#i’m gwen and i approve this message | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hard-core-super-star · 8 months

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here I am to answer while I almost fall asleep again, mainly because it's almost 2am, I don't know how I'm still standing ye ye ye. It would be funny if you weren't, but since the topic was that anon's ideas, there was no way you weren't right. naaaah, I don't need to do it, I think you're doing great. I will continue my hard work, which is to keep laughing 😔

I don't believe you anticipated that I was going to say something... but um, if you were multitasking I think it's okay? I guess you're right and emily dickinson approves this statement. I heard that in some countries the word “chemistry” doesn’t exist, so they use gwen and peter as a synonym. kind of yes? because you will have transformed into him and you'll know that you are there... I don't know, it's quite confusing. yup, the multiverse is pure madness.

nope, that's not me. exactly what I've been doing up until now... maybe I-- kdhskskssksk yeah, but shhh, don't think about it too much 😶 c'mooon, do you really think my only brain cell is capable of doing this? I mean, If you want me to finish the sentences it would only be fair for you to do the same, right? 👀

I feel like I should be offended by this. good to know you didn't think about doing exactly that, it would be horrible if you thought about doing that. since you're not thinking about sharing any more thoughts I wouldn't want to hear it either because it wouldn't make me more excited. and since you didn't ask, I'm not going to answer that it would be interesting for half-smut, like, to almost happen but R isn't ready for it yet and the fact that Kate respects this decision would also be something “shocking” for R.

okay, I'll trust you and your words then. so it looks like your days of semi-refreshments have arrived. ksjskskak I'm going to start writing a little line on paper every time I understand a reference you make.

I've never seen anyone say that english is weird, you couldn't be more right lmao. wowwowow, paris? that's so cool- even though you couldn't speak french hsjskakk 😭 what was it like when you went there? I swear I could make fun of you for that, but then I'd be attacking myself too because I'm exactly like that lmao. and okay, your fear of sounding like a gringa is totally plausible because it really is embarrassing af- I'm glad you agree that their relationship goes beyond that, even if it's something obvious lol. I wonder how much pain she really hides, not only from others but also from herself, you know? that would be so cute stop ashwajdksk she was definitely going to turn into a mess, but a happy mess, like, look at her making friends and finally having people around 🥺

– 🌟

i want to scold you for being awake at 2am but i can't bring myself to do it because seeing another message from you made my night 19x times better so 😶 it’s about to be 10pm for me so, it's not super late but i’m definitely a little drowsy. [also, i’m starting to realize we both overestimated the time difference between us lmao] look at you, finally starting to admit how right i am all the time, i knew you could do it. hmmm, nope, i think we ALL require a comment from you. definitely not just me.

well, believe it ‘cause that's what happened 👍 look at that, even more evidence of me being right, i’ll take that star any time. skskdkdj yup, that sounds about right. i think i need to go watch the amazing spiderman now 😅 i think we can excuse narcissism this time, right? i feel like the context makes it...better lmao. you could almost call it the multiverse of madness…get it? …i’ll see myself out 🙃

whatever you say 👀 says the person refusing to give me another star, when it comes to compliments though well, let's just say you… uh huh, i’ll stop thinking about it, say some more obvious things and wake up to everyone calling me out about it. subtlety isn't really my strong suit, as i’m sure you've noticed. i’m sure you and your one braincell will manage just fine. and before you start, you're the one who started the unfinished sentences thing so you owe me at least four sentences before i even think about giving you mine.

nope, you should take it as a compliment. i’m glad we’re on the same page about all the things i certainly won't be doing. i don't have way too many thoughts about alpha!kate at all and i definitely don't want to talk about her at all. it’s not like the only thing stopping me right now is my tiredness, not at all. i’m so glad you didn't answer the question i didn't ask because it's not like i think that's a great idea and i certainly won't be stealing it. and i definitely don't want you to ask any questions about this AU or alpha!kate at all.

thank you, i appreciate your trust. you’re going to run out space very quickly, i make like two references per message and we have…about four conversations going on rn.

really??? i saw it once somewhere and it's never left my mind. it's such a pain in the ass sometimes which is probably why i ignore most grammar rules and just write what i want lmao. which usually means i add a crap ton of commas to every sentence. Grammarly hates me. my spanish came through and saved my ass ‘cause my french was very limited at the time. i honestly had a great time though, my mom and i decided it would be much more fun to travel for my 15th birthday instead of having the traditional quinceañera thingy and i absolutely made the right decision. i love traveling and paris is lovely, i don't care if it’s overrated. i’m glad you understand my pain and my fear, it's also embarrassing af having to pronounce certain things [like carne asada, for example] the “American Way” so people understand what i mean. it's exactly why i don't go to Chipotle. [i also just don't like it but that's not as fun to say] yeah, i think kate just really needs someone to be in her corner and who better than her literal idol, right? i feel like she's very self-aware of how obsessive she sounds sometimes but she does it anyway to annoy clint. she probably hides any and all pain she's ever felt and then makes a slightly heavy joke that makes everyone go like ‘???’ which just makes her retreat even further. oh for sure. i think she’d also be genuinely surprised that yelena doesn't seem to hate her. they're definitely friends but they act like they have a rivalry going on which is all fun and games until yelena accidentally hurts kate’s feelings which just results in endless puppy dog eyes.

#rubix replies #🌟

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cyarskaren52 · 8 months

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The History You Never Knew About The Hip Hop Hits You Love

Source: Christopher Polk / Getty

Origin Info For Your Favorite Hip-Hop Hits Of Today

There’s an old saying “There’s nothing new under the sun”, which we often write off as a figure of speech. However, when you recognize something you’re almost certain you’ve seen or heard before, there’s comfort in that familiarity.

While we appreciate the creativity that drives art to influence culture, we also honor the classics and originals that inspire trends today.

Many of the most popular hip-hop tracks on the charts today use samples from old records. According to Tunecore, “Sampling” is best described as reusing a specific portion of another’s sound recording.

Source: Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty

Creepin’ – Metroboomin, 21 Savage, The Weeknd

In 2004, Mario Winans serenaded the masses with a twisted exclamation to his lover, “I Don’t Wanna Know”.

Source: Raymond Boyd / Getty

In the song, Winans pleads to his lady to keep her dirt secret. The smash, which spent eight weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 in February of 2004, was a sample of The Fugees “Ready Or Not”.

Source: Mitchell Gerber / Getty

Even further, The Fugees sampled the 1987 record “Bodaecia” by Irish singer Enya, who is also listed on the credits. Today, The Weeknd and 21 Savage teamed up with Atlanta hitmaker Metroboomin for a modern remake of the song.

Source: Raymond Boyd / Getty

Source: Mitchell Gerber / Getty

Source: Aaron J. Thornton / Getty

Players – Coi Leray

Coi Leray gave us yet another TikTok sensation with her 2022 song “Players”. What you may not have noticed is the sample of Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five’s “The Message”. Coi’s record was released as the 1982 terminal hit turned 40.

Grandmaster Flash and Leray actually met for a celebratory dinner where Flash blessed the record and Coi’s hard work!

“When I got a call saying this girl wanted to resurrect the beat of a song from my past – I wanted to learn more,” Flash said in a second post. “Then when I spoke with & met @coileray, I TOTALLY got it. Go listen to PLAYERS by Coi Leray now ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️Next time I might sport the hoodie”

Source: Joseph Okpako / Getty

Doja – Central Cee

UK breakout artist Central Cee is another artist with a knack for making viral hits. One of his most notable 2022 records – “Doja” – is derived from a sample of Eve & Gwen Stefani’s 2001 hit “Blow Ya Mind”. You may have heard the often-recited lyrics of “Doja”, “How can I be homophobic? My b—- is gay.” However, you may not have been privy to the fact Eve personally signed off on the Euro Hip Hop track calling it “everything”.

On BBC’s 1EXTRA RAP SHOW, the Ruff Ryder’s First Lady explained the rizz that made her instantly approve the sample.

First of all, knowing and living in London, his name’s already been ringing and I liked him. I was like, ‘Yo, he’s a dope artist.’ And then we got the song and I was like, ‘This song is everything!’”

Source: Jerritt Clark / Getty

P Power – Gunna featuring Drake

Source: United Archives / Getty

The song samples Donna Summer’s 1976 disco classic “Could It Be Magic”. However, the track was noticeably absent from Gunna’s album, “DS4Ever”, when it dropped on January 7, 2022. In an interview with Complex, Gunna reveals that the song was delayed over clearance issues.

“I originally sampled Donna Summer,” Gunna said. “I don’t even know her, because I’m so young. But she was a legend and her estate couldn’t get back in time for my album.”

Source: Prince Williams / Getty

Good Love – Usher, City Girls

If you’ve been out to basically any gathering or event this summer, you’ve probably heard “Good Love” featuring the City Girls. This feel-good dance jam has made waves from social media to the skating rink to family cookouts.

The familiar bump in the bass and repetitive rhythm takes us back to the ’90s and ’00s when denim cut-off shorts and gold door knocker hoops were in their prime. If you (or a mom, grandma, or auntie) attended a Freaknik festival, you may have heard the track before. “Good Love” samples a dance classic – “Freak It” by Lathun.

The 1997 SOSO Def hit is often accompanied by a line dance, perfect for the dance floor. The song quickly became a cultural shift point in Atlanta, bringing communities together through laughter and bounce.

Which song do you think did the best remake?

Sent from my iPhone

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worldofbryant · 2 years

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January 9, 2017

Yesterday! What can I say...filled with with a bunch of emotion! So, I show mom what a pulmonary embolism looks like( she said yuck) then I show her a video of what the effects are of when people stop smoking....that's where she went off! She sang the old song of, ' I quit drinking, be glad I'm not doing drugs'. Between drinking and smoking I'd rather for her to be doing neither. The 'be glad I quit drinking' came from when I started gripping my chest and mom tells me that I need to go to the doctor. What does Corey do? Corey signed up for medical coverage so he can go to the doctor to see what's causing the pain in his chest! My respect for my mother is that that deep(yes I said it) to get something checked out because she is concerned about my health! If I'm approved state medical insurance(because I don't make a lot a month), I'm taking my ass to the doctor! Then the other arguing was about if I didn't like how she acts then put her in the nursing home. Well mother!, if you can remember( which I know you're able to), you know that I've been consistent for over half of my life when I say, that you'll never go into a nursing home. I'm not going to see her go into a nursing home but, I refuse to stress myself out for anyone who is beyond helping. Mom had the audacity to say too, ' if I help more around here(meaning paying half of rent) that she'll quit smoking'. Let's approach a few of these at a time: if I did help pay half of the rent, mom you'd still be an inconsiderate, whining ass brat; if I didn't get groceries every other week and do laundry weekly, you wouldn't have enough food to last you and clean clothes(when you decide to bathe). Then the subject of Joe and Julie asking to borrow money recently(I regret telling mom that Joe asked to borrow to help pay his cell bill) and mom claims that I never got paid back. See mom, that's where Penelope was right...your memory isn't as sharp as it is/should be! I had to tell mom that I did get paid back and mom came back with the infantile response of, 'that's not what I was told'. Again Stella...I...got...paid...back...from...Joe & Julie! This time before Joe asking for help for his cell bill, I was asked for help cause one of the girls had hand foot mouth disease(I didn't have the money at the time). Mom also said too during her tirade that she's never going to ask me for anything...ever again even if I leave before her to Missouri. I know if I go there, she won't be going cause she'll die here at wooden Indian. We'll see how long it is before she fucks up and asks for something from me. If its within reason, of course I'll do it...if I have the money. If Gwen and Pete doesn't move back up here, when I leave for Hannibal, I'm taking Jackie cause mom, you wouldn't be able to provide for her. Onto another note, Melissa Manning sends me a message on Facebook asking was we ever boyfriend/girlfriend? I told her that we never discussed a title when we fooled around(I was seeing Melissa while talking to Mary Woosley before things got 'serious' between myself and Mary). Melissa said that she was upset because we wasn't an item. Here's what I don't get! Since you're married Melissa, you shouldn't be concerned about a title between us a few years back(Melissa also asked how long have we known each other too). Come to find out, Melissa Manning was asking this when Lindsey Ross joked around about me dating her. So, Melissa messages Lindsey and tell her that I used to be her(Melissa) ex. Naw, Melissa, I was never your ex and we never dated! All we did was have sex! I didn't want anything serious then but, knowing what I went through with Mary Woosley, I might have considered something serious with you. Be happy with your marriage with Pete Manning and hopefully you and him have a happy life together. What I might do is talk to mom or write her a letter apologizing for yesterday(even though I wasn't wrong in anything I said) to make her feel better. So don't like having an argument with my mom but, people who gets mad when someone says something to them that they don't like, the other person is telling the truth! Daphne got her Christmas ribbon candy. Its about time you told me child of mine lol!

