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vanderlesbian · 1 year ago

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141 dating a civilian

hii!! this is a self indulgent belated bday gift to myself (im 20 now...) but i hope u guys enjoy it!! also feel free to leave requests in my asks bc i am so bad at thinking of prompts but ive been wanting to write so bad LOL

writing this had made me realize that i love writing gaz content........i am obsessed with him.........

gn reader! no warnings :)

masterlist

captain john price

- price loves being around you—you bring a sense of normalcy that relaxes him. when he's home, he enjoys doing domestic things around the home. he offers to do the laundry, he'll make you tea in the mornings, he feeds the dog and cat you two raise together and will go with you on any errands you need to run. when he's with you, he never thinks about work, which makes you happy because you hate to see him overworking himself.

- i feel like you two would meet through laswell. a mutual friend, you and price would meet one another at a pub or something of the sort. immediately, the two of you take an interest in one another, and laswell would catch onto that rather quickly and finds it endearing. when getting to know one another, you mention the fact that you live alone, which gives price the excuse to hand you his number. "in case you need anything", is what he told you, and you could've sworn you saw laswell snickering behind him. regardless, you ended up texting him a few days after that, asking him if he knew how to fix cars.

- loves going on vacations with you!! when price has a decent period of time off, he'll ask you if you want to go somewhere, to which you always answer yes. road trips are his favorite, because driving for long periods of time is something calming for him and he enjoys the fact that it's just the two of you traveling. maybe you'll go camping, or perhaps you'll drive a country over to spend a few days in a different city; whatever it is, you and price always have a nice time. while he gets to travel a lot, he recognizes that you don't have the same opportunity, so he loves to take you places as see your reactions to things. when he's deployed, he's always on the lookout for places to take you later.

- one of your favorite things to do is visit price while he's in the office. you usually bring him a meal, whether it be home made or take out because you know he's going to forget about grabbing himself something to eat. he always thanks you with a kiss, then you linger for a moment to speak to him, giving him time to eat and take a break from his work. while you're visiting price, all of his attention is on you, and if a soldier knocks on his door and asks to speak to him, he'll use his captain voice to tell them to come by later unless it's an emergency.

- price is very proud to call you his partner. although he tries not to bring you up too often at work because of privacy and professional reasons, he likes to mention you casually every now and then, especially with laswell or the other 141 members. he's proud of the work you do, no matter what your career is; he's just likes to brag about his amazing partner. he will do his signature v shaped smile whenever someone says in surprise,"oh, your partner is a/n [occupation]? how cool!"

simon "ghost" riley

- ghost is a listener, not a talker. and boy, does he love listening to you ramble on about your day. he finds it cute; the way you complain how expensive your coffee was that morning, or how you couldn't decide what to wear to simply go pick up a snack from the store. his responses include a lot of "oh really?", "i bet", and some snarky comments when you bring up a coworker that you don't particularly like. ghost is quiet, but his little responses show that he's well invested in your stories.

- just like everything else in his life, ghost keeps his relationship with you very private. it took him quite a while to even tell any of the other 141 members that he was in a relationship, simply because he didn't feel the need to tell them. he also wanted to protect you; not that he didn't trust the other members, but he was scared of your name accidentally being said to the wrong person. you were innocent, and ghost didn't want to ruin that innocence with the dark realities of his job and put you in danger.

- listen; meeting him at a music store. you would definitely be the one to initiate things, so when you saw a tall, handsome man flipping through records beside you, it made you look for an excuse to speak to him. "that's a good album", you would then finally speak up after watching him pull out a vinyl by the doors. ghost would honestly be taken aback; no one ever really strikes up conversation with him in public. "yeah" would be his response, but the dryness of it didn't stop you from continuing the conversation. after you two begin dating, ghost will often bring up how you were insistent on speaking to him, which never fails to bring a shy blush to your cheeks.

- you think it's amusing to have such a "scary" looking boyfriend. he tags along behind you whenever the two of you go out, and you often forget how large and intimidating he looks to others, especially because he always wears dark colored outfits and a face mask out in public. imagine ghost lingering behind you like a lost puppy while you mindlessly look through clothes at a store. when you're at the register, you notice the cashier glancing behind you, forgetting that ghost is looming over you like a bodyguard.

- speaking of others reactions, you love showing ghost off to people. you'll be spending time with friends, family, coworkers—whoever, and you get so excited whenever they ask if you have a boyfriend. you think it's funny to see their eyes widen when you pull up a photo saying "this is simon, he's deployed right now but (blah blah blah)". you had asked ghost for his permission to show photos of him to others while he wasn't around, and at first he was hesitant, but after hearing about the reactions he gives people, he doesn't care anymore. people think "that's their boyfriend?", which makes ghost smile to himself because yes, he's all yours.

kyle "gaz" garrick

- you two have this thing where the moment he opens the door after coming home from a mission, you'll sprint into his arms and he never fails to pick you up off your feet and squeeze you tight. gaz greets you like he hasn't seen you in years, covering your face and neck in kisses and spinning you around in his arms for what feels like forever.

- loves to facetime you when he's away. sometimes you'll be in different timezones, but both of you will be willing to stay up at 3 in the morning jusst to talk to one another. gaz always gives you room tours of whatever place he's staying at while deployed, or he'll call you while he's out shopping to ask what souvenir you'd like best. sometimes the other 141 boys will pop in to say hello, or gaz will shove the camera in their face to ask if they have anything to say to you.

- i feel that gaz would easily become jealous, especially because he can't be with you all the time. while he's away from you, you'll text or call him about an encounter at work or while you were out and about where someone tried hitting on you, earning a snarky remark from gaz. they always make you giggle because you're aware how protective he is of you, and they're often silly remarks like "they're lucky i wasn't there" or "should've told 'em your boyfriend is 6'5 and a wrestler"

- gaz is younger, so i feel that you would be a university student or something of the sort when you first met him. working part time at a local coffee shop at the time, you vividly remember gaz complimenting you the first time you served him. "you're very pretty/handsome, by the way" he said confidently, but quickly walked off before you could thank him. after that, gaz came in as often as he could, learning something new about you each time he came in, and it got to a point where you would simply give him a drink or pastry for free each time he came in. eventually he would ask you out, offering to take you somewhere after your shift, to which you immediately agreed to.

- when gaz visits your place, it's always like a silly little sleepover. the two of you will watch comically bad movies, make homemade pizza, play those couple's card games and he'll listen to you talk about any gossip you have. when gaz is with you, he takes it as his time to just be himself because he's so comfortable in your presence. he doesn't have to worry about being formal with you, and the two of you are equally as silly as you spend time with one another.

john "soap" mactavish

- soap doesn't like to bother you with his work. when he's with you, he'll always be so upbeat and playful, but you've learned to be able to notice when he's particularly stressed or tired. he insists that he's fine, telling you that you don't have to worry about him as he tries to play it off. he's a bit stubborn about it, so sometimes you have to bother him just a bit before he finally gives in and tells you what's up, or simply agrees to laying down and having a rest.

- okay, picture this. you meet soap at a dog park. i think he would have a german shepherd...which is besides the point, but when your dog and his both stop in their tracks to be friendly with one another, both of you feel that it's only natural to make conversation, right? the two of you quickly hit it off, to which you credit mostly to soap for being much more extroverted than you are, and the two of you talk about your dogs for a bit before the conversation focuses on yourselves. smoothly, soap would ask for you to join him on another trip to the dog park sometime, using the excuse that your dogs seemed to like each other.

- soap loves to text you while he's away, and other than gaz, he would be the one to text you the most out of any of the boys. he mostly sends a lot of random pictures of things he says reminds you of him, but will also update you on a bunch of random little things he's doing. "just shit in this french bathroom" "johnny i don't need to know that" "had to tell somebody"

- will leave plenty of his clothes for you to wear while he's gone, and it's practically all you wear during that time. you'll leave the house in an outfit completely made up of your boyfriend's clothes because they're just so comfortable, and it makes you feel less lonely having his scent lingering with you. even when soap is home, you still constantly wear his clothes, and 90% of his wardrobe is practically yours.

- soap would love to visit YOU at work. you forget your chapstick? he's on his way. you text him that you're hungry and forgot to pack a meal? he's bringing you your favorite fast food. although he's busy and can't stop by all the time, soap tries to stop by as often as he can, and all of your coworkers have learned to recognize him. "here comes johnny" one of them will point out, making you quickly whip your head around to look.

#i STRUGGLED with soap sorry #x reader #fluff #headcanons #cod #mw2 #call of duty #john soap mactavish #simon ghost riley #john price #captain price #kyle gaz garrick #domestic #fanfiction #fanfic #imagine

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lillian-gallows · 1 year ago

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Kinktober Day 11: Petplay with Hancock.

Pairing: John Hancock x Fem!Reader/Sole

Word Count: 2689

Warnings: Petplay, Oral (M receiving), Reader/Sole is refered to as Kitten and Kitty, P in V sex, Unprotected sex (Wrap it before you tap it), Mention of Reader/Sole being in Subspace. Kinktober Master(sub)list.

Minors DNI

“Petplay?” His raspy voice questioned as we shared a cigarette on the couch in his office in the Statehouse.

“Yeah.” You answered hesitantly, eyes locked on the burning cherry as you took a slow drag. “It’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like, but the jist is one partner pretends to be an animal, most go for a dog or a cat, easiest to imitate, and the other partner is the owner. Sometimes it’s sexual, sometimes it’s not…For me it is…” You were thankful for the low light of the room as you felt your face flaring.

It wasn’t every day that you asked your partner to treat you like a cat in bed, even if it was something you’d done before, but it was different when time for ‘normal’ sex was so far between because of, you know, total atomic annihilation taking over the world.

“And you want us to try it?” He clarified carefully, taking the cig back from you and taking a drag. You knew Hancock was no stranger to risky sex or kink, the man had openly told you about some of his craziest sexcapades in his life, but there was still a measure of fear and vulnerability in what you were asking that made you worry for his answer.

“Yeah.” You said on a breath, like you’d just been holding it.

“You know, Dollface, you never cease to surprise me. Just when I think I got you all figured out, you ask for some of the sexiest shit I’ve ever heard of.” He smirked as you realized he was being aloof on purpose.

You let out a hard sigh as some of the anxiety bled from you. “Dick…” You muttered, shaking your head. “I’ve been trying to find a time to ask about it, we’re both just always so busy, either with the Minutemen, or Goodneighbor, or Shawn…Hard to find a good time for anything but a quickie.”

He nodded along with your words, you were right, things had been unusually busy as of late. “Then maybe it’s time we take a day or two to ourselves, I can leave Goodneighbor in Fahrenheits hands, you can leave Preston in charge for a bit, I bet Piper or Nick would love to have Shawn for a day or two.” He pulled you to his side and pressed a kiss to your forehead. “Then, we can have at each other till the sun comes up and goes back down again.” He pressed another sweet kiss to your head, then he whispered in your ear. “I wanna hear what my kitty sounds like when she purrs for me…”

His words sent a thrill down your spine and made butterflies flutter in your belly. There was heat in your eyes as you looked up at him, seconds from leaning in for a kiss when a sharp knock sounded at the office door. “Quick fucking, there’s work needs done!” Came Fahrenheits ever annoyed voice.

“Wish we had been fucking…” Hancock groaned as he threw his head back in frustration, then looked at you out the corner of his eyes. “Duty calls, Sweets.” Then he was on his feet and offering his hand to you. “Care to join? I think most of these thugs are more scared of you thank her at this point.” He joked.

You snorted a laugh as you let him pull you to your feet. “With Ashmaker in her hands, somehow I doubt that…” You answered as you both went to meet with the redhead.

It was another three weeks before everything was set up for you and Hancocks little vacation. As far as you knew, that was because of how long it took for everything to calm down even slightly and get word sent to all the parties involved in making it happen, but what you didn’t know was that it was partially Hancock stalling while he waited for a surprise to arrive by courier.

But when all was ready, Shawn was in Diamond City with Piper and Nat, Fahrenheit was ruling the roost in Goodneighbor, and Preston was shooing you away with the promise to keep the Minutemen from imploding in your absence.

This meant you and Hancock could disappear to your hidey-hole in the Red Rocket Station, where no one would bother you.

Walking through the door felt like being able to breathe again.

Hancock wasted no time taking your pack from you and disappearing into the backroom, which had long since been repurposed as a bedroom. “I’ll take care of these, go ahead and start getting comfortable.” He said with a quick kiss to your cheek before he was gone.

His rush had been expected, he was as pent up at you, but usually that meant he was clingy, wanting constant contact and never leaving your side. Normally he would have asked you to come with him to unpack.

Rather than let your suspicious curiosity get the better of you, you went to the garage, also repurposed as a living room, and fixed the pair of you a couple drinks then plopping down on the couch with a happy sigh.

Hancock called into the room a moment later asking if you minded turning the radio on, and when you got up to do so you heard him enter the room behind you. There was a split second of shuffling before he was at your back, pressing kisses to your neck and down to where it met your shoulder.

“God, I missed this…” He hummed happily as a slow song began to play.

The pair of you started to sway before he turned you and pulled you into a proper slow dance, foreheads pressed together tenderly, lost each other’s embrace as music filled the room.

He spun you slowly before pulling you back in and pulling you into a kiss, soft and slow just like the moment. No rushing, no urgency, just you and him, and all the time in the world to enjoy each other.

When the song ended you both sat on the couch to enjoy your drinks and relax from the road. Conversation never lacked for the pair of you, even if you were being very intentional about not talking about work, there were a thousand and one things you two could and did talk about.

Once your glasses were empty Hancock sat up. “I have a surprise for you, figured if we wanted to do this, we were gonna do it right.” He said as he reached over the end of the couch where you couldn’t see and produced a box. “Took some time to find someone to make it, and get it to us, but it was worth it.” He said as he passed it to you.

You lifted a brow. “What is it?” You asked, though you were already opening it slowly, like you expected it to blow up. Inside you were met with a headband with a pair of cat ears on it. The quality was certainly nothing like what you’d seen pre-war, but it was still beautifully made.

Soft fur the same color as your hair on a simple thin black fabric headband, thin enough that it would disappear into your hair when you put it on. You wondered for a moment how the maker had so perfectly matched your hair color, or where the fur had been sourced from, but those were questions for later, it didn’t feel human, and that was good enough for you.

You were at a loss for words as you looked at it. It was perfect.

“I’m gonna assume from your stunned silence that you like it?” Hancock teased softly as he watched you, chuckling softly when all you could respond with was a nod. “Good. I was worried it wouldn’t arrive before we left, but the courier showed up while you were packing yesterday.” He admitted, looking down at it bashfully. “You barely missed seeing him before he left.”

You recalled the moment he was talking about; you’d come outside to ask him where something was and he was holding the box and jumped when you said his name, then made a comment about needing to cut down on the jet.

“Wanna put it on?” He asked, an excited expectancy radiating from him, like a kid on Christmas morning.

You nodded. “Mind giving me a hand?” You asked, offering it to him.

“It would be my pleasure.” He said as he scooted closer and took it from you then carefully slipped the band around your head, moving your hair around till it covered the band and left only the ears visible.

“How’s it look?” You asked as he sat back to look at you.

“Purrfect.” He joked with a smirk, pulling a snorting laugh from you.

“Shut up, you cornball!” You managed through your giggles.

He leaned in as they died down and with a much softer grin said. “Beautiful. You’re always beautiful, but they suit you perfectly.” Then he pulled you into a tender kiss.

When you parted you felt the air shift slightly. “C-can I…?” You didn’t need to finish the question before he was nodding, eyes half lidded and full of heat.

He watched as you slipped off the couch to settle on the floor between his legs, sitting back on your heels in as close a manner to how a cat sits as you can manage, hands on the floor between your knees. His lips parted as he let out a careful breath at the sight.

“Look at you…” He drawled as he looked you over. “Never seen a prettier kitty in my life.” He said, slipping into the part of the owner easily, and you preened under his praise as he sat up a bit and ran a rough hand over your head, petting you sweetly.

Slipping into the headspace was easy, even after all the time that had passed, a small mewl fell from your lips as you nuzzled into his touch happily, and he continued to pet you as you settled against his leg, lazily rubbing into him the way a cat does when scenting, making little sounds like a purr.

“Such a good girl, Kitten…So beautiful…” He was speaking softly as he watched you descend further and further into subspace.

He’s seen you like this plenty of times, the two of you are kinky ass motherfuckers and it comes with the territory, but he never gets tired of watching your brain go blank and float away, the way your muscles loosen and the tension in your face drains away.

And God does he love to take care of you when you’re like that.

“Kitties don’t wear clothes, do they?” He murmured as he looked you over.

One could call it a team effort, taking off your clothes, but really it was mostly you lifting your arms and maneuvering however he needed you to to get them off, and once you were sat there, fully nude, was when you saw he was already hard and straining against the front of his pants.

The action was entirely without thought as you leaned in and nuzzled against the bulge, and it punched a shocked groan out of him. “Fuck, baby…!” He gasped, but didn’t stop you as you continued, but soon it wasn’t enough for either of you, and you reached out to untie the flag he used as a belt to get access to what you wanted.

“So needy, Kitten…Here, let me help.” He said, moving your fumbling fingers out of the way and taking over, untying the flag, then unbuttoning and zipping the past, pulling himself free with a relieved sigh.

“No paws, don’t want those claws to hurt me, do you?” He said with a teasing quirk of his lips.

You shook your head before leaning in, first brushing your lips over his sensitive tip, followed by your tongue. Calling them kitten licks is on the nose, but it’s really the only way to describe how you ran your tongue over his heated flesh.

When the tip began to leak you took it in your mouth and gave a slow suck, earning a low moan and hand gripping your hair. “Shit…Just like that…” He moaned as you sank lower, taking more of him in till you could bob your head slowly.

A look up found him already looking down at you, lips parted and breaths coming hard, eyes dark and drinking you in like water, it made a wave of heat roll through you, making your thighs clench in an effort to get some relief.

His eyes darted down to track the movement. “Think you can go to the bedroom for me? I’ll be right behind you.” He promised as he gazed down at you with those pitch-black eyes, always so full of life and emotion for all their monochrome color.

You made a sound like an affirmative and shifted to your hands and knees, now fully in the headspace and feeling no shame or embarrassment at crawling through the makeshift house to the bedroom, the whole time feeling his eyes on you.

You waited kneeling on the floor for him, and he came in shortly after with a can of clean water and a rag in hand, which found their home on the nightstand.

He stood over you next to the bed and patten the mattress. “Up you go.” He prompted, and you wasted not time climbing up. Once you were settled, he returned to petting your hair with one hand while the other tilted your chin up to look at him, he had this look in his eyes like he could stare at you forever if you let him.

Your eyes fluttered closed as he leaned in and left kisses on your forehead, then your temple, cheek, nose, and then finally lips. You sighed into the contact and leaned in, hands gripping at the sheets to keep you from falling into him with how off kilter you felt.

“Turn around and bend over for me, I want to see my Kittens pretty pussy.” He ordered against your lips before letting go so you could do as told.

And you did, with shaky legs and arms, body desperate for his touch, you faced away from him and pressed your face into the bed, ass in the air, which cooled the slick that had been leaking from you since you opened that box.

Hancock groans behind you at the sight before you feel him take your hips in hand. “Fuck…Now, that is a pretty sight…” He said before dragging a finger through your sopping folds. Letting out a high pleading sound you pressed back into his hold, only to earn a light slap to your rear. “Now, now. Don’t be impatient.” He chided before his touch disappeared, leaving you feeling a little adrift.

But then you heard the sound of fabric hitting the floor and his touch returned, and this time it was the thick tip of his cock that was teasing you, and it took everything in you not to buck back into him, desperate for him to fill you up.

Thankfully he didn’t make you wait long before he was pushing into you, his low moan mixing with your high gasp as he pushed in to the hilt. No movements were made for a short moment, the air was silent, then he started moving, and the sounds of skin on skin, the wet noises of his cock filling over and over, and both your pleasure wracked voiced formed a symphony in the room.

It was the kind of noise you couldn’t make at home, lest someone hear through the hole riddled walls.

The pleasure was shorter lived than either of you would have liked, so pent up from weeks without each other, that you both build up and came crashing down in a mess of shaking limbs and grasping hands.

But as quickly as the first round ended, the second one began, and Hancock was far from done with his Kitten.

#john hancock x reader #John Hancock x Sole Survivor #John Hancock fo4 #John hancock fanfic #kinktober #kinktober 2023

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stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale · 1 year ago

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so.... I just finished my first read through of Clementine Book Two and... spoilers below the cut, but what the hell did I just read?

I don't even know what rating I'd give this honestly?? It was certainly more enjoyable than Book One but probably not for the reasons intended..... 2/5 stars for now?? I think?

I guess my feelings about this second installment are... it feels like a very big missed opportunity.

The art style is significantly improved though the characters do still sometimes look like potatoes, but the environments? Lovely. Really makes me wish this was done in color but alas, the walking dead is allergic to color.

The story goes that Clementine, Ricca, Olivia, and their pet cat Dr Barnaby ended up crashing the plane in Canada... because if you'll recall from Book One, they all escaped in a plane after Georgia decided to be evil and murder Amos, then tried to murder everyone else.

So they're in Canada, and Clementine's leg got so infected due to lack of proper cleaning that she goes into a coma for a month... no really, she goes into a coma. But it's okay, because Ricca and Olivia manage to flag down a boat to help them. Clementine wakes up on this island, we're introduced to a whole new cast of characters, we see how the island works, all that.

I like the Island group. They're not as likable as the Ericson crew, or any of the groups from the games. But we've got:

Miss Morro: the "doctor" of the island

Emi: She saved them and brought them to the island.

John: Miss Morro's son

Amir: A kid who lost his arm because his father didn't believe him when he said a dog bit him and he was too little to fight getting it cut off. Also one of my favorites.

Shu-Fen: she's probably the most interesting of the new cast. She and her family were on vacation here on the island when the outbreak occurred, and since she's originally from Taiwan, she's slowly trying to piece together a map to see if it's possible to ever make it back home.

Ginette and Giles: elderly couple who only speak French.

Mercy: a little girl that Ginette and Giles take care of.

There's a lot more focus on emotional drama and trauma, which I don't mind, especially since we're not given any real antagonist... well, I guess the closet person to an antagonist is Miss Morro, but she's just kind of... an asshole? She's verbally and physically abusive with her son. She's petty. After Clementine and Ricca have a big fight, Miss Morro says things clearly meant to hurt Clementine, and imply that Clem's incapable of love.

