marc Spector x GN!Reader]

Summary: Despite having plans for a date with you after meeting with his ex-wife, Marc seems to have suddenly gone off communication, leaving you to be a bundle of nerves until you decided to call him. Heavily inspired by episode 3 of scenes from a marriage. Word Count: 2k Warnings: Angst with no comfort !!!!!!!!! foul language, Steven cameo (that's a sweet surprise than a warning), no mention of jake A/N: Gosh! I apologize for being super late with this one,, this was meant to be a drabble but i got carried away lol. And I'm a little rusty with writing atm, so don't look at me if the writing feels a lil wonky. though, Constructive Criticism is greatly appreciated! PS; The ex-wife mentioned in this is NOT layla its some other lady because we love layla in this household

REQUESTS ARE OPEN!

The drawn out rings of the phone was slowly aiding to a upcoming migraine as you paced between rooms, silently praying that you would get an answer to your frantic texts. A rather uneventful Friday night that you expected to spend with the person you were recently seeing, an unpredictably mysterious man, had come to an abrupt stop.

There was a lot you didn't know about Marc Spector; and that was okay, because it was just the process of 'getting to know someone' was, right? Sure, You had rambled your head off on the first date, all which he listened carefully; but with Marc, you never felt the need to push information out of him. It was like befriending an fragile animal that takes time to trust, but the epiphany that comes after is unexplainably amazing.

Growing from acquaintances to actually seeing each other and looking forward to spending time as a couple was unrealistic, which was why your entire relationship was so fascinating. The patience of talking things out was a quality that you both shared; likely being the reason of such a bond with each other. If anyone would listen, you would never stop talking about how perplexing that was.

As you both started building a line of trust, You came to learn that he was divorced and was in the process of sorting things out with his ex-lover— which, of course, you were fine with. And today, he had mentioned about her coming over, which you were also on board with. But with the plans that were arranged for today still being overdue and Marc falling off the face of earth, you couldn't help but feel.. jealous? worry, even?

It was exactly why you were frantically texting your boyfriend, questioning on where he was and if his ex-wife had taken her leave. The only response that you received was being left entirely on delivered, adding fuel to your already anxious state. You felt like you were just being extremely clingy— and that they were probably still talking.

Your gaze travelled to the clock. 15 minutes to 1 am. Holy fuck. Had you really been texting him for over an hour? Had it been over two hours since you had set your dinner table, waiting for him? The latest that Marc had promised he would be was by 10:30, so it was just utterly ridiculous that it was past midnight and he was still unresponsive.

Swiftly grabbing the unopened bottle of wine kept on your table and making it to the couch, You set your phone down on the coffee table as you took a swing of the drink. It was crazy how this entire thing had gotten you so riled up, but as much as you hated to admit it, you were head over heels for this guy. So committed infact, that you were desperately checking on him for the past two hours; that you haven't even had your own dinner yet. One last call. Maybe he'll pick up.

That was the words that your guilty conscious prompted while you sat in the uncomfortable silence, eyes falling on the phone that lay discarded on the table. Obviously, you were going to feed into your thoughts. Of course you did.

And much to your surprise, it only took three rings to connect to the voice that you were just waiting to hear— but it didn't take you long to notice that it came off in a growl, much to the contrast of the soft spoken tone that Marc usually carried.

"Marc?" "Hey." You let out a sigh of relief, shaking your head ever so slightly at your own frantic actions. Atleast he was doing okay. "Are you okay? Where have you been? I've been—"

"Good. Uh, yeah, but listen, it's not cool to, like, bombard me with messages."

There was a short pause where you sat slightly bewildered. before you felt yourself sink into the seat, like a child who had just been scolded. Even with guilt creeping up, You wanted to still defend your own case, which was the endless worrying you had endured for the past hour, waiting for anything from Marc. Just a simple notice to cancel their date for the night or even to say that he was okay. But instead, You were simply left in the dark.

"Because you were supposed to call me, Marc."

"I told you, I'd call you when she left." "Oh, so she hasn't gone yet?" "No, She hasn't. She's still here." Sipping from the glass of wine and setting it onto the table nearby, your mind was quick to rush into many conclusions, but you kept your mouth shut. Whatever they had to discuss must have been really important. "Isn't it late? How are you both still talking?" "No, She— She's in bed." An exhale could be heard from the other end, as your brows furrowed. In bed? Marc lived in a single bedroom, so did that mean he was taking the couch? But before you could even question it, it was like the male at the other end had almost read your mind, because he immediately cleared your doubts, Albeit, you would have wished he never said anything. "..My bed." Oh. Feeling betrayed and lost would be an understatement of how you currently felt. Confused even, to some extend as a steady silence began to occupy the call. You weren't quite sure how Marc wanted you to respond to that. Did he want to hear you weep from the other side? Or be upset at him? Maybe even yell a few select choices of words for wasting your time? But instead of any of that, pure silence rang through the call and if it weren't for Marc checking if the call was still running, he would've thought you hung up. "Hello?"

The feeling of being let down was coursing through your veins at this point, making itself obvious with the lump that grew in your throat and how you stiffened up in your seat. You weren't sure what exactly to feel, a floodgate on sadness and anger opening like it was a pent up dam that was released. You sniffled quietly, trying to bite back the tears that were pricking at the corner of your eyes. It was unfair how distraught you felt. Another audible exhale could be heard, before you heard Marc's voice again. You weren't even sure why you felt like crying, but it was clear that this wouldn't end well. "Look, I'm suggesting that we should take a break because this is just not.. Not working out right now." "When did it work out, Marc?" "Wh— What are you talking about?" "I said." You spoke, recollecting yourself in a suspiciously gentle manner. "When were you not trying to use me as a way to move on?"

It was his turn to grow silent, and that was pretty much the answer you needed. To think that you gave him the chance, thinking that maybe this time around you could actually be with someone who cared— There were no other words to describe what you've been this entire time. You were foolish. "Goodnight. Sleep well." You'd be lying if you said that you didn't still want him to come back to you. Justify himself properly. Say that this was all some sick joke. But you were also aware that there was probably nothing that would save this. Still, You stayed when he spoke up again, for whatever reason. "Stop. Just Listen. This doesn't have to be.. what you think it is, I just need time to collect myself and honestly, I've been feeling for a while that—"

The urge to laugh was overbearing, and you didn't hold back. "You're so full of shit, Marc." Anger was finally settling in before the male at the other end could even respond to your words, but this wasn't about being courteous anymore. It felt like if Marc had cared for you even a little, this wouldn't have happened like it did. "Own up to what you're doing, asshole. I know you like to evade your responsibilities but just for once, if you have any respect for me, stand up like a man and say it to my face so I can just accept the fact that I've wasted my time and effort on you."

"Okay, Let me stop you here before you say anything else that you're gonna regret."

"No, fuck you. The only thing I regret is thinking that you actually cared enough to be with me. Turns out, your only concern is keeping yourself occupied and acting like you don't give a shit about everything that leaves you. You're a selfish prick."

"Fine. It's over then."

"Good. Lose my number and Have a good fucking night, Spector." The call was immediately cut, and so was the brightness of the candle that you had lit earlier by the dinner table. The dimness eased your volatile temper, but it bought the dejection and uneasiness that had failed to show up during the call. There was an option for you to cry it all out, but for reason, you didn't. A soft sigh escaped your pursed lips as you rubbed your eyes. Maybe you'd end up bawling your eyes out about this when you were nestled into the cold embrace of your bed.

You didn't even feel hungry anymore; so shoving the pasta that you had cooked hours prior into the fridge and cleaning up, you tried your best not to think of everything that just happened, which was difficult in it's own volition. It was just a few dates, so you were technically the one in the wrong for letting your guard down so easily and falling for a man who barely talked to you. That conclusion stung a little, but it helped you feel better as you picked up your phone and the bottle of wine again— too exhausted to take off the gorgeous outfit you had picked out for the night as you opened tinder; trying to scroll away like you were gonna move on.

—

On the other side, Marc had made the mistake of pacing through his room as he made the call, biting his cheeks as it reached it's abrupt and upsetting end. Guilt did lace his features, but reminding himself that this was the last he would ever hear from you made the circumstances a little less horrible. Glancing at the phone as his thumb hovered over your contact, He heard a meek voice call out to him. Not that of his ex-wife, but that of Steven's— who had seen everything from the reflection of the mirror that Marc found himself standing before. "Marc.." The reflection called out to him, a clearly disappointed expression lacing his features as he tried to find the words to even begin expressing how regrettable this would be. Steven didn't have to elaborate, though, because in the few seconds that Marc met Steven's concerned eyes, he knew this would just add into the contrition that already plagued his mind.

Marc tore himself away from Steven who made a lowly attempt at trying to reason with him; walking back to where he had just been previously. It was because Steven knew, and so did he, that he found what it felt like to be loved again through you. But he was undeserving of it. With everything he has done and all the secrets that he hid, he only deserved the toxic relation he had with his ex, which atleast kept his needs at bay; a fair trade for all the arguments he had with her. You were right about him being a selfish jerk. Though it was for all for the wrong reasons.

#marc spector x reader #moon knight x you #moonknight x reader #steven grant #steven grant x reader #steven grant x you #marc spector x y/n #marc spector x you #marc spector fanfiction #marc spector #marc spector fic #marc spector angst #moon knight x reader #jake lockely x reader #jake lockley x reader #jake lockley x you #moon knight x y/n

[gartenofbanny]

Today, I'm going to be discussing my problems with the DHORKS Fight which is one of the most popular fights in Helluva Boss. If you all like the fight, please don't read this blog because I hate this "fight" and I'm going to butcher it right now. I don't even consider the DHORKS Fight to even be a fight mainly due to how one-sided it is. This blog is gonna be very long, probably my longest yet, anyway let's get started

The Weapons DHORKS Use

So it's 4 Hellborn Demons against an entire agency filled with DHORKS Agents who wear suits and shades. Out of context, you'd think that the DHORKS Agents would win, but they don't due to the weapons they have compared to the weapons I.M.P. had. The DHORKS Agents all had weapons from the Edo Period which are primarily melee weapons, not firearms.

They stood no chance against IMP because

They're using melee weapons that require a close range

The weapons they are using are useless

They're most likely not experienced with the weapons themselves

There are three weapons that a couple of Agents use that are useless in this fight those being the Nunchucks, the Dual Sai, and the Throwing Stars/Shuriken. Nunchuck users have to get close in order to deal damage and in a battle like this, they're better off either not using the Nunchucks at all or sneaking up behind their target.

The Sai are also useless in a scenario like this as Sais are mainly used to trap melee weapons like swords. I've never really seen a Sai user go up against a gun user because they'd probably fail at subduing them. Sais also cannot cut, they can stab, but they can't cut. The Agent with the Sais tried to cut Blitzo for some reason and I know he's trying to cut Blitzo because we can see him using the Sais to slash instead of thrust.

Throwing Stars are not lethal despite what certain shows have shown. They aren't capable of penetration and were only used to distract an opponent for an upcoming strike or for a tactical retreat. However, if you're really really skilled or just really fucking strong, you can hit an opponent with the eye and injure them. The fact that a few Agents were using the shurikens and expecting them to do damage shows how incompetent they are at using the weapons.

An example of Shurikens being used in this episode is before the fight even happened. Four Agents throw Shurikens at Millie and Loona despite the fact that as said before, they're not really lethal weapons. What's even weirder is that none of them had actual close combat weapons or weapons to defend themselves with, they all had Shurikens and were left defenseless once Millie was inside the room with them.

Realistically, it would be very difficult to defeat someone with a gun while you're using a melee weapon that is unless you're experienced as hell. A popular saying that the character Hol Horse said is "The gun is mightier than the sword" and I agree with him because a gun is more efficient and quicker to kill someone compared to a sword.

Speaking of guns, whatever happened to the fancy-ass guns Agents 1 & 2 had? They quickly incapacitated Blitzo while using those. Oh, they don't have them because the weapons from the Edo period were badass. Agent 1&2's words, not mine.

The OST

The OST for this song is just shit. It wasn't fitting the massacre at all and the melody of the song just repeats over and over and over and over again.

I used to be in a band when I was in high school and this song just makes me wanna peel my skin. It's like they made the first 15 seconds of the song while making the song and just decided "Oh, let's just use that over and over and mix other soundtracks with it." Because they DID mix other soundtracks with it.

There isn't any uniqueness with the song it's like I'm listening to the average Friday Night Funkin song, it's so repetitive luckily the duration of the song is pretty short.

Referencing/Choreography

Despite the fight scene being long as hell, there's no referencing or choreography that the DHORKS Agents use whenever they are fighting. Hell, one of them don't even use their weapons right, and there's barely any technique when other agents use their weapons. So I'm gonna start off with the Kusarigama user. A Kusarigama is a useful weapon because it has a range and can give the user the opportunity to strike the opponent, however, the animation crew screwed up one thing when making this weapon. That is the agent who used the Kusarigama threw the fucking blade and not the spiked ball itself. The spiked ball is supposed to be used to strike the vital areas of the opponent, get rid of their weapon, and restrain them to kill them. And how do you kill them? Well with the sickle blade of course and to maneuver the spiked ball you must use the sickle handle to get a good grip on it and call it back. So not only did the DHORKS Agent throw the main component of the Kusarigama at Loona for some fucking reason, but he also couldn't get a good grip on the chain because the sickle has a handle on it which led to him getting tossed by Loona.

The Agents who use the swords which is the majority of them only run towards IMP in order to attack. So apparently running towards someone with a gun while you have a sword is always a good idea to them, except it isn't because as a result of their fucking foolishness they died.

I believe the fight this entire DHORKS Battle was taking inspiration from was The Bride vs Crazy 88 from Kill Bill, but the HB Team didn't do a good job or even tried to reference this fight because they all don't straight-up attack Beatrix one at a time instead they attack her either with another person or with two other people, they know how to use their katanas and other weapons, and the setting of the fight is actually pretty big which leads me to my next complaint.

The Setting

The size of the room of the entire fight keeps changing to give IMP an advantage. The size of the room firstly seems small as I.M.P are all surrounded by the Agents

But then the room itself enlarges to show that the Agents are separated when they were close to the main characters before.

The Agents show up out of nowhere to attack at a close range, they're nonexistent until they run toward the protagonists. And if they are close to the protagonists themselves then that gives the protagonists the advantage since they actually have rifles and can just gun them down at a close range.

Either the setting is big or small, pick one don't just make a small setting suddenly big and then small again because that ruins the placement the characters had previously.

The Agents are incompetent & IMP suffers no damage

This last section is going to be really short because I want to say what I wanna say and get this out of the way. In order to have a good fight scene both parties must take damage or one party should at least struggle against the other. Having incompetent antagonists go up against component protagonists doesn't make a good fight scene because we'll already know that it'll end with the protagonist winning.

The DHORKS Agents do not know how to use their weapons or know any techniques that will benefit them and IMP doesn't suffer any damage and look like they're having fun while killing a bunch of humans. This entire sequence in Truth Seekers isn't a fight, but more like a massacre with animation errors.

Conclusion

So I've said what I needed to say. I was expecting a well-drawn, well-choreographed fight scene in Truth Seekers but I was just disappointed. What I got instead was just a bunch of demons killing a bunch of humans, despite the fact that Moxxie, Millie, and Blitzo somehow were defeated by cannibal rednecks who worship Satan just a few episodes prior. Anyway, thank you all for reading and I hope you all have a nice day! ❤️

#helluva boss #vivziepop critical #vivziepop criticism #helluva boss critical #helluva boss criticism #vivziepop #helluva critical #helluva boss critique #helluva boss rant #hazbin hotel #helluva boss dhorks

[airenyah]

How BAD BUDDY SERIES | EP.11 [4/4] Tricked the Fandom

Those who were there watching Bad Buddy live will remember the chaos that ensued after episode 11 (my beloved) and with it the episode 12 preview (derogatory) dropped. Watching a happy and hopeful episode, ending in a lovely montage with an even lovelier song, being told things such as "we became two people who can’t be just friends" or "I want you to know that this world can’t change someone like me either", only to be punched in the gut by "Pat and I broke up" in the very next moment. Those of you who were there will remember how – after the fandom had finally picked up its shattered pieces – there was a scramble to figure out what the hell was happening exactly, how the hell we even got to this point.

And you will also remember the fandom deciding on a specific scene being The Breakup Scene. But how can that be? How can a breakup scene even exist when we know (in retrospective) that they never actually broke up? Did the fandom just collectively hallucinate a scene that wasn't there?

Well, no. Of course not. I think the reason why it worked, the reason why this scene managed to trick the fandom into believing that this was actually the breakup talk was because for one terrifying moment Pran himself thinks it's a breakup talk. However, the fandom was so blinded by the ep 12 preview that it completely missed one key factor from that scene which Pran did realize: it's not in fact a breakup, but the exact opposite of it.

So let's get into it, let's take a closer look at Bad Buddy Ep. 11 [4/4] (01:58 - 05:15) and Pran's emotional rollercoaster during this specific scene:

The scene starts out with Pat sitting on the bench, lost in thought. His exact thought process here is for the viewer to decide, but whatever he is reflecting on has to do with him finally accepting the inevitability of having to back home. And considering his upcoming monologue, he's probably also thinking about his love for Pran and Pran's love for him.