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granvarones · 3 years

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dubbed the queen of paradise garage, notable 1980’s night club in new york, gwen guthrie scored her biggest hit when she topped the r&b chart in september 1986 with the self-penned and produced “ain’t nothin’ goin’ on but the rent.” that same month, the surgeon general’s report on AIDS was released.

the report, a much belated response to the growing epidemic, was candid about modes of transmission and recommended a nationwide education campaign that included early sex ed, condom use, and HIV testing. it was this report that served as a source of lyrical inspiration for gwen’s guthrie’s “can’t love you tonight.”

“Your body, so appealing But I’ve lost that lovin’ feeling Surgeon General says We’ve got to use our heads, tonight”

released in early 1988 as the lead single from her fifth studio “lifeline” and as the number of AIDS diagnoses in the US reached over 47,000, “can’t love you tonight” was one of the first mainstream released r&b songs to explicitly name “AIDS” in its lyrics.

“I can’t love you tonight Love is not longer free I’m too young to die I don’t want no AIDS or herpes”

youtube

the song’s direct message was in concert with the emerging HIV prevention campaigns of the time. with no cure in sight and the first federally approved treatment AZT inaccessible to many, most prevention messages were rooted in fear and framed sex as dangerous.

while the lyrics sound stigmatizing in 2021, they served as a kind of desperate plea from a community to save itself in the absence of adequate resources in 1988.

the song’s accompanying music video, which garnered some rotation on BET, included visuals of someone wearing a shirt that read “safe sex!” and a person taking a condom from out of a purse – – visuals that were still considered as taboo in 1988. proceeds from the song were donated to the AIDS coalition.

“can’t love you tonight” reached #83on the r&b chart and #38 on the dance in april 1988. a month later, the surgeon general’s report on AIDS was summarized in a brochure that was mailed to over 100 million households.

paradise garage closed it’s doors forever in october 1987. gwen performed at the club’s farewell party. three months later, garage’s sole proprietor michael brody, died of AIDS-related complications. gwen guthrie, a diva ahead of her time in many ways, died of uterine cancer on february 3, 1999.

#granvarones #storytelling #music history #aids history #1980s #gwen guthrie #gay #lgbtq #Youtube

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iggy-of-fans · 4 years

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Of Being Ladybug 10

A short one this time. The one after this we will finally see some action. I wonder if any of you have guessed about the new villain?

Previous Master Post

The cons of falling for family

<(**)>

Marinette stared at the sewing machine on her desk. Alfred had bought it for her to welcome her home. Bruce had bought expensive sketch pads and pencils. One of Bruce’s other kids (not her brother, even if Bruce called him her brother Dick) had sent an expensive Indian fabric. Gifts to welcome her to their family.

Bruce had spent the entire day with her, giving her a proper tour, asking questions about what she liked, if she wanted a different colour for her walls, what she wanted to do with her life… It had been overwhelming to say the least. Marinette had made up her mind at a young age and always knew what she wanted to do. When Diana told her, she couldn’t be anything Marinette had been, she had been lost. And now Bruce was telling her to be herself. To be Marinette again. To do with her life as she pleased, and he promised to be there to help her pick up the pieces if it all fell apart.

Her brand new Wayne phone dinged with a message on her desk. Marinette stared. She hadn’t received a text in a year. Unlocking the screen, the pre-programmed number and name of Timothy Drake-Wayne lit up her screen.

‘Hey, little sister! I have some people that want to say hi!’

Attached was a picture of the Miracle Team. Oh!

She hit video call. With every unanswered ring her anxiety spiked. She was about to hit end when the call was answered by a pretty blonde woman with blue eyes.

“Tim! The new sister is calling!” the blonde turned and shouted off camera. Before Tim could move to get the phone Vipereon was there.

“Marinette?” his voice was calm, but inside he felt anything but. A year of radio silence. A year!

“Luka?” her voice is just above a whisper, cracking as she is filled with emotions again.

She cries silently as Luka takes in her face. She’d lost weight. Her was cut. And gone was the pink.

“My melody, are you okay?” Luka asked finally. Screw all of Paris. If she needed him, he would be there.

“I’m okay. I…” she couldn’t talk. She just took in the image of Vipereon on her screen, listened to the shouting happening off to the side of the other’s. Kwami how she missed them. Luka smiled in understanding.

“We’re not going anywhere, Marinette. Take your time.”

And so she broke down. She told Luka everything. Everything she couldn’t trust herself to tell Bruce.

And Luka listened, never interrupting. And when she was done, he told her how amazing she was. How after everything that had happened, she could still keep going. And that she would figure out what to do, but if she really needed time, to just ask for it. He promised to use the Zeta tubes as soon as possible to visit as well.

And for the first time in a year, Marinette truly smiled.

< ( ^ ^ ) >

Bruce woke up early the next morning, to see if he could convince Marinette to go to a fabric store with him. When he got to the kitchen however his whole body froze. Alfred as standing by the counter, relaxed and quiet as Marinette dashed around the kitchen in her pajamas. She had a big grin on her face as waffles and eggs and bacon and fruits all came to perfection under her practiced hands.

“Alfred…”

“She insisted that my pancakes were dry and bland. She challenged me. I did not have the heart to deny her” Alfred stated simply. A smile tugged at his lips, and Bruce knew. Alfred did this to help Marinette come back to the surface.

_ -

After a delicious breakfast, Bruce was shocked when Marinette enthusiastically showed him her sketchpad. The page was filled with a super-hero costume, mostly white and pink, with black accents and a black hood. (Similar to Gwen Stacy from the Spider-Verse movie, but reverse colours.)

In the car, Marinette also asked about modern and contemporary dance. Bruce smiled. They made a stop at the Gotham Dance Studio. When Marinette watched the different styles of dancing, her face lit up. Bruce signed the check and promised to get her the proper footwear.

In the fabric store, you would have thought that Christmas and Easter happened all at once. Marinette’s eyes were filled with glee. She was picky with her fabrics. While her back was turned, Bruce ordered some Dress Forms and ribbons, and the fabrics she liked he got in every colour they had. When she looked at Bruce, happy with a single 2 yard roll of fabric, Bruce smiled back.

When they got her school uniform, only to be worn on exam days, Marinette also got a tour of the facility. The school was massive, with three buildings denoting the different school levels. The tech was also out of the world amazing, with teachers using holo-screens instead of whiteboards, or blackboards like in Europe. Kids walked around with school approved and funded pads. Marinette felt very backwater hill-Billy right then.

When they got back, Alfred showed them a new room, set up while they were out. Bruce rubbed the back of his neck when Marinette balked at the dress forms and fabric. It was next to Damien’s art room, filled to the brim with paints and brushes. It was above Dick’s gymnastic training room. Marinette could only stare.

The rest of the week went by in a similar manner. Bruce took the time to personally show Marinette around Gotham, talking about the history of the city, and it’s criminals. He took her to the office, introduced himself to her boss. Lucius Fox showed her, her new costume.

And finally, on Friday night, Batman patrolled with Knave at his side.

Marinette went to bed that morning with a big smile on her face. In her hand was her phone, a guitar melody floating quietly through the room.

In Germany, Jason groggily opened his eyes.

Tag List:

@maya-custodios-dionach @dur55 @driftingmoonlitpetals @kill-the-purses @annabellabrookes @a-marlene-s @queenmj10 @loveswifi @elmokingkong @aestheticnpoetic @animalgirl05 @northernbluetongue @lilacandcream @yin-390 @silvergold-swirl @reyna-avila-ramirez-alreanaldo @goblinwhoships @weird-pale-blonde-person @ @moonlightstar64 @krispydefendorpolice @kuroko26 @ladylupa @jardimazul @welcometopradasa @thatrandomfandomgirl @imanerddealwith @sidd-hit-my-butt-ham @loysydark @nataladriana9 @thequeenofpotatoeunicornss @sassakitty @enchanted-nerd @maya-custodios-dinoch @a-marlene-s @whomthefyck @myazael

#daminette #Marinette #Marinette deserves better #miraculous ladybug #vipereon #minor lukanette #Of Being Ladybug

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hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger · 5 years

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Is it true that Mary Jane drove Harry to drug addiction?

Not it is absolutely not.

That is a common misconception that is often used to unfairly belittle or criticise Mary Jane.

It’s rooted in ASM #97. In the prior issue MJ was openly flirting with Peter in front of both Harry and his father. She continued to do this (sans Norman) in ASM #97, and Harry consequently went to a drug dealer and got high. He got clingy with MJ leading her to not at all gently make it clear to him that they were absolutely not exclusive. You could even interpret this as her dumping him, though I don’t and given how they were dating again later on, I think she was just setting him straight.

After arguing with Peter and coming down Harry takes an overdose of the drugs (we don’t know what ones they were exactly).

The simplest way to debunk the idea that MJ was the cause of Harry’s drug problems if to simply check out earlier pages in the very same issue.

Here between how Harry acts, Peter’s dialogue and the artwork depicting the very same bottle of pills Harry uses later in the issue, the message is very clear.

Harry was ALREADY a drug addict before MJ ‘gave him the gate’.

Furthermore, it’s possible (and in my view highly likely, especially after the retcons to MJ’s character) that MJ was both aware of Harry’s drug problem and might even have subtly referenced it in this issue.

Turn your attention back to the scene where MJ lays into Harry. Notice her dialogue when Harry first approached her.

How chipper we suddenly sound.

That emphasis wasn’t added by me, that was all Stan Lee.

I don’t think that was accidental, I think it’s intended to clue us into the fact that MJ at least suspects why his mood has so suddenly changed. The comic, in it’s foreshadowing of Harry’s pill bottle is already demonstrating a certain subtly in parts of itself so this isn’t exactly a stretch to make.

But we can dig deeper.

Stan didn’t exactly depict young people as they really existed in the 1960s (he was middle aged and the comics code wouldn’t have allowed him anyway), but he wasn’t blind.

