#Fun zone Los Angeles

[kidsworldfun]

Kids Worlds is a unique Fun zone Los Angeles where kids can play for hours. There is a special area for adults as well, where they can sit and watch their kids playing.

[carcarrot]

OH MY GOD A YEAR AGO TODAY .

[writingwithciara]

party games -chris sturniolo-

summary: y/n’s best friend decides to throw a party and when he needs a partner for beer pong, he chooses her. a girl who’s never played the game or had a drop of alcohol in her life. what could possibly go wrong?

word count: 3.7k

pairing: chris sturniolo x bestfriend!reader

notes & warnings: in honor of the triplet's 21st birthday!!! iwrote this before they were 21, but i guess now it doesn't really matter. hope you guys enjoy this bit of self indulgence 😊 w: intended smut; intoxication; drugs; language of course

masterlist

when chris had his 'frat boy' era, he didn't understand why the fans were obsessed or why they labelled him as such.

of course parties can be fun. especially with the right people. but there's no need to constantly be throwing a party every night.

sure he enjoys the occasional party but he doesn’t throw them every weekend like some people assume he does.

he prefers to spend most of his time with his brothers and his best friend, y/n.

he met her randomly at a mcdonald’s when he and his brothers moved to los angeles and he thought she was incredibly nice. she ended up showing them around town the next day and ever since then, whenever they were free, they would hang out together. most of those times it was just them. and chris preferred it that way sometimes.

they’ve been friends for 4 years and within that time frame, chris has never seen y/n drink a drop of alcohol or do any kind of drug. she didn’t even smoke weed and chris always saw her as the most innocent person he’d ever met.

so when he decided to give into his ‘frat boy’ persona & throw a party, he had to beg her to come to it. he had a backup plan prepared in case she said no.

she was sitting in matt’s room, discussing strategies for a game they were both into, when chris barged in to propose his deal.

“i’m throwing a party. i want you both to attend it.”

“chris, do you really-“

“before you say no, like you always do, i’ve prepared a deal that neither of you could refuse.”

“okay. and what’s that?” matt sat up straight and stared expectantly at his brother. y/n mirrored his position.

“yeah. tell us this deal please.”

“it’s different for each of you.” chris smiled and turned to matt. “if you come to the party, i will take my driving test and as a bonus, i will not ask you to drive me anywhere for a month.”

“okay. what’s in it for y/n?”

“remember that really expensive taylor swift concert package you wanted?”

“of course. what about it?”

“i may or may not have bought it for you and i may or may not have planned to give it to you for your birthday.”

“did you?”

“if you come to the party, i’ll let you know.” he sighed. “please? you’re the most important person that needs to be there.”

“hey, i’m sitting right here.”

“you’re lucky i love you, chris.” y/n walked over to him. “whens the party?”

“4 hours from now. and don’t worry. you can get ready in my room. already got an outfit picked out for you.”

“you really put some thought into this, didn’t you?”

“i did. so, are you guys gonna come to the party?”

“for you, i’d do anything.” y/n smiled and walked out to the kitchen. chris watched her leave and matt chuckled.

“you’re lucky she loves you.” he smiled. “you should just tell her you love her too.”

“oh please. we’re as platonic as two people can get. she friend zoned me the first week of our friendship and i’ve never wanted to change it.”

“well i’m sensing a but coming in soon.”

“but" he dragged the word out and sighed. "these last 2 months have made me realize that she’s perfect for me, matt. she’s the right amount of innocent without being too innocent. and she’s funny and she gets along with nick. do you know how hard that is for people to do?”

“you’re right. it is difficult. but she’s a good person. you guys are so opposite.”

“yeah but that’s what makes us perfect.” chris smiled. “wait, hold on. did you just imply i’m not a good person?”

out in the kitchen, y/n was preparing a snack when nick entered the room.

“hey. did chris ask you to come to the party?”

“yeah he did.” y/n put the chips away and took the dip from the fridge. “do you know if he actually got the concert package or not?”

“i’m pretty sure he did. but you didn’t hear it from me.” nick popped a chip in his mouth and walked away. chris came out of matt’s room a second later and smiled when he saw y/n in the kitchen.

“hey. you can shower first if you want.”

“okay. i just want to finish my chips first.” y/n grabbed the last few chips and shoved them in her mouth. “okay. see you in 2 hours."

"2 hours?"

"yeah. i need that much time to make myself look good enough to be seen with you guys tonight."

"you could attend the party in ripped sweatpants and a baggy sweater and you'd still look better than anyone attending."

"awe, christopher. that was sweet." y/n smiled. "but i'm still gonna get all dressed up because when do i ever get the chance to do that?"

"fair point." he chuckled.

"thanks again for the invite." she kissed his cheek and ran down to his room to get ready.

by 9 o'clock, the party was in full swing. most people were already well into their 3rd or 4th drink at this point.

chris, however, had decided to pre-game after his shower and was already on his 6 drink. they were mostly shots but with someone like chris, it was easy to get drunk.

he was surrounded by a group of gorgeous girls. and it just so happened that he abandoned those girls when he saw y/n. she was holding a cup in her hand and looking around the room. she was alone so chris walked up to her.

"is there alcohol in that cup?"

"of course not." she sipped it slowly. "matt gave me some of his root beer. and don't worry. i watched him pour it and i haven't taken my eyes off the cup since."

"well that's good to know."

"so what just happened?"

"huh?"

"one second, you're surrounded by every girl at this party that anyone would categorize as 'your type' and the next, you're over here with me. what makes me so special?"

"i'd tell you, but then i'm afraid i would have to kill you." he put his finger to his lips and looked around. "hey, let's go play some beer pong."

"i don't drink, chris. you know that."

"then be my partner. i know you have really good aim and i could use someone like you as my partner." he pleaded. "i'll drink everything. i promise."

"i can't say no to you, can i?"

"no you can not." he smirked triumphantly and grabbed her hand. they hurried over to the table where someone was setting up the next round. "y/n and i call next round."

"are you sure about that, chrissy? i've never seen her even sip a single drop of alcohol. maybe i could be your partner." one of the girls from earlier batted her eyelashes at him seductively but he paid her no mind.

"alright. let's do this." chris eyed the cups and pointed to the one he wanted y/n to aim for. "let's get the hardest one out of the way first, hmm?" he whispered in her ear and she tossed the tiny ball. it spun around the rim of the cup before landing inside. "yes! i knew you could do it."

"thanks for having some faith in me, chris." she smiled up at him as the guy on the other end of the table downed the alcohol.

"let's see you go 2 for 2." he wiped his lips and y/n picked up another ball. she was about to aim for the front cup but chris leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"back corner cup. you can do this."

she didn't know why but the way his words came out of his mouth, did something to her. she watched as the ball bounced past the cup and sighed. "sorry, chris."

"it's okay. you're still doing great." he kissed the top of her head as the game continued.

they conquered the rest of the game and they were setting up for another round when y/n looked at chris.

"i think i want to try drinking."

"are you positive?"

"100%. it's not like i'm driving home tonight anyway. besides, i'm here with you so i'm the safest i could ever be."

"i won't let anything bad happen to you."

"i know." she smiled up at him with her innocent smile and he knew he needed to protect her at all costs.

they ended up losing game 2 but they wanted to participate in another one. at this point, y/n had downed 6 of the 10 cups so to say she was tipsy would be a bit of an understatement.

halfway through game 3, chris had to cut her off. he had been sobering up while she was drinking and the sight before him was ridiculous, but also funny.

chris intentionally lost the game and finished off the last cup. he grabbed y/n's hand and brought her down to his room.

"ooh, christopher. if you wanted me in your bed, you could've just asked." she giggled when the door was closed.

"i'm gonna get you some water. can you get changed for me?" chris looked at her and smiled when she nodded slowly. He went into his bathroom and grabbed a cup, filling it with water before venturing back to his room. y/n was in the middle of taking her shirt off when he entered the room. her movements became slow and it felt like she was putting on a show for him.

"like what you see, chrissy?"

"no." he swallowed hard. he in fact did like what he saw but she was drunk and it would be wrong to admit it. so he just looked back at her. "you need to get changed into something comfortable to sleep in, y/n/n."

"you're no fun." she pouted and continued to pull the shirt over her head. it somehow got stuck and she turned towards where she assumed chris was. "help, please?"

chris shook his head and approached her. he grabbed the piece of fabric carefully and pulled it over her head, replacing it with one of his new fresh love shirts. her jeans were a little easier to slide down her legs and chris replaced them with some of his old shorts.

"thank you, chris. you're the best." she mumbled as she snuggled deeper into the blankets. just as she was getting comfortable, her face twisted in disgust and she leaned over the edge of the bed. chris grabbed the garbage bin and held it underneath her while she emptied the contents of her stomach into it. he sat next to her and rubbed her back gently while holding her hair back. when she was finished, chris handed her a towel to wipe her lips and he used a damp one to wipe the sweat off her face.

"feeling better?"

"no. i feel like shit." she grumbled and moved to lay on her back. chris still sat on the edge of the bed, but this time, he had to turn his head a little to talk to her.

"i never should've let you drink." he sighed, adding a little chuckle at the end when y/n dramatically threw her arm over her face.

"yeah. what were you thinking, christopher?"

"i would've stopped you but your mind was set on it. and i'd like to think i know you well enough at this point to understand that when you're dead set on something, nothing can change your mind."

"i guess that's true." y/n sighed and closed her eyes. "thank you for being such a good friend, chris. i don't deserve you."

"more like i don't deserve you." chris chuckled and looked back at y/n to see her chest rising and falling slowly, signaling she was a brief moment away from falling asleep. "get some rest, princess. i'll see you in the morning." he moved her hair out of her face and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before slowly walking out of the room & rejoining the party.

matt eyed his brother as he walked to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. "what? no more drinking?"

"oh, this is for y/n when she wakes up." chris smiled and passed the bottle between his hands casually. "i can't believe i let her drink so much."

"she's an adult, chris. she can make her own choices. you don't have to feel guilty for what happened or obligated to keep her from making mistakes."

"i know. but she's my best friend and i made myself a promise that i would never let anything bad happen to her."

"and so far, nothing bad has happened. you're doing a great job."

"thanks, matt. i really needed that reassurance." chris smiled again. "i hope you don't mind but i'm done with the party for the night. duty calls, you know."

"yeah. i get it. you've gotta take care of her. go on."

"i appreciate you." chris hugged his brother before heading back down to his room. y/n was tossing around on the bed as if she was having some sort of nightmare.

chris approached her and noticed her face was covered in sweat so he grabbed the wet cloth and ran it along her face. her movements slowed and her breathing went back to normal, satisfying chris. he placed the bottle on his nightstand and crawled into bed next to her. when y/n's arm landed on his chest, he stiffened up a bit but when he heard light snores coming from her, he just smiled to himself.

he was glad she felt safe around him but he knew he needed to tell her how he felt before it was too late.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

the morning came faster than chris had wanted. he couldn't get any sleep with y/n beside him. she spent a few hours just throwing up in the garbage and chris was there to take care of her each time. he wiped her face with a damp cloth and got her water when she needed it.

when her eyes fluttered open and she made eye contact with chris, she couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face.

"good morning." she whispered.

"good morning." chris smiled and moved the hair that was stuck to her forehead. "how are you feeling?"

"better than i was last night, but still shitty." she closed her eyes. "i'm sorry you had to take care of me all night instead of enjoying your own party. i feel bad you missed most of it."

"hey, don't feel bad. i will always take care of you, no matter what."

"but, your party-"

"it wasn't that important. not nearly as important to me as you are."

"do you....do you mean that?"

"of course." he smiled and played with her fingers.

"you know, even after 4 years, i will never understand why i'm so important to you." she replied shyly, avoiding eye contact with her best friend. "i mean, i'm nothing special."

