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fans4wga · 1 year ago

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26 July update from WGA's Chris Keyser

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From the WGA: With SAG-AFTRA now on strike and new levels of solidarity across all Hollywood unions, we are witnessing the spectacular failure of the AMPTP’s negotiating strategy. In this video, WGA Negotiating Committee Co-Chair Chris Keyser lays out what this moment means and how we move forward. To learn more about the WGA strike, visit https://www.wgastrike.org.

FULL TRANSCRIPT:

Fellow members of the WGA East and West. It's been a while since our last video and quite a bit has happened in the meantime. So on behalf of the negotiating committee and leadership, I wanted to give you an update on where we are and what the near future at least is likely to bring.

We've been walking side by side on picket lines in New York and Los Angeles for a little over 12 weeks now. Only now we're joined by thousands upon thousands of members of SAG-AFTRA who, like us, have finally had enough.

This is the endpoint and the fruit of the AMPTP’s game plan. For 11 weeks, they negotiated with everyone but us. They claimed it was just practicality, that they could only do one thing at a time, which is not normally a point of pride. But events have made clear what we knew from the start: that not only was it a strategy, it was their only strategy. Negotiate a deal with a single guild and impose that deal on every other guild and union in Hollywood, whether it addresses the needs of those unions or not, all with the implicit threat: if you want more, strike for it.

Wow. It’s their 2007-8 playbook applied to 2023 as if nothing has changed, as if the accumulation of economic insults and injuries inflicted on us over the past decade would be borne in perpetual silence, as if the giant of labor had not awakened. But it has. And you only need to look as far as the front gates of every studio in LA and New York to see the evidence.

Two unions on strike willing to exercise their power, despite the pain, to ensure their members get the contract they deserve. For us, that means addressing the relentless mistreatment of screenwriters, which has only been exacerbated by the move to streaming; the continued denial of full MBA protection to comedy variety and other appendix A writers when they work in streaming; and the self-destructive unsustainable dismantling of the process by which episodic television is made and episodic television writers are paid.

It means addressing the existential threat of AI and the insufficiency of streaming residual formulas, including the need for transparency and a success-based component. All of these will need to be addressed for there to be a deal because in this strike it is our power and not their pattern that matters, not their strategy. Their strategy has failed them. Now they're in the midst of a streaming war with each other, an admittedly difficult transition. And as they face the future, their interests and business models could not be more different from Disney to Sony to Netflix to Amazon.

We root for their success, all of them. They root for each other's failure. We are the creative ammunition through which they will succeed. They are each other's apex predators. And yet, in a singular shared dedication to denying labor, they have shackled themselves together in what increasingly seems like a mutual suicide pact, as the 2023-24 broadcast season and the 2024-25 movie schedule and its streaming shows disappear, melt away week by week.

So what does this mean? What does it mean going forward? How do you play chess against an opponent who insists on screaming checkmate at every move regardless of how the board looks and the game is going?

You stay firm, you stay resolved, because our cause is no less existential than when we started and our leverage is increasing every day. Alone we withheld our labor with the support of our union siblings and the Teamsters and IATSE and the Crafts, we were able to delay the vast majority of production. Now with SAG-AFTRA on strike, those few studio projects that remained have also shut down. And it's not just the obvious delays. If this strike drags on, it's the actors with conflicting obligations and the directors and the double-booked studio facilities and release date chaos that the companies must now also contend with. Some of their most valuable product could well be delayed for years.

Add to that, no promotion of movies or television shows and famous faces on the picket lines and social media speaking directly to their customers. For the tech companies and the mega corporations, that should be their nightmare scenario: WGA and SAG-AFTRA side by side. Our bargaining agenda may not be identical, but our cause is the same. Our army of labor, defending labor has increased 17-fold in the past two weeks alone.

Even so, even with all this wind at our backs this negotiation won't happen overnight. It's not because the negotiations themselves are so complex. Once the companies fully engage, it could go very quickly, but because their strategy of many decades has just fallen apart and they didn't see it coming, and it's going to take them a minute to regroup, 'cause the companies have things to work out internally, and saying no to labor in unison is a lot easier than saying yes. So either together or separately, as their divergent interests might suggest, they will come back to us, despite their understandable concern about how they've navigated this transition to streaming, which is on their heads and not ours; and their worries about costs and their worries about Wall Street; despite this being a season of doom and gloom, none of them are walking away from the riches of this business, and certainly not over the equitable minimum compensation to writers.

They didn't get the deal they wanted; that's fine, it happens all the time. They're not taking their ball and going home over it. And since we know they come from union families themselves, and since they've denied that “even-in-Hollywood-you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me” ugliness of threatening to starve us out and leave us homeless (which we assume they understand also means making our children homeless,) they will come back to us. Although I will say they took a long time to deny that statement, longer than I would have had it been ascribed to me.

But what does it matter? You can starve a labor force slowly or quickly. The effect is the same. It's not like day rates for comedy variety writers and endless free drafts for screenwriters in exchange for a single paid one in four-week mini-rooms isn't cruelty. It's just cruelty written in contract language instead of a press quote.

So what can we expect from the companies as all of this plays itself out? They will try to convince Wall Street that taking a strike, prolonging it unnecessarily, losing their content stream in the process—that all of that is just smart business and no reason for investor concern. We will be talking to Wall Street too, and reminding them that for all these companies, all of 'em including Netflix, the bill, the price for making nothing, will eventually come due. And Wall Street is listening already. Here's Michael Pachter, managing director of equity research at Wedbush on Yahoo Finance the other day: “I think the studios are completely wrong on this one. Content is their lifeblood. They're feeling really foolish about this."

Wall Street isn't the only one listening. We've been talking to union pension funds too about the risks the companies are taking. We talked to CalPERS, the largest public pension plan in the country, talked about the loss of programming and the cost to the industry, and we heard strong support from its board for our struggle and the promise that the companies will be hearing from them, from CalPERS, and demanding answers on behalf of its 2 million members.

To us, of course, they will continue to plead temporary poverty, but we know the drill. These companies support billions into the streaming wars and taken short-term losses these past three years, because they know that to the winner will go the spoils. We're patient, will they share that with us when the time comes? What are the chances?

Since 2017, the last time the studios negotiated with us outside of COVID, the big six companies alone have made $150 billion in profits off our work, while they slashed our pay and degraded our working conditions. Maybe if they had shared a tiny piece of that then, made $1 billion or so less, this year wouldn't seem so costly. As it is, there is no iron law that these companies are entitled to record profits every year, and it isn't some great travesty if their shareholders or their CEOs get a slightly smaller slice of the massive profits we helped create if some balance is restored.

Look, no one denies that corporations exist to make a profit and no one wants our employers to be profitable more than we do, but the singular pursuit of corporate profits to the exclusion of their social and human cost is a real problem in this country—it’s a real problem. A corporation's bottom line is not the same as the world’s, and there is nothing in our studio's bottom lines today that accounts for the quality of our lives or for our dignity, for the comfort of our retirement or the security of our families. Their numbers have no conscience, but the people who report them as victories ought to.

In their refusal to recognize that, these companies have also extracted an awful price, which is laid at their feet and for which they are responsible. Losses to the economies of New York and Los Angeles and everywhere that film and television are made, terrible losses that mount every day, thousands of people out of work; not just us, all the crews, the crafts, the janitors, the drivers, the businesses that thrive when Hollywood thrives, the restaurants, the stores—for what? For nothing. So they could avoid coming to the table to negotiate the deal they will one day give us. Measured today that is the painfully mixed legacy of our employers, weighed against every beautiful piece of work we have made with them.

And if history is a guide, they have only temporary stewardship over a kind of national trust, which is Hollywood. Our story, our sometimes conscience, our public conversation, our diversion of the worst and best of times, our greatest export, the repository of our imagination. They have some obligation to more than just their shareholders to behave accordingly.

Unfortunately, it seems big tech, mega corporations, and some of the people who run them, as the saying goes know the price of everything and the value of nothing. So they have built a business model that no longer works for human beings who cannot be paid minimum for 10 to 20 weeks a year and make a career out of that, be paid for one draft of a screenplay that demands a year of labor, be paid a few episodic fees for a show about which to take years to decide be paid a daily rate.

And now we have a first glimpse of what they offered our actor colleagues. We are not 170,000 Willy Lomans to be used and then discarded. We know what the companies believe they have the power to do. We know what they think machines can do and do without any of us. Oh yeah, we've seen the writing on the wall and it's plagiarized.

The thing is this: the difference between what you CAN do and what you SHOULD do is the greatest single difference in the world. Knowing that is the only real protection we have against a dystopian future. And if the companies sometimes forget that, writers will do it for them.

I can't know exactly how long it will take this revolutionary moment, and you've heard again and again what is happening today has not happened in 63 years, but I know that's not always how it feels, revolutionary and defining, even though we celebrate that on picket lines together, which is the right thing to do. That's not always how it feels when you go home at night. I know how tough this is: to strike, to hold the line. I know it gets tougher every day even with SAG-AFTRA marching beside us, how hard it is to face the uncertainty of when it will end, when we'll get back to work, how we'll pay the bills. I know it's hardest for those who've just gotten started, for those for whom the world opens doors more reluctantly, battled their whole life just to get here; but hard too for those struggling to maintain their long careers, who find work tougher and tougher to come by, or those with families with children or parents to take care of.

These companies understand the cruelty of what they're doing. It's their plan to starve us just a little, to exact as much pain as they can so that we wish more for the pain to end than for the better life we dreamed up. That we're more afraid of the uncertainty of the present than the certain devastation of the future. It's societally acceptable economic torture inflicted by management on labor every day, then blamed on labor for daring to fight back, for refusing to be complicit in its own mistreatment.

Here's how I know that's not going to work. Not with us, not with the writers, because we haven't come all this way, fought to have these careers in the first place, all the adversity, and marched together for all these months, only to let it slip away on our watch—because there is no point in rushing back to jobs that may not be there in a year or two anyway. Because the business, as the companies have twisted it, is now untenable, unsurvivable for so many of us, because even success is not enough to keep going, because this guild is younger than it's ever been and more diverse. And this young diverse membership knows from hard personal experience the system is broken and that it will not be fixed unless they fix it. And those of us who came before them will not let them down, because we and the writer's guild are the beneficiaries of all those who came before us who gave up everything for us.

Like the writers of 1960, the year I was born, who struck for 22 weeks and who gave away all the TV residuals for all the movies they had ever written so that we could have a health insurance and pension plan and residuals from that date forward. $15 billion flowed to writers and their benefit plans because of that sacrifice. Because writers are brave, because now it's our turn.

So what's our job? Even as we welcome SAG-AFTRA to our side, we are still responsible for our own deal, and so we must remain focused and diligent. We must continue to march, picket signs in hand. But we should also remember this and with pride, that before there was SAG-AFTRA, before even the Teamsters and IATSE and the laborers and the electrical workers and the musicians and the plasterers came to our side, there was the writers. Alone then, we looked at the blank page and began to imagine the future. With no net but each other we typed the words, what if?

And then we took a step into the darkness and found that it was light. And then we were joined by the crews and the drivers and the actors. The actors got a bit more fanfare when they showed up, but that's okay, we wrote the script. The WGA, still small, not alone anymore after all these decades. Hollywood labor has finally linked arms and found its voice, and that voice says enough. There is no road to longterm prosperity that burns a path through your own workforce. We are not your enemies. We are not merely a cost to be borne. We are your partners and your greatest asset. And we are, as you acknowledge yourselves, irreplaceable, but by accident or design and it doesn't really matter anymore, the business you are running no longer works for those who work for you.

What is the point in continuing to deny that? Why deny it when everyone else in the business to a person tells you it's true? Do you think it's a coincidence that two unions are on strike against you for the first time since Eisenhower was president? You can't exactly accuse us of being quick on the trigger. The effect has a cause, it has a cause. And there is no profit in insisting on the answers to the past for the questions of the future.

But if you want instead to invest in something that will reap you fortunes, I have a tip. And if you are visionaries, envision a solution, not a stalemate. Because this isn't a war we're in, it's a negotiation, it's just a negotiation. There is no face-saving here for either side, because there is no winner or loser. It's just a deal. And when you come to remember that again we will be here as we have been here all along.

And at this point with 170,000 writers and actors aligned against your intransigence, that is as generous as I can be, as close to an olive branch as I can offer. But if you insist instead on the same threatening rhetoric, on saying you would rather starve us than pay us, I would remind you of this: You are fighting for a dollar, we are fighting for survival. We are fighting for our home: writing is where we live, and we will defend that home with a bravery and stamina and ferocity that you will come to understand someday, which is why you cannot break us. You cannot outlast us, you cannot.

And not just because we have the will, because we have power. Nothing in this business happens until we start to write. And we will not start to write until we are paid.

Union now. Union forever.

#sag-aftra strike #sag strike #actors strike #union solidarity #i stand with the wga #wga strong #wga solidarity #fans4wga #Youtube #wga strike #writers strike

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wonnieluv · 8 days ago

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Live from New York, It’s Saturday Night! - Mark Lee

Summary: In September 2024 you found out that you’ll be hosting Saturday Night Live in December! You’re a bit nervous and as time passes you realize you need to choose a musical guest. What happens when you request one of your favorite artists and he just so happens to be in NY that weekend for Jingle Ball AND has a new solo releasing the next Monday (you just don’t know about the solo yet). Will he say yes?

soloist!Mark x actress!reader

warnings: implied that Y/N reads fan fiction about Mark because I thought it was funny, fluff, kissing

masterlist

author’s note: I know all of Dream were in NY but for plot purposes Mark is a soloist in this fic because I didn’t want Y/N to seem like a solo stan for inviting Mark alone

“MATT IF YOU DON’T SAY SIKE RN I’M GOING TO HIT YOU” a woman’s loud voice echos through the apartment

“Y/N WHY WOULD I JOKE ABOUT THIS. I know this has been a dream of yours” A males voice can be heard from the phone in the her hand.

Let’s pause and give some background context, shall we?

Y/N L/N, accomplished actress at the young age of 23 years old. You’ve been acting since a young age starting on the Disney Channel. When you were a teen you made it out of Disney and began taking more rolls outside of the image you had previously crafted for so many years. Now here you are, a multi-academy award nominated actress (you’ve won a couple too 😉). You grew up watching Saturday Night Live with your parents and SNL was a goal you’d always wanted to achieve in your career which brings us to the present day. You’ve been booked to host SNL and you couldn’t be more excited!

"Matt can I call you back, I'm gonna go scream, cry, hyperventilate, and probably run a lap around the block" You tell your manager Matt, he's become more of your best friend in the time you've known him so he's pretty used to your dramatics.

"Yea, I'll get more details and discuss some contract related things with them and I'll swing by yours in a couple hours." He finishes hanging up the call.

You let out a squeal as you skip around your house. If you were being completely honest with yourself, you don't think you were this happy when you got nominated for your academy awards.

✈︎✈︎✈︎✈︎

As the days grow into weeks, Halloween is beginning to approach rapidly and you're on your way to meet with team at SNL to discuss of details that need to be prepared ahead of time for your episode.

your episode...

Yup! your episode in the 50th season of SNL. Things are moving quickly. It's already been almost a month since you got the call notifying you of your casting and you haven't been able to think of anything else. You're so excited to hear the pitches from the cast about the skits they want to do. Being able to work in this environment is like a dream come true.