EVERYONE knew drugs were being passed around in the 1960s and that college kids in particular were using them. Stan himself had been to a fair few college campuses for lectures by this point in time so he may well have clued into this himself.

I’m not trying to throw shade at MJ by saying this, but given how she was kinda sorta a hippie, a girl who was ‘with it’ and who liked to party, it made it unbelievable for her to have not clued in on what might’ve been going on with Harry and Stan through her dialogue may well have been trying to reflect that.

We might also speculate her casualness about it could imply this isn’t the first time she’s seen Harry high, which (if you accept that) further proves that she didn’t drive him to drugs in this issue, it’d been happening for a long time. In fact the canonically debatable Death and Destiny mini-series (set several issues earlier than this) heavily implies Harry to already be using drugs, specifically cocaine.

Furthermore to blame MJ for this is really, really unfair.

When it comes to drug addiction she’s not Harry’s keeper. She’s not responsible for what he does to his own body.

And if we really are going to attribute blame to her, then we should also attribute some blame to Peter for not noticing the obvious. We should also attribute blame to both of them plus Gwen and Flash for not being there enough for Harry to help him deal with whatever issues drove him to drugs.

And boy of boy should we blame Norman. He’s Harry’s father, shouldn’t he be held accountable on some level?

Now if you want to look at it from a position of hindsight when retcons have revealed more about everyone, the truth is MJ REALLY wasn’t to blame for Harry’s drug problem.

We could argue in pushing him away when she knew he had a problem she was being a bad friend but like...there is only so much any of us can do. Personal story: one of my friends in high school went off the rails a bit when he was 16-17. Not due to drugs but other stuff and my grandma insisted I be responsible for setting him right. But my parents, quite correctly, set me and her straight that that wasn’t my responsibility and my abilities to help him were limited anyway.

MJ is in an even worse boat than I was.

She had less financial security, she was dealing with a legal adult with access to a lot of cash and much more cash than her, her mother had died maybe a year-18 months earlier than this, she was dealing with leaving her sister and getting into the swing of city/college life, and that’s not even touching upon her knowledge of Peter’s identity and her deep rooted commitment issues.

Of all people MJ was not in a position to help Harry at this time and giving him the gate was the emotionally healthiest thing for her to do for herself in that situation, even if it arguably came from a place of her own insecurities regarding commitment.*

On Harry’s end, MJ could never have been the sole factor that drove him to drugs. At worst she might’ve been one of many contributing factors or even the straw that broke the camel’s back. But Harry was VERY LIKELY to have fallen into drugs or some other destructive habit with or without her.

Harry’s grandfather was an alcoholic, meaning there was a genetic predisposition towards substance abuse in his family. I know Norman isn’t a drug addict or an alcoholic, but he is a power addict. He’s so much of a power addict he literally became a super villain when he already had wealth and social power.

Speaking of Harry’s Dad....hoooooooo boooooooooooy....Norman screwed his son up bad.

He alternated between neglecting him, verbally abusing and belittling him and just straight up hitting Harry when he was a child, with arguably a certain underlying resentment towards Harry over the death of Lydia, Harry’s mother/Norman’s wife; she possibly died due to complications in giving birth.

Norman put pressures on Harry to ‘be a man’ and to also live up to his own massive shadow, and combined with the fact that Harry was desperate for Norman’s love and approval, yeah Harry was a very messed up little boy.

And he grew into a very messed up vulnerable young man. He was so messed up he’d repressed his memories of his awful childhood and rewritten them in his head to be much happier than they really were.**

So MJ or no MJ, Harry was always going to be susceptible to something like drugs. For all we know he might’ve been experimenting as far back as high school or as a result of Gwen dumping him for Peter.

Bottom line: No, MJ did not drive Harry to drugs.

*I know some people might bring up how she helped Peter deal with Gwen’s death, but that’s very different.

For starters, grieving someone, hard and painful as it is, is in truth a lot easier than helping someone overcome addiction. 90% of the time, eventually the mourning passes. With an addict, they often have to struggle every day to not fall off the wagon.

In essence MJ, a woman in fear of commitment, was looking at a longer term commitment were she to have helped Harry.

More than this, Harry was already clingy and a rather needy person. In a lot of ways he was looking for someone to mother him (hence why he married someone with nursing experience) which was a turn off for MJ in general. Add in the very real possibility that he’d come to depend upon MJ to keep him clean and it would’ve been MJ’s version of Hell.

Peter in contrast was someone she didn’t need to mother, but was someone who did in that moment need his help and she was at a place in her life where she was more able and willing to give it. It helped that, unlike with Harry, she was you know in love with Peter too.

**Incidentally, Norman basically rewrote his own memories too, believing himself to be a great Dad when he really wasn’t.

Harry’s delusions occurred BEFORE he touched the Goblin formula by the way, speaking to hereditary mental illness in his family.

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erikahenningsen · 2 months

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Hello gay people in my phone how are you all doing today

#killing time again who is surprised #living in nyc is just loitering in various places because it doesn’t make sense to go home and then have to turn around #but at least it’s suffs first preview day! and more importantly greg day #i’m gwen and i approve this message

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glatisants · 4 years

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Albion: The Legend of Arthur (Part XII of XIII)

Part XII: The Shadow Falls

Well, we all know what’s coming.

***

Owain is getting a fort together in the North. A soldier reports that the Black Army has continued to attack Gododdin, and there’s a rumor that any man still loyal to Lewdwn will be killed; what’s more, the survivors they’ve encountered have said there’s a high-born Briton leading the Army in battle, a man the Picts call Mordred. Owain immediately sends Griff out with a message to Arthur so he can have his revenge on Medraut.

Griff reaches Arthur and delivers the message, and Arthur makes plans to join Owain at the northern border, inviting Cynon to join them if he’s well enough to come. As Arthur prepares to leave, Gwen observes that his wound from the Battle of Badon still plagues him, though he claims he can still hold a sword. She’s not so sure, but she knows there’s no persuading him to stay behind with her, and just tells him to be careful. He tells her to be careful, too, for the baby’s sake. She asks him to give Owain her regards, and reminds him that Owain’s always been loyal to him. He says he won’t be gone long, and she just hopes that will be true.

Cynon and Rhun are staying behind for the time being. Cynon thinks the new conflict could be a second opportunity for him to do away with Arthur, and he believes he’s gone too far to back off from his plans now.

Arthur and Griff arrive at the fort. Owain tries to make small talk and congratulate Arthur on his wedding, but Arthur is impatient to reach the Picts and Medraut. Owain reports that Medraut has not yet shown his face, but the Picts have been conducting raids along the border, and he believes they’ll strike the fort shortly. He was able to get some of Lewdwn’s men to provide reinforcements by claiming to have an order from Arthur, as they wouldn’t listen to him alone; Arthur is startled to hear this, and Owain reminds him that the people love him, even as far as Gododdin (he adds that it’s easier to do when they don’t know Arthur as he does), and are more willing to do things when they know it’s in Arthur’s name. Arthur tells Owain that he’s done a good job, and Owain tries to let Arthur know that he was happy for him, but Arthur barely acknowledges this.

Meanwhile, Griff is attempting to help a soldier who was trampled by an aurochs (note: this is a species of wild cattle/oxen that went extinct in the 1600s), a herd of which roam nearby, when another soldier tells him there’s an old beggar at the gate asking for Owain and Arthur. Griff just sighs.

A messenger informs Owain and Arthur that a band of Picts is approaching, and should arrive in a matter of hours. It’s unknown if Medraut is with them, but they do know that Tulloch of the Severed Heads leads from the front (Owain is not terribly impressed by the epithet). Griff brings Myrddin to them, and while Owain is eager to see him, Arthur obviously has no idea who he is.

Myrddin tells them that he has found the answer to the riddle: Morgan of Ynys, enchantress with the Black Army, is Anna of Gododdin. The pair are in disbelief, particularly Arthur. Myrddin says it’s obvious, as the enchantress is a high-born princess who has recruited the people of Gododdin who did not approve of Ambrosius’ rule. He tells them how she had Lewdwn thrown into the sea, as he cast her (Merlin adds that he shall not return as she did, though); Arthur is skeptical, but Owain encourages him to listen.

Arthur says that they’ll simply have to try harder to get rid of her, but Myrddin thinks that dying once is enough for her. Increasingly annoyed, Arthur asks Owain who the hell Myrddin even is, but Myrddin cuts in and says that he’s nobody, at least to Arthur. Arthur confidently states that if it’s just an army he’s looking at, he can handle it, and Merlin agrees—“just as he crushed the Saxons at Badon, no doubt.” Merlin goes on to say that perhaps the Arthur that did that deed can defeat the Black Army, but it would take more than just brute force. Owain asks what it would take to stop them, and Myrddin replies that Morgan of Ynys is “a creature born of despair, and despair is her currency,” while theirs must be hope.

The walls have been fortified and the men are inside the fort, preparing their defense. Arthur gives the order to mobilize all their forces nearby, while Owain thinks they should keep some men in reserve. Arthur encourages his men, and they spot the black banners approaching, just as the stories said; there are at least 3,000 men in the Black Army, while the Britons only number at around 400. Regardless, Arthur wants to go out to meet them in a phalanx formation, and Owain protests that they won’t be able to have the kind of victory they had at the Battle of Badon; he asks that they hold the wall and use the land against their enemies, and Arthur reluctantly acquiesces. Looking closer at the approaching Black Army, Owain and Griff are disturbed to see that the men look as if they are dead. Following Morgan/Anna’s lead, the Black Army shouts that they will only bring death to the Britons.

Myrddin joins Arthur and Owain and announces that he will face their enemies alongside them. Arthur is skeptical, but Merlin snaps that it would hardly be his first battle. Seconds later, he runs off, shouting that he’s going to recruit some reinforcements and to just trust him, much to the irritation of the pair. Shortly after, the archers begin to fire at the approaching Picts, but as more of them come, the warriors have to draw their swords to drive back their enemies.

As he’s on the move to the field with the herd of aurochs, Myrddin takes pity on the Black Army—they are an army of phantoms, but also of lost souls. Regardless, the Black Army’s soldiers keep closing in, wave after wave, and it looks like the fort is weakening.

All of a sudden, the Pictish ranks are broken; Owain and Arthur watch in astonishment as a great many bulls stampede their enemies, with a chortling Merlin leading the charge.

***

At last, Medraut’s unit approaches, and Arthur decides they must go out to meet them on the field. Owain points out that their enemies still greatly outnumber them, but Arthur overrides him, saying that his order is final, and asks Owain to allow him to lead his men to victory this time; Owain relents. As he prepares to make the charge, Arthur gives an impassioned speech to embolden his men, and the gate is opened.

The men advance, and Medraut is pleased as he watches his enemies approach. Morgan/Anna assures him that her men have been ordered not to touch Arthur, and that Medraut shall have his revenge. He thanks her before he rides out, but once she’s alone she calls him a fool, and hopes that they will perish together.

