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musewritingsforyou · 9 months

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The Void

I am officially ready to share with you all my rewrite in progress of season 3B!!! I am finishing up the writing of all episodes at the moment but thought i should at least share a little of episode one.

Summary: A door has been opened and the pack struggles to find normalcy.

Warnings: sleep deprivation, nightmares, swearing, sci-fi

word count: 3.6 k

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Episode One: Part One

SCENE ONE

y/n POV

My morning began the same as it had the past couple of weeks, with a ringing of my phone at close to 2:00 AM. I didn't even need to look at the caller ID to know who it was. It was Stiles' dad. Every day this week he had called me sometime in the night, tired and scared, and upset that he couldn't do anything to comfort his son. Every night I would drag myself out of bed, throw on a big sweatshirt and jog over to his house that was barely a block from mine.

I picked up the phone quickly to hear the tired shariff on the other side.

“Hey shariff, need me to come over?”

“I'm so sorry to bother you again, I tried tonight, I really did but-”

“No need to apologize, it's not your fault, I'll be over in a few minutes” He thanked me and hung up.

So just like every other night this week, I threw on a sweatshirt and my crocs and jogged the block to Stiles house, taking the key out from under the mat and unlocking the front door. I closed and locked the door behind me swiftly and jogged up the stairs toward Stiles’ room. As soon as I got near the stairs I could hear him calling out in his sleep.

“No! No, don't! Please! Let me out!” As I got closer I could hear the sheriff too, shushing Stiles as best he could and begging him to wake up. I opened the door and smiled sadly to Stiles’ dad before taking a seat next to him on the bed. I climbed in behind Stiles and dragged him upright while holding him.

“Stiles! Stiles wake up, it's me! It's y/n.” I half yelled it while I held him, my muscles tensing in preparation for the response I knew I would get. His eyes flung open when he heard my voice and he started to thrash around, grasping anything he could and finally taking a firm hold of my arms around his shoulders. He stopped screaming but I could feel the cold sweat on his back and he was shaking badly. His dad looked at us both and patted his son on the leg gently.

“Looks like you got this, goodnight you two” He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him and padding down the hallway to his own bed. I tightened my grip on Stiles as his hands fell from my arms and went to rub his head.

“It's not real. None of it is real. This isn't real.” I kissed his temple and looked down at him.

“I'm real Stiles, I promise. I'm here and I'm real” He was still shaking and started to get even more agitated.

“This isn't real. Wake up Stiles. Wake up Stiles!” He started to scream and thrash again, worse than before. As he broke from my grip I managed to snag his hand in one of mine.

“Stiles, look at me! Look at me! Remember what we talked about, remember how you know it's real?”

“F-fingers”

“That's right, that's right, fingers, you count your fingers” He stopped trying to walk away and kept his hand in mine.

“Y-you have extra, in dreams”

“That's right Stiles. So count with me okay? Count with me” He sat down on the edge of the bed as I held my hand up for him to see, lifting one finger at a time as he counted shakily beside me. When we got to ten he let out a big breath and pulled me into a tight hug.

“It's okay now, you're okay.”

After a bit of persuasion I managed to convince him to go back to sleep, with one condition, that I stay close. As if I would ever leave. He got under the covers first and I followed, both of us laying on our sides facing each other. After a minute of looking into his eyes I could see them cloud with exhaustion. He turned onto his back and I stayed on my side facing him, moving myself up a little so that my hand could reach his hair. I ran one hand through his hair while the other layed softly on his chest, feeling his breathing begin to slow. As he finally fell asleep I kept stroking his hair, kissing it softly and placing my head on his chest next to my hand.

“Goodnight, Stiles”

Stiles POV

The last thing I could remember was her hand going to my head, stroking my hair and running it through softly as I began to fall asleep. When I woke up I had my arms wrapped tightly around her and my face buried in her soft brown hair. She was wearing a sweatshirt of mine that she must have thrown on before coming over last night. My dad knocked on the door lightly before opening it just a crack.

“Time to wake up kiddos, I know you had a tough night but you still have school to get to”

“Yeah, got it, thanks dad” He walked away but left the door open a crack, baiting me to get out of bed and close it.

I looked over at y/n, her mouth was parted slightly and her hair covered most of her face. She was clinging to one of my arms in front of her chest, hugging it to her tightly. I moved the hair out of her face and kissed her softly on the cheek.

“Hey, y/n/n. You gotta wake up.” She mumbled something incoherent and pawed at my arm dragging it so that it was back around her body.

“Schools not important, sleep on the other hand…” she trailed off and kept her eyes closed.

“Oh come on miss ‘B- counts as failure’ I know you never skip, plus, first period is your AP anatomy class and I know you love that one.” She shot upright and flung my arm off of her in the process.

“I hate that you know me that well. And where did you get my schedule?!” I laughed and hopped out of bed, moving over to my drawers and grabbing a sweatshirt for myself and a shirt of mine for her. I tossed it at her as I walked toward the bathroom.

“What am I supposed to do with this?!” I closed the door behind me and shouted from the hall.

“Be creative!” as I walked to the bathroom I saw my dad walking out of his room carrying a file box. When I looked at the side for a second I realized I couldn't read what it said. No, no, this is real, this has to be real.

“You okay?” I looked up at him and responded in a very unconvincing voice.

“W-what, oh, yeah, yeah fine. What's in the box?” He looked back at me skeptically but didn't press further.

“Just some files from the office.” I looked down at the box again, relieved to find that I could read it this time. It's real, it's real.

“It says do not remove.”

“Yeah, well, I'm the sheriff, so…” I nodded silently and edged past him to the bathroom. When I got back to my room I found that y/n had in fact, ‘been creative’. She was still wearing her athletic shorts that she always sleeps in, but had taken my shirt and somehow made one of those knot things at the bottom so that it fit her perfectly. Then again, I think she looks perfect in everything.

“Hey, you ready?” I nodded and grabbed both of our bags, throwing them in the backseat of roscoe and starting it up without issue. I closed my eyes for a split second before driving off, trying as hard as I could to convince myself that it was real.

y/n POV

Throughout the drive to school I could see nervousness in Stiles. He wasn't going to talk about last night, at least not for a little bit. As we drove in silence he placed a hand on my thigh and tapped one of his fingers quickly on my leg like he always does when he's anxious.

“I think we should tell them” I looked up at him from my phone which was showing several messages from the rest of the pack, specifically Allison and Lydia. They both had texted up a storm with me this morning, coming to me separately for explanations of their own supernatural-ish issues. I hadn't told Stiles, but now that I know something is going on with all three of them, it seems like the right thing to do.

“Stiles, Allison and Scott are both having issues too, just like Deaton said you would.”

“He didn't say I was going to go out of my mind, y/n, he said that I would feel like something is missing.”

“And don't you? feel like something is missing?”

“The only thing I'm missing right now is sleep. For all we know this could just be normal teenage stress for once, right?” I looked back at him sternly.

“Stiles, I love you more than almost anyone else on this planet, but this is Beacon Hills. There is no normal teenage stress here” He laughed lightly and nodded at me.

“Fine, but just Lydia for now okay? We can tell the rest later.” I agreed and texted Lydia right away.

She responded saying that she knew at least some of the story already, Allison had found her as soon as she had gotten to school, asking for yet another opinion on her recent hallucinations. When I told her about Scott though, she was surprised, noting right away along with me that this could not be normal.

When we reached the school and parked I took Stiles' hand and squeezed it, trying my best to reassure him as we walked through the underpass towards the stairs. I could faintly see Scott glancing nervously over his shoulder as he ran down them. I called out to him but got no response and Stiles gave me a quick look before unlinking our hands and rushing toward Scott, catching his shoulder just as he got down the stairs.

“Are you okay?” I walked up from behind him and noticed the faint glint of sweat on Scotts face.

“You don’t look alright Scott.”

“You're seeing things too aren't you?” Stiles gulped and exchanged a glance with me before Scott continued.

“I'm okay.”

“No you're not. It's happening to you too. You're seeing things aren't you?”

“How did you know?” Stiles shrugged with a single shoulder as Lydia and Allison walked up from behind me.

“Because it's happening to all three of you.” I smiled at Lydia and Allison relieved that the two of them were finally here.

I love the boys, but to be honest they can be a lot to handle for one person, especially one person without her two best friends. The boys continued to look at eachother with confused faces. I linked my arm with one of Lydia’s and laughed a little.

“They’d be lost without us, huh Lyds?”Arm in arm we pushed open the doors to the school, the three others walking behind us somberly

“Well, look who's no longer the crazy one.” I laughed with her and continued walking until we got to our lockers, all of them next to each other mid way down the hall. Stiles walked up next to me again and raised his eyebrows.

“Could you two please stop enjoying this so much?”

“Stiles, do you really think I enjoy being bombarded with texts and constantly having to fix you three up? Honestly?” He rolled his eyes at me and kissed me on the head before moving to close the circle of our friends all standing around one locker.

“Well we did die and come back to life, that has to have some side effects right?” Scott looked directly at me as he said it, leading the rest of them to do the same.

“Nuh- uh. No way. Nope, I know that look, that's the ‘she knows all the answers and if she doesn't she'll find them’ look. Guys the last time I did that I almost failed my real classes. Oh yeah, and almost died too, remember that!?” Scott brought out his puppy eyes as did Stiles who made a horribly convincing pouty face along with it. “Fine. but you guys have to pay for my snacks.”

Stiles POV

As the day went on I started to realize just how off everything was. It was like the one thing in each of us that was normally our strongest point, was suddenly a weakness. Throughout the day the pack group chat was flooded with messages, everyone either checking in to make sure no one had gone completely nuts, or reporting that they had already done so. Lydia texted about Allison not having a steady hand, Scott about how for a second he thought he saw red in his eyes. Every once and a while I would look at something only to realize I couldn't tell what it said. The only thing to convince me that I wasn't dreaming was the trick that y/n taught me. Every class we had together she would check in on me constantly, when we were far away she would mouth things to me or just hold up an open hand, counting silently as she lowered each finger. When the day was finally over all of us had started to feel like it was too late, like we had already gone crazy and there was nothing we could do about it.

“Maybe we just need a little more time to get back to normal” standing in front of my locker I tried to keep up my conversation with Scott as he stood on my left with y/n just next to me on the other side.

“Try not to forget all three of you hit the reset button totally and completely”

“Yup. on a supernatural beacon. In a supernatural town.” I finished her sentence as I began to unlock my locker.

“I'd say there's a pretty good chance nothing is ever going to go back to normal.” I looked up to Scott who may not have walked away, but was clearly not paying attention.

When I looked back down at the lock and tried to open it, it wouldn't budge. I looked closer to find that yet again I couldn't tell what any of it meant. I felt like I must have been reading a different language.

“What?” I said it faintly as I messed with the lock, staring at it intently and trying with sheer will to make it go back to what it was before. y/n put a hand on my arm as she noticed me staring at it.

“Something wrong?” I looked up at her and said nothing but when I managed to look down again the numbers had gone back to normal. Scott was looking off down the hallway towards the new girl from our class, Kira. All of a sudden y/n grabbed my arm and yanked it so I was facing directly toward Scott.

“Scott.” She said his name forcefully but he paid her no attention. I finally noticed what she was doing as I saw the red gleam in his eyes.

“Woah, dude, your eyes.” He shook his head slightly so he was looking at me. Oh god. They were red. Completely, and undeniably red.

“What about them?”

“Scott they are glowing like red, very not naturally glowing!” y/n blurted out from behind me and moved so that he was blocked from view. His red eyes widened

“Like now, right now?”

“Yes Scotty, right now! Stop that!” y/n and I exchanged nervous glances and forcefully covered his face with our hands.

“I can't control it!”I exchanged another look with the girl beside me before bending Scott over and covering him completely. She understood right away what I was trying to do and pointed to an open door across the hall.

“Alright move, everyone move. We got a puker over here!” she said the first part to just me and then raised her voice as she pushed me and Scott across the hall and into the room shutting the door behind us and closing the blinds.

y/n POV

I pulled the door shut behind me quickly and shut the blinds. When I looked back I found Stiles hovering slightly over Scott, obscuring him from my view.

“Stiles, back up” As soon as I noticed Scotts fangs coming out I reached for Stiles and warned him. I was there at the beginning before Scott could control his transformation, and I remember just how dangerous it is to be too close to him. I yanked Stiles back by the arm and Scott began to straighten out and growl.

“Scott, it's okay.” I held onto his arm still as he talked to Scott and he tried to hide me behind him, pushing me closer toward the chalkboard.

“Stiles, he needs to focus. Pain, Stiles, pain makes him human.” A light went off in his eyes as I said it and still holding me back behind him he yelled to Scott.

“Scott, pain makes you human, if you can't control it, use pain!” Scott straightened quickly and held up both of his fists in balls, pressing his sharp claws into his palms, blood pouring from them.

“Oh god I think I'm gonna…” As Stiles trailed off his sentence he stumbled backwards towards me and then passed out on the floor.

“Honestly Stiles?”

Scott screamed out as the blood continued to pool on the ground at his feet until finally he crumpled to the ground, human. I shook Stiles awake and slid his backpack off of his shoulders.

“Stiles go grab my med kit from my bag. Pain may make you human, but being human means no speed healing.” I carefully walked toward Scott and kneeled on the floor in front of him. He was breathing heavily,

though I think more from the pain of his very human wounds than from the effort of keeping himself that way. Stiles came back to me with my med kit and sat down beside me, looking away as his face started to turn white again.

“It isn't in your head. Either of you.” I started to bandage up Scotts hands without saying another word.

“It's starting to get bad for me too” Stiles spoke up from behind me, finally looking back toward Scott as I cleaned up all the blood.

“It's not just nightmares anymore. I'm having dreams where either she-” he gestured back at me with one hand,“Is the only person who can wake me up, or I just have to scream myself awake. Sometimes I don't even know if i'm actually waking up” I could hear the fear and exhaustion in his voice, the weeks full of lack of sleep and keeping it from his best friend had finally gotten to him.

“When y/n was teaching me tricks on how to tell if it's a dream I found something. Apparently you can't read in dreams. More and more the past few days I haven't been able to read.” I stopped dead in my tracks and looked back at him. He hadn't told me.

“Stiles?” He continued on without explaining to me, but I kept my eyes on him.

“It's like I can't put the letters in order or something. Like it's a whole different language.” Scott looked up from his hands curiously.

“Like even now?”

“I can't read a thing.” Scott stood up and gave me a knowing look.

“I'm going to go talk to Deaton, maybe he knows something about what's happening to us. You'd text me if anything else happens right?”

“If he doesn't, you know I will. If he tells me that is.” I tried my best not to sound bitter or angry.

But I failed. A little. Scott nodded and walked out of the room, leaving behind only the packaging from his bandages. I bent down to pick them up and waited until I heard the door close to stand back up and look at Stiles.

“Why didn't you tell me?”

“Well it only started happening a few days ago so…” He trailed off and looked uncomfortably down at his hands, fiddling with them and refusing to look me in the eye.

“Stiles, I've been to your house every night this week. Not to mention there hasn't been a day in the past month when I haven't seen or talked to you. So, really, why?” He sniffled and tried to cover the tear that fell down his cheek.

“I don't know, I just- you've done so much for me already, For all of us, and I just didn't want to put one more thing on you”

“I do all that because I love you guys. You're my family. I would do anything to keep you all safe and happy, but I can't do that if you don't talk to me.” He finally looked up from fidgeting with his hands and I could see the tears now freely falling down his face.

The dark circles under his eyes made it only more prominent and he looked like he could break at any moment. I gestured for him to come over to me and pulled him into a hug.

“It's been a hard couple of days, huh?” He nodded into the crook of my neck and sniffled.

“I just- I feel like I'm losing my mind!”

“Stiles, look at me.” He pulled his head from my neck but kept his arms wrapped around my waist as his hazel eyes found mine.

“Stiles, you died and came back to life in front of my eyes. So if you are losing your mind- and if anyone it’s more likely to be me- then we'll deal with it, just like we deal with everything.”

#teen wolf #werewolves #stiles stilinski #stiles stilinksi x reader #reader insert #dylan o'brien #rewrite #supernatural

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sarah-dipitous · 1 year

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Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 99

The Song Remains the Same

“The Song Remains the Same”

Plot Description: The angels travel back in time to kill John and Mary Winchester before they can conceive Sam

Man…where's that "myth of consensual sex" meme when you need it?

Would I Survive the First Five Minutes??: No one died.

Ok but if Cas is the one who originally said that the past can't be changed, all roads will lead to the same place every time, why ARE the angels trying to change it now?

Damn. I get where Anna's coming from but there is something TERRIFYING (not NOT in a hot way) of saying you're basically going to scatter every atom of someone's being across the universe.

I FUCKING LOVE WHEN CAS'S DEVOTION TO HIS CAUSES GETS TESTED, GETS TAUNTED, WHEN IT GETS THROWN IN HIS FACE HOW MUCH HE IS FAILING. and then i want to wrap him in a blanket and give him hot chocolate

Cas, baby, you didn't even know who Glen Close was ten seconds ago...

Oh, baby. One, good on you sticking up for yourself "I do not understand that reference," but two...you are not fine. You are not doing better than expected. You are coughing up blood and passing out. That's not okay

"You look a little spooked." Yeah, it's, uh, it's Sam's first time meeting his in-their-20s-parents. OMG. At this point in time, they are the Barbie meme "This Barbie is a hunter who made a deal with one of hell's most powerful demons." "He's just John."

WHY IS THIS FIGHT SCENE BETWEEN MARY AND ANNA SO SLOW???

I'm still curious about whether the angel banishing sigil NEEDS TO BE DRAWN IN BLOOD OR NAH

Oh god, John. I can't blame you for anything yet. You just found out mosters are real, your wife hunts them and has been hunting them her whole life. Chuck help you if you find out her "cousins" in the back seat of the impala are actually your sons.

Oh, so apparently it does need to be drawn in human blood. Nice of them to tell us NOW. I've only been wondering it since Cas broke Dean out of Zachariah's penthouse prison

Hey so yeah, this...um...this episode is hitting a little to close to home in mid April...

Ooooo Uriel's new vessel...wait...do...this isn't Uriel's new vessel. This is his old vessel but 30 years prior to the events of the show. I think I've just seen demons hop from vessel to vessel and Misha not age too much in the like four or so seasons I've seen him in to consider that the vessels will still age.

I can't imagine from either side what it would be like to be a party in a conversation where a child is telling their parent that the have to leave their other parent so that they're never born. Also to be in a situation where your mom tells you she can't leave your dad, not just because she loves him, but because she's pregnant with YOU?

Yo. RIP Anna. Michael's here? THE Michael? And using John as a vessel?

Dean, "Six Degrees of Heaven Bacon" is probably your best pun yet and I'm so sorry only Michael heard it.

AMAZING that Dean's telling Michael to get therapy for his beef with Lucifer. Bestie, do you hear yourself?

“Been On My Mind…”: Nope. Is it 8 now?

#hellsite nostalgia tour 2023

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phoenixyfriend · 3 years

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Rey Gives No F*cks About the Grandfather Paradox

Okay so since nobody’s suggested a fic under these terms, I ended up expanding on this post on discord and things snowballed. We kept to the basics of the entire plot revolving around Rey really hating her grandad and leveraging her blood relation to not be unalived about it.

With contributions by @atagotiak, @dracothulhu, @thepallaspalace, and several others. The title comes from @gelpenss.

The basic thing I absolutely need is this: Rey gets thrown back to the middle of the clone wars, and the subsequent plot leans in really heavily on her being, genetically-via-clone-dad, the daughter of the guy running the entire galaxy.

Nobody knows what to do with her.

The timing is mid-TCW for the past (because I want Ahsoka there) and vaguely between Episodes 8 and 9 because I... never watched E9 and don’t want to worry about the timeline. The only things that matter is that Luke is dead (he can die as he did in canon) and that Rey knows she’s Palp’s granddaughter (not the way she does in canon).

We'll say Luke found out from Anakin's panicked force-ghost and just went "well, fuck, okay, I should tell her this before she ends up in a situation like mine and finds out mid-battle or something."

Luke, prior to time-travel: Okay, so, now that I'm dead I know some things I didn't before. Like who your parents were. In the interest of full disclosure because I was in a very similar situation and I don't want you learning the way I did, I'm just going to come right out and say that your father was a clone was Sheev Palpatine. Rey: ... Luke: Are you okay? Rey: I don't know who that is.

(She grew up on Jakku, the history education was a little subpar.)

Setting The Scene

Imagine Rey showing up during or immediately before the clone wars. There’s this phenomenally powerful feral teenager from a desert backwater who tells you that if you ran a paternity test, it would probably pop up the Chancellor. She may or may not bring up cloning. She accuses said Chancellor of being a Sith Lord.

Your other phenomenally powerful feral teenager from a desert backwater, who may not be a teenager anymore but only barely, is very offended by this because Palpatine’s a Very Nice Old Grandfather Figure, but also he’s a little full of side-eye because if the blood test comes back as proof, then Palpatine had a kid and didn’t even know about them, or lied to Anakin, and that’s! Bad! Family’s important!!!

Palpatine hears about this daughter he apparently? Has? And is very confused because the timing doesn’t match up with ANYTHING he was doing, so the kid isn’t natural, and he says as much. (There is an explanation! It’s not a correct explanation, but he does come up with one.)

Finn and Poe and BB-8 all get dragged along because why not have the gang there? Nobody that’s already born, because [handwave] conservation of souls or something, IDK, point is the only person dragged along that’s even remotely close to already existing is Luke’s Force Ghost, who mostly hangs around begging Rey to be less impulsive. Finn is good because he is a nice polite boy, but for actual useful information they need Poe. The unfortunate situation is that the three do not land together. They land at the same time, in completely different corners of the galaxy. This means that nobody is there to curb Rey being her most impulsive self.

Time travel Rey knows two things. Luke’s dad ends up evil. Palpatine has always been evil.

She can solve one of these problems by killing the other, yes?

Rey: Ready to Rumble

See, the initial idea was this: Rey tried to break into the senate to kill Palpatine, got arrested, and then used the "he's biologically my father" card to get out of jail free. (Force Ghost Luke follows her like “please take five seconds to think this through.”)

But.

It would be very, very, very funny if The Force just dumps her in a flash of light in the senate building and she just attacks Gramps on sight. Just a shouted "YOU!" and no-hesitation attempted murder.

Palpatine has no idea what's going on.

Rey took maybe two seconds to get identity confirmation and then started swinging.

[Image Description: An individual in a green metal helmet with an eye slit, holding a pistol. In the upper left, upper right, and lower middle are the phrases “I do not know who I am...” “I don’t know why I’m here” and “All I know is that I must kill.” End description.]

Of course, she gets arrested. There are Master Jedi in the Senate. There are Clone Troopers. Palpatine isn’t the weak old man he pretends to be. Of course she’s stopped.

But she isn’t executed in time for Palpatine to stop her from ruining his entire reputation.

Immediately after Rey fails to kill her Shitty Granddad, Luke's ghost shows up and begs her to not talk about the Sith thing because it will completely undermine everything she's trying to do. Pass off the attempted murder as something else!

Rey, panicking: "that fucker left me on a desert planet for 10 years!" "You owe me 19 years of child support you son of a Hutt!"

The Jedi have to do the investigation, because the girl showed up with a laser sword, and the conversation is, uh... interesting. (“Where did you get that lightsaber?” “I got it from a mysterious old pirate lady I never met before. I don't know, I was being shown around by a smuggler and a Wookie.”)

Interviewer: Why did you try to assassinate the Chancellor? Luke: Say it wasn't assassination. Rey: It wasn't assassination. Int: You weren't trying to kill him? Luke: Assassination has to be politically motivated. Rey: This was, um... not political. Assassination is political, right? Int: You mean this was personally motivated? Rey: Yes. Int: I see. What personal motivation? Luke: Jakku! Rey: He's my grandfather. Int: ... Rey: Possibly father. Nobody was very clear on that. Int: ... Luke: Tell them to run a paternity test. Rey: Oh hey, a blood test would tell us which, right? Int: ............ Rey: I spent ten years as an orphaned scrapdealer on Jakku. He's my father. I'm kind of a little angry. Int: ........... Luke: Good job, kid. You bought yourself some time. Int: I'm going to get a medic to see about that parternity test.

Obviously, it comes back positive. Congratulations, Sheev, you’re the father.

Rey comes with a ready-made built-in excuse for hating Palpatine that nobody can question or fault her for!

Rey, pouring Truth into the Force: I didn't even know I was related to the Chancellor until a few months ago, but it's his fault I grew up the way I did, and he should take some responsibility!

The entire thing is mostly kept hush hush but someone leaks it to the press and Palpatine's ratings tank.

"Chancellor, I think we'll need to waive family visitation until she wants you a little less dead." "I would like to find out why she wants me dead, and indeed, where she came from." "...sir, for your own safety--"

Who would win? A master plan years in the making spanning decades of manipulating and work? or One (1) paternity test

"Okay, so, Rey Palpat--" "Ew, no, I don't want his name." "You--okay. Sure, we can understand that. Is there a name you would prefer to put on the paperwork?" Rey, who would have gone by Skywalker in honor of Luke but can't do that when Anakin is right there and all: "Can I think about it?"

Rey: I don't know what I want my last name to be but I know I don't want his, and most of the people I’d want a name from have famous families like you... Luke's ghost, pointing out the Literal Nobody that she cares about a lot: How about Solo? Rey: ...Solo, then.

(A few months later she runs into Poe again and he offers for Finn and Rey to both take his name because honestly they need SOMETHING but at that point she’s already decided on Smuggler Dad.)

Backtrack a bit. We’ve got a bigger cast.

They all arrive separately. Poe, for one, does better than Rey, who is aiming for a murder, but not quite as well as Finn, who is currently being adopted and hidden like a secret cat by a bunch of Alpha Clones on Kamino. He vibes with the names-or-numbers thing. He doesn’t necessarily tell them where and when he’s from, but he’s very sweet and a great liar and they adopt him wholesale anyway.

The Finn situation is just... "Buir Ti, we need you to hide this man, we've decided he's our little brother but if Nala Se finds out she'll make him leave."

Of course, this leads into Shaak Ti teaching Finn how to Jedi.

Maybe consider Finn needing to almost be tricked into learning Jedi things because he willfully forgets it could apply to him. Finn does not like to think of himself as special, which is super valid, but frustrating for Shaak Ti when it comes to, you know, getting him to acquire knowledge. Finn's training at some point is "here, levitate objects with the Force to entertain the tubies." It’s a lot easier to convince him to practice when it involves the babies.

(Everyone on Kamino looked at Finn and went “oh I love him I’m keeping him and teaching him things.”)

(He’s just very lovable.)

Poe, meanwhile, buys the trust of Anakin Skywalker via R2D2 declaring BB-8 the absolute most baby of droids. R2D2 met BB-8 three hours ago but.

"Hey Obi-Wan this is Poe I met him like five days ago but R2D2 says he checks out because his droid is a baby." "That's nice, Anakin, did you know the Chancellor has a daughter who tried to assassinate him in broad daylight yesterday? Because guess who had to stop the Chancellor from getting assassinated by his daughter in broad daylight yesterday."

A summary so far:

Finn, on Kamino: Hey, um, I don't know where this is, but it's not where I was a few minutes ago. Do you think you could get me a comm? What's your name? Poe, on [dice roll] Denon: Oh, hey, you're General Skywalker? Nice to meet you, I'm so sorry about my droid, she's a little excitable and thought your R2 unit looked like a friend of hers-- Rey, on Coruscant: DIE, GRANDFATHER

Finn: [Peacefully vibing on Kamino, unaware of the chaos and bonding with the clones] Poe: [Trying to explain how he knows someone who tried to kill the chancellor and defend Rey] Rey: [Arrested for trying to kill the chancellor]

Just... just...

Anakin: Some guy ended up lost on base yesterday with his droid, how’s your day going? Obi-Wan: I had to stop someone who claims to be the chancellors daughter from murdering the chancellor after she seemingly blinked into existence in the Senate building. Poe: 😐

(Poe: Oh, so that's where Chaos^2 went.)

Poe: In her defense, she is his... well we don't know if she's his daughter or granddaughter, but she's definitely related to him, and she definitely grew up in a shitty situation that was his fault, so...

(Poe is trying very hard to explain this and not get arrested on the military base.)

As you’ve probably guessed, what's especially funny about all of this for me is the fact that Palpatine is fully aware that this girl shouldn't exist, but can't find a single piece of evidence about where she came from. He didn't start any experiments that could result in a female child, and he didn't have sex in that period of time, so where the hell--

Rey spends so much time in jail... BUT they do eventually assign her a Jedi Master. Possibly before she actually proves her evil grandfather is in fact evil. Most votes went to either Plo Koon or Obi-Wan. Plo, because he’s dad-shaped, and Obi...

