#And also I think they should bring back Kirsten but maybe that's just me

[the-halfling-prince]

Love looking up the actresses who starred in American Girl movies back when they made those and seeing what they've been in since then.

Felicity? Yeah she starred in The Fault in Our Stars and the Divergent movies apparently.

Kit? Yeah Abigail Breslin has been in a million things because, well, it's Abigail Breslin but uh she's one of the main people in the Zombieland movies

Samantha? Can't remember anything recently but she was Leslie in Bridge to Terabithia.

Melody? She's been in so many things like Black-ish and the new Proud Family. Really making a name for herself and all that.

Grace? Olivia Rodrigo.

[pixiesfz]

chookas k.c

plot: kerstins girlfriend is the main character in a local musical in Manchester and she goes to watch.

warnings: none, maybe just my inner theatre kid coming out a bit too much

Kirsten remembers driving you to the audition “so what even is a musical?” She asked and you turned your head towards her “please tell me you know what a musical is?” You gasped and she shrugged

“Well it’s just a show performance where there’s singing and dancing” you explained and she nodded “so what’s heathers about than?” She asked inquisitively and you smiled “it’s about this girl who hates school and just wants to get out of there but everyone is a literal dickhead and if she befriends the heathers than-“ you stopped once you saw the triumphant smile on your girlfriends face.

“Are you trying to take my mind off of the audition?”

She turned her head to you “is it working?”

You huffed, twirling your thumbs together “I don’t want to stuff up the audition” you stressed “you’re an amazing singer” Kerstin said, shutting you down.

A cool breeze went by as Kirsten let her hand travel from on top of your thigh more in and closer up.

“Does this distract you?”

“It’s definitely taking my mind elsewhere”.

——————————————————————————

Then you had to tell her about one of your scenes after you got the role.

You both laid on the couch, some of her teammates had come over and congratulated you on your lead role, especially Mary as she said she enjoyed watching theatre back in Australia.

Before she had left she had hummed the tune to your characters biggest song and you it had finally dawned on you that Kerstin didn’t know what Veronica and JD do.

“so you know how I play Veronica?” You started as you scratched your girlfriends back whilst cuddling “yes and I’m so incredibly proud of you” she hummed, pecking you neck and smiling against you “well there’s a scene where Veronica and her love interest JD have to you know like” you trailed as you thought she would get the hint but Kerstins brows just furrowed.

“I have to makeout with a guy on stage” you deadpanned and Kerstin sat up straight.

“No”

“Kerstin!” You laughed “I’m gay, he’s most likely gay and it’s a stage kiss” you explained but the girl still did not get it.

“Think of it when your coach tells you to tackle another player on the field, it’s not personal”

“That means my foot hits theirs not my mouth!”

You sat down in defeat “I also might have to straddle him as I take clothes off” you muttered quickly but the Dutch had heard it.

“I thought theatre was fun, not a strip show for viewers to see my girlfriend”.

Her face was red as she thought about it more, she would never dare tell you that you couldn’t do the show, she knew how much you loved performing and this show had aligned with your both busy time lines.

“I can practice on you if you want?” You offered and Kerstin shook her head with a laugh.

——————————————————————————

It was closing night of the show now and Kerstin decided on bringing some of the girls from her Man City team, Mary jumping at the start when she offered tickets.

You smiled when you saw the ‘chooka’s’ message on your phone from the dutchie, she remembered every show even on the Sunday matinees when she should be getting ready for the game.

The show had been a hit so far and some Man City fans had even come to watch when they found out that their favourite players girlfriend was the lead.

Sure they might’ve came in hopes to see Kerstin but they still clapped and applauded you when you came out for your bow which you appreciated.

“Have you seen dead girl walking?” Mary asked as they all sat down “I don’t like to talk about that one” Kerstin quickly said as the curtains raised, revealing you in your opening costume.

“September 1st 1989, Dear diary…”

When the first act had finished and there was intermission you let yourself go on your phone to many notifications, some from the girls tagging you on their story and others following you from their tags.

Walking back on you took a deep breath “Is your girlfriend here?” The actor who played JD asked and you nodded “cool my boyfriends here too, we just started dating but I’m a little nervous for it”

You smiled as you patted him on the back for good luck.

Kerstin now owes you $10 dollars.

When bows were on you were slightly emotional to leave the cast behind but as long as Kerstin stayed at Manchester you promised the company you would do the next years musical which they were very happy to hear.

But your smile was contagious as did your last bow, cheers erupted and you saw a clump of girls in the middle all standing up which you could only assume where your friends.

You didn’t bother getting changed to see your friends , neither do half of the cast because you usually took a while to get ready.

But as you walked out and saw a tall Jill waving her hands around like crazy to get your attention you laughed.

You felt a tap on your arm and turned around to see an about 13 year old girl next to you “hi” you greeted and she smiled “I’m sorry but can I get a photo?, I loved you as Veronica, you sounded just like Barrett” she complimented and you smiled “of course” you beamed and bent down to get into her selfie.

When you said goodbye, you almost ran into your girlfriend’s arms who was waiting for you.

“You were amazing as always lieverd”

You smiled and pecked her cheek “thankyou for coming whenever you could”

“Where’s our hugs at?” A strong Aussie accent called out as Alanna Kennedy hooked her arms around the other man city girls who had decided to come and support you.

You broke out in a strong grin “Thankyou so much guys!” You cheered and gave them all individual hugs.

“Alright hands off her, I haven’t had her too myself for far too long”.

[sohmiya]

oc tag game

thank you @sussoro for tagging me!! this was so fun 🩷 tagging @wayhavenots @pierceaugust + anyone who wants to do it!! no pressure <3

FAVOURITE OC: emory chan from merry crisis. also because the qiu brainrot is currently taking over my entire being but yeah. despite the pride emory feels in making her dream as a musician happen, she carries the guilt from knowing it’s not exactly what her parents want for her. she’s the typical eldest daughter who acts as a third parent. another favorite is maya quimby from golden. i wrote a whole list of facts about her a while back so idk what else to say but that’s My Girl. she’s so so special to me <3

NEWEST OC: althea solis from take two. she’s vv underdeveloped right now but in the take two universe, she’s an only child. in an au, she has an older sister named athalia <3

OLDEST OC: sutton hart from midnight hours. before she became an iaos hunter, she was a detective in wayhaven. she’s very ambitious and curious. she’s definitely one of those people who have bucket lists and actually plans to do the things on her list. she felt like wayhaven is too small for her dreams so she left and now she’s in new york

MEANEST OC: cloe hoffman from infamous. idk if i should call her mean but she’s bratty and she complains a lot LMAO literally orion’s nightmare. cloe loves the spotlight and isn’t too bothered being part of the drama as long as attention is on her. because bad publicity is still publicity 🤷🏻‍♀️ she hasn’t done much self-reflection so she’s not yet aware that it stems from her parents not giving her enough attention when she was young. i think once she gains enough self-awareness, she’ll realize that it’s actually her thinking “they didn’t notice me when i was a good kid. maybe they’ll notice me now”

SOFTEST OC: piper ellis from midnight hours. another former detective from wayhaven. she’s a huge disney fan. she keeps tickets (plane, concerts, movies, amusement parks, etc) and pins them on a cork board alongside polaroid pictures. she’s introverted, soft spoken and sooo shy. she’s so easily flustered that she makes nikolas look like the biggest flirt 😭 also kirsten adler from golden. she’s sentimental and timid but less introverted than piper. she’s just self-conscious because she knows that one wrong move and the media will twist it into something that can ruin her dad’s image. she talks nonstop once you bring up something she’s extremely passionate about <3

MOST ALOOF/STANDOFFISH OC: lira kinsley from golden. she’s not a snob but she’s tired of people buttering her up for connections. when she’s moody, she straight up tells the person “my dad’s right there.” she’s selective of who she lets in to her social circle

DUMBEST (AFFECTIONATE) OC: riley cromwell from college tennis. she’s not dumb but clown blood flows in her veins <3 she can be unapologetically cringe lololol one dumb thing i’d say she does is barely controlling her junk food intake and justifying it with “i play tennis a lot. it’s fine”

SMARTEST OC: annika munroe from arcadia city. not because she’s a genius whatsoever. she just reads a lot and constantly tries to stay informed. also because she loves it when people argue with her and the looks on their faces when she ends up being right. she used to be one of my wayhaven detectives as well.

OC I’D BE FRIENDS WITH: sutton. but also because i can put her in any if i play and she’ll end up being friends with someone there 😭 she’s loving, nurturing and thoughtful and she’s very expressive about it. i think it’s also due to having dated immortals (first, nate. now, kian. she likes old men ig) that really put into perspective how short her life is and how quickly time passes. she’s trying to learn how to not overextend herself but sometimes she just can’t help it. being affectionate comes naturally for her

[miekasa]

Roommate Au with Eren. That’s it.

No no no no because I’ve thought about this extensively, and I actually believe he’d be a pretty good roommate (or at the very least, he means well most of the time, even if he is slightly annoying in his methods LMAO).

He… is not the best cook in the world, and he knows that. He can make about 2.5 dishes properly: spaghetti and [frozen] meatballs, a grilled cheese maybe with bacon if he’s feeling up to challenge, and a soup that his mom used to make for him as a kid whenever he got sick.

So, you’re gonna have to handle the majority of the cooking, BUT the good news is that Eren will do the dishes as a thanks for sharing with him and not letting him starve and/or live off of UberEats credits.

His favorite rooms in the house are the living room and your room. Not his room, not the bathroom, not the kitchen—your room. Why? Because you’re in there, duh, and it’s not his so that makes it that much better.

Eats your leftovers in the fridge unless you put a note on them. Sometimes, he’ll still eat it if he’s hungry enough or in a rush, and you’ll come home to an empty fridge, but there’ll be a new note on top of a $20 bill that says “Sorry I ate your pad thai :( you can buy some more tho (and get me some too hehe)”

If you’re just lazing around in your room for an extended amount of time, Eren will just come in and. Flop down on your bed—maybe even on top of you—and whine about how he’s bored and how you’re being boring and how you should entertain and hang out with him instead.

Claims your room is comfier than his room, so of course he’s gonna wanna be in there. He’ll literally lay and sit on the floor and watch a whole ass movie on his phone in your room, just because.

If you have or collect stuffed animals or Squishmallows or anything of the sort, he always giggles at them, but thinks they’re super cute. And when he’s out without you and sees some, he sends you a picture of them and asks if you want any, and he’ll buy them for you.

He gets you very… involved? if that makes sense. He likes to do things with you and hang out with you—he doesn’t wanna live with some stranger, so if you’re rooming with him, prepare to become friends very quickly.

Eren’s a bit of an… outgoing introvert? not-so-social extrovert? something like that in my book lmfao, so he knows what it’s like to just wanna sit in your room for days on end; but he also knows there’s a limit to how good/restorative that can be, and when it can become an issue.

That being said, if you’re having an extended depressive and/or introverty episode, Eren will shake you out of it. Literally. He will burst into your room, and grab you and probably toss you over his shoulder to get you physically moving, all while yelling about plans he made for the two of you.

Drags you with him to the grocery store, under the claim that he needs help “picking out the good apples,” when really he just wants to get you out of the house, and spend some time with you.

Once again, will use the method of flopping on top of you and/or draping himself over you like, “Hey, so what time do you think we should leave for dinner, I’m thinking around 8?” “What—did we have dinner plans, Eren?” “We do now! So, I’m thinking tacos, what do you think!!”

His personal favorite way to get you up and moving is to ask you to do his hair for him. Gives you his best puppy dog eyes, and pulls at your wrist until you comply, then he sits down criss-cross applesauce right in the middle of your bed, and waits for you to work your magic. Purposely acts a bit difficult just to bring out your feisty side and have you fight back against him.

He’ll legit. Build you a whole ass pc and gaming setup just for you to play games with him. He’s dedicated, that’s for sure. (That won’t stop him from absolutely crushing you from time to time).

He likes to bother you (affectionate). Pushes you over when you’re sitting down on the couch, shoves your phone when you’re holding it so it falls on your face, presses his cold water bottle on the back of your neck and then runs away. Like a child.

He always takes out the trash, especially if it’s late at night, except he always forgets about the 239725 water bottles he’s got piled up in his room and around the living room, so you’ve always gotta take out an extra bag of recycling the following morning.

Your skincare is his skincare <2

Makes you go out with him when he makes plans with his friends, but only ever tells you about it maybe an hour beforehand via text.

yeager: hey jean and marco are having a lil kickback thing at their place so i'm coming to pick u up be ready in like 30 mins

yeager: oh also bring the bottle of vodka in the kitchen kirsten is always stingy with the good stuff 🙄

you: ok and who asked ME if i wanna kickback with jean and marco and co?????

yeager: nobody!! i’m just telling u to get dressed!! love u ill be there soon 🥳🥳

He starts doing his laundry whenever you do yours. Partially to annoy you, partially because it’s somewhat more efficient that way, and partially because he’s watching you like a hawk to make sure he doesn’t mess up his own clothes lmfao

He’ll roll weed for you only if you promise to share a joint with him, and don’t flake!! He’ll catch you in your sleep if you flake, he knows where you live.

When you both come home kinda drunk after a night out, he always dramatically tells you goodnight and to “get home safe,” even though “getting home safe” means walking from the living room down the hall to your room.

Tells everyone you’re the best roomie anyone could ask for, and does a not so humble brag about all his favorite roommate qualities that you exude.

If he has a little crush on you, he’ll try not to make it obvious; and truthfully, he doesn’t act all that different, except now maybe he finds more excuses to touch you and tries to up the romance when you two “hang out” together.

He starts looking (staring) at you more, and is always embarrassed if you ever catch him. I don’t think that he would ever tell you unless he was 120% sure you liked him back, because that would lead to a really awkward living situation if you rejected him, or if he made you uncomfortable with his feelings.

But if you do like him back, once again, few things will change: it’s just that now, he’ll sneak into your room in the middle of the night for cuddles, and you’ll get a kiss on the forehead for cooking him dinner <3

[reidgraygubler]

peanut buttercup (matthew gray gubler/reader)

Title: Peanut Buttercup

Anon Requested: Hi so I been asking for this request for awhile but no one seems to do it. I was wondering if you could write a Matthew Gray Gubler x Fem! Reader. And they have a 5 year old kid. They both work together on Criminal minds and play each other’s love interest. One day their babysitter cancels and they have to bring their kid to set. They have a balance taking care of a kid and filming. And can you possibly add that Matthew is filming one of his unauthorize documentary and he includes his kid. I would really love to read this.

Couple: Dad!Matthew Gray Gubler/Fem!reader

Category: fluff

Content Warning: swearing, Dad!Mgg, mentions of being sick

Word Count: 5,076

Summary: When reader and Matthew’s babysitter cancels on them on a last minute notice, they’re forced to bring their 5-year-old daughter, Tallulah ‘Peanut’, to set. Matthew and Reader have to re-learn to balance filming, on set tomfoolery, and taking care of their daughter. 

A/N: i literally love this request so much, it’s so cute and makes me feel so soft. I really needed to write some cute fluff after everything im writing, especially for a different type of high… so thank you for sending this in. i think we need more dad!mgg fluff too, we stan dad!mgg. So, meet tallulah jane ‘peanut’ gubler, and reader ‘buttercup’ gubler :))) im so soft right now. thanks for all the love and support! check out my masterlist! 

{***}{***}{***}

It was… quiet. Quite possibly too quiet. Especially for a house that has 2 actors and a five-year-old daughter. I was getting the chance to sleep in a little later than normal, and there's no husband or little girl begging for breakfast. Maybe husband took her on a morning jaunt? No, that'd be too ambitious for him, and even for her. Or, maybe he put a movie on and she's actually watching. Or maybe- frick, nevermind. I clearly spoke too soon and had my hopes too high. The pitter-patter of little feet, followed by the louder footsteps of an adult man came running into the bedroom.

"Tallulah," Matthew's voice was soft, like he was whispering but knew it'd be useless. Because once she got up into the bed, I was starting to wake up more.

"Mommy, mommy! Wake up! Wake up!" A little girl's voice shouted as she jumped on the bed. I kept the blanket over my body and groaned as a small body jumped on top of mine.

"5 more minutes," I pretended to whine as I pulled my blanket over my head. I could hear Matthew's laughter as Tallulah jumped into my body. I groaned at the sudden weight on my still tired body. "Okay, okay I'm awake," I tiredly spoke as I sat up. Tallulah fell onto the bed beside me in a fit of laughter.

Matthew was already dressed and what seemed ready for the day. His glasses sitting on his nose, and his hair falling perfectly around his face. A bizarre patterned shirt, that I wouldn't be surprised if Tallulah picked it, hung off his frame, paired with a pair of jeans and his converse. How long had he been awake? 

"I tried telling her you wanted 5 more minutes," Matthew laughed as he looked at me. I looked back at him and smiled, before looking down at our daughter, who was still laughing. Her beautiful brown and curly locks of hair, though somewhat a ratty mess, covered her face just enough to show her toothy smile and brown/hazel eyes. "She just wouldn't listen. She wanted to know what you wanted for breakfast," Matthew smiled as he sat beside me on the edge of the bed.

"Breakfast!?" I exclaimed as I looked down at Tallulah. She looked up at me and smiled before rolling around on her back. "I guess that’s up to you, Peanut," I smiled as I placed a hand on her stomach.

"Pancakes!" She sat up and looked at me. I looked over at Matthew and smiled. The amusement he wore on his face made me feel happy. Of course, no matter what his daughter did, he was amused or happy. I don’t blame him though, she’s basically the mini-me version of him.

"Pancakes!? That sounds like a great idea!" I brushed her hair away from her face, "how about you and daddy get started in those while I take a quick shower and get ready for the day?" I asked with a smile. I glanced back at Matthew, silently telling him to help me out with this. “Maybe make me some chocolate chip pancakes? Oh! Or a few apple cinnamon?” I smiled at him. Matthew laughed at my enthusiasm for pancakes.

"Sounds like a solid plan to me," Matthew stood up and placed his fists in his hips. Tallulah looked between Matthew and me before falling off the bed in a sensible style. 

"Sounds like a plan," she copied Matthew's action and looked up at him with a smile. I smiled and watched as the pair marched out of the room. 