His thinking gets interrupted when Pran walks into the scene, dangling the shirts into Pat's face. They have an interaction about the shirts, Pat puts one on while Pran can't keep his hands off of him, they exchange some words and Pran doesn't really notice Pat's pensive mood, when suddenly –

Pat grabs Pran's hand. Pran was not expecting that, and he looks up at Pat in surprise, asking a silent What is it, what's going on? And I think it's only here that Pran really notices the weird mood Pat is in.

Pat says "thank you" and although Pran looks concerned about Pat's sudden mood change, Pat's words also make Pran smile, though he's still very confused, having absolutely no context for Pat's emotional state and thus having no idea where this is suddenly coming from. "Thank you for what?" Pran asks, still with that searching look in his eyes that asks What's gotten into you all of a sudden? Is everything alright?

Pat replies "For trying to make a silly guy like me happy". And Pran's smile falls just a little bit as he realizes that this? really isn't just Pat being his usual sappy self, this right here is a Serious™ conversation indeed:

Finally, Pran too has arrived in serious mode completely. He now shifts his attention fully to Pat, listening intently to Pat's words, staying focused on Pat the entire time.

Pat says "I know that sooner or later we will need to go back." This gets a very subtle smile out of Pran (you can see how the corner of his mouth on the right side of the screen goes up just a tiniest bit):

Pran reacts to those words, because this has been their conflict throughout the entire episode so far: Pran being realistic, having accepted from the start that they would have to return at some point while Pat was so desperately trying to stay in that pretense that they could just make a new life somewhere else and not turn back, refusing to acknowledge that in the long run this just wouldn't work out. But now Pat is finally acknowledging this, letting Pran know that he understands and that they're on the same page about this. "I know too well",* Pat says and Pran looks like he's about to cry from adoration for Pat pls he's so in love takes that acknowledgement in, still with a hint of a smile on his face.

*(Side note: I seem to hear ทำไม​กูจะไม่รู้ว่ะ (tammai-goo-jà-mâi-róo-wâ) and I think the more literal translation of this sentence would actually be something like "Why wouldn't I know?". Though I'd have to ask a Thai native to confirm as I don't trust my own Thai skills yet. Anyway, I just thought the rhetorical question was interesting in regard to Pran reacting to Pat's statement, bc the rhetorical question addresses Pran more directly compared to the declarative sentence from the subtitles. His reaction is kind of like a reply to that rhetorical question.)

But that hint of a smile is wiped right off Pran's face when Pat continues with "But I just want to stay as long as we can."

And this the moment where the thought hits Pran for the first time that Pat's speech might actually lead to a breakup. He is confused (why would they need to break up over this?) and there is now fear and worry in his eyes. He looks a little scared, his mouth twitches a little, accompanied by the tiniest headshake and there are many questions written all over his face: What are you talking about?? Where is this going?? No, it can't be... Are you implying what I think you're implying?? I don't follow...

And Pat just keeps going: "Be with you for at least one more day."

One more day. That very much does sound like a breakup, doesn't it? Especially if you're already half expecting one. This line confirms Pran's fear of Pat actually being in the process of ending their relationship, leaving Pran on the verge of tears.

But Pran is a fighter and he's not giving in that easily. He sniffs away his rising tears and says "What are you talking about? Get dressed. The bar is opening soon."

What are you saying? We're not breaking up. We're staying here, we'll work at the bar and we'll be together. It'll be fine, don't worry.

Now it's Pran's turn to deflect. To indulge in that fantasy of being able to just run away together into the sunset where everything is all sunshine and rainbows. Because Pran would much rather face the hardships that they might run into if they actually stayed at the beach together than go back home to live a life without Pat. I can be anywhere as long as I have you.

If this is Pat letting him go, Pran really doesn't want to hear it:

Unfortunately, the scene cuts to Pat really quickly, but I just need you all to appreciate Pran's pouty puppy eyes at the end there, because they're the saddest thing I've ever seen:

I won't let you do this, his eyes say. Please don't do this to me, his eyes say. Please tell me you're not really doing this, his eyes say, tell me you're coming to work at Uncle Yod's bar with me. We're staying here, together, you hear me?

Except then Pat surprises Pran yet again. And here comes the part that the fandom completely overlooked in the light of the ep 12 preview:

Because then Pat says "Nobody works on their honeymoon."

And it's absolutely hilarious how Pran's brain immediately gets stuck in "error 404 not found" mode. You can literally see the loading circle going round and round in his brain as he tries to comprehend what Pat has just said:

Honeymoon?? Why are you suddenly talking about something that's related to weddings? Weren't we breaking up a second ago? What in the world is going on?

"You never leave me. You fight alongside me. That makes me feel very happy." Pat says and that's when Pran realizes. This conversation was never about a breakup. This is a conversation about commitment. It's an acknowledgment of Pran's love for Pat and the commitment he's shown over the course of their relationship. And it's a promise that Pat appreciates it, has appreciated it in the past and will appreciate it in the future. Pat has more or less just said his wedding vows to Pran.

And that's when Pran can no longer hold back his tears. Partly due to the relief that he won't lose Pat and partly because he's so moved by Pat's speech, by Pat's love.

And then Pat tells Pran that he's finally ready to go home: "I will let Uncle Yod know that we quit. Wait for me here."

And with that Pat brings closure to the conflict of this episode. They are finally going back home, they are finally going to face their parents. But in this scene right here Pat and Pran made it clear to each other that they'll be doing so with full commitment to one other – they will be doing so together, and that's a promise. They really did just essentially get married on their little beach getaway. They got more or less engaged on the staircase in ep 10 and now in ep 11 they are following up on that engagement. This trip really was their little honeymoon. And this calls for a celebration:

"It’s our last night on this honeymoon. I will not just stay in and be lonely. If we aren’t going to work, then let’s get drunk."

You see, for an entire week the fandom was so blinded by the ep 12 preview (derogatory) and the prospect of a looming breakup that unlike Pran it completely missed the part where Pat points out that they're on a honeymoon. And who goes on a honeymoon? People who just got married.

BONUS:

Can we just appreciate Pran's face when Pat says he'll tell Uncle Yod about quitting:

You fucker really had me thinking we were breaking up for a hot moment there when the whole time this was actually a wedding. I was worried and scared for notHING, can you believe this man

#bad buddy #bbs #patpran #bbs meta #bbs ep11 #my meta #bbsmetamine #adrm #whewwww i finally finished this #this has been sitting in my drafts for months maybe even close to a year idk #i had actually written most of it already i was mainly missing an introduction and i still needed to make all the gifs #(the gifs were mostly the reason for my procrastination on this lmao) #anyway i was rewatching ep 11 on saturday for the one year anniversary and i had a loooooot of feelings about this again #which finally pushed me to finish this post and publish it #so here you go... enjoy :) #not me posting new bbs meta a whole year after the show ended #aaanyway this is beautiful acting on nanon's part #(both of them actually but if you've been following my posts recently where i talk about acting you'll know that #i've been going on and on about ohm and so #this time around this is a shoutout specifically for nanon) #he tells an entire story in this scene despite the fact that he has next to no lines #ohm's got his entire monologue and all the while we can see EXACTLY what is going on in pran's head #it's truly nice acting everyone say thank you nanon

[kennyomegasweave]

I'm going back and rewatching every KhemThongthai scene, until the finale is on YouTube and I can rewatch it, because they have my whole heart and I knew they met in college, but I blocked out that it was in 2009! And the show takes place in like 2023, yeah? So that's 14 years??? They've been together 14 freaking years??? I thought it was like 10, and that already had me laying on the floor, but my god. I may never recover from this, tbh.

The absolute embarrassment Thongthai was radiating while Khem was telling Yai and Tharn how they met was palpable. It was also hilarious since it's like "that's YOUR man of 14 years, you picked him, he was like this the whole time, who is this embarrassment for boo?"

And just the speed run of baby!Thongthai saying "I'm sorry, I'm not into men" and then not even 2:30 minutes later (I have timestamps!) taking Khem's pants off in the bed. Okay girl. Okay.

I love them. So much. They had like 15 minutes of screen time total the entire show and I would die for them.

Spoilers for the finale under the cut:

And they are def married by the end of the finale. Khem proposed with the ring necklace, and yeah it wasn't a "will you marry me" but I appreciated his "when this is all done, I'm gonna put this on your finger" and Thongthai's "who said I said yes" while you know, wearing the damn ring necklace his man of 14 years put around his neck. Because you just don't really need a "will you marry me"/"yes" when it's been 14 years, y'all became cops together, he followed you to special forces tryout, landed the special forces gig with you, and presumably has long since been living with you. And yes, okay, he did pull the necklace off falling after he got shot in Thongthai's arms, but he was alive, healed, and well in the one year later scene still with "Baby" so yeah. They're married. They def got married on their 15 year anniversary. I don't make the rules.

#the sign #the sign the series #KhemThongthai have my whole heart #I genuinely love them so much #they added much needed levity on this show #they are The Moment to me #the actors being young af also makes me laugh #out here playing dudes who have to be AT LEAST 32 #meanwhile they're only 20 #and I think Tack was only 19 during filming too #had these men being in college in 2009 like they weren't 5 and 6 in 2009 for real lol #they gave them the Earth P Papang Pepper Sailub special #but even worse cause they are actual babies #regular clyde

[workingforthewidow]

“Find someone who grows flowers in the darkest parts of you”

—

Happy birthday Bo and Vincent!

Welcome to the party of the year! And by part I mean an 11K kinda angst at times story. Welcome to part 5! Read part 4 here!

This story is NSFW and not for minors- if you are under 18 go ask your legal guardian if you can watch the movie.

Warnings: kidnapping, forced marriage, dub-con, attempted non-con, abuse, Stockholm syndrome, age gap (15 years- K&C are 19 Sinclairs are 33 soon to be 34 yes we will have a birthday party for them). Don’t like it don’t read it,

THIS CHAPTER HAS VERY DARK SCENES! This chapter contains abuse and twisted emotions. This is a work of fiction.

It had been a week since Caroline had seen her sister. A week where the only person she saw was Bo. After their day spent at home he started taking her to the shop with him and taking her for walks in the mornings. And in the evenings after dinner they would lay on the couch and watch whatever show was on. Bo will never forget the way her eyes lit up when an old western called “Maverick” came through.

“Katie, Daddy, and I watched this together. Daddy loved this show. Though I prefer Brett episodes, this one is a Bart.” She then talked over the entire episode explaining the shows background to him but he didn’t mind. She could tell him about watching paint dry and he would be hooked to every word.

Finally on the eighth day she mustered up the courage to ask him about Katie. She had been good, she had deep cleaned the living room, their bedroom, the hallways, and had even gone over the kitchen again. He had left her alone that day too. Telling her he trusted her.

“You’ve been a good girl all week babygirl. Why don’t we try to see if you can be good and follow the rules while I’m at work?” He asked her over breakfast and she nodded happily. “I’ll try to be back for lunch but don’t stress over making something. Focus on dinner. And don’t forget what to do when I get home, probably around 6.”

He stood up and she followed him to the door, “Have a nice day, Bo.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him sweetly. He pulled away and placed one more kiss to her forehead before heading out to the shop.

She spent the day tidying up the already clean house. Then she inventoried the kitchen. She hoped Katie would fall into the routine she made- no she can’t think like that. They were getting out of here. They weren’t staying here. Once she reminded herself of this she started looking closer at the house. Looking for any place they could escape or anything that could be used as a weapon. Bo and Vincent were a lot bigger then the girls so taking them down won’t be easy. She spent the rest of the day making a list in her head to share with Katie when she had the chance. At 5 o’clock she made it back to the kitchen and started prepping their dinner. She started really missing Katie so she made one of their favorite meals- chicken Alfredo with broccoli and garlic bread.

Earlier that week she had cooked meatloaf and a side of green beans and carrots. She thought Bo’s eyes were going to fall out of his head. It took a lot of begging for him to try the vegetables but he finally did and begrudgingly said they were good.

When the clock chimed 6 o’clock she heard tired crunching over the gravel in front of the house. Luckily she was at a good pausing point in the recipe. Everything was done she was just mixing the chicken into the sauce. She opened the fridge and got a beer, quickly opening it before walking to the front door.

She waited for him to open it and when he did he was smiling at her. She kissed him and gave him his beer.

“Knew you’d be a good girl, baby. Dinner smells good.”

“Thank you. I haven’t made it in a long time. So I hope it taste good too.” She took his hand and they walked into the kitchen. He sat at the table and she plated their food sitting it on the table and getting herself a glass of water. She sat down and they started eating. Bo told her about his day, the most exciting part being the fox that got locked in his shop during the night. She smiled and nodded along with his stories building her courage to ask.

“You want something. I can tell by the look on your pretty face. Tell me.” He took her hand and smiled at her.

“Umm, well, umm. It’s just been a week since I saw Katie and I was wondering if maybe tomorrow we could have breakfast as a family again. You and me and Vincent and Katie, Lester if he’s in town. Or… or dinner if you have to be up early for work. I promise I’ll be good. I know better now. I know how to be good for you. Please, Bo.” She squeezed his hand and gave him a pitiful pleading look.

He squeezed her hand back and smiled at her, “I’ll talk to Vincent baby. I have more things to clean up in the shop from that damn fox but family dinner does sound nice.”

“I can help you. I can come help clean up the shop. I’ve sorta cleaned the whole house already and then cleaned it again. I’m kinda bored now. And I got lonely today without you. Even took a shower earlier than usual just for something to do.” She continued to hold his hand. She had gotten so use to seeing him all day everyday the last week.

“I missed you too babygirl. Why don’t you go get ready for bed while I shower then we can go to bed?” He asked her putting the dishes in the sink. She stood up and went to wash up the dishes before answering but he took her hand. “Take a break from it baby for tonight. Go upset and wait for me. Put on your cute little pajamas and get in bed.” She just nodded and followed him up the stairs.

She put on a cotton pajama tank top and shorts set and waited for him. She went over her list she had made earlier of ways out or things to use against them. Once her and Katie could cook together they could put bleach in their food maybe. Or some other chemical. Once they were trusted wit the knives they could stab them. None of the windows looked like they could open and the doors were too obvious.

She was lost in her head and didn’t see Bo come into the room. It wasn’t until his hand was on her thigh that she snapped back to reality. His hand ran up and down her thigh as he started kissing her neck. “Damn baby, you could be wearing a potato sack and I think I’d get a hard on.” His hand traveled higher up her thigh, his fingers brushed against the edge of her panties. She tensed and her breathing shallowed. “Sweet girl, daddy’s gonna make you feel so good.” His voice was lower as he whispered in her ear and his eyes were dark with lust. She bit her lip and put her hand over his in an attempt to stop him.

“Bo, can… can we just…” His head snapped up from her neck and he smirked.

“Oh babygirl, don’t tell me you’re a virgin. Pretty little thing like you never had someone going after her? Or were you being a good girl and waiting for your husband?”

Her mother’s words rang through her mind and she repeated them aloud, going into a trance, “Good men want good pure girls with their ring on her finger in their marriage beds.”

He laughed and kissed her next again, “Is that the problem baby? I didn’t put a pretty little diamond on your finger before calling ya my wife? I’ll get you a ring. Take ya out tomorrow to pick whichever you want.” His hand went back to her legs trying to open them.

Her mind started racing and her breathing was shaking, “Please Bo. I’ll do something else for you just not this. Not now. Please.” She begged. She didn’t want to lose her innocence to her kidnapper.

He rolled his eyes and huffed, “Fine babygirl. But tomorrow you’re getting that ring and then giving me what I want. Or I’ll take it.”

“Thank you. That means a lot to me.” Maybe he wasn’t so bad. If he really was going to take her by force he would just do it now. But he was waiting, sure he had made the threat but that was just to scare her. Maybe he could be kind.

“Whatever makes you happy babygirl.” He kissed her and laid down pulling her to his chest. He brushed his fingers through her hair until she fell asleep. Tomorrow night he’d have his fun, no matter how much she begged.

—

Vincent started taking Katie on walks around the town in the evenings before he got their dinner from Caroline. Ambrose really wasn’t that big of a town. And he even explained the plans to her (he withheld the dead people part though, couldn’t give her too much at once). She thought the idea was amazing. She actually said that. She liked Mama’s idea. They had walked the whole town and ended at the old antique store. Her eyes widen, she loved antique stores. She tried looking in the windows but it was hard to see. She turned to Vincent and was about to ask if she could go in, but he already had the key in hand to open the door. She smiled and clapped happily nearly skipping inside.

He pulled his small notebook from his pocket and wrote for her.

~I have to turn on the lights in the basement. You can stay here.~

She could fell the unspoken, well unwritten, ‘be good, follow the rules’. “Okay but be quick or I might just start feeling around with my hands.” She teased with a wide smile. He nodded and made his way down to the basement where the control panel was held.

While she waited she used what little like was seeping in to look at the jewelry counter that was placed under the windows. She assumed when the windows were clean and the sun shined on them the diamonds would shine. She squinted to try and look at the jewels then heard the sound of old lights flicker on. It took a moment but the lights made their way on lighting up the room. She was able to fully see the counter now.