"Obi-Wan, you already raised one feral desert child with implausible amounts of power, you handle this." Rey in return is very "Sweet, you vaguely remind me of Master Luke," and nobody knows who the hell she's talking about. Obi-Wan is NOT on board with this plan, she'd really be better off with Plo or like........ Mace.

Reunion Tour

What I need out of this is the eventual Finn and Rey reunion scene that is just excited screaming while someone in the background explains to Shaak Ti that yes this is apparently Palpatine's terrifyingly force-sensitive daughter who hates him.

(Finn senses Rey’s approach and just. Gathers the everyone to wait. He’s just :D REY MY FRIEND REY GUYS MY FRIEND REY IS COMING.)

Anakin shows up with Poe--just a guy who signed on to the military, no big deal--and then Poe and Rey are EXCITED and everyone's just like "Cool, how do you know this literal terrorist child?" And Poe has to scramble and "Uhhhhhhhhhhhh she saved my droid from a scrapheap once and BB-8 is basically my child so I owe her one."

Rey knows that Anakin ends up evil so she’s maybe not actively hostile but definitely very “I’m watching you.” That said, she vibes with him on a lot of things that he maybe doesn’t actively notice.

Rey picks up a snake, snaps off the head for venom avoidance, and starts biting off chunks. Obi-Wan's reaction: [undisguised horror] Anakin and Ahsoka: Ooh, where'd you find that? (Obi-Wan: And now I’m up to three feral children.)

What Does Palpatine Even Do?

OBVIOUSLY at a certain point, Palpatine is just phoning up every ally he has to figure out who broke protocol to synthesize a daughter for him.

So of course, Palpatine blame Plagueis.

She'd have been born five or so years before Naboo, just a few years younger than Anakin. It's such an EASY theory to build a conspiracy around. It is ENTIRELY WRONG, but it’s plausible! And anyone who might have been involved to say otherwise is probably dead!

A random bio-kid shows up you can’t possibly have contributed genes to? Maybe it’s the evil bio spark that did it.

Palpatine tries to placate her with the ‘my genes were stolen for an experiment and I didn’t know’ thing. It doesn’t work because her actual main complaint is he’s evil in her future but he tries.

It'd be a struggle to even get access to her, because of the aforementioned “maybe don’t try to talk to the daughter(?) that hates you” thing, but you know who Palpatine does have access to? The Chosen One.

Rey kind of decides on her favorites early on (she gravitates to Dad Energy and Sad Old Men so Plo and Obi-Wan are on her list, and that means decent time around Anakin and Ahsoka). It's really easy to talk Anakin into helping to some degree because "he'd like to connect to a daughter he never knew" and "a child of her power on a planet like that, you'd know her struggle, my dear boy" and so on. Anakin tries to connect! He tries to play up Sheev’s kind political work and how it can’t have really been his fault! It doesn’t work. Rey does not believe a word of it. Mostly she doesn’t even seem to hear him.

Rey's just like "...oh right, you're the melted mask that Kylo Ren was always ranting about," which means absolutely NOTHING to Anakin, but he mentions it to Palps, who loses his goddamn mind trying to figure out what she's talking about, because it also means absolutely nothing to him.

Here’s the thing: Rey’s already decided that Obi-Wan is cool, because Luke said so, and Plo Koon is dad-shaped, and she also gravitates towards earnest kindness in general, like she made friends with Finn real quick, so Ahsoka? Already getting along great.

She doesn’t dislike Anakin, really, he isn’t evil yet, he’s just... meh. She’s a little suspicious and she likes him less than the others but... Anakin.

Rey, to Anakin: You are my least favorite. Anakin, to Palpatine: YOUR DAUGHTER HATES ME???

And he goes from “she’s a lil standoffish” to “she doesn’t like me” to “she hates me” as is normal for Anakin.

It’s just an escalation of this one time Palpatine wants Anakin to not have rifts and trust issues with a person, at least not until later, because he needs information.

Meanwhile, that very moment, Rey is just like "huh, nobody here is listening to me about how make a sixth-hand carburetor work, where's Luke's dad?"

Anakin is venting to Palpatine about how hard it is to talk to Rey, and she's over in the Temple just like "Hey, that guy was useful last time, I should ask him," but also she only ever thinks of him as Luke's Dad.

(At one point, Obi-Wan is having a bit of a break down, and then Anakin starts having a breakdown about that, meanwhile the clones are (badly) trying to hide Finn behind their backs, Rey is watching Ahsoka practice and being like "I want two lightsabers," and Poe is trying to keep R2 from stealing BB-8 and Force Ghost Luke is just face palming in the background.)

(Rey deserved a saber staff, maybe one that can detach and turn into a jar’kai set. Possibly a pike. Mostly I just wish she got more chances to whack things with a big stick.)

#Rey #Finn #Poe Dameron #Sheev Palpatine #Luke Skywalker #Anakin Skywalker #Obi Wan Kenobi #Darth Sidious #Plo Koon #Shaak Ti #Ahsoka Tano #r2d2 #bb 8 #star wars #time travel #Rey and the Grandfather Paradox #Phoenix Posts

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waynedunlaptheorgandonor · 3 years

Text

hey so “find me” dropped on premiere and i just watched it, so you know what that means??

it’s review time!

(super rambly as usual) spoilers under the cut

before i say anything, let me say, IT’S FINE, Y’ALL. as predicted. people are gonna be dramatic bc there are daryl/leah scenes, but like...we been knew? and some of them were rly important caryl-wise. (tbh, the episode was kind of boring and just a set-up for other stuff, lmfao)

okay, review:

opening credits, which i think most of us have already seen, were cute. obvi there was some weird tension with daryl that leads to the coming-to-a-head thing at the end, but their banter is still cute af

they went fishing and daryl’s reaction to carol was adorable, and there’s an important parallel later on, so bookmark this

similarly, there’s an important parallel to carol’s “the dead catch up to us eventually”/daryl’s “i ain’t gonna let it”, so bookmark that, too

dog is the instigator for the flashbacks, so if you wanna blame anyone, blame him. he races to the cabin, which for some reason daryl, who spent five years in this forest, seemed surprised to see? didn’t you literally map out that whole area, my dude? whatever

cue flashback!

i might have the scene order mixed up, but i think it starts with daryl being all sad by himself, and then dog as a puppy shows up and he’s like “!!! a dog!!!” which is v cute, and then he runs back off. we don’t meet leah yet

we see carol and daryl having a conversation while standing on opposite sides of a river for no reason except to probably symbolize distance or maybe covid, lol. the conversation basically goes:

carol: things are different

daryl: yeah

carol: how long are you gonna be out here?

daryl: -shrug emoji-

carol: i get why you’re out here, and i’d join you if things weren’t...

daryl: different

carol: yeah

daryl: yeah. anyway, it’s gonna rain, and also i’m having emotions, so ttyl

the end

at some point we see daryl sitting with an extremely unhappy face while it pours rain on him in the dark, and i want that as a reaction gif IMMEDIATELY

also the rain destroys his “where in the world is rick grimes?” map, which makes him v upset and scream-y, and we get the idea that he might be going a bit bonkers being all alone looking for a dead (or, ig, kidnapped by helicopter) man

in present day carol finds the note, and is like “oh dunk, she lived here??” so she knew about leah, and daryl’s like, “i already told you everything,” and carol’s like, “no you didn’t,” so we go back to flashbacks (but i’m still not sure what parts carol didn’t already know?? whatever, it’s not that important)

i’m just gonna hit the highlights of the flashbacks bc they were not that thrilling:

first time daryl meets leah the dog leads him to her cabin, and leah ties him to a chair and holds a gun to his head being like, “what are you doing on my land?” bc apparently you can claim whole forests during the apocalypse, and daryl says very little, and eventually she lets him go

next time dog finds daryl and he brings her back and leah is like, “the dog likes you” and they’re kinda flirty, and then daryl says very little and leaves

next time daryl is surrounded by walkers and leah shows up and helps and they hide in a tree and are awkwardly close to each other and daryl cannot handle the close physical contact so when the walkers pass he says very little except to tell her to never come back again, lmfao

the next flashback is my favorite bc daryl just fucking

goes to leah’s cabin and throws a fish at the door???

i laughed for ten years

he throws a fucking fish and then stands there for a minute like “is she gonna notice that i gave her a fish??” like, no, dumbass, you didn’t even knock, you just threw a fucking fish at her fucking door, what is wrong with you??

no wonder it’s taken him and carol so long if he thinks throwing fish at people is a smooth move. boy has NO fucking game

anyway, leah gets him back by finding him and throwing the fish at his head, being like, “wtf, don’t throw fish on my porch?” which, fair, leah

IMPORTANT CARYL PARALLEL (from here on out known as “caryllels”) #1: so earlier i mentioned the carol fish thing, and apparently the same thing happened with leah, where she speared a fish on her first try and daryl was like “tf?” v blatant “we are supposed to be thinking about carol and daryl’s relationship during this scene” sort of thing

leah’s backstory is bland. had a family, they got eaten or disappeared or something. she, her adopted son, and dog’s mom got away, but the kid was bit, and died the same day dog was born, bc ig when god closes one door, he replaces your dead son with a puppy, or however the idiom goes

ONLY PART THAT GOT ME LEGIT EMOTIONAL:

leah asked daryl who he lost, and he says, “my brother”

asklfdjaslfdjskl

god i miss rick

i hated rick for so long and now i miss him so much

but i digress

IMPORTANT CARYLLEL #2: leah and daryl have the same “the dead get you eventually”/”i ain’t gonna let it” conversation as caryl had earlier, only daryl is playing the role of carol in this scenario, so again we’re supposed to be comparing the two relationships. lemme get through the rest of the summary and then i’ll tell you my opinion on what that means

fuck what even happens next?

i have these out of order bc they were all the fucking same, but the two of them get closer, and there is the vaguest suggestion of sex ever. you literally only see daryl’s hand

then jump-cut to them sitting at the table being emo, ig bc daryl was gonna go back to look for rick for a bit, and leah is like “who do you belong with? your brother you won’t stop looking for? your family that you left? [side note: that seemed rather pointed, like, “hey hoe, you abandoned your family, that was kind of a dick move”] or me?” and he says he doesn’t know, and she’s like “yeah you do, now choose”

jump-cut to caryl scene where carol finds him at the river and says that she won’t be visiting as much, and daryl’s like “k” and they have a brief argument where daryl’s all snippy, like, “what? do you want my permission for you to move on with your life? i’m not still emo about the fact that you’re moving on with your life, and i also don’t think it’s contextually significant that every time you show up in my flashbacks you explicitly mention that you’re married and have a kid,” and carol is like, “bro, you need to Get Your Shit Together and come home”

jump-cut to daryl having what i’m assuming is an epiphany that carol/fam have all moved on while he was out being emo, and so he decides to go be with leah, except, plot twist! she’s gone. the picture of her and her son is gone, but dog is still there. daryl leaves the note, which says, “i belong with you, find me”

for those freaking out about the wording about the note, may i remind you that she specifically asked, “do you belong x, x, or with me?” so he was just answering the question

aaaaaand back to present day

carol is like, “what do you think happened to her?” and daryl is all -shrug emoji-, and then she’s like, “...do you think she might have just...you know...left?” and daryl gets rull offended, which was kind of funny

(she probably just left, bud)

carol tells daryl to stop thinking that when people leave it’s bc of him, and connie’s name gets thrown into the mix, and daryl gets a “oh here we fucking go” look on his face, and it sets him off

he said basically what we were already spoiled for. “you just want to run, you don’t know when to stop, i shouldn’t have taken you off the boat bc you still just want to run” etc

and carol looks fucking HEARTBROKEN, which hurt me, and she goes into the other room and we end the episode with daryl staring forlornly out of the window

the end

okay

so quick analysis

i think the significance of this episode is supposed to be so we have an understanding of why daryl is suddenly so !teamfamily, and !teamfuture, and how badly he wants carol to be there with him. at one point, one of them even says, “this isn’t about leah, or connie,” or anyone but the two of them. the title “find me” feels significant, bc the whole episode is daryl grappling with where he’s supposed to go, and what his purpose is, and by the end, he says to carol, “i know where i belong,” (implying, with her and the fam), pulling us full-circle. in the first flashback onward he is lost, but by the end he is found -cue amazing grace-

daryl and leah were flirty, but to me it felt very much like something that was just being used as daryl character development. we barely got anything that juicy between the two of them (except the fish throwing thing, that was amazing), and i still don’t think that it would make any sense, regardless of the showrunner, to pair daryl up with some rando after having so many other choices that people would have preferred. i don’t think we’re meant to #endgame ship it, so much as we are supposed to be like, “oh, ok, daryl learned the power of family and stability and leveled up, -you know what that is? growth gif-” as a result, i literally have no idea what leah’s role is gonna be in s11, but i don’t think it’ll be a huge plot point

so now we firmly know where daryl stands. he is all about moving forward, not looking back, and doing the best he can, and he’s frustrated bc when he took carol off the boat he wanted her to be in the same place as him so that they could grow together, but she wasn’t and isn’t there yet

so my guess is that what’s next for carol’s storyline is her reaching that same zen-level daryl’s at

once they’re both there, then they get to ride off into the sunset and make passionate love under the moon casting shadows over the vast desert wasteland

whew

anyway

tl;dr: idk, episode was fine, if not kinda boring. lots of caryllels. can i go back to writing my vietnam war au now?

the end

(stay hype, stan kang, and get daryl to call carol sweetheart 2k21),

-diz

#thank god i can move on with my life now #caryl #caryl spoilers #twd s10 spoiler #dunlap tp

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dakotafinely · 3 years

Note

Okay yay! How about Splinter finding out about savage Raph and finally revealing the trauma that caused it? (Captured by hunter and escaped in savage mode after biting the man’s hand off...alligator snapper CHOMP)

Wow, immediate angst. Not that I’m against it or anything. Also, I like how you add that little () note. It’s a nice touch (and totally helps me start writing so-) anyways! Let’s get into it!

Side note: WOW this gets super long. So I put a little keep reading for those who don’t actually care about the story.

Raph never intentionally kept it from Splinter. It was something he didn’t like thinking about. And his brother’s never really thought to ask about it. One could suppose everyone thought the old rat knew and just didn’t want to explain it. Or that maybe it was something he just couldn’t explain away. Either way, that had all changed today.

The trio of little brother’s had made the mistake of leaving Raph alone down deep in the sewers. It wasn’t intentional, as the trio often forgot their older brother would break the longer he was alone. Since they usually didn’t really leave each other’s sides. And didn’t have the same issue as Raph had.

It was a chase. It was always a chase.

On the rare occasion that Raph did become savage. It was usually him chasing them, or something he was going to kill. The instinct to survive his main priority and the trio being seen as potential threats in the lenses of savage mode. But something was different.

Mikey had noticed it when the group returned to Raph’s location. Instead of the enraged attacks of Savage Raph, or the whines/scolds of Raph telling them they shouldn’t have been gone for so long. Raph sat in a corner, pressed against the wall furthest from the brothers. He was growling, a threat of course. But it seemed empty as with each step they took towards him. He simply wiggled, as if trying to get further away.

“Hold on guys, I think we need to approach one at a time,” Leo finally spoke up, he’d been slowly assessing the situation at hand. Deciding that if only one of them went in, it was less likely for Savage Raph to attack.

That statement of course, made it a unanimous vote for Leo to be the sacrifice.

“Well, go on then. We need to calm him down before April comes down,” Donnie spoke, checking his phone. April had already sent a text that she was on her way. They had to get wrap this up quickly. Leo looked to his twin and huffed. Before taking slow steps toward Raph.

Raph’s growl and squirming continued. But he still made no move as Leo’s empty hands held themselves up as non-threateningly as possible. It wasn’t until Leo tried to touch Raph that it finally broke the tense silence.

Raph roared, knocking Leo back as the other two pulled out their weapons. Ready for an attack from the blindly raging brute. But instead he ran off. Making the two look at each other confused. Before checking on Leo.

“You alright bro?” Mikey asked, pulling Leo up from the floor. Leo rubbed his shell and took a shake. Before nodding.

“Yeah, it’s more the surprise then the pain...” Leo trailed and looked around “where’d he go?” he asks, having expected the Snapper to fight them like the other two did. Donnie shrugged, looking off the direction Raph had fled to.

“Don’t know, he just... ran off,” Donnie spoke putting his Bo-staff away.

“Well, what are we doing just standing here? We gotta find him!” Leo immediately ran off the direction Donnie had been staring. Mikey not to far off his heels. Donnie sighed, taking a speed walk to still keep the two in his sites.

April had joined them about ten minutes later. Donnie sending her their location as they traveled through the maze of sewers in New York. Their efforts still fruitless as they’d completely lost the Snapper.

What had been nothing more then ten minutes quickly turned into a few hours.

“Guys,” April spoke as the group had taken a moment’s rest. Having been on their feet for so long they’d chosen to take a pause. Just in case they’d have to fight the Snapper down when they found him again. The group looked to her as she spoke up “did you hear that?” she asked with concentration on her face.

No one spoke. All trying to hear what she’d just heard.

“What did-” Mikey was cut off by a noise. A much louder then the one April had previously heard. It was a whimper, a pained and tired whimper. If it weren’t for the fact that the voice was so recognizable. The group would’ve believed it was a small child lost in sewers with them.

“Raph!” They spoke in unison, chasing after the voice. And the heavy footsteps that ran from them.

It was a chase, but not a chase they had ever been use to.

Splinter was sitting comfortably in his recliner. Another uneventfully evening as he’d began to slowly fall asleep in the chair. The cake and warm milk filling his stomach in a comfortable and lulling way. Eyelids heavy as he no longer tried to focus on what was happening on the screen before him.

Until he was startled by his phone ringing. Immediately waking to “panicked parent mode” he began looking for his phone. Unable to find it despite it ringing next to him. Shuffling and shoving hands down the sides of the recliner until he let out a small, victorious, cry at his discovery. Only to disappointed at finding the remote instead.

A few more rings and a few more minutes of aggressive searching. He’d found his phone and felt his stomach drop at April’s name on his screen.

Not that he wouldn’t have panicked if it was one of his sons. But April was a whole knew level. He quickly answered and tried to not to yank the phone away from his head as April yelled on the other end. Most of it unintelligible through the phone aside from “Raph” and “we need help!”. He took a breath, trying to calm himself, knowing it wouldn’t help if both he and her panicked.

“April, slow down, I can’t hear what you’re saying.”

“Raph! He’s gone into this- like -savage mode! He keeps running from us and throwing the guys if they get to close! Please! You have to come here quick! We just got him cornered but he won’t let us near him!” April spoke as quickly and clearly as she could. Trying to leave little room for more conversation as she watched Raph throw an aimless hit toward Mikey. The box turtle barely dodging out the way of the blow.

Splinter, of course, had already begun moving out of the lair.

“Okay, stay calm. Tell the boys to keep him their but don’t make any movements toward him. Tell me which part of the sewers your in,” Splinter began, keeping a calm demeanor. April took a hum before finding an indication of which sewer pipe they got him stuck in. Quickly giving the location to Splinter.

“Good, I’ll be there soon.”

When Splinter had arrived onto the scene. He was relieved to find the group sitting a few feet from Raph. Leo, Donnie, and Mikey all singing parts of the lullabies they could remember from their younger days. Back when they still asked Splinter to sing for them. It seemed to put the Savage Raph in a trance. Having calmed down. It was April who noticed him and backed off from the group to talk to him.

“Leo said he noticed something was attached to Raph’s tail. He can’t take a good look at it ‘cause Raph won’t let him come close.” She explained, looking back to the sight before her. She’d seen Raph go savage once, but it had been on the tale end of the savage episode. Splinter simply nodded and walked toward his sons.

He’d hummed the tune and the trio backed off. Quieting down, Raph started to growl at Splinter, before seeming to recognize him. And calming down, a soft and cautious churr came from him. But he didn’t flinch when Splinter passed the invisible line.

He did, however, flinch when Splinter raised his hand. Before relaxing as Splinter took a light touch to his forehead, sliding it down to his cheek. Still humming the lullaby. Raph had fully relaxed now, his body visibly easing as he let himself sit like a cat. Letting Splinters hands trail down his shell as he went to assess the damage.

It was a small, basic rat trap. Pinching his tail in a way uncomfortable for the mutant. Splinter grimaced at the memory that came with the realization of why his son had acted out this way. And had, with as much gentleness as he could manage, pulled the trap off his son. Raph let out a yelp and ran from reach of his father. Before noticing the lack of pain on his tail. A happy churr came from him as he slowly eased out of Savage mode.

Donnie, using the help of his enhanced limbs, began carrying the large mutant. Who had barely been awake enough to realize he was beginning carried to begin with.

The way back to the lair was mostly silent. Most of the group begin tired, energy spent on the chase. But April couldn’t help but speak up, having several questions.

“So... does anyone know why Raph does that?” She asked, looking to anyone for an answer. The brothers simply shrugged, having no answer. But Splinter looked surprised.

“Wait, this isn’t the first time he’s done this?”

“Well, he usually fights us,” Leo spoke up with a shrug “but this is the first time he’s run away instead.” Leo said with the wave of his hand. A partial dismissal of it.

“... You didn’t know?” Mikey asked walking next to his father. Who quickly shook his head, partially in disbelief.

“No! Why didn’t you boy’s tell me!?” Splinter asked with some exasperation evident in his tone.

“Well, you didn’t tell us you were Lou Jitsu for most of our lives,” Leo pokes, as if this was some sort of competition. Donnie rolled his eyes.

“It just never came up, we always thought you knew,” Donnie deadpanned, adjusting a bit to keep Raph steady. The snapper mumbled something incoherent but it didn’t seem all to important to the conversation.

“So, do you know why he does it Splints?” April asks trying to get back to her questions. They needed answer darn it! Especially after this most recent episode.

Splinter, nodded slowly. A part of him unsure, before nodding quickly. It was the only explanation.

“You all were only tot’s when it happened...” Splinter began.

Splinter knew that an enriching environment was important. Whether it was for kids or pets. So he did his best to take his sons down to a stream. One with no hiking trails nearby and not deep enough for fishers to use. But still enough that it was basically a naturally made kiddie pool.

He’d been tending to the box turtle, dubbed Orange for his little spots ‘til Splinter could find better names for them. Orange was the only one who couldn’t really seem to swim. Nor did he seem to want to engage with the water at all. So Splinter had been helping him make little piles of dirt, and rocks. Nothing fancy or necessarily pretty. But it brought utter delight onto Orange’s face every time one was completed. So how could he stop him?

Splinter had been keeping weary eyes on the other three. Wanting to make sure the shallow tide hadn’t swept them away. However, the other three seemed to mature faster then the box turtle to a degree. So he gave them trust to make some sort of noise to capture his attention if they needed it.

The only problem with that was, they would have to know they needed it.

Splinter would notice in 30 minutes that Red was missing. Dubbed Red because he, just like the color, was bold and brash. And Splinter had already used his other two favorite colors on the soft-shell and slider.

In 30 minutes Splinter would realize that his little snapper had decided to wander the forest. And he would panic because what if someone found him? What if someone took his son away from him? What if they hurt him?

It would be a few hours before Orange gets fussy. And Splinter realizes just how long he’d been searching for his eldest son.

It would be another hour before Splinter had to retire back into the sewers. Feeding and putting the other three to rest before he ran back out.

It would be three days of searching and failing to find Red. Splinter in a desperate state of trying to keep it together while in a constant state of worry for his boy.

It would be day number four. When Splinter would find a group of hunters. Cages set around them like trophies. And it would take everything Splinter had not rush down and attack them when he saw his son in one of them.

Locked in cage like some sort of savage animal. Curled in a corner, clearly afraid and confused. Whimpering like he was hungry. And Splinter could only soften in a pained way as he watched his son suffer.

“Aww, what’s the matter little guy? Ya hungry?” A hunter spit at Red. Tossing a small piece of beef jerky just outside of Red’s reach. Still, the naive snapper would go after it. Starved for days. And he would be mocked, and laughed at as the hunters around him would do nothing but watch him be helpless.

Splinter had to retreat. Wanting to go stealth with retrieving his son. Despite the rage inside of him telling him he could fight every single hunter in the group head on and come out unscathed.

Splinter didn’t see the one hunter that snuck Red some jerky. Watching with a small smile as he ate up. Before dumping the whole bag into his cage. Walking off as though they hadn’t done anything.

Splinter came back that night. A fire now lifeless as most of the hunters slept. Splinter had begun creeping toward the camp before freezing at the sound of a voice.

“Your not like the others are you little guy?” It cooed, soft and gentle. Splinter could barely see it. But he saw a woman crouching down in front of Red’s cage. And cursed himself for not taking the brash approach earlier.

Red churred a bit in response. Still unable to really form words. But his churr was curious and cautious.

“Yeah, I didn’t think so. I’ve seen snappers before and you don’t really look it,” she said, before letting out an awkward chuckle “I mean, you do kinda, but not really if you get what I mean.”

Another churr, confused.

“Yeah... sorry,” she said, Splinter heard the light click of a cage opening. And with the moon finally deciding to show itself from the thick clouds.

A tall, black woman stood up, thick curly hairs draped down her shoulders. Red in her arms with a gentle care of a mother. She’d turned, facing Splinter with eyes grown wide, mouth agape in shock. And that’s when he realized he should’ve moved to an actually hiding spot. The moon didn’t hide away as they stared at each other. Before Red began chirping happily, arms outstretched to his father.

Splinter held his arms out, staring a hole into his son. He didn’t want to speak, he wasn’t sure if he could. This was the first human that’d seen him in... well he wasn’t even sure how many years at this point.

Slowly, but surely, with eyes still wide and mouth agape. She handed Red to Splinter. The two sharing a tight, hopeful and relieved hug. Splinter couldn’t hold back the little sobs that came from his body. He had his son back, his son was safe. His son was here.

“Go,” the woman’s voice was a hoarse whisper, still recovering from the shocking sight. Splinter looked to her, startled at the interruption of his blessed reunion. She looked to him with concern, before glancing to the other sleeping hunters “if you want to get out of here with him now. You need to go,” she whispered. Splinter nodded, rushing off with a flurry. Leaves rustling, and with no cation in his rushed movements. A branch broke.

“O’Neil? Is that you making that racket?”

“Yeah, yeah, just go back to sleep, thought I saw something but I was wrong.”

Annnnnnnd I’m ending it there! Mostly because this is getting longer then I planned it to be. However, I’m extremely happy with how it came out. The idea’s just came like BOOM! BOW! POP! and I had to do ‘em. I hope you like it! This was fun! I loved the concept, I’ve seen many takes on it so I wanted to change it up a bit!

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221bsunsettowers · 3 years

Text

TK/Carlos: I Shake and I Shiver Just to Watch You Breathe

(Takes place during Season 2, Episode 6)

As their car pulled in, Carlos leapt out, churning up dust as he took off running. The minute he spotted the 126, he knew.

Oh. Yep. Love of my life. Following a duffle bag, spray paint and a prayer across an active loaded minefield.

And then TK leapt onto the first circle.

In which Carlos ends up at the minefield right as TK starts his journey across.

Takes place during episode 2x06, because Carlos should be in every episode, and because there was so much potential for Carlos to be there watching TK jump through an active minefield.

CW for a few swear words, panic, anxiety, explosion, fear. No blood, injuries, or medical procedures are described.

Thanks so much to @buddie-buddie who once again was an amazing support system for me to push through the self doubt and just keep writing.

Title from Run by Matt Nathanson and Sugarland

Can also be read on a03

It definitely wasn't a secret to Carlos' coworkers he was in a serious committed relationship with a firefighter from the 126. When he could, TK would stop by the station to bring coffee and a kiss, especially if he knew Carlos was having a hard day, and Carlos was constantly being good-naturedly teased about the apparently epic heart eyes between him and his boyfriend anytime they were on the same call.

If somehow anyone didn't know by that point, the framed picture of him and TK on his desk would have given that one away.

So Carlos found his cell phone pinging over and over in the seconds before the news came over the radio. His fellow officers had tried to warn him what was coming, not that he could take much comfort in that with what he was hearing.

126. Minefield. Two firefighters attempting a rescue.

His partner didn't even hesitate before responding that they were on their way to the site.

As their car pulled in, Carlos leapt out, churning up dust as he took off running. The minute he spotted the 126, he knew.

Oh. Yep. Love of my life. Following a duffle bag, spray paint and a prayer across an active loaded minefield.

And then TK leapt onto the first circle.

Carlos felt that morning's breakfast rising in his throat, battling with his lung's sudden amnesia regarding breathing, and he was doubling over, head swimming, until he felt a pair of hands on his shoulders.

"We gotcha," Judd's voice rumbled soothingly in his ear, and Carlos suddenly found himself perched on the back of the truck, Tommy's kind eyes meeting his as she reminded him to breathe in and out. The rest of the 126 had pressed closer together, and Carlos felt Paul's shoulder tap reassuringly against his own.