I sighed deeply before lying back again for a minute. I knew the second I left my bed, mommy mode would have to be fully turned on for the morning. Although mommy mode was way more preferable than actor mode, I just get to be around my favorite little girl and it makes me happy. 

Time, unfortunately, was not on my side. It was nearing the time Marianne (Tallulah’s nanny) would be here, and Matthew and I would have to leave for work. Which all meant I had about 15 minutes to shower, get dressed, and actually get ready for the day.

Once I was finished showering and getting dressed, I went to the kitchen where I knew I'd find Matthew and Tallulah. The sweet smell of apple cinnamon pancakes found its to my nose. 

“Those pancakes smell amazing!” I spoke as I entered the kitchen. Matthew was standing beside Tallulah, gently brushing out her knotty hair. “I can't wait to have one,” I looked down at Tallulah, “did you help make them, Tj?”

“Yeeeah!” She exclaimed as she put her fork in her mouth. 

“Did you also help make the mess?” I looked around the counter at the mess that suddenly appeared overnight. Matthew looked down at Tallulah, who was looking up at him with wide eyes. She was obviously whispering something to him, causing Matthew to laugh. 

“That was, uh… That was Rumple Buttercup,” Matthew nodded as he looked back up at me. I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow. “He came up here just as you got into the shower and made the biggest mess? Isn’t that right, Peanut?” Matthew looked back down at her and wink.

“Yeah! It was Rumbellercup.” She looked at me with a cheesy smile. 

“Right,” I faked an amused smile before nodding. I quietly grabbed a sponge and began wiping up the sticky flour mess on the countertop. “Well, next time, Rumple Buttercup should stick around and clean up,” I smiled as I looked over at the two.  

“I’ll take care of it, don’t worry about the mess,” Matthew winked at me. I rolled my eyes before continuing my cleaning. Well, tried to continue before being stopped by my phone ringing. 

“Phone!” Tallulah shouted as she pointed towards me and my phone. I looked up at her and smiled.

“Looks like it’s Marianne,” I looked at the screen, noticing her name, “Wonder why she isn’t here yet,” I spoke before answering.

“Hey, Marianne! We were just talking about you!” I smiled as I tossed the icky sponge into the sink.

“I’m really sorry, Mrs. Gubler,” her voice was low as she spoke. I furrowed my eyebrows and cocked my head, “I’m afraid I have to cancel. I can’t babysit Tallulah today?”

“What do you mean you have to cancel?” I asked, I honestly had my answer the second she sneezed, then coughed, then sneezed again. “You know something, it’s okay,” “I’m really sorry, Mrs. Gubler,” she spoke through a cough. I cringed as I looked over at my husband and five-year-old. I could sense that she was talking about something, and he was doing his best to keep up and understand whatever it was she was saying. 

“It’s okay! It’s okay, really. I hope you feel much better. Take all the time you need,” I insisted as I rested my hand on the counter, “We’ll figure something out. I just hope you feel better,” I frowned as I kept my eyes on the two. 

“Again, I’m so sorry,” Marianne whispered. I bit my lips back and shook my head.

“Get some rest. Call if you need anything,” I replied before hanging up. I placed my phone on the counter before going to grab things for lunch for Tallulah. 

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Matthew looked up at me as he brushed Tallulah’s hair into two pigtails. He had a certain look of worry on his face as he looked at me. I looked up at him as I made a ham and cheese sandwich. Hopefully, she enjoys a sandwich with all the fruit snacks a five-year-old could consume (which, unfortunately, was a lot), and some actual fruit. I'm sure when on our way home we'll stop somewhere for dinner or late lunch. That's hope it usually works when Tallulah comes to set with us.

“Marianne is sick. Can’t babysit today,” I frowned as I looked between him and Tallulah. Tallulah was too busy eating her pancakes and rambling about Alvin and The Chipmunks (specifically about how Theodore was her favorite, not Simon) to actually care about our conversation. 

“Really,” Matthew looked at me and dropped his shoulders. He puffed his cheeks a little bit before frowning, “No one else?” 

“I mean, I could call Aj and see if her babysitter can watch Little Miss, but that’d be a lot for one lady,” I paused as I looked down at our daughter, “Or we could bring her. You know how much everyone on set loves seeing her,” I shrugged as I looked up at him. Even though it was a lot of work bringing a five-year-old to set, we both loved it. The balance between working and taking care of her was a bit rough, but we always made it work. 

“We could do that, we have a couple of scenes together, I’m sure we could get Kirsten or someone to be with her for that time,” he looked down at his daughter before adjusting her pigtails, “Maybe even convince the writers to give Spencer and Mollie a daughter,” he looked back at me and winked. I shook my head.

“You should finish getting her ready because we have to go soon,” I pointed out. Matthew looked down at Tallulah with a smile before shrugging.

“Alright, let’s go, Peanut!” Matthew spoke as he lifted Tallulah up and stood her up on the table. I looked at the two and smiled.

“You get to come to work with me and daddy today,” I walked over to them and readjusted her crocked pigtails, and carefully pinched her cheeks, “That means you get to see Auntie Kirsten, Auntie Aj, Auntie Pag, and everyone else,” I smiled and watched as Matthew lifted her up on to his hip. 

“Yay!” Tallulah shouted once she was clinging to Matthew’s side. The two of them closely resembled a Koala. She grabbed Matthew’s face, a hand on either side, to get his attention, “Daddy’s work,” she whispered. I smiled, already looking forward to the shenanigans that was about to happen during our day. Whenever we bring Tallulah to set for a visit, almost everyone wants to spend time with her. And she sucks up all the attention. She’s got everyone wrapped around her tiny little finger. 

“Go pick out some cool clothes with daddy while I finish making your lunch. Sounds good?” I looked at her. She smiled and nodded before looking at Matthew. 

“Let’s go get out of your jammies,” Matthew spoke, tugging on her Elsa nightgown. The two walked away and towards her bedroom. I  seriously hope he’ll help her pick out something nice to wear and not let her wear a princess dress. I love it, but not today. {***}{***}{***}

“You gotta be a good girl for mom and I, okay? You can watch us while we work, but you gotta be super quiet,” Matthew held a finger up to his lips, as if he was telling Tallulah to be quiet. She smiled before copying his action. “Can you do that?”

“I can do that,” she enthusiastically nodded once Matthew set her on the ground. I squatted beside her and gave her a few quiet toys and coloring books as Matthew went to talk to one of the assistants/interns nearby. 

“Look, we packed your favorite coloring book,” I smiled as I placed the coloring book on the ground beside her. She grabbed the crayons from me and poured them out. I looked at her for a moment before standing upright.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t just have her in the trailer? It’d be safer for, well, everyone. And if we check on her every so often,” I looked at Matthew once he was back beside me. We walked side by side back towards wardrobe and makeup. 

“Nah, it’s fine. One of the interns said they’d watch her. And then we can get one of the makeup artists to watch her. You know how much they love her,” Matthew smiled at me. I rolled my eyes and shook my head as I remembered the day we visited set after Tallulah was born. Other than Kirsten and AJ, the makeup artists were the ones to not leave our side because they loved her so much. I honestly didn’t blame them. “Don’t stress so much about this, Buttercup, this isn’t the first time she’s had to come to set with up. And you know for a fact it won’t be the last time,” he stopped right in front of the door to the makeup studio. “She’ll do a great job,” he smiled before hugging me. 

“I know, I know. She’s just a lot older than she was the last time she came with us. And I know something will happen,” I sighed, pressing my face into his shoulder. Matthew laughed as he squeezed me tightly. 

“And, if she does, we’ll take a break, bring to the trailer, and calm her down. C’mon, you know she’s a great kid,” he looked down at me as he rested his hands on my shoulders. I laughed as I looked up at him.

“That’s because she’s your kid,” I nodded before stepping away from and entering the makeup studio.

Of course, luck was not really on our side. We were a few hours left of filming, Tallulah had been doing a great job, staying quiet and playing with one of the make up artists. Until she bashed her head into a table, causing her to go into full hysterics. 

“I got it, I’m done for the day anyways,” Aj looked at me from her space on the ground, away fro the raised set, “She’ll be okay. I can make all little girl boo-boos go away,” she smiled before stepping up to me. I looked at her before looking over at Matthew, who was already over soothing our daughter. 

“I owe you big,” I walked up to her, “You know we have stuff in our trailer for her. I think it might be naptime,” I looked at her, feeling the worry in my brow.

“Got it, naptime,” Aj gave me a thumbs up before stepping off the set. I watched as she carefully approached Matthew and Tallulah. Tears were still fresh in her eyes, but she was laughing at whatever it was Matthew was telling her. I could feel a smile tugging on my lips as I watch Aj grasp Tallulah’s hand, leading her away from the studio. 

“She’ll be fine,” Matthew smiled at me before pressing a gentle kiss to my lips. I hummed before stepping away from him.

“Oh, I know that, I don’t doubt. I’m just tired, I suppose,” I rubbed the underside of my nose, “But, we’re almost done,” I nodded with a smile. I was just happy we were able to get back to work pretty quickly after the temper tantrum.

{***}{***}{***}

“I think we’ve got what we needed for today! That’s a wrap!” The director shouted to everyone on set. I allowed my shoulders to slump as a yawn worked its way through my mouth. Matthew laughed as he looked over at me.

“You definitely needed those extra five minutes,” he spoke as he shrugged off his ‘Spencer Reid’ blazer. I yawned, again, and nodded. 

“Suppose that’s life with a 5-year-old,” I stepped off the set with him and walked beside him towards our trailer, “Do you want to go get that girl in question, or should I?” I raised an eyebrow once we were both in the privacy of our small trailer. 

“You should. I want to do something real quick,” he pecked my lips real quick as he walked towards the backend of the trailer. I looked down at the few toys that were thrown around the floor, before grabbing Tallulah’s backpack and sweater. 

“You want to do something? What would that be?” I asked, throwing the strap of the backpack over my shoulder. A moment later, Matthew stepped back towards me, wearing a Babygirl hat that Shemar got for him, and a purple scarf that he totally stole from me. “You look like a douchebag,” I scoffed as I turned towards the door, “You’re lucky I love you, and that we’re married,” I turned back and looked at him for a moment. 

“I think you’re the lucky one, Buttercup,” Matthew spoke to me as I stepped off the trailer. I laughed and shook my head. “Not everyone can score this,” he spoke as he gestured towards his body. I rolled my eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, are you going to let me go get our kid? Or are you going to pull me into whatever it is you have planned,” I asked with a sly smile on my lips. 

“Should probably go get Tallulah,” he shrugged as he followed beside me. I looked at him and allowed him to kiss me softly. “Good luck,” 

“I’ll need all the luck in the world,” I laughed before peeling away from him. I could hear him talking to someone as I walked away, and I could only imagine it was one of the cameramen. 

Usually Aj took her out of the studio the second the tantrum started, bringing somewhere quiet. Usually, it was our trailer, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were there for a bit, but I knew after naps it was always snack time. So, I went towards the cafeteria.

“Mommy!” A little voice shouted from across the room. My eyes scanned around, looking for my little girl and friend. Aj was sitting at one of the tables with Tallulah on her lap. Tallulah was busy, eating chicken nuggets that Aj must’ve gotten for her. So much better than a ham and cheese sandwich.

“Hey, Peanut!” I exclaimed as I sat across from them at the table. I glanced at Aj and smiled, silently telling her thank you. “Did you have a fun time with Auntie Aj?” I looked back down at Tallulah.

“Yeah!” She exclaimed before shoving a whole chicken nugget in her mouth. I raised my eyebrows and laughed.

“We took a nap, colored, played with some dolls, and then we were hungry,” Aj looked up at me as she listed their activities during the last few hours. I nodded and leaned over the table.

“That sounds like a great time. I wish I could take a nap,” I sighed before stealing one of her nuggets. Tallulah glared at me as I munched on the food. “I wanna see your drawings!” I smiled at her. Tallulah turned and looked up Aj, asking her to show the drawings she made.

“Tada!” she beamed as she showed me her drawings. I looked down at the 4 sheets of paper with a multitude of colors. One of them was easily imaged as a family portrait and I could easily point out Matthew and me, and Tallulah. Another one was just a tornado of colors, with animal stickers placed around them. And the last two pictures were coloring pages we had printed off, a Disney princess and a picture of Alvin and the Chipmunks (again, it’s her favorite movie… And not because her dad is in it).

“These are awesome, Peanut!” I looked back up at her with an excited smile, “I’m sure you had such a great time with Auntie AJ! I can’t wait to hear about it all! What do you say to her?” I looked at Tallulah as I brushed hair away from her face.

“Thank you, Auntie AJ,” Tallulah looked up at Aj with a bright, cheesy smile. Aj returned the smile as she looked at my daughter.

“Of course! I had a wonderful time with you! You be good for mom and dad, okay?” Aj asked before offering a hug. Tallulah squealed before throwing her arms around Aj. I smiled, watching the pair interact.

“Should we go find daddy? I’m sure he’d love to see your drawings!” I asked stood up. Aj helped Tallulah to the ground before standing up herself. Aj handed me Tallulah’s stuffed animal and a few of her other things. “Thank you so much, Aj,” I smiled at her.

“Of course, you know I love watching her,” she returned the smile, “Seriously, if you need help with you, you know I’m always available, even on set,” she hugged me.

“Of course, again thank you so much,” I returned the hug before letting her leave. Tallulah watched as Aj walked away, before looking up at me with a smile, “Let’s find dad,” I smiled before offering her my hand. She grabbed it before walking beside me. I handed her stuffed animal back to her as we left the cafeteria. 

“Are you going to show daddy your pictures?” I looked down at Tallulah. She was holding a small stack of papers in her hand as she skipped beside me. Her stuffed animal was now stuffed under her arm since her hands were too busy holding her drawings and she didn’t want me to hold it. “You did a good job with your family portrait,” I looked at the papers in her hand. She was looking down at that very picture with a big smile on her face. 

“Yeah!” She looked up at me and gushed. I chuckled as she hugged her pictures close to her chest. 

“Do you think he’ll like them?” I looked up and saw Matthew at a bit of a distance, someone standing beside him as he talked. He was moving around a lot, which told me he was up to something.  

“Yeah!” Tallulah exclaimed as she added a little bit of a skip to her step. And that skip in her step told me that she was excited. Well, it was more than the skip in her step. It was also the sweet-tooth, cheek-achingly, adorable smile she wore on her precious little face. 

“Do you think he’ll… Love it?” I looked down at her for a moment. She stopped walking for a second as she looked down at the picture she had drawn. Tallulah was definitely blessed with Matthew’s sense of style when it came to art (and clothing), which was lovely. She’ll be something of an artist when she grows up, I’m sure of it. Especially when her family portrait has three people and two of them have 2 heads and 4 arms, and the other one has a tail. But, that’s okay. Matthew will most definitely love her drawing. I know I do.

“Love it! Love it!” She looked up at me as she jumped. I laughed and shook my head. She looked down at the pictures again before holding them up to me. I raised an eyebrow before taking them from her to hold. 

“Well, I know I love them,” I looked back down at her. As we continued walking, she kept talking about what she got to do with Kirsten and Aj. Her babble was still a little bit incoherent, but I knew what she was saying. God bless Kirsten though. “I’m kinda hungry, do you think daddy will let us get McDonald’s on the way home?” I looked back down at her as she grabbed my hand.

“McDonald’s?” She looked at me with wide eyes. Let me just put that into my child’s mind so she can ask Matthew. Because everyone knows it’s hard to say no to the Gubler child. No one knows better than Matthew. 

Unfortunately, our conversations ended there. Because as we turned the corner, Matthew’s voice could be heard. I looked up and saw him standing beside our trailer. The second Tallulah would hear his voice, she would be off and glued to him, instead of me. What a little daddy’s girl.

“Who the fuck is that?” Matthew half-shouted to the cameraman beside him. Even though we were a good distance away from him, I could still hear the words he was saying. I was grateful that Tallulah couldn’t hear him. We both know she’d repeat any word she knows she’s not allowed to say. And since he was standing beside a cameraman, I knew he was filming one of his Unauthorized Documentaries. “Who the fuck is that,” he pulled the cameraman and pointed him towards Tallulah and I. This man and his swearing around his 5-year-old. I swear. 

“Daddy! Daddy!” Tallulah shouted once grew closer to him. She let go of my hand before sprinting away from me and towards Matthew. When she was close enough to him, she jumped into the air and Matthew caught her. “Guess what, Daddy!” She shouted into his ear. Matthew laughed as he looked over at me. 

“What, Peanut?” He asked, swinging her around so she was on his back. Sort of like a monkey with its baby. It was Tallulah’s favorite way to be carried. “You got to hang out with Kirsten and Aj while mommy and I worked, right?” He looked over his shoulder at his daughter. She laughed as she rested her head on his shoulder.

 “Yeah!” she looked over at me as I got closer to them. I shuffled the few pictures before flipping them around to show him. “Auntie Kirsten and Auntie Aj let me color!” Tallulah, again, shouted into his ear. Matthew looked at the pictures in my hands and smiled.

“Woah! Peanut, these are awesome! Are you going to be an artist like dad?” He looked over his shoulder and at Tallulah. I smiled as I shuffled the pictures to show more of them.

“Yeeeah,” she smiled before pressing her face into his shoulder, like she was hiding. I smiled before stepping up to him. Matthew smiled before pecking my lips. 

“Little Miss and I are starving,” I grabbed his hand and swung it beside me.

“Starving?!” Matthew spoke loud so Tallulah could hear him. A little giggle came from her as she readjusted her position, “Well, we can’t have that! Where do you want to eat, Peanut?” 

“McDonalds!” 

“McDonalds?” Matthew looked over at me with a raised eyebrow. I smiled and looked down at the ground, “Let’s fucking go then!” Matthew half shouted as he jumped. Tallulah giggled as she hugged her arms tighter around his neck, almost nearly suffocating him. 

“Matthew,” I looked at him with the signature mom glare I adopted from my own mother. He looked over at me as he placed a hand on his daughter’s arms. He knew exactly what the glare was meant for. Swearing in front of our 5-year-old. Of course, we both knew that wouldn’t be the first or last time he’d swear in front of her.

“Daddy said fuck!” Tallulah shouted before laughing. Matthew looked at me with an apologetic look in his eye before swinging Tallulah off his back and on to his hip. I cocked my head as I placed my hands on my hips. “Fuck!” She repeated, shouting the word at Matthew. And, again, this wouldn’t be the last time she repeated a swear word.

