Top five apoca!men
Well, I somehow managed to get persuaded to do the Top 5 men too, but seeing as I may or may not adore some of them a little too much, it didn't take much eyelash fluttering. Okay. On with the picspam.
Sam Shipton (Alan Rickman)
Bookshelves cover every available inch of wall, filled top to bottom with more books than April thinks she’s ever seen in one person’s house, let alone in one person’s living room. All of the spines look well worn, some with faded letters, and she has no doubt that Sam’s read every single one. Even the section of wall beneath the windows is fronted with low bookshelves and she smiles as she walks towards them. There’s a picture situated on top of one, obscured by the sheer curtains, and she carefully shifts the fabric aside to pick up the frame. The glass is slightly dusty and she runs her finger lightly over the front before peering at the picture. It’s of a man and a woman, smiling happily at the camera. The man has light brown hair and wears glasses; the woman has blonde hair piled into a messy bun on top of her head, and a little boy of about six years old is in her lap, an oddly knowing smile on his face. April’s smile widens when she realizes that the boy is Sam, and the man and woman are his parents. ( Morning After)
Casting meme summary: Sam Shipton is one of the few old enough to remember the events of the last 50 years and the only member of his family to survive the catastropic plague of the twenties; his mother died from the plague and his father shortly after from a heart attack. Viewed by the opposition as a better choice for president, due to his age and greater amount of experience, Sam has brushed all of this aside, preferring to stand by Harrison's side as one of his advisors and most trusted friends. For several years Sam has harbored a secret love for April Newcastle, but has never spoken a word about his feelings. Nevertheless, his feelings for April are evident to everyone, except perhaps April herself, and the two maintain a very close working relationship. Overly concerned about his health, due to the nature of his father's death, Sam is very mindful of himself and takes great pains to maintain his health.
My notes: While Sam is not my favourite character, he is definitely in the top three, if not the top two. His relationships with both Nathan and April provide the best interaction two people could probably ever have. The comfortable relationship he has with Nathan provides the best snark. You know that you want them to be your friends. XD And he is so protective over April, for example in Papercut, where he's so concerned about her, and is actually angry when she deprecates, for even thinking that she's stupid, and is even more angry at Nathan for making her feel that way, and as he's known Nathan much longer than April, this shows how much he cares about her. He's humble and is surprised that people actually admire and look up to him. He's also adorable, and such a nerd: 'As luck or fate or possibly just poor time management skills would have it', which makes the character endearing automatically. And the fact that he's played by Alan fucking Rickman makes him incredible anyway. I don't want to spoil it for you if you haven't read it yet, but I have to give you these two links, because they are perfect in giving an insight to Sam's character and background, and I don't think I've read more beautiful fics ever. Just a word of warning, they are very spoilery, so please don't read them until you've caught up.
Nathan Gates (Gary Oldman)
He wakes up in the early morning sprawled over the leather chair in front of the fireplace, with a terrible pain in his neck and broken glass at his feet. His tongue flicks over dry lips and he can once again taste the burning tang of the alcohol. He runs a hand over his face and stares numbly at the decanter perched on the edge of the desk. He can remember how the cut crystal sparkled in the firelight, and how the deep caramel liquid warmed him from the inside. It chased away the darkness, if only for a little while. ( Sins of the Father)
Casting meme summary: Nathan Gates is another of Harrison's best friends, one of the voices of reason he listens to the most beyond that of Sam Shipton. Born in England, Nathan came to America to go to college, where he met Emily Pruitt, and immediately fell head over heels for her. They married a couple of years after they met, and later that same year their son Simon was born. Shortly after Simon's birth, Nathan packed up his family and moved them back to London to take a job at his father's law firm. When Europe started to collapse and things began to look dire, Nathan, Emily, and Simon returned to America, where Nathan decides to venture into politics and meets George, Harrison, and Sam. Due to Nathan's alcoholism, his personal life begins to degenerate; his relationship with his wife suffers, and his son spirals into alcoholism and drug addiction. When Emily gets sick, Nathan cleans up his act, but it's not until she dies that Simon comes around. Ever since Emily's death, Nathan and Simon have become closer, working on repairing the damage done to their relationship in the past. Nathan is also very close to Simon's girlfriend, April, and considers her his daughter.
My notes: Nathan, or daddy!gates as his fans like to affectionately call him, is my favourite character in not only apoca!fic, but possibly ever. His history is very murky, and he feels very guilty about this, and he is very much aware that he is so lucky to have what he's got now. He's got this dry sense of humour that us mere mortals can only dream of having, most clearly shown in The Beginning in the End and Papercut. He's got a sense of fairness, and will back up whoever he feels is right.