Miss Morro used to be a pathologist who performed autopsies, and her whole thing is she spends all of her time in her little hut doing these autopsies on every walker the group kills, she documents everything, and then buries them. She prioritizes this over the living people of the group in a way that feels like she's trying to convince herself that she's a good person?

Honestly, I was waiting for the big reveal that she was actually doing science experiments on the walkers... but alas, that's what I mean when I say this book feels like a wasted opportunity.

But don't worry, we have more drama because guess what. No, really, take a guess at what was revealed part way through this book. Do it. Guess.

That's right, Olivia's pregnant.

Yep. Apparently she and Amos had sex in Book One, and now Olivia's pregnant.

But why, though?

Can I share my conspiracy? Imma share my conspiracy, I think Tillie's fucking with us now. I know I've said time and time again, "When you review the comic, leave Tillie out of it," but my tinfoil hat says she's getting the last laugh and honestly? .....I'm here for it, ngl. I don't have the fucks to care anymore.

Because c'mon. Another side character from Clementine's group having a baby that she'll have to help raise? If Olivia dies next book and Clem and Ricca have to raise that baby, I'm gonna laugh.

Oh my god, what if they name the baby Amos Junior...... AJ 2.0

do it, Tillie, doooo iiiiiit

what, no I'm not losing my mind shut up I am so normal about this

Anyway... Clementine even has this line of dialogue: "I've seen a baby born before, but it was so scary I blocked it out." You blocked it out??? Are we talking about Christa? or Rebecca?? If it's Rebecca, that means Clementine blocked out AJ's birth.

It's absurd, right? And Olivia is soooo uneducated about it! Clementine finds her in the lighthouse and Olivia tells her she got bit *because she felt something move inside of her*..... and then Olivia asked why it matters when she last had her period.... How the hell did she and Amos even figure out what to do, honestly.

Speaking of Amos, my hopes and dreams were crushed. He did not come back as a twist villain, he only came back as the voice of the dream sequences.

No Lee in this book, btw. Or AJ. Amos served that purpose this time and I am disappointed. I still refuse to believe he's actually dead, you gotta show me his dead body or his walker form. We still have one more book, I'm just saying. He could come back. I won't lose hope. It wouldn't be the most ridiculous thing to happen.

And I guess I should talk about Clementine and Ricca... y'know, I kept an open mind. I really did. I went into this wanting to ship it because it's pointless to go into this mad, y'know? I can't change it, there's nothing I can do about it. So I had high hopes that we would get more development on their romance and we did... it just wasn't good.

Clemricca isn't a very healthy relationship, nor is it entertaining. Clementine's fickle, Ricca's demanding. She tells Clementine that she's willing to wait for her since Clem's still hesitant about these feelings. But then they get into an argument and I just... here's the dialogue. I would show the actual pages but from what I've found, no one has actually uploaded the book yet and I don't have a means to do it myself but:

Clementine: I don't want you to think that anything is more important to me than you. Ricca: That's kind of how you made it sound. Clementine: What I meant to say was that I… I want this island to be safe for us. We can't do anything if we're dead. Ricca: What do you mean "do"? Kiss? Date? Talk about how we actually feel? The dead decide when that can happen? Clementine: … Ricca: I love you. And I'm pretty sure you love me too. But you're not making me feel loved. You're making me feel you just want to protect me or… Clementine: But I do want to protect you. It's all I ever think about. Every minute of every day. Ricca: I don't need saving, Clem. I need you to love me. And I need it to be always. It can't start and stop. Clementine: …I… Ricca, turning to leave: Oh my god, maybe this has all been in my head- Clementine: Ricca- Ricca: I get it, okay? Clementine: If I let… If I let myself… Ricca: Forget this. Clementine: You said you would wait for me! Ricca: That's not fair. You want me to wait for the impossible!? Clementine: No, I- Ricca: I'm done, Clem. Clementine: Ricca, don't go in yet, please, we can talk more- Ricca: What else is there to say?

I dunno, Ricca, what else is there to say? Because I'm speechless.

By the way, at this point they haven't even had their first kiss. They don't have that kiss until the very end of the book...... and then they have sex. I think?

Again... but why, though?

It's not explicit, nothing is shown, it's not really anything, it's just implied that it happens through dialogue and a "fade to black." I don't even know how to talk about it, and I keep questioning myself like, "IS that what's happening??" but again, it's not explicit or sexualized in any way, it just is and I don't know how I feel about it. Hopefully I can collect myself for the big review and properly discuss it because... I think I get what the story's going for with it, but I don't love that direction, y'know?

So much happens in this book that I haven't covered, like... so much happens, it's longer than Book One and there are more characters. There's a lot of bullshit, but it was honestly enjoyable for what it was until the ending... which the ending was a problem in Book One, too.

I haven't covered that big tragic ending yet, I'm saving that for my in-depth review. I don't know when that will be out, I want to read this a few more times and be thorough. If y'all have read it let me know your thoughts. I'm very interested to know what you thought of that ending, just... all of it, Chapter Seven onward.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go read a palate cleanser and to collect my thoughts.

#twdg #clementine book two #twdg clementine #y'all these comics are so far removed from the games #i'm laughing

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dioles-writes · 10 months ago

Text

DIOLES PLAYLIST

EVERYONE

My Time - Bo En

The Phoenix - Fall Out Boy

The Last of the Real Ones - Fall Out Boy

I’m Still Standing - Elton John

My Alcoholic Friends - The Dresden Dolls

Burning Pile - Mother Mother

A Pearl - Mitski

Wrecking Ball - Mother Mother

Hayloft II - Mother Mother

Fourth of July - Sufjan Stevens

Young - Vacations

Mind Over Matter - Young the Giant

Karma Police - Radiohead

Non-stop - Lin Manuel Miranda

4:00 A.M. - Taeko Onuki

I Hear a Symphony - Cody Fry

Just Take My Wallet - Jack Stauber

Christmas Kids - Roar

Black Sheep - Metric

Young and Menace - Fall Out Boy

Just - Radiohead

Exit Music (For a Film) - Radiohead

Backdrifts - Radiohead

Safe & Sound - Taylor Swift

KICK BACK - Kenshi Yonezu

Centuries - Fall Out Boy

Duvet - Slowed Down Version - Bôa

My Body’s Made of Crushed Little Stars - Mitski

THE HEROES

Good 4 U - Olivia Rodrigo

Body - Mother Mother

Change Your Mind - Steven Universe

That Funny Feeling - Bo Burnham

Over & Over - Rio Romeo

Malmo - Mook

From Underground - Mook

Home Where - Sir Chloe

THE BOARD GAME CLUB

Counting Stars - OneRepublic

One Normal Night - Company

Freaks - Surf Curse

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana

First Rate Town - Good Kid

Blame It On The Kids - AViVA

The Adults Are Talking - The Strokes

Undercover Martyn - Two Door Cinema Club

Are We Still Friends? - Tyler, The Creator

FELIX

Boys Don’t Cry - The Cure

I Can’t Handle Change - Roar

First Love/Late Sping - Mitski

The Main Character - Will Wood

Brave as a Noun - AJJ

First Rate Town - Good Kid

Action Movie Hero Boy - Lemon Demon

Punk Tactics - Joey Valence & Brae

Shame - Mitski

Motion Picture Soundtrack - Radiohead

Look Away - The Dear Hunter

New Magic Wand - Tyler, The Creator

Boy - Alex G

Forwards Beckon Rebound - Adrianne Lenker

Remember - Alex G

Harvey - Alex G

WINOLA

Bugbear - Chloe Moriondo

No Surprises - Radiohead

Monet Issues - Chase Petra

The Deal - Mitski

Half Return - Adrianne Lenker

JANUARY

Everybody Loves Me - OneRepublic

Can I Get a Witness - SonReal

Say It Ain’t So - Weezer

Romantic Homicide - d4vd

Family Line - Conan Gray

Seventeen - Marina

Remember My Name - Mitski

Hansel - Sodikken

When Will My Life Begin? - Mandy Moore

When Memories Snow - Mitski

My Shot - Lin Manuel Miranda

This Is The Life - Son Lux, Mitski, David Byrne

The Ultracheese - Arctic Monkeys

MADDOX

Afraid - The Neighbourhood

Boys Don’t Cry - The Cure

First Love/Late Spring - Mitski

Blue Hair - TV Girl

The Grudge - Olivia Rodrigo

AKALI

First Love/Late Spring - Mitski

First Rate Town - Good Kid

Blue Hair - TV Girl

Rises the Moon - Liana Flores

BLISS

First Rate Town - Good Kid

The Soccer Journals - Everybody’s Worried About Owen

Daughter of a Cop - TV Girl

AVIL

Other Friends - Steven Universe

Oh Klahoma - Jack Stauber

Aimed to Kill - Jade LeMac

Blue Hair - TV Girl

My Love Mine All Mine - Mitski

ALZENA

I Bet On Losing Dogs - Mitski

Woman - Doja Cat

Poison - Bell Biv DeVoe

Toxic - Britney Spears

Back to the Old House - The Smiths

I Wait For You - Alex G

NYSSA

Better Than Me - The Brobecks

ASTLEY

People I Don’t Like - UPSAHL

Neutral Spirit Hotel - Local News Legend

Honey Whiskey - Nothing But Thieves

A Song Dedicated to the Memory of Stormy the Rabbit - AJJ

Mama’s Boy - Dominic Fike

Bug Like an Angel - Mitski

Crab - Alex G

She’s Homeless - CreepP

RORY

The Dismemberment Song - Blue Kid

Princess - TOPHAMHAT-KYO

Outliars and Hyppocrates: A Fun Fact About Apples - Will Wood

Laplace’s Angel (Hurt People? Hurt People) - Will Wood

2econd 2ight 2eer (That Was Fun, Goodbye.) - Will Wood

Suburbia Overture / Greetings From Mary Bell Township! / (Vampire) Culture / Love Me, Normally - Will Wood

Memento Mori: The Most Important Thing in the World - Will Wood

Marsha, Thankk You for the Dialetics, but I Need You to Leave - Will Wood

BlackBoxWarrior OKULTRA - Will Wood

I/Me/Myself - Will Wood

Love, Me Normally - Will Wood

Nunemaker’s Parable - Everybody’s Worried About Owen

Sandy - Alex G

WILDER

Creep - Radiohead

Time/Space - Alex G

You - Radiohead

Real Men - Mitski

Weird Fishes/ Arpeggi - Radiohead

Fake Plastic Trees - Radiohead

KUALI’I

Fog (Again) [Live] - Radiohead

Time/Space - Alex G

Boy - Alex G

Dreams Fall Hard - Car Seat Headrest

GUNTHER

Sharks - Imagine Dragons

Sky Like Dreams (SU) - CNML

Step On Me - The Cardigans

Back In School - Mother Mother

GOSSIP - Måneskin

I Don’t Smoke - Mitski

Sportstar - Alex G

Anyone Can Play Guitar - Radiohead

My Brave Face - Paul McCartney

MR PRADER

History Has Its Eyes On You - Christopher Jackson

I’ll Make a Man Out of You - Donny Osmond

PARADISE

Mad Hatter - Melanie Martinez

I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE - Måneskin

Just a Man - Jorge Rivera-Herrans

The Man Who Sold the World (Live) - Nirvana

Problems - Mother Mother

Stick Up - Grandson

Istanbul (Not Constantinople) - They Might Be Giants

Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes

Crossfire - Stephen

Where is the Justice? - Jeremy Jordan

INDUSTRY BABY - Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow

6up 5oh Cop Out (Pro / Con) - Will Wood and the Tapeworms

Starman - David Bowie

FightSong - Eve

Belly Up - Return to Dust

GOSSIP - Måneskin

2+2=5 - Radiohead

Little Dark Age - MGMT

Backlight - ADO

Hate Me - DED

The Principal - Melanie Martinez

Stained Glass Eyes and Colourful Tears - Pierce the Veil

Digital Silence - Peter McPoland

Gangsta’s Paradise - Coolio, L.V.

What’s Up Danger - Blackway, Black Caviar

Filth and Squalor - The Dear Hunter

We’ve Got a Score to Settle - The Dear Hunter

Stranger Than Paradise - Mook

Hollow Moon (Live) - The Crane Wives

VINCENT

Feeling Good - Michael Bublé

Kiss Me, Son of a God - They Might Be Giants

My Ordinary Life - The Living Tombstone

Ruler of Everything - Tally Hall

Belly Up - Return to Dust

Stained Glass Eyes and Colourful Tears - Pierce the Veil

HAVEN

Belly Up - Return to Dust

Ribs - The Crane Wives

Stained Glass Eyes and Colourful Tears - Pierce the Veil

Castaway - The Vanished People

Hollow Moon (Live) - The Crane Wives

MANON

Mama’s Boy - Dominic Fike

& - Tally Hall

Jerry Was a Race Car Driver - Primus

BORISLAVA

Mama’s Boy - Dominic Fike

Duvet - Bôa

EINAR

Just a Man - Jorge Rivera-Herrans

Stick Up - Grandson

Oh No! - Marina

SHEHANI

Oh No! - Marina

Class Fight - Melanie Martinez

ATIAH

INDUSTRY BABY - Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow

Oh No! - Marina

Murder on the Dancefloor - Sophie Eliss-Bextor

UNA

Oh No! - Marina

Over & Over - Rio Romeo

PRESSURE BOMB 3?!?! - Jhariah

HIRAYA

Six Shooter - Coyote Kisses

Show & Tell - Melanie Martinez

Brutal - Olivia Rodrigo

Dollhouse - Melanie Martinez

Oh No! - Marina

Teen Idle - Marina

PAISLEY

Brand New City - Mitski

Well, Better Than The Alternative - Will Wood

Vampire Empire - Big Thief

I’m Your Man - Mitski

Lover, You Should’ve Come Over - Jeff Buckley

Meant To Be Yours - Ryan McCartan

Twilight - Bôa

REAGAN

I Bet On Losing Dogs - Mitski

I Want You - Mitski

I Don’t Like My Mind - Mitski

I Will - Mitski

Drunk Walk Home - Mitski

Rape Me - Nirvana

PAISLEY & REAGAN

Full Disclosure - Steven Universe

There is a Light That Never Goes Out - The Smiths

Two Slow Dancers - Mitski

Star - Mitski

Heaven - Mitski

VENUS

Peace and Love on the Planet Earth - Steven Universe

The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?) - Ylvis

TINDRA

Escapism - Steven Universe

HARU

Love Like You - Steven Universe

Cop Car - Mitski

REESE

My Alcoholic Friends - The Dresden Dolls

Sugar Pills - I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME

Mary - Alex G

OLIVIA

Never Love an Anchor - The Crane Wives

BARBARA

Femininomenon - Chappell Roan

#Spotify #dioles tag #my ocs #ocs #character playlist

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millenari · 10 months ago

Note

tugger

✨✨✨✨

1. Canon I outright reject

The moment in the bway revival where, right after Jenny's song, Munk goes 'who will [the jellicle choice] be?' and then Tugger busts in echoing him as his song starts, framing his interruption as him.... being excited to be the Jellicle Choice? Throwing his hat in the ring?

I can see they put that line there to strengthen the plot and remind the audience what's going on narratively here, but Tugger's number is the one song you shouldn't do that for. The original version of that transition where Tugger is plain old interrupting the ball is one of the strongest transitions in the musical & didn't need to be improved, and if they really wanted to interject the 'who will it be' reminder of what the point of all of this is, it shouldn't have come before his song. Tugger is interrupting because Tugger loves being a nuisance, causing trouble, and putting the spotlight on him. You don't need the additional motive of 'he wants to be the Jellicle Choice' for him to interrupt the narrative/ball.

Plus why would he want to be the Jelly Choice? He clearly loves his life.

Idk, maybe they just meant for Tugger's repetition to be Tugger mocking Munk (admittedly the actors tend to sound goofy there) but they could have had Munk say anything there, and Tugger deliberately echoes the 'who will it be' part. I just dislike that bit, Tugger shouldn't give a shit about whether he's the Jellicle Choice-- he's not performing bc he wants to win, he's performing bc he wants to brag.

2. A canon or headcanon hill I will die on

Tugger and Munk being brothers. I just can't see them not as brothers at this point.

3. Obscure headcanon

Hmmmmm....... Tugger's mother gave him up at pretty much the exact age where he could survive without her, and immediately dumped him on Deuteronomy's metaphorical doorstep, at probably around the human equivalent of 3yrs. (This is partially bc Deut and her were on Not Great terms, partially bc Tugger was a little nightmare, and partially bc she just wasn't really suited for motherhood)

Deuteronomy managed to survive about half an hour taking care of Tugger after that, with his bad back and Tugger's hyperactivity, and promptly took Baby Tug to the Junkyard and dumped him onto younger Mac and Munk.

Macavity then shoved baby Tugger onto Munk the second Deuteronomy's back was turned, and after that teenaged Munk was Tugger's primary caretaker. & believe it or not but Tugger did not get out of this series of events emotionally unscathed, and ended up with a particular distaste for relying on other people, figures in his life with authority over him, and also both his mother and Macavity.

4. Favorite line

The way John Partridge says 'phenomenal cat' for sure.

5. Best personality trait

Tugger is actually a very good read of people; sometimes it can be hard for him to truly conceive what it's like to be another cat (one with greater self-esteem issues for example) but he is very good at sussing out how cats feel and what to say or do to to change how they feel. This makes him a very good hypeman, an excellent troll, and 1000% Macavity's blood.

But that being said, he is quite the charmer and a pretty good leader of men cats when he puts his mind to it. He always knows what to say to cheer you up. It's just a matter of whether he cares enough to actually want to cheer you up. Which brings me to:

6. Worst personality trait

He can be pretty seriously blasé and sometimes uncaring about what's going on around him. That bit I mentioned about him having difficulty understanding what it's like to be other people often leaves him unsympathetic to their struggles (Oh you're stressed, Munk? Maybe you should stop caring about other people's problems. Caring about other people's problems is a fundamental part of who you are as a person? Sounds fake, just take a fucking vacation and stop complaining.)

And even in situations where he logically knows a cat can't help the way they are, he can still be bullheaded about it-- his and Misto's friendship has lasted their whole lives, but even as grown adults he still thinks he can shake some confidence into the little bastard if he just kind of... tries hard enough.

7. Age/height/weight headcanon

Tugger is one of the tallest cats in the Junkyard area, but he's technically far from the 'biggest' because he's a skinny beanpole. He's admittedly stronger than he looks, but he's also not a fighter. In my human aus he's around 6'1-3ish

8. Unpopular opinion about them

I don't know if I have any unpopular Tugger opinions. I'm pretty normie about him.

Actually Edu del Prado from the Madrid 2004 production is one of the best Tuggers out there. That opinion is unpopular bc most people haven't even watched Madrid 2004. There.

9. Scene that first made me love (or hate) the character

He's pretty equally lovable in all three of his big numbers., so I don't think there's one I could point at and go 'here's where I fell in the hole!'

10. Best moment on screen (or in the book)

I love every moment Tugger is on stage, so I kind of had to think of this one as 'which Tugger moment would be most likely to catch my attention if I were distracted while watching Cats' and that would probably be when he comes in for Deuteronomy's song. It's his most serious moment, and how he interacts with Munk there is always so charming and wholesome. I also love the two singing together, and how it's a moment that seems to mean a lot to Munk.

11. Faceclaim for the role

Mostly just. John Partridge. Except with a bit more of a ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) resting face perhaps. My human au design for him is a darker skinned guy with dark hair that has blonde highlights, super tall and thin, naturally curly hair that he styles, plus eyeshadow and the works.

12. Crack headcanon

This is Cats, all headcanons are crack headcanons.

13. Dumbest thing they’ve ever done

Of course Tugger has done plenty of stupid things in his life, but when he was younger he initially found his human family when he happened upon a random human girl playing guitar at a park; he thought her music was cool, so he basically just let her take him home with her. It worked out for him, but knowing what people do to kittens sometimes, that could've ended very, very badly for him.

14. Most heroic moment

Admittedly I don't have one for this. As much as Tugger cares about the tribe and all, he's not the first guy to jump into danger when a threat presents itself, and tends to contribute by focusing on dealing with the aftermath of a crisis rather than the crisis itself.

15. Worst thing they’ve ever done

Tugger's not a bad guy so I don't have a great answer for this-- but one asshole thing he's been doing since he was a kid is when he and Alonzo are alone he'll just say a bunch of terrible things to Alonzo, egg him into attacking Tugger, and then crying 'he hurt me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!' for everyone to hear in the aftermath, thus getting Alonzo in trouble. He thinks it's funny that it's so easy to rile Alonzo up.

16. Deepest darkest secret they won’t even admit to themselves

I don't have a good one for this either. While I think Tugger is a confident dude, he does wonder sometimes about how lovable he really is, in a personal way. Obviously he has a lot of fans, but those closest to him-- his family members in particular-- tend to decry him as difficult, and have historically shuffled him around. He thinks he's a lovable guy, but he wonders sometimes how true that is, given how those who know him best tend to react to him. This isn't something that keeps him awake every night, but he wonders sometimes.

17. Quotes, songs, poems, etc. that I associate with them

Wild Child by The Struts

Scratch your number right onto my chest / Hit me up and you can call for sex Keep in mind, I like to be impressed / I'll only have you in your Sunday best It's been a while since we've been flirting / But one thing's for certain You should take your time to think me through / 'Cause every rumor that you've heard is true

Bop and a half right there.

18. What they’d go to see a therapist about

In my human/celeb/soulmate au that I've been writing, Tugger does actually go to therapy when he's initially diagnosed with ADHD! It's mostly just learning to contend with his neurodivergency and such, but every once in a while he'll say something during his appointments and his therapist will be like 'elaborate on that' and he'll be like 'no :)' and then they move on from the conversation without delving into all the other reasons he should probably be in therapy.

19. Vices/bad habits

In my aforementioned human/celeb/soulmate au he's a smoker and Misto fucking hates it.

20. Scars

Most of my Tuggers don't have any notable scars, but I have this one fic where he has lightning-scars from where Misto accidentally blasted him as a kid during a dangerous situation-- they aren't visible under the fur, but you can feel them if you know what you're looking for.

21. Drink of choice (not just alcoholic)

He's a whiskey neat kind of guy in human aus.

22. Best physical feature

Tugger would say all of his features are his best feature, a lot of cats might say it's his big lush mane. In human aus Misto is partial to his brown eyes and his curly hair.

23. If they were a scented candle, what would they smell like?

Are leather scented candles a thing? Maybe coffee too, though that might just be my love for the smell of coffee talking.