She had always loved jewelry. That was one of the few things she and Caroline had in common. There were necklaces, bracelets, rings, and other items. All somehow still shiny and pretty. She saw the opening to enter behind the counter and moved to it. The cabinets weren’t locked and she was able to pull out a tray of rings. She picked over them pulling out a few she liked and tried them on. She had just pulled out a shining deep blue sapphire oval held in white gold when she heard footsteps and looked up to see Vincent.

“They’re so beautiful.” She admired the ring under the lights. “This one is my favorite.” She showed him the sapphire ring she was holding. He took it from her and held it in under the light himself. She was right, it was beautiful. As beautiful as her.

An idea formed in his head and he took her left hand in his. He slowly took the ring and slid it over her ring finger. He looked up to gauge her reaction. She smiled, one of his new favorite sights.

She put her hand next to his face, close to his eye, “The same color. Oh, you need one too.” She took his hand and looked back to where she had seen the more masculine jewelry. She took out a tray of white gold bands and took his hand trying to find one in his size. She found one she thought fit well and looked to him, “Does that fit? Not tight or loose?” He moved his fingers around and nodded at her. She smiled again and took his hand as they walked through the rest of the store. An hour or so later they were walking back to the house hand in hand.

“Vincent, um could maybe I see Caroline again soon? Please.” She asked him as while when they made it to their bedroom. He took both her hands in his and nodded. “Thank you darlin’.” He swore he died at that moment. The way her accent flared a bit at the pet name and the shine in her eyes made his hear skip a beat.

She pulled out of her oversized shirts and changed into it for bed. She crawled up the bed and watched him as he too changed for bed into clean boxers. Just as he was about to lay down next to her a knock came from the door.

“Vinny, come here. Gotta talk for a minute.” Bo’s voice rang through. In the dim lamp light she could barely see Vincent roll his eye. He patted her cheek and went out the door.

Bo went down stairs with Vincent following.

“Told Caroline we could have family dinner tomorrow if you agreed.”

Vincent nodded, glad Bo had brought it up instead of him having to do it.

“They are doing good. I think soon we can trust them alone.” Again Vincent nodded in agreement. He jerked his head upstairs. He had a pretty girl waiting for him. It was Bo’s turn to nod and follow his brother upstairs.

“I missed you.” Katie said as soon as he was back in the room closing the door. He smiled under his mask, which he slowly took off before laying in bed next to her. He carefully kissed her forehead and moved down to her lips. She returned his kiss with a little more passion.

Things started to heat up, her hands went to his hair and his went to her lower back. Before he knew it she had thrown her leg over him to straddle him. The kiss continued until she pulled away and started kissing his neck, nipping in some places, and licking in others. He moved his hands to her hips and stated rubbing circles on her thighs.

She felt him growing hard under her and she started to move her hips just a bit to tease him. Without warning he flipped them so he was on her. His hands roamed her body under her shirt and she sat up letting him remove it from her, tossing it to the floor. His hands moved up her again going to her breast. He stared kneading each breast sometime pinching a hardening nipple. His mouth went to her neck and traveled down towards her breast. His lips replaced one of his hands freeing it to go down her body to her thighs. She moaned as his hand danced along her thigh.

Her hands went to his hair and she raked her fingers through it, “Vincent, I should probably tell you, I’ve never done anything like this before. Mama raised good girls.”

Of course his angel was pure. His sweet pure angel who had saved herself for her husband, for him. He almost regretted not waiting for her. But there had been a few nights when he would go to Bo’s underground room to use one of the girls there.

He smile against her neck before moved to press a sweet kiss to her ear, whispering in his low rough voice, “I’ll take care of you angel. Be good for me.”

Just that alone made heat spreading to core. “Of course. Always good for you.”

He went back to kissing her neck and let his fingers go back to her thighs. She parted her legs and moved himself in between. His mouth moved back to her breast and he sucked one of her nipples into his mouth biting gently while his hand finally brushed against her core. Oh she was enjoying this, enjoying him. Her panties were soaked, his pride swell at the thought that he had done this to her. She was letting him do this to her. He released her nippled before going to the next one. He bit down the same time he allowed a finger to slip into her folds coating himself in her before slipping inside. She was tight, and he couldn’t even imagine how she would squeeze his cock.

She threw her head back and moaned loudly at the foreign feeling. His free hand flew up to cover her mouth. He really didn’t need Bo to hear them. Once she had recovered he moved his hand and sat up. His fingers hooked into her panties and she lifted her hips to let him pulled them down. Blood rushed to her cheeks as she watched him look at her most intimate area. He kissed between her breast and made a trail down until his face was level with her pussy. Her hands automatically went to his hair. Without warning he licked up her folds and flicked her clit with the tip of his tongue. One of her hands went to her mouth to hide her moans.

He started pumping his finger and slowly added a second trying to get her ready for him. He continued to finger her and flick her clit with his tongue until she was a morning begging mess beneath him.

He finally moved up to her face when she begged, “Please Vincent. Please I need you. Take me please.”

Vincent Sinclair was not one to deny his angel. He kicked his boxers off and rubbed himself through her folds wetting himself in her juices. Finally he lined himself up at her entrance and entered slowly, trying to allow enough time for her to adjust to his size. Even with her hand over her mouth she screamed loudly at first but he shushed her and calmed her, peppering kisses all over her face. Eventually her breathing even outed and he slowly stated to rock his hips into her.

She couldn’t describe the feeling of sex with Vincent. The only word that came to light was ‘right’. This was right, this was how things were suppose to be. But a part of her was telling herself this was wrong. He had taken her, he had hurt her. He wasn’t a good man. She should be running from him. She shouldn’t be doing this with him.

Yet she didn’t tell him to stop. In fact she begged him for more. It got to the point she could only speak his name in a plea as his lips pressed kisses to her neck and shoulders. Occasionally he would bite down making her moan and run her nails down his back or bite at his neck in return. She felt a coil in her belly start to tighten getting close to her release. Seeming as if he could read her mind his hand moved to play with her clit. She was over after that, darkness filled her vision and she saw stars as the tidal wave ran through her. Just as she was coming down from her own high she felt him tense as his release came sending hot ropes of cum into her. He pulled out slowly and she whined at the loss.

For a fleeting moment the haze cleared and she thought about what the consequences of this could be. But the moment he pressed his forehead to hers their breaths matching in gasps, the haze returned and all her thoughts pointed to him.

She raised a shaking hand to his face looking into his eye. She kissed him sweetly savoring this moment. She felt his fingers tracing on her hip and she realized he was ‘writing’ to her on her skin.

~Okay?~

“Yes, yes. More than okay, wonderful.” She could see him smile through her still blurred vision.

~Stay, be back.~

He kissed her forehead and stood pulling clothes on before leaving the room. He returned seconds later and she felt a warm wet rag cleaning her thighs. She hissed at the overstimulating feeling but he shushed her again. His other hand traced calming circles on her legs. Once he was satisfied he pulled her up into his lap, throwing the rag on the floor. She rested her head on his shoulder pushing her face into his neck. His fingers traced letters on her back.

~Shower?~

She nodded slowly against his skin, still coming back to reality. He sat her back on the bed and pulled her shirt over her head before taking her to the shower. He let her stand under the water and brushed his fingers in her hair. His hands moved down her body in soft caresses. They stay silent enjoying each other’s presence.

She let her mind drift off again. To a place where they could be happy. Where they had met under normal circumstances and could be normal. But then she probably wouldn’t have given him a second glance. Even if she did when she found out their age difference she would have shut everything down quickly. Yet here she was losing her innocence to a man nearly twice her age, who had kidnapped her, beat her, kept her away from her twin, and who had threatened her. A man who was currently looking into her eyes with love and admiration like she was a fragile doll and if he took his eyes of her she would shatter.

She didn’t even notice when he cut the water off. Or even the warm towel being wrapped around her, her arms moving on their own to secure it to her body. She felt like she was in a trance, going through the motions. He pulled her shirt back on her and gently pulled her to the bed. Once her head hit the soft pillow it was like all the emotions caved in on her at once.

She gulped air and started shaking. Everything, the good emotions, the bad emotions, her whirlwind thoughts. moved through her body. Tears poured down her cheeks and she saw no end in sight. She was so confused, not knowing what she wanted. She had been stuck in this town for barely a month and so much had happened. He was awful, beating her, separating her from Caroline, threats to her life. But he was also wonderful, showing her love in a way she had never felt before. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t okay. But sometimes maybe things didn’t have to be right or okay. Somethings could just be, her and Vincent could just be. It’s not anyone was waiting for her on the coast. They didn’t have plans made in stone. Just drive from Georgia to California and figure it out when they got there. No guarantees of finding a good life. They had money from their parents life insurance and the settlement from the train company. But that wasn’t always enough.

But he was here, here in this ghost town in Louisiana. In Ambrose, a town that wasn’t even on the map anymore, was Vincent. He made sure she had food, a home, and he would love her. And she would love him. And they would be happy.

Vincent took her in his arms and rocked her. Whispering in her ear with his low rough voice that she was okay and he would protect her. She stopped shaking and wiped her tears away. She looked up to him and held his face in her hands, he had gotten use to baring his face to her. And oh was it a beautiful face. Her beautiful demon. Because yes he was still the villain, but he was hers.

“Vincent,” her voice was soft and he looked to her, “I love you.” She kissed him gently, savoring him, loving him. She belonged to him now. He owned her heart.

—

“Looks like Vinny already brought your sister in here.” Bo said motioning to the lights being on in the abandoned antique store. He took her to the jewelry counter and let her play with different rings.

She tried several and finally narrowed it down to 2 choices.

“I don’t know. I like both of these. Which do you like?” She held up her hand where she had two rings stacked on her finger. Bo slipped them off and held them in his hands.

“Close your eyes.” He ordered and she obeyed. He took her hand and slipped the ring he liked back on her finger. “Open, baby.”

Her eyes flickered opened and looked at the gem on her finger. Her finger was wrapped in yellow gold and a bright shining blue sapphire stared back at her.

“Matches your eyes.” She said as she smiled at him and fiddled with the ring. She then took his hand and looked back to the jewelry counter. “Gotta find you one now. Gotta let everyone know you’re a married man. Let ‘em know you’re mine.”

The words falling from her lips were sweeter than any candy he’d ever eaten. His babygirl wanting to show others they belonged together. He smiled back to her and let her play with rings on his fingers until she was happy with a gold band.

She looked up at him with her big eyes, “Is this okay?”

“It’s perfect babygirl.” He pulled her to him and kissed her. His mind was wrapped in his thoughts of her when a thought randomly came to the forefront. “It’s Friday.” It wasn’t a question.

Caroline tilted her head in confusion, “Umm I guess. I don’t really know what day it is anymore.” She shrugged and tried to peak over his shoulder to look around the antique store.

“Gotta visit Mama. Haven’t seen her since you came home.” It was like he was on autopilot. Taking her hand walking her to the church, a place he hadn’t let her go before.

“Bo? Where are we going? To her grave?” Caroline asked as she tried to keep up with his long strides.

Bo didn’t answer but kept walking until they made it to the church. She could hear music playing. Was someone there? Vincent or Lester maybe? Did they do this every Friday?

Bo pushed open the door and dragged her into the simple sanctuary doorway. He dropped her hand and walked forward. Caroline on the other hand gasped. The room was full but not of people, there was a priest but his eyes never blinked, and in the center was the casket where Bo was kneeling. She took a closer look to the ‘person’ nearest her. Wax, they were wax figures.

She felt in her gut now was not the time to question anything. She simply tiptoed to Bo and knelt next to him. He took her hand and kissed her knuckles giving her one of the sweetest smiles shes ever seen.

“Mama, this is Caroline. You’d love her. Only had her a month and I can’t imagine life without her. Perfect woman for me. I bet ya picked her out for me. Sent her out to Ambrose for me to find.” Tears pricked at his eyes and he spoke to the wax figure of his mother. It was like he forgot Caroline was there, the way he was talking about her. “Real good girl too. Learning so fast. She’s perfect Mama. Inside and out. Heart of gold, sweetest little thing. And she’s beautiful. I can tell she’s gonna be a good little mama. Raise more Sinclairs to help finish what you started. I love her so much Mama. Never loved anyone the way I love her. Thank you for sending her to me, I love you Mama.”

He turned to Caroline and she gently wiped the tears from his cheeks. She left her hands on his face and smiled at him. “I really wanna kiss you right now but I don’t know how your Mama would feel about that?” The slight giggle in her voice made him smile and lean closer to her until their lips brushed.

“I don’t think she’d mind too much.” He kissed her pulling her as close as possible. Her hands found his hair and his ran up the back of her dress. He started to trail down her neck, nipping and kissing. She pulled his hair gently trying to stop him.

“Bo, love, take me home.” Her eyes lit up and he stood pulling her into his arms kissing her again. She jumped up wrapping her arms around him. He walked them out of the church, never once stopping their kiss. He put her in the truck and climbed in himself. Before he even started the truck he pulled her into another searing kiss.

The drive home only took 5 minutes but to Caroline it felt like a lifetime. Her body was heating up in both excitement and nerves. What if she disappointed him? What if he changes his mind about her? Thoughts blew around her brain but suddenly stopped at the feeling of his hand traveling up her thigh.

“You okay baby? Shaking like a leaf. Don’t worry babygirl I’ll treat you real nice.” He took her hand and kissed it before pulling her from the truck. She wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him again in an effort to ground herself. Finally making it to the bedroom he tossed her on the bed and took his shirt off.

His hands ran up her legs and over her shorts to the button. The entire time his eyes were locked on hers full of love. He pulled off her shorts and panties in one go, her shirt following soon after. She felt her body getting hot as his hands and lips trailed her body.

He put his lips to her ear and shushed her softly, “Relax babygirl. You’ll be okay. My sweet good little wife. Gonna be so pretty when you’re all round with my baby.” He continued to whisper sweet things in her ear as he moved to get his jeans off.

He let his lips kiss down her neck, biting, kissing, and blowing cold air to her to make her shiver. His hand went to her folds and he ran a finger through her wetness again making her shiver against him. Slowly he slipped a finger inside of her and he marveled at how tight she was and how her pussy tighten around his finger.

“Damn baby. Gonna feel so good to fuck you. Make you feel so good.” All he got in response from her was a moan. He added another finger getting her ready for him. He almost thought he would break her, she was so tiny.

She moaned and whimpered, bucking her hips up trying to get friction. “Bo, please more. So good.” Her eyes had already glazed over in a trance under his control.

He kissed her neck and moved his fingers faster, “Gotta get you ready for me babygirl. Don’t wanna break my little wife, yet.” He smirked as she tightened around him again. His thumb went to her clit and he knew she was close. Right as she reached the edge he pulled his hand away making her cry out.

“Wh…why…” She tried to speak but he shoved his fingers in her mouth the moment her mouth was open. “Shh baby, if you’re gonna cum its gonna be on my cock. All that baby, thats from me. Only I can make you feel this good. No other man, no one, not even yourself.” He lined his tip up to her entrance and slowly pushed in. “This pussy is mine. I own your body. I give you pleasure and I take my pleasure from you. You’ll be a good wife won’t ya? Giving yourself to your husband.” He started to move and her eyes went wide as he continued to speak, “Tell me Caroline, tell me you’re mine.”

“Yours Bo. I’m yours. Belong to you. Only you.” The words were slurred as she stayed in the trance he had put her in.

“Good girl. Good girl.” He praised her and he continued to rock his body into her.

She had always heard the first time hurt, some even said unbearable pain. But she didn’t feel anything but pleasure and happiness. It’s like she was made for him. He kept a steady pace and left multiple bite marks on her neck and chest. She in turn nipped at his neck and raked her nails down his shoulders causing him to groan.

“Fuck babygirl. Let go for me baby. Cum on my cock.” He threw his head back as releasing into her just as her eyes squeezed shut. Her mouth falling open as she screamed his name. He rode out his orgasm until he had pumped her full of his cum. He flipped them so she laid on his chest while he was still inside her.

She started shaking again, the aftershocks of such an intense organism effecting her. Bo kissed her and ran his hands down her back whispering praises to her.

“Good girl. You did so good babygirl. Make me so happy. Perfect little wife. Gonna be such a good mama to our babies.” The praise made blood rush to her cheeks as her breathing finally slowed and she came out of the trance he had put her in. “I love you babygirl.”

She lifted the upper half of her body and looked at him, putting her forehead against his letting their noses touch. She smiled and kissed him, “I love you too, Bo.” The words came out slow as she yawned.

He finally slid out of her and wrapped his arms around her. “Take a nap baby. We’ll shower when you wake up. You’re safe.”

—

The next day passed like a blur. It seemed once Vincent got a taste of his angel it became a drug. They spent the whole day in bed. Hours went by and it got to a point where it seemed the only words in the English language that Katie could even mumble were ‘more’, ‘please’, ‘love you’, and his name. That one she screamed. He would have tried to silence her if not for the fact the walls in the house were thin and he could Bo’s name screamed in similar fashion from Caroline.

