#I was trying to tell the story of their elopement and how their anniversary now fall in the middle of the Cup finals cos they are idiots

[imaginationintowords]

Folklore [song series]

peace

Modern Day AU! Steve Rogers x OC!Reader

Plot: Inspired by Taylor Swift’s new album Folklore. The story follows the timeline of Bucky and Elizabeth’s life throughout the years

[word count: 2265]

[a/n: sorry for the wait. it was my birthday last weekend so i was just chilling. but here it is, just in time for the anniversary of folklore's release. the final chapter of my folklore song series. i started this last fall, and it's now the end. thank you to all who read the story and commented and showed it love. you don't know how much that means to me, that people liked it so much. thank you for joining this journey with me, and I hope the ending is a nice little bow to finish it off]

Series Masterlist

Age: 27

Year: July 2021 [two weeks after engagement]

Location: New York

Two weeks after their engagement, Steve and Elizabeth were still living off of the high from their engagement.

They were currently spending some time in New York. Liz had just graduated from law school that spring, while Steve was still working at the same architect firm. That was actually also why they were in New York.

The company was opening another branch in New York. Steve was offered a promotion, but it would only be available at the New York office.

In the few years since Steve graduated, he's been excelling in the architect world. He's really made a name for himself. Last year he was named the "hottest" up and coming architect. Ever since then he's been very busy. His boss gave him the month off, to propose to Liz, and to take a tour of the new office.

Steve told Liz that they'd only move back if that's what she really wanted. Especially since she just finished law school, and she still needs to take the state bar exam. She would need to figure that out soon, because the NY state bar exam date was closing in on her.

She and Steve decided a month in NY would help them both decide if moving back would be best. If they did decide to move back Steve would already have job waiting for him. Liz on the other hand might not.

Luckily for her, Loki was currently working at a law firm in NY. He was able to get her an interview while she was in town. He couldn't promise her a position, as there were a lot of people up for the job, some had even interned there. But Liz still went to the interview giving it her best.

Loki and Scott moved to NY two years ago, both their jobs taking them there. They ended up eloping right before their move, two years after Thor and Wanda got married.

Thor and Wanda had officially been married for four years. They were also considering the move over to the east coast. Both of their families lived out there and it just made more sense to them, especially with them trying to start a family.

Family was a massive pro for Steve and Liz as well. Moving back would mean seeing their loved ones a lot more. Especially now with Poppy about to turn six, part of them felt like they were missing out on their goddaughter's life. Steve also missed Bucky.

Bucky was doing really well in his career. He's currently working as a sound engineer for a movie studio. A big step up from the local recording studio he started in.

He was currently looking for a place to move to in Manhattan. Now that Poppy was about to be six, and she was already going to school in the city, it was time they officially made the move.

Actually he's no his girlfriend had decided to move in together.

Dr. Jane Foster is a pediatric fellow. She was in her first year of fellowship at a private practice in Manhattan.

Bucky and Jane met three years ago, through Sam Wilson. Bucky was hesitant at first to date, because he's a single father, and his main priority has always been Poppy since the day she was born. But

Sam had convinced Bucky to go on just one date. One date was all it took. Bucky was immediately hooked. Same went for Jane.

Jane was incredibly understanding of Bucky's situation. And it also helped that she loved children.

Jane met Poppy four months into the relationship and since then everything has been going great for the three of them. Jane instantly fell in love with Poppy and Poppy loved Jane a lot. Bucky had truly never felt happier. When he was alone with his girls he felt complete. When Bucky brought up the idea of officially making the move, he and Jane made the decision to move in together. They were practically already living together at that point. They were all very excited about this next step in their relationship.

Steve and Elizabeth were watching Poppy for the day while Bucky and Jane worked. They decided to spend their day in the city, walking around what could possibly be their new neighborhood. Poppy was loving having them around, and talking up their ears about school and all the friends she has made.

Around lunch time Poppy started to get hungry and sleepy. They decided to stop at a café and get some lunch.

Liz went inside while Steve and Poppy sat outside. Poppy ended up falling asleep on Steve while they waited for Liz. Steve found himself thinking about the possibility of living there.

Truth be told part of him did want to move back. He genuinely missed the New York City way of living. As he relaxes into the sounds of the city, he hears his name being called out. He looks straight ahead, looking for whoever called him, or if they were calling another Steve. As his eyes scanned the crowd, he met the eyes of the last person he would ever think he would see again.

He was completely shocked.

"Peggy?" Steve questioned, as the woman stopped in front of the table.

"I thought that was you," she smiled, "Wow. You most certainly aren't 17 anymore."

Peggy checks him out, as he stayed in his seat. She wasn't being subtle about it either.

Steve cleared his throat, noticing the way Peggy was eyeing him up and down, "Well it has been a decade wince we've last seen each other."

Peggy glances at the sleeping Poppy in his lap.

"Is this your daughter?" She asks pointing at Poppy, then glancing at his left hand noticing there wasn't a ring on his finger.

"Oh, no. This is my goddaughter. She's actually Bucky's," Steve tells her.

"No way," she gasps, surprised by this information. At that moment Elizabeth walks out of the cafe with a number plaque for the table.

"Oh my gosh! Elizabeth?" Peggy greeted.

"Peggy?" Liz asked confused at this older version of Peggy Carter.

"Yeah," she smiled.

Elizabeth put the number plaque on the table, Peggy catches the shimmer of her engagement ring.

"Oh wow! Congratulations," she says grabbing Liz's left hand, "You have a really beautiful daughter. I'm so happy for you and Bucky. High school sweethearts, making it til the end."

Liz was confused, she looked at Steve, hoping he could get them out of this awkward, and slightly uncomfortable situation.

"Um actually, this isn't her daughter, and she's not engaged or married to Bucky," Steve says, "We're actually the ones engaged."

Peggy was taken by surprise at this brand new information, not expecting to hear those words come out of Steve's mouth.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. My mistake," she apologizes, embarrassed.

"Well Congratulations," she awkwardly says, glancing at her watch, "I better be on my way. But hey here's my card. I moved back a couple of months ago. But we should all get dinner and catch up. There's clearly a lot I have missed."

She hands Liz the business card and walks away.

"Well that was random," Steve awkwardly laughs.

"What are the odds," Liz says sitting across from Steve, "Didn't even know she was back."

Liz cleared her throat and tried to focus on the city around her.

Con: Peggy Carter.

Steve and Elizabeth continued on with their day. At the end of the day, they dropped Poppy off at Jane's apartment and headed to their hotel.

Throughout their day there was a slight tension between the couple, it didn't go unnoticed by the both of them. Neither could figure out what the tension was. They both knew it had to do with the sudden appearance of Peggy Carter.

They laid in their hotel bed, each with a book in their hands. Their nightly read.

Elizabeth had a hard time focusing on what she was reading. She tried to force away thoughts of Peggy Carter out of her head. She flipped the page and stopped when she noticed her engagement ring. She took a long stare at it.

"Do you regret it?" She asks, turning her head towards him.

"Regret what?" He asks putting his book down and turning to face her.

"You and Peggy breaking up," she says, "Do you regret it?"

Steve is taken back by Liz's question.

"No," he shakes his head, "I don't regret it."

"Do you ever wonder what you're life would've been like had she stayed?"

Steve ponders over the question, "Truthfully? No. Once we said our final goodbyes in London, that was it. I never once gave it another thought. I closed that chapter as soon as I boarded my flight. Not that the breakup didn't hurt. Because it did. I just knew then that she wasn't my future. I never thought I would see her again."

"But you did," Liz quietly says.

"Yeah, which was weird," he says.

"I wouldn't blame you if you wanted out of the relationship to be with her," she says tearing up.

"What? No," Steve quickly says, sitting straight up, "I don't want that."

"I just mean, if you wanted to. I would completely understand. She was your first love."

"Yes, she was. But I don't love her," he says, "I know this is only coming up because we saw her today, and there's been this out of awkward tension in the air ever since. But I don't want to be with Peggy."

Liz glances down at her engagement ring again, trying to hide the tears of insecurity rolling down her face.

"Look at me," he softly says, placing his hand over her's, "I love you and only you. I asked you to marry me because you're the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. You and only. Peggy doesn't mean anything to me. I haven't even thought of her since high school. You mean more to me than anything in this world. Especially more than some high school ex-girlfriend. You, Elizabeth are my entire world."

"Why would you even think that?" He gently asks

"Just seeing her and the way she looked at you before she realized we were engaged," she says, "She wanted you. Then my mind started to wonder if maybe that was a sign for you two to get back together. And maybe you'd realize you regret proposing to me."

"There isn't an ounce of regret in me that makes me feel like I'm making the wrong decision," he assures her, "There is no one else for me. You are it. Proposing to you wasn't for confidence. Proposing to you was the only thing I've ever felt so sure of. It was the only thing I've ever done that I didn't second guess. You are the only thing I've ever felt so sure of."

"This," he grabs her and and gestures between the both of them, "Is where I want to be for the rest of my life. This brings me a peace like no other. You are my peace."

Age: 27

Year: May 2022

Location: Somewhere in Upstate New York

"You are my peace," Steve sniffles, as he holds Elizabeth's hands, tears flowing down both of their faces as they stood up in front of their closest friends and families, reciting their vows.

"I don't think I would be where I am today without you and your continued support. I meant what I said years ago about following you wherever you went. All I ever want is to be by your side. Nothing else has ever meant to me as you do. My future doesn't exist if you're not apart of it. Nothing matters if I don't have you. Since the day we met, twenty years ago, I knew you would play such an important part in my life. We clearly aren't the same people we were then. Yet over the many years you haven't strayed away from being this kind supportive, understanding person. To know one day our future kids will have that as a mother, overwhelms me with joy and love. They will be the most luckiest kids in the world.