24. Most annoying habit

UHHH not counting the things he does deliberately to annoy people, he has this thing he does when people bother him where he'll just stop dead in the middle of a conversation and start pretending he can't see or hear them. He does this all the time when Munk tries to nag him.

25. 3 things they’d want to take with them if they were dropped off in the middle of nowhere

This question is too open ended for me. Is this a survival situation or are they just dropped in a field somewhere for a few hours and then picked up?

26. What they would do if stuck in an elevator with [insert character of your choice from the same fandom]

Either fuck or argue, depending on the character. There might be a chilly silence with a select few, like Bustopher perhaps.

27. Their guilty pleasure

Tugger doesn't do 'guilty' pleasure.

28. How they feel about [insert character of your choice from the same fandom]

He likes that Misto guy.

Nah but as I mentioned earlier Tugger has a lot of problems with figures of authority or the caretakers in his life, he has for a long time. And Misto came to join the Junkyard at a time when Tugger was the youngest kitten in the Yard, and little Misto pretty much immediately had a lot of difficulty adjusting to living in a new space. This was kind of the first person injected into Tugger's life where, in their relationship, he wasn't the littler one who needed to be taken care of, and he got a real kick out of showing Misto what the Junkyard is like and explaining stuff to him and such.

So Misto managed to kind of worm under Tugger's skin in a way a lot of cats never manage to do, because even as adults Tugger still carts around this (not entirely accurate lmao) idea that he's The Guy Who Takes Care of Misto, so it's easier for him to be vulnerable with Misto than anyone else.

29. Eating habits

In human aus he tends to have quite the sweet tooth, and also due to wildly fast metabolism he can eat for forever and not gain a pound. In cat aus, he just kind of... eats cat stuff.

30. Sleeping habits

In cat aus he sleeps the same as everyone else, but in human aus he has mild insomnia, and often wakes up in the middle of the night for an hour or so and has to stare at the ceiling for a bit before he can fall back asleep. It's wildly inconvenient, especially when he's exhausted.

31. If the had a tumblr what would it look like?

Horny stuff for sure. Probably music stuff, like posts about famous musicians of the past and such. Definitely one of those guys who reblogs fifty things, is inactive for a month, then reblogs another fifty things.

32. Something guaranteed to make them smile/laugh

Misto boning up a magic trick. The boning up itself is funny, but the huffy way Misto reacts to messing it up is a million times more hilarious.

33. Something guaranteed to make them cry

Deuteronomy's death, though he sure as fuck wouldn't let anyone see him cry.

34. How they react when they are feeling X emotion (sad, angry, excited, scared, etc.—can specify as many as you like)

Tugger is very good at keeping his composure when angry; when he's sad or annoyed his one really notable tell is that he doesn't eat as much. If he's frightened he'll hole himself up somewhere, probably somewhere up high. And if he's excited everyone within a fifty mile radius will be hearing about it.

35. Their idea of a perfect day

Not getting hassled by anyone, plenty of snackies, attention from fans, lounging time with his buddies, & perhaps a Misto performance to end the night.

36. Their favorite season

Spring and winter pretty equally-- he doesn't get cold easy so the snow and wind aren't really bad for him, and he likes watching the world transform around him in both seasons-- getting covered with snow in the winter and then getting covered with greenery in the spring.

37. What they really think about themselves

Tugger's confidence is genuinely not a performance, he really does think he's hot shit. He has his moments of insecurity and uncertainty, all people do, but he really does like himself and how he looks.

38. Favorite holiday

Human Tugger is a Christmas bitch.

39. Favorite game

Like board game? Video game? Card game? Human Tugger doesn't usually play video games and a lot of card games last too long for him to remain invested in them. Probably games like Cards Against Humanity would be his drug of choice.

40. Favorite book

He probably doesn't have a specific favorite book. Human!Tugger doesn't love reading due to undiagnosed ADHD and mild dyslexia that makes it hard for him to focus on the lines and words; he has a bit of a chip on his shoulder about how other people act like reading is so fun and easy when it's very obviously not, at least for him. After he gets diagnosed and finds some reading aids that work for him, he tends to read fantasy/adventure type stuff, usually shorter stories without series attached to them.

Misto reads poetry aloud to him sometimes; he likes ee cummings, especially 'I Like My Body When It Is With Your'.

41. If they could have lunch with anyone in the world (living or dead, from any fictional universe or the real world), who would it be?

I feel like he would pick someone like Darth Vader for the lulz and then get strangled.

42. 3 comfort items

The cats don't have many possessions so human au: his vinyl collection, his stuffed lion from when he was a kid, and his favorite leather jacket that Deut gave him.

43. 3 favorite foods and 3 they despise

Human au again: Tugger is actually not that picky as long as he gets to choose what he wants to eat, but he's not really a seafood nor a salad lover. He is very passionate about waffles as far as breakfast choices go, and likes milkshakes and most fast food.

44. Their happiest memory

I find these happiest memory questions so hard-- I don't think I even have a 'happiest memory'-- I have a bunch of happy memories, but I don't know which one I'd label as 'happiest'.

UHHHH in most human aus the whole Deuteronomy clan goes on these sort of hiking trips where they go out into an area like Arizona, real dry and desert-y, go on an adventure out into the wilderness, and race dirt bikes. They might own some land out there, or maybe there's some sort of resort they stay at, idk. But even though dirtbikes aren't his thing, Tugger loves these yearly trips and is genuinely bummed when they don't happen for whatever reason.

45. Their favorite celebrity

Himself first. In human aus he loves Prince and Jagger a lot.

46. The person they most admire

UHHH there isn't anyone I'd say Tugger wants to be like; he likes himself as he is. But he does love his dad and admits he could never do the stuff Deut does, and he also thinks Misto is the smartest guy alive with absolutely sick powers.

47. Their dream job

Famous singer.

48. Scariest moment of their life

In my human/celeb/soulmate au I mentioned a couple times, Tugger tells Misto about this one time that Deut got sick during Grammy season, and Tugger had to chose between staying with him in the hospital or actually attending the grammys. He makes it sound very casual when he tells Misto about it, but he ended up going to the grammys and spent the whole thing terrified he would leave and find a text or call telling him his father had died while he was receiving a stupid little award. Deut came out the other end fine, but Tugger was a jaded in the aftermath of that.

49. Favorite toy as a child

I'm ahead of myself! I mentioned earlier he had a stuffed lion as a kid. In cat aus, as a kitten he slept in Munk's den rather than the kittens' den with the other little ones, and thus had a ton of his own toys stored there that he didn't have to share with other kittens.

50. A memory they’ve blocked out

When Macavity initially betrayed the tribe and left (explosively and violently), baby Tugger was present and witnessed quite a bit of it. He was plenty old enough at the time to remember it, but whenever asked about the occasion he expresses uncertainty of if he was even around at the exact time Macavity left. He genuinely just doesn't remember any of it. All of the older cats who were also present for the event never press when he says this; they think he's probably better off not remembering.

#cats fan on main #thank you for the ask! 🥰🥰

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jdgo51 · 8 months ago

Text

MARCH 19, 2024

Precious Opportunity

Betsy Mitchell (New York, USA)

"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed." - Mark 1:35 (NIV)

"Recently my husband and I took a trip by train through Montana and Idaho, then rented a car and drove down to northern California to visit my sister at her new home. I had never seen any of these places before, and the journey was a thrill to me. However, the change of routine completely disrupted my habit of starting each day with prayer and quiet meditation.

Back home in my comfy chair with the cat curled up by my side, I took up my daily practice again. I reflected that I had seen so many amazing sights yet had not taken time to marvel at the Creator. I had enjoyed the hospitality of my sister and brother-in-law but had not expressed gratitude to God for the good health and the means that allowed me to travel.

The Bible records that Jesus often went off to a solitary place to pray. Our Lord and Savior took time alone to speak with God. That loving relationship is open to me as well. I realized that my devotional time is not a routine that I must leave behind when I go on vacation. It’s a precious opportunity to thank God for all my blessings, speak whatever burden is on my heart, and ask for guidance every day." Talking with God every single day is the best choice. It jump starts everything and gets you going toward the success of each day.

TODAY'S PRAYER

"Ever-present God, thank you for the opportunity to be in your presence day by day. May we never forget to thank you." Amen.

John 15:5-8

"5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, then you will produce much fruit. Without me, you can’t do anything. 6 If you don’t remain in me, you will be like a branch that is thrown out and dries up. Those branches are gathered up, thrown into a fire, and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified when you produce much fruit and in this way prove that you are my disciples." Be about producing fruit in the many aspects of your life. Bless you, everyone! Joe

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racoonjohn · 4 years ago

Photo

The day when the gang collectively and secretly decide to bathe John he just sense it and disappear in a cave full of raccoons Also,

Because Javier wasn’t wearing his good boots when he saved John at Colter

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planetsstarsandmoons · 2 years ago

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Tells of the signs

Aries: they have wide foreheads with hair with a very close hairline so their foreheads look smaller when they aren’t! They are quick to react to anything that is or feels personally, and I mean that literally. Like you’ve just finished your sentence and they’re already throwing back what they think or they want ‘out there’. This goes for anything, small or big.

Taurus: we know about the square jaw, but why is nobody talking about their sleepy eyes!! Their peaceful but irritated, serene happy sleepy bulls eyes? Think Robert Pattinson, Craig Ferguson, Gigi Hadid, Lizzo...

Gemini: I know this is cliche, but it’s basically their ability to be two different people in different situations. If your answer is: oh yes, they absolutely have that without it being an (slightly) awkward part of their personality to realise this about, they’re a gemini. Think Paul Mccartney, Stevie Nicks, Prince, Donald Trump, Marilyn Monroe, Angelina Jolie, etc

Cancers: you’re looking in someone’s eyes, trying to guess their zodiac sign and suddenly their cheeks start being very noticeable, they notice you remarking something and their eyes start twinkling, you think they’re not definitely not a cancer, chances are 99% that they are a cancer.

Leo: front foot forward. It’s mostly pretty obvious to see whose sun is exalted and whose isn’t.

Virgo: the virgo men do NOT believe in astrology, will debate you on it, will condescend you, will condescend it, cannot leave you be, girls tend to stay quiet and be like ‘oh whatever, happy for you’, the guys won’t. I’ve seen seven people in my life openly condescend astrology, adamantly like not even turning even a little bit around, using faulty logic and everything, that way and all of them were virgo men. To the point where I started laughing out loud when I asked them their sign, to find out they were another virgo man. So if you encounter one of these, specifically those who debate you with earthy ‘logic’ instead of ‘idk i’m just not feeling the faith in it at all, because how can...’ etc, they are a virgo. The virgo women I know are so organised.. in a certain way. It’s that their head inside is so disorganised, chaotic and such a mess that they keep up so well with stuff on the outside, like markers, college notes, little posters on their wall. They’re definitely ‘that girl’ by nature and they’re natural hard workers.

Libra: they’re kind of insane. The girls are very passive, but have very charming egos and you see their conscious struggle to not be people pleasers. Kim Kardashian, Kate Winslet, Naomi Watts, Bella Hadid, Dakota Johnson. The libra guys are... well most of them are insane. I’m dividing into gender, but it actually comes from ‘who has a lot of very well nurtured confidence?’ Those libras are ~batshit crazy~. Think Cardi B, John Lennon, Lindsey Buckingham, Doja Cat, Anthony Mackie, Jeff Goldblum and Simon Cowell. Noah Schnapp and Jimin belong to the girls’ side and Brie Larsson was bullied into being there too.

Scorpio: non scorpios, like all people, can divide people into types. You’ve got the cheery types, the organised types, the blunt types, the very sensitive types, and the intense types. Only scorpios don’t know that ‘intense type’ is a type at all. To them it’s just air. You can’t look at yourself, not even with a mirror, no matter how hard you try. So if you see someone who looks at you casually the way any other sign would attempt to m*rder someone with their eyes, it’s a scorpio. They also have slightly upturned eyes with sharper eyebrows.

Sagittarius: they all have that smile! The tenseless eyes squint and a laugh that goes like 😕 but then upwards of course! Their tell is most often their mercury in sagittarius (😂), which sag suns have most of the time. Sags are obsessed with going to things. ~Going~ outside, ~going~ out for a drink, ~going~ to the supermarket and ~going~ skiing or on vacation. That is really when they’re in their orange element and you can feel it. You definitely have to get to know a person before figuring out they’re a sagittarius, I think.

Capricorns: with white capricorns, their hair colour as a child is a big tell. Blonde children get darker hair as they grow older and mature. Capricorn children are able to go from blonde hair when they were small to dark brown almost black hair when they’re older. I’ve seen it with four (!!) capricorns myself. For the rest, look at their eyebrows. Capricorn’s eyebrows are such prominent features without somehow it being the first thing you notice about them. It’s a weird combination.

Aquarius: aquarii have these oval, round jaws that I can’t really explain, and when you try to imagine their face, their eyes ‘feel’ higher up in their face than most people have. With aquarii i often notice the lack of an actual ego in astrological and psychological terms (not in social terms, god no). They let everything else speak for themselves while setting themselves apart from the rest. Aquarius’ (self)-identified type of quirkiness is always some form of ‘more lowkey’ or ‘more distant from the rest in this or that way’.

Pisces: vampire teeth and sparkling deeper set eyes. Flat ears and \/ chins. People don’t often talk about how when pisces are enjoying themselves, it’s definitely, almost always noticable.

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jinxedpanda4life · 4 years ago

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Criminal Investigator AU HC

I would first like to start off by saying thank you to everyone.

I honestly did not expect the response I got to my Damirae Hospital AU HC list.

When I first woke up and checked tumblr ~13 hours after posting I had a holy shit moment.

I felt powerful, should I? Probably not.

But! Since I am noticing a lack of AUs in the fandom, whether on Tumblr, AO3 or FanFiction.net, whatever AU comes to my mind I shall jot down some hcs for!

Thank you all once again!

(Also trying format changes for easy reading)

(Also Also, I am thinking the story is less fluid but more episodic)

Let’s get started:

- So I’m thinking this is some FBI, SVU, and FBI BAU mixture or whatever. Basically all the great shows we know in love shoved together. From Bones to Criminal Minds and everything in between.

- Special Agent (Dr.) Raven Roth is a lead interrogator and is the resident psych consult.

She’s been educated in interrogation, behavioral science, psychology, forensic pathology, and criminology.

She has combat training (hand to hand), she carries (for her job) a gun and at all times has a knife/dagger on her person (people have stopped trying to figure out where she keeps them).

Her father was/is crime boss T. Trigon who is currently imprisoned.

Was born in the states but fled with her mother to Romania when she was a newborn.

When Trigon found them he killed Arella and took Raven, she was abut 9 - 10 years old.

She took her mother’s last name when she turned 18.

Knows two languages besides English; French, Romanian, Romani (various dialects but knows multiple), Greek and Latin

On more than one occasion some goon of her father’s tries to recruit her, every time she kicks their ass. (Damian was there for the most recent (he was still green though))

Lives by herself in a decent sized apartment, has a gun safe (gun safety is important!), a cat (Nevermore), and is a regular at a 24/7 bookstore &/ cafe

Can usually be found wearing some kind of jacket, sweater, cardigan

She once helped save some kids (Melvin, Tommy & Teether) and is now their surrogate aunt, she has photos of them at her desk @ work. (Damian assumes/ed that they were her kids)

She also, when she can, hangs out and babysits them on occasion.

Raven is part of a team consisting of Dick Grayson (unit leader), Kori Anders, Garfield Logan, Jaime Reyes, and very recently Damian Wayne

- Special Agent Damian Wayne is a lead investigator (he is still a bit fresh to the unit), translator, sniper and combat coordinator

He’s been educated in martial arts, explosives, hand to hand combat, close range combat, and combat (basically he knows how to kill you 9 ways to Sunday), also, behavioral science, computer science, criminology, linguistics and language.

He can easily translate (into English): Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Hindi, Bengali, French, Polish, German, Spanish, Portuguese, he can also learn any language you put in front of him and know the basics within a day

(Having lived in many places around the world he needed to be able to speak and understand in order to survive) (wow dramatic much?)

His father is currently the director (or deputy director, whatever floats ya boat) of the FBI.

His mother was essentially a secret agent who worked for various agencies around the globe. (deceased)

His grandfather was the leader of a, um, well to be honest, terrorist agency. (deceased)

Was sent to live with his father when he was 15 (when his mother died) and has been in the states ever since

Lives alone, he has an upscale apartment that he truthfully spends little time in, has multiple locations in the home where various weapons are stored, his place has a very cold atmosphere

Is either in proper work attire or in work out clothing, there is no in between

Tries and fails not to take work home with him

He sees a therapist (who says he should probably try investing in relationships with the people at his job)

His only “friend” (he hates calling him that, more like close acquaintance) is Jonathan Kent who was in his class at the FBI Academy, Jon works in a white collar crime department in Metropolis

The only person he actually kind of sort of doesn’t dislike is in fact Raven Roth, she’s a no bull shit person, he likes that

He may know Grayson because of how he’s Bruce’s kind of son but it does not mean he likes him

He finds Logan annoying as all hell, even if he is somewhat useful

He picked a fight with Reyes first day and regretted it (he will never admit that), he respects him

Anders is overly friendly in his opinion, kind of acts like a secretary with all that positivity and grates his nerves, he tolerates her

(Unlike last time I am not going in detail about the rest of the team, this will be brief)

- Supervisory Special Agent Dick Grayson (Unit Chief) is basically Dick Grayson with a big fancy title but all the same skills

He is also obsessed with Slade Wilson and Red X (who is Jason in this)

- Supervisory Special Agent Kori Anders is a lead investigator and is also a go to for undercover work

- Special Agent Garfield Logan is a lead interrogator, is head of the unit’s K-9 unit and kind of has a thing for Roth (which she does not reciprocate)

- Special Agent Jaime Reyes is a tactical analyst, tech analyst and is head of the unit’s SWAT team, he does not do well with talking with people, or change

The Scarab is a computing program that Jaime created himself

STORY START:

- When Damian first joins the team there is another member, Special Agent Terra Markov, she is revealed as a sleeper agent but she aligns herself with the team and sadly is shot and killed in a fire fight

- A couple weeks after Agent Markov’s death everyone is talking about what they are doing for an upcoming holiday, Damian says probably nothing, Raven invites him to spend it with her and her “niece” and “nephews,” he declines

- About a day after the holiday Damian is home looking through case files when someone knocks on his door

-- It is Raven. He asks how she knew where he lived, she says she asked Dick, she also says that she knows how it feels to be alone and that he may be insufferable but it doesn’t mean he can’t have a friend

-- His response is saying he isn’t the kind to make friends with co workers

-- “I’m not asking to be your friend Damian, I am asking you to be his,” She reveals a small black great dane puppy “I know that other people aren’t really your thing, but having someone in your corner and waiting for you is always nice, even if it isn’t human.”

-- Damian invites her in, names the dog Titus and thanks her

-- “Just make sure no one tries to kidnap and kill you, we don’t need you to go full blown John Wick.” Damian has no idea who that is. Raven tells him it is an action movie series that he should watch. She leaves. He does watch them that night with Titus on his lap. (after having gone to the local pet supply store to get everything he needs) The action is inaccurate but he enjoyed the movies none the less, and decides that he probably would go into John Wick mode if someone hurt Titus.

- SA Roth and SA Wayne are sent to a high security federal prison to interrogate a prisoner, who refuses to speak

-- When they get into the interview room the prisoner does start to speak, but not in English and not in a language Damian is fluent in

-- Raven on the other hand immediately responds to the prisoner (shocking the prisoner and Damian) “He is speaking Romani though not the dialect of those overseas, he learned it here.”

-- Damian is fascinated by it and they are essentially switching roles the entire time

-- They leave having successfully interviewing the prisoner, and Raven leaves behind a written list of common words in Romani so that they can possibly communicate with the prisoner better

-- As soon as they are on the plane back Damian asks her a myriad of questions from “How many languages do you know?” to “When did you learn that?” and even “Are you a spy? Sleeper agent? Part of a terrorist cell?”

-- “Not as many as you, when I was a child, if I was part of any of that you wouldn’t be asking.” The rest of the trip is spent with her teaching him Romani and even some Romanian

- Dick & Kori eventually get together and after a while they break up. Kori takes some vacation time. At the same Dick has been temporarily reassigned to another unit.

-- Chaos ensues

-- Garfield thinks he should be the interim unit chief, Jaime thinks the same, as does, you guessed it, Damian (Raven doesn’t want to she is comfortable with her role on the team)

-- In the end they are assigned an interim unit chief, SSA Jason Todd, who usually works overseas on covert op missions (not gonna lie this could easily flow into a Jayrae thing)

-- Everyone kind of falls into line, except Damian, Damian doesn’t like him for two reasons

1) He doesn’t act serious about the job 24/7

2) He has been flirting and hitting on Raven the moment he stepped into their sector

-- Damian hates the names he gives her; “Little Bird,” “Sunshine,” “Princess,” “Rae,” (no one calls her Rae, not even Garfield, at least not after the incident) etc.

-- (Little does Damian know, Jason and Raven have worked together before and are actually friends)

-- This all comes to a head when Damian and Jason are the only ones still in the office after a tiring case.

“You shouldn’t do that you know.”

“Do what? All I am doing right now is contemplating where Grayson keeps the liquor.”

“Call Raven all those names, she doesn’t like it.”

“Really? Because if you haven’t noticed she hasn’t exactly asked me to stop.”

“She gets uncomfortable, maybe not to the extent of asking you to stop, but she tenses up and her body language becomes slightly more agitated.”

“You seem to pay a lot of attention in how she reacts to thinks baby brat. Seems to me that you like her.”

“Of course I like her, she is a good friend and reliable teammate.”

“No, you like like her.”

“That presumption is juvenile.”

“But you don’t deny it.”

“Tch.”

-- If anything after that conversation Jason seems to doubled his advances. Which confuses both Damian and Raven. Damian because it is inappropriate and HR will be hearing about this. Raven because she was under the assumption that she and Jason were just friends. (Jason actually does have genuine intentions but is like 60% just egging Damian on)

-- Eventually (far too long for Damian’s tastes), both Dick and Kori return. At first it is sooooooo awkward. Like mom and dad divorced have shared custody but don’t hate each other but also cannot look each other in the eye. ((Was that a mouthful? Good)) No one can really look at each other the same? Though they do have a meeting to sort it out, get everything out in the open.

- Raven’s annual kidnapping/attempt to convert her/torture comes almost exactly one year after Damian joined the team (this is his 2nd time dealing with this)

-- This time Damian is prepared. By prepared I mean Raven doesn’t even leave her apartment before she is taken to safety.