Along with his relationship with Sam, his interaction with April is just wonderful. stillxmyxheart and nylana have got their relationship down; it's the most adorable and endearing thing I've ever had the pleasure to read, without a doubt. He's also very protective, and is a replacement father for April's father who shouldn't be allowed within thirty feet of her. Two of my favourite apoca!fics ever are Nathan/April centred, Papercut and Chopsticks. Papercut is fascinating because Nathan lashes out at April, and it shows his remorse so well. It's obvious that he feels a parental responsibility over her, explicitly shown in Sick Day. After reading Papercut, you might want some light relief which you can find in Chopsticks. I swear, it almost made me ship them, it was so cute. He knows Simon probably better than Simon knows himself, so he can deal with Simon and April's relationship drama, like in A Scribbled Out Name. If you like Nathan as much as I do, you will love Sins of the Father. Nathan/Emily is possibly my apoca!OTP mainly because of this fic. It gives such an idea of what he was like before the main arc, and it's so beautiful. Obviously I can get very TL;DR about Nathan, so I'll be moving on now.
Evan Mitchell (Jensen Ackles)
These kids like you a lot, Evan. They’ve voted you Teacher of the Year every year since you started working here. Students come into the registrar’s office every semester, wanting to switch out of the Phys Ed class they’ve been assigned just to be put into yours. You’ve got a damn good reputation that I would think you wouldn’t want to screw up, so what the hell is your problem? This seems like a lot more than a case of the Mondays. ( Doubts & Insecurities)
Casting meme summary: Evan Mitchell is the new husband of Penny St. James and a very lucky man indeed, having managed to grow up in these troubled times with his family intact. A basketball star in high school, he and Penny dated for a couple of years before Penny broke up with him, due to his immaturity. After Penny left him, Evan decided to get himself together, and eventually graduated college and began teaching physical education at a private high school in D.C. He and Penny met again when Harrison visited Evan's school, and upon finding out how much he had changed, Penny decided to give Evan another try. Evan and Penny were recently married and though he shares her dream of one day having children, he is content to wait and deal with the possibility of this dream never coming true.
My notes: Evan isn't heavily featured, but I love him so much anyway. And no, it's not because he's the second prettiest male character. Well, it's not the main reason. He's adorable, in an almost childish manner, like in Love and Fear, whilst being ridiculously protective over Penny, and is almost OOC in his anger in Hope Persists because it's just so surprising to see this side of him. There's more backstory between him and Penny in Second Time Around, which is wonderful and it isn't particularly spoilery! SCORE.
Simon Gates (David Tennant)
Once an addict, always an addict.
Simon learns this at his first Narcotics Anonymous meeting, on a Tuesday night in the basement of a YMCA. It’s three years before he truly understands what it means. Every day there are cut crystal glasses of warm amber liquid and small plastic bags tucked in the inside pockets of jackets. Every day there are temptations calling out with their siren songs, tugging insistently at the darkness inside him.
He will always be in recovery.
And the darkness will always be there. ( A Scribbled Out Name)
Casting meme summary: Simon Gates, the son of Chief of Staff Nathan Gates, is a special agent with the Secret Service, but he didn't come by the job easily. He was born in America but spent the first six years of his life in London; when his parents moved him back to the States, it took some time for him to adjust, but eventually things settled down. As his father's alcoholism grew worse, he and Simon drifted apart, continually butting heads. Simon rebelled throughout his teenage years, and once he graduated high school lost himself in the world of drugs and alcohol. The death of his mother was a huge jolt and the realization that all he had left was his father helped to bring him back down to Earth. He cleaned up his act and got a job with the Secret Service, quickly moving through the ranks to join the President's retinue. He lives with his girlfriend April and though he loves her very much, finds that he can't keep the distraction of current events out of his mind and is often away from home, joining the President on his many travels around the significantly smaller world.
My notes: Well, of course I was going to love Simon, wasn't I? Come on. It's me. He's definitely the strongest, and most confident when he's by April's side. His history makes him sure that he doesn't deserve April, making him paranoid that she's going to leave him, like in A Scribbled Out Name where he blows up at her because of his jealousy, but it is very clear how he feels about her. He's so very protective of her too; in Papercut, he makes it obvious that he will always choose April over his father, which shows how much he cares about her. However, when he's confident he gets cheeky, for example in A Trillion Asteriks, Love And Fear and Worth The Mess. He does the angst card well, as well as being adorable, and there are moments of extreme hotness even when it's unintentional. Basically, Simon Gates, and the Gates family in general, ILU. Once you've fallen in love with him as much as I have, go read Near Life Experience, which gives more backstory as to why he's full of regret and lack of confidence, and then once you've fallen in love with Simon/April, go read Tell Me Again, which is utterly gorgeous and adorable.