"You are it for me. You are my world. I know everyone says weddings and getting married is the start of a new chapter, but it doesn't really feel lie that for us. It just feel like our story is continuing. There's no end in sight. And I'll make sure of that, by being supportive, kind to you for the rest of our lives. There won't be a time where you ever have to question my love for you. Because Elizabeth Sanchez, you are love."

Elizabeth has tears streaming down her face. She didn't' care how she looked. The only person that mattered was the man standing before her, professing his never ending love for her.

The pastors signaled her, that it was now her turn to speak.

"I figured I'd try and keep it short and sweet, because you know exactly how I feel about you Steve," she begins, "There's only one thing I want to say, more so I want to thank you. Thank you for giving me love. An unconditional love that never seems to fade. Since day one of our relationship. You've been patient. You always say I'm the supportive one, but you fail to see that you are too. Even more than me. You've always been willing to drop everything, not just for me but for all the ones you love. Anyone who has Steve Rogers' love, should count themselves as being incredibly special. I am the luckiest pet one out of them all because I get to be the recipient of your love every single day. I am the one who gets to spend the rest of their life calling you my husband. My partner. My life. You've shown me a love like no other. So thank-you Steve, for loving me."

Folklore series taglist: @iheartsebandchris @perksofbeingabookworm @atomicsoulcollecto @void-imaginations @stumbleonmywords

Permanent taglist: @rosegolddivinity @definitelynotafangirl-blog1 @1awesomeash @princess-evans-addict @24kbratz @introvertatitsfinest @imagine-all-the-imagines @also-fangirlinsweden @rororo06 @getlostinyourparadise @small-death-and-codeine @bonkyboinkybucky @sincerely-kizzy @loudthoughts-softspoken @aquariuslavenderhoney @cherriesanwine @goalexis123 @sassyslytherinshai @loving-books-is-easier @katiaw2 @xoxabs88xox @osugahunnyicedtea @katierpblogg @thefridgeismybestie @maybeimkate @lou-la-lou @demirunner @celineann91 @marie1115 @fangirl-couch-potato @lokisironthrone @daughterofthenight117

[do-you-have-a-flag]

Destiel shippers come get ya’ll juice!

SO @deadwright​ and I were inspired by Some Tumblr Posts and the twitter Roadhouse  Wedding stuff and keep writing headcanons about Thee Destiel 2021 Married Ever After S16 SPN Romantic Event Of The Season, so here’s that. 

Arranged in order of marital chronology and cutting out us keysmashing too much:

oh man imagine all the burgers they get catered for the reception dean got it done himself he would’ve been so particular about the catering bridezilla cas would probably be THEE bitchiest bridezilla

it's also definitely that trope where all the other hunters ect KNOW that that many of them and the wedding party are essentially a target for trouble so everyone spends the 24 hours leading up to the vows taking out every beastie who shows up on a revenge kick out of sight because they'll be damned if they let ANYTHING stop this wedding and Dean and cas are both having their marital jitters oh god im not good enough what if something goes wrong about mundane things while monsters are getting their ass kicked outside AWWWWWWWW for sure for sure, they’re hunter royalty this wedding is a big deal like half the attendees are nursing injuries but grinning widely

they don't do the can't see eachother before the wedding thing because you KNOW dean would be fixing cas' tie last minute

dean wears a blue pocket square to match cas' tie cas wears a FLANNEL SQUARE

I’m obsessed w the idea of cas giving dean a little bit of his grace in a small bottle on a chain for him to wear or like a wing feather or some part of him god the grace in a bottle breaks me every time in fic dean probably builds cas something but every time i try to think of something specific i choke up

i was thinking like what if trading grace is as close to a romantic gesture as angels have and he's like..... technically i left some grace behind in your mark when i dragged you from the pit and dean is like ARE YOU SAYING WE'VE BEEN MARRIED THIS WHOLE TIME? 

they are so sweet i’m on the verge of tears the ability to do anything by halves in their relationship was burnt out by like the second return from the dead moment they are too insane to be anything less than All In And Then Some

at one point someone was like hey cas do you want to run your vows by someone as practice? and he started reading what he'd prepared and it devolved into Biblically Grand Statements Of The Power Of Love And The Redemption Of - ect ect ect and it's because unlike the confession scene he's had TOO much preparation and overshot into uncanny angelic vibes he makes some edits because he know the expressions he gets when he reads it aren't what he intended

dean writes page after page after page of unused drafts, none of them are particularly floral

he does the cliche of ripping up his vows and improvising at the altar, something he gets mercilessly teased for because he swore he wouldn't but it classifies as a chick flick moment

THAT’S SO PEAK HIM OH MY GOD and you knoooooow you just KNOW it’s beautiful and emotional and everyone is crying

god the NOVELTY of dean being emotionally honest in front of people......im gonna faint YEA yeah... ONE TIME ONLY DEAL he thinks loudly at Sam's smug expression

anyway, at the wedding dean is the one who spends the whole ceremony with like crying cat meme eyes after the confession scene i’m pretty sure the minute the vows start cas is in the same boat USELESS HUSBANDS dean gets passed a handkerchief for his tears and immediately goes to use it on cas' face and they both laugh sob love the idea that everyone individually thought they were too tough to cry but they all broke at various stages yeah sam definitely starts to choke up just standing up there with his brother sam chokes up before the ceremony even started, like probably when he was pinning on dean’s corsage

anyway, Jack dancing with his two dads at the reception CAS’ BEST MAN / FLOWER BOY FLOWER MAN let him heelie down the aisle with the flowers LITTLE MAN GO NYOOM who makes him a little flower crown he wears with a proud lil smile? claire ofc, with those hair braiding skills? she makes it BEAUTIFUL flower crown: on nails: painted dads: MARRIED!!!!

when they say i do and kiss and everyone is cheering you can't convince me that someone doesn't let off what is either a gun or a dubiously legal firework in celebration jack pops a few lightbulbs in his uncontrollable joy

Dean and Cas can't let go of each other, it's at LEAST one point of physical contact for the rest of the reception PERIODT

CAN YOU IMAGINE THEM DANCING TO AIR SUPPLY

they definitely didn't do the wedding gifts thing but a few mysteriously show up anyway; discuss waffle iron from sam bc he remembers the becky incident meanwhile claire gets them flavoured lube because she’s an insane little mean girl she gets them a sampler package with like novelty flavours, gotta spring extra for a wedding PIE FLAVOURED LUBE

it’s gonna be the party of the century omfg you KNOW it! that dancefloor going OFF the BAR is FLOWING

dean gets dragged up onto the bar to make a speech and there's a moment at the end where he drags cas up there too and they're being playfully yelled at not to scuff it and there's hooting and catcalls as dean and cas kiss and dean gestures rudely before almost falling backwards off the bar before cas grabs him and climbing down is less romantic or dignified but he couldn't care if he wanted to

meanwhile sam and claire are outside defacing the impala with silly string and lewd graffiti and tin cans tied to the bumper for the going-away oh it is one hundo percent a just married atrocity there's enough condoms hidden in the car that they're still finding them months later

anyway wanna hear my disgustingly soppy honeymoon roadtrip concept? YOU KNOW I DO OKAY SO

you know at some point dean must have said some sad thing like for the longest time he never thought he'd live long enough to get married and the only circumstances he could imagine was hooking up drunkenly with a stranger at some vegas wedding scenario like that's the best he would ever get and he thinks it's mostly forgotten but then during their cross country honeymoon roadtrip castiel does in fact navigate them to las vegas and quietly mutters that the legal veracity of the little chapel on the city limits is dubious at best and they're already married so it couldn't do any harm and they get officiated by an elvis impersonator and a woman wearing more sequins than fabric throws cheap confetti over them

and after that they stop into every venue they can find that would be friendly to them to pretend they're eloping and at one point dean even pulls out the fbi id badges and the officiant is under the impression he's facilitating some sort of covert workplace romance 

one place is a kitchy little house that's clearly just the couple who run it opening their strange home to anyone who needs it and have been since the 70s and Castiel thinks for a moment when they're asked to pin something to the collection of stuff on the walls and ceiling before pulling the receipt for the pie they'd shared earlier in a dinner out and scrawling his and dean's name on it to be added to the clutter 

and at one point they stand ankle deep in a pond while some old hippie lady wraps their clasped hands together with soft fabric and chants something that dean knows isn't real magic but hey he's not going to tell her that and after the ceremony they sit on the grass and feed each other sweet bread to complete the binding or whatever and it's nice but it doesn't compare to the ranch where they both tossed their cowboy hats in the air and were given a horse to ride to their camp site

i thought about riverboat gambling for point one seconds and now i know in my bones that one of their many weddings was on a riverboat, they made the captain officiate after cornering him on deck in like five minutes, the crew sent them complimentary champagne and they threw fries at the birds following the boat while sharing it straight out of the bottle

if destiel can go canon multiple times they can get married multiple times CHANGE MY MIND THEY GET MARRIED SO MUCH the MOST married i just want them to get gay cowboy married

eventually i want them to end up at the beach bc dean has canonically never been to the coast their road trip is to get to the other coast

they send just married postcards back to sam from every stop sam stops feeling hurt he was left out of their vegas elopement wedding by the third wedding postcard he recieves sam saves them ofc bc GOD can you imagine them looking at the postcards on their 30th anniversary or s/t 🥺 showing their grandkids and recounting the story of each wedding there's a seashell taped to the last one

cas gets a terrible sunglasses tan and dean gets burnt on the tips of his ears and there's sand on sand on sand in all their clothes and at one point dean is blinking away salt water and cas is gripping his arm and saying something about the coral by them in the water and dean thinks that he likes floating beside cas a lot better than flying