The battle rages on, and Arthur, unwavering in his determination to kill Medraut, strays from the others. Owain attempts to keep their soldiers in formation and calls for Arthur to come back, but then Medraut approaches. He tells Arthur he’s been looking forward to this for a long time, and as Arthur challenges Medraut to fight him, they lock blades. Medraut hammers against his defense, shouting that the land is his, and knocks him to the ground (at least, that’s what I’m guessing happens). Arthur tells Medraut that he’ll never rule, that no matter what happens to him, his people will hunt him down; Medraut replies that only time will tell, and in the meantime he “will simply have to console [himself] with [Arthur’s] death.” He strikes the sword from Arthur’s hand and deals him a heavy strike (again, just my guess), and announces that he “shall mount [Arthur’s] head above [his] gate for all the world to see.”

As he raises his blade to deal the final blow, Owain intervenes, striking him back. Medraut says he doesn’t mind killing them together; in fact, he thinks it’s “rather sweet,” and says he’ll “see that [they’re] buried in the same grave.” Owain yells back that he’ll “see that [Medraut] is left for the crows” as he runs Medraut through with his sword, and the latter falls down dead. Owain, himself weakened and injured, softly calls out Arthur’s name as he collapses to the ground.

Morgan/Anna tries to command her men to keep fighting, but they’ve scattered, and Myrddin approaches her to say that her spell over them has been broken, as there are “limits to belief in the face of steel,” and he believes they have lost their faith in her. He helps her onto his horse, reassuring her that he means no harm, and he tells her that she believed too deeply in her own legend, only to find it no protection. He tells her who he is, and says that he has defeated her sorcery with some of his own.

In the distance, Griff calls out for Arthur and Owain. Alone together on the battlefield, they are weak and hurt, and Arthur is mortally wounded. Owain tries to reassure Arthur that it’s all right; Arthur is only able to say that he’s sorry, and Owain shakily tells him to try not to speak. In a weak whisper, Arthur starts to speak, “Owain, I-“ before he falls silent.

Griff finds them. Owain tells him that he couldn’t save Arthur, and he couldn’t cheat death a second time. Griff asks if he’s injured, and Owain thinks he can walk, but he breaks down, asking why he couldn’t have died in Arthur’s place. Griff tells Owain to stay with Arthur while he goes to get help. Alone, Owain quietly cries, and keeps repeating Arthur’s name.

Griff watches as some of Arthur’s surviving men find Rhun and reinforcements riding up to the fort. Rhun says Cynon gave him orders to find Arthur if he was alive, and assume command if not, and they tell him that neither Arthur nor Owain has been found yet. As such, Rhun takes command, and when one man protests that no man of Arthur’s would take orders from a man of Cynon’s, Rhun strikes him dead. He demands to be taken to Arthur’s body.

Griff returns to Owain and urges him to escape, telling him that Rhun does not wish to find him living. Owain says they must stop him, but he is gravely hurt, and Griff tells him that they have no choice but to get away from this place. However, Owain refuses to leave Arthur’s body; Griff says he’ll see what he can do.

Myrddin and Anna watch the fort from higher ground, and Myrddin believes “it’s the whelp baring its teeth,” and he says that he fears for his young warrior. Anna asks him if he means Arthur, and Myrddin says no. They see a figure fleeing, and Anna wonders if it could be Myrddin’s warrior; Myrddin doesn’t know, but he hopes they get away, whoever they may be.

She asks where he will be taking her, and what will become of her. He tells her that he will be taking her “away from the world of men, for a while,” but he has no idea what will become of either of them; he only knows that they will not be safe if they stay, for “the shadow [he] feared has fallen.”

***

A messenger from Rhun sends word of the victory to Cynon. Alone, he bursts into a fit of deranged laughter as he realizes Arthur is finally dead, and Albion is his.

#albion the legend of arthur #long post #arthurian legends #audio series #things get kind of camlann-shaped #i don't think that's a spoiler. i mean we all know what happens lol #recap

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smolmagicalmuffin · 5 years

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In the Hands of Magic

Finally wrapped up my s4 ep 5 inspired fic. I’m not really confident with this one... especially with the way I wrote the ending. Feedback is appreciated and if anyone wants to recommend a better title that’s fine. SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 5

He had met the octopus before. It was an unusual sight to see the creature perched on a chair, wearing a suit and wiggling its tentacles about. Its voice vibrated the vacuum that surrounded them. It was peculiar but he knew that he was in the presence of something divine. Something bigger than him and older than the universe itself. The experience had changed him. It delivered much needed confidence and the last message he received… it stuck with him for a while. Which is why he wanted to pay the being a visit. He was hungry for information, sneaking around, hunting down items in the woods, and finding a peaceful spot… all to see it again. It was a difficult process. Quartermaster scared him away from the shed that he was searching for documents in. He had pulled up the wrong plant, earning him a few days of itchy red welts. Entering the dimension again was a bit bumpy. It took a few different chants and almost a month of attempts but eventually he arrived thanks to the full moon. “We meet again Harrison.” “Uh… hello?” He had appeared on the same tea party style table as last time. A football, rocks, a stuffed elephant and a playing card floated past them. The dimension wasn’t as empty as Harrison thought from his first trip. “I figured you would try to enter on your own. You seemed very curious. Be careful with your search for knowledge… might get you into trouble someday.” The octopus waved its tentacles around, words echoing. “I have so many questions.” Harrison grabbed a playing card as it drifted by. He returned it to the deck in this pocket.

“What do I call you? I don’t know your name and I’ve been seeing you as an it? Which just feels rude to me?” He pointed at the octopus, hand shaking.

A chuckle came from the ancient being. “Ah humans. I can tell you have a loving heart. You worry about offending me? That is almost impossible. I am not bound to the labels that your kind tends to adopt. I’ve been called several things throughout millennia. My gender is infinite. You may call me what you wish.”

It took a moment for Harrison to process that. He looked up in shock. “I can name you?”

“Yes. No pressure though. I can understand why it would be a burdensome task.”

Harrison fiddled with his fingers. He glanced at the suit that the octopus was wearing. Today it was a muted green with a yellow bow tie. “I’m not sure… I could name you Gray? You are gray but at the same time that seems stupid?

“That I can accept.”

“Seriously?” “You worry about the approval of others too much. No need to fret. The name you assign me can be simple. Each name I’ve been assigned by mortals has a unique energy signature. Even if it is the same name used by separate beings. It binds us together. “ “Should I be concerned?”

“I am a neutral being assisting and guiding who I desire. That connection will not harm you. Let us make this connection official.” Harrison stared at his companion’s tentacles. “You want me to shake one of you tentacles?”

More laughter erupted from it. “Not necessary.” A tentacle reached out and pressed up against his forehead. The sensation was cold at first but it turned warm. His whole body shivered as energy passed through.

The newly named Gray took its tentacle away. “Complete.”

Harrison shook his head. “That was something.”

“It was nothing more than a simple ritual to bind us together. Do you have any more questions for me?”

“How can I come back here without all of the work? Where are we?” Harrison waved his hands around.

Gray let out a soft chuckle. “This plane of existence has many names. It is a crossroads between multiple dimensions. Not every being can access this place.”

The stuffed elephant from earlier floated by again. “Stuff I made disappear is here? Is… my brother here? You told me that he said hi.” “Your abilities are quite talented for someone of your age. With some practice I can see you returning completely on your own. That I can teach you. Your brother? I have seen him around here. Do not worry. He is well taken care of.” This confused Harrison. If his brother was floating around in this plane why couldn’t Gray just bring him back? At the same time he was honored to have the attention of a higher being… even if it was a little creepy and slimy. Gray seemed to be trustworthy and a possible… friend? Yes. Harrison wanted to work on a relationship between the both of him. If the octopus couldn’t return his brother maybe it could pass on the knowledge to do it himself. Gray oddly blinked. “You have many thoughts at the moment”

Harrison shot it an offended look. “You read my mind?” “I admit to taking a peek. I was curious of your opinion. If this does disturb you I can be less obvious about it.” “How about you don’t take any peeks?” he snapped. “That I can not do. I have access to the minds of most mortals. They chatter and chatter. It is quite interesting if you give it a try. I do not advise that you attempt to look into mine. It is too incomprehensible and I would hate to lose a wonderful soul like you to insanity.” “I...okay? Why would I do that? Its rude.” Harrison stammered. “You have goodness in your soul but I sensed a bit of darkness being held at bay. Nothing wrong with a controlled release of your darker wishes and desires. Prevents it all from boiling over.” “Dude you are creeping me out right now and I have no clue how to feel.” “Do you wish to go back?” “No. I want you to teach me things. I’ve been looking for someone to help me with my magic.” The fear in Harrison’s voice was replaced with confidence. This didn’t surprise Gray. It knew the boy viewed it as a potential teacher. He was a bit skeptical and skittish but willing to listen.

“I am afraid that this current visit must come to a close.”

Harrison titled his head. “So is that a no?” “I am willing to educate you on the use of your powers. However it will not be easy. We will meet very soon.” Harrison’s surroundings started to turn white. As everything around him faded he heard one last thing. “The hat you own and hold so dear is the key for your return.” He woke up in the forest laying on his back. The stars glittered above him. His hat was beside him. Harrison gazed at it while thinking about Gray’s last words. He made things appear and disappear with the hat. Perhaps it was a portal of some kind. Would stepping into the hat bring him back? But how could he return once he arrived? Wouldn’t that trap him? Could Gray just teleport him? His mind was buzzing with questions.

Harrison sighed and stood up. It was late and he needed rest. He could practice tomorrow. He walked along the path towards the circle of tents. Leaves crunched under his feet and he could have sworn that Quartermaster was behind him at some point. He stepped into the tent he shared with Preston. The young theater kid was snoring quite loudly. Harrison rolled his eyes. This was normal but that fact didn’t make it less annoying. Oh well he was starting to adjust and he was exhausted anyway. He slipped under the covers of his sleeping bag and instantly fell asleep.

“GOOD MORNING CAMPERS!” David’s cheerful voice rang through the recently repaired loudspeaker. Neil had helped and earned extra dessert as payment.

Harrison grumbled and rolled out of his sleeping bag. He got dressed and then shook Preston awake. His hearing was slowly starting to decline so Harrison decided to be a decent friend and help him out when needed.

“Did I miss announcements again?” Preston stretched. “They just started.” On cue they droned in the background. Gwen mentioned “Banana Pudding Night” and there was something about a dodgeball competition later in the week. Preston started humming and walked over to the corner of the tent to change. Clothes flew in Harrison’s direction. He picked those up, eyes rolling. “Hey next time keep your clothing on your side of the tent.” He left the tent.

Preston looked in his direction. “What?” Today’s plans were easy. Eat breakfast, do whatever activity the counselors set up, sneak off to practice magic and test his theory.

He mostly kept to himself. Normally he would be trying to get the other campers to view his illusions but the summer was almost over and he had a mission for the day. Nerris approached him during breakfast which made him both annoyed and oddly happy. Harrison was beginning to enjoy her company and the bickering between them was slowing down. Of course, since they were both children they would fight and argue but they found themselves more as friends than rivals these days. After a long and exhausting hike with David and the others Harrison decided to hangout behind his stage to practice. He made a mental note to update Nerris and Preston on his recent adventures after his next visit to Gray. He felt guilty for his distance lately.

He stared at the inside of his hat. “I don’t see anything?” He shoved his hand in and pulled out a rabbit. It sniffed at him before hopping off.

“That didn’t work.” For the next half hour Harrison tried multiple things. Screaming into the hat. Jumping on the hat. Shoving his head inside the hat… which got him the closest result. He could see the dimension and was that Gray waving a tentacle to say hi?

He was close.