“Now, Tallulah, that is a mommy and daddy word. You know you shouldn’t say that. Just because mommy or daddy does, doesn’t mean you can,” he looked at her. She pouted before nodded. Thankfully, she actually understood when to not say swear words, she also understood what “mommy and daddy” words were. “Got it?” Matthew looked at her with furrowed eyebrows. She looked up at him and stuck up her thumb.

“Got it!” She smiled before throwing her arms around his neck. Matthew laughed before picking her back up.

“Now, let’s go get some happy meals,” Matthew spoke as he pointed towards the direction of our car. I sighed deeply, walking the opposite direction towards our trailer, knowing they’ll both know we need to stop by there before we leave.

{***}{***}{***}

“She asleep?” I asked, glancing away from my script as Matthew entered the room. He pulled his shirt off as he went towards his closet.

“She’s always insistent on Rumple Buttercup, but almost never makes it to the end,” he laughed as he put his pajamas on. I smiled as he sat on the edge of the bed.

“Maybe it’s time you wrote a second one… Give Rumple Buttercup a brother or sister,” I laughed as I rubbed a hand on his back. He looked over his shoulder with a smile before getting comfortable in the bed beside me.

“You know… I’ve been thinking,” Matthew started as he moved closer to me. I looked up from my script and over at him with a raised eyebrow. Something was telling me he wasn’t going to continue talking about a second Rumple Buttercup book… “What if Tallulah had a little brother or sister,” he asked as he looked up at me with puppy dog eyes. I couldn’t help but burst out with laughter. I felt bad for my laughter, mostly because I knew he wanted a second child. But, we were running slim on time with that.

“She is too much of a daddy’s girl to share with anyone, including me, Matthew,” I closed my script as I looked up at him. He looked genuinely hurt with my laughter and comment. “Besides, I thought we were good with the one,” I gestured towards her room.

“But, what if we had another one,” he shrugged. I dropped my shoulders and sighed, but kept a smile on my lips nonetheless. “C’mon, two! That’s a perfect number!” “Two is a perfect number,” I swallowed roughly as I looked down at the bedding in front of me. I couldn’t help but allow the smile on my lips to grow. “And she wouldn’t be alone on family trips,” I mused as I glanced over at him. Matthew was looking at me with the excitement of a kid in a candy store. “You don’t think we should talk about this first? I mean, Matthew, you’re almost 40, I’m nearly 35...” I let out a small laugh.

“I think we just talked about it! And to me it sounds like we both want it,” he smiled before pressing his lips to mine. I hummed before moving away from him. 

“Okay, okay, we can try. But not right now. I’m exhausted. Maybe once Marianne is better and we don’t have to take Tallulah to set. Because that was so exhausting,” I ran a hand through his hair and smiled, “Fair?” 

“Fair,” he smiled before kissing me softly, “Love you,”

“I love you too,” 

taglist: @itsmyblogandillreblogifiwantto​, @thebluetint​

[redhoodieone]

Wrong Number Part 4

A/N: Hi everyone! Here’s Part 4 and…I hope you all like it! Let me know what you think. I love comments! Note, the underlined sentences are keywords for future reference for this series. Just thought you should know. Also, I really tried my best writing the Joker and Harley. I really hope I didn’t screw them up too much.

Plot: After Red Hood saves the reader, she realizes she’s instantly attracted to him; attracted enough to risk her life in a dangerous way just to have him save her again (Hello Bella Swan!!!). But a night out with Stacey leads them to be kidnapped by the Clown Princess of Crime…who is ordered to bring them to the Clown Prince of Crime himself…the Joker.

Warnings: Language, Making Out, and Kidnapping.

The very second my feet touch the roof of Ace Chemicals, I release a sigh of relief. Licking my dry lips, I take in everything around me. The rain begins to pour down on us, soaking me from head to toe, not stopping me from looking up at the dark clouds above us. The GCPD lights brighten certain parts of the sky, but the green and white lights from Ace Chemicals is what truly captures my attention.

I’ve never really seen bright lights during Gotham’s darkest nights.

As Red Hood shuts off the electrical shock on his armor, I step closer to the edge of the roof just to see how high we’re up. Holy shit… I swallow hard; my fear of heights is suddenly kicking in.

A strong hand wraps around my arm and pulls me away from the edge. My back collides to Red Hood’s chest; I squeak out embarrassingly. He releases my arm as I turn to face him and see he’s already looking down at me.

“You saved my life…thank you,” I breathe out. I give him a small smile.

I can hear him breathing hard behind his mask. “You’re welcome. It’s what I do,” he answers firmly.

“You don’t sound proud about what you did tonight. I-I know I was put in a very dangerous situation tonight, but you saved my life. Those men…they-they could have hurt me. If you didn’t show up, I could be dead right now,” I insist. Running a hand through my wet hair, I tremble in the cold weather. I look up at him anxiously. “You’re more than just a hero. You…you were like my guardian angel. You protected me.”

I keep my eyes on Red Hood. Somehow and for some reason, I feel like I have to make him believe he is a hero, and that I admire him because of it.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’m no guardian angel. If anything, I’m more of a Knight of Hell,” Red Hood speaks up.

“Why would you say that? You’re not bad. You saved me tonight. You’ve must have saved a lot of lives before me and-”

“You don’t know anything about me,” he interrupts me harshly. He scoffs and shakes his head in annoyance. “You don’t know what I’ve done, what I’ve been through, and what I’m doing now. Just because I saved you tonight doesn’t make me a saint or a hero. It just means I saved you and that’s it.”

I shake my head desperately. “No. No, I don’t believe that. You saved me, Red Hood. You didn’t have to do that. You chose to do that, and that makes you a hero whether you believe it or not. But to me…that makes you my hero,” I admit softly.

I expect him to argue with me. Scream at me. Maybe even push me off the roof.

But I certainly wasn’t expecting Red Hood to grasp my hands in his gloved ones. I find it more and more difficult to tear my eyes away from him. I even find myself wanting to touch him, hear his real voice, and even see him without his helmet.

“Are…are you okay? Are you injured anywhere?” Red Hood asks.

“No, I mean…I’m okay. I’m not hurt,” I answer quickly.

“I should have asked you as soon as we got here. I’m sorry about that.”

He squeezes both my hands in a comforting way. I lick my lips and step closer to him. He doesn’t move but continues to stare down at me.

“I want to kiss you,” I breathe out softly.

I feel his hard gaze on me. I silently pray he’s not put off by my request. One of his gloved hands reaches up to cup my cheek. I swallow hard.

“Why? Why would you want to kiss me?”

“B-because I really want to thank you…personally for saving me tonight. Please…please kiss me. Just one kiss. You can even kiss me Spiderman style. You know, the Tobey and Kirsten Spiderman movie,” I plead.

Red Hood pulls his hand away from my face. I wonder if I crossed the line. I mentally slap myself for allowing myself to fall for a hero like him. As if he likes me and wants to kiss me. I’m so fucking pathetic.

“Okay, but you need to close your eyes and keep them closed,” Red Hood says quietly.

“You’re not going to play any tricks on me or do anything mean to me, right?” I ask nervously.

“I would never do anything mean or do anything to hurt you.”

Believing in him, I shut my eyes tightly. I even force myself to relax and ignore the small annoying ass voice in my head that’s still calling me stupid for all of this. The anticipation is killing me. I silently hope he’s really going to kiss me and hope I won’t be disappointed.

3RD POV CHANGE

Red Hood reaches up to remove his helmet. The sound of air being released, and a weak grunt are heard. Tempting blueish-gray eyes land on Y/N. Jason feels his heart pounding in his chest and softly gasps at how beautiful Y/N really is. He always tried to imagine how she looked and sounded while texting but seeing her in person proved he had no idea how truly special she really is.

He licks his lips and gazes down to Y/N’s mouth. Her soft lips are pressed together. Her face and body are relaxed. Realizing he is wasting time, Jason drops his helmet to the ground and steps forward enough that his body is touching her shorter frame. He slowly leans down to her face. Exhaling deeply, he closes his eyes and brushes his lips against Y/N’s lips. He breathes hard from their first contact; he feels his body bursting like fireworks.

Jason can even feel Y/N kissing him back with the same energy. He’s brave enough to lick her bottom lip for entry, and she gladly opens her mouth to let him. His tongue searches all around her mouth, and she even moans quietly when he sucks her tongue eagerly. He moves one of his gloved hands to hold her waist tightly, as his other moves up to hold the back of her head.

Y/N takes the initiative to touch Jason as well. She reaches up to his leather jacket and grips it tightly with both hands. She kisses him hard and deeper, until she gently pulls away to breathe. Jason opens his eyes and sees her eyes are still closed. She moves one hand up to touch his face; caresses his strong jawline and cheek until she touches his hair. Jason moans softly when she massages his scalp and tugs on his dark hair.

“Fuck…that feels good,” Jason whispers. He fights hard to keep his eyes on her to make sure she doesn’t open hers to look at him, but her fingers running through his wild hair is making him…well…wild, too.

“Does it?” Y/N asks teasingly.

“Yeah, you feel good too.”

Jason pulls Y/N harder against his body and kiss her again. Swallowing her gasp, he grins against her lips until she mischievously bites his bottom lip. He growls playfully and works her mouth open so he can continue to make her moan again and again.

He pulls back from her when they’re both breathless and panting. Jason glances down at her to kiss her once more before he steps away to put his helmet back on. He notices Y/N’s eyes are still closed and that are her lips are parted and red from their make out.

“You can open your eyes now,” Red Hood speaks. His voice is disguised once more. The second Y/N opens her eyes and looks at him, he can feel his heart’s still beating hard for her. “Tell me where you live, and I’ll take you home.”

BACK TO ORIGINAL POV

I don’t know what time I went to bed or what time I woke up. I don’t even know if I slept.

The moment when Red Hood brought me home, I felt as if I was in a dream. The kind of dream where you don’t even know if it’s real, and if it is real, then why does it feel like a dream?

I can’t even get up out of bed. All I can think about is that kiss. The amazing and delicious kiss with the Red Hood.

Red Hood.

I close my eyes and remember his lips against mine. I can even remember the way he tasted, smelled, and felt against me.

Red Hood is all man. A strong and yummy man I want again.

My cell phone beeps. Opening my eyes back to reality, I see its Jason. Fuck! I forgot all about Jason!

Good morning, sweetheart! How are you? You didn’t text me or call me when you got home.

Well, yeah…because Red Hood saved me. You didn’t.

I know I shouldn’t be bitter about it. I mean, yes, I did call Jason for help, but he didn’t pull through with the help. Red Hood did. Red Hood was at the right place at the right time. And Jason wasn’t.

It doesn’t even help that all I can think about is Red Hood. Every time I close my eyes, I can see him and feel him. It’s starting to become a craving. Maybe more of an addiction. I need to see him again. I need to talk to him and kiss him again.

I just need him.

Want him.

I decide to not text Jason back right away. Maybe he’ll back off a bit and see I have a life and it doesn’t necessarily revolve around him...again.

But I do end up texting Stacey. I end up inviting her out to a movie tonight. Massacre Them is out and seeing a scary movie tonight sounds like a great idea.

Doesn’t it?

________________________________________________________________

“Tell me again why we had to see this movie at night? We really couldn’t see it in the afternoon? With the sun out? With people out and about outside?” Stacey complains for the fifth time tonight. She does have a fear of scary movies, and it doesn’t help that we saw the last showing at 9:00 and that no one is outside right now.

People who live in Gotham have learned to never stay out so late. By the time midnight comes around, the smart people are already home and in bed safe. The stupid people who stay out late are the ones dancing with danger.

And the dangerous people always come out to play at night.

That’s why a late-night movie could put me and Stacey in danger…and have Red Hood save us.

Save me.

God, I seriously need help.

Stacey and I walk down the block where she parked. It is silent and cold. We’re lucky we wore jeans, our UGG boots, and our hoodies. While she chose to wear a bright pink hoodie, I decided to wear red for…my own reasons.

“Oh, come on Stacey! It’s a scary movie! It wouldn’t be scary if we saw it during the day,” I defend my plan tonight. “How would seeing a scary movie about a psychotic doctor, who kills his patients, during daylight be scary? It wouldn’t be scary at all. See?”

“Whatever, at least I’m staying at your place tonight. I’m so fucking scared that I feel like we’re being watched and followed right now, you know?”

I turn around and see no one. Looking around us, I notice I don’t see or hear anything frightening. “You’re just freaking out. Nobody is around. We’re fine, okay?” I try to reassure her.

“That movie really fucked me up Y/N,” Stacey admits.

“I know, and I’m sorry about that. We’re almost to your car and we’ll be going home, okay?” I say, pointing to the back of her black BMW. Her car is the only car parked along the sidewalk.

We continue walking in silence. I begin to wonder if Red Hood is around, and if he is, how can I get him to come to me.

Should I get myself in danger again?

Find hardcore criminals?

Find creepy eyes in alleys?

Find Gotham’s notorious lunatics?

We finally approach Stacey’s car when I suddenly notice a small white and purple striped box is top of her hood. I hold out my arm to prevent Stacey from getting closer. “Wait,” I tell her.

“What is that?” she asks nervously.

With the little bravery I have, I slowly walk closer to the box that’s in the middle of the hood. Carefully, I reach out to touch it. I notice a metal crank on the side; it’s a Jack-in-the-box toy. I pick up the toy and crank it. Circus music fills the silence around us. When the song is close to the end, I try to prepare myself for whatever will pop out of the box. But so far…

Nothing pops out.

Tilting my head at the toy, I wonder if it’s broken. I glance at Stacey with a questionable look, but she shrugs in confusion, too.

BANG!

The lid opens and a small, clown puppet pops of the box.

I scream.

Stacey screams.

We realize the noise is meant to be a gun shot, which also explains why the creepy, smiling clown is holding a gun. The sound of manic laughter bursts in our ears; indicating the clown is laughing at us.

Possibly from scaring the shit out of us with the gun shot noise.

“Jesus fucking Christ!” I yell. Dropping the toy to the ground, I shake my head in anger. “What a sick fucking joke!”

“I know. Let’s get out of here Y/N,” Stacey pleads.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

Stacey unlocks the car and we both get in. Quickly putting our seatbelts on, she tries to start the car. But the car won’t start.

“What the hell?” Stacey mumbles and tries again. Nothing.

“Could it be the battery?” I ask.

“I don’t even know.”

As Stacey tries again, I glance up at the rearview mirror and see someone sitting up in the backseat.

“Hi ya chickadees! I’ve been waiting for you girlies all night long!” a loud, female Brooklyn accent catches our attention. She slaps her each of her hands on both of mine and Stacey’s shoulder. She leans in closer to us, revealing her clown make-up. “The name’s Harley Quinn, and the three of us are gonna be the best of friends!”

Stacey screams bloody murder when she sees Harley. I remain frozen but afraid of her.

“Now, now calm down, Crybaby. Hey…that can be your nickname!” Harley squeals in laughter at Stacey, who is crying in fright. She then turns to me and hums to herself. “You’re Red Hood’s girl, ain’t cha? Maybe your nickname oughta be Cherry! Get it?! Cause you’re the Cherry to his ice cream sundae!”

Harley’s laughter fills the car, causing Stacey to faint.

“Ohhh! Look at that! I thought she’d never stop crying and screaming. No wonder she’s a Crybaby!” Harley says, as she climbs over to the front seat and shoves Stacey over to the backseat. Harley buckles in and turns to me. “Safety first!”

She fixes both her blonde pigtails and straightens her red and black halter top. I notice her outfit is clown-like: red and black shape diamonds on opposite red and black pant legs. She has a sex appeal to her, but she seems overly nice. I silently pray she doesn’t kill us.

“There. That’s better! I’m takin’ the two of you to Mistah J!” Harley claims. She starts the car, which shockingly turns on for her. Barely glancing out the window and using the mirrors, she speeds out; taking us to God knows where.

“Wait, who?” I ask, panicking.

“My Mistah J! My Puddin’! My love of my life, of course!”

Harley quickly looks at me and sees I’m still confused. “The Joker, Cherry! Do ya own a TV or something? He’s famous! My Puddin’ is always in the media,” Harley says.

“But why are you taking us to him? We didn’t do anything wrong!” I cry out.

“Nuh uh! Mistah J knows you and Red Hood have been smooching on rooftops, and he wants to use you and Crybaby to lure him and that mean, nasty Batfamily out of their cave! You and Crybaby are bait, but don’t worry Cherry! We ain’t gonna kill ya…yet!” Harley laughs manically, as she drives faster and faster to wherever Joker is.

I just hope Red Hood finds us in time.

[daresplaining]

A Few Thoughts About the Current Run

    I feel like I ought to say a few things about my feelings on Zdarsky’s run, as of right now (August 2020, pre-Annual-- that may be important). I haven’t said much about this run, and I should admit that I actually stopped reading it for a while. At a certain point, I realized I was dreading the release of each preview, and took that as a sign that maybe I should take a break and just re-read some back issues instead. This is, above all, supposed to be fun; I never, ever want reading DD to feel like a chore.  

    That said, I am now caught up and feel ready to begin untangling exactly why this run is so distasteful to me. I’ve been fortunate to have other DD fans to chat with about this, which has helped me to pinpoint what my problems are... because on paper, this run seems like something I’d enjoy. Matt accidentally kills a guy; that’s always fun. Marco Checchetto is great. The story explores Daredevil’s relationship with the citizens of Hell’s Kitchen, which I love. Foggy helps Matt with an action-y Daredevil thing; that’s awesome. There are some very cool fights. Elektra is in it. Stilt-Man is (briefly) in it. It has all the trappings of an interesting narrative. But there is a giant hole in the middle of this run, and that hole is Matt Murdock-shaped and impossible to ignore.     