One of the things you're nervous about is the topic of the meeting today. They want you to have a musical artist picked out so you will need to be providing a list of people that they can reach out to to ensure they get the artist booked before everyone has their schedules set for the holidays.

You arrive to the meeting greeting everyone in the room as you listen intently to what's being said. As time goes on you just get more and more excited about the process.

"... and finally the last thing we need to get ironed out today is who you'd like to have for your musical guest. As you know this episode will be airing December 14th so we'll need to be mindful of holiday plans and schedules so we really should get on this soon. For right now we'll get the name of the top artist you'd like to have and we'll have your management send over the rest of the list via email so we can get an artist booked as soon as possible."

You nod as you listen intently.

"So who is your top artist at the moment" He looks at you expectantly

"I'd like to have Mark Lee be my music guest. He's a singer and wrapper with a sizable following and I think he'd be a great fit." You try to come off confident but you know he has the power to just flat out say no if he wants

"Hmmm... I'll have to look into him before we make any calls but... we'll keep you updated." You nod in response.

You leave the building with a pep in your step and a smile on your face as you anticipate the coming months of preparation

✈︎✈︎✈︎✈︎

"Hey Matt, what's up" You ask as you pick up the phone. It's a Saturday in November so you were relaxing at home as you watch the people wrapped in their winter coats facing the cold of the coming New York winter.

"I have an update from SNL. I thought you'd like to hear this one."

"Oooh what is it?" He's piqued your interest

"They've confirmed your musical guest for your episode of SNL and the guest was from the list we gave them"

"OH MY GOD really?!?!!?! Is It Mark? Matt please tell me it's Mark." You didn't want to get your hopes up but clearly your attempts were futile for how much you were anticipating his answer.

"Stay calm Y/N... but yes... Mark's management just agreed to have him be your musical guest"

"...Matt...I'm going to mute myself real quick..." You quickly get out before muting yourself and screaming bloody murder into your pillow. THE Mark Lee... agreed to be YOUR musical guest... on YOUR episode of SNL...? Life just took a whole new turn of unreal. You've been a fan of Mark for a while now and him agreeing to join you is insane.

You clear your throat as you pick your phone back up again "...hey Matt... soo... Mark Lee... he said yes?"

"Yup he'll be in town for the jingle ball event that's happening the day before so they agreed to extend his stay for a couple of extra days"

"Great! I can't wait!"

"The SNL producers would like to hold another meeting soon to discuss the logistics with his team and with you so start preparing yourself mentally. I know you like him but don't try to jump his bones through the screen."

"Heyyyy, I would never..." You try to defend yourself.

"Yea yea... I'll talk to you soon"

✈︎✈︎✈︎✈︎

"Y/N it's good to see you again, I hope your preparations have been going well." One of the producers greets you as you enter the room

"They have! I'm excited to be back with you all again"

"Y/N this is Mark Lee and his manager, they're joining us through zoom from their company in South Korea. Today's objective is to talk over what our expectations are for Mark as the musical guest as well as clear up any questions. Shall we get started?"

You nod trying to focus on the task at hand and less of the fact that the man you've had a minor celebrity crush on for years isn't perceiving you over zoom at the moment.

"After we received your offer I put some thought into the songs I'd like to perform that day. I think this is a unique opportunity and I think the songs chosen will be perfect for the SNL stage" Mark begins

"We figured it'd be nice to start with a slower track with a nice intimate mood 200 - Minhyung's Version as it's a more unplugged acoustic vibe. For the second song we'd like to have Mark perform a single that is yet to be announced but will be releasing December 16th. It's called Fraktsiya. It's a hip hop song with a heavy 808 base and we think it would be a big draw for him and for the show to have it be the first time anyone hears it officially." Marks manager explains.

You can't help but perk up at the mention of a new song.

So does that mean I'd get to hear it for the first time in rehearsals? Before anyone else does..?

Not the time Y/N you mentally scold yourself for letting your thoughts wander during an important meeting. You shake away your thoughts and pay attention for the rest of the meeting.

"This was a very informative session, we'd like to thank you all so much for the opportunity to have Mark perform on such an iconic show" You hear his manager say as the meeting wraps up.

"It'll be our pleasure to have you here in December. We'll be in touch" The producer says before the call is cut and you're all dismissed

✈︎✈︎✈︎✈︎

December 14th, 2024, show day

Here you are, sat in your dressing room, running over your lines preparing for the final rehearsal before tonights live show. Due to his schedule at Jingle Ball yesterday night, Mark wasn't able to the join the rehearsal meaning you'll be seeing him for the first time today when you run through the show.

"Y/N it's time to head out" Matt gets your attention as you quickly get up and head towards him so the two of you can head to set

"Let's go" You say with a smile

"Keep your hormones in check when we get out there"

You slap his shoulder in response "Hey I am a very calm and composed thank you very much. It's not that big of a deal"

"Your tumblr history says otherwise" You freeze while looking at hime with your mouth agape

"MATT GET BACK HERE" You run to catch up to him

As the two of you arrive to set you're done smacking him for seeing your tumblr history and you’ve been able to mostly calm the bright blush that had appeared as you slowly approach the producer.

“Good morning Y/N are you ready to get started?” He asks as you and Matt reach him

“Yup! Let’s get started!”

You begin your final rehearsal with the opening monologue which goes without a hitch and finally the moment you’re waiting for, Mark is going to rehearse his songs

He comes out onto stage looking very casual as he introduces himself and checks his mic. You decide it’s for the best if you stand to the back to watch because you knew yourself. You wouldn’t be able to not ogle him so you may as well do it from the sides instead of in front of everyone…

God he’s so cool

As he rehearses 200, you can’t stop staring. He’s on a stool with a spotlight on him and the guitarist playing next to him and his voice is so melodic and calming. You’re blatantly staring at this point but you don’t care, he’s so charismatic and his aura is mesmerizing, you can’t help but watch intently.

“Thank you…” he says into the mic with a short bow as he finishes with everyone clapping for him. The producers chat with him and the band before they change the set for Weekend Update. You aren’t needed for this segments rehearsal so you head back to get some snacks from your dressing room. You arrive closing the door behind you taking a breathe pulling out your phone as you scroll for about 15 minutes before you get a text from Matt.

You power your phone off and you leave the dressing room. As you close the door and start walking down the hallway you’re met with a something hard that sends you stumbling back

“Oh watch out!”

You grab onto the wall next to you as you feel a gloved hand grab your arms to help stabilize you.

“You okay…?” You look up to see who you ran into and of course… it’s Mark

“Oh! Y-yea… I’m fine sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going” you mentally slap yourself for stuttering

“No it’s okay, I wasn’t looking either” he sheepishly scratches the back of his neck

You take in his appearance and you see he’s wearing the same outfit as earlier but his hoodie has been replaced with a long leather jacket

“Are you also heading to set?” You calm your inner fan girl and ask

“Yea I am, shall we?” He asks knowing that you’re heading that way too.

You nod as you walk next to him. The two of you having casual conversation. He told you about Jingle Ball yesterday and you told him about the cat you feed sometimes on your block that also happens to be named Mark (you didnt name him, you swear his collar said Mark when you found him)

“Dude there’s no way…”

“I swear. He’s got this old collar on him and I swear it says Mark. I’ll have to show you a picture.” You laugh at his disbelief

The two of you finally arrive to set and go your separate ways so he can get onstage as you find Matt giving you a knowing look.

In response you slap him before turning turn attention towards the stage.

An unfamiliar heat starts playing through the speakers as Mark comes out looking the same as he did when you saw him only now he’s sporting some expensive looking shades and he’s got this intimidating aura around him. He’s not the playful Mark you met in the hallway.

Your mouth fall agape as you watch him rap his new song exuding nothing but utter confidence

Yeah, how many schedules in a day? (Baby, listen)

He’s pulled his glasses down as he tilts his head down looking at the camera above the glasses so he can make eye contact

My airline miles fling honeymoon out of space (I said listen)

He turns his head look towards you as you says the line before redirecting his eyes ahead before adjusting his glass back to cover his eyes properly again

SM got to wait (SM, listen)

Phone is buzzing, uh, SNL shoot with Y/N

I said, wait

You’re frozen in your place as he says your name… did he adjust the lyrics? You know he did but it still made your heart race a little too hard. The fact that the entire song is him bragging about his accomplishments and you have a spot in the lyrics, even if it’s just an adlib for the live show. You have to calm yourself down at the thought

You continue to watch him finish his rehearsal with wide eyes. When he finished the song you clap along with the rest of the crew before continuing on with the rehearsal. You had a couple skits along with Mark who they included in one. He did really well despite the lack of rehearsal time and by the time you all finished you were feeling ready for the live show that night.

✈︎✈︎✈︎✈︎

You were sat in your dressing room after getting styled for the top of the show. You’ve got some down time so Matt left you to go probably flirt with one of the cast members he found cute (but wouldn’t admit it) so you’re relaxing in your chair trying to shake the nerves. Your mom flew to New York to watch live tonight so you really wanted to do well for her.

Your thoughts are interrupted by a knock on your door

“Come in” you say as you turn around to see who knocked and to your surprise… your met with the face of Mark Lee

“Oh Mark? I didn’t expect you to come by…” you say with a smile

“Yea… I had some downtime so I figured I’d stop by” he says walking in scratching the back of his neck awkwardly again.

“You look nervous” you laugh lightly

“Nahhhh… well… maybe just a bit” he says “but I think I’ll do fine. I think I’m more worried about how people will perceive the new song rather than whether I’ll do well”

“Hmmm” you hum in understanding “well I do owe you a picture of little Mark” you say pulling out your phone “oh! Feel free to sit down” you usher him over to the couch as you sit next to him

“Look” you show him a picture of a little orange cat that’s a bit chubby

“Awww dude he’s so cute”

“I know right” you pull back the phone and zoom in on the collar “look what I told you… he’s named Mark”

“That’s a crazy coincidence man… I have to meet this Mark sometime.” He laughs out

“Ooooh I don’t know about that. Two Marks within close proximity… the world might implode” you fake a shiver as you lean back on the couch

“Maybe your right” he chuckles at you before also leaning back on the couch

“Now how did you meet this Mark? He’s not a stray is he?”

“No… although that’s what I thought at first but I called the number on his collar and he has a home. He’s just an outdoor cat. He only comes home for food” You say thinking of the cat you’ve begun to love “If he was a stray I would’ve adopted him”

“Yea… maybe I should get a cat and name him Mark”

you chuckled at his response. “Mark and Mark. Sounds like a comic book”

“You know some people think I’m like Spider-Man… a superhero has gotta have a sidekick” He laughs looking at you

“Should I call you spider-mark then? You’ve got your guy in the chair and everything it seems.” You chuckle out

“Just you wait someday I’ll be in the spider-verse movies”

“I’ll look forward to it” you smile “you are missing one thing though”

“What is it?” He raises an eyebrow as he sits up and looks back at you

“Well you need an MJ of course” you say sarcastically as you look at him

He quirks an eyebrow at your statement “oh yea…” he pretends to think “I think I’ve got an MJ though too” he says as he looks at you “so I’m all set by your logic”

Your eyes widen slightly at his statement “oh yea. I guess so” you cast your eyes down for a second and when you look back up Mark is much closer to you

“You look disappointed” he says inching forward

“Why would I be…” you don’t move towards him but… you also don’t move away.

He smirks a little “I don’t know…” he brings up his hand a gently brushed your hair behind your ears as his face is just inches from yours

“I-“ you can respond before you hear Matt knocking on your door

“Y/N it’s time to get backstage” you and Mark immediately break from one another before you stand up and clear your throat

“Ok… I’ll be out in a second” you walk to your vanity grabbing your water and drinking some before turning back to Mark

“I should go…” you say to Mark, who has now risen from his spot on the couch and has begun to approach you

“Yea… you should…”

You look up and meet his gaze before beginning to walk towards the door. You don’t get very far before you feel a hand grab your wrist.

You don’t even have a moment to say anything before you feel a soft peck on your cheek

“Good luck…” he says softly

“Th-thanks…” you stutter out as your cheeks glow bright red.

You hurry out of the room and rush backstage to get ready for the start of the show

✈︎✈︎✈︎✈︎

The first half of the show goes by in a blur. All the sketches have been going really well and there has yet to be a problem. Now you're at the part you're most excited about Mark's stage

"Now introducing... Mark Lee" The audience claps as everyone becomes focused on him. He's dressed in black pants with a white button up unbuttoned with a tank top underneath. You listen as he sings 200, completely enamoured by him from your place behind the camera. You've realized you're beginning to fall for this man in the short time you've been able to really meet him and part of you wants to think he feels the same with the way (you think) his eyes shift to you behind the camera every so often. But you refuse to get your hopes up and get your heart broken.

He finishes up the song before heading back to get prepared for the next song as they bring out the Weekend Update set as usual.

You laugh as Colin and Micheal share their usual good jokes along with their bickering enjoying seeing the iconic pair in their element with your real eyes. Before you know it you're introducing Mark for his second song.

You take your place behind the camera once again as you take in his new appearance. His shirt now neatly buttoned with a tie around his neck. His thick sunglasses and his black leather clothes with his hair slicked back topping the look off made your jaw drop. He looked HOT

You watch the audience excited for their reactions to his new song and you could tell everyone loved it. You were so into the atmosphere that you almost forgot to pay attention to the stage and before you knew it, everyone was clapping and cheering for him.

✈︎✈︎✈︎✈︎

The show ends successfully as you say your goodbyes to everyone onstage before heading back to your dressing room to change into your regular clothes. As you've finished changing, you're collecting your things when you hear a knock on the door. You don't even get the chance to say come in before you see it open and Mark steps into the room.

"Sorry... I-" he sighs clearly a little unprepared

"You okay Mark?" You begin to step closer to him

"Yea yea.. I just thought you had left... someone said they saw your manager leave so I wanted to come check" He says a bit nervously

"Well I'm still here... so what do you need?' You look up at him but he's clearly avoiding your eyes.

"Well, I have to go back to Korea tomorrow... but I was wondering if... I could get your number." He says as he raises his gaze to meet yours

You softly smile at his request before you nod "give me your phone"

The two of you exchange numbers before you fall into some lighthearted conversation again. He's so easy to talk to. He laughs at your jokes and he matches your energy perfectly. He's just easy to be around.

You grab the rest of your belongings while you chat and once you're ready to go he walks you out to your car.

"This is it huh...?" He asks you hesitantly

"Well it cant be. You haven't met little Mark yet" You smile back at him. "Now you have a reason to come back to New York"

"Make that two..." He says softly

"Huh? What's the second-" You barely finish your sentence before you feel his soft lips on yours. After a moment of hesitation, you wrap your arms around his neck as his go to your waist as you reciprocate the kiss. It felt sweet, soft, careful, like he's testing the waters, but almost desparate, as he knows it'll be a while before you see each other again.

The two of you pull away "I'll see you soon... spidey..." you say softly with a smile on your face. You quickly peck his cheek before running into your car. You don't look at him out of shyness as you drive off with a bright smile on your face and 200 - Minhyung's Version blasting through the speakers of your car.

This took me way too long to write to I hope you all enjoyed this. Also yes I made up the SNL skit but it was FOR THE PLOT I’m not too proud of that part

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theladybrownstarot · 9 months ago

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MONTHLY-READING

2024 APRIL 2024

Pick a card reading ~

❀ Here's my masterlist for more !

❀ Make sure you like/reblog/follow/Comment for more pacs like these !