Whitman Keller (Jeffrey Dean Morgan)
He sat in the middle of the sofa, watching A Fistful of Dollars for at least the thirtieth time, and finished his drink. He rolled his sore shoulder and thought about going to a bar, about getting pizza, about going back to work. Instead he snatched up his cordless phone from where it lay discarded and half lost between two cushions, and pressed the only speed dial he’d bothered to program.
His order placed, he got up and poured his second drink of the evening. Second and a half if he counted that first swallow, which he never did. He picked up his jacket from the carpet and hung it on the hook by the door, and tossed his coffee table’s collection of paper plates in the trash. ( His Father's Son)
Casting meme summary: Special Agent Whitman Keller is another Secret Service agent, effectively Simon Gates' boss. He's always been a little off kilter, enjoying his job a little too much sometimes, but is a very effective bodyguard; he's been with the Secret Service since just after graduating high school and took two bullets for Harrison's father. He and April were friends for a year or so, until an evening out turned sour. Intending to apologize to her, he feels that Simon has kept him from being able to do so, and has developed an intense hatred of Simon, and an obsession with April. He feels that if he could just apologize to April and get back into her good graces, he might stand a chance with her again, despite how happy she is in her relationship with Simon. Whitman has developed something of an odd relationship with Lily Santos, a call girl he first used the services of a few years back, and has continued to call upon. At first he only wanted her for sex, but eventually he began to call her for companionship as well, and as time passed, an unconventional friendship blossomed between the two of them.
My notes: Oh, Whitman. The first thing you should understand about him is that he's not violent. He would never hurt someone intentionally (unless the President was being shot at, but seeing as that's his job, we can allow that) and not feel remorse. His obsession with April makes him angry and jealous with Simon and he refuses to believe that she doesn't love him back. He has an unorthodox relationship with Lily, originating in First Time For Everything and expanded in The Way We Fall Apart. He's fiercely loyal, and he does care about April and Lily. He's complex and wonderful, and this is shown well in His Father's Son.
Sam Shipton (Alan Rickman)
Bookshelves cover every available inch of wall, filled top to bottom with more books than April thinks she’s ever seen in one person’s house, let alone in one person’s living room. All of the spines look well worn, some with faded letters, and she has no doubt that Sam’s read every single one. Even the section of wall beneath the windows is fronted with low bookshelves and she smiles as she walks towards them. There’s a picture situated on top of one, obscured by the sheer curtains, and she carefully shifts the fabric aside to pick up the frame. The glass is slightly dusty and she runs her finger lightly over the front before peering at the picture. It’s of a man and a woman, smiling happily at the camera. The man has light brown hair and wears glasses; the woman has blonde hair piled into a messy bun on top of her head, and a little boy of about six years old is in her lap, an oddly knowing smile on his face. April’s smile widens when she realizes that the boy is Sam, and the man and woman are his parents. ( Morning After)
Casting meme summary: Sam Shipton is one of the few old enough to remember the events of the last 50 years and the only member of his family to survive the catastropic plague of the twenties; his mother died from the plague and his father shortly after from a heart attack. Viewed by the opposition as a better choice for president, due to his age and greater amount of experience, Sam has brushed all of this aside, preferring to stand by Harrison's side as one of his advisors and most trusted friends. For several years Sam has harbored a secret love for April Newcastle, but has never spoken a word about his feelings. Nevertheless, his feelings for April are evident to everyone, except perhaps April herself, and the two maintain a very close working relationship. Overly concerned about his health, due to the nature of his father's death, Sam is very mindful of himself and takes great pains to maintain his health.
My notes: While Sam is not my favourite character, he is definitely in the top three, if not the top two. His relationships with both Nathan and April provide the best interaction two people could probably ever have. The comfortable relationship he has with Nathan provides the best snark. You know that you want them to be your friends. XD And he is so protective over April, for example in Papercut, where he's so concerned about her, and is actually angry when she deprecates, for even thinking that she's stupid, and is even more angry at Nathan for making her feel that way, and as he's known Nathan much longer than April, this shows how much he cares about her. He's humble and is surprised that people actually admire and look up to him. He's also adorable, and such a nerd: 'As luck or fate or possibly just poor time management skills would have it', which makes the character endearing automatically. And the fact that he's played by Alan fucking Rickman makes him incredible anyway. I don't want to spoil it for you if you haven't read it yet, but I have to give you these two links, because they are perfect in giving an insight to Sam's character and background, and I don't think I've read more beautiful fics ever. Just a word of warning, they are very spoilery, so please don't read them until you've caught up.