    I read Daredevil comics for a lot of things (anyone who’s been following me for the past few years might think I read Daredevil comics for Mike Murdock, and you may have a point there) but first and foremost, I read them for Matt. There is a lot that makes a good DD story great-- historically, the comic has featured great supporting casts, and that’s another problem with this run that I’ll get back to in a minute-- but Matt is always the anchor. One of the greatest strengths in Daredevil comes from the fact that the protagonist is such a compelling character. You are interested in what he’s doing. You want to follow his story. You enjoy being inside his head. I’m not saying that you can’t write a good Matt-free Daredevil story-- you definitely can. But if Matt is present and written poorly, the whole story will collapse around him, and that’s been my experience with Zdarsky’s run. Part of the reason I’ve taken so long to write this post is because I’ve been trying to figure out if my complaint comes from my own personal taste-- which is not a basis on which I can critique this comic-- or whether the problem is inherent in the work itself. Having discussed it with other people, I feel comfortable saying that I think the problem is in the writing. 

    Zdarsky’s Matt feels profoundly unfamiliar to me, and that in itself isn’t necessarily a problem, but I don’t find this new version of my favorite superhero interesting. I actually find him a little repellant. If this run had been my introduction to Daredevil, I would’ve said “Nope” and read something else. Matt is a character with depth. He is intensely multifaceted. His relationship to superheroing is complicated, his views on justice and morality are rich and often contradictory. Zdarsky somehow missed all of that and has crafted a one-dimensional character with a blatantly black-and-white sense of morality. Matt’s reaction to accidentally killing someone seems to be to decide that all superheroes are bad-- something I complained about at the beginning of the run and which, unfortunately, only grew more annoying as the story progressed. Zdarsky’s Matt is painfully self-righteous, to a degree that makes him extremely unlikeable (at least to me). And yes, Matt has been written as unlikeable before. I actually love when Matt behaves badly; I find that fascinating from a narrative perspective. But I’ve realized that the key reason that has been effective in the past is because the story has never condoned that behavior. When Matt was emotionally abusive toward Heather Glenn, Frank Miller went out of his way to show us-- via the side characters, via blatant expressions of Heather’s pain-- that Matt was in the wrong. When Matt was a jerk in Bendis’ and Brubaker’s runs, when he drove his friends away, when he acted irrationally and harmfully, the narrative commented on that jerkiness and irrationality. 

    But Zdarsky does not do that in his run. He presents Matt’s irrational and jerkish behavior without comment or nuance, as if it’s a perfectly normal, reasonable way for Matt to act under the circumstances, and I have been surprised to realize how distasteful I find that, and how bad it makes Matt look. There’s a difference between having a character who is comfortably flawed-- whose behavior you’re supposed to occasionally question-- and a character who is just unpleasant and unlikeable, seemingly by accident. In the most recent issue (#21), Matt has an extremely upsetting interaction with Spider-Man, one of his oldest friends, and Matt is positioned as heroic for behaving this way, and it made me feel a little ill, because there’s no textual examination or questioning of this behavior. It’s just Matt, pushing people away, being Angsty(TM) and Gritty(TM) and lone wolf-y just because, in a way that is grating and unpleasant and completely lacks nuance. 

    The other major element of Zdarsky’s characterization of Matt is religion. I’ve mentioned before (as have other DD fans before me) that Matt is not generally written as religious, and it’s a strange phenomenon that this characterization has appeared in multiple adaptations (the movie and the Netflix show) while having very little actual presence in the source material. But it was a key theme in the Netflix show, and while hopefully that influence will disappear from the comics as more time passes, we are still in a honeymoon phase wherein MCU elements are still popping up in the 616 universe. It’s clear that Zdarsky really liked the show, and Soule as well; I’m certainly not letting Soule off the hook here, because the idea of Matt being devoutly Christian showed up his run first. But there, you could get away from it if it wasn’t your thing (which, for me, it’s not). Soule had whole story arcs that didn’t mention it. But Zdarsky has made it 75% of Matt’s personality. When he isn’t fighting or sleeping with someone in this run, Matt is angsting about God. 

    I hesitate to complain about this because it’s Zdarsky’s right as a DD writer to change the protagonist however he likes. It’s frustrating, yes, but not actually a sign of bad writing per se. Plus, not everyone is me. Many people-- probably including many people who were fans of the Netflix show and are entering the comics via that connection (which seems to be the target audience for this run)-- may be religious and may connect to MCU/Zdarsky Matt in that way. And that’s wonderful. I want to be very clear: it’s not the religiousness itself that I’m complaining about. My complaint is this: if you’re going to drastically alter a character, you need to back it up. You need to dig into it, make that new personality element feel powerful and real, and integrate it into the character’s pre-existing personality. And if you’re going to base the entirety of that character’s emotional journey on that new trait, you need to work to make sure it’s accessible to your readership. I, as a non-religious person, have no sense of why Matt is so upset about God. I have no frame of reference for his pain, either from my own experiences or from previous Daredevil continuity, and Zdarsky does nothing to develop or explore the basis of Matt’s faith, and so it all just falls flat. I feel alienated by this run. I see an angsty, self-righteous, prickly jerk ranting about needing to do God’s will, and then I put the issue down and read some She-Hulk instead. If Zdarsky (or Soule-- again, he could have done this too) had made an effort to actually explore and explain Matt’s feelings about his religion, rather than lazily shoving that characterization in there and assuming readers will just accept it, it wouldn’t bother me nearly as much as it has. 

    Also, I feel I have to mention; this is a fantasy universe. Matt went to Hell and yelled at Mephisto in Nocenti’s run, and it was awesome. Maybe this is just me, but if you’re going to bring in religion, at least have some fun with it! Bookend Nocenti’s run: Matt goes to Heaven, runs into God, and she gives him some free therapy and a souvenir t-shirt (or, I don’t know, something). To give Zdarsky credit, he did at least hint at that sort of thing in Matt’s conversation with Reed Richards in #9. 

    I'm going to cut this post short, because I really don’t enjoy writing negative reviews. I’d much rather post about things I love, and over the next few weeks I do plan to highlight aspects of this run that I’ve enjoyed. But I’ll end by saying that the weaknesses in Matt’s characterization could have been mitigated by a great supporting cast. Having prominent secondary protagonists would have provided outside perspectives on Matt’s behavior and given the reader other characters to root for when he got too out-of-hand. They would have drawn out the human elements in Matt’s character and helped give him that nuance he so desperately needs. But this run, just like Soule’s before it, is woefully underpopulated. Foggy’s presence is extremely weak and his appearances far too infrequent. Apart from brief cameos in MacKay’s Man Without Fear mini, Kirsten McDuffie and Sam Chung have both vanished, and I’m worried that Kirsten might have joined Milla Donovan in the limbo of still-living-but-permanently-benched ex-love interests. The women in this run are all either villains or people for Matt to sleep with (I was pumped about Elektra’s return and the idea of her training Matt, but her characterization was disappointing (I may write a separate post about this), and Mindy Libris could have been really compelling as a moral person trying to survive life in a crime family, but instead she was just a one-note, underdeveloped victim for Matt to lust after). To Zdarsky’s credit, he has clearly been trying to give the Kingpin a humanizing story arc, but even that I haven’t found compelling enough to want to keep reading (though that could just be me). Cole North was intriguing at first, but he ended up feeling more like a concept than an actual person. And none of these characters engage with Matt on a human, emotional level, which is what a good supporting cast needs to do. I commented early-on that this run felt like all flash and no bang (Is that a term? It is now.) and I think I still stand by that-- it’s all bombastic plot concepts and big ideas without any of the actual development or nuance necessary to make them work. There is nothing in this run that has pulled me in and held my interest; in the absence of a Matt I can connect to, I need something, and so far I haven’t found it. 

    I could go on, but I think I’ve made my point. This run was nominated for an Eisner for best ongoing series, so apparently someone likes it, but it has become clear that-- so far, anyway-- it’s just not right for me.  

[agheaven]

Miss Winston’s Reply: A Play

Illustrations by Susan McAliley

Found in the July/August 1996 issue of American Girl Magazine

(These pictures were originally submitted by @captainandhercorgi, but then it turned out in the time between the original submission & me finally posting it, @in-pleasant-company posted some clean scans! To save myself from having to type out all the tags again in a reblog, I opted to re-save in-pleasant-company’s scans and add them to this photoset)

Since it seems like the American Girl magazine plays featuring the historical characters were never republished anywhere, I typed out a transcript of this play! You can read the whole thing below!

Miss Winston’s Reply: A Play

~1854~

Written by Janet Saw

Illustrated by Susan McAliley

Scene: Outside the Larson’s log cabin in Minnesota in September 1855

(Mama and Miss Winston are seated close together on a bench, rolling yarn into balls. Kirsten, Lisbeth, and Anna sit on the ground in front of the bench. They’re playing quietly with their dolls. Kristen’s doll is lying down. The girls walk the other dolls around her.)

Mama: (to Miss Winston) Mr. Boardman will be here any moment. Aren’t you excited?

Miss Winston: (glancing nervously over her shoulder) Oh, dear!

Mama: He’s been to see you so often lately.

Miss Winston: I know!

Mama: Today he might ask you to marry him.

Miss Winston: Oh, I hope not. Not today!

Mama: Why not today?

Miss Winston: Because – well, because I don’t know how I’d answer him.

(Kirsten overhears Miss Winston. She shushes Lisbeth and Anna, and the girls stop their play to listen eagerly to the women.)

Mama: But he’s a fine man. He’d be a good husband. You do care for him, don’t you?

Miss Winston: Yes, I do care for him. I care for him very much.

Mama: Then why don’t you want to marry him?

Miss Winston: I do want to marry him, but I don’t want to move away. I feel at home here now. And I’m afraid he wants to settle out in California.

Mama: Settle in California? That’s a surprise! Has he said he plans to move there?

Miss Winston: No, not exactly, but his brother’s panning for gold in California. I suspect he plans to join his brother.

Kirsten: (unable to contain herself any longer) Miss Winston, why don’t you ask him what his plans are?

Anna: Yes! Ask him!

Mama: Hush, now, you girls! You’re too young to understand these things.

Miss Winston: Let me try to explain. You see, a lady doesn’t ask a gentleman about his plans. That wouldn’t be proper.

Lisbeth: But why, Miss Winston?

Miss Winston: Let me put it this way—a question about plans is too forward.

Anna: Forward? Is that like being bold?

Miss Winston: Yes, Anna, bold. It’s not proper to ask personal questions of a man.

Kirsten: Not ever, Miss Winston?

Miss Winston: Well, not until the couple decide to marry. I mean….oh, it’s all so hard to talk about!

Mama: You girls ask too many questions. Go back to your dolls. What game are you playing today?

Kristen: We’re playing that Sari is sick.

Mama: (playing along) Poor Sari!

(Miss Winston bends over and picks up Sari)

Miss Winston: (also playing along) She doesn’t look well.

Lisbeth: We think it’s her stomach.

Anna: She moans and cried.

Kirsten: But she won’t tell us what’s wrong with her.

Miss Winston: (shaking her finger sternly at the doll) Listen here, Miss. If you won’t tell what troubles you, how can anyone help?

(Miss Winston hands Sari back to Kirsten)

Mama: We’d better put away our work. Mr. Boardman will be here shortly.

Miss Winston: I’ve got butterflies in my stomach! I’m so nervous. I just don’t know what to do!

Mama: I think what you should do right now is put on your fresh blouse.

(Mama and Miss Winston pick up their yarn and EXIT.)

(The girls jump happily to their feet)

Kirsten: I’m so glad Miss Winston doesn’t want to leave Minnesota!

Lisbeth: I thought she’d want to move back to her family in Maine.

Anna: I think Mr. Boardman’s so handsome. I hope he asks her to marry him!

(Anna clasps her hands and goes down on one knee in from of Kirsten)

Anna: Please give me your hand in marriage!

Kirsten: (seriously) But if he does ask her to marry him, what will her answer be?

Anna: She’ll say yes!

Lisbeth: (frowning) She might say no. You heard her say she’s worried about moving to California.

Kirsten: But she hasn’t told Mr. Boardman what she’s worried about.

Lisbeth: So if Miss Winston refuses to marry him, he won’t know why.

Anna: (picking up Sari and climbing to her feet) If Sari doesn’t tell what’s troubling her, how can anyone help? It’s the same for Miss Winston, isn’t it?

Kirsten: Yes. She should say what she’s feeling.

Lisbeth: Isn’t there some way we can help her say what’s in her heart?

Anna: You heard what Mama said—“You’re too young to understand these things.” Grown-ups won’t listen to what we say.

Kirsten: Maybe they won’t listen to us, but I’ve got an idea!

(The girls bring their dolls and crouch behind the bush. Kirsten whispers and Anna and Lisbeth nod. In a few moments, Mr. Boardman enters from one side and Miss Winston enters from the other.)

Mr. Boardman: Good day, Miss Winston.

Miss Winston: (shyly) Good day, Mr. Boardman.

(Mr. Boardman and Miss Winston sit nervously on the bench. They don’t notice the girls, who are peeking over the bush.)

Mr. Boardman and Miss Winston: (at the same time) How are you?

(Mr. Boardman and Miss Winston laugh, embarrassed)

Mr. Boardman and Miss Winston: (at the same time) Fine, thank you.

(The girls giggle silently)

(Mr. Boardman takes an envelope form his jacket pocket and hands it to Miss Winston.)

Mr. Boardman: The storekeeper asked me to bring this letter to you.

Miss Winston: (taking the letter) Thank you. It’s from my father in Maine.

Mr. Boardman: I saw that it was. Your family must miss you terribly.

Miss Winston: And I miss them too.

Lisbeth: (whispering) Now’s the time to try your plan, Kirsten!

(Kirsten and Anna move closer to center stage, sit with their backs to the bush, and present the dolls are talking to each other.)

Kirsten: (In a high voice, as if her doll is speaking) I’m so glad you’ve come today!

Anna: (In a low voice, as if her doll is a man) I’m so glad you’ve invited me.

Mr. Boardman: Why, it’s Kirsten and her cousin. What do you suppose they’re doing?

Miss Winston: (Smiling) Oh, they’ve been playing with their dolls all day. They act out all sorts of stories with them. They have such strong imaginations.

Kirsten: (In a high voice) I’ve looked forward so much to seeing you.

Anna: (forgetting to lower her voice) Me, too!

Kirsten: (whispering to Anna) Remember, your doll is supposed to be Mr. Boardman! Don’t forget to keep your voice low, like a man’s.

Anna: (in a low voice) I mean—and I’ve looked forward to seeing you.

Kirsten: (In a high voice) Isn’t this a lovely day?

Anna: (In a low voice) It’s you who are lovely, my dear.

Mr. Boardman: (shaking his head) What will these girls think of next?

Miss Winston: (nervously) I think they’re pretending their dolls are courting. I’ve never heard them play this game before. We shouldn’t listen.

Mr. Boardman: But I like what I hear. The doll is saying what I’m thinking. You are lovely, Miss Winston.

Miss Winston: Oh, Mr. Boardman!

(The girls are delighted)

Lisbeth: (whispering) Keep going!

Kirsten: (in a high voice) Just look around. Isn’t the prairie beautiful today? The waving grass reminds me of the ocean waves back home.

Anna: (In a low voice) It would be wonderful to live by the sea. You must be homesick for it.

Kirsten: (In a high voice) I do miss it sometimes, but my life is here now.

Miss Winston: (softly) How strange. The doll is saying what I’m thinking too.

Mr. Boardman: What are you thinking, my dear?

Miss Winston: I’m thinking how I love the prairie. I can’t imagine living anywhere else now.

Mr. Boardman: But I’ve always thought you wanted to go back to Maine!

Miss Winston: I’ve never said that!

Mr. Boardman: No, you didn’t. And I never asked because I was afraid of what you might say.

(The girls are delighted)

Lisbeth: (whispering) Kirsten, it’s your turn again!

Kirsten: (in a high voice) Do you like it here in Minnesota?

Anna: (forgetting to lower her voice) Oh, yes.

Lisbeth: (pinching Anna’s arm) Your doll’s Mr. Boardman!

Anna: (in her own voice) Ouch!

Anna: (in a low voice again) I mean, ouch!

Miss Winston: (her gaze on Mr. Boardman) I’ve thought you planned to go to California.

Mr. Boardman: (startled) Go to California?

Miss Winston: Yes, to join your brother. I’ve thought you planned to live there.

Mr. Boardman: Not at all. I never said that.

Miss Winston: No, you didn’t. I suspected it, but I never asked because I didn’t think it was proper.

Mr. Boardman: (taking Miss Winston’s hand) My life is here, believe me.

Miss Winston: I do believe you!

(Kirsten and Anna scramble to join Lisbeth, and all three girls peek over the bush at the couple.)

Miss Winston: We didn’t say what was in our hearts, so we’ve both been worrying about the wrong things.

Mr. Boardman: It’s true! And there’s something else in my heart that I want to tell you. Come walk with me, please.

(Mr. Boardman offers Miss Winston his arm and they EXIT.)

(The girls jump to their feet in excitement.)

Lisbeth: Kirsten, your plan worked. Now he’ll ask her!

Anna: (in a low voice) Oh, please, please, Miss Winston, will you be my wife?

Kirsten: (in her own voice) I will! I will! I will!

(The girls hug one another in triumph and delight).

[doyouever-daydream]

Earth Day Surprises

A/N So here I am bringing another Luna oneshot inspired by Earth Day and Kirsten’s Pie Chart and well, I usually get ideas for fics on dates like this and never write them but today I had the time so yeah. 

This could work as part two of Birthday wishes BUT could also be read as one installment. Uhm, btw, I might also have an idea for how Luna’s birth went down so that’s why there’s a nod to that story at the end, would you like to read it?

Pairing: Penelope Garcia x Luke Alvez

Warnings: None, I think.

Word count: 2647 (Oof I usually write like 900w)

Masterlist

It was a Wednesday morning and the smell of pancakes invaded the Alvez home, it was a rare occasion where they could be together during the morning on a weekday but then again these were rare times, Penelope shook her head trying not to think about what was going on and calling her daughter who was getting dressed in her bedroom.

“Baby, breakfast is ready” Penelope called for her while pouring herself a cup of coffee and sitting on the stool waiting for her.

It took five year old Luna a good ten minutes till she appeared in the kitchen wearing denim overalls, a hat and gardening boots, she had asked her mom to braid her hair first thing in the morning before she even brushed her teeth and Penelope happily agreed to do so, she looked adorable in the outfit and carrying Sergio in her arms.

“It’s Earth Day, mommy! I put a sticker on my calendar so I wouldn’t forget!” She announced with a big smile on her face and the cat jumped to go and eat from his bowl.