"hey," he grabbed her chin gently and looked into her eyes. "you are incredibly special. don't sell yourself short, ma."

"t-thanks, chris." she looked into his eyes and before she knew it, she was leaning closer. just as their lips were about to touch, y/n ducked her head to the side and threw up in the garbage bin. chris held her hair back for her while she continued to empty her stomach. when she was finished, she wiped her mouth with the back if her hand. "oh my god. i'm so sorry, chris."

"it's alright. you don't have to apologize to me, ever." he smiled and wiped the sweat from her face again. "especially for something as normal as that."

"you're sweet, christopher." she closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest. chris rubbed her shoulder and kissed her head. "how are you still single?"

he felt like saying "because i only want to be with you" but he kept his mouth shut. he didn't need to lose his best friend. he could've risked it but he didn't want to say anything until he knew how she felt. and he couldn't ask her in her current state. so he would just have to wait until she was better, no matter how long it took.

when he was sure y/n was fast asleep again, he gently moved her off his body and got out of bed. he went up to the kitchen to prepare some breakfast for his brothers and y/n, since he knew they'd all have a hangover of some sort.

matt was the first one awake and when he entered the kitchen and saw chris cooking, he didn't even question it.

"good morning." chris greeted him happily.

"could you lower your voice a little, please?" matt rubbed his head slowly while he sat at the table. chris poured him a glass of water and set it down gently. "thank you."

"matt, can i tell you something?"

"yeah, of course." he sipped his water slowly.

"i almost kissed y/n earlier."

"oh my god. really? what happened?"

"our lips were like 2 inches from touching and then she ended up throwing up. but i may have messed our friendship up by almost kissing her."

"why do you say that?"

"it just feels like it. i don't know."

"look, you need to talk to her and tell her how you feel. the worst she can say is that she doesn't feel the same. but i doubt that outcome will happen because i guarantee that she has feelings for you."

"well, i won't be sure until i talk to her. and i plan on doing it after breakfast." chris heard his bedroom door shut and he finished plating the food. he set everyone's plates on the table just as nick and y/n came into the kitchen. "good morning."

"good morning." y/n sat at the table and looked at her plate. "this all looks delicious, chris. thank you."

"you're welcome." he sat across from her and everyone began eating.

breakfast was mostly silent, aside from the forks hitting the plates and the cups being set down on the table.

when everyone was done eating, chris went to clear the table by himself but y/n stopped him.

"let me help. it's the least i can do since you made breakfast and all." y/n smiled and carried half the dishes to the kitchen. she set them down in the sink and ran the water. "breakfast was delicious, chris. thanks again."

"no problem. figured you'd need some solid food in your system. hopefully you can keep it down."

"i'm sure i will." she smiled. "after all, i had a really good caretaker this morning."

"speaking of this morning, can we talk? you know, about the thing that almost happened?"

"yeah. um, sure. when do you want to talk about it?"

as y/n and chris talked in the kitchen, matt glanced over at them occasionally. nick noticed and raised his eyebrow.

"you good over there, bro?"

"yeah. i just really hope chris and y/n finally admit how they feel about each other. been rooting for them ever since that night we met her at mcdonald's." matt glanced back over towards the kitchen and noticed they were gone. "wow. they move fast."

"not fast enough." nick chuckled as he averted his attention back to the tv.

down in chris' bedroom, he was sitting on the edge of his bed with y/n beside him. she began to fidget with her fingers and chris instinctively reached over and held her hands gently.

"you know, you've been my best friend and favorite person for 4 years. and ever since the night we met at mcdonald's, i've been trying to figure out how you've had the patience to put up with me for so long. you are so incredible and an absolute angel, y/n. and i admire you so much. you have no idea how much you mean to me and i don't think there's enough time in the world for me to express just how strongly i feel about you." chris looked over at her and gently cupped her cheek. "you are so perfect."

"christopher owen sturniolo, you are unmatched. and i love you. so much more than you can ever imagine."

"if you hadn't gotten sick this morning, would you have followed through with the kiss?"

"absolutely." y/n smiled. "would you have followed through?"

"yes definitely. and even though you got sick, i still would've kissed you after."

"barf breath and everything?"

"i'd kiss you under any circumstance, y/n. i love you."

"i love you too." y/n smiled and ran her hand through his hair, bringing his lips down to hers. she smiled into the kiss and chris held her close.

"i'm going to take you on a proper date tomorrow night." chris smiled widely. "Wait, hold on. i actually have something you might prefer."

"something else i'd prefer over a date with you? i doubt it."

"oh but this is better. trust me." chris got up and walked to his closet. he pulled out a medium sized gift box and handed it to her. "i wanted to give this to you on your birthday but since it's this weekend, i think now's a better time to give it to you."

y/n opened the box and pulled out the special taylor swift vip concert package chris put together for her.

"chris, you didn't."

"oh but i did. a week from today, you'll be going to the taylor swift show in la and you'll be watching it from the front row. during the show, there's a surprise. then after the show, you'll be going backstage to meet her and spend some time with her."

"i love you so much, chris. you didn't have to do this." y/n had tears in her eyes and chris wiped them away.

"if anyone deserves this, it's you."

"i truly don't deserve you, christopher." she rested her forehead against his and closed her eyes. "i'm so glad we met at mcdonald's that night."

"me too." chris smiled and kissed her softly.

they finally got what they both wanted and they couldn't be happier. and without mcdonald's & beer pong, they wouldn't be where they are now.

[janeaustenbrandysmuggler]

The Hitchhiker (you can run...)

Apologies if someone has already pointed this out. I'm new to tumblr, and I'm still digging through all the amazing Good Omens metas!

Shax-in-disguise appearing and reappearing on the side of the road at the very beginning of The Hitchhiker felt really familiar to me, and I finally figured out why. I think we can add a Twilight Zone episode that's (conveniently) called "The Hitch-Hiker"* to the list of film and tv references we get in the season.

*I felt especially dumb when Google told me this episode literally has the same title as s2 ep4. In my defense, I don't know the names of any of the other Twilight Zone episodes I've seen, either.

Not sure you really need a spoiler alert for a 60+ year old tv episode, but I'll put a break in anyway. Go watch it if you can - it's properly creepy.

A brief summary: Nan Adams is on a road trip from Manhattan to Los Angeles. She's gotten as far as Pennsylvania, when her tire blows out and she runs off the road. The mechanic who comes out to put on her spare tire comments on how lucky she is to still be in one piece. (More on that in a minute.) As she follows the mechanic into town for a replacement tire, she sees a man in a hat hitchhiking on the side of the road and passes him by. She sees the man again at the service station after getting a new tire and mentions him to the mechanic, but the mechanic doesn't see him. Once she resumes her trip, she sees the hitchhiker on the side of the road again. And again. And again. And again. The farther she drives, the more she sees him, and the more frightened and paranoid she gets. At the height of her fear, she's convinced the hitchhiker is trying to kill her, and she attempts to run him over in order to make it all stop. She finally decides to pull over to a phone booth in Arizona and call her mother to try and ground herself back in reality, and we get one final big twist to end the story.

When I realized that hitchhiker!Shax appearing and reappearing in front of the Bentley reminded me of this episode, I decided to watch it again because I hadn't seen it in years. What do we hear almost right out of the gate?

So lucky! You could even say she dodged a bullet there. Oh wait...

(I think he says "Chalk up a win to the side of the Angel" here, but close enough.) Interestingly, "the side of the angels" really just means "the good guys" these days. In both these scenes, setting aside the fact that Aziraphale is actually an angel, it's used in the context of "you survived something that could have killed you."

One other thing I didn't know before is that the Twilight Zone episode is based on a radio play, also called "The Hitch-Hiker," written by Lucille Fletcher and first presented on The Orson Welles Show in... 1941. Probably just a fun coincidence, but really, why does it feel like all roads lead back to 1941?

As for the final creepy twist in Nan's story? Her mother isn't home when she calls. The woman who answers the phone tells Nan that her mother is in the hospital. She had a nervous breakdown when she found out her daughter had been killed in a car accident in Pennsylvania - caused when her tire blew out and she ran off the road. Nan goes numb and walks back to her car. She pulls down the visor to look at herself in the mirror, and she sees the hitchhiker sitting in the back seat. He says, "I believe you're going... my way?"

So there we go - a wink and a nod to a tv episode with the moral that you can't outrun your fate/Death, in a season that sure seems to have a lot of references to death in it. By the time Nan sees the hitchhiker for the first time, she's already dead, she just doesn't know it yet. She tries running, but it all catches up to her anyway. By the time Aziraphale sees the hitchhiker, Shax is just about ready to trigger the events that lead to where we are at the end of the season. The precious, peaceful, fragile existence of the last few years is already dead, and no matter how much Aziraphale tries to outrun that idea by acting like There's Nothing Wrong...

...it all catches up anyway.

I have a more nebulous set of thoughts about the "side of the angels" line being seen in the 1941 flashback, and if I can get them in any type of coherent order, I'll link to another post or put them here. Something about that line referencing a lucky escape that isn't so lucky after all for Nan Adams, and how 1941 so far looks like a series of narrowly averted catastrophes for Aziraphale and Crowley...and how it really feels like we haven't seen all of the 1941 story yet.

[queenlua]

i think the sheer magnitude of the sacrifice/dedication entailed in "Phoenix and Edgeworth flying to see each other during the 7-year Disbarment Era" is HUGELY multiplied if we assume the games are in fact set in California(/Japanifornia), since like. flying to euro!anywhere from the US west coast is SO fucking annoying

like, before i moved out here, i was like "oh haha all international travel is kind of a pain, anywhere in the US to anywhere else is the same...!" but that is a LIE. i know bitches who do casual weekend trips between NYC and London. you are not pulling that kind of stunt between Los Angeles and London. and also those three extra time zones really do push things over the edge from "with some forethought you can avoid getting too slammed by jetlag" into "ahahahah lmao have fun you're fucked" territory

[redfish-blu]

People asked to drop the Danger Days tl from my last post so I’ll do that.

*Disclaimer: Not canon at all this is just my personal idea and take on like. How all that happened. Based on what they said in the videos and comics sort of.

*Disclaimer 2: I have not read National Anthem and I don’t care if this doesn’t line up with that.

Zones Timeline

1947:

- Cold War begins.

1987: Dr. D is born (hey legend).

1991:

- Cold War does not end.

1996:

- 1st Helium War starts.

- NATO and the Warsaw countries exchange declarations of war.

- Most of Eastern Europe is destroyed first, followed by the Middle East. Russia remains intact, as do a few Western European countries. Not including Great Britain or Germany.

- Other countries fall into isolation in fear of being the next targets of war, and either disappear into themselves or join pacts with one another. Some disperse entirely.

1997:

- America dissolves into civil unrest after attacks on the mainland result in various important political figures’ deaths.

- A number of American states cede from the nation and become The Confederacy of California, as per their secession being definitely illegal, and they take the states of California, Nevada, Arizona, and Wyoming.

- Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas are disputed.

- The rest of the states are assimilated into The Federal Republic of The United States, however they are in constant political battles between themselves because now everyone either wants out of the nation or they want control of it.

1997-98:

- Technology stagnates, but still advances. Just nowhere near as fast as it did in our lives.

1998:

- 1st Helium War ends.

- Cherri Cola is born.

- Tensions between the COC and the FRUS are high strung but not hostile.

- This is generally considered peacetime, if peacetime can be defined as you and the person you just fist fought in the bathroom being forced to sit next to one another in the principal’s office. Alone.

- A company specializing in chemistry and weapons manufacturing under the name of “Better Tech” rises in the COC and the FRUS.

2000:

- 2nd Helium War starts.

- Jet Star is born.

- War is declared on the FRUS by the COC, and various military campaigns take place in the disputed states.

- Better Tech supplies resources to both sides in a kind of double entendre situation where neither side knows they’re actually being played.

2001:

- Party Poison is born.