dean has cas pick ice cream for them from a truck and hustles at carnival games enough to win them both big novelty foam hats and they both go back to their room and pass out immediately post shower sprawled across the bed and still smelling like sunscreen and salt water

dean tucks a little cocktail umbrella behind cas’ ear

cas spends most of the next day in dean's zepplin shirt and a pair of shorts they only picked up once they got there because neither of them thought to bring beach clothes, they sit on the balcony and dean sips his beer and idly plays with the ring on cas' finger and they play a game of what fictional monsters could they beat in a fight

cas’ true form is the size of the chrysler building he can fight king kong easy that's what he says and dean's like okay but what about mothra and castiel is like how would YOU defeat mothra and dean just goes "bugspray." GDJSGSHSGSHDSJ DEAN WOULD

in honour of misha putting his whole pussy into the role, cas wears a dress in at least one of their weddings

it's at one of those theme parks that's just historical re-enactments and people get their vows renewed there and there's costumes for the photobooth and the staff are like how long have you been married? castiel says two weeks, three days, eighteen hours, and twenty five minutes................ approximately.  and the photo is cas in a classical wedding gown and dean is wearing the veil with his old timey suit and there's a moose head on the wall behind them wearing the top hat he was given and they send that print with an arrow pointing at the moose with sam written next to it

i keep thinking bitch!!!! you KNOW WHAT!! you KNOW that dean is the type a guy who's heart races every time he feels his wedding ring/is always fiddling with it in the weeks after the wedding, like an anchor to remind him they really got married this is real he would NEED that physical reminder that he can have good things

he’s never ever going to take it off, the tan line will be permanent

how funny it would be if dean gets injured on a hunt and the monster guy is about to kill him and then the lights blow out and the monsters are like what was that and dean is just like "[spits blood] that's my husband." and nek minnit cas has just ripped through them thanks to teleporting in angel style and is just like Cas: [heals dean] "you're late for movie night" Dean: "Well if you'd gotten here earlier i would have been on time." Cas: >:| [kisses him]

cas is like i didn’t burn the popcorn this time you BETTER be alive to see it

[some-sort-of-firefly]

Let Them Have Their Fun

Taking inspiration from @hecate-herself ‘s “Alcohol Induced” prompt list, I present prompt 15: “You are so pretty! I love you.”/”I love you too! We should get married!” Title: Let Them Have Their Fun Fandom: The Invisible Library Rating: T Word Count: 585 Pairings: Kai/Irene, Implied Silver/Vale Content: Non-descriptive Alcohol use.

It started when Irene had remembered the wine Li Ming had sent. She had been saving it for a special occasion. Well, hers and Kai's anniversary was more than special enough. Vale couldn't disagree with that. He had, however, been their third wheel often enough to know how that would go. It was for that reason that he'd found himself inviting Silver to the festivities. Of all people, inviting Silver seemed equal parts entertaining and terrible.

All in all, he was glad he'd invited him.

Silver was many things, and reluctantly, Vale might admit he was decent company. In a sort of... 'someone to watch a disastrous event with' kind of way.

Which coincidentally, was exactly what they were doing.

It had started harmlessly enough, with a casual warning about the strength of dragon wine that Irene had nodded at before promptly ignoring.

Typical.

Vale had at least assumed Kai would be able to tolerate the wine. His own fault for having any sort of faith in either of them, he was sure. He turned to Silver, not sure what he had been about to say when he met the man's amused gaze.

"Are you quite sure you don't wish to join them, My Dear Vale?"

"One of us must be responsible."

Silver's mouth began to open, and Vale lifted a hand to cut him off.

"I would never let you supervise."

"You wound me."

"Not as much as Winters would wound me if I ever let you be in charge."

Silver seemed to contemplate that, befire accepting it. Vale shook his head slightly, though his lips were curled into a slight smirk of amusement.

Irene, who up until now had been laying on the floor in near tears because she couldn't get up, released a loud gasp. The sound drew both Vale and Silver's gazes to her.

Kai was leaning over her a bit, clumsily trying to offer a hand to help her up. Vale was quite certain that was a bad idea. He seemed equally bewildered by her mild outburst. Irene was staring up at him, lips parted as her hand extended so her fingers could lay on his cheek.

"Wow," she breathed quietly. "You are so pretty! I love you!"

Kai preened slightly, making Vale chuckle quietly, well aware that Silver was finding his reactions amusing too.

"I love you too! We should get married!"

The suggestion came with such conviction that Vale actually snorted. He flushed a little when Kai and Irene startled, looking in his direction. Silver too, released a quiet chuckle. The drunken couple were soon distracted again, thankfully, their discussion also drawing Silver's attention.

"We should run away together!"

"Elope."

As Irene nodded in agreement, Vale shook his head in amusement. It was truly something to listen to from the both of them.

"I'm going to tell them."

Vale's gaze snapped sharply to Silver. Before he could even really think about it, he was smacking his arm. He was rewarded with a quiet chuckle. Infuriating.

"Don't you dare!"

"Why, My Dear Vale... Could it be that you are enjoying the sight of your friends making fools of themselves?"

"Not at all!" He objected, perhaps a tiny bit too quickly, judging by Silver's smirk. "I simply don't think there is anything to be gained from ruining their fun."

On the wall, a picture from Kai and Irene's wedding day, five years ago to the day, hung above them all.

"Besides, it might make for an amusing story... one day."

[jcisthebestfightme]

BJYX Song #3: If I Were Young

BJYX Song Series List

Disclaimer: This is all in my own head. 

Since it’s the 1 year anniversary of the airing of 11th anniversary of ttxs, I will write the companion piece of Nan Hai, “If I Were Young” by Ronghao Li. This song is actually extremely popular across the world. Many people, include multiple cast of CQL, has mention that they like this song. Does this make its significance to ggdd less special? I don’t think so. I think they have their own reasons for liking this song. It just shows how many different stories this song can touch. 

First, I want to mention that I love the music video to this song. The story goes very well with the lyrics and it’s almost like the mini-movie. That being said, it’s actually distracting to me when analyzing haha because I keep thinking of the story in the mv instead of ggdd. So I want to include the video of just the lyrics with full English translation instead of the actual music video.

Similar to the music video, the lyrics describes a story of an middle-age/elderly man looking back at his life with vivid imageries such as paying downpayment and punching the walls. It makes the song much more realistic but also harder to analyze the lyrics. So instead of taking apart the lyrics like I usually do, I will focus more on the overall message of different parts of the lyrics. 

This song was first mentioned by ggdd during ttxs filming. They were asked to show their playlist. This song is part of dd’s playlist. He said his playlist has a lot of sad song and he chose this song to sing as an example. Then, during an interview filmed on 7/29, the day after the airing of this episode of ttxs (7/28), ggdd were asked to describe each other with a song. We all remember that dd said “Nan Hai” without hesitation. What you may not have notice is that gg asked dd “That song you like, what is it called?” And the dd whispered “Nian Shao You Wei (If I Were Young)” and then that’s when gg said it louder into the mic. It’s speculated that ggdd probably watched the ttxs episode the night before so that they would know what song they were referring to. 

Even though the song was used by gg to describe dd, I want to analyze this song from dd’s perspective. Gg chose this song because dd likes it and he thinks it suits him. It also originated from dd’s playlist so I think the song has more significance to dd instead of gg. 

電視一直閃 (The TV keeps flickering) 聯絡方式都還沒刪 (Your contact hasn’t been deleted) 你待我的好 (The care you give me) 我卻錯手毀掉 (I mistakenly destroyed)

This first stance talks about how much care the past lover of the singer gave him and how he regrets giving this person up. The focus here is the symmetry between the meticulous, domestic care described in the song and how gg treats dd. 

也曾一起想 (We use to both want) 有個地方睡覺吃飯 (To have a place to eat and sleep [together]) 可怎麼去熬日夜顛倒連頭款也湊不到 (But how do we get past the difficult life, of working day and night, and not being able to even pay the downpayment)

Of course, ggdd have not been in a situation so dire, thankfully to their parents, that they do not have enough money for food or a roof over their heads. But this part talks about realistic challenges in life and I think it reminds dd about the hardship in the world they will need to face, even for a simple wish of living simply. 

牆板 被我砸爛 到現在還沒修 (The wallboard I smashed hasn’t been repaired to this day) 一碗熱的粥 你怕我沒夠 都留一半帶走 (A warm bowl of porridge, you’re afraid I do not have enough to eat so you only took half)

This stance describes the couple having a fight but the lover still loved the singer so much that they left half their porridge for them. I love this line the most because it sounds exactly like something gg will do. It’s so detailed and caring. 

給你形容 美好今後你常常眼睛會紅 (When I describe our future dream to you, you often have tears in your eyes) 原來心疼我 我那時候不懂 (I never knew until now that it’s because you were concerned about/cherish me)

The word “心疼” is difficult to translate because it has the connotation of being distressed for someone but out of love. Its literal translation if heart+ache. I can see this exact scene playing out with ggdd. They’re uncertain of their future because of so many obvious challenges they will have to face. And I think gg will probably “心疼” dd because dd is so much younger and have to also bear this responsibility. This is dd acknowledging gg’s concern for him and telling him that he has received his love.

假如我年少有為不自卑 (If back when I was young, I was not self-abased) 懂得什麼是珍貴 (And I knew to cherish what was important) 那些美夢 (Those beautiful dreams) 沒給你 我一生有愧 (That I was not able to give you, is something I regret my whole life)

The lyrics in the chorus is sang from the perspective of an older man regretting his decisions and lack of self-worth when he was younger, probably in his 20s. Since dd is still young and in his early 20s, we know that it’s not him looking back on his past. Instead, it’s him projecting to his future and think what his future self would tell his current self. It’s almost as if he’s lecturing himself to not have self-pity right now, cherish the love that is important to him, and be brave about facing the future. He’s warning himself about the regrets the singer of this song has. 