“It is indeed, I’m happy you’re excited” Penelope mirrored the smile on her daughter’s face, ever since she knew she was going to be a mom she wished to raise her to be earth-friendly, Luke had jumped on board with the idea and they had done a good job so far.

“I want to see if my seeds are finally good to pot them” She exclaimed happy while she climbed on the stool beside her mom “And I want to water all my plants and I want to play in the garden, I also want to pick flowers and see if any more lemons have grown and see if the butterfly has left the cocoon, OH, I WANT TO PLAY FOSSILS” Luna was overly excited about the day ahead.

“Ok, my little explorer, but to do all those things you need energy, now eat your pancakes” She pushed the plate that was Luna’s towards her and she immediately dug in, it took a moment for Roxy to stood on the counter hoping they’d share their food, which made Luna realize someone was missing.

As she looked around she confirmed Luke was nowhere in sight and with a furrowed brow she asked “Where’s daddy?” 

“He had to go to work but only for a few hours” Luna eyes shot up “He’s not going anywhere, I promise”

“He’s not supposed to leave the house” She informed her mom while she took a sip of her orange juice.

“Your aunt Emily really needed him to go besides he’s going to pick up food, we cannot starve and you need lots of veggies and fruits so you grow super strong”

“We should grow them in our yard!” Penelope had a knowing smile but remained silent “I need all the vitamins to be super strong so I can rescue animals, mommy” Recently Luna was determined to be a veterinarian and it made both of her parent’s happy to see her discovering what she wanted to be, maybe she would change her mind or maybe not but either way seeing her being so passionate about animals was endearing.

“Ah, yes, you will need vitamins but also you’ll need to go to college and for that you need to do today’s schoolwork” As the words left Penelope’s mouth, Luna’s face showed no interest.

“I did it yesterday! Today’s Earth Day” She now had a pout and stopped eating.

“Sorry to inform you, sweetheart but even today we do schoolwork, you’re learning to do sums, isn’t that exciting?” Penelope finished her pancakes and went to put her plate on the sink.

“It is not, I already know how to do that, two plus two equals four” Penelope smiled at her “Seven plus two equals nine” She tried to impress her mom.

“Good! You are doing great, baby, but you have to keep on practicing so you can do bigger sums”

“I know how to do that, I even know how to multiply, 13 times 379 equals 4927” Luna said with determination and a huge grin on her face seeing her mom was finally impressed,  Penelope feigning surprise, she came closer to her daughter while she put on a surprised face.

“You, my little precious girl” She tapped Luna’s nose with her finger “Memorized that from Matilda, you and your daddy watch it all the time” Luna’s face fell as she made complaint noises “You have an amazing memory, I’ll give you that” 

“Thirteen plus eight equals…” She quickly counted with her fingers “Twentyone”

“That’s  right, I tell you, you keep practicing and you’ll get even better” The little girl sighed “Today your teacher wants to do a video call with you and your friends, that’s exciting” Luna’s face lit up and she finished  her pancakes ready to start her day.

A few hours later, Luna had done her schoolwork with her mom working beside from her laptop, so whenever she needed help she could easily ask.

The five year old had a Zoom meeting with the rest of her classmates and teacher, it was a sweet sight for Penelope, she knew Luna missed going to school and seeing her friends, after all she took after her when it came to being social, she wasn’t that shy and reserved as her dad, Luna was always trying to be friends with other kids and told anyone who would listen stories about her life, whether it was about that time they visited her daddy’s family in New York or the new bird’s nest that was in her backyard, she had a way getting into conversations with anyone about anything.

A little before lunch, they all heard Luke’s truck pulling up on the driveway, Roxy immediately started barking and Luna ran to the window followed by Sergio who watched curiously outside.

“Daddy’s here” Luna wanted to open the door but her parents always told her she shouldn’t do that so she waited anxiously for her dad to come through the door but after a few minutes there was no sight of him.

“Come on, Lu, let’s go out back” She extended her hand and Luna happily took it as she jumped up and down wondering what was happening. 

On the sideway of their house, his dad truck was parked with two small trees on the back, Luke stood there waiting to see his girl’s reaction.

“Are we going to plant trees?” She asked with wide eyes to both of her parents.

“We are, we needed more additions to our tree family, what do you think?” Luke informed her and Luna started to jump up and down “Alright, I’m gonna go wash my hands and change my clothes and then I’ll come to take this to the garden, now go and choose with your mom a good place for them”

“YES!” Her parents laughed as she ran to the back of the garden, Roxy and Sergio following her to see what the fuss was all about

“Who would’ve thought our daughter loved Earth Day as much as she loves Christmas?” Penelope joked and Luke looked incredulously at her.

“With you as her mom, are you even surprised?” She raised her eyebrows “It’s not a bad thing, I actually love her being like this” Penelope watched as Luna grabbed her gloves and tried to put them up.

“Let me go and help her before she starts to dig in with her bare hands” She turned to Luke “Go and change, we have a long day ahead”

When Luke returned to the backyard his entire family was there, Luna and Penelope were already holding shovels and digging while Roxy was in a totally different spot digging a hole and Sergio watched all of them, unbothered as always.

“Daddy, we want them here” She looked up and beneath her hat, he could see her eyes shine with joy and some dirt on her cheeks.

“Wherever you want them, princess, now let me go and bring them” Luke proceeded to carry the small trees and the soil bags he had also bought.

They dug the holes and Luna was over the moon, seeing the new members of their garden, they had a picnic on their garden and then returned to work, once they planted the trees, she insisted on hugging them carefully so they would feel welcome in their new home.

“Ok, sweetheart, so this will be your tree” Penelope signaled the tree on the right “And many, many years from now we’ll come out here and we’ll see how much your tree has grown” She nodded excitedly unable to take the eyes off of it.

“And whose tree is this?” Luke wondered as he walked behind her wrapping his arms around her waist, she leaned back on his chest and sighed.

“Ours” He kissed her head and they continued the celebration.

“We have one more surprise for you, princess” At this statement Luna finally turned to pay attention to her parents.

“Daddy picked up some seeds so we can plant them and take care of them” Luna smiled big for a moment and then she looked sad “What’s wrong, Lu?” Penelope worried.

“Roxy chew my gardening tools the other week” As if Roxy knew exactly what she meant her ears bent down and whimpered.

“Ah, you see, we remembered that, and that’s why we got you a new set of gardening tools” Luna looked as if she was about to cry of happiness, something she had done before, just like her mom.

“And they’re yellow, my favorite color” She exclaimed as she took them from mom.

Luke bent down and whispered in Penelope’s ear “Wasn’t her favorite color, purple?”

“Oh, newbie, that was last week” She teased him and he laughed at the nickname he could never live down, not even as husband and wife, she would forget it “Now, let’s get to it”

They explained to her that the seeds were for different vegetables, and that if they took good care of them, they would be eat the vegetables from their produce. Luna had a journal, she made drawings but had her mommy writing in it which vegetables they were trying to grow and what date it was so they wouldn’t forget.

“How come you never ask me to write in it, Lu?” Luke asked as he crossed his arms and Luna told her mom exactly what to write.

“Your handwriting isn’t that good, daddy, but it’s ok, we can practice together so we have nice handwriting like mommy’s” Penelope laughed soundly and kept writing careful not to mess it up so Luna would still trust her with the task “Thank you for making this a great day, I love Earth Day, I want all Earth Days to be like this”

“Oh, you just ask, baby, I will fill this with trees if that’s what you want” Luke confessed to which his little girl just laughed and reached her arms up to him.

Luke picked her up, he wished Luna would always want him to hold her “I love you, daddy” She kissed her cheek and yawned.

“También te amo, corazón” He kissed her hair and put her down so she could go with Penelope.

“I love you, mommy” She hugged Penelope and Penelope, felt tears coming to her eyes, not once she took for granted how lucky she was to be Luna’s mom.

“I love you too, baby, with all my heart and soul, now, it’s time for a bath”

After they had dinner, bathed Luna and put her to bed, they also took a shower and had some leftover cake they all had baked the other day, a little after Luke found himself leaning on the doorframe, looking at the backyard, he remembered how when they got the house it was empty, it was just a bunch of dirt but Penelope had been so excited to turn it into somewhere nice so they could have people over, a few years later and they envisioned their own family being there and now actually enjoying it with their daughter was incredible.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Penelope stood beside him with a cup of tea.

“Just admiring the garden” He placed an arm on her shoulders and brought her closer to  him.

“It looks good, isn’t it? I always knew watching Yard Crashers would pay off” She joked and remembered how she would force Luke to watch it with her until he admitted he liked it too.

“The trees will look great once they grow a little bit more” He could picture both of them providing more shade.

“When I was little, my parents planted a tree and told me it was mine to take care of and to watch it grow and so I did” She swallowed “At one point all I had left of them was that tree, I tried to take it with me when I had to move out of the house but I obviously couldn’t but the new owners asked me about it and I told them the story so they kept it, and they told me that I could always go and visit it and it may sound silly but I did, I visited there, it was easier than going to the cemetery and I felt…” She trailed off as the tears came down “I don’t know, a connection to them, to my childhood, so that’s why I needed them to have their own tree”

Luke remained silent assimilating the story, she had never told him that before and he just took her in her arms and allowed her to cry, after a few minutes something clicked in his brain.

“Them?” He asked as he looked for her eyes, she was calmer.

“I’ve been having suspicions for a week and the other day I went to buy Tylenol for Lu, I bought a bunch of tests, they were all positive” The tears of sadness were now replaced by tears of happiness and relief, they’ve been trying ever since Luna had asked them for a baby brother, it had been almost ten months since, they went to doctors, they did tests and treatments.

“How far long do you think you are?” Luke was in shock and overwhelmed.

“I’m not sure, a month? Two? Maybe Santa Claus will make Luna’s wish come true instead of the birthday fairy” She cried and laughed at the same time, Luke locked his lips with hers, they’ve been looking forward to extending their family and the road hadn’t been an easy one but finally it was becoming a reality.

She melted in the kiss, feeling extremely happy to finally share the news with him, she wanted to tell him ever since she took the test a little before he arrived from Quantico, they were beginning another adventure and both were sure it was going to be absolutely amazing.

As they pulled apart their foreheads remained together “That’s why I asked for two trees, one for Lu and one for this little peanut” Penelope confessed and Luke grinned.

“Think about how excited Luna was for today, wait till we tell her she’s going to be a big sister” Luke couldn’t wait but he knew he had to wait for at least a few weeks.

“I know! She’ll have us counting down the days till the baby is here” She thought about her reaction and laughed.

Luke couldn’t keep his eyes off of her, after seeing her struggle so much with the treatments it was finally happening and he wanted to be there for her every second of it. His mind went back to the story of Luna’s birth and although now it was somehow funny, when it happened he was scared he might miss it but he wouldn’t let that happen again.

[annakie]

Am I once again posting about the Voyager Relaunch Novels?  Yes.  Yes I am.

I am re-reading the Post-Endgame Voyager Relaunch novels and marathoned reading The Eternal Tide over the last two nights and all I have to say is Janeway and Chakotay love each other so much, I was literally sobbing through about six sections of the second half of that book.  

The Kirsten Beyer books are SO GOOD.  And as I’m re-reading them I love how she handles every single one of the Voyager characters but especially Chakotay.  I feel like she understands Chakotay and gives him everything the writers of Voyager never quite grasped about his character in seven seasons.  Full Circle is such a powerful story of his love and his grief, and the rest of the crew’s love for him (especially Tom, B’lanna, Harry and Sev-- wow his friendship with Seven is so awesome throughout the Beyer books, everything it should have been in the show and not what we got in Endgame.  The support they have for each other without forcing a cringey relationship back onto them adds so much to BOTH of their characters.  Hey this paragraph went way off the rails but I don’t care.)

Anyway I really love the plots of each of these books, I love how they handle EVERY character (well, I miss Tuvok -- at some point I’m gonna get to the Titan novels) and the new characters are pretty great (oh man Cambridge is a fave, and so much better than the new consular that was introduced in the Spirit Walk books.  Loved Eden, love Farkas.)

I made a post a few days ago about how Chakotay is the whole “upstanding, solid, good guy” archetype that some people dare to call “boring” I’ve previously talked at length in a post about Mass Effect about how that’s just... my favorite kind of character.  And Chakotay is just... so that.  It also made me realize that the Janeway / Chakotay dynamic is also very similar to a Shepard / Kaidan dynamic (powerful commanding officer of her own ship woman character, solid, good, honorable mature right-hand man first officer (or close to it) male character and maybe that’s why they’re both two of my favorite ships.

Anwyay here’s some spoilery thoughts about The Eternal Tide.

Chakotay telling Seven about his relationship with Janeway evolving before she died, and how he doesn’t think he’ll ever love any other woman!

Confirmation that Chakotay was thinking about proposing when they were supposed to met in Venice!??!  What!?

Janeway thinking about Chakotay right after her resurrection and how deeply she feels for him and wondering about how her death affected him!  Also I kind of love that Chakotay DIDN’T come to her mind when deciding whether to return to life or not?  This was her decision and making it about A Man I think would have made it feel less about her and how she knew she would be taking responsibility for The Multiverse, which is what it absolutely should have been about.  Realizing what her death would have done to him basically the second she was alive again... that part was so well written.  I loved it.  Her relationship shouldn’t become the basis of who she is -- but it adds to her.

Their... reunion... scene... almost being ruined by Q... Chakotay’s utter shock and disbelief and the description of him slowly beginning to have his heart open up to the possibility, him inching closer to her as she’s thinking that maybe she’s made a mistake and understands just how deeply her death hurt him... that.... entire... SCENE.  (Actually about once a year I dig that book and Full Circle out just to read their getting together / reunion scenes.)

Getting Seven’s reaction to Janeway was also very, very good.  I wish they hadn’t cut past the scene where the rest of the Voyager staff sees her for the first time but we did get a little taste of it.

Um okay and then Janeway tells Chakotay she loves him for the first time and he says it back, naturally but like, this is as Chakotay was preparing to go on a suicide mission?  SOBBING.  They didn’t even get a day together, but at least they got to say goodbye this time.

Janeway forcing herself not to think about Chakotay’s death because things just got so much more dire.

Yes they won, but Janeway all alone on the battle bridge and she can’t even bring herself to contact Voyager yet because she just needs time to mourn Chakotay for a few seconds and takes a few seconds, a few breaths, a few moments... and then... OMG.... Chakotay is returned by Godson Q just before his death and they’re so happy... I CANNOT.

THE EPILOGUE where they’re in bed and had spent every possible moment together and so casual and free and happy together... it’s everything we ever wanted for seven seasons and seven more books.

--

Oh I started this post now almost a week ago and now I’m a few books forward and hey am I now going to talk about Protectors?  Yes, yes I am.

J/C don’t get to spend a lot of time together in this book.  Janeway gets sent back to the Alpha Quadrant to undergo counseling and evaluation which, tbh, is totally valid considering she DIED A VIOLENT HORRIBLE DEATH and then WAS DEAD FOR FOURTEEN MONTHS and then you know RESURRECTED AND IMMEDIATELY HAD TO SAVE THE MULTIVERSE oh yeah not to mention WAS REUNITED WITH THEN HAD TO TELL CHAKOTAY GOODBYE FOREVER A FEW HOURS LATER then oh wait THE MAN SHE LOVES WAS ALSO BROUGHT BACK FROM THE DEAD (or the brink of death, whatever.)

There’s a short and sweet goodbye scene then for the bulk of the book Janeway is back on Earth going to counseling (which, that second counseling scene was so great, and seeing her slow down and enjoy life with her mother was so great, and um also that scene with her and Picard?  Wow.  Just Wow.  Also I can’t wait to go back and read some TNG books because I need to see JL/B actually get together.)  And the entire time she’s just like... not even doubting her relationship with Chakotay even a little.  She thinks of him and is excited to be reunited but every time it’s like “the man I love” “The person I plan on spending the rest of my life with” and even “the love of my life.”  WOW.  Just Wow.  Chakotay worries a bit but never doubts.

Oh and then she basically tells her commanding officer “yeah um, thanks but I absolutely have no plans on curbing my relationship with Chakotay to make you feel more comfortable.  Also JL/B and Riker/Troi are all married so fuck you?”  She does agree to keep separate quarters on another ship which is like.. fine... whatever.  But also her going “Yes he’s my subordinate but we’re not going to let that affect our working relationship, we’re adults.” Fuck. Yeah.  Montgomery asks if they’re gonna get married and Janeway is all “IDK, probably? We’ll let you know.”

And B’Elanna asks Chakotay the same thing and his answer is also basically “Yeah at some point, we haven’t talked about it yet but yeah we’re spending the rest of our lives together now stop prodding me.”

Their reunion when she returns doesn’t go as planned and it’s a teensy bit worrisome at the end but with notes of positivity.

--

OK I’m only about 1/3rd into Acts of Contrition but I got to a part last night that made me put the book down for a minute and thank Kirsten Beyer out loud.

J/C finally get to spend some time alone several days after she makes it back to the fleet in the Delta Quadrant.  They have a brief discussion about The Plot, then Chakotay is like “Know what?  We’ll talk about The Plot Stuff tomorrow in the briefing.  Let’s instead talk about us.”  And then he stands up for what he wants!  And Janeway listens, and they talk, and agree!  And then Chakotay is like “Okay, now I really want to hear about what happened to you back on Earth for all those weeks!”  So... literally they just... sit and talk for several hours like, I don’t know, real people would?  There’s no drama!  And they both affirm their commitment to each other and their relationship!

It’s just... it’s... so good?  Their relationship is so solid!  They LOVE EACH OTHER and it’s based on their solid friendship (something else they actually say out loud!) and they talk to each other and there’s no like drama for drama’s sake about their relationship so far and it’s like, better than even any fanfic I’ve ever read (and there’s some great fic out there for these two) because nearly every other character is also getting their screentime and character development (minus Tuvok -- who’s off with Riker and Troi on the Titan and Neelix isn’t around much -- though he’s spoken of and we see him a bit when they visit New Talax).  Also it’s... beta canon.  No matter what, this is real and accepted beta canon.