2006:

- Kobra Kid is born.

- Fun Ghoul is born.

- Helium Wars end when a series of nuclear bombs are dropped around the Rocky Mountains.

- The FRUS is never heard from again, and radio/electronic communication is disrupted by damage to the earth’s electromagnetic field.

- Better Tech rebrands themselves to Better Living Industries and gain influence over the COC government with the aim of salvaging the country and fixing the physical damage done by the war as well as the mental trauma of the citizens.

2010:

- BLi attempt to take control of Latin America but are flushed out by rebellion, and Mexico’s border is closed.

- Canada follows suit soon after, and America is officially cut off. Trapping everyone who remains there within the country (legally).

2012:

- Pig Bombs drop, eliminating Texas and New Mexico, whose governments were still kind of functioning independently after Helium 2 and building resistance against the COC.

- Fires of 2012 destroy Phoenix but leave Las Vegas intact. All remaining military units are pulled to Los Angeles.

- This is where BLi’s intense propaganda machine starts working to cover up all the crap they do. Working in tandem with how technologically challenged most people are at that point.

- BLi take what’s left of the lower 48 and establish Battery City as the new capital of America. Their borders define the nation as California, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona.

- However, BLi becomes notoriously bad at maintaining and “cleansing” their proclaimed territories; and most of the area outside of Zone 3 sees little to no substantial BLi presence at all.

- Dr. Death Defying makes his first radio broadcast as a rebel.

2013:

- Analog Wars begin.

- Battle of Utah takes place wherein Salt Lake City is destroyed in a series of Killjoy v. BLi battles.

- Destroya was used for its first and only time during this battle, and was abandoned in Zone 3 during BLi’s retreat.

2015:

- Analog Wars pause after significant damages to both sides prompt an unofficial ceasefire, giving way to a long period of relative inactivity.

- BLi uses this time to build its presence in everyday life, establish the Zones, and advance it’s scientific research and development.

2028:

- The Girl is born.

- Girl’s mom is Drac’d

2029:

- The Girl is found by Killjoys.

- Analog Wars start up again when her existence is uncovered.

2029-35:

- These years see the most one on one fighting between kj factions and BLi since the Analog Wars first started.

- Generally remembered as a sort of Zones Renaissance due to the re-popularization of art, media, and philosophy within the killjoy community.

- Who had fractured off in the years after the armistice and became very detached from one another rather than a collective movement.

2035:

- The Killjoys die.

- Analog Wars officially end.

2036-47:

- The schools of thought built up during the renaissance period fade into the background once again as their figureheads either die off or become irrelevant.

- This is the era in which the Val Velocity era of killjoys grow up in. They were all born well after the Helium and Analog wars began and ended, so they have little to no connection to the values or customs of pre-war life.

- Its very Lost Generation-y in that everyone just kind of wants to party and forget about how their lives suck underneath all the glitter.

2047:

- California Comics events.

- Cherri Cola dies.

- Dr. D dies (rip legend).

- BLi is destroyed.

[thegoldheartlocketandkey-blog]

911 Spoilers Season 4: You’ve been warned. 😅 Buddie Rewatch

Cross Over Episode 9-1-1 Lone Star Season 2 Episode 3: Hold the Line

Buck is a sleep, with his head pressed up against the glass of his window.  He’s abruptly woken up by Hen, and his drool is all over the window. He wipes his face and opens the truck doors. Hoping out of the truck and immediately complaining about the Texas humidity.

Eddie walking over, telling Buck the wet air he is feeling is called humidity, and welcoming him to Texas. The camera does a slight zoom on to Buck’s annoyed face as he glares at Eddie.

Hen, Buck, and Eddie are standing together off to the side during the debriefing. They all are about a foot apart from each other. Eddie with his arms crossed. Bucks with his arms to the side. Hen with her hands in her pocket.

Buck is aggressively looking over at Marjan. Buck does not have a subtle bone in his body, Hen calls him out for staring. Buck tries to deny he his staring, Eddie interjects and agrees that Buck is staring.  TK who is near Marjan points out that Buck is staring at Marjan. He looks creepy in this moment.

Hen really laying it out on Buck that he’s being creepy. Buck’s eyes go wide, it’s obvious he is not trying to be, but he recognizes her from somewhere and can’t figure out from were. Eddie lightly punches Buck on the shoulder, as if saying get it together.

Eddie wandering on his own, overhears a rescue team being formed to rescue a bunch of kids in the danger zone. He offers his assistance as a medic and introduces himself from the 118, Los Angeles.

Marjan asks if he is a medic, he clarifies he’s a firefighter, but was a medic in the army. Jud calls, Eddie, Hollywood, and tells him to pack it up and get ready to go. Eddie takes a sip of his drink and says “Copy that.”

Buck is at the Fire Engine, pulling out stuff. He immediately gets defensive and asks Hen where she was when she approaches the engine. Buck has no idea where Eddie is and vocalizes that he felt abandoned.

Buck is complaining and not understanding why they aren’t using the truck to there full potential, Hen proceeds to explain protocol and tosses Buck a shovel. Buck proceeds to ask where her shovel is and she reveals that she volunteered for the medical unit.

Eddie walking past Buck and Hen really quickly to gather his things. Buck walks up to Eddie explaining how Hen isn’t hiking up with them and she practically ditching them. He looks down at Eddie gives him a slight smile as he says, “Just gonna be you and me.”

Marjan pulls up at the exact moment, Eddie looks over at her and she asks, “Are you ready, soldier?” The proceed to have light banter and Marjan tells him to hurry it up, driving off. Eddie is smiling with a big grin, as Buck is in the background visibly confused. Buck steps closer to Eddie quietly asking Eddie if he is going with her.

Eddie shuts the engine door and proceeds to walk away, responding with a quick yeah.

Buck stands there for a moment, looking over at Marjan. It finally hits him and he calls over to Hen and Eddie excitedly announcing how he knows her. Eddie stops walking and turns around. Hen and Eddie look at each other as Buck states, “She’s fire fox.” Both confused and ask Buck to elaborate.

Buck repeats the nick name, as if that would get them to understand. Eddie continues to put on his backpack and shakes his head. Buck explains that she’s gone viral a few times and is a known bad ass. Buck admits to following her on Instagram, and awkwardly admitting she didn’t follow him back.

Eddie giving a slight smirk and signaling to Hen that they have to get moving. Hen reminding Buck not to forget his shovel. Eddie and Hen run off to their respective teams. Buck is standing there, slightly annoyed and calls the abandoners.

Eddie is passenger in a four-wheeler being driven by Judd. Judd is making jokes leaning into Eddie being from LA. Eddie quick to mention he is from El-Paso. Judd moving on to make fun of Eddie’s old high school, and how his school would always win against their team. Eddie joking about how he thought they would be friends. Marjan drives past like a wild woman with Paul in the passenger seat.

Eddie asks Judd if Marjan is always like that, he confirms that she is.

The group approaches the group of kids they set out to find. Eddie is quick to note that they are short one kids. Eddie starts to exam the kids as the team deliberates on the missing child and missing counselor. Eddie spots the counselor walking back, coughing. The counselor stops breathing and Eddie takes the lead in providing medical attention. He instructs Paul to hold the saline, Marjan using the pump to provide air.

Eddie moves to do an escharotomy, which means to cut scar tissue, too allow the chest to rise. (Not the exact definition, but that is ultimately what he does) Before he cuts into the man, he looks at Marjan and states, “I hope you’re not squeamish.” The man is revived. Eddie revealing that he knows she goes by Fire Fox. Marjan slightly taken back by the reveal.

 Buck is along a path, digging, Mateo when starts asking him a lot of questions about LA and if he knows his cousin, Marvin. Buck is tired and really only giving one-word responses.  Mateo asks if they get a lot of crazy calls back in LA. Buck responds with, “You have no idea.” Tk interjects and states they get their fair share of crazy call.

Mateo asking if Buck has had any calls at Disneyland. Buck states it’s a different county, and is a little annoyed when Mateo says still LA. Buck proceeds to tell the story about a rescue at an amusement park. He’s proud to say he scaled up a roller coaster to try to save a man hanging by his bare hands.  The conversation getting a little awkward when Buck admits that he didn’t rescue that man because he let go.

TK being sympathetic to Buck’s story and revealing that he almost had a woman drown in less than a foot of water, during a bus rescue. Buck immediately talking about how they also had a bus rescue, but that it was sticking out of a 5th floor office building.

This moment of back and forth is not only a dick measuring contest, but obviously a way for the writers to basically compare the two shows and point out that they know there are a lot of similarities as well as a ton of differences.

TK notices a vehicle that is on fire rolling down the hill, in Buck’s direction. Buck too distracted by the conversation doesn’t notice, and TK runs towards Buck, pushing him out of the way of the moving vehicle. Buck and TK hop off the ground and move into action to save the driver in the vehicle. They work quickly and swiftly as a team to get what turns out to be a dog out of the burning vehicle.

Buck approaching TK, dude really does not understand the concept of personal space, vocalizing that the situation was weird. TK agreeing with him. Buck pats TK on the shoulder and runs off. TK is visibly confused and processing the moment.

I believe this is the moment that TK starts to believe Buck is interested in him. I mean I don’t blame him, Buck just naturally comes off as flirty.

Eddie over the radio describes the situation, explains they are bringing down 1 injured man and seven kids. Hen overhearing this walk over towards the radio and asks for clarification, on what happened to the 8th child.

Eddie is standing a foot away from Marjan as he explains one kid is still missing, the other half of the team is still searching. Hen stressing to Eddie that given the conditions, they only have two hours to find the kid. Eddie admitting that the conditions are becoming less desirable, but that no one on this team seems like the type to leave without finding him. Eddie making a remark about how they remind him of some other people he knows.

Eddie and Marjan sitting at the campsite. Marjan wanting to go help search, but Eddie stating they should follow Judd’s orders and stay.

Marjan asks how Eddie can be so calm under literal fire. Eddie responds with at least no ones shooting at us, implying the situation can always be worse. Eddie pulls out his phone and follows Marjan on Instagram. Marjan receives the notification, and asks if he’s being serious.

Eddie justifies the decision by stating he heard she puts a lot of work into her insta and he was just curious.

I already stated that Buck is a natural flirt, but Eddie also has this natural charisma about him that is flirty, but a little awkward. You really get to see that here as he interacts with Marjan. I do not necessarily think he’s trying to flirt, it’s just the vibe he gives off during their interactions.

Marjan suggests she’ll show him her insta, if she shows him his. Eddie quick to state that he doesn’t really use social media, and that his last post was probably 9 months ago. He suggests his page will be kind of boring and she responds with she’ll be the judge of that.

They accept each other’s request and both start snooping. Eddie interested in a cool looking rescue. Marjan pulling up a selfie of Chris and Eddie and asking if that’s his kid. Eddie confirms and goes into detail about how Chris is his world and being a single dad.

Marjan looks at Eddie up and down, in a way that I can only describe as processing the single dad comment. Marjan pulling up the skate board picture and asking if he really built that. Eddie quickly adding with Buck’s help.

Marjan asks if Buck is “that creepy guy that was staring a me before.” Eddie chuckles and says Buck is mostly harmless. That when the radio goes off and reveals that air support is will be helping in the search. Eddie asking who is crazy enough to fly in this.

Eddie biting his lip as he concentrates on listening to the radio.

Eddie vocalizing his concern over finding out that Hen is in that helicopter.

Eddie being proud of Hens little victory. His face shifting to full on concern as he hears on the radio they are losing control.

 Mateo, Buck, and TK happily walking back to base. They are still having a dick measuring contest, that Mateo points out. They’ve obviously bonded and haven’t heard the news.

TK and Buck start to try and joke around with the Strike team, but instantly become concerned when they observe their sad faces. Marjan breaking the news to them that Hen and Owen are trapped in the fire after the helicopter crashed.