In this part, I also see the parallel with Wangxian. LWJ didn’t take action 13/16 years ago when WWX were bullied by everyone. He was scared because standing up for WWX would be against everything he was taught and his family. He wavered because hasn’t strong enough to fight everyone for WWX. So he lost WWX in the end. Re-meeting 13/16 years later was a second chance that was sent from heaven. This was when he started to fight for his love and protect WWX at all cost. Like dd said himself, LWJ only really realize his love after he has lost it when WWX died. But dd is also adamant that he’s not LWJ. He won’t let himself regret and lose his love like LWJ.

假如我年少有為 知進退 (If back when I was young, I knew when to fight/move forward and when to retreat/move backwards) 才不會讓你替我受罪 (Then I wouldn’t have let you suffer for me)

Similar to the previous stance, this is dd reminding himself to take current actions that he will not regret in the future. The understanding of the phrase “when to fight and when to retreat” exudes maturity. When you’re young and naive, you think that you should always try to fight forward. When you get hurt and become jaded, you become scared and retreats. But real maturity is when you learn the appropriate time to fight and when to take a step back. Dd’s understanding of this phrase shows that he has maturity much beyond his age, which we can see in other ways as well.

婚禮上 多喝幾杯 (On your wedding day, have a few more drinks) 和你現在那位 (With the person you’re with now)

This corresponds to the line in “Nan Hai” that talks about not being able to give you the future another person, in this case a girl, would be able to. The imagery of the wedding in this line is very traditional, at least to a Chinese person. You can vividly see the wedding with red veils, extended family with expectations of grandchildren, and friends drinking not to celebrate you but celebrating the sake of a tradition. Similar to “Nan Hai”, I think dd feels insecure about his age and gender, knowing he is unable to give gg this exact “wedding” and that another person can. But honestly dd, think about Wangxian. The best part about Wangxian’s ending is that they never had a wedding ceremony. Why? Because wedding ceremonies are not for the two people in love. Wedding ceremonies are what people feel like they owe the world. But the world was so cruel to them that they said “f- that” and just eloped on their own. Life belongs to two people. You owe the world nothing.

In summary, this song is dd constantly reminding himself to make the right decision right now so that he will not regret it in the future. From both “Nan Hai” and this song, we can see that even though dd seems straightforward, confident, and unfazed to what the world thinks of him, deep down, he’s actually fragile, insecure, and scared. Dd has the tendency to want to be strong and he wants to give gg everything. But everyone has limits and these songs represents his fear of not being able to live up to his own promises. It’s also because of this fragile interior that dd is attracted to gg. Even though gg seems nice, easy-going, and gentle on the outside, he’s actually very strong, confident, and secure on the inside. This is evident from my analysis of “If I Were A Song.” Gg is confident about the care he can provide for dd. These two love each other, need each other, and complete each other. 

[mercurryblack]

Chapter 8: Rosario

A certain Garland girl spends a peaceful evening with LLAC’s leader.

❃❃❃

“You’re late, chica.”

Rosario Garland had never been the kind of girl to make others wait. She may not have been perfect, but she prided herself on making sure that she was at least fifteen minutes early when she was meeting with anyone, regardless of the importance of their meeting.

The girl was patient if nothing else, and that trait had proved itself invaluable when she started dating Lillian, who was also an early bird. It had come to the point where it had become a friendly competition— whoever was the last to arrive would pick up a check, and vice versa.

Not that it really mattered, however— she couldn’t recall the last time she had lost to Lillian.

“Of course you’re here already. Why is it that you always come first?” Lillian said, greeted her girlfriend with a side hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“Would you prefer it if I came last?” grinned Rosario, nuzzling up to her.

Lillian shrugged. “You know, sometimes I wouldn’t mind if— wait.”

Rosario’s grin widened. “Heh. Gotcha again, Lilly.”

“Okay, I set myself up for that one.” Lillian sighed, her cheeks turning pink as she understood the entendre. Pretending that she wasn’t caught off guard, she coughed loudly and continued. “So, what have you been up to these past few days, Rosa?”

Rosario let out a long breath as she answered. “Ohhhhh, y’know, the usual. I’ve been helping my parents with th’ Dulcinea in my downtime, and making sure Sirocco and Socorro stay out of my room. School’s been drop-dead boring, though. Pbbbllltt.” She blew a noisy raspberry. “I shoulda become a Huntress like Dad used to be.” 

Lillian nodded, as the two started to walk. “It’s got its ups and downs. How’s the restaurant doing, anyhow?”

“Pretty well. We got flatscreens installed, so with the Festival upcoming, it’s reached the point where we don’t have to eat leftovers from the day’s menu any longer.” Rosario rolled her eyes. “I know it’s saving Lien, but papa’s got a butt-load of dosh saved up from old contracts. You think he’d be less of a tightwad.”

“Eh, it’s practical. Huntsman mindset and all that.” Lillian shrugged. After a moment, she smirked and gently elbowed Rosario. “Maybe your folks should’ve invested in a McGarland’s franchise instead.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Rosario scoffed, shaking her head. Her brown hair swayed across her shoulders. “Y’know, I asked mamá about doing that a while back, and she said that— word for word— ‘she’d sooner shove her head in a boiling fry vat than ever involve herself with her shit-eating malaka of an idiot brother ever again.’”

Lillian nodded, humming pensively. “This ‘idiot brother’… the same one who tried to take her as his wife? Helios something-or-other?” She asked.

“Apollo, actually, and yeah.” Rosario replied. “I never actually met the guy, don’t really want to. All I know ‘bout it’s that papá found out and beat him up in some ritual fight, and won the right to marry mamá, and they eloped to Mistral City and lived happily ever after, blah blah blah. Just the same story they tell me on every single anniversary of theirs.”

“You swamp clans are a laugh a minute, aren’t you?” Lillian remarked dryly.

“Tell me about it. I’ll take the Dulcinea over being sent away to Laurelboros anyday.”

“If I get another break, I’ll try and pay you a visit over at your place. Who knows what my feminine charms could bring, hm?” Lillian half-jokingly suggested.

Rosario laughed. “Yeah, that’d be a hoot— see how many poor schmucks try and hit on the biggest lesbian in all of Mistral.” She said. “But enough about me, Lilly— what about you? Anything new in your life, my dear Huntress?” She asked, leaning her head sideways and curiously raising an eyebrow.

“It’s been… stressful. You heard about the whole SYBR case in the news, right?”

Rosario nodded. Days prior, the news of the two members’ deaths had flooded the news outlets. While the details of the case still remained confidential, the media hadn’t shied away from the gruesome way in which the murders had taken place. “Yeah, Dad was pretty shaken up about it. He used to be pretty close with Yaara and Berilo— well, all of them, really. They were in the same year, I think.” She bit her lower lip. “What about it?”

Lillian sighed. “Well, we’ve been assigned to help out with it.”

“Yeesh. How’s that going?” asked Rosario, wincing in surprise.

“Right now, the whole thing is shitty. It was done neatly, whoever did it made sure they weren’t leaving any clues.” Lillian pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.

“Ugh, we haven’t made any progress since the initial investigation. I feel like dead weight.”

Rosario affirmingly placed a hand on her girlfriend’s shoulder, giving it a gentle rub. “Hey, hey, don’t beat yourself up over it. I’m sure you and your compadres will find out who did it. Who knows? Maybe you just haven’t looked in the right place yet.”

Lillian turned to the Garland girl, her eyes half-lidded and her expression unamused. “Really. Not the right place. In the exact place where they were murdered, Rosario?”

“ … Okay, not my best moment of reassurance, but you know what I mean.” The Garland girl winced.

Lillian rolled her eyes. “Sure I do, cabeza hueca.”

Rosario glowered. “I may be stupid—”

“Yes.” Lillian cut her off, visibly holding back a laugh.

“This is you getting back at me for that “came last” bit, isn’t it?”

“Also yes.”

***

After twenty minutes’ worth of a pleasant stroll, the pair finally made it to the upper cliffs near the base of Haven Academy. It was mainly a residential area, but just behind the pagoda-style houses was a cozy picnic spot overlooking the mountain’s majestic waterfall. Only a select few were in the know, yet it was a popular dating spot among those few.

So it was just as well that they were here now, in the evening when nobody was about to interrupt them.

Lillian had thought it would be a good idea to bring Rosario to a place that wasn’t a restaurant. The Garland girl had more or less grown up in one, so a change of scenery was best for both of them. Undoing a backpack that Rosario had handed off to her earlier on, she tossed a blanket to Rosario, who spread it out on the grass while Lillian undid the cloth surrounding their meal’s basket.

The couple ate their food— a pair of bocata-style sandwiches the Garland had made herself— as they overlooked the city. It made each of them drift away from the issues in their minds; doubts, worries, and problems fading to the back as they took in the serene moment.

Naturally, Rosario figured it was a bit quiet.

“Uh…” She began, attempting to come up with an appropriate point for conversation. “So, Lilly, how’s your training going? The Vytal Festival’s coming up in a couple’a weeks after all, right?”

Lillian coughed on her bite of food. “Oh, yeah, right. Vytal.” She had almost forgotten about LLAC’s prior plans for the festival. For a second, it seemed like only yesterday that she and her team had been drilling for their matches.

“My cousin Robin— she’s in her second year, I think you’ve met— she’s popped around the shop once or twice while you were there. She’s entered her team already, says they really have a shot at the championship.” Rosario continued. “You could probably kick her butt, though.”