“Damian what is going on?”

“Christmas came early this year that’s what.”

“Christmas? What in gods name are you talking about.”

“God has no dealings in this matter.”

“You do realize you are sounding like a bad action movie? It is not even 6 am and I am in your car going somewhere, I have had little to no sleep and I am barely dressed. What is going on?” Damian hadn’t payed attention to what clothing Raven was wearing. His mind was on one goal. Find Raven, keep Raven safe. His eyes glanced off the road enough to realize she was indeed not properly dressed. Her body was merely adorned with an oversized tee-shirt, tiny barely there shorts and a pair of fluffy socks.

“I apologize, it appears in my haste I did not leave you time to properly clothe yourself. As to why you are here, it seems your father and his people have shortened their waiting time this year from one year to a little more than ten months.” Ravens hands fisted her shirt. “This time I was prepared,” last time he was still new to everything, last time he made mistakes, this time there will be no mistakes. “Since our last encounter with your demon, so to speak, I have been setting in place precautions and safety measures to ensure Nevermore and yours’ safety. I have also been tracking the movements of his big players. If any came close I would mark it down. Multiple are entering the city at this moment. Seeing as you we taken last time I have made plans to ensure that will not happen again.” The car made a snap turn down an unfamiliar street pulling Raven from her clouded gaze.

“So I am going to be okay this time?” Her voice was faint and restraining against hope.

“You’re going to be okay.” His hand lightly held hers. Only to stop the shaking, they told themselves, only to make everything better. “Nevermore is with Titus at my place being watched by a friend of mine. I have already walked Grayson through everything we will not be expected at work this week, but we can work remotely.”

“We?”

“I’m not going to leave you. Ever.”

-- ((Sorry for the blocks of text))

-- As Raven finds out they are at one of Damian’s safe houses. The one least likely to be tied to her. It is fully stocked with food, has security cameras and if needed weapons. The only problem is that the only clothes there are Damians.

“Thought of everything huh?”

“I was following their pattern, I expected to have more time to acquire clothing for you.” (he was looking away and blushing, you cannot tell me he wasn’t)

-- Raven just resigns herself to wearing Damian’s clothes, yes his brain does stop working for a hot second when he sees her in only his clothes.

-- All attempts to try and retrieve codename: Gem of Scath are foiled (like some good math)

-- So many bonding moments happen. Cuddling (pure accident *rolls eyes*), eating together, inside jokes, etc. At one point Damian answers her phone (he disabled and disconnected the tracer) to one of the mob guys after them.

“Hello?”

“You can hide the gem but we will find her.”

“I’m sorry, is there a jewel you are looking for? I don’t think I have and any jewels that I am coveting.”

“We know you are with her! It is but a matter of time until we collect her.”

“I hope you do eventually find whatever you are looking for sir, but I haven’t the slightest idea the gem you speak of. If you could give me a physical description? Is it a ruby, diamond, onyx? Is it round or more of a pear shape?”

“...”

“Well, I will look for it here, but I do not believe I possess what you speak of. Will you give me your number so I can call you back?” (The line cuts dead, and Raven can be seen laughing in the background, the phone was on speaker)

-- Once the team tracks down, arrests and interrogates all of the parties working for Trigon; Raven and Nevermore can go home. Though both are reluctant in their own way. Nevermore has grown attached to Titus, and Raven well Raven has feelings. Sadly, as Raven knows, feelings are dangerous to have in their line of work.

-- Look at Dick and Kori they were together and then they fell apart and the team almost imploded.

-- What about Trigon if he finds out about Damian and how she feels towards him? What kind of danger will he be in then?

-- Like all of her feelings Raven puts them in a box and locks the box away. Not just figuratively, in her safe there is a box with: post its, torn papers, journals, etc. That box has a lock on it. Whenever she has a new feeling that she cannot ignore, like her feelings towards Special Agent Wayne, she takes out the box and writes her feelings down. They can range from a single sentence to pages worth. (Her feelings towards Damian fill a small notebook she has on hand). Once she has written all of her feelings out she places them in the box, locks said box and then places the locked box in her safe, which she then locks.

-- Is this a healthy way to cope with her feelings? Maybe not. But, it is way better than how Damian deals with his. Violence. Also art but violence comes first.

- At this point both Damian and Raven have caught the feelings (highly contagious I hear), which makes this a little awkward and a little not awkward. For one everyone but Raven knows how Damian feels towards her. He does things for her and with her that no one else gets the privilege to.

-- To list a few:

--- He brings her tea whenever he gets himself coffee or tea

--- He talks to her about what he does outside of work, even about his kind of friend definitely not enemy, Jon.

--- They socialize outside of work. Watching bad movies (some of them are not that bad), going to the park with Titus (they once got Nevermore in a leash and walked her), meeting each other before and after work to get breakfast or dinner.

--- He doesn’t glare at her

--- He allows physical contact between the two

--- He worries about her (hello he created an entire plan so that she wouldn’t get kidnapped, with contingencies and everything, garfield would be lucky to get a plan)

--- His eyes light up when she talks, or enters a room, or you know exists in his vicinity

--- He actually smiles around her (Dick caught him smiling once at Raven and he though Damian was having a stroke)

-- Even though everyone knows Damian likes Raven, very few know that Raven likes Damian back. (this only includes; Kori, Dick, Jason, Titus, Nevermore, and Melvin) She does do certain things that give herself away just like Damian.

--The list:

--- When Damian gets frustrated or angry she puts a hand on his arm, or holds his hand

--- She laughs at things he does (light chuckles, or little giggles)

--- She will talk to him about his interests and actively tries to have conversations with him about things unrelated to work.

--- She blushes when he does something unexpected (like a compliment)((Mostly she tries to hide it until he isn’t looking at her))(((Kori has caught the blush before)))

-- Luckily for them it does not take some cliche ‘One suddenly becomes in danger and the other one saves them only to be close to death and then they admit their love for one another and promise to go on a date when the other is healed’ situation.

-- Damian actually asks Raven out after being tipped of by Jason and Dick that she may like him back. Damian finds out when they have days off at the same time and asks her while leaving work.

“Raven, you have this weekend off correct?”

“Yeah I do. I wasn’t planning on doing anything though. Did you have something in mind?”

“Um, yeah, heh, I was wondering if you would do me the pleasure of going to dinner with me tomorrow.” *Awkwardly rubs back of neck*

“Like a date or two friends going to dinner?” *Thinks she sounds harsh* “I am honestly fine with either since we are friends.” *nervous smile*

“Like a date if that is okay with you of course.”

“Yeah, yeah totally that is totally okay with me.” *Starts sounding like a teenage girl who only knows about 10 words, because she’s nervous*

“Good, I’ll be by your place around 1830, if that is okay?” *nerve central, the central nervous system could never*

“Yup that is totally fine with me.”

“Great.”

“Good.” The elevator opens in the knick of time.

“See you tomorrow evening Agent Roth. Have a good night.”

“You too, Agent Wayne, you too.”

-- When Damian does pick her up he feels like his brain is going to explode. She looks absolutely breathtaking. This is just like all the other times they’ve gone to dinner, except this restaurant is slightly fancier and they are on a date.

-- Raven feels as though all her emotions are leaking out at once, she has no idea what she is doing.

-- In the end they have a good time and decide to do it again. Damian does bring up that all of the breakfasts and dinners they regularly do could now be considered dates. Raven does not oppose that switch at all.

- Fast forward a handful of years (like 3?), Damian and Raven are moved in together (Nevermore and Titus are happy about this, they even allow the humans to adopt another pet, a cat named Alfred). Damian is now Supervisory Special Agent Wayne and is in charge of their unit. Raven has retired from field work and now works at the FBI academy and at Virginia State University. In about 6 months Damian is going to propose and Raven will say yes. Their wedding will be small but happy and full of life.

Once again I would like to thank everyone and all the support the previous post got.

Like last time if anything is disjointed, out of place or seems wrong, please go ahead and tell me. I have been working on this since the last one, but have finally had the time to finish it.

I hope the new year will bring us all some good. Possibly more head canons to come.

#damirae #Damian Wayne #raven #Rachel Roth #damian x raven #Teen Titans #Headcanon #How do tags work #dc #demonbirds

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obxfics · 5 years ago

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The Lines We Cross

summary: you are topper’s brother and just happen to be secretly dating JJ when the truth gets out, and things get ugly

pairing: JJ Maybank x male!reader

word count: 5,076 (this one really... it really got away from me lmao)

requested by: @ueomega

a/n: so this is a really, really long fic and i hope it’s good! i honestly dont know how it got this long lmao but it was requested weeks ago so hopefully this makes up for the wait!

Being a Kook definitely had its perks. Got to go the best schools, nice vacations, could basically buy anything you could ever want with Daddy’s money, and, most importantly, you had options others didn’t when it came to your future. On the flip side, there were also certain expectations that came with all the perks. For instance, you were expected to be well behaved, to do nothing that could reflect badly on the family, and you needed to be smart, or at least smart enough and accomplished enough to get into the best schools Daddy could pay for. And for you, specifically, to be absolutely perfect.You were known on Kildare Island for the longest time as Topper’s twin brother, his built in competition. As the two eldest sons, much was expected of you, but only one could come out on top as the golden child. And for the longest time, everyone thought it was you. Your father was certainly looking to groom you as the future heir to his company. And then you entered eighth grade. Topper found some pictures hidden under your bed and discovered your biggest secret: you liked boys. It wasn’t long after that until your parents found out, and suddenly you weren’t treated like the successful son you were. Your mother took over the job of looking after you, and your father in turn focused on grooming your brother for the role you were supposed to have. According to your mother, this sort of thing getting out could be detrimental for the company if you were allowed to take over. Having a gay son wasn’t bad, but having that gay son become the CEO? Unheard of.

So, you were to be perfect. Who would be upset at the sweet gay kid who shut his mouth? The one who didn’t stir shit up? So you kept as low a profile as you could. You hung around Topper and Rafe, accompanied girls to their debutante balls, and any relationships you had were either with other perfect Kooks or low profile hookups. Everyone learned to turn a blind eye at any parties at the Boneyard if they saw you standing maybe a bit too close to some handsome tourist. Relationships were hard to come by, and you never hooked up with someone from the Cut.

That is, until you did. It was at some party at the Boneyard, a kegger some of the Pogues were throwing, and you arrived with Sarah Cameron instead of your brother. While she had broken up with Topper, you still liked to spend some time with her. Gave you a break from having to act so perfect all the time. She led you towards the booze, her arms wrapped around your waist with your arm slung over her shoulder. None of the other Kooks you ran with where around yet, so you felt more relaxed than you had in months. She had helped you get ready, convincing you to keep your shirt unbuttoned to entice any cute guys at the party, and you had to admit, you were having a pretty good time. That is, until your eyes met those of JJ Maybank over by the keg.

It wasn’t that you hated the blonde, but you didn’t necessarily like him. You heard Topper complain about the boy enough times to know that you should steer clear of him. He was bad news. After all, wasn’t he always getting into fights with your friends? But he was best friend’s with John B, and Sarah was with John B, so you couldn’t really avoid him for much longer. So you allowed her to tug you over to the two boys who were serving the drinks. At least you’d be getting alcohol. JJ mentioned something about you being Topper’s better half, causing you to roll your eyes and down the drink he gave you. You were supposed to be the golden child, the one that caused people to remember Topper as your brother, but your parents had stolen that from you.

You didn’t really remember much more about that night, but you did remember the end. You and JJ had ended up getting into a heated argument towards the edge of the party, and others began leaving. Eventually there was no one around you when the whole thing came to a head; JJ grabbed your face in his hands and kissed you. To say you were shocked was an understatement. Before that, you had heard JJ would sometimes pick up male tourists, but you never even suspected he would ever go for a Kook like you, but there he was, kissing you like he was an addict and you were his next hit. What you two did later that night in the Volkswagen he’d borrowed from John B was supposed to be a one time thing. Until a week later when he appeared at your window and dragged you to a secluded part of the beach to have a repeat. And then a few days later when you showed up at the Yacht Club where he worked and tugged him into a storage closet. Then suddenly you were just talking and going on picnics until the both of you realized you weren’t just hooking up. You were dating. It was immediately agreed that it should be kept a secret; if it got out that you were dating a Pogue, your reputation, and that of your family’s, would take a hit, and JJ was known to hate Kooks. He couldn’t be seen having feelings for you. This worked for the two of for just over a month before you started getting sloppy.

One day you were spending the afternoon with Sarah, laughing as you lounged on her family’s boat. She had somehow convinced her dad to let her take it out with you, and it seemed like you had the entire intercostal to yourselves. You let out a contented sigh and stretched out your limbs like a cat in the sun. You glanced over when Sarah suddenly gasped.

“What is it?” you asked, propping yourself up on your elbows to properly look at her.

“Oh my god, when did you get those?” She reached out to touch your chest. You looked down to see love bites littering your torso. “When did you find someone to hook up with?”

“I, uh, it’s no big deal,” you tried to brush off her questions. “Just some dude I’ve been hooking up with from the next town over.”

“Wait, the same guy? For how long?”

“Sarah, it really isn’t that big of a deal. I’ve gone through most of the dudes here, and I’m bored of seducing tourists, so having a booty call half an hour away is the easiest thing.”

“Sounds pretty tedious, if you ask me.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t exactly have a deep pool of potential lays, do I, Sarah?”She sighed and nodded, giving your shoulder a squeeze. “You’re right. I’m sorry for pressing. I just wish your family didn’t put this pressure on you to be so perfect. You should be happy.”

“They let me be out,” you tried to defend your parents.

“On certain conditions, y/n. You can no longer have the job you deserve, you can’t date anyone who isn’t a Kook, and they won’t even let you really be proud of who you are. You need to stay reserved, a respectable gay man, not gay teenager having fun.”

You shrugged. “It is what it is, Sarah. We can’t all rebel against our families.”

Oh but you wished you could. As you helped Sarah get ready for her date with John B, you wished you could be the type to rebel against your family. You longed to hold hands with JJ in public and kiss him whenever you wanted to, but you knew it wasn’t just about you. What about JJ? You never knew where he stood with possibly going public one day.

“What are you gonna do while I’m gone?” Sarah asked as you handed her a purse.

“I do have a life outside of you,” you laughed. “Maybe I’ll hit up my boy for a booty call.”

“Be safe!” she called over her shoulder with a smile.

“You as well, Miss Cameron! Tell your boy to keep his hands to himself or I’ll kick his ass!”

She threw her head back and cackled. “Because John B will believe that. Besides, we both know I’m the one with the wandering hands.”

You shook your head and checked your phone for any texts from JJ. Bingo. With John B and Sarah going for their date, JJ had the Chateau to himself, and he was inviting you over for some fun. You couldn’t keep the grin from your face as you climbed into your car and made your way to the Cut. You made sure to park a few streets over so none of the Pogues would see your car parked out front of John B’s and walked the rest of the way. By the time you stepped foot on the porch of the Chateau, you were covered in a light sheen of sweat. You spotted your boyfriend messing around in the kitchen and walked up behind him, sliding your arms around his waist.

“Glad you finally decided to show up,” he laughed, turning his head to look at you.

“Mm, I had to finish up with my tourist booty call,” you teased, rubbing your nose against his. “I’ve missed you.”

He turned in your hold and slid his fingers into your hair, smirking when your eyes fluttered shut. You felt his lips on yours, slow and sweet at first. It was nice, but you hadn’t seen him in nearly a week. You didn’t want slow and sweet. He groaned when you tugged him closer to you and deepened the kiss, your tongue slipping into his open mouth. His hands slid under your shirt to caress your chest. You separated just long enough to rip your shirt from your body and throw it over your shoulder, watching with hungry eyes as JJ did the same with his. Then you were attacking his neck, sucking and nipping at his throat before soothing the bites with your tongue. A smirk twitched at your lips when you heard the pants escaping from JJ, his head thrown back as he allowed you to mark up his beautiful skin. The both of you were so caught up in each other, his hands moving towards your belt, that neither of you heard the screen door creak open.

“What the fuck?” That you did hear.

You two sprang apart, lips swollen and chests heaving with the effort it took to catch your breath, and your eyes fell upon Sarah and John B. It was John B who had spoken. He seemed the most surprised out of the two of them. Sarah just looked at you with sad eyes. She understood what you were going through; she, after all, had attempted to keep her relationship with John B a secret too at the beginning. She knew the trouble that would follow if anyone found out.

“That… we, uh, we can explain,” JJ rasped, clearly trying to think of some lie, although he knew it was useless. How the hell was he going to explain why he and some Kook were practically grinding against each other in his best friend’s kitchen? He sighed and reached out to take your hand. “We’re together.”

Panic filled you when you saw the look on John B’s face. He wasn’t happy. He wasn’t going to tell anyone was he? Sarah must have noticed the look on your face.

“You two should talk,” she suggested to the two Pogues. “y/n, why don’t you come with me?”

You quickly pressed a kiss to JJ’s temple before taking Sarah’s hand and following her out of the Chateau. She squeezed your hand as you walked towards where you parked your car.

“So… how long have you and JJ been together?” she asked.

“Um, a little more than a month. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. We just… my parents… you know.”

“Hey, don’t apologize,” she reassured you. “You know I understand better than anyone hiding a relationship with a Pogue.”

“What if everyone finds out?” you whispered.

“How would you feel if they did?”

“I… I hate all this hiding. And… I don’t care what my parents think. I would stay with JJ. I love him.”

“Everything will work out, I promise. Let’s get you home.”

Meanwhile, at the Chateau, a much different discussion was playing out. JJ, sick of keeping everything a secret, had agreed to invite Pope and Kie over to tell them everything, and he sat looking at his best friends after it was all laid out.

“So you… and Topper’s brother?” Kie broke the silence. “And it’s like an actual relationship?”

“Yeah.”

“JJ, you know we support you and love you no matter what,” John B said, “but… you can’t be with him?”

“What? Why?”

“Why?! Are you out of your mind? He’s Topper’s brother! The only one worse than Topper is Rafe!”

“He’s nothing like his brother!”

“JJ, being with him is dangerous,” Pope agreed. “Rafe and Topper almost killed John B for seeing Sarah. Everyone knows y/n was the favorite son. Hell, he probably still is, even with all the drama about him being passed over or some shit.”

“Exactly. He was the golden child. The whole Figure Eight will be out for you.”

“This is ridiculous,” JJ sighed. “What are your thoughts on this, Kie?”

“I… I knew y/n, at school when Sarah and I were first friends. He liked to hang around with us, even crash our sleepovers, but we never minded. I saw what he went through. He still carried around the hurt about being cast aside, about being second to his brother, about having to pretend to be someone he’s not. He’s a good guy, and JJ’s right. He’s nothing like Topper.” JJ was about to thank her when she said, “But I also know that Pope and John B are right. His family will never stand for this relationship, and from what I know about him, he won’t risk disappointing them. If it comes down to it, he’ll throw you aside to stay in their good graces.”

“That’s not true!” JJ couldn’t help but feel betrayed by both his friends and his feelings. Doubt crept into his heart and clouded his mind. Would you really not hesitate to leave him behind? His mom didn’t. “That’s not true… he wouldn’t… he wouldn’t do that.”

A sob escaped him when Kie wrapped an around his shoulder. John B placed his hands on his best friend’s thighs while Pope rubbed JJ’s back.

“The best thing, I think, is for you to just end it now before anyone else finds out,” John B suggested. “That way you can protect him from his family finding out, and you can protect yourself from him leaving you.”

You spent the whole night worrying. Every single time your brother got a text from one of your friends, you were terrified it was about you and JJ. You weren’t even sure how they would find out because it wasn’t like John B was going to send Topper a text like, “Hey did u hear ur brother is hooking up w my best friend?” But you couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. Finally you got a text from JJ asking you to meet him in your backyard. You made sure everyone was asleep before sneaking outside.

“Hey,” you greeted him with a shy smile, “how did your talk with John B go?”

“It was… good. I told Pope and Kie about us.”

“And?”

“y/n,” he sighed, making your stomach clench unpleasantly. “We need to talk.”

“Did they… did they say anything?” You saw his jaw clench and how his eyes couldn’t meet yours. “What did they say? If they disapprove because I’m a guy—“

“Of course they wouldn’t disapprove because of that! My friends love and accept me the way I am!”

“So they do disapprove of me.”

“They… they had some important things to say.”

“Like what?” you whispered, afraid of what he would say next. “What did they say to you, JJ?”

“Nothing I hadn’t already thought myself. And they were right. What would have happened if it had been your brother who had seen us? He would have told your parents, or given you some ultimatum, right?”

“What does that have to do with—“

“And you would have gone along with what he said.”

“How can you say that?” You tried to hold back tears as you felt your heart break. “You know I love you. How can you say that I would just submit to my family?”

“Because that’s why we kept this thing between us a secret! Because you’re ashamed to be with someone like me! It would ruin your stellar reputation!”

You stood there, arms crossed tightly over your chest, and stared at JJ. You schooled your face into your Kook persona, looking at him with cold eyes.

“So that’s it, then?” you asked cooly. “We’re just… over because you want to listen to your friends over your own boyfriend?”

“Are you really going to say you would do something different?”

“Well what would be the point? You’ve already made up your mind. Nothing I say will change what you’ve decided to believe, so why waste my breath?”

Tears seemed to fill JJ’s eyes. “You’re not going to even fight for us?”

“Did you?”

“y/n?” you heard your brother’s tired voice call from the balcony that overlooked the yard. “What’s going on here?”

“Nothing. Maybank was just leaving.”

You turned your back on JJ and hurried inside, waiting until the door shut before you broke down in tears. You could hear Topper stumble down the stairs and freeze when he saw you crying at the bottom.

“I—are you okay?”

“Just peachy.”

He sighed and sat down next to you on the bottom step. The two of you, despite being twins, were never particularly good at the whole supportive sibling thing. You cared for each other, but after your parents pit the two of you against each other since birth, it was hard to be particularly close. In this moment, however, Topper hesitated only a moment before wrapping an arm around your shoulder and bringing you close, allowing you to sob into his shoulder.

“I don’t know what’s happening between you and Maybank… but… I’m sorry. It didn’t look like you guys were making up.”

You let out a bitter laugh. “Gonna tell Mom and Dad I was sneaking around with some guy from the Cut?”

“No. What good would that do? They would just get pissed and push you farther away. What’s the point in having them hate their favorite son more?”

“I’m not the favorite. Not anymore.”

“Well… neither am I.”