"I--what even--" Shaking his head, Carlos gave up on even trying to ask how they now all found themselves at the scene of this unbelievable situation.

"They needed a medic," Marjan explained softly.

"TK said you guys filled that spot though..." Carlos turned his head to find the eyes of a man who sure as hell looked like a paramedic quickly darting his gaze away. "You son of a bitch," Carlos growled, and that was definitely not a sound he knew he could make, but that bastard stood on this side and TK was on the other, and whose fucking fault was that then.

"Carlos...." Paul's arm was around his chest, gently tugging Carlos back, and Carlos sagged, because that medic was worth nothing and TK was worth everything and wasn't that what really mattered anyway.

And then, as if on cue, explosion.

Smoke shot everywhere, and Carlos felt his knees buckle, and by the time he hit the ground they still couldn't see a damn thing. So he knelt there, holding his breath, trying to will TK's way out of the ashes, and it wasn't until Tommy's radio announced the news that Carlos let out a gasping choke of air.

Rising, Carlos dusted his uniform pants off as the Bomb Squad pulled into view and the injured teenager on the field woke up. He nodded his head at the officers he recognized, tried to smile for his patiently waiting partner, kept his shaking hands concealed inside his pockets and his relieved sobs clenched tight inside his throat. He knocked shoulders with the 126, and he knew they knew him far too well at this point to believe he was fine, but they also knew him well enough to know he was one soft touch away from crumbling.

And TK was suddenly walking towards him, that beautiful sunshine grin quickly shifting into concern as he took in Carlos.

"Los," was all TK got to say before Carlos had his arms around him, hard enough to carry him back against the rear of the engine. Carlos was whimpering, another sound he had no idea he could produce, and TK was holding Carlos together, a tight embrace and soothing murmurs and a kiss to the side of Carlos' jaw.

"Aren't you supposed to be the one shaking here?" Carlos tried to joke, eyes closed as he nosed along TK's hairline, breathing him in.

"Adrenaline crash hasn't happened yet," TK assured him, clutching his fingers in the curls at the nape of Carlos' neck. "Right now I'm worried about you, baby."

"I had to watch that whole thing, Ty," Carlos whispered into TK's skin, the crook of his neck, the curve of his shoulder. "I love you so much and I'm so mad at you."

"I know, sweetheart, I'm so sorry," and TK's hands were clutching at Carlos' back, gripping his uniform tight enough to tear, and Carlos was nodding into TK's shoulder, drawing breath in.

The crew, the Bomb Squad, the kids from the field, everyone was out of sight, blurry visions around the corner from where TK and Carlos now stood. Pulling back slightly, Carlos wiped his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest, looking down at their dust-covered shoes.

"TK, just imagine you're standing on the other side of a fence, and there I am, about to enter a field full of, let's say, snipers, to try to save someone who's already been shot. And every time I move I throw a rock, and if that rock misses the nearest sniper, I get shot." Carlos choked out, shaking his head violently. "That's what that felt like for me to watch you on that minefield."

"Please don't ever make me imagine that," TK's voice was shaking, and Carlos met his eyes, saw them tear-filled, saw the way TK's trembling hands reached for him, and he swept TK up in his arms again.

"Please stay safe for me," Carlos whispered back, words settling along their skin as they both nodded in unison, Carlos knowing TK needed the hopeful promise just as much as he did.

"Are you still mad at me?" TK's voice was so quiet, quivering in uncertainty, and Carlos pulled back just enough to cup his boyfriend's face in his hands.

"You saved a kid's life," Carlos said, voice full of awe and so much love as he brought his forehead to bump gently against TK's. "I knew what I was getting into, Tiger, may not have seen a minefield coming, but still."

They both laughed, TK's head doing that adorable little tilt to the side, just far enough to lay a kiss on Carlos' palm. "I love you so much," TK promised, wrapping his arms around Carlos' waist, leaning into Carlos' waiting arms.

"I love you so much too," Carlos vowed back, pressing their lips together into a soft, steady kiss. Before stepping back, Carlos murmured, "And you better believe I'll be expecting a full body massage tonight since you just took ten years off my life with that stunt." He grinned as TK blushed, giving him no warning as the rest of the had been extremely patient 126 came barrelling over, and TK ended up in a combination headlock hug tackle.

"See you at home!" TK managed to squeak out from where he was currently pinned. "Love you Carlos!"

"Love you too baby," Carlos grinned, shoulders shaking with laughter as TK's hair was forcibly ruffled by Judd's hand. Turning to his also extremely patient partner, Carlos squeezed her arm gratefully. "I owe you the biggest coffee we can find."

"Oh you owe me at least three giant coffees, Officer Heart Eyes Emoji," she bantered back with a laugh and a smirk.

"New nickname for the win!" Marjan crowed, TK shrugging sheepishly as he emerged from under Mateo's arm.

Laughing as he slid back into the car, Carlos just caught her next words before the door closed. "Oh don't worry, we would never leave you out, the Heart Eyes Emoji Formerly Known as Strand!"

@i-had-bucky @bikingthroughhawkins @officereyes @highqualitykhakis @meloingly

Let me know if you would like to be added to my Tarlos tag!

#9-1-1 lone star #carlos reyes #tk strand #tk strand x carlos reyes #tk x carlos #carlos reyes x tk strand #carlos x tk #episode 2x06 #minefield #tarlos #fanfic #fanfiction #writing #always more carlos #emotional hurt/comfort #angst with a happy ending #126 ships them like we do #126 firefam #otp: we make a pretty good team

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choco-mark · 4 years

Text

A Marriage of Inconvenience (Epilogue)

overall pairing: mafia!jeno x mafia!oc

overall genre: angst | smut | fluff

warnings: mentions of violence + death, mentions of drugs + drugging + drugging someone else, mentions of sex

summary: when two mafia gangs decide to end their family feud after decades, your mother decides to give your hand away to marriage of their son, lee jeno. he seemed to hate you from the moment he laid his eyes on you, but could the resolution lead to something much more than a bride and groom?

words: 3k

masterlist

requested by 🤡 anon

1 December

Seven months. That was how long it had been since Jeno had slipped a band onto your finger and kissed you into a marriage that was once so...inconvenient to you. It was funny even thinking back to how the two of you treated each other with so much hostility only a month ago, acting as if a difference of family was so disgusting. It was funny, thinking back to when you tried to kill him with the very nice blades that the Lees polished every other day.

Your back hit the soft mattress and you laid yourself down against the material of the pillow that was now cushioning your head. But your brain didn’t seem to remember the exact moment your hatred for him changed into something else, and even as much as you traveled back into your memories, you never could really find the minute you had looked at him without thinking ‘oh, Lee.’ It made you wonder what changed, but the more you wondered, the more you understood. From all that you had witnessed for the past while, the one thing that hit you the hardest was that: Lee Jeno was just like you. As much as you wouldn’t had dared admit it before, you knew it now; you knew exactly how much the two of you had in common.

Your entire life you had been raised like bred puppy not to ever trust anyone with your life except for yourself, which often caused you to shun people immediately for the moment you saw this. If it wasn’t in battle, you had never found yourself the kind of person to make friends or casually talk, and when it was, well, you always just did the job that you were told to do. Your personality was an original cold person, the kind of person that wouldn’t want anyone near them that would cause their own emotional attachment. The only exception being family.

You could tell how close Jeno was with his family, and lately having confided in you very minutely about his feeling, how close he was with Donghyuck. It hadn’t occurred to him that his brother had been going through depressive episodes, which had caused him to have outbreaks of different emotions at different times because of the drugs that he had been abused with, not at least until the Lee doctor had diagnosed him in the dungeon that he had been locked up in. And according to him, it had hit him hard. Harder than he had expected himself to be affected by it. His relationship with Taeyong wasn’t necessarily the same, considering he had always had a certain hate for his younger brothers, but Mark? He had said that even if he wasn’t his brother, he would’ve still considered him as one.

You had told him that you—were somewhat similar, though, he didn’t need you to tell him because he had already seen that attachment towards Jisung the entire time that he was recovering. You had always seen it as a weakness, the way that family always was the soft spot in your heart, but the more you talked about it with him, the more you realized it was a strength. Your love for your brother was out of the roof, and he knew that as much as you showed it, and he assured you that it most definitely did not make you weak because you loved.

In the past few days, it had almost felt like you and Jeno had just passed a stage from strangers to friends, from the way you two were actually able to talk and train together. Well, counting out the fact that you had insisted you go to the training room and Jeno had sheepishly told you that his father had specifically asked you not to leave the bedroom for the rest of the month. It ended with you threatening to punch your—father-in-law in the face, and a few very angry knives being thrown at targets.

But Jeno was nice to train with, because he was like you in the fact that your training time was your therapeutic relaxation time. You didn’t want to be disturbed, and neither did he, and that made the perfect pairing. It only lasted till sparring, where you knew he lacked it, and you gave him a few techniques that would help him in the hopeful future. And Jeno, well, he had helped you with your rifle skills.

The two of you were—well—kind of forced to share a room, which allowed for eventful breakfasts and lunches and dinners that would consist of long, unusual, and unnecessary discussions. They were forever ongoing, and they varied from topics such as old comics to your lecture on feminism, but, it allowed for some kind of bonding between the two of you.

Jeno had eventually understood the reason why you were always so defiant against his father, and it did hit him that the Lees were always so discriminatory towards women in their household. He had said with a small voice and a slight smile that ‘one day, when I take over the clan, I’ll abolish the patriarchy.’ But, you both knew that day wouldn’t come for a while, at least, so you had to deal with it for the time being.

You had also learned that Jeno had a very high sex drive. Well, higher than you had expected. You already knew that he really liked taking that cock of his and stuffing you full, but what you didn’t expect was his easy submission. There had been one day where you had taken you chance and sat on his chest, and to your surprise, he had looked up at you with pleading eyes that made you want to sin. And the best part was when he asked for your validation, the constant ‘am I doing good?’ or ‘does that feel good?’ that would make your heart warm up in different ways.

Jeno was sensitive, too, and you hadn’t even noticed it until you woke up one morning to find him crying silently into his hands after hearing the news that one of his sisters were getting married. You were—expecting him to say that someone died, but the fact that his tears were for a happy beginning made you realize how much pent up emotion he had inside of him. You were almost glad to have witnessed him crying for something so...soft.

Jeno was understanding, way more understanding that it made you want to be more accepting of him as well. He had read your mind one night and had snuck you out to visit your home just for few hours, to reunite you with the rest of your family for just the result of your smile in the end. At least, Jeno knew what it felt like being kept away from his family.

You knew he visited Donghyuck everyday, who was now in the hospital wing being treated indefinitely. Though you couldn’t necessarily bring yourself to see the man who had abducted you again without feeling the flashes from before, you knew that it meant a lot to him that he go see him. Even if he didn’t tell you, Mark did, and he always gave you a little toothy smile and told you not to worry about him.

It was on the seventeenth of May when you had woken up with severe cramps and nausea that had caused you to vomit at the break of dawn. It was on that same day that Jeno had insisted that he carry you to the hospital wing with the belief that you were ‘dying from side effects of the oxygen depreciating drug.’ And it was on the same day that the doctor had widened his eyes and told the two of you that, no, you were not dying, but you were pregnant.

The first thing that had come to your mind was: I’m not ready for this. And the truth was that, no, you were one hundred percent not ready to become a mother and bring a child into the world. Jeno had stood there for what felt like an eternity with his jaw dropped until you had given him a slap on the thigh. Well, you shouldn’t had expected yourself to not be pregnant with all that sex and all that non-protection. Yet that was the outcome. But Jeno seemed to have expected it, and the funniest part to you was, he was ten times more excited than you were. Sure, having kids was definitely something you wanted, but having kids when you were nineteen and just married? Not really your cup of tea.

You had finally gotten enough of his anticipating words by the end of the next night, yelling at him with no rationale on the fact that you didn’t even want kids in the first place. That wasn’t completely true, no, but in the heat of the moment, you couldn’t take seeing him so happy about something that he didn’t even see as a burden.

But another thing about Jeno that you had learned was that, he was so selfless. He had sat down with you with his hands grasping yours the entire time as he let you pour your heart out about everything. You ended up crying, almost embarrassingly, but he assured you that it was okay. It was okay to cry when things don’t go the way you wanted.

Jeno was comforting, that was for sure. All he ever did was offer you comfort when you needed it, and gave you everything he could even when you didn’t need it. It was almost like he was sacrificing himself for you, and you didn’t even know why. Not until he told you.

You still remembered the day he did, he had let you sit on his lap in the empty training mats in mid-August, rubbing your thighs softly. You had missed training with him, and that was something he had forbid ever since you had started showing. The least he could do was take you to the scene, and enjoy it with you.

He had pressed his lips down your neck, trailing back up to whisper into your ears words that you truly, never would’ve expected him to say before. You had turned to stare at him for so long, and you had watched the anticipating shine of his eyes as he waited for your response. But, you felt the same way, of course, how could you not?

And everytime since that first time, you would feel like little butterflies in your stomach that would flutter around when he kissed you with those rose lips of his. Kissed you with all the love that he said and gave. And so you had told him back, so quietly, ‘I love you.’

What didn’t strike you was that Lee Jeno was a romantic. A romantic that he would never take credit for. You knew he wouldn’t, but he still woke you up to warm baths and feathered kisses, and he took you outside without his father’s permission to let you view the pretty gardens that were always locked to public view. He kissed you under the covers, and in front of his older brother. He did what he wanted, because he loved you, and he didn’t have to hide it any longer.

Donghyuck had recovered by early September, though having been warned caution by the doctor, Jeno still hadn’t allowed you near him. He had insisted that no, he didn’t have the same liking towards you that he might’ve had before, but he didn’t want to take any chances and put you in danger. You and your unborn child, as well.

But you visited Donghyuck in his room on a crisp afternoon later that month, having avoided Jeno as he had gone on an outing with Mark. It was funny, you thought, seeing him so unflirty and polite from the way that contrasted when he had his episodes before. He had even cried seeing your baby bump, and you could’ve sworn that was the cutest reaction you had gotten from anyone about your child. He was so different, but this was the Donghyuck that Jeno had told you was real, unlike the one that possessed him into taking another name.

Jeno had yelled at you after he came back, having known that you had left that room. And you, well, you yelled back. He had said that you shouldn’t have left. And you had said that he couldn’t stop you. It was heated, and at the end, you had realized: it was your first ever fight. And it was about Donghyuck.

You learned that night that Donghyuck was his half-brother, born from the same father but a different mother. It had been rumored, apparently, that his mother was a Park, at least that was what Jeno had told you. It almost made you laugh, thinking about that, because that man did have qualities that would stick him as a Park. He felt guilt, something apparently, that Lees didn’t feel. Well, it had been just a rumor anyway.

The next day you had awoken to Jeno pulling a bullet out of his arm in the lavish bathroom, and he had to lull you back to sleep with the promise that he was okay. You had learned later that he had gone out on a mission, and had failed to retrieve the said item that was needed, and his father had taken it out on him by shooting a metal ball into his skin. It wasn’t a bullet, per say, and it wasn’t nearly as painful, but it still caused an infection that made you want to barge up to that man and kill him right then and there.

Mark had told you that day that his father always had—unusual punishments when things didn’t go his way, though it seemed more like cruel to you. You hadn’t understood why your husband’s father treated his children as if they weren’t even his children, but a pack of dogs at his bidding to do whatever he wanted with them. It was disgusting.

In mid-October, that was when you realized that Jeno was infatuated with your voice. He had been concentrating on the move of your lips and the sounds falling from them so much that his listening wasn’t even listening, he had just been admiring your voice like it was something beautiful on its own. Even when you had gotten slightly frustrated with him constantly zoning out on your lips, he had just given you that cute eye-smile and kissed you, telling you that you’re gorgeous. That you’re gorgeous, and he loves you.

Jeno was—beautiful in his own sense, with a sense of absolute love and adoration for you that you noticed had grown so unbearable over time that you knew—the two of you couldn’t see a life without each other. You even laughed on that day he told you that, remembering back when the two of you were constantly at each other’s throats for almost zero to no reason. Now? You couldn’t even imagine what your life would’ve been if you weren’t forced to marry him.

Though at the same time, you could. You would’ve been living the same life as you always were, throwing blades and killing for victory. You would’ve been spending time with your younger brother the way you did before, training him and advising him about everything and nothing he needed to know. As much as you had grown to love Jeno, you didn’t think that anything to take over the meaning of Jisung in your life, and it made you tired to think that you couldn’t see him every day as you wished. But Jeno made it happen.

Jeno made—almost everything you wanted—happen. He treated you like a princess, not even, a queen like he sometimes said. He had never wanted to see you upset when you were with him, and if you did, there was always his constant strive to make you smile again. Even if it wasn’t easy. He had snuck Jisung out of the Park mansion on a Saturday night in November, and had woken you up to a brother you hadn’t seen in months.

And over all that time that you had gotten to know and fall for the man that you were formally married to, you had thought back to the day of your wedding and remembered how reluctant you were to marry him. Even back then, you were so weary of how Jeno had managed to make you feel in the time that he had saved you from your abductors, and you didn’t want to feel so weak around a man that had always seemed strong. You didn’t want to let him know that you were already falling for him, because you thought he was so different, but he—really wasn’t.

It had been seven months since you and Jeno had gotten married, and in another two months, you would be welcoming your baby daughter into the world. You had never imagined your life to take such a huge turn when you had entered the Lee palace all that time ago, with only the determination to find the people that had taken their liking for you, but...it had. Jeno hadn’t imagined it either, most definitely not when he found out he was marrying a Park, but he knew that his past self would scold him now if he knew that he was in love with a Park—and married to one too.

But that was where life had taken you, and you could only really hope for a increasingly better future. Both for you, and your husband. It might’ve been forbidden at first, maybe even so inconvenient, but you weren’t about to let it stop you. You would continue to throw knives at a flimsy dart, and you would continue to spar like the high ranked fighter you were. The two of you had made it work, with the best interest in mind as you started, and it had ended up with emotions much stronger than that.

Maybe, just maybe, life wasn’t such a burden all the time.

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i hope that cleared some things up!! and once again, thank you soo much for supporting my first real series on this blog. i hope you guys enjoyed the outcome of the story, and i gotta say that it took some twists that even i didn’t expect (haha), but here we are at the end! thank you!! ♡

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lils-writes-stuff · 4 years

Text

Hit

spencer reid x reader

Summary: a day so normal can turn on a dime so quick.

warnings: normal criminal minds things, torture, kidnapping, confession of undying love, angst

A/N: based on season 7 episode 23; it’s a doozy and this is going to get good.

The morning seemed normal, nothing special about it really. It was a Saturday, a beautiful Saturday morning where Y/N thought nothing, particularly life-altering, would happen.

But, oh, was she wrong. Spencer was going to a convention with Penelope who didn’t want to go alone after her and Kevin’s breakup. Hotch was spending the day with his son and Beth, his girlfriend. JJ was spending the day with her son Henry while Will worked. And Derek was with Emily looking at her new house, who Y/N was supposed to meet but never did.

The day was so normal, she woke up at seven, got dressed, and went out for coffee and a muffin before going to meet Emily and Derek. Everything took a turn of fate when she walked out of the coffee shop, seeing the person she had no expectation of seeing that day.

Y/N’s heart skipped a beat as she made eye contact with Caroline’s sickeningly beautiful ones. She had a smile that played on her face that told Y/N she had already done something to her.

Y/N looked down to her half-empty coffee cup, horror washing over her face as she realized that the man who had made her drink (who she recognized but couldn’t place) was the man from the diner.

She had been drugged and there was no way of getting out of it as her vision blurred and she watched as Caroline got closer.

--------------

“Thank you,” Emily said, grabbing the paper from the realtor as she exited the bottom of the house.

“Thanks.” Derek nodded to the man.

The two walked up the steps from the basement and onto the sidewalk.

“I don’t know,” Emily said, conflicted about her decision on the house.

“Emily, what’s not to know? It’s a beautiful place,” Derek said, confused about Emily’s words.

“There are cracks in the foundation.” Emily turned to face Derek. Her face was ridden with hesitance about the home.

“Cracks can be fixed,” Derek replied.

“No, they can be hidden, they’re still there.” Her words were talking about the house but truly she was talking about herself.

“What, are you afraid the place is gonna fall down?” Derek asked her with a puzzled face.

“I’m afraid it’s never gonna be as strong as it was,” Emily replied, still referring to herself.

“Okay, somebody’s heart is not into it,” Derek stated, catching onto that this wasn’t really about the house anymore. “What’s going on?”

She let out a telling sigh. “I don’t know. When I first came here, I felt like I was home and now, it’s just an uphill battle.”

Derek looked back at the house, thinking about what Emily was saying with intense thought.

“People kill for opportunities like these, am I crazy to pass it up?” She asked.

“Well, you gotta do what’s best for you,” Derek replied. She nodded, letting out a quiet ‘yeah’ and shoved the paper into her purse.

As the two began to walk down the street Emily thought back to Y/N. “Hey, I wonder where Y/N is? She doesn’t show up for something without telling someone.” Emily began to feel that gut feeling she gets when something was wrong.

“She’s probably with Pretty boy, two of them spending a day together,” Derek said not really concerned.

“No, he’s with Penelope, they’re at a sci-fi convention, that’s why I asked Y/N to come with us.” Emily pulled out her phone to call Spencer, but couldn’t as she got a call from Hotch.

------------

When Y/N woke up, she was cold, her body shaking from her drenched clothes that clung to her body. The next thing she noticed was that her hands were zip-tied to the sides of a bolted down metal chair.

Her eyes still heavy, she assessed her state and where she was.

“Loopy, I am very loopy.” Her words were mumbled as she didn’t feel a need to stay quiet. “An apartment.” That’s where she decided she was, the small empty room telling her that. It was mostly dark, a hanging light above her head being the only source of light.

“Wow, for someone who is just starting to wake up, you are very observant.” A voice came from the shadows of the room. Caroline walked out, her tall figure had aged since Y/N had last seen her, she almost looked old. Her long brown hair had lost some of its volume but she still retained the beauty Y/N saw all those years ago.

“You’ve gotten old,” Y/N said, her eyes squinting as she looked at the new forming wrinkles on Caroline’s face. “Must be from all the stress of trying to stay hidden and the prison of course.”

“And you still have the attitude I remember,” Caroline laughed, enjoying the moment they were having.

“What do you want?” Y/N asked, not wanting to appease whatever moment she was having anymore.

“I think you know what I want.” Y/N had an idea, but she didn’t know if it was right.

Her to suffer, more than likely, her friends to suffer, sounds more probable. She probably needed to get off from watching her longest victim suffer again.

“I have some theories,” Y/N replied, her eyes meeting Caroline's.

“Ah, well then Ms. FBI-profiler, let’s hear these amazing theories.” Caroline pulled a chair from behind her. She sat in it backward, her legs draping over the sides.

“I rather keep them to myself.” Y/N was stalling now, hoping to God that someone would notice she’s missing and find her.

“You know, Honey-- do you still go by that, or have you grown out of it?” The nickname made Y/N want to puke, the sound of it coming from her lips bringing back many painful memories she had locked away.

“Things like that, are what are gonna get you hurt.” When the words left her lips, an electric jolt shocked Y/N in her side. The jolt was enough to send her doubling over in pain, but it wasn’t enough to cause major side effects.

Caroline laughed and stood up, clapping her hands together.

“That’s what I like to see!” She exclaimed as she walked closer to Y/N. She grabbed her face with her index finger and thumb, squeezing her cheeks enough to leave bruises. “And Honey, we’re just getting started.”

--------------

When the team arrived outside of the bank of the robbery, it was frantic. Cop cars, helicopters, swat, the whole get-up was there.

JJ ran to Will, who was one of the responders to the robbery that was called in. His partner had been shot and killed, but all JJ was worried about was him.

“It’s definitely them,” Will said looking at Hotch. “I only saw the King and the Jack, but I figured the queen’s inside, too.”

Hotch was listening but he was looking around for Y/N. Spencer was doing the same, but his concern was higher than Hotch’s.

“The media’s calling them the Face Cards, seven bank robberies in seven months, they’ve killed one person in each robbery.” Hotch began walking to the swat cars and tent set up. “Has anyone talked to Y/N?”

“She was supposed to meet me and Derek at the house-showing this morning but never showed,” Emily answered then turned to Spencer. “We thought she could have been with you.”

“No, I called her this morning before I left to meet Garcia, she said she was going to get a coffee before she met you.” Spencer was scared now Y/N didn’t do this. She would never go off without at least telling someone what she was even remotely doing.

“Okay, going back to this case, serial killers who have a thirty-day cooling-off period and we’re only hearing about this now?” Emily asked, changing the subject to the case at hand.

Spencer was listening, but his thoughts kept going back to every word Y/N had said to him that morning. Going over it, over and over again. Nothing told him anything that would hint she would be leaving or doing something spontaneous.

“Well, headquarters has always characterized them as robbers first, serial killers second,” Hotch replied to Emily’s question.

“No one kills seven people without serious psychopathic tendencies,” Spencer said, trying to stay somewhat focused on the case.

She’s probably fine, she’s probably fine, his gut was speaking louder than his brain that she wasn’t.

“I disagreed with the original assessment, I was overruled,” Hotch said looking at Spencer. He took note of the way he was nervously swaying and messing with his hands. That was one of his tells that something was bothering him.

“So why are we here?” Rossi asked Hotch.

“Because crisis negotiation is overseas,” Hotch replied.

“What more do we know about them?” JJ asked.

“They’re organized, they’re efficient. Each strike lasts about two minutes.” Hotch turned and began walking again to the tent set up.

“They gotta be scouting the banks in advance,” Derek speculated. “Why haven’t we been able to I.D. them off of the surveillance footage?”

They walked into the FBI on-scene command center where Penelope sat in front of a makeshift home base.

“They hack the security feed and turn off the cameras, both during the initial canvass and during the robbery, until the masks come back on, and then we’re allowed to watch.” Hotch stood behind Penelope, looking at all the screens with the footage.

“They’re using the hostages as human shields,” Rossi said, observing the way the hostages were lined up in front of the doors.

“This is the first time they’ve been interrupted. What went wrong?” JJ asked.

“It’s a big bank, it’s possible they weren’t about to round everybody up before someone triggered an alarm,” Emily answered with a theory.

“Why haven’t they cut the feed now that they’ve been cornered? Letting us see inside gives up a tactical advantage, they gotta know that.” Derek said, confused as to what their plan was.

“They don’t seem to care,” Hotch said.

Spencer stopped all thoughts he had on this case when the words left Hotch’s mouth.

“She never cared about if people saw her it seemed.” Y/N said as the two sat over dinner. She was in a blue dress that complimented her skin and eyes so well, Spencer remembered. “She said she always loved to put on a show.”

“Reid?” JJ asked, pulling Spencer out of his memory.

“What?” He asked, not knowing what she had just said.

“I said they’re overconfident and arrogant and was wondering if you could relay onto that,” JJ said, repeating her words.

“The, um, the face card masks could add to their narcissism,” he responded, recalling what he was thinking before his memory. “Their personas are the royalty of poker.”

“JJ and Prentiss look at past robberies, that’s gonna be our victimology, pull another analyst if you need to,” Hotch ordered, the two leaving the van to head back to Quantico. “Dave, I want you to handle negotiations, and Morgan, strategize tactical options with MPD.” They all nodded and left the room, Rossi staying along with Spencer.

“Reid, do you have any idea where Y/N is?” Hotch asked him, knowing this wasn’t normal for Y/N to not show up like this.

“I-I had a thought,” Spencer responded, nervous all a sudden that if he said this it would be true. “I think Caroline Roberts might have her.”

“How can you be so sure?” Hotch asked, unsure if that was true.

“Because when you said that these guys didn’t seem to care, I remembered something Y/N said about how Caroline liked to put on a show.” Y/N’s voice rang through his head, the words from that night repeating over and over. “She also would have the ability to control an operation like this, Y/N always said she had a thing for robbery.”

“Who’s Caroline Roberts?” Rossi asked, looking between the two.

“The woman who tormented Y/N in college,” Hotch answered, knowing that there was no hiding it from Rossi anymore. “Garcia, can you track Y/N’s phone?”

“Yeah, of course,” Penelope’s voice was shaky as she began typing. She was worried about her friend. Y/N had told her what Caroline had done and if that’s where she was she didn’t want her to be hurt.

“Reid, do you think this Caroline woman had something to do with these robberies?” Rossi asked. He had no idea what was going on with Y/N’s past, but if it could help them with this case, he wanted to know everything.

“She could, but that’s only a hunch,” Spencer responded.

“Her phone’s sim card has been removed, I can’t track it,” Penelope said, a tear rolling down her cheek knowing that meant she was probably taken.