Lillian nodded. “I’ve run into her a couple of times. Her teammate… Kogane or something? She went and bought a couple of new Mistrali-styled uniforms for me and Am when we first arrived in Haven, after bawling us out for wearing what she called ‘unfashionable’ Atlesian outfits.” She huffed disparagingly. “Yeah, as if her three-inch heels are any kind of improvement over a tac suit, but whatever.”

She paused, taking a bite out of her sandwich. “Oh, and just so you know, I could kick your cousin’s butt. No sweat. But I doubt it’d happen anyways.”

“Whff’a maffr? Iff’ere—mllpp— s’there a problem?” Rosario asked, swallowing a particularly large bite as she turned to Lillian.

“No… it’s just that I think it’ll be much better for LLAC to not participate in the festival altogether. We promised to help Detective Yuen with solving the SYBR case.” She pursed her lips. “So I think it’s safe to say that we’re not going to be fighting anytime soon.”

Rosario threw her arms up, stunned. “Not going to fight? Are you shitting me? I’ve seen you guys throw down in exhibitions, remember— between that goth’s agility, your sister’s durability, the hat kid’s unpredictability, and your strength, you’re totally fit to win it! You’re one of the best fighters I know, amiguita, no way are they gonna keep you from the Festival!”

Lillian rolled her eyes. “Well, be that as it may, it still won’t change the fact that we’re busy with the murder investigation, and this year’s festival is being hosted in Vale. It’s too far away, no way are we going to get a pass from Detective Yuen to compete.” She replied.

“Man.” Rosario muttered, shaking her head. “That just ain’t right. You talked to the rest of the team about this yet?”

“Not yet, no, but I figured I’d tell them tomorrow. If they agree with me, I’ll talk to Professor Lionheart about withdrawing from the tournament.” She scratched the back of her neck. “And if they don’t… well, I’ll figure something out. But that’s not important right this minute.”

However, the nagging thought of how her teammates might not agree to her proposition stayed in the back of Lillian’s mind. Either way, she was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Seeing the girl’s troubled expression, Rosario leaned in to rest against the crook of Lillian’s neck. “Okay, I get it. Enough serious talk.” She said, before turning her attention again to the view from the mountaintop.

“I never realized how pretty it is when you get just a little higher up.” 

She lived in the area just underneath the cliffs, and had little business anywhere higher, so she’d never paid much consideration to coming to the summit before. Now that she did, she was slightly awestruck by how small Mistral City looked from up on high.

“It’s even prettier when you see it all the way up, right from the academy grounds.” Lillian said, her voice calm.

“Lucky. Means you get to take it in all the time.”

“Well, after a few years there, you’ll get tired of the view and much rather be down in the city proper.” Lillian shifted her shoulder. “But do you want to know about the one view I’ll never get tired of?”

“Sure. Where’s that?” Rosario asked, looking up to face her.

“Here,” Lillian gently placed her hand atop Rosario’s own and stared at the city below them, before turning her gaze to her girlfriend. “Right beside you, Rosa.”

After a moment’s pause, Rosario pulled her beanie down and averted her gaze, trying to hide her suddenly flushed face. It was usually her who threw around corny romantic remarks and double entendres, but when Lillian said something to make her blush…

Well, she could dish it out, but she wasn’t very good at taking it.

“You have the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen, you know that?” Lillian said, giving the Garland girl’s cheek a soft brush as she gazed into Rosario’s turquoise orbs.

“Yeah, and you have the cheesiest compliments.” Rosario replied, still blushing. “But thanks, I like yours too. They’re, uh…” She trailed off, too distracted by Lillian’s eye contact.

They lapsed back into silence, looking over the cityscape dotted by lights under a darkening evening sky.

“…Time like this, kinda makes you wish this moment could last forever, doesn’t it?” Rosario asked offhandedly.

“You mean, this moment with your hand on my abs?”

Rosario tilted her head downwards, and noticed that her left hand had indeed found its way onto Lillian’s stomach.

“...You mind?” She asked in a faux innocent tone, glancing back up.

“Hmf,” Lillian smiled, wrapping an arm around Rosario’s shoulder. “Not even a bit.”

Rosario grinned, slowly closing her eyes as she melted into the embrace. “Then, yeah… this is a moment I could live with.”

[tigers-eyes-26]

Elope part 2 (warning adult themes)

She wasn’t going against her promise!  She promised that anyone wouldn’t spy on Donald, she didn’t promise anything would spy on him on his boat. After a call from Huey, Gyro had set up the spy equipment in the tv room. Soon they saw that Donald picked up Daisy and helped her with her luggage. “Awwwwwwww!” Huey, Dewy, Louie, Webby, Mrs. Beakley and Della cooed. Gyro he rolled his eyes. “I can’t believe my tech is being used for such trivial things.”

Gyro was the first one to leave Mrs. Beakley was close after. Louie quickly drifted to his phone. Webby was trying to teach Dewey how to do a head stand. Della had tipped her head back and was lightly snoring. Huey was the only one that was still intently looking at the screen. He had turned down the volume as to not wake his mom. Huey was fiddling with the controls of the spy bot he realized that they were coming up on another boat.

“HEY GUYS!” Huey was shaking his mom. Dewey fell from his head stand, Louie dropped his phone, Mrs. Beakley poked her head into the room.

“huah wha what?” Della groggily came too.

“There is another boat!” everyone squished together to get a good look at the other boat.

“….The Porpy?” Louie read.

Della perked up. “What!”

“You know the ship?”

Della vaguely waved her hand, “Kinda… Fethry worked on that boat for a summer. I can’t remember the captain’s name. It is like Mosby……Mores…. Moras???”

“Ahoy Captain Moby!” Donald’s voice rang out in the TV room.  Everyone’s head whipped back to the Tv. Louie had turned up the volume while Della talked. He shrugged “I figured we can listen in now.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ta be honest Donald, I was surprised you call me to do this.” Captain Moby sat down on a crate watching Donald checking the sting of lights that had framed the deck.  “Always figured your old uncle would be the one officiating.”

Donald stood back to look at his handy work. “Yeah…. But you know how it is with Uncle Scrooge. Worst case a super villain would crash the wedding. Best case the paparazzi would make some crazy story about the wedding.”

The Captain had never thought about the plights of Donald before, “Yar tis hard to be related to Scrooge McDuck.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“HE’S ELOPING! THAT NO GOOD….GAH!” Della swung back and forth as she punched and kicked the air. Mrs. Beakley had hauled Della up by her collar as soon as she saw Della turning red. “I SHOULD BE THERE! I’M HIS TWIN! WHAT ABOUT FAMILY!?!”  

All the kids looked at each other. There were sad about not being there, but they also knew what Donald had said was a 100% possibility.

 Scrooge dejectedly opened his front door. His feathers where ruffled. He had lost another artifact to Goldie. Now all he wanted was to sit on a comfy chair, maybe search his pockets to see if Goldie had left him a clue to the next adventure. Scrooge looked at the impending stairs his joints screamed at him to reconsider. He heard some hubbub coming from the TV room. The TV room had comfy chairs…… He directed himself toward the room. Scrooge opened the double doors and every head snapped to his direction. What had he stumbled upon? The silence hung in the air everyone waited for Scrooge to react. He scanned the room then his eyes saw his nephew on the screen. He squinted. “Is tha mah tux?”  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donald kept rubbing his feet together, tugging at his jacket and top hat. He Breathed in the salty air. There was a nice light breeze. Finally, everything was perfect. Then why did he have to fidget so much? Captain Moby slapped Donald on the back. “Thar she comes!” Donald straighten up and faced the door of his houseboat. Daisy slowly opened the door revealing her months hard work, Her wedding dress. It was light pink with small puff sleeves and with a billowy skirt that ended mid-calf Her light pink covered her hair which had been let down from her usual bun. The veil had roses on each side of her face. Daisy was amazing! Donald could do nothing but stare. His eyes sparkled watching her walk toward him. Daisy gleamed at Donald looking so dashing. They reached and held each other’s hands.

“Well hello there, toots.” Donald winked at her. She smiled a little wider.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“HE ISN’T EVEN WEARING THE FAMILY TARTAN! WHERE IS THE LUCKENBOOTH? WHERE IS THA FRAOCH GEAL!??”

Duckworth had to be recruited to hold Della while Mrs. Beakley held Scrooge.

“Now that is quite enough! Shame on both of you for imposing your own ideas on Donald’s wedding! If this is how he wants to get married, then so be it!”

“What about family!?” Della and Scrooge chorused.

“Yes.” Beakley said smoothly, “What about family supporting each other’s decisions?” She raised a brow to them.

“This is totally different!” Scrooge grumbled.

“Why is it different?” Huey spoke up.  The adults looked over to the children who had been quite until now.

“Yeah Uncle Scrooge!” Dewey was not following the conversation but there to support.

Duckworth let Della down “Well boys a wedding is a celebration of two families uniting together.”

“I thought it is a celebration of two individuals uniting together and the family is there to celebrate them?” Huey countered.

“Ah… well” He wasn’t wrong.

“So, if Donald wants to Unite with Daisy with no family around its ok.” Huey nodded officially. “besides we can throw them a party later.”

Della rubbed Huey’s head, “That is a good solution, Sweety.”

“Hold up!” Scrooge started squirming again in Beakley’s grasp. “this is also Clan Affairs and as Clan head I have to be there for the union to be official!”

“Jeez Uncle Scrooge, if you want to control a wedding so bad why don’t YOU get married!?” Louie smirked.

Scrooge stumbled over his words to make a remark back to Louie. Eventually he just crossed his arms and grumbled.