The two of you sat together for what seemed like hours, not really needing to speak to offer comfort to each other. Your parents ruined your sibling bond before it could really start, and you knew your brother could be an absolute asshole, but there was a sort of understanding between you now. You both had been broken by the constant pressure and judgement of your parents, and neither of you would ever good enough. Not anymore.

When you woke up the next morning, you felt like shit. You were supposed to meet Sarah for brunch at her place, but you didn’t want to tell her that JJ had broken up with you. She’d ask why, and you didn’t want to have to say it was because her boyfriend and friends got it into JJ’s head that you were going to abandon him. So you stayed in bed, curled up under your duvet with your phone turned off. You didn’t want to deal with anyone. You should have known your best friend would not stay away when she realized you weren’t reading her texts. You groaned when your bedroom door opened, Topper giving you an apologetic look before Sarah barreled in.

“Sorry, bro, she wouldn’t take no for an answer. I’ll just… leave you two alone.”

You glared at Sarah from underneath the mound of pillows you had created to snuggle with. Why was she ruining your pity party?

“What the hell is going on? Why haven’t you been reading my texts? We were supposed to have brunch!”

“Ugh, tone it down, Cameron. I’m clearly not in the best of moods.”

“Is this because John B found out yesterday about you and—“

“Do not fucking say his name,” you growled, your heart twisting at the thought of JJ. “I don’t want to talk about that Pogue ever again.”

“Whoa, okay, what is going on? Seriously, talk to me.”

You sniffled as you felt another round of tears coming. “Last night, he came here. And… and he broke up with me.”

“What? Why?”

Sarah slid under the covers beside you and wrapped her arms around your trembling figure, drawing you close so you could rest your head on her chest.

“Talk to me, honey. What happened?” she whispered in your hair.

“I don’t know. He was talking about some shit like if Topper found out, I would leave him to make my family happy. He didn’t even ask me. He just… said it like it was fact.”

“Did he mention anything from his talk with John B?”

“Just that they told him some important things.”

“Oh, I’ll kill that boy,” she snarled.

“No, Sarah, please don’t make a big deal of it! Please, I just… I just want to forget all about this.”

“Can you really move on so quickly?”

“…It fucking hurts,” you whimpered. “I thought what we had… it was special. I wanted to keep it secret so the people here wouldn’t fucking ruin it. But I guess we already did that ourselves.”

Sarah didn’t say anything else, just let you cry it all out in her arms. She would occasionally kiss your hair and stroked your back, trying her best to get you to feel better at all, but she knew this would take time. You were heartbroken. There was no quick fix to this. Except maybe…

A few days later, you looked at yourself in the mirror and sighed. In a weird twist that no one saw coming, Sarah and Topper had taken it upon themselves to throw a huge party for the Figure Eight at the Yacht Club. You weren’t exactly sure of the theme, but Topper instructed you to wear the clothes he had set out for you, and so you stared at your reflection all dress up in slacks, button down shirt, suspenders, and the scuffed up Vans you decided on over the dress shoes Topper wanted you to wear. You hadn’t been in the mood for a party until Sarah told you with a wink that this would be the perfect time to get laid and forget your heartbreak. Probably not the healthiest way to cope with a breakup, but it sure beat getting blackout drunk and waking up with the world’s worst hangover.

“Yo, you ready?”

You looked over your shoulder at your brother and shrugged. You weren’t even sure why they had decided to plan this party, and you weren’t in the proper headspace to start the process of understanding how the fuck they had agreed to work together.

“Still can’t believe you and Sarah are throwing me a pity party.”

“It’s not a pity party. It’s a ‘y/n needs to get laid and stop moping’ party,” Topper grinned. “Come on, let’s get you to the club, shall we?”

With a heavy sigh, you followed your brother out of the house to his car. You weren’t sure what the official story for the party was, but you assumed it was not ‘hey let’s get y/n laid’ because you were sure your parents wouldn’t think that was good for the family’s reputation. How the hell were you supposed to pick up some dude if your parents were right there? Obviously Topper and Sarah had overlooked some things, but it just seemed like getting drunk was the move.

“You are seriously not about to make a beeline to the bar,” Sarah intercepted you. “You literally just got here.”

“Damn it, Sarah, I’m dealing with heartbreak here. Show some sympathy.”

“I’m not letting you get wasted in front of your parents.”

You watched as she snagged a bottle of champagne from the bar and motioned to the club with her head. She led you into the locker room and opened the bottle with a loud ‘pop!’ causing the two of you to giggle.

“Sorry about the party.”

“Sarah, it’s barely started,” you laughed. “Nothing really to apologize for yet.”

“Yeah but it was my idea. I thought it would help you.”

“Just having you by my side helps.”

“I yelled at John B.”

“Well why would you go and do something like that?”

“He deserved it. He came clean about what all the Pogues said to JJ. They all felt terrible because JJ looked awful. Like probably as bad as you.”

“I look stunning,” you grumbled before taking a long swig of the champagne. “But what did they think was gonna happen?”

“They’re all idiots. Even Kie. But I set them straight about you.”

“Ah, so they think I’m just some helpless Kook who only does what Mommy and Daddy tell me to do.”

“Once upon a time you might have been.”

“Then they decided that because of my sexuality I didn’t deserve to be an important part of the family. I was immediately relegated to the disappointment. And for what? For them to continue to control my life like I matter to them?” You took another sip of the alcohol. “I would have done anything for JJ. Even defy my family. They’ve already decided I’m no good, so what did it matter if I dated him? What difference would that even make.”

Sarah rubbed your back and took back the bottle of champagne. She stood up and offered you a hand.

“Let’s go dance and get shit-faced.”

You grinned and took her hand. “Hell yeah, Sarah Cameron.”

As you walked back out to join the party, you eyes fell on a familiar head of golden hair. What the hell was he doing here? You could see your parents notice him, and then security was headed his way. Shit. Against your better judgement, you hurried outside.

“What’s going on?” you asked, causing your parents and JJ to look at you.

“A party crasher,” your mother told you, looking at your ex-boyfriend with a look of contempt. “No doubt trying to steal some of our expensive alcohol.”

You caught sight of the Pogues hovering at the edge of the party. Seriously, what the fuck was going on?

“y/n, I came here to talk to you,” JJ said as he desperately struggled against security’s tight grip on him.

“And so you decided to crash a party? Honestly, what was your thought process here?”

“I… I,” his voice cracked as his eyes flashed to your parents. He looked at you as if asking for permission. A chill ran down your spine when you realized he was asking for permission to talk about your relationship in front of your parents. Intrigued, you nodded.

“What is going on here?” your father asked, cutting JJ off before he could even utter another sound. “Do you know this…” His lip curled as he looked over the boy you loved. “Do you know him, y/n?”

“Please, y/n, I’m sorry,” JJ whispered. “I shouldn’t have just jumped to conclusions. I should have just talked to you.”

“Yeah, you should have.”

“My friends are a bunch of idiots who don’t even know you… but… they want to. Get to know you. Without bias.”

“What are you—“

“I was a mess after the other night. I couldn’t eat and I couldn’t sleep and… I looked like shit.” His eyes met yours, and you were taken aback by the emotion in them. “I realized my life fucking sucks without you.”

You took a step towards him and asked, “Why?”

“Because I love you.”

The breath caught in your throat as your parents yelled at security to drag JJ away. He’d never said that to you before, and looking into his eyes… you knew he was telling the truth.

“Wait, let him go!” you demanded.

“y/n, what are you doing?” your father barked, his hand wrapping around your arm to keep you in place. “You cannot possibly be thinking about reciprocating this… this lowlife’s confession! Remember what we talked about.”

Suddenly Topper was coming between you two, causing your father to drop you. You could see the absolute surprise cross your father’s face. Never before had either of his sons stood up to him. Your brother gave you a nod. His permission, even if you didn’t need it. You hurried to catch up to security, who were close to throwing JJ off the premises.

“Wait! This is my party, and I say he can stay,” you told them, standing firmly in their way. “Let him go.”

The two guards looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Probably didn’t want to get caught up in some teenage drama, so they dropped JJ and backed away. You helped him up and placed your hands on his shoulders.

“Did you mean it?”

He looked deep in your eyes and nodded. Tears filled your eyes, and he was quick to brush any that fell away.

“I’m sorry that I’m such an asshole,” he whispered. “I’m not good with emotions and abandonment… I should never have accused you of all that stuff. Obviously I was wrong.”

“You are an asshole… but you’re mine. And I love you for it.”

Then, with the cheers of Sarah and the Pogues in the background, he pulled you in for a kiss. You knew for sure you were crossing a line with your parents, but at that time you couldn’t really find it in yourself to care. You were way too focused on the beautiful boy you loved. The beautiful boy who loved you back.

#outer banks #outer banks netflix #outer banks imagine #outer banks x reader #jj maybank #jj maybank x reader #obx #obx netflix #obx imagine #obx x reader #male reader #jj maybank x male reader

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wrenhyperfixates · 4 years ago

Text

Of All the Places

Chapter 2

Pairing: Loki x reader Series Summary: Washing up in a small town in Oklahoma was definitely not part of Loki’s plan when he came to conquer Midgard. There is one good thing about it, though: No one recognizes him as the one who just wreaked havoc in New York. So, Loki plans to recover from the battle and move on with his life. The only problem? He’s not sure he can leave you. Chapter Summary: It’s a new day and Loki meets the rest of your family. He begins to formulate a plan, but it’s derailed by your hospitality before it can even begin. Chapter Warnings: none A/N: Alright, here we go. Chapter 2! Let me know what you think, and if anyone has any predictions they’d like to share, I would love to hear! Updates every Friday. Enjoy :) P.S. It’s spooky season! That has absolutely nothing to do with this fic, but it’s one of my favorite times of year

Tag List: @lucywrites02 @frostedgiantfavs

✥ Start at Beginning ✥ | ← Previous Chapter | Next Chapter →

Disclaimer: Gif not mine

Loki woke up feeling a lot more alert than he had the previous day. After convincing you that he had amnesia, he spent the rest of the day drifting in and out of slumber, assisting his rapidly healing body get better even faster. He got out of the bed and stretched his aching muscles before scanning the room with fresh eyes. It was even more bare than he had originally realized, but he could tell from patches of less faded paint and wood that there was a time when it wasn’t so sparsely decorated. He flipped a switch by the entrance and the lights came on, sending a surge of panic through him that had him running over to the TV. He let out a sigh of relief when it still did’t work. Though, perhaps that was just because he was so terrible at using Midgardian technology. He stilled for a second and heard a faint mechanical hum easily identified as a generator. The cable would be back sooner rather than later, he was sure, but from looking out the bedroom’s single window, Loki knew he was in the middle of nowhere and that the internet connection was probably spotty at best. With any luck, he would be fully healed in the next few hours and could take his leave.

As he worked on massaging out the remaining dull ache in his body, Loki’s eyes finally landed on a bright pink piece of paper left atop a pile of clothes. His eyes skipped to the bottom where the signature was and, seeing that it bore your name, he went back up to the top to read it. He tugged off his sweaty, bloody clothes and pulled on the ones you’d written were left for him. The material of the shirt was soft enough, but the sweatpants were dreadfully baggy for someone who preferred form-fitting clothes that displayed his physique. Certainly, though, you’d been thinking of the comfort level of what you believed to be a very injured mortal, so he tried to remain thankful. Loki folded up his old clothes and left them in the spot where his new ones had been moments ago.

Back at the window, Loki was once again trying to determine precisely where he was. Besides the landscape, your voice and that of your father’s provided some clues to the most likely locations. He still had to be in North America, he was sure, and though he suspected it was the United States, there wasn’t anything confirming it at the moment. Your father did have a slight twang to his voice, though, so it supported his theory that he was probably in one of the southern states. Other than that, all Loki could determine was that this was a farm; a nice remote farm where he could hide from his oaf of a brother and his new overly heroic friends.

Loki called out to the Tesseract, and it appeared in his hands. Such power for such a tiny object, he thought as he turned it over in his hand. The last time it rested in his palm, he’d not fully been himself. Even so much as looking at it made him feel a little queasy now as he thought of all the crimes he’d committed with it. For it. But when his life is on the line, Loki had learned, there is very little he’d not do to save himself. It was one similarity he shared with mortals that he’d rather not. It was also one of the few he’d actually admit were there. But, no, some mortals were righteous beings. He knew that, but had trouble separating those of a higher caliber from the rest of the species. He wondered what kind of mortal you were, before being pulled out of his musings by a delicious aroma. He debated for a minute before once again tucking the Tesseract away in its dimensional pocket and heading out of the room, down the stairs, towards the amazing scent coming from a lower floor.

“Not a thing,” he heard your voice ring out as he got closer.

“Or so he says,” responded an unfamiliar female voice.

When he rounded the corner he saw it belonged to a woman that must be your mother, or else your older doppelgänger because of how alike the two of you looked. Your dispositions, though, could not have been more different. The first person to notice him lurking half-in, half-out of the room was a small boy who pointed at him.

“New friend!” he cheered. “New friend!”

Such innocence as Loki had never known continuously amazed him. He feared he could be dangerous for this child, but he would be gone so soon that he wouldn’t even be a blip in the boy’s memory.

“I would very much like to be your friend, indeed,” Loki said, crouching down to the boy’s height as he toddled over. The adults in the room all shot each other glances, but no one moved to do anything. “And what might your name be?”

“I’m Matt. And I’m this many,” the child responded, proudly holding up four fingers.

“A pleasure to meet you, Matt. My name is Loki.”

“How many are you?” he asked, cocking his head to the side.

“Oh, far too many to count on fingers, little one. In fact, I am 1,047 years old,” he said, realizing that it would probably just be seen as a joke to amuse the boy, rather than a fact.

He laughed at Loki’s statement, but before he could reply, a woman that was presumably his mom called him over. “Don’t bother our guest right now, Matt. He’s still recovering,” she scolded.

“I assure you, it is completely fine, Mrs...?”

“Johnson. But, please, feel free to call me Ana. And this is my husband, John.”

“Glad to make your acquaintance,” Loki charismatically said, though on the inside he was laughing at the name “John Johnson.” These mortals and their foolish names. “And I do believe we already met,” he added, turning to you.

“Yes, we did. You were so out of it I wasn’t quite sure you remembered. This is Mama,” you said, gesturing to the woman who Loki had correctly identified as your mother.

“Hello,” she drawled, fixing the god with an icy stare.

“Papa, did you hear? Loki’s awake,” you told the man walking out of the kitchen with a plate of light brown disks stacked high.

“Glad you’re up, son. Just in time for pancakes, too,” he said, immediately diffusing the tension brewing between Loki and Mama. ��Come on, plop yourself down on a seat over here. You must be pooped, and I promise we don’t bite.”

Loki sauntered over to the chair Papa had gestured to and sat down. Feeling a fuzzy mass moving between his sprawled legs, he peered down and saw a grey-brown cat under the table. He’d never been one for pets, but the soft fur was comforting to his weary soul.

“Taffy,” you tsked at the feline before looking back up at Loki with an apologetic smile. “Sorry. I hope you’re not allergic.”

“Do not worry, I am not. At least,” he added, remembering his lie from the day prior, “I do not remember that I am.”

Loki appraised your charming family in your quaint farmhouse, almost feeling bad to intrude. Though, he reminded himself, he’d be out of your hair before you knew it. Papa was the only one happily chattering on about this year’s harvest, oblivious to the tension at the table, or else ignoring it. The God of Mischief refocused on the plan he’d created this morning; he needed answers. You were seated beside him and, besides your father and nephew, the only one who didn’t seem wary of him. And you were really the only viable option as Loki didn’t want to get sucked into a conversation about the wheat crop with your father, and Matt was at the age where he was only vaguely aware he was on planet Earth.

“If you do not mind,” he started, turning to you, “I have a few questions.”

“Of course you do. Sorry, I’m such an idiot,” you said smacking your forehead. “Please, ask away.”

The way you immediately seemed to blame and degrade yourself reminded Loki of himself. The difference, however, was that you did it aloud while Loki kept it bottled up. Whose way was better, he didn’t know. Perhaps neither was really good.

“It is quite alright,” he reassured you. “To begin, where exactly are we?”

Apparently it was some hole in the wall in Oklahoma, so Loki had been fairly correct in his middle of nowhere assessment. Apparently, you weren’t outrageously far from Oklahoma City, though Loki felt it best he avoid cities for a little bit. The nearby town that your farm was technically a part of was a very close knit community, so you knew that wasn’t where he was from.

“I see,” he said, planning his next move. “And that is how far from New York?”

“Far. Why? Is that where you’re from?” you asked, getting excited for Loki that he might already be getting his memory back.

“I am not sure,” Loki lied. “I just seem to think that is where I was headed. Or coming from.”

“Maybe you were at some kind of convention,” John offered, tuning in to the conversation. “Aren’t those a big thing in New York City?”

“It would sure explain the clothes!” Papa added.

“Great. Let’s send him back there,” Mama said, already standing up like she intended to drive him there right at the moment.

“Mama,” you harshly whispered, hating how unwelcoming she was being.

“Maybe he was on vacation from England. He does have an accent,” Ana chimed in, hoping to prevent a fight.

“I am afraid that I do not remember,” Loki muttered.

He was thankful no one was even concerned about how he arrived here. There was something else, too. He was feeling uncharacteristically ashamed because of how helpful you all were being. Well, most of you were being, anyway. He reminded himself again that he would be gone within the hour.

“It’s ok,” you soothed. “Like I said yesterday, you can stay here for as long as you need. In fact, I insist that you do.”

“I... Thank you.”

Loki still planned to leave rather quickly, but the kind look in your eyes compelled him to stay for a little while longer. After all, it couldn’t hurt to think about his next move a bit more. If he were to use the Tesseract again, Heimdall would surely notice. So, he’d lie low for a while and then get off this accursed planet.

“Well if he’s going to be staying here, he better help out some,” Mama grumbled. “I won’t have any freeloaders on my farm.”

“Now now, honey,” Papa said, patting her hand. “He’s still injured, after all.”

“On the contrary, I would happy to help,” Loki interjected, shooting a charming smile at Mama. “I am feeling much better now.”

“See, Earl,” Mama said triumphantly. “He’s fine.”

Everyone else tried to fight on Loki’s behalf but, between him and Mama, it was a losing battle. Eventually, it was time to clean up from breakfast, and you took him away from the clattering of empty dishes to find him so work clothes. The trickster god got a much better look at the rest of the house while you led him higher and higher until you reached the attic. You hesitated a second before opening a box labeled “James’s Clothes.” As you gently picked up the shirt on top, Loki peered over your shoulder wondering who this stuff belonged to.

“My brother’s,” you began before he could ask, sensing the question on his tongue. “We were going to donate them anyway, so I suppose it doesn’t really matter. And don’t worry, I’ll talk to Mama before she sees you. I’d give you some of John’s things, or Papa’s even, but you know.”

Indeed, Loki did know. Though he was roughly the same height as both the men, he was much leaner than they were. Unfortunately, that was about the only thing he understood. Your little distracted speech left him with even more questions than before, but something in him was screaming not to push you, to think of someone else for once. So, all he said was thank you. After a quick pit stop in the room from the night before to change into the bundle of clothes you’d given him, Loki made his way back downstairs where yet another argument was taking place. He was certain that his arrival was causing more tension than normal. His mind briefly flitted to his own family. It all seemed so picturesque, once, but that time was long gone. His mother—or Queen Frigga, as he supposed he should start calling her—never changed. She was as kind and gentle as ever, yet still possessed this refined regality and power. In other words, she was the complete opposite of Mama, who turned on her heel and made a disgruntled sigh as she exited when Loki appeared.

“There ya are, son,” Papa greeted once she was gone. “We had an idea while you were up there. We should make you up a missing person ad. I’m sure someone’s bound to know who you are.”

There was that sickeningly Thor-esque optimism in Papa’s voice. Not to mention the nickname “son” which, for someone like Loki at least, was one of the worst thing he could be called. He did his best not to grimace.

“No thank you,” he replied, before continuing at the behest of your confused looks. “I certainly would not want to put you out any more than I already have.”

“Nonsense. We just gotta find the camera,” Papa said, already moving past him.

Loki just sighed, deciding he’d find a way to stall later. When he finally looked back at you, your hands were clasped behind your back and you were nervously shifting your weight.

“In the meantime,” Loki began, picking up where he left off with your father, ��why not show me what I may help with?”

You took him out to the chicken coop and taught him how to collect eggs. He supposed it made sense this was the task left for him considering you all still thought he was a fragile human. As you taught him, you prattled on about your life and your family. You mentioned how Mama met Papa, and how your sister met John, but nothing about your brother. Loki was on the verge of asking, but he didn’t want to make his time with you awkward. Even more than that, he didn’t want it to seem like he cared. No need to cause any extra pain when he inevitably left, right? Though your glittering eyes and stunning smile were working overtime to convince him otherwise.

“That’s all there is to it,” you said, finishing up your tutorial. “Any questions?”

“None at all. You are an excellent teacher.”

You two shared a laugh, and Loki was shocked by how easily conversation was flowing. Though, he let you do most of the talking, lest he reveal something that does not align with the rest of his story. All too soon, you had to leave to take care of your other chores. For a second, Loki felt as if he missed you already, but he quickly pushed the thought out of his mind and focused on the task at hand. Just a week, he repeated in his mind as he gently placed eggs in the basket you’d given him. Just a week.

As he approached the farmhouse, he noticed a thick newspaper on the long driveway. He went over to examine it and, sure enough, he’d made the headlines. No clear photos of him attached, luckily, but the clothes were distinctive enough that you would recognize him for sure. Loki looked side to side before performing a quick spell to get rid of the paper. He headed back over to the house before anyone could notice him, ignoring the annoyingly persistent guilt bubbling within him.

“Just a week,” he muttered to himself again as he neared where you were on the front porch. “Just a week.”

But deep down, he already knew it would be much longer than that.

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strawberrypaul · 4 years ago

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Sunshine of Your Love

Request: no, BUT i got the fantastic idea from my fantastic bestie on here <33333 love u always girl

Word count: 1K

Pairing: 1968 george harrison x female reader

Warnings: nope, none. pure fluff like always heehee

Summary: reader and george on vacation spending a day on the beach! kinda cute. i liked it, hope u will too x

You were laid back in the blue striped, slightly inconvenient and cumbrous sunbed. With legs crossed, a pair of black cat-eye sunglasses covering your divine set of eyes and a chic cherry bathing suit, you were relaxing whilst listening to the clear, blue sea water crashing up to shore. Wave after wave you felt your overworked and fatigued body disconnect and relax more and more. After five long, tough and demanding months, this was just what you needed; to leave the occupied city and come to paradise over a weekend. It was simply you and George on this little trip, you could not have asked for anything more ideal than this. No work (although you truly loved your job as an assistant for the band of your lover, it was overwhelming from time to time), no cold and rainy mornings, and possibly best of all; no John, Paul or Ringo. Of course it wasn’t your intention to sound disrespectful and rude because you loved them too, and very much for that sake. But on certain occasions the situation brought out the defiant toddlers they with no doubt have inside themselves. And with you having to act like each of their mothers, it had burnt out your brain.