“Reid, go back to Quantico to help JJ and Prentiss, I will let you know if anything comes in.” Hotch did not need Spencer here as Caroline showed up with Y/N, it didn’t take a profiler to see that Spencer would risk his life for Y/N. That is not something he needed today.

“But Hotch--”

“Now.”

---------------

“Agh!” The jolt of the taser made Y/N scream again as it shocked her for what felt like the hundredth time.

“Tell me all about this new boy of yours Honey.” Caroline stood in front of Y/N with a hose she attached to a sink. “Tell me all about how much you love him.”

“How do you know that?” Y/N said, panting heavily from the jolt she had just received.

“That’s not the answer I was looking for.” Caroline turned the hose on and sprayed Y/N again.

Y/N was gasping as the water running all over her face and chest made her shiver.

“I love him, yes I do.” Y/N said, just wanting the water to stop because she was freezing. She did not want to admit that to her, but that atser was really painful and she just wanted it to stop.

“See was that so hard,” Caroline said, talking to her like she was a child. “I just want some girl talk, you know like we used to have.”

“That’s not what you want.” Y/N muttered under her breath.

“Speak up Honey, you know I can’t stand when you mutter,” Caroline said, holding her hand around her ear.

“I said that’s not what you want, bitch.” The words were hard and cold as they left Y/N’s lips with hatred. “You want to watch me suffer and fall into pieces again, but I won’t let it happen. You’ve been sending me letters again, you’ve been watching me suffer from a distance for your own amusement.” Her voice was seething as she glared at the woman.

“Well, guess what, I will not let you break me again, ever.” She leaned forward in the chair, tugging on the restraints that were bound to create bruises.

Y/N was a woman now, who wasn’t afraid to tell Caroline off. She didn’t want her to have what she wanted.

“Are you sure about that? That I won’t get what I want, I mean,” Caroline laughed as she spoke. She walked over to the kitchen counter and grabbed an IPad. “I mean the letters I’ve been sending have been fun and all, but I needed to see you again. To watch as you collapse into a shell of who you were-” she took in a hiss of a breath- “well, I guess it’s who you’ve become.”

When she opened the IPad she pulled up to a live feed of what looked like a bank robbery. She pointed to a woman dressed in all black. “You see her? That’s my partner, I love her, well I love what she can get me really.”

“What can she get you?” Y/N asked. If she was here she might as well get as much information as she could.

“Well, she’s gotten me lots of money since her and her gang of robbers has gotten me,” Caroline explained. She pulled her chair closer to Y/N, so now they were face to face. “I am, well, I guess you could say their boss, but the two guys she works with don’t want to put a title on it. In fact, I think they think I don’t exist, crazy right?”

“Crazy,” Y/N said with no emotion.

“They also don’t know that this whole thing is a set up for my partner and her boyfriend, who also works with us, to satisfy whatever need they have. I don’t even really care what that is to be honest. And for me to torture you again by making you watch your family suffer.” Caroline was laughing as she pulled the IPad back to her to look at the feed again. “Satisfying my needs.”

Y/N’s face filled with horror. “What?” She gritted her teeth with anger at her words. She wasn’t scared yet, her first instinct now being anger instead of fear like it used to be.

“I said, my team will get yours to suffer so I can make you watch, and then I am either going to kill you or you can join me in my escapade,” Caroline continued.

Y/N shook her head, tears of rage falling down her face. “No-no, I will not let you do that.” Her voice was thick and full of determination. “They will find you, they will.”

She leaned forward again, with much more force that she hoped it would break the restraints or move the chair. “Do not touch them.”

“Yeah, not so sure I’m going to listen to you on that one,” Caroline said, sucking in a breath. She got up from her chair and walked over to a camera in the corner. She pulled it closer and turned it on. A flashing red light appeared and Caroline walked back into the frame.

“Say hi to your friends Y/N!” She said, her voice happy as she waved to the camera. Y/N had tears rolling down her cheeks as she looked at the camera, a pleading look on her face.

-----------

“In six robberies no one’s been able to build a sketch of the unsubs before they put their masks on,” Emily said to Spencer and JJ as she read some of the files. “These witness descriptions are all over the map.”

“Probably because of the trauma suffered inside,” JJ said looking at Emily.

Spencer sat with a marker as he worked on the map, his mind not being able to focus completely as he thought more and more about Y/N. God he felt so stupid, he had o focus and all he could do was think about her.

“Reid, what you got?” Emily asked when she noticed Spencer had stopped writing on the map.

“Uh, I-I've noticed that they’ve been zig-zagging north and south but in a relative straight pattern from Washington, D.C.,” Spencer said. His words were stuttered as he tried to focus on what was in front of him. The two women noticed but didn’t mention it yet.

“This is the largest bank they’ve hit, before today, it’s just been small branches in rural communities,” JJ said.

“So today was always a part of their plan but why the nation’s capital?” Emily asked, her pen pointing to Spencer’s map. “To make a statement?”

Spencer tried to think more into it as his mind overlapped stuff with what Y/N had told him about Caroline and their victimology of the case. He was currently coming up with nothing, but that was because he had only gotten through half of the information in his head.

But for all he knew, Caroline had nothing to do with this and Y/N could be lying in a ditch dead from something else. Okay, so that wasn’t very probable, but he was so annoyed with the fat of not knowing, he lost rational thought about it.

“I pulled schematics from the previous banks,” Kevin Lynch said walking into the room with some blueprints. “This is the first one with the metal detectors, maybe that’s what went wrong.”

“No, they cased the branches too well in advance. They’d know to be ready for them,” Emily said, debunking Kevin’s theory. “These are takeover robberies. No faces, no passing notes, no prints. They’re professionals.”

“Hey, there is something all these robberies have in common,” JJ said, bringing the attention to her. “The queen’s the only one who pulls the trigger.”

Spencer was pulled back into another memory of something Y/N had told him.

“She always said, ‘Y/N, the woman has all the power, they can pull the trigger if they have the right mindset, anytime they want, it’s how we are made.’”

They all sat quietly again and began to work. When Kevin had left the room, JJ and Emily looked at each other before turning to Spencer.

“Spence, what’s up?” JJ asked, concern evident in her voice..

“Y/N.” He said with a sad voice.

The two women looked at each other confused, not understanding what he meant.

“Spencer, I’m gonna need you to elaborate on that. What about Y/N.” JJ’s voice was motherly like she was speaking to a small child. That’s how Spencer felt about this, small and helpless.

“I think she’s been kidnapped by whoever is controlling this,” Spencer explained, finally looking about at the two.

Spencer knew he couldn’t hide this if it meant they could stop the madness inside the bank.

“What do you mean?” Emily asked, confused about what Spencer knew. Her question made him irritated because all he had right now was speculation on the matter.

“When Y/N was in college, she was mentally tortured by a woman who took her under her wing named Caroline Roberts,” Spencer explained as he looked up to JJ and Emily.

“Mentally tortured? Like, she verbally abused her?” JJ asked, not fully understanding.

“She would torture Y/N’s friends and convince them it was either Y/N’s fault or they did it to themselves. Y/N couldn’t handle watching people she cared for getting hurt, so she isolated herself from the rest of the world, no friends, no boyfriends, and she limited conversations with her mom and best friend so Caroline couldn’t find them,” Spencer explained. His voice raised with annoyance with the woman who did this to her.

The information JJ and Emily received overwhelmed them. Spencer just spat it out, but he didn’t care if it meant saving the woman he loved, he would say it.

“Well, how do you know she’s behind this?” Emily asked.

“Because I remember every conversation we had about Caroline, and there are things happening here that line up with things she would tell Y/N.” Spencer jabbed his finger into the table aggressively as he got irritated. It wasn’t completely true, he needed confirmation on it because for all he knew she was lying in a ditch.

Stop thinking that Spencer.

“Spence, this is good, what you remember might help us solve this,” JJ said, her hand grabbing his bicep.

“So when we say something that reminds you of it, tell us, okay?” Emily said looking at Spencer.

He nodded. God, he felt so helpless. He felt like he couldn’t do anything to save Y/N, but he promised her he wouldn’t let Caroline hurt her, and he intended to keep that promise.

--------------

“All right Honey, you ready to shine,” Caroline said walking behind Y/N. “If you say anything about what I told you, I will kill them faster than you can say my name, understand?”

Y/N nodded, too tired from being jolted again and again to muster up the voice to speak. She knew they were lies, Caroline wouldn’t kill them without making her watch them suffer first. Having her see them panic as they looked for her or watch as she was tortured. She couldn’t do it, it wasn’t who she was.

When the video became live, a link appeared on Penelope’s computer. Curious she clicked on it on another screen, keeping the ongoing investigation on the one directly in front of her.

She gasped as she saw Y/N on the screen. Her hair was wet and clinging to her face, her light blue shirt was stretched from all the water and almost see-through, her black jeans were dripping at the hems, and she was barefoot.

“Sir, I found Y/N,” Penelope said, bringing Hotch’s attention away from Strauss and to her computer screen. A tear rolled down Penelope’s cheek as she watched the woman she recognized as Caroline take a taser to her back.

Y/N’s back arched as she tried to pull away from the pain. She let out a cry of pain, this one being the worst pain she’s felt yet.

“I said to say hi to you technical analyst Y/N,” Caroline barked at Y/N. “What’s her name? Isn’t it Penelope? I noticed she had put tabs on me, your doing I assume.”

“Oh god,” Penelope cried as she watched Y/N and heard her name.

“Garcia, can you track this?” Hotch asked, rushed as he leaned next to her.

Garcia began typing furiously on her computer, trying to triangulate where the video was coming from. “No, sir, it says it’s coming from inside the bank, I think she connected the feed to the banks so we couldn’t track it.”

Y/N screamed again as Caroline shoved the taser to her side. Hotch and Penelope winced as they watched her scream.

“Hi, Penelope.” Y/N panted, tears spilling out of her eyes from the pain. She wasn’t going to lose, her competitive nature wouldn’t allow it.

But damn, that taser hurt, even after she had turned it down.

Caroline laughed again. “Now tell your unit chief you can’t come to the scene.”

“Hotch, I can’t make it into work today…” Y/N trailed off. She was panting and becoming really tired again. Caroline stalked over to the hose picking it up and spraying Y/N to keep her awake.

Y/N gasped as the cold water hit her stomach.

“Continue please,” Caroline said, turning off the hose.

“I can’t make it because this bitch is too much of a coward to work her own unit in the field as you do.” Y/N knew that her telling Hotch that Caroline was their leader would get her in trouble, but if it meant helping them she would do it.

“You little--” Caroline grabbed the taser again and put it against Y/N again. Y/N screamed but then laughed when it was over. Adrenaline mixed with some anger was fueling her words. “What’s so funny?”

“They’re gonna stop this,” Y/N sang a laugh taking over her at the end. She sounded loopy and almost crazy with the way she was singing her words. “And Honey, believe me Spencer will know what to do.” She hoped Spencer would remember the time she told him about the nickname, praying he would know where to find her,

“How? We have this all planned out.” Caroline crossed her arms over her chest.

Hotch, Strauss, and Penelope watched the scene intently as if it was a movie.

“Because they’re smart and they know how to.” The kick of adrenaline was wearing off now, and her eyelids become heavy again.

“Okay, we’re done for now,” Caroline said walking over to the camera and turning it off.

“No,” Penelope said as if she could be heard. “We-we can’t show Reid that.”

“We have too, he might know what she meant,” Hotch said, pulling out his phone to call Spencer.

Caroline squatted in front of Y/N, grabbing her chin she lifted it harshly to have her look at her. “I’m giving you a break, for now.”

“Wow, how nice of you, why?” Y/N’s words were slurred from her exhaustion.

“You’re gonna need your strength for when your boyfriend gets there, so you can tell him how you feel before he dies,” She said with a chuckle.

Y/N’s stomach churned at the thought of her hurting Spencer. Her face red with anger, she said through gritted teeth, “They’re gonna stop this.”

“Damn Y/N, when will you learn, the good guys don’t always win,” Caroline said, moving from her squatting position to standing. She gripped the hair on the top of Y/N’s head, pulling her head back to have her look at her. “One of your cops shot one of the brothers, so there’s no telling what’s going to happen now, so just you wait.”

-----------

Hotch stood with Rossi outside of the bank as they called in to let them know a medic was on his way in.

“Why hasn’t anyone come in yet?” The king, now identified as Chris said to Rossi on the phone.

“We’re sending in the medic now, Chris. Tell Oliver help is on the way,” Rossi said, identifying the two men to let them know they had their identity.

“Hurry.” Chris hung up the phone.

Rossi, Derek, and Hotch stood watching the live footage from the post outside. After Identifying the two men, the queen took off her mask and looked directly into the camera. They watched as Green, the medic agent, entered Oliver collapsed.

“This is not good, Aaron,” Rossi said.

“Morgan, tell Green to make a move before Chris does,” Hotch ordered Derek.

“Green, you gotta go, Green, go,” Derek said into his mic.

Green leaned up from over Oliver now dead body, reaching into his bag for his gun. Before he could get a shot off, Chris’ anger struck and shot Green right in the chest, then one right in his head.

They all stood in disbelief shaking their heads.

Back at Quantico, Spencer rushed down to Penelope’s office where Kevin was. Hotch called him and told him they had gotten a video feed from Caroline of Y/n.

With every step he took, he felt lighter. Knowing there was a video gave him hope and almost felt like security.

“Kevin, Hotch said you have a video of Y/N,” Spencer said, leaning down to look at the screen. His voice shook with anticipation and order.

“Yeah, uh, let me just skip to the part--” Kevin began running the mouse over the video bar but Spencer stopped him.

“Don’t skip, I need to watch the whole thing,” Spencer told him.

“I don’t know if you want too,” Kevin said looking at Spencer sympathetically.

“I need to, Kevin.”

He didn’t care if she was yelling at him that she hated him, he needed to see the woman he loved. He knew what it was like to be tortured like this and he didn’t want her to go through two days of pain and suffering like he did. He hated that thought. He hated it so much that he almost wanted to throw up.

Kevin sighed and clicked play. Spencer watched with horror as Y/N screamed in pain. Tears filled his eyes as he watched his love in pain. He wanted to throw up now, and his hand was ready to reach for a trash can to do so.

“They’re gonna stop this,” Y/N sang a laugh taking over her at the end. “And Honey, believe me Spencer will know what to do.”

When the name Honey left Y/N’s lips, Spencer was sucked back into another memory.

“She called me Honey, a mock to my southern background I always thought. But the first time she called me it was when I moved into a new apartment, and she was still being nice at this time.”

His feeling of nausea went away as he now knew where she was and that gave him a good feeling.

“An apartment, that’s where she is,” Spencer said, wiping the stray tears that he let fall. “Kevin I need you to look up apartments or properties, things like that, bought in the name Caroline Roberts.”

Kevin began typing on the computer, all different receipts popping up on the screen. None showing any apartments or properties in her name.

“There’s nothing man, I’m sorry,” Kevin said as he came up with nothing.

Spencer wanted to throw something. He wasn’t mad at Kevin, he wasn’t, he was furious at Caroline and himself. She probably used a fake name, a stolen card or she’s in an abandoned building. So many thoughts were circling his mind it made him want to pull his hair out.

Why didn’t he just stay with her this morning? That could’ve prevented all of this. He felt helpless, and all he wanted to do was hold Y/N in his arms, but he couldn’t.

His brain raked through everything he was told about Caroline. How she had to have the satisfaction of watching someone suffer, how she had to watch her victim fall apart. That’s when he knew.

“There’s gotta be more. She’s going to give us another message.”

-------------

Emily had received a call from Clyde Easter, giving her some information on the mystery woman. Easter informed her that she had been a part of robberies back while Emily was in Paris she had heard about, but the woman had no partners.

“What if the smaller banks were training runs for the Stratton brothers?” Rossi asked. Spencer, JJ, and Emily were still back at Quantico while Hotch, Rossi, and Morgan were still at the scene.

“Well, it could be. She took two relatively amateur thugs and turned them into an elite team of efficient robbers,” Derek said.

“And don’t forget, we found out from Y/N that Caroline Roberts is the head of the operation,” Hotch added. “She could have helped the female unsub train the Stratton brothers.”

“But why? To turn them into patsies?” Emily asked, confused.

“All right, so let’s look at it. Up until now they’ve been highly organized, striking only on deposit days when the most amount of cash is on hand,” JJ said, verbally having them take a step back to look at the whole picture.

“But today’s different, it’s their first Saturday hit, where families are present, more foot traffic throughout the day, and their leader has taken someone captive who is a federal agent,” Spencer said, his voice cracking when he spoke about Y/N.

“It’s a riskier attack,” Will spoke.

“We should consider the media attention, too,” Hotch said, looking at Will. “It’s the first time they’ve had an audience.”

“That might be why the female unsub is so vain, she wants to look good for the cameras,” Emily posed.

“She searches the bank but doesn’t actually look for a means of escape,” Rossi stated confused as he watched the footage of the woman walking around the bank. “She appears to be almost enjoying the situation.”

“We know the brothers are in it for the money, but what are Caroline and the mystery woman in it for?” Hotch asked.

------------

Y/N gasped as the cold water hit her face. Her eyes shot open and met Caroline’s, who was holding a bucket that she filled with water.

“Rise and shine Honey,” she said with a sickening smile. “My people are trying to get out, they’re getting a little antsy. And get this Chris, one of the guys, he thinks he’s in charge.” She laughed at her words. Caroline was trying to make conversation, her sadistic way of torture being that she would act like a friend than an enemy.

“Haha, that’s funny,” Y/N said, giving a fake laugh. She knew Caroline liked to pull the strings from behind the curtain. It was her way of getting whatever she wanted.

“Your team I believe has also discovered that my partner has an accomplice in the bank, took them long enough. They’ve found out that we wanted them there.” She was laughing as though saying it took them long enough.

“Wait, there’s another one?” Y/N asked, confused. She had no idea Caroline would work with so many people that could take control.

She nodded her head as the response to the question.

“It’s gonna be a huge blast watching them, well, be a part of a blast,” Caroline said, revealing that she had more planned than Y/N initially thought.

“No, they’ll find out, they will.” Y/N shook her head furiously, tears streaming down her face again. She had given up on trying to stop them.

This was the first step of her unraveling. She had given up on trying to stop tears and her body was just falling into every word she said. This was not what she wanted to happen, she needed to fight back.

“Yeah, I don’t think so.” Caroline placed her hands on her hips. A pout on her face as she looked at Y/N with fake sympathy.

“Okay-” Caroline rubbed her hands together as she got excited for what was to come next- “It’s time!”

“Time for what?” Y/N asked, not amused by her excitement.

“Time for you to confess your feelings for Spencer of course,” She scoffed in disbelief that Y/N would even ask such a question. She brought the IPad back over to pull up the live video feed.

Y/N watched as what looked like Will enter the building. “Will?”

“Is that his name? I didn’t know, JJ’s husband though right?” Caroline asked looking at Y/N who didn’t respond but watch the screen intently.

“Well, he shot Chris’ brother Oliver, so this should end well,” Caroline said excitedly.

“No, no, stop this, Caroline he has a son, a beautiful son, don’t let him hurt Will.” Y/N’s voice hadn’t been so pleading yet. She couldn’t dare watch as the love of JJ’s life and the father of her son die. She knew Caroline deep down inside her had some morals, for what she didn’t quite know but she knew it was there.

“Yeah, can’t do that.”

Y/N kept pleading her voice cracking as tears fell down her face. He has a vest on, he has a vest on, she repeated in her head. Will walked in with his hands up, Chris pointing the gun at him as he entered.

“Let these people go,” Will said to Chris.

“All right, you, you and you-” Christ pointed to a woman and two children. “The kids, get out.” The mom and two kids ran out of the bank.

Y/N let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She was relieved that the kids got out safe.

“Hey, what’s your name?” Chris asked Will. He had lowered his gun by his side by now, but Will still kept his arms up.

“William LaMontagne Jr., MPD,” Will answered. Chris looked back to the woman before smiling in a mocking way.

The next moments played in slow motion as Chris turned back around and shot Will.

“No!” Y/N cried. He has a vest on, he has a vest, she kept saying to herself. The video feed then cut out as Will fell to the ground.

“Oh, that sucks,” Caroline winced.

“JJ, I’m so sorry,” Y/N whispered to herself. She was apologizing like how she used to in college. That was Caroline’s know that she was getting into Y/N’s head.

-----------

“How’s JJ?” Spencer asked Penelope over the phone. He was with Kevin in Penelope’s office in Quantico still, everyone else at the scene.

“It’s bad, Reid,” Penelope responded. Not only was Spencer worried sick about Y/N but now his best friend’s husband could be dead.

“I should be, we’ve learned everything we can from here,” Spencer said as he began to pace around the room.

He wanted to throw up again. There had been no word on Y/N since the video and his mind was thinking the worse. No one could go look for her because one: all teams were deployed to help with the bank. And two: because they had no idea where she could be.

He was really trying to get rational thought back, he really was, but it was hard. He was in love with her and all rational thoughts are clouded by his overwhelming desire to hold her. He needed to do it, to smell her shampoo, to feel her soft skin, and to kiss her lips.

“No, you can help more by helping me and your brain works faster than mine,” Penelope said, typing on her computer swiftly. “And Hotch told you to stay there remember?”

“Yeah, but seeing what’s going on outside doesn’t help us inside, or finding Y/N.” Spencer’s eyes went to the TV with the news on.

Spencer could hear Penelope’s shrug of sympathy. He could feel the pout she was giving, and it only made him feel worse.

“Kevin, can you pull up the surveillance feed prior to Will being shot?” Spencer asked, trying to stay focused on the task at hand. That was really difficult.

“Sure, what are we looking for?” Kevin asked as he began to pull it up.

“The female unsub disappeared once before if she wasn’t looking for an escape--”

“Reid, you need to see this,” Penelope cut Spencer off.

Popping up on Kevin’s computer was a now live feed, but not of the bank. It was Y/N sitting in the chair of the apartment she was being held captive in.

“Garcia, is this live?” Spencer asked getting closer to the screen as he saw Y/N scream when Caroline put the taser to her back again. He winced as he watched her cry. All he wanted to do was reach through the screen to save her.

“Yes, it is.” Penelope’s voice was cracking from her tears.

“Say it,” Caroline sneered, grabbing Y/N by the back of her hair and pulling her head back to look at the camera. “Tell him what you’ve been so afraid to say because of me.”

“I love you.” Her voice was thick as she tried not to cry and she was panting from the pain still.

Spencer stood speechless, that wasn’t what he was expecting to hear. Not at a time like this at least.

This isn’t how she wanted to do it, not at all. She wanted to tell him while they sat and read, or when they laid in bed at night and talked into the early morning hours, she didn’t want to tell him like this.

“Oh come on you can do better than that.” Caroline’s words were seething and evil as she enjoyed watching the woman battle with her emotions. “Tell him all about how you feel, because if you don’t you won’t be able to repeat it again.”

They were empty threats, Y/N knew that Caroline wouldn’t kill her yet.

Y/N breathed in deeply, a fatal attempt to compose herself before she spoke. “I love you, Spencer Reid. I love you more than anything I could ever love. I love how you know exactly what I’m thinking when I can’t express myself. I love how you hold my hand when you can tell I’m nervous. I love-” she choked up as her tears began to roll down her flushed cheeks.

“I love how when you get excited you overly talk with your hands. The way you smile when you talk about a book, makes my heart soar. When you make me a cup of coffee in the morning, I know that’s how I want to spend every morning until I die. I love the thought of you holding our children and teaching them how to read. I love the thought of you holding me while I cry over how stressed I am with work and kids and you telling me everything’s going to be okay. I can’t even breathe at the thought of not loving you, because I-I never thought I would have or need someone like you before. Everyone talks about their great love. I never thought I would have one, but you’re it, Spencer. You’re my great love.”

When she finished, her eyes were filled with tears that she tried to keep at bay until the end. Finally, she released them. She was shaking, not only from the sobs raking her body but because she was cold. Her wet hair on her neck made her shiver as Caroline let it go. She knew that Caroline wanted more, she always did, and when she did that is when she would tell Spencer about the bomb.

Spencer watched the live feed. His own eyes welling up with tears.

“Spencer.” Penelope’s voice was quiet and sad as her voice was heard over the phone.

“We have to find her.” He was pacing, hand grabbing the back of his head, breathing heavily. “She’s gonna be okay, she’s strong, she won’t be beaten,” he muttered the words under his breath.

“Anything else, Honey?” Caroline asked Y/N, she was squatted in front of Y/N.

“Spence, I’m sorry, you got to stop them you’ve gotta- she’s got a -” a Harsh slap cut her off. She was trying to tell him something and Caroline wasn’t going to allow it. Caroline stood up and turned off the camera, the feed becoming static again.

“No,” Spencer’s voice cracked as Caroline shut the camera off. “Kevin pull up the videos of the female unsub.”

Spencer stared at the blueprints of the building, following the path the female unsub was on from the videos. “She was following the electrical lines…” he finally knew what was about to happen. “Gas mains. Oh, no.”

“Garcia, get them out of there!” Spencer exclaimed to Penelope over the phone.

Penelope, Strauss, and Rossi ran out of the van. Rossi yelled into his watch to abort.

Caroline held the screen of the live feed she was able to get off the bank. Y/N watched as some of the agents walked in.

“No, no,” she whispered tears rolling down her cheeks. An explosion was heard and the feed cut out. “No!”

“Now we’re getting somewhere.”

Tag List (let me know if you want to be added!!):

@throughparisallthroughrome @word-scribbless @nintendumbfuck @confused-and-really-hungry @justine-en @andiebeaword @itsarayofsunshine @baby-i-am-fireproof @abitofeverythinggg @nanocoool @marceline-is-my-spirit-animal @fancyfaucet @im-a-raging-gay @atletino @mo-whore @peterparkersdestiny @bandsandjill @mbowles23-blog @sarcasm-n-insomnia @citrussirus @nerual222 @april-14-blog @reidloversisforever @heavenlyholland @justawildmarebae @sana-li @thesailbells

#spencer reid imagine #spencer reid #spencer reid smut #spencer reid series #spencer reid fluff #criminal minds #criminal minds imagine #criminal minds meme #criminal mids fic #aaron hotchner #aaron hotch hotchner #derek morgan #derek morgan imagine #luke alvez #Penelope Garcia #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x y/n

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caranfindel · 3 years

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Recap/review 15.20: “Carry On”

I’ll warn you right now - I did not hate it.

THEN: Chuck loses. Jack is God. The Winchesters are finally free.

NOW: Friends, get ready for a whole lot of fan service in the next few minutes. It's like TPTB have been reading everything we say and giving us what we want.

As a song about "ordinary life" plays, Dean's retro alarm clock goes off at 8:00. He shuts it off and sits up so we can see he's wearing a henley shirt (fan service points: 1). As he stretches, he's greeted by Miracle the dog (fan service points: 2)! Who is apparently his dog and definitely not Sam's!

But it's okay because LOOK AT THEM.

Meanwhile, Sam is running (fan service points: 3) and enjoying the beautiful day. When he gets home, he cooks (fan service points: 4) the same dry scrambled eggs that Stevie made for Charlie. Dean wanders in, wearing the dead guy robe, just as two slices of toast pop out of the toaster. I am not giving the robe any points because I don't think it's anything we all publicly long for and get excited about when it comes up, but I am willing to consider any opposing arguments. Sam, wearing just a t-shirt (5 points), tells Dean "it's hot" and I say mmm, yes it is. Dean adorably burns his hands on the hot toast and then brushes his teeth. You know what, I think the robe deserves a point after all. We're up to 6.

And we're not even two minutes into the episode.

And then they JUST KEEP COMING because Sam walks in, exposing his tattoo (7) because he's SHIRTLESS (8), scrubbing at his WET HAIR (9) with a towel, and I curse The Husband for deciding to watch with me because it means it would be kind of awkward to rewind and watch this a few more times. There's not even any dialog I can pretend I didn't catch.

I was NOT PREPARED FOR THIS.

He pulls on the grey v-neck t-shirt of sex (10) and proceeds to carefully make his bed. Dean, meanwhile, kind of sloppily throws his bed together and calls it done. Domestic Winchesters for 11 fan service points, please. Part of me feels like Dean's messy room is OOC, considering how proud he was to have his own room in the first place. But then I have to consider the trunk of the Impala, especially when compared to the hyper-organized neatness of her trunk when Sam's all alone in Mystery Spot, and it feels right. (Why am I thinking about Sam being all alone in Mystery Spot? NO REASON, NO REASON AT ALL.)

Sam's hair in his face while he makes his bed? Yes, please (12 points).