He didn’t think Katie noticed her sisters voice at all. He was her everything at the moment. Nothing in the world mattered to her in that moment but Vincent. By evening he had enough clarity to realize they hadn’t eaten at all. He was about to ask for her if she wanted food when a soft knock came from the door.

“Katie? Vincent? I’m almost done with dinner. It’ll probably be another 10 minutes. Just wanted to let you know.” Carolines soft voice was made even softer when muffled by the wooden door before her footsteps were heard down the stairs.

Katie’s eyes lit up at her sister’s voice and she looked up to Vincent from her spot on his chest. He smiled and kissed her forehead before moving her off him and sitting up. She rolled over and let her feet touch the cold ground. In a comfortable silence they got dressed and met at the door.

Katie touched Vincent’s mask, “I almost forgot about the mask. I like being able to really see you.” The last bit came out quietly, sadness in her tone. He brushed his own hand across her cheek gently before taking her hand. They walked down the stairs together. Things felt right like this was how it was suppose to be. Maybe Mama was right. Maybe you just have to trust the path and have faith and things will line up. Maybe Dad was right too, and everyone did have a soulmate. Maybe Vincent was always meant to be in her life. Maybe they were made for each other, their souls the missing piece from each others lives.

They made it downstairs, Vincent sat down in the living room where Bo was sitting, sipping a beer. Katie immediately ran to Caroline hugging her tight each whispering an “I missed you” in each others ear.

Both went to raise their hands to start signing but froze in unison.

Bo’s head snapped up to them, “Baby, show her around the kitchen and have her help you. We’ll call this a practice round. Don’t mess up.”

Katie and Caroline gave each other a glance and went to the kitchen.

“Here you can carry the potatoes and green beans. I’ll get the chicken.” Caroline smiled at her and handed her the bowls of side dishes. “Their Mama didn’t really know what spices were, weird since they live in the Cajun capital of the world. So I had to play around with adding the spice, hopefully it taste okay.”

“If it taste as good as it smells. It’ll be amazing. Maybe soon I’ll get to help you.” Katie smiled and took her sisters hand. They pulled each other into a hug again. This was the longest time they had ever been apart.

Caroline started to laugh quietly and poked Katie in the neck, “Nice bruise, what you do get into a fight with a vacuum cleaner?” Katie’s hand flew to her neck but Caroline smiled at her sheepishly. “It’s okay, so did I.” She adjusted the collar of her shirt to show the teeth mark on her neck. She got closer to Katie and whispered in her ear, “I want to talk to you about all this but not in front of them. We will have to wait until they trust us.”

“Baby you don’t quit that whispering I’ll have you over my knees again.” Bo’s voice carried from the living room to the kitchen.

Caroline grimaced but moved away from Katie, “Yes, Bo, I’m sorry. Just girl talk, didn’t want to bother you.” It wasn’t a complete lie.

Bo just nodded from his spot on the recliner and turned his attention back to the TV. Tonight they were able to pick up a channel that played movies.

“The TV has a good signal tonight. It’s got a movie channel. In an hour they are gonna play Friday the 13th! Since you know it’s Friday the 13th! I wanna see if they’ll let us watch it together like we use to do with Dad. Les even got us popcorn after I told him it was a favorite snack of ours.” Caroline smiled and Katie nodded along happy to think of a movie night featuring one of their favorite movies.

They moved to the living room each going to their partner.

“Dinner’s ready.” Caroline announced before they made way to the dining table. Luckily this time each girl got her own seat.

For a while they ate and made small talk, well as much small talk as you could with people you saw every second of everyday. Eventually Caroline got the nerve to ask her request.

“Bo, love?” Her hand found its way to his thigh under the table and she made sure to bat her eyelashes. Bo put his fork down and turned to her.

“I have a feeling you’re about to ask for something. Pick your words carefully babygirl.”

Caroline nodded before speaking, “Um, so you remember the tv said in an hour they’re gonna play Friday the 13th?” Bo nodded and she continued, “Well, that’s actually one of mine and Katie’s favorite movies. So I was thinking, since tomorrow is Saturday and you don’t have to work, maybe we could watch it together. The four of us, like a family movie night. We even have popcorn. Lester got some last time he got supplies. If that’s okay with you and Vincent.”

Her eyes flickered to Katie for a moment before going back to Bo who looked to his brother.

Vincent turned his face to Katie who was giving him a pleading look, “Please, it’ll be fun.” She took his hands and squeezed it gently, the still pleading look in her eye.

Vincent thought for a moment, his sweet little angel loved a gory, bloody movie? No no she should be watching a romance, Breakfast at Tiffany’s or Gone with the Wind. But the way she was looking at him with big eyes and her bright smile, he couldn’t deny her. Vincent made eye contact with Bo and nodded.

“Okay fine. You get nightmares though I ain’t doing this shit again.” Bo grumbled and started eating again. Katie and Caroline looked to each other and smiled wide.

Maybe tonight would be the start of a new beginning for them.

—

“Comin’ with me to the station day, baby. Get dressed.” Bo ordered, giving her a dress for the day. They had spent most of the morning continuing what was started last night. They didn’t roll out of bed until 9:00. Four hours later than Bo normally woke up.

Caroline hummed and slipped into her dress, “Okay, is there a reason?”

Her innocent eyes made him smirk he almost didn’t want to tell her but in another twisted day he wanted to see her face glow red with a blush.

“Because baby I ain’t got earplugs for you and I don’t see your sister and Vinny being done anytime soon.” She cocked her head confused and he couldn’t help but kiss her confused pout. “You probably couldn’t hear her screaming his name all night because you were too loud screaming mine.” He whispered it in her ear and pulled back to see her face red as a tomato. He chuckled a bit and told her to finish getting ready and to meet him at the truck.

They made it to the shop and Bo set her to work cleaning the lobby while he went into the garage to work on one of the cars. He just finished changing the oil in the tow truck and went to move out from under it. He misjudged the distance and sat up too soon hitting his forehead.

Caroline heard a bang and Bo screaming every swear under the sun. She stopped wiping down the counter and went to him. She gasps when she saw the cut on his head dripping down his face.

“Med kits under the register.” He gritted out pressing a rag to his head. She followed the directions and came back med kit in hand. He tried to grab it from her but she pulled it back.

“Let me do it. Mama made me and Katie do all sorts of first aid lessons, she was a nurse. Gave us two options in life- become good housewives to rich men or nurses. She wasn’t too happy when Katie and I made our career choices.” She took out the needed supplies and kneeled, starting to tend to his wound.

“Well I ain’t the riches man in the world but I think you make the best little housewife. You’re perfect to me baby.” He winced when she touched the cut with cleaning fluid.

“Must of hit your head pretty hard. I’m not perfect. Mama was perfect.” Her eyes dimmed thinking back to her Mama. Besides Katie, Mama was her best friend.

“Wanna talk about it? Vinny told me a little of what Catherine told him.” Bo put his hand on her thigh. He could tell she was about to make a comment on the name, “Vinny likes to call her Catherine, says it fits her better.”

“Oh, yeah I guess but she’ll always be Katie to me.” She kept working at his wound cleaning and apply pressure. “Mama was my best friend, besides Katie. She was a nurse and part of all the societies. Her mama, my granny, was all sort of high society true southern belle. I mean I guess that happens when you grow up in Savannah, Georgia. Everyone was surprised when she married Dad. He was poor and didn’t have a degree. But he was the nicest man in all of Georgia. And he loved Mama and he loved us. He was a tattoo artist like Katie. That’s how she learned. Him and Mama had gone to Alaska for a train tour. Katie and I were suppose to go but we got chickenpox. Can you believe getting chickenpox at 19? Everyone at school got it when we were in 3 grade. Except me and Katie. We got it from a little girl at church. Mama wanted to stay but we convinced her to go and enjoy it. The mother of the girl from church felt so bad she and her daughter stayed with us while we got better. The day Mama and Dad were suppose to come home came and went and they never showed. Two days later we get a knock on the door. It was the sheriff, Carl, him and dad were good buddies. He had to break the news to us. Turns out the two people working the train had gotten drunk and caused a crash on purpose. It was a suicide pack. They found the letters. So we got a big settlement. Only about half the people died, of course Mama and Dad had to be part of that. That’s why Katie and I were leaving, we were gonna drive to California and start a new life. But I guess a new life in Louisiana is better.” The tears had started half way through but she was smiling at the end trying to make sure self better. She finished tending his wound and kissed the bandage, “There all better.”

“Thank you baby. I’m sorry all that happened to ya. But I know it’s selfish, but I’m glad it lead you to me. Can’t imagine life without you now.” He stood and helped her up, “Let’s go home and get cleaned up. Family dinner is tonight.”

Dinner went by quickly once the boys agreed to family movie night. She tried to talk Bo into letting her have a beer but that was shut down quickly, “No ma’am. You ain’t old enough besides stuff will kill ya, don’t need it.” Hypocrite and he knew it but she didn’t push. In an act of compromise he did give her a bottle of Coke.

The popcorn was made and they made themselves fit on the couch. It helped that the girls were just sitting in the boys laps.

Katie smiled and held Vincent’s hand on her lap, “I’d say you can protect me from the scary bits but honestly its not that scary. I think we laugh at it more than we scream nowadays.” Caroline nodded in agreement but Bo laughed.

“I’ll believe that when I see it sugar.”

The movie ended and true to her word, Katie and Caroline had laughed through half the movie. It was clear they had seen it a number of times seeing as they had a habit of started to laugh before the kill even happened. After the credits the channel announced that on Sunday they would be playing Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

“THAT’S OUR FAVORITE FAVORITE MOVIE EVER!” Both girls shouted.

“Love, you gotta try to get this channel Sunday so we can watch it! Please.” Caroline twisted so she was straddling Bo looking deep in his eyes. In the corner of his eye he could see Katie was nodded with her.

“I’ll do my best baby. No promises. Now it’s late, time for pretty little girls to go to bed.”

—

“You’re the best Lester!” Katie whispered in glee as she, Caroline, and Lester quietly brought everything into the house. It was 4:30am on September 18, Bo and Vincent’s 34 birthday. The girls conspired with Lester to get decorations and the supplies needed to make not only the pot roast but also a cake. Katie had been able to get Vincent to admit they both had a sweet tooth for vanilla cake with chocolate frosting.

“Ain’t nothing sis. It’s nice to actually celebrate for once. Can’t remember last time we did this.” Lester smiled and placed more items on the table. “Dinner’s at 6 right? I’ll make sure to be back by then.”

Caroline nodded and hugged him before he left, “Don’t forget to bring Jonesy.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it!”

The girls got to work making a big breakfast, pancakes, omelets, bacon, sausage, toast, fresh coffee, orange juice, and even homemade butter. Once everything was ready they tied balloons to anything they could wrap a string around and hung up the “Happy Birthday” banner.

By 5:30am footsteps were heard upstairs along with muffled voices. The girls told them to sleep in for their birthday. They reasoned 30 minutes could count.

“They always wake up this early, didn’t you know that?” Bo’s voice carried down the stairs. Vincent must have asked where Katie was after not finding her in bed.

The girls practically sprinted to the bottom of the stairs, bouncing on their feet in excitement. They had actually woke up 30 minutes early today to have time to dress up for the occasion. Caroline had curled her hair leaving it down, while Katie also curled hers but braid her bangs out of her face. Maybe after this they can convince the boys to let them go to town with Lester and get their hair done. They each put on the dresses they wore the first day with the boys. Caroline in pink and Katie in purple, each had flawless makeup to match.

Finally two pairs legs made their way down the staircase.

“Well damn babygirl. It’s like I’m still in a dream.” Bo let out a whistle and twirled Caroline around. Vincent doing the same for Katie.

“Happy birthday!” Both girls shouted once they were back to standing still. They took the boys hands brought them to the kitchen.

“Lester helped by the way. He’ll be back for dinner.” Katie made sure to mention their brother’s part in the surprise.

Vincent pulled Katie tight against his chest his fingers spelling out Thank you on her back. She smiled at home wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Told you, we love birthdays. Especially my favorite husband.”

“Foods gonna get cold and we didn’t spend all morning making this for it to be cold.” Caroline pulled the two apart and made everyone sit down. Bo and the girls ate while Vincent made his plate of food to take to the studio.

After breakfast the boys went off to ‘work’ leaving the girls to their chores. They had sent them off with packed lunch so the girls would have time to make their special dinner. They had everything prepped and just had to be put in the oven closer to dinner time.

Katie ended up staying with Vincent the rest of the day, he wanted to take her out to one of his favorite spots in Ambrose. Hidden in the woods was a small creek that had a bridge over it and it had a beautiful view. In the late summer into early fall the flowers grew tenfold and he knew Katie would love it.

She quickly told Caroline she would make it up to her the next day by doing the chores while Caroline spent time with Bo. Leaving Caroline alone in the house for the rest of the day until Bo came home.

It was getting late, dinner was in the oven, the pot roast the girls had promised to make that thankfully Katie had helped prep before she left, and Caroline was in the hall cleaning the baseboards along the floor. At this point they had pretty much cleaned the whole house and now were just getting the final details squared away. Soon the deep cleaning could end and they would have a perfect house.

Once finished she took off the cleaning gloves to put them over the water bucket when she heard the ping of metal hitting the hardwood. She looked down and saw her ring rolling under a closed door. She tried to grab it but it slipped under before she could get it. She peaked under the door trying to wiggle her fingers under to grab it but it was just out of reach. She stood going to open the door without thinking just wanting her ring back. Bo’s rule about leaving closed doors closed falling to the back of her mind, even more so the threat of what would happen if she opened the door labeled “Dr. Victor Sinclair”. She opened the door and got her ring slipping it back on her finger when hands grabbed her waist and shoved her back against the wall a hand on her neck.

—

Bo was having a shitty birthday. Besides the surprise his babygirl did for him at breakfast everything was shit. He was close to getting one of the cars in the garage fixed but the part he had Lester order and picked up for him was the wrong size. It wasn’t Lester’s fault the company had sent the wrong one but he was still pissed. He went to town to work on some of the machinery for the museum and found an animal had chewed through the wires.

He was angry and finding problems everywhere. He had enough and decided to call it a day. He was gonna go home early and spend time some time with his wife. Maybe he could get her into the bedroom for some midday birthday sex.

He made his way home and started looking for Caroline. He walked up the stairs and immediately saw red. The biggest rule he had given her and she went and broke it. Poking her head into places they didn’t belong. He stormed up behind her and grabbed her by the waist throwing her back against the wall and slamming the door shut next to her.

“What did I tell you little girl? What was the fucking rule?” His face was red and spit flew from his mouth into her face. “Tell me the fucking rules bitch.”

Tears welled up in her eyes and she started sobbing, “Don’t… don’t go into this room. I’m sorry I didn’t… my ring slipped under the door. I didn’t see anything I promise I opened the door and got my ring. I’m sorry Bo I should have waited for you.”

“Fucking lies. You knew what you were doing. You are in so much fucking trouble now. Breaking rules and now lying.” He threw her over his shoulder and out of the house. She wanted to scream but fear kept her quiet. She hadn’t seen him this mad since the day he punished for her talking to Katie. But this was worse, she worried this might be it for her, he was actually going to kill her this time.

Time seemed to go by in a blur, one minute he had her over his shoulder the next he had her strapped back to the chair under his garage.

“Bo please I’m sorry. Please let me explain. I promise I’m not lying.” She shrieked when he slapped her across the face. He gripped her chin in his hand and she saw a bottle of what she assumed was superglue in his other. He ripped the cap off with his teeth and held it to her lips.

“This outta shut you up for a while.” He spread it on her lips like it was her lipgloss he loved to see her wear. He pressed her lips close and leaned in close almost like he was going to kiss her but instead he blew on her lips making the glue dry faster.

Tears continued to fall and she shook in the chair. He ripped off his belt and folded it in half before slapping it against her legs.

“Couldn’t even act right on my birthday could you baby? Just had to cause trouble. You’re gonna get it now little girl. Don’t forget who owns you. Don’t forget who holds not only your life in his hands but your sister’s too. Sure Vinny would be mad for a little bit but he could move on. Just like I will.” He got back in her face and she could feel the heated anger rolling off of him.

“Let me tell you what’s gonna happen now little slut. I’m gonna throw you on that mattress, you’re gonna give me that sweet ass to fuck, then when I’m done with you I’m gonna take this knife and cut right through that pretty little neck of yours. Body should stay warm for a while and I can keep having my fun.” He ripped the tape off her wrists bits of skin coming off with it and pin pricks of blood bubbled over her flesh.

He did as he said and threw her against the mattress making her knees hit hard. She winced in pain and felt him grab her waist pulling her so ass was raised to him. She felt the blade of his knife cut off her panties, the baby pink ones that were his favorite and she had worn today just for his birthday. She heard him spit and felt his hot salvia drip down on her back. He smeared it over her puckered hole and she screamed as much as she could with the glue on her lips. His thumb pressed inside and she felt like she was on fire. That was all the prep he gave her within seconds his cock was forcing its way into her. Stretching her ways she didn’t know her body could stretch.