I have been going back and listening to all the episodes of the Literary Trek podcast episodes about these books, and for Eternal Tide and Protectors Beyer herself was on the podcast and listening to her talk about Chakotay and Janeway both individually and as a couple her love for them both is clear, she loves the show and knows what she’s doing and is allowed to do it, and her writing is so damn good.  One of the hosts of the podcast has said in several episodes that he used to really dislike Chakotay as he was in the show and now book Chakotay is one of his favorite characters.  And honestly? I do love show Chakotay but book Chakotay is... everything show Chakotay should have been.  But he’s also been through hell and back and I love how Beyer used that experience -- and now Janeway’s resurrection experience -- to advance them BOTH individually and how that’s affected them as a couple now that they actually get to be that.

There’s so much other good in these books.  Tom and B’Elanna’s storyline and the way she writes them and their marriage... I could write so much about it.  Harry gets better characterization!  A plotline!  A promotion!  A love interest that may actually work out?!!? We’ll see.  And SEVEN. Wow. So much happens with Seven and it’s so great, I love her so much and Book Seven is again, even better.

Two more books have come out since the last time I read the series and the final book comes out next month, I can’t wait to see all the great moments Beyer has coming up for them.  It also makes me twice as happy that Beyer is so involved with Picard. It’s so clear the love she has for these two and I can’t imagine J/C not still being Alpha canon with her involved.

[bluehhj]

listen to me — chapter 17

LISTEN TO ME  — 0017

listen to me masterlist;

WORDS: 1.8K

The next morning, Jinah's mood was below zero.

It had taken her too long to sleep the night before and, as if that weren't enough, she had been awakened three times in the middle of the night. The first was when she thought she heard a noise in the kitchen; the second to have forgotten to put the phone in the muffler, which resulted in a series of unnecessary notifications of Twitter and a message from the operator bothering her ears and interrupting her rest with several irritating beeps. Finally, the last time was due to a senseless nightmare added to that awful sensation of awakening as if falling from a precipice. Since then, Jinah was angry and couldn't sleep. It's right to say that monday wouldn't be a good day for her.

"I need to go to the library to get a book my professor asked for" Chan said, as the four friends were passing the University campus. There were still a few good minutes left for the first class, but they preferred to go to their respective buildings earlier to avoid the commotion. "Can someone go with me?"

"Have you forgotten how to walk alone?" Jinah grunted without thinking and only realized how rude she'd sounded when she watched his friend's eyebrows rise in her direction. "Sorry."

"I can't even remember the last time I've seen you so angry," Changbin said. "You're spending a lot of time with Jisung, huh?"

"You wake up in a bad mood almost every day and I never complain or talk bullshit about" Jinah rolled her eyes painfully. "I'm just tired of not sleeping well, can't I?"

"At ease," Jade replied. "I'll go to the library with you, Chan."

The blond boy nodded and Changbin was quick to say that he'd also accompany them. When she saw herself alone, Jinah sighed and couldn't help but feel guilty. She hated being rude to people, especially to her best friends, but there were days when she simply didn't wake up with patience to deal not even with herself. She decided, then, that she'd be quiet for as long as she could, so she wouldn't risk annoying anyone else. And although eventually waking up with the affected state of mind was normal in anyone's life, Jinah still felt terrible.

                                                         ♡˖°

For Changbin, libraries were the best and most complete sample of paradise on earth.

He was enchanted by all those covers, from the colored, the simple, the dark, the new, the worn, the beautiful or even the most peculiar. Being in the middle of so many bookshelves packed with hundreds of different stories brought him, beyond an inexplicable peace, the certainty that he couldn't have chosen a better course than Literature. Changbin loved books and everything that could be related to them. He found it incredible to be able to imagine scenarios and faces across the lines, to understand all the feelings that the authors wanted to convey with their well-placed words, to feel within the events that made up the narratives. It was as if he were floating, stepping on clouds.

However, it wasn't quite this internal tranquility that Seo felt as he entered the library that day.

When he saw the two pitifully familiar figures standing by the counter, it was as if a truck dumped a ton of concrete on his back. All his muscles tightened and his expression, rather mild, turned into a scowl similar to the one Jinah held a few minutes ago, while in his mind a single doubt called for an answer: what is this idiot doing here?

"Josh?" Jade's eyes widened when she recognized him, and a broad grin decorated her face almost immediately. The one whose turn turned and also smiled, then enveloped the american in a tight hug. Changbin wanted to die.

Lee Joshua — or just Josh, as some people called him (Changbin usually called him Satan) — was Jade's ex-boyfriend and had been her first in everything: first friend, first kiss, first love, first time and so on goes the list. The girl who was with him was Kirsten Jeon, who just because she was an almost sister to Josh made Changbin nourish a certain rancor for her porcelain doll face and black hair. The three had become extremely close as children, when Jade, after moving from USA, lived in the UK for a few years and met them at the new school. So far so good, because soon Kang returned to move, moving to South Korea, and ended up losing contact with the dynamic pair — which would bring a good drama if considered all the sadness that accompanied the end of the relationship with Josh and everything if it hadn't been for Satan and his loyal follower to have relatives in Seoul, and months later, had appeared by surprise for a little visit.

At that time, Changbin and Jade were still getting to know each other. Jinah and Chan were already friends, but they hadn't yet definitively entered their lives, although Seo had a little intimacy with the two because they attended the same class in the third year of high school. But returning to the main focus, Changbin fell in love with Jieun gradually — which we can agree, wasn't difficult at all — and their relationship, initially being named as friendship — would've evolved into something bigger, but Josh had to appear sundelly and complicate everything. It was from that moment that Changbin started hating him.

Because he knew that, whether he wanted or not, Josh was very important in Jade's life, and his biggest fear was not being enough to become important either.

"What are you doing here? Are you here to stay?" the american was a mess of shining eyes and easy smiles. "Hi, Kirsten!" she exclaimed as her gaze fell on the brunette and gave her a hug. "If it was to surprise me, know you guys have done it again!"

"Yeah, we came to stay this time" Josh looked at Jieun as if she were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. "I wanted to call you to tell you that we asked to transfer to this University, but I didn't have your number and, from what I noticed, you changed your address."

"No problem, what matter is that you guys are here" and as if Jade had finally realized that her boyfriend and her friend were standing there like statues, she tried to introduce them to the conversation. "Do you guys remember Chan and Changbin?"

"Of course." Kirsten smiled friendly at both of them. "It's good to see you guys again."

If Changbin opened his mouth, surely a "wish I could say the same" would pour through it, so he decided to let Chan respond in a more polite way. His eyes met Josh's for an instant and the last one, aware that Seo had started dating Jieun some time after his last visit to the country — he couldn't help stalking the american girl's social medias from time to time —, lifted one eyebrow, as if calling for a confrontation.

Hell was officially back.

                                                       ♡˖°

Of all the people in the world, Jisung was the last one who could question someone's bad mood, but it was difficult to work that day.

He even tried to keep his attention on the computer and his arduous task of organizing the system — this being the last thing the store owner asked him to do before he left definitely to start his internship at a publishing house —, but this was being complicated with Changbin cleaning the shelves as if he wanted to break them in half. The force Seo applied on the cloth made the glass shiver.

Jisung opened his lips and closed them again three times, uncertain whether to ask what was happening or leave him mulling over his obvious anger alone. However, when a little packet containing an earphone fell to the ground and a curse escaped from the elder's mouth, followed by another and another, Jisung was forced to take some action.

"Changbin, what's this?" he asked at a safe distance from the boy, fearing he might be the target of the same violence that he had put on the poor shelves. "Is everything okay?"

"Of course not! How could everything be okay with Satan walking around?!" he replied in a furious way. It was too hate to fit within only 5’6″ tall. "He's very much mistaken if he thinks he's going to get the best this time, because I'm going to punch him first!"

Jisung's eyes widened. He said Seo was as scary as dark and the others still had the courage to disagree, and at that very moment he was calling the devil himself into the fight.

"I don't think you're having a good day."

"If you hadn't said, I wouldn't even notice!" Changbin replied ironically and, snorting, threw the cloth to the floor and stomped out to the warehouse, then slamming the door hard. Jisung ran his hand down the back of his neck. First Jinah, who hadn't even looked in his face earlier; now Changbin, who seemed enraged even with his own shadow. What was missing?

"What the hell." Jeonghan came into the store cursing softly, past Han like a wind and heading to the back of the counter. Jisung's first impression of Yoon was that he was a quiet and calm person, but later discovered that Jeonghan was a rebel who hated anything that moved; soon, watching him lose his temper had already turned into something normal.

"What are you doing here?" Jisung couldn't help but ask. "Today isn't your day to come work."

"It turns out that the madams," he referred to Jisung and Changbin, who was still locked in the back of the shop. "leave this week and the boss has already hired new people to do the replacement."

"And?"

"Who's going to have to babysit and teach things, it's me!" he replied as if it were obvious. "They'll be there shortly. My patience is so short it almost doesn't exist, how wrong is that going to be?"

"Maybe they're not even that bad." Jisung shrugged. He was no one to say that Jeonghan should be less bitter, but perhaps the company of new people would even do well for Yoon. "You can end up becoming friends."

"I doubt it very much. I don't even know these Jisoo and Seungcheol, but I already say I don't like them. "

Han had nothing to say. In his opinion, that was a day when the universe was completely unbalanced and everyone seemed to be on edge.

Except for him, as incredible as it might seem.

[youtubethewhatnow]

The Night We Met- David Dobrik

So I’m going to be away for a week so I’m writing a series based off songs that kind of create a story. This starts off in 2017 so David and Liza are still a thing, the first part of this story is also based off of Lord Huron’s The Night We Met.

Smoothies. The first thing your friend told you about when you moved to LA was buy a smoothie. Which also was what you were doing currently since you were brainstorming ideas for your YouTube channel. Your friend Andrea Russett suggesting things to you, nothing sticking since your last video was kind of intense. 

“You could come to a party with me tonight, it’s filled with YouTubers and maybe one of them could give you an idea” Andrea suggested making you shrug your shoulders. Soon you just took a sip of your smoothie before writing down another idea that you could possibly use, all of them seeming flat in a way. 

“If I unpack my closet I’ll go” You gave Andrea your plan before thanking her for meeting with you on such short notice and called an Uber to go back to your apartment. Looking out the window of the new place you decided to call home, hoping that this would be the right move for you since all the plans you had were now involving LA. 

Soon you were back at your apartment, thanking the Uber driver you left his car and went straight to your apartment to unpack everything you possibly could. Soon you got a FaceTime call from Andrea suggesting that she wanted to see the progress you had made. “I think you should go tonight like I know you said unpacking your closet and everything, but just listen. You can meet a ton of new people and you will definitely get a new idea” Andrea pleaded with you.

You sighed before looking at the boxes in your apartment, you knew that unpacking could wait another day if you just did it all at once. “Fine I need something to wear though” You agreed, hoping Andrea could find something cute for you too. She rolled her eyes before smiling at you, you knew she would definitely find something for you.

“You already know I have you covered just get your hair and makeup done, I’ll be over in a little bit” Andrea informed you before hanging up. You looked around for your box of stuff for getting ready before taking it out and unpacking part of it on your vanity and some in the bathroom. This creating a mess but it was definitely a problem for tomorrow, for right now your only problem would be to try and figure out where to put everything from your hair care.

After two hours you had figured out everything and were putting finishing touches on your makeup, that’s when the buzzer in your apartment was set off leading you to press the button to let Andrea up. She was the only one who had your apartment information so far so it’s not like it was anyone else you knew or didn’t know. 

Soon you were met with the approving face of Andrea with shorts and a cute top for your first party, knowing that wearing a dress just wouldn’t make sense for you. “Thank you so much” You thanked your friend before she spun you around, nodding her head in approval while you looked at her in the same way. 

“We look great and we definitely need to go since our Uber is here” Andrea stated before pulling you out of your apartment after she confirmed you had everything that you needed in your purse. “So who’s house are we even going to?” You asked Andrea who was texting on her phone with her business manager.

“David Dobrik’s house he just bought it” Andrea informed you making you slightly giddy, you were a huge fan even if you worked in the same exact space as him. He was creating a name for himself, he already kind of had one but it was being more solidified into something you had to admire. If you got to meet him there’s no doubt that you would probably ask him a billion and one questions.

“That’s so exciting honestly” You replied with excitement before you got a text from someone who you hoped would be your manager, you knew they’d do an amazing job. Soon the car fell comfortably silent as you both texted about work before stopping in front of one of the prettiest houses you had ever seen. You both got out to see tons of people already at the party making you slightly less nervous. 

You and Andrea walked in, Andrea immediately greeted by other people and her introducing you to people you loved. Soon getting into a conversation with a girl named Kristen, who was really close with Andrea you learned. “So how are you liking LA so far?” Kristen asked you as soon as Andrea finished introducing the two of you. “God it’s nothing like home” You replied looking around at everything, soon the two of you getting into a conversation about your firsts in LA.

That’s when you heard a loud laugh and people gathering around someone, both of you turning your heads to look only seeing no one in sight. “You probably can’t see anyone because it’s Tana I recognize that laugh anywhere” Kristen told you before you looked around the people to confirm that in fact Tana Mongeau was at the same party as you. “She’s probably telling a story of some sorts” You replied, Kristen nodding her head before getting into another story.

That’s when loud yelling came from outside before someone rode into the room on a dirt bike, stopping only a few feet in front of you. You stood mouth opened while a group of people all with vlog cameras out came up behind the mystery person, yelling about how awesome that was. Your confusion spiking when Kirsten yelled at one of the people about how they could get hurt and to come over to her where it was safe. 

“I’m sorry but Zane is drunk almost everyday but it’s rare to see him ride a dirt bike drunk” The person who you recognized as Scotty Sire told Kristen who was soon just rolling her eyes at him. You laughed at the couple before more people came over to join the two of them, who were fine now that they had a talk. “So who’s this?” Scott asked Kristen who pointed to you.

“Dude that’s (Y/N) she had that video about traveling to Hawaii I showed you, I’m Matt King but you can just call me Matt” Matt introduced himself before everyone gave their introductions to you. You smiled at the big group, suddenly slightly overwhelmed by the amount of people that the Vlog Squad actually consisted of. “I’m David and this is Liza, welcome to my house by the way” David introduced himself to you. 

Suddenly your heart skipping a beat when he shook your hand, pulling back a little quickly from the electricity your heart was seeming to produce at that moment. You noticed David might of felt it too since he pulled back just as quick, the two of you smiling softly at each other. “Oh great you met everyone already” Andrea stated, interrupting your moment with David as she joined the group of everyone. 

You nodded your head while you eyed David, he was really cute but him and Liza were the dream couple of YouTube. Who were you to mess that up with someone you had just met? He may not even like you since you both just met and said a total of less than 30 words to each other. “Honestly David maybe able to help you with a video idea, he always says he has nothing but always comes up with a kick ass video” Andrea stated, the group agreeing. 

“Yeah sure we could meet tomorrow, I need ideas anyways so maybe you could give me one” David suggested before Liza looked at him like he had two tails and three heads. You looked at the two of them confused before she looked at you with a look that said sorry before continuing. “We are supposed to get ready for Florida, do you guys want to try going out back where it’s more quiet. I’m sorry (Y/N) but we’re just busy tomorrow” Liza apologized to you, you just shrugged your shoulders. 

“Sure we can go out back, do you want to join us? Your videos are always really cool and fun” You offered to Liza who just smiled at you. Soon just mentioning something about a snack table and a cake before heading off, you and David heading out back to go sit on the chairs he had that faced the city.

“Whoa the view of the city is so pretty” You told David who just nodded his head, looking out into the open air and the skyline of LA you didn’t think you’d ever get bored of. David nodded head stretching out his legs and soon turning his full attention to you, this allowing you to study his features slightly. “Definitely something I loved about this house enough that made me want to buy it” David admitted, looking out onto the busy city.

“So how do you even come up with ideas for your videos? They’re always so good and exciting” You gushed to David, revealing slight inner fangirl. You didn’t watch all of his videos so not all of the vlog squad were familiar to you until this party, but they were just as wild as they were on camera. “I have no idea, I just go out and we film like the day of. You I feel like you could do anything on camera and people would watch” David admitted, smiling sheepishly at you.

Your eyes went wide when you realize that he had watch some of your videos you had done before, you didn’t realize he even knew who you were before this moment. “Well thanks for that but I’m so scared I’m going to mess up as soon as I got here, you don’t even understand” You confessed, hoping that he understood. 

Soon you and David just started talking about anything and everything that came to your mind, David admitting that he came out to LA with barely anything at all. He had made it though and it was something you had idolized about him, he was so determined there was no doubt he would do well for himself. This had made you feel a little better, especially since David said he would help you out anyway he could. The both of you soon getting into stories you didn’t think you would tell anyone else, yet here you were admitting how you got your braces stuck with another boys in middle school.

“You are really fun to talk to, you know that?” David said nonchalantly, laughing at a joke you had just made about Zane who just tried to bring out a kiddie pool and fill it with water. Failing to jump the small pool, which definitely meant he was drunk out of his mind. “Thank you but I definitely think you should’ve gotten that” You pointed out to Zane who was now wet and very confused as to what just happened. The both of you laughing a

David just looked at you, nodding his head before slowly you both got caught up in a moment you didn’t know was happening initially. David slowly starting to lean in, you doing the same since it definitely felt right and like you supposed to do. “Hey guys did you just see that?” Matt cut in, yelling with his vlog camera in hand while raving about something that happened at the party.

You and David jumping apart before David grabbed his vlog camera, telling you bye before heading off with everyone else to see Zane trying something else drunk. Soon you looked over to where David was to see him look back to the event happening, making you realize that he was looking at you seconds before. 

You looked around hoping no one saw anything that just happened between you two, luckily no one did meaning your first day in LA was eventful. The only thing is now you knew, you had a crush on David Dobrik while he was dating Liza Koshy. You were doomed.

[branlovestowrite]

Emma and Hope: American Girls

Seven years ago today I gave birth to my daughter. She has been so wonderful and I discover new things with her every day. One of those things has been the fun of playing with 18-inch dolls. I always wanted an American Girl doll, but could never have one as a child. Santa brought my kiddo one for Christmas, and playing with her and her doll inspired me to buy myself the doll I always wanted.

This story is taken directly from that experience. It’s a canon-compliant, post S7 slice of fluffy domestic goodness set in the Swan-Jones household. Many thanks go to @kmomof4 who helped me develop the idea after I pestered her nonstop about AG dolls. Thanks also to her for being my beta on this cavity-inducing fluff fest. I hope you enjoy this sugary treat!