 The kids returned to sit around the tv, the two adults were now seated on the couch behind them. Mrs. Beakley was behind the couch ready to give their heads a wallop if they spoke out again. Della glazed her eyes over the screen watching her brother. He looked happy but She couldn’t stop her brain from asking why. Why Elope? A thought hit her like lighting. She was about to shout the idea, but she realized the idea she had wasn’t for young ears. She turned her body around on the couch to whisper to Beakley. “Do you think Daisy is….” She looked around to see if the kids were paying any attention.

Unfortunately, Scrooge was the one paying attention. “Hogwash!” He whisper-shouted, “I raised Donald to be a gentleman!”  

Beakley raised an eyebrow, “Because you’re such a gentleman.”

Scrooge glared at her. Before he could rebuttal Della joined the jest. “Tell me Uncle Scrooge; what did happen in that cabin at White Agony Creak?”

Scrooge turned bright red. He glanced at the children then pointed at Della, “Tha’ was a long time ago!”

No one had any space to throw stones at Donald. There was a reason Beakley was raising her granddaughter and there was a reason Della was raising her sons in her uncle’s home. They had no evidence on Donald’s and Daisy’s situation but speculation. They also had no evidence that the kids did hear their conversation. The kids kept their faces glued to the screen with uncomfortable frowns on their faces. If the adults could hear the kids’ thoughts, they would hear a barrage of STOP TALKING!

 They watched after Captain Moby left and Donald and Daisy had their first dance. Donald Sang as he twirled Daisy around. The sun was setting behind them. Everyone knew their viewing party was coming to an end.

Della’s curiosity was now satisfied. “Huey, honey?”

“Yes, Mom.”

“Drown the bot.” There was no humor in the command.

“But what about Gyro?” Huey sputtered. “This is his creation.”

“Gyro doesn’t need any of this footage. Also we really don’t need to record the rest of their….trip.”

Huey hesitated. “Well, I guess it is a violation of privacy….”

“Gyro can make another one if he needs. If that cranky genius gets mad just tell him I broke the bot, I can deal with him.”

Huey turned back to the controls he sent the bot into the inky depths.

Scrooge stood up, “Welp! Ah’m goan’ ta bed.” He popped some kinks in his back. The family wished their Uncle good night and started to shuffle off to their rooms.

 “Did ya get it?” Dewey asked his brothers.

“Well of course.” Huey bragged, “it wasn’t even that hard.”

“Let’s see your handy work.” Louie looked over Huey’s shoulder at the laptop.

Huey had recorded the whole wedding. It was the cutest thing he had ever seen, and it made his romantic little heart burst. He couldn’t let this special moment be lost. Maybe they would put music and give to Uncle Donald and Aunt Daisy for their anniversary. Even if they weren’t physically there at the wedding, they had the moment saved forever.

[aokayinspace]

It’s game seven of the Cup Finals. The Aces are playing the Falcs. The score is 1-1 at the end of regulation bringing the game into overtime. Alexei scores the Falcs game winning goal, winning his first ever Stanley Cup. He locks eyes with Kent who is already halfway to nearly tackle hugging him in celebration, forgetting to be upset that his team just lost the Cup because his husband just scored the game winning goal to win his first cup. Neither teams is phased by this because they all know about their relationship, but the crowd is utterly shocked to see the lone black jersey mixed in with the white and blue cluster of a celly. Sports commentators don’t know what to say. The internet is going crazy. Finally a reporter comes over to talk to Mashkov about the game winning shot (Kent is still on the ice btw), then she mentions how unusual it is to be celebrating with the opposing team, motioning to Kent. Alexei just laughs and shrugs and replies “After buzzer he just husband and proud” and smiles his big, dorky Tater smile. And that is the story of how Kent and Alexei come out.

[ninjakasuga]

Another Round of Sonally Prompts! (2nd to last)

Hey, folks for the hell of it I got one more row of SFW prompts for the Sonally Celebration! These particular ones I really thought about, and I guess they’re kind of the ‘endgame’ in themes minus one or two of the questions being a continuation of prior prompts or a general question.

I am going to do one more set of prompts, but those will be NSFW and not linked or tagged into the @boundforfreedomsonsal blog. After that, I’m gonna chill on the prompts for now as I should focus on wrapping up my submissions!

Now then onto the prompts! @gojira007 and the rest I hope you like!

01: What do each of them do to ‘cool off’ when they have an argument they can’t seem to reach a compromise over?

02: The Wedding, big, small, or do they just elope? 03: Speaking of weddings, time for one of their kids (or their only child) to get married! How do they handle it?

04: GRANDCHILDREN!! Their child(ren) just made them Grandparents, what kind do you see them as? 05: The years come and go, as they leave their youth and start to get into the years between 50-70, what are they up too, where do you see them in their retirement years?

06: Awwww they’re having their 50th wedding anniversary, how do you see it going?

07: As with every life, there is death. One of them has passed, how does the other handle it? (for context this is under the assumption old age or something related did them in versus a sudden death by accident) Now for my Answers: 01: Sonic falls back to his go-to-thing; running. He goes on a run, however long to cool off and think in private as he ponders on the source of their friction. Sally tries to distract herself with some sort of brain-focusing tasks like a puzzle or a good book while mulling over the argument in her head to try and draw conclusions on why it went south and if she or Sonic were in the right or wrong. Eventually, Sonic returns from his run, and Sally puts away whatever she used to cool off and they both sit down and talk it over, eventually working things out and making up for any hurt feelings. 02: No matter how they slice it, given Sally is a Princess, there’s gonna be some sort of big deal ceremony. I do see both Sonic and Sally wanting just a small wedding for their friends and family; especially if they opt to marry before the war ends. Then they’ll save the BIG SHOWY ceremony for after the war. Mostly if they can get away with postponing it that long. XD On the flip-side, if the story has Max still being a pill about Sonic being Sally’s squeeze; elope, no questions asked. ^_~ 03: Assuming the future-in-law is worthy of their child; they will jump for joy and be happy for their kid. Sure they will have some ‘giving away our baby’ jitters, but ultimately their child’s happiness trumps all discomfort they may have. There will be some crying but it will be tears of joy, and if anything their child having a wedding and moving on in their own life would be a great joy in of itself. It would be another symbol that whatever they suffered in the war was worth it. If just so their child could have a safe and peaceful world to grow up and live within; to find their own life and love. No greater joy can a parent hold for their child, especially these two. 04: Once the two stop joy-spazzing over the news, you can expect them to be front and center Grandparents. The parents may have to pry the newborn away from them for the first couple of visits. Knowing how to take care of a newborn can be stressful they along with their in-law’s parents will help split babysitting duties and just enjoy being able to spoil the kid rotten and playfully hand them back to the parents when the going gets rough. Not that they won’t step up, but I feel every new Grandparent doesn’t have that moment of ‘now you see what I went through, ha!’. In any case, they are the type who will be as available and active in their grandchild(rens) life as much as they can be. 05: Age does not slow them down much; maybe in the physical (despite what Sonic says), but these two will be firecrackers even as their fur dulls and greys. Some aspects of old-age will hit them hard, not just in that both are usually very active people, but some genetic ticking time bombs or perhaps past physical trauma from the war years have caught up with them. Sonic will take getting ‘slow’ the most, as running has been his ultimate expression of freedom. Sally will take bouts of forgetfulness hard given how organized and reliant on her mind she is. In this they will lean on each other more, their devotion and love pouring through ever stronger. Sally forgets something, Sonic has it written down and encourages her to keep a pen and paper on hand to jot thoughts down. While Sonic can’t run forever, what running he still can do, Sally encourages. If he’s truly not able to run, then they’ll walk together hand in hand and ‘pretend’ they’re zipping around the city. There will be a lot of sitting together, hand in hand, and since their kid (or one of them) has assumed the throne; they have a lot of freedom to do whatever fancy comes their way. They simply relish the fact they lived long enough to enjoy this stage of life when living to be an adult seemed like such a far off dream. 06: If anyone insists on a big party, they nix it. Only their family and closest of friends that are still around are invited. Being in their 70’s by this point, they prefer simple, and so there’s food and cake, and all the videos and photo albums out to reminisce, tell stories and enjoy life while they still can. Sonic being Sonic will at some point call attention and, with some effort, get on one knee and recite his proposal and marriage vows to Sally again, reaffirming his love which still burns ever brighter. Touched and while happy-crying, Sally will take his hand and affirm her vows as well as her own affirmation that her love for him still burns the same as ever. As they go to bed after the party, both Sally and Sonic cry joyfully as they hold one another. Feeling blessed at having lived the lives they have, and looking forward to however many they still have. 07: There are a few ways I see this happening. If one of them expectedly passes before the other; the grief will be monumental. Having lived together as long as they have, experienced what they have, and enjoying a deep bong of love few can, losing their significant other will be a blow that they probably won’t recover from. I would expect within one or two years’ time, a combination of the grief and just not wanting to live on without their beloved will see whoever survived won’t make their sweetheart await them long in the here-after. Another scenario is if one of them catches a terminal illness, and they can prepare for it; Sonic and Sally will both make the best of what time they have. With the deadline closing in, whoever is not ill, I can see making arrangements so that once their beloved is about to pass, they will be given a legally approved injection to end their own life. While some of their family may not fully approve, for the most part, such a thing is understood and nobody objects. One way or another, they will be together, in the next life as they were in this one I admit the last one was super sad, but well, all things come to an end, and while this may not ever be the last Sonally flavored prompt I do; aside from the upcoming NSFW one, it more or less is the end of the prompts for this celebration!

[38-planes]

How the couple behind Come From Away created a Canadian musical hit

The Globe and Mail, 17 February 2017

Come from Away creators David Hein and Irene Sankoff struggled as artists, found each other as life and business partners and became the dynamic duo of the Canadian musical

For Valentine’s Day week, here’s a love story, times two.