The 126 and 118 are being told they can not go up into the mountains to rescue their team. They vocalize that they are ready and willing to take the risk. They aren’t asking any one to risk their lives. The acting commander repeating himself by stating no one is going out there.

Buck learning that the captain is TK’s father and watching him storm off.

TK is alone and, on the phone, with who I assume is Carlos because he ends the call with “I love you.”

Buck cautiously approaching TK with a box of pizza. TK denying the pizza and gets up. He’s about to walk away as Buck sits down and states, “they survived the crash.” Buck stating this as fact simply based on his belief. He mentions that his dad is with Hen so he’s in good hands. Tk stating, “so is she.”

Buck starts to talk about Bobby and explains that Bobby may not be his biological dad, he’s a father figure to him. How his captain never gave up on him, even when he stole a fire truck. This story gives them the idea to go steal a fire truck to go rescue Hen and Owen on their own.

It’s of course Buck’s idea to go steal the fire truck, because he pulls out a set of keys he had in his pocket.

Buck and TK are whispering and sneakily looking for the Truck. TK mentioning that Buck doesn’t have to do this, they both don’t need to risk their jobs. Buck stating, he must, his friend is up there too and she would do the same for him.

TK thinking Buck stole the keys to the 118 truck, Buck clarifying that he stole the keys to the 126 because Bobby would kill him, if he got a scratch on their truck.

Judd screaming out to both of them, calling them idiots for not thinking about the consequences. Eddie and Marjan coming in from the other side, joining in on ridiculing TK and Buck. Buck and TK both thinking the team is trying to stop them, but they quickly correct them and state they are going with them.

TK and Buck stand there momentarily confused. They hop into the truck and head off into the mountains.

Buck and TK being the first ones to run out of the truck and exploring the site of the helicopter crash.

Buck and TK being the first to run into the mine, to check on Hen and Owen. Buck and Eddie are the ones to carry Hen out of the mine.

Judd walks Eddie over to the Truck. As Eddie is putting his stuff away, Judd is sudgessting food places they can stop at as they leave Texas. Eddie thanking Judd for the suggestion, but the plan will likely be to stop at Eddie’s parent’s place and eat there. Eddie and Judd say their good byes, as Marjan makes an entrance. He asks Marjan for a photo, stating he may not get another chance at taking a photo with “Fire Fox”.

Eddie definitely took this photo so that he can rub it in Bucks face.

Paul walking over and commenting that that selfie is just too much pretty. Eddie giving him a proper goodbye. Before Marjan drives off, Eddie makes it a point to plead with her to accept Buck’s Instagram request.

Mateo is walking Buck to the truck, telling him to reach out to his cousin, Marvin. Buck laughing and promises to keep his eyes open.

TK walking in from behind. He calls out to Buck and leans on the truck Thanking Buck for helping. Buck starts to put his stuff away, but stops and excitedly tells TK that if he’s ever in LA they should get together. TK says yes to the offer, but feels obligated to tell Buck he has a boyfriend.

Buck is momentarily confused, but TK pats Buck on the shoulder and walks away. As Buck is processes what just happened, Eddie comes around the other side of the truck, almost as if he was summoned.

I will be the first to say that TK isn’t being unreasonable in thinking Buck was hitting on him. All day, the two of them participated if flirty banter. When they learn that Owen and Hen are in danger, TK has no reference to understand Buck and Hen’s relationship. So, to him this Man who’s been flirting with him all day just learned that his father was in danger. Buck was obviously walking up to him with that box of pizza an excuse to comfort him. I’m just saying Buck was definitely laying the ground work, he just wasn’t aware that he was.

I made a post a long time ago, about how the 126 could have easily been under the impression that the 118 is full of queer firefighter. Marjan spent the day with Eddie, who is a single father, that won’t stop mentioning his friend Buck, the man she knows helped build his kid a skate board. TK spent the day with Buck, who he thought was spending the day flirting with him. Owen knows Hen has a wife and kids.  All it would take is the 126 talking about their day and they might come to that simple conclusion.

If they elaborate a little bit more they can easily create the narrative about Buck and Eddie and explain their relationship as complicated.

[queseraone]

Writer’s ask game: anything you haven’t already been asked or answered

😘

4. How do you channel characters' voices and personalities? I watch scenes over and over again, and honestly I find reading other fic helpful. This sounds awful, but reading examples of something that isn't in their voice or matching their personality makes it clearer when it's right.

6. Do you prefer writing shorter, standalone fics or longer, multi-chapter stories? I definitely lean toward one-shots. (And let me just call myself out here... I've written one multi-chapter fic and it's been sitting unfinished for 5+ years 🙈) So if I was to try to tackle another multi-chapter idea, I'd need to have a clear vision for how to have it play out.

8. Do you have any rituals or habits that help you get into the zone? No, but I really should try to create some lol.

9. Have you ever collaborated with someone else on a fic? Yes! It's a fun challenge and I'm excited to do it again!

13. What's the most challenging aspect of writing fanfiction for you? Feeling confident in my ideas. That feels like a stupid thing to say, but I struggle with coming up with ideas for stories. If I have a vision, I can (usually) execute it, but so often I find myself questioning if an idea is worth writing or not. (Also summaries, they're a bitch!)

16. How important is it to you to stay true to the original creator's vision while writing fanfiction? It's extremely important to me. To me, that's the whole point of fanfiction - you love the characters enough that you want to play with them! If you throw their original characterizations out the window, you're just writing original fiction and plugging in the characters' names. [steps down from soapbox]

17. What's the most memorable comment or review you've received on one of your fics? Oh man, can I say all of them??? I truly cannot express how much joy a comment brings, and I absolutely go back and re-read them when I'm feeling down about my writing. My favourite is when someone quotes my work back at me, I swear it makes my face hurt from grinning so hard!

19. What's the most unusual or unique setting you've used? I guess the ski cabin because it's so far removed from Los Angeles?

20. How do you approach action sequences or intense moments? Action scenes are scary, and I'm not super keen on tackling that again - but I will say what helps is (I sound like a broken record on this point) having someone you can bounce things around with, and (as stupid as this sounds) blocking it. I mimed kicking my husband down the stairs to figure out where Lucy's foot would connect with her attacker (and good thing I did, because it was way higher up than I'd guessed!)

22. What role does humor play in your writing? Do you enjoy adding comedic elements to your fics? I don't consider myself a funny person. I try to inject humour into my writing sometimes (depending on the situation), but I'm not sure it's super successful!

23. How do you write endings for your fics? Do you prefer open-ended or conclusive conclusions? I hate endings. Hmm maybe this is my answer for #13. I think sometimes you go into a fic knowing exactly how you want it to end (sometimes even down the closing line), and other times I find myself circling the drain, totally lost on the right way to close it. The story never really ends as far as I'm concerned, so I lean more open-ended I guess? Especially since I tend to write more missing moments.

24. What advice would you give to someone who wants to start writing fanfiction? Don't be afraid to ask for help. Check your grammar (little things like your/you're go a loooong way). And please make sure you're spelling characters' names correctly... But truly just go for it. There's an audience out there for pretty much everything!

26. How do you approach plot twists or surprises in your fics? So I'm absolutely evil and absolutely live for this kind of moment. I still feel a sense of (villainous) pride over the plot twist I threw into the end of the opening chapter of an old fic. It's fun keeping people on their toes!

27. What two (or more) fandoms would you like to see a crossover for? Would you ever write it? Do I have to pick? Because I'm truly not a fan of crossover fics, especially between fandoms! And I don't really watch many other shows right now, so it's hard to say. Chenford getting called in to break up a fight between queens on RuPaul's Drag Race? That's the best I can come up with!

29. Are there any characters, relationships, or general character dynamics you've never written about but would like to try? Nearly everything I've written in this fandom is jut Tim and Lucy. Other characters' involvement has ranged from minimal to nonexistent, so I think it would be fun to play with that more. Top of my list would be to write more Tim and Angela moments, because they're my favourite relationship outside of Chenford.

30. How do you handle writing multiple storylines or subplots? I've never tried!

31. Do you prefer writing from a single character's perspective or switching between different viewpoints? I think I prefer picking a single character and writing from their perspective (still in the third person though), but I'm certainly not opposed to switching back and forth.

32. Have you ever participated in fanfiction contests, challenges/fests? YES! @chenfordsecretsanta, we'll see y'all again next year! And I participated in Chenford Week for the first time last summer!

33. How do you incorporate world-building elements into your fics? I haven't really done this, I tend to just stick within the show's universe.

34. Are there any fic writing tips or tricks you've learned along the way that you'd like to share? If you're unsure about dialogue, say it out loud. It's weird but highly effective. And for the love of god, if you wake up in the middle of the night with an idea (because that's always when it happens) make the note. No, you will not remember it in the morning.

Now I need a fucking nap, holyyyyyy. If you've made it to the end, congratulations, you deserve a trophy 🏆

[cherrylng]

Coldplay Live Reviews - 11th February, 2009 - Saitama Super Arena [ROCKIN'ON (April 2009)]

11th FEBRUARY SAITAMA SUPER ARENA

Life in Technicolor

Violet Hill

Clocks

In My Place

Speed of Sound

Yellow

Chinese Sleep Chant

42

Fix You

Strawberry Swing

God Put A Smile Upon Your Face

Talk

The Hardest Part

Postcards From Far Away

Viva La Vida

Lost!

Green Eyes

Death Will Never Conquer Viva La Vida Remix

Politik

Lovers In Japan

Death And All His Friends (encore)

The Scientist

Life In Technicolor II

One of the biggest bands of the 21st century, after all

"I'm so happy to be here in Tokyo. Last time we were in Los Angeles, we were at the Grammys (enjoying the cheers with satisfaction) and it's great to be here in Tokyo after winning the Grammy!" Chris Martin blurted this out as part of his MC rather early in the show. It's so blatant. But the charm of Chris Martin is that this doesn't come across as sarcastic at all. And that was the reason Coldplay won that day. Martin, you have become a star in my mind at this moment.

The four members of Coldplay took to the stage in the darkness, each holding a firework. Like the album, ‘Life in Technicolor’ and ‘Violet Hill’, the forgotten first single from ‘Viva La Vida’, started the show in the same hard-hitting manner as at Summer Sonic. But then Martin sat down at the piano and played the intro to ‘Clocks’. Gee, isn't that too early? Neither the band nor the audience had fully warmed up yet. However, even though the performance was a little rough, reflecting this, the beautiful melody that made Martin one of the best melody makers in the world completely captivated my body and soul. Ah, just when I thought my personal climax had already come, there was a raging hit parade of ‘In My Place’, ‘Speed of Sound’ and ‘Yellow’. The aforementioned lines were also released during this period, and during ‘Yellow’, balloons filled with confetti descended on the standing zone of the arena (Martin was smiling during the song when he ordered the audience to send one of them flying onto the stage and then popped it with the head of his guitar, eliciting a huge cheer). The band had only just begun, but they seemed to be running amok, as if they were about to come to a grand finale.

But, after all, the star of the day is not Coldplay's past, but the Grammy-winning hocus-pocus present of "Viva La Vida". The audience intends to do the same. The song selection from "Viva La Vida" was strong. The audience was still in a frenzy for the climax of the show, from the chorus of ‘Viva La Vida’ (Will's work on the drums made me cry) to ‘Lost’, which the band themselves had likely prepared as the climax of the main show, but it was striking that the relatively low-key '42' and 'Strawberry Swing' were more well-received than the inevitable singalong 'Fix You'. Among these, ‘Lovers in Japan’ performed towards the end of the show was a highlight. When "HAIKU" was suddenly projected on the big screen, the whole audience was stunned, but I doubt anyone was not moved by the fantastic vibrancy of this song, which stands out on the album. The beautiful ensemble, together with the huge amount of confetti that fell so thickly that it obscured the stage, covered the venue with a great deal of happiness (no band is more suited to confetti).