Dean washes the breakfast dishes (13), sneaking some leftover (because they were nasty) eggs to Miracle and looking around to make sure Sam doesn't see, because obviously Sam's going to be the one who doesn't want the dog to get table scraps. Sam put on a plaid shirt earlier, but we see him in the laundry room back down to one v-neck t-shirt (thank you Jack). He's reading as his laundry tumbles in the dryer, and he has to kick the dryer once to stop it from making noise, which I guess is why he's in there babysitting it. I keep reading on Tumblr that people want "at least one laundry scene," as if that didn't exist in The Monster at the End of This Book, but here's your laundry scene, friends. You were right to want it; it is marvelous (14).

Just look at that collection of plaid shirts and tell me it doesn't make you happy.

Dean times himself assembling a gun, complete with plenty of hand closeups (15) and then sits in the library with Miracle, scratching his ears (Miracle's, not his own) and apparently looking for a case. Sam comes in and joins them. He hasn't found anything, but Dean gets a serious look on his face and says "I got something."

Spoiler alert: It is my heart.

Title card!

The Impala pulls to a stop and the guys get out, still with serious looks on their faces. Oddly, the episode title flashes on screen really quickly. Or maybe it's just me. "Sure you're ready for this?" says Sam. "Oh, I don't have a choice," answers Dean. "This is my destiny." And that is exactly how I felt about watching this episode, friends. Not ready, but no choice. The camera pans to show that the boys are at the 43rd Annual Akron Pie Fest. In Akron, Iowa? Just north of Sioux City? Five hour drive? Say hi to Jody and the girls while you're there? Probably not. Probably in Akron, Ohio, almost 16 hours away.

(NO ONE CARES. STOP IT.)

Give me a break. This might be the last time I ever get to calculate driving time.

Anyway. Just pies! Nothing serious! Whew, I was concerned for a second. Dean is emotional.

This is just so beautiful.

Are you crying?

What? No. You're crying, I'm not.

No one is crying. There is no reason for ANYONE to cry.

Sam sits on a bench and watches happy pie eating families (sob). Dean returns with a giant box with six slices of pie (16 points). He sits next to Sam, and they have this conversation:

What's wrong?

Nothing. I'm fine.

Nah, come on, I know that face. That's Sad!Sam face.

I'm not Sad!Sam. I just. I'm thinking about Cas, you know? Jack. If they could be here.

Yeah, I know, I think about them too. You know what, that pain's not gonna go away, right? But if we don't keep living, then all that sacrifice is going to be for nothing.

Dean's right, Sam. Do not be sad. We will have no Sad!Sam tonight. Live your life, or else those sacrifices are wasted. (ahem.) Sam responds by pushing a slice of pumpkin pie into Dean's face. "I've wanted to do that for a very long time," he laughs. "You're right, I do feel better!" Dean scraping the pie off his face and eating it is pretty adorable.

I'd pay good money to lick that off his face. And not just because I love pumpkin pie.

Not quite 6 minutes in and we're up to at least 16 guaranteed bits of pure fan service. Just sweet, domestic Winchester brothers living their lives. How long has this been going on? I've decided it's been at least a year since the last episode. Maybe longer. A good long time. Lots of time for them to enjoy their newfound freedom. But right now things are getting dark. Because it's nighttime, and because I think somebody's about to die.

A mom sends two young brothers upstairs for bathtime. They pause when the doorbell rings. No one seems to be there, but then the dad is stabbed by people wearing creepy masks. The boys run into their room and hide. From their room, we hear the mom scream, and then a thump. One of the masked guys comes into the room and, after a fake-out when we think they might be safe, drags the boys out from under the bed.

So, domestic life in the bunker and then a hunt? Wow. We're getting it all. What a great episode, full of the things we love.

Is this Becky Rosen's living room?

Daytime. Agents Kripke and Singer (ugh, really? Kripke is good, but how about honoring someone other than the current regime?) show up at the scene. They learn that the dad's blood was drained, the mom is alive but her tongue was ripped out (wow), and the kids were taken. The mom drew a picture of the masks they wore, which the brothers recognize.

In a lovely, picturesque spot, the guys flip through John's journal. And I didn't realize we hadn't seen the journal in a while, but Tumblr informs me many of us were exicted to see it again, so boom. 17 points.

You know what this is? Mimes. Evil mimes.

Yeah. Or vampires.

VampMIMES. Son of a bitch!

Dean comes up with a silly portmanteau name for a monster? That will be 18 points. Sam determines the vamps will be heading for Canton if they follow their pattern, and the victims are families who live on the outskirts of town with children between the ages of five and ten. Well, that couldn't be too difficult to narrow down in a city with a population of over 70,000.

I'll handwave it. The lip biting. You’re welcome.

Night. Canton, I presume. Two masked vamps get out of a van. One of them gets decapitated by Dean. The other is shot in the leg, and then the head, by Sam. Well, he's a vampire, so of course it didn't kill him, but the bullet was soaked in dead man's blood. {Sidebar: "Soaked?" Dipped, maybe, but do you soak metal? Discuss.} They ask where the missing kids are, and the vamp is all, you're gonna let me go if I tell you? "No," Dean explains, adorably disappointed that the vamp isn't a mime after all. "This isn't a you walk out of here kind of situation. But see, if you tell us quick, you get this." He displays his bloody machete. "But if you take your time, you get, you get that." And "that" is a switchblade which Sam casually pops open right on cue.

Yeah, I'll take that. I'll take that itty bitty one.

It's a bad choice.

You see, this, this is quick. It's clean, you know? No muss, no fuss. You blink and you're dead.

But a blade this small, I'm gonna have to keep sawing and sawing to get your head off. And you'll feel it. Every muscle, tendon. Every inch. Could take hours.

Oh, and if those kids are dead? He's gonna use a spoon.

GUYS. I said it before and I’ll say it again. I absolutely love when they remind us that Sam Winchester, that sweet boy with the huge heart and the endless supply of empathy and the puppy dog eyes, I love it when they remind us that he is a fucking psycho when he needs to be. I'm not going to give it a point, because I don't think it's anything we've asked for, but again I'm willing to hear all arguments. Especially if they come with detailed examples of Sam going psycho. Just for evidence, you know.

Just casually talkin' bout torturing you to death. No big.

The vampire wisely decides to reveal the location of the nest where the kids are being held. Next we see the Impala pulling up in front of some kind of barn. The guys open the trunk to get their gear out, and Dean pulls out a throwing star. "Come on. One time." Sam says no. There will be plenty of other times for Dean to use his throwing stars, I'm sure.

The guys enter the barn and find it apparently empty, although we see masked vamps peeking at them from outside. They find the kids locked in a closet, but four vampires appear before they can escape. They shoo the boys outside and shoot the vampires with their dead man's blood bullets from a safe distance. No, they don't. Why? I got no goddamn idea.

{Sidebar: At some point during this fight, I realized they hadn't played "Carry On Wayward Son" at the beginning. And that we got a regular montage, not a season finale extended montage.}

Sam gets knocked unconscious, and Dean loses his machete and then gets pinned by a couple of vamps. But they don't kill him; they just hold him down while an unmasked vampire strolls in. Dean recognizes her from season 1, and pretends not to notice Sam's now-conscious hand surreptitiously creeping toward his machete. Suddenly the vampire loses her head, because Sam is behind her, and the fight starts up again. Dean gets thrown into a wall right next to a big metal spike, which we focus on oddly. And then he gets thrown onto the spike. Oops. Sam kills the last of the vamps and doesn't notice Dean's predicament. He's all, cool, fight's over, let's go get those kids out of here. "Sam," Dean says, "I don't think I'm going anywhere."

Dean tells Sam there's something stuck in his back and it "feels like it's right through me." He keeps touching his chest as if he expects to feel it poking through. Sam reaches around to touch his back and his hand comes back bloody, and if that gives you All Hell Breaks Loose feels, there's a good reason. Sam tries to pull Dean off the spike, but Dean stops him. "It feels like this thing's holding me together right now." Sam's starting to panic and so am I. He wants to go get the first aid kid and call for help, but Dean stops him. And y'all, I'm just gonna have to type the whole thing out.

Sam, Sam. Stay with me. Please, stay with me, please.

Okay. Yeah.

Okay. Okay. Uh. Right. All right, listen to me. Um. You get those boys and you get them someplace safe, all right?

Dean? WE are gonna get them somewhere safe.

No. You knew it was always gonna end like this for me. It was supposed to end like this, right? I mean, look at us. Saving people, hunting things, it's what we do.

Stop, Dean, just stop

It's okay. It's okay. it's good. It's good. We had one hell of a ride, man.

I will find away, okay? I will find another way.

No. No. No, no no no no. No bringing me back, okay? You know that always ends bad.

Dean, please.

I'm fading pretty quick, so, there's a few things I need you to hear. Come here. Let me look at you. There he is. I am so proud of you, Sam. You know that? I've always looked up to you. Remember when we were kids, you were so damn smart. You never took any of Dad's crap. I never knew how you did that. And you're stronger than me. You always have been. Hey, did I ever tell you, that night that I came for you when you were in school? You know, when dad hadn't come back from his hunting trip?

Uh, the woman in white.

The woman in white, that's right. I must have stood outside your door for hours, cause I didn't know what you would say. I thought you'd tell me to get lost, or get dead. And I didn't know what I would have done if I didn't have you. Cause I was so scared. I was scared. Cause when it all came down to it, it was always you and me. It's always been you and me.

Then don't leave me. Don't leave me. I can't do this alone.

Yes you can.

Well, I don't want to.

Hey. I'm not leaving you. I'm gonna be with you. Right here. Every day. Every day you're out there, and you're living, and you're fighting, cause you, you always keep fighting. You hear me? I'll be there, every step. I love you so much. My baby brother. Well, I did not think this would be the day. But it is, it is, and that's okay. I need you, I need you to promise me. I need you to tell me that it's okay. I need you to tell me it's okay. Look at me. I need. I need. I need you to tell me it's okay. Tell me it's okay.

Dean. It's okay. You can go now.

Bye, Sam.

NO, IT IS NOT OKAY. THIS IS THE OPPOSITE OF OKAY.

And of course I haven't described Sam's face as he understands what's happening, Dean's occasional spasms of pain, the handholding, the fucking FOREHEAD TOUCH, the tears, the way Dean's hand drops away, the way Sam's hands shake as he clutches his dead brother (hello, AHBL again).

Maybe we just need to watch it.

Gifs borrowed from @jaredandjensen.

And there's also the Always Keep Fighting shoutout, the "I love you," Dean calling Sam his "baby brother," the "I can't do this alone/Yes you can/Well I don't want to" parallel with 1.01. Infinite points, friends. I can't count that high.

(Things not to think about: Sam putting Dean's body in the back seat, and then putting the two young brothers in the front and driving them to safety. Sam driving 15 hours back to Lebanon with his brother's body. Do not think about these things.)

Aftermath. Sam and Miracle, and no one else, are giving Dean a hunter's funeral. And I know Covid means Sam couldn't have any friends there, but also? This is kind of perfect. Sam facing it alone. The song we hear as Sam lights his brother's pyre is "Brothers in Arms" by Dire Straits, in case you're not emotionally wrecked yet.

Yeah, I'm already there, thanks anyway.

Next we see Sam's slightly more modern alarm going off at 8:00. Note that Sam gets up later now, because at the beginning of the episode, he had already gone for a run and was cooking breakfast when Dean woke at 8:00. But now there's no one to cook for so he doesn't need to get back early and I AM NOT OKAY.

ANYWAY.

Sam gets up and faces his lonely day. He cooks eggs. One piece of toast pops up. He sits in the library with Miracle and looks at the names carved into the table. He wanders the halls with his dog at his side. (SAM HAVING A DOG WAS SUPPOSED TO MAKE HIM HAPPY. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO MAKE US HAPPY. HOW DARE YOU.)

{Sidebar: Has Sam ever had a dog when he wasn't at a low point in his already-low life? Discuss.}

Eventually he finds himself at the door to Dean's room. The room is just as Dean left it, kind of messy, kind of very full of Dean. He sits on Dean's bed and pets the dog and cries and it should come as a surprise to absolutely no one that I am ROLLING AROUND IN ALL OF THIS BEAUTIFUL PAIN.

No one at all.

@annianvi thinks he’s wearing Dean’s hoodie when he cooks his sad lonely breakfast? Could it be?

Sam hears a phone buzzing in Dean's desk. He digs out the one labeled "Dean's other other phone" and answers. The caller asks for "Agent Bon Jovi" and says he's had some bodies turn up without hearts in Austin. "A friend of mine, Donna Hanscum, said you were the one to call." Oooh, are we sending him to Austin? Is Walker, Texas Ranger just going to be another fake name and fake badge? Now that's how you do a spinoff!

{Sidebar: Does Donna know about Dean? Did Sam tell anyone yet? Is the trying to get him out of the bunker and keep him busy? If so, wouldn't she have given the guy Sam's number, not Dean's other other phone? But maybe it's someone she talked to weeks ago. Discuss.}

Sam tells the caller he is on his way, and we see him with a packed bag, heading out of the bunker with Miracle. He turns to look one last time and then turns off all the lights. We haven't seen the bunker this dark since the day they found it. I don't think he's ever coming back. Goodbye, bunker. I know some people hated you, but I was not one of them. {Sidebar: Did he give the bunker key to anyone? Surely he wouldn't want all those resources to go to waste!}

So, I guess the episode title refers to Sam having (choosing?) to carry on after he loses his brother. THIS IS FINE.

Now we're back at Dean's pyre, and this time we drift up with the smoke. We catch up with Dean, outdoors, in a lovely setting with trees and birds. "Well, at least I made it to Heaven," he says. "Yep," someone answers. It's Bobby! Real Bobby, not AU Bobby! Dean's actually standing next to a building - a cabin, maybe - and Bobby is sitting on the porch.

What memory is this?

It ain't, ya idjit.

Yeah it is. Cause the last I heard, you, you were in in Heaven's lockup.

Was. Now I'm not. That kid of yours, before he went wherever, made some changes here. Busted my ass out. And then he, well, set some things right. Tore down all the walls. Heaven ain't just reliving your golden oldies any more. It's what it always should have been. Everyone happy, everyone together. Rufus lives about five miles that way. With Aretha. Thought she'd have better taste. And your mom and dad, they got a place over yonder. It ain't just Heaven, Dean. It's the Heaven you deserve. And we been waiting for you.

So Jack did all that.

Well, Cas helped. It's a big new world out there. You'll see.

So, I guess Cas made it out of the Empty? Dean smiles at that, but doesn't suggest finding him or anything. I approve. Bobby pulls out a couple of beers (the green cooler made it into Heaven!!!) and they share some bad beer. Dean comments that Heaven is "almost perfect," and Bobby knows EXACTLY what's missing, because of course he does. "He'll be along. Time up here, it's different. You got everything you could ever want, or need, or dream. So I guess the question is, what are you gonna do now, Dean?" Well, Dean doesn't have everything he could ever want or need, but he does see one thing - Baby. With her Kansas plates! Friends, that's two things I requested before the end that I didn't think I would ever see: a forehead touch, and Baby wearing her original plates. Thank you, Jack.

Dean's face lights up. "I think I'll go for a drive." As he walks to his car, we see the cabin is actually Harvelle's Roadhouse, albeit smaller, I think. Dean settles into his car and says "Hey, Baby" and when he turns her on, "Carry On Wayward Son" begins to play.

I know he looks good in Purgatory, but DAMN if he don't look fine in Heaven, too.

We cut to the name Dean, which is embroidered on - a little boy's overalls. Sam's little boy. Oh, wow. I was not prepared for this. Sam has a son named Dean, and we switch back and forth between Dean driving through Heaven and scenes of Sam's life with his son and his mysterious, barely-seen wife. She has long dark hair, and I'd like to point out that she could easily be either Eileen or Dr. Cara Roberts. Just saying. Sam's house is full of family photos, including the one of him and Dean from his memory box and a new one from the episode Lebanon. I never thought about the fact that they might have actually taken a photo, and if they did, would it still be around after Sam smashed the pearl? Well, obviously, yes. We see Sam throwing a ball with his son, helping him with his homework (Sam in glasses? Check!) and just obviously really loving this kid and giving him the childhood he never had. We also see a really, really unfortunate grey wig that I refuse to screencap. You're welcome. As aging Sam sits in the hundred-year-old car in his garage, his dead brother drives happily along dirt roads in Heaven, and I'd prefer my Heaven have paved roads, thanks.

We end in Sam's house, now complete with hospital bed. Sam could be in his 80s or even 90s, which means he could have lived another 50 years, more or less, after Dean died. His son doesn't look any older than his 20s or 30s (and also looks vaguely South Asian to me), and I wonder how old Sam was when he finally let himself have a family. Remember when Dean said his happy ending was for Sam to have kids and get old? Well, he got it, finally. Did Sam get a regular job? Did he keep hunting? We don't know. What we do know is that his son has a anti-possession tattoo. Some people have taken this to mean young Dean is a hunter, but I don't think we can jump to that conclusion. It could just be 1) Dean wanted a tattoo like his father's, or b) Sam knows there are still demons out there and that his son would naturally be a target, hunter or not.

All right, I had to screencap teary-eyed Sam grasping the steering wheel and reliving his years with his brother in this car, so we can just pretend we don't see The Wig, okay?

Sam's evidently in hospice care. Or maybe we'll all have hospital beds in our houses in 50 years. Who knows. His son sits on the bed and takes his hand. Sam smiles at him, and Dean says "Dad, it's okay. You can go now." PARALLELLS! As some woman sings "Carry On Wayward Son" for whatever reason (why didn't they use the lovely a cappella version they already had from Fan Fiction?), Sam places his hand on Dean's and takes his last breath.

{Sidebar: Where is Sam's wife in all of this? Divorced? Already dead? She doesn't seem to be in the family pictures, so I'm going with divorced. Discuss.}

Heaven. Oh, guys. I've done this rewatch without tearing up at all but I'm about to tip over. The Impala pulls onto a bridge. Dean gets out. (Now your life's no longer empty, surely Heaven waits for you.) He stands at the bridge railing, enjoying Heaven, smiling. And then he feels something and he smiles even more because he knows it's Sam. Oh god, Jensen did such a good job here. Just this fucking smile killed me dead. "Hey, Sammy," he says. He turns and there is Sam, wearing the same outfit he wore in 1.01 (they both are, but Sam's is a bigger departure from his later years). Why? I don't know. But I know it means Sam Winchester is spending eternity in something that isn't a plaid shirt. How do we feel about that?

"Dean," Sam says. They face each other and smile, and it's the smile of we just survived a hunt I didn't think we'd survive or our son just overpowered God or something along those lines. Then they embrace, and I love the way Sam hesitates just a little before clapping a hand on Dean's back. Like he's afraid it isn't really happening, and he doesn't want to break the illusion. I also love that Dean, as always, takes the top (oh, get your minds out of the gutter) and hugs as if he were taller than Sam. Then Dean puts his hand on the back of Sam's neck and turns him to admire the view and he has this joyous smile like now, this is FINALLY Heaven. And he gazes at Sam like look, Sammy, look what we did. Look what we get. The lack of dialog in this scene is just ~chef's kiss~. The camera goes wide and we see the three main characters, Sam and Dean and Baby, enjoying the Heaven they deserve.

I would like to know where they filmed this, because it's gorgeous even without the Winchesters.

Did Sam's entire life go by in the span of Dean's drive? Or did Dean just decide he'd drive until his brother arrived, no matter how long it took? And how much do I love the fact that he could have gone and visited his parents but instead he said "nah, I'll drive around and wait for Sam?" SO MUCH, PEOPLE. SO MUCH.

Also, can we talk about the fact that Sam didn't know what to expect in Heaven? I mean, Ash said they were soulmates and would share a Heaven, but why would he believe that? And he might have even still believed he'd have a hard time getting into Heaven. What a relief it must have been to show up on Dean's bridge.

And then Jared and Jensen thank us. You're welcome, boys. Thank you.

So. Thursday night I was mildly positive about the episode. But on rewatch, I'm extremely positive. Sure, I would have loved the Six Feet Under ending where we see everyone's fate. And maybe that would have happened if not for Covid. But I'm just relieved we didn't get the Game of Thrones or How I Met Your Mother endings. I'm not sure this current cohort could have done better, honestly. Sam wanted a normal family life. Dean wanted Sam to have a normal family life. But Sam was never going to stop hunting as long as Dean was hunting. And Dean wasn't going to stop hunting as long as he was alive. Dean got the end he wanted/expected and the Heaven he earned (and Sam caring for Jack was directly responsible for Heaven's improvements). Sam got to live a normal life and have a family. As I said earlier, I suspect his marriage didn't last. (Or maybe he and Eileen or Cara got married for insurance purposes, and happily co-parented little Dean, but knew they weren't each other's one true love.) But I actually prefer that. Dean loved Sam more than he loved anyone. Sam loved Dean the same way. I'm glad Sam got to have a child (who he loves as much as his brother, but in a different way), but I don't want Sam and Dean to share their Heaven with Sam's wife.

Now, would I have done Dean's death differently? Yes. I did appreciate that they had him upright, so the brothers were face to face, just like AHBL. But being impaled on a spike was just less dramatic that I would have liked. I would have preferred that Sam immediately see his brother was dying, instead of Dean having to explain it to him. Dean could have had his jugular torn, slowly bleeding out, and still been on his knees (held up by Sam, hell yes) making his deathbed speech. And then I wouldn't have thought "would an ambulance be here by now if you'd called them?" halfway through it.

{Sidebar: What if Sam had fed Dean some blood from one of the dead vamps. Wouldn't that have kept him undead long enough to get fixed up, and then they could have done the vampire cure? Discuss.}

I know some people are very unhappy about the finale. Honestly, from what I can tell, most of those people are hard-core Destiel shippers. And I guess they wanted, as they always do, for the Dean and Castiel relationship to be more important than the Dean and Sam relationship. Sorry, guys, that was never gonna happen. In the end, it came down to the epic love story of Sam and Dean, just as it should have.

So, I'm sad and I'm happy. I'm bereft and I'm full. I miss my boys, but my boys will always be with me. I hope you guys will be with me for a long time, too.

#spn #15.20 #spoilers #recap #tv recaps

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emmy-writes-sometimes · 4 years

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Sneaking Around

You and Jaeden try to hide that you’re dating from your dad, but he finds out in a not-so-great way. Both the reader and Jaeden are 18 in this!

“Y/n, are you sure we should be keeping this a secret?” Your boyfriend asked you as you hid out in his trailer. You had gone on a few dates with him while he and your dad were working on Knives Out, and it was one of the last days filming. You would sneak past your dad every morning, find Jaeden, and hang out with him most of the day. Your dad, none the wiser, thought you were just in his trailer or in the main building at the café they had. But nope – you were with Jaeden.

“He’ll kill me, Jae,” you said as you held a pillow in your arms, your feet propped up on the trailer’s couch. “Just give me a few more months to crack him. I’ll tell him before Jacob starts filming, I promise. I just don’t want him to…”

“I know,” he responded with a little smile. He always looked cute, but that day he was extra cute in the whit suit he was wearing. It was your favorite of his costumes in the movie. “Maybe we should wait a little longer.” He sat down on the couch beside you and pulled you into a kiss that only lasted for a few seconds.

“You really need to go now, you’re gonna be late and my dad is going to come looking for me.” He smirked.

“Fine. I’ll see you later.” You both stood up and you gathered your backpack to go back to your dad’s trailer. He walked you there before going back to set, leaving you alone. In truth, you had both only meant waiting a couple months. That was in October of 2018. You wanted to see if the long distance thing could work while he was off filming for something else and you were back in Boston with your dad. And then you got the news that Defending Jacob was going to be filmed in Boston, too, and he showed up at the airport and told you that he was in love with you. You were absolutely head over heels for him, but your dad was still trying to tell you not to date anyone. He was still telling you that maybe you should date a guy from school, like one of your old friends, Griffin. You didn’t have the heart to tell him that you were dating the kid playing his son.

“Hey,” you said over the phone. “Aren’t you supposed to be filming?” It was the middle of the day on a Tuesday – you had just pulled up to the house after school, and as much as you loved Jaeden, you didn’t want him to get in trouble.

“Yeah, I’m on break though, they’re re-setting up the courtroom. Your dad mentioned he was going out of town this weekend.”

“Yeah, he has an audition and a few meetings up in L.A., he’s not supposed to be back until Monday,” you said as you shut the door to the car, grabbing your backpack out of the back seat. “Why, what were you thinking?”

“Well, we could spend the weekend together. Just you and me.”

“That would be amazing. Do you think you can swing it, though?”

“Yeah. The hotel staff already doesn’t come on weekends so no one will care if I’m not there, and you know what flights your dad is on we can just… Not tell him.” You grinned.

“Really? Your one weekend off in forever and you want to spend it with me?” You stuck your key into the door and entered the house, petting Dodger as he jumped up on you.

“Of course I do.” You heard the set bell ring and he sighed. “I gotta go, but are you down?”

“I’m down.”

“I’ll see you Thursday for dinner, okay? And then Friday on?”

“Of course. I love you.”

“I love you too.” You could tell that he was smiling when he hung up, and that made you happy. There wasn’t a reason not to go public at this point – you’d been dating for almost a year, you were both eighteen, and you were both used to the public commenting on your lives. The only thing that stood in the way was your dad. And he was either going to find out the easy way or the hard way, and even though you were hoping for the easy way, you honestly just wanted it out there. You talked to Jae about it during dinner on Thursday while your dad was doing a night scene, and he agreed. You would go public with it after your dad got back. You’d both be waiting at the house when he got back, you’d tell him, and then you’d finally let Jae post the picture of you two together when you went hiking one day.

Friday came and you dropped your dad off at the airport and then went to Jae’s hotel. He smiled as he climbed into your car, putting his bag on the floor. You drove back to the house and had a nice night – you had dinner, you watched a movie, and he played video games until you fell asleep on him and he decided it was probably time that both of you went to bed.

You woke up Saturday morning and let him sleep, taking the dog out for aa walk before making breakfast. You grinned from ear to ear when he came downstairs wearing nothing but a pair of boxers, his hair messed up from sleeping in your bed, and his eyes barely open. You took the bacon out of the oven as he came down and got a class of juice from the fridge.

“Why are you smiling like that?” He asked.

“Like what?” He drained the OJ and collapsed the carton before putting it in the trash bin.

“Like how you’re smiling.” He was smiling, too.

“I’m just glad you’re here,” you said. “It feels normal.”

“Well, when you’re at UCLA next year, you can come over whenever you want. Or just fuckin’ come live with me.” You laughed. Your plan was either UCLA or USC, but he was trying to convince you of UCLA because it was closer to his house. “Y/n?”

“Yeah?” You were turning off the skillet when he walked up behind you and kissed your shoulder.

“I like being normal with you.” You smiled at him and finished getting breakfast ready, then brought it all over to the coffee table and shared it. You shared mac and cheese right out of the pot for lunch. Just as you were finishing, there was a knock at your door. The device on the coffee table showed that it was just your Aunt.

“Oh my God, Jae, go hide in the linen closet!” You said.

“What? Which linen closet?”

“I don’t know! Just go hide in one!” He scoffed and went through the back of the house and down to the basement, where your aunt would definitely not go, and you answered the door.

“Hey, y/n, sweetie,” she said. You gave her a hug, hoping that she couldn’t smell Jae’s cologne on you. You were wearing one of his shirts, too, but it was smaller on him and didn’t look as odd on you. Your aunt probably wouldn’t be able to tell.

“Hey!” You said back.

“Just wanted to check in, how are you doing?”

“I’m good. Just vegging out on the couch without dad,” you lied, showing her the couch that didn’t have a single sign of Jae. “I think I need to take Dodge to the groomer soon so I was going to do that today.”

“That’ll be good. I just wanted to drop by and check in and see how you were doing. And your dad said I could grab some of the toys the kids left here.”

“Yeah, of course!” You let her in and she started gathering some of the toys. You had no idea where Jae was, but as long as your aunt didn’t go in your room she wouldn’t see the clothes that didn’t belong to you all over your floor. She had no reason to go in there, and you were incredibly talented at lying, so she had no idea. She left fifteen minutes later and you heard a sigh of relief as she backed up out of the driveway.

“Jesus,” Jae said as he grabbed you, pulling you back into the living room. Dodger jumped up on the couch and found a space to lay in between the two of you, and eventually you fell asleep while he was watching some TV show. You woke up to Jae shoving you because your dad was calling you, and answered.

“Hello?” You asked.

“Hey, honey!” He said. “How are you? Shan came by earlier, right?”

“Yeah,” you responded. “I’m good. Just watching some movies. I was thinking about getting dinner with a friend later, though.”

“Go ahead and use my card if you want. I had to change planes, I got bumped, so I won’t be home until around ten. Is that okay”?

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Okay. Call me if you need anything. I’ll see you tomorrow night, babe.”

“Okay. Love you.”