It’s about how a Prairie dreamer with a guitar and a Toronto realist who always had a backup plan got together as romantic partners – and then, a decade later, saved their relationship and discovered a unique voice that would take them to Broadway by getting together again, as artistic partners.

Come from Away’s creators David Hein and Irene Sankoff, whose Newfoundland-set hit about the 38 planeloads of people stranded in Gander after 9/11 opens in previews on 45th Street on Saturday, told it one morning before departing for New York, in the living room of the two-storey Toronto home they bought in 2006 with the help of their parents, day jobs and a 35-year mortgage no longer offered by banks.

A decade later, they have a three-year-old named Molly, are working as artists full-time – and, financially, the picture looks a heck of a lot different. Best-case scenario, if Come from Away sells out in Manhattan the way it did in Seattle and Toronto, as sole authors of the work, they could pull in $27,000 (U.S.) a week – more every seven days than the average Canadian author or writer earns in a year.

That’s my estimate based on industry standards – but money is the one topic these two children of divorce who both, at times, lived in humble circumstances with their single mothers are sheepish about. “We grew up without a lot of money, so the whole thing makes me really nervous,” Sankoff says.

Hein further cites the statistic that only one in five shows on Broadway makes a profit. “Literally, we’re the fifth show out of five to go to Broadway from Canada – and one of them [2006’s The Drowsy Chaperone] has already made it!”

Falling in love

Their first love story is beautifully conventional: Hein, born in Regina, and Sankoff, from the Toronto suburb of North York, met on the first day of frosh week at York University in the 1990s. “Irene thinks it was a welcome barbecue; I think it was at a welcome pancake breakcast,” Hein says.

“Because it was outside, right?”

“You can eat pancakes outside.”

The aspiring songwriter and aspiring actress both loved theatre – but, musically, were divided. Hein, as a kid, through visits to the Winnipeg Folk Festival with his mother, had developed a taste for bands such as Blue Rodeo and Great Big Sea (a similar sound pervades Come from Away’s score), while Sankoff was a musical-theatre nut who danced all her life and bonded with her mother over old movie musicals. “My mom would come back after working to 11 or whatever on Christmas Eve and we would start watching Top Hat … or those old Gene Kelly musicals,” she recalls. “I was obsessed.”

But Sankoff was also an academic overachiever feeling pressure from the science-focused side of her family – and, while she acted extracurricularly at York, she graduated with a double major in psychology and creative writing.

The young couple’s first major fight was, as only a young couple’s could be, about whether theatre could change the world. They went at it until the sun came up – the dreamer trying to convince the realist.

Hein didn’t win the argument – but, on the verge of applying to do a master’s in speech and language pathology, Sankoff did decide to at least give acting a try professionally.

New York

So, in 1999, Sankoff and Hein moved to New York. Sankoff began studying at the Actors Studio – as seen on TV – and Hein, who has dual citizenship, began work as “assistant everything” at a music studio where The Muppets recorded, borrowing the equipment to record his own songs at night.

The pair lived in a residence called International House in Upper Manhattan along with grad students from 110 countries – and that’s where they were when, on Sept. 11, 2001, planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center. That night, windows shut to keep the smell of smoke out, scared students from around the world gathered around a piano in the residence for an impromptu concert – a moving experience Sankoff and Hein would later draw on for Come from Away.

But 9/11 had a more immediate impact on them. A month later, Hein woke up and said, “Hey, why don’t we get married?” They were already engaged – but on Oct. 12, 2001, they headed down to City Hall and secretly eloped.

Playbills from Hein and Sankoff’s New York years still hang on the kitchen wall of the house they share with their daughter and two cats, one named Elphaba (after the Wicked witch) and the other Gambo (after the Newfoundland town).

But it was not always a dream: Savings dwindled, the studio Hein was working at shut down, and Sankoff – who had an agent and was getting gigs – separated a shoulder in a dance class.

Uninsured, she took a trip to Toronto to see a doctor – and it turned into a move back home.

The second love story

Back in Canada, Hein and Sankoff had to build an artistic community from scratch. She landed a role in The Mousetrap; he released an album called North of Nowhere. And so it went for years – pursuing art at night and paying bills through tutoring or graphic design. Soon, they were married homeowners, but they barely got to see each other and grew lonely, especially when Hein was off on tour. Was this living the dream?

And this – in 2009 – is where the second love story begins.

Hein had written a song called My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding – based on his own experience as the son of a woman who came out later in life and remarried – that was popular on tour. More than most of his work, it was influenced by the musical theatre that Sankoff had introduced him to over the course of their relationship. What if, he wondered, they could expand it into an actual musical – and, at the very least, spend some time together?

Marrying their skills, Hein and Sankoff began trying to turn their family’s story into a fictional musical – at first, a conventional “book musical” where an invisible fourth wall descends in front of the audience and scenes and songs alternate to tell a story.

But an epiphany Sankoff had on Valentine’s Day led the pair to a different writing style – one they later refined with Come from Away.

At the gym that day, Sankoff was talking with an enthusiastic friend about Wiccan Wedding – and heard her say, “The best thing about this is that it’s based on a true story.” A light bulb went on.

“I came home to David and said, ‘We’ve got to throw it out. Let’s tell the real story.’”

The new version the couple started working on during an unorthodox Valentine’s date would eventually feature Hein sitting on a stool in his Glass Tiger shirt, singing songs about his mother’s coming out, how he introduced his two moms to Irene at a Hooters and the history of same-sex marriage in Canada, using a troupe of actors that included his wife to tell the stories.

The sweet and direct show became a hit at the Toronto Fringe Festival that summer, then was picked up by producer David Mirvish to play at the city’s 700-seat Panasonic Theatre he had just purchased – and Sankoff and Hein’s career as commercial musical-theatre creators was launched.

When the idea to write a show about what happened in and around Gander, Nfld., in 2001 was proposed to them shortly thereafter by Michael Rubinoff at Sheridan College, it could not have been a more ideal project for them.

They had seen how strangers from around the world bonded, with music, on Sept. 11, and seen how music played a role in bringing them together – and they had found the right aesthetic for such a story, having learned that a musical could be a true story set in our times, told with plenty of direct address, and that authenticity was as important to winning over an audience as craft in lyrics and lines.

Armed with a $12,000 grant from the Canada Council, they headed to Gander for Sept. 11, 2011, to interview locals and “come from aways” returning to commemorate the 10th anniversary.

Hein and Sankoff’s subsequent five-year journey – buzz-creating workshops on both sides of the border, a bidding war by commercial producers at a showcase in New York, record-breaking runs in San Diego, Seattle, Washington and Toronto – has been told in these pages before.

Now, the last chapter is about to be written as final adjustments are made in a preview period ahead of a March 12 opening.

As the statistics show, Come from Away may not make them rich. Canadians who have had what are referred to as “flops” in the harsh language of Broadway – such as Cliff Jones, whose Rockabye Hamlet closed in a week in 1976; and Neil Bartram and Brian Hill, whose The Story of My Life did the same in 2009 – have advised the couple to just enjoy the ride.

In any case, the two have a bigger goal beyond making money, Hein says, “Especially now, it feels important to talk about welcoming refugees off planes, strangers into our communities.”

Yes – he’s finally won the argument about whether theatre can change the world.

Sankoff came around after meeting senior citizens who changed their minds on same-sex marriage after seeing Wiccan Wedding, and receiving letters from Come from Away audience members about how it’s inspired them to be better people.

“I still have my moments where I’m like, ‘It’s a drop in the bucket,’” Sankoff says. “But at least it’s a drop.”

[victorluvsalice]

Forgotten Vows Friday: Will You, Won't You Join The Dance?

So -- I've mentioned before that I have an idea for a largely comedic Forgotten Vows Verse story inspired by the opening garden party sequence of Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland. Originally, it was pretty simple -- in the year following their wedding, Nell has been drowning her son and daughter-in-law in invitations to various fancy "events," so Victor and Alice pick one at random -- a garden party -- to attend, with the express intention of letting their freak flag fly so they'll never make the guest list again. However, since that time, a few things have changed in the Verse, and I've updated the idea to match. Here's the new and improved verison of what I've decided to call "Lobster Quadrille" (after my favorite Alice In Wonderland song):

The time period's been moved up -- instead of happening around their first anniversary, the invitation arrives in August of 1876, not long after Victor and Alice's honeymoon. They're stunned that already Nell is pushing them to attend parties they have no interest in -- and then Victor sees who's hosting the damn thing...

The Kingsleighs! Yes, after I decided to throw the name into "Remembering You" as an in-joke, it suddenly occurred to me that they had to be the ones to host the garden party. Victor's baffled as to why the Kingsleighs even want to see them, after Nell had to hastily retract her proposal on his behalf to their daughter. Alice says Nell likely pestered them into it, and then suggests they go and be just weird enough so that word will spread and nobody else will feel the need to invite them anywhere, Nell or not. (Not to mention, it has the added bonus of letting them see the famous Adelaide in person -- she's always been curious.) Victor agrees to the plan, and they start to prepare.

Victoria and Christopher are definitely in attendance, only too happy to have actual friends to talk to at this shindig (Victoria in particular has always felt out of place).

Naturally there's a little soft singing of "Lobster Quadrille" during the dancing portion of the festivities, resulting in giggles for Victor and Alice and confusion for anyone near them.

I'm thinking I might work in Victor's storyboard-inspired allergy to artichokes by having Lord Kingsleigh try to force a dish containing them on Victor (the man believes strongly in them as a health food), and Victor finally having to shout that unless Lord Kingsleigh wants him to spend the rest of the party with his face and neck swollen. . .