Harrison sighed and placed his hat on the ground. Instead of jumping, he would step into the hat. Maybe this would work? It was a more controlled action.

He did just that. Once both feet were in the hat he was sucked downwards, landing face first onto the tea table. “There goes my tea. What a shame.” Harrison lifted his head up. Gray was directly in front of him and his suit was covered in tea. “My bad.” “That is no problem. I am used to this sort of thing.” In a flash of light Gray’s suit was clean again and Harrison was sitting in a chair.

“Congratulations. You discovered a way to get here on your own.”

“I mean… I did before?” He shrugged. “Ah yes. It was not smooth and simple like this time however.” Gray almost laughed. “I don’t know. Is almost throwing up as I’m hurled towards another plane of existence smooth?” Harrison’s voice raised in pitch with annoyance. “You will adjust. Travel is not rest on your mortal body.” “Quartermaster? How are you two connected? I don’t think I ever asked about that. And… what did he mean when he said that the world needed to be saved very millennia?” “Those are some difficult questions.” “Not really.” “Remember when I said that your search for knowledge might get you in trouble some day? This is what I meant.” Gray’s eyes glowed for a moment causing Harrison to shiver. “I can answer some of your questions but others will have to wait for the future.” “I’m sorry.” Harrison quickly apologized. Gray stretched out a tentacle and patted him on the head. “Humans like you make me have faith in your species. It is not very often I notice purehearted individuals. Without that… well Earth may no longer exist.” This concerned Harrison for a moment. Why was the octopus so focused on the idea of destruction? Yet so encouraging of his better traits and oddly trustworthy? He grew silent and awkwardly stared up.

“So what can you teach me?”

The next few weeks were very busy. Harrison’s perspective on Gray slowly begin to shift from fear to an acceptance of the odd habits that the being displayed. With every visit they grew closer and eventually there was a friendship of sorts. Gray was annoyed but amused with the constant string of questions from Harrison. The young magician was also getting more powerful and beginning to stand up for himself and his friends.

On the last day of camp, Harrison decided to check in.

“Here again?”

“I just wanted to say hi really quick.” He leaped up from his chair and began to float. “Still not used to this.” Harrison slowly did a flip in the air as he drifted away from the table. It was like he was underwater with a lack of gravity.

Gray began to glow. Harrison found himself in a different but yet familiar section of the dimension. Lots of objects surrounded him. His heart pounded as he realized the significance of the objects. It wasn’t just one or two objects that he made vanish before. It was almost everything. Which meant…

A figure came into view.

“Blake!”

Harrison stuck out his arm. Kicking his feet, he got closer and closer to Blake. He did the same in response, yelling out in glee. His hand finally met his brother’s. He wrapped him in a big hug. “I’ve missed you so much...” Blake looked at Harrison with wide blue eyes. “Are we going home now?” “Yes we are.” In a poof of smoke they both vanished.

Pride was a rare emotion for Gray’s kind but with Harrison, it had those feelings towards the boy. Maybe in the future he would make a wonderful guardian, a similar role to Quartermaster. Humanity as a whole was going to be okay. Magic was in good hands.

#camp camp #cc harrison #im so sorry if this isnt my best writing #i tried

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badfanfics · 5 years

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fallback - chapter five

series masterlist

chapter five: awakened

The sunlight crept in from the curtains, shining on them and reminding her it’s a new year. Suddenly, the light felt revitalizing and awakening – the New Year genuinely felt new, even if she had only slept for three hours.

While rubbing her palms over her eyes, trying to rub out the sleepy daze from her body; she attributed this refreshed feeling to Winnie, to her new lifestyle regime, and to the fact that she hasn’t thought of Tom the whole night, even in her dreams – so maybe she’s newly and deeply in love with Noah.

Ignoring the smell of alcohol, Bea rolled over so she’d be planking over the sleeping man. Bea pressed her lips against Noah’s forehead to wake him up gently. “I need to feed Winnie and then I’m taking her on a hike.” His eyes fluttered open, “Come with me?”

Noah lifted his heads upwards with a grin, pressing his lips against hers. All his own doubts of the relationship seemed to dissipate – this is the first time Bea asked him to go on a hike rather than vice versa. Bea has always spoken about she likes for thinking time, and that needed to be alone. Noah was always understanding. “Of course.” He grinned with a shit-eating grin, “I thought you’d never ask.”

The girl slapped her boyfriend in a joking manner. “Wipe that smile off your face.” She fell back so she’d sit on the bottom of her feet, “I’ll pour the water bottles, can you get the bags and Winnie’s Sherpa backpack?” Noah nodded, eyes still heavy with sleep.

Bea ignored that fact and instead made her way downstairs, letting Winnie follow her down. “Hey pretty girl,” She smiled, pouring the dog food into the bowl before Winnie pounced on the food.

One of Bea’s rules is that her personal phone remains downstairs at night. Her work phone is allowed upstairs, but must be on do not disturb with exceptions for some people (such as her agent). She saw a red notification on her lock screen.

Snapchat from tomholland1996

Her heart skipped a beat. Maybe even two.

It was like that one notification was an on switch and all the feelings came flooding back. She even had to grip the table to prevent her knees from giving out on her. She felt like a school girl who just messaged their crush.

Opening up her phone, she clicked on the notification. In the blurry and grainy video, she saw Tom’s face – clearly intoxicated. His hair was a mess, his eyes were bloodshot, and his shirt was discarded into the corner – something she saw in the video. Harrison was also in the video, chasing after Tom before he locked the door.

She noticed that the first time she opened the notification, she was caught up staring at his eyes – at how cute he was with his red face – at his lopsided smile. Bea panicked – quickly holding onto the notification to replay it, now ashamed that Tom will receive the news she watched it twice. Bea wishes she was there, wanting to take care of him and not fully trusting Harrison in taking care of him. She desired to ensure she drank the tea he always drank when he was feeling unwell, to leave the pain medication in the bed beside him and ensure he drinks it before sleeping, to prepare the best anti-hangover meal on the dining table for breakfast.

“Hey darli-Bea,” Tom burped out, and Bea could hear Haz behind the door, knocking loudly and viciously – screaming at him to go to bed. “Hehehehe, I should probably listen to him but I…I really don’t want to… I miss youuuu” He sang. “I wantchu here, beside me, right there.” He pointed at the floor as he blabbered. “I reallllly don’t know what I’d do without you but I want to wich you a happy new yur but my year won’t be so happy witchout you,” He started giggling, aimlessly staring around the room, “I miss how you crinkle your nose at the smell of alcol or even flinch or how you scunch up your eyes when you trying to remember sumting and honest everything aboot you. I’m not me widj out you. I love you” Suddenly the door opened once more, “NOOOO!” He screamed, “Harrisonnnnn! Pass it backkkk.” Harrison left the bathroom with the phone and rested his back against the door, blocking Tom.

“Hey Bea,” Bea noticed Haz wasn’t as drunk. “I need to be a better sober…well, semi-sober friend. You were always the best with him.” He teased, “Happy New Year! Tom got wasted, I’m sorry – you know he’s never usually like this. Call this Sunday instead of our usual Tuesday? I have a possible date.”

And that marks the end of her new day.

But the day was only beginning. “Hey Noah!” Bea called, hearing a light thump from her room. “I’ll actually go on a walk, do you think you can take Winnie for that hike?”

Noah shout out a small and disappointed approval, before Bea ran out the door – leaving the water bottles at the table, empty.

She took her car and found herself aimlessly driving around, until she was at a home not far away, but still quite a bit away from her own. It was early, she knows. She’s never up this early, she knows that much too. But William had an important case today and Logan always, and Bea means always, cooks a special breakfast on the morning of a crucial day.

She was right. The door opened to a grumpy, yet very much awake, Logan. “I need to hear you. I cannot put up with this anymore but I really need to tell you something or else I might go insane.”

Logan sighed, opening up the door to her maid of honor. Bea had done this countless times for her, Logan is not only obligated as her best friend – but she cares about her and wants to make sure she is okay. “Good morning to you too.” She said with snark. Logan was in no way a morning person – it’s why she picked a job with such flexible hours.

She made her way immediately to her couch, falling into position as if she was the classic therapy patient in film – despite the fact that it never happens in real life unless she is sleep deprived. “I’d show you a video, but I can’t so…” Bea started to explain everything; the full story of how they broke up, how she moved on too fast, how she has been thinking of Tom every day, how he kissed her at the premiere, how she was offered the Gwen Stacy role, how she has been dreaming of him every night, and how this exact message only reawakened her love for the British boy. She didn’t realize that Logan has noticed the small telltale signs of Bea lying through her feelings all this time.

Logan was just nodding throughout her ramble. Bea has reached her burnout. When Bea cannot handle her feelings, it all comes out as words strung along in sentences that seem useless – something that only Logan can decipher.

Once Bea shut her mouth and tears started falling from her eyes, Logan took over. “I know you don’t like big confrontations or interventions, so I’ll do what Tom always did. I’m going to call it out as I have saw it. And I’m just asking you to listen.”

And then Logan went off.

“Bea, I never hated Noah. I don’t think it’s possible to hate Noah.” She started, remembering the first time she met Noah and instantly fell in love with his charms. “I hate what he is to you and what he has made you do and what me made you.” Bea furrowed her eyebrows. “My God girl! Did you not hear what you just told me? You’re playing him.” The realization of what she was doing hit her just as hard as if Logan had slapped her. “You are not cheating on him, I mean, maybe a little. But you’re playing him. You were too busy being Tom’s to be his. You were too busy loving Tom to ever love someone else, in this case Noah. He’s a rebound, and an unsuccessful one at that.”

“Do you know how I knew William was the one?” She asked, making Bea shake her head. “Remember he was finishing his law degree abroad. I haven’t seen him in a year, and literally every second I spent wondering what would life be like, what would the situation be like if he was with me. I noticed I have never smiled as much as I did when I was with him. I noticed all these small nuances about myself and strived to make myself better, for him.” Logan stumbled, “Do you not realize this is how you talk about Tom?” Bea’s face remained empty. “You love him. You never stopped.”

“Now, if you love Noah – if you even love him like you did before you started dating, if you love him like you loved him as a friend – you’d stop pulling on his heart strings and let him go. You’d call Tom and tell him you love him because we both know he loves and misses you. Do the right thing.”

Logan paused once more. “Do it before he finds someone else. If he finds someone else. But he may not wait around for you forever. Yes, you two are made for each other. But not everyone who is made for each other actually stays or ends up together.”

Bea burst out in tears. She thought of the one she loved. The face she trained herself to see – Noah’s – slowly became Tom’s. Afterall, she was ‘in love’ with Noah’s puppy dog eyes when really, she just saw Tom’s in them. She was ‘in love’ with the smile that’d light up his whole face, just like Tom’s. She was ‘in love’ with Noah’s effort, which was no way as extensive as Tom’s. She thought of everything she loved about Noah and realized that Tom executed the same trait, but in her eyes – more than Noah did.

“I thought I could learn to love him, y’know?” Bea explained, “I loved him so much and we became so close and I dind’t want to reject his date offer and he was obvious about his crush on me and I thought I could learn.” She cried into her shoulder. “It’s Noah! The most lovable guy I know.”

Logan smirked sadly, “Exactly. He’s Noah. He’s not Tom Holland.”

taglist :

@charismas-world @athermosofsad (it didn’t let me tag you so i linked you and hoped it work?)