Nathan Gates (Gary Oldman)
He wakes up in the early morning sprawled over the leather chair in front of the fireplace, with a terrible pain in his neck and broken glass at his feet. His tongue flicks over dry lips and he can once again taste the burning tang of the alcohol. He runs a hand over his face and stares numbly at the decanter perched on the edge of the desk. He can remember how the cut crystal sparkled in the firelight, and how the deep caramel liquid warmed him from the inside. It chased away the darkness, if only for a little while. ( Sins of the Father)
Casting meme summary: Nathan Gates is another of Harrison's best friends, one of the voices of reason he listens to the most beyond that of Sam Shipton. Born in England, Nathan came to America to go to college, where he met Emily Pruitt, and immediately fell head over heels for her. They married a couple of years after they met, and later that same year their son Simon was born. Shortly after Simon's birth, Nathan packed up his family and moved them back to London to take a job at his father's law firm. When Europe started to collapse and things began to look dire, Nathan, Emily, and Simon returned to America, where Nathan decides to venture into politics and meets George, Harrison, and Sam. Due to Nathan's alcoholism, his personal life begins to degenerate; his relationship with his wife suffers, and his son spirals into alcoholism and drug addiction. When Emily gets sick, Nathan cleans up his act, but it's not until she dies that Simon comes around. Ever since Emily's death, Nathan and Simon have become closer, working on repairing the damage done to their relationship in the past. Nathan is also very close to Simon's girlfriend, April, and considers her his daughter.
My notes: Nathan, or daddy!gates as his fans like to affectionately call him, is my favourite character in not only apoca!fic, but possibly ever. His history is very murky, and he feels very guilty about this, and he is very much aware that he is so lucky to have what he's got now. He's got this dry sense of humour that us mere mortals can only dream of having, most clearly shown in The Beginning in the End and Papercut. He's got a sense of fairness, and will back up whoever he feels is right.
Along with his relationship with Sam, his interaction with April is just wonderful. stillxmyxheart and nylana have got their relationship down; it's the most adorable and endearing thing I've ever had the pleasure to read, without a doubt. He's also very protective, and is a replacement father for April's father who shouldn't be allowed within thirty feet of her. Two of my favourite apoca!fics ever are Nathan/April centred, Papercut and Chopsticks. Papercut is fascinating because Nathan lashes out at April, and it shows his remorse so well. It's obvious that he feels a parental responsibility over her, explicitly shown in Sick Day. After reading Papercut, you might want some light relief which you can find in Chopsticks. I swear, it almost made me ship them, it was so cute. He knows Simon probably better than Simon knows himself, so he can deal with Simon and April's relationship drama, like in A Scribbled Out Name. If you like Nathan as much as I do, you will love Sins of the Father. Nathan/Emily is possibly my apoca!OTP mainly because of this fic. It gives such an idea of what he was like before the main arc, and it's so beautiful. Obviously I can get very TL;DR about Nathan, so I'll be moving on now.
Evan Mitchell (Jensen Ackles)
These kids like you a lot, Evan. They’ve voted you Teacher of the Year every year since you started working here. Students come into the registrar’s office every semester, wanting to switch out of the Phys Ed class they’ve been assigned just to be put into yours. You’ve got a damn good reputation that I would think you wouldn’t want to screw up, so what the hell is your problem? This seems like a lot more than a case of the Mondays. ( Doubts & Insecurities)
Casting meme summary: Evan Mitchell is the new husband of Penny St. James and a very lucky man indeed, having managed to grow up in these troubled times with his family intact. A basketball star in high school, he and Penny dated for a couple of years before Penny broke up with him, due to his immaturity. After Penny left him, Evan decided to get himself together, and eventually graduated college and began teaching physical education at a private high school in D.C. He and Penny met again when Harrison visited Evan's school, and upon finding out how much he had changed, Penny decided to give Evan another try. Evan and Penny were recently married and though he shares her dream of one day having children, he is content to wait and deal with the possibility of this dream never coming true.