Pile 1. Pile 2. Pile 3.

𐙚 Pile 1 .

Namaste pile 1 ! Let's get with your reading :-

☪︎ You people are seem to be very focused in the initial period of april , i can sense that very tough strictness and focus of oneself for their goals and giving best no matter what happens . You are being told to trust your decision, guts and instincts no matter how appealing other's would feel to be . You people will be on high energy and focus throughout the month but very high during the first phase of april .

☪︎ later oh wow oh wow this is a confirmation that whatever you worked hard for will yield results , i sense that you will be highly recognised for your enthusiasm. You will my god very much transformed and will get all that clarity you always wanted for things long time back if any . People are going to be very attracted to you plus i see people helping and appreciating you . You will be in the spotlight . Overall the continued thing will be in a good progress too .

☪︎ The last phase of april will be all about planning and executing the new things and ideas or for before if you couldn't . If you maintained same energy of being focused and disciplined you will get ahead 2 times of the road like that I'm sensing in the reading like maintain yourself and give your best no matter because it will be the test of your commitment and all the lessons you worked hard for .

☪︎ You going to be chilling with your friends by partying and talking plus i see right people coming in your life too . The energy of all people reading this will be balanced just don't overthink a lot.

𐙚❀˖° Monthly Advice : I sense that most of you lost something or lost to something which hurted you and made you heart broken . The advice here is to let your tears flow so the negatives can be out . Try to love yourself by doing what you want so you can come over the past because you haven't completely . Your prayers are heard just be more greatful for what you are and have and control your anger .

❀ prominent zodiacs and houses: Gemini , libra , Aquarius, leo, aries , saggitaurus , virgo, taurus, capricorn, 1st house, 5th house and 3rd house .

𐙚 Pile 2

Namaste pile 2 ! Let's get with your reading :-

☪︎ Your first phase of April will be all about planning and then executing , getting various ideas and projects getting done . Don't be so conscious about all your decisions because you can really thrive in through it just implement and surrender to universe .

☪︎ The second phase of April will bring some changes within yourself that will leave you making more confident about yourself . Your plans will bring very strong stability and foundation for something new . You will quite become famous and i see wealth or money coming in some sort also that you will be quite getting more responsible and serious about your things and life in general , i see a major lesson or realisation hitting in anyway .

☪︎ Third phase of April or the last phase will be all about equal give and take of your assets like knowledge , experience , money or anything with others and helping them also .If anyone wants to start a business or something new then different through something then its a really good time for it . You are protected and loved by universe .

𐙚❀˖° Monthly Advice : Universe says that wake up and stop sleeping , stop getting scared and anxious and make a step . You will be connecting with you highest self a lot .

Be generous and kind .

Give yourself some break .

You are taking something to seriously .

Give that exhausted and tortured mind some break .

Reshuffle your priorities, schedule and routine .

❀ Prominent zodiacs and Houses : Aries , scorpio , 8th house , virgo , taurus , capricorn , gemini , libra , Aquarius , 3rd house and 2nd house .

𐙚 Pile 3.

Namaste pile 3 ! Let's get with your reading :-

☪︎ The first phase of April will be quite confusing for you , you may feel stuck or confused about the way or any thing you feel . Try not to merge or do many things at a time rather do one thing at a time otherwise you may create a complex mess for yourself . You must have dragged something which needed your logic but you didn't which has led to agony and all thigs that i have discussed above for this mess to be clear get your logical side and do not listen to your heart . You will or need to make some final choice regarding something because the more you will drag and delay the more frustrating and tough it will be for you .

☪︎ In the second phase Of April i see you grabbing some opportunities and starting something new ahead , I feel the second phase without much of any fuss or mess and more clear and stable energy . Just go for what you want and inspires you because qualification needs to be a later thing for you . This will be a small new start .

☪︎ The third phase of April or the last phase will be about getting to know something or some big changes that will be revealed to you as a surprise . The shift in perspective will be coming in for you . From here the universe will set you on something big like really something big and you will be starting by seeing the trailer in your life or within yourself , universe will make you realise something deeply . It feels like a big mission or realising your mission.

𐙚❀˖° Monthly Advice : you had be wise to watch and trust no one at this time. keep yourself to yourself and do not buy into any fears or chaos that's being stirred up around you . you know the truth so stay strong. Still someone vunerable needs you and secret is a being shared .

Be honest with yourself .

Look at the people around you something lies in there .

❀ Prominent Zodiacs and Houses : scorpio , pluto ( planet), leo , aries , saggitaurus , pisces , cancer , 11th house and 7th house .

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noahsmuse · 5 months ago

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second chance?

✮ PAIRING: noah sebastian x reader

✮ REQUEST: “Can I request a second chance romance one shot? Like in 2020 - 2021 the reader and Noah were dating and they break up for [insert reason] but they run into each other at the BMTH concert in 2024 or something and one thing leads to another suddenly they you know, hooked up and Noah doesn't want it to be a one night stand with her soooooo you can go from there.”

✮ A/N: sorry for the recent inactivity but now, i’m BACKKKK! continue sending in requests for me to write & hope you all like this fic ≧'◡'≦

everything seemed picture perfect between you two. the makeshift dates and the candle-lit dinners that would be hosted in his dining room with dinner that you both made, and just when you thought that the pair of you were full from dinner he was usually still hungry….but for something else (you). in a world of what seemed to be chaos, you found solace within each other.

until, the time came that heavy pandemic restrictions were slowly being lifted and Bad Omens was scheduled their first tour back to be openers for In This Moment and Ice Nine Kills. going from seeing noah almost every single day to barely hearing from him was a very intense switch that put a strain on your relationship since communication was such a huge trait for the two of you.

knowing this would probably only get worse as they’re gonna get busier and continue going on tour. even though you two loved each other to the ends of the earth, when he came back you both made the decision to break up but still remain friends to avoid any heartbreak or miscommunication.

this brings us back to present day, it’s been three years since you’ve broken up with noah. you both talk occasionally and send the usual happy holidays and birthday messages but haven’t actually seen each other face to face since the break up.

one day you hear your phone going off like CRAZY, you managed to find out that one of your girlfriends was able to get pit tickets for a Bring Me The Horizon concert happening in your city. prior to these messages from your friends, you had zero idea they were coming to your town and who would be with them, but decided why not go and have some fun!!!

the day that you and your friends have been so estatic about finally comes around, you’re all dressed to the nines, wearing your sexiest but comfortable attire that perfectly matches the mood for the concert. since the adrenaline is pumping throughout your friend groups veins, all of you decide to make it to the venue just early enough to secure the merch that you’ve had your eye on and your spots for barricade.

after waiting for a few hours, the doors of the venue open and everyone runs while holding each others hands to make it right in the center of barricade with a perfect view of the stage.

around an hour goes by, you still have no idea who the openers will be until the crew of the band lowers down a tapestry with a name that sounds very familiar to you….’Bad Omens’, and that’s when it clicks in your head that your ex boyfriend’s band is an opener for the tour. obviously you don’t wanna seem like an obsessive person to him but you’re literally sitting front row, right in the center, so there’s definitely no way that you could hide.

as soon as you start trying to think up of a plan to make sure noah doesn’t see you in the crowd, the lights abruptly go dark and small vibrations rumble through the ground of the arena with jolly, one of noah’s best friends and roommates comes out right in front of you playing the riffs of a song that you learn is called artificial suicide from their newest album (one that you also learn you were the muse for a couple of songs on the record), ‘The Death Of Peace Of Mind.’

even though you didn’t really know the words to their newer work since you’ve only really heard the demos and songs from the band’s first two records, you can help but feel proud for how far they’ve come knowing that noah had expressed some doubts for the record with you during your time together.

while watching the show, you constantly had a feeling that you were being watched…but when you looked up at the stage, you found the front-man of the band gazing off in your direction.

nothing really happened between you two when they were performed besides noah staring at you while singing a couple of songs which you presumed were about you. the rest of the show goes on, you and your friends have the time of your lives screaming your favorite songs on the top of your lungs. when the show was over just as you were about to leave ash, noah’s trainer and bad omens new security caught your attention saying they’d like to invite you backstage so you decide why, not ! after all you and noah are still friends even though he was the only love you regret breaking things off with.

ash guides you in the direction of the Omens’ green room when you notice someone standing in the distance. as you both get closer to the room, you soon realize that this person is actually just noah who asked ash to bring you backstage so the two of you could “catch up.”

which led to noah bringing you back to his hotel room and ending up laying beneath you, fiercely rolling your hips against his with some help provided by him thrusting into you. moans and grunts spill from you guys’ lips, getting closer and closer to your release….right when you grind on his dick hitting your sweet spot perfectly, feeling pure ecstasy wash over the both of you as he holds your hips down so he can fill up your pussy with his cum.

just as noah wakes up in the morning, he remembers everything that happened last night. looking down at you still asleep with the sun peaking through the blinds and shining on your gorgeous face is when the realization hits him…he can’t let you go again.

meanwhile, you just woke up, not really remembering where you were or what happened but when you looked down to see you wearing one of noah’s shirts and then back up to see his smiling handsome face. which brings back all the memories from a few years ago, it felt like nothing changed…”we should talk” breaks you away from your thoughts (aka, regrets for even breaking up with him)…

the conversation ended with you two walking out into the lobby of the hotel they were staying in, holding noah’s hand with the biggest, lovesick smiles on your faces to hear someone yell “FINALLY!” in the distance. (it was a combination of jolly and matt who were celebrating seeing you two together)

#noah sebastian x reader #noah sebastian fluff #noah sebastian smut #noah sebastian fic #bad omens x reader

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csuitebitches · 1 year ago

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2024 Planning

I started planning for 2024 today. I’ve learned a lot this year, made mistakes, had some successes and now it’s time to take all my learnings, good or bad, and go to the next level.

I prefer starting next year’s routine from 2023’s November and December so that by the time January rolls around, I’m settled into the routine. If there’s any revisions necessary, I can do them without starting my new year on the wrong foot.

I maintain my goals on mostly short and medium term basis. This includes daily, weekly and quarterly planning (I don’t do monthly because it doesn’t work for me).

This may seem complicated (actually, it looks more complicated than it is but it’s just what helps me) but let me show you how exactly I do things.

I keep two diaries. One for daily and weekly and one for quarterly. I have a habit tracker on my phone for my daily non-Negotiables (exercise, meditation, reading and language).

The quarterly diary is my big big diary. Every quarter, it lists out all the big plans, what i want to do and who i want to be. It’s all the messy thoughts I have, all my dreams, my weaknesses, my strengths, etc etc. The only “practical” part of the diary is that there is one general plan made at the end of my mad scribbling. It has the general idea, feedback I’ve received from other people and compilation of all the advice I’ve gotten from my mentors.

2. The daily - weekly diary breaks the plan into manageable bits. I write out the week’s plan (who do i need to meet, who do i need to follow up with, any major presentation coming up, any assignment, what am i reading this week) and write a one sentence daily update on it.

I can’t use a habit tracker for this because i’m not tracking meditation or exercise on here. I’m tracking my career goals, my ambitious goals, into smaller goals. A habit tracker wouldnt cut it because I would have to elaborate more on certain things.

For example:

“20-27th Nov: Weekly list

budget presentation on Monday

1 event to attend on Tuesday. Topic: XYZ

Reading: the inheritors

reach out to mentor, schedule a meeting

7 language essays and 7 videos

Monday, 20th Nov.

work presentation: complete.

Feedback received: i need to work on XYZ.

points they raised that didnt cross my mind: XYZ

follow ups required and if yes, with who: XYZ

reading: complete. Interesting point they brought up: XYZ

essay for the day: complete.

Video complete:

Tuesday, 21st Nov

mentor meeting scheduled

event went well. Met: A, B, C who work in XYZ companies. Follow up with them next week for coffee/ drinks.

essay: complete

video: complete”

Having two diaries helps me because i can find my bigger goals without having to go through the daily entry mess. I like having the two separate.

Nov ‘23 + Dec ‘23 + Q1 2024’s goals include:

Social (meeting new people, maintaining networks)

Intellectual (biographies, documentaries, industry reports)

Personal (soft skills, language studies)

Work (presentations, courses, conferences)

A major change I’ve making this year is actively working on every single weakness I have that I know is a potential strength. I’m ignoring weaknesses that I know are 100% weaknesses like coding because there’s just no way I can sit in front of a computer and learn all that, it’s absolutely not my cup of tea and does not make me happy.

I made a list of every single weakness i have and I’m embarrassed about and ashamed of. 2024 is the year of NO shame. I’m not letting my intrusive thoughts win.

Next to each weakness I wrote out a potential solution.

Ex: not picking up the language i’m studying as fast as i want to -> write 1 short essay and a 1-2 minute video of me talking about anything in that language every single day

I’m not allowing any unnecessary negative self doubt or self talk happen. Constructive criticism is one thing, being a bitch to yourself is another. I plan to learn a lot next year.

I’ve created a manageable exposure therapy plan for myself - I aim to meet 3 new people every month and follow up with 5 new connections every month, whether it’s over chat or irl.

I’ve made a list of business biographies I’m going to read. This year I reached my reading target earlier than anticipated which I’m very happy about. Next year I’m focusing on books that are solely about business, technology and psychology.

#powerful woman #c suite #strong women #ceo aesthetic #personal growth #that girl #productivity #getting your life together #balance #2024 planning #planning my year #Goals #goal setting #how to plan #diary #journal

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nylibrty · 2 months ago

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girl with the tattoo ⸝ ⸝ ⸝ chapter one

「pairing」 breanna stewart x riley carter (oc)

「summary」 riley carter just got drafted to the new york liberty, and she can't seem to figure out whats up with the vet, breanna stewart.

「cw」 n/a

「notes」 first chapter... im scared i hope yall like this!

series masterlist

her heart was beating out of her chest, her palms were soaked, and she couldn't believe this was happening.

she was sitting in the front row at the 2024 WNBA draft, fresh off the high of her last college season and getting ready to enter her rookie year in new york. she had nothing to worry about, she was the first pick and was guaranteed a spot on the roster, but her brain was still swimming with every possible thing that could go wrong. it was about to start, she cleared her throat and sat up straight, knowing cameras were gonna be on her any second.

a lot of talk, she was having a hard time focusing though, more focused on planning on how to not look like a fool on the stage. then before she knew it, it had actually begun. "...with the first pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, the new york liberty select riley carter, university of notre dame" riley grinned widely. she knew it was coming, but that didn't make it any less exciting or shocking. she hugged those around her, her mom, her dad, her little brother, and then her best friend, and made her way up the small set of stairs to the stage. the commissioner, cathy, stood there with a new york liberty jersey in her hand, the number one printed on it in bold.

she held it with one hand, flashing a smile at the several sets of cameras that surrounded the stage. the next few hours were blurry for riley. sitting through the rest of the draft, cheering for her fellow teammates who also were drafted, then the several after-parties that followed.

hours later, riley found herself stumbled into her hotel bed, staring at the ceiling. her mind was racing,

this was the beginning of everything.