She continued sobbing as he used her. Her body was a blaze, between the forceful fucking and the slaps he was delivering to her cheeks. If by some mercy she survived this she knew she’d never be the same. She tried to put herself in a better headspace. She thought about the good times with Bo. When he showed her what lovemaking was rather than just fucking. Sure they did that too but he always made sure to love her when she needed it. He had started to be able to read her body better than she could. He seemed to know when she wanted it hard and fast or when she needed it soft and slow. When they were done and he was hold her in the shower telling her how good she was for him and how she made him the happiest man on earth. Or the best times when he talked about the kids they would have, he wanted a boy and a girl. He didn’t have a name for a boy but he said he always wanted a little daddy’s girl named Chevrolet, Chevy, like his favorite cars. He talked about how she would look like Caroline. He kept saying his two perfect girls. That’s what he wanted, his perfect girls.

In a call back to the first time he had punished her, she passed out from the pain. As she felt herself slip away she wondered how Katie would react to her death. Would she run from Vincent or would he talk her into staying? Would he go with her somewhere? It almost hurt to think about.

But the last thought on her mind was the one that told her she really was messed in the head. No one in their right mind would have this thought as the man who had kidnapped them, forced marriage on them, and now was forcing himself on them in the most shameful way. But she couldn’t help but think it. She couldn’t stop herself from thinking that if she lived through this, that if the anger cleared from his mind, and he stopped hurting her, that she would forgive him. He would apologize and tell her he loved her. She would stay with him. She would be his good perfect little wife and give him his perfect little daughter. But that thought faded to black as his hand went to throat and the air was taken from her lungs. Because she had fallen in love with the demon named Beauregard Sinclair and not even the devil himself could separate them.

—

“Do you smell that?” Katie looked over to Vincent from her seat on the floor where she had been drafting a new sketch based on the creek had taken her to see. “It smells like something’s burn… oh my god dinner.” She jumped up and beelined for the stairs Vincent on her heels. They got to the kitchen and could only see a cloud of black smoke. Katie ran to the oven and shut it off while Vincent worked out open the doors and windows letting the smoke blow out of the house. Once it had cleared katie opened the oven and saw the roast was ruined.

“What the hell Caroline?” She yelled hoping to see her sister run into the room. “Caroline?” She called again but she got no call back. “Where is she? She promised to finish dinner.” She turned to see the clock on the wall, 5:45, Bo should be home by now too. She looked to Vincent who shrugged and pointed up the stairs. They made the trek up and Katie noticed the cleaning supplies on the floor. That was unlike Caroline. She always put her things away when she was done. Even before living her, Caroline hated having things clutter the floor. Fear started to creep in to Katie’s soul.

“What if something happened? This isn’t like her. Vincent…” He took her hand and squeezed it trying to calm her.

The door downstairs slammed open hitting the wall.

“Vincent get your freak ass down her and bring that slut with you.” Bo’s voice was full of venom. Katie started shaking and Vincent saw her shrink in on herself. He took her hand again and led her downstairs keep her behind him. Bo was fuming at the bottom of the stairs. Even Vincent had never seen him this angry. Vincent stopped on the bottom step Katie placed behind him.

“Fucking little bitch broke the damn rules. Got what she fucking deserved. I’m going to Lester’s you can figure out what to fucking do. I don’t care. Have both of them if you want.” Bo yelled grabbing his wallet and keys, storming out of the house again.

“Vincent…” Katie’s voice was barely a whisper tears springing to her eyes.

“The door opposite the work bench. She’s probably in there. I will go with him.” His voice was rough as usual and he sent her down the stairs while he ran after Bo hoping to talk to him.

Katie ran down the stairs and flung open the door Vincent told her about, she had wondered where it lead. Inside she saw the chair and in the corner her sister’s crumpled body.

“Caroline!” She ran over and breathed a sigh of relief when she felt a pulse.

“Katie?” It was barely a whisper, her eyes fluttering open. Her lips bloodyfrom ripping the glue. “Katie we have to get out of here. I have to go.”

Katie could see in Caroline’s eyes she was at war with herself. Similar to how Katie was feeling. She didn’t want to leave Vincent but she had to protect Caroline.

“Can you walk?” She asked helping Caroline stand up. She took a few stumbling steps before getting her bearings. “We’re gonna have to walk through the woods to find that main road again. Come on, I got you.”

Silent tears fell down Katie’s face at the thought of leaving Vincent, how hurt he would be when he saw her gone. But she had to do this for Caroline.

They were able to get out and start trekking through the woods. They had no idea what way they were walking or how long eventually they both got tired and had to lay down. The sun had set so it had to have been at least 8 at night and they could hear thunder coming in. They huddled together trying to get some warmth and hoped that the wolves they could hear wouldn’t be hungry tonight. As they drifted to sleep shivering in the cold rain Caroline told Katie what happened leaving out the part where she still loved him.

—

“Come on wake up. Please please wake up.” Lester had never been so scared in his life while he shook Katie willing her to wake up.

When Bo showed up to his trailer that evening bottle of bourbon already half gone, guzzling down the other off walking through the door. Moments later Vincent showed up as well. Bo started mouthing off about Caroline calling her every name under the sun. Lester just stood there as Vincent grabbed Bo by the shoulder and punched in square in the face. Bo staggered but then fell onto the couch, knocked out. Vincent tried to explain to the best he could what happened.

They let Bo sleep off his anger while they went to look for the girls. They went to Bo’s basement and found no one there. They looked all over town but the girls were gone. By the time they made it back to Lester’s on the edge of Ambrose, Bo had woken up. He seemed calmer and a bit hungover, the pain from Vincent’s punch not helping. He was cursing himself for what he did before explaining what he did.

“Mama was right. I’m a monster ain’t no one that can love a fuck up like me. Fucking hell. I… I just saw red. I was having a shitty day and then her standing there, the one place I told her not to go. But I was wrong. I messed up and now I lost her.”

September 18, 2004 was the first time Lester Sinclair had ever seen one of his big brothers cry.

The brothers stayed together that night at Lester’s place. When morning came Vincent and Lester went looking for the girls again. Bo had been ordered home with instructions to not fuck anything up. He did as told, he went home and he tried his best to clean the kitchen. The dinner the girls had made still sat burned in the oven. Mama’s Pot Roast, just like they had every birthday. Caroline had been so excited to make it for him. She had been so excited for his birthday. To celebrate him. Someone had been excited to celebrate him and spend time with him and he ruined it. Once the kitchen had been cleaned spotless he sat on the couch and waited for a sign of life. He knew she would never forgive him but he still wanted to apologize, get on his knees and beg for her forgiveness. He would do anything to have his girl back. Hell he’d move out of Ambrose if that made her happy, take her to California that she had blamed. Beauregard Sinclair started crying for the third time in his life.

“Vincent! I found ‘em!” Lester yelled from where he had found the girls curled together under a fallen tree. They were soaked to the bone. It had started raining that night after the boys finally went to bed. They tried one more time to find the girls but the darkness of the woods plus the added rain made it impossible.

Vincent ran to where Lester was and took Katie from him. He brushed her hair out of her face and felt how cold her skin was, it felt like ice.

“Oh my god. What did Bo do to her?” Lester held Caroline up to his chest and brushed his finger over her lips. “Glued her mouth shut. Like he did the other girls.” Lester’s heart broke. Caroline had been a little ray of sunshine in Ambrose, he hadn’t seen Bo that happy in years. He looked down her body and noticed the bruises, maybe his brother really was a monster.

“Gotta get them warmed up.” Lester stood and picked up Caroline while Vincent took Katie. They carried the girls to Lester’s truck and drove them to his trailer. He ran a warm bath for them but not too hot. He remembered from his Boy Scout days that you don’t stick someone with hypothermia in hot water it’ll send them into shock. “Should, should we take their clothes off?” Lester didn’t want to embarrass them. Vincent shook his head and put Katie in the water making room for Lester to put Caroline. The tub wasn’t really big enough for both of them but they made it work.

They took cups and pour water down their hair and faces, while also wiping them down with rags to clean the mud off.

Finally after minutes of this routine Katie moved, “Vincent?” He took her hand and rubbed it as she started to cry. “Vincent, he hurt her. Hurt her real bad. I had to try to get her away. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to leave you but I had…” He put a finger to her lips and nodded telling her it was okay. He helped her out of the tub leaving Caroline in Lester’s care.

“She can have some clothes from my room.” Lester said as Vincent took her to get dry. They went to Lesters room and she found some sweatpants and flannels. She put some on and then took another set to Lester for Caroline. When they got back to the bathroom Caroline was starting to stir awake.

“Caroline, Caroline its Katie. You’re safe. Vincent and Lester found us.”

“Bo, where’s Bo?” Caroline’s voice was slurred as she tried to open her eyes.

“He ain’t here sugarplum, you’re okay.” Lester tried to take her hand but she slapped him away.

“Bo. I want Bo. I need Bo.” She started shaking and crying. “Need Bo. Gotta find Bo.”

Katie looked to Vincent and down to Caroline, “Can y’all give us a minute? Let me talk to her alone. Try and calm her down.”

“Yeah yeah, I’ll make some coffee. Try to help warm ya up more.” Lester nodded and Vincent followed him out of the room.

“Caroline, it’s Katie. Calm down okay I’m here. We are safe.”

“No, only safe with Bo. I want Bo.”

“But he…”

“I know what he did. And I know I shouldn’t want him but I do. I want him. He’ll apologize and we can talk. I want him Catherine. I love him.”

Caroline took her hand and squeezed three times. “Please let’s go home. I just want forget this happened.”

Katie closed her eyes and sent a prayer asking for what to do. But if this is what Caroline wanted this is what she would get. “Okay. Les gave us some of his clothes. Put these on I’ll tell them to take us home.”

Caroline nodded and stood grabbing the clothes.

Katie stepped out and told Vincent and Lester what Caroline side. They were against it at first but she convinced them to take them home, “Just let her do this. Something happens again well we will cross that bridge when we get there. Please Vincent, lets go home.”

#house of wax #house of wax 2005 #slasher fanfic #slasher fic #slashers #bo sinclair #brian van holt #house of wax fic #vincent sinclair

[animehouse-moe]

Spy x Family 9: The Kuudere That's Secretly A Yandere

I have been waiting for ages for Fiona Frost to get introduced in the anime, and this episode absolutely did not let me down. They really went all in on it and really nailed Fiona's disposition. Ayane Sakura also of course does a great job with the voice acting, really solid choice.

I really enjoyed how awkward they were able to make her interactions with Yor. Just the right amount of dead air between the two to convey that feeling of unease.

They really quickly launch into Fiona's slightly insane inner dialogue, and Ayane really does a god job of selling it. Cool, calm, and under control, the very personification of how a spy should appear. It's just, they probably shouldn't be talking about stealing someone's husband.

Also, loved this bit where Fiona ascertains that Yor is a tough nut to crack. The misdirection for stuff like this is always hilariously on point. The nervous housewife giving off Jojo's rumbling air to the impeccably trained international spy will always get a laugh out of me.

Then, there's this whole thing with Fiona's inner monologue which they absolutely nail. Hilarious seeing it in motion and so detailed.

Also absolutely loved this little zoom out with Anya. It's going off of a fraction of her head in the background of a panel, but the comedic effect on it is priceless.

Fiona really does add a fun angle to the story though, showing how different Loid's become as a family man. Can't really blame the man for taking his coffee with milk considering how much he's been struggling lately.

I really do have to reiterate just how creative they're getting with little bits of information here and there. Reading Fiona's mind for a single little panel on the page, we get an entire scene of in the anime and it matches the vibe perfectly.

In terms of more direction work however, they really nailed this emotional moment. The slow movement that washes over the smaller pieces in Loid's mannerisms that Fiona picks up on was really a great addition that didn't appear in the manga. Seeing his eyes relax and open, the movement of his hands, those little details really add a great deal to the value of the moment and fit really well with the rest of the series given how much they show stuff from various people's perspectives.

They really drive home the emotional angle in this stretch, and really sell Nightfall's monolgue about Twilight. What only felt sort of emotional in the manga really gets driven home in the anime with the addition of the VAs and animation. I am having a bit of a tough time deciding which version of Nightfall is better for this moment though. The manga one is more visible in her sorrow, but the anime is more subdued and relies more on Ayane's voice acting to sell it.

This episode was definitely more than I was expecting for the material. I didn't think they'd lean so heavily into the emotional side and capture it so well, nor did I think they'd really have as easy a time as they seem to have had working with the creative aspects of it. Lots of added scenes, moments, and details that you'd think had existed in the manga the whole time. And if that wasn't enough, they had the forethought to separate this chapter, which is a single chapter mind you (a single chapter for a runtime of about 15 minutes? Incredible), from the extra chapter they used to fill the gaps.

I was a bit apprehensive about my praises for Part 1, but Part 2 seems to be knocking it out of the park on every front so far. Truly incredible work for an adaptation that I don't think anyone else will be able to match for a very long time. In the weirdest sense it's like 1:2, for every bit of the manga, they add something in the anime. They change it, improve it, extrapolate it. It's just such a different experience in the opposite direction that you really have to give WIT and Cloverworks credit for how far they're going for this series.

#spy x family #spy family #loid forger #fiona frost #spy x family anime #spy x family manga #anime #anime and manga #anime review

[darlingkirstein]

Rhaenyra (HotD)! I kinda want to ask every item, but if it's too much, then please 1-5 and 19-25.

+ 26: Was she the rightful queen? Did she have a right to the throne?

RHAENYRA <33 😿🩷 another one of my favs

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

i admire her a great deal for having the courage to face all the scrutiny and deal with the pressure of being a female named heir. she unashamedly adores her children and places the realm before herself. she doesn't want war, really above all i think she just wants her father's approval 😿 idk she deserved to live a happy life eating cake with laena and alicent and all the girls

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

this entire scene. this moment.

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

i almost do wish she admitted to the boys being harwin's children because viserys surely would've legitimized them?? which i think could've solved some problems? but equally would've created a few new ones in their stead so im not sure 😭 idk shes a woman living in a medieval time she did what she had to do!!!!

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

she deserves a fairytale, something happy. and since it's my favorite, i'll say tangled??

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

imagining this with her kids 😿😿

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

feeling pressure to please everyone 💔 also the way she was rather snarky and bold as a teenager but mellowed out as she got older and matured

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

literally whenever someone says after luke's death that they support all her choices 🙏🙏

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

calling her misogynistic insults 😵‍💫

9. Could you be roommates with this character?

yes :)) as long as syrax doesn't make a mess

10. Could you be best friends with this character?

YES!!! i would adore that 🩷😿

11. Would you date this character?

yes please <3 although there's a lot of family drama involved with her so would have to get used to that REAL quick

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

i love imagining rhae having a daughter and getting to spoil her with pretty baby clothes.... i think that's something she would've loved

13. What's an emoji, an emoticon and/or any symbol that reminds you of this character or you think the character would use a lot?

👑 the crown for the one true queen <33

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

still so unfamiliar with fashion but literally anything where she gets to wear pretty dresses all the time — she's the realm's delight after all!!!! give her all the jewelry and clothes she desires 😿

15. What's your favorite ship for this character? (Doesn't matter if it's canon or not.)

probably her and laena?? but that's mostly from fire and blood because the show really diminishes laena's role pretty heavily!!

"She [Princess Rhaenyra] became fond and more than fond of her good-sister Lady Laena."

in the show i really enjoyed the brief glimpses we got into her relationship with harwin:))

16. What's your least favorite ship for this character?

rhaegon! i just hate aegon LMAO

17. What's a ship for this character you don't hate but it's not your favorite that you're fine with?

show-specific rhaenicent! i hate it from a book perspective but i think from the show perspective, i definitely understand the shipping potential even if i don't personally engage with it!

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

her kids!!!! such a good momma and you can tell by the way they respect her 😿😿 she's so affectionate for them and rhae's reaction to finding out about luke was one of my favorite scenes in the entire show — perfection!

19. How about a relationship they have in canon that you don't like?

her relationship with rhaenys is kinda weird in the show. like i cannot tell if rhaenys likes her or not? i feel like it wasn't like that in f&b but i have to reread — and maybe s2 will change things?

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

LAENA!!!! they'd be so sweet together 😿 and they were very close i just adore them

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

i havent written much for hotd/f&b and haven't written rhaenyra (though i have thought about it!!!!) but i think it would be neat to explore her inner thoughts. you can see a lot of pressure coming onto her from many sides and i think exploring her psyche would be interesting! 🫶

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to ths character? Something you don't like?

i dont read fics!!!

23. Favorite picture of this character?

have always been obsessed with rhae in this still from her wedding (mostly because im obsessed with emma's nose 🥴🩷🫶. they're so pretty). one thing about rhae, she'll look wonderful at her wedding (even if the wedding itself sucks)

24. What other character from another fandom of yours that reminds you of them?

i mean really she reminds me of her descendant daenerys!! 😿 a queen in her own right — facing challenges for her sex but still fighting. i think they would be equally proud of each other. rhae would really admire dany for what she's done.

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

have always loved her, ever since reading f&b!!! i support rhae's rights and her (non-existent) wrongs 🫶👑🩷 long live the queen!!!