But not wanting to think about work, icky weather or stressing band members, you looked over to your left and laid your eyes on the man next to you; lying on a thin, peach-colored beach blanket, with shut eyes and messy brown hair. Boy, were you jealous of that man’s hair. The volume, the locks. It was so healthy and fresh, much unlike yours if you asked yourself. Though, you were “too lazy” to call for an appointment at the nearest hair salon, so you figured you only had yourself to blame. You kept your eyes fixed on George; his slim and beautifully sunkissed body, his drowsy breathing, exaggeratingly long eyelashes. It all made you fall even deeper in love, something you didn’t think was possible at this point. Proven wrong, you smiled for yourself and rose from your seat. You walked over to George, the comfortably warm sand sending happy signals from your feet to your heart. As you sat yourself on your knees above his head you bent down and put a gentle kiss on his forehead. His eyelids fluttered open and he had to squint to see the face he loved so much because of the strong sun that one day. A set of chocolate brown eyes met yours and an immediate smile showed up on his face.

“You wanna go in the water for a quick swim, angel?” you asked George with a voice soft like honey. To you, angel was the sublime nickname for a man like George. His outside as well as his inside represented an angel in the most astonishing way possible.

You couldn’t help but to smile softly when George rubbed his eyes harshly, like he did when he was tired.

“But the water’s so cold. And I’m so warm” he whined just like a newly woke up child. You sighed, but kept the loving smile on your face.

“You’re impossible, just get up silly. It’ll be a nice cooldown. And you look like you could need it considering your entire body is covered with sweat, George” you laughed a little when saying those last words. With a noisy groan, George sat up on the peach blanket and stretched his stiff body. As you took his hands and helped him on his feet you got a mischievous idea. You knew George was competitive - quiet but unbelievably competitive, so you figured “why not make it a competition?”. The second that genius thought crossed your mind you spurted out “Last one in the water pays for dinner tonight!”. And to your expectation, George let go of your hands and raced full speed towards the water. You started running after him, your legs barely keeping up. You burst out in an emphatic laughter, it was wonderful. Soon your ears picked up on the sound of George’s booming laughter just metres ahead. It was as if George’s wondrous laughter gave your legs new thriving energy and it didn’t take long for you to appear next to him, running together towards the languishing ocean.

“Ha! I knew it’d work! I knew it, I knew it!” you yelled out happily once you had reached the cooling saltwater. For some unknown reason you candidly could not stop laughing. Your sunkissed, glowing body was full of serotonin; all you could do was to jump up and down laughing your heart out. You must have looked like a little child, but you couldn’t find a care in the world about that matter. What mattered was that you were in the ocean, the beloved ocean, together with George. The two of you were standing a distance apart and as you thought you couldn’t be any happier George waded over to you, struggling when a wave hit his side, and put his affectionate arms around your bare waist. Your childlike grinning turned into a soft smile out of pure love the moment you looked into his set of heartfelt eyes. You somewhat hurried your face to his and smashed you two’s lips together. Maybe you thought he would disappear if you hadn’t, as if this might have been some sort of magical dream. When putting your wet hands delicately on his well-structured face you made sure that he was in fact real, and that this was most certainly not a dream. Stroking your hands into his slicked back, saltwatery hair you hummed into his lips; a sound of mere enjoyment and complete happiness. But like all good things come to an end, so did that kiss as you broke away with a giggle.

“I suppose we’ll have to split the check for tonight’s dinner then, eh?” you snickered, a sly smile sneaking up on your face. Dragging your hands from George’s hair down to his bare shoulders he replied with a chuckle:

“I suppose we will, sugar”. The smile on his face matching yours as your lips, once more, met in the middle for an amorous and long lasting kiss. In that amiable moment you got one thing clear; that man was going to be the damn end of you.

#the beatles #george harrison #john lennon #paul mccartney #ringo starr #george x reader #beatles fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction

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popculturebuffet · 4 years ago

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Lilo and Stitch Crossover Arc: “Rufus” (Kim Possible) Better and Worse (Paid for by WeirdKev27)

Aloha all you happy people! It’s back to Kauai for the third of my look at LIlo and Stitch’s crossover episodes! This retrospective was made possible by WeirdKev27, who had the idea for it and paid for me to review these episodes. You too can buy reviews for only 5 bucks a pop. Just go to my ask, Direct Messages or discord.

Now with my plugging out of the way, this one, out of all four is the one I looked forward to the most, and out of the four shows in this crossoverathon to make the trip to the Kauai, this one is hands down my faviorite.

Kim Possible was just damn good and having rewatched a handful of episodes and the movie (Easily one of my faviorite Disney movies and the best DCOM, I will not back down on either), I can say it holds up every bit as good as it did in the early 2000′s. Frankly like Danny Phantom i’m surprised I never thought to get to it till now. But no time like the present: The show proper is a fun super spy sendup, but still feels unique: Instead of i’ts Teen Superspy working for some knockoff of MI6 or S.H.I.E.L.D., Kim is self employed, simply helping people because it’s the right thign to do and not for any reward with the help of her bumbling but loveable sidekick and future boyfriend Ron, though the romance angle wasn’t overplayed with the two, just hinted at here and there, enough to make it plausable for Ron to realize he has feelings in the movie and for Kim to return them and frankly it’s probably the best handled “Friends to lovers’ plot i’ve seen in a children’s cartoon. I”ll get more into that if I hit my stretch goal for it on patreon, more on that at the end of the review, but while it has no baring on this review I still felt it worth noting as that trope is NOT easy to pull off.

Point is, the show was smart, funny, engaging and had two great characters, a tremendously talented voice cast, and more anchoring it. It was a treasured part of my adolsence. It also had one of the only succesful “Save our show” campagins from fans i’ve ever seen. Despite So The Drama having been written as a finale and having reached Disney’s episode count, fan demand for a fourth season was so incredibly high we got one and it’s to this day one of the very few Disney shows to live past three seasons as a result. The show is in full on Disney Plus, along with the movie, which I HIGHLY recommend and hope I get to talk about, and the recent live action remake movie which .. is not bad. Not GREAT but the leads do make a good kim and ron, paticuarlly my boy Sean Gambone as Ron, and for a live action remake it really does get the spirit of the show.

But obviously we’re not here to talk about the show proper, though I REALLY want to now, but instead it’s crossover. So far the crossovers for Lilo and Stitch have been, much like said live action remake, OKAY, but nothing amazing, often shoving in sideplots related to Lilo and Stitch proper we didn’t need, forced morals and not really having a good amount of character intraction. The good news is this crossover DOES fix a lot of that.. the bad is that it also has some new problems, and still falls into some of the same traps the other episodes have. See what I mean with the full review under the cut!

We open at night, with Lilo and Stitch playing hide and seek. Adorably though Sttich dosen’t quite get the hang of it and proudly announces where he is. However things are quickly interupted when he’s kidnaped by a mystery ship out of the blue. It’s a good hook to start with, leaving us wondering who it could be...

And thus, if you hadn’t gone into this episode knwoing it was a crossover, giving us a hell of a reveal with a cut to Dr. Drakken being the one to kidnap stitch!

Look I love this Doofus. He’s easily one of John DiMaggio’s best roles, up there with Jake and Bender, and the one along with Bender that cemented his career. as one of voice acting’s finest. He’s just so loveably incompetent, over the top and quick to bicker with Sheego, which leads to some of the funneist moments in his home series as she’d either skewer him good or he’d shove his boot in his mouth and help her point instead of his own. He’s just such a great character and he not only fits neatly into Lilo and Stitch’s world, but the writers clearly get him perfectly. We get a hilarious bit where, fed up with Hamsterviel, who he’s teamed up with, he simply fakes the radio going out, adjusting the dials purposfully to make it come in buggy something I GUARANTEE he put in for SHeego and I gurantee she saw right through. His plan is to create a clone army of Stiches.. meaning Hamsterviel’s big evil plan.. is a copy of someone else’s.

Lilo goes to Jumb and Pleakly, the latter of whom has been collecting magazines adorably. Lilo plans to go after Stitch but Jumba says she can’t go on dangerous missions without him and to get a professional and this part.. does not work for me. Most of the time Jumba ENABLES Lilo’s behaviors and while not wanting an 8 year old to run out into the night is a good call, he also suggests getting help.. instead of you know GOING WITH HER WHEN IT’S LIGHT. It sounds more like Nani’s idea... it fits her more to not want Lilo to run out and to want to get help versus Jumba whose admant about keeping secrecy yet very lax on things, and you know would BE concerned that his prized creation was suddenly stolen and actually think about it. He’s just so horribly out of character it hurts.

And Nani’s absence really hurts the episode. See the last two, as much as I missed the lovely and talented Tia Carrere’s presence, didn’t really need her, though still could’ve included her: she could’ve made a cameo at the start since Lilo was there to visit her and she woul’dve made a better target for Spats than trudy, with Oscar fighting Jumba instead, allowing us some crossover interactions instead of having Jumba argue with a random asshole the episode wrote in. But it’s minor stuff. Here though? Her being the one to tell Lilo not to go would’ve made more sense: She’s protective by nature, and while she’s let go more since the movie, it’d make sense for her NOT to want Lilo to blindly chase after someone who beat stitch of all beings, as well as for her ot be the one to later tell Kim not to let lilo be involved. It’d be stronger coming from her sister and surrogate mother than Pleakly and it would’ve been a better arc to have Nani let Lilo off the leash so to speak and accept she needed to save kim. Instead she’s just gone for no reason and Jumba is grosly out of character and i’m disapointed.

That said the setup is the best and most intergrated so far: Pleakly sees an article about kim so he reaches out to her via a message on her site, while Lilo is stubborn about not being help.. obnoxiously so to the point it hurts the episode. While her being inscure about someone else saving Sttich would be fine, the episode never adresses that and instead just has her say she can because shut pu instead of accepting help. The episode would’ve flowed better if instead she accepted kim but Nani had Kim push her away, and thus create more problems. More on that in a bit.

But as I said this setup is great: it uses BOTH shows for once isntead of feeling like the first two, and honestly the next one judging by the blurb on the wiki, where its just “Hey x character visits Kauai”, here it blends both: The two main villians team up, and Kim is logically called for help since that’s what she does and they don’t want to risk lilo’s saftey. It’s good stuff.

So our other heroes enter the episode, on a ritzy jet as Kim’s dad had an old college friend with an airline. I admit the episode weirdly downplays Kim’s penchant for getting rides, getting a helicopter that appears to be a touring one and getting this one via her dad instead of the usual person who owes her a favor. IT was a neat part of her character: that she got help from people she already helped on adventure’s we hadn’t seen to establish she can’t drive herself yet and to show she’s an experinced heroine with a lot of history before the show started. I also like how a handful of episodes after season 1 had returns from people we HAD seen before or linked to them, a clever way of having callbacks.

It’s simple stuff Kim is ready for the wrold saving mision and ron hopes to get a vacation in. Nothing too out of the ordinary.

So the next day Lilo tries to go it solo but is spotted before she can leave, while Pleakly has built a.. photo colloage of Kim’s face on the wall...

... no wait i’m getting paid for this. Nevermind.

It is funny as it is unsettling though and Kim arrives and Pleakly faints.. Ron also arrives doing fake kung fu moves. This episode gets ron about half right... they overdo it a bit on the shenanigans, but Will Freidle’s natural charm and talent mean that even standard ron bits coughed up by a cat onto a page and used for this script still work simply because he’s that good at delivery.

We also get the who’s on first bit you all knew was coming as Kim asking what’s the Sitch confuses lilo and i’ts .. pretty funny. Again you could see it coming from a mile away, but Daveigh Chase and Christy Carlson Ramano really sell the hell out of it and we get a nice runner after of Kim misprouncing his name and trying NOT to say her usual catchphrase.

She also gets filled in on the alien thing... and while she admits i’ts a lot to swallow, she also admits she’s seen weirder. And given this episode would, by airdate (ignoring the one for So the Drama as that aired before the last batch of season 3 episodes but continuity wise takes place between seasons 3 and 4), take place around the same time as the season 3 intended finale “Team Impossible”, by this point she’s seen vengeful fishteens mutated by a horrifying summer camp, a rogue gentecist who basis her crimes against nature on a beanie baby knockoff, magical monkey based kung fu, a magican egyptian amulet, killer robot’s resembling teenage girls, a body swap episode, a plan using a barcode to destroy the internet, an attack on canada, a giant poodle, a complicated time travel plot, a trucker with a mullet, her sidekick getting turned into a surprisingly competent supervillian, and draken’s plan to use his rap career to promote brainwashing shampoo. And that’s just a handful of the things I was reminded of on the episode list. So yeah, this isn’t THAT much of a stretch. Oh and lest you think Kim never encountered aliens the series finale was an alien invasion by aliens Draken had pissed off earlier in the season. Suprised Lilo didn’t you know have Stitch and the family army pitch in. Maybe Leory and Stitch was going on at the same time?

Point is she’s in but goes with Pleakly in trying to keep Lilo out of it. And here’s yet another place the episode missteps: Kim’s REALLY patronizing to Lilo, treating her like she can’t do anything and later ignoring her advice when she brings up the current later, something that ends up getting Kim caught. The latter part especially bugs me since Kim normally listens to her clients pretty well, and had she doubted him could’ve at least asked Waid since she contacts him in the same scene. Speaking of which THAT’S why I feel her patronizing “not now kiddo” atittude dosen’t work: her spy master IS a child, her brothers have helped out multiple times, and the incident I mentioned from where she met her younger cousin who idolized her at an old west town was understandable: Her cousin was getting into dangerous stuff and throwing herself out there recklessly with no regards to her own saftey and impeding the mission with her well meant antics. Lilo.. knows who their looking for, knows the island well, and knows stitch’s weaknesses. And she goes from being annoyingly hostlile to kim to helpful, so it makes kim even more obnoxious for not accepting said help. It’s just.. draining as when this part of the plot ISN’T in play, Kim is fine. She’s her usual self.. not AS well written as the parent show, a bit too reliant on her catchphrases, but still not half bad and Christy Carlson Romanao, like Fredle helps paper over the weaker bits of the script. She’s not even out of character in her actions, as she does have a tendency to think she knows everything or undereistmate people.. the problem is it’s written poorly enough she comes across as insufferable, and unlike the show, where she actually learned something here.. she just learns to work as a team? When she does on a regular basis with Wade and Ron?

It’s just so frustrating because they almost had it just right, but instead just had to try and put some half assed moral about teamwork in there. They broke from the formula of having an experiment of the week but they still just HAD to keep to their own formula. And look Kim Possible has it’s own formula.. but it used that to great effect, often using the episode’s plot to shake it up in fun ways, and the plots were still diffrent enough and the villians bold and intrestin genough that it didn’t grate. This is starting to grate. And I do remember good and intresting episodes of the show.. but i’m starting tor ealize why I don’t remember NEARLY as much of Lilo and Stitch as I do the other shows it’s crossing over with: it’s so bolted to the formula they all just sorta blend together. It’s really fucking disheartning to realize something you loved so damn much as a kid just.. isn’t as good as you remember. And with these other shows.. I don’t have that as much. I accept proud family’s fault, Jake Long actually seems MORE intresting than it was at the time, and rewatching kim possible it’s excellent, same with recess coming up. I really need to watch more Recess. The most disheartining thing about this arc is the crossover just shows how BETTER the other shows were. Lilo and Stitch wasn’t a BAD show, and it isn’t here.. but it’s a mediroce one. it has a good premise. but it feels like they just don’t break away from the premise enough. This just... hurts a lot to type and realize. I really loved this show and movie as a kid and while the movie likely still holds up this.. this just dosen’t.

I need a moment... i’m breaking open the glass case containing my emergency patrick stewart clip excuse me...

youtube

That.. I needed that.

So before the bicker sisters can head off, we get our goofy comedy subplot: Jumba thinks Rufus is one of his experiments, one that could destroy the universe if not cancel and is highly unstable. As for why this one wouldn’t of worked out, I get why: it’s TOO powerful. Stitch is a weapon of mass distruction in a cuddly package, but he’s also easily deployable, kind of like Wolverine if he was in the body of a cartoon mascot. Having the THREAT of destroying ap lanet is fine and good for the long term but it does you no good if you can’t control it and i’td just destroy you too.

So he and Pleakly try to steal rufus without telling Ron why after Ron naturlaly refuses to sel land a chase insues. So while the boys and gender fluid person have their comedy plot, the girls head to where stitch was taken and find Draken’s glove.... they know it’s his because he put a note saying “return to dr. draken, his mother gave it to him”. That’s just.. fucking precious. And entirely in character. So kim aranges a ride, and dives into the ocean, but finds lilo in her parachute, and tries to send her back despite LIlo offering valuable advice both about the area , the current I mentioned earlier, and about stitch, i.e. Draken’s base is underwater (something Kim didn’t realize which feels odd for her), because Stitch can’t swim, something I genuinely forgot.

So while Kim sends Lilo back, or rather intercut with that but I choose to compress plots for my own convinence we cut back to Drakken and Shego. And I WAS worried that Shego wouldn’t show up, she wasn’t in the synopsis or anything and was delighted to find that nope she’s here. Drakken just isn’t the same without her.. I mean I liked the recurring subplot in season 4 where other villians would break her out, that was great, but in the end the two need each other. I may not ship them romantically but as a comedy team one just needs the other: Drakken needs Shego to cut down his ego and Shego needs someone to snark at and complain about. Sullivan and DiMaggio just had perfect chemistry and it’s easy to see why Drakken and Shego went from just another part of the Rogue’s Gallery to Kim’s arch enemies.

Which is why I am sad Gantu and 625 don’t show up for this one. I mean I can buy it: Hamsterviel likely is doing this on the sly to see if he can find a better minon, but the two sets of villians have similar dynamics and i’d love to see Shego and 625 dunk on their bosses together. It’s a really big missed opportunity but I do get it as they may of just nto been able to fit the two together or it may of been hard to block a lot of scenes iwth the human sized drakken and the giant sized gantu. So unlike a lot of missed opportunites in the other episodes, this one I at least can understand.

We get some GREAT banter with the two though. Out of the four guest characters in this one the crew really got Drakken and Shego down and the two bicker like any episode of Kim Possible, with Shego pointing out the massive bill on Stitch’s cage and how Drakken’s tried cloning about five times now and it’s never worked, and of course how he’s 50 50 splitting with a hamster bellow his station. Seriously why get rid of Gantu and 625 but keep the annoying rodent, I don’t get you episode.

Of course while they quack quack bicker bicker Stitch escapes and Shego gives chase. Sadly we don’t get a fight between the two like we did with Jake, another missed opprotunity but Stitch getting out of her grasp by licking her is objectively funny. Stitch finds he’s underwater though and gets recaptured.

Kim gets captured for the first time shortly after as the current caught her, but luckily she has kimunicator gloves and calls waid to call ron. Meanwhile Ron finally catches rufus back and Jumba explains the situation.. but Ron understandably dosen’t want to give up his buddy especially since Rufus has shown no signs of being a planet killer before. He’s not mooncake... althought i do think those two could hang. God now I just want a final space kim possible crossover to wash this out of my mouth.

So it’s down to Lilo, the really not all that ambigiously gay their pretty darn gay duo, and Ron to save the day. Lilo finally gets to do what she kept asking kim to do: use jumbas hot rod car spaceship thing to go down under the sea, and they send Lilo and Rufus in since hteir small enough to get in and suriive the pressures. Our heroes arrive and Drakken is nonplussed.. only for Lilo to prove WHY she can keep an alien in line by freeing stitch from teh leash drakken has him on using kim’s grapple gun, and then frees kim. The good guys win and the bad guys loose and the base starts to self destruct.. eh they’ll be fine. They still have the movie to get to.

So time for the wrap up: Stitch sniffs Rufus and confirms what the audience knew... that he’s a naked mole rat not an experiment. Which didn’t make sense to begin with for either show: Jumba’s archive should’ve been able to scan him or something (And if not he could build something to do that), and Kim Possible not only implied from day one Ron had Rufus a while, long before the rain of the pods, but A Stitch in Time outright confirms Ron bought him years ago in middle school. It just makes no sense and while it thankfully dosen’t take up a ton of the episode it still takes up too much.

But with that our heroes prepare to part on good terms but Pleakly decides to celebrate with Luau. Kim’s repsonse “Well I can do anything...”

And we get a gratuitous luau sequence! I do love a job that allows me to type the phrase “Gratuitous Luau Sequence’ They clearly ran short and we just get a good minute of everyone doing hula dances for no reason. I mean.. you could’ve done a quick gag with the experiment who was mistaken for Rufus... who I now realize given the finale was befriended by someone. I’m headcanoning now Kim and Ron came back for that one and Kim had him sent to space as part of one her dad’s projects where he and earth would be safer and he could help with space missions or something.

Final Thoughts: As you could tell I had mixed thoughts. As a crossover this melded things better, had a more original plot and the actors from Kim Possible brought their a-game.. but once again some disapointing characteteriztion and downright stupid decisions really let the episode down. These episodes just depress me every time and I’m looking forward to being done.. which given how excited I was going into this.. yeah. Like all of these despite their flaws I recommend checking it out if you like Kim Possible, if nothing else than for some extra drakken shego banter but.. keep your expectations low.

Next Time on Kim Possible: A team of spiteful assholes who are in a way repsonsible for Kim’s Career try to shut her down. It’s the intended finale episode outisde of hte movie people buckle up.. or you would if I was doing any of these. Though I should do “Team IMpossible” at some point.

On the finale of these crossovers: The Recess Gang are the final visitors to Kuai as Lilo must find and stop a lazy monster... no i’m not guest starring too.

Tommorow: Another kev one this time by patreon as I put two similar episodes of a show or franchise against each other and ask “Who Did It Better?” This time it’s two episodes of Celebrity Death Match, original versus revivial may the original.. probably win.