Martin's behaviour is amusing, by the way. He sprinkles in confusing Japanese phrases like "Awesome / Subarashii" or "Are you having fun?/ Tanoshinderu?" at various parts in the songs, dances like a marionette with its strings all tangled up, plays the piano wrong in 'The Hardest Part' and repeatedly says "fuck" (is this a joke based on the song title?), and acts all naive from beginning to end, as if he's just looking for someone to point it out. But it's amazing that such inexplicable behaviour is always so well defined. A star indeed. Even when he's blurting it out, it doesn't leave a gap. Martin and Coldplay, who never show any signs of hesitation or worry, are truly one of the greatest acts of the 21st century. It was a show where I could finally realise this. (Ryo Uchida)

Rock far beyond ‘rock or no rock’

There were ramps on either side of the stage, which led down to floor level. A small sub-stage was set up at the back of the floor (where the acoustic part was performed) and a huge spherical screen hung from the ceiling. Shortly after 6pm, the background music inside Saitama Super Arena suddenly switched from hip-hop to classical music. It was Johann Strauss' ‘The Blue Danube’. I wondered what was going on, but it turned out to be the band's opening number. The four members appeared with torch-like fireworks in their hands. The opening song was ‘Life in Technicolor’, which is the same setlist as Summer Sonic. Of course, the show was also developed in the worldview of "Viva La Vida" as a whole, but compared to the Summer Sonic set where they had Alicia Keys play piano in ‘Clocks’ and even performed a cover of [SMAP's] ‘世界に一つだけの花/Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana’, this show was of course a vivid presentation of the "Viva La Vida" mode—or rather, it was a live performance that told the story of how far the band Coldplay had risen thanks to "Viva La Vida". The part that symbolised this was the rapid succession of ‘Clocks’, ‘In My Place’, ‘Speed ​​of Sound’, and "Yellow" from the third song onwards.

Needless to say, all of these were single hits that have been representative of Coldplay's career to date. I thought it sounded like a stock clearance sale, but that's exactly what it was. Above all, the reaction of the crowd was magnificent, and apart from the core fans at the front of the arena, there was a clear difference in excitement between ‘Yellow’, ‘In My Place’, and ‘Viva La Vida’. In other words, this was a concert by "Coldplay of ‘Viva La Vida’", not by "one of the leading rock bands of the 2000s with four albums under their belt". So there was no need for a hot rock groove, and of course the band understood that. That is Coldplay's destiny, and the very difficult and complex balancing game they are forced to play as a rock band.

It is interesting to note, however, that while the atmosphere of this show was naturally quite different from Radiohead's show that I saw at the same Saitama Super Arena, it was not dissimilar to that of U2's. While Radiohead were quite a stoic rock show, and U2 seemed to fulfil their ‘role’ more convincingly and without failure, Chris Martin is a man who is inherently strange and far from the stability of a so-called pop star. He moves restlessly around the stage, sometimes singing and thrashing about, and even doing a few last minute antics at the end of each song. But at the same time, he can shout "I came here straight after winning a Grammy!" or scattering yellow balloons during the song ‘Yellow’, and handling detailed operations such as "moving to the sub-stage in 30 seconds, and then returning to our usual position on the main stage while the lights are out." And it's not that either one is essential, but both are very serious. This is reflected in the ambivalent title and theme of the latest show, which is stranger every time I see it. Despite being such a big and accomplished show, watching Chris is thrilling. The thrill is definitely that of rock ‘n’ roll. Such inconsistency is what makes Coldplay so interesting and why they continue to be one of a kind. (Tomohiro Ogawa)

Translator's Note: This is quite the amusing read of the live reviews by the journalists who saw that concert. Compared to reading the live reviews talking about Muse's concerts -which they're used to Matt's eccentricities and expect his awesome guitar playing- this felt as though they didn't expect Chris to be far more eccentric than they anticipated LMAO

I tried to find if there were any live video recordings of the Feb 11th show, but unfortunately there wasn't any. However, an audio recording of the whole concert is now available on YouTube... that came from Guy Berryman's In-ear monitor, for some reason. Quite an interesting way to listen to the whole concert.

There's also the video version that was recorded for MTV, but it was for February 12th, and cut down to only 40 minutes of content.

Good news is that full audio recording of it from the audience's perspective is available for listening too.

[mariki33]

PART 1

Nordmark pod translation Swe-Eng

First third of the interview. I have left out Per Nordmarks moments of reminiscens..

-Please excuse things lost in translation and lack of knowledge in the English language🙈

Enjoy, fellow Ghostie's 🖤👻

N: Tobias Forge. Welcome to the Nordmark pod.

T: Thank's for having me.

N: How's it going?

T: Fine,fine.. It's fucking boring to speak of the weather and such,, but shit! What a great weather we have?

N: Do you get the blues during the winter season?

T;, Ee mm.. Like this.. Like all kids i had, at least some, restless feet and thought it was relatively fun to be outdoors. But at kindergarten and such i was often the one left last. Single mom, had to work you know. Eem, so i liked to be on my own, last, and indoors. I could sit there and have all the Lego for myself and i could sit there with the tape recorder with a bunch of kasettes i brought. And i. I like to be indoors in the nature. If i go to the mountains i like to watch the outside from the indoors. Snowcovered slopes..Being out on the country side, being close to nature but not in it. I'm not an outdoors person. But! I am a very season effected person and so. But when i started going on your, for real. And when i, for the first time, had a shock from when in January going to Australia. Then you noticed like,, my back pain is gone all of a sudden. My body doesn't hurt. What's going on? And because of me going back and forth to Los Angeles during the year i notice, purely physical, that smaller leaps (season wise) feels better. One last thing about weather.. I can say the upside of living north of a certain latitude is that it will take a lot for Sweden to "stop" because of the weather. And i don't know, maybe you didn't go to school at that time. Out,, I'm an -81,,

N: Yeah you're a bit younger than me.

T : Most people remember 1995, when it was one day when baisicly all of Sweden was covered in snow. And it was stated, -Today you don't have to go to school.

N: School for you,,was it a catharsis for you?

T: He he, as in a had a revelation of not wanting to be there? Well yeah. I guess i felt it was pretty boring. As, I found myself socially in a twilight zone, because i was an outsider, like by choice. I had friends, plus i was like… I come from Linköping. Its a small town, or smaller town at least. And when you start in first grade and onwards, and you don't move around, you end up knowing everyone who was around from the start. Like so. And there.. One can say i had wind in my sails in that sense that i knew the "right" people, and people who…But most of the people i knew and was around were of the same age, or one year older. They were,, almost none of them were interested in music, listening to music maybe, but not playing. And then I ended up sort of outside. Plus i wasn't just interested in music, but extreme music that nobody liked and my interests became very specific and i had a laser focus on it. Early on. And that lead me to slipping further and further apart. And at the same time becoming tiered of school and turning teenager. With all that comes with that. And um, eeh, i was pretty messy, both outsider and maybe not that nice to everyone.. It was a messy time.

N: Is the boy playing alone still in there?

T: Aah ey, i,,,I think i create myself a lot of time alone when on tour. I don't know, i'm pretty much in between all the time. But i really need to walk away to charge the batteries. And i have to, ehh,,i go nuts if i don't get to be alone. So basically i make sure of it. If its only to walk the other direction, walk around and return. Just to have some.. But, well, as a grown up i have power over my life and have made sure to get an amount of space. Em, And need to, Emm.. As a, it sounds boring but i'm kind of the boss over a bunch of people, like that, Ee, Now, of course i have hired someone else to be tour leader, to boss over others. So i don't have to be the executive, telling people.

N: But in the end you're the narrative..

T: Yes, and that means to carry a social responsibility to some degree. Like, i can't behave like everybody else does. And I can't.. When were on tour we are like 40 ppl or so. And of course you're not best friends with everybody. And many of them are there because they are very good at what they DO. While if you sat down to talk you find out you don't agree politically and aren't remotely alike. So its kind of easy to, -you go your way and i go mine. I got my stuff over here, and then participate sometimes. It suits me pretty well,.. Oum,, When i'm at home… I've got two kids, wife,, so, So of course it's not… Of course i can just go for a walk, and i do. But you don't have the same possibilities to be solo. To just stay awake all night and just watching.. If i have a day off, like on tour, if i have a day off i can spend the whole day and night in a hotel room just watching You Tube.

…..

…T: It's a plus to come to a city you know..

….

T: But i like Stuttgart. There are some great record shops.

N: Are you a big record collector ?

T: Aaa,ah, I am, but the collecting, or the record store visiting frequency has become less because, Ehh, partly from a knowledge of what it is. So when i come to cities i know where i want to go. In the beginning i went all ower. I could take a cab to go to all the record stores in the city. A whole day. Even if it was a gig in the evening. I was totally exhausted when the evening came. But today i've taken that into consideration. Damn, if i'm in Stuttgart, we're playing in the evening. I can't be out sightseeing. In that case i can make an estimation the day before and say - tomorrow i want to go to a place and make arrangements for that.

N: You do pretty long shows..

T: Nah, ah, well, Yes.. One hour forty five minutes, somthing like that.

N: How does it work those days when you don't feel like it. Are there such days?

T: Well sometimes of course you can be physically and mentally tired, Eem, We had, when we just started this tour cycle now, a little bit over a year ago. We did a,, At first we did a US tour that lasted six weeks or so. Six weeks is pretty normal, i have to say. It's not like shit, it's pretty normal and the amount shows you have to do to cover enough land, and economical aspects aswell. Ja,oo,, if you do shorter tours it tends to be crew quitting. Because they want lasting jobs, and short breaks but no breaks preferable. So one must think holistic what's most efficient for all, so people don't end up quitting. Its a pretty advanced show. We can't, it's disturbing if we have new people in the crew -if they're not awesome that is. It's always like -Shit! we have a new guitar tech. And stuff happens and you hear it goes wrong, and it's the wrong guitar and wrong tune. Ehm, but we did the US tour January, February, March. Pretty dark then. And it was exact in time for covid to be seen as "passed". Concerts was allowed. As far as that it was a go. But rules varied between the states. Almost equal to if it was red or blue. Red state -All is fine,, and blue, it was EH! From a touring perspective my reactions was almost like opposite my political standards. It was pretty tough coming to a city and everything is forbidden, you can't do anything. You're only allowed to leave the bus and walk into that air lock and everybody are supposed to be tested. To me this became so troublesome because now we've decided to do this tour and, -Damn ! It's 7000 people coming.. -And they're NOT! supposed to be tested. You know,, AAAHH!! But in the end we had a deal amongst us, and Volbeat was on the tour too, -We will not test everybody, everyday. As was the plan at first. Because what happened was, we just ended up sending people home, it was such a mess. People getting scared of being fired, hiding they were sick, -you know..such a mess. So we said, well, lets make this tour work now. But we stayed in "bubbles", like many did When you've been in a bubble and not been outside in three weeks,, and to the advantage if our success we're playing in hockey arenas. -Hockey arenas. You know? -it's not many windows, and like, it's somewhat like a being in a cellar, -like this almost. Storage rooms, boiler rooms, long corridors, tile, kitchen, industrial kitchen..Then, you really had to make an effort to just keep up some level of serotonin. So, i walk, everyday, 10.000 steps before the gig. Just to get..I have to walk. And when on tour the easiest way to do that is around the arena. So i was standing by the entrance in a lobby, in front of these huge windows, just standing there to just, i don't know, get some d-vitamin. I felt like i have no reason to be sad but i don't feel happy. I feel tiered and want to sleep, can't take no more ..

…To be continued

Translation by Ulrika Linderoth from the Ghost Sweden Facebook group

[lovesosweeet]

better left unsaid // cth

chapter eleven

in which orion has leukemia, and calum doesn’t know.

calum hood x fem!oc

read other chapters

july 31st, 2018 los angeles, california calum

Saying goodbye has never been my strong suit. I wish it would've gotten easier over time — with as many goodbyes as we've had to give, it should be easier. It's not.

