“You like my Biggie photo? Me, too. You know what draws your eye when you look at that? The crown. Wanna know why? Huh? ‘Cause everybody wants to be the king.“

jessica‌.

she nodded, “okay, tomorrow morning. i’m holding you to that. i’ll even … wake up before noon to make sure that you actually go through with it,” she said. and be there with him, in case he needed the moral support. make sure that he still knew he was doing the right thing. “i mean you’ll have to buy me coffee, and i might fall asleep in the middle of it, but i would come with you if you… need me to. or … want me to.”

jess wasn’t sure she believed in god, but … something brought luke into her life over and over again. all at different points, all for different purposes. here they were again. friends. team mates. maybe … she glanced over at their hands, and up at his face that wide smile. maybe something more. maybe this is where they were supposed to be. here together. even when they first met jess knew how she felt for luke was more than she felt for any other friend with benefits. she hadn’t been in the right head space (or life space) for anything more than they shared, but that’s changed now.

her dark eyes closed as his lips brushed her temple, a smile pulling at her lips, “oh, you’re sure you’re in my circle huh? that’s some confidence,” she teased. he was of course, he had been before any of the other defenders. jess untangled their fingers, lifting her hands to cup his face before she leaned in close to him, “i’ll always be in your circle, luke,” she murmured, closing the distance to press her lips against his.

“well, you just being there counts for something. makes me feel better. if it means anything, sure. we can get coffee - not just coffee, the good stuff. i’ve got a french press at home.” 

he’s positively grinning, almost ear to ear, and he ought to feel a little sheepish about it, being so goddamn corny. it’s been a long time since anything in his life’s felt like it’s exactly as it should be. he’d had reva, but not without the paranoia of being found out. then he lost her, then pop, then willis. then claire, then harlem. one after another. he couldn’t relax. couldn’t even breathe right, bulletproof skin or not. but now he can exhale, or start to, with jessica here. that’s enough. 

 the hands on luke’s face make that smile go softer as he leans his forehead against hers and kisses her in return, hand reaching up to hold her by her waist to pull her close. the kiss is chaste but it makes his head spin, more feeling than what they’d shared in the past despite the moment being so minuscule, but still so intimate. he presses his forehead against hers when he has to pull away for air, hand reaching for one of hers to trace circles over scarred knuckles.  

“you know i’ll always be in yours, jess, whether you like it or not.” yeah, that’s corny, guilty as charged. he leans in to kiss her again, more sure this time, closing the distance between them once more.

jess.

“i’m not a big fan of people anyways, i’ve got my circle right where i like it,” she said. more than two now. not so big she felt … like there were too many people taking too much from her. she looked up at him, dark brown eyes on his face. this right here, she could give this, she could be there to support him. nothing about being with luke ever felt like he was taking from her. supporting each other… especially now … it came so easily.

“it’s hard to be a sheriff and a hero.  seems like you can do one or the other. and at least when you’re a hero the shots are all yours to call.” she pointed out. her hand squeezed his. there was something satisfying to feel the skin and muscle shift under the gentle touch. or … gentle for him. for anyone else she would have broken bones. “we’ll come up with a plan of attack. what is the first thing we need to do to start shutting the club down?” she asked.

they could set up a plan of attack. what were the first steps. how could they go about achieving them?

a smile pulled at her lips as she nudged him back. there was something relaxing about not having to worry about hurting him.

“i just told you stuff you already know, luke. besides, you just … you deserve more than this.”