If you liked this review, please consider supporting my patreon, YOU CAN FIND THE LINK TO IT HERE. For just 2 bucks a month you get access to my discord, to pick a short each time I do one of my shortstravaganzas, and acess to my Patreon exclusive reviews! Next month I intend to do one for the show whose crossover gets the most likes within a week of it’s relase. Proud Family has already passed American Dragon so you have a week to get it ahed. And if you like Kim Possible, help me reach my 25 dollar stretch goal! At that i’ll review So The Drama, along with the Recess and Proud Family Movies. So check it out and i’ll see you at the next rainbow.

#lilo and stitch the series #lilo and stitch #kim possible #ron stoppable #doctor drakken #shego #Lilo Pelekai #Stitch #experment 626 #jumba jookiba

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inthedayswhenlandswerefew · 4 years ago

Text

But You Can Never Leave [Chapter 18: Summers In Florence] [Series Finale]

A/N: If it doesn’t end with a wedding, is it even my fic??! 😂 For those who somehow haven’t yet read Baby You Were My Picket Fence (my most popular series), you might be a tiny bit confused during this chapter. Just roll with it. 😉 Also, COVID-19 doesn’t exist. What a wonderful world. Thank you so much for sticking with me and BYCNL. I love you all. 💜

This series is a work of fiction, and is (very) loosely inspired by real people and events. Absolutely no offense is meant to actual Queen or their families.

Song inspiration: Hotel California by The Eagles.

Chapter warnings: Language.

Chapter list (and all my writing) available HERE

Taglist: @queen-turtle-boiii @loveandbeloved29 @maggieroseevans @imnotvibingveryguccimrstark @im-an-adult-ish @queenlover05 @someforeigntragedy @imtheinvisiblequeen @joemazzmatazz @seven-seas-of-ham-on-rhye @namelesslosers @inthegardensofourminds @deacyblues @youngpastafanmug @sleepretreat @hardyshoe @bramblesforbreakfast @sevenseasofcats @tensecondvacation @queen-crue @jennyggggrrr @madeinheavxn @whatgoeson-itslate @brianssixpence @simonedk @herewegoagainniall @anotheronewritesthedust1 @pomjompish @writerxinthedark @culturefiendtrashqueen @allauraleigh @deakydeacy @bluutac @johndeaconshands @nyxaura

It’s May 25th, 1984, and Roger and John are in Perth, Australia to promote Queen’s eleventh album, The Works.

Interviewer, daytime television host Ronald Inglewood: “Good morning and welcome to our viewers across Australia! We’re sitting down this morning with Roger Taylor and John Deacon, respectively the drummer and bassist of Queen, who are here to talk about the band’s brand new album called—quite self-assuredly, if I may say so, gentlemen—The Works. Hello to you both.”

Roger: “Good morning, Ron!”

John: “Hello.”

Interviewer: “And this latest album has been rather well-received so far, is that right?”

Roger: “It has, yes, and we’re enormously proud of it.”

Interviewer: “Now, The Works is a very different album than Hot Space, Queen’s sort of notorious foray into disco...do you think the back-to-basics, classic rock and roll feel of The Works has been the driving force behind its success?”

Roger: “Well, you know...I think experimentation is very important. We’ve always been an experimental band. The single Bohemian Rhapsody was hugely experimental, and that’s why it was such a phenomenon. We were experimenting long before A Night At The Opera, and I suspect we’ll keep on trying new things until we run out of ideas, whenever that is! I didn’t love every song on Hot Space, I’ll be completely transparent about that, but I certainly don’t think the album was a failure or a waste of time. It was an experiment. And The Works is an experiment as well, just one that runs in a different vein, I suppose.”

John: “Some people did actually enjoy Hot Space.”

Roger: “I think I know one or two.”

Interviewer: “Of course, it did have its bright spots. Under Pressure remains one of Queen’s biggest hits, doesn’t it?”

Roger: “Yes, and John wrote the bassline for that one!”

Interviewer: “Really?!”

John: “And Roger has his own hit on The Works, at last. We’re all very happy for him.”

Roger: “Only took ten years.”

John: “Fourteen, actually.”

Roger: “I’m going to murder you as soon as we get backstage.”

John: “You’re welcome to try.”

Interviewer: “Now this hit of yours, Roger, is Radio Ga Ga. And I’m sure we’ve all seen the famous music video, the hovercraft, the futurism, the clapping...we’ve all seen it, right? Where on earth did you get the idea for that song?”

Roger: “It actually originated from something I heard my daughter Violet say.”

Interviewer: “Fascinating! And you’ve just welcomed another one recently, haven’t you?”

Roger: “Yes, last month, in fact. A little girl named Nora. “

Interviewer: “Congratulations!”

Roger: “Thanks so much, Ron. Our eldest, Violet, turned two in January, and the idea for Radio Ga Ga came about when she was first learning to talk. She would always stumble around—you know how babies do—clapping her hands and squealing the most nonsensical things, and one day she started trying out ‘radio’ and then adding random words to it, ‘radio goo goo,’ ‘radio mama,’ ‘radio dada,’ etcetera. Well ‘radio ga ga’ got stuck in my head and I started sort of lamenting how television had begun to eclipse the radio as a medium for music and entertainment. We were on vacation in California at the time, and I locked myself in a hotel room with a keyboard and a drum machine to get it written. I initially thought it might end up on one of my solo albums, but then John heard it and wrote a bassline, and Freddie really thought it could be a hit and pushed to have it on The Works...and here we are today!”

Interviewer: “That Freddie Mercury has awfully good instincts about these things, doesn’t he?”

John: “Oh, he’s a genius, no doubt about that.”

Interviewer: “And John, I understand you wrote the other single released from The Works, I Want To Break Free. Any deep philosophical messaging in that one?”

John: “Well I suppose we’ve all been in situations that feel...rather constraining or hopeless. And then things that bring us back to life again. So this song is about a character going through that process and coming out on the other side.”

Interviewer: “Indeed.”

John: “But we wanted to keep things amusing and lighthearted in the music video, hence the dressing in drag bit. And to our absolute horror, Roger was very alluring as a schoolgirl.”

Roger: “It’s true. I have irresistible legs. I was born to wear miniskirts.”

Interviewer: “Ah, this is the music video that is beloved in Europe and here in Australia but has stirred up so much controversy over in the States. Has the hullabaloo dampened your enthusiasm for the song, or even the entire album, somewhat?”

Roger: “We’re not bothered much at all, to be honest with you. It’s like I said, Queen is always going to have fun and experiment and take creative risks. And if people don’t like it, then they’re welcome to not listen.”

Interviewer: “Yes, yes, I suppose you could say that.”

Roger: “Americans, you know, they can just be so bloody puritanical. It absolutely takes all the enjoyment out of life. All the humor. Americans these days can be very difficult for us to connect with.”

John: “Well, not all of them.”

Roger: “No, of course, not all of them.”

John: “But we’ll start touring at the end of August, and we’ll be spending several months in the States, so they have time to come around to us. We’re all really looking forward to being on the road again.”

Interviewer: “It has certainly been and will continue to be a very eventful year for Queen. And for the four of you personally. A new baby for Roger, and you’ve just gotten married, haven’t you John?”

John: “I did, yes. And Roger was in attendance! No miniskirt that day, though. Sadly.”

Roger: “The whole band was there. And my girlfriend and children too. It was quite a party.”

Interviewer: “That’s wonderful to hear, considering the...the...well, not to bring up tabloid gossip, but the complexity of the situation. It was a destination wedding, wasn’t it?”

John: “Yes, we were married in the Basilica di Santa Croce in Florence, Italy. It’s breathtaking, the largest Franciscan church in the world, built in the 1300s. And we filled it with friends and family and live music and flowers and food...all the trappings. Took about a million photos. Celebrated until dawn.”

Roger: “It was a very sentimental occasion. Everyone really enjoyed it. John cried.”

John: “I did, it’s true.”

Roger: “He promised he wouldn’t and then he did.”

John: “Well, you don’t have to bring it up all the time!”

Roger: “It was touching, really.”

Interviewer: “It must have been a magical time. You’re positively radiant, John! Marvelous. And some much-needed good news, I imagine. I understand you’ve recently gone through an exceptionally antagonistic and protracted divorce.”

John: “Well...uh...I suppose that’s...uh...”

Roger: “How about we ask you the same thing? How was your divorce, Ron?”

Interviewer: “What?”

Roger: “You’re on your third marriage, is that right? And I think I heard that the latest Mrs. Inglewood is very young indeed, almost thirty years your junior. How did your former wife take that news? How did your adult children? How was your goddamn divorce?”

Interviewer: “That’s a rude question.”

Roger: “Yes, you’re right, it’s an extremely rude question. So you shouldn’t fucking ask it.”

~~~~~~~~~~

It’s December 25th, 1986, and the children are tearing open presents under a fifteen-foot-tall Christmas tree in the living room of Garden Lodge.

Freddie and Jim Hutton are serving cookies and milk and clapping their hands as they tower over tiny shoulders, cheering the kids on as they litter the floor with wrapping paper and bows and scatter their new toys everywhere: Care Bears, Magic 8 Balls, My Little Ponies, Mr. Potato Heads, Barbies, Etch-A-Sketches, Transformers, miniature Lukes and Leias and Chewbaccas, View-Masters with scenes of oceans and deserts and forests and stars. With so many fragmented families, there was only one logical approach to handling major holidays: convincing everyone to celebrate together on neutral ground.

Mary and Veronica are chatting by the roaring fireplace. Phoebe, Joe Fanelli, John, and Roger are embroiled in a brutally competitive Scrabble game; Dominique, smirking stealthily, leans over Roger to read his tiles and periodically whispers ideas to him. Brian and Anita are circling the flock of giggling children—Laszlo, Anna, Teddy, Evelyn, Lena, Antoni, Violet, and Nora—and snapping photos with your Canon between long, yearning gazes at one another, wearing matching Christmas sweaters that are a deep, passionate crimson. Chrissie’s husband Denny is admiring Freddie’s extensive vinyl record collection as he sips a hot chocolate and compulsively strokes his green-and-red striped tie. Tiffany the cat rolls around between his feet and occasionally hisses or gnaws on an ankle, which Denny takes in stride, as he does most things.

Meanwhile, you and Chrissie are camped out by the wet bar, drinking mulled wine and nibbling on cookies shaped like snowmen and reindeer. You give Veronica a wide berth with the children anytime you’re in the same space; she hates you, and she’ll probably always hate you, but she loves her children too much to poison them with that reality. Their happiness is her whole life, her purpose. And that’s the only thing that finally convinced her to come to the bargaining table.

“She seems...nice,” you tell Chrissie, gesturing to where Anita is crouching to wrestle a Yoda piggy bank away from Antoni before he can lob Teddy on the head with it. To John’s children, Veronica is “mum” and you’re the distinctly more American “mama”; and no one ever really taught them that, they just started doing it somewhere along the way.

Chrissie rolls her eyes and shifts Stevie to her other hip. For two and a half years after leaving Brian, Chrissie made it her mission to date at least one man from every country in Europe. She managed to cross off Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Portugal, Poland, and Greece before meeting professional archer Dennis Clarke at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. They got engaged at Christmas, eloped on New Year’s Day, and had a daughter that Chrissie named after Stevie Nicks nine months later. Stevie Clarke has adorably chubby baby legs, wide blue eyes, and blonde hair without a single spiraled ringlet.

“My therapist said I needed to cultivate a rapport with Brian for the good of the kids,” Chrissie says. “You know. Be the bigger person. Get amnesia and forget about how he made my life a living hell. Act like I don’t want to freaking decapitate him. So I, trying to be nice, trying to rise above and make polite small talk with my nauseating ex-husband, made a comment about how much I liked EastEnders. So he starts watching EastEnders. Then he begins to fancy one of the actresses. Then he meets her at a movie premier in Beverly Hills and invites her to the concert at Wembley. Then he ends up in love with the woman. What the fuck. You couldn’t write this shit.”

“Love is a roulette wheel,” you agree.

Chrissie scoffs sardonically. “Yeah. Russian roulette, maybe.”

After his marriage fell apart, Brian bounced between New Orleans and London, liberated bliss and aimless, disgraced, black depression. Whoever Peaches is as a person, she couldn’t tame Brian’s demons. You worried about him almost constantly until he started seeing Anita. She’s cheerful and magnetic and persistently hopeful in a way that reminds you of Roger. She’s good for Brian. She’s good for all of you. Well...Chrissie is still coming around to the idea.

“I do like that she wasn’t fucking my husband behind my back,” Chrissie muses. “So that’s something.”

“And she’s good with the kids.”

“True...”

“And her hair matches Brian’s.”

Chrissie laughs. Her sparkling ornament earrings jangle, and Stevie paws for them with minuscule, uncoordinated, wrinkly hands. “Okay. You win. I don’t despise her.”

“That’s the Christmas spirit.” You knock back the rest of your mulled wine. “I’m gonna go search the refrigerator for cheese cubes, you want anything?”

“Yeah, a Valium.”

“Slavic Jesus would be horrified. And on his birthday!”

Chrissie grins. “Surely drugs would be the least of our sins.”

Freddie’s sunshine-yellow refrigerator is enormous and a labyrinth of shelves and crevices without a single tray of cheese cubes in sight. You sift through jars of olives, bottles of champagne, a glazed ham waiting to be put in the oven, a sack of yams, eggnog, rising bread dough, and numerous pies—apple and cherry and lemon chiffon, naturally—swathed in aluminum foil.

“Damn,” you mutter, and then you try a mysterious drawer beneath the double doors of the refrigerator. Lo and behold, it contains a sprawling tray of cheeses. “Yaaaaassssss.” You lift the tray out, set it on the kitchen counter, and peel back the clear, clinging saran wrap. As you spear cheese cubes with a decorative toothpick—the handle is a little plastic Christmas tree—and plop them onto an appetizer plate, you hear the click of heels on the hardwood floor behind you.

You glance back. “Hi, Dom. Can I offer you any of Fred’s extremely expensive and exotic cheeses?”

“Sure,” she replies in that effortlessly elegant French accent; but that’s not why she’s here. She’s wringing her delicate hands, which are bronzed from her last holiday to Ibiza and ringless. Dom divorced the husband she had back in France—or maybe he divorced her, who knows, that’s not your business, although Roger would tell you if you ever asked—and she and Roger signed papers for the good of their daughters. But being Roger Taylor’s wife is not always such an easy thing.

“He’s getting bad again, isn’t he?” you ask softly.

Dominique nods; but you already knew.

Roger was perfect for years after they had Violet: attentive, content, startlingly domestic. He rarely popped pills. He went to physical therapy. He quit smoking six months ago at Dominique’s insistence, around the same time John quit for you. But since the Magic Tour ended in August—and with no new tour in sight, considering Freddie’s seeming reticence about scheduling another—he’s started to drink more, stay home less, disappear at night citing dinners or parties or recording sessions that Dom isn’t invited to. He’s edgy and irritable. He’s rarely home when John calls. And you can see all those immortal shadows of imperfection creeping back into him like storm clouds, like smoke.

“I’m going to tell you something,” you say. “It’s very similar to what somebody else once told me. I wasn’t ready to understand it yet, to really let myself feel it, to believe it, but you might be able to.”

She watches you with those vast oil-well eyes, biting her lower lip, waiting.

“Roger is wildfire. He’s bright, yes, he’s warm, but he’s reckless and insatiable too. He always has been. He always will be. And that has nothing at all to do with you. It’s not your fault. He’s wonderful, of course, and you already know that; he dazzles people, he makes life so exhilaratingly beautiful that you forget what it felt like without him. But he’ll always disappoint you. He’ll relapse, he’ll cheat, he’ll come home late, he won’t come home at all. And he’ll hurt you. He’ll do it as many times as you’ll let him. But here’s the thing other people won’t tell you.” You smile at her, with empathy, with sorrow, with hope. “It might still be worth it.”

Dominique blinks, not understanding.

“It might be enough for you to only ever have part of him, because that part is so incredibly brilliant. It was almost enough for me. And I would never blame you for leaving Roger. But I wouldn’t blame you for staying either.”

And then you embrace her, and she latches onto you, her long manicured nails nipping through your sweater, her Coco Chanel perfume a plume that fills the kitchen. She doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t have to. You hold her until she pulls away, swiping at her tearing eyes with slim fragile fingers, sniffling, looking away to hide her heartbreak behind her shock of glossy bangs.

“Here.” You pile an appetizer plate high with cheese cubes and shove it into her hands.

Stunned, she giggles. “All my woes have vanished.”

“That’s exactly how stolen cheese works,” And then, seriously: “Don’t be sad on Christmas, Dom. There’s plenty of time for that later. And I’ll do everything I can to help him.”

“That’s why you’ll never leave the band, isn’t it? You can’t leave Roger alone. You can’t let him destroy himself.”

“I owe him,” you say simply. “Without him I never would have followed Queen to London. I never would have found this family. I never would have married John. Roger took things from me, yes, of course he did. He took until I felt empty. But he also gave me the world.”

She nods slowly, thoughtfully.

“Please, Dom. Go enjoy yourself.”

“Alright. Joyeux Noël.” She gives you a parting wave and slips back out into the living room, where Freddie is now playing the grand piano and signing Thank God It’s Christmas. Roger is assisting in an increasingly hoarse falsetto.

A moment after Dominique leaves, John strolls into the kitchen, humming merrily. He stops dead when he sees your somber face, your shining eyes. “Who do I have to fuck up?”

You chuckle and shake your head. “No one. I just heard something sad.”

“Not about you, I hope.”

“No, I don’t have many sad stories anymore.”

“Yeah, me either.”

He reaches out to take your hand. A sapphire glints on your left ring finger, and it means everything.

“You sure you don’t need me to torment anyone for you? I could get drunk and plow my Benz into their house. Or write a scathing diss track about them. Was it Brian? Please tell me it was Brian.”

You laugh and twirl a lock of his fluffy hair. “That won’t be necessary.”

“In that case, you’re needed in the living room immediately,” John says, smiling. “Antoni climbed halfway up the Christmas tree and says he won’t come down for anyone except his mama.”

~~~~~~~~~~

It’s November 3rd, 1999, and Roger, John, and Brian are promoting Queen’s upcoming compilation album, Greatest Hits III.

Interviewer, daytime television host Brad Chenoweth: “Today we have a very special treat for our viewers. Here with us in our London studio are the men of Queen: guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor, and bassist John Deacon. Good morning, and thank you all so much for being here.”

Brian: “It’s our pleasure.”

Roger: “I do screams as well as drums, Brad.”

Interviewer: “Hahaha, yes, of course. Now Queen has had an extremely busy year, and this Greatest Hits album has a few new selections on it, right? Take us through that process.”

Brian: “It does have a few new tracks, that’s correct. You know, ever since Freddie...ever since we lost Freddie Mercury, I mean, you know, it’s impossible to fill a space like the one that he left in the world.”

Roger: “Yes, yes.”

Brian: “But as difficult as it was, after finally finishing Made In Heaven in 1995 and getting it just right, feeling as if we had really done Freddie justice...we were left with this distressing feeling of ‘what’s next?’ What are the three of us supposed to do with ourselves? Split up and never work together again? Retire to the seashore? Open up some corner store to putter around in until we die?”

Roger: “A clog shop, perhaps.”

Interviewer: “You were thinking, ‘well hell, we’ve got plenty of talent ourselves!’”

Roger: “Well, talent, yes, but also energy. Drive. We’ve been working at being one of the best bands in the world for almost thirty years now, Brad. I wouldn’t even know how to begin to stop.”

Brian: “None of us wanted to stop, we came to that realization. And so we’ve done a tremendous amount of benefit concerts and recording sessions with some of the best artists of our time, and I think people who listen to this album are really going to appreciate that. We’ve got a live version of Somebody to Love with George Michael, and The Show Must Go On with Elton John, he’s just lovely to work with...oh and a rap version of Another One Bites The Dust with Wyclef Jean, which John was not exactly a fan of. But we all have to learn to give and take, don’t we?”

Interviewer: “Absolutely, and I’m really looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of this record. Is there any chance Queen might settle on a permanent new front man one day?”

Roger: “If we can ever find somebody John likes enough!”

Interviewer: “But, truthfully...none of you wanted to quit after Freddie passed away? It was a unanimous decision to keep with it?”

Roger: “Essentially, yes. I mean I think it was an all or nothing deal, wasn’t it? If one of us left then that would throw the whole thing off. I was always adamant from very early on in the band’s lifetime that I wouldn’t be interested in continuing without John. And I couldn’t imagine him and Brian being left alone together, my god, there’d be literal bloodshed, someone’s throat would be cut within the hour, believe me.”

John: “We might have lasted a day or two. But yes, it was more or less unanimous.”

Interviewer: “Now you’ve always been known as the quiet, domestic one, John. You weren’t tempted by the thought of retirement? Not even for a moment?”

John: “Well...I think it depends on the circumstances, really. I like working, and I like touring and traveling a good part of the year. But I imagine I’d get very homesick if I was alone on the road. Fortunately, that’s not the case. So the thought of retirement didn’t appeal to me nearly as much as it might have otherwise.”

Interviewer: “That’s right, I understand that your wife has been Queen’s touring nurse for...how long now? Twenty years?”

John: “Since 1974, so that’s twenty-five years.”

Roger: “Wow. It’s been that long?!”

Brian: “Feels like yesterday, doesn’t it?”

Interviewer: “How lucky for you, John. And look, you’re beaming!”

Roger: “Get it together, Deaks.”

John: “I’m an astronomically lucky man. It’s like having home with you anywhere in the world.”

Roger: “She’s good for curing hangovers as well, so that’s useful. And she knits everyone hats.”

Interviewer: “And you’ve got children, haven’t you John?’

John: “Four from my first marriage, yes. They’re all adults now so they come to visit us quite often, especially when we’re travelling. It worked out beautifully really, because they’re very close to their mother, of course, but my wife and I got together when they were all still fairly young, and so she’s always been there for them as they’ve grown up. My youngest especially was a rather...how would you say it diplomatically? A spirited child. But he warmed to her right away.”

Brian: “All the children are still friendly with each other as well, mine and Roger’s and John’s.”

Interviewer: “One big happy family, huh?”

Roger: “There are still a good amount of screaming matches between us dads, to be completely forthcoming.”

John: “You have to keep things interesting.”

Roger: “Exactly!”

Interviewer: “Yes, one can sense that there are still plenty of egos in this room, even after all these years! Tell me, Queen is nearly three decades old now, a worldwide phenomenon, the second-bestselling artist in the UK of all time behind the Beatles...how have you stayed together for so long when most bands last only a fraction of Queen’s lifespan?”