I guess it's gotten easier with people who mean less. Friends, distant family. It's fine if we don't see each other too often, because the time we do spend together ends up feeling more valuable. I don't mind the few times we see each other each year having more weight than they used to, but with Orion, it's so, so different.

She's my absolute best friend. She's my unconditional, unwavering biggest fan. She's my voice of reason. She makes the good days even better and the bad days a bit less bad.

I had a life without Orion, before we met, but I never want to live a life without her again.

From the moment we woke up yesterday until now, both of us have been a lot more somber. We cling to each other as much as we can, needing to be as close as physics will allow. The only times we are apart are when one of us uses the bathroom.

I tossed and turned all night, my mind racing with thoughts. Why didn't I try harder to convince her to come with us? How often will we actually be able to talk? Between her classes, work-study, LSAT prep, press interviews, soundchecks, performances, traveling, sleeping, and time zones, how often will our lives line up?

I love touring. I really do, but I love Orion more than anything else in this entire world. I would do anything for her as soon as she asked.

I try to remind myself we’ll be back in time for the holidays and for O’s birthday, so while we’re missing time together, we aren’t missing any important days. Orion already has a Friendsgiving planned and I’m sure she’s got Secret Santa in the works too. I try to just think about the good parts of traveling and all of the fun things we’ll get to do when I get back. Emelia and I have already been trying to plan a trip for her and O to come join us on tour for their fall break, but we’ll see if that actually ends up being possible.

We’re not flying out until 3:00 this afternoon and don’t need to leave for the airport until 12:00, but I wake up at 6:00. I don’t wake Orion up until 8:30, but I spend my two and a half hours of silence in bed, holding her as close to me as I can without squeezing her so hard that she’d wake up. She looks so peaceful like this, her hair loosely cascading around her face, her skin makeup free, and her eyes closed, making it even more apparent that she has long, thick lashes. This is the last time I’ll wake up like this for a few months. I sneak a selfie of us, hoping to use it to remember how it feels to sleep next to O while we’re a million miles away.

To wake her up, I just start peppering kisses all over her face. First, her forehead. Then, her eyelids. Each cheek. Her jaw. Her temple. I wait for her eyes to sleepily blink open before I press my final kiss to her lips.

"Mornin', baby."

She smiles, sleepily gazing up at me. "Morning."

I could get lost in her eyes forever.

"Wanna get pastries and coffee?"

Her smile grows into a grin. "Yes, please."

—

After a morning of flaky croissants, weird lattes, and a long walk around the neighborhood, Orion and I took our last shower together for a while. We stood under the steamy stream of hot water, just holding each other in silence. I'm going to miss those moments.

Following the shower, I dress in an all black sweatsuit and slides. Orion pulls on the shirt I wore yesterday — "it smells like you" she explained — and a pair of sweat shorts, slipping her Birkenstocks on. We cuddle with Duke on the couch while we wait for the van that Matt sent to pick us up. I make sure to pet Duke a ton and give him a few treats so that his last interaction with me is a happy one.

The call that the driver is here comes far too quickly, and we buzz him up to let him get my bags. I don't make him carry all of them. He gets my two larger checked bags, and I grab my duffel bag, and Orion carries my backpack. I probably overpacked, but things seem to mysteriously disappear whenever we're on the road.

"Are you going on vacation?" Ron asks when we're clambering through the lobby with all my luggage.

"Cal's going on tour," Orion explains. Her sad expression hurts something in my chest.

Ron smiles. "Oh, wonderful! That's so exciting. Calum, I hope to hear about your journey when you return. Best of luck!"

I smile graciously and nod. "Sure thing, thanks Ron. Keep an eye on this one for me, will you?" I motion to Orion, who glares in response, and Ron agrees to make sure she's safe.

We throw my bags into the trunk of the black van, the driver opening the sliding door for Orion and me. I let her get in first, of course, and then climb in after her, closing the door behind me. We sit as close to each other as we can in the backseat, my arm wrapped around Orion's small frame, her head on my chest, my other hand intertwined with her hands while she traces over my tattooed initials.

She's already crying, and I have to look away so I don't follow suit.

The drive is silent; the driver doesn't even play a shitty top 40 station. All we listen to is the GPS navigation.

Our driver takes us to a special entrance at LAX where we don't have to mix with the public, and as we pull up, I see Michael and Crystal getting their things out of the van that brought them.

"Hey guys!" Michael cheers.

Of course, they're happy. They're not spending this tour apart and are going to get to travel the world together. They're looking forward to this whole thing, meanwhile I'm dreading it.

Okay, I suppose dreading it isn't quite how I'd describe it. I'm excited to tour and see fans all over the world and perform the music we just released. I am dreading being apart from the girl I love most.

Orion doesn't say anything, she just waves to him.

When Michael catches onto our mood, he frowns and runs over to us, wrapping us into a hug. "Don't be sad, guys! This tour isn't that long. We'll be back before you know it, O."

She sniffles and nods, pulling back from Michael. "I'm gonna miss you guys." Her teary eyes catch Mike's gaze and then I see something in him shift before he hugs her again. Orion keeps her hand in mine while she hugs him back.

"You're gonna make me cry too! It's gonna be fine, OK? We all love you and will miss you just as much as you miss us."

Once Orion manages to regain some of her composure, we head inside. Our bags have already disappeared, except for our backpacks and Crystal's tote bag. When we get in, Matt, Ashton, Luke, Sierra, and most of our crew are already in there, milling about.

"Great, you're here," Matt says while he walks up to us. "Let's go ahead and start going through security."

Again, we're in some separate part of LAX that the public doesn't have access to, but we do still have to go through TSA like everyone else, it's just a separate, far smaller one.

Unspokenly, everyone lets Orion and me go first so we can have as much time on the other side as we can together.

Once we've gone through security and have our shoes back on, I pull Orion off to a secluded corner and just hug her as tight as I can. I can feel her tears soaking my sweatshirt, and I try to console her by smoothing my hand over the back of her head. Her small hands clutch at the back of my sweatshirt, balling the material into her fists.

It takes a lot of effort for me not to cry.

Why is saying goodbye so hard?

I don't know how long we're standing there for. I'm just trying to be here with Orion for as long as I can.

"Boys, time to board," Matt calls.

Fuck. It's time.

"Say your goodbyes," he adds.

Even though he says boys, he's not talking to Mike or Ash or Luke. Crystal and Sierra are coming with us, and Kay is at the hospital with her grandma, and the rest of our crew wasn't allowed to bring guests into the airport at all. He's just talking to me.

Orion squeezes me closer to her as hard as she can, and I just keep smoothing her hair. It's so soft.

I take a few deep breaths, preparing to speak without my voice cracking. "I'll see you when I get back. I love you."

She sniffles, and I feel her back shake while she cries. It breaks my heart to be the cause of this pain. She doesn't deserve it. "I love you," she manages to say.

I pull back so I can look at her. Her face is red and puffy, tears shiny on her cheeks, and yet, she's still so beautiful. I could look at her forever. "You're the prettiest girl I've ever seen, even when you're crying," I tell her, meaning every single word. I wipe away her tears with my thumb.

She scrunches up her face and blushes, looking so cute while she does. Everything about her is just... perfect.

"Flattery isn't getting you anywhere today, babe," she starts. I pretend like she's wounded me. "I love you. Go, board. I'll be cheering you on every night."

Instead of replying, I lean down and kiss her again. How can I not kiss her every day? I lived a life without Orion before, and I never want to do that again. I want to kiss her every day for the rest of my life. I want to make her laugh every day. I want to love her every day. God, I can't imagine not loving this girl. How can anyone not fall in love with her?

"I love you so much. I'll call you when we land, okay?" I kiss her nose. We're going to Japan first, so it'll be quite a long travel time. I don't want her waiting around trying to time the call correctly, so I'll just plan on calling her the moment our wheels touch down in Tokyo.

"Did I mention I love you?" I ask. That makes her grin, and my heart hurts a little less.

"No, I don't think so," she teases.

"I did!" I pout.

Orion gently pushes my chest. "Go."

I sigh, nodding. "I'm gonna miss��"

I'm cut off when a hand grabs my shoulder and I feel a body behind me. "Cal, mate, we've really gotta go." It's Ashton. I hang my head and nod.

"It's not easy to say goodbye to the love of your life, dude!" I defend myself.

Ashton grins, but his eyes are sad, too. He must be thinking about how Kay isn't joining us yet, either. He gets how hard it is to leave. "She also literally just told you to go!"

"I'm gonna miss you too, babe," Orion chimes in. She kisses me again and then she steps several feet away from me, too quickly for me to try to catch her and pull her back. "Go!" She laughs.

I know she doesn't mean it negatively; she's just trying to let me do my job and what I love, but it hurts somewhat that she's telling me to go. I can't explain it. I sigh.

"Okay, fine, I'll go," I decide sadly.

Orion blows me a kiss as I walk backward toward the door, and I numbly leave, trying my hardest not to cry. Once I'm through the door, I let a few tears fall. I realize then that no one else has gotten the chance to say goodbye to Orion, so I'm the only one getting on the plane from our group.

The crew, Michael, Luke, Crystal, and Sierra join me soon, each offering me sympathetic glances.

"We're gonna have fun, mate," Michael says, throwing an arm around my shoulder. "Orion's a strong girl, she'll be fine without you."

I just nod, not saying anything.

I take my seat on the plane, watching the rest of our crew clamber past me. I wonder what's taking Ashton so long to board. I know he and Orion are close, but it's odd considering now we're just waiting for Ashton and Matt. I quickly send a text to Orion while we wait.

To: my love + stars i love love love you. i wish you could come with us, maybe next tour? you say the word and i'll fly you out wherever and whenever you want. i miss you already. xxx

When Ashton finally boards, his eyes are red and he's wiping away tears, too. He sits next to me, sniffling quietly.

"I'm gonna miss her," he admits.

I smile sadly. "Yeah, me too."

From: my love + stars i'll miss you far more i promise. love you the literal most ever. go take on the world.

“She loves you so much, man,” Ashton mutters.

I’m not sure where that came from, but I know emotions are at a high. “I love her so much.”

He nods. “I know.”

Once everyone is on the plane, they shut the door and we start taxiing. Ash gets out his headphones, signaling to me that we aren’t going to be talking on this flight, at least not now. I get mine out too, send Orion a few heart emojis, text my family that we’ve boarded our first flight of the tour, and then put it into airplane mode.

I check the time. It’s 2:32. Underneath the numbers, I stare at the picture of Orion and me from the other day when we got ice cream. She looks so pure, and happy, and the sun reflected in her eyes in a way that made them almost look lit up. I can’t wait to be back and see them in person again.

God, this is going to be a long tour.

read next chapter

[kidsworldfun]

Kids Worlds is a unique kids fun zone where kids can play for hours. There is a special area for adults as well, where they can sit and watch their kids playing.

[real-total-drama-takes]

Y'all can't handle this

Y'all don't know what's about to happen baby

Team 10

Los Angeles, Cali boy

But I'm from Ohio though, white boy

It's everyday bro, with the Disney Channel flow

5 mill on YouTube in 6 months, never done before

Passed all the competition man, PewDiePie is next

Man I'm poppin' all these checks, got a brand new Rolex

And I met a Lambo too and I'm coming with the crew

This is Team 10, bitch, who the hell are flippin' you?

And you know I kick them out if they ain't with the crew

Yeah, I'm talking about you, you beggin' for attention

Talking shit on Twitter too but you still hit my phone last night

It was 4:52 and I got the text to prove

And all the recordings too, don't make me tell them the truth

And I just dropped some new merch and it's selling like a god, church

Ohio's where I'm from, we chew 'em like it's gum

We shooting with a gun, the tattoo just for fun

I Usain Bolt and run, catch me at game one

I cannot be outdone, Jake Paul is number one

It's everyday bro

It's everyday bro

It's everyday bro

I said it is everyday bro!