26. FREEBIE QUESTION!!

naturally biased because TEAM BLACK!! 🐉🖤 but i do think yes. her father named her heir, and as the king that should've been enough!! fuck precedence — it should've been rhaenys at the great council but they could've rectified that error with rhaenyra. her father's oath never wavered and he always wanted her to succeed him. jaehaerys i u disappointed me so hard....

#darlingkirstein asks #character asks #ask game #asoiaf #hotd

[honest-kdrama-reviews]

Review #9: Twinkling Watermelon

WARNING: THIS POST DEF CONTAINS SPOILERS. PLEASE READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED THE DRAMA. (I will do my best to label spoilers, but I’m not perfect.)

Oh, we are SO BACK!!!

After a One Direction-esq hiatus, I have returned with my wit and thirst to discuss a drama that I loved.

✨Twinkling Watermelon✨

Of course, this wouldn’t be one of my reviews without the…

THIRST CORNER!!!!

I am being so fr when I say this man is gorgeous. His smile takes up his entire face and it makes me giggle and kick my feet every single time. Choi Hyun-Wook is not only so handsome but he plays the role of a kind, charming, stubborn and extremely loud 18 year old so well. Like, I think casting him for that role was the actual perfect choice.

Let’s just take a moment to look at him 🥰

LIKE THAT SMILE COULD MELT ME IN AN INSTANT

(Also this scene was so cute like he’s so in love pls)

Okay anyway, moving on.

The cast of this drama was actually just way too cute in general. I caught myself so many times watching with the goofiest grin on my face as they all lowkey fell in love fr fr for the first time.

The plot and storyline was so interesting! I really love how they made Sign Language a central part and really shone a light on how difficult it is for deaf people in Korea specifically.

Also, time travel seems to be a trend in recent k-dramas (I’m not mad about it buuut. A Time Called You and Lovely Runner 👀)

Similarly to 25/21 I think they took advantage of the fact that Y2K fashion is popular rn and set most of the drama in 1995. It’s cool to see the similarities!

I think it’s hard to keep my attention for very long when watching dramas if the plot has a lot of filler, which this seemed to have in the middle. It took me a while to get through (the last like six episodes were so engaging tho).

So I felt very meh for the first 15 episodes and then episode 16 had me bawling every five minutes. A huge jump, I know.

(SPOILER) Lee Chan coming to terms with not being able to achieve his dreams while he was under in surgery actually kinda broke me as a person. I was not okay. Also when his grandma comes and they cry together :(. I had to actually pause and take a minute. I was not okay!!

I LOVED the way it ended, though. Eun Gyeol felt like he had failed just bc (SPOILER) Lee Chan still lost his hearing, but seeing the positive impacts that he made really warmed my heart. Like yes, his family had been content and happy before. But now things were so much better and his mom was able to thrive because she hadn’t been abused as long.

The soundtrack went back and forth between being boring and going so INCREDIBLY HARD. The cover they did of 볽은 노을 has been stuck in my head for days and I found the OG version on Spotify and I love it. Also, A Song For You makes me feel so nostalgic for my youth for some reason. I wanna never forget all of my shining moments.

That’s honestly what I walked away with from this drama. I want my youth (and my life in general) to shine so brightly in my memory. I wanna make the most of the time I have so that one day I can smile and know I lived.

Viva La Vida :)

My Rating for this drama is a solid: 9/10. (Definitely in my K-Drama top 20)

Reminder that these are simply my opinions. If this is your favorite drama, I don’t mean to offend you. Feel free to put what you loved/didn’t love in the comments. Just be kind and remember that everyone like different dramas. Also please be nice to me, I am but a normal person. :)

#kdrama #korean actor #korean drama #kdrama review #kdrama reviews #tvn drama #twinkling watermelon #choi hyun wook #viva la vida #watermelon sugar #netflix kdrama

[ageless-aislynn]

Ok your turn for a top 5, let’s make it fun. Top 5 Pablo Scrieber scenes and the wine you’d find most appropriate to go with said scene.

Hee, this is definitely a fun one, thanks! 😎👍 I should mention this is all going to be Halo-related because I don't have any thing other of his that I've already made into GIFs so... 🤷‍♀️😉

All right, here we go, counting down to number one!

5 - Halo 1x01 This was a great way to bring Chief in, IMO! I mean, what is more Chief-like than falling out of the sky into the middle of some enemies, right? At the time, I only knew the games vaguely but, even still, I thought the suit looked AWESOME here. And now that I do know the games... I still think it looks awesome, what can I say?

I would pair this lovely opening scene with a Classic Coke Zero because... Chief is a classic! 😎👍

4 - Halo 1x04 Oh man, this one hits me in the feels every time. I love how you see all of these emotions go through him: curiosity, longing, confusion, ending with him looking away and pulling some resolve back around himself. Because he's feeling this want to be loved, to have someone to laugh with, to care about and who'll care about him, and he doesn't know what to do with that. It doesn't fit a lifetime of Spartan training. He's not supposed to want those things, he's not even supposed to think about those things. But now he is and nothing is going to be the same ever again.

I would pair this with a cup of Maxwell House Chai Latte because it's coffee... but it's tea. But it's coffee and tea. And it's confusing but... I like it. 😂😉

3 - Halo 1x04 I love that we finally get to see a reserved playfulness between them! Plus, him reference that line that Kwan told him serves to both show that he's learning, he understands why she said that to him, but it also was a way to link Kwan back to all of this time away from her. I know it would've been difficult to keep them involved with each other after they separated but it would've done a lot to make her story feel more necessary if that link between them would've been somehow strengthened instead of just vanishing. I mean, a couple of quick calls? Something to let them talk and connect? I dunno. There wasn't really time in his plot, I know but it would've gone a long way if they could've found a way, IMO. 🤷‍♀️

I would pair this scene with a Dr Pepper Cream Soda Zero, because it's light, sweet and fizzy! 💖

2 - Halo 1x09 This entire scene, as he slowly realizes that he's going to have to cease to exist in order for Cortana to both save Silver Team and to recover the Artifact... It's just good. Not only are we seeing his trust in Cortana bloom at last but the thing that always gets me in this final moment, as he tells her that he trusts her, is the look on his face. He's not angry anymore, not railing against the events that have brought him to this point, not raging against what Halsey did to him by implanting an AI into his brain with the intention of replacing him in his own body. No, he looks almost peaceful, resolved. He's ready to accept his fate, whatever it may be. *clutches him to my fangirly heart*

I would pair this with a nice cup of Oolong tea, my favorite kind. 🍵

Honorable mention:

Halo 1x06 Now, this isn't for the obvious reasons, I promise, lol! He looks and sounds like he's dying in this scene and yet NOBODY checks on him? That bugged me so much that I wrote a one-shot fic about it. It was originally going to make use of an OC but I made a last minute decision to redo it as a Reader fic instead. And that was "15 Minutes" which became one of the most favorite things I've ever written (and spun off a series, also featuring "Recreation" a Kai x Male!Reader fic, both still on-going).

I would pair this scene with a cup of delicious Folgers Mocha Chocolate Flavored Cappuccino ☕ in gratitude for all it ended up giving me. 😉

Annnnd *drum-roll* for our winner, winner, chicken dinner!

1 - Halo 1x06 Since I had this one in video form, I had to go ahead and include it like this. MANNNN, this scene! Everybody here was acting their butts off, IMO. Halsey went from surprised to stern to absolutely terrified over the course of the scene. I really wasn't sure at the time if Cortana could have forced him to open the door or if she was playing the odds that he wouldn't let Halsey die. 🤷‍♀️👀 And John was genuinely scary here. His anger is clearly burning under an icy resolve and, again, I wasn't sure up until that last second if he was legit going to let her die. I mean, unless they were going to turn Chief into a straight-up murderer, then I knew he wouldn't, but dannnng, I can't think of much else that would be scarier than a Spartan looking at you with such hatred and contempt. 😱😱😱

I would pair this scene with the tears of Chief's enemies because they would be overflowing and plentiful. 👀😳😉

And there we have it! Thanks again! 😎👍

#halo #halo the series #halo paramount+ #master chief #john-117 #pablo schreiber #top 5 scenes #ask game #thank you! #mrtobenamedlater #ageless aislynn

[bonniebird]

Lost boys thoughts that haunt me:

1. Michael had never met his grandfather. He's 18. Yes they lived in phoenix and grandpa Emerson lived in California but the Emerson's are a very close family they definitely would have travelled. Why would Lucy not visit her father in (minimum) 18 years.

2. Lucy's husband was confirmed to be financially abusive and nothing ever came of it

3. Why did they cut the scenes when Grandpa Emerson confirms / implies he's a retired vampire hunter if they were just going to confirm it offhandedly in the comics and later movies it was the entire point of the plot.

3. Max clearly thought grandpa Emerson was having Michael move to town to hunt them. it's heavily implied by what Star and David say in the first half of the film. The whole mother for my kids thing doesn't make sense because the only kids are Sam and the Frogs (and Laddie I guess but max isn't interested in him lol do they even have a scene together) and was clearly a lot twist added later

4. Why didn't the Frogs tell Sam they knew his grandpa when we know they were trading Oreos and beer with Grandpa Emerson for the pot their parents wanted. He states several time he refuses to go into town.

5. Who taught grandpa Emerson to identify vamps on sight is he just so high he vibes them out or what?

6. Why did Michael become the head of the house when he moved in if he wasn't taking up the role of head hunter

7. Michael not wanting to hunt more vamps makes sense but Edgar becoming the head hunter instead of Sam in the later movies and comics doesn't make sense until after the Second film when he has to fight Sam.

8. How did star go so long without eating someone? You really expect me to believe the power of motherhood stopped her chowing down on a bunch of drunk surfers.

9. The vamps in the 80s movie sparkle but do the ones in the later movies.

10. Why didn't we get a solo grandpa Emerson movie about him hunting the head vampire he was "dating" the entire first film

11. Is Marko dead because he was upsidedown when they stabbed him wouldn't his heart and organs have moved

12. Who is paying for Edgar and Alan to have all those high tech gadgets? They lost the comic shop, got cut off by the Emerson family and the trailer they own is owned by the bank the bank just can't get them out of it to repo the land it's on so whos paying for all the weapons we only see him modify crossbows

13. Did star and Michael get the reward money from returning Laddie. Did they stay in touch. How did they explain how they found him to the cops.

14. Why is every movie set in Santa Carla like that's enough vampire attacks now lol someone's going to get suspicious

15. Edgar claims that he and Alan saved the president from being attacked by vampires. How would you even bring that up like yeah we have a vampire problem in the white house and also why did they call Edgar specifically. Did the president not have other options?

16. Im pretty sure storm drains have people that clear them out now and then. What happens when they find Alan and his weird taxidermy collection in the drains

17. Did grandpa Emerson teach Alan a out taxidermy? Was it because Alan kept offering to stab people? Was her worried so he was like here just stab these dead animals?

18. How did the Emerson family lose grandpa Emersons house that he supposedly built himself because in the later films the only houses the Emerson's have is the one Star and Michael own out of state and the boat house. What happened to it because it wasn't destroyed completely in the first film did they just abandon it

19. Edgar is supposedly the best hunter in the world but he lost vampire Sam for almost a year. Like Sam wasn't hiding he was hunting Edgar so he was in town and just chilling

20. Edgar stating that he and Alan were cut off from the Emerson family after Sam's death makes no sense because 1 they would have known Edgar would have tried to save him 2. They thought of each other as brothers so they would have seen how upset he was 3 it's implied that Edgar is known by Emerson aunts and uncles the frogs are part of their family there's no way they would have just cut them off. I don't believe it.

21. Lucy telling Michael that is he got a girl pregnant while doing drugs that it was fine as long as he told her and that they would move them both into the Emerson house of peak Lucy humour. The way Michael is just 🧍while trying not to set on fire in the sun the whole time.

22. Does the duffer brothers recreating scenes from the lost boys in stranger things and having Steve and robin dress up as the Frogs mean the TV show and new movie we were hinted to be getting aren't coming out in 2025 anymore. How has no one from Joel's estate sued them or netflix yet did they get permission are they going to take over the franchise

23. Why did the frogs never leave Santa Carla if they hated it so much

24. Why did Edgar go into surfboard repairs

25. Why doesn't Edgar just hire and train a bunch of people to be hunters with him now he's the head hunter (last hunter standing I guess)

[purlturtle]

Hello, lovely human.

Fanfic Writer Emoji ask!

How about you pick 15 emojis you want to answer, and go wild?... :)

oh god. oh you wonderful human you.

FIFTEEEEEEEN!!!!!

*clears throat*

okay. oh god. hnggnnnh. here we go. (I'm being all calm and normal, as promised.)

🥺 Is there a certain type of moment or common interaction between your characters that never fails to put you in your feels? (1)

Helena realizing that she is allowed to want, and to have, happiness. Myka realizing that she is allowed to want, and to have, happiness! They've both been dealt really harsh cards by life, and I love to give them love and care and support, not just from each other, but from a wider circle of found family as well. And whenever I get to describe a scene that shows them realizing that, 🥺

🤡 What's a line, scene, or exchange you've written that made you laugh? (2)

I'm very proud of this line I put in Helena's mouth: “Well, it’s not as if they hadn’t imagined our bedroom activities long before there ever were any.”

😈 Has there been a point in a story where you did something just to be playfully mean to your readers? (3)

I love cliffhangers, both at chapter endings and at fic endings when it's a series! And then wait a week (or, in And Now You, till the events of the next chapter, because I posted that fic in "real time", as it were) until the next chapter goes up. I'm glad my readers are still bearing with me ☺

✍ Do you have a beta reader? (4)

Several! And one of them I even married! 😁 No, but seriously - I find the feedback of beta readers invaluable, not just because English is my second language but because I get too close to the prose (oh wow, unintentional rhyme, nice of you to drop by!), and need an outside eye to tell me if I'm still going in the right direction.

🛠What tools/programs/apps do you use to write? (5)

I use good ol' MS Word. With a chapter index, and the new(ish) function of "jump back to where you left off last time", it really works for me. I write pretty much entirely linear, and use a different document for ideas and outline, and a third document for outtakes that might still turn out to be useful down the line, and all of that is straightforward enough to work in Word. I've tried Scrivener, but for me it didn't have enough advantages over what I was already used to in order to really (want to) dive into it and make it mine. With my betas, I use Google Docs and comments, but especially for multichapter fic, that is SO SLOW! And sometimes I write short fic right here on Tumblr, in the app.

🙋‍♀️ Do any irl people know you write fanfic? (6)

Well, I met my wife through my fics, so yes 😁 but even beyond that, a few of my family and friends know. However, none of them (AFAIK) read a lot of fic in general, nor my fic in particular; most of them aren't English readers, OR geeks.

🍆 Do you write the spicy stuffs? If so, what's your most popular nsfw fic? (7)

Y'know, I just checked, and my ratings ranking is "Teen and up" 20 works, "General" 19, "Explicit" 17!, and "Mature" 4. 😂 so yeah, I do write the spicy stuff! Both as parts of the larger narrative (the most popular of which is And Now You), and as PWP (here the most popular is 24th century t...echnology, a Beverly/Kathryn fic). I gotta say I do love me some good smut. And I hope mine meets the bill!

💲 Would you ever open commissions? (8)

I only write fan fic, not original, so no. I am fiercely protective of AO3, and I will protect their integrity one hundred percent. I don't seek to monetize my writing, anyway - it's a pastime, it is fun, and I want it to stay that way. I am lucky in that I don't need any side hustles, and hey, no shade to those who do find (legal, non-harmful-for-the-larger-fanfic-community) ways to make money from writing, but I also hate hate hate that capitalism has come to the point where some people think you gotta derive money from something somehow for it to be worthwhile, or where people see no other choice than to try, in order to make their ends meet. I write for fun. I am privileged to be able to write for fun. So no, no commissions. But hey, sometimes I do prompts, and I love taking part in gift exchanges! So if you ever wanna get something written by me, just let me know and if it tickles my muse, you might get it!

🎃 Do you write fics for certain holidays? Which is your favorite holiday inspired fic? (9)

Yes, I really like doing that! I have a winter holidays fic, a Halloween fic, a Pride fic, and I have another idea on the backburner for another winter holidays fic; no clue when I'll ever get to writing it, but I'll get there some day! As for favorites, the Halloween fic really kicked my ass, so it won't make that list, and the other two are tied!

🦅 Do you outline fics or fly by the seat of your pants? (10)

So I never really "learned" how to write? In that I never had any kind of instruction in creative writing, I mean. I didn't even know there was such a thing as outlining, or what different writing processes looked like. I would just open a new Word doc and go forth! So yes, I started out a pantser - but lately I'm working with a writing coach, and have looked into writing styles and strategies in other ways too, and I'm realizing that outlining fits me a little better. I'm in a weird in-between phase right now where I have, like, half a dozen WIPs that were started pantser fashion but where I'm trying to outline how the rest of the fic might go; it's fascinating! (and talking with other writers has been immeasurably helpful for those!)