“Love you too.” He hung up the phone and you put yours back on the table, turning around until you were against Jae’s back. The two of you slept so much during the day that you were up most of the night, doing things that you would never, ever do if there was even a chance your dad wasn’t a few thousand miles across the country. You kept checking your phone to see if he’d called you, but he didn’t, and you felt safe enough that you didn’t make Jae put on more clothes before you went to bed that night.

The next morning you went to breakfast and spent most of the day cleaning the house and packing up Jae so he could go home around eight, but you were teenagers. You did what teenagers did, and that was being too stupid to set an alarm or check your dad’s flight number because you had the same account. If you’d checked it, you would have figured out that he had gotten back on the earlier flight and was going to be home at eight. Not ten. By that time you and Jae still hadn’t put clothes on and were just napping under the comforter. You’d fed the dog and said that the two of you could afford to nap through a few episodes of something, so you did.

Your dad got home and got his bags out of the Uber, thinking that something was a little bit off. You hadn’t turned the porch light on yet like you usually did when he was getting home. Dodger was out of water downstairs, so he got him some more, and then he saw a phone charger that wasn’t yours plugged into the wall. You’d had friends over, he thought, so maybe someone had just left it. He walked upstairs to go put his things away and saw your sneakers by your bedroom door. Next to them was a set of boys’ sneakers, so he quickly texted your aunt. She said you were alone when she got there, so he sighed. He gathered his energy to gently push your door open and saw you. In bed. With his co-star.

He saw you curled up against his back, obviously comfortable. He saw Jae’s arms around you, the comforter on top of you, and a pile of clothes on the floor. He sighed and walked over to your light switch, flipping it on and off until the two of you started to wake up.

“Jae, babe, stop,” you murmured as you pulled the covers over your head.

“I’m not doing that,” he said back, “I’m literally right here.” The two of you cracked your eyes open to see your dad standing there, absolutely exhausted, and not in the mood to have to punish you.

“So, why don’t you guys get dressed and tell me what the fuck is going on?” He asked loudly.

“Hi, Dad,” you groaned.

“You two have five minutes.” He shut the door and walked to his room to start putting his clothes away. You pulled on what you’d been wearing earlier and Jae grabbed clothes out of his bag to put on. You sat down on the bed, chewing your nails. You didn’t think about what would happen if you got caught because it was the last thing you were planning to do.

“It’s fine,” Jae reassured you, coming to sit next to you after tugging a shirt over his head. “It’s fine. We were going to come clean anyway, it’s just that he’s already not in a good mood.” You leaned your head against his shoulder.

“I want the world to know, just not like this.”

“Yeah, well, hopefully he won’t give us the talk too. Come on.” He took your hand and the two of you walked down the stairs, where your father was sitting, beer cracked open, and Dodger on his lap.

“Chris,” Jae started. “Um, Mr. Evans, I guess, now, um…” He looked at you, lost, and you motioned for him to sit on the couch.

“How long has this been going on?” Your dad asked calmly as he started drinking.

“Since Knives Out,” you answered.

“WHAT?”

“We started dating then and we went long distance when I went back to L.A., and we didn’t tell you because we didn’t know if it would last, but it did,” Jae said, taking your hand confidently.

“And when he had a weekend off and you were gone, I asked him to come stay over. We weren’t planning on you coming home early.”

“Weren’t planning on…” your dad muttered under his breath. “What else weren’t you planning on? Me walking in?”

“No, honestly,” you replied softly. “We were going to tell you when you got back tonight. We were going to come clean about it because we didn’t want to hide it anymore, and we wanted to post stuff about being together. We were going to tell you, just not after… you know.”

“Are you two being safe?”

“Yes!” Both of you said at the same time. “I can’t believe you’re asking me that, you know I’ve been on birth control for three years.” Your dad nodded and sighed. “Look, we’re sorry. We’re really sorry.”

“Is he the reason you wanna go to UCLA?”

“Not completely. But we were talking about moving in together once I got up there.”

“I just can’t believe you hid this from me. Why would you do that?”

“Because. You’re my dad, you’re his on screen dad, and we didn’t know if there was even anything there or if we were just teenagers locked in a room together. And people are insane. We just wanted to hide it for awhile until we knew.”

“And do you?” He asked, exasperated, head in his hands.

“What?” You asked in response.

“I’m in love with her,” Jae said. “If that’s what you’re asking.” Your dad looked at you, and then at Jae, and then back at you again. He sat there for a few minutes. You leaned your head into Jae’s shoulder, wondering what your dad was going to say next. If he was going to try to keep you from seeing each other, if he was going to say you couldn’t date him… You were worried.

“Fine,” he said finally. “I mean, it’s whatever, you’d probably keep sneaking around anyway, but… Just be careful, okay? Both of you. With everything.” You nodded.

“Thanks.” He gave you a little smile, and then Jae one.

“I don’t know how I didn’t figure it out already, honestly.” He chuckled to himself. “Jae, why don’t you go ahead back to your hotel? It’s getting late. You should get some sleep before tomorrow.”

“Yeah, of course,” Jae said. He disappeared to get his things and call an Uber, and just before he walked out of the door, your dad came up behind him.

“I like you. You’re a good kid. And talented. But if you hurt my daughter I will literally kill you. And it won’t be with a prop knife. Got it?”

#chris evans x daughter!reader #chris evans x reader #chris evans fluff #jaeden martell x reader

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buzzdixonwriter · 3 years

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Another Pointless Top Ten List (But You’ll Keep Reading, Anyway)

My brother Rikk recently mailed me another top ten list of his, in this instance being his top ten favorite TV comedy shows (which he defines as 30 minutes or less, no movies).

The Three Stooges

M*A*S*H

The Andry Griffith Show

The Beverly Hillbillies

Hogan’s Heroes

I Love Lucy

The Honeymooners

All In The Family

Get Smart

Gilligan’s Island

His honorable mentions include F Troop, The Patty Duke Show, My Three Sons, Gomer Pyle USMC, Batman, Petticoat Junction, Mr. Ed. Bewitched, and I Dream Of Jeanie.

Again, one of those personal favorite lists that you really can’t argue with because it reflects personal tastes and / or fond nostalgia (though I am calling shenanigans on The Three Stooges; they were theatrical shorts shown in movie theaters, not a TV show, and besides, Laurel & Hardy are soooooo much better…).

But of course we’re going to play the game, so I’ll respond, first throwing in a caveat: No skit comedy shows such as Monty Python’s Flying Circus, The Marty Feldman Show, Benny Hill, Second City TV, The Kids In The Hall, or Love, American Style.

I’m also omitting programs like The Gong Show and Jackass because while hilarious and under 30 minutes, they weren’t scripted or story driven.

So here’s my list:

The Dick Van Dyke Show -- the sitcom art form at peak perfection. Carl Reiner’s insight into what writing for a mercurial TV star is like (in his case, Sid Caesar on Your Show Of Shows, for Van Dyke’s Rob Petrie it was Carl Reiner as Alan Brady). If you’ve never seen the show, start off with their two best episodes, “Coast To Coast Big Mouth” and “October Eve” (though they’re all good). “October Eve” is the one where Sally (Rose Marie) finds a nude painting of Laura (Mary Tyler Moore playing Dick Van Dyke’s wife) in an art gallery. SALLY: “There’s a painting here you should know about.” LAURA: “If it’s what I think it is, I can explain.” SALLY: “If you need to explain, it’s what you think it is.”

The Mary Tyler Moore Show – this is the first American novel for television. It’s a novel of character, not plot, and it traces the growth of Mary Richards, a 30 year old woman-child who realizes she needs to grow up, as she blossoms into a mature, self-reliant adult. You can select two episodes at random and by comparing her character growth determine not only which season they were filmed but when in that season.

I Love Lucy -- eking out a bronze medal for its longevity and pioneering of the art form. The first sitcom shot on film, it led the way in the rerun market. Not just a historical icon but consistently funny.

WKRP In Cincinnati -- as crazy as a sitcom could get and still be within the realm of plausibility. Never loved by its network, they bounced it around for four seasons until it faded away (it made a syndicated comeback a decade later, of which we shall not speak). Great supporting staff, dynamite writing. While they never steered away from serious subject matters (such as an actual rock concert tragedy in Cincinnati where several fans were crushed when rushing the stage), they will be forever and justly remembered for the beloved “Turkey Drop” episode.

Fawlty Towers – only two seasons and a mere 12 episodes and yet more comedic bang for the buck than anything else on this list. John Cleese as a frustrated, short-tempered, conniving hotelier practically writes itself. SYBIL FAWLTY: “You know what I’ll do if I find you’ve been gambling again, don’t you, Basil?” BASIL: “You’ll have to sew them back on first, m’dear.”

That Girl -- looking back it can sometimes be hard to judge just how groundbreaking certain shows were. Marlo Thomas as a struggling young actress finding romance and success in Manhattan seems positively wholesome today, but in the mid-1960s it was considered quite daring and progressive. The Mary Tyler Moore Show took their opening credits inspiration from Marlo Thomas’ character exploring Manhattan in the opening credits of That Girl.

He & She -- a one season wonder from 1967. Another daring and progressive show for its era. Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss played a young married couple, he being a cartoonist who drew a superhero strip (the actor playing the superhero on TV in the series was Jack Cassidy at his manic best). Another show with a dynamite supporting cast…and just too hip for the room at the time (honorable mention to Love On A Rooftop, a similar show from the previous season that also proved too advanced for audiences at that time).

Green Acres -- started out silly but quickly took a turn into the surreal, breaking the fourth wall, commenting on the opening credits as they ran by, all sorts of oddball stuff. Dismissed as a hayseed comedy, the truth is the supporting cast possessed dynamite comedic chops and their sense of timing is a joy to behold. Forms a loose trilogy with The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction since all three referenced the same small towns of Hooterville and Pixley as well as occasional crossovers (honorable mention to the first season of Petticoat Junction which is as pure an example of Americana as one could hope to find and could easily be distilled into a feature film remake).

The Young Ones -- another two season / twelve episode wonder from the UK. Four stereotypical English college students go through increasing levels of insanity as the series progressed. Unlike most shows of the era where there was no continuity episode to episode, damage done in an early episode would still be seen for the rest of the series. (They also would simply end a show when they ran out of time, not resolving that episode’s plot.) Their random / non sequitur style proved a tremendous influence on shows like Family Guy.

Fernwood 2 Nite / America 2-Nite -- a spin off from the faux soap opera Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, this presented itself as a cable access variety show for Mary Hartman’s hometown of Fernwood. With Martin Mull as the obnoxious host, Fred Willard as his incurably dense second banana, and TV theme song composer Frank De Vol as the band leader. Because it’s so rooted in 1970s pop culture it doesn’t age as well as some other shows on the list, but many of the gags still land solidly today. For the second season the show-within-a-show went nationwide and became America 2-Nite. Very funny, very well written, and all the more remarkable because these guys were doing five episodes a week!

Okay, so what can this list tell us?

Buzz is old. Like really, really, really old.

Buzz stopped watching sitcoms in the mid-1980s.

There’s a reason for that. By that time I was writing for TV and trying to get my own work done. I didn’t have time to sit and watch TV on a regular basis (still don’t), and too often I could see the gears turning and guess where the episode was heading by the end of the first scene (still do).

I’ve veered away from “must watch” TV, especially shows that require the audience to keep track of what’s gone on before.

Tell me I have to see the first six seasons of a show to appreciate what happens in the seventh and you’ve just lost me as a potential viewer. I’m strictly a one & done kinda guy now (though I will binge watch if a mini-series has a manageable number of episodes, say six).

My list represents a time capsule for what caught my interest and attention during a very formative period of my life, i.e., from the early 1960s as I became more and more aware that writing was where my future lay, to the mid-1980s when I hit a good peak stretch.

I don’t doubt there are great and wonderful hilarious comedies out there that I haven’t seen, I’m just listing what I have seen that did make an impression on me.

Your mileage may vary.*

* It should vary! Be your own person!

#media #comedy #sitcoms #Dick Van Dyke #Mary Tyler Moore #Carl Reiner #top ten lists

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miguel-manbemel · 3 years

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Aspects & Fanfics Ep. 49: The Cave of Doom Part 4: A Farewell Lullaby

As I announced last week, today I was publishing the final part of The Cave of Doom and putting an end to this story, which I hope you have been enjoying. I also remind that the next episode in the narrative will be in an ever shorter time as it will be a special Christmas episode to be released next Thursday, on Christmas Eve. It will be special too because it will be the introduction of Nico Flores, so stay tuned for that. Until then, I leave you with the Cave of Doom finale. Until next Thursday!

SYNOPSIS: Thomas has to use his Dark Master powers to escape the ghouls that surround the gang, but will that be enough to escape the cave? And will Thomas be strong enough to resist the Dark Master’s increasing control over him?

WARNINGS: Angst, lots of angst. There’s a scene describing a very violent attack. Also romantic prinxiety and romantic logicality.

EPISODE INDEX

[Roman is writing in his diary. His eyes are all red and his voice is heard]

ROMAN: The closer I’m getting to the end of this story, the hardest it is for me to tell it with my eyes dry. I can’t make any more pauses, because otherwise, I would never finish, and besides, I need to let it all out as soon as possible. So, let me tell you how I finally… lost my son. First, a summary of the previous section I narrated, so that I can calm myself down enough to tackle the rest. We had made our way into the cave to find Paranoia and put an end to his reign of terror in the Cave of Doom. When we got deeper in the caves, Vertigo, Height’s partner, who, like the other ghouls, is controlled by Paranoia, tried to lure Height into following him into his trap. It was hard but we convinced him to stay with us and Paranoia’s plan was exposed. He asked us to get into his castle in the deepest cave to offer us a deal. The deal in question was to give us our son Dillon back, as well as the keys to get out of the Cave, in exchange for the two ghouls that were with us, Height and Rejection, as well as Virgil’s abdication of the throne in his favor. He also threatened to kill our son Dillon, who was kept as hostage, if we didn’t accept the deal. But Janus quickly saw through all the deceptions that had been placed there and not only rejected Paranoia’s plan, but exposed the true culprit of all the situation: our own son, Dillon, had betrayed us. He was the one who had attacked Ian from behind, he opened the front door and allowed the ghouls to take Chris, and he wanted Virgil to abdicate the throne in the cave who knows for what reason. Except that it was not Dillon himself who did all of that. The Paladin, who had made my life a hell in the past few months, had got out of my body and taken control of Dillon while I was delivering him, and now Dillon was nothing but a puppet under his control. With the facade over, Dillon decided to act more aggressively, and ghouls started surrounding us from all corners of the room. It looked like it was the end for all of us…

[intro sequence]

[the gang is surrounded by all the ghouls who get closer and closer all with mean looks in their eyes]

ROMAN: We’re surrounded and they’re too many.

VIRGIL: I won’t let this stand! [tempest tongue, rising his hands] EVERYONE, STAND BACK!

[the ghouls are not even affected. Dillon chortles]

DILLON: Did you really think that they were still under your command? Poor fool. They only obey me and they are no longer affected by your power. I too have that power and currently I’m stronger than you. Admit your defeat, Virgil! You’re doomed!

THOMAS: Not if I can do anything about it!

[Thomas closes his eyes and when he opens them again, they’re blue. He rises his hands and a huge beam of light surrounds them. The ghouls retreat a couple of steps, but then the light disappears and they start walking again]

THOMAS: It’s not working!

VIRGIL: I told you the Light Master power didn’t reach to these caves, Thomas.

THOMAS: Well, you also said there was another power I could use in case of an emergency…

VIRGIL: [scared] Thomas, no! It’s too dangerous! You still don’t know how to control your Dark Master self!

THOMAS: Well, it seems we don’t have a choice, Virgil! Have you got any better ideas? Because I would love to hear them if you can be quick, they’re almost on us!

VIRGIL: I don’t, Thomas, but…

THOMAS: Then it’s settled.

[Thomas closes his eyes]

VIRGIL: [yelling in tempest tongue] THOMAS, NO!

[Thomas opens his eyes, they’re now green and he shows a mean face]

THOMAS: [with a demonic voice] What the light couldn’t touch, the dark will tear it apart! Stand back, you fools!

[Thomas rises both arms and a black wave surges from his body and spreads everywhere. All the ghouls, including Paranoia, Height and Rejection, are struck by that wave and fall down. Voices of pain are heard everywhere in the room]

HEIGHT: I can… I can barely breath… Oh, it hurts!

[Thomas looks at Dillon, who looks at him with a face of wrath. Two key chains fly out of his pocket and fall in Thomas’ hand]

THOMAS: [same evil, demonic voice] We’re gonna need this, thank you.

DILLON: You won’t get away from here so easily.

THOMAS: Try to stop me if you have what it takes. [to the others] Let’s go.

VIRGIL: What about Height and Rejection? Your attack affected them too and they can barely walk.

THOMAS: [angry] You are the Father of Ghouls, aren’t you? They’re your responsibility! Do something yourself or leave them behind, I don’t have time to deal with this b*llsh*t!

VIRGIL: But my son… There has to be something I can do for him!

THOMAS: [yelling in a fit of wrath] Get with the program, Virgil! That’s not your son! He’s never been your son! He’s the Paladin, from the very first moment he was conceived! You two never truly had a son and if you had, he died before birth, consumed by the Paladin! So come on, now! It won’t be long till these ghouls recover and then it will be us who suffer! Come on, get walking, now!

ROMAN: Okay, Thomas, calm down! Don’t talk to Virgil like that!

[Thomas’ eyes turn back to brown]

THOMAS: [horrified] Oh, my gosh. Virgil, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to speak to you like that…

VIRGIL: [in tears] It’s okay, that wasn’t you, Thomas. I’ll never forget the Dark Master’s manners. But still, you were right, we gotta go before these ghouls recover. But we’re not leaving our friends behind. Roman, grab Rejection, and I’ll grab Height.

ROMAN: Okay, my love. Hold on me Rejection.

REJECTION: [weak voice] Thank you, Roman…

[Roman and Virgil grab the ghouls, then the gang runs out of the room across the ghouls lying down]

DILLON: [to the ghouls on the ground] Don’t let them get away, you idiots! A fine group of imbeciles you’ve turned out to be!

[The gang gets out of the castle and they return to the corridors of the cave, heading to the door]

HEIGHT: I’m sorry we’re being a burden for you, your majesty.

VIRGIL: Don’t worry, Height. You’re not so heavy and I can carry you.

HEIGHT: I didn’t mean that. I know as our King you’re strong enough to carry us and more, but I meant, that we’ve lured you into this cave and we made you fall into that trap. We’re so sorry.

VIRGIL: It’s not your fault. You don’t need to apologize. At least this has served to open our eyes about Dillon’s true heart.

HEIGHT: I’d wish we could do something more to help you. But I can barely move a muscle, everything hurts.

VIRGIL: I know, I’m sorry. I didn’t expect that Thomas, even in Dark Master mode, wouldn’t care to attack both friends and enemies at the same time. Though I should have, the Dark Master has always been like that.

THOMAS: I’m terribly sorry, guys. I hope when we get back to Virgil’s room, you have time to recover.

REJECTION: I still wonder, though, what will become of our friends? Will they stay trapped under Paranoia’s… I mean, under Dillon’s control for all eternity?

VIRGIL: For now, we need to get back to my room and lock the door so that we have time to recover. Then we’ll think on something. As I said, I’m not leaving any friends behind. And there has to be a way to help my son. I can’t accept that there’s nothing we can do for him. It’s too horrible.

THOMAS: [suddenly with a mean tone of voice] You’ve always been so simple, Virgil! Of course there’s nothing you can do for him, forget him already!

VIRGIL: Thomas! Don’t let your Dark Master self dominate you!

THOMAS: [back to normal] I’m sorry, I don’t know where that came from.

VIRGIL: This has been a mistake, you shouldn’t have used that power.

THOMAS: If I hadn’t, we would be history by now. There was no choice, Virgil. We’ll deal with the aftermath later. Now, we must keep moving. Save your breath for the run.

HEIGHT: I think you can put me on the ground, your majesty. I think I’m feeling okay now and I can run.

VIRGIL: Are you sure?

HEIGHT: Yes, my liege, thank you for carrying me.

REJECTION: I’m feeling better too, Roman.

[Virgil and Roman put Height and Rejection on the ground]

LOGAN: You know what this means, right, guys? Now it’s when we really must run, cause if Height and Rejection are better now, that means that all of the ghouls hit by Thomas’ wave are feeling better too, and that means, they’re after us right now. So come on!

VIRGIL: It’s good that the door is not too far already. We can still make it, guys.

[The gang keeps on running. Soon, they see the front door in the distance, but just then they start hearing beastly growling noises in a distance behind them]

VIRGIL: [now panting] How fast are they running? The distance we made in like ten minutes, they made in less than two! They’re gonna get us!

THOMAS: Not if I can help it!

VIRGIL: Thomas, no! If you do that thing again, you’ll hit Height and Rejection and we don’t have time to stop and carry them.

THOMAS: It’s okay, this time I’ll try to do an attack only in that direction. You guys, keep on running. [his voice goes to a mean tone and his eyes turn green] I’ll deal with these b*st*rds once and for all. Here, you’ll need this.

[Thomas throws one of the key chains to Virgil, who grabs it. Soon hundreds of red eyes are seen in the distance as the growling voices get stronger. Virgil and the others decide to just run to the door]

THOMAS: You fools didn’t have enough, did you? Well, now you’re gonna regret following us.

[Thomas rises both fists and black flames surge from them. As the ghouls get closer, Thomas points both fists to them and yells a war cry. Black flames erupt from his fists and hit the ghouls. There are yells of pain around them. Meanwhile, Virgil and the others have reached the door and they are unlocking it when they see what Thomas is doing]

HEIGHT: Goodness gracious, what is he doing!?

REJECTION: He’s gonna kill them all, and despite their current state they are our friends!

[Suddenly, Height shows a face of huge despair]

HEIGHT: That on the front line! That is Vertigo! No! Stop it, please! You’re gonna kill him!

VIRGIL: Thomas, you’re overdoing it, it’s not necessary to kill them! Stop, please!

HEIGHT: [yelling in despair] Somebody stop him! Please, somebody stop him!

ROMAN: Thomas, stop!

VIRGIL: You guys, get in the room, I’ll go get Thomas.

HEIGHT: [hysterical] I’m not going anywhere! I’m not going anywhere!

VIRGIL: Roman, Chris, please, take them away. [gives the key chain to Roman] Lock the door when you’re in my room.

ROMAN: What about you?

VIRGIL: Thomas has a copy.

ROMAN: But…

VIRGIL: Hurry, they mustn’t keep seeing that! Hurry!

ROMAN: Okay. Be careful, my love. Come, Height, come with me.

HEIGHT: I’m not going!

[Roman and Chris grab Height and Rejection and drag them into Virgil’s room while they desperately fight. Then the door is closed and Virgil hears the sound of the lock]

VIRGIL: [running to Thomas] Thomas, I demand you to stop!

THOMAS: What are you doing here? Don’t you see I’m busy? Get out of here!

VIRGIL: Don’t you see you’re killing them? They’re not responsible for what they’re doing and they’re Height and Rejections friends. You even wounded Vertigo, Height’s love of his life! Stop!

THOMAS: As if I cared for that! They dared to rise their hands to me and they’re gonna lose both of them. And you too if you keep bothering me, Anxiety!

VIRGIL: Thomas, that is not you! Don’t you see the Dark Master is controlling you? You’re supposed to be kind and forgiving! Stop this massacre!

THOMAS: If I didn’t have both my hands occupied, I’d teach you not to question me, you pathetic Side! I’m in charge, remember? Or do you want me to make you remember with some whipping?

VIRGIL: Okay… I’m sorry, Thomas. I didn’t want to do this… But I have no choice. You’re gonna stop… by hook or by crook.

[Virgil points at Thomas. Soon the flames disappear and Thomas screeches in panic, before fainting. Everyone in the cave faints too. A couple of minutes pass until Thomas opens his eyes and everyone starts giving signs of life]

THOMAS: [standing up, his eyes have turned back to brown] What… what has happened?

VIRGIL: [also standing up, shaking his head] I’m sorry, Thomas, I had to put a panic attack on you, to make you snap out of the Dark Master’s control.

THOMAS: [noticing all the ghouls wounded on the ground] Oh, no… What did I do? Virgil, what did I do!?

[applause is heard from a short distance. It’s coming from Dillon who’s watching the scene]

DILLON: What a scene… Seeing you abandoning yourself to your meanest impulses, is such a joy to see, Thomas.

THOMAS: Dillon…

VIRGIL: No… the Paladin.

DILLON: Oh, what’s the matter, daddy? I’m your son, you don’t love me?

VIRGIL: You’re not my son, Paladin. You’re just wearing his casquet, but there’s nothing left of my son, because you took care of him, you murderer.

DILLON: [mischievous smile] Are you sure of that, though? Who knows, maybe there’s something left of your son in this body? Maybe I need that little bit of him alive to keep myself inside of him. Perhaps, there is still hope for your son and you don’t know.

VIRGIL: Why are you saying this to me? Why are you doing this to me!?

DILLON: [evil giggle] Oh, I just love to torture some poor unfortunate souls, like yourself. Hope is also a form of torture if you use it… wisely.

THOMAS: You truly are a monster, Paladin. A real monster.

DILLON: I am a monster? Look around you, Thomas. You have wounded hundreds of beings around you, some of them maybe beyond cure. If I am a monster, then so are you, Thomas.

THOMAS: That was the Dark Master, not me! I did not do that!

DILLON: Don’t pass the buck, Thomas. The Dark Master is one of the Master Sides of yourself, which means he’s at the core of your very foundation. You did it through him, but it was you who allowed him to do him, because you are indeed him, you can’t deny it!

THOMAS: You liar… [yelling] You liar!

DILLON: You know I’m saying the truth. Don’t get accustomed to it, but I am.

[Thomas shows a face of despair and tears fall down his cheeks. Virgil notices Vertigo next to him. He grabs him]

VIRGIL: It’s no use to argue with him, Thomas. Let’s go.

DILLON: You think you’re gonna leave so easily?

VIRGIL: And who’s gonna stop us? Your facade is over, your army is defeated and, Paladin or not, at the end of the day you’re nothing but an ordinary Side, you have no power to stop or harm Thomas. You’ve lost, Paladin.

[Dillon giggles]

DILLON: Well, I guess you’re right, for the time being. Okay, you can go. But sooner or later, you’ll have to go back, because I still have your son. You just won’t be able to resist the urge of rescuing him at some point. I’ll be waiting for our next encounter, Virgil, this was fun.

VIRGIL: Speak for yourself, Paladin. You’re right. If there’s still a chance to rescue my son, I’ll take it, but not today. Until we meet again, Paladin. I assure you it will be the last time we meet.

DILLON: [evil voice] Oh, you can be sure of that too… [innocent, childish, sing-song voice] See ya, daddy!

[Virgil turns around. Thomas stands there, looking at the ghouls around him]

VIRGIL: Thomas, let’s go.

[Thomas doesn’t move]

VIRGIL: [yelling] Thomas! You’ve done enough harm today already! Hurry up or we won’t be able to do anything for Vertigo, come on!

[after these harsh words, Thomas snaps out of his confusion and follows Virgil. He unlocks the door and gets into the room followed by Virgil. Before Thomas closes the door, Virgil looks at Dillon one last time. Dillon blows a kiss to him and waves his hand happily. Virgil frowns with tears in his eyes and turns around, then Thomas closes the door and locks it]

HEIGHT: Is that Vertigo? Vertigo, my love! [looks at Thomas with a face of wrath then starts hitting him on the chest] You murderer, what have you done!?

REJECTION: [hugging Height] Height, calm down. Our King said he was not himself when he did that, and I trust our King. Do you?

HEIGHT: [lets go a sight mixed with a sob] Okay… Whatever you say…

THOMAS: I’m… I’m so sorry… I didn’t realize what I was doing… You were so right, Virgil, I never should have use the Dark Master powers. All these ghouls wounded… and it’s all my fault. What have I done, sweet Jesus, what have I done?

VIRGIL: That’s over and done with, Thomas and we can’t change it. Let’s hope that the ghouls survive and get better. It’s very difficult to kill a ghoul, even by yourself. It requires a lot of strength to kill a fear. The most common situation is that you end up facing a fear and learning to ignore it, even though it never goes completely. So let’s just hope for the best for them. Let’s focus now on Vertigo. [to Patton] Dad, do you think you can do anything for him?

PATTON: I don’t know… Vertigo is not a Side, I don’t know if my healing powers will work on him. I already have problems to heal issues on Sides, like when I couldn’t restore Logan’s abilities to examine Sides.

LOGAN: If only I hadn’t lost that ability… I could have identified the Paladin by touch when he was a baby, and this wouldn’t have happened.

VIRGIL: To think that I thought he was Hope and wanted to give him a name that meant Hope… when Despair would have been way more appropriate for him…

HEIGHT: Please, if you can save him, I beg you to try, Patton.