—

a week and a half had passed, riley had managed to find a small apartment perfect for her new home in new york. she had flown home briefly, packing all her stuff from her apartment in indiana and flying it all the way to her new place in new york. she had made her way around downtown brooklyn, finding a couple places to eat and a couple museums to put on her list of things to check out. she was still nervous, who wouldn't be? she had to uproot her entire life and move, she has to learn a new teams way of playing, and the people on it.

the first day of training camp started tomorrow, and riley was scared as all hell.

she woke up bright and early that morning, going through her usual camp morning routine. run, breakfast, shower, get ready, go. she made her way to the subway, music quietly playing through her headphones until she got to her destination. a few songs had cycled through before the subway stopped at a station, the one riley had to get off on.

she scooped up her gym bag and threw it over her shoulder, exiting the cab and then walking up the stairs to the ground floor. liberty's training facility was only a block away, a couple-minute walk. she wasn't alone for much longer, being greeted by two women as she got closer to the facility.

"carter! welcome rookie," the dark-haired one said, sticking out her hand to shake.

riley smiled, her hand meeting the woman's. "its nice to meet you, you are..?"

the woman laughed, shaking her head with a small chuckle. "completely forgot to introduce ourselves! i'm camilla, and this is lily," she pointed to the shorter, blonde woman standing next to her. "we'll be showing you around today," she started talking about the schedule that in store for her. several meetings with different members of the front office and coaches, then the actual camp with her new teammates.

the women showed riley the way around the long concrete hallways and eventually to the locker room. "your locker is on the far right, you should see your name on it! we'll let you get settled in and in about 15 minutes you can meet us in the conference room, sound good?" lily told her.

with a nod, riley made her way over to her locker, an led screen above it with her name and number. she grinned, they really were making this special for her. she placed her gym bag into the cubby, unpacking a couple pairs of shoes and tucked extra socks and shirts into the drawers below. there were a couple other people in locker room with her, a few new rookies and some other players. she exchanged hi's with a few of them, more focused on getting that stupidly heavy bag off her arm.

as riley sat down, taking a sip out of her water bottle, she saw a woman approach her, "riley, right? your college highlights are absolutely everything!" the unmistakable smile recongized her as new yorks 6'1 center, kayla thornton.

"thank you! kt, right?" she smiled up at the dark skinned girl.

she nodded then turned her head around and pointed to a group of girls standing only a few lockers down, "thats nyara, kb, and leo." she said, pointing to each of them as she said their names.

riley sat there nodding, pretending like she didn't know all their names. "it's nice to meet you all, i think i'm supposed to have a formal meeting with everybody on the team later in the day."

her and kayla talked for a while longer before riley realized she should probably head down to the conference room. "i think im stuck in another meeting with the front office before camp starts."

kt frowned, "alright! well, we'll see you later rook."

—

after what felt like forever, it was finally time to start actually playing basketball. riley walked to the practice gym in her brand new practice jersey and shoes. at the door, stood sandy brondello, the head coach, and breanna stewart, the world-famous vet. she had seen breanna before, she was certainly gorgeous, but nothing like she was now. a smug smirk across her face and leaning against the door frame, it was like whatever stupid childhood crush she had on the player had come back full swing.

she gulped, getting herself together and walking up to the two. "its a pleasure to have you on our team, carter." sandy smiled, shaking her hand.

"notre dame, huh?" breanna raised her eyebrow, glancing down at the white piece of paper she held in her hands, presumably an information and stat sheet about her.

"dont get too cocky, husky." riley smirked, teasing back already.

"i like this one." breanna said to sandy, the two girls broke out into giggles before heading into the gym.

the gym was nice, one that you could call home for the next season or potentially more. after a couple of introductions and explanations everybody got split off into pairs in order to get some shots up, and of course you ended up getting paired with breanna.

“alright rookie, let’s see what you got.” she smirked, putting a hand on your shoulder.

“are you gonna call me names the entire season or are you just hazing me now?” riley asked, looking up at the taller woman.

breanna smiled at that and a warm feeling erupted in the pits of your stomach, you could almost feel your face getting red. “i don’t care if im on my deathbed and you’re a hall of famer, im still calling you rook.”

she rolled her eyes and walked towards the ball cart, grabbing one and tossing it at breanna.

the two girls started the drill, trading shots and rebounding for one another.

“so, how are you liking new york so far?” breanna asked, sitting down by the post for a second to take a sip of her water.

"its alright! its definitely different than indiana," she laughed, motioning for breanna to hand her the water bottle next to hers.

breanna tossed her the water bottle, resting on her arms before speaking again. "i'll have to take you to some of my favorite places sometime," she paused for a moment, realizing the implication of her words. a soft silence fell over them for a second. riley's brain was reeling, was breanna really flirting with her or was this wishful thinking?

"that sounds great." riley smiled. breanna held her hand out, asking for help up off the floor. riley grabbed her hand, pulling her up. her hand was soft, her long fingers wrapping around the rookies hand and leveraging herself up.

they looked at each other for a second, an unexplainable silence sitting between them. riley's eyes met breannas eyes, the icy blue ones looking into rileys green ones. she still held her hand, almost unable to drop it.

before either of the girls could say something, sandy called out for everybody to come huddle before dismissing camp for the day.

breanna cleared her throat, dropping rileys hand and walking away without words.

riley swallowed, realizing that whatever stupid thought she had about breanna maybe flirting with her wasn't realistic and wishful thinking. she was years older than her anyways.

she walked over to the huddle, listening to sandys speech before being dismissed back to the locker room to gather her stuff and go home.

she walked with kayla and leonie, small talk about moving and the upcoming season to fill dead air. they made it back to the locker room and she began to gather her things, ignoring the feeling of someone watching her from the other side of the room.

when she turned around, she saw just that, breanna standing at her locker pretending like she wasn't looking at her.

riley left without a word, not wanting to think about whatever the fuck happened between them today, worried she already messed up her relationship with her teams vet.

#breanna stewart #breanna stewart x reader #wnba #wnba x reader #wbb #wbb x reader #uconn wbb

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hyukassubi · 5 months ago

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🍪☕ It Was Always You and Me ༉‧₊˚.

♡𓂃 Pairing -> (Former) Knight! Huening Kai x Seamstress! Reader

♡𓂃 Synopsis ->

Growing up, you never believed in purpose, nor destiny. Simply following the path of life, becoming a royal seamstress didn't at all seem like a bad idea. Only thing is, it wasn't your idea. Your best friend who just so happens to be the crowned prince knows what it's like to grow up having limited choices, and Prince Kang Taehyun doesn't want the same happening to you. The commander knight, in turn, has other plans for the future. After Huening Kai closes a profound chapter of his life, he seeks refuge from the chaos of his past, opting for a cozier lifestyle instead. ... And it just so seems that those plans wouldn't be fulfilled without you.

♡𓂃 Content (to be updated) -> (Former) Knight! Huening Kai, Prince! Taehyun, Wizard! Beomgyu, Bartender! Yeonjun, Bartender! Soobin; This story takes up a major chunk of the reader's life from when she's 3-22 years old, which obviously automatically applies to the TXT members, too; Bangchan from Stray Kids is an anti-aging Commander Knight for some reason and medieval Bebe Rexha exists because that just makes sense; LOTS OF FLUFF AND HEART MELTING SCENES; Restaurant (worker) AU;

♡𓂃 Update Schedule -> 2 am kst every Monday and Wednesday!!

♡𓂃 Started -> 1st of July

♡𓂃 Ended -> (to be updated)

Chapters :

🍪 01 | Your Eyeliner Sucks But This Ceremony Doesn't

🍪 02 | Of Roses And Cookies

🍪 03 | Parting Ways and Painting Ceilings

🍪 04 | Knight-in-training Kai Kamal Huening

🍪 05 | The Prince's Sick Meal/ Blue and White Tiled Kitchens

🍪 06 | The Letter Tucked Under The Bonsai Tree/ This Shade of Green

🍪 07 | Hazelnut and Pony Riding Lessons

🍪 08 | Ditch The Navy

🍪 09 | The Knight, The Seamstress and The Goofy Ahh Food Inspector

🪡 10 | You Don't Smell Like Cookies Anymore/ Horse Ate My Sandwich

🪡 11 | Don't You Get Homesick?

🪡 12 | Because He's Big and Strong...

🪡 13 | The Queen's Bloody Shawl/ Why Didn't You Tell Me?

🪡 14 | Elipsis

🪡 15 | Smoked Grapes With A Wizard/ Don't Let Me Succumb To My Shrimp Cravings

🪡 16 | Booty So Big That Bed Broke But That Letter Got His Heart Broke-n

🪡 17 | The 'S' in 'Seamstress' Stands For 'Soulmate'

☕ 18 | PERMorPASS/ The Satchel Seams Will Rip

☕ 19 | Grand Opening...

☕ 20 |

☕ 21 |

☕ 22 |

♡𓂃 Teaser | Trailer | Behind The Scenes Content | Moodboard

♡𓂃 Taglist -> @sweetheartsaku @imcringebutimfree @i-like-to-read-at-4am @pengningie @marloree @stormy1408 @blossommi

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fanhackers · 4 months ago

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Fandom/Activism

I interrupt my dive into Abigail DeKosnik’s work to note that as the United States moves deeper into its (apparently endless) election season, we’re seeing a lot of fandom-as-activism starting to emerge, as well as activism-as-fandom. De Kosnik herself was one of the early writers on fandom/activism, writing “Participatory democracy and Hillary Clinton's marginalized fandom” for the very first issue of Transformative Works and Cultures in 2008; more recently, Aja Romano wrote about how Donald Trump’s followers can be seen to be acting like a fandom for Vox: “If you want to understand modern politics, you have to understand modern fandom.”

TWC hosted an entire guest issue on Transformative Works and Fan Activism, edited by Henry Jenkins and Sangita Shresthova; Jenkins and Shresthova also collaborated on By Any Media Necessary: The New Youth Activism (NYU, 2016) which collects essays on fan activism. Other essays on fandom/activism have been published by TWC with Alex Xanthoudakis’s Mobilizing minions: Fan activism efficacy of Misha Collins fans in "Supernatural" fandom (2020) and Hannah Carilyn Gunderman’s Fan geographies and engagement between geopolitics of Brexit, Donald Trump, and Doctor Who on social media (2020) being recent examples. Meanwhile, Tanya Cook and Kayle Joseph are the authors of Fandom Acts of Kindness: A Heroic Guide to Activism, Advocacy, and Doing Chaotic Good (Penguin Randomhouse 2023), a guide on how to use fandom and fannish strategies to make a difference.

Some examples of fandom/activism emerging this U.S. election season include Heroes 4 Harris: Kamala-Con which is scheduled to happen online today, Sunday September 8, 2024, 1pm PT / 4pm ET: this is billed as “a Comic-Con for Kamala” and “the largest fandom led gathering in support of a presidential candidate in American history.” It will feature: “actors, writers, directors, and super fans of Hollywood's most inspiring heroic fandoms” and promises not just inspiration from some of our favorite stars (Mark Ruffalo, Sean Astin, Rosario Dawson and others - not to mention Henry Jenkins himself) but also breakout groups and training in “fan mobilization.”

Meanwhile, Lynda Carter (always a Wonder Woman!) is also trying to get out the fan vote for Harris with her group Geeks & Nerds for Harris Walz (@GeekOutTheVote); this is also billed as “a fan activist campaign” and they are planning special online events, the first of which will be an online call on September 24, 2024. As they describe on their website: “Fandom has never just been about media consumption. Fans are artists, creators, and digital ambassadors. When we share what we love, it radiates around the world. And to paraphrase the Vice President, it’s how we show them who we are. By connecting battle-tested campaign canvassing strategies to the heritage and practices of fan communities, we can encourage fans to get out the vote in key battleground states.”

Donald Trump, aside from being his own fandom with himself as fan in chief, also seems to have had some self-identified fandoms collectively organizing for him over the years - these include Fans of Kanye West, Fans of Race Car Driving, and, strange but true, Fans of the 1980s, who apparently believe that Donald Trump would also be a fan of 80s horror movies, Scritti Politti, and the soundtrack to Pretty in Pink. (I’m not making that up; it’s on their Twitter.) That said, Mel Stanfill’s newest book Fandom is Ugly (2024) argues that, despite its popular reputation, media fandom is not essentially progressive; that in fact, “reactionary politics and media fandoms go hand in hand.” Stanfill’s book looks at the ways in which fans have organized in conservative, reactionary, or even hateful ways, from Gamergate to the collective abuse and harassment of actors in the latest Star Wars franchise.

The discipline of fandom studies is now being used to study all different kinds of affiliations and advocacy movements, not just those based around film, tv, sports, or music. Fan studies is now applied to political and social movements. Jenkins is still a powerful voice on the relationship between fan studies and participatory democracy (whether progressive or reactionary): read this 2024 interview with him published in Communication and the Public: “The path from participatory culture to participatory politics: A critical investigation—An interview with Henry Jenkins.” As Jenkins notes:

Part of the ethos of fandom is to ask questions—from nitpicking to imagining other outcomes, different trajectories for character arcs, and other worlds where the story might occur, all of which is expressed through fan works. I would say that fans are often more critical than the general audience in asking these questions, which makes them somewhat different from many partisans and activists I might know who rarely question their beliefs and ideological commitments. And fans are more tolerant—as an aggregate—of different interpretations than partisans are of different ideological stances. So, you could do worse in grounding a democracy than engaging with fans.

#fanhackers #fandom/activism #author:francescacoppa

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idk-i-want-mcl-content · 2 months ago

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my candy's profile 💗🦇

first of all, I want to thank @eldaryasharbinger @queenkamisama and @candysweetposts because they had inspired me to do this with my oc and I completely credit them with the template ideas and everything 💗 I really enjoy reading about your candys!

credit to @cafekitsune for the dividers 💗 (also, I'm going to make a spanish version of this post, but later)

As a warning, this is a REALLY long post, i'm not joking lol I've yapped a lot and there's still a lot of info left xd

Pronouns: She/her

Age: 24 years old (she's turning 25 the year the game takes place)

Birthday: December 8th

Nationality: Salvadorian.

Languages: Spanish, English and French.

Sexuality: Panromantic Demisexual.

Appearance details: She has little dimples that are visible every time she laughs or smiles, has a lot of bruises on her knees and stretch marks on her hips. Most of the time she has eye bags and she straightens her hair, but naturally it has more of a wavy texture. She has body hair.

Outfits

Work - Every day - At the beach - Formal/Date

Relationships dynamics

Devon, main romantic interest: When she first arrived at Devenementiel she was a bit intimidated by Devon, because she wanted to do things right and give a good impression. As time passed, his charisma and kindness made her feel a lot more comfortable and after he helped her in her first solo project, she felt like they were on really good terms. Candy definitely feels attracted to him, but questions if it would be a good idea after what happened last time (she hasn't told anyone on the team about it) - When she had to start looking for apartments and Devon helped her with the interview (he volunteered after seeing how stress she was about it), it was the first time in MONTHS she saw Devon nervous around her. Ironically, he seemed to be enjoying the situation more than her, and the shine in his eyes when he called her "my wife" would be something difficult to forget. ("Didn't you say this would be difficult?" "idk, it was easy to think about you as my wife" "... you said WHAT NOW?") - On Devon's part, there's a lot of qualities of her that he likes, after all he hired her, but he specially likes how passionate and dedicated she is with her work and hobbys, but sometimes she can get way too carried with details and it stresses him lol they're working on it tho.