🎉 What leads you to consider a fic a success? (11)

If I am happy with it. Sure, I like kudos, and hits, and comments (especially comments! When someone says "this fic is like a warm comfy blanket" or "I've read this four times at least"? Priceless!) but those are the icing, not the cake. I am immensely proud of Angel, Sinner, Dragonslayer, for example, both for the story itself and for the craft of it, but that one isn't even in the Top 15 by kudos or the Top 20 by hits. And for me to love a fic or to consider it good, those benchmarks don't matter. They make me happy, don't get me wrong - I love hearing if my fics reverberate with people, if they make them happy, if they make them feel all the feels, if people think the smut is hot, etc. etc. - but on my opinion of my fic, they have no impact.

⌛ How long does it take you to write a fic, or a chapter? (12)

When the muse hits me, when that holy trifecta of inspiration, motivation and time comes together, I can easily write 10,000 words in a day. It's not that I struggle to get words on the page; it's more that the days when that trifecta hits are rare. At the beginning of the pandemic, I was extremely prolific even by my own standards; writing was my way of coping. That has dropped a little bit, alas. Writing is still my happy place, my way of escaping the current hellscape and hang out with my favorite characters, but my energy has definitely been sapped by *gestures at everything*. Add to that that I only ever publish a fic when it's done, and not as I go (god, that idea scares me) (yes even when I publish it week by week; it's all written and done, I just enjoy torturing you by drawing it out), and you see why there's sometimes a long time between fic drops from me.

💥 How do you feel about criticism? 💌 How do you feel about comments and feedback? (13)

Ah! Feedback is a passion of mine. I can take something from almost any kind of comment - even if it is "this commenter has no idea and isn't engaging in good faith". And I always seek to improve my craft, and for that a comment like "this is a bit weak on plot, innit?" is really helpful! Especially if on top of "bit weak" I get given ideas how it could be stronger. Like I said, I never had any training in creative writing, so I am in many ways still learning and will continue to learn for the rest of my life, and I can only do that when I know where I still have room to grow. A bit of background here: I'm a social worker by training, and work in quality management now. I literally thrive in trying to improve things along any number of axes, and that is simply not possible without criticism. So hey, if you have always wanted to point out to me all the ways in which my stuff could be better, by all means reach out and let me know!

❌ What's a trope you will never write? (14)

Grimdark. Or even tragedy. I might take my characters to very dark places, but there will always be light at the end; there will always be a happy ending. Also, man-hating lesbians. Also, mlm. Yes, I'm a woman and yes, I write fanfic, but I write femslash, not slash. 🤷‍♀️ There might be a mlm couple somewhere in the background, sure, because I love including all kinds of queer people in my fics, but my muse just isn't tickled by mlm. As a matter of fact, my muse has pointed due Bering and Wells for the last five years or so? So yeah.

👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please! (15)

Man, I need to revive the posts in which I talk about my WIPs! Okay, here goes: I'm still working on Strata Part 2 with my beta, and also on Mind Over Matter Part 2. The Pirate fic is a bit on the back burner right now, because I have more inspiration for MOM2 at the moment. I finally have an idea for how to bring it to a good end (thanks, @anandabrat!), and that is the kind of iron you have to hit while it's hot! It'll be from Helena's POV, and show her journey towards a relationship. It's funny how an actual A/B/O fic, that started out with Bering and Wells having, like, the hottest sex ever (offpage though), has turned into one of the slowest burns I've ever written! 😅

Okay, that was a lot!!! And I loved every moment of it!

My wonderful friend, thank you for this opportunity to gush. Mwah mwah mwah!!!

#ask meme #ask me #get to know your author #all my answers!! #this was such fun!

[alwaysahiccupandastrid]

Because I watched it twice last weekend, here’s some little things I noticed and thought about Elvis (2022):

In general I love the style of Baz Luhrmann movies and the transitions, same goes for this movie

Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks) said the phrase “the greatest show on earth” twice, which is a phrase associated with PT Barnum (and it fits in with his whole background as a former carnival worker, plus the way he goes about his business etc.)

I have NO idea what accent Col Parker had in this film but I’m not complaining because Tom Hanks talking like that was entertaining

Do love the tea being spilt about Col Parker’s actual history and nationality (or lack thereof) though 👀☕️

The push in on Tom Hanks where he goes “… he’s WHITE” shouldn’t have made me laugh like I did

They mention Elvis’ twin brother Jessie who died at birth; Elvis having a twin was a fact I didn’t know about until 2014/2015 when I went to an Elvis exhibition in London at the O2 with my mum. I don’t know, I guess I just appreciate the fact the film really did its research on Elvis and his family

Before watching this film, I was confused as to why girls and women in the 50s-70s were literally losing their collective minds whenever Elvis sang/danced, but thanks to Baz Luhrmann and Austin Butler, I fully understand now 😍

“Now, I don't know nothing about music. But I could see in that girl's eyes, he was a taste of forbidden fruit. She could have eaten him alive” - oh, I think that girl was thinking of doing something other than eating him 😂

“My wigglin’ boy” “those wigglin’ hips” 😂

THAT ONE BOY WATCHING ELVIS PRESLEY WITH HIS FAMILY AND HAVING A PROPER FULL ON GAY CRISIS I’M-

“CRIMES OF LUST AND PERVERSION” is a hell of a headline lmfao

Elvis was indeed a total momma’s boy, my mum said he was actually never the same after she died, and that may actually have played a part in how he treated Priscilla after she’d given birth (because he didn’t want to have sex with someone who was a mother???)

Speaking of Priscilla…

The film really glossed over Priscilla being 14 when she met Elvis by just calling her “a pretty teenager” and not ever mentioning her age again (apart from at one point where Elvis mentions how they’ll be in love again when he’s 50 when she’s 40?) 💀

Olivia DeJonge actually really looks like a young Priscilla Presley, ngl

Dacre Montgomery turned up like halfway through and I had to try not to yell “BILLY?!?” in the cinema lmao

Tom Hanks Parker really spends 15 minutes repeatedly telling Elvis he “must sing da here comes Santa Claus song”, including putting on his own puppet show 😭😂

Col Tom Parker puffing away on a cigar for literally 90% of the time he was on screen

When Parker is in the hospital and Elvis walks in, he’s smoking literally the biggest and fattest cigar even though he’s lying down and they’re talking about him having just had a heart attack 😂

When Col Parker is making the deal with the hotel owner and the details are being written on a napkin, at one point a drink spill can be seen and it kind of looked like blood??? Idk, I thought it was a nice detail considering the fact it’s argued Col Parker is somewhat responsible for Elvis’ death and for trapping him in a long contract so he can make money

The fact Elvis saying he wants to go on a world tour is punctuated with a zoom in on Tom Parker with a face like a slapped ass, and then he says about wanting to visit Japan and the camera zooms in AGAIN 😭😂

Col Parker saying the only thing that matters is that Elvis gets up on the stage despite the fact he’s super unwell and clearly needs medical help is actually a real thing that happened, which is sad. That man milked Elvis to death

The scene where Priscilla leaves and Elvis is sobbing is so… just so upsetting :( I don’t blame her frankly, but it’s still sad; it’s sad in the sense that Elvis - one of the biggest stars the entire world has ever seen, the voice of an Angel, this mega star - was reduced to sitting in his mansion alone crying, that he went from a sex symbol to bloated and unwell… in the end he pushed away everyone who wanted to help him, and if he did realise he needed the help at some point then it was too late because he’d driven the people who actually cared for him away

Obviously Col Parker is a huge part of Elvis’ downfall but also so many people in Elvis’ circle were using him and living off of him, and even after he died they still made a profit off of him with stuff like selling their stories of him or whatever. It’s just so upsetting to see.

Yeah, so, Elvis didn’t in fact fire Col Parker in a drugged up emotional breakdown in real life but it makes for good drama so 🤷🏻

Elvis saying he wants to fly right at the beginning like the superheroes in his comic books, “I’m ready to fly”, then at the end he gets on his jet/plane after saying goodbye to Priscilla and Lisa Marie and flies off, then there’s a voice over where he talks about swifts which are birds that fly their entire lives and only land when they die, before it shows you the headlines/voice over/news footage announcing Elvis’ death 😭

ELVIS SINGING UNCHAINED MELODY 😭😭😭 My sister, our mum and I were all sobbing on our first viewing at the actual footage of Elvis singing that performance

Actual footage of Elvis was used - not just at the end with the Unchained Melody performance but when there were split screens, sometimes there was some real footage of Elvis performing as well as of fans screaming

I’m pretty sure there was a short clip of (the real) Elvis and Frank Sinatra singing together near the end when they were showing videos of the real Elvis

The way the lights went out at the end until the single light faded and the credits began to roll reminded me of the ending of Great Gatsby (2013, another Luhrmann film) where it talks about the green light and you see it blinking slowly before fading to black

Despite the fact Tom fucking Hanks is in this movie, all anyone is talking about is Austin Butler, and rightfully so. We all know Tom Hanks is great, but this is Austin Butler’s movie and he’s smashed it

I love that people in the cinema didn’t stand up during Elvis’ In The Ghetto playing during the credits but the second the rap music started, everyone literally left 😂

Maybe it’s just because I grew up on Elvis’ music on a near daily basis (thanks to my Elvis super fan mum!), maybe I just don’t like rap, but the remixing covers of the songs didn’t do it for me. Elvis’ music is amazing as it is, we don’t need rap remixes of it :/ I sort of get what the intention/idea behind it was, it just wasn’t my thing personally

Having said that, I liked Kacey Musgraves’ cover of “Can’t Help Fallin’ In Love With You”. That was beautiful and I loved it

If nothing else, I hope this film inspires younger generations to check out the real Elvis’ music 🤷🏻

I know people are accusing this film of glorifying “Elvis stealing black people’s music” but the film made it INCREDIBLY obvious that Elvis was extremely inspired by black music because he grew up in a black neighbourhood. It’s one of the reasons people were complaining about Elvis in the 50s, because racists attacked rock and roll due to the mingling of black and white people it implied and achieved. Little Richard said, “He was an integrator. Elvis was a blessing. They wouldn't let Black music through. He opened the door for Black music." I’m not black myself, so I won’t go on and on because it’s not my place, but for anyone curious, the film does make it clear Elvis was heavily inspired and shaped by black music.

And then there’s the Priscilla/age gap thing… while yeah, that ten year age gap is kinda really not okay by today’s standard, apparently they didn’t do anything until they were married (she was 21 when they married, so an adult). He was very proper about their courtship and went through her parents first, wanting their blessing/consent, and Priscilla in her book said, “For the last time I begged him to consummate our love. It would have been so easy for him. I was young, vulnerable, desperately in love and he could have taken complete advantage of me. But he quietly said, ‘No. Someday we will, Priscilla, but not now. You’re just too young.’” To be blunt, if he was grooming her for sex, he wouldn’t have turned down her requests for sex. Also, back then, I don’t think society had the same views on age/marriage that they do nowadays, which probably factored into it all. I’m not saying he was a five star husband because the record shows he definitely was not, especially after their daughter was born and he got more and more addicted to drugs. By today’s standards, yes, it’s gross - but in the 50s, it wouldn’t have been viewed that way. (For more discussion, I found this Reddit thread here that might be worth a read)

I just think it’s pointless cancelling a man who’s literally been dead for 45 years, and if we were to cancel every musical artist of that time period who did shit that we no longer view as acceptable, we’d have no music artists left so… yeah.

Anyway, as the daughter of arguably the most hardcore lifelong Elvis fan in Britain, I highly recommend this film! My mum and sister were talking about seeing it a third time, and I definitely will if they do!

#elvis 2022 #elvis presley #elvis #austin butler #tom hanks #colonel tom parker #col tom parker #baz luhrmann

[listentothelittlebird]

I posted 2,668 times in 2022

That's 2,541 more posts than 2021!

55 posts created (2%)

2,613 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

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@theawkwardvirgin

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I tagged 1,030 of my posts in 2022

#bird - 229 posts

#cat - 85 posts

#i really need a tagging system - 27 posts

#pokemon - 25 posts

#chibird - 21 posts

#hello tofu mutual - 16 posts

#atla - 15 posts

#fanfic writer problems - 14 posts

#i love em - 14 posts

#rtgame - 14 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#recently watched something that made me think along a similar vein to op because they didn’t show why exactly super couldn’t tell their fam

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Writing Masterpost

I guess I should make this before it gets out of hand

Most of my stories are on ao3! Things I post on tumblr are typically the draft versions of my ao3 stories

From Code Bat:

- Jason Dissociating  - Alternate Super Sons Meeting - Protect Our Own Jason POV - Hot Potato with a Bookmark - Sleepy Jason (Alternate How Are You?)  - Damian and Tim - Cass and Jason - The Original Draft - Superman Meets Bizarro - Alternate Out of the Shadows - Alternate Snapshots of Gotham - Alternate Collecting the Hints

From Gotham’s White Lotus:

- Dick and Airbending - Alternate Making A Splash - Alternate Burning Iceberg

Fairness Federation gets a special shoutout

Extra Scene from It’s a Small World universe

Tumblr Drabbles:

- It starts with Jason. - Rogues know who Batman is - “I’m sorry.”

27 notes - Posted January 6, 2022

#4

I found this youtube channel called Curious Archive and I’ve been going insane because like- speculative biology? Did you mean extensive worldbuilding that takes into account scientific reasoning like an overcomprehensive sci-fi book setting? Boi I wish I were as cool as the worlds being featured

28 notes - Posted January 29, 2022

#3

Sometimes you procrastinate life things by writing a fanfic series, and sometimes you procrastinate life things by procrastinating the fanfic series by opening up a new doc and writing an entirely separate fanfic idea

143 notes - Posted January 21, 2022

#2

It starts with Jason.

Jason, the original bookworm of the family, up late at night and reading on his bed. Or, well, trying to read.

Eventually, he growls and - carefully - slams the book shut, lifting it up but just stopping short of actually throwing it. He sighs.

“Can’t sleep?”

It’s Dick that finds him, leaning against his doorway with tired eyes that still burn with too much energy to truly go to bed.

“You know that moment,” Jason complains, squinting, “When you’ve been staring at words for so long, then you blink, and suddenly everything’s blurry?”

“Are you getting myopia?” Dick laughs as Jason’s expression, “It’s a real concern! But I get it. You have to rest your eyes when that happens.”

“But I can’t sleep,” Jason whines.

“Me neither,” Dick sighs, and smiles, “Hey, I have an idea.”

Dick plonks himself onto Jason’s bed, ignoring his vocal protests, and plucks the book out of his hand. “Where did you stop reading?” he asks, “I’ll read it to you.”

“Oh,” Jason blinks - Dick notes amusedly that he was still squinting and unsquinting his eyes, trying to pull blurry blobs back into focus, “Uh, the page on the left of the bookmark.”

Dick reads.

-

“You’re gonna spoil your eyes like that, Timmy.”

“I live on spite,” Tim deadpans, “If my eyes want to fail me too then so be it.”

Jason laughs as he collapses onto the couch beside him. Tim ignores him until he lifts the laptop up and out of his lap, into his own.

“What’re you even working on?” he asks, and huffs. “Hang on, wait, are you reading?”

“Why do you sound so surprised? Just because I don’t like the classics doesn’t mean I’ve given up on words.”

“Holy shit,” Jason continues, ignoring Tim as a grin spreads across his face, “Is this anime fanfic? Are you reading anime fanfic?”

Tim groans, and slumps against Jason’s shoulder. Jason tries to shove the bony part of his shoulder into Tim’s cheek, but Tim just bounces harmlessly, only leaning more weight on him when he was done moving. Jason huffs.

“I was trying to finish reading,” Tim muttered, “But my eyes refuse to work. So maybe I did already spoil my eyes. Maybe I didn’t. I’m in denial.”

“It’s probably just from staring at a screen for too long,” Jason muses. Then he shifts, getting more comfortable. Tim’s head is now firmly on Jason’s arm.

“C’mon, I’ll read it for you. Where’d you stop?”

214 notes - Posted January 5, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

good day to everyone who has three separate drafts for the same story plot concept idea thing, doing great besties

577 notes - Posted June 28, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #I really need a tagging system #calling myself out but I also find these stats hilarious #Like man this year has been long and I don’t remember much of it

[mrdrzezstchkowitzatyourservice]

I posted 4,113 times in 2022

That's 2,414 more posts than 2021!

31 posts created (1%)

4,082 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

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I tagged 201 of my posts in 2022

#jules verne - 13 posts

#robur the conqueror - 10 posts

#20000 leagues under the sea - 9 posts

#captain nemo - 7 posts

#long post - 5 posts

#music - 5 posts

#manfred von richthofen - 5 posts

#history - 5 posts

#books - 4 posts

#sunless skies - 4 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#too much bourbon one night and the next morning your homie suddenly doesn't have a wife and there's a hitman crawling through your window

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Multiples of 5 for Captain Nemo? :D

Ah yes, one of my favorite characters!