PATTON: Okay, kiddo, I’ll do my best. Put Vertigo on the couch.

[Virgil puts Vertigo on the couch and steps back. Then Patton approaches him and examines him]

PATTON: He’s really wounded. I don’t know if I can do this, but I’ll certainly do my best to save him.

[Patton puts his hands on Vertigo’s chest and closes his eyes]

IAN: I was thinking… won’t it be dangerous to heal Vertigo? He was one of them, after all.

VIRGIL: Not anymore, Ian. After I locked that door, any control Dillon had over Vertigo has been cut and broken. He’s now free. I hope it’s not too late to save him.

[Patton tries to concentrate. A faint blue aura appears around him, but soon he starts struggling and the aura flickers and disappears]

PATTON: This is hard… I think I may have a chance to make a contact… but it’s too difficult, and he’s in a very bad condition. I’ll try again.

[Patton closes his eyes again and struggles harder. The blue aura appears again, this time a little brighter, but soon it starts flickering again and disappears]

PATTON: Dag nabbit… I almost had it. But I lack strength to reach to the end of the process. I think this could be too much for me… But no, I almost had it, maybe it will be third time lucky. Let’s go.

[Patton closes his eyes. This time he struggles so much he groans out of the effort, almost as if he was in pain. Some of the light blue aura surrounds Vertigo. Tears fall down Patton’s struggling eyes and he seems to be in a lot of pain. He starts getting a little pale]

LOGAN: Patton, are you okay?

PATTON: Almost… have… him…

[Patton’s hand is now grabbing Vertigo’s chest, almost nailing his nails on the chest. Height watches the scene in tension as well as the others. After some time, the aura disappears. Then the struggle in Patton’s face is replaced by dizziness. Logan realizes he’s about to faint and grabs him before Patton collapses]

LOGAN: Patton! What’s wrong with you?

PATTON: [weak voice] I’m sorry… That took almost all of my energy. The Core warned me about it. If I ever went too far with this gift, it could have the same effect as a self inhibition…

LOGAN: What!? But that means you could lose your life if you use that gift! Why didn’t you tell me!?

PATTON: I didn’t want to worry you. Besides, I never thought I’d have to use the gift to this extent… Please take me to the other couch… I need to rest…

LOGAN: Of course.

[Logan holds Patton in his arms and lays him on the couch]

PATTON: Thank you, Logan…

LOGAN: Don’t ever do this again, please. I couldn’t stand… I couldn’t stand losing you, Patton.

PATTON: I love you too, Logan. And I promise to be more careful next time. It’s just that I was so close to save him, that I didn’t want to miss that chance… By the way, did it work? Please tell me it did work. In my current state I couldn’t try another time.

VIRGIL: As a matter of fact, Patton, something seems to be happening here. The wounds over his body are slowly closing and disappearing. It’s a good sign.

PATTON: Good, I just set the spark for his recuperation, the beacon light he must follow to return to the living. The rest depends on him and his will to live and follow that light. I can’t do anymore.

HEIGHT: Please, Vertigo, please… Fight.

[little by little, the wounds keep on disappearing. Soon there are no wounds in his body. Still, Vertigo doesn’t show signs of waking up]

HEIGHT: Vertigo? Can you hear me? Please, wake up! Please…

[Height, suddenly compelled by an urge he can’t control, leans over Vertigo and kisses him. A couple of seconds later, Vertigo moves his arms and wraps Height around him, and they stay in the kiss for a few seconds more. Then, when the kiss is over, Vertigo smiles at Height]

VERTIGO: I could hear you all the time… calling me… but I was just so weak… it’s as if I was trapped in a pool full of gelatin, unable to move, seeing that light, knowing I had to go there but unable to get going… until I felt your kiss and it was as if you pulled me out of that pool and threw me straight into the light and back to you.

HEIGHT: I’m so happy… How do you feel, can you stand up?

VERTIGO: I think so…

HEIGHT: Here, let me help you…

[Height helps Vertigo sit on the couch. He looks bashfully at the other Sides]

VERTIGO: I’m sorry for being such a nuisance, guys. I wasn’t myself and…

VIRGIL: You don’t need to apologize. It’s all the Paladin’s fault, not yours, you were just his pawn.

THOMAS: It’s me who should apologize, Vertigo. I’m terribly sorry for what I did to you. I’m so happy that you’re okay now. But all those poor ghouls on the other side of that door… how…

[Thomas starts crying]

VERTIGO: It’s okay, Thomas. As it happened with me, you were not yourself. You would have never done such thing on your own free will, and for me that’s enough.

THOMAS: Thank you… for being so understanding… But the other ghouls… Will they be? Will they hold it against me, as they should? Lord help me, I hope I didn’t kill any of them.

VIRGIL: There’s one safe way to find out, Thomas. Let’s peep through the key hole and see how they’re doing.

THOMAS: Can we?

VIRGIL: Of course we can. As long as we don’t open that door, it’s safe. Come on, take a look.

[Thomas approaches the door and looks through the key hole. We see what he’s narrating]

THOMAS: I see the ghouls there… It seems, they’re standing up… and going back to the deeper caves… I don’t see anyone left behind unconscious or… you know… Perhaps it’s true they all survived. I still made them a lot of harm and I will regret that forever… but Lord help me, I’m so relieved I didn’t kill anyone…

DILLON: [suddenly peeping through the same keyhole looking at Thomas in the eye from very close] PIKABOO!

THOMAS: [jumps scared] HOLY F…!

DILLON: Ha ha ha! Relax, dear friend, I saw you were looking around and I just wanted to say hi!

THOMAS: I’m not your friend, Paladin. And I’m so glad that the treatment I’m getting has you under control so that you can’t do any more harm.

DILLON: [over the top pouty face] You’re so mean to me… I just wanted to be nice. Well, I hope this little adventure has been as fun for you as it’s been for me. I can’t wait for our next encounter. See ya, kiddos!

PATTON: Don’t you dare stealing my thing, Paladin!

[but there’s no response anymore]

HEIGHT: How are you feeling now, Vertigo?

VERTIGO: I’m still a little achy here and there, but I’m getting better by the minute.

REJECTION: Guys… What will become of us? We can’t return to the cave. We’re now exiled outcasts. We have nowhere to go!

CHRIS: What do you mean you have nowhere to go? You’ve got this room and you can use it as if it was your own. Make it your home for as long as you need.

REJECTION: Really? You would let us live here? Oh, thank you, your highness, thank you so much!

VIRGIL: Are you sure, though, Chris? This place only has two bedrooms. Where are you planning to sleep?

CHRIS: You know what? For the time being I’ll be returning to your room, until I can make myself a room of my own. I’m an adult Side, I must be capable of creating a room for myself, just like any other Side, am I not? Question is if you don’t have any problem with me moving back with you, even if it’s temporary.

VIRGIL: You didn’t even need to ask. You’ll always be welcome with us, right Roman? [Roman doesn’t answer] Roman? Are you listening?

ROMAN: Mmm? Oh, sorry, what did you say?

VIRGIL: I said that Chris will always be welcome in our room.

ROMAN: Oh, of course, Chris. You don’t even need to ask. You’ll always be welcome with us.

VIRGIL: I… I just said that with the same exact words. Roman, are you okay?

ROMAN: Well…

THOMAS: Emm… Chris, guys, don’t you think we should show the new tenants their rooms? Come with me, all of you.

PATTON: Aren’t we too many to go all together to the bedrooms? I…

THOMAS: [low voice, a little angry] You can go anywhere you want, as long as you give Roman and Virgil some privacy to talk…

PATTON: Oh, okay, yeah let’s go.

[everybody goes upstairs while Roman and Virgil stay alone in the room]

[end card]

VIRGIL: What’s the matter, Roman?

ROMAN: You know what’s the matter with me. I’m thinking about our son.

VIRGIL: Yes, I understand. It hurts me deeply too that he has to stay there trapped, but there’s nothing else we could do…

ROMAN: It’s not that… I mean, it hurts me too that he has to stay there and we can’t see him again. It’s just that… I think this is all my fault.

VIRGIL: What? Why would it be your fault, Roman?

ROMAN: Keeping the Paladin reined in was my responsibility. He was in me and as long as he stayed there, I was supposed to be his prison and his jailer. How could I let him infect our unborn son and get away? What if we can’t make him leave our son’s body? What if our son is doomed to be the host of that monster for the rest of our lifetimes? I… I thought it was a blessing that I was having another son, but… [starts sobbing] …it happened to be a curse instead, and it’s all my fault…

VIRGIL: [hugging him] It’s okay, Roman. This is not your fault at all. It’s not like you knew the Paladin could do that, and even so, what could you have done to prevent it? It wasn’t something you could control at all, so don’t be harsh on yourself. And don’t lose hope either. I am the one who’s also questioning hope and I’m sure there has to be a way to save our son, and we will save him, someday.

ROMAN: I hope you’re right, Virge. I really do…

[Virgil kisses Roman on the forehead, then they go upstairs to join the others. Then we return to Roman writing in his diary]

ROMAN: [voice] I keep Virgil’s words in my mind and try to listen to them again and again, but it’s just so hard… Every moment I can’t stop thinking that our son is down there, manipulated by that monster. Does he know what he’s doing? Does he really exist to begin with, or was he the Paladin all the time? There’s no way for me to know. Some nights, when everybody is sleeping, I do a supreme effort to stay awake, even when Thomas tries to force me to sleep, and go to Virgil’s front door, trying to stay a little close to him. There was one time when I almost fell asleep next to the door, and I thought I heard some childish singing on the other side, as if someone was singing “Rock-a-bye baby” to me, with the sweetest voice anyone could find… I woke up the next morning when Vertigo found me asleep next to the door. It could have been just a dream… but I want to believe that, when Thomas sleeps, the Paladin falls asleep too and our son, sharing Virgil and Chris’s ability to stay awake, regains control of his own body for short periods of time. Did he get to the door and know that I was there asleep? Cause it wasn’t a mockingly sweet voice what I heard half asleep, it was a genuinely loving voice, as if he was trying to send me all his love. I never told anyone, ‘cause I don’t wanna create false hopes for me or for Virgil. But I so desperately wish for this to be true. I’m missing him so much already. Please, Core, I pray to you to give us a way to get my son back. Please…

[Roman stops writing and closes the book. Then he looks at the cover with his face full of tears]

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hervoidfury · 3 years

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Gratitude [ Tribute to Jon Huber, 1979 - 2020 ]

He knew exactly how to captivate a person both in ring and out of the ring, you could see it in his eyes; the way he moved, the way he spoke ... His work will never be forgotten, Luke Harper and Brodie Lee will never ever be forgotten. Thank you Jon for bringing life into both these characters and most importantly for making everyone smile with your hilarious bits on Being The Elite 🙏❤

- My Original Female Wrestling Character is built around one of my all time favorite role models Selena Gomez, her name is Vanessa and she's one of the best characters I have built in my life. You can see just how much Vanessa had been impacted by Jon's infectious light. ❤🙏

Heartbreak comes in many forms, the most painful form is the loss of someone who defined the meaning of an angel; in life you meet individuals that leave a lasting impact in your life and for Vanessa, Jon Huber was one of those people — initially the two had never spoken beyond pleasantries whenever Vanessa trained with her best friend Stephen Farrelly, and even then she could see just how friendly and kind the male was, which presented a clear contrast to his on screen persona.

Jon was more than a wrestler, he was an entertainer, a person that captivated you with his words, in ring skills and most of all his intimidating, strong presence in the ring. That's how devoted he was to his craft, behind the scenes he presented a vibrant supportive soul that loved to bring a smile onto anyone he crossed paths with.

Vanessa recalled two of the many significant moments in which he truly left an impact in her life and career as an in ring performer, …

— 2016,

“ Stephen wasn't lying when he said it was a party ” muttered Jordan as she and Vanessa stood at a corner watching their fellow peers chat with one another.

It was a rarity to find time to just relax and enjoy yourself in this hectic business however luckily, just two days before a pay per view was set. Stephen decided to host what he referred to as a small party to help his friends relax, Vanessa being the only non WWE performer felt a bit like an outsider despite having many friends within the company.

“ Yeah he wasn't ” muttered Vanessa, Jordan sensed the distress on her best friend and gave her a smile. “ Don't worry I'll be fine, I am gonna get some water to drink and get some fresh air ” she adds making a beeline for the kitchen.

Taking the glass of water, she went out to the back porch and took a deep breath to calm her nerves, she hated how easily her anxiety got to her. Come on, you're better than this! She chastised herself silently.

After a few minutes she went back inside to find Jordan, who was conversing with Jon Huber and his wife Amanda. Vanessa admired Jon's dedication to his character but even more so she admired the love he carried for his wife and sons. It was a rarity to find in this world, Jordan immediately smiled at Vanessa. “ I am sure you remember Vanessa, Jon ”

Jon smiled, “ I do, Stephen talks highly of you and I had seen clips of your matches. You got a light in you every time you step into the ring ”

“ Our son loves your show as well, he goes around the saying ... I am gonna be as strong as Alex Russo ” adds Amanda smiling.

It wasn't as often that people mentioned Vanessa's past as a Disney child, so it definitely warmed her heart to know that not only she can do what she loves but she can also inspire the younger generation — “ That's so sweet to hear! ”

“ You seem a bit anxious, is everything alright? ” said Jon.

“ It's nothing, I sometimes struggle with anxiety ” Vanessa shrugs.

“ Don't belittle your struggles, you got this far — you're a fighter ” said Jon, “ You both are, and one day the world will recognize the change you ladies are trying to bring into this world ”

Both Jordan and Vanessa smiled in gratitude, the conversation changed and flowed so easily as the couple began talking about their kids — Vanessa's heart always warmed when seeing love right in front of her and that was what Jon and Amanda held for one another, true love.

“ Vanessa, Are you okay? ”

Much like Vanessa, Jordan had been gutted by the passing of Jon. She recalled seeing him in Chikara here and there but only ever got to speak him during her time in WWE and in AEW as well.

“ I want to do a tribute episode on my podcast, to celebrate his life because so many people only see what is on screen and a rarity got to see the man behind the characters he played. So I am gonna contact Amanda and hope this all goes well because I feel like I need to do this to pay my respects ” said Vanessa.

Jordan nodded, fondly remembering the last interaction they both had with him during a taping of Dark, backstage where he congratulated the pair on their impeccable in ring work. “ I'll help ya out! ”

“ That'll be greatly appreciated ” said Vanessa, smiling as she remembered meeting him right before she made her debut in AEW.

— 2020,

“ Okay, you can do this! ” said Vanessa as she stood near the entrance area, today she was set to make her debut as the mysterious entity who would be assisting Jon Moxley to deter and throw off his opponent MJF.

“ Hey kid, you alright? ”

Vanessa turned around to see Jon smiling at her, apparently he had heard about her debut which up until now only a handful of people knew about it. “ I am nervous, and excited. I don't know how the social media sphere will react ”

“ They will be happy, of course some might not be but that's the way it is. What matters is when you go out there? You show them why you are the best at what you do! I saw Jordan doing just that when she got here, you will be making that exact same statement that'll get them talking ” said Jon encouragingly. “ Then, when all is set in stone! You unleash that beast within you and show them why the wrestling world calls you the Hardcore Queen ” he adds smiling.

“ You think so? ” said Vanessa with a smile.

“ Oh I know so! Those clips I saw were just a glimpse of what you hide inside of you and tonight you will throw that first stone in, that'll have the fans coming back to tune in and see more of the incredible talented girl you are ” said Jon.

Vanessa sighed in relief, feeling the bundle nerves slowly leave her body. “ Thank you, for always reaching out and showing your support be it through text or social media. It means a lot to me ”

“ Remember what I told you and Jordan, you ladies will change the business, five years, ten years, fifteen years from now, your legacy will always resonate ” said Jon.

Vanessa nods, fighting back the tears. “ Thank you, truly ”

“ Go out there and knock them off their feet ” said Jon smiling.

— Instagram,

@jadebug92; Around 2016, I had ran into @brodielee in a party hosted by @wwesheamus before that we didn't actually have proper conversations beyond pleasantries here and there whenever I saw him. But even then I was captivated by the way he carried himself, we truly got to talk when he saw how anxious I was due to the fact that parties were never my cup of tea.

He saw me and @jtofficial at a corner and was so kind and gracious with us, telling us how proud he was of our work and the effort we put day in and day out. One of the things he said that will always stick by me was " You and Jordan will change this business " and that's what we set out to do. His belief in us was a breath of fresh air. 💕

We saw the love he carried for his wife and it was beautiful to witness something so raw and real, he was a family man and a genuine soul. ❤

When I got to AEW, he was one of the first people to welcome me. And I got to witness him be his true self as Mr. Brodie Lee, leading a large group of talent with his wisdom, strength and experience in the business.

Thank you so much Jon for your undying support and love to myself and every young wrestler out there, I send my thoughts and prayers to his wife, his children, his family and all of those close to him. Your spirit will shine on for all eternity, Fly High ❤🙏

Note; this is only the beginning ... I will try my best to keep his memory through every piece of writing. Because he was truly someone you cannot forget 🙏🙏

@worldxwonders

#aew #wwe #luke harper #brodie lee #jon huber #in loving memory

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voltrontranscript · 3 years

Text

VLDS7E7: The Last Stand, Part 1

Season 7 Episode 7: The Last Stand, Part 1

Transcript by @dragonofyang

Episode Summary: The Paladins make their way back to Earth, but upon reaching out to Sam Holt, discover Earth’s distress beacon and that the Galra have invaded. We catch up with Sam and the technological developments on Earth since his return four years prior to the Paladins’ approach, and the trials Sam and Colleen face when in the heart of the Garrison.

[Google Doc]

Hunk: I can’t believe it. We’re finally back to Earth.

Keith: Well, what are we waiting for?

Pidge: I’ll see if I can get a message out to my dad. Dad, it’s me, Pidge. Do you copy? We’re back in Earth’s solar system, and heading home now.

Sam’s voice: To any beings who receive this message--

Pidge: Dad, you’re okay. How’s Mom and Matt? Is he with you?

Sam’s voice: Planet Earth has been… Most of the citizens…

Pidge: Hold on, let me try to get a clear signal.

Sam’s voice: ...have been captured.

Pidge: What? Who’s captured? Dad, what are you saying?

Sam’s voice: Those of us remaining are making our last stand. If you get this message, please get word to Voltron. We need help.

Keith: Guys, are you seeing this?

Sam’s voice: To any beings who receive this message…

Allura: Oh, no.

Sam’s voice: ...Planet Earth has been overrun by the Galra.

Lance: The Galra have invaded Earth.

Sam’s voice: Most of the citizens have been captured. Those of us remaining are making our last stand. If you get this message, please get word to Voltron. We need help.

Hunk: It’s not a reply. It’s a distress signal.

Pidge: Dad.

[Scene change to a flashback, labeled “Four years earlier…”.]

Sam: Admiral Sanda, how long have I--?

Sanda: It’s been about a week since you landed. Sorry, we’ve had you under for most of the time.

Sam: A week?

Sanda: We had to run tests. You spent years in an alien environment. Look, Sam, the joint chiefs are eager to hear what you have to tell us.

Sam: Tell the chiefs I’ll debrief when I’m ready. There’s someone I need to see first.

[Scene change to a lounge in the Galaxy Garrison.]

Colleen: Sam.

Sam: Colleen, I’ve missed you so much.

Colleen: I thought you were dead. I thought I’d never see you again.

Sam: You’re squeezing me pretty tight. Being abducted by aliens didn’t kill me, but I think you might.

Colleen: Aliens?

Sam: On the Kerberos mission. Matt, Shiro, and I were taken by hostile aliens.

Colleen: So Matt is with you?

Sam: No, but he’s alive and safe. So is Katie. They’re together. Last time I saw them, they were just outside the planet Olkarion. They saved me. There was a device on my pod, a transmitter. Where is it? I can use it to contact my children and the other Paladins, cadets.

Sanda: I’m afraid we can’t allow you to broadcast yet. We need more information before you start sending messages into deep space. Any contact with alien species needs to be run through the appropriate channels. We need to be sure you’re not putting Earth in danger, Sam.

Colleen: I don’t care about your channels. I want to talk to my children.

Sanda: And you will, soon. We just want to debrief you first.

Colleen: Tell them what you know, then we can talk to our children and get you home.

Sanda: I’m afraid we can’t allow Sam to leave the premises. We’re not prepared to tell the world about the existence of alien life just yet. Remember, everyone thinks you’re dead.

Sam: So you’re holding me like a prisoner?

Sanda: Not a prisoner. You’re free to move about within the Garrison grounds. Just until we’re ready.

Colleen: If he’s staying, I’m staying, too.

Sanda: I’m afraid you don’t have the clearance, Colleen.

Colleen: This is the only family I have left. You’ll get me the clearance.

[Scene change to a meeting room in the Galaxy Garrison.]

Iverson: Here’s what we know. Two years ago, during your Kerberos mission, our scans picked up an anomaly at your location. Minutes later, we lost contact with you and the rest of the crew. In the immediate aftermath, we intercepted a transmission.

Unnamed Galra Commander’s voice: We found these primitive scientists. I don’t think they know anything useful.

Zarkon’s voice: Take them back to the main fleet for interrogation. The Druids will find out what they know.

Sam: That last voice is Zarkon, the emperor of an advanced hostile alien race known as the Galra.

Unnamed officer: How advanced?

Unnamed officer 2: And how do you know they’re hostile?

Sam: Do you have the device I asked for? The one from my pod?

Sanda: Bring it to him.

Sam: Before I left, I downloaded as much information as I could from the Castle of Lions. For ten thousand years, Zarkon has been expanding his empire, conquering vast swaths of the universe and harnessing its quintessence in order to survive and maintain power.

Sanda: Quintessence?

Sam: It’s an energy generated by living beings.

Bearded officer: You mean certain alien beings?

Sam: No. Quintessence is within us all.

Bearded officer: Impossible. We’ve never come across anything like that.

Sam: Maybe because this is beyond the realm of what you think you know. Have you ever traveled faster than the speed of light? Have you ever seen a living creature bio-hack nature? Have you ever come face to face with an alien warlord who’s older than the entirety of human civilization? Well, I have. And I assure you, it’s all real. Following our abduction, Shiro, Matt, and I were taken by Galra scouts to the main fleet where we were interrogated. After that, we were split up. I spent the next year at a remote outpost, working alongside other captive scientists researching and creating new technologies to be used by the Galra. I later learned that Shiro and Matt had been sent to fight in the gladiator pits. Matt would’ve been killed, but Shiro, he saved my son’s life. Later, Matt was rescued from a work camp by alien rebels. He now works alongside them, fighting back against the Galra. During his time on Zarkon’s command ship, Shiro discovered that Zarkon was looking for a super weapon hidden on Earth. Shiro escaped to get the weapon first.

Iverson: That must be when Lieutenant Shirogane returned to Earth.

Sam: That’s right.

Iverson: Following Garrison protocol, we placed Lieutenant Takeshi Shirogane under mandatory quarantine, but he managed to escape with the aid of several Garrison cadets. We later found out the one known as Pidge Gunderson was your daughter, Katie Holt, who had illegally enrolled in the cadet program under an assumed identity. The following day, the Blue Lion appeared on our radars. Long-range sensors tracked the UFO to the edge of our solar system traveling at speeds we’ve never achieved. It disappeared along with the ship. That was the last activity we had until your pod arrived on Earth a month ago.

Glasses officer: So that Blue Lion, that was the super weapon?

Sam: Part of it. The super weapon is known as Voltron. It’s made up of five mechanical lions. As fate would have it, when Shiro crashed on Earth, those same Garrison students that got him out of quarantine became the pilots, or Paladins, of the five lions of Voltron. The Paladins are doing everything they can to protect the universe from the Galra. But we must begin to bolster Earth’s defenses now, or we do not stand a chance. War is coming.

Iverson: So this Zarkon, you think he’ll attack Earth?

Sam: No. Zarkon is dead, but the Galra Empire is not stopping. There are factions fighting for control and looking to dominate their own sections of the universe. Without a clear leader, things are worse than before.

Iverson: So what do we do?

Sam: We hold a conference and announce what we know to the world.

Sanda: Absolutely not.

Sam: They need to know. And if we can bring the world’s top minds together, it might mean the difference--

Sanda: If we told the world there was an imminent attack, we’d set off a global panic.

Sam: But there will be an attack.

Sanda: When? How will the attack happen? Is there a plan to stop it? None of these things have been discussed. None of these things have been thought through, and until they are, we’re not going to be responsible for sending the world into disarray.

Sam: If you would allow me to contact Katie and the Paladins right now, we could begin to answer those questions.

Sanda: Very well.

Sam: This is Sam Holt calling the Paladins of Voltron. I’m on Earth. Please respond. Pidge, this is Dad. Come in.

Colleen: Katie, it’s your mom. Are you there?

Sam: The transmission’s not being received. There might be interference. We need to keep trying.

Sanda: We can have someone send out regular transmissions around the clock until we hear from them. But in the meantime, we stay quiet.

Sam: Very well, but we should at least begin preparations.

Iverson: We already have.

[Cut to an elevator in the Galaxy Garrison.]

Iverson: We’ve been studying the ship that Shiro crash landed in for the last year, and we’ve begun research on the ship you arrived in. We thought the technology would be exactly the same, but that’s not the case.

Sam: That’s because one is Galran and the other Altean, created by two different alien species. So, did you get it airborne?

Iverson: Unfortunately, no. We got the nav system and other instruments turned on by powering them externally, but the power it would take to fly them is unsustainable.

Sam: Hmm. The crystal must have been damaged on entry if you couldn’t power it.

Sanda: Crystal?

Sam: It’s the main energy source for most alien spacecraft. If you haven’t been able to get it running, then what have you been doing with it?

Sanda: We created a simulator based on the controls so that when we figure out how to integrate the tech into our own ships, we’ll be ready to fly.

Iverson: Commander Holt, I’d like to introduce you to the best pilots to come out of the Galaxy Garrison in the last year. These are officers Griffin, Rizavi, Kinkade, and Leifsdottir. They’re young, but their ability to adapt to new flying techniques is a step above.

Griffin: On behalf of my squadron, it’s an honor to meet you, sir.

Iverson: I’ve got them running drills in the simulator five days a week. They can take just about anything you can throw at them.

Sam: Good. Now it’s time to get them out of the simulator and flying these things for real.

Rizavi: But they aren’t working, sir.

Sam: Then we better get them working.

[Scene change to outside the Galaxy Garrison.]

Griffin: No way.

Rizavi: When can we fly them, sir?

Sam: You’re gonna be flying ships much faster and much more maneuverable than this in no time.

Rizavi: Sir?

Sam: This is just an Altean shuttle pod. The engine and functions are extremely basic. If we’re going to defend the planet against the Galra, we’re going to need better ships.

[Scene change to the Galaxy Garrison meeting room.]

Sam: When I was enslaved by the Galra, I was forced to work on technologies that are a hundred times more complex than a simple pod. And after I regrouped with the Paladins, I continued learning alongside the Olkari, some of the most amazing engineers I’ve ever had the honor to work with. They taught me everything I know about integrating technologies. These are Altean schematics. We’re gonna use these to upgrade our weapons, build new ships, and create a defense for Earth. Engineers will be in charge of salvaging what they can from the pods. Repurposing parts is of the utmost importance. Our pilots must get out of the simulators and into real ships powered by crystal technology if they hope to stand a chance against Galran battle tactics. It’s gonna be a steep learning curve, but I know they’ll get it. The Garrison will become the epicenter of technological advances beyond what this world has ever seen. In the meantime, we will continue our attempts to contact Matt and the Paladins. It’s imperative that we find out what’s happening beyond our galaxy. There is a war coming, and we need to be prepared.

[Scene change to another flashback, labeled “One year later…”.]

Griffin: Sorry, guess I’m too quick.

Rizavi: Not for my micro-pulse boosters!

Sam: How’s the response time compared to the previous generation?

Rizavi: Instantaneous, sir. It’s like it knows what I wanna do before I think it.

Iverson: It’s amazing what you’ve done in just over a year.

Sam: We’ve done it together.

Unnamed female officer: Sir, you’re needed in the communications room immediately.

[Scene change to the Garrison’s communications room.]

Colleen: It’s Matt. He contacted us.

Matt: Mom, is that Dad?

Colleen: He just got here.

Sam: Matt, are you okay? I’ve been trying to contact you and Katie for months. Where are you? What’s going on?

Matt: So, you didn’t hear yet?

Sam: Hear what?

Matt: Mom, Dad, no one has seen or heard from the Paladins in the last six months.

Colleen: No…

Sam: Katie… What happened?

Matt: No one is really sure. There are rumors that Voltron fought Lotor, then they just disappeared.

Sam: So, they could still be alive.