“ i’ve gotta file dissolution documents,  my lawyer told me.  i’ve been putting it off ---- pain in my ass, paperwork.  but i can start that tomorrow morning.  i wanna bulldoze it to the ground ---- don’t want anyone else to have it and all that,  so i’ll have to sort that out after.  the dissolution papers are important, though. ”

it’s all he can think about.  moving on from this,  the club,  with jessica’s help.  all he’s been able to think about these last few weeks is jessica herself,  too,  which doesn’t surprise him as much as it feels like they’re picking off where they left off but with the two of them faring much better than they left each other.  her grip’s firm and reassuring in a way no one else’s can be for him,  and he smiles a little wider at her.

leaning forward,  slowly,  he kisses her on the temple,  pushing back dark hair to reach,  and nods.  “ i know. but  i’m glad i’m part of your circle,  in any case,  small as yours may be.  and that you’re in mine, now. ”

jess’ instagram feat. the cage family. ( @harlemed )

just thinking of how luke cage season 1 really created a character named felicia just so diamondback could say “bye felicia” as he killed her

CANON DIVERGENCES. 

jessica jones / luke cage season 1.

reva doesn’t betray luke and isn’t knowingly complicit in the experiments at seagate. as soon as luke found out about the experiments, she left the prison,  and shades and comanche beat him to near-death soon after at the behest of burstein after witnessing luke’s strength and resolve in the ring. reva almost blew the whistle about it but didn’t, for luke’s safety and freedom.  she was killed by some of cottonmouth’s enforcers, on the orders of diamondback who was in cahoots with noah burstein at the time. jessica didn’t kill reva, and neither did kilgrave. reva’s death, which he finds was orchestrated by cottonmouth with the help of jessica jones during their brief stint together, is one of the primary factors that motivates luke to step into the public eye to take on the stokes family.

on the note of jessica, luke and jessica hook up when he still runs his bar because of instant attraction to each other and because the two of them deal with their respective trauma and loss in a very unhealthy way, not because she was stalking him. luke’s whole arc in jessica jones season 1, from jessica using him for sex to being controlled by kilgrave to be affectionate with jessica,  was fetishistic and racist in every single fathomable way.  luke and jessica stop sleeping with each other because the two of them recognize they’re beginning to have feelings for each other that neither of them are emotionally prepared to act on, and because jessica doesn’t want to put luke in danger.  luke ends up helping jessica after kilgrave kills hope schlottman and hires one of his grunts to blow up his bar, but one of the security officers kilgrave hires shoots luke point blank in the chin and jessica takes him to see claire temple for it.  he’s not controlled by kilgrave because that shit was gross.

everything else happens according to canon, obviously without the revelation that reva was in cahoots with the experiments at seagate.  a note: noah burstein was also one of those responsible for the experiments done at the now defunct IGH, who preyed on prisoners, poor folks, and other underprivileged populations, which is how jessica and luke found themselves as the (only successful) subjects of these experiments.   this is how luke finds himself, at some point on the trajectory of this blog, help trish and jessica ( @itsnotpatsy and @itsnotjewel  ) investigate IGH and simpson as a result.

luke cage season 2.

luke’s sudden penchant for brutality, to me, comes out of left field.  his bullshit about feeling emasculated isn’t founded on much for me either, based on his prior development.  however,  because of losing pop, finding out about willis’ betrayal of him on every single fathomable level,  and the newfound burden of being harlem’s hero,  he begins to spiral downward.  it’s not anger as much as hurt that drives him,  especially as mariah and bushmaster’s war escalates out of control.  he beats cockroach after he nearly murders his son,  but not to the extent seen in the show.   luke is depressed,  very much so,  and is still suffering with PTSD,  which influences him to do questionable shit but not to that extent in the show.  

luke continuously drove claire away after willis’ betrayal and finding out he was involved in reva’s death because he’s terrified of losing her.  this along with the fact that claire didn’t respect luke’s boundaries especially when it came to his father led to their break-up.  it was mutual.  luke didn’t punch that will because he’d never do that to claire.  he loves claire.  but he still isn’t emotionally in a place where he’s ready to be with someone,  not like claire,  and claire understands that so they’ve taken time away from each other.   