Title: Emma and Hope: American Girls

Rating: F for fluff… sooooo much fluff

Words: ~2,500

Also on AO3

Summary: Emma has sworn that her child will have everything she never got to have, including the expensive toys she always wanted. When Hope gets an American Girl doll for Christmas, Emma goes a bit overboard in buying accessories. Killian is concerned for their budget, and the fact that their house is being taken over by dolls.

Emma Swan was nine years-old when she saw her first American Girl catalog.

She'd been staying in one of her many foster homes. The situation was not the worst she'd been in, but it was definitely unpleasant, with an absentee father, bratty children, and an alcoholic mother. But the family had money. The catalog had come in the mail one day. The children, both being boys, had no interest in the dolls, but Emma swiped the booklet and stashed it among her possessions before anyone else saw.

She poured over those pages, marveling at the beautiful dolls and their accessories. She loved the snippets of the stories of each girl, learning a little about their lives in the past. Emma didn't stay very long in that home, but when she left the catalog came with her. She carried it with her for five years, looking at it constantly until the pages were worn thin. Eventually she found the books that came with the dolls at a library, and was able to read their entire stories. But she knew she would never be able to have one of the dolls themselves. No one was going to buy an $80 doll for an orphan girl.

More than twenty years later, Emma sat in bed in her beautiful home, next to her handsome husband, and paged through the American Girl website on her iPad.

"What's that?" Killian asked, peering over her shoulder.

"Dolls. I'm looking at some possible Christmas presents for Hope."

"She has quite a few dolls already. Does she really need any more?"

"These are special dolls." She scooted over on the bed to lean into her husband's side and show him the page she was looking at.

"They are pretty, but perhaps a bit strange looking with their bucked teeth. And their eyes look a little… what's the word you use? Creepy?"

"They're not creepy," she scoffed, lightly punching him in the arm.

Killian looked closer at the tablet. "Bloody hell! Over one-hundred dollars for a doll? Swan, she's six. Why on earth would we spend that much on a doll for her?"

"I told you, these are special dolls. They're made to teach kids about a period in American history. The dolls come with a book, and there are these outfits and accessories you can buy that are period-correct. The dolls are good quality and last a long time. Some people that had them as kids have passed them on to their own children."

"Did you have one?"

Emma looked up from the screen and gave her husband a pointed stare.

"Of course not. My mistake." He sighed and placed his hand on her arm. "So now that we have a daughter, you want to give her something you could never have?"

"Bingo." She looked back down at her device. "I just can't decide which one. There are so many now. When I was a kid there were only four dolls, but now there are eleven historic dolls, plus these contemporary ones, and the Truly Me dolls. It's so hard to decide."

"Which one did you always want?"

Emma set the iPad back down and smiled warmly. "Kirsten. She was a frontier girl. I loved her rustic clothes and furniture, and she had blonde hair like me, and it was braided in these cute little pigtails and looped around her ears. Her family was Swedish, and she had the cutest little accessories, like this Christmas wreath thing she wore on her head."

Killian looked fondly at his wife. "Then I think you should purchase that one."

"Not that easy, sadly," Emma sighed in response. "Kirsten was retired a while back. You can't buy her anymore." She looked back at the screen once more. "I was looking at maybe Julie, or Kit, or maybe Tenney."

"This all sounds quite strange to me, Swan." He grabbed the tablet from her and scrolled through the page. Setting the device back on the bed, he decisively touched one doll, bringing up her page. "This one."

"Are you sure?" Emma asked. "That doll doesn't even really look like Hope, and a lot of girls like these dolls because they look like them. Maybe we should get one that has blonde hair?"

"No, Swan, this is the one."

"How do you know?"

"Because, thanks to your parents, Hope loves horses, and this doll's book has a horse on the cover. That, and her green eyes remind me of yours."

Emma couldn't help the blush that crept into her cheeks. "Okay. Felicity it is."

§§§§§§§§§§

Of course, Hope loved the doll. Emma would never forget the smile on her daughter's face when she opened the box on Christmas morning.

"An American Girl doll!" she'd squealed. "Just what I've always wanted since I was a little girl!" Emma and Killian had chuckled at her hyperbole, but chose not to correct her.

After the holidays were over, and life returned to normal, Felicity continued to be a constant presence in their lives. She accompanied Hope everywhere. All the residents of Storybrooke got to know the doll, and Hope made sure everyone knew the entire story.

"This is my doll Felicity. She's an American Girl doll. She came with a book about her life. It had a horse on the cover! Felicity lived in a time called '1774.' That was a really long time ago. But she didn't really live back then because she's just a doll."

Hope had definitely inherited her Grandmother's chatty tendencies.

On the third Monday of January, Hope had the day off of school. Emma made plans to take her down to Boston for a girl's trip where they would visit the American Girl store. Having Felicity was fun, but Emma had secretly decided they needed some accessories.

Hope chatted the entire drive about how excited she was to see Felicity's outfits and furniture. Emma thought she knew what to expect, but she was still overwhelmed when they arrived. The store was huge, with dolls everywhere. There were so many displays showing the dolls and all the additional outfits and beds. And there were outfits for kids that could match the doll's clothes. Hope immediately decided she needed to get one of those, but Emma told her to wait until they saw everything before she picked something out.

They explored both levels of the store, Hope bouncing from display to display, her face lighting up more at each turn. She froze, however, when they reached the Truly Me section.

"Mommy, can you hold Felicity for me?" she asked as she held the doll aloft, not removing her eyes from the display of dolls before her. Hope was enchanted. She wandered slowly through the area until she found a doll with curly blonde hair and blue eyes. "She's so pretty, Mommy. Doesn't she look just like me?"

The look on Hope's face convinced Emma that she was going to buy that doll for her daughter. Without looking at the total, she swiped her credit card for the doll, along with a doll-sized bunk bed and two outfits with accompanying doll clothes. Then they went to the bistro and had a lovely lunch with Felicity and the new doll before piling in the car and returning home. The day was a beautiful memory. It involved a lot of driving, but Emma felt it was worth it when she remembered the look on her daughter's face.

The next day Emma and Killian took Hope to Granny's for dinner. When they arrived, they ran into Alice and Robin.

"Did you get a new doll?" Alice asked Hope. "That's not Felicity, is it?"

"Nope! Felicity is at home in her new bed. This is my new dolly."

"What's her name?"

"I haven't named her yet," Hope deadpanned, her words accompanied by a flourish of her hand, as if it were obvious the doll was as yet unnamed.

"Do you have any ideas?" Robin asked.

"No! It's really hard to decide. She looks just like me, so I thought of calling her Hope, but my name is Hope and she can't have the same name as me!"

"Obviously," Robin chimed in.

Hope pulled the doll away from her body and looked at her face. "She looks like me, and I look like Alice, so the doll looks like Alice too."

"Good observation," said Robin.

"But I can't call her Alice. That would be silly, right?"

"What about Tilly?" Alice suggested. "That was my cursed name."

Hope furrowed her brow. The dynamics of curses still eluded her. But after a moment she relaxed her expression. "I like it!" She declared. "Her name is Tilly!"

§§§§§§§§§§

Tilly the doll fit in well with her new family. Emma spent much of her spare time playing with Hope and the dolls. When they weren't playing, she was perusing Amazon on her iPad, looking for additional clothing and accessories. She bought some more colonial-style outfits for Felicity and a couple more outfits for Hope that included matching doll outfits for Tilly. Then they needed somewhere to store the clothes, so she bought a wardrobe for the dolls. After also acquiring a table and a doll-sized kitchen, they decided that there wasn't enough space in Hope's bedroom to house everything, and they set about rearranging the furniture in a room across the hall, declaring it the "doll's room." This is how Killian found them when he came home one Saturday afternoon in late February.

"What, may I ask, is going on?" he queried as he stood in the doorway to the room.

"We need more space for the doll stuff," Emma replied matter-of-factly.

"We do have a playroom set aside for Hope's toys. Perhaps the dolls could live there?"

"No, I want them here. These toys are special."

"Yeah Daddy, they're special," Hope chimed in.

Killian shook his head and walked downstairs to begin preparing dinner, which Emma's parents and brother would be joining them for.

When their guests arrived, David joined him in the kitchen while Mary Margaret went upstairs to join the girls. Neal, now in his early teens, settled on the sofa in the living room with his phone.

"They've really gotten into the dolls, haven't they?"

"Aye." Killian took a sip of his beer as he turned to face his father-in-law. "It would appear my home is being invaded by a small army of expensive toys."

David gave him a warm smile. "You know, I regret a lot of things with Emma. I know it was out of my control, but that doesn't stop me from wishing I could have raised her and given her the things she always wanted. It's nice to see that you guys are able to do that for Hope."

"The things she always wanted…" His words sparked an epiphany in Killian. "I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner."

"Huh?" David asked.

"Can you finish chopping these, mate?" Killian asked. "I need to make a quick phone call."

"Yeah, sure. Is everything alright?"

"Never better, Dave. I just had a realization that I don't want to wait to act on."

§§§§§§§§§§

The ringing of the doorbell brought Hope barreling down the stairs with a cry of "I'll get it!". Killian tried to run to the door to stop her as Emma raced from upstairs to do the same. Neither were successful. Hope flung the door open to reveal a large package left by the postman.

Hope sucked in a deep gasp. "What is it? Is it for me?!"

Killian observed the package, looking at the return address on the shipping label, as he'd learned to do recently. The sender's name tipped him off to the contents inside. "No, love. This is for Mommy."

Hope looked dejected for a moment, her six year-old brain having trouble accepting when others received gifts in her presence. Emma took in the enormous box and smiled at her daughter. "Do you want to help me open it?"

"Okay," Hope responded sullenly before her eyes suddenly brightened. "If it's something I like, will you share it with me?"

"I don't know what it is, sweetie," Emma said, looking curiously at her husband.

"It's something for Mommy to share with you," Killian replied with a smirk. Using the sharpened tip of his hook, he sliced open the tape on the box so Emma could pull the flaps apart. The contents inside were covered in a thick layer of bubble wrap, obscuring their appearance. Tentatively, Emma started to peel away the protective packaging to reveal the treasure inside.

Her face lit up as the contents became clear. Gingerly she lifted the largest item away from the box to cradle it in her arms. "Kirsten," she breathed, before her face split into the widest grin Killian had ever seen. She beamed up at him. "You got me Kirsten?"

"Aye," he said with a smile. "Seeing you and Hope play with her new dolls was charming, but I thought you should have the doll you've always wanted."

"How did you even know how to get her?"

"I called Henry and asked for his help."

"And he knew where to find vintage American Girl dolls?"

"Actually, no. But, thanks to her cursed memories, Jacinda did. She had a false memory of wanting one of these dolls when she was a child. She helped me find the doll on this website called "e-bay". She was so inspired that she ended up purchasing a Samantha doll for herself and Josefina for Lucy.

"We can have a tea party with our dolls!" Hope cried out excitedly.

"Indeed my little cygnet, you can and you should. However, I think for now we should take Kirsten and the rest of the contents of this box upstairs to add them to our collection."

"Now that we have three dolls you can play with us too, Daddy!"

"I believe I will. I will take Felicity, but I do have a request. She needs a pirate outfit."

"That will probably be hard to find on Amazon," Emma said with a chuckle.

"You have magic, Swan. Conjure one up."

"And a little Jolly Roger!" Hope said, jumping up and down. "The dolls need to have some pirate adventures!" She dashed up the stairs, making a beeline for the doll's room.

Emma held Killian back from following their daughter. "Thank you," she said, looking up into his eyes.

He returned her gaze lovingly. "You are most welcome, my love. What's the use of being married to a pirate if you can't have some treasures of your own?"

She smiled at him before lifting up on her toes to capture his lips in a soft, sweet kiss. "You're the best treasure of all."

Tagging the CS Crew. Let me know if you want to be added or removed from my tag list.

@artistic-writer @bleebug @cat-sophia @courtorderedcake @flslp87 @gingerchangeling @hollyethecurious @initiala @jonirobinson64 @kmomof4 @kymbersmith-90 @laschatzi @lassluna @lillpon @nerdyhuntress @resident-of-storybrooke @rouhn @searchingwardrobes @sherlockianwhovian @shireness-says @snidgetsafan @snowbellewells @teamhook @thejollyroger-writer @thislassishooked @winterbythesea @winterbaby89 @wingedlioness @wyntereyez @yayimallamaagain

[belizedeservesbetter]

Rock of Ages is Hadestown

I don’t really know if this is a review or my upcoming college thesis 

I’ve always loved Rock of Ages. It’s so fun. It’s so dumb. But it’s also so smart. Rock of Ages knows exactly who Rock of Ages is and should be. Rock of Ages is exactly what Rock of Ages wants to be. It’s a blast and the songs are of course good and it’s funny and full of heart and there’s actually some really wonderful theatrical moments and I’m thrilled that it’s back at New World Stages for the summer. But as I sat there watching the show on Thursday, I realized something. 

Rock of Ages is Hadestown. 

The plot is literally the same. Young musician working in a restaurant falls in love with a girl who wants more out of life but young musician can’t give her what she wants and eventually sells her soul to the devil. All the while, a fun narrator steps in and out of the plot and a second story of young love and falling out of love occur between the older character. Three women who sing together are also involved. That is a vast oversimplification of both stories but you get my idea. 

Orpheus, then, is Drew. The wannabe musician with a big heart, good intentions but not the smartest or most logical person. Drew, who throughout the show writes a song that will Change Rock and Roll (and in Orpheus’ case, the world). This song that makes their female love interest fall in love with them. In this current production of Rock of Ages, he’s played by CJ Eldred, who looks STRIKINGLY like Reeve Carney, but can actually act. 

tell me that is not Reeve. tell me they are not long lost siblings or at least dopplegangers

Which brings us to Sherrie, aka Eurydice, who has blown in from nowhere and bumps into Drew/Orpheus and there is an instant connection that is only bolstered by a lovely duet by the Greeks and a shared slushee by the rockers. Sherrie, like Eurydice, is a “hungry young girl” who wants more out of life. Where Eurydice wants... something, I guess, Sherrie wants to be an actress. Kirsten Scott sings the hell out of all her songs and is a sheer delight to watch on stage. Sherrie and Drew have a good thing going until Drew mentions just how good of friends they are. 

Am I equating Orpheus’ inability to do anything but write his “La La La” song with a nervous Drew accidentally telling Sherrie they’re just friends? Yes. Yes and the scene it happens in the show is hilarious. There’s this wooden car set that Drew brings on and off that is SO cheesy and SO hilarious and they all know it too. There’s even a part where Drew mimes opening and closing the car door even though there is no door that was Comedy Gold. 

Which brings us to Hades, aka Stacee Jaxx. Where Eurydice sells her soul to Hades and goes way down to Hadestown, Sherrie sleeps with Stacee, who then gets her fired and puts a rift between her and Drew. Stacee Jaxx is as gross and sleazy as they come, and PJ Griffith (whose bio on the website is fun) works every second of it. His story ends with Sherrie breaking his nose before he has to flee the country. Where Hades is revealed to Have a Heart, Stacee is kicked to the curb, which I liked. I liked that the Big RockStar ends the show with nothing and no one. 

The Hermes of Rock of Ages is Lonny, who is both the narrator of the show and a character who influences the plot. “Just Like Paradise/Nothin’ But a Good Time” is literally Road to Hell and all the characters and themes are introduced right from the start. Lonny steps in to narrate quite a bit, going so far as to interrupt Drew’s train of thought towards the end of the show which leads to this funny “You’re in a musical called Rock of Ages and it used to be on Broadway and now it’s not and they made a movie out of it” moment which was absolutely on the nose but they KNEW it was on the nose and worked with it. Mitchell Jarvis, who created the role of Lonny, is back in this current Off-Broadway production and he is spectacular. You can tell he loves everything about this role and this show and he is having a fantastic time and you the audience are having a fantastic time with him. 

This is where it becomes a bit more of a stretch but bear with me on this so there are three waitresses who also work at The Bourbon Room and while they ominously sing like The Fates, they do pop in to provide Sherrie with some comfort every now and then. They’re also super cool and do some really incredible dancing. The standout waitress, also known as Waitress #1, is Katie Webber and holy shit she’s incredible. She was also in the original cast of the show and you can tell how much she loves it. 

This is even more of a stretch but the characters Dennis and Justice combined make Persephone. Dennis, the owner of The Bourbon Room, talks about Stacee Jaxx with a lot of love and nostalgia, which makes me think he had feelings for him at some point. Considering Dennis ends up with Lonny at the end, I think I could be right in this. This is probably adding layers to Rock of Ages that isn’t there but I think Dennis really loved Stacee and was hurt to see him leave him in the dust like that. Matt Ban plays Dennis currently and gives Dennis a strong “Tired Dad” vibe, which worked well for the character. He also had great chemistry with Mitchell Jarvis.

Justice also gives me big Persephone vibes, especially her moment with Sherrie where she talks about how she was in love once and how she’s not as happy as she used to be. I’ll definitely take “Pour Some Sugar On Me” (and Dennis’ “Can’t Fight This Feeling Anymore”) as this show’s “Our Lady of the Underground” and maybe some of her verses in “Chant.” Jeannette Bayardelle was wonderful as Justice. She also had this glitter lipstick that looked like the glitter lips from Priscilla - Queen of the Desert which I love love loved. 

A lot of the themes are the same - with the ones on climate change, the workforce and capitalism being summed up in the Regina (pronounced like vagina)/Hertz plotline about tearing down the Sunset Strip. Of course the Orpheus/Eurydice themes match up surprisingly well with the Drew/Sherrie ones too. Actually, I think it’s interesting how Rock of Ages goes further in exploring what happens when Drew does get what he wants, like what happens when his songs do get noticed and how it turns out to be not what he wants after all. 

And in this current production, there’s even a Tall Ensemble Man, played by Michael Mahany, who, again, is clearly having a great time. He’s also the sole male ensemble member (not including Mekhai Lee because he plays The Mayor and Drew’s Agent mostly) which makes the big ensemble dance breaks really funny. 

The set is also literally the same as Hadestown, but more rock and roll. There’s literally the stares Hades uses to go up and down from his little patio, but this time they go into Dennis office. To be quite honest, I fully expect the inevitable Hadestown revival in the far off future to be staged in a rock and roll bar/club like The Bourbon Room. It fits the story perfectly.