Matt: No one knows. But, Dad, listen to me. You need to stop broadcasting from Earth. Members of the Blade of Marmora and the Voltron Coalition are being hunted. Our army has been all but wiped out. The situation is bad out here, and the last thing we need is to put Earth in danger.

Sam: But how will I get ahold of you?

Matt: I have to go. I’ll contact you when I’m safe. I love you both.

[Scene change to Admiral Sanda’s office.]

Sam: It’s time. We need to tell the rest of the world the situation.

Sanda: Sam, I’m sorry to hear about your daughter, but we can’t get off course.

Sam: If we want to finish the IGF-ATLAS, we need more resources and more manpower. The world needs to come together so that we can take the fight to the Galra.

Sanda: You’re too emotional right now and you’re not thinking straight. We’re not building ships to go fight aliens in different galaxies.

Sam: But they need us!

Sanda: The citizens of Earth need us.

Sam: And yet you refuse to tell them the truth!

Iverson: Maybe we should talk about this later.

Sanda: We can talk later, but my decision will be the same. We’re not telling the people of Earth, and we’re not fighting in someone else’s war.

[Scene change to the Holt’s private quarters.]

Colleen: They’re gonna be okay.

Sam: They will be okay because they’re strong just like their mother.

Colleen: We’ve gotta do something. We can’t just sit here while our children are in danger.

Sam: We’re doing everything we can with the limited personnel we have.

Colleen: Then we’ll get more personnel and more resources. The admiral is making decisions for the rest of the world. I say let them make decisions for themselves.

Sam: You wanna tell the world? The repercussions could be serious. They could kick us out of the Garrison.

Colleen: It’s risky, but that ship may never get done otherwise. And I’ll do whatever it takes to see my kids again.

Sam: Okay.

[Cut to Sam and Colleen walking into the communications hub.]

Sam: You’re sure you wanna do this?

Colleen: I’m sure.

Sam: Alright, I’ll be broadcasting on every channel. You ready?

Colleen: Citizens of Earth, my name is Colleen Holt. I am the wife of famed astronaut, Sam Holt, and mother of Matt Holt. Two years ago, it was believed that they died during a deep space mission. That was a lie. My husband, along with his crew, were abducted by an alien race known as the Galra, a fact that was covered up by the Galaxy Garrison.

[Cut to Admiral Sanda’s office.]

Unnamed soldier: Admiral, you need to see this. They’re broadcasting on every channel.

Colleen: A year ago, my husband returned to Earth, but the Garrison forced him to stay in hiding.

Sanda’s voice: I’m afraid we can’t allow Sam to leave the premises. We’re not prepared to tell the world about the existence of alien life just yet.

Sam: But I refuse to stay hidden any longer. We desperately need your help. Not every alien species is friendly, and Planet Earth must be protected. Here at the Garrison, we’ve been working on creating advanced ships and weaponry.

Sanda: Get the rest of the guards.

Colleen: The footage you are about to see is real.

Sam: These are the Galra. If they find Earth, they will attack, and we must be prepared.

Griffin: Huh. Guess the cat’s out of the bag, huh?

Colleen: But there are those that have spent years protecting us. They are the Paladins of Voltron, and they come from Earth.

Hunk: Ugh, I can’t wait to be back home. I’m not really sure when that’ll be, but when I get there, I really want Uncle Filo to make some of his amazing pork lau lau. I can almost taste it now.

Lance: Hi, Mom, hi, Dad. It’s me, Lance. I’m here in outer space somewhere. I, um, uh, don’t really know what to say. Uh, I miss you guys. I miss you guys a lot.

Pidge: Mom, I’m so sorry I left without saying goodbye. I think of you every day.

Colleen: Now is the time to come together. To protect our world, we must be united under one cause.

Sanda: Override the lock. Lock them up.

Iverson: For what?

Sanda: For divulging top secret information.

Sam: Now, now, Admiral. Don’t get emotional.

Sanda: You disregarded a direct order.

Sam: You held me at the Garrison against my will. You lied about my death. You wanna control every situation, but face it. You can’t. The world needed to know this, and now that they do, it will be better for us. Right now, the world needs a leader that’s not afraid to face facts and you’re not it.

Sanda: And you think you are?

Sam: Yes.

Sanda: Get these traitors out of here.

Iverson: Stop. If Sam goes, I go too.

Glasses officer: Admiral Sanda, calls are coming in from all over the world. Citizens want to know how they can help. It’s incredible.

Sam: It worked.

[Scene change to the desert outside of the Galaxy Garrison.]

Sam: That’s the last one.

Griffin: Think it’ll work?

Sam: Well, particle barriers are tricky, but if my calculations are right, these just might act as a perimeter. What’s that?

Griffin: I don’t know. I didn’t think we were doing any test flights today.

Sam: They’re here. Activate the particle barrier immediately.

Woman: Are you sure, sir? We haven’t run diagnostics--

Sam: Do it, now!

End.

#voltron #vld #transcript #lance #allura #hunk #pidge #keith #sam holt #colleen holt #commander iverson #admiral sanda #james griffin #rizavi #leifsdottir

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jalebi-weds-bluetooth · 4 years

Text

10 Times Arnav Singh Raizada Crossed The Line (Part 2)

Read Part 1

This is the continuation of my analysis of my favorite television hero - Arnav Singh Raizada. A man who has as much as qualities as flaws. And my endless inspiration to writing a thousand words!

Recap: Arnav Singh Raizada is our perfect, tortured Mills & Boons hero. Sometimes it’s unfortunate when recent shows have aped his behavior and not the layered characterization that he had. However, sometimes (according to my own opinion) I felt that his character might have crossed the line. It’s moments where no explanations justify his behavior.

- Tearing the dori. - Arnav Singh Raizada does not apologize. - Blasting at Khushi for pranking, PRANKING him. - Telling Khushi her anklet, their almost kiss & she, does not matter. - Arnav Hypocrite Raizada - forcing an engaged Khushi to confess her feelings when he’s unable to do so.

Reminding Khushi of her broken engagement cause he can’t handle jealousy.

Manipulating & frightening Khushi with Akash & Payal’s divorce papers.

Telling Khushi he ‘faked’ his sickness to get rid of the ‘Swami’ tag.

Refusing to believe Khushi’s version of events.

Becoming Khushi’s landlord and blackmailing her (emotionally and financially) to get her to come back home.

Bonus

Telling Khushi that she does not have the brains, courage nor talent to face the real world.

#6 “Tumhara rishta? Hua tha... yaad hai na?”. (S5, E10)

“Your relationship? It happened... do you even remember that?” - A foot in mouth Arnav Singh Raizada.

First Reaction: How to lose a woman in ten seconds ft. Arnav Singh Raizada. Are you bloody serious? THIS… out of all the valid things you could have yelled at her for, HER BROKEN ENGAGEMENT is what you taunt her with?

What’s wrong with it:

Arnav arranges a party for Akash & Payal according to his own tastes. He never takes into account that his new sister in law might get intimidated in the new setting. This is a power move for Arnav and really not a party for Akash & Payal because nothing in the party is for them. From whatever we know about Akash, he is a quiet guy who enjoys little things in life - not necessarily wine and a cultural show. Payal feels left out. Akash’s discomfort is visible at the party as he keeps asking Payal if she’s comfortable.

Arnav literally has this party for himself, and he can’t party. In general, Arnav acts like an entitled dick for these two episodes. In the previous episode he makes it clear that he’s aware how Khushi might feel left out and does not invite her to the party for her own sister. He’s insensitive, callous and mocking (and surprised as to why NK and Khushi mix well?).

And I LOVE that Khushi and NK chose to hang out with each other because Arnav is almost pushing her away to another man by his ‘generous acts’. Like if these two were not soulmates and born for each other, I was a minute away from being “Yeah Khushi, I think you should date the other guy who is more sensitive to you even though he’s lived all his life in another country and knows you for like 48 hours.”

Quick note: I’m not all that aversive to NK & Khushi being a pair. Now wait a second, it might be like oh Khushi really pushes their families to think that she and NK go well together. Well… she and NK have an instant connect like no other - even in the future NK is almost always able to tell when Khushi is disturbed or when something happens that demeans Khushi’s worth in the house.

Also, imagine this, in the shoes of Akash - if I am Khushi’s friend and I’ve seen her go through a terrible engagement, incessant insults from my older cousin, and then I see her connect with my younger cousin who actually makes Khushi smile and laugh all the time…

I don’t think it's a mystery that I’ll ship her with a man who can make her smile. And no wonder why the Sangeet performance stuns everyone. Anjali & Akash more than anyone else (because I think they were the only ones who thought there was something else between Arnav & Khushi and they put that thought in the backburner until they see that shit… whatever it was has simmered all along).

Track Rewrite:

I’m just realising that I don’t have many track rewrite ideas for most of the foot-in-mouth situations of ASR. The dialogue that Khushi, here, says is amazing. She literally replies to him, word for word, and makes him see his own hypocrisy and also highlights that he’s furious about something else - that he does not want to accept, as usual.

She states, in between lines, that she has given up reading his mind and trying to be gentle to him when he, frankly, doesn’t deserve that treatment. If anything, their sangeet rivalry and the win-lose situation just gets to my nerves at one point.

Head-canon:

NK openly flirts with Khushi more on seeing how interested Nannav is with Khushi. NK never regards Khushi as his sister-in-law, for him Khushi always remains as his best friend and as the woman he understands best which he not-so-lightly rubs against Nannav’s face every now and then. He truly loves Khushi, but as a friend. It’s a pure, true friendship between Khushi and NK.

Public Service Announcement:

Before planning a party please make sure you have a survey on what the people actually want in the party, especially if it's hosted for them. A party is not a party if you’re the only one enjoying it.

#7 “It is so sad Khushi, ki Akash ka phone mere paas hai.” (S6, E19-21)

“It is so Khushi, that I have Akash’s phone with me.” Arnav, holding Akash’s phone while Khushi frantically dials Akash to ask if he knowingly signed the divorce papers, and make him aware of the same. Arnav makes Khushi think it’s Akash’s divorce papers - Akash actually signed some random office papers.

First Reaction: I know the context of everything but that was a low blow. I KNOW ARNAV DOESN’T KNOW HIS KHUSHI BABY IS INNOCENT but somehow this part is tough to digest.

What’s wrong with it:

Abuse of power - as simple as that. Of course we’re all immediately swayed to Khushi’s feelings because we know she’s an innocent bub. But to Arnav she’s the woman who’s breaking his sister’s house so he probably feels justified in torturing her with the idea of breaking her sister’s house. I get it, it’s a tit for tat situation.

But if we’re thinking deeply, this is not just an average argument that they always have - Khushi literally is going through a mental breakdown to stop Payal. This could have easily gone out of hand. Just saying.

Track Rewrite:

A necessary evil to establish the tighthold Arnav has on Khushi regarding the marriage. I don’t appreciate the immediate comedy, romance or smugness that follows. The scenes are great - individually. But BUT BUT I feel this event would trigger a more serious reaction from Khushi because she has always been very serious when it’s about her sister.

If I had to rewrite this, everything happens the way it is but instead of the childish thing of her jumping into the pool (I know she’s childish but we have infinite opportunities in the future to prove that), she would grow very serious and threaten Arnav to never, ever touch her sister’s marriage.

I would assume she would become very serious for a few days, and then resume to her usual antics. Arnav’s anger is well justified - on one hand Khushi has the galls to threaten him about her sister’s marriage when she’s breaking his, on the other hand he also would never do any damage to Akash’s marriage.

Head-canon:

Bua ji, for as much as she’s crossed with Khushi, actually had a wedding trousseau for Khushi (she starts wearing all the anarkalis and salwar kameez post this trip to Gupta House). There’s actually a very emotional moment between Khushi and Bua ji where Bua ji tells her she bought new clothes for Khushi when they were buying things for Payal.

So yeah, just an emotional, almost mother-daughter bond between Khushi and Bua ji where the latter expresses her disappointment in the way Khushi married but also loves her beyond everything.

Here Bua ji says that she’s upset with Khushi because she’s their own, if not she won’t have even bothered. Also, Garima and Bua ji have a talk in between where they miss Khushi immensely and find it difficult to live in a house without the two daughters.

Garima and Bua ji have a mature talk, as adults, wondering if what Khushi did was a return to what they did to Khushi and then they receive Anjali’s call to attend Holi.

Public Service Announcement:

Don’t manipulate! Also, always check with your spouse for any assumptions you might have against them :) Communication is key. For more enquiries about relationship troubles regarding assumed infidelity or hiding secrets - contact Dr. Jalebi S, your own sweet relationship expert. But yes, don’t hide stuff from your partner if it involves their family and DON’T MANIPULATE AND PLAY MIND GAMES!

#8 “Kitna bhi jaan lo, kabhi kabhi kisi ko pehchaan na bohot mushkil ho jaata hai. Kal raat mujhe kuch bhi nahi hua tha. Main bilkul theek tha.” (S6, E46)

“Irrespective of how much you know someone, sometimes it can get very difficult to (truly) recognize someone. Last night, nothing happened to me. I was absolutely fine.” Arnav Irony Singh Raizada. Doesn’t the first line apply to himself too? He thinks he knows her, but he does NOT.

First Reaction: YOU SON OF A BACHELOR! YOU WERE NOT NOT SICK!

What’s wrong with it:

I don’t like how Arnav’ perennially pissed with Khushi the minute he got up. Pfft, Khushi’s beautiful and seeing her wonderful face in the morning was a great moment for a Rabba Ve moment because of the sweet Rabba Ve they had the night before! I love Arnav’s discomfort in knowing how Khushi took care of him while he was asleep, while no one was there to watch. Because for him, it was crossing borders on what their marriage was beginning to seem.

And then the whole I was not sick, bleh, and then Anjali (I love her, wonderful woman) but for the life of me I couldn’t understand what in the world she was trying to explain. Because really, no way had Arnav lied to Khushi to make her feel better/less guilty.

Rather he was belittling and mocking her efforts.

There’s one thing about hiding intentions, there’s another about forcing and painting someone’s actions in a romantic light - that’s not right.

Arnav is a master at hiding his intentions. Whenever he yells at Khushi where she’s gone - it means he’s worried. When he tells Khushi he doesn’t need her help - well he actually needs it. When he’s ignoring her - he wants her to stop ignoring him, etc.

So we know Arnav when he hides intentions. Hence I felt the Anjali-Arnav scene was forcing the viewers to sympathize with Arnav and be like heh, he did that to make Khushi feel less guilty. I anyways sympathize with Arnav given the battle he’s facing internally... so this one scene felt odd.

Quick note: I have a love-hate relationship with Khushi eating all the food scenes and embarrassing him in his office with wifey behavior. Also, Arnav has a very telling body language when he lies - he speaks very fast, and does not meet her eyes and in many cases, physically turns away from her while speaking.

Track Rewrite:

Just… let’s put the wonderful Anjali/Arnav moment somewhere else in the story where Anjali notices Arnav actually lying to make Khushi feel better. Cause Anjali does hit the nail in stating that her brother never reveals what he feels.

Also, I love the entire Gupta House adventure that they have but there’s a part of me that wished it happened at another time.

Like if it happened at the time it did, then oh God please change what triggers the marriage reveal.

Otherwise the entire thing can happen when Arnav decides to stay in Gupta house cause Khushi won’t be coming to Raizada house (post his great “You’re the biggest mistake of my life Khushi”). In a way it would be hilarious that Arnav is trying to win Khushi back but also is facing extreme discomfort at the lack of luxury he’s become used to - classic ASR.

And probably Khushi suffocates him with a recall to the ‘Swami’ track and makes his life a living hell in her house. Made for each other that they are.

Head-canon:

Arnav and Khushi get used to and look forward to having meals together. Arnav, rarely, eats alone ever again. It’s a development Nani and Anjali are very happy to see.

Public Service Announcement:

Don’t eat all food if you have a diabetic partner. Also, don’t try to understand everything your sibling does - try questioning them instead of justifying. Try drinking coffee instead of tea if you’ve been awake all night <3

#9 “Tumhe kya lagta hai, agar tum uss raat mujhe bata deti toh kya main aankhein band karke tumpe vishwaas kar leta?” (S7, E15-17)

“What do you think, if you told me your truth that night then I would’ve believed you without a doubt?” Arnav, to Khushi, after she’s told her side of the misunderstanding. And with that, every fan’s highest hopes dashed and worst dreams came true.

First Reaction: NO ARNAV DON’T… NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

What’s wrong with it:

He refuses to believe her. He has a choice, he has heard both sides of the story. And he refuses to believe it. But my biggest problem - Khushi pretends she has no idea what moment he’s referring to?

Girl, you’ve been forcefully hugged by Shyam only once in your life and until and unless you’re amnesiac you would remember that traumatic moment. I am just so upset that Khushi does nothing nor says anything concrete when he says he doesn’t believe her. She doesn’t say Shyam molested her.

She puts it on Arnav. That what he knows isn’t true. That he doesn’t deserve the truth, which is a good argument but state more! Then she goes silent *argh*

Her argument starts strong, but ends up terribly. She just ends up saying all the things that don’t matter!

Track Rewrite:

Khushi should have told why she went to the terrace that night. That she thought it was he who asked her to come up. That Shyam harassed her. That Shyam has continuously harassed her. That Arnav’s not the only one who threatened the safety of Payal’s marriage - Shyam threatened it too.

No matter what Khushi did, somehow Payal’s marriage always ends up on the line. If she tells, Payal’s marriage is threatened by Shyam and because she didn’t, Payal’s marriage was threatened by Arnav.

ALSO KHUSHI APOLOGISES FOR HIDING THE TRUTH!

It should’ve been a clash of their ideologies, their personalities, her heartbreak over the fact that he doesn’t know she loves him, his disbelief that the truth is too good to be true (and essentially confusion because if Khushi loved him all along then it meant that he misunderstood her all along and he’s not great at seeing his own mistakes). She would’ve been too angry to make amends - not until she realizes he’s leaving for London and his mistake doesn’t matter.

Here’s a fic that I wrote that covers this.

Head-canon:

Akash and Payal are the only ones who later get to know the entire thing as this topic affected both the marriages deeply. Nani also knows, but of course not the part that he forced her to marry for six months by threatening Payal’s marriage.

Public Service Announcement:

Lies rarely do good. And be careful to analyze any traumatic event from all angles! What’s visible is not what happens and what happens is not visible!

#10 “Khushi, tum kiraya kamkarwana chahti ho? Toh tumhe mere saath ghar aana parega.” “Nahi.” “Okay, mere paas koi choice nahi hai. Mujhe tumhara ghar girwana parega.” (S8, E21-22)

“Khushi you want to reduce your rent? Then you to need to come home with me.” “No.” “Okay, then I have no other choice. I will have to tear down your house.” - Arnav to Khushi. The most inappropriate sentence anyone can tell to another. Given that they are husband and wife, it’s even worse.

Quick note on the photos: Khushi Kumari Gupta, not believing the man she married in all three scenes. Arnav Singh Raizada, lying in all three scenes.

First Reaction:

Everybody… yeah… don’t really rock your body… yeah… Stupid. Singh. Raizada’s. Back!

Oh my God stupid Raizada is back again! Brothers sisters everybody’s sayin’…. Not really gonna bring Khushi back nor gonna show anyone anything how… *continues butchering Backstreet’s Back* I gotta question for you (yes I do ASR so) you better answer now..

Are you original? Yeah

Are you the only one? For Khushi, yeah

Are you sexual? Very, but that’s not helping… Noooo

Are you everything Khushi needs - Yes but you need to shut up.

Are you - SHUT UP AND SAY SORRY

AND MEAN IT IF YOU’RE SAYING SORRY - IN FORTY EIGHT HOURS YOU SAID SHE’S THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF HER LIFE, APOLOGISED AND FOLLOWED IT UP BY THREATENING PAYAL’S MARRIAGE, MADE HER WORK FOR YOU AND BOUGHT THE HOUSE SO YOU COULD HIKE THE HOUSE FEES AND THEN LITERALLY TOLD HER YOU CAN DRAG HER OUT OF THE HOUSE… and you think she’ll come back?

DUDE, what are you smoking?

What’s wrong with it:

Boy… no. No. Ask NK, Nani, Payal or even Lakshmi (talk with the people who understand Khushi!) on how to appease Khushi. A part of me was really upset with this track cause although I understand that Arnav is never really gonna do a full blown redemption and they need to stay true to his character, I didn’t see how ANY of his actions would get Khushi back…

It’s not wrong that he was upset at Khushi for visiting Anjali - even I was! Like seriously, Khushi, despite her best intentions, really does make the biggest mistakes! However, implying that Khushi’s existence is the reason why Shyam cheated Anjali was shit. On top of that he calls his marriage a contract, blackmails her about Payal, is unable to wish her a happy birthday, becomes her landlord and stops all utilities (hence now blackmailing her using her family) to get her back?

I don’t see the sense. I try really hard and I’m team Arnav but for me him becoming her landlord was just flexing his money and power. It was a low blow, and it’s really not funny how he keeps threatening the peace of her family but get’s pissed off when Khushi, unintentionally, disturbs his family.

It does not matter that Arnav would essentially not carry on with his threat, to Khushi he would and that’s what matters (cuts off electricity and water to prove his point and it does cause inconvenience her family). It’s just a very unhealthy atmosphere over here. The little moments are great, independently, but apart from that I just found this to be a very troubling scene.

Track Rewrite:

Oh I have a lot, LOT of theories for this one:

- Khushi first thinks Arnav has bought the house from her landlord so as to stop the harassment and Arnav is guilty AF because he didn’t expect that. Bua ji enters right when Arnav talks about the truth of the marriage. She hears everything, and asks Arnav to leave her house, forever. She goes all ‘Haye Re Nandkishore’ on him. DRAMA. #BuajiRoxx

- Landlord shit doesn’t happen. Khushi leaves the house, Arnav decides to stay at her house since she isn’t going back to Shantivan with the promise to reminisce all the sweetest moments she shared. Khushi kills him with the ‘Swami’ shit, again, and Arnav ends up being irritated due to lack of adjustment but also does everything possible to get Khushi back. They have their Rabba Ves and then he brings her back and gives her the sweet gifts.

- She returns home (just like in canon) but distances herself from all the Raizadas (and does not jump into making Raksha Bandhan celebration - ugh, women are not always obligated to keep their sasuraal happy)! For a few days she becomes just like Arnav - unemotional, unaffected, orderly and unexpressive. Akash, having repaired his relationship with Payal and hence having gained a deeper insight, helps Arnav overcome his marriage issues.

Head-canon:

Khushi and Arnav have a conversation where she asks him when, where and why did he transfer the house’s papers to her name. It’s an important and tender moment. Arnav gradually comes to know Khushi married him more because it was he who proposed marriage. Khushi gradually comes to know that Arnav, never, would threaten Akash-Payal’s marriage.

Did she accidentally come across the ‘office’ papers that Akash had signed? Did Arnav actually play a role in smoothening Akash-Payal’s relationship post the Shyam reveal - anything on those lines.

Public Service Announcement:

IF YOUR PARTNER ISN’T COMING BACK HOME AND YOU THINK BLACKMAIL IS A SOLUTION THEN MESSAGE DR. JALEBI/S IMMEDIATELY. YOU NEED HELP. At this point, irrespective of star crossed pyaar, I’d 9/10 recommend separation, break, counseling.

Bonus

"No you can’t. Kyunki asal zindagi main guzara karne ke liye paise chahiye hote hai. Aur paise kamane ke liye akal chahiye hoti hai. Himmat aur confidence chahiye hote hai puri duniya ka saamna karne ke liye. Apne sapne pure karne ke liye. Aur tumhe inn sab main se kuch bhi nahi hai.” (S11, E2)

“No you can’t [face the world on your own]. Because to face the real world you need need. And to earn money you need intelligence. You need bravery and confidence to face the whole whole. To fulfill your dreams. And you have none of these.” Arnav, to Khushi. The moment when Arnav forgot that Khushi was the sole breadwinner of the Gupta’s and Khushi forgot that Arnav is a multimillionaire.

First Reaction: WHAT ARE THE WRITERS DOING? WHAT IS THE CHANNEL DOING? WHAT IS ARNAV DOING? THIS LEADS TO A FASHION SHOW INSTEAD OF AN ACTUAL CHAT - WHAT IS KHUHSI DOING? WHAT AM I DOING??!! Should I stop watching the show?

What’s wrong with it:

I really liked Arnav and Khushi’s difference of opinion when it came to raising Aarav - not where she is being stupid and asking to burst crackers (she is retracting on so many of her characteristics right now I can’t keep a track). I did not like the second half of the argument because it really took the characters several notches down on their growth/development.

I really liked Khushi stating to Arnav that - hey, buying happiness with money can work with adults but terribly spoil children. But then what followed, without a hint of apology, into an embarrassing and terrible Fashion Pageant that completely missed the point of this argument!

Neither parent thinks it’s important to sit and have a calm chat with Aarav. Arnav is a ‘yes’ man around him. Khushi is there to heap the values instilled on her. Is anyone trying to make Aarav understand, no? And Arnav’s evident lack of respect for Khushi will translate to Aarav.

They’re both bad at parenting and this could have been a really nice track that they could have wrapped up in a few episodes but no.

Aarav never learns. Arnav gives a half assed dialogue about ‘oh I know Khushi you’re talented’ and Khushi spends the next 10 days behaving like an 8 year old, not chatting up with Aarav about behavior issues, and thinks winning a Fashion Pageant is being courageous, talented, determined and independent.

*throws head on wall*

Track Rewrite:

Oh I HAVE TONS but I’ll explain my favorite one. First of all, I’ll let that argument be because it is natural that this is where Arnav and Khushi might conflict. But instead of Khushi’s childish sulking that puts Arnav into a ‘oh let’s make her jealous, call her to office, appease her by some shitty ASR plan and probably apologise somewhere’ and Khushi going all ‘haww, he called me brainless, now I’ll prove so by stupidly acting like a kid in his coat’-

Arnav and Khushi stand still when they realise he has crossed a line and he storms off, leaving a very quiet Khushi alone. They both walk on eggshells, neither’s ego letting the argument down. It seriously hampers their relationship. They just don’t speak and anything small leads to a big argument.

Khushi spends an enormous amount of time in her catering service in an attempt to prove herself, becoming a bit crazy behind earning money which makes her off character. Arnav throws himself in office, and is almost happy when he realizes Khushi’s catering service does not earn even half of his monthly profit, annually. A competitive streak drives a wedge between them. This goes on - that troubles the entire family, and stops until Aarav misbehaves with Anjali.

This breaks the ice wall between Arnav and Khushi, draws them out of their workaholic spheres. Bua ji, Payal, NK reprimand Khushi for being absent in raising Aarav, her obsession to make Aarav religious and traditional without making him understand the reason of the values and above all, competitive with her husband that she grandly declared she can’t live without. Mami, Nani, Akash reprimand Arnav for pretty much the same.

When Arnav and Khushi talk to Anjali, she again reprimands the both of them in terms of parenting, marriage and the coexistence of both. Arnav cannot buy upbringing, manners, ethics, respect and character through money. Khushi cannot instill goodness, kindness, generosity and honesty by piling beliefs of the Lord. If that was the case then her husband - who would get all the money he needed from Arnav, and believed in all the Gods - would be a good man.

Arnav and Khushi talk to their son, together, to figure out his actual problem of fitting in. Aarav is surprised to learn both his parents were orphans. He truly bonds with them after getting through his adjustment fears and issues. In teaching Aarav, Arnav and Khushi realise what truly matters - their love. And that they had forgotten how similar they were.

With Aarav they have met another person who is just like them - alone, afraid, orphaned and lonely who’s standing at the same point in life where he either turns himself into a man with absolute belief or none at all. And with parents who have faced the extremes of fates, Aarav might just have the perfect upbringing.

Hence, Arnav and Khushi patch up with an emotional, tear jerking hug. They end up recounting each other’s stories and realize how far they’ve come along. They never had a name for their love and after all the hatred, denial, lust, acceptance, confession, purity, marriage and parenthood - no one name’s going to fit either.

Head-canon:

Aarav, although behaviorally like his father, grows up to be a complete Mumma’s boy. If anyone thought Arnav is super protective about Khushi, well Aarav is ten times more protective about his mother. Also, internally Aarav is a big fan of Hindi cinema, loves sweets and has the most outrageous dance moves. But he’s also an introvert so he would kill anyone who pointed out on those.

Public Service Announcement:

Adopt children when you are ready. Having a child can take toll on a marriage so COMMUNICATE - COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR SPOUSE, YOUR CHILD AND YOUR SUPPORT SYSTEM!

Phew, this is the end of this post and I sincerely hope you liked it! Feel free to send your thoughts through asks/notes/etc.

#ipkknd #iss pyaar ko kya naam doon #Arnav Singh Raizada #tv analysis #analysis #character analysis

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