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ilikewrite · 5 years

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After - The Society Fanfic Part 1

So this is my first fanfic ever. There was something about the ending of The Society and lack of fics that compelled me to start writing one. This is just the beginning, more to come. Please be kind <3

Luke was trying to talk to him, words were falling out of his mouth but Grizz couldn’t concentrate. Allie and Will had been escorted back into the car and driven away. Lexie was storming off with a couple of the guard trailing after her. He frantically searches the faces around him, the bodies walking off back towards their homes. No one seemed concerned. Why was no one concerned? A week, they had been gone a week. Or was it longer? This is a fucked-up hole of a universe, maybe they hopped through another door? No. It had only been a week, he was sure of that.

Luke’s hands grasp Grizz’s shoulders and he finally meets his gaze. Sound slamming to the forefront of his mind. “Grizz? Grizz? Are you okay?” Is he being serious? Is he okay? Had he just watched the same spectacle he had!? He shakes his head and turns to his group. Gwen’s wide eyes were trained on, the now distant, body of Clarke as he sauntered off, guarding Lexie. “Grizz. Look. A lot has happened okay? I’ll catch you up, we’ll-“

“We’ll what? Tell them how everything has collapsed? How everything is-“ Helena and Luke start arguing. This isn’t right, this wasn’t them. What the hell is going on? Had they gotten trapped into another universe?

Grizz’s head was spinning, he needs a seat. He needs air. A laugh escapes his lips. I’m in the fucking outdoors. I have air. It just isn’t enough. He runs his hand through his hair numerous times. Then it hits him. Sam. Where is Sam? Had they arrested Sam? He can feel his breath shortening. Is the ground supposed to feel like water? Sam. Where is he? He realises the noises have stopped. Everyone’s staring at him. That’s making him feel worse.

A gentle hand touches his arm, instinctively he flinches and looks at where it came from. Kelly’s concerned and warm eyes stare up at him. “Grizz? Are you okay?” No. He wanted to say no. He wanted to ask what drugs everyone was on. He wanted to see Sam.

“Sam.” His voice tore through his throat. He coughs but it does little to soften anything. “Where’s Sam?” From the corner of his eye, he can see Gwen’s eyebrows perk a little. Shit. “Becca? Where are they?” Not the best cover at all but no one else seems to notice. Kelly’s previous expression of anguish is tinted with joy. Her eyes sparkle as smile bursts across her face. Grizz knew what that meant before she answered. His gut twisted and rejoiced at the same time.

“They’re at the hospital. She’s had the baby. It’s a girl.” She’s speaking to him like he’s an idiot. However, considering the past five minutes, he understands why.

“I need to see them.” It came out more panicked than he intended, causing Kelly’s smile to falter and the others to raise their eyebrows in a similar fashion to Gwen’s. However, Gwen’s face has added a curious smirk. Fuck.

Grizz takes, what he believes, is a determined step in the direction of the hospital but stumbles immediately. He was exhausted and stressed and confused and everything. Gordie pops up, hovering beside him, swaying slightly, uneasy. “I’m fine.” Gordie’s expression suggests he doesn’t believe that.

“I think you need to go home. We can regroup in the morning and we’ll-“ Grizz stares at Gordie until he falls silent.

“I’m not waiting until morning.” He starts to walk away from everyone. He hears the small crowd scrambling to follow him. Kelly runs in front, stopping him. “Kelly.”

“I know, I know. You’re fine but Becca isn’t.” She quickly corrects herself seeing the sudden panic across everyone’s faces. ‘No, I mean, she’s just had a baby. Gordie and I are going to go back and monitor everything but she’s not taking any visitors until tomorrow. Plus, you look like death Grizz. You need to sleep.” He looks away. Deep down he understands that she’s correct. The last stretch of the hike had really taken it out of them. The excitement of new land was overshadowed by what had felt like a hundred-mile walk.

Bean steps slightly to the side of the group causing everyone to turn to him. “I don’t know where I’m sleeping tonight.” Helena lowers her head, taking Grizz by surprise. Is she responsible for what’s happening? However, that theory is quickly killed by the guilt plastered over Luke’s face. He can feel the prickling of anger rising within him. Anger and frustration. He goes to open his mouth, start yelling for answers when Helena takes control.

“We’ll stay at Allie’s. I am sure she would not mind. It’s not one of the bigger houses but it will hold us.” She turns to Luke. “I imagine you’ll be returning to the guard now. You can message us with what Lexie wants to do tomorrow.” She turns to face the other, back completely turned on Luke. She begins talking with the others, helping them with their things.

“Grizz, you should go with them. You need some rest. Your group needs rest.” Gordie awkwardly pats his shoulder. He stares at everyone behind him. His expedition team stare back at him, awaiting approval of this plan. He gives a slight nod. He’s not happy about it but they were right. Even if everything were to be explained to them now, they’d never be able to take it in. Tiredness is draining them all.

Grizz wanted to make a break for it from the group and go see Sam but he knew he was outnumbered, and it was foolish to do something so rash. Maybe the town needed to realise that.

“I’ll tell them you say hi.” Grizz nods as Kelly gives a worried but reassuring smile. He trudges behind as Helena starts towards Allie’s home.

It took them longer than usual to reach the house. His team tired, confused and slightly scared, trudged slowly. For a moment, Grizz reminisces about the moment they found the land. A small smile creeps at the corner of his mouth. Those turkeys, those turkeys! He never thought that such a ball sack could look so beautiful. He smirks to himself, well, he can deal with some ball sacks. Sam flashes through his mind and he cringes. He doesn’t think of Sam as a ball sack. That’s crude and beneath him. It’s been a long day.

When they reach the house, everyone stands uncomfortably in the hall. It’s strange to be in the house without Allie. Even Helena struggles to move forward. Everything is untouched, left as it had been. A mug and bowl are scattered by the sink, books and papers lie like a paper trail from the study to the living room. Gordie is not the tidiest of people. Soon the tiredness over rules politeness and people begin to settle throughout the house. It’s an unwritten rule that Allie’s room and Cassandra’s are untouched. They are not to sleep in them. However, Will’s makeshift bed is taken from Allie’s room and into the spare rooms. Helena and Grizz hover in the kitchen. She boils the kettle, grabbing tea bags from the cupboards. Grizz carefully watches her.

“Sorry, do you want coffee?” Her voice is quiet, slightly broken. Something has hurt her deeply. He shakes his head, grabbing a beer from the fridge. Her lips purse, unhappy with his coping mechanism but right now he couldn’t care. It’s just going to be one beer anyway. He sits and rests his heads in his hands. Mickey enters the room. Helena watches as his mouth opens and shuts, unable to decide whether it was worth bothering Grizz now or later. Grizz sensing this, waves his hand, calling him over. As Mickey enters the room further, Gwen and the others appear too. “What’s up?” He tries to sound light and hopeful but it’s incredibly difficult right now.

“What are we going to do?” Mickey’s voice fades slightly as he asks the question. Grizz, confused at why they’re asking him this question, stares at them blankly in response. Gwen rolls her eyes.

“Like, we found land on Allie’s orders and now, Lexie is in charge? What are we going to do? Do we show her the land? Do we-“ She stops as Grizz straightens, turning his full attention to them. He didn’t want to think about this all right now. He’s surprised they even have the energy to bring this up to him. The room is excruciating silent as he decides how to handle this.

“Right now, we sleep and eat.” He pauses, letting them take in everything he’s saying. He only wants to go over this once. “Tomorrow night we’ll discuss in detail our plans but for now,” He pauses, unsure whether this is treason or not. “we keep the location guarded. No exact details or anything. When asked, just say we found farming land and animals. If pressed further, explain it is hard to describe and that we’d need to show them, but the woods are still dangerous just to take everyone out, so we’ll need to build a safe route to the area. Until we can talk to Allie that is what we’re telling people okay?” They all nod. Grizz takes a sip of his beer, savouring the taste of it for a moment before continuing. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but we need to be careful. We need to get Allie back but from the looks of things,” He shrugs, “it’s not going to be easy.” The others nod. “Are you all fine with this?” He knows that the girls had spoken to Lexie before. Before all of this, they had been friends with Harry. The Guard had been their friends, his friends. Right now, he was effectively asking them to turn on them, secretly at least. “I know it’s not ideal”

“None of this is fucking ideal.” Gwen states. True. Grizz can’t help but forget that this world is not their own, this is not how it always was. “We’re with you, we’re with Allie.” There are murmurs of agreement from everyone. Grizz nods. They’re with Allie. Allie may not have been perfect but had shown strength in leading them all. She understood the difficulties in deciding, whether she realised it or not. She made mistakes yes but compared to everyone else she was the best the had. He glances at Helena. Well, the second best but Helena had made it clear that the church was her job, her place in this world.

“Go grab some snacks, rest and tomorrow night, once we’ve talked to people, we’ll figure this out.” They nod and rummage for some snacks in the cupboards. Hands full of food and water, they leave towards their beds. Grizz returns to the head in hands position.

Helena lets the silence linger a little, making sure that the doors had all shut and all footsteps had stopped before she spoke to Grizz. The world seemed heavy on his shoulders. The world is heavy on them all, but in what seemed like a second, a weight had landed on Grizz.

“They listen to you.” Grizz grunts in response and she smiles into her mug. “I’m serious. Whilst they follow Allie, they also follow you.” He glances up, making eye contact with Helena. “It’s true. They wouldn’t have come here without your approval. There’s a trust in you.” It was meant to be comforting but the words seem to have the opposite effect on Grizz. He suddenly feels the weighted responsibility of the individuals here. He’d felt that on the expedition, but he’d been naive enough to think they were all equals. He may have been leading that particular job, but he didn’t realise that they’d relied on him that much, not really. The current situation within the community may have solidified his role in the matter, however. If nothing had changed by the time they got back, there is every chance that they’d all be equals again, they wouldn’t view him so highly, wouldn’t hold his opinion in such high regard. Well fuck. Helena reaches out and touches his arm. He holds her hand. She blinks furiously, desperately trying to hide the fact something is upsetting her.

“Helena. What happened with Luke?” She lets go of his hand, placing her mug down a little harder than usual. “Helena?”

“Nothing. It’s fine. Just a little argument.” Grizz knows not to push the topic. Whatever has happened between them will blow over. It has too. He’s never met anyone more suited for one another. The two of them bring out the best in one another. It’ll blow over. It has too. “You need to get some sleep.” He rolls his eyes and she drags him towards the sofa. “All beds are taken I’m afraid.” She chucks a blanket and pillow at him before watching him settle on the sofa. Satisfied that he’s comfortable, she starts to leave. “Goodnight Grizz.”

He grunts a “Night” in return and before she’s even switched the light out, he’s fast asleep.

#The Society #writing #fanfic #sam x grizz #grizz #grizz x sam #love this show #chapter 1 #enjoy?#I hope you enjoy #first #this is my first fanfic #netflix #it's amazing #i need a season 2 #protect grizz and sam

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myotishia · 5 years

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Masquerade part one

Fandom: Torchwood. Trigger warnings: None as far as I know but feel free to suggest. Characters: Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato, Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Gwen Cooper, Elise Carter (oc) Rating: Teen and up

Blurb: The police and Torchwoods relationship had calmed in recent months but one officer just can’t seem to let it go. Meanwhile the team get a second chance to defeat an old foe.