i do keep luke cage season 2′s ending of luke being the current owner of harlem’s paradise; however,  the show does leave it open to interpretation that luke wants the power and is inherently corrupted by mariah.  however,  he takes the club out of reluctance, knowing that a power vacuum is left behind in harlem without mariah there so he takes it before anyone else can replace her.  now deeply unhappy and depressed,  he sacrifices his own integrity for the sake of harlem,  because as much as he knows harlem’s paradise is harlem’s heart and pulse,  he knows it’s built on blood,  which is why he desperately wants out but refuses to, even at misty’s insistence. 

itsnotjewel‌.

her fingers laced with his, holding his hand in hers. she’s hardly been … celibate since they parted ways. but there’s something about holding hands that almost feels more intimate than what they used to do. there’s a simple sort of tenderness to it. the kind that makes jess’ heart feel like it’s sticking in her throat. she felt more vulnerable sitting there, fingers laced with his, than she would have naked in bed.

“yeah, yeah, i do. but i also push a lot of people out of my life. like… maybe it’ll be better like that. no one can get hurt because of me. no one can let me down,” she could be remarkably introspective when some of those problems were in the rearview mirror. “i’m just lucky there were one or two people who wouldn’t give up on me, you’ve got at least double that number,” she teased, a soft smile on her lips. “if things are hard to handle on your own, i know it’s kinda terrifying, but the solution is letting people in to help.” she couldn’t have taken killgrave without trish. she couldn’t have gotten out of too many jams without hogarth. they wouldn’t have beaten the hand without the four of them together. maybe people just weren’t meant to be alone.

“you don’t have to hold on to it. the club. the other stuff. luke… you choose to be a hero, right?” she turned to face him, her eyes on his face. “like of all the other shit you could be doing, this is your choice. hero of harlem. so do it the way you want to. if this way, holding onto the club, standing more in the shadow than the light isn’t the way for you. let it go. i’m sure between… me, you, matt, misty and danny, colleen — we can come up with something together, keep harlem from becoming a war zone. you’ve got us, and you don’t have to hold on to the shit that’s weighing you down luke. don’t drown because mariah fucking dillard told you the only way to keep harlem safe was through the club.”

luke’s stubborn.  his stubbornness had been why he’d refused to give up the club to this day,  why he’d allowed himself to become a middleman to maintain whatever parlay harlem could have these days.  but enough is enough.  jessica’s hand and voice sobers him a little,  knowing another person bears the brunt of obligation that he does because of the powers he’s been blessed or cursed with ---- depending on the prerogative.  

“ quality’s better than quantity, ” luke smiles gently,  but it’s a reminder.  jessica’s got him,  the defenders.  her other friends,  small as her circle may be.  they matter.  but she’s past that,  being reminded she’s not alone and goaded into team work,  it seems.  he needs the encouragement more than she does.  his thumb strokes over her knuckles and he feels tired,  looking down at her beside him.  “ but you don’t gotta hear me say it.  you’re right.  about all of it.  i should shut the club down,  give it up.  i haven’t wanted to be a sheriff since i stopped being one in savannah. ”

it’ll be easier said than done,  but luke has it in his mind and it’s palpable,  at least,  not a pipe dream,  with the others there to support him. 

he doesn’t think of that,  now,  simply sighing and smiling at her,  bumping shoulders with hers.

“ there are better ways of helping people that don’t drive me up a wall.  like you’ve helped me. ”

itsnotjewel‌.

“it’s relaxing. you ever watch it? it’s absolutely charming, really recommend it for unwinding after a long night,” she said, a grin on her cheeks even as a blush rushed to her face. jessica laughed, “the leather coat, the doc martins, and the whiskey really do all the work for me. i coast on those three things and everyone just assumes i’m a real bad ass,” she said. which was … mostly true. the blush on her cheeks deepened as she glanced down at her coffee, before shrugging. “feels … good, i guess. way better than watching people cheat on their wives anyways,” she said, before taking another sip of her coffee. 

it seems that while … she’s fighting more and more on the side of angels, that luke’s life is getting mired down in shades of grey he’s less than comfortable with. a frown pulls at her lips. 