You know it's Nick Crompton and my collar stay poppin'

Yes, I can rap and no, I am not from Compton

England is my city

And if it weren't for Team 10, then the US would be shitty

I'll pass it to Chance 'cause you know he stay litty

Two months ago you didn't know my name

And now you want my fame? Bitch I'm blowin' up

I'm only going up, now I'm going off, I'm never fallin' off

Like Mag, who? Digi who? Who are you?

All these beefs I just ran through, hit a milli in a month

Where were you? Hatin' on me back in West Fake

You need to get your shit straight

Jakey brought me to the top, now we're really poppin' off

Number one and number four, that's why these fans all at our door

It's lonely at the top so we all going

We left Ohio, now the trio is all rollin'

It's Team 10, bitch

We back again, always first, never last

We the future, we'll see you in the past

It's everyday bro

It's everyday bro

It's everyday bro

I said it is everyday bro!

Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on (espera)

Can we switch the language? (Ha, ya tú sabes)

We 'bout to hit it (dale)

Sí, lo único que quiero es dinero

Trabajando en YouTube todo el día entero

Viviendo en U.S.A, el sueño de cualquiera

Enviando dólares a mi familia entera

Tenemos una persona por encima

Se llama Donald Trump y está en la cima

Desde aquí te cantamos can I get my VISA?

Martinez Twins, representando España

Desde la pobreza a la fama

It's everyday bro

It's everyday bro

It's everyday bro

I said it is everyday bro!

Yo, it's Tessa Brooks

The competition shook

These guys up on me

I got 'em with the hook

Lemme educate ya'

And I ain't talking book

Panera is your home?

So, stop calling my phone

I'm flyin' like a drone

They buying like a loan

Yeah, I smell good

Is that your boy's cologne?

Is that your boy's cologne?

Started balling', quicken Loans

Now I'm in my flippin' zone

Yes, they all copy me

But, that's some shitty clones

Stay in all designer clothes

And they ask me what I make

I said is 10 with six zeros

Always plug, merch link in bio

And I will see you tomorrow 'cause it's everyday bro

Peace

-🍇

Why, grape anon,

[ncisladaily]

Aloha, Sam Hanna. The NCIS: Los Angeles character has made the jump over to Hawai’i, with LL COOL J a special guest star in Season 3. And while he’s around to evaluate Jane Tennant (Vanessa Lachey), after what she went through in the Season 2 finale, we have to wonder about an exchange he has with Ernie (Jason Antoon) in the premiere.

First of all, Sam and Ernie together? The perfect set-up for comedy gold. Ernie tries to get something, anything out of Sam—where he’s staying, for example—and accidentally reveals that he read the other man’s file (which only gave him his middle name). Ernie becomes convinced he’s hiding something despite Sam insisting he’s not. So is he?

“Of course, he’s hiding something,” LL COOL J tells TV Insider. “Maybe, maybe not. He might be hiding something. … Sam got a lot going on.” Adds Lachey, “I’ll tell you this: Tennant will figure it out.” LL COOL J has his doubts, however. Now, we’ll just have to see if that’s something we’ll find out this season or if maybe Sam’s just going to have fun messing with Ernie, and it’s something from his past we might already know from Los Angeles.

Karen Neal/CBS

During the premiere, Jane and Sam have multiple conversations, including one at the shooting range in which she wonders if while he’s cleared her for work, she might not be cleared for life. After he lost his wife, Michelle, he was in the zone for work, but outside of it, he was a mess, he explains. He forgot his daughter’s birthday, and his son had to call him. How’d he get out of that hole, she asks. Transcendental meditation, he shares.

So what might Tennant need now, if not therapy, considering she only went to the minimum number of sessions required to be cleared to return to work?  According to LL COOL J, “I think you have to look at the way the circumstances in your life affect you and figure out how to navigate that in a way that brings you peace. Sam has given her room to do that and given her room to navigate her life a little bit. And as long as it doesn’t negatively impact her team or her life in the field, he’s given her a little bit of leeway.”

But Lachey suggests, “Or Sam is my extended therapy because I’m going through it with someone who’s gone through it, and I’m able to be vulnerable, and I’m able to test the water, so to speak, on his shoulders. And so that’s a big part of what gets Tennant back on track.”

The premiere also ends with a cliffhanger: The team realizes that a hacker breached the U.S. Marshals’ files so that they would move prisoners for security. Breaking a prisoner out of federal lockup is impossible, but grabbing one while they’re being moved to the mainland is easier. But the plane with the prisoners takes off before they can stop it—and the agents can only watch as it goes down soon after.

[gregorygerwitz]

Okay, no. You have to tell me about bruises verse mouse/Thomas ward, I am dying.

Yes, of course! I think about my collection of spoiled rich boys (and Matt) a normal amount!

Bruises 'Verse is an AU I developed back in my Marvel/Agents of SHIELD era set after everyone gets out of the Framework? But s5 and the whole time travel/space arc doesn't happen?

As per usual, under a read more because I can't shut up about anything ever

The very short version is that Leo Fitz leaves SHIELD to process all of that trauma, as well as the fact that Radcliffe is his biological father (anyone who followed me in that era knows my URL was holdendadcliffe, it's my favorite theory, I still think about it daily), and in a year moves to the PNW (some smaller town outside of Seattle, far enough from the city that he doesn't have to worry about anything, I was undecided on the details) and becomes a middle school science teacher. There, he also runs into his... they aren't exes, because they never defined their relationship, but they did go on a date before Leo got dragged into joining the field team with Jemma. He's my original character, his name is Matthew Scott, he's a good boy who has a medical degree but decided to give up on that dream and become a librarian, completely coincidentally, in the same small town that Leo ends up in.

I wrote a whole fic about it, but before his death in s3, Grant Ward (I love him, okay? I can and will write essays about him *Jay voice* in fact, I have. many times.) wrote letters for a few people in his life as a sort of... apology? He was really obsessed with the concept of "closure" in early s3, and I leaned into that while writing and developing this little universe. And those letters got left to Thomas, with the instruction to deliver the rest of them. He kind of just mailed off the others because *gestures to SHIELD and how they treated him* but he had to track down Leo because he didn't really leave a contact address with SHIELD and purposefully dropped off the radar because he also wants nothing to do with them.

And when Thomas drops off that letter for Leo, they kind of become friends? Thomas, who was floundering to get his life back after SHIELD disrupted it, who didn't want to go back to working at the bank they found him at because it's not a Safe Place anymore. So, he also moves to that little town, and does the first thing he can think of, which is going through the police academy and having a stable job so that he can hang out with friends (honestly, just Leo and Matt at that point) and pay rent and all that fun adult stuff that everyone hates.

Lately, I've been thinking about a lot of AUs where Mouse finishes his tour with the Army and returns to the States but doesn't go back to Chicago? I have thoughts about him going to Georgia, continuing his connection with the military and using it to get a job doing tech for them. I have thoughts about him going to Los Angeles and becoming a firefighter (the 911 crossover AU is NOT thought through yet don't ask about it for at least another week) or becoming private security or something for rich start up entrepreneurs. Things like that.

It occurred to me, a few months ago, that he could have also relocated to that same small town, and become a teacher (I especially thought about it after rereading @kitthekazoo's Community Garden fic, because teacher!Mouse my beloved) at the same school that Leo teaches at!

I just thought it would be funny if the tech boys with parental trauma and other causes of PTSD became best friends??? And Mouse and Matt would get alone great (tired homosexuals who are kind of over being dragged to the bar every week, because Matt is sober and Mouse is trying to avoid anything that might become a slippery slope for a while until he fully adjusts to being in Not A War Zone), and then... Thomas is kind of his type???

Detective? Complicated relationship with his brother? Pretty eyes?

Mouse is simple and I respect that.

Bonus: Matt and Tommy rolling their eyes when Leo and Mouse start talking about their students and completely forget that their boyfriends are there because they're unhinged little science nerds

I love the concept of smashing my blorbos together in a chaotic AU and seeing what my brain does. In this case, my brain said "boyfriends!" and now Mouse gets to actually date a detective and have friends and a life outside of that little cage he was in for most of his run on CPD, and I get to make him happy!

Fun fact: Tommy is a piece of shit (affectionate) and definitely calls Matt "Mascot" because Leo made the mistake of introducing him as "Matt Scott" and, uh... the joke was too easy he had to make it

[strayfoxxchan]

Coffee Break Pairing: Han Jisung x f!reader (Y/N) Genre: Fluff, Soulmate AU Content Warning: None A/N: Sister requested I write this one for her. It's a little silly, but enjoy it! Let me know if y'all want more.

I can’t believe it’s already been a month, you think to yourself, your feet on autopilot as you stroll along the streets of Seoul. It was a hard decision to leave your life behind in your home country, using your life’s savings to pursue your dream career, but the idealist in you knows it was the right choice for the sake of your own happiness. The days you aren’t holed up in your cubicle or working from a cafe are spent exploring, doing all the things a tourist would do when visiting a new place; there was the National Museum, Gwangjang Market, Bukchon Hanok Village, all things you had put on your bucket list to see years ago while you were still at university. For as much as there was to do in Seoul, however, there were only a few days a week you could spend seeing the sights. Most days were spent in the cubicle or finding nearby cafes to work in. 

Most people would expect that pursuing your passion would be fun and exciting, but you couldn’t deny that you had been lonely and a little more depressed than usual. It was hard, harder than you had imagined it would be. You’ve been so busy with work and travel, that you simply haven’t had the time to go out and meet new friends, and you’ve been kicking yourself for that. These things come with time. Lately, your only saving grace has been music. Throwing your headphones on and drowning out the worries that have plagued you over the last few weeks has kept your energy high despite the overwhelming loneliness of a new city. 

진짜로 수고했다 이제 꽃길만 걷자  The songs pumping through her headphones seem to bookend the thoughts you’ve been having. You’ve done a good job, now let’s walk along the flowery path. You decide to take Han Jisung’s words to heart. You HAVE done a good job; you landed a job at the Webtoon office, working in communications and translation. You’ve learned a whole new language in only a few years. You chose a path and you made it happen. Now wasn’t the time for stormy thoughts or suffering in loneliness.

(A/N: I am well aware the Webtoon office is far away from JYPE but this is what my sister wanted. JUST PRETEND.)

You often hit up Starbucks in the mornings on days when you would normally have worked from home. You sometimes couldn’t focus on working in your small, dark apartment. It’s close to the JYPE building, and the irony of listening to Stray Kids while walking passed it isn’t lost on you. It seems a little silly, given your age, but on some occasions, the thought of a happenstance meeting with one of them does float through your mind. Daydreams never hurt anyone, but she would never stoop so low as the gaggle of young girls who spent their mornings waiting in front, photocards and albums in hand waiting to be signed. You scoot through the crowd, bowing your head slightly and smiling awkwardly as you push through to the cafe entrance.

You order the same drink every day: a white mocha with oat milk, and an extra shot of espresso. The baristas are starting to recognize you, some even putting in your order before you make it to the register. Your usual spot by the window is open, and you pull your laptop and charger from your bag before settling in. You turn the music up on your iPhone and get into the zone. It hasn’t even been an hour before a wave of fatigue hits you like a punch in the gut, stretching your arms over your head and squeezing your eyes shut to get the blood flowing through your tired bones. Mid stretch, your eyes reopen, and you feel a shock to your system. Han Jisung, whose voice you were just listening to, has walked in. You gasp loudly, attempting to cover the sound with a spluttering cough, covering your face as you do so. 