- Both are ambitious and so, I can see them having constant problems with making time to be together. They sort of mirror each other in the things they value the most and their biggest flaw, so finding a balance it's going to be harder than confessing to each other lol - Candy was quite disappointed with Devon's behavior when Thomas told everyone Roy's habit. She kept herself out of the jokes and everything but when they were deciding whether or not to spy on Roy and she told him how inappropriate it would be (for a THIRD time) for a moment she could tell he was hesitant, but proceded with everyone else except her and Amanda. Days after, when the topic came up again (because Roy did prank them and told them Amanda and Candy warned him): "I should've know you were planning something." "I'll give credit to Roy for the prank, but I was actually concerned for him. " "Candy, we are friends, nothing was going to happen to him" "Devon, believe me, you don't want to go on that hill with me again. I think you know Roy's boundaries, but this is one of mine's" and if bro didn't noticed he was fucking up, it was clear by her tone and glare: It reminded him of her "conversation" with Jason. Roy, coworker and friend: Roy and Candy had good chemistry since the start, mainly because of how easy going Roy is and as time passed they ended up being friends. They like to talk about Roy's swimming competitions and you can BET they were following some Paris 2024 Olympics events.

- They liked talking about TV shows Roy watches and every once in a blue moon when their schedules are free they like to go to the movies with other friends. Wouldn't say their friendship is perfect, because sometimes they but heads when Roy's being way too impulsive but at the end of the day they balance it out. Thomas, coworker: Candy didn't knew how to approach Thomas at first, he and Amanda seemed to her like they were just going to be on co-worker terms, feeling like they didn't have anything in common. Now that she has been working at Devenementiel for some time, she enjoys debating with Thomas A LOT to the point that if Amanda or Elenda see them talking they will literally leave xd.

- They are the type of friends where one ask a seemingly insignificant question and the other answers the most serious way, trying to think logically about it, and the conversation ends up being an hour long lol. In my canon, them and Amanda are like, the moon to Devenementiel's team Sun¿

- Their relationship sometimes can be unpredictable, because they disagree on really important topics and as i've mentioned my Candy heavily dislikes gossips and Thomas isn't as bothered with boundaries as she is, so when in ep 04 Thomas started to talk about Jason's personal life she started to dislike that part of his personality, even arguing with him "How is it that you feel comfortable sharing the personal information of others, but never talk about yourself and when people ask, you ignore them? Isn't it unfair?" And Thomas just gave a half-ass answer. Amanda, coworker: Now, with Amanda it's really funny, because even thought they work in the same department of the company and both have similar work styles she didn't like her from the start.

- She thought Amanda would be the type of person to put others down to lift her own accomplishments, and at the time she didn't really bother talking with her outside of work-related things. After all, she had plenty of coworkers like that in EPMC and even ballet.

- Her perception of Amanda changed with the events of episode 08 and after sitting with her and talking, she found out Amanda thought the same of her, plus she thought Candy didn't took things seriously enough sometimes. But instead of making her angry or offended Candy just laughed because for the longest time they were both concerned about something false, finding it ironic. Amanda was quite puzzled with her reaction but at the end they agreed to try and be friends, which ended up being easier after that first bad impression.

- Candy takes a lot of fashion advice from Amanda and she considers Candy a safe person to talk a little more about her own sexuality, since she mentioned she has dated women before. Since Amanda likes dancing, she's the only one of the team who Candy has show some of her performances (Even thought she has years of experience Candy's really shy of her abilities since she compares herself A LOT with others). All of this trust, of course, has taken them some time to build up but they've become more closed than what people think.

Jason, work rival: Can I just say, that I think this Candy on paper, would have fitted better in Goldreamz rather than Devenementiel? but what's done it's done yk. (in my mind there's an au where she is working at goldreamz but that's a story for another day) - When she first met Jason on ep 02, he didn't necessarily impressed her but she didn't thought he wasn't as bad as Roy mentioned, however, the things she assumed about Amanda ended up becoming true with Jason: His arrogance and constant remarks about him being better than Devenemetiel and Devon in everything annoyed her quickly, and interally she was trying not to take it personally and ignored Jason's attempts to provoke her, something he didn't quite appreciated. "How interesting, Devon, it seems like your new employee is the most professional out of you three." "Better say of the four of us, Jason. Or would you say arrogancy is a desirable quality in a bussiness partner?" "You can interpret it as arrogancy, but I'm prideful of the services my company can offer to our clients" "If you were so confident, at least in my opinion, there wouldn't be such a need to remark it every time you speak. After all, actions are worth more than words, isn't it?" - In general, she doesn't find Jason to be incompetent or anything like that, but she despise that facade of his. If it's canon that Jason searched for Candy's number and contacted her, he would promptly get ignored, not because she doesn't want to answer but knows that's exactly what he wants. - In ep 06 when Goldreamz and Devenementiel's team are arguing, I imagine she wouldn't say anything and just dedicate to analyze and contrast information, retaining a laugh because she finds it so funny when Devon, Thomas and Jason are being sarcastic.

Elenda coworkers, friends: Elenda reminds Candy SO MUCH of her best friend so it's not a surprise they got along pretty quickly, as she did with Roy. She has a soft spot for Elenda tbh, similar to Brune. They are wholesome and Elenda makes her laugh a lot. Even if she has insisted to see at least a video of any of her ballet performances, Candy isn't revealing anything lol. I can 100% imagine them going to a karaoke and BLASTING Crowstorm's songs (picture them not being able to talk the next day at work xddd) either that or pop songs. I imagine they just found each other in a karaoke as a coincidence once, since both were with their own friends, but now they go together.

Brune, coworkers, on good terms: In my headcanons, Brune can speak spanish as her second language so when Candy is burned OUT of speaking french she would exclusively talk spanish to Brune lol They are not as closed as with Elenda, but they do joke around and appreciate the other's sincerity.

um hello hi and thank u for reading all of this? like wow xd I'm going to continue adding info and as i've mentioned before i'm going to make a spanish version of this post, just for the funsies yk, but that's going to be on another time. Also, I would have been infuriated if I wrote this before episode 08 because my perception of Thomas, who I've had considered my main route, change in an awful way :c Devon too did things I don't like, but for the sake of completing this I chose him (believe me I thought about it a lot of time xddd)

#mcl new gen #my candy love new gen #mcl devon #mcl roy #mcl thomas #mcl amanda #mcl jason #mcl brune #mcl elenda #talking about my candy finallyyyy 💗#💌 talking about: candy candy

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tremendouskoalachild · 2 months ago

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Does the Batman Epic Crime Saga (they better come up with a better name fast) chronology make sense? well, no. am i gonna write a rambling tumblr post about it? you know it!

spoilers for The Batman (2022) and the first 4 episodes of The Penguin (2024)

The Batman is set during Bruce's second year as Batman, and takes place over one week: starting at 8 pm on Thursday, October 31, and ending on Wednesday, November 6.

The Batman was originally filmed as though it is set in 2019, and the days of the week in Bruce's journal match that year's calendar. the shooting was put on hold due to the pandemic, and once it resumed the movie's setting was moved to 2021 (some other dates in the film match that year, and it can be extrapolated from graphics shown on screen). The Penguin takes place firmly in 2022, retconning this.

according to his diary, the Riddler got the idea for his grand plan to reveal corruption in Gotham on Friday, July 16 (of that year, meaning 2021, presumably; the day matches the 2021 calendar). that would mean he spent 3.5 months (107 days) planning and setting it all in motion. he likely intended on using the election's date from the start.

The Waynes were killed 20 years prior to Don Mitchell Jr's murder (October 31), to the week, during Thomas' mayoral campaign (this corresponds to 2001, as seen in the Riddler's video).

here we run into my lack of familiarity with DC lore, but i believe the implication is that Mitchell became mayor in 2001, served 4 consecutive 5-year terms (and was up for reelection in 2021), and Maroni was taken down due to Carmine Falcone's information shortly after Mitchell first took office (the timing of the Maroni bust is very tenuous; i'm largely going by the various claims that Falcone has been the top dog for 20 years, and that removing Maroni was what got him there. there is also Annika's confused recollection of Mitchell telling her Falcone was the informant on that case, and that that's how Mitchell became mayor, even though we know the bust happened during his term. however, Oz was supposedly involved, as alluded to by Sal in The Penguin, and he was merely Sofia's driver just 10 years ago, before moving up in Carmine's organization and gaining control of the drops operation, which was already controlled by the Falcones at that time.)

The Penguin starts one week after Carmine Falcone is killed and the flooding starts (on Election day, November 5), so November 12, 2022.

Oz kills Alberto at night, and spends the time until his next shift securing an alibi and hiding the body, with the help of Vic. Oz takes Alberto's phone and looks through his calendar app, which is showing the current day as November 13, noting he has a shipment scheduled for the evening of Monday, November 18 (this day matches the calendar for 2024 and 2019, but definitely not 2021 or 2022).

The next day (November 13, assuming Oz checked the phone after midnight - seems likely, he went in at night, had a long discussion with Alberto, killed him, dragged his body to the car, and "recruited" Vic before this), Oz reunites with Sofia, recently out of Arkham thanks to her father's death. He is told to move the drops operation to Robbinsville by the Falcones within 48 hours, visits his mother's house, as well as Salvatore Maroni in prison, and frames the Maronis for Alberto's murder.

Presumably the next day, November 14, he visits Sal again, planning their heist. Luca Falcone has arrived to take over the family by then. We see the move to Robbinsville being ambushed by Maronis at night, likely 14 to 15 November (i doubt Oz organized the move he didn't want to do the same day he was ordered to do it, while coordinating with the Maronis; i also doubt Viti would let him get away with missing the 2 day deadline without a fuss). Sofia recruits a detective within hours to find the mole.

Alberto's funeral is on the following day, November 15 (not that it's particularly useful, but we know it isn't a Sunday from Francis mistakenly trying to go to Mass. if we accept the Monday is the 18th, then it must be Friday). After the funeral, Luca suggests to Sofia she leave for Italy. That night we see Vic bury Castillo and Ervad, and Sofia team up with Oz.

In the evening of the shipment, so November 18 according to the calendar, Sofia and Oz start putting their plan in motion. Graciela tells Vic she is leaving the next night, November 19. Johnny Viti confronts Sofia, telling her she has two days left in Gotham before either leaving for Italy or being disposed of, and gives her a boarding pass with the date Thursday, November 20, 2022. (in case you're curious, no, November 20 2022 is not a Thursday. more bizarrely, we know it was Monday on the 18th, so November 20 has to be a Wednesday. the last time Nov 22 fell on a Thursday was 2018, before even the original scrapped setting of the movie.) the boarding time is in the evening, so Johnny seems to be counting the next day, November 19, and the day she's supposed to leave, November 20, as her two days.

The next day, November 19, Sofia and Oz go to the Triads to negotiate, then blackmail Johnny to secure an audience and trial run for that night. It goes well but the Maronis arrive, and a dazed Sofia calls Dr Julian Rush for help after Oz abandons her.

She wakes up at his place the next morning, November 20, and mentions she is supposed to be on a plane to Italy by the next day - not that evening, as it says on the ticket her family bought her. Maybe she's confused after her traumatic incident, or is ignoring the ticket and choosing to interpret Johnny's ultimatum differently.

Julian says she has been out of Arkham for only a few weeks (she was exonerated through Alberto and Julian's efforts after Carmine's death, November 5th - 16 days earlier, so it appears that process was quick). She crashes a family dinner that evening, implies she is leaving the next day, and kills everyone in the mansion except for Gia and Johnny Viti during the night. She wakes Johnny up in the morning of November 21, where we end episode 4.

as for the flashbacks:

Vic's takes place in the hours before the flooding starts, not only confirming that it happened in the evening on November 5, but also that it was Tuesday. This date works for either 2019 or 2024, and matches the day of the week from Alberto's phone in episode 1.

Sofia's flashbacks: 10 years prior to The Penguin, in 2012, reporter Summer Gleeson approached Sofia Falcone with information about several women working for Carmine Falcone strangled over the last decade, so roughly 2002-2012. she herself was killed in the same manner shortly after, and the murders got pinned on Sofia. Sofia was arrested on Carmine's birthday, September 5, and she was held responsible for the murders of Summer and 6 other women (presumably the same ones Summer told her about, as her murder was made to look like Sofia trying to shut her up).

from The Batman we know that Maria Kyle was also strangled by Carmine during this period, in 2004:

while we're looking at tombstones, the Falcone family's plaques in The Penguin episode 2 are the source of Carmine's birth date:

Alberto's body is recovered the day after his murder, and the date November 13 is used on his.

some random tidbits about different characters' ages:

Bella Reál is 28 (said on the tv broadcast in the opening of The Batman).

Bruce Wayne is around 30/was around 10 when his parents died (not said in the film but mentioned in interviews).

Edward Nashton's fake ID under the name Patrick Parker has his date of birth listed as 03/30/1985, which would make this persona 36 in 2021. the ID under his real name appears to list 1984, which would make him around 37/17 at the time of the Waynes' murder, or 1994, making him around 27/7 at the time of the murder. the second interpretation is supported by the Riddler: Year One comic miniseries, written by Riddler actor Paul Dano, showing Edward as a little boy meeting Thomas when he announces his mayoral campaign (and appears to fit better with the speech Edward gives in the film).

Annika Kosolov was born on January 1, 1998, making her 23 if the film takes place in 2021. she is also Estonian. neat.

Selina Kyle was 7 when her mother was killed, which happened in 2004 according to Maria's tombstone in The Batman, making Selina around 24 if we use the 2021 setting (25 for the retcon timeline, birth year around 1997 either way).

Sofia Falcone was 9 when her mother was killed, which happened in 1994 according to her plaque in The Penguin, making Sofia around 37 in the show (birth year around 1985), around 27 when she was arrested and taken to Arkham.

edit: we actually do have Sofia's birth date, thank you @thevoidstaresback93! she was born on January 3, 1985, making her 27 at her arrest and 37 in the show.

from the above we also know that Carla Viti was 28 at Sofia's arrest and must be around 38 in the show.

similarly, we know Johnny Viti, which is apparently his legal name, was 43 in the flashback and must be around 53 in the show.

from his plaque we know Alberto was 38 when Oz killed him, and is a year or two older than his sister Sofia.

Carmine Falcone was 65 when the Riddler finally killed him.

his victims were mostly young women whose exact ages we don't know, long dead before the present day events; we only know that Isabella Falcone was killed at 34, and Maria Kyle at around 28.

Victor Aguilar is 17, since his ID shows his date of birth being April 23, 2005. his girlfriend Graciela is probably around the same age, since they go to school together.

revelations from the Riddler video:

Martha Wayne's parents were killed in 1981 (her mother killed her father and then herself), and her father was 36 at that point.

Wayne Enterprises sent the cease and desist to the journalist digging into Martha's family history on February 16, 2000, over a year and a half before the election in October/November 2001. what a dramatic period of time for everyone involved.

one last hilarious thing: this date in the canon comic released in October 2022, in the same year as the film, fits with the 2020 calendar.

#the penguin #the penguin hbo #the penguin spoilers #the batman #the batman 2022

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alwritey-aphrodite · 3 months ago

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Decorating with Jamie please

2024 Fall Blurbs

Jamie would do anything just to make you happy. Really, he’d risk his life for yours, so doing something like hanging decorations on the outside of your house is the least he could do. It’s so simple, when compared with everything else he would be willing to do for you, that he hadn’t even thought twice before he agreed.

The two of you are both always incredibly busy, and an entire day where neither of you have any sort of plan or commitment is a rarity, especially on a weekend. Today, though, it’s a beautiful Saturday, and you and Jamie have your schedules wide open, leaving you with nothing but time to spend together. Unfortunately, there are also household chores and random tasks you’ve been putting off for weeks, and you wouldn’t be able to enjoy your time with all those tasks looming over you.