Sergeant Farrell grumbled as he found another redacted file pertaining to a case linked to this mysterious Torchwood. The most he’d gotten from his research was that Gwen Cooper used to be a police officer and she moved on to being a police liaison, but even her current residential address had been struck from the record. And as for this Elise Carter there was even less. The only thing he could find for her was that she had a current drivers licence. It was ridiculous. All he knew was wherever the name Torchwood appeared people died and he was certain these people were not special branch. To him it felt more like organised crime. No legitimate law enforcement branch would have two women in from what he guessed were their twenties sent to a murder scene. Just because the rest of his department were frightened of this group didn’t mean he was.

Ianto flinched as Owen examined the healing bite on his neck. The bruising had gone down a lot but it was still there. It just didn’t need painkillers anymore.

“Looks fine. I’m happy to clear you to go back to general duties if you’re ready.” Owen said, all business.

“I am… I’ve started to remember more of what happened.”

“Yea?”

“Mm… I was going to die, wasn’t I?”

Owen paused. “You were close to it. How’d you guess?”

“You called me by my name. You only do that when someone’s dying or practically dead.”

“You lost about 38%. I wasn’t sure if we were going to get you stabilized in time. Elise risked space jumping with you to get you here faster. We’re lucky it worked.”

“Shit… I don’t even know how long I was down there.”

“Neither do we, that’s the problem when you disappear all day.”

Ianto pulled his shirt back on and buttoned it up. “I’ll have to check in more often.”

“Yea, I don’t plan on starting to make my own coffee now. Got that tea boy?”

“Definitely not dying anymore then.” He rolled his eyes.

Gwen sat next to a tearful woman, trying to console her.

“I just don’t understand. Was it something I did?”

“No, no of course not.” She soothed, , knowing the woman would never get the answers she wanted. Her husband had found a device while metal detecting which was essentially a teleporter. Sadly it was a one way device and there was no way to reverse it. Gwen was having to tell the woman that though they didn’t know where he was he had bought tickets to fly to Egypt one way. Sometimes lying to someone's face was part of the job. Jack was waiting in the SUV having secured the device. Years ago he would have just left the whole thing as a missing persons case but Gwen insisted on giving the family closure. He understood why but it meant a lot of waiting around. As if feeling his boredom on the air he got a call from Tosh.

“Calling me in secret? That’s pretty scandalous.” He smiled to himself.

“We just intercepted a party invitation.”

“I think we could throw our own parties if we wanted to.”

“No, a very specific party, complete with an auction.”

“I suppose they didn’t learn their lesson from the last time we crashed their little get together. Where is it being held this time?”

“I’m not sure yet. It looks like they’re being more careful this time.”

“Keep at it. I’m kind of interested what this years theme’s going to be.”

“I’m sure it’ll be over the top.”

“You liked the designer dress you got to wear last time.”

“Yes and it cost more than my car, that’s insane. Owen’s not going to be happy.”

“One day of wearing a suit won’t kill him. I’ll tell everyone when I get back.”

“You just want to see the look on his face.”

“Just like last time.”

The party had been more than lavish last time they attended. It had been a black market auction of alien technology, attended by a huge group of wealthy collectors. The man running the event had escaped the last time but this time Jack was sure he was going to catch him. He couldn’t let it continue and those working for the host had become bolder and more aggressive over the years. Especially towards Torchwood. Just before the last event he’d been essentially mugged for an item, and he never liked reviving in a damp aliway. There was always a chance of waking up to a rat gnawing on your fingers.

Elise picked up a small box that had fallen from one of the storage cases she’d been helping to move, blowing the dust away from the surface. Tarot cards. All the items she’d been moving were very old and completely safe, they’d just been there so long it would be a pain to sort them. Plus sometimes they came in handy.

“You’re already finished?” Ianto asked, arriving in the archive room.

“Oh, hi. Yea, all done.”

“What did you find?”

“Old tarot cards. Every played with these?”

“Not that deck but I had a friend who was into that kind of thing once. You?”

“I have no psychic skill whatsoever. I like the art though.”

“You can keep them if you want. None of this is particularly important so better you have them than leave them to collect more dust.”

“Thanks. Hey, I was wondering. I know when an agent passes they don’t usually get buried, but what happens to their things?”

“Storage usually. General items get sold or disposed of, anything that was important to them gets put into storage and clothing gets stored for a time just in case anything was left in the pockets. Apparently around fifty years ago an agent left an object in his coat. The coat got sold off and the next owner ended up with their brain trapped in a feedback loop.”

“Lovely. No wonder this place can get so cluttered. No offence.”

“None taken. Any part of this place I’ve had control of is in perfect order. I can’t say the same for my predecessors.”

“Are there any interesting pieces stored?”

“I wish there were. For now it’s pretty dull.”

“Aww, shame. If we’re all done here want to go play with these until we’re needed?”

Gwen slumped down into her chair.

“Rough morning?” Asked Tosh sympathetically.

“I didn’t even know what to say to her. Her husband’s gone and she’s a stay at home mum.”

“Poor thing.”

“How’s your morning going?”

“I found a couple of things but Jack wanted to look them over before we go ahead with anything else.”

“Fun. How’s the house search going?”

“We found a place we like. We’ve just got to get the lock modifications approved. It should take too long.”

“Just ask if you need a hand moving boxes or anything.”

“Thanks.” She looked over at Elise and Ianto, sitting playing with the tarot cards. “It’s funny, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ianto that relaxed or happy.”

“I suppose they’ve spent a lot of time together. I wonder what it was like here is her timeline.”

“From what she’s told me it was depressing… And gone by now.”

“Gone?”

“Only you and Jack left. Even then with the hub gone things weren’t as they should have been.”

“What does it take to give up your entire life for people you’ve never met.”

“Isn’t that what we do every day?”

“I honestly hadn’t looked at it that way.”

“It looks like our gracious host has returned and plans to throw another auction and we all know what that means.” Announced Jack, a little more enthusiastically than he probably should have. Owen sighed, looking exasperated.

Elise and Gwen looked over at each other, confused. Gwen was the first to speak up. “This feels like something I missed.”

“It’s some jumped up rich arsehole that collects alien junk and auctions it off at a posh do for other rich nobs.” Owen grumbled.

“So we stop it before it happens?”

“Not exactly. They’re careful and have the cash to keep themselves off our radar so we have to infiltrate the party. That means…”

Tosh giggled. “Owen in a suit.”

“Oh fuck off.” He groaned. “It was bad enough last time. And now we have to make sure none of us go out alone because they get stabby when you tell them no.”

“What are they, the mob?” Elise asked.

Jack shrugged. “Close enough. Last time we managed to confiscate everything from the back of the auction room before they could sell them all off. I’m thinking of spiking the wine this year. They all do the opening toast, everyone claps, everyone passes out. The host won’t escape this time.”

Owen smirked, coming out of his strop. “Taking it personally Harkness?”

“He was in my grasp and one of his servants tazed me. It won’t happen again.”

Elise paused. “And they let you just walk in?”

“It’s a masquerade ball, no one knows who anyone is.”

“Won’t they be expecting us?”

“They always do. While I’m thinking about it. Ianto, I need you to send out a warning message to all of our refugee status citizens. Last time we had some of our hosts workers scoping them out.”

Ianto nodded.

“Refugee status?” Elise asked.

“If there’s no way for a being to get back to their planet or if they don’t have a planet to go back to they can sometimes be granted refugee status on Earth. They’re relocated into a Torchwood safehouse and essentially have to stay out of sight unless they can pass for human. It’s very rare but it does happen.” Ianto explained, noting down what he needed to do and finding the address list.

“How did I not know about this? That’s brilliant.”

“You should have seen my face when I found out. It would have helped my first impressions of the job if I had.” Gwen smiled nostalgically.

Owen crossed his arms. “You don’t get to know the good stuff until you deal with the shit the rest of us had to first.”

Sergeant Farrell stood at the scene of a burglary. The stately home had been ransacked. The owner had died only a week before of complications involved with his heart, leaving the place with no owner. The house had sat still full while the late gentlemens lawyers were sorting out who his estate would go to. It was a huge scene and though the sergeant didn’t need to be there he suspected it was just the type of scene this Torchwood institute would be involved with. Sadly they had not made an appearance yet but it didn’t change the fact that he was there so he just went back to doing his job. Something at the far side of the room caught his attention. It seemed to be some kind of gemstone, perfectly spherical, with a liquid suspended inside. The light shining through it looked blue at first but the closer he got the more purple it seemed to be. He shouldn’t touch it, he knew that, but it didn’t stop him wrapping his fingers around it. He couldn’t help it. It felt like it belonged with him. As if it had been waiting for him. No. He put it back on its small pedestal and turned to walk away but found his feet didn’t want to move. No, he couldn’t leave it for just anyone to manhandle. He gently picked it up and slid it into his pocket, feeling warm and safe. Yes, it was his. It had always been his. For a moment he couldn’t remember what he had been doing there but seeing the police car from the window seemed to clear his thoughts. A burglary, that’s what he was attending. He didn’t need to be there and couldn’t quite remember why he’d come along. It didn’t matter. He needed to get home where it was safe.

Elise patted Janets head gently and handed her a chunk of raw beef as a treat. The weevil took it and retreated to the corner to chew on it. Owen had sent Elise to give the implant to Janet as she was the only one who could just walk in there and do it without sedating or pinning down the creature. It had gone smoothly. Most weevils cowered in Elises presence but Janet had reached a point where she could be content with just bowing. Still, no one knew exactly why they did that but for now it was at least helpful.

“If only everything was as easy as this, eh? Maybe I can teach you to fetch things some time.”

She looked back to see Janet holding out a glove Elise had dropped.

“Did… Did you understand me?”

The weevil tilted her head. Elise took the other glove and gently tossed it to the corner.

“Can you fetch that for me?”

Janet looked back at the glove before retrieving it.

“Good girl.”

Janet let out a trill like noise and slowly blinked.

“Huh… Sit down.”

Janet sat on the floor and trilled again awaiting another request.

“Is it just you that listens to me or will the others listen too? What am I doing, it’s not like you can answer me even if you understand.”

She nodded then bowed, her head almost to the floor.

“All of them?”

She nodded again.

“Ok. Let me go and test it ok? You did really well. Here.” Elise handed Janet the other cube of meat she’d been keeping hold of for when she left. She left and closed the door behind her before heading back up.

“Hey, guys? Does Janet ever listen to you or do what you say?” She asked.

There was a low murmur as everyone shook their heads.

Jack decided to get more information. “Why?”

“I was just down there giving her the implant to test and she was listening. Like I was practically playing fetch with her. I thought it was a fluke but I told her to sit and she did. Then I asked her if the other weevils would listen too and she nodded. There was actual recognition there. Look on the camera for yourself. It was surreal.”

Owen wandered over and pressed the back of his hand to her forehead. “No fever, so you’re not delirious.”

Elise brushed his hand away. “I’m serious.”

“Owen she’s not joking, look at this.” Tosh said, waving him over to see what was on her screen. Jack marched over to join them and see, even turning up the sound so everyone could hear. It seemed to confirm exactly what Elise said. There was recognition of her words. Not just a vague link between a word and an action like telling a dog to fetch a stick, actual sentient recognition. They’d never seen that in a weevil before. They were base creatures, vicious and relatively untamable.

“Do we have any other captive weevils right now?” Jack asked.