My notes: Evan isn't heavily featured, but I love him so much anyway. And no, it's not because he's the second prettiest male character. Well, it's not the main reason. He's adorable, in an almost childish manner, like in Love and Fear, whilst being ridiculously protective over Penny, and is almost OOC in his anger in Hope Persists because it's just so surprising to see this side of him. There's more backstory between him and Penny in Second Time Around, which is wonderful and it isn't particularly spoilery! SCORE.
Simon Gates (David Tennant)
Once an addict, always an addict.
Simon learns this at his first Narcotics Anonymous meeting, on a Tuesday night in the basement of a YMCA. It’s three years before he truly understands what it means. Every day there are cut crystal glasses of warm amber liquid and small plastic bags tucked in the inside pockets of jackets. Every day there are temptations calling out with their siren songs, tugging insistently at the darkness inside him.
He will always be in recovery.
And the darkness will always be there. ( A Scribbled Out Name)
Casting meme summary: Simon Gates, the son of Chief of Staff Nathan Gates, is a special agent with the Secret Service, but he didn't come by the job easily. He was born in America but spent the first six years of his life in London; when his parents moved him back to the States, it took some time for him to adjust, but eventually things settled down. As his father's alcoholism grew worse, he and Simon drifted apart, continually butting heads. Simon rebelled throughout his teenage years, and once he graduated high school lost himself in the world of drugs and alcohol. The death of his mother was a huge jolt and the realization that all he had left was his father helped to bring him back down to Earth. He cleaned up his act and got a job with the Secret Service, quickly moving through the ranks to join the President's retinue. He lives with his girlfriend April and though he loves her very much, finds that he can't keep the distraction of current events out of his mind and is often away from home, joining the President on his many travels around the significantly smaller world.
My notes: Well, of course I was going to love Simon, wasn't I? Come on. It's me. He's definitely the strongest, and most confident when he's by April's side. His history makes him sure that he doesn't deserve April, making him paranoid that she's going to leave him, like in A Scribbled Out Name where he blows up at her because of his jealousy, but it is very clear how he feels about her. He's so very protective of her too; in Papercut, he makes it obvious that he will always choose April over his father, which shows how much he cares about her. However, when he's confident he gets cheeky, for example in A Trillion Asteriks, Love And Fear and Worth The Mess. He does the angst card well, as well as being adorable, and there are moments of extreme hotness even when it's unintentional. Basically, Simon Gates, and the Gates family in general, ILU. Once you've fallen in love with him as much as I have, go read Near Life Experience, which gives more backstory as to why he's full of regret and lack of confidence, and then once you've fallen in love with Simon/April, go read Tell Me Again, which is utterly gorgeous and adorable.
Whitman Keller (Jeffrey Dean Morgan)
He sat in the middle of the sofa, watching A Fistful of Dollars for at least the thirtieth time, and finished his drink. He rolled his sore shoulder and thought about going to a bar, about getting pizza, about going back to work. Instead he snatched up his cordless phone from where it lay discarded and half lost between two cushions, and pressed the only speed dial he’d bothered to program.
His order placed, he got up and poured his second drink of the evening. Second and a half if he counted that first swallow, which he never did. He picked up his jacket from the carpet and hung it on the hook by the door, and tossed his coffee table’s collection of paper plates in the trash. ( His Father's Son)
Casting meme summary: Special Agent Whitman Keller is another Secret Service agent, effectively Simon Gates' boss. He's always been a little off kilter, enjoying his job a little too much sometimes, but is a very effective bodyguard; he's been with the Secret Service since just after graduating high school and took two bullets for Harrison's father. He and April were friends for a year or so, until an evening out turned sour. Intending to apologize to her, he feels that Simon has kept him from being able to do so, and has developed an intense hatred of Simon, and an obsession with April. He feels that if he could just apologize to April and get back into her good graces, he might stand a chance with her again, despite how happy she is in her relationship with Simon. Whitman has developed something of an odd relationship with Lily Santos, a call girl he first used the services of a few years back, and has continued to call upon. At first he only wanted her for sex, but eventually he began to call her for companionship as well, and as time passed, an unconventional friendship blossomed between the two of them.
My notes: Oh, Whitman. The first thing you should understand about him is that he's not violent. He would never hurt someone intentionally (unless the President was being shot at, but seeing as that's his job, we can allow that) and not feel remorse. His obsession with April makes him angry and jealous with Simon and he refuses to believe that she doesn't love him back. He has an unorthodox relationship with Lily, originating in First Time For Everything and expanded in The Way We Fall Apart. He's fiercely loyal, and he does care about April and Lily. He's complex and wonderful, and this is shown well in His Father's Son.