Out of everything on your list, decorating your house for fall and Halloween seemed like the most enjoyable, and you’re not even a little upset at the idea of spending a whole day watching seasonal movies and eating treats and digging through your plethora of decorations to transform your entire house into something you’d see in a home design magazine. In order to make that happen, though, and still have some time to spend relaxing with just the two of you, you had to divide and conquer.

Without a second thought, Jamie volunteered to decorate the outside, knowing that you didn’t love using the ladder all by yourself and wanting you to be able to stay warm and cozy inside, instead of battling against the growing chill of autumn. The kiss you press to his cheek in thanks is enough to keep him warm, even as he starts to lose the feeling in his fingers. It’s his own fault, he knows you’d be wearing gloves if you were the one outside, but he’s not as delicate in his dexterity as you are, and he wants everything to be as perfect as possible. There’s a thick cover of clouds, so he can’t really tell how much time has passed when you open the front door and peek your head out, looking up at him.

“If you’re almost done, I can make some hot chocolate,” you offer, and nothing has ever sounded sweeter to Jaime, but he’s not confident he’s made that much progress.

“Are you all finished inside?” He asks, and you nod, and Jamie’s beginning to resign himself to more time outside when you speak again.

“Plus, I missed you and I don’t wanna spend our whole day apart,” and that warms Jamie even more than the kiss had, so he finishes what he was doing and meets you in the kitchen, which is decorated perfectly.

“Babe, I’m just warning you, you might be a little disappointed with the outside of the house,” Jamie tells you as the two of you get settled for an afternoon spent cuddled together on the couch, in your beautifully autumnal living room.

“I could never be disappointed with you,” you reassure him, and now he’s so overwhelmed with love for you he’s certain he’ll never be cold again.

#jamie tartt #jamie tartt x reader #jamie tartt x you #jamie tartt fanfiction #jamie tartt fanfic #ted lasso fanfiction

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brf-rumortrackinganon · 8 months ago

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A certain mega-narc was noticeably absent from Victoria’s big 50th birthday bash here in London. I wonder if this was a bruise to M’s ego… Any thoughts on this? She basically has paid PR friends who are d-list actresses like herself and its pretty pathetic. I bet Meghan envisioned her life being very different than the sad reality it actually is, as she’s still a massive fraud and a failure, but now on a global scale. I don’t think she will ever get to the crème de la crème of elites that she craves to be like and obsesses over. Even Misha Nonoo married better than poor old Meg. I think Harry is well and truly stuck with her because she will never find anyone as weak or as spineless or as stupid as him. He’s not wealthy enough for her lazy good for nothing ass, but beggars can’t be choosers - and she has been a desperate grifter and beggar all her life. I truly believe this toxic marriage is her ultimate karma and it couldn’t happen to a nicer person.

The Beckhams put a stop to Meghan's PR shenanigans with their family in 2021. The cracks have been there since 2018.

Sometime in late 2017/early 2018, Meghan accused Victoria of leaking about her to the tabloids. Harry called David to confront them about it and there was a row. Supposedly they patched things up and the Beckhams were invited to the wedding. (Revealed in 2022)

Harry asked David to be an ambassador for the Sydney Invictus Games and David agreed. But when the Games were actually taking place, Harry refused to meet, see, or speak to David. It pissed David off and he soured on Harry.

Meghan asked Victoria for free clothes. Victoria declined; she doesn't give freebies. (First revealed in 2019, resurfaced again in 2023.)

Fast forward to 2021 when the Beckhams' son has gotten engaged and they're planning the wedding. Meghan issued several PR stories and a blind item about how the Beckhams are scheduling their son's wedding around the Sussexes' availability.

The 2021 PR manifestation for invites to the Beckham wedding seems to have been the final straw that broke the Beckhams' back. It's pretty plausible, IMO; there haven't been any articles, stories, or blind items about the Sussexes and Beckhams hanging out. In fact, the Beckhams have been pretty solidly aligned with the Waleses since early 2022 and appear to have cut all ties with the Sussexes.

July 2022. David and William do a mental health thing together.

December 2022. David leaves the FIFA Qatar World Cup for a whirlwind trip to Boston to present at Earthshot 2022.

May 2023. David gives King Charles a jar of honey from his bees. (Becks got into beekeeping during the pandemic. It's covered in their documentary.)

July 2023. David and Victoria throw a huge party in Miami to celebrate Messi's first game with the team. All the celebs from LA attend. No Sussexes.

April 2024. Sussexes are in Miami for polo party. No Beckhams. Not even a hint or trace of PR - in the olden days, Meghan would've at least tried to manifest a lunch or cocktails.

And of course, we can't forget David queueing for 12+ hours to pay his respects to The Queen. If that's not a sign to the rest of us that he's exclusively TeamBRF, then I don't know what is.

#ask #brf #sussexes

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seafoamreadings · 10 months ago

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week of march 3rd, 2024

these are written predominantly for the *rising* signs but they are also intuitively "channeled" enough that they should work for any dominant energy you have! (try your sun if you don't know rising, or more advanced readers can try moon, anywhere you have a stellium, etc and see what works best for you!)

aries: there is a lot of aries-favoring astrology this week especially where the lunar nodes are involved, so big things are happening even if they seem small at the moment. the one big thing to watch out for as a possible hiccup is mars square uranus; be very careful. your impulsive nature may get you into some trouble with accidents or fights. slow down and think carefully.

taurus: it may seem like everyone is trying to push your buttons this week, maybe all week long. try to be patient with them, they are likely inconsiderate but not truly malicious.

gemini: mercury conjoins neptune and then heads into aries at the end of the week. before that aries ingress, be cautious with the words others say as they may not be quite true, even if there is no outright or intentional lying. once mercury is safely into aries, though, social circles are likely to become much more fun, even a bit rowdy.

cancerians: especially if you've been wanting travel or try something philosophically or spiritually new to you, this week's new moon in pisces can be quite beneficial for that. set relevant intentions and watch them bear fruit over the next several weeks.

leo: this week it is important for you to stay out of debt, and try to be forgiving of what other people might owe you whether it's financial or otherwise. you can also set powerful intentions with this new moon to pay down credit cards, pay off loans, or simply form stronger interpersonal bonds with people you deeply care for.

virgo: do not neglect communication and connection in your closest and most important relationships, even if it feels a little bit confrontational or scary to do so. what is flimsy may fall apart but that is to make space for where you're really meant to be.

libra: if you can start out the week strong in your routines and rituals, your day-to-day life, making it fun and sacred, then by the end of the week your relationships are, one way or another, rewarded. probably in a huge way, due to the karmic nodal influences.

scorpio: overall amplification of pisces vibes suits you if you've been feeling kind of fizzled out, you get some juice. plus mercury into aries can help you make connections out in your day to day life. but none of it works very well if you sit home and pout too much!

sagittarius: you're widely known as more of a nomad than a homebody, but if you care for your physical base of residence and set kindly intentions around it this week, you'll be pleasantly surprised as to how much fun and excitement it opens up to you in seemingly unrelated ways.

capricorn: likely you're always the lee of the rock to your friends and acquaintances but this week especially you are a safe place, a calm harbor in what others are perceiving as a harsh storm. don't let them take advantage of your kind strength, but don't deprive anyone of safety either. your boundaries are important.

aquarius: your ideal schedule this week should start out with a lot of rest, cleaning and clearing, and planning, and then after the new moon continue with good, sturdy financial intentions. resources and abundance can flow to you if you have cleared the space and made good choices.

pisces: the new moon in your sign heralds many beautiful and favorable things to come. be clear in your intentions - it will result in more powerful manifestations, although you are manifesting whether you mean to or not. watch for signs and you will see your desires take physical form over the next few weeks.

#horoscopes #horoscope #weekly horoscope #weekly horoscopes #astrology #signs #zodiac #aries #taurus #gemini #cancer #leo #virgo #libra #scorpio #sagittarius #capricorn #aquarius #pisces

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icarusredwings · 5 months ago

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Something The Cat Dragged In

A badly written COMEDY oneshot. (I have no clue how to write 11 or amy im sorry) No smut.

Posted: July 31st 2024.

Words: ~7,900

Ships: The Ponds, River/11/Simm

Prompt: The Doctor and River are trying to domesticate a feral Master with clicker training, and it's going about as well as you'd think.

This fic includes: Jealous 11, SFW worshiping kink, Horrible cat puns, Bondage, Amy being a freak, Pet play, Degrading, an Oblivious 11, and Mentions of Cheetah Virus changing a bored master's deoxyribonucleic structure. Consider that your trigger warning.

“Are you sure this is safe?” The ginger man asked, hesitant about the scrappy man that the raggedy doctor had brought on board the TARDIS.

“Absolutely!” He chimed, the smile on his face clearly larger than how much trust he had in this situation being anywhere near ‘safe’.

He knew that smile. That was the ‘I'm lying because I don't want to tell the truth’ smile. The one you had to watch out for. So nervous that fibber was..

“Oh, Amy's going to kill you…”

“I'm sure she will! As for now-” Rory watched as the Doctor jumped around the TARDIS a bit, hitting buttons, pulling levers, twisting dials. The usual. What wasn't so usual though was the fact a half blonde man with about half an inch of dark roots was standing there, Glaring at him. Swallowing, He stepped to the left, and then more towards the Doctor, being tracked by his eyes. Something about the way he smirked with such wide teeth made a shiver run up his spine.

Look, He's met a lot of odd aliens and crazies at the hospital but this guy looked at him as if he'd eat him whole in one bite.

“Doctor-”

“Not now Rory! Busy!” Coming around, He seemed to have this be the entire plan, getting the drop on him as he spun behind him, clamping a thick metal bracelet around his wrist, holding it as he quickly clamped the other. “Hey!”

“There we go! That's better!”

Huffing, the man began to try to take off the bracelet only to emit a small red light and a beeping noise. “Take this off of me! Right now!”

“Uhhhh…No.”

“Yes! Take it off or i'll-”

“You'll what? Hm? Still in the habit of telling me your plans are we? God you've always been like that. So clever and yet.. so dull..”

“I am NOT dull! You're stupid bowtie is dull!”

“Hey! Bowties are cool. Now then, Rory this is-... er.”

“Say it.”

“..er..”

“Go on. Say it!”

Taking a breath, The Doctor knew that no matter what he said would be bad. If he introduced him as Koschei, He'd not rest until he at least stabbed him in one of his stomachs.

“Rory, Master. Master, Rory.”

With a great sense of pride, The Master grins ear to ear, Putting his hands out and bowing as if he had just introduced someone extremely important. Perhaps an old friend that once held such great respect but now it seems both of their minds have gone a bit off their rockers. More so the other's, but they both thought this.

“... should I be worried?”

“Oh, Yes.”

“No!”

“Don't lie to them, Doctor! You and I both know what happens when I'm hungry..”

“Doctor? What's he mean by that?” Giving a look of concern, he backed away just slightly enough to trip over a loose wire. This fear seemed to please the blonde while the Doctor rolled his eyes. “Oh you are fine, I just fed you.”

“He's on a feeding schedule? Like… some kind of pet?”

“Do not speak of me like I am nothing but a pet!! I'm far beyond Your comprehensive abilities! Use your tongue to call me anything below your Master and It will surely be a mistake!”

“Yeah, About that, You're in charge of not letting me forget to feed him, okay? Jolly good, alright, Now! I do have to apologize, Your old room was destroyed but we have bunk beds! Cool right?” He rambled.

“Why do I have to make sure you remember?” Rory asks, scrunching his nose as he took another step forward.

“Do you want to find out?” The Master beamed, quite excited about teasing and gaining authority over the Doctor's fellow companions. If anything, They were pets. Not him.

“I wouldn't recommend that! Lets just say, You don't want to find out. Anywho! Back to what I was saying!” For a third time he turns to his old friend, new traveling buddy, hands clapped together politely.

“Your old room is busted. Gonzo! So you'll have to make a new one. Any requests?”

“Wait wait wait-”

“Good god, Rory what now? You're being quite rude!”

“You can't just bring someone aboard who's going to eat me and fly on by!”

“I thought we already established this. Keep up!”

“Yeah, keep up!” The Master shouted, egging the man on. “And if you can't, get off the ship! Do us all a favor and jump overboard.”

At this, he was met with a cross look and his ear being pulled. “Aye stop that! Now you're the one being rude!”

The days that followed weren't so simple. Between the Master trying to get out the front door, snapping at them, insulting everyone he met, refusing to eat certain things, and both Rory and Amy losing sleep with how much they argued, you could say that things were in fact not going well. The Doctor on the other hand said differently, claiming that it took time to get used to TARDIS living arrangements.

The thing that really got him rowdy though was his vaccines. Between scratching, cursing and kicking, it was a wonder how the Doctor was able to manage him at all, even if his methods weren't exactly filled with the most logic, some being closely related to rewards.

When the Master DID finally escape, his punishment was to wear a bell. That's it. A normal bell. Quite a large one though. Suited more for a large dog then a cat.

When he purposely shoved all the trinkets and containers off of the top of the fridge in order to sit on top of it, The Doctor made him a loft to lay on with his own window.

This seemed to have worked for a while, watching the stars as they floated by. But then when the problem arose of him not eating, The Doctor gave him a bean bag chair hoping having his own special spot would make him feel better.

But it didn't. If anything he only ripped it up, purposely destroying it. Coming back to the TARDIS to that kind of mess was enough for Amy to suggest getting rid of him or perhaps caging him up when they left but the Doctor was just in awe at how relaxed he was, snoring ever so softly while lounging on his loft as if he were purring from curing his boredom for the day.

“Aww Amy.. I couldn't. Look how happy he is.”

“He trashed the TARDIS! I thought you said you were going to take care of him?”

“I am! It's just… oh what's that word?”

“Hard?”

“Impossible?”

“Nothing is impossible.” He says, shaking his head.

“But you said that tons of times..”

“And yet none of them were true!” He says, wagging a finger. “I just have to think.”

So he thought. What else could he do? The Master was bound to rebel. That's been proven already.

“Well you better do it soon or else he's going to rip up your fez next..” this gave him an idea.. quite a large one at that.

“Oh Rory!! Wonderful Rory!” He says, grabbing his face as he holds him tight with that excited but manic glint.

“That's just what he needs!”

The two watched as the Doctor ran off to the console, trying to jump over the billions of beads only to slip, Falling for only a moment, popping back up over on the other side.

“A .. fez??”

“No!- well. Yes. But no. You'll see! Now go on. Don't you have erm-” he waved his hand at them, his brain doing that thing where his words were all jumbled up inside, making it difficult to speak. “Kissing to do? Or something? Don't worry about me I got a lot of cleaning up to do and- OH yes! Amy, are you finished playing that game with the rope? You know, the one you told me about?”

The ginger man's eyes widened greatly as he gave his wife a look of terror. The kind you only get when your head was screaming ‘WHY WOULD YOU TELL HIM THAT?!’

The woman now blushed, Crossing her arms as she returned the look to her husband, implying that she had everything under control. “You mean that one where we pretend to be Fenrir and see how long it takes to get untied?”

“Yes!” He snapped his fingers. “That one! Quite a loud game is it not? Anywho- Can I have the rope back? I'm glad you two wish to practice kidnapping safety but I'm afraid In this era people are going more with handcuffs then rope.”