Celebrity sightings were fairly commonplace in your hometown of Los Angeles. You’d held enough retail and restaurant jobs that sightings didn’t necessarily shock you anymore, and for the most part, you were more than able to deal with them as you would any customer. But you weren’t in LA anymore, you weren’t in a customer service job, and this wasn’t just a celebrity, he was your bias. You could feel the heat creeping into your cheeks, attempting with every fiber of your being to continue as normal… But you catch yourself staring more than once. And, to your horror, he’s noticed. 

Jisung makes his way toward you, the baristas apparently working on his drink. He bends at the waist, but you’ve zoned out, so he waves his hand in front of your face. It takes a moment before you come back to reality with a strange yelp. He giggles at you with his signature wide, toothy grin. “Sorry! Are you okay?”

You slap your cheeks a few times. “Uh, yeah! Fine! Just a little tired, that’s all,” you leave your hands where they are in a vain attempt to cover the flush rising in your face. 

Jisung glances over at your nearly untouched, lukewarm coffee, and pushes it toward you. “You should finish this, it seems like you need it.”

“Uh, yeah, thanks,” you look down at your drink as he begins to walk away.

He stops and turns to face you again. “See you around!”

As he leaves the cafe, you hurriedly pack your things to leave, no longer able to bare the chagrin of the moment. Out of every interaction you had ever imagined, this was not the way you expected things to turn out. You had turned into a puddle rather than looking cool and sexy the way you had in your mind. It’s simply not processing as you flag down a taxi and head back to your apartment. In fact, it still doesn’t process and only serves to haunt you for the rest of the day. Around midnight, when you know your sister has woken up for work in the US, you call her, recounting every painful detail to her. All she does is laugh at you, but you kind of expected that. It doesn’t help matters at all, and that night, you hardly sleep. 

You had planned to go back to the usual Starbucks this morning, but under the circumstances, it’s only natural you would hesitate. Still, you had fallen into a routine you enjoyed and after several ponderous moments, you decide to go anyway. The weather today was beautiful and perfect for a walk. 

The usual gaggle of school girls in front of the towering entertainment company had gone already, so the walk to the coffee shop was more relaxing than usual. You walk in to order your coffee and turn around to meander your way to your usual spot, which happens to be taken. The figure waves you down as you set your path to finding a new spot. The bespectacled man wearing a mask and basket hat scoots over to the next chair to allow you to sit down. “Thanks,” you mumble to the stranger, pulling your laptop and charging cable out to get back into the zone.

“Hi Noona,” he says, pulling his mask down slightly and winking at you. 

Your eyes widen, and you bow your head to him, nearly smashing it on the cafe’s bar table. Han Jisung sits beside you with a very large iced americano in his hand, toothy grin and all.

“Someone was sitting in your spot earlier, but when they left I decided to save it for you!” He says quickly. His Korean is so fast you barely managed to catch what he says. “I know, I’m a pretty nice guy,” he says in English with a bizarre accent that sounds somewhere between British, Australian, and American. He squeezes his eyes shut, smiling wide and looking all too proud of himself. “This is your usual spot, right?”

“Uh… yeah, I…” you start before trailing off. You resolve to be a bit more confident this time. It’s not every day you get to talk to your bias one-on-one. “Yeah, I sit here every day.” You smile at him with what you hope looks more self-assured than you feel. “Thank you for saving it for me. My name is Y/N,” you hold out a hand for a handshake.

“You have a pretty name! Han Jisung,” he says, shaking your hand vigorously. 

“I know,” you blurt out, not thinking quite clearly. You clap your hand over your mouth, “sorry, I just mean that it’s nice to meet you in person.” Flustered, you let his hand go and raise it to brush some hair away from your face.

“Ohhh, STAY?” He says, smiling from ear to ear. “Where are you from? What are you doing here?”

You take a few moments to tell him that you grew up in LA and moved here to work at Naver Webtoon. The two of you chat for a bit about the perks of reading various webtoons before they release in America, and about his time spent in LA for tours and media recording. 

Your shyness seems to melt away the longer the two of you talk. He may be world-famous, but he seems so… normal and down to earth. Chatting with him is more relaxing than awkward, though you do have to actively work to suspend your disbelief and your crippling social anxiety.

“I’m sorry,” he waves his hand to your laptop which has sat untouched for nearly an hour. “Am I keeping you from your work?”

“No, no, not at all,” you wave your own hand at it dismissively. “I am sure I am keeping you from yours,” you look pointedly at the phone sitting face down on the table. It’s been vibrating over and over for the better part of the last 15 minutes. No doubt this was one of the members trying to figure out where Jisung had vanished.

“It’s nice to have a little break to feel normal every once in a while,” he smiles warmly at you. “I enjoyed talking with you this morning. You’re right though, I should get going,” he stands up, moving the mask back up over his chin and nose. “Then, I’ll leave first,” he bows slightly to you, and you nod your head in response. He heads toward the door, turns to wave at you once more, and exits.

You lean your head back, a gusty sigh escaping your lips. It’s been a long time since you’ve had a conversation with anyone other than your coworkers or late-night phone calls with your sister in the US. You did have to admit that you were feeling much less stressed after spending time with Jisung, but it was time to buckle down and get some work done on these translations. 

Hours pass as you concentrate on your work. You wave down the baristas a few times, needing help with some localizations; there were idioms and references that would be lost on an English-speaking audience that needed some explanation from people who knew them. As always, they were more than willing to give their input and always did so with a helpful smile. Looking down at the tiny digital clock on your laptop, you realize it’s gotten late. The sun is just starting to duck under the horizon of the towering buildings ahead of you, and you decide it's time to pack up and get going. 

Your stomach starts to growl as you begin your walk home, so you decide to take a stroll through Olympic Park. There was a teokbokki tent there run by the sweetest ajumma that she liked to eat at every once in a while. This tent in particular was a little out of the way, so it was generally pretty quiet around this time of the evening. When you arrive to order her food, there is only one other group sitting down to eat. You place your order and take a seat on the opposite side with your back to them, allowing them their privacy. 

“Twice in one day?” A voice exclaims from behind you, and you hear movement from the other side of the tent before a figure plops down beside you. “Noona!” Jisung exclaims.

The other two figures make their way over, joining their brother. Chris Bang and Seo Changbin sit opposite you on the table. “You know her?” Chris says to Jisung, a quizzical expression on his face. 

Changbin stares for a moment before his eyes widen. “Is this the pretty cafe noo–”

Jisun kicks Changbin in the shin under the table. He doesn’t bother to hide it. Chris looks confused and seems to be entirely out of the loop in this matter. Your expression mirrors that of Chris. 

Jisung clears his throat. “Ah, Hyung, this is Y/N, I met her the other day at the Starbucks by the company,” his full cheeks flush lightly and he blinks his eyes rapidly.

You suddenly become very self-conscious, looking around behind you.

“Don’t worry,” Chris says in accented English. “This place is usually pretty safe for us around this time. There are not many people around here, yeah?” He flattens his lips together in a reassuring wolf-chan smile. You could see what your sister saw in him. You couldn’t wait to brag about this. Your sister was going to be thoroughly jealous.

As you all stuff teok into your mouths, the three producers seem to ask you a thousand questions about yourself, your family, and your work. Jisung looks like he’s absorbing the information like a sponge. You talk about your favorite songs, and other music you enjoy, and you ask them just as many questions as they do. The sun has vanished from the sky and darkened to reveal pinprick stars above. Your sister would be waking up soon and you didn’t want to miss the short period before she would have to clock in for work and inevitably be stuck in a two-hour meeting, so you stand to excuse yourself.

“Oh, are you walking home?” Chris asks. “Why don’t we walk you home?” Chris looks pointedly at Jisung, raising his brows to his hairline.

“Yeah, we can walk you home!” Jisung blurts. 3RACHA stands up from the table, waving to the ajumma who waves back with a smile. They dawn their disguises (hats and masks were pretty effective at night, you realize at that moment), and the four of you make your way out of the park together.

Conversation ping pongs between the small pack, the boys talking to each other, and then to you, and so on. As you approach your apartment building, you look to the three and say “Ah, this is me, I’ll go first!”

They all stop in their tracks, voices trailing off.

“This is… also us?” Changbin says incredulously. 

The door attendant waves at you, and bows to the men standing beside you before pulling the door open. The expression of bewilderment hasn’t left their faces yet. You walk to the elevator, and enter, pressing the button for your floor. “Which floor are you going to?”

Chris answers you, bemused. “You just pressed it.”

The ride up to the floor is quiet, the four of you completely dumbstruck. As you arrive at your floor, you pull your key out and unlock the door beside the elevator door, and the boys continue on a few more doors down. You exchange glances, bows, and goodnights before entering your respective homes. You poke your head out, and you see Jisung do the same, waving at you before shutting the door.

Now you really needed to call your sister. She was going to lose it.

Your sister answers the phone, yawning. “Dude, you called me before my alarm went off. This better be important, I really needed that extra hour.”

You explain the situation to your sister, and she doesn’t respond for a long time. “Are you still awake?” You grumble at her.

“I am… processing. Literally what the fuck? Did you like, not give my number to Bang Chan? I’m feeling really betrayed right now. Did you at least ask him to rerelease Alchemistry?”

“That’s all you got out of this? Are you fucking kidding me?” You growl at her.”I’m literally losing my mind right now! They’re going to think I’m a stalker!”

Once she gets over the ultimate betrayal of her sister, the two of you calmly discuss where to go next. The only advice she can give you is to just get close to them and show that you can be trusted. There’s nothing else she can offer you that would make you feel any better. It was a weird situation to be sure. As the conversation comes to a close, she offers you one last question: “What would you do… if he fell for you?”

“I don’t know.” The question lingers in your head long after you hang up the phone. At some point, you stop entertaining the thought. It wasn’t going to happen, and you were okay with that.

The next morning was a Saturday. The weekend— finally. You decide this weekend is not a good time for any more excitement, at that, it would be better just to relax at home for once. Tourist attractions would be there next weekend, and she wasn’t in a rush. Instead, you decided enough is enough and you can no longer subsist on ramyeon alone. You throw on some baggy, comfy clothes, and decided to ditch your contacts in favor of glasses. You grab your purse, and head to the elevator to head out. You flit your eyes about the hallway in an attempt to ensure you’re not being followed and no one sees you leave. A door opens down the hallway, and you feel your whole body freeze. 

“Noona! Where are you going?” Jisung skips toward you and stands to wait for the elevator as well.

“Where are you going?” She blurts out in response.

The two pause, and at the same time, both exclaim “groceries!”

“Wow, we can go together! Won’t that be so fun?” He says in his silly English accent. “Look how cute you are!” He says, tugging on the sleeve of your baby pink sweatshirt.

You cross your arms and pout, embarrassment written across your face. The elevator door opens and the two of you enter together.

You could almost hear a crow fly past in the awkward silence of the descent to the first floor. The silence is broken suddenly as Jisung slams his hand on the elevator’s stop button. The lights dim slightly and the elevator halts between floors.

“Han,” you say incredulously. “What are you doing?”

“Noona, you don’t have to be shy around me. Don’t you like me too?” You hesitate to respond, eyes glued to the floor. He leans down to meet you at eye level. “Noona, look at me, you like me, right?”

You look up into his big eyes and realize he’s much closer to your face than you thought. “I just don’t want you to feel like I’m stalking you. I promise you I’m not following you on purpose!” 

“I mean, I’m following you on purpose,” he stands up straight, scratching his head. “I never go to that Starbucks anymore except to see you.” He looks up at the ceiling, pursing his lips and puffing out his cheeks. He couldn’t look more like an overgrown quokka if he tried.

You can’t help but smirk at this. “I do like you, Jisung. I’m just a shy person, don’t take it personally.” 

“Well,” he starts, putting an arm around your shoulders. “You’ll get used to me. You can’t really avoid me since I live down the hall.” He dawns on his idol disguise before pressing the STOP button again, bringing the elevator back to life. “Let’s get some food!”