John: “Well I think we’ve all, you know, for the good of the band we’ve all had to grow towards each other to bridge the disagreements and keep peace. For example, I’ve had to learn to be more communicative, more open to collaboration and change. I can be someone who’s very comfortable being in the background. But then I’m resentful if people don’t see my point of view, even if I haven’t properly expressed it. So I have certainly had to work on that quite a lot.”

Brian: “Yes, John, I think that’s very true. Personally, I’ve had to learn to not get lost in the details so much. I have a bad habit of getting so fixated on something that I cause a massive row over a vanishingly small aspect of a song that no one else will ever notice. It’s just not worth the strife. So I’ve really tried to avoid that. Although, I’ll admit it, I still occasionally cause my share of drama.”

John: “Oh, sure.”

Roger: “And I’ve had to work on being less...”

John: “Annoying?”

Brian: “Combative?”

Roger: “Fiery.”

John: “That’s one word for it.”

Interviewer: “Was there ever a time when Queen’s existence was in serious jeopardy? And if so, how did you pull through?”

Brian: “Well, to be perfectly honest, as a band we went through quite a difficult time in the early 80s. And then we did again in the early 90s. And on both occasions there was a real worry that Queen might be over and we would all go our separate ways. But what kept us together through that...and feel free to disagree, Rog, John, if you have a different perspective...but what I feel kept us together was this profound sense of family. Queen predates all of our marriages, our children, our successes in the music industry or otherwise. It has become a constant place of belonging in the midst of professional and personal turmoil. And now our partners and children have been integrated into that network as well, so even if an individual relationship is strained or falls apart, the gravity of the band keeps us all in a perpetual symbiotic orbit. And I don’t see that ever ending.”

John: “Yes, well, I suppose that about sums it up, doesn’t it?”

Roger: “Bleeding christ, Brian. ‘Perpetual symbiotic orbit.’ Just say we’re friends, you pretentious twit.”

~~~~~~~~~~

It’s August 19th, 2020, and John’s 69th birthday party is winding down as the sun dips lazily into the rust-colored western horizon.

You’re standing on the cobblestones in the garden behind the Surrey house. You had always thought it was too extravagant, too massive; it wasn’t until Roger sold it to you and John in the spring of 1982 that you realized it was the perfect size after all. Six bedrooms meant one for each of the children, one for you and John—the one with the blue-grey wallpaper and nautical decorations, to be exact—and the last for when Chrissie and Denny or Roger and Dom stay the night, which is fairly frequently. Your vacation home, where you and John spend most of the summer when Queen isn’t on tour, is a little country cottage in the sunlit Alpine hills of Florence, Italy. John designed it himself, every last detail; right down to the white picket fence grown over with ivy.

“Look what we got in the mail.” You hold up the invitation to show your husband, grinning, raising your eyebrows. “Guess we have to buy him another toaster.”

He reads the names on the shimmering cardstock patterned with jungle ferns and dinosaur footprints. Interesting choices. “Is Ben actually going through with it this time?”

“John!”

“Wasn’t he supposed to marry some Italian heiress or something?”

“Love can be complicated, Mr. Deacon,” you remind him.

When he smiles, crinkles spring up around his eyes. “Yes, I suppose it can be.”

“Ben Hardy’s having another wedding?” Chrissie calls over from where she’s shooting arrows at the archery targets set up in the backyard. Denny periodically steps in to correct the angle of her wrist or elbow. “And Queen’s invited this time?”

“Apparently,” you reply. “You could go too if you were still married to Brian.”

“Ha!” Chrissie cackles and looses an arrow. It hits damn near the bullseye. “Not worth it.”

“I’ll bring back all the scandalous gossip I can scrounge for you.”

“You better. What do the kids call it now? Spilling the tea? Spill all the tea, bitch.”

“Oh, kettles and kettles’ worth.”

“So a teapot,” John says. “Not another toaster. Maybe decorated with...” He squints at the invitation again. “What’s the theme? What do they like? Fossils? Brontosauruses?”

“Bizarre people,” Chrissie mutters.

“I’ll figure something out,” you say. “Something special. Something old.”

“John?” Brian shouts from the doorway that leads into the kitchen. Inside the refrigerator is covered with sketches and birthday cards and photographs curling and fading around the edges. “Anita and I are heading out now, can we get a hug goodbye?”

“Ugh,” John jokes. “Well, alright.” He gives you a wink as he trots off.

The Surrey house isn’t exactly roaring—John has never been one for crowds, and incidentally neither have you—but it is alive with his children and grandchildren and life-long friends. Not just his, you correct yourself. Ours.

Veronica—once Tetzlaff, then Deacon, then Tetzlaff again, and finally Kowalski—is not in attendance. You see her only at holidays and birthday celebrations for the kids and grandchildren, and even then only in passing. She is still cold towards you, resentful, extremely Catholic...although somewhat less dogmatic since her second husband Ivan, a former priest, left the Church to marry her. When the last of her children were grown, Veronica got certified to be a doula and now primarily serves unwed mothers seeking assistance from Catholic charities in London. She mentioned to Chrissie, who later told you, that something you had once done for her had inspired her to pursue it. That’s the only nice thing you’ve heard her say about you in almost forty years.

Roger wanders over to meet you, nursing a Heineken, stroking his white beard with his free hand. He and Dominique have always been off and on—including a few years in the late 80s when he moved out of their three-story Kensington townhouse and had a daughter called Adeline with some leggy, platinum blonde supermodel—but these days they’re mostly on. He and Dom had two children after their reconciliation: a son, Blaise, and a daughter named by Freddie after the Japanese word for tiger, Tora.

You gaze out into the sunset. Half of the garden is flooded with white calla lilies, a new bouquet for every February 15th since 1978.

“You’ll be sending back an RSVP in the affirmative?” Roger asks.

“Of course! Any excuse to visit the States. And I like Ben. Although he doesn’t look anything like you.”

He groans. “Those wigs, bloody hell.”

“It’s like they produced a whole movie just to have an excuse to make fun of your atrociously crunchy bleached hair.”

“And I bet you enjoyed that.”

“You deserved it.” When Freddie’s health began to fail and Queen stopped touring, you went back to school to get a degree in physical therapy. You and Roger have sessions three times a week, provided he’s on the wagon; and he usually is, nowadays. When he’s not, John’s the one to get the call from Dominique, and he hunts Roger down, convinces him to come home, works whatever quiet, soothing magic he carries around in his deep pacific blood. But right this moment, Roger is awfully quiet himself. His large, pale eyes—like clear water, like unraveling delphiniums, like the harmony that only comes when age burns away all those last entrenched talons of bitterness, of fear—skate over the calla lilies.

“Do you think things would have been different for us?” Roger asks softly. “If she had lived.”

It took you a long time to understand why Roger was in no hurry to get a divorce, to move you out of the Surrey house. They were the only ties he thought he had to anchor you to the band, to him. They were the only cards he thought he had to play to keep you in his life in any capacity. But John fixed that dilemma. He can fix just about anything, you’ve learned.

“No,” you tell Roger. “You would have worn me down eventually. You and your drinking and drugs and late nights and interminable recklessness. It might have taken longer, but we always would have ended. And John always would have been my home. She wouldn’t have kept us together. She just would have lived. And I wouldn’t have loved her for being a part of you. I would have loved her for whoever she was, whoever she grew up to be. But now I’ll never know who that would have been. I love the children I have, Roger, I do. But I still miss her, miss the person she would have been. It’s like chasing a shadow. It’s like a page of a book written in a language I can’t read. And it’s a feeling that never quite goes away.”

He smiles at you wearily, immensely sad, full of perfect understanding. “I know.”

~~~~~~~~~~

It’s October 10th, 2020, and the reception is held under shedding autumn leaves the color of rubies and imperial topaz and amber and yellow jade. The exuberant bride and groom weave through the crowds milling about the quaint farm, which is nestled in the hills of a small town in Northern California called Zenia. It belongs to Gwilym, apparently, and he and his flame-haired girlfriend Shiloh are shuttling tirelessly this way and that making sure everything goes according to plan. They don’t speak much to Ben or his new wife directly—there’s a stiltedness there, an uncomfortable period of readjustment that reminds you of how John and Roger were for a while after all the secrets came out—but there is undeniable kinship as well. Love can be complicated, you find yourself thinking, for the innumerable time. But that doesn’t mean it’s not real.

Making the rounds with the bride and groom is a strikingly beautiful, dark-haired boy who wears a miniature suit and a perpetual, mischievous grin. The new Mrs. Hardy almost always has her hand on his shoulder, his back, wiping cake frosting from his cheeks, ruffling his hair.

“Eli is kind of a demon kid,” Joe Mazzello warns you. “But in the best possible way.”

“Hm. I have somewhat of an affinity for demons myself.”

“Clearly,” Roger quips, sipping pink champagne. The snack table is Halloween-themed and extremely casual: Cheetos and pumpkin pie and caramel apples and dinosaur-shaped brownies. Per usual, you’re grazing through an orange paper plate stacked high with enough nibbling material to keep any undesirable small talk at bay. But strangely, in all of the times you’ve crossed his path since Bohemian Rhapsody’s filming began, you’ve never minded chatting with Joe.

“Yeah, you two were married at some point, right?” Joe asks. Then he immediately blanches. “Oh my god. That was so rude. I did not just say that. I’m so sorry. I saw it on Wikipedia. I’m gonna go drown myself in the stream now.”

“No, you’re right!” you admit in a peal of laughter. “Briefly and disastrously.”

“It wasn’t that disastrous,” Roger protests, thieving a Cheeto off your plate. He misplaced his prescription sunglasses on the flight over and is thus relatively helpless.

“Rude. Get your own. They’re over on the other end of the table.”

“I can’t see that far—!”

“Dom?” you call as she sashays over in a flowing white dress and licking a stick of orange rock candy. “Please control your husband.”

She smiles. “If I haven’t managed it yet, I don’t think there’s much hope.” She nods to Joe. “It’s so nice to see you again. Meeting you people was the only bright spot of that whole movie ordeal.”

“What, you didn’t fancy it?” Roger jests.

“At least they included you,” you tell Dom, smirking. “They ignored my existence entirely. They threw in some random woman with zero lines and called her Veronica in the credits. Whatever.”

Dom rolls her expressive umber eyes. “Yes, how flattering, I was in two scenes and one of them involved a joke about Roger cheating on me.”

“You’re a star, baby,” you say. “Deal with it.”

Dom smacks your arm playfully. She may be annoyed, but it doesn’t pain her the way it used to. She’s had decades of practice.

“The script could have been better,” Joe concedes. Then he spies John as he approaches, almost drops his caramel apple, waves frenetically. “Hi, Mr. Deacon! Hi!!”

“Wonderful job with all of this, Joe.” John shakes his hand as Joe gapes at him, starstruck. He’s always like that around John, appreciative, in awe, acutely aware of John’s legendary place in rock and roll history; and you love that someone besides you and Roger look at him that way.

“Thanks, I did it myself. Just kidding. It was 99% Gwil.”

“Well, I’ll still get you front row seats at the next Queen + Adam Lambert show.” It had taken a long time for John to find a front man he liked...a long time. He drove Roger and Brian insane. He kept saying he wanted someone who was like Freddie and yet simultaneously not trying to be Freddie, someone genuinely kind and charismatic and empathetic, an otherworldly talent, a natural performer. And then, on an unassuming spring night in 2009, they found him.

Joe claps a palm on John’s shoulder and grins, his eyes glistening. “I’m obsessed with this little old guy! Obsessed, I tell you!”

“You want to see how old he is?” Roger teases. “Lift up that hand-knit hat and see what’s underneath. I’ll give you a hint. Not much.”

“At least I made it through the 90s without requiring hair plugs,” John counters.

“It was from all the bleaching!!”

“Hi, Rog!” Ben shouts as he rushes to embrace Roger, nearly knocking him off his feet. Mrs. Hardy is still across the field, talking to Brian, Anita, Rami, and Lucy, and trying to convince Eli not to crawl into a chocolate fountain.

Ben Hardy has always been somewhat of an enigma to you, mostly because he’s nothing at all like Roger. He’s subterranean-voiced and emerald-eyed and brooding and guarded and seems so much older than his twenty-nine years, and then every once in a while someone will come along and light him up like fireworks on the Fourth of July. Unlike Roger, Ben doesn’t light up for many people. He does for his son Eli, of course, and for Joe Mazzello...and for his new wife. He lights up for her like fucking wildfire.

“Ben,” you say, holding out a bag speckled with black cats. “I have our gift for you.”

“You shouldn’t have! Thank you so much.”

“You can’t thank us until you open it,” John chastises.

So Ben does. Inside is an album of hundreds of photos you’ve taken of Queen since Roger bought you your first Canon for Christmas in 1974: pictures that have never been released publicly of the boys at the Rainbow, at the Budokan, in Rome, in Boston, in Japan, in New Orleans, at Montreal, at Madison Square Garden, at Live Aid, at the Surrey house, at Montreux. Interspersed are some of John’s sketches, the only ones you can bring yourself to part with: close-ups of a long-haired Freddie drawing on messy eyeliner, Roger adjusting his sunglasses with a cigarette smoldering between his fingers, Brian tuning his Red Special.

“Oh my god,” Ben whispers.

“Most of those are very old,” you explain. “And I heard you both like old things.”

“We definitely do.” He hugs you, suddenly and fiercely and warmly; and you catch a glimpse of what it must be like to be one of the few people that he allows to truly know him, those shadowed depths to balance Joe’s uncomplicated light.

Maybe that’s it, you realize. Maybe Joe is more like Roger and Ben like John.

The wedding playlist is exclusively classic rock songs: the Doors and Aerosmith and Fleetwood Mac and Led Zeppelin and Queen. As A Kind Of Magic ends, the eerie opening notes of Hotel California ripple out over the breezy autumn fields.

“Not this fucking song!” Roger cries.

Joe turns to you, confused.

“LSD,” you inform him. “1977. I would not recommend it.”

“Noted.”

Roger continues, rubbing his forehead: “It makes me think of...freaking...weird, creepy shit...like swimming at night through cold water. But I just keep swimming and can’t get anywhere.”

“It makes me think of sharks,” you say. “Maybe they’re related.”

“Freddie always said it made him think of birds,” John sighs. “And the color blue.”

The three of you pause, nodding, remembering.

Joe frowns solemnly, peering down at his shoes. “I’m sorry I never got to meet him.”

“He would have adored you,” you say.

“Really?”

“Are you kidding?! You would have been best friends. Always looking out for people. Always plotting the next escapade. That charming chaotic energy. The utter inability to bake anything.”

“Awwww.” Joe beams, delighted. “I fucking love you guys.”

“That’s the thing,” Roger says. “People don’t realize it. We’re more of a family than a band. We find people we take a shine to like ancient treasure, snatch them up, sand away all their rough edges, show them everything the world has to offer. And if they can survive the casualties of stardom, that trial by fire, they become permanent. They grow like roots into our blood, our bones...and perhaps we claim a part of theirs as well. They become things we can’t live without.”

“And once you’re in the family,” John tells Joe with a fond, crafty smile. “You can never leave.”

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gaylorlyrics · 4 years ago

Text

the last great american dynasty

Rebekah rode up on the afternoon train, it was sunny

Her saltbox house on the coast took her mind off St. Louis

Rebekah is Rebekah “Betty” Semple West Pierce a sculptor, and philanthropist born on April 17, 1915 in St. Louis. She also composed music, one of many similarities between her and Taylor.

Bill was the heir to the Standard Oil name, and money

Bill refers to William Hale "Bill" Harkness, the grandson of David Harkness who invested with John Rockefeller in Standard Oil. When David died he left what would today be over a billion dollars to Bill’s father, who was also named William Harkness. Eventually Bill inherited what would today be approximately $185M dollars from his father (approx 70% of this wealth was from Standard Oil shares).

And the town said "How did a middle class divorcée do it?"

In 1939 Rebekah married Dickson Pierce, descendent of President Franklin Pierce. However they divorced in 1946, and then in 1947 she married Bill. Her father was a stockbroker, and her grandfather started a trust company - so she wasn’t exactly middle class, but her wealth was significantly less than the wealth of the Harkness family.

The wedding was charming, if a little gauche There's only so far new money goes They picked out a home and called it "Holiday House"

Holiday House was built on Watch Hill in Rhode Island by Mrs. George Grant Snowden who, contrary to the song, named it Holiday House. Seems like this house has been having raucous 4th of July parties for a long time - at least according to this NYTimes article from July 6, 1941:

Their parties were tasteful, if a little loud

The language here mirrors that of the first verse - “the wedding was charming, if a little gauche”.

The doctor had told him to settle down

Bill died in August (interesting!!!!) 1954 of a heart attack - he had also had a heart attack the year prior, but that one was obviously not fatal. He and Rebekah had one child together named Edith who eventually committed suicide at the age of 34.

It must have been her fault his heart gave out

This line calls attention to how women are frequently blamed for, well, everything. Something that is explored more in mad woman.

And they said "There goes the last great American dynasty" Who knows, if she never showed up what could've been There goes the maddest woman this town has ever seen She had a marvelous time ruining everything

The chorus and the title of this song seems to come from the title of a book about Rebekah called “Blue Blood: How Rebekah Harkness, One of the Richest Women in the World, Destroyed a Great American Family” written by Craig Unger. The from cover of the book reads “The story of Rebekah Harkness and how one of the richest families in the world descended into drugs, madness, suicide, and violence”. [Also, interesting that the background of the cover I found looks a lot like the blue/pink in the Lover cover!]

The chorus also references “mad woman”, another track on folklore. This song subverts the idea of a mad woman. The title and subtitle of Blue Blood use Rebekah as a scapegoat for everything that went wrong, blaming her solely for violence, drugs, mental illness, and loss. It uses several classic, sexist tropes of a gold-digger, a “crazy” woman, and the whore. However, in this song Rebekah is not taking the blame or feeling guilt about what is happening - she is having a marvelous time.

Another interesting thing is changing “great American family” - family is defined as “a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household” - to the word “great American dynasty” - dynasty is defined as “a line of hereditary rulers of a country.” I find this specifically interesting because dynasty, unlike family, acknowledges a long lineage of people and decisions that lead to this outcome, as opposed to placing all the responsibility and blame on Rebekah, who only entered the picture at the tail end of this story. The title of Blue Blood has no accountability for the people who were involved with the dynasty before - framing it as if David Harkness didn’t choose to leave his wealth to his lineage, as if Bill Harkness did not choose to marry Rebekah, and as if the wealth Bill inherited wasn’t already diminished by 81.5% from what the family’s original wealth was (as passed down from David Harkness to Bill’s father).

However, Taylor is changing the narrative here to give Rebekah a more joyful way to be remembered.

Rebekah gave up on the Rhode Island set forever Flew in all the Bitch Pack friends from the city

Rebekah and her fellow debutantes formed a group called the Bitch Pack and were known for causing a scene at parties, doing strip teases on the tables or putting mineral oil in the punch, which acts as a laxative.

Taylor is drawing a parallel here to her famous squad days, when her and her group of girl friends were constantly under fire from the internet/press.

Filled the pool with champagne and swam with the big names

Rumor has it that Rebekah cleaned her pool with Dom Perignon. Being a socialite and one of the richest women in America, she frequently kept high profile/famous/successful company - hence the “big names”. Stories of her involve J.D. Salinger, Alvin Ailey, and Andy Warhol, to name a few. However, swimming in champaign is also a metaphor or the carefree life of the rich and famous - something that she used in This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things, from Reputation, where Taylor describes a similar scene:

It was so nice throwing big parties

Jumping to the pool from the balcony

Everyone swimming in a champagne sea

And there are no rules when you show up here

Bass beat rattling the chandelier

Feeling so Gatsby for that whole year

Another interesting tidbit is that the house where The Great Gatsby (1974) was filmed is the Rosecliff Mansion in Rhode Island, about 1 hour away from Holiday House.

And blew through the money on the boys and the ballet

Rebekah married twice more after Bill’s death, once in 1961 and once in 1974. As a life long dancer, she spent the majority of her time and energy founding (in 1964) and developing The Harkness Ballet Foundation, which still exists today as The Harkness Foundation for Dance. As part of this endeavor she also established a ballet training school and the Harkness Theater. She paid for everything for the company, from teachers to housing to plastic surgery. The company went on tour and performed at the White House, although it had a generally negative critical reception. At the peak of the company’s success Rebekah abandoned the project and started a different company

And losing on card game bets with Dalí

Although I couldn’t find anything specifically referencing a card game, Rebekah was good friends with Salvadore Dali. Here they are pictured holding a press conference together.

A portion of Rebekah’s ashes are in a $250,000 urn created by Dali called “The Chalice of Life”. The urn was designed to spin, so that Rebekah could always be dancing.

And they said "There goes the last great American dynasty" Who knows, if she never showed up, what could've been There goes the most shameless woman this town has ever seen She had a marvelous time ruining everything They say she was seen on occasion Pacing the rocks staring out at the midnight sea And in a feud with her neighbor She stole his dog and dyed it key lime green

According to the NYTimes, Rebekah dyed her neighbors cat green

Fifty years is a long time Holiday House sat quietly on that beach Free of women with madness Their men and bad habits, and then it was bought by me

Weeee the classic Taylor Swift storytelling twist! This is a great flex by Taylor to just casually drop in a reminder that she is a rich woman who has made her own money and can buy whatever she wants. The phrasing of this also let’s us know that the house is no longer free of women (plural, more than one woman) with madness (we’ll hear more about being a mad woman later in the album), their (possessive, something owned or bought) men, and their bad habits (bearding?). Taylor is admitting to having all of these things. Who knows, if I never showed up what could've been There goes the loudest woman this town has ever seen I had a marvelous time ruining everything I had a marvelous time Ruining everything A marvelous time Ruining everything A marvelous time I had a marvelous time

This makes me think of the line at the end of Miss Americana - “Sorry I was loud in my house. That I bought. With the songs that I wrote about my life.”

Taylor, like Rebekah, is used to being blamed for everything and causing a scene. Even her purchase of Holiday House caused considerable backlash and commotion - with the governor creating a tax in 2015 (two years after Taylor purchased the house) called the “Taylor Swift tax” on homes worth over $1M dollars - something that affected many people in Rhode Island, especially those with large houses and vacation homes. All Taylor did was buy a house to live in (with her money, that she got from writing songs about her life), and she was immediately brought under fire.

However, like she did with Rebekah’s story, Taylor is flipping that narrative and focusing on how much fun she is having instead.

#last great american dynasty #the last great american dynasty #folklore #taylor swift #rebekah harkness

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