Amy's eyes became brighter, the kind that scared her husband to death.

“Handcuffs you say?”

“It seems in most situations they're used more often than rope nowadays.”

“Is that so?”

“..Why are you asking like that?”

“I was just wondering…What if we practiced getting out of handcuffs instead then? It would make a lot more sense to practice with modern tools then-”

“Oh will you SHUT up!? Get a room will you?! God. It's bad enough I'm stuck here with you two. I don't want to hear that either!”

Glancing up, the Doctor grinned seeing the Master awake and his same cranky self.

“Oh, be nice! They do have a room!...Still don't know why you'd ever want me to take out the bunk beds though…” he muttered this last part, rubbing his chin.

“Soooo….Doctor? Cuffs?” Amy started, rocking back on her heels.

“Oh yes! Here you are.” Tapping a button on the console, a small drawer popped out as he tossed two sets at the red head, Tapping another as a door in the wall opened up, revealing cleaning supplies. “Now, if you excuse me. I have work to do. And you mister! You're going to help me!” He shouts, only to be given a lazy bird and a “No i'm not.”

Sighing, the Doctor made a face of disappointment but wasn't surprised.

“I suppose you're not… Got it..”

It's been about 2 months since the Master joined their voyages. So far he's only had about 30 true crimes, and by that I mean he caught one of the homes they visted on fire.

About 53 “naughty” days. The Last week though? It's been secretly excellent. The Doctor thought that things were going great.

He's found that by giving the Master MORE freedom, he's actually learned how to behave quite a bit. It seems that separating him from the tasks of everyday life made him feel unwanted and untrusted (for obvious reason).

Hell, even he was shocked when told he was allowed to do important things.

Not only did he now have free range of the TARDIS but he was allowed to do mostly everything. He's even tried his luck at pushing buttons by sniffing around the other companions' rooms, knocking over and purposely misplacing things. All of which were met with a short talk and sometimes a hug.

This confused him greatly. He just broke something, why was he being forcibly hugged and then scolded? The Doctor would tell him to clean it up and if he didn't would get locked in the room (so he couldn't make another mess) forced to observe as the Doctor cleaned it himself.

He still had the bio bracelets so that he couldn't fully man the TARDIS but the Doctor began asking him to pull levers and asking his opinion on things. But why would the Doctor want his advice? He was a mere prisoner… usually captains of a ship didn't ask the people in the cellar for advice.

His bell had been kept on for safety reasons, mainly because he thought it was funny to chase Rory around until Amy came to spoil the fun by spraying him with a water pistol holding a liquid he couldn't quite place. Sometimes it stunk.

Once he opened his mouth to hiss at her and it went straight down his throat, cutting off the noise as he growled, only to realize it was sweeter than regular water. What was that? Sugar water?? No if it was sugar water it wouldn't stink like that..

Looking out his window, he was content as he watched the stars pass by, not entirely sure of what planet they were at but had a close enough idea of which solar system they were in. He could feel that they were extremely far from earth, further then that pathetic planet pluto, further than alpha centauri, and even further than Estello Aqualo, a planet full of nothing but water inhabitants.

Oh how he hated water planets. He much preferred reddish orange planets like Mars, Jupiter And Saturn. They reminded him of home… and the fact that blue was SO Last millenia-

While laying up here, up on his metal loft, He was mindlessly thinking, something he couldn't often do because of the constant thumping in his head but he's found that these bracelets dimmed the sound into a small tap rather than a thump of a hammer against his skull. He still heard it, oh yes he definitely could but it was much softer. Almost like a lullaby.

Lazily tossing the Doctor's ridiculous fez up and down, he wondered if the Doctor would be able to ever take it away… Rassilon only knew just how threaded the beat been woven into his life. And as much pain as it has caused him… He couldn't help but wonder…

What would he be without it?

Would he go back to being who he was before? An innocent child hoping, praying, Waiting until the day he received his Time Robes and was given his own TARDIS 60? Until he was gifted the honor of having his own team to command?

A team of his friends?

Until he was on the same team as Theta…?

No.

He could never stand with the Doctor. Never fully on the same team but yet- He sat up. They reminded him of those cartoons he watched when on earth.

Wile E Coyote and the Roadrunner.

Iron Man and Captain America.

Batman and Joker.

The Master looked at the hat in his hands, pondering if he should put it on.. or perhaps throw it out the window! Or…

“Has anyone seen my Fez? I seem to have misplaced it.”

“Have you checked your room?”

“I've checked my bunk, yes. I've also checked the clothing closet and storage rooms.”

Listening from above, he let out a deep sigh, hoping down with a clattering of the TARDIS grate underneath. Being glanced at, He took a few steps forward, handing him the hat.

“Wha- Oh! Thank you!” Taking the fez he smiled, putting it on as if he seemed incomplete without it only to quickly hug him before bouncing off to what ever nonsense he was up to now.

Returning the hug, He didn't seem to notice until Rory stood there, Staring at him with an open mouth.

“What?” He grunted.

“...You..”

“Spit it out you ape.”

“..You returned his hat..”

“Congratulations. You have eyes.”

“No no no, I mean… you returned his hat.. and hugged him..”

“He hugs all of us all the time, whats your point? If you say something stupid like friendship im going to stab you.”

“But today you hugged back. You never hug back.”

“And? so Wh- Oohh ….” Now freezing, He blinked. He did do that.. didn't he? Why did he do that?!

Why did he give it to him so easily? He didn't even ask for it back and he just.. handed it to him? And not only the hat but he returned his hug too?

….Why did I do that?

Now the two stared at each other, both worried and concerned on different levels for opposite things. One worried if he was getting soft, or possibly being brainwashed, the other concerned that he was about to lose an arm.

The silence only broke when he looked at his hands and muttered “Am I sick?? Don't answer that!”

Opening his mouth to reply, Rory immediately shut it, Nodding softly in understanding. While he was quite a brave man, he was smart enough to know that the Master WOULD in fact eat him. And the Doctor couldn't save him forever…

For the next couple of days, he thought about this heavily, deciding that next time he would rip up the hat on purpose. Yeah that'll show him! As for now, He had been standing by the control console, looking at the destination only to scrunch up his nose.

Oh great. Earth. 44 BCE. Just what they needed. More interactions with uncivilized humans fighting over politics… at least this would be entertaining. Assassinations always were when they succeeded.

Coming up to the console, The Doctor clicked a few things, Petting part of the tubing with a happy hum. The hum was slow and sounded like something he'd heard many many years ago. Something of taste. Yawning, He listened to the humming until the Doctor walked off to do something else before unconsciously bee lining for his room.

Climbing into the top bunk (The Doctor had the bottom one whenever he did decide to sleep so it was barely used.) The Master pulled the blankets up around him. Tugging his pillow close, closing his eyes. It didn't take long until he started making rhymed breaths, a rumbling in his chest and throat starting to form from the amount of comfort under the thick blanket.

He got cold easily, as most Gallifreyans did due to the natural heat that they grew up with. Even during his time as Prime Minister he wore layers. Lots of them, blankets in the Limos and curling up to Lucy in an attempt to steal what little warmth humans had. Why the Doctor favored London, a cold, rainy and cloudy place? He'd never know. He prefered somewhere warm. Usually the warmer, the more interesting beasts to see scare small children.

A few moments later he stopped the purring, opening his eyes with a confused “Wait a minute..” look. Why was he sleeping? He wasn't even tired and it was 1 in the afternoon. His regular nap time wasn't until 4.

What in all things unholy was going on?? Did the Doctor do this? A curse perhaps? Was it these?

Rolling over, he looked at the metal on his wrists and for the 14th time he began to gnaw on the bracelets, growling in frustration. What was going on!? Whatever it was, he didn't like it… Mmh…Oh well. He was already there.

The next day, a certain clattering of pans made him perk up. He was swinging in his rope hammock, batting at the decorations that the Doctor specifically told him not to mess with, climbing on them, tugging them, kicking them, biting them, etc.

Anything to try and ruin it but it was proving to be quite difficult to do and not be caught seeing as it was thick enough to not break easily.

Sure, he could just rip them down with the strength he had but that would be no fun. It would cut the fun by 78% actually. He'd already done the math. Whenever someone could come in, He'd instantly stop and pretend to be innocently snoozing.

The pang of pans though? That was enough to bring him down. Climbing out of his swing, the Master followed the noise, coming to the kitchen as he sat at the table, the chair specifically to the left side, separated from the others. A nice pillow on his chair as well.

Honestly he was quite proud of this one. The Master had thrown a fit for hours straight until the Doctor gave him a special chair and now he sat in it like a king peering over his subjects (when in truth, It's just because everyone else was too scared to sit next to him while he ate, afraid they'd get snapped at or bitten if the Master thought they wanted his food)

Sitting here, he waited. Patiently at first but his patience was quickly running out when seeing no one else was coming. Hadn't they heard? Were they not hungry? Well good. He'd simply have it all then. There was no waste on this ship. None at all thanks to him, except when it came to pickles or cucumbers. He hated them. They looked and smelled foul enough for him to hiss, gag, and vomit all at once.

Eventually, his patience grew tired as he looked to the redheaded woman who dropped these pans everyday. For some reason, the Doctor kept these pans up high and getting them down was a nightmare, even for him.

You had to move the pans in order to get the plates behind them. Honestly, the kitchen's arrangement system made him think of the time the Doctor used to store his robes with his socks and his shirts with his underwear.

Who did that??

“Where is everyone?” He asked her, in which turn she turned to glance at him, having heard the jingling of his bell already.

“What do you mean?”

“It's time for a meal…yes?”

“No?? it's 3 pm. Why would you think it's time for dinner already?” She asked.

The Master paused.. Why did he think it was time? Wait, why did he come in here in the first place?

Oh yes! The pans.

“You.. dropped the pans.” It was said with a questioning tone at the end more than a statement.

“Yeah? I drop them every time because this kitchen is an utter mess.”

“riiighht…”

As much as he didn't want to admit it, Amy was right. This place was a disaster. If he didn't enjoy the chaos of watching the humans try to figure out the unorganized kitchen he'd say screw it and fix it himself. But what fun would that be?

“What do you want anyway?” She grumbled.

“What?”

“You heard me. What do you want? What stupid little plan do you have now? Come to remind me how dumb I am for dropping everything? Going to threaten to eat me? ...Again?”

The master blinked, tilting his head.

“Well… No I-” Wait.. How dare she speak to him like that! But.. yeah.. why did he come to the sound of the pans? It was odd. Even For him. Perhaps he got his hours mixed up?- No. It was something more than that. Something he wasn't able to figure out.

Seeing the confusion on his face, Amy frowned, now feeling a little bad. “Oh… Are you hungry? Do you want a snack or..something?”

“Huh?”

“It's just that.. you ran in here like a cat hearing a can of tuna being opened.”

“What!? I did not!”

“Oh you SO did. Here, I'll ask the Doctor where he keeps the snacks for you, okay?”

“What do I look like a dog?”

“He mentioned something about buffalo lungs the other day.”

As if hearing a magic word, He smiled at her widely, the kind he only did when actually excited. “He did? Where?”

“But I dont know if they're yours or his… he eats some pretty weird stuff.”

“Aye! Are you insulting our culture?”

“Maybe I am. What are you going to do about it, bellboy? He's not going to give you a treat if you keep misbehaving.”

Glaring, his arms crossed. “...You're the one being rude.. the Doctor says I'M not allowed to be rude so why can you? God he was always a hypocrite..”

“Look just-” But before she could continue, he heard a different noise. A known squeak of an in-need-of-oil door. Turning away, he ignored her, taking off towards the door.

“Typical..” she sighed, figuring she might as well go see if the Doctor would share his snacks or not, just incase he came back.

Running through the TARDIS Involved jumping over a couple of things and coming to a stop as he saw that curly headed woman standing in the doorway holding a box.

Stepping deeper into the TARDIS, Her heels tapped, No- Clicked against the tile, humming as she spun around what looked to be a set of keys on a colorful keychain. She was sporting a sun hat and far less clothing than he remembered her from last time. His nose scrunched at the smell of sun lotion.

Peering out the door, he seen tons of reddish tinted sand and a sky of orange, yellow, pink. A sea of red. A large pink moon, visible in the sky from where he stood. Where were they? When did they land?

“Ah ah ah- Not so fast Kitty. Where do you think you're going?” She asks, smirking with that type of affection that the Doctor would give him at times before snapping the door closed. It was so annoying..

Beginning to glare from the nickname, a quiet growl rose in his throat. She called him this because of the bell around his neck and the fact that she had caught him “purring” in his sleep, when OBVIOUSLY it was snoring. Duh.

“Why are you here?”

“I could ask you the same thing, pumpkin.”

His nose scrunched further, Tilting his head like a confused puppy, the way the Doctor does at times. “Why are you calling me a squash?”

“It's a form of endearment! I er- I think?”

Turning, He rolled his eyes. Oh great. Someone else who was annoying- Though… He looked.. different today. His hair was pushed back and shiney, probably with gel. He had that hideous footwear on again too, but now he was wearing a half opened blue palm tree shirt with parrots and coconuts on it. For a moment he was going to question why his shirt was half undone but saw him quickly trying to finish buttoning it up.

“Hello, Sweetie.”

“H-hi” His friend stuttered, trying to stay focused on his buttons and not the fact River was in a two piece and a small cover up tied around her waist.

“What's the rush? You act like you don't want me seeing you.”

“Oh n-No! Nothing like that! Not at all I just thought-”

River leaned in close to his face, that same smirk plastered onto her lips.

“You thought you wanted to make me work for it… Didn't you? Want me to rip it off with my teeth? You naughty boy.”

“I-..” The Doctor swallowed, looking as if he malfunctioned, like a restarting cellphone.

The Master made a fake gagging noise, rolling his eyes even harder as he pointed into his mouth.

“I thought I told you not to be rude?” Was the first thing the restarted phone said once it finished rebooting. Being scolded felt nice. All eyes in the room on him.

“What? I didn't even say anything this time.” He teased.

River smiled wider, fondly shaking her head as she handed him the small Rainbow clicky key chain. It was shaped like a slug and when you shook it, it made noise and moved in a slithering motion.

“You open that box, and it's yours, sweetie.”

“Why are you calling him sweetie?” He asked, stepping forward as If wanting attention too but she ignored him for now. She watched with a pleased grin as he took the box, looking at it, shaking it next to his ear.

“What is it?”

“Spoilers.”

“.. I hate when you say that..”

“I know. I've been having some trouble with it. The box I mean” She explains, her boyfriend now cocking a brow, pouting that the Master was getting more attention then him. If he knew one thing about River, it's that his dear Melody would never give a box to a man if she had trouble opening it. She'd just blow the lock off with one of her fancy guns.

“No you're no-”

She kissed him, grabbing his bow tie and staining his lips that bright red that she wore often. During their kiss, one of his once flat hairs stuck up, flopping over into his face.

Pulling away, he took a breath, baffled at what in the world was going on.

Completely ignoring this, as this was common whenever River came by, The Master was sitting on the floor, shoving One of the dozen keys into the hole, jiggling them around, cursing under his breath whenever they didn't work. Blinking, The Doctor smiled seeing how entertained he was, leaning in close to the woman. “What actually is in that box, River?”

“Oh you two are so much alike. Too curious for your own good.”

“What? No. We're nothing alike.”