Alice and Adelaide end up alone together for a bit at some point -- Alice finds her as disagreeable as Victoria said. Adelaide asks about married life with Victor -- and then tells Alice, "Better you than me," revealing her parents were going to ACCEPT Nell's proposal. Alice is a little shaken by how close she and Victor came to having to elope.

There's probably croquet -- Alice and Victoria end up having a little competition and Alice playfully threatens to smack her with her mallet midway through, which leads to a mallet-handle fencing match (Nell and Maudeline are about ready to kill them, while Victor and Christopher cheer them on; everyone else is torn between 'how rude' and 'that's actually kinda funny').

Victor and Alice go for a little stroll around the grounds -- and run into Victor's old bully, Gordon Tannen, who found work at the Kingsleighs as a gardener. He and Victor trade a few barbs, and then Victor tries to leave -- only for Gordon to grab him from behind and trigger a flashback. Victor promptly slams him in the stomach with his elbow before driving his knee into his face and breaking his nose. The violence shocks all watchers into silence, and Victor, embarrassed and upset, flees into the nearby little wood.

Alice, Victoria, and Christopher chase him and find him hunched up against a tree; Alice comforts him while Christopher tells him that he still has nightmares after some of the things he saw and did in the battles he was part of. Knowing that he's not alone helps Victor recover, and they all agree that they're probably better suited for just having their own private garden parties from now on.

They come back to make their goodbyes and Nell angrily informs them that the Kingsleighs are already spreading the word to their other friends, and that Victor and Alice are probably blacklisted from every important soiree for the next two decades. Alice to Victor? "Mission accomplished."

So yeah, that's the new version. Not sure when it'll actually be written, mind, but it's something to look forward to!

[nonsimsical]

I understand why Faye is upset because of her own experiences with seeing a therapist after her accident and losing her parents, but like.. why is she always so angry with Freeman? And why can't Eli just die already?! Also, will Aida try to take the girls again? Or be showing up somewhere in you story later? Will Faye get to beat the shit out of that babysnatching bitch?

LMAO First, Hello Nonny! Second, can I just love you?! If I wasn’t married we could totally elope right now!!

As for your questions, lol, Faye is very sensitive right now and extremely emotional. Try to put yourself in her position, she lost her parents when she was 8 years old. She had years of physical therapy to learn to walk again and years of therapy sessions with the child psychiatrist that did help her in the long run, but all she could ever think or feel is that they were making her relive the moment of losing her parents and her life turning upside down every day she was in there with them even after she was done with P.T. Then on the anniversary of her parents accident, her daughters were taken from a park that she and Freeman grew up playing at their entire lives. They knew everyone that went there, they felt safe there. Their daughters grew up playing there themselves. It was already an emotional day, a day that was always taboo to Faye, and on that day the worst fears imaginable happened to her as a parent. The thought of your child lost, alone, scared, having goodness knows what happen to them and wondering where you are, why haven’t you found them yet, why couldn’t you protect them from this happening is the worst feeling a parent could ever experience. And to add salt to the wound, it was also a reminder that Faye isn’t Amora’s biological mother. She has no biological or even legal claims to a child she’s loved, cared for, and considered her own daughter. It was a literal punch in the gut for her.

As for Eli dying, lol. Though I couldn’t agree with you more my dear one, Eli technically is Sophia’s biological Father. He was a scared little boy who was barely out of High School who probably only joined the Army to get away from any responsibilities he may have had to face if Faye decided to even keep the baby. He didn’t want to be a Father, though who at that age really wants or understands what its like to be a parent when you’ve never had to lift a finger to care for not only yourself, but for another person in your entire life? He just wants to know her. Can we let him know Sophia? Is it wrong?

As for Aida, ahhhh, you sneaky dog!! Ok, I won’t give away too many clues here, but I will say that YES you will be “seeing”/hearing of Aida here and there, though I won’t tell you when. As for Faye and Aida fighting, I’m sure Faye would love to punch Aida, however Faye actually is afraid of Aida. She’s a bucket of crazy, she’s seen for herself what Aida is capable of. The scar on Freeman’s face for example was because Aida had come at Faye with a broken bottle when Freeman broke up with her over something that had to do with Faye and Aida had swung out at him with said broken bottle. There have been other occasions that Faye has also witnessed Aida at her worst, lol, not to mention she knows how to get under your skin and I feel that’s where Faye’s at right now.. she is constantly on edge. Every brunette walking down the sidewalk or through Kohl’s where she works could potentially be Aida. Just like any tall man in a black or dark hoodie could be her accomplice.

I hope that this answered your questions. I’m very happy that you’re so into the story @charsimatic will get a kick out of some of what you sent me!

[weirdohippiefreaky]

Autumn incoming

Right...so. Dawn and I hung out all day last friday. I got her some groceries at BB’s, then we spent the day at the house. She was doing maid work and I was burning leaves. She said a few things that took me by surprise. She said she saw a receipt dated in 2016. She told me she got emotional and wished should could go back to that day and told herself to do things much differently. I didn’t ask her to elaborate as to what she meant by “differently”. I assume her main point was to not associate herself with Ian. But, the question still remains, would that also mean she would have wanted to work on our marriage, like I wanted too. On our way to BB’s she told me she feels immense guilt regarding our failed marriage. That surprised me. I was under the impression that she felt our marriage was doomed to fail because we were never a good couple and she only agreed to marry me because “society” expected her to. She didn’t ask me if I also felt guilty about that. Had she, I would have told her the truth.  That I feel no guilt that it ultimately failed. I was the one who was trying to fix it. I was the one who asked her to try again. She doesn’t seem to understand that it wasn’t just an opportunity for me to make things up to her, it was also an opportunity for her to make things up to me. Which she felt at the time (and maybe still now) that she didn’t really have too.  At one point, I did have my arm up on the couch when she was sitting next to me...just to see what she would do.  She immediately moved away. *eye roll*

After she left to pick up the boys, it occurred to me what the date was.  10/4. It was our 10 year anniversary. I sent her a text in a kind of joking tone reminding her.  She had forgotten.  We discussed it a little bit but it wasn’t a major topic. I also admitted to her that the only reason I didn’t really want to talk to her about Rebecca was because I didn’t really want to hear about her dating experiences. She said she was surprised I felt that way. I said I didn’t care she was dating, I just don’t want to hear about it. The boys and I made it to philly without any incidents. Dawn and I begin to have a conversation via text about how she is getting drug tested by this recruiting company that would find her job interviews. She had been partaking in the cannabutter nightly due to it being a tremendous help for her anxiety and insomnia. I was going off about what bullshit it is, especially considering she has the worst anxiety of anyone I know. Suddenly, she clearly got offended that I said that with a response of “there are plenty of people worse than I am” then responding to my messages with one word responses and taking a good 10 minutes to response. That made me pissed. I’m so fucking sick of her indignation and having no clue how to pick her battles. I didn’t apologize, I just stopped texting her.

Dylan came over Saturday so we could go to Marty’s funeral Sunday. One story in particular stood out for me.  He as Kevin’s age when the Red Army liberated the village he was hiding in. The first thing he thought was “are the Soviets going to be any better than the Nazis?” A very good question, the answer being, “yes, but not by a lot”. The soldiers brought with them a keg of vodka to celebrate. A soldier handed him a tall glass and he was too afraid to not drink it. He said he didn’t touch vodka for another 40 years after that. He also had an older sister who survived the war. She eloped with a member of the Polish resistance as soon as the war was over and he never heard from her again. Reading the prayer or mourning made me long to have faith in a deity. It said something like “knowing you are there gives me comfort in times of conflict and sorrow”. Plus, hearing about how he and Judy were happily married for 44 years made me sad again how my own marriage went down the toilet and I could do nothing to stop it.

Rebecca came over Sunday night. She had a date the previous night with some dude. I had a conversation with some chick on Bumble but that went nowhere fast. I felt a little odd at first when she told me she had a date and she had a good time. When she came over we immediately began to make out, spoon, hold hands, fool around, etc. She told me I “get more beautiful every time she sees me”.  Seems like a good sign. I didn’t ask about her date and she didn’t give me any details, thank goodness. We had a bonfire and she told me stories about her daughters.  One of which really stood out. We got on the topic of whether or not men and women could be platonic friends.  She agreed that it was possible but rarely works. I told her how I had a shit load of female friends in high school and college. I never once made a move on any of them, but that doesn’t change the fact that I abso-freakin’-lutley would have dated pretty much any of them had they said they were in love with me. After college I pretty much decided that men and women couldn’t really be friends because I was tired of undressing my female friends with my eyes and longing for them in secret. 

Anyway, the point here was that her 20 year old daughter had a male best friend.  They lived together in the same room (something I never did with Carolyn and Karen). The guy was (of course) this new age healer guy who claimed he didn’t see gender, was deep, always agreed with her, etc (got a total Matt Levin vibe right away). She was crashing on his couch and he started to get her big time drunk.  Started to ask her to have sex. She said no. Then, the classic “he said she said”.  She said he just stripped her naked and began to fuck her. She shouted to get off of her after a minute and he did stop. He claimed (after she notified campus police) that she took her own pants off and pulled his off too...then must have changed her mind midway. The school found him guilty and put a blemish on his record.  That’s it.  But...they did say if it happened again, he’d be expelled.  And it happened again. And now he’s expelled. When Beck was first telling me the story, she didn’t mention that her daughter clearly said no at first.  So, I began to think that it sounded like she had sex with him willingly but then changed her mind, he did stop, but she went to the campus security anyway. But, when she backtracked a bit and mentioned that he tried to talk her into it at first and she made it clear there was no way. I realized this was indeed a rape. God...dirtbag