“Not since Elise has been shooing them off.” Owen shrugged. “Not sure where the nearest nest is anymore. We cleared the last one out completely.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever actually wanted a weevil to turn up before but here we are.”

Sergeant Farrell locked his front door and closed the curtains, taking the gem from his pocket. The light it gave out was a lavender colour that shimmered and shone, illuminating the room. He sat in the living room, ignoring the phone ringing. It was most likely his wife who still lived in their old home. She called every night after work and he always looked forward to hearing her voice but he couldn’t drag himself away from the light. It was too beautiful. Too warm. He had to eat. Yes. The grumbling in his stomach distracted him momentarily. It could wait, he had to keep looking at the light. What if it changed? He couldn’t miss that. The light from under the curtain seemed to dull the stone to almost nothing. What time was it? Six? It was morning already? He couldn’t remember if he’d slept or not but he had to go to work. He walked unsteadily on legs that had gone quite numb past the phone, seeing a red number four flashing on the tiny screen. He’d check his missed calls later.

Jack was not impressed that he’d heard of the burglary so late. Due to there being barely anything left the police hadn’t flagged it as strange. Not only that but the death had been registered extremely late. It was a perfect storm and now almost everything was gone. Thankfully there was a safe that the burglars hadn’t gotten into and Jack had one thing that the burglars had not. Tosh. She had plugged her laptop into the digital lock for the safe and only taken five minutes to get it open. Inside the safe sat a full casing from a dalek that had made Jack jump and rattled him more than he’d like to admit. He made the excuse of seeing what was taking Gwen so long with the officers outside just to pull himself together. When he reached the door he saw one of the officers that had been posted at the entrance almost shrinking next to their superior. Said superior looked like he hadn’t slept in some time and it was hard to tell if he was glaring or just trying to keep his eyes open. Gwen looked like she was definitely glaring.

“Is there a problem officers?” He asked as he strode out towards them.

Gwen turned and smiled softly at the offer of backup. “Jack, this is Sergeant Farrell.”

“Ah yes, I’ve been told a few things about you from my staff.”

“You’re the one in charge of this outfit are you? Well you can tell all of your minions to vacate the premises. I will not have my scene contaminated by people who think they’re above the law.”

“Not above, outside the law. I thought you were informed of our status last time you tried to hinder our investigation.” Jack pulled himself to his full height, his stance as solid as possible.

“I don’t care how you put it, no one is outside of the law. You might have paid off or blackmailed everyone else but I won’t be corrupted.”

The captain laughed. “If I tried to intimidate or pay off every lawmaker in the country I’d never have time to do my job. Anyway, I prefer charm to intimidation. I can see you don’t follow the same ideology. Now, why don’t you stop wasting both my time and yours and go.”

“This isn’t over.”

“I think you’ll find it is. Unless you want me to make a few calls.”

“Was that a threat?”

“I don’t make threats, I make promises.”

“Holy fuck!” Gasped Ianto, clipboard in hand to note down the inventory from the house. He’d snapped the pencil he’d been holding in half when he’d seen the dalek casing.

“It’s dead and hollowed out. It’s even been decontaminated at some point.” Said Tosh, pointing to a tag hanging from its eye stalk. “Are you alright?”

“You’ve clearly never faced one of these things.”

“Thankfully no. I thought it looked like an upside down bin.”

“Maybe when they’re dead. They’re a nightmare alive… I’m going to have to archive this thing. Maybe I can convince Jack to have it deconstructed.”

“I don’t think that would be too difficult. He looked rather spooked when he saw it too. You can bond over shared trauma.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary somehow. I hope the other items in here aren’t as terrifying.”

“I’m sure they’re all horrific in their own unique ways.”

“Owen’s sense of humor is rubbing off on you.”

“Sorry, I think it’s contagious. Did you see the skull?”

“Skull?”

“Middle shelf, on your left.”

Ianto turned his head and looked into the hollow sockets of a weevils skull. “At least it isn’t a whole weevil. Why’s it in the safe?”

“No idea. Maybe he was trying to get hold of the other parts of the skeleton and didn’t want to display it until he did.”

“This is starting to feel more like a tomb than a safe. Nice chunk of moldavite in here at least. I’m sure someone’s going to want that.”

“I always prefered a quartz.”

“A good Earth woman. None of this meteor glass nonsense.”

Tosh chuckled. “Well, you have to support your home planet.”

“Well, he was charming.” Jack said dryly as he closed the front door behind him.

Gwen sighed.“Oh yea. Absolutely lovely.”

“It could be worse. You could be working with him.”

“Just don’t. I think I would have quit. Did Tosh get the safe open?”

“Yea. You’ll have to take a look in there for yourself. The contents were a shock I didn’t need this morning.” He stopped to look at one of the empty displays. The small gold plaque said it was a ‘deaths scythe’ that had been found in Afghanistan in the thirties, killing twelve of the archeologists that had been part of the dig that unearthed it. Next to it was a very small display that had once held a ‘sleeping stone’ that had to be kept a certain distance from any living being to prevent it latching onto them, lulling them into an almost comatose state and eventually killing them as they stop eating and drinking just to stay with the stone. The final display was more than large enough to hold a suit of armor. The plaque said it had contained a ‘complete cyberman’. Jack shuddered at the idea.

“Do you think this was linked to the auction?”

“I’m pretty certain it was. The funds you’d need just to move all of this in one night point right to our host.”

“Does this host have a name?”

“Not that we know of. His whole family have spent decades carefully defending their anonymity.”

Owen rolled his eyes thinking there was no chance this weevil whispering thing would work. The building he stood in had been bought and squatters had been evicted but the owner had not counted on weevils moving in. He wasn’t sure what way they were getting in but it was hard to mistake that smell for anything else. Janet was pretty calm for a weevil and he’d managed to at least get her not to instantly try and attack him so he didn’t expect a wild weevil to be nearly as calm.

“Looks like they’ve gone.” He said, watching Elise look around.

“Shhhh. I can hear one.”

“Well then just call it out like a dog if you think it’ll work.”

“Fine.” She turned down the hallway where she’d heard the movement. “Excuse me.”

“Do they react better to you being polite?”

“Oh hush… If you can hear me I want you to come out and show yourself.”

For a moment there was nothing, but then a young male weevil loped out, it’s head down. It wasn’t one they’d caught before as it wasn’t dressed in the usual blue overalls that the captured ones were given.

Owen studied it. “He’s definitely scared of you.”

“It’s ok little guy. Can you understand me?”

It nodded slowly.

“Can you understand him?” She pointed at Owen as the weevil looked up. It tilted its head and huffed then turned its attention back to Elise. “I guess not. Ok… What do I call you… Urm… Steeve. Ok Steeve. You tell all of your friends, family, whatever that they can’t stay in the city. No attacking people. Understand?”

Steeve the nodded slowly.

“Ok, off you go then.”

It plodded off again, disappearing down into what was likely a basement.

“You called it Steeve?” Asked Owen.

“What would you have called him?”

“That’s the difference, I wouldn’t have named it.”

“Like hell you wouldn’t have… So, being as we’re done here you can tell me what the last party was like.”

“Party?”

“The masquerade auction thing.”

“I’ll tell you about it on the drive back, this place stinks.”

“Dogon fourth and fifth eyes. Two sonic screwdrivers because why have only one. Six pages of psychic paper. One Sycorax helmet. One Vashta nerada farm. One Hath respirator. Two Judoon horns. One pair of Menoptra wings. Two Ogron stun guns. Six gemstones of unknown origin. One feline skull of unknown species. Three unidentified items of alien design. Four unidentified items made from materials found on Earth. One decommissioned Dalek. One weevil skull. One six by six inch piece of moldavite. Three bags of mixed currency of unknown origin. Have I missed anything?” Ianto asked, double checking his list.

“I think that’s everything in here. Where’s your PDA?” Tosh folded her laptop and wrapped one of the cables over her arm.

“It won’t work inside the safe. It won’t take me a minute to write it up afterwards. Have you seen Jack?”

“He popped by but he’s doing a final sweep of the house in case anything was missed. Apparently he had to deal with the police outside.”

“The officer Gwen told us about?”

“Yep.”

“I looked him up but he’s as squeaky clean as someone can be. Not even a parking ticket to his name.”

“That’s to be expected with his position. It’s not as if we can simply retcon him like we used to.”

“Well, we could but it wouldn’t have too much of an effect. I’ll see what I can do about contacting his superiors later.”

“Shouldn’t you hand that off to Gwen?”

“Gwen’s the good cop.”

“And you’re the bad cop? You?”

“On paper I’m terrifying.” Ianto smiled.

With all of the items collected and stored safely away the team were free to try and get ahead of this group. Even with all the money in the world there had to be a paper trail. Especially when organising a large event. The more expensive an order the more details a company will want just in case they aren’t paid and that was good news for Toshiko. The last time she had tried to track them they were mostly still using cash but this time he seemed to have joined the twenty first century and started using multiple offshore accounts. They were all under different names but that wasn’t going to be an issue. It never was.

“Got him.” Tosh smiled to herself. Steven Oliver Fayfall the third, the current head of a very old and prestigious family. He owned many buildings around the country so it wasn’t clear where his usual residence was. It was a start. She found a few photos from throughout time and could recognise the family but there was always another figure. A pale female, around her teens with long curled hair. Her face was blemish free, like she was wearing a mask. Her face wasn’t flagged on the system to be any being they’d met before. She sent the images over to Jack, wondering if he’d met her in his long life. In the meantime she could start thinking about the theme. Tarot. Each guest had to be dressed as one of the major arcana.

Elise leaned on the back of Toshiko’s chair.

“What you up to?” She asked.

“I found the theme for the party, plus the full dress code.”

“Nice. Who’s going?”

“Last time it was all of us. It’s a huge operation and we never really know what we’re walking in to.”

“Think they’ll let me wear a suit?”

Tosh laughed softly. “Sorry. The dress code is gender specific. It’s a floor length dress and heels for you.”

“Heels? Um… I can’t walk in heels.” Elise stood back.

“You’ll be fine. We probably won’t be doing any running.”

“No. I don’t mean I can’t run in heels I can’t walk in heels. I can barely stand in them.”

Tosh turned to her. “Really?”

“Seriously. I look like a baby giraffe. Also, if there’s dancing I can’t dance.”

“Of course you can. You just need a couple of lessons.”

“For the heels or the dancing?”

“Both. I can teach you to walk in heels. You might be lucky, me and Owen usually hold up the wall at these things. And if all else fails we could ask Ianto to teach you.”

“I’m going to fall on my face I just know it.”

“Let’s see how awful you are.” She took Elises hand. “Jack, I’ve send you a few things to look over including the theme of the party. High heels are mandatory for the ladies so I’m going to teach Elise how to not fall over in them.”

“I’ve been informed I’m not allowed to wear a suit.” Elise pouted.

Jack nodded in recognition. “They’re very old fashioned, a little over obsessed with gender norms. At least until everyone gets drunk.”

“I’m hoping we don’t have a repeat of that this time.” Tosh sighed.

“That? What happened?” Asked Elise, looking between them.

“We were doing a last sweep before we left and behind one of the doors there was an orgy going on.”

Jack crossed his arms. “And they didn’t even invite me.”

#Torchwood #jack harkness #ianto jones #gwen cooper #toshiko sato #owen harper

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