5: My favorite ship of them: Nemo and Aronnax were made for each other, and there are 500 pages of solid proof

10: Describe them in one sentence: A sad, tragic, yet very badass, action science man

15: Worst storyline they had: Are we talking about how he appears in different film/TV adaptations of the book? Because if we are, that gottdamn Hallmark movie deserves hell

20: A weird headcanon: He and the crew have something like a game night or something every once in a while. They do stuff like board games and charades n stuff. Imagine them playing monopoly lmao

25: When did they act the most out-of-character: For me it was at the end of 20K Leagues when he just collapsed in front of the painting of his family and cried. It really surprised me because throughout the novel he was always a stoic, thoughtful, and wise kind of person always in control of himself. But that scene just seemed so out of nowhere to me (not to say it didn't hit me right in the feels, poor guy)

30: The funniest scene they had: Hey professor, since you're just passing by, d o y o u k n o w t h e h i s t o r y o f s p a i n

23 notes - Posted February 20, 2022

#4

This photo of Manfred is so so good because of its energy.

Look at him. He is like an angel of destruction, or a proud king standing before a vanquished enemy.

And yet, despite this, he somehow manages to make it look like he did it on accident. He just standing like 🧍

24 notes - Posted April 8, 2022

#3

Jonathan waiting for Dracula like

32 notes - Posted October 26, 2022

#2

MORE of me talking about The Mind Electric because 1)my obsession with this song is unhealthy, 2)there is nothing stopping me from making a million and a half posts about this song and the album in general and if there is such a force in the world they had better pick a god and beg for mercy before I arrive at their location (totally not armed with a shotgun or anything)

Now. Let’s begin. (Warning, it’s another long one)

The Mind Electric is, as many of you know, the 7th track in the Miracle Musical album Hawaii: Part II. It is one of the longest tracks in the entire album, at 6 minutes long, only rivaled by Dream Sweet in Sea Major, which is just around 7 minutes long.

All of the HPII songs have their quirks, but TME’s backwards segment is what makes it so unique. The segment is nothing mindblowing, it’s simply the forward part of the song, backward. Yet this helps to reinforce the song’s part of the story in a very peculiar way.

Unlike the other songs in the album, whose lyrics are often quite cryptic in nature, describing feelings and moments in time and space and generally leaving them open to interpretation, TME averts this by having some surprisingly straightforward lyrics in some places. Consider, if you will, the beginning verses of the non-reversed segment of the song. The scene of a courtroom is very clearly set for us and what plays out within is very obvious: 

-The judge asks Simon to plead his case and orders him to swear to tell the truth

-Simon tries to get all woe-is-me with the judge by pleading insanity

-It works. Too well, however, as Simon is sentenced to an infirmary to be treated for a condition he was likely lying about having.

From there, the lyrics make a little less sense without thinking about them. Whatever the interpretation, however, one thing is for certain: TME is about Simon losing his mind, and the latter half of the non-reversed segment highly reinforces that. Bad (and quite possibly abusive doctors also appear to be speeding up this process). 

But what does the reversed section mean, exactly?

Well, TME’s primary motif is insanity. The song becomes more and more chaotic as it progresses. There are parts where Simon appears to be in a moment of solitude and serenity, only to be violently ripped from what were really nothing more than delusions. The voices of the people Simon deems his “enemies” sound strange and distorted. For example:

The judge: When I first heard TME, I thought the judge was congested, or something (lol). As I listened to his voice more it sounded less... ...silly and more pretentious than anything. He emphasizes certain syllables and words (granted, it’s a song) but overall speaks in a tone that implies dominance and a general sense of superiority. He isn’t taking crap from anybody and that shows.

The doctor/caretaker: Sounds similar to the judge, but less serious. Take the lines “Here in my kingdom I am your lord / I order you to cower and praey”. Listen to those lines again. He doesn’t sound serious, not at all. If anything, he sounds happy, like it’s all a game to him. We hear him again with “See how the serfs work the ground...”, describing the hapless plights of the others in his care. His voice sounds diseased. It buzzes like old static, it’s sharp as a razor blade, and it absolutely oozes with malice. And once again, there’s no hint of remorse in it. It’s almost prideful, as if he is saying, come and see what I have created.

Simon’s views on these people may affect why he hears their voices in those ways. It’s not just madness, it’s trauma.

If we consider the timeline of HPII being that Introduction to the Snow and Isle Unto Thyself show Simon in his current state, with songs 3-10 being a flashback before Dream Sweet in Sea Major brings us back to Simon’s death, then TME makes much more sense in context.

View TME as though it were part of a flashback. Black Rainbows, White Ball, Murders, and Space Station Level 7, the other “flashback” songs preceding TME are relatively normal, for the most part, but TME is where things start to fall apart. The music for each of those preceding songs is pretty smooth, largely coordinated. Listen to those. Then listen to TME. Notice how in TME how erratic the music becomes is certain places. It glitches all over the place, tone switches are sudden and sometimes jarring. It sounds distressed.

If TME is part of that flashback, think of how Simon views it. Up to this point his memories seem clear. But when TME hits, you just know something’s wrong. The infirmary has to be, without a doubt, a traumatic place for Simon. The “treatment” there cost him his sanity. Thus the backwards part of the song could be interpreted as a series of scrambled memories, while the glitching in the forward segment and the general distressing atmosphere that the song radiates like a Chernobyl rat could be triggered in a bout of PTSD, his fragile conscious fraying at the remembrance of such a horrid place, such terrible people, and such painful moments. 

After TME, we get Labyrinth, then from there the album slowly dies down, as if TME was only a bad dream left behind, or a sickness to be recovered from. But one thing is absolutely clear:

Simon reacts badly to TME.

 Any remembrance of the courtroom and its judge, or the infirmary and its overseer, the suffering he endured there, only to be swept under the rug when pleading for help, sends him over the edge. We can tell because he supposedly leaves the infirmary at the end of Labyrinth, and from Time Machine onward, the stress and panic are no longer there. His time spent inside the infirmary broke him in a way that whenever he recalls what happened to him there, he dances a sporadic waltz on the fragile line between sanity and complete loss of mind, and the facade he’s put up around himself disappears like it was never there.

But there’s still another big question out there: Was Simon lying to the judge?

Now, I don’t think we can know for certain whether or not Simon was lying. Either he was already insane and was asking to be treated, as the lyrics of “Inside the Minds of Simon” suggest, or he is a genuinely evil, though charismatic individual, an H. H. Holmes-type character whose greatest weapon is his charm.

The is, however, another factor that comes into play here, and that’s religion. In a previous post I discussed the religious allegories that are present in TME, and how they affect the story, but I think that they’re worth bringing up again here. This begins with the judge. This “character”, so to speak, has a name, and has “appeared” before. It’s our good friend Marvin. 

As we know, TME was born from a demo known as “Inside the Mind of Simon”, a track that never made it into Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum. Marvin is mentioned by name in ITMOS, and though that song never made it into MMMM, Marvin sure did. In “Ruler of Everything” he criticizes a man’s unchecked hubris, telling him that time will eventually pass him by. And in “Spring and a Storm”, he gently explains to a group of children the concept of death and life after death. He is a religious figure of sorts, as I theorized, an angel. (Also note that Simon refers to him as “Father Your Honor,” with “Father” being used in religious establishments, suggesting that Marvin is a man of the church.)

However unlike ROE, where he simply taught a narcissistic man to have doubts, or SAAS, where he explains death in a way so as to not frighten the children, he is very straightforward and serious with Simon. Because, consider, the narcissist was just... that. A narcissist. He doesn’t seem to have hurt anyone, and is simply obsessed with himself. And the children? They’re just curious and innocent. But Simon, as the track “Murders” suggests, is not as innocent as he seems. Simon might have one some very bad things.

If Marvin is some sort of otherworldly being, this could make the court situation much more different. He’s making Simon make an oath of truth, though he likely already knows if Simon is lying or not, which possibly means that he can see right through Simon’s manipulative tactics. If Simon was insane from the get-go, it’s likely he could see that too. Probably what happened Simon was trying to be sneaky and smart like “OH FORGIVE me Your Honor, I’m just SO INSANE you HAVE to help me.” And Marvin, seeing right through that, in response was like “Sure, wish granted” and had him sent off to the Hell Allegory. Either way, though, it’s implied that Simon did something very very bad and Marvin did not like that.

Moving onward, TME is full of references to religion. From the straightforward references: “I order you to cower and praey” and “Nuns commence incanting” (fun fact, in TME’s lyric video, the word “wholly” flashes to “holy” for a brief moment) to the overarching theme of the toils of the sinner, religion plays a considerable part in TME’s narrative, much more than one would expect. As I mentioned before, the infirmary is likely an allegory for Hell and eternal suffering, and the overseer of it all is the adjoining allegory of the devil. Whatever the case may be, whatever Simon did or didn’t do, he still ended up there, suggesting spiritual impurities. 

Hawaii: Part II’s story goes a lot further beyond TME, yes, but this one song is a very crucial part of the story being told and ultimately effects the outcome. Maybe one day I’ll make the Post To End All Posts about HPII in a similar vein as this one, but for now, I’ll leave you some time to take this hefty one in haha.

39 notes - Posted August 17, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Yet Another (Very Long) Mind Electric Rambling

Man, can’t tell ye all how many times I have talked about The Mind Electric on this blog. But, the song and the role it plays in Hawaii Pt. II’s story is just so fascinating to me. So! Random thoughts and theories, here we go!

The song’s structure and melody

Let’s be honest. It doesn’t matter whether the song is backwards or forwards, it sounds good either way. But, it’s incredible to me. The song’s melody overall is nothing complicated, but at the same time it is something that I feel I never could have thought of. Everything feels so smooth and so chaotic at the right places. And the voice it gives to the “characters” is really something incredible. 

Speaking of..

The song’s “characters”: who are they?

As The Mind Electric is part of a musical story, there are, of course, quote-unquote characters. They are characters in the sense that they exist as part of a story, not because we can see them or understand them. But, let’s go over the most discernible of them.

-”Resident Minor” AKA Simon, the main character of the album. The Mind Electric continues his story but also takes us into his psyche, showing us how he loses his mind. But, alas, who knows, perhaps it was gone to begin with...

Cryptic messages aside, we know little about Simon, but we do know that something happened that landed him in the courtroom, and eventually the infirmary, where he utterly loses his mind thanks to special “treatment”.

-”Marvin” AKA The Judge. The only reason we know this guy (or Simon)’s identity is Inside the Mind of Simon, which provided names for both of these characters. However. Marvin. Who is he? 

Well, long story short, he’s the judge presiding over Simon’s trial. He appears to be a relatively neutral party for the most part, but he immediately has Simon sent to the asylum once Simon pleads insanity. So, we can tell that he for sure is a harsh judge.

-”The Caretaker” is what we will call Simon’s doctor, because while Inside the Mind of Simon gives names to Simon and Marvin, Simon’s doctor remains unnamed. Now this guy, as cryptic as he is, is let’s face it, kind of a massive jerk.

Why? Well, as we can tell throughout the song, he is pretty abusive towards his patients, and, well, if “Here in my kingdom, I am your lord / I order you to cower and praey” isn’t enough of an indicator, he enjoys a power trip as well. It ends with Simon literally pleading for this guy’s mercy. And as the icing on the cake, he puts Simon up to abusive treatment, which only makes his condition worse and breaks him more. Put simply, this man has more red flags about him than the entire Soviet Union.

Theory: Marvin is an angel, and the Caretaker is the devil

(Fun fact I learned while researching: Inside the Mind of Simon, where we get Marvin’s name from, was originally supposed to be a part of Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum. Hence the name Marvin. It never happened though, which was why the name was dropped in The Mind Electric)

As I was writing this post, I was listening to TME on repeat, and, I definitely noticed something: there’s a lot of references to religion in the song, as well as throughout the album itself, and that got me thinking. Is Marvin, the judge, an angel, or some other divine figure?

We can definitely see it. Most religions desire goodness: purity of the mind, of the soul, and of the body. We can see that, considering how fast the verdict came after Simon said that he was insane, (and also considering that he might have committed the murder which landed him in court) Marvin was troubled by that fact and resolved to have him treated immediately, because after all, Simon’s mind and soul are definitely not pure.

Then we come back to the Caretaker, who exhibits an oppressive and abusive nature towards his patients, treating them harshly, and watching them suffer and beg for his mercy seems to bring him satisfaction and enjoyment. The infirmary is possibly an allegory for hell, where the inhabitants are tormented for their wrongdoings (or supposed wrongdoings) and overseen by a cruel and sadistic ruler whose job it to make it all happen. 

Also make reference to the nuns in the second “electric shock verse”, the whole thing almost feels like some sort of twisted exorcism, with Simon supposedly being “cleansed” of his mental and spiritual impurities. Throughout the song, Simon seeks refuge in his own mind, the only place where he can truly be safe, but he finds himself being stripped of even that luxury, continuing to allude that the Caretaker is taking everything from Simon out of enjoyment.

So, to sum it up, Marvin could be an angel, believing in mental and spiritual purity, which is why he sent Simon to the infirmary, and the Caretaker is an allegory for the devil, abusing and torturing the patients for their wrongdoings.

Theory: Simon is a psychopath

Woah, this one is kind of heavy! It is gone into detail verse-by-verse on TME’s Genius.com page, which I recommend you view. This one also fits quite well with the theory I explained above, so buckle in.

Basically, it states that Simon is fully insane before he is even in in the infirmary. He shows a charismatic side, and his testimony to Judge Marvin seems to be some sort of manipulative tactic, which works as well as you’d expect against a presumed divine being such as Marvin.

Thus, we come to the infirmary. The idea of it being an allegory for hell fits perfectly with this theory. Simon is impure and accepting of this, thus he is punished harshly for his actions by the abusive Caretaker. Though it is unknown what exactly Simon did that brought him to court in the first place, it was enough to corrupt his soul to the point that he needed to be punished for it.

Theory: The “backwards” motif is the effects of Simon’s insanity

The first half of TME is backwards, and is not in German, as many people I know believe. We know that it is backwards, and be accept that in move on. But why exactly is it backwards? What does it mean?

Well, the answer is handed to us on a silver platter. Take a listen to the album version of the song: in the backwards part, we can hear that insane is clearly spoken forwards, while in the forward part, the same word is sung backwards. This is a very simple and clear about the meaning of the song and its role in Hawaii: Pt. II’s story. 

Also note again the second “electric shock verse.” you can hear “Axon-dendrite” being chanted in the background. Axons and dendrites control impulse and actions. However, dendrites are the imput and axons the output. In the song, they are chanted in reverse order, further proving that the backwards motif is the result of insanity.

Is it electric chair or electric shock therapy?

A commonly asked question: And the answer? It’s electric shock therapy. Evidence for this is that Simon undergoes treatment at multiple points throughout the song. And he’s clearly still alive at the end of all of them. And at the end, he is clearly still alive enough to think. Plus, his story continues with the rest of the album. His actual death comes in Dream Sweet in Sea Major.

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41 notes - Posted March 9, 2022

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October Halloween Movie Fest Day 26:

Today I watched Friday the 13th for the first time! …and found it weirdly boring, to be honest. Just about any movie would have had a hard time following The Thing, but this movie just did not work for me at all. I don’t know if it’s me, or the slasher genre, or what. The only things I found compelling about any of the teens was that one of them was Kevin Bacon, and that they were getting murdered. The effects were fine, nothing spectacular. The killer-cam was kinda cool, but I would have liked it more if it wasn’t half the movie. I was genuinely surprised at the identity of the killer—I was aware this character existed, but I was really really expecting to see the iconic fellow, he was on the store image for this thing! …but it wasn’t really enough to make the whole movie interesting for me. Glad I tried it, but I am probably going to go with my gut and stay away from basic slashers from now on.

What I expected:

What I got:

Treehouse of Horror 26 (Wanted: Dead then Alive/Homerzilla/Telepaths of Glory)

I find the Sideshow Bob THOH highly memorable and unsettling. It’s a culmination of two and a half decades of Sideshow Bob episodes, and although the events aren’t canon, what Bob wants to do to Bart… is. And it gets more horrifying the more you think about it. Like, I don’t always care for the more cartoonish villainy they did with him off and on in the post-classic era, but this isn’t that. Sideshow Bob at one point disembowels Bart’s corpse, something he was planning to do as early as Cape Feare. This episode really hammers home the point that oh yeah, this beloved charming antagonist wants to murder a ten year old boy. And play with his corpse. And would like to be able to murder him again any time he’s feeling frustrated or bored. Like, geez, I know continuity barely matters on Simpsons and he was only allowed to accomplish this outside of canon, but watching his behavior when he succeeds somehow retroactively makes his near-misses more alarming. I could write an entire essay or two about Sideshow Bob, but this is all that’s relevant.

The other two segments are pretty lackluster, though. The designs in Homerzilla are neat, but the story started out a little weak and then apparently the writers got bored and went with a spoof on remakes that just sucked all life out of it, although I found the scientist scene pretty funny. And Telepaths of Glory had a cool set up that took too long, and thus the story ended as soon as it was getting interesting. Really, this THOH is all about the Sideshow Bob, but it’s a shame it wasn’t paired with more solid partners. My list is now 1, 5, 4, 7, 6, 3, 2, 20, 9, 8, 17, 23, 16, 15, 25, 26, 19, 13, 24, 21, 12, 14, 10, 18, 22, 11. And 26 would be several places lower if not for Sideshow Bob.

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