“Yes we are. I've been saying this for eons.” the man on the floor muttered, Putting his arms up in triumph as he got the right key out of the dozen.

“What is it?” The Doctor asks, trying to peer over his shoulder.

“It's mine, that's what!” He says, taking out a box all taped up in clear cellophane but he could see the label, grinning widely to himself, keeping it close so the Doctor couldn't see. He knew he'd want to take it away. River was always bringing him treats. As many times as she made him gag, he always knew that her heels meant something good.

Glancing at River with those big puppy eyes, she giggled, taking his arm as she whispered to him. “It's a knife.”

“A what?! Why would you give him that!? You know he's-”

“Ooh hush. Let him have some fun.”

“If by fun you mean killing your parents and possibly me then sure- River why would you-”

She kissed him again.

“Mh- Thank you but you can't just keep-”

And again.

“River!” He whined

And another.

By now, he's learned not to speak or else she'd kiss him a fourth time just to shut him up. Not like it was a bad thing but he really was concerned.

“There's a good boy. Now. Is operation cat-astrophe still happening?”

For a moment or two, he seemed confused until she put her head towards the Master in which he gasped, nodding. “Oh Yes!”

“I see that Door is a check.” She mumbles, remembering how quickly he came when the door was opened.

“We're working on that. Clicky treats is a go I suppose?”

“Mmmhm. You should have seen how happy he was to see me.”

“Good good.. Just wished you would've chosen a different gift..”

“Just watch And see, sweetheart. Goodness so impatient.” She whispered.

During this conversation, nothing else mattered to the Master except biting and tearing through these 10 layers of tape. Growling, he was becoming a bit frustrated, but it only seemed to make him work harder at it, sticking out his tongue for maximum brain operation.

“Oh I love when he makes that face.”

“What face??”

“With his tongue? It's like you and your glasses.”

“What? No-”

“Yes.”

“AHA!!” He had finally ripped open the box, giggling to himself as he took his prize, quickly running off, probably to go attempt a murder.

“Hm. Well that lasted about 5 minutes…”

“How long do you think until he realizes it's bio locked?” She whispered, smirking like ever.

Staring at her, The Doctors grin grew. “Aahh I see.. you..”

“Mhm.”

“So that-”

“Yes.”

“And now?”

“Yup.. aannnd here he comes.” She could hear the incoming jingling from his bell serving it's purpose.

Coming back to them both, he was pissed. He had just tried to stab Amy and nothing happened, The blade just went inside like one of those cheap toys from the supermarket. He felt the blade. It was real, not plastic, So why wasn't it working? It wasn't fair.

“What did you do to my knife!?”

“Whatever do you mean, Pumpkin?”

“Stop calling me a squash you witch! I can't stab anybody! What kind of present is that!?”

“Did you try stabbing… Things?” River says, raising her brows in a pleased, smugness.

“Things?” Pausing for a few seconds, He soon got the biggest shit eating grin, Running away a second time. Moments later, they heard a crash, laughing, and a loud “Hey!!”

The Doctor blinked. “...He just broke your mothers vase..”

“It was a hideous vase.”

“River!”

“What? Now come on. We have some more training to do.”

Later, after the Master destroyed exactly 3 ceramic things, stabbed the table to death, ripped up all Rory's pillows, and used his new toy to cut up some cheese as a snack, He now was curious about the door again.

Sneaking towards it and looking outside like a cat that wanted to go out but was nervous he'd get scolded, he watched as the Doctor set up lounge chairs and towels on the beach.

Again the heels. Part of him became excited. He liked that clicking- But why? Since when did he like River?? He didn't. He didn't like anyone on this damned ship that he was prisoner to.

“Hi cupcake. You wanna go outside sweetpea?”

His eyebrows scrunched. “I'm not a baked goods… Or a flower. Are you insulting me?”

“Terms of endearment, dear. Remember? Anyway, Let's say you and me go outside hm?”

He looked at her with hesitance. She was being suspicious… He wasn't allowed outside. What was this? Some sort of test? Fine. He'd play their game.

“No… I'm not allowed outside.”

“Aww why not?”

“Cause..??” Was she stupid? Prisoners weren't allowed to leave. That's the whole point of his cuffs And collar. Kept on an invisible, metaphorical leash at all times.

“Well… The Doctor and I are going to sit on the beach. Do you want to come?”

The light in his eyes alone was enough to make River want to hug him to bits. Why were Time Lords so cute? Was it some sort of defense mechanism? Or was it the Feline Virus thing the Doctor told her about lingering in his genetic code?

Starting to nod, he quickly stopped, now playing with his hands. “no.. I'll get in trouble..” and just like that, that light died so soon. So short lived. Frowning, she almost felt pitiful for him. “That is true… but wait! Have you ever tried.. you know.. asking?”

“A-asking to go outside..?”

“Yes.”

“He'll just say no. Every time I get out, I get in trouble.”

“But did you ask?”

Poking his fingers together, he made a sound that sounded uncertain. It broke her heart. Now she was going to scold her husband.

“Alright.. well.. if you want to come join us outside, All you have to do is ask. Mkay?”

And she took off her heels, setting them up on the TARDIS dash only to walk out barefoot, the red sands making footprints as she went.

Standing at the door, now he was really unsure. This felt like a trap.. why would she tease him with freedom like that? Why would she give him a knife? And for the love of god- Why did he get excited when he heard her heels clicking on the TARDIS floor?

Slowly, he peeks his head out of the TARDIS, looking around the planet, The sky, the waves, the footprints she left.

“Hey!” Becoming startled, he jumped a bit, ducking back into the blue box. He wasn't entirely sure if these cuffs would electrocute him if he left or not.. even though Amy joked about them being shock bracelets… The Doctor couldn't do that..

Right?

“Do you want a Jelly worm?!” This was shouted from about 50 feet away by a man with his shirt half unbuttoned, holding a bag of candies while River slathered sunscreen all over him.

“I think theyre called Gummy worms, dear.” She mumbled.

“I'm certain they're called jelly worms.”

“Oh yeah? Read the package.”

Looking at the pack, He pouted. “Jelly worms sound cooler.”

Blinking, The Master wondered if he was talking to him or someone else.

“Me?”

“Yeah! You want a ‘Gummy worm'?!”

“What’s a gummy worm?! Can... I come outside?” This was asked in speaking tone rather then a shout.

“What!?”

“What's a gum-! You know what.. nevermind.” he mumbled, frowning as he stepped a foot on the sand, wincing, expecting his wrists to send electromagnetic shocks through his arms. But nothing happened.

Discovering this, he ran out of the TARDIS, circling round it before coming towards the other two, grinning.

“What's a gummy worm?”

“Its a jelly worm.”

“Oh! Yeah. Gummy Worm sounds stupid.”

He mumbled, being given a few of the candies. Glancing at River, The Doctor had a smug look, wiggling his eyebrows at her as she rolled her eyes, smiling.

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah.” He shoved one in his mouth. “I think-” another “-they're called jelly worms.” A third one.

“That's what I said! See?”

“Everyone else calls them Gummy worms because they're made with xanthan gum.”

“Like Xanax?”

“What!? No!” She laughed. “Goodness. You had some fun as Prime Minister didn't you?”

“What's Xanax?? Is that a fancy drink?” The Doctor asked, shoving some worms in his mouth as the two looked at each other as if mentally playing rock paper scissors to see which unlucky soul got to teach the Doctor about recreational drugs.

“Seeya-” He said, taking off.

“Ah you gotta be kitten me.” She smirks and the Doctor gives her a look as if to say ‘Really?’ Only to giggle too.

“That's just claw-ful!”

River gave a chuckle before sighing.

“Well.. looks like it's just you and me, sweetheart..”

“Fur-ever?” He held out his pinky, smirking as he raised his eyebrows a few times. River giggled, rolling her eyes only to take the pinky, bringing the intertwined fingers up to her lips.

“Fur-ever. Till the end?”

“Until the end of time and more, my darling.” He would never be able to forget her.. not ever. How could he?

A few times, The Master would run away, doing circles, Zoomies as river called it but never seemed to get too far from the TARDIS, returning when offered more Jelly worms, each time recieving a praise and a snack for coming back to them.

Now he was becoming bored of the laps, even going as far as putting his toes curiously into the ocean, realizing that it was warm. Like a water bottle left out in the sun. This displeased him. He was already hot from his laps around the beach, he didn't want hot water all over his body. Hot was an understatement. If it were hot like the baths he'd not mind but it was the gross kind of warm. The kind that felt yucky on your skin. God he hated water..

It was then he realized that outside of the TARDIS he had free will, coming over to lift the Doctor's chair, dumping him over only to run away, manically laughing, giggling almost.

“What the-!?”

“Catch me if you dare!” He yelled, Dashing off, further and further away. A rush of adrenaline and freedom taking over him. This seemed like the start of a fun game… that was until he had run so far that he was panting and the TARDIS looked like a tiny dot from here.

Where was everyone on this planet anyway? He'd come all this way and not seen a single person. Not a hint of a town, and definitely not a city. Part of him cursed the Doctor for taking him to a deserted solar system with no one to play with- and on top of that, For not chasing after him. He knew how this game worked, didn't he? One ran, the other chased. It's been like this for thousands of years.

So why not now? Was it because of that woman? The daughter of Amelia Pond? This still confused him greatly. He understood the concept of time travel, duh, but what confused him is why her parents would let her marry A dingus like the Doctor. I mean really? Why did she lower her standards?*

Eventually, curiosity killed the cat. He ran as far as he could, trying to find any forms of life, only finding himself alone. Completely and utterly abandoned it seemed. This puzzled him. Why would the Doctor want to come here? There was nothing but a waste land of sand.

Later, When he came back into the TARDIS painting, sweating, and whining from all that walking and running. He shut the door, collapsing on the floor as he laid there, feeling her cool air coming up from the grates and her cold metal against his skin.

Just because Gallifreyans were resistant to heat didn't mean that going out in the blazing sun with a black hoodie was a good idea. Especially not when there wasn't anywhere to go. Not even a tree in sight.

“Well well well. Look what the cat dragged in.” The curly haired woman says, Smiling as she sat next to the Doctor on the torn up sofa that they apparently had moved into the TARDIS control room. (For whatever reason)

They probably had just finished kissing (or got interrupted) seeing as there was lipstick smeared over the Doctors lips and he doubted heavily that the doctor applied it himself… He wasn't THAT much of an idiot… He knew how to appropriately apply lipstick.. even he knew that.

“Why didn't you tell me there wasn't anything out there!?”

“We figured you'd find out for yourself sooner or later” The Doctor says, Scooting over, Trying to wipe the lipstick off of him only to smear it onto his hand and cuff.

“Who's we? Come're baabbyyy” River coed, putting her arms out to him.

Without a second to think about it, he began to scramble over to her only, crawling the few feet only to stop dead in his tracks. What the fuck was he doing? And why?

Sure he's laid between them multiple times to purposely frustrate them, but now it seemed as if they were welcoming him with literal open arms. Why? Cocking a brow, He himself was now frustrated, why were they being so… Kind.. to him? For what? His thinking soon sufficed when called for again.

“Come on. Come to mommy. What did that mean man do to you, hm?” She coed.

“I am not! He's just… bad!”

“Oh he's not bad! He's bored.”

"Yeah! There's a difference!" He awnsered And just like that, in her lap he went, being sure to push the Doctor away from her with his feet, trying to be a menace as much as possible, laying his head in her lap as he stared up at her. Petting his head, she giggled, talking to him further to make him feel pampered and praised. If there was one thing she knew, The Master adored being worshipped and given attention. Ignoring him made things 10 times worse, so she's learned that if she petted him long enough he would go to sleep and she could talk to her dear husband some more before the little gremlin woke up.

“What did he do, hm?? So cruel. Leaving you out there all alone?” River smirked as he already was droopy lidded, nodding softly along with the words.

“I did not. It's his fault for running off.”

“Oooh he's done nothing wrong.”

“... It's really hard to teach him when you keep enabling him, love..”

“That's why it's called Paw-sitive reinforcement, Doctor.” She said this in a sing-songy voice, Letting him get comfy as he turned over, Subconsciously nuzzling up to her hands and stomach.

Truth be told, he could care less what they were talking about right now. He was far too tired to listen to them bicker, using it as white noise, hoping it would drown out the drums that pounded in his head every waking moment of existence.

While they were faint, they were still there. At the back of his mind, like trying to smash through a 2 foot thick wall of ice, bound to break eventually, but right now, they gave him comfort. A constant reminder of who he was and that if anything was real? It was the pounding.

The warmth of her hands also gave him comfort, running her pointed red nails through his bleached blonde and trailing up and down his back through his hoodie.

A few minutes pass and the Doctor is now staring at them with a fond look, a shallow pang of jealousy but he wasn't sure about who. He was jealous of River for being able to get HIS best friend so cuddly and he was jealous of the master for cuddling up to HIS wife. It made him want to take him from her, put him on his lap and let him sleep there instead, but also shove him off the couch and take his place. God this was so difficult. How did humans do this relationship thing? It was so… annoying yet.. wonderful! He wouldn't change it for the world. He was so sleepy and… beautiful.

“You're staring sweetie..”

The voice echoed through his brain once, then twice before he looked up. “Huh?”

“You're staring again… Don't worry. You'll get your turn.”

“When?”

“Oooh so impatient.”

“No I mean- I.. When can I hold him?”

Her eyes widened, not aware that she had been hogging, let alone that he would want a turn at all. “Well… You can have him now if you'd like.”

“I..” Man this was embarrassing. “I think I'd like that.”

Carefully, They moved him from one lap to another, Which at first led to a protest of whining and gentle clawing**, Assuming he was falling off the couch.

“Shh shh shh. No honey. You're okay. You're just fine.” She whispered, pulling his hands away, trying to keep him from sitting up by putting her hand up under the thick sweater, scratching his back ever so gently the way he enjoyed before.

Letting out a sigh of relief, His shoulders dropped, curling up the way he liked in the Doctor's lap instead, a deep rumbling beginning from him. “.. He's so tired..”

“From all that running around, probably.” She whispered, enjoying his purring.

“No.. He's exhausted. His last regeneration went a bit..wonky. I don't even know if….If..” He trailed off, the way he did when he wanted to stop talking about something instead of when he forgot what he was saying.

“What? Cat got your tongue?”

Snickering, He shook his head. “No... I just.. even Time Lords can only take so much and..”

River knew. He watched him die. He burnt his body. He gave him a proper death ***ceremony- well.. about as proper as you could without others knowing.

“So it's a good thing you're taking care of him. Isn't it?”

“That's the thing. It's not that he can't do it himself, it's just that.. He's reckless..”

“Oh and I suppose we aren't?”

“River.. I don't.. I thought I was the last one for so long. I..” He took a breath, swallowing. She could see the pain and fear in his eyes.

“I can't go back to that.. Hell. For the last few months, I've been spraying him with-”

“Doctor..” She muttered a warning, noticing that the purring had stopped, but he continued.

“Catmint tea just so he'd calm down enough to-”

“You've been spraying me WITH TEA!? THIS ENTIRE TIME?!”

The woman smiled innocently, seeing the murderous glares.

“Whoops! Cats out of the bag.”

“River-! Not now!”

*just wait until he finds out she married Jack Harkness while he had the doctor caged up LOL

** clutching/ trying to hold on, he does not have retractable nails.

*** Like Torvic's. Thats why it hurt so bad.

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