“you are only half an hour away on the subway, i probably can come and visit,” she said, warm smile pulling at her lips. “plus i hear you guys get good music acts, so really i’d be kinda a fool not to take you up on that.” 

she didn’t need or want to be a hero. she just … couldn’t say no to helping others. there was probably something there, a childhood spent hearing she had a duty to help others set her here. unable to look someone in the face who needed help and say no. “well, i’m obviously not getting rid of the leather jacket,” she said, a smile on her lips. it was her turn to laugh this time. a loud, bright, happy thing. “well it’s in there now, i don’t know how i’m ever going to be able to get it back out again,” she joked. “i’m in luke. for getting the gang back together. for … visiting you at the club. for more … meet ups. for you, anything you need.” unlike a few years ago she was emotionally available now. in a place she really could help others. 

“ i’ll put it on my DVR list.  i need all the unwinding i can get these days ----- the guided meditations that bobby sends me aren’t doing the trick, ”  luke says dryly, adding,  “ but, the leather jacket does it for me.   and the ripped jeans, when you do wear them. add another level and all that.  good thing i know about the woman underneath.  maybe she’s not bulletproof,  but she doesn’t have to be. ”  he flashes a grin about it.  he hasn’t spoken to anyone this long in months.  months.  it feels good,  organic,  especially if it makes jessica smile.  “ i used to be a cop,  back in the day.  a sheriff, actually.  i wouldn’t do it now,  now that i know better.  i would never go back but ---- besides the bureaucratic bullshit,  besides the politics and besides everything else ---- i loved helping people.  getting paid for it,  that’s another thing. ” 

luke taps his fingers against the compostable cup and ---- smiles,  wider,  at the thought of them back together.  if it’s not enough to make the club stink less of blood,  then so be it.  but it’s worth it.  worth doing something good for harlem,  restore the barrier that mariah had destroyed in her absence.  

“ i can even send a car for you and all that bougie stuff, now.  one of the few perks i have,  i guess. so,  if you want,  you’re more than welcome to listen to the music and drink as much as you’d like.  free reign. ”  he pauses,  buzzing now,  and takes her in again. “ if ---- using the club doesn’t work,  we’ll find another option.  i’ll give it up if i have to.  i’m determined to see this through.  and,  i’m really glad to hear about alias,  jess.  i’m glad we’re in a better spot now than both we were when we first met. ”

MIKE COLTER as LUKE CAGE JESSICA JONES 3 (2019)

   it feels like a running joke at this point.  luke gets an obscene amount of food,  danny gets an even more obscene amount of food,  and luke spends a good couple of minutes gawking at him before making some kind of quip about it.  he’d never anticipated that danny rand could get the munchies worse than a stoned hippie at a music festival ever could, but he’s baring witness to it once more first-hand ---- not munchies,  but restoring his chi.

really,  luke thinks calling them the munchies suits him better.

they chose an IHOP this time.  bottomless pancakes at three in the morning suits luke just fine,  especially after a long night of work with danny at his side ---- working with others at his side,  besides misty who spends most of her nights at the precinct or on the field for it ---- is still a foreign concept.  foreign,  but not unwelcome.  

he clears his throat,  though,  when danny orders a third plate of pancakes.  

“ our combined forces are gonna eat this IHOP out of house and home, ”   luke quips,  half-serious,  grinning widely.  it’s exactly what his ma would’ve said,  and he guesses that’s pretty fitting too.  “ i swear,  you must smoke yourself out before we go out.  no one as skinny as you should ever be able to eat this much and not die. ”  /  @dragonsrage

   “ so, i see you helped yourself to our beer ----  are you even 21 ? ” / @favouriteghosts

rly... not being racist and actually giving a shit about non-white folks is not that fucking hard and it’s a bad look if you put non-white characters down to uplift your white faves