The big difference is that Rock of Ages ends happily. Drew and Sherrie actually get to live happily ever after, which Orpheus and Eurydice don’t get to do. 

There is so much I love about Rock of Ages. It’s an absolute blast. I love seeing it because it’s sheer escapism. There’s nothing I have to think too hard on and it’s not a show that tries to be that either. I love how you can tell what songs they only got partial rights to, like the split second moment where Stacee sings Styx’s “Renegade.” I love how much fun everyone is having, especially Tall Ensemble Man. I love that the ending is absolutely ridiculous and Dennis is briefly mentioned to have died, but he comes back as an Angel that gets rid of Stacee Jaxx. I love that Lonny tells Drew to fuck the book writers of the musical. And I love that Rock of Ages has its flaws and problematic jokes, cause it keeps me humble. It reminds me that I’m seeing Rock of Ages and not a Serious Show. I love how much fun and how drunk the audience is for this show. I love that this is the closest thing to Straight Culture I’m ever gonna see, which is fascinating to say the least. I love the merchandise the show has! You can get Wolfgang Von Colt (Drew’s stage name) t-shirts that look like Drew made them himself. I love that you can buy Arsenal (Stacee Jaxx’s band) sweatshirts that look like Stacee designed them himself. I love that the band is onstage the entire time and I love that they are Arsenal and are constantly flipping off Stacee. 

Also! We don’t give enough credit to director Kristin Hanggi! Why do we always forget about her when we talk about female directors? She's been with this show right from the start! She’s infused this show with so much satire. It’s really a lot more progressive than you’d think. 

And this show is so fun. It’s so so fun. I understand why there’s die hard Rock of Ages fans who’ve seen this show hundreds of times. 

Go check out Rock of Ages at New World Stages till the end of summer! New World Stages has actually become a great spot for post-Broadway shows, like Jersey Boys and Play That Goes Wrong. There’s also Puffs, which I liked even though I’m a little traumatized from it. And there’s also Gazillion Bubble Show, if you’re into that. 

[goodnightevan]

A Very Camsten Christmas

A/N: MERRY (belated) CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO MY WONDERUFL FRIEND @xoheatherkw! I was your Secret Santa for the @stitcherssecretsanta2018​ and I’m sooo beyond happy that I was bc you are one of my oldest friends on here and in the Stitchers fam. I hope you have a very magical year full of happiness and growth! I’m sorry this is late but I hope you enjoy this little gift! ILYSFM HONEY<33333

For the millionth time that day, a cough escaped Cameron’s throat, making him feel worse than he already did. This was the worse day of his life. Okay, maybe not the worse because he’s had his fair share of days that were just flat a… doozy. Like those days when he had almost died. But most were when Kirsten had lost her memory. So he did technically did had it worse, but this...this had to be up there. Cameron Goodkin had prided himself in being very healthy and clean. Some would call him “neurotic” or “OCD” or “clean freak that needs to chill”-the last one being from Camille. But he had rarely been sick, so jokes were on them. 

He then sneezed for the 34th time. (He wasn’t counting or anything).

Okay, fine. The joke was technically on him now, he guessed. Damn his weak immune system. Because of his heart condition he had as a kid, Cameron could easily get ill. For most people they’d just get a cold or sinus infection, sometime the flu. But for Cameron he’d get not only the bad case of the flu, but a slew of other things. As a kid he went to the hospital a lot, even after his heart surgery. So as he got older, he became cleaner and cleaner to the point to where anything unclean freaked him out. It would just remind him of those dark days that he tried not to remember as he got older.

That all changed, however, when Cameron met Kirsten. (Like everything else in his life. For the better.)

He had known pretty quickly that he was in love with her. How could he not though? She was smart, beautiful, brave, and so, so much more. And caring. Even when she had her Temporal Dysplasia, where it was hard for her to have emotions, Cameron could tell she cared. And it always tugged at his heart every time she got so passionate about the person she was stitching, feeling what they had felt. To this day it still amazed him. She amazed him. And she had also inspired him to be brave. Which was why on that day during the first year they had known each other, he conquered his fear of dying and stabbed himself with that fateful syringe.

Now, four years later, Cameron could handle hospitals again. Being in the Stitchers program you kinda had to get used to them. Now did Cameron still hate hospitals and being sick and injured still? Frack yes. And he sure as hell hated his latest visit the day prior. Being stuck there for two days was no fun. (He’d much rather deal with crazy murder investigations and government conspiracies.) However, now he was at home with the love of his life, still feeling like the trash in the Deathstar’s garbage compactor, but at least he was home with Kirsten. Cameron had realized pretty early on that as long as he had Kirsten, he could handle anything.

Cameron just wished that he didn’t have to be sick on Christmas. Mostly for Kirsten. Since Kirsten had reunited with her mom and got all her memories back, she had discovered that Christmas was her family’s favorite time of year. She had kept on smiling the more she told Cameron all the fun stories. This was her first Christmas with her mom and Kirsten had been determined to make it the best Christmas, which surprised everyone except for Cameron. It had been hard getting used to having her mom in her life and it seemed like they bonded the most when they reminisced on those happy memories. So of course Kirsten wanted to recreate them again. And so they went all out. Kirsten decorated both hers and Cameron’s places, even buying two trees. Cameron was more of Hanukkah man himself since his best memories were celebrating it every night with his grandmother, but he wanted Kirsten feel the happiest she had ever been so he enjoyed doing those traditions with her. So much so that he decided to give her a big Christmas present.

But now, on Christmas Day itself, it all was ruined because his immune system was the worst.

A knock then came at his bedroom’s opened door, making him lift his head to see Kirsten walking in holding a tray. “Hey babe, I got you soup and hot lemon water just as you like it.” She announced with a bright smile.

Cameron just grumbled, sinking further into his bed. “Why are you smiling? Christmas is ruined. I ruined Christmas!”

Kirsten rolled her eyes, walking over to him, placing the tray on his nightstand, and took a seat on the edge of the bed. “Stop, being a baby, Baby. Christmas is not ruined.”

“But this was your first Christmas with your mom again. It was important.”

“It is important. Which was why Mom stopped by while you were asleep, bringing us food and presents. She stayed for a bit and we reminisced. It was nice.” She said with a soft smile. Her eyes then lit up. “Oh! And she gave me this.” Kirsten then grabbed what looked to be a locket around her neck and showed it to him. He sat to get a better look. She then opened it to reveal to pictures. One side was an older picture of a young Kirsten standing between her two parents in front of a Christmas tree, smiles on all of their faces. On the side of the locket was a newer photo, one Cameron recognized. It was of them two standing in the middle dressed as Betty and Jughead with the Stitchers family surrounding them at Camille’s Halloween party this past year. “It’s of my two families. Old and new.”

“It’s beautiful.” He whispered, heart tugging on the fact that both Kirsten and her mom saw that he and the Stitchers crew were also her family and just as important. Cameron then sighed. “Kirsten, you don’t have be here the entire day. You’ve been at my side for the past three days. You should go be with your family other than me today. I’ll be fine.”

“Hey.” Kirsten then placed both her hands on his shoulders. “Listen to me. Cameron Goodkin, you are my family also. There’s no other place I’d rather be than by your side.”

Cameron hitched his breath, chest tightening at her words. “But...Christmas.”

She shook her head with an amused smile on her face, “Cameron, this entire Christmas season has been the best. I’ve got to spend it with my mom again. My mom. But also I got to spent with you and my new family. We went ice skating, decorated together, and I got to bake gingerbread with my mom. We even got to have Christmas party with everyone there. I swear I was living a freaking Hallmark Christmas movie or something.”

They both chuckled.

Cameron then rubbed his thumb on Kirsten’s shoulder. “So you really don’t mind taking care of me on Christmas day?”

She shook her head. “Absolutely not. Wanna know why?”

“Why?”

“When I saw you sleeping in the hospital room, I was immediately reminded of when you almost died trying to help me. That was one of  the most terrified moments of my life, Cameron. And it still haunts me to this day. So seeing you in the same hospital, I was so worried. But then last night when they said that you could go home just in time for Christmas, I was beyond relieved. And now I get to spend the holiday with the man I love, even if you’re in bed rest. Because, no matter where you are, I want to be there with you.. Besides, isn’t Christmas supposed to be about love, happiness, and home? Cameron Goodkin, you are all of that to me.”

Cameron just stared at her, so filled with love he couldn’t take it.

After he didn’t respond, Kirsten turned her head away. “That was lame, I know.”

“No!” He exclaimed. He then touched her cheek and pulled her head back toward him. Her beautiful eyes met his. “Kirsten, you amaze me every day of my life. I am never bored with you at your side and you make me the happiest I have ever been in my life.” The words then flew out before he could think. “Kirsten, will you marry me?”

Her eyes widened in shock. “What?” She breathed out.

For a parsec of a moment, Cameron had the thought to quickly pretend that he was just messing with her or something. But no. He was always brave with her and so he would be the bravest he had ever been.

Cameron then took both of Kirsten’s within hers, taking a breath before releasing it, and then said, “This isn’t how I planned to do this, but in our line of work things rarely go as planned. Why is this any different, amiright?” He then laughed nervously before clearing his throat and continuing. “Kirsten, you know how much I love you. I’ve loved you since you told me “Blue Door Sepulveda” and then called me Julie before giving me the best kiss I ever had prior to that moment. Even though it was still weird since you didn’t remember for a while.”

This made Kirsten laugh, tears falling down her face. He then moved his left hand away from hers and lifted it to wipe the tears away.

He continued, “I’ve always loved you. No matter what you were going through or feeling or not feeling. My love for you just grew and grew. And it continues to grow everyday. Kirsten, when you lost your memories of me I…” He swallowed then grabbed her hand he was still holding and placed it on top of his heart before continuing, “My heart didn’t just hurt. It felt hollow. And so when you remembered me, remembered us again, I was so incredibly happy that on a whim I bought you a ring. But we were just getting back together and you were getting to know your mom, so I decided to wait for a while. And then when I saw how happy the Holidays made you, I decided that Christmas would be perfect. And even though my plans for it changed and I right now I feel like I’m dying, I can’t wait any longer.” Then with his free hand, Cameron reached into his pajama pocket and grabbed the small, velvet box, pulling it out. He then opened to it to reveal a diamond ring with sapphire stones on the side. “ Kirsten Clark Stinger, will you be the Leia to my Han and marry me?”

“Yes!” She then rushed to kiss him, but he moved away from her.

“I don’t want to get you sick.”

Kirsten then gave him a deathly glare. “Cameron, if you don’t let me kiss you I swear-”

But before she could finish, Cameron placed his lips against on hers.

It probably wasn’t technically one of their best kisses since his lips were chapped and he was sweating, but to Cameron this was the best kiss he had ever had. After the best moments of his life, they slightly parted until their foreheads were against each other.

Kirsten then gave him the brightest smile he had ever seen. “Best. Christmas. Ever.”

Cameron laughed and then kissed her again. He took his earlier sentiments back. Instead of the worst day of his life, this was the best day of his life and he planned to have many more of them with Kirsten.

[jenroseyokel]

Awesome of the Year 2018: The Books

Happy New Year! ‘Tis the season for year end lists left and right as we attempt to figure out the best of everything from 2018. And of course, as a fan of books, music, and movies, it’s only right to get in on the list-making. Over the next week or so, I’ll be sharing my 2018 favorite lists. First up: books! This year, I set my Goodreads reading challenge at 40 books, and actually passed it. I’ve been setting arbitrary book goals for years, but I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve succeeded since 2007. Probably because of all the graphic novels and comic trades I read this year WHICH TOTALLY COUNT BTW. Ahem. Anyway. This isn’t really a best of 2018 list so much as a Here’s a Bunch of Books I Really Liked in 2018 list, split up into categories. I hope you’ll find something interesting here, especially if you’re looking for ways to spend bookstore or Amazon gift cards you got for Christmas… ;)

Newish Books by Rad Christian Women:

Every Arbitrary Book Goal should have a small correlated goal attached. This year mine was to make sure I read at least 50% women authors… and there have been a lot of GREAT new books from women writers in the past few years. If the “Christian women” section of your local bookstore makes you cringe a little inside too, check out these three wonderful books, all released in the past couple years:

Courage, Dear Heart by Rebecca K. Reynolds (NavPress, 2018)

Anyone who has read Rebecca’s writing knows she needed to write a book. She has a sharp mind, a poet's soul, a scientist's eye, and the most beautiful, tender heart. Also, she's an incredible writer who loves her readers with a love that radiates off every page. Buy a copy for everyone you know.

Wearing God by Lauren F. Winner (HarperOne, 2017) Girl Meets God was a formative book in my early 20s, and I’ve always meant to read more from this author, but somehow haven't. I finally picked up this one and oh man, for a solid month afterward I couldn’t stop thinking about it. With the eye of a scholar and the heart of a poet, Winner draws on personal stories, deep Biblical study, and a love of language to explore lesser known metaphors for God. Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren (InterVarsity Press, 2016)

Several years ago, James K.A. Smith’s Desiring the Kingdom helped me see liturgy in a new way, as not just religious practice, but the embedded routines that shape us. In this book, Tish Warren brings that idea to life as she walks through an ordinary day explores the holiness in our most mundane moments of living. You may not look at brushing your teeth or losing your keys the same way again.

Good Stories

This year, fiction reading was… all over the place? I don’t know if I read much that was OMG amazing, but here are a few that were fun…

The Fairyland Series 2-5 by Catherynne M. Valente (Feiwel & Friends, 2012-2015)

I am notoriously awful at finishing book series. I read the first Fairyland book maybe… two years ago? Yikes. Just finished the last one and wow, so fun. Colorful characters, a whimsical narrator, crazy locations, and a whole lot of heart make this Victorian fairytale meets contemporary fantasy a delight to read. 

Til We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis (Harcourt, 1956)

Lewis’ contemporary retelling of the Cupid and Pschye myth through the eyes of Psyche’s jealous sister Orual. Second read for me, and even better this time around. Pretty sure this is Lewis’ storytelling at his best.

Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw (Orbit, 2017)

This was a year to embrace fun, nerdy reads. So there was the Star Trek spoof Redshirts (with a plot twist I totally saw coming... and I am not good at guessing plot twists) and my first trip into the Star Wars extended book universe (or whatever the heck they call it these days) and… this. A story about a doctor for the undead in London, trying to solve the mysteries surrounding a murderous cult and keep her monster friends safe. Not the greatest, but a fun Halloween read. I’ll get to the sequel eventually. (See also: bad at finishing book series.)

Poetry for Everyone 

Another new reading practice this year: always keeping a poetry book on the bedside table. Poetry books are best for leisurely dipping in and out rather than reading cover to cover. If you think poetry is only for the ivory towers, give these writers a try and think again.

A Child's Year by Christopher Yokel (Independent, 2018)

Okay, I’m biased here, but hey! Chris quietly released a new poetry book into the world this fall, and I’m a big fan of Chris AND his poems. A Child’s Year is a season cycle, sort of like his last book A Year in Weetamoo Woods, but this time it’s anchored by a four part poem recalling the journey of seasons through childhood eyes. And according to our friend Kirsten’s 7-year-old son, he gets the experience right. ;) 

The Jubilee by John Blase (Bright Coppers Press, 2017) For his 50th birthday, John Blase released his first poetry book, with a poem for every year of life. It’s rare for me to make it through an entire collection start to finish but these were just so good. There are poems about aging — the author’s and his parents’ — and poems that evoke wide spaces and natural wonder. There are psalms and parables, and meditations on dying and, yes, living. All of them finely tuned with wisdom, gentle grace, and a touch of humor in all the right places. How I Discovered Poetry by Marilyn Nelson (Dial Books, 2014)

When I heard Marilyn Nelson read her poem “Thirteen-Year-Old American Negro Girl” on the On Being podcast, I was captivated. And when I found this lovely hardcover in a used bookstore back home in Florida, I knew I needed to read more. This is a memoir in poetry about growing up in a black military family during the American Civil Rights era, told with gentle lyricism, warmth, and humor. Plus, the book itself is lovely with whimsical illustrations and family photos.

Comics!

I’m always on a quest to get more comics in my life. Plus knocking out a whole series in a couple weeks is a solid way to pad out your Arbitrary Book Goal.

Amulet 1-7 by Kazu Kibuishi (Graphix, 2008-2016)

After their father’s tragic death, Emily and Navin move with their mom to a strange old house that belonged to their great-grandfather… and so the adventure begins. In this fantasy series, the two kids find themselves in an underground world of demons, robots, talking animals, and a dangerous and powerful Amulet. A captivating and beautifully illustrated fantasy tale. Ms. Marvel 1-5 by G. Willow Wilson (Marvel, 2014-2016)

Y’all, I super want to be a Marvel nerd. But alas, I can't keep up, so I get my sister to loan books to me. Ms. Marvel is my new fave. A Pakistani-American girl from Jersey City has the power to grow, shrink, and stretch her body at will. So she’s trying to fight crime, keep up at school, and well, stay out of trouble with her parents. So fun. (Dear Disney: I really want this kid to show up in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. before it gets canceled kthxbye.)

The Legend of Wonder Woman by Ranae De Liz and Ray Dillon (DC Comics, 2016)

Weren’t we all mildly obsessed with Wonder Woman after the 2017 film? Another one I borrowed from my sister. A solid take on Diana’s origin story that’s accessible for comic n00bs (ahem, like me) who can’t figure out where to begin with beautiful art and a lot of heart.

The Classic I Finally Read 

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen I always try to tackle either a thick intimidating novel or an unread classic in the wintertime. This year, I worked on my Austen deficiency and discovered I relate a little too much to Elinor Dashwood.

What’s Next?

In the new year, I think my goal is less about numbers and more about reading widely. I liked the 50% women authors goal because it helped me actively choose to support women writers. This year, hoping to read more books by authors of color, explore some new ideas and genres, and hopefully do a better job reading deeply and taking notes. I’ve got my eye on Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge too, perhaps as a way to dig into new things I wouldn’t normally notice. And yeah... perhaps a monthly reading life update is a thing I can do here on the blog. :)

If you’re curious to see the full list of What I Read This Year and follow along with me in 2019, feel free to follow me on Goodreads!

What were some of your favorite reads in 2018? And what are your goals for the new year? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments!